After talking to the dog, Willow and Griffin began looking around.
She had realized that Hudson was a smart criminal, and not just in comparison to Daniel. He would have chosen a good hiding place for the stolen loot. It needed to be some place that not just anyone could come across it. Like Griffin said, it needed to offer some protection. It also needed to be placed somewhere where Hudson would be able to access it easily.
Willow headed towards the forest. A tree might offer some protection from people stumbling away from the club and from the weather. But what was there to help Hudson find it again?
“There!” Willow said, pointing excitedly when she saw it. “I think I see the letter H.”
“Yeah. Now that you point it out, I see it. You think that could be the hiding spot? He carved the H for Hudson?”
That was what Willow was thinking, but she decided to check it out instead of wondering. Griffin hurried along with her and together they looked at the tree.
“I think there’s a hole there,” said Willow said, reaching towards the spot she saw. Then, she began silently cursing when she discovered she was too short to reach it.
“I’ll get it,” Griffin said.
“As long as it’s under five pounds.”
“Yes, nurse.”
He laughed and then reached up toward the hollow in the tree.
“There is something there,” Griffin reported, but then paused. “Should we call the police about this?”
“You mean call the detective with a vendetta against my family?” Willow replied. “I’d like to know what’s there before we do that. But we should be careful with what we find.”
“Do you have any evidence bags?”
“At this rate I should start carrying them,” Willow said wryly. “But I do have something else we can use. I have some plastic baggies from when I work with the dogs.”
Griffin accepted a bag with only a small chuckle. Willow took out her cellphone and recorded him as he removed what was inside the tree. . Wrapped up in a newspaper were stacks of hundred-dollar bills.
“I don’t know about you,” Willow said, “but that looks to be about sixteen thousand and twenty-nine dollars to me.”
“It’s the money from the robbery?”
She nodded and then looked at the newspaper that it was wrapped in. “And maybe a clue about the murder. The date of the paper is the day that Patricia was killed.”
Griffin asked for a high-five and this time she returned it with full force. The couple headed back towards the car with the money, ready to shove it into Detective McMillen’s face. It might not prove that Hudson was the killer, but surely this pointed to the possibility of another suspect. Obviously, the cover-up of the robbery was important.
Willow giggled to herself and Griffin looked at her quizzically.
“I was just thinking that I was glad we found the Wright tree.”
He laughed with her, but before they got to the car, they were interrupted by Steve. He had exited the Knight’s Errant Club and was grabbing a phone charger from his vehicle.
“What are you two so happy about?” he asked. “Did you find that money you were talking about? Is that what that tattooed guy was doing when he was by those trees?”
Willow stopped and spun around to face him.
“So, you did see a tattooed man?” she demanded.
Steve recoiled. “Well, I guess I did. I didn’t think of it before. And I mean, he wasn’t inside the club. I just saw him outside when I went to grab my dinner from my car that day. He was by the trees. At the time, I just assumed that he had to take a whiz. Not everyone knows that we have a working bathroom again. But, yeah, he did have tattoos.”
“Do you remember when he was there exactly?”
He was eager to answer and redeem himself and answered the day quickly – the same day as the murder. He thought about it and added, “It was a little after five. Because that’s when my dinner break is, and I forgot my food in my car.”
“Five,” Willow repeated, frowning. That didn’t work out for the timeframe for him to be the killer. She hadn’t finished closing up the doggie gym at five, and then she still needed to deal with the labradoodle and move the wine before she arrived at Patricia’s apartment. It was too early for him to be the killer. Finding the money and a witness had just confirmed his story about running away from her apartment and finding a new location for the loot.
She hadn’t found a new suspect to present to the police. She had just exonerated someone of the murder (though she supposed they might be happy to learn about the robbery aspect of it.) However, this wasn’t helping Wednesday. In fact, she still appeared to be the strongest suspect.
15
Willow and Griffin headed to the police station and were grateful that McMillen wasn’t there. They were able to leave the money they found with Detective Denton. They told him the true-but-omitting-certain-information version of the story, claiming they had gone to check on the mother dog and Griffin’s friend at the men’s club had mentioned seeing a suspicious character near the trees. Willow didn’t shy away from letting it be known that this man appeared to have an alibi for the murder, but she didn’t want it known that she had been following Hudson’s activities. She didn’t want Denton’s report to tip McMillen off that she was conducting her own investigation.
Afterwards, Griffin headed back to the dog gym and promised to check on Telescope as well, while Willow went towards Wednesday’s house.
She was feeling despondent on her drive over. She thought she was making progress with her sister’s defense. In reality, all she had done was help with a robbery case where the guilty culprit was already in jail.
She would have to put on a cheerful face when she met her sister. She didn’t want Wednesday to know that she was having trouble proving her innocence. She wanted her to remain hopeful.
As she walked up the driveway to the house, Willow noticed something odd. It looked as if Wednesday had covered her bedroom windows with fabric. Willow gritted her teeth. This better not be because McMillen was bothering her at home and making her feel watched all the time.
She used her key to open the door and announced her arrival to her sister. Wednesday called for her to come up to the bedroom, and Willow did, right after throwing a ball for Rover to catch.
When Willow entered the room, she was confused. Wednesday had hung dresses over her windows. That was what was blocking out the view. Could it still be because she was trying to avoid prying eyes and didn’t trust her light and decorative curtains?
“Are you redecorating?” Willow asked.
Wednesday looked at the windows and then laughed.
“No,” she said, gesturing to the other clothes that were scattered around the room. “I’m doing a spring cleaning. Or a suspension cleaning. It seemed like a good time to do it. And when we were refolding all my clothes, I realized there were some pieces that I really don’t wear anymore. I thought I’d take come pictures and try to sell them online. I just liked the way the light from the sun reflected the pattern for the pictures.”
“Well, I’m glad you found a way to be industrious. Maybe you can make a little money from it too,” Willow said.
Wednesday shrugged. “Maybe. They are nice pieces. Do you want any?”
“No, thanks. I learned long ago that your clothes always look better on you. Besides, you’re much taller than me.”
“And yet you refuse to wear stilettos on a regular basis,” Wednesday teased.
“Why would I wear heels? Most of the day I’m chasing terriers,” she responded.
They both laughed. Willow sat down on the bed and looked at some of the clothes.
“You know, it’s funny,” Willow said. “But Dad was doing the exact same thing. He was using his time off to clean out too.”
“Maybe Dad and I aren’t as different as we think. He is getting better with technology, and I wore boots the other day,” Wednesday said. Then, letting her semi-forced lightheart
ed air fade, she asked, “How is the case going?”
“I’m still working on it,” Willow assured her as Wednesday joined her on the bed. “But I have hit a snag.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“I’ve discovered that Daniel Blakemore and his man on the outside couldn’t have committed the murders. Hudson Wright was at Patricia’s apartment earlier, but he left and was hiding the stolen money from the robbery on the other side of town shortly before she was killed.”
“I was so sure it was Daniel,” Wednesday said sadly.
“Daniel does think that the women may have been targeted because of him.”
“Why?” Wednesday asked. “He hasn’t done anything big for the mob to warrant praise or threats. The only big crime he committed was this robbery, and he was caught.”
“I know,” Willow said. “It’s disappointing to feel like I reached a dead end.”
Rover romped into the room with her ball. She must have seen the downcast expressions of the two sisters. She hopped on the bed between them and rubbed her head against their skin. They both began petting the cat and it did relive some stress.
“Wends,” Willow said slowly. “I feel like there’s still something you’re not telling me. And I really need to know everything know if I’m going to crack this case.”
“I guess there is something I’ve been holding back,” Wednesday said, looking at Rover instead of her sister.
Willow was ready to hear what it was. She had a few theories of what the secret could be, though she wasn’t sure why Wednesday was keeping quiet about it. She thought it was possible that Wednesday had gone over to see Patricia earlier in the day and that could be the sound of the women being catty that Hudson had heard. Or she hoped that Wednesday could better explain why her appointment in the nail salon book was for seven when she hadn’t gotten there until around eleven. Wednesday had said before that Becca had asked her to come even later, but she didn’t know why the time had not been changed in the book.
“What is it?”
Wednesday stood up from the bed abruptly. “I did tell Becca who turned Daniel in.”
“The store owner,” Willow said, staying still while Wednesday paced. “You already told me this.”
“But not why. Not the real reason why.”
“Which is?” Willow asked, taking a deep breath.
“I told you that I told her because we bonded while she did my nails. That wasn’t true. She was a jerk. I tolerated her because she chose good colors and made my nails look good. I didn’t like her as a person. Not really.”
“I can see why you wouldn’t tell McMillen that.”
“But I didn’t want her dead either!” Wednesday said, with a small stamp of her foot. “But, you see, I didn’t tell Becca who turned Daniel in because of her emotional state.”
“So, she wasn’t telling you that she was trying to get over her ex?”
“Well, she did,” Wednesday said, sitting on the bed again. “She told me the whole sob story like I said. But that wasn’t the reason I told her. I did because I knew that both she and Patricia wanted to know it.”
“Because they were both in love with Daniel?”
“Bingo. They were probably trying to find a way to create some reasonable doubt that he did it. I’m sure Becca could have come up with something, but she had already reported the robbery before she knew who committed it. And Patricia wanted Daniel free too.”
“It does make sense considering the strange – well, I can’t say love triangle if four people are involved. And the women all stay in love with the same man,” Willow said. “But because of their unusual relationship, they all wanted to help Daniel. But what does this have to do with you?”
“It was about Patricia’s files,” Wednesday said sadly.
Willow bit her lip. Patricia had a file on Wednesday? What could she be holding over here? She had always thought that her sister’s life was an open book. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe her sister did have a secret. She couldn’t believe that Wednesday was a killer, but she could believe that there was something about her that she didn’t want shared with the world. It was the same thing for Willow. She knew what she didn’t want shared – her mistake on the police force while interning that allowed a bank robber to go free. Wednesday must have something she wanted to remain hidden too.
“She had something on you?” Willow asked gently.
Wednesday began to cry. Rover swept in and began licking her tears away. This caused her to smile a little. Willow moved closer and gave her a supportive hug.
“It wasn’t about me, really,” Wednesday whispered, “It was about Dad.”
“Dad?”
Try as she might, Willow just couldn’t imagine her father having any secrets that were blackmail worthy. Her father was the straightest shooter she ever knew. He once wrote himself a parking ticket when he realized that he didn’t see the yellow curb! How could he have a deep, dark secret that Wednesday needed to defend?
“I know,” Wednesday said after seeing her expression. “I didn’t believe it either. But she had proof. It wasn’t notes of gossip that she wrote down on some files. It was evidence: phone records and a timeline of events. When I saw it, I couldn’t deny it was true.”
“But,” Willow said suddenly, “the police have a record of everyone that she had a file on. Dad wasn’t listed.”
“The files that the police have were ones that Patricia kept at her house or the ones she gave me. She didn’t keep Dad’s in the same place. She knew that I knew too much about where they were stored to keep it in the same spot. And I guess that’s true,” Wednesday admitted. “I might have tried to break inside her house if I thought I could easily get the file.”
“But that’s not what you were doing when you went there and found her body?” Willow asked.
Wednesday shook her head and stood up again. She began walking around the room.
“No. I really went there just to talk to her. I thought that telling Becca the information about the security camera might have been enough to get the file from Patricia. I mean, there wasn’t much more I could do for Daniel. A secretary can’t spring him out of jail or anything like that. Though I guess that’s what Patricia wanted because she didn’t seem to calm down. She still wanted me to find a way to free Daniel. I needed to talk to her about this. She was being unreasonable. But when I got to her house, I found Patricia dead. And then it really was just like I told you. I must have gone into shock.”
“Do you know where the file is now?” Willow asked, standing up too. Rover remained on the bed, watching them.
“No. Probably a bus locker somewhere or a safety deposit box. She said that she was the only one who knew where it was.”
“At least it would be hard for McMillen to find it then,” Willow said, finding some comfort in that.
“Oh, Willow, it was so bad what was in that file,” Wednesday said and Willow pulled her in for a hug. “It would have destroyed Dad’s career.”
“I just still can’t believe it.”
“It’s true,” Wednesday said, holding her closer and crying. “It was a bank robbery case that happened a long time ago. Like when I was in grade school. A guard was attacked and everyone’s valuables were taken. It had been a huge case at the time. And Patricia had proof that the person who committed the crime had been tipped off. And she showed me how it must have been Dad. He let the suspect get away. And it would kill his career if people knew what he did. And, Willow, I would do anything – except actually kill someone – to keep Dad’s secret safe. You understand what I did, right?”
Willow wanted to answer her, but her blood had gone cold. It wasn’t their father who had messed up. It was her. This was the case that she had ruined. Were the two recent murders her fault? Had this entire thing been set in motion because of what she had done all those years ago?
16
Willow stood immobile in front of her father’s house. She wanted to explain everything, but how
could she do that now? So much time had passed since her actions had caused the suspect to flee. Then, there was also the dilemma that Wednesday was in and that was all her fault too. Wednesday wouldn’t have been protecting “Frank’s” secret if Willow hadn’t alerted the guilty man that they were on to him. Why had she been so headstrong and arrogant then? She had been overconfident and now lives were ruined because of her. Hoskins had escaped with the stolen money and heirlooms that his victims would never get back. The security guard would never get closure after the attack. Wednesday had been tormented because she was trying to keep this secret hidden, and the only reason she had entered the crime scene was because she was trying to get Patricia’s file. Her sister wouldn’t be accused of murder if Willow hadn’t gotten them into this mess in the first place.
The last time this had happened, Willow had fled. Part of her wanted to run away again. She didn’t want to face the people who she had hurt.
However, she knew that she couldn’t abandon the people that she loved. She couldn’t leave Wednesday looking at a murder charge and leave her father’s reputation to turn to ashes.
She just didn’t know how to tell him that everything was her fault. Could he ever forgive her for what she did?
Just then, the window high up in the attic opened. Frank’s head and arm poked out to shake a dusty piece of cloth. He paused when he saw her.
“Come on up,” he called.
“Okay.”
She slowly started up the steps to the porch and into the house. She continued climbing the stairs to the attic, feeling like a condemned woman.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Frank said. “I don’t like the reason for this time off, but I do like what I’ve been accomplishing. I’ve worked from the bottom to the top and I’m almost done. I could use a little help moving some boxes that are up here though.”
“I’ll help you move the boxes,” Willow said with a quiver in her voice. “But there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
The Bark of the Town Page 12