Corpse in a Crate

by Winnie Reed

  And did I imagine her shooting a look of sympathy our away?

  “We were only curious, sir,” Raina informed him. She managed to keep her head high, refusing to let him intimidate her. “My family has a long history with Pattersons, and I’ve known them since I was born. Naturally, someone who’s known them her entire life would be curious as to whether the body was buried on the property for so many years.”

  “Was there any evidence of soil mixed in with the bones?” I ventured. I already knew I sounded silly, practically stammering my way through the question, and the way the man glared at me before openly scoffing told me I was right.

  And that I had been right in assuming we would get nowhere like this.

  His eyes flicked over both of us, one and then the other. From the look in them, he thought we were less than garbage. “Do either of you little girls have a warrant? A badge? Hell, a law degree? Are either of you lawyers for Mr. Patterson?”

  Little girls? “Now just hold on a second—” I started, but Raina held me back at the last second. Only her arms moved, barring me from clawing this self-satisfied jerk’s eyes out for being so dismissive and rude.

  She kept her cool much better than I did. “I might not be a lawyer, Detective Wallace, but I can assure you that my family has an entire stable of lawyers at their disposal for situations such as this one. And if I tell them that it seems to me your department is not giving this case its full due simply because the family attached to it happens to be named Patterson, you will be hearing from them. Now. I think you’ll find it much easier to deal with me than it is to deal with them. It’s your choice, sir. We only came here to ask a question. Nothing more.”

  In my experience, when threatened with the presence of lawyers, a person did one of two things. They either went ashen, the blood draining from their face, or the opposite happened.

  In this case, it was the latter. He turned a shade of purple that I’d never seen outside the produce department of my local grocery store. I didn’t know if I would ever be able to think of him again without thinking of eggplant, and vice versa.

  “You bring your lawyers in, then,” he growled, pointing a finger at both of us. “And you see how far you get. I don’t take kindly to having my work criticized by some spoiled little rich girl and her Nancy Drew wannabe friend.”

  “We need to go,” I whispered. “Before I do something that lands me in jail.”

  And so, we left, and I was grateful that my cheeks waited to burst into flame until our backs were turned and we were already partway out the door.

  Unexpressed rage stemming from deep shame and the embarrassment of knowing we’d been called out in front of so many witnesses left tears stinging my eyes. That was the way of it with me. If I couldn’t lash out and scream, I cried.

  Raina, on the other hand, was stormy. “I guess we know the answer,” she snarled as we got into the car.

  I doubted the engine had even had time to cool much in the few minutes we’d been away.

  “The answer to what?” I asked in a tight voice, glaring at the station and wondering if Wallace was watching us. Would it be considered uncouth to flip him the bird, just in case he was?

  No, I wouldn’t debase myself like that. But I sure wanted to.

  “The answer to whether or not the police department is doing everything it can to figure out the answers to this whole mess. It makes me worry, it really does. What if this guy decides to make Nate’s life miserable once he opens the bed and breakfast? I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one who threw that rock through the window, probably frustrated that Nate got off with nothing more than a few days of inconvenience.”

  As much as I wanted to indulge my frustration with her, I felt it only right to be reasonable. “We don’t know that. I’m sure Nate can deal with whatever this guy throws his way. Remember, he’s got lawyers, too. He’s not alone in the world.”

  Of course, I knew without asking that this wasn’t enough for her. It wouldn’t be enough until Nate was completely cleared and free of any suspicion or lingering resentment.

  At that point, I suspected he would never be free unless he moved to the other side of the country. Or maybe the other side of the world. People tended to remember things like what he did.

  As we left town, we happened to drive through the commercial district, passing the hotel we’d stayed at. It was funny, but even though I came from a tourist town, it still surprised me to see life continuing the way it had while I was there before. Tourists still came and went, sitting on the front porch of the hotel, wandering into the art gallery and the brewery.

  A brewery which at that very moment, Kevin Patterson happened to be walking into.

  Raina didn’t notice him, and I chose not to point him out.

  Maybe I would have to find a pet-friendly place in the area and pay a visit while Raina was out of town. Maybe Kevin would talk to me if I was nice enough.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “What do you think?” I looked up from the salad I was putting together at my father’s kitchen counter in time to find him scowling.

  Something told me he had plenty of thoughts and was just waiting to unleash them on me. I wished I hadn’t asked.

  His voice came out as a protective growl I recognized all too well. “For one thing, I think it’s a bad idea, the two of you snooping around.”

  I’d been ready for that one, so it didn’t hit me too hard. “Aren’t you insanely curious? Doesn’t it strike you as beyond bizarre? I mean, he was supposed to have drowned years ago but ended up buried. At least, that’s what we’re assuming right now. Since that awful jerk wouldn’t tell us anything.”

  My father placed a carving knife on the butcher block counter maybe a little harder than he needed to. “Emma Harmon, I don’t want to hear you talking about a police officer that way again. You understand?”

  That one made my jaw drop. “Dad, I didn’t mean to be insulting—”

  His blue-grey eyes, so like mine, snapped fire. “Well, you are. You’re being very insulting to a man who’s probably overworked, underpaid, and doesn’t have time to field questions from amateur detectives like you and Raina. You think it matters to him or any cop that she has a personal relationship with the family? I’m sure that’s the last thing he cares about. And do you have any idea how often people wander into the police station and decide they’re going to threaten a lawsuit? If I had a dollar for every time that happened, I’d be well on my way to retirement by now.”

  No matter how old I got, my father would always have a way of getting to me. Since he put it that way, I was ashamed of myself. “You’re right. It’s wrong of me to speak that way.”

  He grunted. “That being said, that guy better hope I never cross his path in a dark alley. That’s all I have to say.”

  “So I’m not going out of my mind? It really was wrong with him to treat us that way?”

  “Not only was it wrong, it was unprofessional. If a man who’s probably been on the force for at least fifteen years—he was around during the accident you told me about, and he was already a detective—doesn’t know how to handle a situation like that without losing his temper, he has no business wearing a badge.”

  Holly, Dad’s girlfriend, pulled a tray of garlic bread out of the oven. “Thank goodness. I was hoping you would say that.”

  “You know, you could jump in on my side at any point,” I joked, winking. It made her happy, feeling like we were friendly. She cared so much about that, and it couldn’t have been easy for her to be his girlfriend.

  Not that he was difficult, not in the least. Well, maybe in a romantic relationship. He was just about as stubborn as I was, and could be just as blustery as the next guy when he decided to be, though under all that bluster was a heart of gold.

  The problem came with my beloved father being the ex-husband of my beloved mother. Their divorce came as quite a shock to the town, the both of them so well known, and after having been married for twenty years. Anyo
ne who came after my mother would be the subject of scrutiny.

  The fact that Holly was young and pretty hadn’t worked in her favor when the town gossip mill started cranking.

  Once she placed the piping hot tray on the stove, she brushed dark curls back from her forehead with a sigh. “Hey, I don’t want to get in the middle. But I do think it was pretty rotten, the way back he spoke to you.”

  “He sounded pretty defensive,” I agreed.

  “That, I can understand,” Dad insisted. “Like I said, no detective wants a couple of inexperienced young women questioning his work. However, if he’s not working as hard as he should or if he’s deliberately letting things fall through the cracks because of some personal vendetta against Nate Patterson, that’s another story. It could be that the two of you riled him up because he thought you were suspicious of him.”

  “Which we are,” I pointed out with a shrug.

  “Yes, and I’m sure you handled things in your usual, discreet way.” He shot Holly a smirk before picking up a bowl full of pasta and meatballs which he carried to the kitchen table.

  “Hey! I can be discreet when I have to be.” I brought the salad, sticking my tongue out at my father in passing.

  He chuckled. “Sure. It’s one of your finer qualities. You make great decisions in heat of the moment, too.”

  “Well, I sure am glad I came over here for dinner, so I could be the brunt of your jokes.”

  Holly clicked her tongue as she joined us with a bowl of steaming, crusty bread. The scent of garlic and butter wafted my way, making my stomach rumble. “George, take it easy on her. She’s your daughter, after all. She’s only trying to do what’s right even when there’s nothing in it for her. That sounds like you.”

  “I should’ve known you’d be on her side,” he joked. Really, he loved it, feeling like Holly was becoming part of the family. Something told me she could’ve said just about anything to stick up for me and he would’ve been thrilled to pieces that we were getting along so well.

  But his happiness could never be complete until Darcy came around. I wondered how much longer it would be before she did. If I had inherited my father’s drive to fix things, to help people, she had definitely inherited his stubbornness. The girl had stubbornness to spare.

  We sat down then, with Dad saying the blessing before we dug in. I had already enjoyed Holly’s red sauce more than I probably should have—when it came to food, I was a little more passionate than most people—and my mouth was watering as I heaped pasta and meatballs onto my plate.

  “I wonder how that body ended up where did,” Holly mused, breaking off a piece of garlic bread and dipping it into her sauce. I followed suit and was glad I did—the fresh, savory sauce paired perfectly with the soft, buttery bread. I was in heaven after just one bite.

  Dad shrugged, twirling pasta onto his fork. “Seems to me somebody dug it up and placed it there on purpose.”

  “Yes, it must’ve been buried somewhere. If there was no… you know. Messiness in the trunk.” I winced, shooting a look of apology to my host and hostess. Not exactly nice talk to be shared around the dinner table.

  Holly was clearly used to it by now. She gestured to my father with her fork. “What do you think? Was it Kevin who did it?”

  Dad blanched. “I would hope not. Can you imagine? Digging up his own father’s body?”

  I shook my head, shivering a little. “The whole situation is so disturbing. Raina and I can’t put it together no matter how hard we try. If Kevin really was found floating, alone, where was his father? Was he ever even on the boat with him? Was it all set up by Matthew to evade a sketchy deal or somebody who might have been after him for some reason? If so, did Kevin know about it? He was only ten years old. Either his father disappeared and Kevin assumed him dead and floated alone, thinking he would be next, or he knew all along that he had to keep his father’s terrible secret to himself. No matter how you slice it, that’s a lot of pressure upon a little boy.”

  “What a shame,” Holly murmured. “It seems to me certain people just shouldn’t be allowed to have children. It’s unfair to the kids, you know? There are so many people who want kids of their own, who’d treat them well and be good to them.”

  I had the feeling I’d struck a nerve. I didn’t know enough about Holly to know her history when it came to children, whether she was interested in having them or not. Maybe it was a sore point for her, maybe she had always wanted kids of her own.

  I was quick to veer away from the subject. “I wonder if there are any newspaper reports from the accident, if it was an accident. I would imagine there would be. The family was so wealthy and well known, an accident like that would be news. Wouldn’t it?”

  “The story would draw reporters like flies to honey,” Dad agreed. “But I’d really like it if you would leave it at that. Do a little research on the internet, go to the library, what have you. But I hate the idea of you getting mixed up with a powerful family like that.”

  “I’m not getting mixed up in anything, Dad. I’m just curious. And I can’t help it—it bugs me to think that Nate might still end up bearing the brunt of this. That detective doesn’t like him.”

  Dad grumbled, sopping up sauce with a piece of bread. “No comment.”

  “You agree with him, then? That Nate should pay for the rest of his life for what he did?”

  “All I’m gonna say is, when you’ve been on the force as long as I have, you become familiar with the concept of people getting away with murder. In some cases, literally.”

  “It wasn’t murder. It was manslaughter.”

  “Don’t split hairs with me, young lady,” he warned, gesturing with what was left of his bread as he did.

  I had to flinch away from droplets of sauce which hit the air.

  “You know what I mean. He didn’t want to kill anybody. Believe me, I’m with you to an extent. I don’t like to think that some people get away with doing bad things. But he was a minor, and I’m sure his family had a lot to do with getting him off the hook. It wasn’t like he demanded they do it for him. And he’s done a lot of things to try to make up for it, too.”

  “Still.” Dad went back to his food.

  “You never made any mistakes when you were a kid?” Holly asked, wiggling her eyebrows at me even though it was him that she was speaking to.

  “Nothing like that,” Dad muttered.

  “But were you ever in a situation where something like that could have happened?” Holly asked. “Honestly, I’ll admit it. I was. More than once, in fact. I was a dumb kid, I was reckless. A lot of us were back then. One time, we went out drinking when I was in college, and I drove everybody home. It was only by the grace of my guardian angel that I managed to get everybody home safe. We took a lot of chances, because we thought we were untouchable. That’s the only word I can think of. When you’re young, you think everything’s going to be okay.”

  “But if, God forbid, you’d gotten in an accident that night, what would happen to you? If you’d walked away from it but somebody else wasn’t able to, what would’ve happened to you?”

  Holly frowned, sitting back in her chair. “I don’t know. If I was a minor?”

  “I can tell you what they would’ve done, and it wouldn’t have involved walking away with nothing but a slap on the wrist and an expunged record once you turned eighteen. Trust me on this. I’ve seen the results of a lot of kids thinking they were invincible. And yeah, sure, I was stupid like that when I was a kid, too. Mind you, I would rather not get into details the presence of my daughter—”

  “Your adult daughter,” I added with a pointed look his way.

  “Just the same.” He looked at me again, and I knew that expression. He was not in the mood to let me get off easy. “Promise me you’re not going to bother those cops again. And that you’re not going to do anything that might get you sued by a family rich enough to bankrupt you for the rest of your life.”

  “Okay,” I muttered, pushing food a
round on my plate. “If you insist.”

  “Now, don’t make me the bad guy, young lady.”

  “I wasn’t,” I whispered. I was. Obviously, I was.

  Holly patted my hand. “Do a little digging around. I bet you’ll be able to find something.”

  Dad threw his hands into the air. “Are you encouraging her? Was it not enough that she almost got killed?”

  “Will anybody ever let me live that down? I did not almost get killed.”

  “You were fighting over a gun when the police arrived, and you were dripping wet because that Aubrey Klein tried to drown you. Correct me if I’m wrong.”

  I threw my hands in the air just like Dad had done. I guessed we shared more than a few traits. “But I didn’t almost die! I had things pretty well in hand. Sure, having the police show up when they did was helpful. But it’s not like I was moments away from death. Gosh, nobody’s ever going to let me do anything again without reading me a laundry list of reasons why I shouldn’t do it. All because of that one night. And for heaven’s sake, all I was doing was bringing her a plate of lemon bars. It’s not like I barged in, screaming at Aubrey that she was the murderer. The next thing I knew, she was trying to drown me.”

  “Was there something wrong with the lemon bars, then?” Holly asked, flinching with a grin when Dad shot her a look. “Sorry, sorry,” she whispered, while I giggled behind my napkin.

  “I might as well be talking to a wall,” Dad grumbled.

  “You’re smart enough that you’ll be able to put the pieces together if you want to,” Holly assured me. “I would bet on you any day.”

  I didn’t know for sure whether she meant it or if she was just trying to curry favor, but it was nice to hear either way.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Lola didn’t know which way was up as I walked her through the commercial district after settling in at the hotel. Because it was a weekday and because Memorial Day hadn’t hit yet, it wasn’t too difficult to find a pet-friendly hotel with availability. The rates were even pretty reasonable.