Unbelievable

by Cindy Blackburn

  “No, but you have my permission to tell him. I’m a little surprised you’re not more interested in why she has the dog.”

  I shut up, and Sterling continued, “It looks like she killed La Barge, and for some strange reason, she then took the dog.”

  I looked at my father, but spoke to Sterling. “Nina Finch killed Travis?” I said, and mouths dropped open while Sterling told me the DNA collected at the La Barges’ matched Nancy Finch.

  “Nancy?” I scowled. “Oh, but that makes sense. Since she died there.”

  “No, Cassie,” Sterling said. “The DNA is Nina’s. Remember that evidence I told you about this morning?”

  “Identical twins,” I whispered as it occurred to me.

  “Identical twins have identical DNA,” Sterling said. “The DNA we collected at the murder scene was Nina’s. Nina’s,” he repeated. He told me she’d been brought to Montpelier for questioning late that afternoon. “I arrested her about an hour ago.”

  “That poor girl.” I paced over to a rocking chair and plopped down. “Are you sure?”

  “DNA doesn’t lie. And what other explanation would she have for the dog? Why did we find that basset hound from Mallard Cove in her apartment in Burlington?”

  “What’s going to happen to her?”

  Sterling wouldn’t say for sure. But he did assume Nina’s lawyer would advise her to plead guilty. “It’s pretty clear what happened.”

  Thinking about Nina was too awful, so I concentrated on something I could help with. “Can I come get Miss Rusty?” I asked. “I don’t mind. I can be there in a half hour.”

  My father and Joe were gesturing that they’d go with me. But Sterling refused to release the dog from custody, claiming she was evidence.

  “So the dog really is a witness?” I asked.

  “She’s evidence,” Sterling corrected me.

  “She’s a living creature, Captain. She’s much loved. You’ll treat her well?”

  “I won’t be feeding her Santucci’s pizza, but give me some credit.”

  I apologized and asked what else I could do to help. “I can’t sit here doing nothing. I’m not good at sitting still.”

  “An understatement,” Dad mumbled.

  “Tell you what,” Sterling said. “Why don’t you let Mr. Osgood know his dog is safe. Right now I have a million other things to do, and that would be a big help.”

  “Absolutely.” At least something to make a few people smile. But then I frowned. “Should I tell people about Nina, or is that top secret?”

  “Not secret. It will be on the news by tomorrow morning.”

  Good thing it wasn’t secret, because my father and Joe had lots of questions when I got off the phone. But Evert and Miss Rusty took precedence.

  Or maybe not. I couldn’t find a phone number for Evert in the Hanahan County phone book. I tried Fanny, who was overjoyed by the happy news, and insisted I not worry at all about the lateness of the hour.

  “Evert’s here with me,” she said. “We’ve had a very long day.”

  “I hope he didn’t have you traipsing through the woods?” I asked.

  “No, but we did take quite a long drive. Goodness, we must have visited every animal shelter this side of the Canadian border.”

  Evert got on the phone. “Oh, Miss Cassie! You found her?”

  I explained Miss Rusty’s whereabouts, and needless to say, Evert was hugely disappointed he couldn’t get his dog back right away.

  “Captain Sterling promised he’d take very good care of her,” I assured him.

  “But how will he know what to feed her? Miss Rusty’s real particular, especially in a strange environmen—”

  Luckily Fanny saved me any further discussion of Miss Rusty’s dietary needs. I could almost picture her wrestling Evert for her phone, but Fanny won that battle. She asked me to explain the news about Nina, and everyone, on the phone and listening in from the sidelines, agreed it was really, really, tragic.

  I told Fanny to get some rest, and she agreed she’d try. “But you will call me when you know more?” she asked.

  I promised I would and hung up.

  My father and Joe were still staring at me.

  “Nina’s actually in jail?” Dad asked, and the gruesome reality of it hit me full force.

  “This is all my fault!” I slammed the phone down. “I’m going kayaking,” I said and walked out.

  “Cassie, wait,” Dad said.

  “No!”

  “Cassie, wait,” Joe said.

  “Nooo!”

  ***

  “How long have you been waiting for me?”

  “A while.”

  I pulled my kayak up and climbed out. Joe knew better than to try to help. “Who won?” I asked.

  “The Red Sox. Bobby called out to tell me they scored three runs in the last inning.”

  “And you missed it?”

  “I wanted to be out here when you got back.” He dragged my kayak onto the yard. “There’s something I want to tell you.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “Oh, yes. But first, there’s something I want to ask you.”

  “Well then, ask,” I said. We plopped down cross-legged on the dock, and Charlie practically sat in my lap.

  “Why are you so upset with yourself?” Joe asked me. “This wasn’t your fault.”

  I shrugged. “Why didn’t I go along with Gabe and say the redhead wasn’t dead?”

  “Because she was dead.”

  “But I still feel guilty. About Nancy, about Travis, and now about Nina.” I shook my head. “I even feel guilty about Larry, for Pete’s sake.”

  “Who’s Larry?”

  “The Cars! Cars! Cars! guy. You spoke to him on the phone.”

  Joe almost smiled. “You feel guilty about Larry the car guy?”

  “He thinks I’m actually going to buy that stupid truck tomorrow.”

  “I really don’t want that truck, Cassie.”

  “Try telling Larry that.”

  Joe got serious. “Other than the very intriguing truck story, none of this was your fault.”

  “Said Chance Dooley to Evadeen Deyo.”

  “Chance is right, and so am I. You and Evadeen should listen to us.”

  I guess my silence implied I was listening.

  “Let’s start with Nancy,” Joe said. He insisted someone would have found her body floating around the lake on Tuesday, even if I hadn’t. “And Travis would have been implicated since Gabe Cleghorn was bound to figure it out sooner or later.”

  “So then Nina would have been informed?” I asked.

  “Sooner or later, yes. The truth has a way of coming out.”

  “Well, the truth stinks,” I said. “Two young people have died here this week. And another one’s in jail tonight.”

  We stared at each other a long time.

  I took a deep breath. “What is it you were waiting out here, missing the Red Sox, to tell me?”

  “Lake Bess is a good place to die, Cassie.”

  I stared again. “Is this about your parents?”

  “Them and my wife. If Nancy Finch had to go, at least she got to do it here.” He waved at the water, lapping around the dock. “And whatever we think about Travis, we know he loved Lake Bess. He died at home.”

  I turned around and looked at Joe’s house. “Your wife died in there?”

  He nodded. “And that’s what Helen told me. Several times she told me Lake Bess is a good place to die.” He reached over and squeezed my hand. “And that’s what I wanted to tell you.”

  Chapter 43

  Three’s a charm, but I had to be dreaming to think my father would let me sleep in three days in a row. He woke me up at 5:30 and asked about Joe. “What did you two kids talk about last night?” He winked at Charlie, but the dog was too busy getting comfortable on my bed to notice.

  Dad was not discouraged. “Did you discuss Chance and Evadeen?” he asked. “Did you come up with some sex scene scenarios for me?”
<
br />   “Da-aad! For Pete’s sake. Get LuLu to help you with that.”

  “I am. We’ve been e-mailing each other.”

  I rolled my eyes and told Charlie I really, really, needed to get more sleep.

  “Well then, you shouldn’t stay up till all hours with Joe,” Dad said. “What were you talking about?”

  “Death.”

  Bobby’s rocking chair ceased rocking. “When he walked out at the bottom of the seventh, he promised he’d make you feel better. Not worse.”

  “He did actually. He convinced me Lake Bess is a good place to die.”

  Dad started rocking again. “It would be, wouldn’t it?”

  “I guess so.” I petted Charlie. “But I’m still worried about Nina Finch, who’s alive and kicking, and in serious trouble.”

  “You can’t change what happened, Cassie. If she killed Travis, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  I agreed I couldn’t help Nina with her legal issues. “But how about her medical problems?” I told my father Nina was going to need medical care. “There’s a good chance she has the same heart condition her sister did. I’m guessing prison won’t make it any easier.”

  My father asked me what I had in mind, and I admitted I wasn’t quite sure.

  “But she’s going to need good doctors, surgeons, medicines,” I said. “And think of the insurance hassles.”

  “Her parents didn’t sound like they’d be much support.”

  “Exactly,” I said. “But maybe we can help her. Are you in?”

  Dad smiled, and we agreed Nina Finch wouldn’t die like her sister did. Not if we Baxters could prevent it.

  ***

  I started priming the house that day, and Dad continued sexting (!) with Lucille Saxby.

  I have no idea how far my father got, but I had to give up on my project pretty quickly since rain was threatening. And Dad abandoned LuLu by early afternoon when Joe came over to watch the third game between the Sox and the Yankees.

  Charlie and I watched an entire inning before getting restless. We left the guys arguing over the umpire’s latest call and went upstairs to make a few calls ourselves.

  “We have to be brave,” I told the dog. We sat down in the turret, and I punched in the number for Cars! Cars! Cars!

  I’ll spare you the gory details, the pleading, the begging, and the bargaining. To finally, finally, convince Larry I wasn’t going to buy the Jolly Red Monster, I told him Joe and I had broken up.

  Whatever.

  Larry made one last desperate attempt. “I’m missing the Rex Sox game to be here for you.”

  “Well then, go home and watch the game. It’s only the second inning.”

  “Excellent idea!” he said and invited me to join him at Mandy’s to watch the rest of the game.

  Say what?

  I said no thanks and called Bambi.

  “What, what, what?” she snapped. “The Sox have the bases loaded.”

  “I think Larry the car guy just asked me for a date.”

  “You’re kidding me, right?”

  “Nooo. I told him Joe and I broke up.”

  “That’s a neat trick. Since you and Joe haven’t started dating.”

  I frowned at Charlie. “I’m planning ahead for the inevitable.”

  “It’s always you who does the breaking up, Cassie. Not the guy.”

  I frowned again. “Never mind about Joe. I’m calling about Nina Finch.”

  Bambi asked Pete to turn down the volume. “We saw the news this morning,” she said. “I’m so sorry it was her.”

  “No kidding,” I said. “I’m sad for Travis, but I’m also sad for Nina. Does that make any sense?”

  Bambi reminded me there’s a reason I love teaching college. “You like young adults, Cassie. And clearly you feel a bond with this woman, who looks exactly like her sister, who you worried about for days.”

  “Which is why I’m calling. I want Nina to be healthy.” I explained my plans to help the remaining Finch sister, and Bambi agreed.

  “Count me in,” she said. “Whatever Pete and I can do.”

  I gave Charlie a thumbs up. “Joe’s in also,” I said. “I talked to him during the first inning. And I’ll have a chat with Maxine.”

  “You’re kidding me? I thought you were done chatting with her.”

  “But she’s great at research, and we want to learn all we can about this disease. The best treatment options, the best doctors—”

  Call-waiting beeped, and I told Bambi we’d talk later. “It’s Captain Sterling.”

  ***

  “What, what, what?” I asked.

  “Hello to you, too.”

  “Hello,” I said. “What’s the news about Nina? Something good, I hope.”

  “No. Something bad,” Sterling said. “She wants to see you.”

  “Terrific. I need to talk to her.”

  He skipped a beat. “You realize she’s angry with you.”

  I cringed at Charlie. “She knows I’m the one who turned her in, doesn’t she?”

  “She’s not dumb. She knows someone told me about her little jaunt to Lake Elizabeth yesterday.” Sterling insisted I wasn’t under any obligation to talk to Nina. “Especially in the middle of a Red Sox game.”

  “Why aren’t you home watching the game?” I asked.

  “Because I’m having way too much fun dealing with Nina Finch and the dog.”

  Chapter 44

  Charlie had questions, Dad had questions, Joe had questions. Heck, Mr. Hooper’s cows probably had questions. I handled each delay with my usual impatience and finally, finally, made it to the State Troopers office.

  The trooper assigned to babysit me led me down the beige hallway to a glass room just large enough for two folding chairs. “Prisoners meet with their attorneys in here,” she said. “Make yourself at home.”

  She walked off, and I glanced around. At home?

  She came back with Nina, and when we sat down, our knees practically touched. “Fifteen minutes,” the trooper said. And then she shut, and locked, the door.

  Nina folded her arms and glared at me.

  “This isn’t what I expected,” I said as pleasantly as humanly possible. “I thought we’d have a sheet of Plexiglas separating us.”

  “Why? Are you afraid I’m gonna kill you?”

  ***

  Actually, I was glad Nina Finch didn’t pussy-foot around. Because two seconds later she told me she wasn’t about to kill me, and that she did not kill Travis. “Not, not, not,” she said and stamped her foot.

  I pulled my own feet further under my chair and quietly suggested I wasn’t the one she needed to convince.

  “Who else am I gonna convince? Santa Claus?” She threw her hands up, and I flinched. “My stupid lawyer keeps telling me there’s all this evidence against me. And I keep saying, like, I don’t care, because I didn’t do it. Why did you tell them I’m some kind of axe murderer?”

  “I did no such thing!” I protested. “But I had to tell Captain Sterling you were at Lake Bess. And I had to tell him what you said.”

  “Why? Why, why, why?”

  “How about because you threatened to kill him?”

  “But I wasn’t serious! I was just talking is all. Did you really think I was serious?”

  I took a deep breath and watched the state trooper watch us. “No. I didn’t. But Travis is dead.” I took another deep breath. “Tell me what happened,” I said. “And start with your sister. I’m guessing she wasn’t the perfect angel you claim she was.”

  Nina agreed, reluctantly, and told me the Finch twins had always been kind of wild. “Nancy especially,” she said. “Mom kicked her out before we even finished high school.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Nina shrugged and fast-forwarded a few years. The twins both ended up waitressing in downtown Burlington and had remained very close. She started crying. “But then Nancy got sick.”

  “She knew she was sick?”

  “Like,
duh. She started fainting all the time and got fired from her job. It got so bad she went to a doctor. They did all these tests.”

  Nina sobbed some more.

  “Do you have this heart condition, too?” I whispered, and she nodded at her lap.

  “Mine’s not as bad.”

  I reached out and touched her hand. “I understand there’s a surgery.” I looked her in the eye. “There’s got to be some treatments, Nina. You don’t have to die.”

  “I’d rather die than go to prison,” she mumbled.

  I squeezed her hand and asked what happened once Nancy understood about her illness.

  “She never understood. That was the problem. She went nuts, okay?” Nina cringed. “She took that awful job.”

  “Where she met Travis.”

  Ms. Trooper tapped her watch, and Nina cried.

  “Cry later,” I said firmly. “Right now you need to tell me about Friday night.”

  She wiped her nose on her shirt sleeve and continued, “Me and my roommates watched Ross the Boss’s press conference. We talked a long while afterwards. Everyone was real nice to me.”

  “But then for some reason you went back to the lake.”

  “I couldn’t sleep.” She shook her head. “Ross said something about Travis going into rehab. I don’t know,” she whined. “I decided I had to see him first.”

  “So you got to Travis’s house,” I prompted.

  “And the lights were on.”

  “What time was this?”

  “About one. I stood in the yard, trying to get up the nerve to knock. Then I heard the dog whining.”

  “Miss Rusty,” I said.

  “I didn’t know her name. But yeah. The front door wasn’t all the way shut. I knocked a little and sort of let myself in.” She held her head in her hands, and I caught a glimpse of the gruesome cut she had gotten running away from the scene.

  “You got flustered and ran away,” I said.

  “It was awful,” she said into her hands. “I got sick, and then I heard the dog again.”

  I groaned. “And so you took her.”

  “She looked so sad.”

  I thought about Miss Rusty’s perfectly basset hound, perfectly melancholy, face.

  “I felt sorry for her with her master dead and all.”

  “But she’s not even Travis’s dog, Nina.”