Eddie helped her on with her coat and kept his arm snugly around her as they walked out to the truck. He drove back to Van Cleeve Lane. Harvey and Jennifer were home, and the living room lights were blazing. Eddie gave her a hand down from the truck seat.
“Thanks.” Once she was on solid if frozen ground, she looked up at him and smiled. “I had a really good time.”
“Me, too.”
They went inside. Jennifer had a big bowl of popcorn ready and a pan of hot cocoa made the old-fashioned way.
“So, how revolting was your class?” Eddie asked Harvey, after Leeanne had told him and Jennifer about the magician.
“Well, we did see a movie of a birth that was a little nauseating,” Harvey said.
“You surprise me. I thought you were totally into this baby thing.”
“Our baby. Not everybody else’s.”
“How bad was it?” Eddie persisted.
“One guy passed out.”
“Not you, I take it.”
Harvey shook his head. “Jennifer told me she’d never forgive me if I did.”
Leeanne frowned at him. “It couldn’t have been worse than some of the car wrecks you’ve been to.”
“That’s different,” Harvey said.
Jennifer refilled their mugs of hot chocolate. “The class was really interesting. We’re learning different breathing patterns for when I have contractions.”
“Contractions?” Eddie said. “This is a euphemism for labor pains?”
Jennifer grimaced at him. “Childbirth doesn’t have to be painful.”
“I don’t know. Sounds like a scam to me. How much are you paying this Lamaze teacher?”
Harvey said, “It’s supposed to be true, Eddie. Discomfort, not pain. The special breathing will help her not to think about it. But if she needs medication, she can get it.”
“Oh, if it’s not painful, why would anyone need to have standby medication?”
“Well, Jennifer will be fine.” Harvey smiled at her. “She has a very high threshold of pain.”
“So it is painful?” Eddie asked.
Harvey sighed.
Jennifer rolled her eyes. “Ask me in three months or so, Eddie, and I’ll tell you in detail.”
“No thanks.”
Chapter 9
Wednesday, December 29
The next morning, Eddie ran with Harvey at the track. Leeanne and Jennifer stayed home.
“When’s Jeff getting back?” Eddie asked. He was happy for Jeff, but he missed him.
“Not until this weekend. He texted me. They’re soaking up sun in Oahu.”
After they ran, they went to Harvey’s house for breakfast. Leeanne was flipping French toast, and the talk ran mostly to the Wainthrop family, since Marilyn had called the night before and updated her daughters on everybody’s business. Abby ate with them, and she kept looking at Eddie oddly. He tried to listen to what Jennifer said, but he felt like Abby was giving him the evil eye or something.
As he was leaving to go get ready for work, she followed him into the entry.
“Okay, Eddie, spill.”
“What?” he asked.
“You’ve been glaring daggers at me ever since you walked in the door.”
“I thought you were the one.”
“What did I do?” Abby asked.
“You mean you don’t know?”
“No. I thought we were friends.”
“Ha,” Eddie said. “That was before you started talking about me behind my back.”
She scowled. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you mean.”
“I mean you yakking with your friends at the hospital about how many girls I went out with in high school.”
“Oh, that.”
“Yeah, that.”
She looked over her shoulder, grabbed his wrist, and yanked him out into the breezeway, closing the door behind them.
“I didn’t say a word. Not one single word.”
“Sure.”
“I didn’t,” she said primly. “I just listened.”
“And then you told Leeanne.”
“Oh.” Her face morphed into what might be taken for regret. Contrition, Harvey would say. “I figured she should know. And I didn’t tell her the worst bits.”
Eddie felt like she’d punched him. “What were the worst bits?”
“I don’t think we should discuss it.”
“Why not? You discussed it with half the nurses in Portland.”
“You exaggerate.”
“And you gossip.”
They glared at each other. It hit Eddie suddenly that Harvey would not be having this conversation, at least not in this tone. He swallowed hard.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come down on you like that.”
Abby blew out a breath, and it made a little cloud of mist between them. “Yes, you should have. You’re right. I might not have added to the talk, but I didn’t tell them to stop.”
He cocked his head to one side. “I’m curious. This topic just came up in ordinary, everyday conversation?”
“Yes. Well, no. They were talking about their favorite dates ever, and I told about the circus, and they started talking about fancy parties and things, so I said a detective had taken me to a classy art meeting, and it was lots of fun because he was looking for clues in a case he was working on. I figured it was okay, because you’d solved the case.”
Eddie shrugged. “I guess so.”
“Okay, I admit, I was trying to impress them.”
“Oh yeah? Impress them with me?”
“Yes, and when I said your name, everyone’s ears pricked up, and what do you know? Two of them said they had also dated you. Once. The general consensus was that you don’t date girls more than once.”
“That’s not true.”
“Well, maybe these two just didn’t hold your interest. But anyway, it got juicier and juicier. A third woman said her niece dated you and cried buckets when you broke it off.”
“Nurses,” Eddie said with some bitterness.
“Not all nurses. One of them is a tray girl. She brings the patients’ meals up from the kitchen on a cart. She said she went out with you in high school.”
“Are we talking about Denise Rancourt?”
“No, her name’s Sissy Williams. That’s her married name. I don’t know what her maiden name was.”
It was enough to ring a bell. “Oh, Sissy. Well, I’m glad she got married. Does she seem happy?”
“Yeah, I guess. But she almost swooned when I said ‘Eddie Thibodeau.’ I think you were ‘the one that got away’ for her. And DeLaney Marshall.”
“Delaney.” That was the nurse’s name. He’d forgotten it. That was definitely a short-term relationship. “So, they don’t hate me?”
“No. I think they’ve been looking for another guy who measures up ever since you broke up with them.”
“Hold it.” Eddie held up both hands. “If you date a guy once and he asks you out again and you say no, is that breaking up with him?”
“No. Are you saying they asked you out?”
“No, I’m just saying I probably didn’t ask for a second date. Big deal.”
“Okay.” Abby hugged herself, shivering. “But apparently you did get around. A lot.”
“Yeah. So?”
She looked away, and he knew DeLaney had talked about more than him not calling her again.
“Look, Abby, I was a jerk. I’m sorry. I wish I could undo a lot of stuff, but I can’t. And I’m sorry I called you Blabby Abby.”
Her forehead puckered. “When did you call me that?”
“Doesn’t matter, it was wrong. Forgive me?”
“Of course.”
“Good. Because I want to stay friends with you. I realize you were just trying to protect Leeanne.”
“She’s my baby sister.”
“I know. I want to protect her, too. And I...” He didn’t finish.
“Are you totally done doing that stuff?”
“Yeah. I’m waiting for marriage now.”
She nodded. “What if Leeanne breaks up with you?”
“Then I will be the one who’s heartbroken, but I won’t fall off the wagon. I promise.”
“I’ll hold you to it.”
He smiled and nodded. “Get inside. You’re freezing.”
“I’ve got one more thing to say.”
Eddie waited for the hammer blow.
Abby looked deep into his eyes. “I did tell them you were the perfect gentleman on our one date. They seemed—uh—surprised.”
He opened his mouth and then closed it.
“In fact, DeLaney said something like, ‘Didn’t he try to get you in the sack?’ and I can assure you, I said, ‘Absolutely not. The Eddie Thibodeau I know would never do such a thing.’ She said, ‘Maybe there are two Eddie Thibodeaus.’ ” And then our break time was up, and that was that.”
He pulled in a painful breath. “Please tell me you didn’t tell that last part to Leeanne.”
“I didn’t.”
“Thank you.” He still felt like Hulk Hogan had punched him in the solar plexus.
“No problem.” She swung around and reached for the doorknob.
“Abby?”
“Yeah?”
“I will never treat your sister that way.”
“I know. And I’m sorry I didn’t shut them up sooner. Friends?”
“Yeah, friends.”
She held out one little finger. He laughed and linked his pinky with hers.
Abby winked. “BFF, Eddie. Have fun at work.”
*****
He spent half the morning trying to run down the Mel he’d heard about from Trevor Brady. Even with Tony at his side while canvassing, trying to come up with clever ideas, Eddie couldn’t get wind of Mel.
When they got back to the Priority Unit’s office, Harvey called out, “Hey, you two, the preliminary autopsy report’s in on Kyle Quinlan.”
He’d emailed copies to all of them, and they sat down to read it. Then they got together to hash it over.
“So. Cocaine and sleeping pills,” Harvey said.
“Not a good mix.” Arnie shook his head.
“It stopped his heart, or slowed it down enough for the cold to finish him off.” Harvey sighed.
“I don’t get it,” Tony said.
Harvey frowned at him. “What don’t you get?”
“Why would anyone take enough sleeping pills to kill himself and then go out at the crack of dawn with a gun? Was the gun just insurance, in case the pills didn’t work, or what?”
“More likely the coke came first,” Nate said. “I’m guessing he wasn’t thinking straight.”
Eddie thought about Kyle’s last hours. “He got over the fence at Mike’s house. Was he just off his rocker, or did he intend to climb that particular fence?”
“And how did he do it with all those sleeping pills inside him?” Jimmy asked.
“How much was it?” Eddie looked at the report again.
“About three times the normal dose,” Harvey said. “Suicides usually take the whole bottle.”
Eddie looked up sharply. Was Harvey thinking of Carrie, his first wife, who chose sleeping pills? This case could be a real downer for his friend.
“Would the amount he took stop his heart?” Tony asked.
Harvey hesitated. “I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll give Dr. Turner a call and ask him.”
“I mean, Kyle was supposedly healthy, right?” Tony said.
“He had bruises on his torso,” Nate noted.
“That might have been from a fall or something,” Jimmy said.
“Or a car accident, or a beating,” Arnie added.
“One broken carpal,” Nate read from the report. “That’s a finger bone, right?”
“Right,” Tony said. “So, aside from the fight, if that’s what it was, and the drugs, he was as healthy as a horse.”
“A drugged, beat-up horse,” Arnie mused.
“We’ll know more when the full autopsy’s done. Those toxin levels are preliminary.” Harvey looked at Eddie. “Did you get anything this morning?”
“No. I’m looking for a guy Kyle supposedly worked with in the drug business, name of Mel. We couldn’t get anything solid in the neighborhood or at the wharf where he used to work. I’m going to check the drug arrests.”
“Use Jennifer’s program,” Harvey said. “It can sort out stuff like that really fast. Search for drug collars in the last year within the city, and the name Mel or Melvin.”
“Got it.” Jennifer was almost as smart as her husband—well, maybe smarter—and the police department had recently bought software she designed that cut the unit’s search times in half and notified them of any updates remotely related to their open cases.
Eddie found two Melvins with drug arrests, but he ruled them out. One had died in June. The other had moved to the state pen.
He kept at it, racking his brain. He decided not to ask Tony for ideas, though the thought nagged at him that he probably should. He stubbornly wanted to prove that he wasn’t the stupid one in the unit, but that was ridiculous. All of these guys were smart.
Arnie took Tony out on a jaunt to the fire marshal’s office for another case, and Harvey gave Nate and Jimmy other assignments, but Eddie kept looking for Mel.
Mike came in around three o’clock. He always wore a suit these days, but he looked awfully somber. It wasn’t until he started talking to Harvey that Eddie realized he’d just come from Kyle Quinlan’s funeral. Eddie caught snatches of conversation that gave him the impression the service was pretty grim. Mike left, and he kept working.
It was almost the end of the shift when something promising showed up. He walked over to Harvey’s desk.
“Got a minute?”
“Yeah. What is it?”
“Mel. Some women are called that, right?”
Harvey blinked. “I suppose so.”
“I found a Melanie Tucker. She’s had two arrests this year, one for driving under the influence, but not alcohol, and the other for intent to distribute cocaine.”
Harvey swiveled his chair back and forth a couple of times, thinking. “Yeah, that sounds right. Look into it tomorrow. Oh, and your report yesterday was good, Eddie. I didn’t see any mistakes.”
“Thanks.” Tony was still out of the office. Eddie would be on his own today. Wasn’t there some sort of built-in grammar checker on the computer? If he wanted to get to church tonight and sit beside Leeanne at the Bible study, he’d better get busy.
*****
He called Leeanne Thursday morning before he went to the office. She’d been friendly at church the evening before, but they hadn’t had much time to talk.
“Is it too early?” he asked.
“No, we’re all up except Abby,” Leeanne said.
“I wondered if I could see you tonight. You’ll only be here a few more days. Is it okay?”
“I’m not sure. Abby has today off. Jennifer might want to do something together.”
He was disappointed, but family came first.
“Let me know if you’re free. We’ve got tomorrow night, anyway.”
“Yeah. I can’t wait to see the Olympic skaters,” she said.
He smiled at the eagerness in her voice. “I’ll pick you up early. You want to eat out first?”
“You’re spending a lot of money on me this week.”
“Nah. Besides, you’ll be gone soon. I want to spend all the time with you I can.”
“Thanks. That’s sweet.”
“Have you ever thought about moving down here?”
“I couldn’t do that.”
“Sure you could.” Eddie didn’t know why he hadn’t suggested it earlier. “You could finish school at USM. I’ve heard Harvey say you could live with them.”
“They have Abby already. Besides, I don’t know if my parents would like it.”
He let it go. Some people would have said that, at almost twenty-one, she should d
o whatever she wanted, get out on her own. But they were a close family.
Eddie knew what it was like to try to keep from upsetting the people you loved. He’d been twenty-three when he finally made the break, moving into an apartment two streets over from his folks. Not halfway across the country, just out of the house. And he’d successfully overcome the guilt his mother had tried to load him down with. Now his independence was the normal thing, but it had taken some determination. For a quiet young woman like Leeanne, it would be harder.
But he knew he’d be burning up the road to Skowhegan that winter. One way or another, he was going to see her.
*****
Melanie Tucker was elusive, but Eddie knew she couldn’t be too far away. Her driver’s license had been suspended. With Nate and Jimmy, he hit her duplex and several other haunts where he thought they might find her, with no success. They went back to the office. Harvey, Arnie, and Tony were all out on other business.
Paula called Eddie over to her desk and handed him a message slip.
“Zoe from the lab called. She has some news on the phones you gave her.”
“Great. Thanks.”
He left Nate and Jimmy trying to profile the woman whose name was on the oxycodone prescription bottle from Kyle’s apartment and went down to the lab. Zoe smiled when he walked through the door.
“Detective Thibodeau! Just the man I was hoping to see.”
Eddie smiled back. He liked Zoe. She was an Asian woman of about forty, and always nice, but not flirty.
“I have good news for you,” she said.
“I could use some.”
She walked over to a workbench and picked up a cell phone. “We were able to access Kyle Quinlan’s contacts and texts. You can read the texts now and compare his contacts with the record of his calls.”
“Awesome.” He’d served a warrant for the call record on Tuesday, and—shock—it had come in overnight.
He spent the next two hours on it. Kyle had about thirty texts in the last couple of weeks, most of them brief, most of them to and from Misty. Eddie worked on those to and from other numbers and identified his brother Jordan and one of his friends.
There were two texts from numbers he hadn’t yet identified. One said, “Hey, Kyle, u still o me 40.” A debt? The other one said simply, “It’s a go.” What was that about? It had come into his phone Friday morning. Eddie tried to track the phone it came from, but got nowhere. He decided it was a burner phone, and therefore a very suspicious text.
Heartbreaker Hero: Eddie's Story (Maine Justice Book 4) Page 10