Chapter 13
The clock was ticking, and Deena had very little newsworthy information to add to her story. Sure, she’d found out about Kitty’s shenanigans, but that was private, not meant for public consumption. The real story was about the John Doe and his death.
Wasn’t it?
By now she was convinced there wasn’t much of a story at all other than reporting the full identity of Rocky B. and how he got Edwin’s personal belongings. Maybe Russell was right. They could have fallen out of the car and been picked up by Rocky in the parking lot. It seemed like too big of a coincidence, and she knew there were rarely weird coincidences when it came to crime.
Maybe Guttman had found something out. She sat in the car still in front of Ian’s office and called the station.
Linda McKenzie made it clear the detective was busy and she couldn’t put Deena’s call through.
Time for plan B. She drove to the shopping center where her friend Sandra Davis, wife of her ex-boss attorney Ian Davis, ran the Second Chance thrift shop. Obviously she didn’t have time to stop in and see Sandra, but across the way in the parking lot was the doughnut shop where cops liked to hang out. When she got there, a squad car was parked in front.
She went in and found Officer Hitchcock and another uniformed officer she didn’t recognize chatting up some women at the next table. One of those women was her neighbor Christy Ann.
“What’s going on here?” Deena said lightly. “Are you all having a neighborhood watch meeting without me?”
Christy Ann made a face. “No, Deena.” She turned to the others. “She likes to make jokes. Thinks everything is funny.”
“Hey, Mrs. Sharpe,” Hitchcock said with a tilt of his head. “Have you met the newest addition to Maycroft’s fine police force?”
“No, I haven’t.”
The young officer stood up and shook her hand. “Hi. I’m Luis Santos, at your service.”
Deena was impressed. The new recruit was fresh faced and polite, a welcome change to the rest of the department. And unlike Hitchcock, he wasn’t grinding on a ratty toothpick. She introduced herself, adding that she was a reporter for the Tribune.
“Must you tell everyone that?” Christy Ann said as she laid her napkin on the table. “I was just telling these officers how devastated we all were when your newspaper printed that our beloved neighbor Edwin was dead. Such a travesty.”
Deena shook her head. “Well, yes, it was an error that we corrected today.”
“Would you like to sit down,” Santos said and pulled out a chair.
“Don’t mind if I do.” Deena took a seat and pulled out her notepad. “Actually, I’d like to ask you both a few questions.”
Christy Ann pushed back her chair with a screech as it drug across the linoleum floor. “Well, that’s our cue to leave. Let’s go, Nancy. Nice meeting you, Officer Santos. Hope to see you both at the Little League fundraiser.” With that, they left.
Hitchcock was on to Deena. “You’re not going to ask about the John Doe, are you? Guttman said—”
“Guttman, smuttman.” That hadn’t come out right. “You know what I mean. He’s not the boss of you.”
Hitchcock used his tongue to shift the toothpick to the other side of his mouth. “Uh, actually, he is.”
“Hmm. Well, then I know a way you can impress him.”
Tilting back his chair made Deena worry Hitchcock would tip over backwards. It was all she could do not to slide into teacher mode and tell him to stop.
He rocked the chair on its back legs. “You say that like I care if I impress him.”
Deena narrowed her eyes. “You don’t?”
“Not really.”
“Now is that how you expect to set a good example for your new partner?” She waved a hand at the rookie.
Santos looked up cautiously at the other officer. “Hitch has taught me a lot already, but some of it is a little sketchy.”
Hitchcock snickered. “Well, I guess it wouldn’t hurt for Santos here to get in good with the brass. Whatcha got?”
She fanned her face with the notepad. “Just the name of your John Doe, that’s all.”
Hitchcock leaned forward and the front legs of the chair crashed to the floor. “What? We’ve had every officer on the force trying to get that information. How’d you find it out?”
“I have my sources.” Deena waited for the flood of accolades but suddenly found herself in a stare-down with the mountain of the man in blue. What was going on? Was he too obstinate to ask her for help? Was she just supposed to lay this juicy piece of evidence at his feet?
After what seemed like an eternity, Santos interrupted the pissing match. “Mrs. Sharpe, we’d be grateful for any information you could provide us.”
Deena blinked and turned to Santos. “He told people his name was Rocky B. There are guys at the Pine Tree Motel who know him. It will probably cost you to get more out of them. Talk to a guy named Tiny.”
Santos scribbled down his notes. “That’s a big help, Mrs. Sharpe. Thank you.”
She turned her attention to Hitchcock. “If you guys ever go with the good cop, bad cop thing, make sure you’re the bad cop.”
He rolled his eyes like a middle school mean girl. “Whatever. Is that it?”
“Depends. Do you know anything about how Rocky ended up at the coffee shop or how he got Cooper’s ID?”
“Nope.”
Deena looked back at the other man. “Officer Santos, you should know that the police and the press are on the same side. We all want justice. We do what’s called quid pro quo. Tit for tat. You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.”
“Got it,” Santos said with a pearly-white grin.
“I just gave you a nugget, now you’re expected to give me one.” She pointed to her notepad.
“How about this,” Santos said. “One of the cooks at the café where John Doe was found deceased said he saw a red car driving off out of the parking lot in the middle of the night. He asked us to keep it on the down low since he’s living at the restaurant without the owner’s permission.”
“Santos,” Hitchcock barked. “What are you doing?”
The young officer straightened up in his chair. “Well, it seems to me that we need to maintain a good working relationship with Mrs. Sharpe. You know what they say, ‘You can catch more flies with honey.’”
Hitchcock grabbed his big hat and stood up. “Let’s get back to work.”
Santos used his hand to make the “call me” telephone sign as he followed the other officer out.
The information wasn’t anything she could really add to her story, but at least it was something to follow up on. Could that have been the same car that picked Rocky up at the park? She flipped back through her notes. She found the page where Tiny had said the people who picked up Rocky drove a red or maroon sports car. It could be the same one.
She looked up just as the waitress dropped Hitchcock’s bill on the table. That skunk hadn’t paid his tab. She pulled out her wallet, but something wouldn’t leave her brain. Where had she just seen a red sports car? Her eyes drifted out the window to the parking lot. Gary drove a red sports car, but she was sure that wasn’t it.
She dropped some bills on the table and got up. Then it hit her like a Mack truck. Someone recently had been driving an old dark-red car.
It was Kitty, Edwin’s granddaughter.
Chapter 14
Back at home, Deena struggled to write four inches of copy to send Dan. About the only new information she could add was that the police still did not know the identity of John Doe. She repeated the facts of his death and mentioned that he was last seen getting into a dark-red car near Southside Park.
That would have to do for now. She corrected a few typos and emailed the draft to Dan. It wasn’t easy to write a nonstory.
She looked at the clock and knew Gary would probably be home soon. If she hurried, she might be able to talk to Leslie Babcock again at the bank. She picked up her notepad
and put it in her purse.
Hurley jumped up and wagged his tail like a kid headed to Disneyland. He’d gotten used to Deena taking him in the car when she went on short errands.
“Sorry, boy. Not this time. I’m going to the bank, and you’d just have to wait in the car.” She immediately pictured Edwin waiting in the car while Kitty went in the bank to steal from him. The anger rose and she could feel it in her cheeks. Maybe she would give Kitty a call that evening to let her know she’d be keeping a better eye on Edwin and that Kitty better not try anything like that again. The woman was surely smart enough to know she didn’t want to be cut out of her grandfather’s will.
Hurley looked at the treat Deena offered him as a consolation prize for having to stay at the house. His mournful brown eyes told her he wasn’t buying it. She dropped it at his feet and promised to take him for a walk later that evening. It was in moments like that when Deena really respected women with children. It was hard enough to keep her husband and dog happy—she couldn’t imagine how she’d have also managed kids.
She made the short drive back to the bank, ready to confront Leslie and get more details. It was obvious when the girl laid eyes on Deena that she knew something was up. As Deena approached, Leslie asked the head teller if she could take a break, but before she could disappear into the back room, Deena called her name and asked to speak to her.
The other teller smiled warmly at Deena and then gave Leslie a look that said, “The customer is always right. Now take care of this like a good busy bee.”
“Can we speak in private?” Deena asked.
Leslie nodded and led the way out the front of the bank to a side patio that probably served as an employee smoking area before smoking was banned altogether at the bank. They sat in chairs at a table shaded with an umbrella. No one else was around.
“I told you everything this morning, Mrs. Sharpe. What more do you want?”
“Everything?” Deena repeated. “You didn’t mention that you used to work with Kitty and Clay at Freddy’s. Or how Mr. Cooper’s ID and bank slip ended up in another man’s pocket.”
Leslie’s shoulders slumped. She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her skirt and squeezed it like a security blanket.
Deena continued. “Let’s start with the first point. This visit to the bank was all set up in advance, right?”
Leslie nodded. “Kitty asked me. She needed to get something out of the safe deposit box without her grandfather knowing. I didn’t want to do it, but she’s my friend, you know?”
“You took a big chance to help out a friend. You could have been fired.”
“I know. Marcie chewed my head off but said she’d give me another chance since they’d just spent all that time training me. I’ll never do anything like that again, that’s for sure.”
“What about the safe deposit box? Did you get a look at what was inside when you opened it?”
“Just what was on top. Some papers, an envelope—I wasn’t really paying attention.” She turned the phone around in her hands, not making eye contact with Deena.
“What about Kitty? Did you see what she took out of the box?”
“No, I was standing lookout. She was pretty fast. Plus, I don’t think you are supposed to watch while the client is looking in the box.”
So now she was a rules follower. Ironic. “But you do know she took something, right?”
Leslie looked up. “I guess. I mean, I heard papers rattle when she put them in her purse.”
Deena pictured the scene, like something from one of those cop shows, except Kitty didn’t have a stocking cap pulled down over her face. “Okay, but what about the other thing? The ID and bank receipt. Did you give them to Kitty?”
Leslie hesitated just long enough before saying yes that Deena knew she was hiding something.
“What?” Deena leaned in. “This is your chance to tell the truth and come clean.”
Leslie pursed her lips. “It’s no big deal, but Kitty left them on the counter where she had gone through the box. After she left, I saw them and took them to her.”
“Was she still in the bank?”
“She was in the parking lot about to drive off. She rolled down her grandfather’s window, and I slid them into his shirt pocket. Then they drove away.”
“Kitty and her grandfather?”
“And Clay.”
“Clay was there too?”
“Yes.”
Deena pictured it. Two people and an old man in a dark-red car. “One last question. Did you get a good look at Mr. Cooper? Did he look like he was ill?”
Leslie stood up, still clutching the cell phone. “I don’t know. His head was down and he was wearing a cap, so I really couldn’t see his face. It wouldn’t have mattered though since I’d never met him before that day anyway.”
The hairs on Deena’s arms stood up like a hundred tiny soldiers about to march into battle. She may not have known what the full picture looked like, but she was pretty sure she’d just found another piece of the puzzle.
AS SHE HEADED TO HER car, Deena noticed a red Mercedes pulling into the back of the parking lot. For a moment, it seemed funny—like something all Mercedes owners must do. Then she saw Gary unfold his tall body from the small vehicle.
She stopped in her tracks and waited as he walked up. “Are you spying on me now or what?”
“Not hardly. We got a call to come down and pick up some papers. I told Scott I would do it since I assumed you wouldn’t be home yet.”
Deena grinned and took his arm. “You’ll never guess what I just found out.”
“Can it wait? I told Marcie I’d be right over, and I don’t want to keep her waiting.”
“Marcie? I’ll go with you.”
They went inside and Judy Fritz grinned and greeted Deena for the third time that day. “You know, Mrs. Sharpe, we’re just going to have to get you your own office if you keep spending so much time here.”
Deena smiled. “Marcie Phillips called. She asked us to come by.” She used the word “us” loosely, of course.
Before long, they were sitting in the woman’s office and it was obvious she was none too excited to see Deena. Her face was pale as though she’d applied kabuki makeup. “Again, I want to apologize to you, Mr. Sharpe. My behavior yesterday was totally out of character. I—”
“No need to say another word.” Gary held up his hand. “We all have bad days, right, honey?”
Deena wondered why her husband had brought her up in the conversation. “Uh, sure.”
“You are both too kind. Now Mr. Sharpe, I notarized these documents . . .”
Deena stared at the woman across the desk and thought of something. She blurted out a question. “Does the bank have surveillance cameras inside and outside the bank?”
Gary turned to her. “Deena, you’re interrupting.”
“I’m sorry. But do they?”
Marcie straightened her back. “I am not in charge of security, but I’m sure we do.”
Deena nodded. “I’ve got to go. I’ll see you at home.” She gave Gary a peck on the cheek and left the office.
If the police could look at the security footage, maybe they could see who was really in the car that day with Kitty and Clay. She was ready to bet dollars to doughnuts that it wasn’t Edwin Cooper.
It was Rocky B.
Chapter 15
Going through her notes, Deena wasn’t sure what to do next. She tapped her pen on the table, causing Hurley to look up with big eyes and wag his tail. “Sorry, boy, it’s not time for a walk just yet.”
She studied the list she’d started writing. Why would Kitty and Clay have taken Rocky to the bank with them? Did they cause his heart attack? How did he end up at the café? She knew the information was important, but she wasn’t sure what to do with it. If she told Dan, he’d tell her to follow up on it. He wouldn’t want her to go to the police so that the newspaper could be the first to report on it. That left a sour taste in her mouth.
H
er natural instinct would be to tell Ian. After all, he was Edwin’s attorney, and this was Edwin’s granddaughter. He would be the one who had the Coopers’ best interest at heart. But what would Ian do? Probably tell her to report it to the police. They were the people best equipped to handle an investigation into legal matters.
She was a reporter, after all. Shouldn’t she be reporting on what the police found out instead of heading up her own investigation? She never wanted to be at odds with the police as long as they were doing their jobs. It wasn’t as if they’d been derelict in their duties or tried to cover something up.
But then, what would Dan say? He’d only been in his position as the Tribune’s editor for a few months. Could she really go in and question his judgment?
Ugh. Maybe Gary could help her sort it out. She added more questions to her list.
A few minutes later, Gary walked in and set his briefcase on the kitchen table, paying no attention to Hurley or the stack of mail. He turned to Deena and crossed his arms. “So, are you ready to get into it?”
“You bet,” she said. “I’ve been compiling my notes on the story and—”
“Not that,” Gary snapped.
Deena drew in a quick breath. She wasn’t used to her husband being snippy to her. “What do you mean?”
Gary plunged his hands into his pockets and began to pace. “I don’t know if you realize this, but for the past few days you have been completely obsessed with this story—if it even is a story. The Granger murder was one thing. There was a killer to uncover. But this? Where’s the ‘major crime’ you are supposed to be reporting on?”
She followed him with her eyes as he marched back and forth. “I’m investigating. It’s my job.” Even as the words came out of her mouth, she wasn’t sure she believed them.
“Is it? I mean, is it your job, or is it your life?”
She waved a hand. “Sit down. You’re making me dizzy.”
Gary sighed and took the seat across the table from her.
With him seated, she said, “Now, what exactly are you getting at?”
Stay Sharpe Box Set Page 38