It’s a long story. I’ll see you at home later.
“It appears, my little friend, we have one more stop to make before I can get you that dinner I promised.” Addie shouldered the straw tote, stepped into the elevator, marched outside into the dusky evening, and tramped through the snow to the police station next door.
* * *
“Hi, Carolyn,” Addie said, leaning on the high countertop. “How’s your day going?”
Carolyn, the desk sergeant, Simon’s sister and a good friend of Addie’s, glanced up from a stack of papers. “Hi, Addie. Busy is all I can say.”
“I know. It’s a crazy day, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, and this little one”—she patted her distended baby bump—“has decided it’s most comfortable with its foot either pushing on my diaphragm or kicking my kidney.”
“Wowsers, I can’t imagine.”
“Maybe one day,” Carolyn replied with an amused glint in her eyes.
Horror surged through Addie. “Oh, not for a long time, I hope. I’m just getting the hang of looking after a dog.” She motioned to her straw bag. “I can’t imagine four little kids.” Addie shook her head adamantly. “No, no, no, I’m not sure how you and Pete do it, especially with you working full time.”
“Ah, since I got put back on desk duty, it’s easier.” She winced, and her eyes filled with pain. “Well, most days. Anyway, what brings you in?”
“I was hoping I could speak with Martha Stringer. I believe you’re holding her and Paige here.” She added, muttering, “On some crazy, stupid charge.”
“I didn’t catch that last part.” Carolyn cupped her hand around her ear. “Could you please repeat it?”
Addie shook her head.
“So what you’re asking me is to allow you to speak with a suspect in an ongoing case?” Carolyn clucked her tongue. “You should know better than that.”
“It was worth a try.” Addie shrugged her shoulders. “But it really is important that I ask her a question.”
“Ask who a question?” Detective Ryley Brookes appeared from around the door behind Carolyn.
Addie straightened her shoulders and met the detective’s dark, probing gaze. “I’d like a moment to talk with Martha Stringer.”
Ryley’s laugh was short and humorless. Her deadpan expression was only softened by the fact that the ends of her raven, chin-length bobbed hair swayed as her shoulders shook with restrained laughter.
“Look, I know she’s still here, which, by the way, is ridiculous because there is no way she had anything to do with that man’s death.”
“You’re talking about Brett Palmer, her daughter’s ex, who was found this afternoon behind her bakery, right?” Ryley’s lips pressed tight as her eyes studied Addie’s face. “And you know she’s innocent, how?”
“Because I know Martha.”
Ryley snorted out something between a laugh and a groan. “Is that it? I was hoping that all your misguided sleuthing expertise had turned up something, shall we say, concrete?”
Addie couldn’t miss the sarcastic edge to the woman’s tone and glanced at Carolyn, who appeared, by the glint in her eye, to be enjoying this little dance far too much. Addie snapped back the words that nearly left the tip of her tongue. She wasn’t going to allow either of these women to get their evening’s entertainment from her. “If you won’t let me speak with her, then will you at least ask her something for me?”
Ryley leaned her hand on the desk and narrowed her gaze. “Does this have something to do with the case?”
“Um . . . no.”
Ryley stood erect. “Then it can wait.”
“But it is important. It’s about a missing book.”
“Of course it is.”
“I’m serious.” Addie’s eyes darted between hers and Carolyn’s. “It belongs to Paige and her little girl. We need to know what happened to it.”
Carolyn looked up at Ryley, her eyes pleading Addie’s case. “It belongs to a four-year-old, maybe you could—”
“Oh, all right! What is it you want me to ask Martha?”
“Ask her if she picked up the book Gloria had on her nightstand to take to her at the hospital.”
Ryley disappeared through the door behind the desk to where the cells and interrogation rooms were located.
Carolyn shuffled the pile of papers and glanced up at Addie. “I’m guessing that by you taking the chance of upsetting her”—Carolyn gave a head tick in the direction Ryley had gone—“that this just isn’t some run-of-the-mill children’s book, is it?”
“No, it’s a very valuable book.”
“How much are we talking here, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I’m not certain exactly because I didn’t have time to conduct a full appraisal, but if my guess is right, it could be worth over twenty-five thousand dollars.”
Carolyn let out a long whistle. “Wow, what’s a four-year-old doing with a book like that?”
“It’s a family thing. I’ll explain it over dinner next weekend.”
Ryley came around the corner and pinned Addie with a flash of her dark eyes.
“Well, does she have it?”
“Nope, said she left it on the nightstand right where it was when the two of you were there.”
“Oh dear.” The blood in Addie’s face dropped to meet the pit of her stomach. “Then we seem to have another problem here.”
Chapter Ten
Addie ran her hands over the smooth, worn wooden surface of the arms of the chair. It was like coming home. There had been so many hours spent sitting here across the desk from Marc that at one time she had fondly thought of this chair as hers. Now as she gazed across the desk at the raven-haired detective who occupied his seat, she grasped just how much had changed over the past year.
All of Addie’s earlier bravado evaporated when Ryley set her dark, piercing eyes on Addie and tapped a ballpoint pen on the yellow lined notepad in front of her. Ryley had made it clear from the moment she escorted Addie into the chief ’s office that the free-flowing casual affiliation Addie and Marc had once shared was gone. Extinct. Dead. Not wanting to dwell on that painful revelation, Addie tuned into Ryley’s yammering.
“From what I can gather”—Ryley set the pen on top of the pad and leaned forward—“by everything you’ve told me about the book, it’s missing at this point, and you have no evidence it was stolen, is that correct?”
“It has to have been stolen, can’t you see?” Addie said, and shifted forward on her chair. “Gloria doesn’t have it. Martha, the only other person with a key to Gloria’s house, doesn’t have it, and I certainly don’t. There is no other logical explanation for its disappearance.”
“But you say that when you went to this Gloria’s home to retrieve the book at her request, you saw no sign or indication of a break-in?”
“Not that I noticed, but then again, I wasn’t looking for one at the time.”
“What about when you left? When you did discover the book missing? Anything jump out at you then?”
“No, I made the assumption that Martha had second thoughts and either took it when we were packing the bag or went back for it.”
“Martha, the same person we’re holding on suspicion of murder?”
Addie’s gaze dropped. She knew full well that any kind of emotional appeal to this woman would be a waste of breath. Detective Ryley Brookes was all evidence-based in her investigations, and Addie couldn’t argue with the evidence. Martha was seen having two public squabbles with the victim, who had a rocky history with Martha’s youngest daughter, and the body was discovered behind Martha’s bakery. However, Ryley’s flippant attitude regarding the missing book was another thing. This was something Addie could press.
“Look, I know that you’d like nothing better than to think of this as just a misplaced children’s book, and it will turn up at some point. But I’m convinced, because of the worth of this book, that something else is going on here. If you struggle with taking my word
for it, ask Marc. He’ll tell you about my gut feelings. They’re rarely wrong.”
Ryley’s jaw tightened. Addie had clearly struck the wrong chord with the detective. Addie stifled a laugh. It must be something taught in police academies because that was the same tell Marc had when she struck a nerve with him.
Detective Brookes pinned her dark, unwavering eyes on Addie’s. “Tell you what I’m going to do. I’ll send two of my officers over to have a look around at Gloria’s house, and if they feel anything looks out of place or suspicious, then we’ll launch an investigation.”
“It’s a start.”
“It’s the best I can do right now,” Ryley said, and clicked the intercom button. “Desk Sergeant Coleman, can you come in here for a moment.”
It was a demand and not a question, and Addie’s heart went out to her friend as Carolyn waddled through the door.
“What can I do for you, Detective?”
“With Marc and Jerry still downstairs running interrogations, who do we have on duty that I can dispatch over to Gloria McBride’s house to check on a suspected break-in?”
Carolyn leaned her hand on the back of a chair, winced, and let out a deep breath. “There’re already three units at the park until the carving festival winds down, and then they’ll go to the beach to join the two units stationed there until the tree burning festivities wrap up later.”
“It sounds like we’re spread thin tonight.”
“Yeah, and the chief okayed overtime for the night shift to come in early to assist with crowd control at the beach.”
“So, bringing someone in on OT is out of the question.”
“You know what a stickler for balancing the department budget the chief is, so unless you want to face his wrath . . .” Carolyn met Ryley’s unwavering stare with one of her own.
“No, we don’t want that.” Ryley crossed her arms and sat back. Her gaze darted between Carolyn’s swollen abdomen and the notes she had in front of her. “Look, I know you’ve been assigned desk duty until you go on maternity leave next week, but we seem to be in a bind here. If I don’t follow up on Addie’s claims, and it turns out to be warranted, then—”
“Then you’ll face the chief’s wrath anyway.”
“Exactly,” Ryley said, standing up. “I’d go myself, except I left a witness sitting in interrogation.”
Addie stiffened and glanced at Carolyn’s hand ringing large circles over her stomach. Surely the detective wasn’t about to suggest sending a very pregnant woman out into the field alone. Her baby was due anytime now. She opened her mouth to protest....
“I can go if that’s what you’re saying. I am still a police officer, and if I’m incapable of performing my duties as such, then I should have gone on leave a month ago.”
With her friend’s coolheaded and matter-of-fact words, Addie snapped her mouth closed.
“Good to hear. This should be an easy one. Just take a look around the McBride residence and see if there’s any indication that a break-in occurred.” Ryley glanced at her wristwatch. “It’s not quite six, and Tammy is working down in the file room. I think she’s on until seven. I’ll have her come up and cover the desk until you get back.”
Ryley seized the pad of paper and her pen from the desktop, stalked to the door, then stopped and turned back slowly. “I hope I don’t regret this . . . but take Addie with you. Heaven forbid that you go into labor while you’re out in the field. Marc would kill me for sending you alone.”
Yes. Addie did a mental fist pump.
“But Addie, you are not to interfere with Sergeant Coleman’s investigation in any way, and you are to follow any and all of her orders. Do I make myself clear?”
Addie fought a grin that threatened to blow her nonchalant cover.
“You are a civilian, and one of the only reasons why I’m even considering this is because you are familiar with the property and perhaps can be of some assistance.”
“Understood.”
“Good.” Ryley swung around on her heel and marched out the door.
“Understood that she’s covering her behind is more like it.” Carolyn slid Addie a sly grin. “If she sent me out on a break-and-enter call with no backup . . .”
“I’m not exactly backup.”
“You’re all I’ve got at the moment, so let’s go, partner.”
“Can I drive? I’ve never driven a squad car before.”
“Exactly why you won’t be driving one tonight either.”
“Can I at least operate the lights and sirens?”
“There will be no lights and sirens.”
Addie put on her best little-girl pouty face, and Carolyn shook her head as she withdrew a set of keys and unlocked a cupboard. She hauled out a black case labeled CRIME SCENE. “Here, you can carry this for me.”
Addie’s eyes lit up. “Can I at least dust for fingerprints?”
“No, you cannot.” Carolyn rolled her eyes. “Come on. Tammy, the file clerk, only works until seven, so we have just over an hour to get this finished.”
They headed down the back stairwell, Addie still pleading her case—to the mocking tunes of Carolyn’s laughter—to allow her to contribute more to the investigation than being on baby watch.
* * *
“Here, take my arm. The last thing we need is you slipping on the ice. Not only would we face the wrath of Marc and Ryley, but I can’t even imagine how Simon or Pete would react if you ended up on your head in a snowdrift at nine months pregnant.”
“I think I’ll be okay.” Carolyn shined her flashlight beam up the sidewalk. “It looks like a fresh sprinkle of some sort of salt mixture has been applied.”
“It was probably one of Gloria’s neighbors helping her out.”
“Helpful neighbors in a crisis is great. There’s not enough of that. But in this case, it also means that if there were tracks here not belonging to you or Martha, they’re long gone now.”
Carolyn’s beam danced from the left and right up the path, including scanning the snow piles on either side and across the base of the house as they approached.
“I’ll take that arm now,” Carolyn said when they reached the steps to the covered porch. “I bet you never thought you’d be hauling a beached whale up the stairs today.”
The imagery Carolyn’s words evoked in both women made the task of tugging an already off-balance woman even more difficult when they both doubled over in laughter.
“This is nothing compared to the other things I’ve had to do lately.”
“Like what?” Carolyn stopped at the top of the steps to catch her breath.
“Like fostering a dog.” Addie motioned to the little head peeping over the top of her tote slung over her shoulder. “And finding a dead body in the alley behind my store.”
“Yeah, that must have been tough.”
Addie slipped the key into the door lock. “I’ m not sure how you police get used to it.”
“It’s not something you get used to,” Carolyn said, scanning her beam of light around the casing of the window to the right of the door. “It’s just unfortunately part of the job sometimes.”
“Kind of like Simon’s, I guess.”
“Yeah, speaking of my brother,” Carolyn said as she moved around Addie to the window on the left of the door, “how’s he enjoying his new set of wheels?”
“It’s worked out great, him buying your truck and parking that summer ride of his for the winter. I must say there was more than once when I wasn’t sure we’d make it over a few of the snowbanks we encountered. Don’t get me wrong. A Tesla Roadster is a great car. They’re just not made for the tons of snow we can get with our storms.”
“Like your Mini is?” Carolyn laughed.
“You’re right. I’ve been thinking of trading it in, especially after this last winter,” Addie said as Carolyn aimed her beam of light over the side of the porch rail and scanned the pathway that ran to the back gate.
“Why did you sell the truck to Simon in the fi
rst place? I noticed Pete’s been driving you around lately. Didn’t you get anything new?”
“No, not yet. I guess Simon didn’t tell you why I had to sell it?”
Addie shook her head.
“Well, Pete hasn’t been getting many construction contracts lately with the weather, so money’s been tight. That’s also part of the reason why I opted to work until my due date and not go on leave last month. Marc was good about it. He understood and reassigned me to the desk as a precaution. Once the weather lifts, Pete’s work situation should improve, and we’ll look at buying something else for me to drive then. Okay, I can’t see any signs of an intruder from here. Let’s go in, and I’ll check the other windows and backyard.”
Carolyn stepped over the threshold and pulled two pairs of blue gloves from her police-issue jacket. “Here, replace your wool mittens with these just in case you’re tempted to touch anything inside.”
“You sound just like Marc.”
“It’s a standard police line.” Carolyn grinned and flipped on the light switch beside her and scanned the small entranceway. “Cute house.” She peeked around the pillar into the living room. “Okay, you can help by wandering around to see if you notice anything that might have changed since you were here on Friday and from when you came back today. I’m going to check the windows and backyard.”
“Can I let Pippi out for a run? She gets so cooped up in the pen at my house. This is a real treat for her.”
“Sure, but don’t you go out with her. I want to be able to check for human footprints in the snow.”
“Got it, thanks,” Addie said, and made her way to the back door.
She waited until her little charge gave the signal that she was ready to come back in and scooped Pippi up in her arms. It was probably best to keep her out of Carolyn’s way as she made her rounds of the rooms, checking the windows and dusting for prints. With the dog tucked firmly under her arm, Addie made her own rounds of the house, searching for anything that looked out of place. When Carolyn came in from the backyard and gave Addie the all clear, she set Pippi down on the bedroom floor.
A Page Marked for Murder Page 8