Читать книгу Best-Kept Secrets - Dani Sinclair - Страница 15

“Chief Hepplewhite?” Amy said as she opened her front door. “I wasn’t expecting you. Did you catch our intruder from last night?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Amy? Who is it, dear?” her mother called. “Oh, hello, John. Come on in. Amy, don’t just stand there. Let John come inside and sit down. In fact, come on back to the kitchen. We were just sorting through some old photographs. How about a glass of iced tea? Did you catch our brazen housebreaker from last night? We went to bed early and never heard a thing. I couldn’t believe it when Amy told us this morning. He totally destroyed the door screen.”

Amy stepped back and allowed the officer entrance to the house. As her mother turned and led the way back to the kitchen, Hepplewhite motioned for Amy to precede him. “I’m afraid we didn’t catch the person, Mrs. Thomas. Officer Jackstone said Mr. Collins chased him off.”

Amy tried to hide a grimace. She didn’t want her mother asking a lot of questions about Jake’s part in the events of last night. The police chief took a seat at the table while her mother bustled around the kitchen setting out another glass of iced tea and a plate of cookies.

Self-consciously, Amy returned to her seat, setting aside the box of snapshots she’d been sorting with her mother. She pushed the photo albums to the center of the table, now glad that Kelsey had gone to school with one of the neighboring children today. The school year had begun before Amy could return to the States so she was home schooling Kelsey until she located a new job and more permanent housing arrangements for the two of them.

“I understand you never got a clear look at the intruder?” Chief Hepplewhite asked Amy.

Amy shook her head. “He was just a shape through the window.”

“Good thing Mr. Collins stopped by then.”

The words begged the question, and Amy was prepared. “Jake wanted to check on my mother to be sure she was okay after that incident at the restaurant yesterday.”

“And I am so thankful that he did,” Susan added, handing the police chief a tall glass of iced tea. “What with all the strange things going on in town anymore.”

Hepplewhite thanked her, took a long swallow and sat back in his chair. “Please, sit down, Mrs. Thomas. Actually, that brings up another subject I’d like to discuss with you. We’re trying to identify the bodies in that old root cellar.”

Susan Thomas gripped the back of a chair.

“Mom?”

“How on earth would I know them?” she asked faintly.

“Sorry. I stated that badly. I didn’t mean to imply that you knew them personally. We’re canvassing everyone who’s lived in Fools Point for a long time, trying to get some idea of who the woman and child could be.”

Amy had risen to go to her mother, but Susan waved her back and sank heavily onto the chair.

“Maybe you’d better come back later, Chief,” Amy said quickly. “Mom hasn’t been feeling well and—”

Her mother shook her head. “I’m fine, dear. It’s just such a shocking thing. Very upsetting.”

“Yes,” Hepplewhite agreed.

Amy perched on the edge of her chair, watching her mother closely.

Susan managed a wavery smile. “How can I help you, John?”

“I figure you and Cornelius probably know everybody in town.”

Her mother rallied. “I would hope so. Corny’s been delivering mail for over fifty years now.”

Hepplewhite smiled, catching Amy off guard once again. She hadn’t realized the chief was so much younger than he looked. With that shock of white hair and the lines bracketing his eyes, she’d originally thought him close to fifty. Now she revised her estimate down a good ten to fifteen years—maybe more. He was a nice-looking man with a lived-in face.

“Since I’ve only been in town three years, I have to rely on natives like you for information. We’d like to identify the woman and her child as quickly as possible.”

Amy knew the chief didn’t miss the way her mother’s fingers tightened on the edge of the tabletop. But Susan Thomas managed a sad smile. “Of course. Their poor family. How can I help?”

“We’re looking for anyone who might have been pregnant and suddenly went missing. Or someone who had an infant and disappeared.”

Susan shook her head. “I’m afraid Fools Point has seen the birth of a lot of babies over the years, but I can’t think of anyone who disappeared.”

Amy straightened in her chair. The chief glanced at her and she worked to keep her expression as blank as possible while apprehension crawled up her spine.

Her mother was lying.

“Do you know of anyone, Amy?” he asked calmly, obviously not aware of her mother’s perfidy.

“No.” She thought quickly, wanting to divert his attention from her mother. “Not precisely. But back when I was in high school several women disappeared, including a girl who graduated the year before I did. Remember, Mom? The police were looking for a serial rapist, I think. Most of the victims were from Frederick County, but one of the girls that lived out at Hearts Keep—Gabriella, I think it was, also disappeared about that same time.”

Hepplewhite shook his head. “I reviewed those cases and that one in particular when I took over as police chief. None of the missing women was known to be pregnant.”

“Well, as to that I wouldn’t be so sure. As I remember it, Gabriella was running with a pretty wild group at the time,” Susan rallied to argue.

“Something to keep in mind, but I’m thinking we need to go back further than that,” Hepplewhite said. “Based on the decomposition and the things I observed at the site, my guess is that those bodies were in that root cellar a lot longer than ten years.”

Because she was so attuned to her mother, Amy caught the shudder that seemed to run through her body.

“Long enough to have been a runaway slave or something? I think the Perry house might have been part of the underground railway way back around the time of the Civil War.”

“They aren’t that old.”

“How can you tell?” Amy asked.

“The clothing wasn’t that old, for one thing. The medical examiner will make the actual determination. There are forensic tests that will give us a good idea when the mother and child died, and hopefully what they died of. With any luck, we can also get DNA samples, but we’ll need something to compare them with.”

Amy saw her mother close her eyes as if she were in pain. “Mom?”

“Sorry, dear.” Susan’s eyes fluttered open. “I just keep thinking of the poor relatives.”

She was lying again. Amy was sure of it. Her mother’s hand trembled where it rested against the table. Amy became all bristling concern.

“Mom, I think you should go upstairs and lie down.”

“Yes, perhaps I should at that.”

That response scared Amy more than anything else. What was going on?

Hepplewhite’s expression became concerned. “Can I do anything to help?”

“No, no. I’ll be fine. I just find it distressing to think of that poor woman and her child down there all this time. Was she…Do you think she was—” her mother swallowed hard “—murdered?”

Hepplewhite looked chagrined. “It’s too early to say, Mrs. Thomas. I can tell you that I didn’t see any obvious signs of trauma. I had a preliminary glance around before the truck slipped gears and Lee and I had to scramble for our lives, but forensics isn’t really my field.”

“Is that what happened with the truck?” Amy demanded, still trying to divert his attention from her mother. “It slipped out of gear?”

“It’s one theory,” he confirmed. “Did you see anyone around the truck before it began moving?”

“Your officer asked us that yesterday. The answer is still no. We’d just gotten there. The truck was behind us.”

“Yes. You were almost directly in its path,” he said neutrally.

“That’s right. Jake threw us to the ground just in time.” She saw her mother shudder. Apparently so did Chief Hepplewhite.

“I’m sorry again.”

Susan put a hand to her chest. “You have a job to do. I understand, John. But I think…I wonder if you’d excuse me? I’m not feeling well right now.”

“Mom?” Amy was on her feet instantly, but her mother waved her off.

“I just need to go up and rest for a few moments. If you’ll both excuse me.”

“I am sorry,” Hepplewhite apologized sincerely. “I didn’t mean—”

“It’s not your fault.” Susan patted his arm. “I seem to have a weak stomach for this sort of thing. I promise, if I think of anything that would help, I’ll let you know. Please stay and finish your iced tea.”

Amy stared uncertainly after her mother, torn between a desire to go after her and the need to stay with their uninvited guest and get some answers of her own.

Fear churned her stomach. Why was her mother lying to the police? What could she possibly know or suspect about the bodies in an abandoned root cellar?

“I didn’t mean to distress your mother,” the police chief said kindly.

“Mom hasn’t been feeling well lately. She has a heart condition, you know. I think maybe you’d do better to talk with my father or someone like Miss Tooley at the post office. Or what about Mrs. Kitteridge at the general store? She usually knows all the local gossip.”

Chief Hepplewhite nodded. “They’re on my list. I came here first because of what happened last night. The bodies are a high priority, but I also wanted to reassure you and your mother that we’d be keeping a closer eye on the neighborhood for the next few days. I doubt the person will come back, but I want you both to be alert.”

The serious expression in his eyes caused a hitch in her breathing. “Officer Jackstone said it was probably some kid.”

Hepplewhite’s lack of expression instantly aroused her earlier suspicions.

“I thought it odd that a kid would break into a house where the lights are on and someone obviously is not only home but still up.”

Hepplewhite regarded her shrewdly. After a moment he seemed to come to a decision. “Do you plan to stay in Fools Point for a while?”

The sudden shift took her by surprise. “I’m not sure yet. Why?”

“Frankly, Ms. Thomas, I doubt if this was an attempted burglary.”

Her stomach iced in alarm. “A rapist?”

His shoulders lifted a fraction. “We may never know for sure. I don’t want to panic you, but I think it would be a good idea for you to be vigilant. It’s possible someone saw you through the window, decided you were here alone and marked you as a victim.”

Amy shuddered. His logic made horrible sense. Much more sense than a neighborhood kid.

“It was probably a very good thing that Mr. Collins came by when he did.”

“Yes,” she agreed faintly.

“Now, I don’t want you to panic.”

“No panic, but my fear quotient just jumped several notches.”

He didn’t smile at her weak attempt at humor. “Have you known Mr. Collins a long time?”

Amy nodded without thinking. “We met the summer I graduated from college. One of my roommates was friends with his sister.”

Hepplewhite seemed to be filing that information away.

“You don’t think Jake—”

“Not at all. But he does tend to keep to himself so I was a bit surprised to hear he was here last night.”

Amy sought for a diversion. She really didn’t want to discuss her relationship with Jake with the police chief. “Without sounding paranoid, I think you should know I thought someone was watching the house last night.”

“Before or after the attempted break-in?”

“After.” Briefly she described what she thought she’d seen. “I have to admit, I didn’t get much sleep after that.”

“You should have called us immediately.”

“I might have been mistaken.”

“Amy, our job is to check out suspicious activity. That’s what we get paid for. Don’t ever hesitate to call us.”

“All right.”

Hepplewhite’s expression was grave. “Even petty thieves have been known to kill. If you see anything—and I mean anything at all unusual, day or night—call and let us do the confronting.”

“Don’t worry, you’ve convinced me.”

“Your mother needs to be vigilant, as well. I’m sorry she’s feeling poorly, but rapists don’t care who the victim is. Rape isn’t an act of sex. It’s an act of violence. I’m going to have men drive by regularly. I don’t like the idea that someone may be stalking you.”

“I’m not real excited about the idea, either!”

“Pay attention at all times to your surroundings. It would be best if you stayed with others and didn’t let yourself become isolated.”

Truly frightened now, Amy’s first thought was her daughter. “Do you think Kelsey is in danger?”

“Look, maybe this was just a fluke, but I’m even more concerned now that you told me someone may have been loitering out front after Officer Jackstone left.”

“Maybe…maybe it was Jake.”

“Why would you think that?”

“I didn’t call you because I’d half convinced myself that Jake had come back to sort of keep an eye on us.”

Hepplewhite said nothing and she found herself explaining more than she’d wanted to. “Jake and I were, uh, good friends a long time ago. Despite rumors to the contrary, Jake isn’t involved in organized crime.”

The lines beside his eyes crinkled in amusement. “I know.”

“You checked him out?”

“It wasn’t difficult. One of the locals, Noah Inglewood, recognized Mr. Collins as a Special Forces leader he had shared a mission with once. Mr. Collins has a rather impressive military record.”

“Oh.”

The chief stood and thanked her for her time and the iced tea. Silently, she walked him to the front door.

“Please apologize to your mother again, but try to warn her to be careful. That serial rapist you referred to earlier was never caught. I don’t want to find out the hard way that he’s returned to his old stomping grounds.”

Amy shuddered. “You think this could be the same person who was in the area a few years ago?”

“No,” he said firmly. “If, and I stress the if, the person last night was a would-be rapist, I suspect it was a matter of seizing what he saw as an opportunity.”

“I understand.”

“Stay alert. And if you can think of anything that would help us identify the woman and baby in the root cellar, let me know.”

“There is one thing. Have you talked with the Perry family? The restaurant is the old Perry mansion, you know. The mayor’s mother lived in the house until a few years ago.”

He paused on the front porch and nodded. “I’m afraid Ms. Perry’s mental faculties aren’t sufficient to be reliable anymore. I plan to have a talk with her niece, the mayor, but—”

“What about her brother?”

Hepplewhite hesitated, his brow pleating. “Eugene?”

“Not the mayor’s brother, I meant Ms. Perry’s brother, the mayor’s father. General Marcus Perry actually inherited the estate but he didn’t live there once he joined the military. He and his wife, Millicent, had Cindy Lou and Eugene. I’m not sure where Eugene lives, but I know old Ms. Perry lived in the house until she started having problems. Of course, she was always a little—”

“Strange?”

Amy nearly smiled. “I was going to say reclusive. Her brother Marcus is…” She paused on the verge of calling the general strange. “I’ve met General Perry in the course of my duties for the military,” she added quickly instead. And in every case Marcus Perry had stared at her with a disquieting expression. Amy had taken to avoiding any place where she might run into the man. “He would probably know when the root cellar was closed up.”

“An excellent suggestion. Thank you. I’ll ask Cindy Lou how to get in touch with her father.”

“Good luck.”

She closed the screen door behind him. After a moment, for the first time in memory, she locked it as she watched the officer stride to his waiting vehicle.

“IF I UNDERSTAND YOU correctly, Officer Garvey, someone tampered with that dump truck on purpose.”

“I didn’t say that, Mr. Collins.”

The policeman’s gaze swept the empty dining room. Shortly, the Perrywrinkle would open and the carefully laid tables would fill with the usual lunch crowd.

Jake tipped his head and raised his eyebrows. “Is there some indication that the truck had faulty gears?”

Lee Garvey smiled ruefully. “The state police are looking into that for us. I know you already answered this once, but I thought maybe after sleeping on the incident you might have remembered seeing someone near the truck before it began to roll backward.”

“My attention was elsewhere at the time.” On a woman with golden-brown hair and lips made for kissing. A woman who had haunted his memories for years and given life to his child.

A woman who hated him.

“You think someone deliberately put the truck in gear?” Jake asked.

“Not necessarily. It could have been a kid fooling around.”

Instantly Jake came alert. His body tightened imperceptibly. “Matt was on the other side of the hole. I saw him myself right before I realized the truck was moving.”

“I wasn’t accusing anyone.”

Perhaps not, but fifteen-year-old Matt Williams’s reputation made that almost inevitable. Matt had been caught boosting vehicles for a car theft ring the FBI had broken up several weeks ago. An orphan, Matt had lived with his maternal aunt and her husband until he’d witnessed a murder and become a liability to the car thieves. To keep him silent, his aunt and uncle’s house had been blown up—with Matt inside. The boy had been lucky enough to survive.

“I understand he’s staying with you,” Garvey said.

Jake tensed. In truth, he had no legal standing where Matt was concerned. Matt’s paternal aunt and uncle were still his official guardians, but Dwight Kornbaum had confessed that he and Matt couldn’t be in the same room without arguing. The boy was ruining his marriage and his life. Dwight was more than ready to turn Matt over to another relative.

“Matt is staying here so his schooling won’t be interrupted while his aunt and uncle’s house is being rebuilt,” Jake said simply. “Catherine and Dwight are staying in D.C. with some friends who live close to where they work.”

He didn’t add that Matt acted as if the new arrangement didn’t matter to him one way or another, but Jake recognized the signs of a boy who knew when he wasn’t wanted.

During the time the Perrywrinkle was being gutted and refurbished, Jake had done his best to get to know the skittish boy and earn his trust. If Matt wondered why his relatives had come to this arrangement with Jake, he’d never asked, though Jake had presented several opportunities for him to do so. Matt trusted no one. Forging a bond with him took time and patience. Jake had plenty of both.

Since he’d come to stay with Jake, Matt had slowly begun to lose some of his initial wariness. Jake wasn’t about to have that destroyed by a false accusation.

“He had nothing to do with the truck,” Jake stated firmly.

“Hey, I believe you.”

After a moment Jake inclined his head. “I thought the fact that Matt once stole your car might still…rankle.” Especially since the policeman had left a gun in the car that was later used in a murder.

“You can stand down, Papa Bear,” Lee said with an infectious grin. “I don’t hold grudges. I’m looking for answers, not pointing fingers.”

Jake decided it was hard not to like the affable policeman.

“The chief may have already asked you this, but did you know about the root cellar when you bought the estate?”

“No. There was a decaying gazebo close to that spot. I took some pictures of the grounds when I first purchased the land.”

Lee’s expression lit up. “May I see them?”

As they passed the bar, Ben waved at them from behind the large mahogany counter where he was inventorying stock. Jake inclined his head and led Lee up to his makeshift office. The upstairs was sparingly furnished in used pieces, many of which had come from the original estate. The attic was still filled with items the family hadn’t wanted. Jake hadn’t had time to go through it all.

Lee Garvey peered around curiously, but Jake offered neither an apology nor an explanation. The furniture might not be much, and he’d made no attempt at any homey features, but the place was clean and his files were neatly organized. Without hesitation, Jake pulled out the pictures he had taken shortly after buying the Perry estate.

“If you look closely, in this shot you can see the remains of the foundation for what I believe was the old servants’ quarters. Right about here is where the parking lot caved in.”

The picture clearly showed the gazebo inside the area that must have been an outbuilding. The gazebo was nearly rubble from the same lack of care the rest of the grounds had received.

“As you can see, the outbuildings had all been torn down before I bought the estate.”

“At least this explains why the root cellar was so far from the main house. It went with the servants’ quarters and not the main house.”

Jake said nothing.

“May I borrow these for a few days?” the officer asked.

“I have the negatives.”

“Even better, thanks. I’ll return them.”

As the two headed for the stairs, Matt came running up to the second floor. “Hey, Jake!”

The teenager stopped dead when he saw the police officer. All trace of youthful exuberance faded from his expression. His features became wary and instantly defensive.

“Officer Garvey needed some pictures of the original grounds,” Jake explained softly.

“Oh.”

Surprisingly, the policeman showed his sensitivity by waving the negatives and smiling at Matt as he moved past him down the stairs. “Hi, Matt. Thanks again, Mr. Collins.”

Matt followed the man’s progress with an adult watchfulness that saddened Jake.

“What was your good news?” he asked the boy.

Matt watched the officer move out of sight before he turned back to Jake. Some of his earlier excitement returned. “I made a starting position with the soccer team.”

Jake relaxed.

“The coach said I’m really fast on my feet.”

Not surprising considering the life of crime he’d been heading toward, Jake mused silently.

“I have to keep my grades up to stay on the team, but the coach organized a mentoring program. If I have trouble in a particular area, he pairs me off with another student…”

Jake listened intently. Thankfully, a boy still lurked inside the street-smart young man. Matt was a bright kid. He needed a break and someone who cared. Jake planned to see to it he got both.

“Do you have time to eat lunch with me?” Matt asked. “It’s okay if you don’t.”

“I’d like that,” Jake said sincerely.

Matt beamed. “Since we only had a half day of school, I’m going to meet a couple of older guys at the school to get in some extra practice. Is that okay?” he added as an afterthought.

“‘Older guys’?” Jake asked mildly.

“Two of ‘em are seniors.”

“Ah. Their advice should be invaluable.”

“Yeah. The coach was gonna try and sneak away from the teacher meetings to come and give us a few pointers.”

“Then we’d better see if we can get the cook to feed us quickly.”

But when they reached the dining room, they found Officer Garvey still inside, talking with a large table of customers. Matt stiffened. Jake laid a supportive hand on the boy’s shoulder.

General Marcus Perry, out of uniform but looking every inch his rank, sat at one of the large tables with his entire family. As far as Jake knew, it was the first time any of the Perrys had set foot inside their old family home since it had been converted.

Except Eugene. The general’s son had started hanging out in the bar with Thad Osher and a few of the other regulars in the evening.

The mayor was speaking animatedly while her aunt stared in pale-eyed confusion at the once-familiar room.

“Why’s he still here?” Matt muttered.

Jake knew the boy was referring to Lee Garvey. “He needs to ask questions so they can identify the bodies.”

“They’re just skeletons.”

Jake nodded. “I know.” As they watched, the policeman took his leave. “I have to greet that table. Why don’t you order us both a couple of burgers? Tina can serve us at table six.”

“Okay. Can I order a milkshake?”

Jake’s lips twitched. “Order two.”

Matt grinned and raced off toward the kitchen. Jake donned his formal host persona and approached the table. While he’d never met the general in his military capacity, Marcus Perry had sat in on the hearing where Jake had been called in to testify against his son, Eugene. A prank had gone awry and the men involved had found themselves facing a disciplinary hearing. While there had been nothing personal in the testimony—Jake hadn’t known Eugene—the man hadn’t forgotten and Jake doubted the general had, either.

“Good afternoon. I trust everyone is enjoying their meal.”

Cindy Lou Baranski smiled affably, but then, she was coming up for reelection soon, Jake remembered. Eugene glared at him with a sulky scowl. The general studied Jake with steely green eyes that held no trace of warmth, while his fashionably attractive wife smiled politely.