DOWN COLDER: A Hallie James Mystery (The Hallie James Mysteries Book 3)

by DK Herman

  "And the wooden dinghy with Love Boat painted on it belonged to Skip Appleman's boy," Andy said. "Skip owns that patch of land along the river. He's been talking about building a cabin on it for years."

  "Any prints in the truck?" I asked.

  "Just Spunks and yours," The Chief said.

  I remembered the keys in the sun visor. "How did the kidnappers get the truck's keys?"

  "Spunk leaves the keys in it," Andy said with a shrug. "He thinks it looks like such a piece of crap that nobody would want to steal it."

  "What's the word from the FBI?" I was getting anxious. We had nothing to tell us where Lexi is.

  "Nothing suspicious," Chief Woods said with a pained expression. "At the time that you were in the river, all the suspects were where they were supposed to be."

  "Shit." I whispered.

  "Exactly," Chief Woods agreed.

  "I'm going back to my office," I said. "Call if you hear anything."

  The men nodded.

  "Try not to go off by yourself again," Andy said. "Skip Appleman said his son always keeps a full can of gas in that boat. He never knows when he may be going on a romantic cruise."

  "So, my running out of gas was planned," I fought back anger. "But they couldn't be sure I'd hit something and sink the boat."

  "Who knows what they thought," Ben said. "But we're sticking together."

  "Don't let her out of your sight, Ben," Chief Woods said.

  We went back to the office, and I finished the paperwork that I'd started that morning. Around three, I stuck my head into Ben's office. He was reading the library book again. At least now, I knew what to get him for Christmas.

  "I just realized that I never got that iced latte," I said with a smile.

  "Let's go get one." Ben stood up and put the book on his desk.

  "Hey, anybody want something from Brew's," I shouted.

  We took everyone's order and walked outside together. The day was sizzling now. I could feel the heat from the sidewalk through the thin rubber soles of my shoes.

  At Brew's, we got everyone's order and two iced lattes. Ben saw me drooling over the glazed strawberry scones and ordered a half dozen.

  We walked back to the agency and passed out the goodies. The scones were so good that I ate two. I was finishing my latte when my cell rang. I got butterflies again when I saw it was Andy calling. Crossing my fingers, I answered.

  "You're not going to believe this," Andy said. "Remember Allison Reedy?"

  I thought a moment. "Sure, she's Gail's employee who found Darcy."

  "Yep," Andy said. "She just called 911. Allison cleans the bowling alley every Thursday afternoon. Gail Kubicki just walked in and collapsed. Somebody shot her in the stomach."

  "We'll be right there!"

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  "Poor Jane," I said. Ben and I were on our way to the emergency room. We'd gone to Jane's house first with the news about her mother. She was very upset but too terrified of missing any word of Lexi to go to the hospital.

  I parked in the ER lot and spotted Allison Reedy sitting in a blue, late seventies Malibu. She was puffing on a cigarette and talking to herself.

  "At least this one wasn't dead," she said and took a deep drag. "But, why do you keep finding bloody people with holes in them?" She took another drag. "And are you still going to have a job if the prissy pain in the ass dies." Allison bounced her head off the steering wheel.

  "Hey, Allison," I said, walking up to her open car window.

  Allison turned her head and gave me a comically forced smile. "Oh, hello there." She rubbed a red spot on her forehead.

  "If you're up to it, can I ask you a few questions?" I said.

  "Sure, but who are you?" She took another drag off her cigarette and politely blew the smoke in the other direction.

  "I'm Hallie James." I pointed at Ben, standing behind me and introduced him. "We met at Darcy's, the day you found her in the dumpster."

  "Oh, yeah," she said. "Now I remember, well, sort of."

  Ben let out a chuckle and turned to watch another car park nearby. I understood his chuckle. Allison is funny. And she seems like a nice and hardworking person.

  "Would you tell me what happened at the bowling alley?"

  She nodded and lit another cigarette off the butt of the first. "I was running a dry mop over the lanes when somebody started pounding on the front doors. I looked up and saw Gail bent over, trying to unlock the door with her key. She kept fumbling and started pounding again, so I ran up to open the door." Allison took another deep drag. "I thought maybe her back was out, that's why she was bent over. Until she came inside, and I saw the blood running between her fingers where she was holding her belly."

  "Did she say anything?"

  "'Get Lexi.' Then she passed out and fell on the floor, and I called 911." Allison rubbed her eye with the heel of her hand. "Who the hell keeps shooting people around here?"

  "When we find out, we'll let you know," I said.

  Jane told us that Bob drove Gail home because she was getting a migraine. Where was she when she was shot? The bowling alley is closer to Gail's home than the hospital, but why didn't she just call 911?

  Jane and Andy both called the Kubicki home, and no one answered the phone. Andy and Mike were driving over to find Bob and break the news about Gail.

  "How well do you know her husband, Bob?" I asked.

  Allison rolled her eyes. "He's a creep, an aging player. I've seen him go after young girls when Gail's not looking. And he hit on me last month when I stopped at their house for my paycheck. Gail wasn't home, and he asked me to go upstairs with him."

  I dug out one of my cards. "The bottom number is my cell. If you do need a job, call me."

  Allison took the card with a grin. "Thanks, I will!"

  She gave us a little wave. I waved back before we turned to cross the service road and walked to the ER entrance. Andy and Mike had just pulled in, followed by Bob Kubicki. Bob looked flushed and sweaty.

  "It might be a good idea for a nurse to check his blood pressure," Ben whispered. "He looks like a tea kettle about to whistle."

  I had to agree. Maybe be did fool around, but he and Gail have been married for twenty years. He was obviously upset.

  As Bob rushed inside the automatic double doors, Ben and I walked over to the unmarked police car.

  "Where'd you find him?" I asked.

  "He answered his door after we rang the doorbell five times," Andy said, shaking his head. "He said he was upstairs taking a nap and didn't know Gail had left the house."

  "Then where was she when she got shot?" Ben said.

  "We don't know," Mike said. "Bob let us look through every room in their house. There wasn't a drop of blood anywhere."

  "Allison Reedy told us that before Gail passed out, she said, 'get Lexi,'" I said. "The shooting has to be connected to this whole mess."

  "Let's go see how she's doing," Mike said, heading for the ER doors. "And I want that bullet after they remove it."

  Bob sat alone in a corner of the waiting room. He mopped his sweaty face with a handkerchief. His hands shook slightly as he smoothed and folded it on his thigh.

  The ER waiting room consisted of the usual ugly carpeting, white walls, and hard on the ass chairs. The bright sunlight revealed streaks and a smear of bird poop on the window behind Bob's head.

  I let Andy and Mike approach him first but stayed close enough behind that I could hear the conversation.

  "Any word about your wife," Andy asked gently.

  "She's in surgery," Bob said with a sniffle. "She lost a lot of blood, so we'll have to wait and see." He blew his nose. "I wish I knew what happened. Who would have shot Gail? She was asleep next to me, then I woke up when you rang the doorbell."

  "Did she have any plans today?" Mike sat down next to Bob.

  "After our nap, we were going back to be with Jane." Bob wiped his forehead again. "The last week has been very hard on the whole family."

  Mik
e nodded. "We understand."

  Andy sat on Bob's other side. "Is there anybody we can call to come and sit with you?"

  Bob shook his head. "There's only Janie. And she's got enough on her plate right now."

  "Do you have a recent picture of your wife with you?" Mike asked.

  "In my wallet," Bob said, reaching into his back pocket. "Why?"

  "I'd like to borrow it for a few hours." Mike took the wallet sized picture from Bob's shaking fingers. "Thank you."

  Mike stood up and motioned for Ben and I to follow him. He led us outside. "I need you two to take this picture, and see if anyone between the Kubicki home and the bowling alley saw anything."

  "No problem," I said, taking the picture.

  "Andy and I are going to stay here until the surgeon brings us the bullet. Also, it may be interesting to see who shows up or calls inquiring about Gail's condition."

  "Because the shooter is going to want to know if she's still alive," Ben said.

  "You got it," Mike said. "Chief Woods is placing men to guard her until she wakes up and can tell us who shot her. And he's supervising the search of Gail's car for any clues."

  "I'd bet whoever shot her, has Lexi," I said.

  "Right again." Mike started back towards the emergency entrance. "In the meantime, see if you can find out where Gail was, or if she was talking to anyone."

  "We'll be in touch," I promised.

  Ben and I walked through the late day heat to my car. I started the engine and ran the air until it got cool before we closed the doors. I sat another minute, looking at the picture of Gail. It was a small copy of a professional portrait. In it she wore an expensive looking blouse, good jewelry, and full makeup. She flashed a brilliant smile at the camera with garden scenery behind her.

  I glanced at the spot where Allison had been parked. She was gone. I chuckled to myself. Maybe she went for a drink.

  I turned to Ben who seemed lost in his own thoughts."I'll drive to the bowling alley, and we'll work our way to Gail and Bob's house."

  I drove to the stop sign next to the bowling alley. Across the street was a cigarette shop and a second-hand store. Ben and I went into both businesses and showed Gail's picture. Everyone said the same thing, she looks familiar but they hadn't seen her today. So we got back into my car.

  Next, we checked in a bar. The bartender was more interested in watching the TV than doing his job. He glanced at the picture and shook his head. And the bar patrons barely looked up from their drinks when we spoke to them. I looked around the floor for blood. Somebody could have gotten shot here, but I doubt anybody would have noticed.

  "What if she was at somebody's house or apartment?" Ben asked.

  "Then we probably won't find out where she was." I pulled in outside a house that always has a yard sale sign in the yard. A young, brunette woman sat watching over a table of junk and two small kids in a wading pool.

  "Hi," she said, but she didn't get up. "I've got some good bargains today."

  "I'm here to ask if you've seen this woman?" I handed her Gail's picture.

  "That's Gail Kubicki," the woman said. "What did she do, run somebody over?"

  "No, why do ask?"

  "She came tearing by here a couple of hours ago." She swatted at a fly that landed on her thigh. "She ran through the stop sign, and squealed her tires going around the corner. She knows I've got little ones, who ride bikes on this street."

  "You know Gail?"

  "Sure. Sometimes she stops and buys things from me." The woman watched Ben checking out a pile of DVD's.

  "Was anyone in the car with her. Or was there another car right behind her?"

  "Nope. It was just Gail driving like a maniac." The woman took a sip from a can of cola. "I didn't call the cops because I've never seen her drive like that before. But I'm gonna tell her about it!"

  "OK, thank you." I turned to Ben. "Ready?"

  Ben held up his index finger and looked at me sheepishly. "How much for the DVD's?"

  "Two bucks apiece," the woman answered, rising from the lawn chair when Ben pulled out his wallet. She took the ten he handed her and shoved it into her cleavage.

  "Thanks," Ben said. He carried the DVD'S like books and led the way to the car.

  "What did you buy?" I asked teasingly. "Porn?"

  "Nuh uh." He held a DVD up so I could see the cover.

  "Kojak?" I laughed. "Don't get any ideas and shave your head."

  "I thought women like the bald look." He rubbed his chin. "I could grow a goatee to go with the bald head."

  I wrinkled my nose. "Its your hair, but I like running my fingers through this thick, silky mane." I stroked a lock of his tawny hair for emphasis.

  "OK, no bald head." Ben said with a grin. "But will you watch Kojak with me?"

  "Of course, it's a good show, but Rockford is sexier."

  We canvassed the area for two more hours and came up dry. I drove back to the hospital to report to Mike and Andy. And to see how Gail was doing.

  But everyone in the ER waiting room was a stranger. I flashed the woman at the desk my ID and explained I was with the police. She said the other detectives were speaking to a doctor. She buzzed us through a door, and I saw Andy standing at a nurse’s station.

  "What's going on?" I asked.

  "Mike's signing for the bullet," Andy said. "Gail made it through surgery, but it'll be a while before she wakes up."

  "Where's Bob?"

  "After the doctor told him Gail would be asleep until tomorrow, he went home," Andy said. "The poor guy has had a rough time lately."

  "No word about Lexi?"

  "Nothing," Andy said.

  Mike Krause came down the hall with two bags. "The slug they dug out of Gail Kubicki is a .38. He held up the small sealed evidence bag.

  "I knew it was the same shooter," Andy said, putting his hands on his hips.

  Mike handed me the larger, plastic, drawstring bag with the hospital logo on it. "One more favor today."

  "Sure," I said.

  "Bob left without his wife's belongings. You know, the clothes and shoes she had on. They don't like to keep these things here, and I want to get this slug to the lab."

  "We can take the bag to the Kubicki's," I said. "No problem.

  Then I told him yard-sale woman's story about Gail.

  "That's interesting," Mike said.

  "But not very helpful." I sighed. "Let us know if you need anything else."

  Ben and I walked outside with the bag of Gail's clothes. I asked Ben to drive, and I sat back tiredly.

  We'd never been to the Kubicki house, so I checked the street address. A few blocks away from their home, Ben pulled out from a stop sign and slammed on the brakes when another car rolled through without stopping. The bag of Gail's clothes fell off the seat, landing by my feet. I reached down and pulled it back up, but everything spilled out onto the car floor.

  I gasped when I saw a shiny bangle bracelet with floating hearts. It was exactly like the one somebody had stolen from Linda's desk! The same person who had broken into the agency, and the same person who left the cheap cell.

  I picked up the bracelet and examined it in the sunlight. It was possible Gail had bought the same bracelet, but it didn't feel like a coincidence.

  Ben stopped at another stop sign and noticed the bracelet in my hand. "Where'd you find Linda's bracelet?"

  "It was in the bag with Gail's things."

  Ben took the bracelet from my fingers. "Is it Linda's?"

  "I'm not sure. Gail could have bought this one," I said. "But I think Mike and Andy should know about it."

  I dialed Andy's cell and told him what fell out of Gail's bag of clothes. He said he and Mike would meet us at the Kubicki's to ask Bob some more questions.

  Ben drove down the Kubicki's street and parked in front of an old stone building that looked like a church. The house next to it was matching stone with two turrets and octogon shaped windows.

  "I've seen these buildings, Hallie," B
en said anxiously. "They're in the book from the library." He shut off the Denali's engine. "This used to be a church, and the house next door was the parsonage. Both buildings were sold in 1995, the house to a private citizen, and the church to the Herville School District. The school district used it for office space until last year. Now it's used for storage."

  "Who bought the house?" I unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car for a better look.

  Ben joined me on the sidewalk. "I don't know. But the book said that there's a tunnel between the two buildings. That way the parson didn't have to go outside in bad weather."

  "Oh, my God, Ben," I tried to stay calm, but adrenaline was coursing through my veins. "Look at the house number. That's the Kubicki's house!"

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  "Bob Kubicki works for the school district," Ben said quietly. "He probably has keys to the old church building."

  In case we were being watched, I smiled at Ben and nodded. "We can't let him know that we're on to him." I casually swung the hospital bag while I walked and smiled again.

  Ben smiled back. "What are we going to do?"

  "Andy and Mike are on their way. We knock on the door and ask to go inside, maybe for a drink of water. Then we'll stall until they get here." I hiked my purse higher on my shoulder and mounted the stairs to Bob and Gail's front porch.

  I rang the bell and looked around while I waited. The wide front porch had a glider and several chairs at one end. This was the oldest house on the block, and the most interesting. I rang the bell again and turned around. I didn't want Bob to see how anxious I was to get inside.

  I could see the back porch of the Detweiler house from where I stood. It would have been easy to carry a sleeping five-year-old from there to here.

  Bob's pickup was parked across the street, so he must be here. I pulled open the storm door and knocked on the heavy, wooden front door. Unexpectedly, it opened a few inches, making Ben and I jump. But nobody answered my calls. I looked at Ben and gave him a nod before pushing the door open wider.