“My feet are cold,” said Jenny. I scooped her up and carried her across the street and up their driveway.
When we stepped into their living room, I set her down. Janice took Jennifer to a chair. As she turned, I saw blood on the hem of her bathrobe, soaking the terry cloth for an inch-wide band on the left side. Jennifer was oblivious to it, but Bud nudged me, his eyes on the stain.
I turned toward him. “Has Janice got something she can put on?”
He headed down the hallway toward their bedroom and came back a moment later with a plaid robe. I took it from him.
“Jenny.” I stepped to her chair and bent down to her eye level. “I want you to put this on.”
She looked at the robe, then at me. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not, gorgeous. Take your bathrobe off and put this on.”
She stood up slowly. Bud turned his back. She looked down at her robe and saw the stain at the bottom.
Janice screamed a little and stepped back. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I was startled.”
Jennifer wriggled her arms out of the sleeves and dropped the white robe to the floor, then stepped away from it. I held the plaid robe open, and she put it on over the big T-shirt and tied it securely. I led her to the sofa, and she sat down.
“Anything else I should know?” she asked quietly.
“Just let me take a look.” I knelt beside her and twitched the hem of the plaid robe aside, studying her ankles. Bud went out of the room and came back with a damp cloth.
“He grabbed my foot,” Jennifer whispered, as I scrubbed away at the drying blood on her left ankle. His hand and the bloodied robe had left smears half way up her shin.
“Your robe must have dragged across him,” I said. “It’s all right, baby.” I knew she was remembering another time when a man had grabbed her.
Janice held her hand while I worked. When I finished, I gave the bloody cloth to Bud and sat down on the couch beside Jennifer with my arms tight around her.
“I’ll wash the bathrobe,” said Janice.
“Burn it,” I said. I knew Jennifer would never wear it again.
She looked into my eyes. “I was running past him, and he caught my ankle. I almost fell over. I jerked away and kept going.”
“You’re safe now.” I kissed her hair and her temple and her cheek.
“Can we go back over?” she asked.
“Not yet. Stay here with Janice. I’ll go see how they’re doing. It’s pretty messy inside.”
The car with the prisoner was pulling out when I crossed the street. O’Heir met me at the door.
“Captain, they’re taking the dead man to Augusta for an autopsy.” It was standard. “We’ve got the survivor, and we’ll question him. I’ve got men taking evidence. Is there someplace else you folks could sleep?”
As if we could sleep. I looked at my watch. It was barely four o’clock.
“We’ll figure it out. Listen, Aaron, there are things you need to ask him. My unit has been investigating a burglary ring, and this could be part of it. If they were looking for artworks, it’s imperative we know who hired them.”
“You have artworks in your house?” he asked. “Looked to me like they were after electronics.”
“I’ve inquired about art undercover. I didn’t think anyone knew where I lived, but they might have been able to find out. My wife and I were posing as collectors.”
“Okay, we’ll ask him.”
Another officer came up the driveway to the breezeway. “Captain?”
“Yes.”
“Officer Barnes asked me to give you these.” He held out my handcuffs and the tie belt to Jennifer’s bathrobe.
“Thanks.”
“You want to sit down and tell me what happened?” O’Heir asked.
“Sure.” I took him inside. Men were still working in the kitchen, and we stepped into the study.
I sat down at my desk. My computer was disconnected and sitting on the floor. Jennifer’s was gone. O’Heir looked at the poster of me in the Kevlar vest, then sat down in Jennifer’s chair and pulled his notebook out. I started my narrative with waking up out of a sound sleep and told him everything from there.
When I’d finished, he had me go through the rooms and tell him what was missing. Jennifer’s computer and printer, the TV, DVD player and CD player from the living room, the small framed Murillo print Mr. Bailey had left in the house as our wedding present, the flow blue plate I had bought Jennifer before we were married, an antique side table, a jar of state quarters we’d saved on the mantle. That was about it.
“There’s a car out by the curb, where I tackled that guy,” I said. “If that’s their car, you’ll probably find our stuff in it.”
I stayed there with them until the body was removed and the dark car had been checked. Jennifer’s computer and the other things were in the back seat and the trunk. Officers carried them into the house for me, and I put things back together. The ambulance was long gone.
I went over to the Parkers’. Janice had put Jennifer to bed in their guest room. When I looked in, she stared back at me with huge eyes. I sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed her hair back from her forehead.
“Can you sleep a little, gorgeous?”
“No. I’m trying not to worry about you.”
“Nothing to worry about now. I’ll go through an investigation. That always happens when you shoot somebody. They’ll find it was justified, send me for counseling, and that will be that.”
“They shot at you, didn’t they?”
“Yes. We need a new door on the bedroom. There are holes in the bedroom wall, too, and the rug in the sunroom is a mess.”
“Can somebody clean it?”
“I think I’ll have it ripped out. You know, the baby crawling on it and everything. It’s pretty bad. I don’t think you can ever get the residue out from something like this.”
She closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry.” I should have spared her the details. “I wish you could forget what you saw.” She sat up, and I held her. “I should never have sent you back inside. I’m sorry.”
“We should call Abby,” she said. “She can’t come home and walk into that mess.”
“All right, I’ll try to get her.” I kissed her gently and laid her down on the pillow. “Try to sleep.”
Chapter 19
I called the hospital and, after a lengthy hold, spoke to Abby. She was upset and wanted to come right home, but I told her not to, and that she might not be able to get inside when she did.
“If you don’t see me when you get there, go over to Bud and Janice’s. That’s where Jennifer will be.”
The eastern horizon was lightening when I went back over to our house. Only two officers were left, and they had dug one bullet out of a stud in the bedroom wall. The rest had gone through, but they’d checked with the neighbors on the next street and couldn’t find any damage over there.
“Sorry things are such a mess, Captain,” one of the men said. “There are people that clean up after suicides. Maybe you could get them to come in.”
It was too early to call anyone, so I started mopping up. The kitchen first. That wasn’t too hard, just time consuming. The rug in the sunroom was hopeless. I scrubbed at it with a rag, but there was no way it would look like anything other than a battlefield. I found splatters on the walls and the furniture and cushions, and most of those I could deal with.
At six I put a load of laundry in the washer and started calling contractors. The fourth one didn’t hang up. He agreed to come right away and give an estimate.
Eddie came to the door while I was talking. He walked in slowly and got the story. He looked at the blood and the bullet holes while I made coffee. I drank two cups and he drank one and ate two English muffins.
“I don’t think I can run today,” I said.
“No problem.”
I left him there in case Abby came home early and walked across the street. Bud met me at the door.
<
br /> “I think Jennifer’s asleep,” he said. “Janice went to lie down, too.”
I checked on Jennifer, and sure enough, she’d drifted off. I tiptoed out.
“You want some coffee?” Bud asked.
“No thanks. I just had some. I’ve got someone coming to look at the damage.”
I went back home and told Eddie, “I guess I’d better show my face at the station later and let Mike tell me I’m suspended.”
“No hurry.” Eddie left to change and said he’d see me at the office as early as possible.
I’d just changed my clothes when the contractor arrived and gave me an estimate for the door and the rug and the holes in the wall. At 7:30, I was in the station, talking to O’Heir.
“Well, sir, we’ve questioned him, but he’s a stubborn one,” Aaron said.
“I need to know who they were working for.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Has he got a lawyer?” I asked.
“The court will get him one.”
“What have you got so far?”
He handed me a report, and I read the names. The prisoner was James Hubble. The dead man was Ian Foster. Both lived in the area and had records. Robbery, breaking and entering.
“Let me see their effects.”
“Well, I’m afraid Foster’s went to Augusta with him.”
I felt like swearing. I’d been right there when the M.E. took the body, and I hadn’t thought a thing about it. I looked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath.
“Show me Hubble’s effects, and request Foster’s from the M.E. immediately.”
“Yes, sir.”
I waited while he got an envelope from Evidence. He moved slowly, and I realized O’Heir had been on duty all night, and it was past time for his shift to end. I tried to speak courteously.
“Thanks, Aaron.” I dumped the things out on his desk. A pocketknife, a key ring, some change, a set of lock picks, a small flashlight, and a wallet with three driver’s licenses, each with Hubble’s picture and a different name. I shook my head. “Call me upstairs, please, if you get anything out of him, and I want to see Foster’s things when you get them.”
“Yes, sir. I’m leaving soon, but I’ll make sure the patrol sergeant knows.”
“All right, Aaron. Thanks for getting there as fast as you did.” He watched me go out into the foyer. I climbed the stairs wearily.
Eddie was just removing his jacket.
“Harvey, did you talk to the prisoner?”
“No. They did. Nothing good.”
“Think we could question him?”
“I dunno. Maybe later.” I flagged Foster and Hubble in my computer program and searched for information on them. Most of it I already knew, from O’Heir’s report. Foster had a prior conviction for transporting stolen antiques, along with his other accomplishments. At ten minutes past eight, I called Mike, and he told me to come right up. He met me at the door to the outer office.
“You all right, Harvey?”
“Yeah.”
Judith said, “Good morning, Captain,” without moving a muscle.
“Morning.”
Mike and I went into his office and sat down.
“I’m okay, and I think Jenny’s okay, but it was not a restful night,” I said.
“Why did they pick your house?”
“I’m not sure.” I rubbed my chin. I hadn’t shaved. “It’s possible someone thought we had art. A guy at the art exhibit last week was asking us where we lived and what we owned. And the dealer we showed the Turner to might have had the impression we invested. Or someone could have picked us off the mailing list for the art club. I don’t know.”
“Mm. But you were careful. I know you.”
“I didn’t use an assumed name. I’m in the phone book.”
“Hmm. This truth-telling can be hazardous.”
“Can I question the prisoner?” I asked.
“Well, technically, you’re on suspension. You know that.”
“I know, but, Mike—”
“I’ve also known you to get riled when it gets personal. Not often, but now and then.”
“I’ll stay cool.”
He raised one eyebrow, as if he’d take that with a grain of salt.
“You know what’s funny?” I said. “It turns out we did have art. The guy we bought the house from left a little picture as a gift to us, and they stole it. I’d almost forgotten about it. I’ll try to find out what it’s worth. Maybe they were after that, but I think it was coincidence.”
“Where’s Jennifer?” Mike asked.
“Across the street at the neighbors’.” I swiped my hand across my eyes. “I should call her.”
“I’ll see that the investigation into the shooting goes through quickly. There’s no question you were in the right on this thing.”
“Thanks. Any chance I can skip the shrink?”
“That’s negative. I’ll set it up.”
It was what I’d expected. “Okay.”
“Go home, Harvey.”
“Is that an order?”
Mike gritted his teeth. “I should probably say yes.”
“There’s a lot I can do here, Mike.”
“Keep a low profile?”
“Absolutely.”
He swiveled his chair back and forth a couple of times. “I’ll put this through as fast as I can.”
“Thanks.”
I went back to my desk and called the Parkers’. Jennifer was up, and she talked to me shakily. I told her about the contractor and asked if she wanted me to have him do the repairs. She did, ASAP. Abby was there, too, and I talked to her. I told her they could go in, and to put Jennifer to bed upstairs in the guest room next to hers. They could get to the stairs by going from the kitchen to the study, to the living room. Not through the sunroom. If Jennifer needed anything from the bedroom, Abby could go get it.
Next I called the contractor to confirm I wanted to hire him. He said he couldn’t come right away, so I offered to pay him extra, and he said he’d come after lunch. I called the Parkers’ house again. Jennifer and Abby had gone across the street. I called our house and told Abby to expect the contractor, but to check his ID first. The fatigue was catching up, but I shook it off.
Eddie and Nate went with me downstairs, and I asked to see the prisoner. Terry was on duty, and he told me I could go in with one of his officers. Eddie and Nate had to wait. Jimmy Cook was the man he brought me.
“Jimmy! How’s the leg?” I shook his hand.
“Pretty well, Captain. Plagues me when it rains.”
“Good to see you.” I felt better, just knowing Jimmy was back on duty and mostly recovered.
They took Hubble into the interrogation room down there, and Eddie and Nate went into Observation. Jimmy and I went into the room with the prisoner.
“Well, genius, remember me?” I asked.
Hubble sat handcuffed at the table, staring at the chain that held him down.
“Answer the captain,” said Jimmy.
“Yeah,” Hubble said.
“You do? Well, good. I thought maybe the necktie threw you off, since I was a little less formally dressed when we last met.”
He didn’t bat an eyelash.
“You and your pal Foster broke into my house. That wasn’t very smart.”
No response.
“What were you after?”
No answer.
Jimmy leaned over the table. “Talk.”
“Just whatever we could get.”
“And who were you getting it for?” I asked.
“Nobody.”
“Then who were you taking it to?”
“Nobody.”
“Oh, you and Foster wanted a couple of computers for yourselves, huh?”
No answer.
I was losing patience, but I’d promised Mike I would stay calm. I said slowly, “Listen, moron, your partner is dead. I could have shot you, too, and nobody would have thought a thing about it. But I didn�
�t. Now, tell me who you were lifting stuff for.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I don’t tear you apart?” I paced a little. Jimmy looked sympathetic, but I knew I was close to losing it. I took a deep breath. “You didn’t like the Van Gogh. It was a cheap print. You took the print from the other room, though. One of you knew enough to tell which one was worth something. You were after artworks for somebody with some money.”
“Can I get a lawyer?”
“What, you haven’t had a lawyer come see you yet?” I said. “You poor thing. Of course you can.”
Hubble scowled. “Look, Ian made the arrangements. He told me what to look for. Anything not on the list we could have.”
My fist came down on the table a foot from his nose. “What was on the list?”
“Paintings, mostly. He’d tell me to look for a certain picture. A portrait or something.”
“And what paintings were you after last night?” Patience, calm and patience.
“One of a ship and…I can’t remember.”
“For whom?”
“I told you, I don’t know.”
“I think you do. You and Foster worked together a long time. You’ve done at least a dozen jobs in this area, looking for art.”
“I think I want to talk to a lawyer. Now.”
I hesitated, then gave up. We had to give him the lawyer. I should have stopped the first time the word came out of his mouth.
“Thanks, Jimmy.” I went out. Eddie and Nate came after me from Observation. I stopped at Terry Lemieux’s desk and said, “Hubble wants his lawyer.”
“Okay. I’ve already spoken to the D.A.’s office about it.”
“And we want a DNA test. We’ve got some blood from the scene of the last burglary that we want to test him for.”
“I’ll start the paperwork,” Terry said.
I looked hard at him. “Don’t let him bail out, no matter what. This guy was in on all the art burglaries, and one of them has an attempted murder, not counting the gun battle at my house this morning.”
“I’ll call you if anything happens.”
I nodded. “Your men got a bullet out of my wall. I want to run it on IBIS.”
Terry made a note on a memo pad. “I’ll have Winfield do it. You really shouldn’t be the one, Harvey.”
Found Art (Maine Justice Book 3) Page 21