“You knew it, Rose?”
“Looked just like him. And besides, he’s a mean man.”
“Right. Anything else, Rose?”
“I’m sure there is but I just can’t think of it right now.”
Lucinda rose again. “If you think of it, Rose, you just give us a call.”
“Of course. It’s my duty as a citizen. Do you have a card?”
Lucinda reached for her pocket. She stopped as her fingertips grazed her cards and patted down her jacket. “Sorry Rose,” Lucinda lied. “I’m all out. You just call the station and leave a message. They’ll get all the information to me. Thanks for your time.”
Lucinda crossed back over the street and caught up with Ted in the master bedroom of the Spencer home. “The neighbor thinks she saw the husband leaving the house in a hurry,” she said.
“You don’t sound like you believe her.”
“Not sure. She’s a bit loopy. The guys out there canvassing – have they found anyone else who saw someone leaving the house this afternoon?”
“Not yet,” Ted sighed.
Lucinda’s cellphone chirped again. She pressed the green button. “Pierce here.” She turned to Ted and mouthed, “Creger.” She nodded her head several times and said, “You checked it out?” She nodded again, disconnected and turned to Ted. “Creger found the husband.”
“Where?”
“Afghanistan.”
“What?”
“Afghanistan. It seems like the good doctor volunteers for Doctors Without Borders. He’s been in Afghanistan for the last three days tending to the victims of land mine explosions. Missing feet. Mangled arms. That kind of stuff. The organization is flying him back on a priority basis. Don’t know yet when he’ll get here.”
“Guess we can scratch him off the list,” Ted said.
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“He’s a doctor. He’s got money. He could have hired someone to kill her while he was conveniently out of the country. It does make for an excellent alibi. Could be he’s a victim. Could be he’s a good planner.”
Five
Ted pulled into the concrete driveway and drove up to the garage doors of his brick ranch. He headed up the sidewalk to the porch. Long before he reached the front door, it flew open. Six-year-old Kimmy squealed, “Daddy!” as she raced toward him.
Nine-year-old Pete swaggered out in an attempt to appear cool although his delight at his father’s return home from work twinkled in his eyes. “Hey, Dad,” he said.
Ted swung Kimmy up in one arm and threw the other one around Pete’s shoulders. “How was football practice today, Pete?”
“Okay. I’m running back, now,” he said with a smile.
“Congratulations. Good job. You’ve been working hard for that position―”
“Daddy, daddy, daddy,” Kimmy interrupted.
“Yes, Kimmy.”
“I took a toad to school for show and tell.”
“You did?”
“It peed on my hand.”
“It did?”
“I dropped it on the floor and washed off my hands. When I came back, Toadie was gone.”
“Oh no.”
“Ms. Rogers said we have to find him. She wouldn’t let us go out to recess. We all had to stay inside and look. But we couldn’t find Toadie anywhere. I told Ms. Rogers you were a policeman and you could find him. Can you come to school and find Toadie, Daddy?”
“I’ll drive you to school tomorrow morning and we’ll go toad hunting.”
“But don’t use your gun, Daddy. I miss Toadie. I want him back.”
“What if he pees on your hand again?”
“Oh, I forgot,” she said squeezing her face tight in distaste.
“You are such a sissy,” Pete said.
“Am not,” Kimmy responded poking out her bottom lip.
“Are, too.”
“Am not.”
“Enough,” Ted said as he set Kimmy down on the floor of the living room.
“Are, too,” Pete hissed as he raced off to his room with Kimmy in hot pursuit.
Ted shook his head and walked into the kitchen to give his wife Ellen a kiss. She turned her face away from him and his lips brushed the side of her head. Ice crackled in her voice as she said, “I saw a glimpse of you on the news, Ted.”
Ted tensed, shut his eyes and inhaled deeply. Not again, he thought.
“Saw your girlfriend, too.”
Ted knew any protest would fuel Ellen’s anger. “Can I help you with dinner?”
Ellen’s mouth drew up as tight as a miser’s purse. “You can set the table if you want.”
He grabbed four yellow Fiestaware plates from the cabinet. He noticed for the first time the scratches on their surface as he kept his focus away from Ellen and on the job at hand.
“If you really want to help, Ted, you can stop seeing that woman,” Ellen said.
“It’s work, Ellen. I don’t control the assignments. No one asks me which homicide detective I want at the scene,” he said knowing if they did, he’d pick Lucinda every time.
“Right,” Ellen snapped.
Ted wondered once again about how different his life would be if he’d clung tight to Lucinda during those four years at school. How would it be if she stood in the kitchen now? If his kids were Lucinda’s kids, too? He opened a drawer to retrieve the eating utensils and placed a fork, knife and spoon by each plate.
“If work keeps throwing you and your girlfriend together, maybe you need to get another job,” Ellen persisted.
“Ellen, we’ve been over this a thousand times. You don’t want to move. I am a cop. I love my work and wouldn’t be happy doing anything else.”
“And you love being near your girlfriend, don’t you?”
“Ellen, please, Lieutenant Pierce and I dated in high school. That was long ago and before I ever met you. I married you not her. Case closed.”
She slammed a plate of pork chops on the table. “Maybe our marriage should be closed, Ted.”
“Ellen, that’s not fair.”
“Maybe I should set you free to run after bad guys and chase after your bloodthirsty, baby-killing girlfriend,” she spat as she plopped a bowl of green beans next to the chops.
“Ellen, that’s enough.”
“Yes, it is enough. I’ve had enough. Now you’re on another case together again, she’ll be calling here at all hours. You’ll drop everything to rush to her side. I have had more than enough,” she said slapping down the mashed potato bowl so hard white glops flew out of it and on to the table. “Kimmy, Pete,” she hollered, “dinner’s ready.”
The kids flew in and scooted into the chairs. As Ted pulled out his seat, Ellen started down the hall. “Aren’t you going to have some dinner, Ellen?”
“I’ve lost my appetite,” she said over her shoulder. The door to their bedroom slammed. The hostile noise reverberated down the hall and made the children squirm. Ted looked at the kids and saw two little furrowed brows, two pairs of downturned lips, two innocents caught in a storm of their parents’ making.
Ted served out a pile of potatoes on each plate, making sound effects with his mouth. Then he picked up green beans with his fingers and stuck them like a green picket fence in the white mounds. He etched smiley faces on the chops before slipping them on to their plates. Kimmy and Pete giggled, their parents’ troubles forgotten.
Ted put a smile on his face for the sake of his son and daughter but his mind twisted in turmoil. He didn’t want to lose his family despite the pangs of regret he harbored about Lucinda. Right now, though, it seemed inevitable. Ellen’s hostility escalated with every passing day and still he loved her. But how long could that love last under the constant barrage of negativity from her?
He’d begged her to go to counseling but she refused. He could not decide if she really felt threatened by Lucinda or if Ellen was just building a justification for the day when she’d say goodbye.
Six
Ell
en sank down in the softness of the quilt on the edge of the bed. She held her body as stiff as if she was sitting in a hard wooden pew. She’d regretted her outburst the moment she slammed the door. But pride, embarrassment and hurt kept her cloistered in the lonely room.
The children’s muted giggling drifted into the room. She felt relief and a keen sadness – tears coursed down her checks. She didn’t want to be so angry. She didn’t want to lash out at Ted. But she was no longer in control – not since the baby died.
When she first started dating Ted she knew he still carried a picture of Lucinda in his wallet. That was okay. She didn’t hold on to any pictures of her first love but she still thought of Mark often. In the beginning, she’d even fantasized about him when she and Ted made love.
Time passed, her relationship with Ted grew serious and Mark faded from her mind. The only time his memory resurrected was when she ran into an old high school friend and she’d wondered if she’d ever bump into Mark at Wal-Mart before they were both too old to remember.
She didn’t expect Ted would ever run into Lucinda. When Ellen and Ted married, they’d settled down in her home town, not his. She assumed Lucinda had drifted out of Ted’s thoughts, too. She had no idea that they were both working in the same police department until the day a shotgun blast tore through Lucinda’s face.
Ellen shot to her feet and paced around the perimeter of the bed. I should go out to the table. I should smile like nothing happened. Joke with the kids. Flirt with Ted. Her hand wrapped around the bedroom doorknob then jerked back as if a jolt of electricity shot through the brass and into her flesh. I can’t do it. I can’t pretend I’m happy. I can’t walk around pretending I don’t believe something is going on between Ted and Lucinda.
She paced again thinking about the day she learned of Lucinda’s continued presence in Ted’s life. He’d told her about the injury, the loss of her eye. Ellen had recoiled at the sound of the other woman’s name but was too stunned by the revelation to ask any questions. Then, it became too awkward as she said nothing week after week with Ted coming home recounting tales of Lucinda’s recovery, rehabilitation and her return to active duty. She’d kept trying to brush her concerns away. After all, Lucinda was a hot topic on everyone’s tongue at the department’s Christmas party that year. Ellen had employed logic in an attempt to banish her fears but still they would not stop haunting her sleep.
On Christmas Eve, after they’d put the presents under the tree and were preparing for bed, the question had finally crossed her lips: “Why didn’t you tell me you were working with Lucinda before?”
“Before?” Ted asked, turning his face away from her to rummage in a dresser drawer. “I’ve been talking to you about her for months.”
“Not until she was shot. How come you didn’t mention it before then?”
“I didn’t think it mattered.”
“It didn’t matter? You’re working with your old girlfriend and it didn’t matter? For the last few months, you’ve been obsessed with her.”
“Oh, Ellen,” Ted said as he turned around and crossed the room without looking her in the eye. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “Don’t be jealous. Sure, I’m obsessed with her . . .”
Ellen squirmed trying to push off and get free.
Ted just tightened his grip and planted a kiss on top of her head. “But so is everyone else. It’s what she went through – a cop’s worst nightmare. She was shot in the line of duty and we’ve all been pulling for her. You’re my wife, Ellen. I come home to you every night – to you and the kids and the warm home you’ve created for all of us. This is where my heart is.”
She wanted to believe him but with her head against his chest, she couldn’t see his face. She couldn’t scan his eyes for hidden lies. Still, she relaxed and they stood together in quiet reflection. She lost herself in the comfort of familiar arms and inhaled the scent she knew so well.
Ted pulled back and looked down at her with his hands resting on her upper arms. “You okay, now?”
She nodded.
“Good. I need a shower. Bad. I’m surprised you didn’t gag when you got close.” He raised his arm and sniffed in the direction of his armpit. “Phew!” He pulled off his pants, dropped them on the bed and left the room.
Ellen stared at the bulge of his wallet in the back pocket of his pants. She heard the water pounding the glass shower enclosure. Trust, she told herself. Trust. It’s all about trust. But her eyes couldn’t pull away from the pocket and the proof that it might hold.
When she heard the shower door shut and Ted’s humming begin, her resolve dissipated. She wrestled out his wallet and flipped it open. Her hands shook as she made her first quick scan; she didn’t see Lucinda. She inhaled deeply and went through the pictures again. This time she turned each plastic sleeve with care and looked for any pictures hidden between the photos that faced out on either side. Nothing.
The pipes clinked as the water shut off. She crammed the wallet back in his pants, grabbed her book, jumped on the bed and started to read. She believed him now. A smile of relief locked on her face.
Ted walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. “What are you grinning about?”
“Just waiting for you,” she said with outstretched arms. Ted dropped the towel and joined her in bed. Ellen gave her passion full rein – her fears of the last few months laid to rest.
I was stupid that night, she thought now. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. She grabbed her robe and stomped into the shower.
Seven
Four days later, Lucinda led Dr. Evan Spencer into an interrogation room. “Please have a seat, doctor,” she said as she eased into a chair. They sat on opposite sides of an ugly gray metal table. He was even better looking in person than he was in the studio portrait she’d seen in his home, she noticed. She thought in an odd way the pain in his eyes animated his features and brightened his face.
She laid a manila envelope on the surface. “I know it is difficult for you to talk to me right now. I want you to know I appreciate your willingness to do so. And I want to thank you for rushing back from your trip overseas.”
He studied her face. The repulsion or pity she often saw in others’ eyes was absent from his stare. His lips parted as if ready to ask a question or make a comment about what he saw. Then he shook his head and clamped his mouth shut. After a moment he said, “Did you think I wouldn’t?”
Lucinda studied his face without making a response.
“It wasn’t a pleasure trip, Lieutenant. It was work – important work.”
“I understand that, Doctor. I’m fully aware of the reason you were in Afghanistan. The fact that you had to leave ahead of schedule only adds to the tragedy.”
“I love the work I do for Doctors Without Borders. But I love my wife – and my daughters – more.”
“Of course,” Lucinda said and slid the envelope across the table to the new widower. “Here is your wife’s jewelry. Her autopsy is complete but we’ve kept her clothing for further analysis. We can release her to the funeral home of your choice at any time.”
“How did Kate die – was she killed with that concrete block?”
I hate that question, she thought as she struggled to find the right words. He is a suspect now but he might only be a victim in the end. “It appears as if Kathleen died from strangulation. The coroner believes she was already gone before the concrete block was used.”
Evan threw his hands to his face and leaned into them with his elbows resting on the table. Lucinda sat quietly waiting for Evan to resume the conversation. He slid his hands up over his face and ran his fingers through his hair to the back of his neck. “I guess that’s supposed to make me feel better.”
“I don’t think anything could make you feel better right now, Doctor.”
“That bastard has to pay.”
“We are following up every lead we can, sir. We want – I am determined – to get justice for your wife.”
; “Well, that’s just not going to happen, is it?”
“We are doing everything we can, Dr. Spencer. We have devoted massive resources—”
“Damn your resources. It doesn’t matter what you bring into play here, Lieutenant,” he interrupted. “Justice for Kate means that she would walk into her home and hug her daughters and the man who killed her would be the one lying dead on the floor. That would be justice. You can’t manage that, can you?”
“No sir. We can’t do that. I wish—”
“Keep your wishes. They’re not going to do me or my daughters any damn good.” He picked up the envelope, squeezed the metal fastener and upended the package. The contents slid out onto the table. “Where’s her ring?”
Lucinda pointed to a small gold band. “There it is, sir.”
“Not that. Not her wedding band. Her engagement ring. Where is it?”
“She wasn’t wearing one.”
“She had to be. She always wore it. She never took if off. He stole it.”
“You think she might have been killed because someone wanted to steal her ring?”
“It was a valuable ring but what he did to take it makes no sense. He didn’t have to be so violent. He didn’t have to kill her.”
“He? Do you know – or suspect – who took her ring?”
“The bastard who killed her – who else?”
“Just how valuable was the ring, Dr. Spencer?”
“Don’t know. I haven’t had it appraised in years. I paid at least ten thousand for it when I bought it.”
Lucinda flipped out her notepad. “Can you describe it to me?”
“It’s unusual – custom-made. If you find it, you’ll know it. It was a two-carat emerald-cut diamond with a small heart-shaped ruby on each side. The points holding the diamond were shaped like small leaves.”
“Sounds lovely,” Lucinda said.
“My wife is lovely, Lieutenant. The ring was just a thing.”
“Yes, but a ring that valuable could make robbery a motive.”
Evan did not respond. He hung his head and stared at the surface of the table.
The Trophy Exchange (A Lucinda Pierce Mystery) Page 3
