Skein of the Crime

by Maggie Sefton

  Rachel’s expression turned wary. “Yeah. What’s your question?”

  “Tommy’s mother told me at the shop that she’s worried about Patty. She says Patty is acting kind of erratic lately. I wondered if you ever saw her taking drugs or pills at parties and stuff.”

  “Sometimes. Patty used to do a lot more a couple of years back, but not as much now.” Rachel’s mouth twisted into a half smile. “Now, she just sells stuff.”

  “Really? You’ve seen her selling pills?” Kelly made her eyes look as innocently wide as possible. “Where does she get them?”

  Rachel shrugged. “Steals them mostly. At least that’s what she told me. She’s been doing it for years. I’ve seen her going through people’s purses at parties when they’re not looking. Backpacks, too. She does it at every party.”

  “Wow, that’s really weird,” Kelly continued. “Jennifer told me she’d worked with Patty at some university catering jobs and saw her stealing from people’s purses in the kitchen.”

  “That’s why I leave my stuff in my car. Too easy to get ripped off.”

  “You know, I asked Patty where she thought Holly got those pills, and she told me you probably sold them to her.”

  Rachel scowled. “Patty’s a bitch and a liar. I’ve never sold pills.”

  Kelly continued, wide-eyed. “Now I don’t know whether to trust anything she’s told me. She said someone picked up Holly from the party that night. Someone in a dark car.”

  “Well, Patty should know. She was standing outside in the front yard talking with Holly. Patty always hangs out with Holly at parties. It’s like they’re joined at the hip.”

  “Did you see Holly leave? I wondered if maybe that Greeley guy came to pick her up.”

  Rachel shook her head. “Naw, I didn’t notice. I was only in the front yard for a while with some friends, then went inside when they caught a ride with Patty back to their dorms.”

  Kelly let that sink in. Barbara said Holly told her that Patty didn’t bring her car to the party. Clearly, that was a lie. What else had Patty lied about?

  “So, Patty brought her car?”

  “Sure, everyone does unless they live nearby,” Rachel said, turning to leave. “Listen, I’d better get to class. Be careful around Patty.”

  “You know, someone said Patty had a big crush on Tommy. Is that true?” Kelly asked as Rachel started to walk away.

  Rachel turned, a smirk appearing. “Big time. Ever since we were kids. That’s why she hung around Holly, I think. So she could get close to Tommy. Bye.”

  Kelly walked to her own car as Rachel’s comments raced about her head. Clearly Jennifer’s observation was not a one-time thing. Rachel had known Patty for years, and she said Patty stole from people regularly and sold the pills at parties.

  That meant Patty had a ready supply of pills to sell or use.

  Kelly revved the car engine as ideas started bouncing inside her head. Patty always hung around Holly at parties. Rachel said she saw Patty outside with Holly before she left. Clearly, Patty wasn’t there when Barbara picked up Holly. Barbara would have mentioned it. Patty had also lied about having her car with her. Why would she tell Holly she didn’t bring her car? Did she want Holly to drive home with someone else? Why? Patty evidently didn’t mind driving other partygoers home.

  Kelly pulled into the parking lot of a corporate coffee-house chain. She needed caffeine—now.

  Rachel’s no-nonsense observations about Patty rang true to Kelly. Rachel had no reason to lie. Her comments were cutting but not spiteful. She’d grown up with all three—Tommy, Holly, and Patty. Rachel knew them well. Apparently, she also knew their secrets.

  Kelly strode into the coffee shop and gave her order to the barista. Midafternoon and the shop was less crowded. She dug out her cell phone and punched in the Lambspun shop number. Rosa answered.

  “Hey, Rosa, good to hear you. How’s the second job going?”

  “Okay, but a little tiring. It’s hard being on your feet all those hours straight behind a counter. At least here, we can sit down and wind yarns when there are no customers.”

  “Boy, Rosa, I hope the downturn turns back up soon. Steve’s having a hard time, too.”

  “Yeah, I heard. It’s everywhere.”

  “Hey, could you give me Barbara Macenroe’s number please? I don’t have it.”

  “Sure, hold on. Let me check the computer.”

  Kelly paid the barista and headed for the door, hot coffee in hand. She heard Rosa come back on the line.

  “Here it is.” Rosa rattled off the number while Kelly memorized it. One of the good things about being an accountant: she could remember numbers.

  “Thanks, Rosa. Take care of yourself and the family. See you soon.” She clicked off, then punched in Barbara’s cell number. “Hey, Barbara, Kelly here. I wondered if you knew if Holly had a roommate or not.”

  “Yes, she did. Real studious girl, too. Holly always made jokes about Catherine studying all the time when Holly was out. Too bad Holly didn’t spend more time studying.”

  “Do you happen to know her last name?”

  “Sorry, I don’t. Are you planning to talk with her, Kelly?”

  “Yeah, there are some things about Holly’s last night that bother me.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like who took Holly over to the river trail. I figure she must have called someone after you dropped her off at the apartment. That person must have given her the pills. I’m thinking it was that guy Eddie.”

  “You may never know, Kelly. Holly had obviously gotten involved with a lot of druggies. Maybe it was this Eddie. Maybe it was another friend.”

  “I know. But every time I learn something new, it leads to something else. Sort of like dangling yarns. Start to pull one strand, and more stitches unravel. Like a sweater.”

  “I can understand. Let me know what you learn, Kelly.”

  “I promise. By the way, where did Holly live? Which apartment complex?”

  “She lived in one of those condos on West Stuart near Overland Drive. I can’t remember the exact address, but it was Unit B, right next to the sidewalk.”

  “Thanks, Barbara. Talk to you later.”

  Kelly tossed her bag into her car and slid into the seat. Instead of starting the car, however, she touched the screen of her newer data phone to access the Internet. Finding a common search engine site, she entered Holly Kaiser, Fort Connor, CO and clicked, hoping to find Holly’s actual address.

  Within an instant the screen filled with various Holly Kaisers. Kelly skimmed the list until she found the correct one. Holly Kaiser. 2222 Bainbridge Drive, Fort Connor, CO 80526.

  Kelly checked her watch, then started the car. She’d wait outside in her car until Holly’s roommate came home. Hopefully, the roommate would come home before softball practice, but if not, then Megan would have to understand.

  Kelly drained her coffee and checked her watch again. She’d been waiting outside Holly’s apartment building for over an hour. She should have brought her laptop computer with her. But then . . . she would be engrossed in accounts and forget to watch for Holly’s roommate. Unit B was right on the sidewalk like Barbara said. The front door and stoop faced the street, which made it easier to observe.

  She switched radio stations, listening to whatever music distracted her from the waiting. Rock, jazz, pop, country. Whatever worked.

  A small gray car pulled up to the curb, close to the front stoop of Unit B. Parked directly across the street, Kelly watched a young woman with sandy brown hair open the car door. Reaching inside the backseat, she pulled out a large backpack and slung it over her shoulder, then walked toward the entrance of Unit B.

  Okaaaay. Kelly exited her car and hastened across the street, hoping to reach the young woman before she closed the front door. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties or so, graduate-student age. And from the drag of that backpack on her shoulder, it looked like there were plenty of books inside.

  “Excu
se me,” Kelly called out as she walked up the sidewalk leading to Unit B. “Are you Catherine?”

  The young woman spun around, her face registering concern. “Yes. Who are you?”

  “My name is Kelly Flynn, and I live in Fort Connor, near the Lambspun knitting shop off Lemay.” Kelly gestured in the distance.

  A puzzled expression crossed Catherine’s face. “Yes, I know that shop. It’s next to a golf course, right?”

  Kelly nodded. “That’s right. Several of us at the shop knew your former roommate, Holly Kaiser. One of the shop instructors is the mother of Tommy Macenroe, who was Holly’s boyfriend.”

  Catherine nodded slowly. “Okay, I see. You’re wondering about Holly’s stuff. I packed up her things in several boxes and left them in her room. I figured I’d hear from Tommy one of these days. He needs to pick them up, because I’ll be moving to a smaller apartment in December.”

  Kelly used Catherine’s assumption as an opening and approached closer, taking her cell phone from her pocket. “Thank you. I’ll tell Tommy, and I’m sure he’ll schedule a time to pick them up. What’s your cell number?”

  Catherine ran through her number while Kelly punched it into her directory. “Tell Tommy nighttime is better. I’m studying and in classes during the day. Like he is.” A look of concern crossed her face. “How’s Tommy doing, by the way? He really looked awful at the funeral.”

  “He’s trying to come to grips with it all,” Kelly answered truthfully. “Some of us promised him we’d try to find some answers to what happened to Holly and let him know. It’ll help him find closure, I guess.”

  Catherine looked skeptical. “I don’t know what answers you can find. Holly finally took too many pills. I’d been watching her do this to herself every weekend for months and tried to warn her.” She shrugged. “But she didn’t want to listen. Those party friends of hers were a bad influence. Every time Holly promised Tommy to stay away from the drugs, someone would give her a pill to try, and . . . she was gone again.” Catherine made a helpless gesture.

  Kelly followed up on that, encouraging Catherine to say more. “It sounds like Holly was hanging out with the wrong crowd and making some really bad choices.”

  “Oh, yeah. I thought she’d finally turned around in August. She didn’t go to as many parties and went to the knitting shop every day. She’d even started classes again. But then she and Tommy had that big fight. I came home right after Tommy left. Holly was fuming. I tried to calm her down, but she didn’t want to listen. She got on the phone and found out where the parties were. I begged her not to go, but she just ignored me and walked out the door.”

  “By any chance were you still awake when Holly came home that night? Tommy’s mother Barbara picked her up from the party. She said she dropped Holly here at the apartment late that night.”

  “Yeah, I was.” Catherine shifted the backpack on her shoulder. “I was up late trying to write a paper. You know, drinking a lot of coffee, trying to finish.”

  Kelly held up her hand with a smile. “Hey, been there. Still there, sometimes.”

  Catherine smiled. “Well, then you know. I was almost finished when I heard Holly’s voice outside. I got up to look out the window and saw a car pulling away and Holly walking on the sidewalk. I was about to go open the door when a girl got out of a car across the street and came over to talk to Holly.”

  Kelly felt her pulse speed up. “Did you recognize the girl by any chance? Was she one of Holly’s friends?”

  “Ohhhh, yeah.” Catherine nodded. “It was her buddy, Patty.”

  “You’re sure it was her?”

  “Absolutely. Patty was over here a lot. She and Holly would come over and go into Holly’s room. Do more pills or whatever.” Catherine shook her head sadly. “That’s who Holly called after her fight with Tommy. Patty told her some friends would pick her up for the party.”

  Kelly tried to quiet her racing thoughts and reached for one from the back. “When you saw Patty later that night, do you remember if she was wearing a jacket or anything? Something kind of heavy?”

  Catherine glanced to the side. “Uhhhh, let me think.” She closed her eyes. “Yeah, she had on a black jacket. It was kind of bulky, I remember that. Why do you ask?”

  Kelly tried to keep her sleuthing zeal in check. “I think someone saw Patty later that night, somewhere she shouldn’t have been. I was just checking.” She deliberately left her answer evasive.

  “I see,” Catherine said, peering at Kelly. “Listen, I’ve got to grab some dinner inside so I can go back to the library. Tell Tommy to give me a call whenever he wants to pick up those boxes.”

  “Will do,” Kelly replied with a wave. “Thanks so much, Catherine. You’ve been a big help. We’ll be in touch.” Then she turned and sped across the street to her car. Maybe she could track down Burt before she had to leave for the softball field.

  Kelly maneuvered her car through Fort Connor’s rush-hour traffic while she held the cell phone to her ear. “So what do you think, Burt? I’d like to have a little chat with Patty tomorrow, wouldn’t you?”

  “Yeah, Kelly, I think that’s a good idea. I have to admit you’ve dug up some interesting information. I’d like to hear what Patty has to say. Who knows? Maybe she took Holly somewhere else to meet Eddie. We don’t know.”

  Kelly thought about that while she turned onto the avenue bordering Lambspun. That idea didn’t feel right. “Anything’s possible, Burt. But I have a feeling Patty is the one who gave Holly those pills, then dumped her off on the river trail.”

  “Well, I’m free tomorrow morning, if you want to try and set up something.”

  “Okay. I’ll give Patty a call and see if she can come over to the café.”

  “What’ll you tell her?”

  “That I found out some new information about Barbara. That ought to bring her.”

  “You know, Kelly, Patty sounds like an accomplished liar. You might not get anything out of her.”

  “Yeah, I know, Burt. But I figure we’ve got enough to interest Detective Dan. She may be able to stonewall me, but I sense Patty won’t be able to hold up under police questioning. Not for long, at least.”

  Burt chuckled. “I think you underestimate yourself, Kelly. Let’s see what happens. Talk to you tomorrow. Oh . . . is Steve going to make it up here for the engagement party this weekend?”

  “He’ll be here. He’s not about to miss Curt’s steaks and Jayleen’s chili. I’ll call you as soon as I speak with Patty. Take care.”

  Kelly tossed the phone to the nearby seat and used both hands to turn into the driveway behind Lambspun. If she remembered correctly, there was some leftover pizza and wilted salad in the fridge. Not too appetizing, but with less than an hour before softball practice across town, she didn’t have much choice.

  Eighteen

  “Jump in whenever you want, Burt,” Kelly suggested as she watched Patty walk to the rear of the café. Kelly had already chosen a quiet table in the corner, away from the other morning breakfast customers.

  “I’ll follow your lead, Kelly. Let’s see where it goes.” Burt relaxed back into the café chair and sipped his coffee.

  “Hey, Patty, glad you could make it,” Kelly said, raising her mug.

  “Hey, Kelly. Hi, Burt,” Patty said, pulling out a chair.

  Burt raised his cup. “Good to see you, Patty. Want some coffee?”

  “Yeah, I could use it.” Patty settled across the table and dropped her backpack to the floor. “I got up a little earlier to come over here before classes start.”

  Kelly signaled the waitress to bring coffee. “When’s your first class?” she asked Patty as Julie poured a black stream into her cup.

  “Ten fifteen this morning. It’s an economics class, so I need to be awake.” She accepted the full mug. “Thanks, this will help.”

  “You in the business school?” Burt asked.

  Patty took a quick sip. “Trying to be. Those courses are hard, though. That’s why I’m
taking it slowly, so I’ll have enough time to study.”

  Kelly folded her arms on the table and leaned forward slightly, talking position. “Studying is good. I’ve seen too many students drop out of university because they party hardier than they study.”

  Patty’s mouth quirked into a smile. “I can relate to that.” She glanced over her shoulder, then leaned forward, matching Kelly’s position. “So what was it you learned about Barbara?”

  “Well, Burt and I sat down with her a few days ago right over there at that table.” Kelly pointed across the café alcove. “And I told her a student at the party saw her pick up Holly that night. And recognized Barbara from the doctor’s office.”

  Patty’s eyes went huge. “Whoa! What did Barbara say?”

  “She was totally surprised that anyone saw her. Barbara said she hadn’t admitted she’d picked up Holly that night because she was afraid Tommy would blame her for what happened. You know, blame her for not watching Holly closer or something.”

  “We were right!” Patty jabbed her finger in emphasis. “That’s exactly what you and I thought.”

  Kelly nodded. “Yeah. And we were right about Barbara taking Holly to her home. She said she was fixing up the guest room when Holly slipped out the front door . . .”

  Patty sat up straight. “What? She took Holly to the apartment, not her house.”

  Kelly leaned forward and looked Patty straight in the eyes. “How did you know that, Patty? Was it because you were waiting in your car across the street from the apartment? Waiting for Barbara to drive Holly home?”

  Patty’s mouth fell open as she stared at Kelly. “What . . . what . . . ? No! What’re you talking about?”

  “Someone saw you waiting for Holly that night. As soon as Barbara dropped her off, you came across the street and started talking with Holly. Then Holly got in your car, and you drove off together.” Kelly let her voice drop lower as she continued to hold Patty’s startled gaze.

  Fear flashed through Patty’s eyes briefly, and all color drained from her cheeks. “Wha—That’s impossible . . . I wasn’t there! I was still at the party.”