by Dale Mayer
She hopped up, handed over a USB key, and said, “I meant to give you this the first time I met you. Then I wondered if I should. When I heard a woman was skulking around up in the orchard, my instincts said it was you,” she said, with a bright smile. “So, here. This is the information on my mother, just in case I can’t give it to you later on.”
“Why wouldn’t you give it to me later?” Doreen asked worriedly, as she accepted the thumb drive.
Denise gave her a flat stare. “I know that I’m a mess,” she said, “and I know my mom was probably a mess too. But that doesn’t mean she deserved this any more than I deserve whatever the hell will be the outcome of this mess for me,” she said.
“Right now the mess is the fact that a body is in the morgue,” Doreen said, trying to refocus the conversation. “Your mother has been gone fifteen years, but that body in the morgue right now? That’s fresh.”
With that, Denise was gone.
Chapter 28
Doreen raced to the front door, just in time to see Denise hop into her vehicle and drive away. She was barely gone, when Mack came flying up. Doreen held the door open for him. “She just left,” she said. Relief crossed Mack’s face, and she smiled. “I didn’t really think I was in danger,” she said, “but the whole interchange was definitely confusing. I think she was trying to play me.”
“She is definitely trying to play you,” he said.
“She did have a lot of interesting information to offer.” She shared what Denise had said. And then added, “Plus, she handed me this information on her mother’s death.”
“Lord, lady,” he said, shaking his head. “The last thing you need is another case.”
“No, but remember? I did say cold cases suited me better.”
“Of course,” he said, “because you think the danger is a little more distant.”
She nodded. “And yet, at the same time, it doesn’t feel very distant today.” She looked at him and asked, “Was any of the information from the video helpful?”
“Yes. We’re running tests on the body right now. And it looks like it is quite possible that the wrong man went to prison.”
“How is that even a thing?”
“Mistakes happen. People see what they expect to see. He showed up and looked the part, so they had no reason to question it.”
“And so he went to prison for his brother?”
“It’s not all that odd that someone in jail repeats over and over how they are innocent. Plus, the brothers were fraternal twins and looked fairly similar, especially when they were younger, but the years have really hurt and have showed up differently on each,” he said.
“And from the research, it also looked like,” she murmured, “that he, uh, might not have been all there, so to speak.”
“I don’t know about that as much as the fact that he was probably not as manipulative as his brother. Anyway he did go to prison for the one guy, as you said. And, according to the fingerprints we have on file, the one who went to prison is the one currently in the morgue.”
“But not necessarily the one accused of the crime, correct? So the gardener may end up in jail too?”
Mack nodded. “Yep, so we’ll be taking care of that as well.”
“Of course,” she said, “but that still doesn’t tell us who killed the man in the morgue.”
“No,” he said, “it doesn’t. And I don’t want you having anything more to do with this case. It’s dangerous. We’ve had more than enough deaths involved.”
“Is there another one?” she asked.
Instantly he shook his head. “One is enough. And now you’re looking at what she just said about her mother.”
Doreen nodded. “I do want to see what’s on this key.”
He nodded. “I do too because it might pertain to my case.”
“Right.”
With that, she went back inside, make herself a copy of all the files on the key, and handed it to him. “Do you think she expects me to hand it off to you?”
“I would assume so. I think they’ve been ahead of us every step of the way. I’m just not sure that they thought out the death of the one uncle.”
“Which means quite probably somebody else is involved.”
“Yeah,” he said, “and we’re working on the theory that it’s whoever was involved in the original crime, Dicky’s partner.”
“Oh,” she said, “and here I was thinking it was the victim of the crime.”
“That would be a great theory, except for the fact that we’ve since found out that Dicky wasn’t alone in this criminal venture of his, and that the other guy was never caught.”
“Maybe he was never caught, but he also didn’t get everything that he was expecting to get out of the robbery, I presume,” she said.
“That’s what I’m thinking too. And he wants one hundred thousand to stay quiet, probably about the brother who did time for Dicky.”
“That would make sense, yes,” Doreen agreed. “The kidnapping ruse was so that Dicky could disappear, but instead this other guy found the brother.”
“But why would Dicky pay any ransom, if his partner had already killed his brother?” he asked.
“Maybe the partner never meant to kill him. Plus, we don’t know which came first yet, do we?” she said.
“Right,” Mack said. “So the partner probably found the wrong brother, threatened him and then realized he had the wrong guy, but ended up killing him—accidentally or not—and now he’s coming after the others.”
She smiled, nodded, and said, “What if—”
He waited for her to continue. “What if what?”
“What if we just leave them alone, and maybe they’ll kill each other.”
He burst out laughing. “That’s quite possible,” he said. “Though it’s not exactly the level of due diligence I am required to exercise.”
“Maybe not, but this whole thing’s a big mess,” she said.
“It is, indeed, and we still need to pick them up.”
“Is that happening soon?”
“It’s hopefully in progress right now,” he said. “I came to make sure you stay here, while that’s ongoing.”
She looked at him, her jaw dropping. “Seriously? I won’t go up there and cause trouble.” He just gave her a flat stare. “Not intentionally.”
“And yet, somehow, you unintentionally end up being very intentionally in the darndest places,” he said.
She groaned. “And again, not intentionally,” she murmured.
He smiled. “We do know that,” he said. “Your heart is in the right place, but, in this instance, we just have to make sure that the rest of you stays in the right place too.”
“Do you think Denise knew?” Doreen asked.
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised, or at least her instincts are strong. I highly doubt she’s going back there.”
“No, I don’t think so,” she said. “I got the feeling that she is very much a survivor.”
“Exactly. In which case she won’t have anything to do with them again.”
“We should have tracked her,” she said.
He nodded. “We are law enforcement. Remember? I put somebody on her as she left, to keep an eye on her. We also know her vehicle, so we can track that too.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “You mean, real law enforcement, versus just an amateur, like me?”
“Exactly,” he said, with a fat grin.
“So now what?” she said, as Mack’s phone buzzed.
“I’m leaving. So you can go through the information she left with you, if you want. But please stay inside. Lock the doors, and, if she comes back, don’t answer.”
Doreen took a slow deep breath. “Okay,” she said, “I’m good with that.”
And, with a nod, he headed out.
Chapter 29
Wednesday Evening into Thursday Morning …
It was hours later before Doreen finally warmed up. She didn’t realize she’d gotten quite a chill,
until after Mack left, and then it seemed like she couldn’t get warm. With a hot cup of tea, she went to bed that night and woke up the next morning, still feeling odd and out of sorts. Deciding that she needed to change her mood, she called her grandmother and said, “Hi, Nan. Any chance of coming down for a visit?”
“Oh my, of course you can,” she said.
And, with that, Doreen quickly dressed, gathered the leashes, and headed down the creek with her animals.
As soon as they saw Nan, they all broke loose, greeting her with joy, as she hugged them all. Nan sat down, looked at her granddaughter, and said, “You really needed to come for a visit, didn’t you?”
Doreen shrugged and nodded. “I did,” she said. “I’m sorry. It’s been such a confusing couple of days. I’ve been so tired and still healing that I’ve been off my game. I think I just need to rest for a week or so.”
“And I’m so sorry because it shouldn’t be like that,” she said. “Your cases are normally clear-cut.”
“I guess not every one can be, can they?” She laughed. “Besides, it’s a little bit egotistical to think I’ll solve everything.”
“You’ve done pretty well so far,” she said. “So explain this Denise thing to me.”
“I’m not even sure I can,” she said. “It’s like everything that comes out of her mouth is a lie, and she’s laughing at me on the inside.”
“She probably is,” Nan said. “Some people are like that.”
“I know that. I mean, being around my husband in the business he was in, I certainly got used to seeing all kinds of people.”
“Best not dwell on him and his ilk, dear. It will only drag you down. Let the lawyers deal with it from here on out.”
She smirked. “That seems to be a theme, and I can only hope that Nick fares better than I did.” Thinking about that certainly moved her mind from Denise to Doreen’s own situation, and Doreen couldn’t help but wonder what was going on with the divorce settlement negotiations, as well as Robin’s estate. Remembering how taken in Doreen had been by Robin made Doreen all the more skeptical of Denise and her varying story.
After hearing the latest news from Rosemoor, Doreen was more than ready for another walk, and, gathering the animals, they said their goodbyes to Nan and headed back home, via the river route. Breathing in the fresh air helped Doreen immediately, and, as they walked, she began to relax, to clear her head, and to take note of the natural beauty around her. An odd sound shook her from her reverie. A check of the animals had both Mugs and Goliath happily out in front of her, beside the creek, while Thaddeus contentedly rode on her shoulder. There it was again, the sound of what could be a foot scuffing the path. She turned quickly and thought she caught a glimpse of a man—or part of one perhaps. Or maybe not.
Was she being overly paranoid? The animals hadn’t picked up on anything untoward. She kept walking, picking up the pace. A few more furtive glances backward revealed nothing, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was behind her.
“Come on. Don’t be silly. Who would it be?” she said out loud, scurrying along. “Besides, if they intended harm, they surely could have jumped me already. Why remain in hiding?” Unless the intent was to follow her home. “Nonsense. We just need a break from all this drama, that’s all.” But, when she heard what sounded like a cough, she gave up all pretense and, calling to the animals, picked up her pace to a very fast walk, just short of running. As she rounded the last corner, she caught her breath, when she saw a man hurrying down the path right in front of her.
“Mack! What are you doing here? Gosh, I’m glad to see you, but let’s keep going,” she said, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks, while grabbing his sleeve and pulling him along, as Mugs, overjoyed, tried to greet him. “Not now, Mugs. Let’s keep moving.”
“What happened?” Mack asked, recognizing she was abnormally spooked. “Have you seen anyone?”
“Yes. No. I’m not certain.” She stumbled on her words. “I’ve heard what sounded like someone behind me, even a cough. I thought I caught a glimpse of him as he ducked behind a tree early on, but maybe it’s just my imagination.”
Scanning the area, looking angry, he put his arm around her and said, “Let’s just get you home, and then we’ll talk.”
She was a bit out of breath, so glad for the reprieve from speaking. Embarrassed to be so rattled, she was very glad to see him.
“Last one inside puts the coffee on!” he said, with a smile. Grateful for the opportunity to run, without looking like a chicken, she took off like a rocket, with him on her heels. After a brief flurry, they both were inside, and Doreen headed for the bathroom to compose herself, while Mack put on the coffee.
“I’m glad you had the alarm system on,” he said.
“I do try to take precautions, you know.”
“Why didn’t you call me when you got spooked?” he asked.
“After that last fiasco, when I couldn’t even tell you where I was, that was just too humiliating. I can’t keep calling you constantly to rescue me. I am far more independent than that. At least I want to be. Plus, when I do call, I’m keeping you from your job. Speaking of which, why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
“I am working, actually. Keeping you safe is my job too, you know? I was already on the way here anyway.”
“Why were you headed this way?”
“When we started picking up our suspects last night, they scattered, and we didn’t get them all,” he said.
“Oh, well, you’ll get them all soon enough.”
“We will,” he said. Yet he didn’t move from her kitchen.
She groaned. “So why are you still here? Don’t tell me that you’re babysitting me?”
He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest, as he stared at her. “I am, indeed.”
“Why?” she wailed.
“Because we have to make sure you’re safe.”
And that was the first inkling she had, not only of how much he cared but also of how much she was impacting the man-hours of the police to keep her safe. “You should be out there, with them.”
“I should be,” he said, with a nod. “But, because of our relationship, I’m elected to be the one to stay here.”
She winced. “I’m sorry,” she said in a small voice.
“Listen. Somebody followed you up that pathway,” he said, “and that’s what worries me the most.”
“But I don’t know even who it was,” she said. “I thought it was a man, but then, when I looked again and again, I couldn’t see anyone.”
“That may well be,” he said, “but we also got a 9-1-1 call about a woman needing a rescue on the river path, and that’s how I found you. Oddly enough, they gave far better directions than you’ve been known to give,” he said, with a sideways glance her way.
“Oh, stop,” she said, shaking her head at his reminder of the orchard incident. “But, just so you know, someone must have known their way around to have given such good directions.” she said. “And nothing happened, so it’s not likely that a local just saw him and assumed he was up to no good.”
He nodded. “But still we don’t know who it was. And he didn’t identify himself on the call. Plus, we couldn’t say for sure if it was a male or a female caller. More wasted man-hours.”
“A lot of those on this case, aren’t there?”
“Well, there’s a waste of man-hours for the fake kidnapping, if that turns out to be the case. But, more important, we’re still after whoever killed our DB in the morgue.”
“Did you check into Denise’s location at the time of the murder?”
“We just got a time of death from the coroner,” he said, “so it will definitely be one of the questions we’ll ask all of them.” He turned around and looked at her and asked, “Why?”
“Because she’s—” And Doreen stopped and shook her head. “I don’t know what to say. But something’s very different about her.”
“Sometimes, when y
ou get into this element, and someone has spent a lot of years on drugs or involved in crime, even just learning to lie and to cheat and to steal,” he said, “it’s pretty hard to get the truth out of them. Their stories change by the second.”
“I could definitely see that happening with her,” she muttered. “It’s frustrating.”
He laughed. “Yeah, it is,” he said. “But we’re used to it.”
“Got it,” she said, and she didn’t say anything more, as she waited for Mack to be updated by his team. When his phone buzzed, she watched him as he read the message.
“Okay, they got the last guy, so you’re good to stay here alone. But lock the doors and stay clear of trouble. I need to run.” And, with that, he turned and walked to the front door.
“Goodbye,” she said, “and thanks.”
He raised a hand, hopped into his vehicle, and left. She wasn’t sure what to think about it all, but obviously he was off on a new lead, and one that he wanted her to stay well and truly out of. She would if she could. It just didn’t seem to be all that easy to do.
Following his instructions, she turned and locked the doors. Once in the kitchen, she looked around to see just what her options were to eat and didn’t really see a whole lot. But she needed to find something, so she put a sandwich together and put the TV on. It was an older model and didn’t have great color, but she was just looking for a distraction.
When she heard a noise out in the backyard, she refused to get up and look, but Mugs had absolutely no such qualms. He stood and furiously barked repeatedly. Wincing, she got up and peered through the curtains. Nothing was there, as far as she saw. She immediately tried to calm him down and said, “It’s okay, buddy. It’s okay.”
But he was having nothing to do with it. Apparently it wasn’t okay. As far as he was concerned, something was out there, something he didn’t want there at all. She didn’t know what she was supposed to do about it, however. She had everything locked and the security system set, so nobody was getting in or shouldn’t get in. As long as she stayed here, she should be good. That’s when she heard a shout.