Scraps of Evidence: Quilts of Love Series

by Barbara Cameron

  Hank listened to Logan describe how Tess had become lethargic, then almost unresponsive, and how she’d thrown up until it seemed she couldn’t any longer. When Logan mentioned the picnic they’d brought, Hank examined the contents of the basket and sniffed at them.

  “But you didn’t get sick?”

  Logan shook his head. “Oh, but I didn’t eat the potato salad.”

  Hank shook his head. “People think they can get sick on potato salad when it’s warm, but that’s pretty much a thing of the past when people made their own mayonnaise.”

  He turned to Tess. “Let’s get you seen by a doc at the ER.”

  “Oh, such a fuss over nothing,” she complained. “I’m already feeling better.”

  “Tess, please don’t argue,” Logan said quietly.

  She stared at him for a long moment and then she sighed. “Oh, fine. But I’m walking to the ambulance.”

  “Thank goodness,” Hank said. “Garrett and I weren’t looking forward to carting you off the boat.”

  It was the perfect thing to say. Logan watched in amusement as Tess stood, looking miffed, and held out her hand to him. It was a gesture that meant more than words to him. He clasped it and they stepped from the boat together. She looked at him in surprise when he climbed into the ambulance with her after helping her inside.

  “You don’t have to go with me.”

  “Just try to stop me.”

  She sat down on the gurney and sighed. “I couldn’t even if I wanted to.” Her eyes were moist when she looked at him. “Thank you.”

  Logan paced while they examined Tess in the emergency room. As hard as it had been to visit Jason at the hospital, it had always been worse when there was some reason why he had to wait outside while his friend received treatment or the doctor was in consultation with him.

  Finally, he pulled rank, showed a clerk his badge.

  “Cubicle Three.”

  He strode down the hall and nearly ran into a harried-looking doctor coming out of the cubicle.

  “Let me guess: Mr. McMillan?”

  Logan stopped. “That’s me.”

  “Ms. Villanova is doing fine. I think it’s a bad case of motion sickness, but I’m running some tests. Fortunately for us, she threw up again while she was in the exam room. I’m going to send her home, but bring her back if there’s any sign she’s getting sick again.”

  “You’re sure she shouldn’t spend the night?”

  The doctor looked at him over his glasses. “I’ve known Tess since grade school. I wouldn’t dare try keeping her if she didn’t want to stay. And trust me, she doesn’t want to stay.”

  Sure enough, she was sitting up on the gurney going over discharge instructions with a nurse before the doctor could walk away.

  “Is there anyone you don’t know in this city?” he demanded.

  She blinked. “Not many. Why?”

  He shook his head. “It seems like everyone I run into knows you.”

  Tess stood. “That isn’t always a good thing as you saw with Hank and Garrett.”

  A nurse walked in pushing a wheelchair. “No arguing. Hospital policy.”

  To his surprise, Tess accepted without an argument. The nurse, an older woman with a determined look, winked at him as she pushed the chair from the cubicle.

  “That woman scares me,” Tess admitted when the nurse left them at the cashier’s window.

  “Tess, honey, you okay?” she heard a woman call.

  Tess turned. “Aunt Kathy! What are you doing here?”

  “Little bird called me.” Kathy smiled at Logan. She looked back at Tess. “You okay, honey? What happened?”

  “It’s no big deal,” Tess told her. “I just got sick when we were out sailing.”

  Kathy stroked her hair. “You feeling better?”

  “I’m fine, thanks. Can you drive us back to Logan’s car at the marina?”

  “Sure thing. Gordon’s waiting out in the parking lot.”

  Gordon pulled up as they went outside. “Need a lift?” he asked with a grin.

  “Thanks,” Tess told him as she stepped from the wheelchair and got into the back seat.

  “You’re welcome,” Gordon said, grinning at Logan. He took the picnic basket Logan carried. “I’ll put this in the trunk.”

  Tess leaned her head against the cushion and sighed. She looked over and smiled at Logan when he climbed into the back seat beside her.

  “Logan, I’ll drop you off at your car on the way, then take Tess home.”

  “Thanks, Gordon, but I’d like Logan to take me home.” She glanced at him, and it seemed to him that she tried to send him a silent message.

  Logan nodded. “Be happy to.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “I’d like to sit with her for a little while and make sure she’s okay.” Logan held his breath, wondering if he was overstepping his bounds, but Tess said nothing.

  “But we can—”

  “Gordon, let Logan take care of her,” Kathy interrupted him.

  Logan saw the older man look at him in the rear-view mirror. Gordon was frowning.

  Then Gordon nodded. “Fine. No use arguing with strong-minded women.”

  Kathy laughed. “’Bout time you realized that.”

  “Aunt Kathy?” Tess spoke up suddenly. “Thank you for getting groceries for me and putting dinner in my fridge.”

  “You’re welcome, honey. It was no trouble. Gordon and I dropped it off on our way to a movie.”

  A few minutes later, Logan helped Tess into his car and they waved goodbye to her aunt and uncle. He set the picnic basket in the back seat and climbed into the car.

  “I’m sorry to take up more of your time,” Tess said as he drove them to her house.

  “Don’t you dare say that.”

  “Well, I know the last hour hasn’t been pleasant for you.”

  “I’m sure it was worse for you.”

  She nodded. “I guess so.”

  He pulled into her driveway, cut off the engine, and tried to get out and around to her side to help her but she was already out of the car. Woman was just too independent, he thought as he reached into the back seat for the picnic basket. She seemed fully recovered, though.

  Once inside, she sank onto the sofa. “Oh, it’s so good to be home.”

  “I’ll put the leftovers in the refrigerator.”

  “Thanks. Is there any tea left?”

  “Yeah. I’ll bring you a glass.”

  When he returned, she was lying on her side. The quilt draped on the back of the sofa was now tucked around her. He set the glass on the coffee table before her, then sat down in the chair beside the sofa.

  “Logan, what happened?”

  “What do you mean?”

  She frowned, pulled off the elastic band that she’d used to make her hair into a ponytail, and tossed it on the table. “I don’t know, some of it’s a blur,” she said after a moment. “I felt so weird just before I started throwing up. And I remember you asking me if I’d taken anything . . . if I was on something.”

  Here it came. Logan ran his hands through his hair and didn’t look away from her direct stare. “I’m sorry. I had to ask.”

  She sat up and pulled the quilt around her shoulders. “You can’t think I do drugs.”

  “No, Tess. You’d be the last person I’d think did that.”

  “Because we could never work together if you thought that,” she said. “You know that. We have to be able to trust each other.”

  She flopped back onto the sofa and put her arm over her eyes. “Well, I know I didn’t, but it sure felt like something was wrong. That wasn’t like any motion sickness I’ve ever had.”

  “The doctor told me he could run some tests, but he thought it was just a bad case of motion sickness. If it was food poisoning, you wouldn’t have started feeling better.”

  “And if it was food poisoning, you’d have gotten sick, too.”

  He nodded. “Why don’t you drink your tea a
nd then try to get some rest?”

  “Strange afternoon.”

  “You got that right.”

  She finished the tea, lay back down, and almost instantly fell asleep. Logan watched her and thought about how he’d felt holding her in his arms.

  11

  Have you always been like this?”

  Logan shuffled through some folders on his desk and pulled out a paper. “Like what?” He got up, walked over to the photocopier, and made some copies.

  “A soft touch. An easy mark.” She paused. “A sucker.”

  “As I remember it, you bought more boxes of Girl Scout cookies than I did.” He shuffled the folders on his desk, shoved them in a drawer, and locked it. “C’mon, we’re gonna go look for a dog.”

  She logged out of her computer and stood. “Since when are we Animal Control?”

  “They’re looking, too. I got a call while you were sneaking that candy bar the high school girl was selling for the homeless shelter fundraiser.”

  “I did not sneak a candy bar. I’m a grown woman. If I want a candy bar, I’ll have one.”

  “Yeah, right. I saw you sneaking Girl Scout cookies earlier.”

  “Thin Mints are addictive,” she muttered. “Someone oughta be arrested for inventing them. And even if I bought more boxes than you did, you’ve bought everything else. Tickets for pancake breakfasts and spaghetti suppers and sponsorships for charity walks. I bet every parent in this building knows they can come to you with some fundraiser and out comes your wallet.”

  “I bet I know everyone in this building already, and I’ve only been here for a few weeks.”

  He had her there. In a very short time, he’d met nearly everyone and had made friends with several men. He was even playing on the department basketball league.

  “So what did you buy this time?” she asked curiously. “I saw Ed talking to you and money exchanged hands.”

  He pulled two tickets from his shirt pocket and waved them at her. “Maybe I’ll take someone else.”

  She snatched at the tickets. “What are they for? A charity ball? That chocolate benefit?”

  “Something even better. The historical society event.”

  Tess stopped dead in her tracks. “You want to go on a tour of the local cemeteries?”

  “Why not? I’ve just seen some from a distance since I got here, and they look interesting. Besides, it’s for a good cause, right?”

  Laughing, she shook her head and followed him to the car. “Right. I just didn’t picture you as the type to be interested in that sort of thing.”

  “I love history.”

  “History we’ve got,” she said. “And ghost stories galore.”

  “So, you going to go with me?” he asked. “Be my ghoulfriend?”

  She rolled her eyes, but she nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

  By mutual agreement, they lowered the windows in the car. Fall was finally on its way after a long, hot summer. Volunteers were unloading a truckload of pumpkins at the church on the corner.

  “We don’t have time to stop,” she warned. “And what do you need a pumpkin for, anyway?”

  “Spoilsport. I was thinking we could take one to Mrs. Ramsey.”

  She softened. “That’s nice of you to think of her.”

  They’d made two more trips to check for break-ins at her house. Feeling restless, she tapped her notepad on her knee.

  “I’m thinking we should do another canvas of the neighbors around Toni’s house.”

  “Good idea.”

  “You don’t sound like you think it’s a good idea. What’s the matter?”

  “How many times can we question people and go over our notes and the evidence? We haven’t had any new leads in weeks. We’re stalled.”

  “That’s the way it is sometimes.”

  “I don’t have your patience.”

  “Yes, you do, or you wouldn’t have pursued Sam’s case for so long.” He shrugged. “I’m not feeling particularly patient.” He pulled into the driveway of the house. “Let’s take another walk-through of the house.”

  Maria had told them the house was going back to the bank next month. She’d been there going through her sister’s things, boxing them up, and doing some cleaning.

  Tess looked into a box sitting on the kitchen counter. Tupperware containers. She felt an instant stab of guilt. She hadn’t returned the ones her aunt had used to pack the picnic food. People got really attached to their Tupperware, and her aunt was no exception. She might have thought it was a little nutty, but Aunt Kathy had told her Oprah’s aunt had once claimed her niece had come asking for the containers she’d brought over for a family dinner. Tess made a mental note to take the containers to her aunt the next day when she went to her quilting class.

  She walked into the living room and found Logan standing there near the spot where Toni’s body was discovered.

  “Let’s do a last canvas of the immediate neighbors,” he said. “Why don’t you take the neighbor to the right, I’ll take the one to the left.”

  Tess knocked at the door of her interview but the woman, an elderly retired nurse, didn’t remember anything more than she had the afternoon Tess had talked to her.

  Logan had more luck. “No new information, but I thanked him for calling Animal Control about the missing Chihuahua he saw hanging around the neighborhood a few days after the murder. He didn’t have any luck getting close enough to catch him.”

  “Maria would be glad to have him found,” Tess said. “I think it would be like having a little of her sister back.”

  “Well, maybe we’ll get lucky today.”

  They drove around the neighborhood keeping an eye out for Paco. Tess saw a few posters Maria had put up on utility poles.

  “There’s a convenience store around the corner. Let’s go in there and ask if they’ve seen Paco.”

  “Good idea.”

  Tess carried the poster in, showed her badge to the clerk, and asked him if he’d seen the dog. Logan went to the self-serve drink machine for sweet tea.

  “Hey, that’s the dog the homeless guy brought in a little while ago,” the clerk said. “I told him no dogs were allowed, but he said it was too hot to leave him outside. I gave in, said he could bring him in if he carried him.”

  She pulled out her notepad. “Can you describe him?”

  “The dog or the man?” the clerk asked, chuckling.

  Logan set the drinks on the counter. “The man, wise guy.”

  The clerk’s smile faded. He looked at Tess. “He with you?”

  “Yeah. He’s got a badge and everything.”

  “He might still be hanging around out back. Sometimes he takes a rest back there.”

  “So he’s in the neighborhood on a regular basis?”

  The clerk took Logan’s money and rang up the sale. “Yeah. For maybe the last four or five months.”

  So they walked out of the store and around back.

  And Tess nearly tripped over the man with the Chihuahua sitting on his lap.

  Logan didn’t know who was more startled—the humans or the Chihuahua when they encountered each other.

  Paco the Chihuahua jumped up on the man’s lap and began growling.

  “Shh, it’s okay, buddy,” he said, soothing the dog and holding it when the dog tried to lunge forward.

  “Careful,” Logan cautioned and reached for Tess’s arm to keep her from going forward quickly and getting herself bitten.

  The man got to his feet with some effort—holding the dog as well as a dilapidated knapsack that had seen better days. Logan judged him to be in his forties, but he looked older with the inevitable windburn and sunburn Logan noticed on the homeless in this part of the country. He must have been out in the elements for some time.

  “Buddy here won’t hurt you,” he said. “He’s just scared.”

  “I’m Logan, and this is Tess,” he told the man. “What’s your name?”

  “Jim,” the man said with a touch of belligere
nce.

  “Jim, where did you get the dog?” Tess asked quietly.

  “He’s mine,” the man asserted.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Finders keepers,” the man said, backing down a little. “I saw him wandering around the neighborhood for several days. If someone owns him, they need to take care of him. It’s not easy being on the streets.”

  Logan nodded. “You’re right. No one should let their dog roam the streets. But we think we know who the dog belongs to, and they didn’t let the dog out. Someone else did. We’d like to ask you some questions.”

  “I haven’t done anything wrong. You can’t arrest me for just being homeless.”

  “We’re not,” Logan said quietly, standing still, and not making any sudden moves to alarm the man or the dog. “We just want to ask you some questions.”

  “Be right back,” Tess said, backing away.

  He nodded, not looking at her. He didn’t think the man was armed, but he’d learned not to make assumptions.

  Tess was back in no time, holding a hot dog from the convenience store. She broke off a bite and offered it cautiously to the dog.

  From the way the man watched the process, Logan could make one assumption: the man hadn’t eaten in a while. He glanced at Tess, and she nodded. After she fed the dog half of the hot dog, she wrapped it back up.

  “It’s awfully hot out here,” Tess said. “Not good for man or dog. Let’s go take care of those questions and get out of the sun.”

  She held out her arms. “Can Paco ride with me?”

  “Paco? That’s his name?”

  Tess nodded. “Someone’s been frantic worrying about him. She’ll be so grateful you took care of him.”

  The man handed Paco to Tess, and Logan was relieved to see that the dog was licking her fingers instead of biting them, his tail wagging madly.

  “Logan and I are way past due for lunch,” she told Jim. “We’ll stop and get something on the way. Tell me what kind of sub and drink we can get you.”

  The man drew himself up. “You don’t need to feel sorry for me.”