Finn said, “Tell you more about what?” He turned to Tom. “What did Nolan do to you, Tom?”
I said, “I can explain a few things while they’re gone—if it’s okay, Tom?”
He smiled sadly and my heart ached for all the trouble both Tom and Finn had been through in the last few days. He said, “I’d appreciate it.”
Liam, Tom and Candace left.
“Okay, tell me about Tom. Tell me why he never called last night,” Finn said, once the back door closed. He sat back down on the couch and picked up a piece of cold toast, but just stared at it.
Yoshi pressed close to his side.
I explained how Tom had to stay at the police station last night, mostly because processing a crime scene doesn’t take an hour like you see on TV. Tom’s car had been involved, not to mention a man he disliked intensely was dead, so naturally they needed his statement. I decided going into the details of what Nolan Roth did to Tom could wait—for now. Between the concussion and being considered a suspect in a murder, Finn had enough to deal with.
When I was finished explaining, Finn said, “But Tom didn’t do anything wrong. Why keep him at a police station practically all night? That’s not right.”
Oh, to be eighteen again and think the world should be fair. I said, “This is a small town with very few officers. It just took a long time to find out exactly what happened to Mr. Roth. Deputy Carson wasn’t being intentionally mean to Tom.”
“I guess that makes sense.” He finally looked at me. “Are you for real?”
“For real?” I gathered coffee mugs and set them on the breakfast bar.
“I mean, you act like you believe me when I say I can’t remember how I got hurt, but are you just being nice?”
“I’ve learned to trust my instincts now that I’m an old lady,” I said with a laugh. “Those instincts tell me you, my friend, wouldn’t shoot anyone.”
“You’re not an old lady,” he said. “Okay, not that old.”
I smiled. “I’m old enough to ask for help. Help me with the clean up?”
Finn gathered mugs and dishes while Yoshi passed out on the throw rug near the utility room. Poor dog had been on high alert for a good long while.
I noticed Chablis slink into the living room. The kitchen and living room area was the sunniest place in late morning and she wasn’t about to miss a sunbath. She joined Merlot and Syrah on the window seat. So funny to see them banded together. They never hung out so close to one another for nap time. It must be the dog’s presence.
Finn poured the last of the milk into his glass. Then he sat on the window seat next to the cats and petted each one while he drank. Merlot turned his big body over for a belly rub, a move that practically shoved poor Chablis right off the cushions.
Meanwhile, I sat at the mosaic-tiled table in the kitchen nook and started a shopping list that included clothes for Finn as well as groceries. I hadn’t planned on restocking the fridge since I was committed to one more craft show this coming Friday. It would only be an overnight trip, but I’d wanted to delay the dreaded grocery shopping until I returned. Not now. I might be able to live on yogurt and toast and frozen meals, but not this kid.
I’d just finished writing “dog food” when I heard a quick knock at the back door. Before I could even get halfway across the kitchen, my stepdaughter, Kara, walked in and stopped in her tracks when she saw the dog.
Yoshi came to attention and barked repeatedly. Already playing watch dog, I thought. His barks sent my three cats running for cover.
“Who’s this?” Kara knelt to greet the dog. Her dark, shoulder-length hair hung loose and she wore jeans, an oatmeal-colored sweater and brown knee-high boots. Yoshi sniffed her boots and then put a paw on her knee in greeting.
“This is my house guest, Yoshi.” I made a sweeping gesture toward Finn. “He belongs to Finn.”
Finn offered a “Hey,” but didn’t make eye contact.
Once I’d introduced Kara to Finn, he said, “Mind if I lie down?”
“Is the headache back?” Maybe Finn needed a follow-up visit to a doctor sooner rather than later.
“Nah. I’m just tired,” he said.
“You’ve been through a lot. Good idea to get some rest,” I said. He had to be overwhelmed by one new person after another coming through my door.
Finn tapped his chest with his palm and said, “Yoshi, come.”
The dog raced to him and Finn opened his arms. Yoshi jumped up into them and they left for the guest room.
“He’s Tom’s stepson, huh? He looks like he could use some serious z’s.” Kara walked to the fridge and opened it, then looked puzzled. “What? No tea?”
“Haven’t had a chance to make any more. But who told you about Finn?” I said.
“I do own the newspaper, Jillian,” she said with a smile. “Anyway, I was a little on edge after your call yesterday and I tried to reach Tom myself. He never answered his cell, but some guy at his house picked up on the landline.”
I closed my eyes. “You talked to Bob.”
“Yup. If there’s no tea, how about coffee?” She peered toward the pot and seeing there were still a few inches of coffee, got herself a mug. As she poured, she said, “Tom never mentioned any brother. I wasn’t sure I believed the guy I talked to. But he told me there’d been an accident and Tom left to go help or something. He mentioned Finn being with you two. I started to ask him more questions, but I had to hang up because Shondra was on the other line. She told me she’d heard about a wreck on her police scanner, just like Bob said.”
“He’s a half brother, by the way,” I said. “He was a secret; Finn was a secret. Tom apparently can compartmentalize his past. Kind of a guy thing, I’ve decided. But who’s Shondra?”
“Thought I told you about her. I’ve gotten so tired of listening to the police scanner spew information about fender benders or cows in the road or Jet Ski thefts, I hired her as an assistant at the paper. One of her jobs? Listen to the scanner. She’s young and just started out at the community college in communications. You’ll like her.”
“Maybe we can all have lunch one day.” What a dumb thing to say, I thought. “Will you listen to me? All sorts of bad things are happening and I’m talking about having lunch.”
“You want to share these bad things?” she said.
“I do. But only as your stepmother and friend, not as a source for a story,” I said.
Kara frowned. “You know I’ve changed since moving here from Houston. I would never expect you to be a source.”
“I didn’t think so, but I’m pretty rattled by all that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours. Tom’s had all sorts of trouble, Finn got hurt, a man was murdered.”
“Murder, huh? I was pretty sure Candace was leaving out something about the wreck. She’ll only be able to keep a murder under wraps for another few hours. This town is never far behind the truth.” She walked around the bar, into the living room and sat in her late dad’s recliner. How we both loved that chair.
I followed, settling on the sofa. Chablis was in my lap in an instant. The scary dog was gone for now and she would take full advantage. I stroked her and she began to purr.
“Finn is the reason Tom went off the radar. Talk to me about him, Jillian,” Kara said.
I explained that Finn ran away and how Tom ended up being abducted and beaten up by Nolan, who thought Tom was hiding the boy. Then I told her how, after Tom had gotten away from Nolan, he and I had found Finn walking in the direction of Tom’s house. I also mentioned Lydia’s visit last night. “She told me the driver they found in Tom’s car was Nolan Roth—the very same man who grabbed Tom and beat him up. He didn’t die in the accident. He was shot to death.”
She said, “Tell me again why this guy was in Tom’s car.”
“Tom escaped from Nolan and left everything behind—his car, his phone, his wallet—everything but the clothes on his back.”
“Wow. Bet Tom is mad at himself for letting this guy get t
he jump on him,” Kara said.
“You should see his poor face,” I said.
“I caught a glimpse of him at the scene yesterday when my photographer and I were there for the story. But Morris was keeping us so far away from the accident, I didn’t notice any injuries. Will he be okay?”
“He’ll be fine—or so he says. I’m more worried about Finn and any post-concussion problems. Worried about why he had blood on his shirt, too.”
“Could this kid have had something to do with the murder, then?” Kara asked.
“You know Candace,” I said. “She has to run down every lead and every bit of evidence. You ask me, Finn doesn’t have a criminal fiber in his being.”
She set her coffee on the end table beside the chair. “What you believe in your heart and what the evidence will show might be very different. No matter what, I’ll help you and Tom and Finn any way I can.”
I felt the tight muscles in my neck relax and smiled. “Thanks. Both Tom and Finn have been through the mill.”
“Are you including the arrival of his brother, Bob the Perv, as part of going through the mill?” she said.
My eyes widened. “Wait a minute. If you’re giving him that name, you’ve met him in person,” I said.
“Oh yes. I stopped by Tom’s house this morning to talk to the house guest. Turns out, Bob’s a chatty guy. As a reporter, I do appreciate the talkative ones, but as a female, I do not appreciate him. He wouldn’t stop flirting, or making comments that he thought I might find charming. Boy, was he wrong to think I was the least bit charmed.”
“The man got on my bad side right away, too. He allowed Tom’s cat to get out and poor Dashiell nearly died.” I felt in my pocket for my phone. “Speaking of Dashiell, I need to find out how he’s doing this morning.”
“And I need to make tea. Coffee just isn’t enough.” She rose and went to the kitchen.
After I learned Dashiell was doing well and could go home anytime, I disconnected. Go home? Not yet. Not with Tom there delivering a gun to the police. I’d have to talk to him about his cat—and soon.
“Maybe you can enlighten me,” I said while Kara boiled water and filled pitchers with tea bags and cane sugar syrup. “I don’t know much about the wreck. Where did it happen?”
Kara cocked her head. “You haven’t read the paper? I am shocked and dismayed.” She smiled. “Out in the boondocks on Brown Road. Pretty nasty accident. Car hit a telephone pole. Hard to tell if the driver even braked. Of course, if the driver was already dead…”
“And you couldn’t get close enough to see much?”
“Nope. We were so far from the scene my photographer stood on someone’s shoulders to get the photo of Tom’s car we ran in the paper.”
“You didn’t see the dead man?” I said.
“Nope. Glad I didn’t, too. Chief Baca spoke to me and said, and I quote, ‘The driver died at the scene.’ They wouldn’t release his name, which is routine until family is notified. When I get the official word on his identity, we’ll print it.”
“I’ll make sure and get a paper, or… since you offered to help, you could get me a copy and do something else for me—for us,” I said.
“I’m game,” she said.
I handed her my shopping list.
She glanced at what I’d written. “This is easy enough, but can it wait until after I stop by my new house? I have to make sure they’re earning the pretty penny this home is costing me. I’d love to be in by Christmas.”
Kara’s house was being built on acreage at the edge of town. She’d used the money she’d inherited from John to buy the newspaper and build her first house.
“I’ll take Finn out for lunch, so there’s no rush on the groceries,” I said.
“I could pick up Dashiell if you and Tom are tied up,” she said.
“Thanks. I’ll call you for help if Dashiell needs to leave the clinic by a certain time and I can’t make it,” I said.
She finished making the tea, took a travel mug from the cupboard and filled it with ice. She poured herself the tea she’d been craving and was ready to go. I hugged her tightly at the back door and again thanked her for everything.
I’d no sooner closed the door than my cell phone rang. I felt like I was living in Grand Central Station instead of my own little house in rural South Carolina.
It was Candace. Seemed Hilary just arrived at the police station and wanted to see her son.
“Bring Finn here, would you? Because I’m not telling this woman where her son is until I’ve asked her a few more questions.” She sounded like one unhappy deputy.
“Getting Finn to the station to see her might take some serious convincing,” I said.
“Tom came with me after we got the gun at his house. He was talking with the chief when I learned she’d arrived. You want to talk to him and see if he has any ideas on how to get Finn to talk to his mother?”
“No. I’ll tell Finn the truth and say Tom will be around as a buffer.”
“Thanks, Jillian. I’m so tired I can hardly think straight,” she said. “Come as soon as you can, okay?”
After she disconnected, I stood in my kitchen wondering how Finn would react when I told him his mother was in town.
No, I had a pretty good idea how he would react.
My fear was what he might do.
Eleven
No surprise Finn balked at the idea of seeing his mother, so after nothing I said convinced him this would be a good idea, I called the police station and let Tom talk to him. After their chat, a reluctant Finn agreed to go with me, but we rode in stony silence to Mercy PD.
As we walked through the pristine corridors of the old courthouse to the police offices located at the back of the building, Finn remained quiet. However, when we passed a few of Mercy’s less-than-finest citizens hanging around on the benches and chairs outside the door labeled “Mercy Police Department,” his eyes grew wide.
He mumbled “Wow” under his breath.
The smell of unwashed bodies and the droopy-eyed looks of the alcoholics and drug addicts made me tug on Finn’s elbow and we went quickly through that door. A sleepy-looking B.J. was sitting at the desk to our left. He wore a headset and was talking on the phone.
“Yes, ma’am,” he was saying. “We do have a leash law. Let me give you county animal control’s number.”
Sitting on one of the two chairs in the small waiting area was Thelma Reese, a retiree with a big heart. She held a plate of scrumptious-looking coconut cupcakes. I smiled at her and said, “Hey, Thelma. Looks like someone was up early baking.”
“Hey there, Jillian,” she said. “I brought these for Morris, seeing as how he helped me out yesterday. Locked my keys in the Ford 150.”
“Uh-oh. I heard someone say Morris is off duty today,” I said.
Her face crumbled with disappointment. Rumor was Thelma locked her keys in the car on purpose at least once a month so Morris could come to her rescue.
B.J., now off the phone, said, “Take them on over to his place, Thelma. You know how he loves sweets.”
She perked up and rose. “You’re sure it would be all right?”
“Perfectly fine,” B.J. said.
She was out the door so fast I hardly got a whiff of those cupcakes.
Finn said, “Cupcakes? Really? Between that lady and the people outside the door, I feel like I’ve landed on another planet.”
“Not like on TV, huh?” I said.
B.J. said, “Let me buzz Deputy Carson—oops, don’t have to. Here she comes.”
Candace came out of the chief’s office and walked down the short hall in front of us, passing the closed doors I knew were the interrogation rooms.
“Thanks for coming, you two.” She looked at me. “I’ll take it from here.”
Finn stepped back and held up his hands. “Wait a minute. She’s staying with me, right? And where’s Tom? Tom told me—”
“Your mama’s been worried about you,” Candace said.
/> Finn shook his head. “She doesn’t worry about anyone but herself. Tom said she just wanted to see me, not talk to me.”
Candace narrowed her eyes and stared at Finn for a few seconds and then she nodded. “I understand. Come with me.”
Finn didn’t move. “Mrs. Hart, too?”
“Sure,” Candace said. I couldn’t read her expression because she was in total cop mode, but she sounded unbothered by Finn’s request.
“What did my mother tell you?” Finn said as we followed Candace through the ancient wooden gate separating the waiting area from the hall.
“Hang on,” she said, as she opened the door to the first interrogation room.
Before we went inside, I heard a woman call, “Finn. Oh my God, you are okay.”
She came running toward us. She must have been in Chief Baca’s office. She nearly toppled because of her super-high black heels, and was dressed all in black—black wool coat, black tights. Even her hair was such a dark brunette color it was nearly black.
Eyes averted, Finn started to back up, his face ghostly pale.
“Hang on, Finn,” Candace said. “I’ll handle this.” She stood squarely between Finn and the woman I assumed was his mother.
“He’s not ready to talk to you, Mrs. Roth,” Candace said.
Tom appeared in the door of the interrogation room we’d been about to enter. “Stay away from him, Hilary.”
Tom’s ex-wife stared at him in confusion at first and then said, “What happened to you, Tom? Were you in the car with Nolan when—”
“You know damn well what happened to me, Hilary. So—”
I held up a hand, my heart pounding in reaction to this confrontation. In a firm voice, I said, “Tom, why don’t you take Finn with you?”
“Jillian took the words right out of my mouth,” Candace said, nodding her head in the direction of the room Tom had emerged from.
Tom’s anger seemed to dissipate in an instant. He nodded and gestured Finn inside. The door shut after them and I felt as if I could breathe again.
Hilary Roth closed her eyes and shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry if I caused a problem. I’m so glad to see that Finn is all right and so confused by everything that’s happened. I’ve already lost someone I love and—” Her eyes filled. Exquisite, big brown eyes. She raised a gloved hand to her crimson lips. “I’m sorry. I still can’t believe Nolan’s gone.”
The Cat, the Wife and the Weapon: A Cats in Trouble Mystery Page 9
