Barbara waved her hand as she approached the corner table. “No, thanks. I’m good.”
Burt took a sip from his mug. “Decided what you’re going to teach for the winter classes yet?”
“Not yet, but I’m getting close,” Barbara said, pushing up her university sweatshirt sleeves as she settled into the chair. “So, what’s happening? Do you and Mimi want me to teach another class or something?”
Kelly settled into the chair beside Burt and watched him assume his “serious talking” pose. Hands folded, leaning forward over the table.
“Well, maybe so. But actually Kelly and I were curious about something. I’ll let Kelly explain.”
Kelly paused and chose her words carefully. Barbara had an I’m-busy-don’t-waste-my-time expression on her face. “You know Tommy asked Burt and me to find out what we could about that college party scene Holly was involved in.”
Barbara rolled her eyes. “Yes, and I appreciate what you and Burt are doing. It keeps Tommy from wasting his time and jeopardizing his studies by coming down here.”
Kelly gave her a smile. “Well, I’ve been e-mailing Tommy everything I’ve learned, hoping that he’d find some sense of closure—”
“Thank you,” Barbara repeated.
“But I learned something yesterday that bothers me and Burt, too.” She gestured to him. “And we wanted to ask you about it.”
Barbara stared at Kelly, a puzzled look replacing the impatience. “What is it?”
“One of the girls who was at the party said she saw you pick up Holly from the party that night. And Burt and I were wondering why you never mentioned it before. The girl said she recognized you from the doctor’s office and also recognized your car.” Kelly sipped from her coffee mug, watching Barbara’s reaction.
It came swiftly. Total surprise. Barbara’s eyes went wide and a startled expression appeared. Her mouth dropped open as well. She didn’t say a word.
Burt’s quiet voice came. “We were wondering why you never mentioned that. Did you tell Tommy?”
“No . . . I . . . I couldn’t,” Barbara stammered, her wide eyes looking anxious, as she glanced from Kelly to Burt.
Was that fear? Kelly wondered, watching capable take-charge Barbara stammer in obvious confusion. Clearly, Barbara didn’t think anyone knew she’d picked up Holly that night. Burt and Kelly were right.
“We wondered what sort of condition Holly was in. We’d heard she was drinking heavily that evening,” Burt continued, as if he had been leading the investigation. Kelly was grateful. Barbara trusted Burt, so maybe she’d tell him the truth.
Barbara’s mouth twisted. “She was drunk, of course. Like she always was whenever she called.”
“Were you afraid she’d call Tommy if you didn’t pick her up from the party?”
Barbara gave Kelly a grateful look. “That’s exactly right.”
“Did you take Holly to her apartment?” Burt asked.
“Yes, and I told her to go upstairs and sleep it off.” Barbara made an exasperated sound. “Of course, she promised she would. Obviously, she didn’t. Otherwise, how would she have wound up on the river trail?”
“Did she call you again to tell you where she was?” Burt asked.
Barbara shook her head. “No, I didn’t hear a word, and I was up for most of the night, too. I was so upset I couldn’t get to sleep after that.”
“Upset?” Burt prodded gently.
“Yes. Upset with Holly.” Barbara’s frown spread. “I couldn’t believe she’d call me asking why she couldn’t reach Tommy. She was obviously drunk. I told her he had his cell phone off because he was studying the whole weekend.” She gave a disgusted snort. “Then she asked if I would come and get her. As if we were her personal taxi service. I told her to get a ride with one of her friends at the party. She said she asked Patty, but Patty didn’t bring her car, and everyone else was still partying.”
Kelly watched anger flash across Barbara’s face. Clearly, Barbara resented Holly’s demands. And the presumption that Tommy and his mother were both at her beck and call. Barbara made no pretense of her anger. “Why didn’t you tell her no?” Kelly asked.
Barbara shot Kelly a sharp look. “Believe me, I wanted to. But . . .” She closed her eyes and exhaled a long breath. “I knew Holly would complain to Tommy that I had left her in some awful situation. I’m sure she’d embellish it, of course, and make me out to be a villain. And I’d promised Tommy to help Holly if she ever called when he wasn’t available. So I had no choice.”
“I think you did the right thing, Barbara. You’d promised to help Holly, and you did,” Burt said. “You had no way of knowing Holly would leave her apartment later that night.”
“I know, I know.” Barbara stared off into the café. “But I still felt guilty, especially after I learned what happened. I was afraid to tell Tommy. He and I had argued over Holly so many times. I . . . I didn’t want him to blame me for Holly wandering off that night.”
Kelly searched Barbara’s face for any hint of evasion and found none. Barbara seemed unapologetic about her annoyance with Holly and her reluctance to be a chauffeur that night. Barbara was as blunt and forthright as always. Her initial startled confusion was probably surprise.
“I don’t think Tommy would blame you, Barbara,” Kelly added. “But if you like, I won’t even mention it in my e-mail to him.”
Barbara gave her a grateful look. “I appreciate that, Kelly.”
“I’ll tell Patty not to mention it, either. She’s e-mailing Tommy, too.”
Barbara smiled. “Oh, I’m sure Patty wouldn’t tell Tommy. She’s very considerate and wouldn’t want Tommy to worry. She’s grown up right beside Tommy and Holly. Almost like a little sister. I used to have her over for dinner whenever Holly came. They were all very close friends.”
“Well, she’s certainly a big help. She’s been asking all her friends about the party that night. Checking if they saw who Holly was with, and all that. She’d call me with updates, and I’d e-mail them to Tommy.”
“Patty is a sweet girl,” Barbara continued, a maternal smile replacing her earlier frown. “She’d come over whenever I needed help with a project. Even cleaning out closets. Such a good-natured girl. I hoped that Tommy would become interested in Patty someday. I knew she had a huge crush on him. But Tommy only had eyes for Holly. Patty was a little sister to him.” She shook her head. “What a shame.”
Kelly listened, fascinated to learn this other side of Patty. Barbara had nothing but glowing praise for Patty, yet Patty had made some rather sharp observations about Barbara. Interesting.
“Well, let’s hope that Tommy does find some peace of mind about this,” Burt said. “He’s a fine young man and will make a wonderful doctor someday.”
The slight flush of maternal pride colored Barbara’s face. “Well, keep him in your prayers, Burt. He’s just begun that journey.” She scraped her chair back and stood. “I’m going to check on those yarns now. Mimi will want a workshop description for the flyer this week before she sends it to the printer.”
“I’ll be there in a minute, Barbara,” Burt said, leaning back in his chair. Barbara headed toward the hallway to the shop. Burt glanced at Kelly with a knowing smile. “Well, are you satisfied, Sherlock? I told you Barbara couldn’t harm Holly.”
“Yeah, you did, Burt, and you were right. Forgive me for raising the issue, but, hey . . . that’s my job,” she said with a sly smile. “I’m supposed to poke around in things other people don’t want to. And ask bothersome questions. Someone has to do it.”
Burt drained his coffee and rose. “Keep right on asking questions, Kelly. That’s how you discover the truth. I’m afraid, however, we may never know the whole truth about Holly’s death.”
“Well, I think you and I came up with a reasonable explanation when we brainstormed earlier. Boyfriend Eddie is probably the source of the pills and provided transportation to the river trail. It seems to fit, even though I’ve still got some questio
ns.”
Burt chuckled. “Kelly, you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t have questions. See you later.” He sped down the hallway.
Kelly took a deep drink of coffee, letting some of those questions she mentioned rise to claim her attention. Boyfriend Eddie was still a question mark in her eyes. Maybe Burt was right. They might never know the truth about what happened that night—where Holly got the pills or how she wound up on the river trail. That thought didn’t sit well. Kelly didn’t like unsolved puzzles.
She checked her watch. There was enough time to finish her oversized hat. She’d already transferred all the stitches to the four double-point needles. She grabbed her knitting bag and headed toward the main room. Then her cell phone jangled in her jeans pocket. Steve’s name and number flashed on the screen as she settled at the long table.
“Hey, how’re you doing?” Kelly said cheerfully, hoping Steve was no longer annoyed.
“Okay. I got to go out with one of the firm’s clients this morning. He’s starting an entirely new development. Totally green building. Energy-saving materials and construction and all that. Plus, I saw the new solar arrays that are being developed. Man, they’re way more powerful.”
“Wow, that sounds great. You were doing some of that with the Wellesley site, weren’t you?” It was good to hear Steve enthusiastic about something again. She hadn’t heard that tone in his voice for months.
“Yeah, I could only do a little of it, though. Pricing was a problem. But that’s more reasonable now, too. Listen, I got your message reminding me about Megan and Marty’s party this weekend. Don’t worry. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’ll be there.”
“That’s great. I’ll tell everyone at the game tonight. There’s going to be loads of people at the party. Marty has a large family, and it sounds like Curt’s inviting all of them. Jayleen said they were getting writer’s cramp from addressing invitations.” She laughed softly.
“Sounds like fun.” Steve paused. “Listen . . . I’m sorry I jumped at you the other night, Kelly. I . . . I was worn out, I guess.”
“Apology accepted,” Kelly said. “Maybe you can catch up on sleep while you’re here this weekend. Looks like you really need it.”
“I’ll try. Listen, another call is coming in. Talk to you later.” He clicked off. Gone as quickly as he’d appeared.
Kelly dug the nearly finished hat from her bag and picked up where she left off knitting onto the double-point needles. Decreasing stitches every row. Closing the crown circle slowly. She’d only finished one row when she heard Jennifer’s voice come behind her.
“Hey, I’m glad you’re here.” Jennifer pulled out the chair beside Kelly. “Have you gotten any calls from Curt or Jayleen to help with the party this weekend?”
“No, I haven’t. It sounds like they have everything well under control.”
Jennifer took out the burgundy-and-gold scarf and began to knit. “Those two are way too efficient for words. The last thing I heard from Mimi was they’re expecting over a hundred people. Can they fit that many in Curt’s ranch house?”
“Megan told us at practice that Curt’s ordered canopied tents for the yard. So we’ll be sprawled all over.” Kelly examined the slowly shrinking crown circle. “It should be beautiful weather this weekend.”
“Steve’s coming up, isn’t he?”
Kelly nodded. “He just called and said he’d be here. He also apologized for jumping all over me the other night.”
Jennifer looked up. “Oh, good. I’m glad he did.”
“So am I. I told him he needed to catch up on his sleep this weekend.”
“That will help.” Jennifer checked the row she was knitting before starting the next. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to tell you something, but I was so busy yesterday it slipped my mind. I was still in the café yesterday when your covert college informant Patty came in to talk. I saw you two together, and I realized that I’ve met her before. I waitressed with her last year at some of those university functions.”
“I’m not surprised,” Kelly said, eyeing the shrinking crown circle. She was almost finished. “Patty works over there several nights, she says. It helps her pay for courses. She also works at the steakhouse in the shopping center across the street.”
“Well, I simply wanted to tell you to be careful. I wouldn’t believe everything Patty says, if I were you.”
Kelly’s attention left the yarn quickly. She peered at her friend. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve seen her steal from people’s purses on two separate occasions and lie about it afterwards.”
Kelly drew back. “What! Tell me what happened.”
“I was working one of those university banquets with her and lots of other waitresses and staff. For the really big functions, they bring in extra staff to bus tables and set up. Most of those kids aren’t too experienced and they leave their coats and purses draped over chairs or hanging on wall pegs in the storage rooms. I always lock my purse in the trunk of my car when I’m working the university. Too many strangers wander those hallways. Valuables can disappear in an instant.”
“And you’re sure you saw her stealing from someone’s purse?” Kelly asked. That didn’t sound like the Patty she’d been interacting with this past month. Nor did it square with the image Barbara painted of sweet-natured, good-girl Patty.
“Not just one person’s purse. I saw her riffle several women’s purses. She’d move to where a coat was thrown, she’d riffle the purse and take what she wanted, then move to the next one. She was very careful, too. Always looking over her shoulder. I was behind a divider, so she didn’t see me.”
“What did she take? Money, cell phones, PDAs?”
Jennifer nodded. “And pill bottles. I saw her hold up several pill bottles and read what was in them, then pocket them.”
“Really?” Kelly caught Jennifer’s gaze.
“Really. And I personally witnessed one of the girls ask Patty if she saw anyone going through her purse that evening. And Patty got all wide-eyed and innocent and said she hadn’t seen a thing.”
“That’s disturbing to hear,” Kelly admitted. “Patty has been my chief source for campus and party information.”
“And she may be entirely truthful in this situation. After all, she knows all the players. But I thought I should share that experience with you, so you’ll be on your guard. In case you hear her say something strange. Just keep your ears open.”
“Thanks, Jen. I appreciate it. I was telling Burt the other day I’ve learned that people are seldom what they seem. This is another example, I guess. Although, I confess, this surprises me. Patty always seemed so down-to-earth and stable.”
“And she may very well be. Those actions may have been a bump along the road for her. Maybe Patty has straightened herself out. So I don’t want to malign her as much as warn you in your dealings with her.”
Kelly heard the sound of Jennifer’s cell phone beep, and Jen dug into her bag. “I don’t recognize this number. It must be business,” she said, rising from her chair. “I’ll be back.”
Kelly didn’t mind. In fact, she welcomed a few moments of quiet. She needed to knit on what she’d just learned about Patty. “Sweet girl” Patty was a thief and a liar. That was a shock. She’d always appeared to be straightforward and open. Then again . . .
That morning’s earlier conversation with Barbara returned to dance about Kelly’s brain. Clearly, Patty wasn’t everything she appeared to be. Or . . . maybe she exhibited different character traits to different people. Straightforward and helpful with Kelly. Sweet-natured and daughterly with Barbara. Sneaky and opportunistic with her fellow waiters and waitresses.
Kelly threaded a darning needle with the last strand of yarn, pushed it through the tiny crown opening, and gathered the last stitches. Then she pulled the circle tight, closing it. She looped a knot into the yarn and tied that off, then wove the yarn ends beneath the stitches. All the time, her mind going a mile a minute. Questions bouncing around he
r brain.
Shoving her finished hat and phone into her bag, Kelly headed for the foyer. She gave a goodbye wave to Jennifer on her way out the door. Kelly wanted answers to some of these new Patty questions that were bedeviling her now. But who could she ask? Not Patty’s friend Francesca. She would immediately alert Patty that Kelly was asking questions. And she certainly couldn’t ask Tommy. He would never understand why she’d be curious about his “little sister” Patty.
Only one person came to mind. The only person who could be counted on not to call either Tommy or Patty afterwards. Someone who had given Kelly helpful but harsh information earlier.
Kelly jumped into her sporty car and revved the engine. If she hurried, she could get to the Grill café before Rachel Gebbard finished her lunch shift.
Seventeen
Kelly stepped inside the Grill café and quickly scanned the nearby tables. The café was nearly empty. Only two tables were occupied with customers. She spotted two waitresses and neither of them was Rachel. A lone grill cook was behind the counter, and it looked as if he was cleaning. The lunch shift was either over or winding down.
Disappointed, Kelly turned to leave when Rachel walked in from a back hallway. Sweater on and backpack over her shoulder, she looked to be headed to the university.
Kelly gave her a friendly smile and approached the door as if she was leaving. “Hey, how’re you doing? Looks like you’re headed to class.”
“Yeah, I’ve got most of my classes in the afternoons so I can work mornings and lunch,” Rachel said as she walked through the café door Kelly held open.
“You remember my friend Jennifer? She works Pete’s Porch in the mornings and works afternoons in real estate. Are you still working the university catering at nights?”
“Every chance I get.” Rachel pulled out her car keys. “Tell Jennifer to keep me in mind for her boss’s jobs, too. I can always use the money.”
That gave Kelly an opening. “Will do. Hey, can I ask you a question? You said you grew up with Tommy Macenroe, Holly Kaiser, and Patty Warren. So you know them pretty well.”
Skein of the Crime Page 20