He drew in a deep breath. She knew nothing about his past, yet there was a lot of truth in what she’d said.
“Thanks for your time, Chief.”
“You’re welcome.” He walked her to the door, and as she made her way through the squad room, he went over to Jason’s desk.
“What was that all about?” Jason asked curiously.
“Hidden gold in Sandstone Manor.”
Jason raised an eyebrow. “Did Fiona bring a map with her?”
“Unfortunately, just a lot of rumor and speculation. Tell me you’ve discovered something more concrete than an old legend and a bunch of cursed Worthington men?”
“I’ve been reviewing the guest list. Approximately ten people left the party before we started taking names. One of those individuals was Peter Lawson, Mrs. Adams’s date to the party. Colin noticed an agitated discussion between Mr. Lawson and Mrs. Adams a little before midnight. Then Mr. Lawson left. Since Mrs. Adams refused to give a statement or be searched and Charlotte was near the scene of the crime, Mr. Lawson’s absence could be construed as being interesting.”
Joe frowned, hating that the facts were leading them back to Charlotte and her family. “Have you spoken to him?”
“I’ve left several messages. No return call yet. I’m going to ask Charlotte about him when she comes in this afternoon.”
“We need a different angle. One that doesn’t involve Charlotte or anyone connected to her.”
“Got any ideas?”
“Theresa. The theft was personal. Someone literally ripped the necklace off her neck and the ring off her finger. Talk to her friends. See if she had any enemies.”
“I’ve already spoken to a few people. She’s not well loved, but no one can imagine anyone wanting to hurt her.”
“Keep digging. What do you know about Pamela Baines?”
“Super-slutty in high school. Just arrived back in town.”
“Someone must have more recent information on her. Start with Reverend Schilling. They have a past, from what I understand.”
“I’ll get on it. Anything in particular you’re looking for?”
“We’ll know it when we find it.”
Problems were just challenges, Andrew told himself as his car refused to start. Unfortunately, today had been filled with a few too many challenges, and it was only noon. His determinedly optimistic outlook was taking a beating. First, Jason had called to quiz him about Pamela. Then the mayor had asked him to visit Theresa in the hospital. And now his car wouldn’t start.
While he was used to making hospital visits for those in the congregation, he wasn’t sure why the mayor had called. Robert and Theresa weren’t particularly religious and usually showed up only at Christmas and Easter. He couldn’t help wondering if Pamela was behind the request, finding another way to get to him. She’d probably love to watch him in action, her mocking eyes making him feel like a phony.
But he wasn’t a fraud. This was his life now—a life that he enjoyed, that made him feel proud, that made him happy.
A car pulled into the lot next to his, and Tory Hartley Baker stepped out. A slender, petite woman, Tory wore a dark red sweater dress with a floral scarf and a pair of boots. Her short light brown hair was straight and angled around her face, the front longer than the back, and her bright green eyes sparkled with friendly curiosity.
“Problems?” she asked as he got out to speak to her.
“Car won’t start.”
“Maybe it’s the battery. Does it just click when you turn the key?”
“Yes. You know about cars?”
“A little. I can give you a jump. I have cables in my car.”
“Really? I’m impressed,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
“Bringing flyers for the winter theater classes. Marjorie said I could put a few up on the community bulletin board.”
“Of course, no problem,” he said, walking with her to the back of her car. She had bags of clothes in the trunk. “What’s all this?”
“Donations. I did some spring cleaning.”
“A little early. It’s only January,” he said, his smile dimming when he realized that one of the bags was filled with men’s clothes. After discovering that her husband, Steve Baker, had fathered Annie’s baby and lied about it for months, Tory had thrown him out and filed for divorce. A few months ago, she’d been happy, in love, and hoping to adopt a baby. Then she’d had the rug pulled out from under her. He was impressed that she was holding it together so well.
“It’s a new year, so out with the old,” she said. Following his gaze, she added, “I gave Steve every opportunity to take what he wanted with him. Our marriage is over, and I don’t need to be storing his clothes.”
“There’s no chance for reconciliation?” he asked tentatively.
“Not one little bit.”
He could hear the pain in her voice. Divorce was never easy, but Tory’s was especially difficult. Her infertility and inability to have a child had been tough to handle, but her husband having a baby with a teenager and then trying to pretend to adopt it had hurt even more. Tory had had to choose between keeping the marriage going so she could be a stepmother to Annie’s baby, which might be her only chance to be a mother, or letting Steve go. It had probably been the hardest decision of her life.
“I’m sorry things ended so badly for you and Steve,” Andrew said. He’d gotten to know them during the adoption process and had never imagined that their marriage was anything but rock solid. “If I can do anything to help during this transition . . .”
“Thank you, but I’m all right. I’m done crying, and now I’m cleaning,” she said with a forced smile. “The cables are in here somewhere,” she added, digging through the bags. “I had to give my grandfather’s car a jump a couple of weeks ago.”
“If the theater gig doesn’t work out, you can get a part-time job with Ernie’s Auto Body,” he teased.
She smiled. “I’d probably make better money.” She held up the cables.
“Will I complete destroy my reputation if I tell you I don’t really know what to do with them?” he asked.
She laughed. “I’ll keep your secret. I’m surprised your father didn’t teach you.”
“He was too busy instructing me on the finer points of hitting a baseball.”
“Ah—about as practical as my mother teaching me one of Hamlet’s soliloquies.”
Within minutes, Tory had the hoods up on both their cars and was attaching the cable. She told him to start the car, and his engine kicked into life.
He left it running as he got out of the car to thank her. “You’re a lifesaver.”
She shrugged. “At least you won’t have to wait for a tow truck.”
“Who taught you how to jump-start a car?” he asked, suddenly curious about her life. Tory was a few years younger than him, and he really didn’t know much about her.
“Nick. My brother and I learned early on that being self-sufficient was the key to surviving in a family of actors and dreamers. They’re not big on practical matters.” She removed the cable and tossed it into the back of her car. “I’d let it run for a few minutes before you go. Then maybe stop by Ernie’s to see if you need a new battery.”
“I’ll do that right after I go to the hospital.”
Her eyes filled with concern. “Is someone ill?”
“The mayor asked me to come down and give his wife a blessing.”
“That’s nice,” she said with a nod. “I hope Theresa recovers. It’s terrible, what happened to her.”
“Were you at the party? I got there late, so I’m not clear on who was there.”
“No, I celebrated New Year’s Eve in my jammies with a half gallon of praline pecan ice cream. I’m sure your evening was much better.”
“Not really. Certainly not what I expected it to be.”
She grabbed the flyers off the front seat of her car. “I’ll see you tonight. I’m coming for the meeting.”
“G
ood. Thanks again,” he said, watching her walk away. She really was an attractive woman. Some man would be lucky to have her. Realizing that he was staring a little too long, he got into his car and headed to the hospital.
Fifteen minutes later, he was getting off the elevator at the fourth floor. Hospital visits were his least favorite part of his job. It was in a hospital room after knee surgery that he’d realized that his dreams of a baseball career were over.
It wasn’t just his personal experience that made him uncomfortable, though. He felt awkward trying to soothe not only people who were dying but also their families, who were looking for answers he couldn’t give them. Faith didn’t come with guarantees, and in the end, that’s what people were looking for: a promise he couldn’t make. Not everyone got well. Sometimes the worst happened.
But this visit wasn’t going to be that dire. Theresa was recovering. He gave his name to the guard, who checked it off on a list and opened the door for him.
He slipped quietly into the outer room. The nurse was speaking in quiet tones on the phone and gave him a quick glance, then waved him on.
As he moved toward the center room, he could see Theresa asleep in the bed. Pamela and Robert were by the window, their backs to him. Pamela had her arm around the mayor’s shoulder as if she were comforting him. But there was something about the way they were standing that was far too personal for a brother-in-law/sister-in-law relationship. Had there been something more between them? And if so, what did that mean?
His stomach began to churn, the way it always did when Pamela was about to turn his life upside down. He shouldn’t have come here, but it was too late now.
Pamela looked over her shoulder and quickly stepped away from Robert. She didn’t look guilty exactly, but there was something awkward in the way she cleared her throat and shifted her feet. The mayor, too, appeared unsettled.
“If this is a bad time . . .” he began.
“No, it’s fine,” Robert said, straightening his shoulders. “I’m glad you’re here, Reverend.” He cast a look at his wife. “Theresa is sleeping again. We can’t seem to keep her awake for very long.”
He nodded. “What can I do for you?”
“We haven’t been very good about going to church, but would you mind saying a prayer for her? Pamela thought it might help, and I don’t know what else to do.”
The mayor looked exhausted and a little deflated. He was a big personality around town. When he was in the room, everyone knew it. But today the life was gone, as well as the overconfidence.
“I’d be happy to say a prayer. Would you like to join me?”
“Okay,” Robert said somewhat gruffly as they all moved closer to the bed.
Andrew turned his attention to Theresa, noting the bandage around her head, the paleness of her skin, the fragility of her limbs. The slight woman also had a big personality, one that didn’t always win her a lot of fans, but her injury had made her very human.
“When she goes to sleep, I’m always afraid she won’t wake up again,” Robert said, fear in his eyes.
Andrew gave a smile of reassurance, then put his hand on Theresa’s cool arm and led them in several minutes of quiet prayer. When he finished, Robert and Pamela echoed, “Amen.”
“Thank you for coming,” the mayor said. “I won’t forget this. If the church needs something, you let me know.”
“I appreciate the support, but I came for your wife, no other reason. I hope she recovers quickly.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Pamela told him.
He breathed a little easier once they were back in the hall and heading toward the elevators.
“You were very impressive in there,” Pamela told him as he pushed the button for the elevator. “Why don’t we get a drink or coffee or something? It’s hard for me to sit in that room hour after hour.”
“I can’t.”
“You can’t or you won’t?”
“Why don’t you go back to the house? Or are you staying in a hotel?”
“Robert suggested I stay at the Seagull Inn since the house is considered a crime scene,” she said, an edge to her voice. “But that’s not the real reason. He doesn’t want me in his home.”
“Why not?” He paused, giving her a hard look. “What did you do? Did you and Robert hook up?”
“It was a long time ago,” she admitted. “Theresa doesn’t know.”
He should have been shocked, but he wasn’t. “Are you sure about that?”
“It was before they got married, after the rehearsal dinner. We were both drunk. But we swore never to say anything, and we didn’t.”
“Then why did you tell me now?” He didn’t want to be the keeper of any more of her secrets.
“Because I want you to trust me again,” she said, a plea in her eyes.
He shook his head. “That’s not going to happen.”
“I’m not that bad a person. You know I’m not. A lot of it is just an act.”
“Then why don’t you stop acting?”
She sighed. “I don’t know how. Maybe you can help me.”
“I’m not the man for that job. Did you put the mayor up to calling me?”
“I suggested it. I didn’t think you’d come unless you had a reason.”
“You should go back to L.A. You’ve made your sisterly appearance, done your duty. Why hang around? Or is there something you’re not telling me?”
She frowned, glanced around the hall, and then said, “Things aren’t so good for me back in L.A. Mitch got out of prison a couple of months ago.”
His stomach turned over. Mitch Harding was a local kid who’d gone off track after leaving Angel’s Bay. “I thought Mitch had another couple of years.”
“Apparently, he got off on good behavior, if you can believe that. I don’t want to get involved with him again, but he’s been coming around, pressuring me. When Robert called, I figured it was a good time to leave L.A.”
Andrew could understand that; he just wished she hadn’t come to Angel’s Bay. The last thing he needed was for their former friend to make an appearance, too. “Does Mitch know where you are?”
“Who knows? He’s always been good at finding me.”
He pushed the elevator button again, impatient to get out of the hospital, away from Pamela, and far from the past that was threatening to catch up to him.
“I could use a friend, Andrew,” Pamela wheedled. “Is that really so much to ask? We used to mean a lot to each other.”
“We never meant anything to each other,” he said harshly, because subtlety was lost on Pamela. “We just used each other to escape from our lives. We were toxic, and you know that as well as I do. I’ve made a new life for myself, and you should do the same.”
“It’s not as easy for me, Andrew. I don’t have God in my corner. He’s never answered my prayers. Not once.”
The minister he’d become wanted to help her take a better path. But the man in him was afraid that he wouldn’t pull her up, that she’d pull him back down to a place he never wanted to go to again. “I’ll give you the name of someone you can talk to in L.A.”
Hurt filled her eyes, along with anger. “You think you can get rid of me just like that, Andrew? Because you can’t. And if you don’t want to help me, I’ll help myself.”
He had a feeling he’d just made things worse.
NINE
“It’s not that bad, is it?” Charlotte asked Jason. She’d spent the past fifteen minutes in the interrogation room at the police station, and while he was her friend, she still felt very uncomfortable. Despite her innocence, having to repeat her simple story over and over again was almost making her doubt herself.
“I’ll be honest, Charlotte, it’s not great.” He looked past her toward the mirror, and she followed his gaze.
“Is someone watching us?” Was it Joe or one of the other officers? “It’s not the mayor, is it?” Dismay filled her.
“It’s no one. Relax.”
“Relax? I feel lik
e you’re about to throw cuffs on me.”
“You’re safe for the moment. Now, let’s go over your story one more time.”
“Jason, I’ve told you everything,” she said in frustration.
“You didn’t tell me when you saw Mrs. Garcia.”
“The housekeeper?” she asked, a little confused. “I didn’t see her. She saw me. The only person I saw was a younger woman coming down the stairs when I first went up. Did you question her?”
“We’re not sure yet who that was. None of the servers or help that night admitted to going upstairs.”
She frowned. “Well, someone is lying.”
“Yeah,” he said heavily. “That’s what we have to figure out.”
“I also felt someone brush by me in the dark,” she said. “But I have no idea who that was.”
Jason nodded. “Maybe some clue will come to you—a scent, a flash of something.”
“I hope so. I do want to help. I just don’t know anything.”
He nodded. “Now, what can you tell me about Peter Lawson?”
She was surprised by the abrupt change of topic. “My mother’s friend? What do you want to know?”
“Did you talk to him at the party?”
“Briefly. He left early. His daughter had some sort of emergency.”
“Do you know where he is now?”
“I have no idea. Why are you asking me about him?”
“Just covering all the bases. Do you know what he does for a living?”
“He’s semiretired. He does some sort of consulting work. That’s all I know. If you want more information, you’ll have to talk to him or to my mother.”
“I’d rather face a wild bear than question your mother,” he said dryly. “Then I might have a fighting chance.”
“Well, along those lines, I wouldn’t go accusing her boyfriend of anything unless you have some evidence.”
“Boyfriend, huh?”
“She might not call him that, but they spend a lot of time together.”
“I wish your mother had allowed herself to be searched the night of the party, Charlotte. It’s a little suspicious that she didn’t.”
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