Ben rolled his eyes. “I know.” A sly, almost cocky smile spread across his face. “And hey, there’s lots of women out there, right? Now that I’ve proven I can afford a place of my own, maybe they’ll come rolling in.”
It was my turn to give him a big eyeroll. “Or maybe you’ll start to be a little pickier.”
He laughed. “Stranger things have happened.”
I was going to let him go about his business, when I remembered we had yet to talk about our nighttime visitor. “What happened with Jack last night?”
Ben’s smile faded. “We talked. He’s had it pretty rough lately, you know? He can’t keep a job, which is why he was here, obviously.” He actually blushed, as if Jack was somehow his responsibility. “I tried to talk some sense into him, but I’m not sure if it’ll do much good. He doesn’t have anyone in his life to help him out of his bad situation.”
I wasn’t surprised. Too many people turned their backs on those who need help. The same went for pets. It made me wonder why kindness was so hard to come by sometimes. “What are you going to do?” I asked.
“I’m not sure.” Ben raked his fingers through his hair. “I asked him where he was staying, thinking that I might stop by every now and again to see how he’s doing, but he said he doesn’t have a place to stay. Not a house, anyway.”
“He’s homeless?” I asked, my stomach dropping. I knew Jack was bad off, but didn’t realize it was so bad.
“Yeah. He’s living out of a tent. I guess there’s a camp in town where others in similar situations go to sleep and hang out.”
It was like a slap to the side of the head. “Is this tent camp on Ash Road?”
Ben nodded. “That’s the one. Why? Do you know it?”
I didn’t answer him right away. When I’d delivered Sheamus, I’d seen the camp. It was within viewable distance from Joe Danvers’s home, but I hadn’t put together exactly what it was. I’d mostly forgotten about it, in fact.
“Jack might have seen something,” I said. Or did something, I added silently. There had been evidence of a break-in at Joe’s place. Could Jack be involved in this somehow?
“Mom?” Ben looked concerned. “What are you talking about?”
“The murder. It took place right across the street from this camp. I need to talk to Jack.” I stood. “He might have seen who killed Joe.”
Ben rose with me. “I’m coming with you.”
I started to tell him to stay home, but realized it might be a good idea to have Ben with me. Not only would he serve as protection in case someone there did have something to do with the murder, but Jack was also his friend. If anyone could get something out of him, it was Ben.
“All right,” I said. “But you’re driving.”
Ben grinned. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
* * *
The camp was mostly empty when we arrived. Tents were still pitched, but many of them were empty. A stray shoe lay a dozen yards from the road, but otherwise the area was clean of debris. Not a discarded plastic bottle or pop can was in sight.
Wary eyes watched us from the few occupied tents as Ben and I made our way into the camp on foot. A fire that had burned down to embers sat off to the side. It was tended by a pair of girls I swore had to be sixteen or under. They watched us with eyes so solemn, it broke my heart.
“Jack said his tent is the red one at the far edge of camp.” Ben pointed to the tent in question.
On the drive over, I’d taken a few minutes to look into the campsite. It was owned by a wealthy farmer, C. J. Adams, who’d all but retired. Instead of selling off his fields, however, he’d loaned the space to the homeless of Grey Falls. We didn’t have nearly as many homeless in town as a bigger city might, but a quick count of the tents told me we had more than enough.
The flaps to Jack’s tent were closed. I allowed Ben to take the lead as we neared. The tent looked old and well-used. I didn’t know if it was because Jack had been living out of it for a long time, or if he’d nicked it from someone’s trash. Either way, it was an upsetting sight. I’d known him when he was just a kid, had spent hours with him at my house. It was hard to believe someone I knew was having such a hard time of it now.
Ben approached the flaps, and since he couldn’t knock to see if Jack was in, he merely called his friend’s name in a hushed voice.
The tent opened and a bedraggled Jack Castle crawled out. He looked a little better than when I’d last seen him, but that wasn’t saying much. He looked at us with red-rimmed eyes that didn’t seem to want to focus. It took a moment for recognition to kick in.
“Ben?” He looked to me, confusion growing. “Liz? What are you doing here?”
Ben glanced back at me. I nodded at him to go on. Along with looking into the camp, I’d briefed him on the way over on what I wanted to know. I figured the less I said, the easier it might be to convince Jack to talk.
“I have a few questions for you, Jack,” Ben said. “Do you think you can do a little remembering for me?”
“Yeah, sure.” He grinned, exposing teeth in serious need of a dentist. “What do you need?”
Ben patted him on the shoulder and then guided him a few steps away from his tent. From there, he had a clear view of Joe’s driveway. Ben pointed. “You see that drive over there?”
Jack squinted, but nodded. “Sure do.”
“Couple days back, a guy was killed in the house at the end of the drive. Do you remember that happening?”
Jack’s face turned solemn as he nodded again. “Police showed up. Started asking everyone questions about it.”
“Did they talk to you?” Ben asked.
“Nah.” Jack grinned. “I saw them coming and decided to take a walk. I wasn’t interested in talking to the cops.”
“No one came back to talk to you after ward?” Ben asked.
“Some big detective guy showed up a few times, but I made sure to make myself scarce each time. I didn’t need no one browbeating me, you know? It wasn’t like I did anything.” He glanced away at that.
“Jack,” Ben said, obviously catching the gesture. “What aren’t you telling me?”
Jack shrugged, wouldn’t meet anyone’s eye. “I’ve been to the house before. Thought, at first, that was what the cops wanted.”
“You broke in?” Ben asked.
Jack stared at his feet. It was answer enough.
Ben glanced at me, so I took over.
“You aren’t in trouble for breaking in,” I said. “But if you know anything about what happened to Joe, we need to know.”
Jack’s face screwed up as if it was hard for him to think. It probably was. “Joe?”
“The man who lived at the end of the driveway,” Ben said.
“Oh. I never knew his name.”
“How long ago did you break in?” Ben asked. “Did you see anything while you were there? Take something?”
Jack scuffed his shoe in a patch of dirt. “I don’t want to talk about it. Mr. Adams won’t let me stay if he finds out.” He finally looked up with pleading eyes. “Please, don’t tell him. I have nowhere else to go. I promise I’ll stop.”
“It’s all right, Jack,” Ben said. “We won’t tell.” He looked at me.
“No, we won’t.”
“I didn’t take anything of value. The guy came home and I ran. All I did was get inside and start to look around. Decided against going back after that. Didn’t know if he had an alarm system or anything.”
I supposed that explained why the break-in hadn’t been reported. If nothing was missing, and if Jack had closed the door on his way out, there was a chance Joe hadn’t even realized someone had been in his house.
“Look, I was desperate,” Jack went on. “Liz. Ben. I’m sorry I broke in to your place. It was a mistake, one I wish I could take back.”
“It’s all right, Jack,” Ben said. “We understand.”
Jack wiped a hand across his eyes. He looked as miserable as he sounded. I truly believed he was sorr
y for his actions.
“Forget about the break-in, and think about the other night instead. Did you see anything strange that day?” Ben asked, shifting the questions back to the murder itself. “Like, before the police showed up.”
“No.” Jack started to shake his head, but stopped. “Wait.”
I took an involuntary step toward him. “Did you see something?” I asked.
“I’m not sure.” Jack jammed his fists into his eyes as if he could knock the memory free by sheer force. “I didn’t see no people, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“All right,” Ben said. “If not a person, then what did you see?”
“A car.” Jack pointed toward the road. There was no car there now, but I knew what he meant. “Drove by real slow-like.”
My mind immediately shot to Erik and his fear of meeting his dad. Could that have been what Jack had seen? “What did the car look like?” I asked.
“Fancy.” Jack crossed his arms. “A rich-guy vehicle. Think it was one of those Mercedes or something.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. Erik most definitely didn’t drive anything close to a Mercedes.
“Positive,” Jack said. “It was black, and since it was at night, it was hard to see details. But I’m positive it was a nice, fancy car that drove by. Never see cars like that around here. It’s why I remembered it.”
Ben and I shared a look. Pieces were slowly falling into place, but were they the right pieces? There were tons of fancy cars out there, and I was afraid that too many details were coming from unreliable sources. Would the police accept anything Jack had to say? Or would they dismiss it out of hand, just because of his current living situation?
“All right, thanks, Jack,” Ben said. “You’ve been a big help.”
Jack smiled, though it was sad. “It’s good to be useful for something every now and again. It doesn’t happen much these days.”
Ben glanced at me to see if I had more questions, but I shook my head.
“Stay warm, all right? I’ll see you soon.” Ben patted Jack on the shoulder and then started to walk away, but I lingered. After a brief, internal struggle, I fished out a twenty and handed it to Jack.
“Get something hot to eat,” I told him.
A genuine tear formed in his eye as he took the money. He nodded once, and was clearly too overcome to speak.
I left him then, hoping that the money ended up in the hands of a waitress somewhere, not at the nearest bar. I was still mad at Jack for breaking in to my house, but I wasn’t heartless. He needed help, and if nothing else, I could make sure he didn’t starve.
Ben was standing outside the van. He gave me an approving smile, mouthed “thank you,” and then, together, we climbed in and headed for home.
21
“Good morning,” I said as I filled the dishes on the floor. “Sleep well?”
Both Wheels and Sheamus looked up at me like I was crazy before they both dug in.
“Guess so.”
I threw together a quick breakfast and ate it alone. Ben and Amelia were up at first light, which was becoming a trend with both of them these days. I’d hoped to talk to Ben a bit more about what he was going to do about the house—and quite possibly, Jack—but it could wait until he wasn’t so busy.
Manny had come in after I’d gone to bed and didn’t say a word. I vaguely remember waking up briefly when he’d lain down, but I’d drifted off almost immediately afterward. He was still out, sprawled across the bed like he’d desperately needed sleep, and while I was curious to know how his pet emergency had gone, like Ben’s house, it was something that could wait.
The clink of the spoon in my bowl of cereal sounded loud in the nearly quiet house. The only other sounds were coming from the kitchen, where the cats were eating, side by side. Sheamus sniffled as he ate, but his sneezing had calmed down considerably from when I’d first picked him up. It would never go away completely, but that was all right. In some ways, his little sneezes were cute.
I finished eating and deposited my bowl into the sink about the same time the cats finished up their meals. Sheamus sauntered from the room as soon as he was done and plopped down on the couch to wash his face. Wheels made her way over to me and wound around my feet the best she could with her wheels catching my ankles every few seconds.
“Give Daddy lots of love when he gets up,” I told her, kneeling so I could run a hand down her back. I checked to make sure her harness wasn’t rubbing her skin raw, and then checked her wheels. Everything was fine, as it always was. “I’m going to be gone when he gets up, so I need you to take care of him, okay?”
Wheels purred and rammed her head into my shin. I took that for a yes.
I scribbled Manny a note to let him know where I was going, grabbed my keys and purse, and then was out the door.
The day was overcast, but it didn’t feel like it was going to rain. Joanne was sitting on her front steps, watching the neighborhood with a mug of coffee in hand. She started to rise when she saw me, but changed her mind and sat back down. I hoped that meant she didn’t have anything to complain about, which would be a change. I raised a hand to her, and she returned the gesture slowly, as if uncertain of my intent.
“Just being neighborly,” I said under my breath as I climbed into my van.
I was going to make the best of the day, no matter what. Between the murder, Courtney, Chico, Jack, and finding Sheamus a new home, I’d been near tearing my hair out. I was done overstressing. Courtney and Chico had been dealt with. Jack was, well, Jack. Sheamus would find his furever home soon enough—and it’s not like I was anxious to be rid of him, anyway.
And the murder? Admittedly, the investigation wasn’t going as smoothly as it could be, but it wasn’t like I was a detective or anything. I was merely doing my part as a concerned citizen—and a mom.
I found myself whistling as I drove. There were a few concerns I wanted to alleviate, and then I could go on with the rest of my day. If I could manage to ease my mind about Chester’s role in Joe’s death, then I thought I could focus solely on Sheamus’s well-being, and maybe have a nice, quiet day at home with my husband for once—if I could talk him into taking the day off from work, that was. I think we both needed a little quiet relaxation.
I parked two spaces down from Chester’s office, right behind Amelia’s car. She’d been putting in a lot of time at work and I was beginning to wonder if she’d ever finish college, or if she planned on transitioning straight to private investigator once she learned the ropes and got her license. I assumed Chester was paying her for her work, but I’d never outright asked her. I wasn’t entirely sure it was my place to ask.
Amelia was sitting at one of the desks just inside the office. She didn’t so much as glance up from her laptop as I entered. She was staring at the screen with an intensity that would melt steel. Her earbuds were in, music turned up so I could hear it by the door, which was why she hadn’t heard me enter.
I slipped quietly by her since what I wanted to ask Chester was between the two of us. I didn’t want to upset Amelia, not when it could be prevented with a private one-on-one.
I knocked gently on Chester’s closed office door.
“Come on in, Amelia,” he said. “Did you find anything?”
I opened the door just enough to slip in, keeping an eye on Amelia to make sure she didn’t see me, and then closed the door behind me once I was safely inside.
“Oh, Mrs. Denton.” Chester rose from his desk. I noted he was wearing a suit that looked an awful lot like the same suit he’d worn the last time I’d seen him. As I’d noted when Penelope had pointed him out, it looked new. “I wasn’t expecting you today.”
“Call me Liz,” I said absently, though at this point, I doubted it would do any good. Some habits did die hard.
“Liz, right.” He smiled and then motioned to a chair. “What can I do for you today?”
I sat with deliberate slowness so I could gather my thoughts before speaking. What would I do
if my concerns proved justified? There was no way Amelia would listen to me if I warned her off working with Chester. Her stubbornness would get in the way; it was a trait she’d gotten from me.
“I talked to Penelope Pringle,” I said. “Christine’s friend.”
He folded his hands on his desk. “Did she have anything enlightening to say?”
“I’m not sure.” There was no good way to go about asking him, so I just said it. “She, like a few others I’ve talked to, mentioned seeing someone wearing a suit talking to Christine before her disappearance. Ida Priestly also mentioned a man coming to see her, both after Christine vanished and then again recently.” Though Ida had described her man as being rough around the edges, not a man wearing a suit. “Penelope pointed you out, saying your suit was similar to what she remembered.”
The only reaction I got out of Chester was a slight widening of his eyes. “I see.”
I fidgeted, uncomfortable by his stare, though I think it was mostly because of the twinge of guilt I felt for even thinking he could have had anything to do with Christine’s disappearance or Joe’s death.
Chester seemed to note my discomfort, because he visibly eased as he sat back with a smile. “I understand your concern,” he said. “And while I approached all the women you mentioned in the course of my investigation, I only did so in the name of finding the truth.”
“You didn’t know Christine before she vanished?” I asked.
“No, I did not.” He kept his smile in place, but I noted a flash of pain in his eyes. “I never did get the chance to meet her. Joe came to me once he realized she was gone. It was the first time I’d met him as well. I’ve spent so much time on the case, I do feel like I’ve known the both of them forever, but no, I had no contact with either of them before Christine left town.”
I was taking him at his word, but boy, hearing him say it made me feel a whole lot better. “Do you have any idea who this man in a suit might be?” I asked, my mind going straight to Martin Castor, but I wanted to hear Chester say it.
“I wish I did.” His smile slid from his face. “You said someone told you Christine was talking to this suited man before she vanished? No one ever said anything to me.”
Dial 'M' for Maine Coon Page 18
