by Kathi Daley
I laughed again. “That’s a ridiculous name.”
He grinned, looking me in the eye. “But you love it, right?”
I grinned back. “Actually, I kinda do.”
Chapter 2
Tuesday, December 12
It had been a week since Pike’s murder and so far, no one knew anything more than they had on the night I’d found him dead in his cabin. I did speak to Mike the day before, and he let on that he had a strong lead, which could, in fact, lead to a viable suspect, but for some reason he seemed less than thrilled about it. I almost had the feeling he hoped the lead wouldn’t pan out, and that left me feeling a lot more worried than I liked to admit.
I’d never found the mama of the kitten, so I decided to keep him. He really was a cute little guy and Tilly seemed to adore him. As ridiculous as the new Doc Baker’s suggestion of Tangletoe as a name had seemed, it appeared to have stuck, so I started calling him Tang. Tang needed to be fed every four hours at this point, so I fashioned a backpack for him and his supplies that Tilly carried so the kitten could go with us on our rounds. Once Tang got a little older I could leave him home, but for now, bringing him along seemed to be working out fine. He liked riding on Tilly’s back and Tilly didn’t seem to mind carrying him.
I’d just loaded my Jeep with the day’s mail and was preparing to drive to the starting point of my route when I got an SOS from Bree. She wasn’t the sort to make a mountain out of a molehill, so I took the message seriously and called her as soon as I settled Tilly and Tang in the Jeep.
“It’s Tess; what’s wrong?”
“Mike arrested Donny for Pike’s murder.”
Bree’s news was so surprising I didn’t respond immediately.
“Are you there?” Bree asked.
“I’m here,” I answered. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around this. Why would Mike think Donny killed Pike?”
“I don’t know.” I could hear the panic in Bree’s voice. “He said something about evidence and motive, but he didn’t go into detail. You need to talk to Mike. Tell him that Donny would never kill anyone. You have to make him see there’s no reason to lock the poor guy up.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Are you at the bookstore?”
“I’m here, but I haven’t opened yet. I’m not sure I will.”
“I’ll go talk to Mike and then I’ll come by.”
I knew I’d need to hustle to catch up on my deliveries once I’d settled Bree down, but she was my best friend and I couldn’t just leave her to deal with this crisis on her own. I stomped down the inkling that Donny might be guilty and focused on convincing Mike that he wasn’t. When I’d first met Donny, he’d had a look I was drawn to and a certain childlike quality I’d found fun. After we’d dated for a while I’d realized his childlike quality often played out as childish irresponsibility, so when I realized Bree and Donny were attracted to each other, I was more than happy to step aside. Bree is a serious person most of the time, dedicated and hardworking, with little patience for slackers. I figured it would only be a matter of weeks before she realized Donny was a flake and dumped him herself, but they’d been together for almost six months, and if Bree didn’t feel guilty that she had Donny and I had no one, I honestly think they’d be engaged by now.
“Mike in?” I asked his partner, Frank Hudson.
“In the back.”
“He alone?”
Frank nodded.
“Can I leave Tang and Tilly out here with you?”
“I don’t mind if they don’t mind.”
I took Tang out of the backpack and set him on the floor near Tilly and told Tilly to stay before I headed down the hall. Mike was alone in his office when I arrived at his door. He was looking intently at the computer screen and didn’t see me until I spoke. “It looks like your lead paid off.”
Mike looked at me, a frown on his face. “Afraid so. I’m sorry, Tess. I know you used to be sweet on Donny.”
I walked the rest of the way into the office and sat down on the opposite side of the desk. “I’m not sweet on Donny. I’m not sure I ever was. But for some reason Bree is in love with the guy and I’m afraid she’s having a total meltdown.”
“Figured. She was pretty upset when she called earlier. I tried to explain to her why I had to arrest Donny, but she was so upset I don’t think she was listening to what I tried to tell her.”
“I’m not Bree and I’m listening. Why do you think Donny killed Pike?”
Mike hesitated before he answered. I’m sure he was weighing how much to share and how much to hold back, but I just needed something to tell Bree.
“Mike?”
He sighed and ran a hand through his thick brown hair before speaking. “It’s just that this is an open investigation and therefore the details are sensitive, but I suppose Bree deserves to know what’s going on.” Mike leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest, and looked directly at me. I had a feeling he was watching me for my reaction. “After I spoke to you the night you found Pike’s body, I went over to the bar, as you suggested, and spoke to Brick, the bartender. He said it had been quiet that afternoon, with the snow and all, but he’d seen Donny’s truck in the parking lot earlier in the afternoon, though he never came in. I didn’t think much of it at the time. I know Pike’s visitors parked in the lot, but so did a lot of other people shopping in the area who didn’t want to park on the street. Then, two days ago, I had an anonymous tip that Donny had been gambling and owed some very bad people a lot of money.”
“Donny has been going to the casino? After what had happened before, I’d think the news would be all over town.” Donny had a known gambling problem, and while there was a small casino in White Eagle, everyone knew it was in Donny’s best interest to stay away from it. There were plenty of folks who would have called him out on his commitment to working on conquering his addiction.
“Donny has been going down to Missoula on his days off. There’s a guy who runs an illegal high-stakes game in his warehouse. Anyway, from what I heard, he got in pretty deep with a moneylender out of Salt Lake who was threatening bodily harm if he didn’t pay up.”
I took a deep breath, then let the reality of the situation sink in. I slowly counted to ten before continuing the conversation. “Okay, so what does this have to do with Pike?”
“There’s a rumor Pike had quite a lot of money hidden somewhere in his house.”
“Why would he have money hidden in his home?”
“You know Pike. He was an old-timer set in his ways. He didn’t trust banks to hold his social security checks. Why would he trust them with his life savings?”
Mike had a point. Everyone knew Pike came into the bank with his check every month and took the entire amount in cash rather than depositing it into a checking account.
“Okay, so you’re operating under the assumption that Pike’s money was real and somehow Donny found out about it, and he killed Pike to get to the cash so he could pay off the moneylender?”
“Exactly,” Mike confirmed. “At first, I didn’t want to believe it was true, but when I checked with my source, they said Donny’s loan had been paid in full.”
I had to admit that sounded pretty bad. Poor Bree; she was going to be crushed. “Did you ask Donny about the cash?”
“I did. He said he didn’t know Pike all that well and had no idea he had any money in his cabin. I asked him how he managed to pay the moneylender and he said an old friend had given him a loan. When I asked for contact information for the ‘old friend,’ he said he was out of the country and unavailable.”
“Sounds suspicious.”
“I also found Donny’s fingerprints inside Pike’s house. I asked about them, and he said he stopped by to play cards now and then, but that was after he’d told me he didn’t know the man all that well. I know this must be hard for Bree and I’m sorry about that, but I had to arrest him.”
I found I agreed with Mike. It did look like Donny was guilty,
and catching the bad guys and locking them up was what he was paid to do.
I left the police station, pulling the hood of my parka over my hair and heading down the snowy sidewalk with Tang and Tilly. I was going to be so late on my route I had no idea how I was going to catch up, but Bree was waiting for me at the bookstore. I wasn’t sure what I was going to tell her; no matter how much I tried to soften the blow, she wasn’t going to be happy. Based on what Mike had learned, though, it really did look as if Donny could be guilty.
I was so intent on my mission that I barely noticed the festive decorations provided by the town and vendors on Main. Not only did every light post have a bright green wreath wrapped up with a colorful red bow, but red and white lights were strung across the main thoroughfare, creating the feel of a magical Santa’s village. When I arrived at the Book Boutique I noticed Bree had put a note on the door, letting everyone know the store wouldn’t be open today due to a personal emergency. It occurred to me that she might have gone home, but her car was in the lot, so Tilly, Tang, and I went around to the back, where I figured the door to the alley could have been left open.
“Bree,” I called as I entered the store.
“In the office.”
I headed down the hallway to the small room where Bree did her paperwork.
“So?” she asked before I could even release Tang from the backpack.
I searched for the right words. It was obvious to me that Bree had been crying, but her perfectly applied makeup wasn’t smudged in the least, so most people wouldn’t notice. “I’m afraid Mike had a good reason to bring Donny in. It’ll be up to the district attorney to decide whether to hold and charge him, but considering the evidence, I’d be surprised if he didn’t.”
“What evidence?” Bree demanded. “There’s no way he did it.”
I considered what to share and what to hold back. “Did you know Donny had been gambling?”
Bree didn’t answer right away, but I could tell by the look on her face that she’d known about it. I waited for her reply rather than going on.
“I suspected he was gambling,” Bree answered. “It seemed like he was going out of town a lot on his days off. He told me that his mom had been having some health problems, so he was going to Missoula to help her with some household chores, but when he started going almost every weekend I began to get suspicious. At first, I thought he had another girl on the side, but I confronted him and he told me that he loved me and would never do that. He assured me that he really had been staying with his mom, although he said he was also spending time with some of his old friends while he was there. I knew Donny’d had a gambling problem in the past, and when he started to be short of cash quite a lot I began to suspect. But even if that’s true, what does it have to do with anything?”
“Donny’s car was seen in the lot Pike shared with the bar. He didn’t go into the bar, though Mike said it was possible Donny had just parked there to go to another shop in the area. The thing is, he found Donny’s prints inside Pike’s house.”
Bree frowned but didn’t respond.
“At first, Donny told Mike he barely knew Pike, but when Mike asked about the prints he changed his story and told him that he stopped by from time to time to play cards.”
Bree looked at me with the strangest expression on her face. It was hard to know what she was thinking, but her bright blue eyes flashed with fear a split second before her expression changed to annoyance. “When is it a crime to either park in the lot behind the bar or play cards with an old man?”
“It’s long been rumored Pike had a good deal of cash hidden in his house. According to Mike’s source, Donny paid a gambling debt in full a couple of days after Pike was murdered.”
Bree glared at me. “Do you actually think Donny killed Pike and stole his money?”
“Don’t you?”
“Of course not. I know you were hurt when Donny dumped you for me, but to accuse him of something so awful is inexcusable. I thought you were my friend.”
“I am your friend, and just for the record, I dumped Donny, not the other way around. But the fact of the matter is, Donny wasn’t only seen near Pike’s house on the day he died, he seemed to have motive to kill him.”
“Tess Thomas, you’re a mean, horrible person to say such a thing. Get out of my store this minute. I trusted you to help me get Donny free, but you’re as misguided as your brother. If you won’t help me, I’ll prove Donny’s innocence myself.”
I wanted to argue, but I could see this wasn’t the time, and I did have a mail route to get to, so I grabbed my dog and my kitten and headed to my Jeep without saying another word. I drove to the start of the route, slung my mail sack over my shoulder, and Tilly, Tang, and I started down the street at a brisk pace as we tried to make up the hour we’d just wasted attempting to help a friend who was either unable or unwilling to see the truth.
******
“You and Bree have been friends for too long to let this come between you,” my mom said later that day when I stopped by to drop off her mail.
“I agree, but what am I supposed to do? Mike had a good reason to arrest Donny and Bree refuses to even consider he might be guilty.”
“She’s in love with the boy. Love can make you blind.”
I grabbed a soda from the minifridge and popped the top. I’d let Bree’s anger dig at me all day and now I felt like there was a volcano where my stomach should be. “I don’t know what I can do at this point. Bree wanted me to talk Mike out of holding Donny, but the district attorney is involved now, so it’s out of Mike’s hands.”
“I think Bree just wants to know you’re on her side.” Aunt Ruthie entered the conversation after she finished hanging a row of garland around the door. “She’s your best friend, and that should mean something.”
I let out a long groan. “It does mean something. You know how important Bree is to me. I tried to talk to her, but she wasn’t listening to what I was trying to say.”
“Donny is Bree’s boyfriend. She’s in love with him. She isn’t going to let anyone tell her that her love has been misplaced. If she’s going to come to that realization she’s going to have to get there on her own. As her best friend, it isn’t your job to convince her. You need to show her,” Aunt Ruthie stated.
I picked up Tang, who had started to crawl up my leg. “Show her how?”
“She’s your friend, so that’s a question only you can answer,” Mom counseled. “But if you want your relationship to survive, you’ll need to find a way.”
As Tilly, Tang, and I finished our route, I thought about Mom’s words. I supposed she had a point. If it was the man I was in love with who’d been accused of wrongdoing, I’d probably be quick to take his side as well. The evidence Mike had was enough for an arrest, but it was far from conclusive. Maybe I should give Donny the benefit of the doubt until his guilt was either proven or disproven in a court of law. In the meantime, letting Bree know I was on her side and willing to work with her to prove Donny’s innocence was probably the best move I could make.
******
“What are you doing here?” Bree asked when Tilly, Tang, and I showed up at her house that evening.
I held up a box from our favorite pizza joint. “I’m here to apologize.”
Bree glared at me with a look of distrust.
“You were right this morning,” I continued. “You asked me to help you and all I did was try to convince you that Donny was guilty. There are still a lot of things we don’t know about Pike’s death, so it’s way too early in the game to put all our eggs in one basket. If you plan to prove Donny is innocent I’m here to help you do it.”
Bree narrowed her gaze, as if she was trying to decide whether to believe me or not.
“Please,” I begged, “you’re my best friend and I love you. I hate it when we fight.”
Bree smiled, her expression softening. “Okay.” She stepped aside so the animals and I could come through the tile entry of her house. “I hate it
too, and I need the help.”
“Anything you need,” I promised.
“Let’s eat and we can discuss a strategy,” Bree said.
I looked down at Tilly. “I’m sure her paws are wet.”
Bree shrugged. “I’ll grab her bed. If she gets mud on the carpet, I’ll vacuum it up when you leave.”
I waited until Bree fetched the large dog bed and then I settled both Tilly and Tang in for a nap. Bree and I were the closest of friends, but we had very different taste. Bree lived in a small house in town, just two blocks off the main thoroughfare, while I lived in a run-down cabin on a large lot outside town. Bree’s house was of fairly new construction, furnished in a way that communicated a chic sophistication, while my cabin was decorated in a manner I thought of as rustic hodgepodge. Bree had cream-colored carpet, pale blue walls with white crown molding, a blue suede sofa with white pillows, and original art I knew had cost her a fortune, while I had a scuffed wood floor and a variety of tables and chairs I’d been given by friends or had found at the secondhand store.
“Do you know anything more now than what you told me this morning?” Bree asked as she worriedly nibbled on one of her perfectly manicured nails.
“No. I told you everything. Were you able to talk to Donny?”
“No. He’s in holding until his arraignment. They don’t allow visitors in holding. I checked to see if he was eligible for bail, but I was told that would be worked out in arraignment as well.”
“And when will that be?”
“Friday.”
I took a bite of the veggie pizza I’d brought because that was Bree’s favorite. If Donny hadn’t killed Pike—and in my mind that was still a huge if—someone else had. All we needed to do was figure out who else had a motive for wanting the man dead. “Okay, this is what I think we need to do. We both speak to a lot of people during the average day. Everyone in town knew who Pike was. Some liked him, some didn’t. It seems to me if we strike up conversations with the people we meet, someone is sure to say something that will point us in a direction. Was there someone with whom Pike had an altercation recently? Or could there be people who held a grudge against him? Longtime White Eagle residents like Hap would know if there’d been something brewing for a while.”
