The Priority Unit (Maine Justice Book 1)

by Davis, Susan Page

  Jennifer decided Eddie had stood enough. “Excuse me.”

  He turned gratefully toward the doorway. Jennifer ignored his adoring brown eyes and said hesitantly, “Detective … Thibodeau?”

  “Yes.”

  She thought his lips twitched, and she swallowed hard, determined not to laugh. “Your partner asked me to come get you.”

  “Thank you. Very much.” As he turned toward Jane, his look of gratitude melted into contrition. “Excuse me, Miss Morrow. Thanks for your—uh—hospitality.”

  Jennifer turned and strode quickly down the hallway without looking back. As soon as they were out of sight and earshot of the break room, Eddie asked, “Does Harvey really need me?”

  She chuckled. “No. He buzzed me and said you needed extrication.” She stopped before the open doorway to the conference room. “You can wait for him in here if you want.”

  “Jennifer, I owe you big time. How can I repay you?”

  “No need. Although, there is something I’ve been wondering about.” She hadn’t considered confiding in Eddie, but he might be able to enlighten her a little on one thing.

  His dark eyebrows arched in anticipation.

  “Well, you’ve known Harvey a long time.” She stepped into the conference room, and Eddie followed.

  “Five years. What is it?”

  “This table thing.”

  “What table thing?”

  “Harvey told me he needs a table.”

  Understanding broke on Eddie’s face. “Does he ever.”

  “Could you explain that to me?”

  Eddie gulped, then glanced toward the hall, as if embarrassed. “Oh, no, I really shouldn’t.”

  Jennifer considered that for a moment, then turned and shut the door. “Why not?”

  “Well, Harv’s kind of funny about personal stuff. It took him a long time to tell me about things like that.”

  “So, you think I should just wait until he tells me himself?” Her curiosity was deepening.

  Eddie said slowly, “Change is difficult for Harvey.”

  “Change?”

  “You know, new car … new woman … new furniture.”

  She shook her head in confusion. “No, I don’t know, Eddie. I’m not following you at all.”

  “Let me put it this way. It seems like every time I visit his apartment, he has less furniture than the time before.”

  “What do you mean?” Alarm seized her. “It he burning his furniture or what?”

  “No, nothing like that.” Eddie stood silent for a moment, then leaned with one hand on the conference table. “Look, Jennifer, I like you, but I don’t think I should be the one telling you this.”

  “I’m sorry, Eddie. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot. He mentioned getting a table when we go out this weekend, and I just hated to ask him about it. I guess if he wants me to know what it’s about, he’ll tell me. I just … I care, Eddie.”

  He sighed and straightened. “Okay, look. You know Harvey’s wife left him, right?”

  “Yes, he told me about it. Well, some.”

  “Did he tell you Carrie took most of the furniture with her?”

  “No.”

  “Her parents gave them most of it as a wedding present. It was all this antique stuff, out of their attic in Boston. Dining room set, sofa, chairs, a secretary, a china closet. When Carrie left, she had a moving truck come and pack it off.”

  Jennifer thought about that. “That would explain a lot. But, Eddie, it’s been years. Wouldn’t you think he’d have bought new furniture before this?”

  “I know. Like I said, change is difficult for this man.”

  “It’s taken him this long to decide to get a table?”

  “That about sums it up. He bought a new jacket yesterday.”

  “Yes, I noticed.”

  “Highly unusual. But it’s a good thing. And it’s because of you. Meeting your parents jolted him. It takes something major like that. And the night before Carrie’s funeral—” Eddie stopped. Jennifer waited, but he didn’t say anything. He just shrugged uncomfortably.

  “You’re not going to tell me, are you?” she asked with resignation.

  He squirmed a little. “Come on, Jennifer, he’s my best friend. If he tells me something, I’m not supposed to blab.”

  She nodded. “It’s okay.”

  “I gotta say, I think you’re the best thing that ever happened to Harvey.”

  “Thank you, Eddie. That’s very flattering.”

  “It’s true. Six months ago, if something depressing happened, we’d have gone out and got a twelve-pack and gotten plastered together. But now … He says that was another life. He doesn’t want to drink anymore.”

  Jennifer stared at him. Her stomach seemed to be flipping, the way it did when an elevator went down too fast. “Harvey’s had a drinking problem?”

  “Oh, boy.” Eddie gritted his teeth. “See, I told you, I’m not supposed to blab private stuff.”

  “Well, now that you’ve told me, how bad was it?” She’d been mildly surprised, but glad, that Harvey hadn’t ordered alcohol when they went out, never imagining that things had been different in the past.

  “Not that bad. It was just that once in a while, when he was down, I mean, really down, that was how he tried to deal with it. But not anymore. I asked him if he wanted to have a couple that night, and he acted like he couldn’t believe he used to do that.”

  “That night being … the night before his wife’s funeral?”

  “Well … yeah.”

  “That was before we met.”

  “No—well, actually, we’d been here once, but it was before he took you to lunch that first time, you know, the day his car blew up and—” Eddie stopped again, a look of such compunction on his face that Jennifer understood better why all women wanted to mother Eddie or marry him. His dismay kept her temporarily from doing the math and wondering just what mental state Harvey was in when they met.

  “It’s all right.”

  “Harv’s going to kill me.”

  “No.”

  “He spent months teaching me how to keep my mouth shut. I never tell his secrets to anyone.”

  “I believe you. And it’s all right.” Jennifer tiptoed carefully around the edge of the private, non-blabbable information. “So, when he was so depressed, was that because of … Carrie?”

  “Pretty much,” Eddie said. “Wondering if he could have done anything else to fix things with her. Not having any kids like he wanted, and figuring he was going to be alone for the rest of his life.”

  She nodded, remembering Harvey’s face when he’d looked at the Bradleys’ baby. “Thanks, Eddie. I appreciate your loyalty to Harvey. You don’t have to worry about the things you’ve told me.”

  Eddie smiled, and Jennifer realized that her first impression of Eddie had been deceptive. He was too good looking, all right, but he was sweet all the way through. She wondered how many girls were out there in Greater Portland with broken hearts because of that smile.

  “Well, he’s a great guy,” Eddie said. “I told him ages ago he could sleep at my place, but he said he’d be okay on the—oops.”

  Jennifer stood very still. Harvey had told her that when he interrogated people, sometimes he just waited without asking them anything, and after a while they told him what he wanted to know. She was sure Eddie knew that trick, too, but he didn’t seem immune to it.

  “Okay, so he got rid of his bed. Look, don’t tell him I told you, okay? Please?”

  “His bed?”

  “Yeah, it was like the one thing he and Carrie bought after they got married. After she died, Harvey said he couldn’t sleep in it anymore. Oh, man, you can’t tell him I told you.”

  “I won’t tell him, Eddie. I care about him as much as you do.”

  “Possibly more?” His heart-breaker smile did its work again, and Jennifer knew that, in their mutual love of Harvey, she and Eddie were friends for life.

  “I didn’t realize chang
e was so hard for him,” she said softly.

  “Well, it is, believe me. They tore down the old police garage years ago, and he’s still got the key to the old one on his key ring. You see what I mean?”

  She nodded.

  “But he’s finally worked up the nerve to start making a few changes. Like getting rid of the bed, and buying a table. And you.”

  “I wonder how he ever got up his courage to ask me out,” she said.

  “I don’t know, but I’m glad he did.”

  Chapter 18

  Eddie was waiting in the hallway when Harvey left the three partners. They said nothing as they walked through the work room and the lobby, but as soon as they were outside, Harvey said, “Where’s Jenny?”

  “She took her break. She didn’t think she ought to see you now. If anyone else saw you together, especially Jane, they would know how highly she esteems you.”

  Harvey looked at him sideways. “Esteems, huh?”

  “Well, that’s not exactly what she said, but it means the same thing.”

  Harvey laughed. In spite of his somber errand, he felt light-hearted. “Let’s get back to the station. Rainey gave me a copy of the program Nick Dunham was working on the day he disappeared.”

  “You think that will help us?”

  “Who knows?”

  *****

  The press conference was easier than Harvey had expected, although he always hated facing the cameras. When reporters fired questions at him one after the other, he couldn’t help feeling incompetent. He ought to be the one asking the questions. And it was always important to represent the department well, but he didn’t have time to think about that during the rapid examination.

  Mike stood at the stairway door, watching as Harvey gave his carefully written statement to the reporters in the lobby of the police station.

  “When did you actually know that Nicholas Dunham was dead?” the anchorman from Channel 13 asked.

  “When the remains were found on Saturday, we wondered, of course, if it was Mr. Dunham, but we didn’t give up hope that he was alive until the word came this morning from the medical examiner’s office. But now that we know, it’s a matter of bringing his killer to justice.”

  There were more questions, mostly ones he couldn’t answer yet. He knew the reporters would cull the quotes and squeeze the ten-minute conference down to a sound bite or two. He’d probably look like a fumbling idiot. Finally he got an almost imperceptible nod from Mike, and shut off the barrage of questions.

  “Thank you, that’s it. Call me tomorrow for an update.”

  He headed for the stairs, and Mike punched in the security code that opened the door.

  “Not bad,” Mike said as they climbed the two flights.

  “Thanks.” Harvey went to his computer and checked the updates. A flag came up on the corner of the screen, and he opened the file.

  “Hey, Mike!”

  “What is it, Harv?”

  “Bobby Nason. He’s been seen in Newport.”

  “No kidding. Bobby’s brother said Monday that he hadn’t been around.”

  “Well, it’s Wednesday, and I guess he has.”

  “Arnie!” Mike yelled.

  Arnie was on the phone. He put one hand over the mouthpiece. “Just a minute, Mike. I got Newport on the phone. Nason’s surfaced.” He hung up and walked quickly to Mike’s desk. “The chief of police in Newport said a neighbor called and told them Bobby Nason’s been around his brother’s place. They’re going to LeRoy’s house with a warrant. If they find Bobby, they’ll hold him.”

  Mike sighed. “I guess we can’t do any more. Let’s call it a day.”

  Eddie dropped Harvey off at his apartment, and he snapped on the TV for the early news. “The body found in rural Wilton on Saturday has been identified as that of Nicholas Lee Dunham…” He decided he couldn’t watch himself after all, and shut it off. He made a sandwich and sat down with the new DeLorme’s Maine Atlas he’d bought, looking over the route to the lighthouse, then turned to the page that showed Skowhegan. He ought to take Jennifer up to visit her parents.

  The ringing of his wall phone in the kitchen was unexpected. He used it so rarely that he’d almost had it taken out, but that was too much trouble. He got up and went to answer it.

  “Harvey, it’s Marilyn Wainthrop. We saw you on the news. We’re so proud of you!”

  “Well, hi,” he said in surprise. “I didn’t do much.”

  “But you will!”

  Harvey ran a hand through his hair, unsure how to respond. “We have a lot of people working on the case.”

  “We were thrilled when we saw you! I wish we’d had a tape in.”

  “Oh, well, you know, it was just part of the job.”

  “Harvey, will you bring Jennifer up here soon?”

  “I’d like that, Mrs. Wainthrop.”

  “Marilyn.”

  “Marilyn. We’re going to the lighthouse down here Saturday, but possibly next weekend?”

  “We’d love to see you both. You’re very special to her, Harvey.”

  There was a knock at the door.

  “I’m sorry, Marilyn, I’ve got to run.”

  They signed off, and he opened the door to Rebecca Jenkins.

  “Mr. Larson! We saw you on the news!”

  He broke away as quickly as he could without being rude to his neighbor and drove to Jennifer’s house.

  *****

  When Jennifer opened her door to Harvey, she was struck by his obvious fatigue.

  “You had a big day,” she said.

  “Oh, you heard.”

  “By telephone, television, and tell-a-Mom.”

  “She called me, too.”

  Jennifer grimaced. “I was afraid of that. I hope it wasn’t too annoying.”

  “No, I guess I should be flattered that people are recognizing me as far north as Skowhegan.”

  They got into the Explorer, and he gave her the details.

  “You looked good on TV,” Jennifer said. A bit of the awe she had felt for him at first was back. She was just getting used to him being a top-notch detective, and now she had to assimilate the fact that he was a local celebrity. She wasn’t sure how it would affect their relationship, other than cranking up her mother’s admiration for Harvey.

  “Thanks, kiddo. How did it go at Coastal after we left?”

  “Mr. Channing gave the corporate speech after you and Eddie left. This hour of sorrow…exemplary employee…compassion for the widow.”

  Harvey sent her a sidelong glance. “You’re not usually so cynical.”

  Jennifer squinted her eyes shut and put her hands to her temples. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be. He just sounds so…insincere.”

  Harvey turned in at the church parking lot. “If you’d seen Mrs. Dunham this morning…”

  “You were the one who had to tell her? Harvey, I’m sorry.”

  “The M.E.’s office told her, but she was pretty shaken when I saw her.”

  “This is terrible for her.” The reality of Nick’s death hit Jennifer squarely. Lisa had lost the love of her life, the man she had pledged herself to, the father of her children. But learning for sure that Nick was dead had come almost as a relief to Jennifer and his other co-workers.

  Partly, she knew, it was the attitude at Coastal Technology that made her feel that way. The office gossip would stop now. No more, Why would he run off and leave Lisa like that? in the break room. No more, How long will they let Lisa draw his salary? She had heard those things, and the talk had made her feel ill. Between that and the elaborate covert software project, going to work had become abhorrent.

  As Harvey guided the Explorer into a parking space, she twisted the end of her braid, fingering the covered elastic. Harvey shut off the engine and looked at her, but she couldn’t speak. Her tears were waiting to fall, and she couldn’t blink them away.

  He reached over and caught one gently with his thumb. “Jenny.”

  She pulled in a ragged brea
th. “I’m so selfish. When I said that about Mr. Channing, I wasn’t thinking about Lisa at all.”

  “Sweetheart, it’s okay.” His tender whisper made her feel even more guilty.

  “I hope she had someone to comfort her.”

  Harvey put his soft handkerchief into her hand. “Nick’s sister was there. Have you ever met her?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “She goes to church here. She was going to call Pastor Rowland, to see if he’ll do the funeral service.”

  “Really? Nick Dunham’s sister goes to this church?”

  “Yes. Small world.”

  That made her feel better. People who knew how to pray were helping Lisa and the children through this.

  They went in and sat near the back of the auditorium. The pastor led them in a hymn. Nick’s sister wasn’t there, but Pastor Rowland announced gravely that his body had been identified. The Wyman and Dunham families were at the top of the prayer list.

  Jennifer sat subdued, clinging to Harvey’s hand. She didn’t feel the euphoria she’d found here Sunday morning, but she still felt she should be here, that there was something she needed in this place, if she could just recognize it.

  The pastor spoke that night on the incarnation of Christ. Harvey took notes. Jennifer had brought her notebook, but she didn’t open it. She sat silently soaking up the pastor’s words, her hand tucked obstinately beneath Harvey’s elbow. Every few minutes he reached over and stroked her fingers, then went back to his notes. Jennifer fought tears and struggled to concentrate on the message.

  Those who received Jesus became children of God, the text said. She felt more hopeful when she heard that. If she were God’s child, she would truly belong here, and maybe she would understand what it was that united man and God. But right now it was too complicated. Her self-reproach became grief, and Lisa’s pain became her pain.

  The pastor asked for prayer requests and praise, and from all over the hall, people asked for prayer or told what God had done for them. All of these people believe it, Jennifer thought. They’re not ignorant people. They’re not wild-eyed fanatics. But they believe in God.