‘No. But I’m hoping to get a class yearbook in the morning. I’ll see if she was in the same class and I’ll try to locate a Bonnie as well.’
‘Good work. I guess I should call off my researchers.’
‘If you don’t mind, I’d rather keep them on it. It’s possible your guys will find something mine couldn’t access.’
‘No problem. Hey, I’ve got another call coming up. Catch up with you tomorrow.’
And he was gone. Lucinda reached a hand down to stroke Chester’s head. He jumped and chirped at her touch as it roused him from a deep nap. ‘Sorry I startled you, Chester.’
The cat relaxed back down in her lap, purring like a well-oiled motor. Lucinda laughed. ‘It’s so simple for you, itty bitty kitty boy. I wish I could fall to sleep with half your ease.’
She wondered how she would sleep tonight. Her mind galloped through imaginary yearbook pages, searching for Tess and Bonnie. Would they be there? Or would it be another dead end? And if they were members of the same class, what brought them together then? And what connects them now?
If she did find a connection to Tess Middleton, would the DA block her efforts to confront the high-powered woman with the financial ability to make or break any political campaign? Or would he do the right thing? That open question created the greatest anxiety about the investigation now but she didn’t even know if it would go that far.
Would she find the answers she wanted tomorrow, or only more questions?
THIRTY-TWO
Lucinda arrived in her office just after 6 a.m. the next morning – far too early for a Federal Express delivery but she couldn’t help herself. The day was too young for almost everyone else. She called Ted to ask about the computer search but his cell went straight to voicemail. The laboratory was empty and no one was present in research.
She fretted at her desk, trying to review her notes but failing to maintain her concentration. A little after seven, Ted called. ‘I drove down last night. I’m going before a judge this morning. With a little luck, we’ll have a subpoena for the computer records at Scott Technologies this morning.’
‘Do you need me there?’
‘I sure wouldn’t mind having you if you have free time. But someone from your district attorney’s office is meeting me at the court so I should be OK. And I’ll personally deliver the subpoena to you if you’re going to be in the office.’
‘I should be. If something comes up, I’ll give you a call. Thanks, Ted.’
‘At your service, as promised.’
‘How are the kids doing?’
‘They settled into life here as if they’ve never known any place else. Both are doing well in school and growing out of clothes faster than we can buy them. They seem very happy that we’re all under the same roof, even though they know Ellen and I have separate bedrooms.’
‘How’s your dad?’
Ted sighed. ‘A little worse every month. But, at least, up to now, he’s remaining cheerful.’
‘The downward spiral is inevitable, Ted. Terribly sad but inevitable. It’s the worse way to lose someone you love. I’ve got to run. I’ll see you after court and we can talk some more.’ Lucinda disconnected the call, a little uncomfortable about her lie – at the moment, there was nothing urgent to do. She just wanted to get off the phone.
She caught up on some long-avoided paperwork and then pulled out her reports on the death of Candace Eagleton. She started a to-do list: 1. Review yearbook – confirm Candace, Rowland, Middleton and look for people named Bonnie: 2. Check on lab results – most important contents under the victim’s fingernails: 3. Serve subpoena on Scott Technologies (if we get one): 4. Check up on Jake’s progress. She scratched the last off and started a second list. She wanted to keep the original one strictly for items connected to the Eagleton murder investigation.
When the phone on her desk interrupted her concentration, she snatched it up before it finished one ring. ‘Pierce.’
‘Hello, Lieutenant. This is Beth Ann Coynes. I wanted you to know that we have isolated the DNA of one male from the scrapings under Candace Eagleton’s fingernails.’
‘Whose is it?’
‘We don’t know that yet. It would be helpful if we had a DNA sample from her husband for comparison.’
‘OK. I’ll call his attorney.’
‘Ouch. It’s come to that already?’
‘Afraid so. Can you run the profile through AFIS in the meantime?’
‘Right now, it’s going through our local database. When that finishes, if there’s no hit, I’ll run it through the national database.’
‘Good. Keep me posted each step of the way, please. I want to know even if you come up empty-handed.’
‘Will do, Lieutenant. Good luck getting your guy.’
‘Thanks, Beth Ann. Anything else of significance?’
‘Not here. I’m hoping we’ll find something you can use in the toxicology but none of those results are in yet. I hate husbands who kill their wives.’
‘We don’t know that’s what happened here. It’s possible but we have other leads to follow first.’
‘The techs on the scene got a creepy vibe from him. I’d wager a week’s salary that in the end you’ll end up at the husband – either he did it or he hired someone to do it.’
Lucinda recalled the nastiness of leaks to the media in other cases and worried. She’d always trust Beth Ann but what if she was wrong? ‘I trust you will not mention your opinion to anyone outside of this investigation.’
‘Of course not. We’ve already had calls looking for results. Doctor Ringo chewed them up and spat ’em out. Then we had to sit through a long lecture about the need for everyone in the lab to keep their mouths shut about any and every case. She promised suffering if we did anything to compromise any investigation.’
‘Good old Audrey. Fear and intimidation – what a way to manage.’
Beth Ann chuckled. ‘No other method would work for her. She’s not the most likeable person on the planet.’
‘And she sure doesn’t like me,’ Lucinda said with a laugh and looked up to see research guru Lara Quivey step across her threshold. ‘Lara just walked into my office bearing a package. Gotta run.’ She dropped the receiver and said, ‘Is that it?’
‘I think so but I haven’t opened the package.’
‘Do it. Do it. Do it,’ Lucinda urged.
Lara pulled the tab on the FedEx package and slid out the 1978 yearbook. ‘Ta da!’ she said, handing the book to Lucinda. ‘If that’s all you need from me now, I’ll get back to work.’
‘Thank you, Lara. Thank you a lot. I’m sure I’ll be back to you when I get through digging in this.’ Lucinda opened the book to the Class of ’78 senior pictures. She quickly located Candace Eagleton, nee Monroe, Charles Rowland and Theresa Scott, now Tess Middleton. She searched through all the photos of the class and did not find a single person named ‘Bonnie.’ But what if it was a nickname? A nickname for what? First, she thought, she’d search for ‘Bonnie’ in the juniors and sophomores – then she’d worry about possible other names.
She’d just begun looking at the photos of the Class of ’79 when her cell phone rang. ‘Pierce.’
‘Oh, Lucy. I need you. I need you real bad.’
‘What’s wrong, Charley?’
‘Oh, please, come right away. It can’t be right. You need to help me. And Ruby’s just sucking her thumb.’
‘Are you at school?’
‘No. I’m at home. It’s a teacher work day. Please come. Please hurry.’
THIRTY-THREE
Jake thought he was rising early that morning. He believed that Ricky and Lily would still be sleeping after last night’s drama. He was sorely mistaken. When he walked into the kitchen, both were at the table reading sections of the newspaper. Plates covered with crumbs and smears of egg yolk were pushed to its middle.
‘Well, look who’s up,’ Lily said.
‘You’ve already had breakfast?’ Jake asked.
‘I guess we should have waited for you,’ Ricky said, ‘but after doing our morning chores we were pretty hungry.’
‘How you like your eggs, Jake?’ Lily asked. ‘Scrambled, poached, sunny side-up . . .’
‘How about once over light?’
‘You got it. Toast or English muffin?’
‘Muffin, please.’
Jake sat down at the table with Ricky. ‘You’ve done chores already? What time do you get up?’
‘You never lived on a farm?’
‘No, city and suburbs – no bucolic bliss for me.’
‘I heard the sarcasm around that bucolic phase. You gotta be a morning person to make it as a farmer. We get up at five, slug down some coffee and get busy. If we don’t get out to the dairy cows before six, the cows start lowing so loudly you can hear ’em in the next county. And the hens start picking on the weakest one something fierce if we don’t let them out in the yard by then.’
‘Hens fight?’ Jake asked, amazed at the prospect.
‘More like they bully. You can look at them and see who’s at the bottom of the totem pole. Always got a bare spot or two where the others plucked out her feathers.’
‘Why do you lock them up at night?’
‘Coons, foxes, skunks, weasels – they’ll all snatch up hens that wander too close to the fence after dark. Bite their heads off and leave the bodies there since they can’t drag that part through the wiring.’
‘Yuck. That’s disgusting.’
Lily slid a plate in front of Jake. ‘Hope Ricky’s big mouth doesn’t put you off your feed. And don’t forget, there’s more where that came from.’
‘Did you know that Lucinda was a champion milker? She got a blue ribbon at the competition at the county fair one year,’ Ricky said.
‘Really? Amazing the things she’s never told me.’
‘I wish I still had her here,’ Ricky said. ‘She was the hardest-working farmhand I’ve ever seen. And she was fearless. She’d walk out into the field and bring the meanest bull up to the barn to service one of the cows without blinking an eye. She’d put on the chain and lead him up as easy as a trained dog.’
‘You’re kidding?’
‘Nope. C’mon, you know her. Have you ever seen her back off from doing anything out of fear?’
‘You’re right about that. But she just doesn’t act like a farm girl.’
‘Well, she’s got a layer of smooth polish overlaying her roots – our grandmother up north saw to that. But if you dropped her out here and told her she had to earn her keep on the farm she’d do it and probably earn the keep of three or four others while she was at it.’
Jake scratched the back of his head. ‘It’s going to take me a bit to incorporate those images into my picture of Lucinda. But I can already see how they all fit together.’
‘Speaking of together, just what are your intentions regarding my sister?’ Ricky asked.
‘Ricky, how rude!’ Lily objected.
‘Ah, c’mon, Lily. You wanted to know, too. You’re just too much of a scaredy cat to ask.’
‘Scaredy cat? No, Ricky, I’m just polite.’
‘So, who looks after my sister, then? She has no dad to do that for her.’
‘I think your sister can take care of herself,’ Lily said. ‘She’s proven that time and time again.’
‘Still . . .’
‘Still, Ricky? Oh, you go on ahead and do your protective brother routine. If I try to stop you, you’ll just corner Jake out of my earshot and I’ll never get to know the answer.’
Ricky laughed and pointed his finger at his wife. ‘You see, I got your number, Lily. You want the question asked; you just want to act superior by not being the one who does the asking.’
‘I don’t need to ask, husband dearest. I am superior – I am the woman,’ she said with a grin.
‘See, Jake, if you get serious about my sister, you’ll have to try to never be alone with her and Lily. Either one of them alone is debilitating to our fragile male egos – but together, you’d best be wearing a cup.’ Ricky jumped up, put a hand on each side of Lily’s back, spun her around and planted a kiss on her lips.
‘Oh, cut it out, Ricky. You’re really going to spoil Jake’s appetite now,’ she said as her face flushed and her dimples danced.
He still held Lily tight when he asked again. ‘Enough fooling around, Jake. What are your intentions toward my sister?’
‘I think maybe you oughta talk to Lucinda about that.’
‘Jake, you know she won’t talk to me about it. Give it up.’
‘Man, she’s your sister, Ricky. If I start talking about her to you, she’ll never trust me again.’
‘Hey, I won’t tell her.’
‘Still, Ricky . . .’ Jake began, interrupted by the sharp ring of the telephone.
Lily pulled away from her husband, walked across the kitchen and picked up the receiver. After a moment, she said, ‘Martha, calm down. I can’t understand a word you’re saying.’ She paused for a moment and said, ‘Martha, you are not making any sense.’
Lily sighed and dropped her shoulders. ‘OK, Martha, don’t cry. Jake is right here. I’ll let you talk to him.’
Jake stepped over and took the receiver from Lily’s outstretched hand. ‘Yes, Martha. What can I . . .?’ Jake listened, his brow furrowing and his jaw tightening. ‘All right, Martha. I’ll be there as quick as I can.’
Jake hung up and turned to Ricky and Lily. ‘Seth’s acting crazy enough to scare Martha. I’m not sure what’s going on but I’m going to run over and check it out.’
‘You want me to go with you?’ Ricky asked.
‘No. Because of his attitude towards you, you may make matters worse. I’ll be fine. I think Martha’s probably overreacting.’
‘He’s my brother. I can go,’ Lily said.
‘That might be a good idea, Lily. But let me go over there alone. If it seems like you’re needed, I’ll give you a call.’ Jake shoveled a fork full of egg and bacon into his mouth, pulled open the outside door and, still chewing, said, ‘Wish me luck.’ A moment later the gravel was pounding the sides of Jake’s vintage Super Sport once again.
THIRTY-FOUR
‘I’ve found her,’ he said.
‘Where?’ she asked.
‘She’s back in New Jersey.’
‘See, I told you she’d be trouble. I told you she was going to try to destroy me. Her return to New Jersey proves that.’
‘Maybe she just wanted to get back to her roots,’ he argued.
‘Are you backing out on me?’
‘No. I’ll do what you want me to do but I doubt if she’s planning anything. If she wanted to cause trouble, wouldn’t she come down to Virginia?’
‘Ha. That just says she’s still afraid of me. That’s why she ran. That’s why she changed her name. But coming back east means that she is determined to make me pay as she promised all those years ago.’
‘I guess that means we’re still a go.’
‘Yes. Make it look like some sort of accident – but not an auto-mobile accident. That worked once. It won’t work again. Are you sure she’s in New Jersey? Are you sure she hasn’t moved on again?’
‘I called the phone number at her address. She gave her name on the voicemail message. She has to be there.’
‘In Trenton?’
‘Yes.’
‘Make sure this doesn’t come back to me.’
‘Don’t worry. There’s enough violence in northern New Jersey to cover up anything you want.’
‘Just eliminate her. And don’t let them suspect murder. That’s all I want. Where are you now?’
‘Seattle.’
‘When will you be in Jersey?’
‘Not until this evening. I couldn’t get a direct flight but I’m on the first plane out of here.’
‘How long will it take you to set it up?’
‘It depends on where she lives and if she’s living alone or with someone else, where she works and how much of a creature of habit she is. It’ll take some reconnaissance time.’
‘Don’t make it take too long. If she speaks out before you get to her, I’m ruined and I’ll give you up in a heartbeat to make a deal. I will not go to prison.’
‘Thanks for that vote of confidence. You really do make me sick. I can’t wait to get this job finished, get the rest of my money and scrub you out of my life.’
‘The feeling is mutual.’
‘And just in case that feeling takes you to the next step of hiring someone to eliminate me, let me warn you. I put what I call my insurance policy in the hands of my attorney. Don’t worry, I sealed it. He will only open it if something happens to me. If he does, he’ll read every detail implicating you.’
‘Aren’t you charming? I’ll call you with a number as soon as I get a new cell. When this is over, you can just go to hell – I’ll even provide the hand-basket.’
‘Boarding call, I have to run. It’ll all be over in a matter of days. Make sure you have the final payment ready. I want this wrapped up immediately. I need some R&R in the tropics where I can wipe out the memory of you over a bottle of rum.’
‘Yo ho ho,’ she said and disconnected the call.
THIRTY-FIVE
Eleven-year-old Charley Spencer slid out of bed early that morning. Her little sister Ruby didn’t stir when Charley looked into her bedroom. Her father was far away on a Doctors without Borders mission in Africa–Libya, she thought, but wasn’t sure she remembered correctly. Kara, the woman caring for them in her father’s absence, had been a constant in her life since her mother’s murder three years ago.
The sight of her mother’s body on the floor had begun to fade from her mind – the edges were no longer sharp but she could still envision the image like a blurred charcoal sketch. The one thing that continued to burn hot in her mind was the sound of Ruby sucking her thumb. That’s where she found her that day – pressed tight against their mother’s body, making that noise that still sent Charley close to panic.
False Front (Lucinda Pierce) Page 14