by J A Whiting
“Who?” Jenna asked.
“A psychic.”
Everyone gaped at the chief.
“Really?” Courtney looked excited.
“Who was it?” Ellie’s eyes were wide as saucers.
“I don’t recall.” The chief shrugged into his wool coat. “I could find out.”
“Would you ask?” Angie thought it would be very helpful and slightly weird for them to speak to another person who had skills.
“Well,” Tom noted, “the case wasn’t solved so maybe that psychic wasn’t very good.”
“I’d still like to speak with the person.” Angie poured herself another cup of tea. “The psychic might have come up with some ideas, but maybe there wasn’t enough evidence to go forward.”
Ellie leaned back against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest. “Is it possible Mr. Connors is still alive?”
“I’d vote probably not. It’s been so long.” Courtney rinsed her cereal bowl in the sink and then turned around and eyed Ellie. “Why? Do you feel something?”
Ellie blinked. “What? Me? No.” She shook her head. “Nothing.”
Courtney narrowed her eyes. “Yes, you do. You feel something.”
Ellie turned away abruptly and headed out of the kitchen. “I have to check on the guests.”
With her hand on her hip, Courtney looked at her sisters, Mr. Finch, and Chief Martin. “Yup. She feels something.”
8
“Cora Connors would like to speak to all of us.” Ellie came back into the kitchen right after Chief Martin left to return to work. “Can we gather in the sunroom to talk to her?”
“What have we decided?” Jenna asked. “Are we going to look into her husband’s disappearance?”
“I guess so.” Angie wasn’t thrilled about taking on the case. There were things about it that made her feel unsettled and wary.
The others agreed to give the case a look and if things did not seem promising then they would give up. They all traipsed into the sunroom to talk to Cora who was sitting on the sofa by the windows gazing out at the snow-covered yard. She turned and gave the group a little smile. “Thank you for meeting with me.” She clasped her hands in her lap. “I’ll come right to the point. Would you be willing to investigate my husband’s disappearance?”
Angie spoke for the group. “We’ve discussed it and have agreed to have a look. It would just be an initial gathering of information and checking out the leads that the police came up with. We can’t promise anything. Law enforcement was unsuccessful and we probably won’t have any better luck.”
Jenna spoke kindly. “As long as you understand that, then we’ll give it a try.”
Cora beamed at them and thanked them all profusely. “I very much appreciate it.”
Ellie sat straight in her seat and gave Cora a serious look. “You understand that we’ll need total cooperation. Nothing will be discovered unless you and your sons are upfront with us. Holding things back or giving only partial answers to the questions we ask will not prove productive and will waste everyone’s time.”
Cora nodded.
“We’ll do a preliminary investigation.” Courtney was still wearing her pajamas. “If we think there is reason to continue, then we will of course, but we may have to end the inquiry if there isn’t anything to go on.”
“I understand.”
Mr. Finch spoke next. “We have heard that a psychic was called in by the police. Can you share with us what that person came up with?”
One side of Cora’s mouth turned down. “I thought it was nonsense to bring in a psychic.”
Courtney rolled her eyes at Angie and gave her a half smile.
“The police wanted to do it anyway. They said the results were inconclusive.”
“What does that mean?” Courtney asked. “Inconclusive? Did the psychic have some ideas or suggestions?”
“I don’t know.” Cora wrung her hands in her lap. “I didn’t ask for details. I thought it was nonsense. Nothing came of it, so I didn’t care to know any more.”
“Do you recall the name of the psychic?” Jenna questioned.
Cora’s eyebrows went up, surprised that the sisters and Mr. Finch would care about the psychic. “I don’t know. I could find out for you.”
Ellie nodded. “Yes, please find out.”
Angie eyed Ellie, surprised that she was taking such an active role in the proceedings.
Ellie folded her hands in her lap. “I think the first step would be to visit your home in Mill City so we can look around and get a feel for the layout and where things allegedly occurred.”
After Ellie spoke, each family member turned and stared at her.
“The sooner, the better,” Ellie added. “And it would be helpful if your son, the one who was home the day your husband disappeared, is at the house when we arrive.”
Discussion centered on when everyone could make the trip to Mill City and it was agreed that, since it would only take a little over an hour, they would drive down later in the day. Cora left the sunroom to phone her son.
“Who has taken over your body?” Courtney gave Ellie the eye.
The tall blonde blinked. “What do you mean?”
“In our other cases, you’ve been more reluctant to get involved.” Angie pointed out the change in her sister’s behavior.
Jenna smiled. “You’re leading the charge this time.”
“I just thought I should be more help.” Ellie stood and headed out of the room. “I’m going to see if the guests need anything else on the breakfast buffet.”
Courtney watched Ellie leave the sunroom and then turned to the others. “What’s the real reason she’s suddenly become the case manager?”
Everyone shrugged and shook their heads in amazement.
“Time will tell.” Mr. Finch leaned on his cane and followed the others out of the room.
Ellie pulled her van behind Cora Connors sedan in the driveway of her home in Mill City. Courtney held Mr. Finch’s arm as he maneuvered out of the backseat. The cats jumped out and sat on the brick driveway.
The house was a large two-story home with an attached two- car garage and even though it was winter, the bushes and trees around the home were trimmed and well-cared for. The house looked freshly painted and nicely maintained and matched the other homes in the neighborhood in size and quality.
“This is where we live.” Cora stood at the curb looking over the house she’d shared with her husband for so many years and marveled at the speed with which time had passed.
A barefoot young man wearing jeans and a baggy t-shirt opened the front door and waited for the guests to enter. Slender, bordering on skinny, with long legs and arms, his dark brown hair was mussed and he had some scraggy facial hair on his chin and cheeks like he was attempting to grow a beard. He ran his hand over his hair trying to push down the strands that were sticking up. Courtney got the impression he’d just woken from a nap.
The shoes and boots worn by Finch and the sisters made a scrunching noise as they moved over the sand and tiny bits of gravel that had been spread to give traction over some icy spots on the walkway from last night’s freeze. Despite cold nights, the past week had seen unusually warm weather in Massachusetts and most of the snow had melted leaving just a dusting here and there over the lawns.
“This is our youngest son, Karl.” Cora introduced the Roselands and Finch.
“You brought cats?” Karl watched the orange boy and the sweet black creature enter the foyer. “Why?”
“They travel with us,” Ellie said.
“Why?” Karl persisted.
Courtney handed her coat to Karl and deadpanned, “They’re good at solving mysteries.”
Karl was about to chuckle, but stopped himself when it seemed that Courtney might be serious. One of his eyebrows arched in question.
Ellie gave her sister a look of disapproval and Courtney winked and shrugged in response.
“She’s kidding,” Jenna leaned in and whisp
ered to the young man with a reassuring smile.
When everyone was inside and coats had been removed, Cora suggested that they all sit down in the large, comfortably furnished living room.
“I didn’t realize there were so many of you,” Karl remarked as he eyed Courtney in a leering way. She scowled at his attention.
“We’re a family,” Angie said. “We work as a team.”
Karl didn’t look impressed. “Have you had any luck solving cases?”
“We have.” Jenna sat upright in the rocking chair.
“Cases as cold as this one?” Karl looked from person to person.
“Colder,” Courtney told the young man. She didn’t much care for Karl’s mix of superior attitude and nonchalance and didn’t think they’d be getting much that was useful from him.
Everyone sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments unsure of how to start the inquiry so Angie spoke up. “Your mother has asked us to take a look at your father’s case to see if we can find something that might have been overlooked.”
Karl interrupted her with a chuckle. “I don’t see how anything might have been overlooked. There must have been a million cops involved.”
Cora looked down at her hands clearly wishing that her son would speak his mind in a less abrasive way.
“You’d be surprised what gets overlooked in investigations.” Ellie sniffed.
“I just don’t see how four girls, an older man, and two cats can do more than the cops did.”
Euclid let out a piercing howl causing everyone to startle.
Giving the orange cat a look of reprimand, Angie pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear and cleared her throat. “There isn’t very much going on with the investigation right now. Months have passed, nothing new has surfaced, and the police don’t have the time to give the case that they did early on. Your mother wants to be sure that no stone is unturned. Things can be overlooked at the beginning of a case that, once time has passed, is later noticed as important.”
“It’s quite common for investigators to be brought in a year or more after an incident has happened.” Jenna, being careful not to be antagonistic in any way, turned to Karl. “We understand that you were the last one to see your father. Can you run through the day for us? It was a Sunday, wasn’t it?”
Karl shifted around on the sofa and brushed his hand through his hair. “I was here. I slept late. Dad had gone to the coffee shop and brought back some donuts. I watched some TV while I ate breakfast. Dad was in his office doing some work for his business. I went up to shower. I was going out to meet some friends. When I came down to leave, Dad was mowing the lawn. I waved at him and he stopped the lawnmower, asked me what I was doing for the day. I walked to my car and Dad started mowing again. I left and met my friends.”
Jenna asked, “What time was that?”
“A little after noon, maybe closer to 1pm.”
“Where was your mom?” Mr. Finch knew where Cora was but wanted Karl to tell.
“She went to New Hampshire for the weekend.”
“Alone?” Ellie asked.
“With her friend.”
“Can you give us the friend’s name?” Courtney had removed a pad of paper and a pen from her bag.
“Jill. Jill Jensen.”
“Does she live in Mill City?” Circe had curled in Jenna’s lap.
“Yeah. Jill and my mom work in the same school. They’ve been friends since high school. They went to the same college here in the city.”
“What time did you come home after being with your friends?” Ellie questioned.
“Around 7pm.” Karl rested back against the sofa.
“Who was here when you got home?” Finch took a turn asking a question.
“No one. The house was empty.”
Finch sat upright with his cane between his knees and both hands on top of it. “Where was your father?”
“He wasn’t here. I thought he must have gone for a run.”
“And your mother?” Finch continued the questioning.
“She wasn’t home from New Hampshire yet.”
“Think back on the day.” Finch looked Karl in the eyes. “I’d like you to remember little things. The weather, the look of the sky, how you felt … bored, tired, energetic … think about how your father seemed … distracted, happy, rushed. Try to recall your interactions. Take a moment and immerse yourself in that day.”
Slumped in his seat, Karl had his elbow on the arm of the sofa and his head against the palm of his hand. Angie wasn’t surprised that the young man couldn’t find a full-time job if this was how he presented himself to new people.
“Think about the little things of the day. Did your father get a phone call, an email that seemed to concern him? Perhaps a text came in that might have changed his mood? Any small thing that you might remember could shed light on what happened.”
“It seemed like a normal day.” Karl bit at the side of his fingernail.
Angie sighed at Karl’s nonchalance. “When did your mother come home?”
“Around 8pm.”
“No sign of your father though?”
Karl shook his head.
“And when your mother returned, what happened?”
Karl glanced at his mother. “She came home. I was watching TV. I’d heated up a frozen pizza. She asked where Dad was and I told her he hadn’t been around since I got back.”
“Then what happened?” Angie asked.
“I was in the den. I think Mom went to look in the garage to see if Dad’s car was there.”
“Was it?”
“Yeah.”
“What did your mother do next?”
Karl looked over at his mom again. “I think she texted Dad. When he didn’t answer, she called his phone.” The young man cocked his head. “I think you called Mike then?” He turned back to Angie. “Mike’s my dad’s friend. Dad wasn’t over there. Mike said he hadn’t heard from Dad all day.”
“Then what?” Angie prodded.
“Mom called my brother. He didn’t know anything. Mom waited until around 10pm and then she called the police.”
“How did you feel then? Were you worried?” Ellie asked, wondering if Richard Connors had gone out on other occasions without informing his family where he was going.
“I figured Dad had gone for a long run or maybe ran into a buddy and maybe went for coffee or a drink. I really didn’t give it any thought.”
Courtney had been taking notes. She held her pen above the paper and asked, “If that was the case, why wouldn’t your father answer his phone?”
“Who knows?” Karl gave a shrug. “Do you answer your phone every time it rings?”
“Yes.” Courtney held Karl’s eyes. “If it’s someone in my family, I do. You don’t?”
“Nope.” A little grin played over the young man’s mouth.
Angie looked over at Cora and moved to stand up. “I think it would be helpful if you could show us around the house and the grounds now.”
As everyone stood and followed Cora and Karl from the room, Courtney leaned close to Angie and whispered, “And I think it would be helpful if Karl wasn’t such a jerk.”
9
Cora led the group through the house pointing out the large kitchen at the back of the home, the laundry room where Richard had tossed his gardening clothes on the day he disappeared, and the downstairs closet where Richard’s running shoes and deck shoes were lined up on the floor. Angie’s heart gave a little squeeze of sadness when she saw the man’s shoes still in their place after so many months. Cora led them to Richard’s small office tucked off of the back hall. A few of them entered the room and the others stood in the hallway poking their heads inside.
“I assume the police went through everything? His laptop, emails, texts?” Ellie glanced around at the bookshelves, the file cabinets, and the neat stacks of papers on the desk.
Cora had to blink back a few tears. “The police went over everything. They went through the paperwork in the
desk and the cabinets.” She pointed at them. “Richard worked from home so this was where he kept everything.”
“Did Richard only have one laptop?” Jenna moved around a little trying to pick up on anything.
“I never saw another one.” Cora had her arms wrapped around herself. “Just the one, there on the desk.”
“You’ve left his things the way he had them?” Mr. Finch ran his hand over the top of the chrome and glass desk.
“The police jumbled everything up and took the laptop for a while. But I tried to put things back in order. Richard didn’t like things in disarray.” Cora put her hand against her cheek. “I wanted everything neat for his return.”
Angie took a quick look at Cora wondering why it was so important that things be neat and not in disarray for Richard.
The group was led to the upstairs bedrooms for a look around and when they returned to the first floor, everyone put on their coats and made their way out the back door to the yard. A few sprinkles of snow fluttered down from the gray sky and the air felt colder than when they had arrived with some biting gusts of wind kicking up every once in a while.
Karl gestured to where his father had been mowing the lawn at the front of the house when he’d come out to say goodbye to him before heading to meet his friends.
“What kind of a day was it?” Jenna moved around the yard.
“A typical beginning of September day.” Karl scratched his cheek. “Sunny, almost hot, kind of humid. I remember because I didn’t feel like running that day. I don’t like humidity.”
“Your father wasn’t bothered by humidity?” Ellie asked. “He mowed the lawn even though it was hot and humid?”
“My husband was a disciplined man.” Cora looked proud. “He did what needed to be done. He never let the elements stop him from working or exercising.”
As they moved to the two-car garage, Angie wondered if that comment was a dig at Karl.
The garage had a shiny black sedan in the left side bay. Cora had parked her car in front of the house at the curb when they’d arrived from Sweet Cove. “This is Richard’s car. The police went over it with a fine-tooth comb. They didn’t find any evidence of foul play.”