Jack turned to follow his father, but his mother gently tapped his shoulder. “He’s going to take a quick nap,” she whispered. “He doesn’t like to broadcast it.”
“I’m so sorry about Lady, Mrs. Stratton,” Alice said. “I don’t know what could have gotten into her. She’s usually so well-behaved.”
Jack stifled a laugh. “I’m just glad she didn’t eat the guy.”
Lady trotted over to the mantel, gazed up at it, and whined.
“Don’t you get started on that again. It’s just a statue.” Jack moved the gecko statue, and Lady barked.
Alice patted Lady and spoke as if she were talking to a frightened child. “It’s okay. It’s not real.”
“It’s a symbol of my winning streak,” Laura said. “The casino in the Bahamas presented it to us. I don’t normally gamble, but we won the cruise and it included games at the casino.” She stood up a little straighter. “I couldn’t believe I won that trip. I never—”
Lady rose up on her haunches and put her paws on the mantel, pushing the lime-green lizard sideways. It tumbled off the mantel, and Jack barely caught it by one of its legs before it hit the floor.
“Lady.” Jack groaned. He carefully placed the little lizard back in its place.
Alice grabbed Lady’s collar. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“No worries,” Laura said, though her drawn face didn’t match her words. “Good reflexes, Jack. Lady and I will just have to disagree about that little statue. For me, it’s kind of a symbol of my unexpected good fortune. It’s too bad the yellow in its back doesn’t match anything in the room.”
Jack turned the statute toward the front door so more of the lime-green showed and less lemon.
“I guess Lady still hasn’t gotten over her fear of geckos,” Alice said.
“Maybe I should put the statue in the den while you’re here,” Laura suggested.
Jack motioned to Alice. “Why don’t we leave it where it is and put Lady in her room for a little while?”
Lady whined as Alice led her into the bedroom.
Laura waited until Alice closed the door behind her. Then she spoke to Jack in a low voice. “I want Alice to feel at home, Jack, and if Lady has to stay in the bedroom, how will that make her feel? Besides, it’s not the dog’s fault. She’s just getting acclimated. It’s a lot of change for her, and I’m sure that plane ride was unsettling.”
“Whatever you do,” Jack said, “don’t bring up that plane ride around Lady.”
The doorbell rang, and Laura went to answer it. It was Ruby and Ginny from the book club. They were flushed and out of breath. “Hi, Laura. Where’s Alice?”
“In the bedroom. What’s going on?”
Alice stepped back out into the hallway. “Is everything okay?”
“No time to explain,” Ruby said. “We need Alice to do us that favor we talked about—right now. Ellie and Carl are on their way. They’ll fill you in.” She turned to Alice. “Can you help us, honey?”
“What do you need?”
“Come on. We’ll talk on the way.” Ruby took her by the hand and led her out the door. Ginny followed.
“Alice? Are you okay with this?” Jack called after her.
Alice’s green eyes were wide, but she gave him a little wave and a thumbs-up.
After Laura had shut the door, Jack raised an eyebrow at her. “What exactly was that all about? If this is another stakeout…”
“Oh, Jack, I’m sure it’s nothing like that. I guess Ellie will explain when she gets here.”
“You really don’t know? Ruby said it was a favor you talked about. What could Alice help with?”
“Maybe a computer problem? I’m going to put some tea on for Carl and Ellie. I’m sure they’ll clear everything up.”
Jack knew he shouldn’t worry—after all, Alice was heading out with two of his mother’s friends. But as he looked at the front door, his stomach tightened.
23
Taken to the Cleaners
“Laura’s positive it’s her,” Ruby said. They looked out the windows of the car at the largest house in the community.
“Her? Her who? The lady who lives there?” Alice pointed at the huge home. “I don’t think she needs to steal anything.”
“Money is not Janet’s motive.” Ginny frowned. “I don’t like speaking ill of people, but that woman has an ax to grind with everyone in the community. We all try to include her in things, but she finds faults in everyone and everything. I keep trying to befriend her, but she has no interest in building trust.”
“Is that why you gave her that cat figurine?” Ruby reached over and squeezed her friend’s hand. “Bless your heart, Ginny.”
“What happened, Ruby?” Alice leaned forward from the backseat.
“Ginny had a spring tea. It was lovely. Everything was beautifully done. Beautifully.”
“Thank you, Ruby.”
“It was! The finger sandwiches, the tea, the tablescapes—perfect. We all wore floral dresses and hats. She invited everyone, even Janet. We had an afternoon like proper ladies of London. But for all of Ginny’s trouble, Janet had the gall to report that Ginny’s roses were over the limit!”
“There’s a limit on roses?”
“Not on the number of roses, but on their height. Ginny’s rosebushes were too tall. She had to cut them way back and lost all their beautiful blooms. Those bushes may never recover. You wouldn’t know this, but it is very difficult to grow any kind of rose in Florida.”
“How do you know Janet reported her?”
“Gladys told us,” Ginny said.
Alice rocked her head from side to side. “I don’t know if I’d believe Gladys.”
“Why not?”
“She’s the busybody always stirring up trouble, right? And she knows Mrs. Stratton doesn’t get along with Mrs. Ferguson, so it makes sense she’d blame Mrs. Ferguson, doesn’t it? Just saying.”
“Well…I normally don’t listen to Gladys, but in this case I do think she was telling the truth. This is a gated community, and Ginny’s roses beautified it. When they bloomed, the walkers would be sure to plan their route so they could pass by. Folks would bring visitors over to see them. They were an attraction, for goodness’ sake! Who else but sourball Janet would take something away from all of us like that? We finally have the time to stop and smell the roses, and she took them!” Ruby huffed.
“That’s terrible about the roses, but I’m sorry, I’m not going to help you guys with your rose vendetta,” Alice said firmly. “Let’s go back to the Strattons’ house.”
“This isn’t about the roses. Janet lied about the cat figurine. She said it was stolen, but it wasn’t. We need your help to prove it.”
“How do you know she lied?”
Ruby raised one eyebrow. “From the look on Janet’s face when she told us about the theft. Everyone in the book club was canvassing the neighborhood, looking for anyone who could have had something stolen. We asked Janet if she was missing anything. She said no, but just as she was about to shut the door, she acted like she was hit from a bolt out of the blue. She practically screamed, ‘The cat! The cat has been stolen!’”
“I thought it was more like a kitten—just adorable,” Ginny said.
“It was.” Ruby placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, but as Ginny looked down, Ruby looked back at Alice, made a face, and shook her head.
“I still don’t understand why we’re here,” Alice said.
“Laura’s always wanted to get a look around for that cat,” Ruby explained. “She thinks Janet still has it. If we find it, we can prove she faked its theft!”
Ruby and Ginny got out of the car and started toward the house, and Alice reluctantly followed. “Wait…I thought you were going to let Jack and his father look into this.”
“We are, but this is too good to pass up.”
Ginny clapped her hands together. “You’re going undercover.”
Alice practically tripped over her feet, but Ruby gr
abbed her elbow and pulled her upright.
“I’m what?”
“Going undercover,” Ginny repeated. “We ran into Janet at the community center, and she said she had to fire her cleaning service.”
“I saw the opportunity, and you know what they say…” Ruby smiled like Tony Robbins. “Carpe diem!”
Alice shook her head. “This is a bad idea.”
“It’s brilliant.” Ruby put her hands on her hips. “Besides, it was Laura’s idea.”
“It was?” Alice’s shoulders slumped. “Jack would never—”
“Jack’s a policeman.” Ruby took Alice by the hand and pulled her to the front door. “They do this all the time. And you want to make a good impression on your boyfriend’s mother, right?”
“I don’t know…”
“You’re just nervous. It’s normal. Deep breaths.” Ruby rang the doorbell. “Laura will be over the moon if you help with this.”
“It’s sure to send Jack into orbit,” Alice muttered.
The door opened, and a beautiful older woman stopped short. She wore a Chanel suit, long pearls, and sling-back heels. She looked as though she were headed to a fancy luncheon.
“Oh, it’s you. Is this her?” She pursed her mauve-painted lips as she sized Alice up, looking her over like someone considering buying a vacuum cleaner.
Ruby smiled warmly. “Well, isn’t this a wonderful coincidence.” She wrapped her arm around Alice’s shoulders. “Laura’s future daughter-in-law here recently decided to start a new cleaning service, and she’s actively looking for customers.”
Alice almost fell off the step.
Janet eyed Alice as she drummed her French-manicured nails against the glass top of the entry table. “You have a cleaning business?”
“She’s an entrepreneur.” Ruby rubbed Alice’s back. “Janet, this is Alice. Alice, this is Janet.”
“Mrs. Ferguson,” Janet corrected. “Is it just you, or do you have your own crew?”
“Just Alice.” Ginny squeezed Alice’s shoulder. “But she’s quite capable.”
“A little dynamo. You wouldn’t believe it. She’s like a mini cleaning tornado.” Ruby swirled her hand to mimic a rotating funnel cloud.
“Do you have references?”
Alice opened her mouth, but Ruby spoke. “I can get you a list, but the proof’s in the pudding. It’s also guaranteed.”
“Guaranteed?” Janet repeated suspiciously.
“One hundred percent. And the first cleaning is free.”
Janet pursed her lips, and her eyes widened. “Well, I’d be willing to give that a try.” She held up a hand. “Just on an exploratory basis, of course. When can you start?”
“Right now.” Ruby prodded Alice forward.
Janet frowned.
“You did say you were hoping to get your house cleaned today. Well, now you can.” Ruby held out both hands toward Alice as if she was the prize and Janet was the big winner.
“I do have company coming tonight for dinner.” Janet eyed Alice again. “Do you need to change before you get started?”
“Oh, no.” Ruby moved Alice forward and took a step back. “She’s ready to go.”
Alice stood there, stunned. She didn’t know how to get out of this situation, or whether she should even try. She knew Jack would be mad, but the last thing she wanted to do was disappoint his mother.
“And the first cleaning is free?” Janet tapped her expensive-looking shoe on the travertine floor.
“One hundred percent.” Ruby smiled, and she and Ginny took another step back.
Alice’s heart sank. Like a child dropped off on the first day at school, she felt abandoned. She stepped toward Ruby and felt her arms rising, silently pleading with them not to go.
Ruby gave her a quick hug, kissed her cheek, and whispered, “Find the ugly cat.” As she walked away, Ruby called back, “Alice, just give me a call when you’re done, and I’ll come get you.”
This is not happening…
Janet held the door open. “Well. You don’t have much time, and it’s a rather large home, so no dawdling.”
Janet snapped her fingers, and Alice jumped as if she’d snapped a whip.
24
Digging
Jack sat in the kitchen. The glow from Alice’s laptop spilled across the table. He found himself jumping at every noise, expecting Alice to walk in on him at any moment. He hated sneaking around behind her back, but he wasn’t ready to talk to her yet about what Amanda had told him.
He pulled up the website for Enterprise News, the local newspaper that covered Westford at the time of the accident. He’d had to pay a subscription fee, but now he had access to the digitized archives. The clacking of his keys echoed off the tile floor as he typed out his search.
As the “search in progress” wheel slowly spun, so did Jack’s head. He knew what Alice had already been through. Having to revisit those memories was the last thing he wanted for her. But if their roles were reversed, he’d want her to do the same thing for him.
The spinning wheel disappeared, and the results filled the page. Jack scrolled through them until he found exactly what he was looking for.
FOUR KILLED IN CRASH.
Jack clicked the link, and his throat tightened when he saw the photo that accompanied the article. He’d been a first responder to many accident scenes, but this one was particularly brutal. A heavy-duty dump truck had slammed into Alice’s family’s car head-on. The car’s completely crushed. How could Alice possibly have survived this wreck? Jack couldn’t even tell what kind of car it had been. Rocks from the dump truck littered the roadway.
The truck hadn’t suffered nearly as much damage. The front grille was covered with a wraparound metal fender that had been smashed in, crumpling the hood, but the truck looked drivable.
Jack read the brief article.
Four members of a Fairfield family were killed in a head-on collision on Route 128 just south of the Westford Split on Tuesday morning.
The Westford Sheriff Department Accident Reconstruction Team is investigating. It is believed that the driver of the truck crossed the center line and struck the car, killing four of its occupants. Officials confirmed that the driver of the truck fled the scene after the accident, and police are actively searching for the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Westford Sheriff Department.
One family member, a minor child, survived and is in the hospital in a stable condition. Names are not being released pending notification of the next of kin.
Jack tried several other searches, but the short article was the only thing he was able to find. He couldn’t even locate an obituary. He closed the laptop and slipped outside, the warm air wrapping around him.
He pulled out his phone and called the one person he knew who could get him the information he needed.
“Hello?”
“Detective Clark?” Jack said.
“How are you, Stratton?”
Jack grinned. He couldn’t help it. Clark always stretched out his last name in a voice that made you think he chewed rocks.
“I’m good, sir. And you?”
“Still breathing. How’s your old man?”
“He’s good. I’m actually here in Florida visiting him. I’m calling about an old case in Westford. Thirteen years ago, a family of four was killed in a head-on collision with a dump truck.”
“I remember it, but I didn’t work it. I’m not familiar with the conclusion. Did they close it?”
“No, sir. That’s the reason I’m calling. Do you know anyone in Westford who would have worked the case?”
“I’ll have to ask around, but I knew a few guys over there. It might take me some time to track them down.”
“I would really appreciate it, sir.”
Detective Clark sighed into the phone. “Can you tell me why I’m digging?”
“One family member survived the accident. She was only a child at the time, but she needs to know what happened to her
family.”
“I understand. That’s only right.”
“I really appreciate it, sir.”
Detective Clark chuckled, and it rumbled like thunder. “Are you kidding me? I should be thanking you! I’m already standing up. Doing anything that even smells like police work gets my blood pumping.”
Jack knew that feeling all too well these days. If there was one thing that he felt was missing from his life, it was being a policeman.
“Give me a few days, and I’ll see what I can find out.”
“Thanks again, sir.”
25
Bait
Jack stood beside the kitchen table, sipping a glass of iced tea. Ellie, Carl, and Laura sat looking up at him.
“Are you going to make us wait all day?” Ellie wrung her gnarled hands. “What have you found out?”
“He just started this morning, Ellie.” Carl leaned back in his chair. “Give the poor guy at least a day.”
“Can we do anything to help?” Ellie asked.
“Actually.” Jack set down his tea and pulled the frog statue out of the bag at his feet. “I need a good place to put this.”
“Cute!” Ellie smiled.
“Put it?” Laura asked nervously. “Is it for our yard?”
“Don’t worry, Mom. It’s not for your yard.” Jack smiled at his mother. “It’s bait.”
Laura hopped excitedly out of her seat. “You’re planning a trap!”
“A sting.” Jack winked. “I reviewed Carl’s excellent list and figured this is the perfect lure for our thief. It’ll drive everyone crazy.” Jack turned it on and waved his hand in front of its mouth. The frog started croaking “At the Hop.”
Ellie leaned in for a closer inspection. “We’ll stick that in someone’s yard and wait for the thief to take it.”
“Exactly.”
“What do you need our help with?” Carl asked.
“Two things,” Jack said. “First, we need to figure out the best spot to put the frog. I was looking over your list—”
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