by DK Herman
"Just be careful that you don’t burn. Remember our Atlantic City trip?” I tried to flip onto my back and slid off the raft and into the water. I surfaced, my hair streaming water. "I meant to do that!" I giggled.
"Sure, you did. Be careful not to drown, I’m too relaxed to do CPR," Doc teased and languidly stretched her lean form.
We both laughed when the dogs rolled off their boat and swam to me with the ball. The four of us swam and played until I heard Gram calling me for supper. It was a little bit earlier than we usually ate. Fortunately, swimming had given me an appetite.
Both dogs looked miffed when we got out of the water and dried off. But, they cheered up, tails wagging with glee when I explained it was time to eat.
Doc and I walked across the lawn, my shoes in my hand. Rupert took one look at my bare feet and charged. I dropped my sneakers onto the ground in front of me and jammed my feet inside. My toes safe, Rupert stopped a few feet away, growling in disappointment.
"Tough luck, Rup," I told the dog, resisting the urge to flip him the bird and really piss him off.
He then rushed at the other dogs, who ran like the wind on their longer legs. Rupert followed, barking and growling when he realized he was far behind them.
"Rupert's a sore loser,” I called to Gram and George who were sitting on the patio, enjoying the day. "We'll go change quick,” I added, not wanting to sit on the dining room chairs in a wet swimsuit.
"No need, dear," Gram assured me. "It's such a nice day, I thought we could eat out here on the patio. Doc, you’re going to stay and eat with us? Liv made stuffed cabbage and reheated pierogies from lunch."
"That sounds wonderful, Mrs. James," Doc said. She pulled a tee shirt, over her damp swimsuit.
"Let's help carry everything outside." I put my wet towel over a patio railing.
"Anything, for one of Liv's meals." Doc grinned and led the way into the kitchen.
Soon after, we were all full, sitting around the patio table groaning.
“I ate enough to bust," George said with a belch. "Excuse me, ladies."
"That was a wonderful meal, Liv,” Doc said. "I don't think there's anything you can't make."
"Thank you, Doc." Liv smiled at the praise. "Anyone for dessert? I've got Chocolate chip muffins or peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream."
Everyone at the table groaned again.
"Either sounds wonderful, but I think we need to wait a bit, Liv.” Gram patted her full stomach.
Liv chortled. "It'll be in the kitchen, whenever you're ready." She rose from the table and started loading the trays to be carried back into the house.
Doc and I helped carry everything into the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher. I eyed the peach cobbler but was still too full to do it justice. So, excusing ourselves, we went up to my room to change.
We took turns using my shower before putting on dry clothes. After drying our hair, we went out on the balcony to sit for a while. We both put up our feet and relaxed, watching the sun sink toward the western horizon.
"I'm so glad you stopped by today." I reached over and patted Doc's hand. "I'm glad to be home, but it's been a lousy week. This killer keeps just ahead of me, and I can’t seem to think straight since I got home."
"You've had tough cases before," Doc said.
"Sure, I did. But it was my job, I went home at the end of the day," I explained. "This mess is consuming my life and affecting my family and friends."
"I see your point." Doc nodded. "You need to hang tough. One way or another, it’ll soon come to an end."
"I hope so,” I said. We spotted Peter walking toward his cabin. I waved, and he glared at me then turned his head.
"Such a pleasant man," Doc commented wryly.
"I may have given him reason to not like me," I admitted. Not wanting to discuss it, I changed the subject. "I'd love to eat at River's Edge sometime soon. You missed out last week, so why don't you pick the day this time."
"Tomorrow evening is good for me, and its seafood night. Yeah, crab legs!” Doc squealed and clapped her hands in anticipation. "I'll call and make the reservation now." She pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Is seven o'clock, good for you, Hal?"
"Sure." I got up and went to my mini fridge. I returned to the balcony with two colas while Doc was hanging up her phone.
"I made the reservation for three people," Doc said. "I doubt Gabi will want to come, but I can't leave her out of our plans."
"We'll see what happens before we mention it to her." I handed Doc a soda.
We finished the colas and went downstairs. I thought I had room for peach cobbler now, so we stopped in the kitchen and got our desserts. We sat and ate them at the kitchen counter, giggling, just like when we were kids. Gram came in from the patio with George, to get some tea before going on into the living room.
"Let's go sit with your Gram a few minutes." Doc checked her watch. "Before I go home, I want to check on Gabi."
"That reminds me, I need to ask her something." I reached for my phone.
"Ask her, if she needs a sedative for tonight." Doc licked cobbler from her spoon.
I made the call and was surprised when Troy answered the phone with a cheery hello.
"How's Gabi?" I asked.
"Great. We're all great!" Troy said. There was joy in his voice. "Hannah's home!"
"When...how? I mean, is she OK?" I stammered.
"She's fine. She ran into a boy from school on the way to Kayla’s and went home with him to borrow a DVD. His parents weren’t home, so they got into the liquor cabinet. She got drunk as a skunk." He paused. "She passed out, and he tucked her into bed in their guest room. She didn’t wake up until late yesterday. Then she was panicked when he told her about the text that he sent to her friend. She was afraid to come home since she knew, she would be in deep trouble with us. Finally, the boy's parents found out her, hiding in their guest room. They immediately, brought her home to us!"
"Oh Troy, I'm so glad." I grinned at Doc and gave her a thumbs up.
"We’re all so relieved and happy. Gabi is upstairs now giving Hannah hell for scaring us, but she can't stop hugging her." Troy laughed with delight. "Did you need to talk to her?"
"Ask her to call me if she has time later," I said. "And tell her I'm glad Hannah's home."
"I will. Talk to you later, Hallie." I could hear him laughing as he hung up.
"The wayward child is home,” Doc said. "Where was she?"
"She was with a boy,” I said. “She got drunk and passed out. When she woke up, she was afraid to go home."
"Like mother, like daughter!" Doc laughed before putting a hand over her mouth. "Sorry that was mean. I'm happy for Gabi and glad Hannah’s home safe. I think it would have destroyed Gabi, to lose Hannah."
We put our bowls and spoons in the dishwasher before going into the living room. Gram and George were sitting close together on the couch, sharing the evening paper. Doc and I settled into overstuffed chairs before I gave them the good news about Gabi's daughter.
"How wonderful!" Gram exclaimed. She looked at George, who seemed lost in the newspaper. "Gabi must be so relieved."
My phone rang. "Speak of the devil,” I said before going into the hall to talk. "Hey Gabi. Wonderful news about Hannah."
"It sure is!" Gabi gushed. "Oh Hallie, I was so scared. I thought for sure, I'd lost her forever, just like Heather. Sorry I was such a mess."
"Nobody blames you for reacting like that, Gabi. You love your kids and with everything that’s been going on; well, I thought the same thing. But it's over now, Hannah’s home, and everything is ok."
"Not for Hannah." Gabi's voice turned stern. "Her butt’s grounded until further notice."
I chuckled, remembering a time when Gabi was grounded. Doc and I helped her sneak out to a school dance. She got caught climbing back in her bedroom window. Her mom had extended her punishment another week.
"Troy and Mom told me that you need to talk to me. What's up?"
"I
wanted to ask you about a picture," I said. "It was taken the summer before last, behind Hank's bar. I think it was taken from your car."
Gabi was quiet a moment. "I'd have to see it, Hal. I’m not sure what you’re talking about."
"OK, I'll bring it around sometime." My voice sounded disappointed, even to my own ears.
"Now's OK, if you want to drive down and show me it," Gabi said. “I slept all night and a day with Doc’s knock out pills. We were just gonna eat and watch some TV."
I looked at my watch. "Great. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."
"Oh, hey. Tell Liv, thank you for the food,” Gabi said.
"I will. See you soon." I hung up and went back into the living room.
George was still holding the newspaper. From where I stood, I could see he was reading the story about the murdered girls. There were big pictures of Ashley Cameron and Cara Gordon at the top of the article. He had turned very pale, and the arm holding the newspaper shook.
"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Gram asked, concerned. She took the paper from him and laid it on the coffee table. The pictures of the dead girls, faced upwards.
Now George seemed to be breaking out in a sweat. "I don't feel very good," George said. "Hallie, would you help me up to my room? Please."
"Sure George." I was a little worried about him. "Are you sure, you’re alright? Do you want to go to the hospital?"
"No. I just over did it today. A pain pill and a good night’s sleep and I'll be fine." He kissed Gram to reassure her he was fine. "But, I'd rather you helped me up the stairs, just in case I need to somebody to lean on." I'd never seen him look so uneasy.
"Didn't I hear you tell Gabi, you'd be right down?" Doc asked me.
I nodded. "But it can wait until after I help George."
"You go to Gabi’s, and I'll help George. I can check his wound, give him his pills, and tuck him into bed. And I'll stay until you get back." Doc stood and put a helping hand out to George.
"No. I can't impose on you like that,” George said. "Hallie can help me..."
"Mr. Murphy, I'm a physician and a close family friend," Doc interrupted. "I'll be insulted if you don't let me help you." Doc gave him a big smile.
"Yes George, don’t be silly." Gram felt his forehead. "He doesn't seem to have a fever, Doc, but he's all sweaty."
"Let me take his pulse and then I’ll get him upstairs." Doc took George's wrist on his good arm. "Hallie, go do your detective thing. We'll see you when you get back. Take your time,” she added with a smile.
After getting the picture and my keys from my room, I watched the trio make their way slowly up the stairs. Doc made Gram go first before she followed with George on her arm. I was glad she was here. "See you in about an hour, but call if you need me." I called before going out the door.
I made it to Gabi's, still in a good mood. Maybe, I could help Hank get out of jail soon. At the thought, I skipped up the walk and rang Gabi's doorbell. She opened the door, a plate of food in her hands and her mouth full.
"Liv's chicken pie is fantastic." I could see peas and carrots rolling around in her mouth as she spoke."
It was great, seeing Gabi back to normal. I went into the house and waved at the gang in the living room. Troy and his sons, Troy Jr and Tim, sat on the couch, full plates in their hands. Hannah lounged on the floor in front of the TV. I couldn't help the big smile that appeared on my face. The atmosphere in the house was happy and playful, entirely different from the last time I was here.
"Want a sticky bun?" Gabi asked between bites. “There’s a couple left.”
"Mom scarfed up two as an appetizer." Troy Jr teased his mother.
"Yeah mom, save some for us," Tim added, his eyes glued to the TV screen.
Gabi stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes at her sons. “Do you want anything?" she asked me.
"I just had peach cobbler and ice cream,” I said. "But, I could use a drink."
She headed toward her kitchen. "Beer?"
"No, just ice water." I sat down at the butcher’s block kitchen table.
Gabi put my ice water in front of me and sat down. "So, where's this mysterious picture?"
"I think someone took it from the passenger seat of your car. I took the picture from my purse and laid it on the table in front of her.
Gabi picked up the picture and looked it over. She squinted before picking out a pair of reading glasses from a nearby drawer. "Don't tell anybody about the glasses, especially Doc. She’d call me old again, and I only need them to read." She gave me a stern look before putting them on her face.
"Cross my heart," I promised impatiently.
"Yep, it’s my car." She pointed at something in the picture. See that crack, there in the outside mirror? Junior clipped a mailbox when I was teaching him how to drive. This was last summer, right?"
I nodded. "George thinks it was last July, just after the fourth. He said there was a bad storm that blew all those branches and stuff down." I pointed at the parking lot. "And he pointed out, Hank didn't have the back of the bar remodeled yet."
"OK, yeah. I remember that storm," Gabi said. "It was a doozy. It took out our power for over eight hours." She got a guarded look on her face and tilted the picture toward me. "That's Hank. What’s going on with this picture?" She put the glasses back on the table and looked at me suspiciously.
"I'm trying to help him." I gave her a pissy look. "This is the picture the killer was using online, to lure girls to Herville. He’s claimed, this is a picture of himself."
"That's crazy. You didn't give this to the cops, did you? Jesus Hallie, what are you doing? It’s no wonder Hank’s in trouble.” Gabi looked at me, an angry expression on her pretty face.
"I gave it to Andy," I said indignantly. "I can't withhold evidence, Gabi. But I'm trying to prove that someone else, used this picture and planted other evidence to frame Hank. Using a picture of someone else would keep the attention off the real killer."
"Oh. Ok, sorry." She put the glasses back on and studied the picture again. "If this will help Hank, it would be great.”
"It should." I sipped my water, watching Gabi chew on her lip while she tried to remember more about that day.
"Let’s see. Why did I park behind the bar, the day after the big storm?” Gabi muttered to herself, her fingers drumming on the table top. "I think that was the day of his grand opening party." Her voice got stronger. "Yep, see that. Hank’s carrying extra cases of beer that he got from the distributor." She took the glasses off again and rubbed her eyes. "The guys all went there earlier, to help him clean up the mess the storm made outside. I got there later, with the cake and some decorations."
"Who was with you, riding in the passenger seat?" I asked anxiously.
"Doc was with me," She said slowly.
"You're sure, this was taken from your car, and Doc was in your passenger seat that day?" I asked. I was starting to feel sick.
"Positive." She nodded. "Doc and I parked there to unload the cake and decorations. We put up the decorations and stayed for the party. None of us left Hank’s until after midnight, and she drove my car home that night." She froze, looking at me with big eyes. "Come to think of it, I remember Doc joking about how young Hank looked with his shirt off." Her hand flew to cover her mouth. "What the hell does this mean?"
"I think Doc has some explaining to do." But there had to be a good explanation. Doc was a healer. She would never hurt anyone, even the thought of her killing young girls was absurd. "Did she ever mention taking Hank’s picture or sharing it with anyone?"
"No. I didn't see her take the picture either. I hopped out of the car and got the cake out of the back." Gabi stood up and pulled a beer out of the fridge. She took a long swallow before sitting back down. "She had plenty of time to take it without me noticing. But no way would Doc be involved in murder.”
"We have to tell Andy." I looked longingly at Gabi's beer. "He can ask her about it, without hurting her feelings. We need to know if anyone els
e had access to this picture. She could have shared it with somebody or even lost her phone."
"Yeah, Andy can be tactful, let’s have him ask Doc about it,” Gabi agreed. "Here, you can use the land line." She slid a cordless phone across the table. "Andy's cell is number four on speed dial."
Andy answered on the first ring. "Hey Gabi. How's our girl behaving, now that she's home."
"It's Hallie," I said. I explained everything that I’d discovered about the picture.
"Gabi's sure, Doc took the picture." Andy's voice was tense.
"She didn't see her do it, but it had to have been her," I said. "We wanted you to talk to her. Maybe she shared it with someone."
"Maybe not." Andy blew out a long breath of air. "We've been looking for Doc since this afternoon. She hasn’t been home or at the hospital. And her office hasn't seen her since this morning."
I was getting butterflies in my stomach. "Why are you looking for her?"
"Amy Klein was conscious again for a while. When the Chief asked her again, who hurt her, she wrote Dr. Shuman."
I thought of George's sudden illness. Did he know or see something that I missed? Was he trying to tell me when he asked me to take him upstairs? Damn it! "Andy, Doc's at my house."
"No, I just called there, hoping Doc was with you. Nobody answers the phone."
"She was there, and she was eager for me to leave her alone with Gram and George." I felt panic building. "Meet me there as fast as you can. Please! I'm leaving Gabi’s right now." I put the phone down in front of Gabi and bolted for the front door.
"What's going on?" Gabi cried, trying to keep up with me. "Andy hung up."
"Good!" I called, running down the walk. Climbing into Chitty, I jammed the key into the ignition and floored the gas pedal.
Traffic was light on route eleven, so I drove the RV faster than I ever had before. If a cop tried to stop me, I would lead them home without stopping. I prayed that I was wrong. How could my best friend be a murdering psycho? She had always been a good, decent person. But, the more I thought of George's behavior, the more I was sure he had been afraid. Was he afraid of Doc?
Trying to keep my eyes on the road, I took out my cell and dialed home. It rang until voicemail picked up. I tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, fighting a wave of nausea. I took deep breaths, trying to calm down. But my mind was whirling.