Too Many Suspects

by E B Corbin

  By the time she reached the northern outskirts of the city, she started to breathe more easily. Only once or twice did she notice a large dark vehicle behind her and each time she looked again, the suspicious SUV was nowhere in sight.

  - 4 -

  On impulse, Roxanne took the Wexford exit from I-79 and wound through local streets to get to the newly revamped Northway Mall. Now called The Block, she’d heard it had a Nordstrom’s Rack and Saks Off Fifth. Maybe she could find some quality replacements for the wardrobe she’d lost to the fire.

  She spent a relaxing few hours picking out suits, dresses and other apparel appropriate for the office. Oilville might be a small town, but she still preferred to look polished and efficient. She added a green sequin wrap dress, not because she needed it but because it had caught her eye. The deep green brought out the auburn highlights in her hair and contrasted well with her turquoise eyes. Most of all, buying it made her feel good.

  Finally she headed for Mt. Lebanon and her childhood home. She had been mostly out of touch with Maureen and Patrick for months; there was no opportunity for a private conversation at Chester’s funeral. Roxanne was tired of feeling guilty about excluding them from her life. It was time to reconnect and reassure them that Roxy’s appearance had not lessened her deep affection for them.

  With no direct route from the North Hills, she decided to go through downtown Pittsburgh and take the Liberty Tunnels. Around forty-five minutes later, she pulled into the driveway of her childhood home. She noticed bright new paint on the trim of the stone structure, instead of the boring white. It now sported dark green shutters with a copper roof over the entrance; it looked like a different version of itself.

  Since she had taken the precaution of calling ahead, they were expecting her. Each of them hugged her when she came through the door. From the apprehension in their eyes, she knew they wondered about her visit.

  Roxanne sat with them at the same dining room table they had shared for so many years. Over a cup of coffee, she attempted to explain how she felt.

  She admitted that she’d been angry with them at first for hiding the truth from her regarding her mother, but then realized they had only been protecting her.

  “Just to be clear,” she said. “Roxy may have given birth to me, but I grew up here with you.” She reached out to squeeze Maureen’s hand, then turned her head to include Patrick. “We’re a family; I love both of you and always will.”

  When they broke apart, Maureen cleared her throat. “You know we’re always here for you, sweetheart. We worried about you, especially after the house fire. You hardly answered our messages. Are you okay in Oilville?”

  Roxanne told them that she was still doing well, but she also mentioned how difficult it was deciding whether to rebuild or sell the lot. As an afterthought, she alluded to how inept she felt about the diner.

  Patrick spoke now. “No one can do it all, Roxanne. We each have our skills and talents.”

  “That’s right,” Maureen said. “You’re a very capable lawyer and need to focus on what you trained to do.”

  That simple advice was exactly what she needed to hear.

  She thought about the case she’d handled at Sylvia’s law firm. Not only had the perpetrator’s father agreed to pay for her client’s school tuition, but her account as a rape victim had been corroborated. Both results gave her a feeling of accomplishment.

  Her biggest problem, she realized, was the pressure she’d imposed on herself to quickly tie up all the loose ends in her life. She needed to cultivate a good dose of patience!

  During the next hour, they caught up on new developments, mostly with people they knew and changes in the neighborhood.

  The visit could not have gone better. They were, after all, the rocks that shored up her existence. It comforted her to know that, no matter what happened, her foundations still held firm.

  By the time she said good-bye to them, she felt more grounded, than she had been for a long while.

  On the drive back to Oilville, she admired the red-orange sunset off to her left and tuned her radio to an oldies rock station, singing along to Hotel California at the top of her lungs. Only when she reached the exit that led into town did she begin to tense up. She watched the rearview mirror for signs of another vehicle on her tail. Nothing seemed amiss, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being followed.

  She kept one eye on the mirror and the other on the road until she pulled into the parking area at Kate’s B & B. Still feeling uneasy, she unloaded her purchases from the trunk and stumbled up the steps with them. In the hallway, she heard laughter and voices coming from the dining room.

  Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she’d skipped lunch for a longer bout of shopping. Now, she realized she was famished.

  Dropping the bags on the steps, she poked her head into the room. Seated at the head of the table, Pete saw her first. “Roxanne! Join us!”

  “I’ll be right back,” she said. “I just have to put some stuff away first. Save me some of that pot roast. It smells wonderful!”

  She took a minute to reassure Puka she loved him as the dog pushed his head into her leg and wagged his tail. Then she heard Jonathon call the golden retriever and let him go. The six-year-old had some choice scraps for his best friend.

  She wrestled the bags up the stairs and into her room, where she dumped everything on the love seat. Her stomach gurgled again. With a quick wash of her hands and comb through her hair, she zipped down to the dining room.

  Kate had a place set for Roxanne next to Jonathon, across from Ron and a young woman she’d never seen before. She assumed she was Ron’s girlfriend or someone Pete had invited. Either way, Roxanne was in no mood for socializing.

  “I’d like you to meet our newest boarder, Sam Turner,” Kate said. “Sam’s going to be with us for a few days.”

  Roxanne glanced around the table for new guy. The only unfamiliar face belonged to the attractive blonde. At her confused expression, the blonde laughed and raised her hand. “I’m Sam.”

  “Sorry, I was expecting a guy. Is Sam short for Samantha?”

  “No, my name is not short for anything. It’s Sam, plain and simple.” The woman tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Don’t worry—I’m used to it. I get that all the time.”

  “She registered through Trip Advisor,” Kate said. “I was expecting a man, too. I almost didn’t let her in.”

  Sam laughed, a pleasant tinkling sound. Her immediate impression of the newcomer was favorable. Sam looked to be in her early thirties, and she had a sophisticated polish that came across as honest instead of arrogant.

  “Pass the gravy, please,” Roxanne said. “I’m starving.”

  The rest of the meal passed in easy camaraderie. Even though Sam Turner was an unknown quantity, she didn’t seem to be hard to get along with. Sam kept her head lowered through most of the meal and only joined in the conversation when is seemed appropriate.

  Roxanne wanted to ask Pete about the escaped prisoners but didn’t feel comfortable doing so in front of a stranger. It would have to wait.

  As he sipped his coffee after the meal, Pete brought the subject up himself. “I almost forgot to tell you, we found Sean Cummings this afternoon.”

  “You did?” Roxanne choked on her spoonful of ice cream. “Where?”

  “He was holed up at the O’Malley cabin,” Pete said. “Dan O’Malley stumbled across him and called us.”

  “What about Seamus and Pearse?”

  “They’re still in the wind, I’m afraid. But I thought you’d be happy to know that Sean is on his way to Shuman Center to await trial. He’ll probably finish the rest of his senior year there.” Pete took a bite of ice cream before it melted in his bowl.

  “He is? So he’s not going to some fancy rehab place?” Roxanne asked. Shuman Center was a juvenile detention center run
by Allegheny County. She’d heard of it but only knew that it housed delinquent youths. She doubted the attendants would cater to spoiled, rich kids.

  “He kind of lost that chance when he took off,” Pete said. “He’ll be held there until his trial.”

  “That’s a relief,” she said.

  Roxanne finished her ice cream, thanked Kate for the delicious meal, and went to her room to put away her new clothes. She heard voices as Sam entered the room across the hall. She had to admit, she preferred this woman to Tiffany. She couldn’t see this reserved blonde hanging all over Callahan the way Tiffany did.

  As she hung up the last blouse in the walk-in closet, she noted the pitiful amount of clothing she now owned. Only about one-fourth of the closet was filled and normally she would have had items stuffed together to fit in the space.

  Before she could gather all the bags and wrappings, someone lightly tapped at her door. She didn’t have a peep-hole to see her visitor, but hell, the B & B was almost like a home, and Pete and Ron were still around. How dangerous could opening her door be? She twisted the deadbolt Callahan had insisted she install and swung the door open.

  Pete stood in the hall, shuffling his feet. “I didn’t mean to bring up Sean around Jonathon, but there are still some things you should know.”

  Roxanne stepped aside to gesture him into the room. Pete took the wing back chair while Roxanne perched on the love seat.

  “Kate chewed me out for the after-dinner conversation,” he said. “And she insisted I make sure you’re not upset.”

  “I’m not,” Roxanne told him. “It’s good to know Sean’s in custody. One less person I have to worry about. Did he tell you how they managed it?”

  Pete nodded. “It’s pretty much what we figured. Sheriff Walters brought their dinner before the change of shift. He gave Sean his plate, then turned to unlock the other cell. He dropped the trays and clutched at his chest, falling to his knees with the keys still in the cell lock. When he passed out, Pearse and Seamus unlocked their cell and took off, patting each other on the back about their stroke of good luck. Sean begged them to let him out, too, but they just snickered at him.”

  “I’m surprised Sean admitted it,” Roxanne said. “He likes people to think he’s the top gun.”

  “Yeah, well, he’s pretty subdued right now. Hasn’t had any meth in close to five days and he’s jumping out of his skin.”

  “How did he get out of the cell and to the O’Malley’s cabin? I thought you said Seamus and Pearse left him locked up.”

  “They did, but they also left the key in the lock to their cell. With the door hanging open, it would have been easy for Sean to swing the bars close enough to reach the key. I’m pretty sure he got himself out and called Bryan Haynes to pick him up.”

  “Are you kidding me? He left Sheriff Walters just lying there?”

  “The sheriff was unconscious at the time. Sean claimed he thought he was dead.”

  “I thought he wouldn’t be speaking to Bryan after Bryan ratted him out.”

  Pete shrugged. “I guess Bryan was Sean’s only choice since Mike still can’t put any weight on his leg because of the gunshot. Besides, I doubt he’s too eager to help the dude who shot him.”

  Roxanne stood and began to pace the tiny area in front of the love seat. “But why would Bryan agree to it? Is he really that stupid?”

  “Looks that way. He jumped at the chance to do Sean a favor. Guess he’s regretting listening to his mother and her preacher friend.” Pete rubbed his jaw. “Anyway, Sean got to the cabin and made Bryan bring him food, blankets and a coat.”

  Roxanne shivered, remembering the filthy conditions in the cabin where she’d been involved in a shoot-out with former deputy Luke Myers and Taggart, the first of the IRA members to arrive. “What was Dan O’Malley doing back at the cabin anyway?”

  “He claims he wanted to fix it up so it would be ready for hunting season next year. I can’t arrest a guy for cleaning his cottage.”

  Roxanne smiled at him. “So, how does it feel to be Chief of Police?”

  Before Pete could answer, another tap came at her door. “Geez! This is starting to feel like Grand Central Station!”

  Since Pete was there, she felt safe enough to swing open the door without looking.

  Callahan stood in the hall. He ran his fingers through his hair and gave her a tentative smile. “Hi. Can I come in?”

  She smiled back and took his hand as she ushered him in. “Of course. How was your day?”

  “Tiring.” His step faltered when he noticed Pete. “I can come back if this is not a good time.”

  “Don’t be silly. We were just discussing Sean and the others.”

  Callahan’s eyebrows rose.

  “There’s been a new development.” Pete stood to shake Callahan’s hand. “Good to have you back.”

  “Thanks. I hated taking off, but I wanted to get my mom and dad to the airport. Paul and Pam’s family came in the same van, so it would have been a tight squeeze for all of them.”

  “While you were gone, we located Sean,” Pete told him.

  “No shit? That’s good news.”

  The two men took seats; Pete reclaimed the wing back chair while Callahan plopped into the love seat. Pete told him what little he knew about the two Irish thugs still at large. Roxanne sat next to Callahan and fought off the urge to take his hand in hers as she listened to the story once more.

  “Ron and I will be back on the hunt tomorrow.” Callahan rubbed both hands down his cheeks. “Problem is, we don’t know where to start to look.”

  “That’s the same problem Roxy and Conor had with finding the cash,” Roxanne said. “Though now, they have a possible lead.”

  “Yeah?” Callahan looked at her through his fingers.

  “You remember when Tom O’Malley mentioned Liam’s girlfriend, Jeanette Wilson?”

  “She was a drunk or something,” Callahan said. “That’s hardly reassuring.”

  “I know, but she’s supposed to be recovering,” Roxanne said. “She remembers driving Liam to a couple of unusual spots around here. She had no idea what he was doing, but Roxy feels it’s a worth a shot to try to locate those places.”

  “And Jeanette told them where to go?” Pete asked.

  “Not exactly...” Roxanne hesitated. Driving around the entire area sounded no more plausible now than it had when Roxy told her. “She doesn’t remember the exact locations, but Roxy and Conor are going to drive her around to see if anything jogs her memory.”

  Callahan sighed. “They don’t stand much more of a chance than we do, looking for Seamus and Pearse. It’s like searching for a specific grain of sand in the Sahara.”

  Pete stood. “I’ll be going. My shift starts at 8:00 in the morning.”

  “How are you getting along with only two officers?” Roxanne asked. “It must be hard.”

  “Not much different from before. Walters just sat in his office when it was his turn and didn’t show up half the time. I’ve arranged with the State guys to cover any calls that come in between midnight and eight. Then I cover eight to four and Bud covers four to midnight. It’s something that Walters should have done a couple of months ago.”

  After I killed Luke. Roxanne couldn’t say it aloud.

  “How’s Bud handling the night shift?” Callahan asked.

  “So far, no complaints. Although I’m sure he has a lot to say to Walters when he visits him in the hospital.”

  “Is this a permanent thing?” Roxanne asked. “Is Sheriff Walters resigning?”

  “Don’t know yet. He’s waiting to hear what the doctors recommend,” Pete told her. “At any rate, I’d better get some rest while I can.”

  “I’ll stop by to see you in the morning,” Callahan called to him. “Maybe we can put our heads together and come up with a plan to find Seamus an
d Pearse.”

  “Sounds good,” Pete said before he shut the door.

  An awkward silence fell between them as Roxanne remembered the last time she and Callahan were together in this room. She tried to hide her unease, hoping he wasn’t having the same reflections. Not that she’d mind taking up where they left off; the time just didn’t seem right.

  “Sorry I barged in on you and Pete,” he finally said.

  “What? You didn’t! He was telling me about Sean.”

  “You two seemed pretty cozy.”

  “Cozy? We were just talking!” Roxanne raised an eyebrow. “Are you jealous?”

  “Let’s not get into that again.” Callahan tried to sluff off her accusation.

  “You are.” She punched him lightly on the shoulder.

  “All right, maybe a little,” he admitted. “Does he spend a lot of time in your room?”

  She shook her head but couldn’t hide a tiny smile. “He’s never been in here before tonight.”

  He digested this for a moment. “I have some news, too. I forgot about it while Pete was talking.”

  Roxanne leaned back in the love seat and used her hands to signal him to continue. She slid a bit closer to him. He didn’t seem to notice or mind, if he did.

  “I got word from DC that the IRA is no longer actively searching for the money. Seems they never were that keen on finding it until someone in this area contacted them with a plan to set up...”

  “A training camp,” Roxanne finished his sentence.

  “Yeah, how did you know?”

  “Conor talked to Niall this morning. Niall told him the same thing.”

  “So we need to get to Pearse and Seamus before they find out their mission’s been aborted and try to leave the country.” Callahan played with a lock of Roxanne’s hair while he spoke.

  “Can’t you put a flag on their passports or something?” she asked.