A Good Day to Buy

by Sherry Harris

  CJ loosened his grip. “You’re right. Go on.”

  “He said he was investigating a story. He was undercover and asked me not to tell anyone he was in town.”

  “What story and for who?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “None of it seemed odd to you?”

  Put that way, it did, but in the moment, I’d been so happy to see him I would have accepted almost any story. “I haven’t seen him in almost twenty years and barely talked to him. I didn’t want to scare him off.”

  CJ scowled but motioned with his hand for me to continue.

  “When he found out you were around most of the time, I worried he’d take off again. I let him stay in the empty apartment by mine for a night.” This next part wasn’t going to go over well. I really wished someone would need something from CJ right now. For once, I’d be grateful if someone hollered, “Chuck” or lightning struck. But there was no divine intervention or interruption of any sort. I went on. “The next night, I let him stay at the Callahans’.”

  “Wasn’t there a break-in at their apartment?”

  Oh boy. This was going to go over like broken crystal at a garage sale. Maybe it was time to make a run for it. But instead I laced my fingers together. “Not exactly.” I explained what had happened. Then I listened as CJ ranted about wasting police resources. I got it. I’d been wrong, even if, at the time, it had seemed like for the right reasons. I’d have to come clean to Stella and the Callahans too. I sighed at the thought.

  “Are you even listening to me?” CJ asked.

  “I quit sometime after the second round of wasting police resources and what was I thinking.”

  CJ’s lips twitched and then he laughed. “You drive me crazy.”

  “It’s a gift. I found a notebook of Luke’s in my apartment. It had a list of names. It’s why I came to see James. Your name was on it and Seth’s, among others. Ethan and Mr. Spencer’s names were on the list too.”

  CJ frowned. “Do you have it with you?”

  “No. It’s back at my apartment. When I get home, I can take a photo of it and text it to you.”

  “Okay. How did you leave things with Luke?”

  “I told him to call Vincenzo and turn himself in.”

  “Do you think he will?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “For his sake, I hope so.” CJ sounded ominous.

  “I could try calling Vincenzo, but if he did talk to Luke, he wouldn’t tell me anything anyway.”

  “So that’s it.”

  “Wait. Luke said he needed another forty-eight hours to finish his story.”

  “What happens in forty-eight hours?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s his deadline for submitting the story.” But if I knew for sure, maybe I could figure out what Luke’s story was about and find him. “Luke’s not a murderer, CJ. He wouldn’t murder someone and then come to my house.”

  “You don’t know him anymore. His fingerprints were at the crime scene.”

  “Then there’s some explanation for why,” I said. An explanation I wanted to hear. “Will you give me a ride to my car?”

  “Where is it?”

  “Behind the Shoppette. That reminds me. The desk clerk at the Ellington Motel told me Luke’s driving a blue Prius.”

  “Why would someone from there tell you that?”

  “I’ve been out searching for him.”

  “Sarah!”

  “It’s one of the places I stopped. I couldn’t sit around and wait for you to call me back.”

  “Okay. Hang on. I’ll call it in.”

  I watched as people continued to move around Ethan’s body. Poor Ethan, he’d had a rough life. CJ clicked off his radio. “How much trouble is James going to be in?” I asked.

  “Maybe you should have considered that before you tried to get information out of him,” CJ said as he drove back to the Shoppette. He paused. “James will be fine. I talked to the commander and explained how persuasive you are. Stubborn might be the better word.” CJ parked next to my Suburban. “Now that I know you’ve seen Luke, would you stop by the station tomorrow and listen to some of the 911 calls from the day of the garage sale?”

  “There was more than one?”

  “Yes, about nine. Lots of people at the garage sale must have whipped their phones out and called.”

  “Why do you want me to listen to them?”

  CJ just looked at me. I realized if one of the callers was Luke, it connected him further to the crime scene. I wanted to say no, that I wouldn’t do it, that I couldn’t betray my brother that way, but I knew I had to help CJ.

  He stared out the windshield. “Because I have a murder to solve. You want to help me, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do. How will it help?” Maybe I was wrong and he wanted me to listen to them for some other reason.

  “We’re trying to sort out who was there.”

  “Did you listen and recognize Luke’s voice?”

  “I haven’t talked to Luke in years. I can’t be sure.”

  In other words, he suspected one of the callers was Luke.

  “You have to face reality here, Sarah.” CJ rubbed the stubble on his jaw. “Two men are dead. Both with similarities. Both with some tie to Luke.”

  “Luke wouldn’t do this.”

  “The boy you knew growing up wouldn’t, but Luke’s a man. A veteran. You don’t know him anymore. War changes people. Maybe it changed him.”

  There was no point in arguing. I opened the door, exhausted from all that had gone on. CJ grabbed my hand.

  “Are we okay?” he asked.

  “Yes.” I hoped it was true, but my fence mending wasn’t over by a long shot.

  Chapter 14

  I had to go home before I continued my search for Luke. I had to find him. I was surprised CJ hadn’t told me to stay out of it. Was he too tired or overwhelmed to remember? Or maybe he thought I really did know where Luke was and had lied to him. I glanced in my rearview mirror. No one was following me, unless they were really, really adept at their job. I shook my head, knowing I was too tired to think straight. But I drove a circuitous route through town instead of taking a direct route home.

  It was one-thirty in the morning by the time I got back to my apartment. I quickly took shots of the lists from Luke’s notebook and sent them to CJ. He texted back a thanks. I reread the list. Ethan’s name was on it too. It hadn’t meant anything to me when I’d seen it earlier. Oh, Luke what have you done? After studying the other names on the list I changed into black yoga pants and my black Celtics sweatshirt, made a big pot of coffee, and when it finished brewing, I poured the coffee into a thermos after downing a quick cup. I crept down the stairs as quietly as I could. I figured Awesome was still working, but just in case he was with Stella, I didn’t want him to hear me leave.

  Stella. I wondered how mad she was going to be when I told her the truth about Luke staying in the extra apartment and at the Callahans’. I’d have to face that problem tomorrow. Make that later today.

  I drove through a very quiet Bedford. Not unusual in and of itself because most nights were quiet in the little towns around here. This area wasn’t renowned for its nightlife. Still, it was quieter than I’d expect for a night when the police knew a potential murderer was on the loose. I followed a road that took me near the VA. Near the cell tower that the ping from Luke’s phone had come from. It yielded me nothing.

  I pulled onto the VA grounds, looking left and right as if Luke would suddenly materialize. Beam him down, Scotty. I passed by the big brick houses where some of the staff lived. A couple houses had porch lights on, but other than that, they were dark. I tried to puzzle out if there was any connection between Mr. Spencer and Ethan other than they were both veterans. One lived on the streets, one happily married. Well, married anyway. Both had had large amounts of cash with them at the time of their death. Neither of those things answered any of my questions.

  The hospital buildings were on my ri
ght. More lights were on there. I doubted Brad would be working at this hour or that he’d answer any of my questions if he was. I continued on the road and took a left, driving by a construction site. Last October, there had been a fire here, burning down creepy, old chicken coops. Now, low-income housing was going up. Behind the chain-link fence, the buildings were taking shape with walls and roofs but not windows or doors. Fog formed, dimming the light from the sparsely spaced streetlights. I slowed down, wishing I had a searchlight like James did on his patrol car.

  The road dead-ended. I did a five-point turn to get the Suburban back around. My cell phone rang as I headed back down the road. I grabbed it, hoping it wasn’t CJ outside of my apartment door wondering where the heck I was.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “What are you doing out here?”

  Luke. I slammed on my brakes and craned my head in all directions but didn’t see him. “Where are you?” I asked. “The police are tracking your phone.”

  “Not this one.”

  I shook my head, wondering how many phones he had.

  “Can we talk for a few minutes before you call CJ? I know you have to tell him I’m here,” he said.

  “Okay. We talk, then we find Vincenzo, and then go to CJ. Promise?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, what?” I asked, remembering all too well the times he’d tricked me with his logic when we were kids.

  “Yes, I promise we’ll talk, find Vincenzo, and then CJ. I’m in the last unit. There’s a hole in the fence just down from you.”

  “You want me to come there? Come here. My car’s warm.”

  “I need your help. I sprained my ankle. It puffed out so much I took my boot off and I can’t get it back on.”

  “How the heck did that happen?”

  “I slipped on a board hurrying down the stairs of this place.”

  “Oh for pity’s sake,” I grumbled. “I’ll come.” Luke and I had gotten each other out of so many scrapes when we were kids. What was one more?

  I used the flashlight on my phone to find the gap in the fence. I ignored the NO TRESPASSING signs as I crawled through the hole. My sweatshirt snagged on the chain link as if it were warning me to stop what I was doing. I worked free and walked down to the last unit. At least I managed not to trip on the rutted ground or step on one of the nails that littered the place.

  I stepped inside. It smelled of freshly sawed wood, and cool spring air.

  “Over here,” Luke called.

  He sat on the steps leading upstairs. For a moment, I stared down at him. Part of me wanted to yell at him and part of me wanted to protect him. It wasn’t unlike how I’d felt most of the time I was growing up. I plopped down next to him. In the dim light, I could tell he looked as tired as I felt. He hugged me tight and I almost couldn’t breathe. It was then I realized he was shaking.

  “I found your notebook with the list of names and cities. Some of them were crossed off. CJ’s name was on there and Seths, the DA’s. Why?”

  “I always study who’s in charge when I’m in the middle of an investigation. Usually to make sure I can turn over evidence when I have it. But sometimes it’s to make sure they aren’t involved in something they shouldn’t be.”

  “And which is it here?”

  “They’re both clean.”

  That was a relief. “Let me see your ankle.”

  Luke stuck out his foot and rolled up his pant leg. I shined my light on the puffy, red skin.

  “Something else to add to your troubles,” I muttered.

  “What troubles?”

  “They found your fingerprints in the Spencers’ garage.”

  Luke picked up his boot and tried to put it back on, but winced with pain. He didn’t deny being there.

  “And Ethan’s dead.” I wanted to see his reaction. He stared at me.

  “No. How?” he asked. The vein that always popped out on his forehead when he was angry throbbed madly.

  “I’m not sure.” Tears swarmed my eyes. “When I first saw him, I was sure it was you.”

  Luke slung an arm over my shoulders. “I’m sorry. I keep screwing up. Ethan was supposed to meet me here tonight.”

  “What? Why this place?”

  “He’s been camping out here at night. The walls provide a bit of shelter. But he insisted it had to be here.”

  This was a dark, creepy place. “I don’t like that. Let me help you stand and let’s go.” I held out my arm. Luke gripped it and stood, but he couldn’t put any weight on his foot. I picked up his boot and had him sling his arm over my shoulder.

  A creak from the back of the house interrupted us. Luke shoved me behind him. We both held our breath and heard another creak. Someone was back there.

  Luke whirled around and shoved me out in one motion. “Run,” he yelled.

  I did, stumbling over the uneven ground until I came to the hole in the fence. This time, I slithered right through. A bright light blinded me.

  “Stop,” a man’s voice shouted.

  A sudden image of Luke and I playing red light, green light in our driveway with the neighborhood kids flashed through my mind. Only this was no game and I couldn’t see who was on the other end of the light.

  “What are you doing here, miss?” the man asked.

  Oh, thank heavens it was security instead of a bad guy. My knees almost gave out. I put my hand in front of my face, trying to block the light and see whom I was dealing with.

  “You’re trespassing.”

  “Would you lower the light please?” I realized I didn’t really know it was security. It dropped a bit, and I could make out a man in a uniform with a VA security car behind him. “Could you call Brad Carson or CJ Hooker? Please?” I added when I saw the man shake his head. “They can vouch for me.”

  “Stay right there. I’ll make a call.” He climbed in the car and got on a cell phone. His thick beard and mustache made it hard to read his expression, especially with a ball cap pulled low over his forehead. What if whomever he was talking to said to turn me over to the police? I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but he watched me the whole time and shrugged a couple of times.

  I strained to listen for sounds of Luke, but heard only the whisper of wind gusting around the construction site. Should I tell the security guard Luke was still in the house? If someone else from security had found him, why weren’t they dragging him over to us? Even worse, what if whomever Luke was investigating had found him? I was lucky to have run into security.

  After he hung up, he came back to me. “I’ll take you to Mr. Carson’s office. He and Chief Hooker will meet us there.”

  “Can I follow you there?” I gestured toward the Suburban.

  He gave me a stern look. “You’re lucky I’m not taking you to the Bedford Police. The car will be fine for now, or if you give me your keys, I can have someone drive it over to the admin building.”

  I dug around for my keys and handed them to him. “Thanks.” He held the front passenger door open for me, shutting it gently after I hopped in.

  As he started the car, I heard a noise from the backseat. Something soft looped around my neck. It tightened and my brain couldn’t catch up with what was happening. The pressure increased and I struggled to breathe. I tried to wedge my fingers between the soft material and my throat but they wouldn’t cooperate and my hands fell weakly to my lap. CJ would be so mad at me for getting into the car with a stranger.

  Chapter 15

  Bright sunlight streaming through my bedroom curtains woke me. I grabbed my phone. 10 a.m. I swallowed. My throat hurt as if someone had taken a rake to it. Memories of last night shoved to the surface. I tossed off my covers. A quick glance down told me I was dressed in the same clothes as last night. I leaped out of bed and ran to the mirror over my dresser. I yanked the black sweatshirt over my head. A large bruise ringed my throat. I gripped my dresser and stared. The last thing I remembered was sitting in the security man’s car with dots in front of my eyes thinking about CJ
. How had I ended up back here in my bed?

  I dialed 911 before I crept out into the hall. I peeked into my bathroom. Clear. And then peered around the corner into the living room. What if someone was still here? The room was empty. As was the kitchen. I hustled over to the window. My Suburban was parked in its spot in the driveway. My purse and car keys sat on top of the trunk I used for an end table. My stomach twisted, and for a minute, I felt like I was going to be sick. Someone had knocked me out, driven me back here, and tucked me into my bed. Who? I finally realized a tinny voice was emitting from my phone.

  “Where’s your emergency?” a woman asked sharply. I heard her say to someone, “Get a car over to 111 Oak Street. It’s the chief’s wife. Something’s wrong.” My phone number was registered with the police department. Then to me, “What’s your emergency?”

  “This is . . .” My voice rasped. It hurt to talk. “Sarah Winston. I need to speak to CJ.” I filled her in as best I could.

  “I’ve got a car dispatched and will send the chief.”

  * * *

  I opened my front door and slumped onto the couch waiting, remembering the events of last night. I drew my knees to my chest and clasped my arms around them. Oh, Luke. What had they done to him? Why had they let me go? Sirens blared, car doors slammed, and footsteps pounded up the stairs. Pellner arrived first, followed by CJ. Stella ran in after them.

  CJ looked at her. “Not now, Stella.”

  Stella looked at me.

  “Stay,” I managed to say. CJ frowned but didn’t argue.

  CJ turned his full attention to me. He spotted the ring of bruises around my neck and his face went white. He froze. Stella paled too when she saw the damage done to my neck. Pellner stepped around them, kneeled down, and moved my head gently up. “I’ll call an ambulance.”

  “No,” I said.

  CJ lifted me into his arms, hugging me. The stubble on his face scratched my cheek but was somehow reassuring. I slid out of his arms and sat on the couch.

  “What happened?” CJ asked.

  Stella headed toward my kitchen. “I’ll make some tea. It will be good for your throat.”