She laughed and then winced at the pain.
“Besides, it will help with the pain,” I added, pouring two tablets into her hand.
She popped them into her mouth, and I handed her a bottle of water. After she swallowed, she looked at me quizzically.
“Did you really swallow the memory card?”
I had forgotten all about that. “Yes. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“No, you did good, kid.”
“But you won’t be able to use it if… I mean, um, when it comes out, will you.”
“It’s in the case right?”
I nodded, remembering how painful it was swallowing that thing.
“Then it should be okay,” she said. “But it’s going to hurt like hell when you pass it. Maybe you should take some aspirin now before you do?”
I bit my lip trying to hold it in, but the laughter burst out of me in the form of a loud, embarrassing snort.
Hettie chuckled, raising her eyebrows. “I like when you laugh,” she said, leaning her head back against the headboard.
“Glad I could entertain you,” I retorted.
“It’s a throaty, musical laugh that lights up your whole face.”
Blushing, I turned when Bubbles meowed, reminding me she needed to go out. “Will you be okay if I take Bubbles out for a minute?”
“Sure, would you mind bringing in the laptop on your way back? It’s in my duffel bag in the trunk.”
“No problem. I’ll just be a minute.” I picked up the leash and clipped it to Bubbles’ harness, then I picked her up and walked outside. I carried her across the parking lot to a patch of grass by the road. She immediately began digging and circling, then digging some more. She finally squatted and did her business as I watched the cars drive by.
“What kind of person was Meredith if she wants you to be celibate the rest of your life?” Hettie was right. Meredith had said in her will that I should find love again. It was just not that easy to give up the love of my life. I had to admit, though, if I were ready, Hettie would be the first one on my list, the way she made me laugh, comforted me, and looked fantastic without her clothes on. Oh, man.
I just wished I knew what to do. Meredith would know. Mom would know. Even Dad would have an opinion for me. I looked back at the motel room. I was on my own this time and now was not the time to get involved with the only person who could help me. It wasn’t fair to her, and it wasn’t fair to Meredith.
Suddenly, my stomach cramped. “Oh, no.” I picked up Bubbles, who was burying her waste, and rushed back to the car. Grabbing the duffel bag out of the trunk, I went back inside. Hettie was asleep so I sat the bag by the table and quietly shut the door and locked it, then I put Bubbles on my bed. Not even taking the time to remove the leash, I rushed to the bathroom. My stomach was cramping so bad that I didn’t know if I was going to throw up or shit a brick. “Oh.”
“Connie, you okay?” Hettie asked.
“Don’t come in here,” I cried in between convulsions. I hurriedly knelt over the toilet bowl and heaved. Nothing but bile came out. Oh, God. It hurts. My stomach contracted, and I heaved again. Contraction, heave, contraction. My stomach was trying to expel the disc but I think it was stuck. I could feel it wedged sideways in my esophagus. Choking and spitting, I heaved again.
Suddenly, the door burst open and Hettie rushed in. “My God. You’re white as a sheet.”
I pointed at my throat and tried to speak but could only squeak. Hettie grabbed me by the waist and hoisted me up. She did a couple of abdominal thrusts, and the card shot out of my mouth and across the room. But my stomach wasn’t finished yet. This time, when I heaved, my stomach emptied its contents on Hettie’s bare foot. I was mortified.
“Wow, that’s really warm and gross,” she said, lifting her foot up gingerly.
I tried to apologize but the words came out garbled. My throat was so sore and burned like fire.
“Are you all right, Connie?” she asked, turning on the shower and sticking her foot under the water.
I grunted weakly, gripping the edge of the counter to steady myself.
She turned the shower off, and, not bothering to dry her foot, walked over to the sink and filled a cup with cold water. “Here, rinse your mouth while I get you a wet cloth.”
It felt so good being cared for. I was always the one who took care of everyone else. I would push Meredith away if she tried to nurse me when I was sick. But I’d lost too much to push anyone I cared about away, ever again.
Swishing the water in my mouth, I spit it out in the toilet. Then I rinsed twice more, trying to remove the tang of vomit from my lips. She handed me a wet washcloth and then wet another one.
I washed my face with the cool wet cloth and smiled at Hettie.
“Better?” she asked, as she knelt and began cleaning the floor.
“Much better. Thank you. Here, let me do that.” I reached for the washcloth in Hettie’s hand, but she waved me off.
“I’ve got it. You should rest. You deserve it after taking one for the team like that.”
I walked over to where the card had landed on the floor and picked it up. Using the washcloth still in my hand, I cleaned the outer case off and opened it. “Dad, this had better of worth it.” I took the card out and handed it to Hettie.
She stood up and examined it. “Did you bring my bag in?”
“In there,” I replied, pointing to the bag beside the bed.
“Come on. Let’s see what we’ve got.” She picked up her bag and tossed it on the bed.
Her duffel bag was exactly what I would have imagined she’d carry. A brown canvas bag with leather straps and floppy pockets like something she’d take on safari. I helped her unzip the dust flap and pulled out the laptop. The cord was tangled with the telephone cord, and I untangled them as she sat the laptop on her legs and tried to open the monitor.
“Hold on a minute,” I ordered, plugging the cord into the wall and then the computer. I opened the lid and she immediately inserted the card.
“Would you mind plugging in my cell phone so it can be charging? It’s somewhere around here.”
I looked around but didn’t see it. “Did you leave it in the car?”
“Maybe. I don’t remember.”
“Okay, I’ll be back. Don’t look at that card until I get back, understand?”
I swallowed the urge to laugh at the look of disappointment on her face. Whatever was on that card almost cost both of us our lives, not to mention the fact that my father died protecting it. I grabbed the keys and rushed back out to the car. I spotted the phone right away, sitting in the cup holder. Snatching it up, I ran back inside and stopped suddenly when I saw her face. Her mouth hung wide open, and her eyes looked dazed.
“No, don’t look, Connie.”
Chapter Fifteen
U.S. Marshal Hettie Quinn
Patience was never my strong suit. I was exhausted and just wanted to sleep, but I wasn’t going to allow that to happen until I knew what was on that memory card. I was glad I didn’t wait for Connie before opening the folder. It was another set of photos, but this time most of them were of a naked stripper. A stripper who appeared to be undressing for Connie’s father.
“I asked you to wait,” Connie said impatiently.
“I’m glad that I didn’t. You don’t want to see this.”
“Which, of course, means now I have to.”
Tossing my cell phone on the bed, she walked over and turned the laptop toward her. I was expecting anger, shock, tears even. I wasn’t expecting her to laugh.
“He was so embarrassed,” she said, clicking through each picture.
“Uh, at being caught?” I asked.
“No, silly. This was at our bridal shower slash bachelor party. The first half of the party was the bridal shower for me, and the second half was the bachelorette party for Meredith. My dad was a really good sport about it all.” She pointed at a photograph of Mrs. Yarbrough standing guard in front of her husban
d. “But we had to keep Mom from yanking the hair off of the stripper’s head.”
Almost all of the pictures were of Mr. Yarbrough with the stripper. There were two of Connie’s parents with the stripper, hamming it up for the camera, and one of Meredith tucking money into the stripper’s G-string.
“Where were you while this was going on?” I asked.
“Probably in the kitchen fixing drinks. I had to endure the bridal shower, so I wasn’t keen on socializing during the bachelorette party. I didn’t know most of those people.”
That explained it. Connie wasn’t comfortable around strangers. “Who was there that you didn’t know?”
“I knew everyone at the shower but didn’t know hardly any of Meredith’s friends at the bachelorette party. They were people from the bank she and my father worked at.”
Why didn’t I know that? “Meredith and your father worked at the same bank together?”
“Yes. Dad recruited her right after she got out of college.”
Meredith was murdered in what was assumed was a botched bank robbery. Maybe she was deliberately targeted. Maybe to keep Yarbrough in line, or maybe she was the one who found the embezzlement scheme and took it to Yarbrough. It was all speculation, but usually wild theories led to overlooked possibilities. It was becoming hard for me to concentrate. My shoulder was throbbing, making my whole body ache with exhaustion.
“I can’t imagine why anyone would take a picture of that,” Connie said, pointing at the last picture in the series.
Like the other set of pictures, this set had one photo that was completely different from all the others. This photo was of Bubbles using the cat litter box.
“Do you recognize where it was taken at?” I asked, chasing another wild theory.
“That’s at my parents’ house,” she answered.
The answer was there, on the tip of my tongue, but my brain had shut down. “Connie, will you look at the people in the first photos and make a list of names for me?”
“Sure, but like I said, I didn’t know half of them.”
“That’s okay. If you know they worked with Meredith or your father, write that down. Any information, no matter how inconsequential, could be helpful.”
“While I’m doing that, why don’t you try and get some sleep? You’re looking really pale.”
“I don’t have time. I need to check for messages on my phone, and…”
*
“What?” I woke with a start. “What happened?” It took me a minute to realize we were still in the motel room.
“You fell asleep mid-sentence,” Connie explained. She was sitting with her legs crossed on the bed, Bubbles curled up in her lap. She was bent over the laptop, a pencil in her hand.
“How long was I out?”
“Just an hour or so. Why don’t you go back to sleep for a while? I booked the room for the night.”
“Actually, if the offer for lunch is still open, I’m kind of hungry.”
“Good, as they say in the movies, that’s a good sign.” She lifted Bubbles up, apologizing for disrupting her highness, and got up.
Bubbles jumped from their bed to mine and walked across my legs, settling on my stomach. “I’m a dog person, cat,” I warned. The cat was not impressed and proceeded to knead my belly into her idea of a comfortable pillow and laid down. I sneezed three times rapidly, and she jumped up again. Apparently she was annoyed with me because she jumped back to the other bed. It was worth the allergies just for that.
“I made your list; it’s there on top of the laptop beside you,” Connie said from the table. She pulled a jar of peanut butter from a bag and began making a sandwich.
“Oh, thanks.” I picked up the list from the nightstand and scanned through the names. Connie had meticulously detailed each person at the bridal shower, listing their name, their relationship to her, and where they worked. Unfortunately, nothing popped. As she said, the bachelorette party was full of people she didn’t know. She could list who worked at the bank but not all of their names or positions. Those she did know were too young to have been in a position of authority.
“Connie, did anyone at the party surprise you or make you feel uneasy at all?”
“No,” she replied, carrying my sandwich and a bottle of water over. “I knew everyone at the shower, and Meredith knew everyone at the bachelorette party.”
“And your parents attended both parties?”
“Yes and no. Mom came to the shower and Meredith’s party. Dad only attended the bachelorette party.”
“Willingly?”
Laughing, she nodded. “Yeah, Dad and Meredith were very close. She was like the son he never had.”
Snorting, I clicked on the photo of Bubbles. I’d seen many things in my life. Death, gunshots, drug overdoses. Never thought I would be looking at a cat taking a dump. Why this picture? What was he trying to tell us?
“What’s wrong?” Connie asked. “You’re frowning. Are you in pain?”
“No. Well, not much,” I answered, taking a bite of the sandwich. “I’ll take some more aspirin after I finish eating.”
“Good. So, why the frown then?”
I pointed at the monitor. “Why would your father add this picture?”
“The one of Bubbles? I have no idea.”
“Tell me what you see in this picture.” I turned the laptop toward her. “I mean, besides the obvious.”
She sat on the edge of my bed and picked up the laptop. “Well, I see Bubbles doing number two. Oh, but that’s obvious, isn’t it? Okay, um… litter box looks normal, oh, um…”
“Change in plans. Tell me everything you see whether it’s obvious or not. I’m trying to figure out what clue the picture is meant to convey.” The first set of pictures was easy. Go to the cemetery. But we couldn’t go back to Connie’s house and sift through the cat litter. Connie had changed it just before her parents were killed.
“Oh, that’s much easier. Bubbles is in the cat litter box, doing her thing. The floor is clean so… wait, that’s not right.”
“What? Do you see something?” I asked, scooting beside her to look over her shoulder.
“Look, she’s wearing her harness. She doesn’t wear her harness inside. And especially not when she’s using the cat litter box.”
“Do you have the harness?”
She handed me the laptop and got up. “Sure, it’s on Bubbles.” Picking up the cat, she sat down beside me again.
“Would you…” I sneezed. “mind…” I sneezed again. “taking off the harness?” I sneezed again and finally inhaled.
She moved to her bed and took the harness off the cat, handing it to me.
Taking the harness from her, I sneezed again. “Damn it.” Wiping the water from my eyes, I examined the soft cotton purple harness. It had a padded neck and chest area, adjustable for size. There was a ring for the leash between the shoulders and a release buckle on the side. I felt around the padding, then down the sewn edge of the lining.
“What do you think it is?” Connie asked.
“I imagine it’s another memory card,” I said, clicking and unclicking the buckle. Nothing. I checked the leash ring next. It had a second layer sewn underneath for support, but the stitching was different, as if it had been resewn by hand. “There’s a pocket knife in my duffel bag. Would you mind getting it for me? It’s in the pocket.”
“Did you find something?” she asked, opening the pocket on my bag.
“Maybe. Or it may just be shoddy workmanship.”
She pulled out my pocket knife. “Here you go.”
Flipping the blade out, I sliced the stitching and slid my finger inside. “There’s something in here.”
“Let me see,” she ordered, scooting closer to me. She smelled so good that I lost my concentration for a minute. “What is it?”
“Oh, yeah.” I pulled out another memory card. “Your father is nothing if not consistent.” Ejecting the other card, I slid this one in and clicked on the folder. There was only
one photo this time, and it brought tears to Connie’s eyes.
“My wedding photo,” she murmured.
Meredith was wearing a mauve tuxedo, holding Connie’s hand with both their bands prominent in the shot. Connie looked incredibly beautiful in her white wedding gown. And incredibly happy. The wedding party stood behind them on either side, all dressed in tuxes and gowns.
“Why would he put this picture on here?”
Shaking my head, I wondered that myself. “There’s another folder here labeled ‘honeymoon’.”
“Oh, could it be? I lost all my pictures when I had to leave Roanoke.”
“Let’s find— oh, shit.”
“What’s wrong?”
“The Internet. It’s live,” I gulped, my mouth suddenly dry. The light was blinking, indicating something was being transmitted.
“Yeah, while you were sleeping, I thought I’d check my email and—”
“Quick, we have to get out of here,” I yelled, ejecting the card and shutting down the laptop and tossing it in my bag. “Grab the cat, let’s go!”
“I don’t understand. What’s wrong?”
“Get your stuff, I’ll explain in the car. Move, move!” I tossed the card into my bag and jumped up. Ignoring the sudden searing pain when I grabbed my gun from the nightstand drawer, I clipped the holster to my belt and secured my gun. “Where are the keys?”
“You’re in no shape to drive,” Connie said, snapping the harness around Bubbles.
“I don’t have time to argue with you. Where are the damn keys?”
Her face looked pensive for a moment, then she picked the keys up from the table and handed them to me.
I picked up my duffel bag and slung it over my bad shoulder. “Oh, shit,” I exclaimed, tears stinging my eyes.
“What are you doing?” Connie asked, holding Bubbles in one hand and her bag in the other.
“I have to keep my gun arm free,” I explained, grimacing at the red-hot poker spearing through my left arm. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yes,” she replied, looking around.
I switched off the light and pulled my gun. Cracking the door open an inch, I looked north and then south. Satisfied, I waved to Connie and rushed out to the car.
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