Kelly shook her head. “No you weren’t, Patty. We have a witness who saw you leave the party earlier that night. In fact, you took several people back to their dorms. Then you drove over to Holly’s apartment, didn’t you? You knew Barbara would be dropping off Holly. I’ll bet you told Holly to call Barbara. You knew Barbara couldn’t refuse. But you were the one waiting for Holly when she came home.”
“I . . . I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Patty protested, voice softer.
“You’ve been feeding me bogus information all this time, haven’t you, Patty? I’ll bet you don’t even have a friend named Francesca. You were the source. You knew everything Holly did at parties because you hung around with her all the time. And you told me whatever you wanted me to know.”
Patty didn’t answer. She just stared at Kelly with a startled expression. Kelly leaned even closer, still holding her gaze. “You picked up Holly and took her to the river trail, didn’t you? But first, you gave her those pills. Enough to put her to sleep forever. With Holly gone, Tommy would be free. Free for you to become Tommy’s girlfriend.”
Patty’s gaze darted from Kelly to Burt and back again. Burt sat not saying a word, simply watching Patty with his calm policeman’s stare. “What are you talking about? Tommy and I are old friends, that’s all.”
“But that wasn’t enough for you, Patty, was it? You’ve wanted to be Tommy’s girl for years. Everyone told me so. That’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it, Patty? That’s why you hung around Holly all the time, to keep track of Tommy and to keep control of Holly. Keep supplying her with whatever pills she wanted. Holly trusted you, didn’t she? So she’d take whatever you gave her, right? Even an overdose of death.”
“What . . . what are you saying? I couldn’t hurt Holly! She was my friend.”
“We know about your stealing the pills, Patty,” Kelly continued in a cold voice. “We’ve got witnesses who’ve seen you steal pill bottles from scores of purses and backpacks. That’s how you maintained a stash of pills to sell at parties and to give to Holly.”
Panic darted through Patty’s eyes this time. “That’s not true! People gave me those pills, honest.”
Kelly narrowed her gaze. “They saw you going through the purses, Patty. At the university catered dinners. At parties. I’ll bet you even stole some of Barbara’s Oxycontin when she was having back problems, didn’t you?” It was a wild guess, but Kelly threw it out there.
The answer flashed across Patty’s guilty face. “I-I—” she stammered.
Kelly didn’t wait for Patty to find the words. She kept pushing. “It’s time to stop lying, Patty. You gave Holly those pills then left her on the river trail to fall asleep and die, didn’t you?”
Patty shook her head, both arms clutching herself. “No, it wasn’t me . . . it was that guy, Eddie . . . remember?”
Kelly didn’t miss a beat. “You were wearing a bulky, dark, hooded jacket that night, Patty. From a distance in the dark, that old vagrant could easily mistake you for a guy.”
Shock registered on Patty’s face. “How . . . how did you know . . . ?”
“What you were wearing?” Kelly completed the sentence. “Because I spoke with someone who watched you outside Holly’s apartment that night. Someone who recognized you and told me what you were wearing. That same person also told me how you regularly came over to Holly’s apartment with a pocketful of pill bottles. Stolen pill bottles, weren’t they?”
Patty’s lower lip began to tremble as her eyes started to glisten. “I . . . I didn’t mean to. I didn’t mean to give her that many. But . . . but she asked me to! She wanted to get high.”
“I don’t believe you, Patty. I think you gave Holly too many pills on purpose. You knew Holly and Tommy had a big fight because she called you. You told her about that night’s party. You even got someone to pick her up. And you recognized your chance to get rid of Holly and make it look like an accident. Tommy would be free at last. Free for you.”
Patty shook her head, tears spilling out. “No . . . no . . .”
“The medical examiner found food in Holly’s stomach. I’ll bet you drove her to a fast-food drive-thru and bought her something. Did you crush up the pills and dump them into a cola or some hot chocolate? I’m betting on the hot chocolate. It was a chilly night.”
Again, Patty stared back at Kelly with that fearful, startled expression, but she didn’t say anything. Kelly decided to try a deliberate bluff. “You know, some of those late night fast-food drive-thrus have security cameras now. I’ll bet some of those tapes show you in your car with Holly, ordering. The police will find that interesting, don’t you think?”
Kelly watched desperation flicker in Patty’s eyes. She glanced to Burt, then back to Kelly again. No safe harbor available. “I . . . I . . .” was all she managed.
Burt spoke up finally. His voice quiet. “You know, Patty, my old partner Dan is still looking into Holly’s death. I’ll be calling Dan with this new information. He’s going to want to question you—”
“But why? I didn’t do anything wrong! I . . . I was only trying to help Holly,” Patty protested again.
Patty was still refusing to admit the guilt Kelly could see in her eyes. Frustrated, Kelly searched for something, some information that would jolt Patty. Catch her by surprise and maybe put a crack in that stone wall of denial she was hiding behind.
Suddenly, Kelly knew. It jumped right in front of her eyes. Something she knew, but Patty didn’t. And it wasn’t a bluff. It was the truth.
“You know, Patty. All of your scheming and lying has been for nothing. You can’t have Tommy. He’s already got a new girlfriend. He’s worked with her for years, and they’ve fallen in love. In fact, she’s moving in with him.”
Patty whipped her head around and stared at Kelly, clearly shocked by what she’d heard. “That . . . that can’t be. Tommy loves me! He told me so!”
“Sorry, Patty. Tommy has already admitted it to Burt. And I’ve met the girl. Really nice girl, too. She’s a paramedic.”
Color flooded Patty’s face now. “No! He can’t! He’s supposed to be with me. He told me he loved me! But . . . but he was with Holly, so . . . so . . .”
“He loved you like a sister,” Kelly deliberately goaded.
“No! He really loved me! I know he did! But he was bound to Holly.”
Kelly leaned her chin on her hand. “Tommy was at his new girl’s house the night Holly died. I know because he told us so.”
Patty’s face started to crumble, and tears streamed down her cheeks. “No, no, he can’t. He’s supposed to love me! Tommy belongs with me . . . he always has . . . even Barbara said so. He loves me . . . he loves me . . . I did it for him . . . for Tommy . . . he belongs with me. . . .”
Burt leaned over and placed his hand on Patty’s arm. “Dan is a very understanding man, Patty. You can explain everything to him.” Burt pushed back his chair, clearly underscoring his statement.
Panic claimed Patty’s face at the sound of the chair scraping against the wooden floor. She clutched her hands to her chest. “No, I don’t want to go! Please don’t make me go!” she cried.
Nearby customers turned their heads at the disturbance. Burt placed his hand on Patty’s shoulder in a reassuring fashion and leaned over to speak quietly. “Then the police will have to show up at your apartment or your workplace, Patty. Believe me, it would be better if you come down to the department with me now and give your statement. I promise I’ll stay with you the entire time.”
Patty looked up at Burt beseechingly. “Please, please! Don’t leave me alone!”
Burt offered his hand for her to stand up. “I won’t, Patty. I promise.”
Patty stared at Burt’s hand for several seconds, then allowed him to help her to her feet. “I’ll miss my classes. Maybe . . . maybe I should wait.”
“It’s better to give a statement while it’s fresh in your mind, Patty.” Burt picked up Patty’s backpack and took her elbow. “W
e’ll go out Lambspun’s front door. It’s quieter,” he suggested, guiding her toward the hallway.
Kelly watched Burt escort Patty out. All of Patty’s lies had been stripped away. All the lies she’d told to Tommy and Kelly and Barbara, to everyone. Even the lies Patty told herself. All of them were wiped away by the truth.
Tommy didn’t love Patty. At least, not the way Patty wanted. Tommy loved someone else. “Little sister” love hadn’t been enough for Patty. She’d wanted more. And her delusions led her on a deadly path. She’d found the perfect way to “get rid” of Holly. By leaving Holly on the river trail, Patty knew everyone would assume Holly was simply repeating her previous drug experience. This time with tragic, unintended results. An unfortunate accidental overdose.
Draining her coffee, Kelly rose from the table and walked toward the knitting shop slowly. She felt cold inside. She needed to surround herself with something warm and nurturing. Friends in the shop, Mimi’s smiling face. Sit at the library table and strike up a conversation with someone who’d recently fallen down the rabbit hole like she did years ago.
She walked into the central yarn room and started touching everything in sight. Sinking her hands into bins of alpaca, merino wool, bamboo and silk, crisp ribbon yarns, and nubbly, bulky ones.
Her knitting bag was still on the library table. Was there any unfinished project stuffed in the bottom? She could relax for a while before returning to her cottage and client accounts. Steve wouldn’t be driving back into town until tomorrow evening, Friday, for the party. Maybe they could go out Saturday night all by themselves. A night at the Jazz Bistro would be nice. She was tired of pizza dates. She wanted jazz and a good martini. That settled it. She’d make reservations for Saturday night.
The front door swung open and a frazzled-looking Megan appeared in the foyer. She had that look Kelly had seen before. The “wedding prep overload” look.
“Hey, how’re you doing?” Kelly greeted her.
Megan hitched her shoulder bag over her shoulder as she approached and fixed Kelly with a warning look. “Don’t even ask. I’ve been visiting caterers for the last four mornings. Do you have any idea how many things can be spread on a cracker?”
Kelly smiled as she beckoned her friend toward the café. “C’mon, let’s get some coffee while you lecture me on canapés.”
Nineteen
Kelly selected from the variety of Colorado microbrews spread on Curt’s kitchen counter. Finding her favorite ale, she grabbed two—one for her and one for Steve—then made her way back outside again.
Curt’s ranch house and front yard were filled with Marty’s and Megan’s friends, relatives, and co-workers. There had to be nearly two hundred people there. Children of all ages ran and jumped and chased each other through the grass. The yard ran adjacent to a pasture that was empty of sheep at the time, so children gamboled there instead. The weather was late September perfect—warm and sunny with trees changing colors in the distance.
Kelly surveyed the crowd. Surely they weren’t all coming to the wedding, were they? Megan and Marty would be in debt for years trying to pay for the festivities. One year wouldn’t be enough to save. Judging from what Megan had been telling her, Kelly figured Megan and Marty’s budget was blown already.
She wandered toward the lawn chairs her friends had spread in a haphazard semicircle, handed Steve a beer, then settled into the chair beside him. Kelly savored the familiar ale’s flavor. “I won’t need to eat tomorrow,” she said, leaning back. “That was one fantastic meal.”
“Yeah, it’s hard to beat Curt’s steaks and Jayleen’s chili,” Lisa said as she sipped wine from a plastic glass.
Megan leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “Why did I have that second piece of carrot cake? Why?”
“I’m waiting for your blueberry pie,” Steve said, then tipped back his beer.
Kelly glanced over at Steve. He was slouched in the lawn chair, looking more relaxed than she’d seen him in weeks. More important, he looked happy. He was clearly enjoying being in the midst of old friends, laughing and joking with Marty and Greg like before. Before his career went down the tubes.
Marty and Greg sauntered up, chocolate chip cookies in hand. “Boy, am I stuffed,” Greg said as he plopped into a chair.
“Me, too,” Marty said right before he took a huge bite of cookie.
“I can’t believe Jayleen grilled a whole salmon for you, Greg,” Kelly said.
“Ahhhh . . . delicious.” Greg patted his stomach.
“Why are you two still eating?” Megan asked, staring at the cookies.
“Force of habit,” Lisa answered. “They can’t help themselves. Wait’ll they turn forty. Then they’ll start to cut back.”
“Never,” Greg protested, then munched his cookie. “I’ll just cycle more.”
“Everyone’s skinny in my family,” Marty declared as he started on the next cookie.
“Stop bragging,” Jennifer said as she and Pete sank into some chairs.
“Those steaks were too good,” Pete said after tasting his beer. “No way could the café afford to buy steaks like that. Curt’s are aged prime beef.”
“Why don’t you guys have a barbeque for your wedding? Maybe we could all do a potluck or something,” Greg suggested, from behind his beer bottle.
“Ohhhh, don’t even mention wedding food,” Megan said, shaking her head. “If I never see another caterer again, it’ll be too soon.”
Pete chuckled. “Starting to get to you, huh? Now you know why I don’t do weddings anymore.”
“Megan ran through the list of canapés the other day over coffee. It must have taken five minutes.” Kelly lifted her bottle.
“What’re canapés again?” Greg asked Lisa.
“All sorts of tasty things spread on crackers or toast points,” Megan answered instead. “I swear, I must have seen hundreds of samples. I can’t keep them all straight, let alone choose some.”
“Stuff spread on a cracker? That won’t do it for me, Megan. Nor the groom.” Greg wagged his head.
“Careful, don’t get her started,” Marty warned. “She’s got a short fuse on this.”
Instead, Megan leaned over and sank her head in her hands. “This is driving me crazy. The caterers are all too expensive. The hotels and banquet halls are already booked by other people. And the only rooms that are left are too small.” She looked up and gestured around the yard. “Look at all these people. Where are we going to put them? There’s no place that can hold us all. At least, none that we can a fford.”
“Are you seriously going to invite everyone here?” Kelly asked.
Megan gestured helplessly. “How can we not? Now that Curt’s invited them to this engagement party, they’ll all expect invitations to the wedding. How can we not invite them?”
“Easy. Just tell ’em, ‘Dude, you’re out!’ ” Greg jerked his thumb to the side.
Megan ignored him. “I don’t know what we’re going to do, guys. We’re saving up for this, but we want to save for the down payment on a house, too. And we don’t want to blow it all on a wedding.”
“That’s smart thinking,” Jennifer said.
“You know, you don’t have to have a big splashy reception, Megan,” Lisa suggested. “Seriously. Why don’t you scale down? Have it simpler. Greg can eat canapés and like it.”
“I can?” Greg looked incredulous. Lisa gave him a swat.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Steve weighed in. “That way you’ll be able to get a good deal on a house, especially in today’s market.”
“Yeah, and we’re gonna buy one of yours,” Marty announced. “There’s one next to Greg and Lisa that we’ve been keeping an eye on.”
“What! Who said you could be neighbors?” Greg protested.
Steve laughed softly. “Well, I’ll guarantee you get a good deal, guys.”
“Fantastic!” Lisa said. “That’s a great house. I’ve peeked in the windows.”
“Jennifer took us in f
or a look around last week. It’s got a different layout than Greg and Lisa’s next door. And four bedrooms instead of three.” Marty grinned. “We need separate offices.”
“I can understand that,” Kelly said. “Some of us like quiet.” She noticed Burt approach their half circle. “Hey, Burt. Quite a spread, wasn’t it?”
Burt patted his stomach. “You bet. I think I ate my ration of heart-attack food for the entire week.”
“Heart-attack food? I don’t even want to know what that is,” Jennifer shuddered. “It’s probably my normal diet.”
“Mimi keeps me eating healthy.” Burt grinned. “Kelly, you got a minute? I wanted to update you after my talk with Dan.”
Kelly immediately set her beer aside and rose from the chair. “Sure. Let’s go over where it’s quieter.”
“What’ve you been up to, Kelly?” Greg asked.
“Sleuthing again,” Megan answered. “She’s been poking around for a while now.”
“Poking around in what?” Marty asked, eyebrow cocked.
Kelly decided to downplay her recent activities. “Oh, I was simply following up Tommy’s concerns after Holly’s death, that’s all.” She made a dismissive gesture.
“She did a lot more than that,” Burt added. “Holly’s death was thought to be accidental, but Kelly kept digging and asking questions until she found the person responsible for giving Holly those pills. And it appears she deliberately gave Holly an overdose of opiate painkillers.”
Jennifer’s eyes went wide. “Are you talking about who I think you are?”
Kelly nodded. “Yes, we are. Other people saw Patty stealing pill bottles, too. And regularly giving Holly pills.”
“Wow . . .” Jennifer said softly.
“After Kelly got through questioning her, Patty was glad to talk with my old partner Dan.” Burt smiled. “I swear, Kelly’s a natural interrogator.”
“She’s a Rottweiler. I’ve seen her in action,” Lisa decreed.
“I like her innocent routine best,” Jennifer weighed in. “That works well, too.”
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