by DK Herman
"Gail was married before Bob," Poppy explained. "Her first husband died. He fell off a roof, fixing a loose shingle."
Then Bob's her stepfather. But Jane was young when Bob married Gail and they seem close.
"Next up is Darcy and Charlie," Poppy said, munching on the last donut hole.
I picked up the file. "Charlie gets a small pension from the road crew and his social security."
"He could live quietly in his crappy little house," Ben said. "It’s paid for." Ben looked at the empty bakery box. "Way this save me some, ladies." Ben pouted.
Rayna smiled slyly. "Poppy brought a cherry pie, Ben. It's in the break room."
"Very funny, but I'll pass," Ben said, smiling sheepishly
"Darcy is heavily in debt," I said, reading the file. "Two mortgages on her house. Then she borrowed more using the strip club as collateral."
"And look at her income," Rayna said.
I nodded. "Barely enough to cover the bank loans." I read deeper into the file. "What does she live on?"
"Maybe she has another source of income," Ben suggested. "Something off the books."
"Like kidnapping," Poppy said with a snort.
My cell buzzed inside my purse. Caller ID told me it was Andy. "Yeah, what's up?"
"We've got another body with a bullet hole in his forehead," Andy said.
"Do you know who it is?"
"Yep, a nurse recognized him." Andy sighed. "It's Joey Kearn."
"I just spoke to him a couple of hours ago." I couldn't believe it. How could Joey be dead? "He was at the hospital visiting Amanda."
"He never left the hospital," Andy said. "Fifteen minutes ago, an ICU nurse found his body in a stairwell."
"Ben and I will be right there."
Ben drove us to the hospital. He found a parking space close to the hospital, so we walked to the main entrance.
"I can't believe Joey's dead," Ben said, echoing my own thoughts.
One of the new Herville cops was stationed at a fire door near the ICU elevators. Joey must have been shot in that stairwell. Ben and I walked over to the cop and showed our ID's.
"Detective Ross called us," I said. "We're assisting him on the case."
The cop, tall with wavy, black hair and brown eyes, looked me over before calling upstairs on the walkie mic attached to his shoulder. The name tag on his shirt read: William Martin. Handsome, he appeared to be in his early thirties and serious about his job.
"You can go on up, just don't touch the railing or doors," Officer Martin said. "The detectives are on the third-floor landing." He held the heavy door open for us.
"Thank you." I gave the cop a smile.
Our footsteps echoing hollowly, Ben and I walked up the stairs in silence. Neither of us wanted to see Joey with a bullet hole in his head. He seemed like a decent guy, and he was only twenty-one.
"Up here," Andy said from a landing above us. He stood next to Mike Krause, both of them leaning over something on the floor.
A few steps from the landing, I could see it was Joey Kearn. I heard Ben inhale sharply behind me.
Joey lay on his left side, his legs and feet trailing up the stairs. Blood from a hole in his temple was dried on his face. A dark pool spread across the floor from his head, and his sightless, open eyes stared at us.
"He's wearing the same clothes he was earlier," Ben said.
His voice shook slightly, so I took his hand. You never get used to seeing things like this, but you learn to put your feelings aside. I want the person who killed Joey to pay for his murder. And I'd bet it’s the same person or persons who have Lexi.
Ben held my hand for a moment, then squeezed it before letting go.
"What do you know?" I asked.
"A nurse was told some people were arguing in the waiting room," Andy said. He shifted his weight and stepped towards us, over the pool of blood. "She went to talk to them, but nobody was in the room. Then she heard a loud pop, and the fire door slammed shut. She ran to see what was going on and found Joey. She thinks she heard somebody running down the stairs on a lower floor, but she couldn't see anyone."
"There's no footprints, and there's probably thousands of fingerprints everywhere, but we have somebody coming to dust the railings and doors." Mike Krause sadly shook his head. "I know Joey's parents. They're going to be heartbroken."
"He seemed like a good kid," I said.
"He was," Mike agreed.
"Where's the nurse who found him?" We were a floor below the ICU. Joey must have been shot by someone following him down the stairs. By the way he lay, I think he was halfway down the stairs, turned to look behind him, and was shot.
"She's in the fourth floor, staff break room," Andy said. "Come on, I'll show you." Andy led us out to the third-floor elevators and we went up one floor. "She's pretty shaken up."
With salt and pepper hair, gentle brown eyes and a slightly rounded figure, the nurse appeared to be my aunt's age. Her hospital ID badge told me her name is Barbara Steinman. I spotted a wedding band on her left hand.
Ben and Andy stood by the door, arms crossed.
"Hello, Mrs. Steinman," I said gently and sat next to her. "I'm Hallie James, a private investigator working with the police. If you're up to it, I'd like to ask you a few questions."
With shaky hands, Barbara Steinman put her coffee on the table and nodded. “Anything to catch whoever shot that poor boy."
"Great." I gave her a reassuring smile. "Will you tell me what happened?"
She took a deep breath. "A young woman came to the nurse’s station to complain about a loud argument in the ICU waiting room."
"Did she say who was arguing?" I remembered to snap on my voice recorder and reached inside my purse.
Barbara shook her head. "No, but she seemed upset about it. People on this floor are already under a lot of stress from worrying about very sick or injured loved ones. So, I wanted to stop the fight, even threaten them with security if I had to."
"What did the young woman look like?"
"She's in her early twenties, short, maybe 5" 2', and she had shoulder length, reddish brown hair."
That caught my attention. "Strawberry blonde?" I asked.
"No, I'd say dark auburn," Barbara replied. "Anyhow, I hurried to finished up my charting, and when I got to the waiting room, two minutes later, the room was empty. I heard a loud pop, and down the hall, the fire door slammed shut. I ran to see if someone was fighting in the stairwell, and I saw that poor boy lying on the third-floor landing. It was obvious he was beyond help, so I called security."
"You recognized him?"
She nodded again. He's been here all the time since his girlfriend was admitted. He cares... cared a great deal about her."
"You mean Amanda Detweiler?"
"Yes," Barbara said, reaching for her coffee. "What's wrong with people that they would hurt these kids like this?"
"Have you seen the auburn-haired woman before?"
"Yes, once, but only in the hall. I've never seen her visiting a patient." Barbara put a hand to her throat.
"Are you OK?" I didn't like how pale and shaky Barbara still was. "Maybe you should let a doctor look at you."
"I'm upset, but I'll be fine," she insisted. "I'm going home when the police are finished with me."
I looked at Andy.
"I'll have someone take you home in a few minutes," Andy said.
"One more thing, Mrs. Steinman." I said, standing up. "Have you seen anyone else visit Amanda Detweiler?"
"A sister's been here a few times," Barbara said.
"Nobody else?"
I've worked twelve hour shifts all weekend," she said after a brief pause. "I've seen no one else visit Amanda."
"Thank you," I said. "I hope you feel better after you get some rest."
Ben and I left after checking with Andy, and asking whether Noah Kelly's parents had been notified of his death. Andy said that he and Mike did it themselves. I wanted to talk to them. I dug out a file and gave Ben th
e address.
"Surprise, surprise, they live down the street from the Detweiler's," Ben said.
"We'll stop in to see Darcy again," I said. "We'll ask her where she's been."
"Not with her daughter," Ben said angrily. "She's such a cold, selfish, bitch."
"Agreed." My stomach growled.
"I heard that." Ben smiled. "Want to grab something to eat.?"
"We could do a drive thru," I said.
Twenty minutes and four soft tacos later, we were on our way again.
Noah's parents live in a large two-story home. With sunny-yellow siding, black, decorative shutters, and several bright flower beds the house stood out on the street. It was kept well maintained and looked inviting. But as we approached the front door the house was silent.
A red eyed, middle-aged man answered the door. After explaining who Ben and I are, we were invited inside. The interior of the house was just as pleasant as the exterior. It even smelled good, like coffee, flowers, and cookies.
The sad looking man introduced himself as Jack Kelly, Noah's father. He asked us to sit down in the living room, and he went to get his wife.
Ben and I looked around the room. Everything looked so homey and comfortable, nothing like the Detweiler home. Framed family pictures hung on every wall, along with a shelf of trophies shaped like baseball players and golfers. We sat on a beige couch that felt like sitting on a cloud.
"I hope he's not getting her out of bed or something," Ben whispered.
"No, just the kitchen," Jack Kelly said, entering the living room with a large tray. "When my wife's upset, she bakes. I think we're going to have enough cookies for a year."
"We're so sorry for your loss," I said.
"With Noah living in Oregon the past five years, it hasn't fully sunk in." Jack poured us each a cup of coffee from a thermal carafe and offered cream and sugar. "At least we spent a last day with him."
"When was that?" Ben asked.
"My wife and I picked him up at the airport Wednesday morning. Like I said, we were together all day. Then after supper, he made a call and left."
"Did someone pick him up?" I asked and tried my coffee.
"No," a woman's voice answered. "I saw him walk down the street."
A fiftyish woman, with white hair, placed a huge tray of baked goods on the coffee table. Ben and I were temporarily speechless by the piles of cookies, whoopie pies, and brownies. I tried to tone down the greedy light that I knew was glowing from my eyes and swallowed hard. I think I could live here!
I gave myself a mental shake. "Which direction did he go?"
The woman pointed towards the Detweiler house, and Ben and I exchanged a glance.
"Do you know the Detweiler's?" Ben asked and picked up a fudgy, walnut brownie.
"That awful woman that lives a few houses away?" Mrs. Kelly asked.
"Yes." I followed Ben's lead and helped myself to a raisin filled cookie.
"We see her occasionally, but we try not to associate with her," Jack said apologetically. "We return her daughter's waves, but we avoid her and her boyfriend."
"I don't blame you," I said and bit into the cookie. It was soft, sweet, and perfect. Mrs. Kelly is an artist with an oven! I needed to concentrate on the conversation. "Did Noah know them?"
"I imagine he knew of them, but he wasn't friends with them," Mrs. Kelly said. She was watching me eat her cookie. "Do the Detweilers have something to do with my son's death?"
"We don't know." I finished the cookie and sipped my coffee. "I was looking for a link between the attack on the younger Detweiler girl and your son's murder."
"You mean the night our granddaughter was taken?" Mrs. Kelly asked.
"Yes," I answered. I was surprised the Kelly's knew about Lexi. They seem like the type of people who would enjoy a grandchild not ignore one. "You know Lexi is your granddaughter?"
"We just found out Wednesday," Mrs. Kelly said. "Five years ago, Noah told us he was leaving Jane and moving to Oregon because she cheated on him and got pregnant."
"But when he got here Wednesday, he told us that he recently found out the little girl is his. He came home to file for custody," Jack Kelly said as he and his wife smiled, teary smiles.
Ben froze while biting into a whoopie pie. He gave me a look that asked me what to say now. I shook my head slightly. This wasn't the time to tell grieving parents that Noah only wanted his daughter because Jane won two million dollars. Noah was an asshole, and evidently, the thought of getting his hands-on Jane's money turned him into a bigger one.
"Full custody?" I asked reaching for another cookie.
"Yes," Mrs. Kelly said excitedly. "Someone told him that Jane is an unfit mother. She's been dancing... naked in front of men for money and doing drugs. That poor little girl was being left alone every night." Mrs. Kelly's voice grew shrill. "Now look at what's happened to her. If she's found, Jack and I are going to raise her."
Jack Kelly nodded. "That little girl is all we have left of our son."
Oh, boy! What a mess. I chewed on the scrumptious brownie and thought about my next move. Who spilled the beans about Jane's two million? It had to be the only reason he suddenly wanted his daughter. I mean, come on, the timing said everything. He ignored her since before her birth. But the Kelly's didn't seem to know about the money. Or did they?
I got out a small notebook and pen. "Can you tell me the names of any of Noah's close friends? Was there anybody from around Herville that he kept in touch with?"
"Sure," Mrs. Kelly said. "Let me use your little notebook. I'll make you a list. We'll give you anything you need to help find out who hurt our boy."
We left the Kelly house with a two-quart, zip top bag full of baked goods for each of us, and a list of Noah's friends. We put everything into Ben truck, walked up the street, and knocked on Darcy's door.
The door opened and Darcy stood there, once again in a thin robe. "Hey there, cutie," she slurred and winked at Ben.
"We need to talk to you, Darcy," I said, unable to keep the disgust from my voice.
"Sure." She started to giggle, but her smokers cough took over. She staggered out onto her front porch and spit a lugee into the yard. Then she stood swaying, smiling up at Ben.
"Did you know Noah Kelly?" I asked.
"He lived down the street," she said slyly. "Why?"
"He's dead," I said.
"You should ask Jane about that, not me," she said. "He knocked her up and took off."
"Do you have a gun, a .38?" Ben asked.
"She smiled and put a hand on Ben's chest. "Not me." She laughed.
"Does anybody in your house have one?" Ben removed her hand.
"What do I get if I tell you?" She reached for Ben's crotch.
Ben backed away from her so fast that she fell on her hands and knees.
"The hag is too drunk to know what she's saying," Ben said and walked away.
Darcy scrambled to her feet, cursing us both.
I followed him to his truck. We climbed in, and I waited to see if he was angry with me. I shouldn't have let Darcy near him. Women aren't the only people who don't want to be touched without their permission.
Ben sat behind the wheel and stared straight ahead. "Sorry, but I can't stand that sleazy cow."
"No, I'm sorry," I assured him. "I should have stopped her. I'd never put up with being groped while working a case, and I don't expect you to."
"But I've seen you flirt to get information "
"Flirt and flatter is one thing, getting groped by a disgusting, drunken bridge troll is another."
"What's a bridge troll?" Ben laughed.
"A troll that lives under a bridge," I answered, laughing along. "Sorry, I'm getting tired."
"Yeah, me too. Should we pack it in for the night?"
The sun was all but gone, and sleep seemed like a good idea. "Wanna take me home?"
"No problem!"
While Ben drove, I sent Andy a text asking him and his partner to meet me at my office in
the morning. We needed to share information and ideas.
Ben had me home in a few minutes. I went inside and took my bag of goodies up to my rooms. I couldn't resist a bath and another cookie with a glass of milk.
I tossed my purse on the nightstand and went into the bathroom. Turning on the hot water in my garden tub, I stripped and put on a robe. I got a pint of milk out of my sitting room fridge and my bag of goodies, placing them on the edge of the tub. After adding my lilac bath oil, I climbed into the water. I mixed the oil into the water before sitting down.
"Ahhhhh," I moaned, sinking lower in the water. Turning off the water with my feet, I put my head back and tried to relax.
But my mind wouldn't let go of the day. So many people wanted Jane's money. And poor little Lexi was a way to get it. I needed to talk to Andy and Mike first thing in the morning. We had to share information and put our heads together. Lexi is still out there, somewhere.
I drank my milk and ate two cookies before getting out of my tub. I dried off, put on an oversized tee shirt, and went back into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I needed to lay off the sugar, but hey, a girl had to have at least one vice.
I climbed into bed, but before I could close my eyes, Buddy and Princess burst into my bedroom.
"Where have you guys been?"
The dogs cocked their heads while I spoke.
"Well, come on up. It’s time to sleep." I patted the bed next to me and they climbed up, snuggled in, and we all drifted off to sleep."
CHAPTER SEVEN
"Good morning, Liv," I sang, entering the kitchen the next morning. "I smell muffins!"
"Made ‘em with the first of the blueberries." Liv put fluffy scrambled eggs and two, freshly made blueberry muffins on a plate. "Eat it all. You missed supper last night."
"I will," I said, heading for the coffee pot. Then with my coffee, I took my plate to the sunroom.
"Good morning, dear," Gram said. She sat alone watching George outside with the dogs.
"Where's Aunt Jeannie and Karl?"
"They stayed at his house," Gram said. "Did you sleep well?"