Dig Deeper: A Hallie James Mystery (The Hallie James Mysteries Book 1)

by DK Herman

  "First, I enjoy butting heads with Kase. I can't stand the bully." Karl turned off the highway and onto our lane. "Next, I wouldn't think of charging anyone in Jeannie's family." His face lit up when he said my Aunt's name.

  “Are you and Aunt Jeannie serious?” I hoped so, he was a wonderful man.

  Karl grinned and put a finger to his lips. “I believe we are, but please don’t mention that you and I discussed it. Jeannie is a very private person.”

  “I won’t say a word, but I think it’s wonderful.” I was so happy for my aunt that I got out of the car before Karl could open the door for me. We walked up to the front doors together, and I let him open that one for me.

  "Thank God, you're home!" Gram threw her arms around me. "And thank you very much, Karl!"

  "No problem," Karl said, watching George come down the stairs. "Hello George. It's good to see you up and around."

  "Karl, it’s good to see you." George returned the greeting. "I see you’ve got our girl away from that ass.... abysmal jerk." George blushed at having sworn in front of Gram.

  Gram chuckled and took George's arm. "Oh, Karl. When Jeannie calls you from the ship, please don't mention this morning. I don't want her to worry,” she said.

  "I promise, not a word, “Karl agreed.

  "Wonderful, let’s go out on the patio and have a snack," Gram said.

  I followed everyone out the back door. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm. A good day to go for a swim if I had the time. I ate another sticky bun with a glass of iced tea and excused myself. I would be careful, but Hannah was still missing. It wouldn't hurt to snoop a little.

  In my suite, I went to my bedroom and plugged my phone into its charger. Laying it on the nightstand next to my gun, I sprawled across my bed with my laptop. I brought up the picture of Hank and the Mustang. It looked like it was taken behind his bar on a bright, sunny day. But the back of the building and the backdoor were a different color than they are now.

  The face of the man in the picture was so blurred, it was impossible to make out his features. He was shirtless and carried a large box. A Mustang, exactly like Hank's was a parked a few feet away. Damn it, I couldn't explain the picture. I hit the print button, wishing I could ask Hank about it. I lay my head down and sighed. I didn’t miss the campground and was glad I'd come home, but it had been a hell of a week.

  I realized I must have dozed off when I heard someone calling my name. Sitting up, I could see George in my sitting room, through the open bedroom door.

  "Lunch is ready, Hallie," He said, walking towards me. "Liv made pierogies and onions."

  "Thanks George." I smiled. "You're getting around good."

  "I always did heal fast." George nodded and bounced on the balls of his feet. "Whatcha doing?" He looked around my bedroom.

  "Wishing I could figure this out," I said. "I know Hank didn't kill those girls."

  " I don’t think he did either. Karl told us that Hank's got an alibi for when a couple of the girls disappeared." George sat on the edge of my bed, near the nightstand. "Is that picture evidence?"

  I explained the TeensMeetSafe website to him, and how I’d found this picture of Hank in Cara Gordon's email.

  "Can I see it?" George put out his hand.

  "Why not." I gave him the picture and got off the bed. My phone was charged, so I unplugged it. Slipping it into my pocket, I waited for George to be finished with the picture. He was studying every detail.

  "This was a while ago," George said. "Yeah. I think it was last summer. See the back of the bar is still wood shingle, instead of the aluminum siding Hank replaced it with. And this is the old backdoor." He pointed at the picture. "The new one is gray, not black like this one."

  Now, I had a time frame! I could be such a dumbass. I'd been away from town for years. I should have thought to ask someone who'd been living in Herville to look at the picture. “That’s great, George! Notice anything else?"

  "See all the small branches and leaves that are blown down." He pointed again. "They're all over the parking lot. This must have been right after that terrible thunder storm, we had last summer. It even blew down some power lines and stuff."

  "Do you remember when the storm was last summer?" I sat close to him and saw the branches he was talking about.

  "Sure, it was in the evening of July the sixth. It was my first wedding anniversary without my wife." George scratched his head. "Hank just opened his bar, maybe a month before this was taken."

  I patted his good shoulder. "So, this was taken soon after the storm. Maybe the seventh or eighth of July,” I said.

  My phone rang. It was Gram calling to tell us the pierogies were getting cold. I assured her, George and I would be right down.

  Pierogies and onions were another of my favorites. I filled my plate and popped a buttery piece of the potato dumpling into my mouth. My eyes rolled and my toes curled with pleasure. I was about to take another bite when the doorbell sounded. Liv got up and rushed to answer it. Liv returned with Detective Krause on her heels.

  "Hallie, he wants to talk to you." Liv looked at the cop sternly.

  Boy! I just can't catch a freaking break today. Start eating a meal and a cop shows up. I swallowed the bite in my mouth and forked off another piece before speaking. "What can I do for you now?"

  "Um, I've got a warrant," Detective Krause said. "It's to search your recreational vehicle."

  "Why?" I took the warrant from him.

  "There's been a development." He looked sheepish and shifted his feet. "I'm just doing my job, ma'am."

  At least he was polite. I wasn't up to being called a murderous, cheating slut again. "Do you need the keys?"

  "Is it locked?" He asked.

  "No." I took another big bite and got up to go out to Chitty with him.

  "You need to stay here," Detective Krause said. He snapped his fingers at a young uniformed cop, who was standing in the dining room doorway. "Officer Stewart will stay with you while I conduct the search."

  I nodded and began eating again. I had nothing to hide. Besides, there was no fighting a warrant. But I was curious as to what the development was that Krause had mentioned.

  "Is that pierogies?" Officer Stewart sniffed the air. He couldn’t be more than twenty years old, with red hair and a face full of freckles.

  "Sure is." Liv smiled at the young cop. "Want some?"

  "Please." He nodded.

  "Have a seat, young man.” Gram pointed at the empty chair next to me. “So, Stewart is your last name. I think I went to school with your grandmother. Is her name Mary Jane?”

  “Yes ma’am. My father is her youngest son, Edward. I’m Edward Jr.” He smiled at Gram with a charming, gap toothed grin.

  There was no point asking Officer Stewart any questions about the new development. If he knew anything, he couldn't tell me. So, I poured him an iced tea and passed him a plate of pierogies.

  I was helping Liv with the dishes when Detective Krause came to the kitchen door. He had a couple of sealed evidence bags in his hands. I could see kitchen knives from Chitty's kitchenette in one and a prescription bottle of sleeping pills in the other. I had taken only two of the pills because they left me feeling worse than tequila in the morning.

  "I have to take these things to the lab," he said apologetically.

  "I understand." I shrugged. Then I wondered about Kasey’s absence. "Where's your partner?"

  "He's with a suspect," he answered.

  "You mean Hank?" I asked.

  Krause’s eyes dropped to the floor. "I really can't say."

  "Well, is there anything else I can do for you?" Meaning, was I being hauled in again?

  "No. Someone will be in touch. Thank you, for your cooperation."

  "Sure, no problem."

  FOURTEEN

  After the dishes were done, Liv packed up the food that she’d made for Gabi and her family. A chicken pie, sticky buns, and a bowl of pierogies, went into a shopping bag. Grabbing my purse from my room, I
took the bag of food out to Chitty.

  Chitty looked the same as I’d left her on the outside. But inside the cops had left a hell of a mess. I put the bag of food on the passenger seat. Then I spent the next twenty minutes putting things away, so they wouldn't roll around when I drove. They had gone through everything. They even dumped out a box of tampons, leaving them scattered on the bathroom floor. Finally, I pronounced it redd up enough for now and climbed behind the wheel.

  Stella Ross answered the door and told me Gabi was sleeping again. She had given her the second dose of sedative early that morning. There was no sign of Troy, or Gabi's sons. I put the food into the fridge and gave Gabi's mom a hug before leaving.

  Outside, I ran into Andy on his way to check on his cousin. He looked exhausted and stressed, so I gave him a hug, too. "Have you seen Hank?" I asked.

  "No." He looked uneasy and pushed me away.

  My feelings were bruised when I got the distinct feeling that he didn't want to talk me. "Sorry, I'll let you go," I said shortly and started towards Chitty.

  "Hallie...wait. I'm sorry." He caught up with me and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the side door of my RV. "I just don't want to lose my job. I've got twelve years in, and I love being a cop. It’s not that I think you're guilty of anything."

  "Detective Krause told me there was a development and he searched my RV." I waved a hand around at the rest of the mess, I hadn't gotten to yet.

  Andy sighed. He seemed to be debating something in his mind. "Amy Klein was awake enough for Kasey and the Chief to talk to her," He blurted.

  "What does that have to do with me?" I asked.

  "She couldn't talk, but they gave her a pen and paper." Andy put a finger to his lips and looked out Chitty’s windows. "When they asked her to describe the man who hurt her, she got so hysterical that a nurse had to give her a shot to calm her down. She wrote something on the paper before she fell asleep again. It's chicken scratch, but it looks like she was trying to write, was a woman.”

  "Which reinforces Kasey’s theory that Hank had a female accomplice.” And Kasey was convinced that I was that accomplice. I covered my eyes with my palms and rubbed until I saw stars. My headache was coming back. "That's why they searched Chitty. But they didn't find anything, because I didn't do anything!" I said, getting a little hysterical.

  "Try to stay calm but be careful. When you’re not in it, lock this thing up." Andy took my hand. "Look, I know Kasey is full of shit. You and my brother didn’t hurt anybody." He lowered his voice. "But somebody wants the police to think Hank's a murderer. My brother is being framed, damn it! And there isn't anything I can do about it. The phone in the flower bed, the ring in his truck, and that damned picture were planted for the cops to find. I think the real killer did it, to keep the attention away from themselves." He ran a hand through his hair. "Watch, they don't do it to you, too. If Kasey gets any evidence against you, no matter how circumstantial, it could solidify his theory to a jury. You and my brother could end up in jail, for a long, long time."

  I felt dizzy and sat down. "Krause took some old sleeping pills and my kitchen knives when he left. I didn't see anything in his hands that wasn't mine." My mind was whirling. I was starting to wish, I'd stayed at the campground. Suddenly, I was eager to get home. "You're right. I'm going home to check on some things."

  "I'm gonna check on Gabi and go back to the station. If anything comes up, call my cell." Andy hugged me. "Be careful. I've got a really bad feeling that this guy is close."

  When Andy went out the side door, I locked it. Then I sat on the bed and put my head in my hands. "I can't go to prison! I look hideous in orange and jumpsuits made my ass look huge." I joked to myself. But I was scared. This asshole could kill me, or put me in jail for the rest of my life. I took slow, deep breaths and waited for my hands to stop shaking. Then wriggling into the driver’s seat, I drove home.

  Gram was on the phone when I walked in the front door. Her face was serious when she handed me the phone before discreetly disappearing upstairs. But I knew, she was aware of everything. Gram always knew what was going on around her.

  "Hallie, Susan just told me about the search of your vehicle," Karl Beyers said. "I'm sorry, I wasn't there. Please, call me for any interaction you have with the police from now on. OK?"

  "I didn't think it mattered, they had a warrant." I closed my eyes, wishing this whole mess was a bad dream, and all the girls like Cara Gordon were still alive, and Hannah Thomas was home with her mother.

  "I would have liked, to have been there. Don’t trust Kasey, he’s sneaky. I think he would cheat to close a case,” Karl said.

  "I'll call you if anything else happens," I promised. I just wanted off the phone. I hoped to hell, there wasn't anything else.

  "OK. Hang in there. Susan said that the police took some things with them. I’ll call you later if I can find out anything."

  "Thanks." I said again and hung up before heading for the kitchen.

  "You get that food to Gabi?" Liv sat on her stool, watching a talk show.

  "Yeah, but I didn't see her. She was sleeping off some pills. I put the bag in her fridge and told her mom what it was." I helped myself to a chocolate chip muffin that was cooling on the counter. Then pouring myself a big mug of coffee, I sat next to Liv. "What do I smell cooking?"

  "George asked me to make stuffed cabbage," Liv answered. "The cabbage is the last from the garden."

  Even though I was scared to death, I tried to put everything out of my mind. I savored every bite of my muffin while Liv and I watched, who were the fathers of some woman's eight kids. Ah yes, daytime television at its worst!

  I was putting my mug in the dishwasher when George popped into the kitchen. He eyed the muffins for a few seconds before getting distracted by the spicy tomato scent, coming from a large slow cooker.

  "Don't you lift that lid!" Liv scolded.

  "Sorry." George put his hand behind his back. " I just wanted a peek, they smell scrumptious."

  "You lift that lid, and you’ll let all the heat out,” Liv said. "They need another couple of hours."

  I smiled at them both and patted George on the back. I felt recharged. There was nothing like normal things, shared with the ones you loved to make you feel.... well, normal. I was glad I was home.

  George smiled back and started to leave the room. But then he stopped suddenly. “Hey Hallie, I was going to ask you something. Why didn't you ask the person who took the picture, when it was taken?"

  "Who took it?" I mumbled.

  "It's not one of those selfies, you young people like to take of yourselves. But Hank’s arms aren’t that long, somebody else had to take the picture. If you can't talk to Hank, just find out who took the picture.” George did his head scratch thing that meant he was thinking. "Actually, Hank might not have known that he got his picture taken." George looked at my confused expression. "If somebody takes your picture while they're sitting in a car, you might not know that they did."

  “Thanks George.” I gave him another smile and dashed upstairs.

  Pulling the picture up on my laptop again, I studied it. I was so thrown by the main subject being Hank that I never noticed it was taken by someone else, someone sitting in the passenger seat of a car. George was right. He may not even have known that his picture was being taken. The picture wasn’t posed and Hank wasn’t acknowledging the photographer in any way.

  The angle was low enough to rule out a pickup or one of the higher SUV's. I enlarged the picture and searched for clues. There, in the chrome of the mustang's wheels, I could see red, reflected in the bright sunlight. The person taking the picture was in a red car. My mind went immediately to Gabi.

  I picked up my phone and dialed her land line. Her mom answered and told me, she was still sleeping. She offered to wake her if it was important. It was only a feeling I had that it was Gabi's car. Who doesn't know somebody, who drives a red car? So, I said no, I would check back later.

  I went out on my balcon
y and saw Buddy and Princess playing in the pool. They had a good idea. There weren't that many warm days like this left. Summer was almost over. I changed into a tankini and wrapped a beach towel around my waist. Coming out of my bathroom, I screamed when I saw someone in my sitting room doorway.

  "Ding dong." Doc giggled. "Jeez Hal. Wound a little tight today?"

  "I'm a little jumpy lately,” I said.

  "I don't blame you, “Doc said. "With everything that's been going on since you got home, I guess anybody would be jumpy." She looked at the swimsuit I was wearing. "Running away to the beach?"

  "I was going swimming with the dogs," I said. “But hold onto the, running away to the beach, idea.”

  "Swimming sounds like fun,” Doc said. "Can I join you?"

  "Sure. The more the merrier." I got another towel out of the bathroom and handed it to her. "You can borrow one of my suits. They're in the bottom drawer of the vanity. Take your pick, and I'll meet you at the pool." I left her in my rooms to change, and I went outside.

  Buddy and Princess were happy to see me and thrilled when I joined them in the water. We played with a ball while I waited for Doc. She showed up in a few minutes, wearing a green, one-piece that she had given me a few years ago. She was taller and more muscular than I am, but it fit her better than me. She looked fantastic in it.

  "That suit looks so great on you. Why did you pass it on to me?” I swam to the edge of the pool.

  Doc shrugged. "I don’t go swimming very often." She jumped into the deep end with a big splash, surfacing quickly. "Ooh! You didn't tell me, it's cold."

  "Only when you first get in,” I said, floating on my back. "Then it feels great."

  Doc and I threw the ball for the dogs until they both got tired and climbed into an inflatable boat. We laughed, watching them float around the pool.

  "These dogs are terrific," Doc said. "I always wanted one when I was a kid."

  "I know, I adore them already." I grabbed a pair of pool rafts. "Shall we join them?"

  Doc and I climbed on a pair of inflatable rafts and relaxed in the sun.

  "I could fall asleep like this," Doc purred.