Skein of the Crime

by Maggie Sefton

  Kelly stared at Lynette. Here was someone else who corroborated Rachel’s assessment of Holly’s manipulative behavior. It showed that Lisa’s earlier assessment of Holly was right on. “That’s interesting. Tommy’s description of Holly made it sound like she was a little lost lamb, and he was trying to protect her.”

  Lynette gave a rueful smile. “That’s Tommy for you. I’ve seen him do that for the three years I’ve known him. But he couldn’t lie to me. I was usually sitting next to him or in the ambulance with him whenever Holly called. So he told me the truth.”

  Kelly couldn’t contain her curiosity. The water’s relaxing effects were temporarily forgotten. “And what was the truth? Was Holly a lost lamb or a sly fox?”

  “I’d say she was more fox than lamb. She was playing on Tommy’s guilty conscience for not being at her beck and call like he had been before he went to med school.”

  “Any idea why Tommy had that guilty conscience? I mean, we all feel guilty about something, but it sounds like Tommy’s was set on overload.”

  “Yeah, it was. He told me Holly tried to kill herself about two years ago. She took some sleeping pills and called him before she passed out.”

  “Whoa . . . that would definitely get Tommy’s attention, wouldn’t it?” Kelly caught Lynette’s glance. “Do you think maybe Holly deliberately tried suicide? I mean, to make Tommy feel guilty?”

  “Sounds like it to me. I’d never met Holly, so I don’t know. But some people try a halfhearted suicide attempt as a call for help. You know, taking only a few pills then calling a friend or family member. The lucky ones get counseling. I don’t know why Tommy didn’t insist Holly go to a therapist. He told other people when they needed it.”

  Kelly thought for a minute. “Maybe Tommy thought he could ‘save’ Holly. His mom Barbara said at the shop that Tommy had been ‘taking care’ of Holly for years. Feeling responsible for her, somehow.”

  Lynette nodded. “That’s exactly it. A lot of people who’re attracted to emergency medical teams and medical fields are what we call ‘classic rescuers.’ They want to save people, and in these jobs, you get good at it. The problem is some people get saved and some don’t. I mean, we can pump someone’s stomach if they’ve taken an overdose of pills. But if they don’t start counseling to find out why they took those pills, a lot of them will do it again. And sometimes it’s too late. We can’t save them.”

  Kelly let Lynette’s somber comments settle. She was right. It was exactly what Jayleen had once said. “That reminds me of what a friend from Fort Connor said. ‘People have to save themselves.’ ”

  “That’s right.”

  Kelly let the hot water command her attention and relaxed. Still, it was only a few minutes before little thoughts started creeping from the back of her mind.

  Tommy was definitely under a lot of pressure since he’d started medical school. Kelly knew friends who’d gone through that rigorous routine to become doctors. There was no such thing as spare time. No wonder Tommy had been losing patience with Holly and her demands. He didn’t have time to be at her beck and call anymore. Add to that Holly’s track record of perpetual drug abuse, and Tommy must have felt pushed to his limits.

  Kelly decided to voice her thoughts out loud. Lynette was obviously Tommy’s close friend and knew him better than anyone. “You know, it sounds like Tommy was finally starting to see through Holly’s selfish manipulation. What do you think?”

  Lynette glanced toward the lake. “Yeah, he was. That’s why he drove up from Denver that Friday. He wanted to tell Holly in person that he wasn’t going to be here for the weekends anymore. He had to study.”

  “How’d Holly take it?”

  “Not good. Tommy said she blew up at him. Yelled and screamed and said if he really loved her, he’d stay in town.”

  “What’d Tommy say?”

  Lynette looked down into the pool. “I don’t know. He told me he just turned around and walked out the door, Holly still yelling.”

  “Wow . . . that must have been really hard for him to do.”

  Lynette ran her fingertips through the water again. “You have no idea. Tommy was all torn up inside afterwards. He called me on his cell as he was leaving Fort Connor. He was a basket case. I could tell he needed to vent or he wouldn’t be able to concentrate on his studies. I was off duty that night, so I asked him over to my apartment for dinner. I live right outside town in Loveland.”

  Kelly watched Lynette’s hand slow its movements in the water. She also noticed the expression on Lynette’s face change. It softened, as did Lynette’s voice.

  “Tommy needed a sympathetic ear. He can’t talk to his mom. She’d go into another rant about Holly. I was the only one he could open up to.”

  Kelly’s instinct picked up something else. Something Lynette wasn’t saying. “I’m so glad Tommy had you to turn to, Lynette,” she said quietly. “He needs a close friend.”

  Lynette glanced at Kelly, then back at the water. “Yes, we . . . we’ve become really close.”

  Kelly saw her instincts confirmed in Lynette’s brief glance. “Sounds like Tommy really needed to relax. Did he spend the night?”

  This time, Lynette didn’t look up, but a slight blush colored her face. “No . . . He . . . he left before midnight. He needed to get back to Denver so he could be at the study session early. But he’s stayed with me several nights since Holly’s death. He’s been a wreck.”

  “Yeah, I could tell. We’ve all worried about him. It was clear he blamed himself for not being able to ‘save’ Holly.”

  “Ohhhh, yeah. Tommy’s got major guilt about not staying in town with Holly that night. I’ve told him over and over he’s not to blame. Holly chose to return to the party scene and take those drugs.” Lynette stirred the water again. “Tommy knows that, and he’s slowly coming to grips with it.”

  Kelly hoped the information coming out about Holly’s recent party behavior and new relationship with drug-selling Eddie would help Tommy see things more clearly.

  “I’m so glad you’re there to talk sense to him, Lynette. You may be the only one who can. I hope you two continue your relationship.”

  A little smile quirked Lynette’s mouth. “Thanks, Kelly. We care a lot for each other. Tommy’s even asked me to move in with him in Denver. I plan to next month.”

  Kelly gave Lynette an encouraging smile. “Now, that is good news. I’ll keep it to myself.”

  Lynette smiled. “Please do. Tommy hasn’t told his mom yet.”

  “Okaaaay, secret’s safe with me.”

  Lynette pushed away from the pool’s stone wall. “Well, I’ve got a massage scheduled.” She started up the stone steps and donned her robe, then turned to Kelly with a smile. “Nice talking to you, Kelly.”

  “I enjoyed it, too. See you later.” Lynette walked along the flagstone path and disappeared behind the pine branches.

  Kelly slid down into the hot water, letting the heat relax her neck and shoulders. Lynette’s revelations were good news. Tommy was slowly letting go of his past guilt-ridden relationship with Holly and moving toward a healthier one with Lynette. Someone who really cared about Tommy instead of using him.

  She closed her eyes and let herself float in the hot water, bubbles bringing up heat from the submerged vents. A little thought wiggled from the back of her mind. Lynette said Tommy stayed at her apartment near Fort Connor until nearly midnight. What if after spending a wonderful evening with Lynette, Tommy came back to his car and found a message from Holly on his cell phone? Another whining, guilt-inducing message demanding he pick her up from a party—as usual. What if that was one message too many for Tommy? He told Lynette he didn’t know how he was going to handle his medical studies and Holly at the same time. What if he’d finally had enough?

  Kelly’s eyes popped open. She stared out into the pines without seeing, as another thought crept from the dark. What if Tommy had snapped? What if he’d decided to stop the guilt at last? A chill passed over Kell
y despite the hot water surrounding her.

  What if it was Tommy who picked up Holly from the party? The old vagrant, Malcolm, saw a man wearing a hooded jacket walk Holly down the river trail and leave her on a rock before walking away. What if that was Tommy? What if he was the one who gave Holly the opiate narcotics? As a paramedic, Tommy would know how to get those painkillers. And he’d know how many pills to give Holly. He’d know how fast they would put her to sleep. And how fast she would stop breathing and die. A painless way to die. She’d simply fall asleep and never wake up.

  Was that what happened? Did Tommy finally remove the burden of taking care of Holly once and for all? That thought played in Kelly’s mind for only a few seconds before the contradicting thoughts pushed forward.

  You can’t be serious. Tommy’s a straight arrow. He couldn’t kill Holly, no matter how burdensome she had become. Tommy had spent years saving lives. He couldn’t deliberately take a life.

  Or, could he? Kelly mused as she leaned her arms on the rocks and stared out at the lake. Holly had already been taken in by authorities after overdosing on drugs and wandering the river trail. Everyone would assume Holly simply did it again. Her death would naturally be declared accidental. And there would be no witnesses. Even though Malcolm saw someone, he couldn’t identify the man.

  Was Tommy really the straight arrow he appeared to be? Grieving and mourning Holly’s death at the funeral, asking Burt and Kelly to find out information for him. Was it real or a fake performance? Kelly didn’t know. But she’d learned one thing over these last few years she’d been poking into murders and sleuthing. People were often not what they seemed.

  Thirteen

  Kelly settled a box of felting supplies—plastic tubs, plungers, shampoo—into the back of Barbara’s SUV beside the other boxes filled with supplies from the fiber retreat. She took a moment to enjoy the view of the peaceful silvery lake. Maybe one of these days she could tempt Steve up here. He’d relax for sure in those thermal pools and the spa massage. Her muscles sighed inwardly, remembering yesterday’s blissful relaxation and this morning’s massage.

  Lynette walked up to the SUV, carrying her backpack and wearing her newly felted ski hat.

  “Your hat turned out well, Lynette. It looks good,” Kelly said.

  “Thanks, I’m really pleased with it. I saw yours all dried on the towel this morning. It only looks a little bit smaller than before. Did you get the size you wanted?”

  “I think so.” Kelly leaned against the SUV and watched Burt approach. “I plunged and plunged for fifteen minutes, then stopped and measured, and it was right where I wanted it. Mimi suggested I only shrink it a half inch. I didn’t want to take the chance it would shrink more.”

  “Hey, any more room in the back of Barbara’s SUV?” Burt asked as he walked up to them, another box in his arms.

  “Sure, there’s always room for one more,” Kelly said.

  “Well, it’s been great, guys. See you around Lambspun. I’ve gotta run back to Fort Connor. I’m on duty tonight.”

  Kelly waved. “Take care, Lynette.”

  “Drive safely,” Burt added.

  Kelly made way for Burt’s box, wedging a space between two others. “Do you have a second before you and Mimi drive back?” Kelly asked. “There’s something I wanted to tell you but we haven’t had a good time to talk alone since we’ve been here.”

  Burt dusted off his hands. “Sure, Kelly. What’s on your mind?”

  Kelly motioned him away from the cars. “Let’s head toward the lake. It’ll look like we’re having one last look. Which we are, actually.”

  Burt chuckled. “I can’t wait to hear what’s eating you.”

  She wandered down to the lake’s edge, Burt alongside. The lake’s surface was glassy smooth, not a ripple from oar or breeze. “I was in the hot pools yesterday afternoon with Lynette. She and Tommy have worked the ambulance shifts together for three years, and she revealed a lot of things about Tommy and Holly’s relationship I’d never heard before.”

  “How did she know?”

  “Apparently she and Tommy have become close friends, and she was sitting with him in the ambulance when those phone calls came in from Holly. You know, Holly begging Tommy to come pick her up from a party when she knew he was on duty. Lynette said Tommy and Holly would get into an argument each time. Holly would cry and tell Tommy he didn’t love her anymore and he’d forget her. Stuff like that.”

  Burt looked over at Kelly. “Where’re you going with this, Kelly?”

  “Just hear me out, Burt. Lynette called Holly manipulative. And she’s not the first person who’s said that about Holly. The girl Rachel, who works at the Grill, told me Holly was manipulative, and she’s known her for years. Granted, Rachel had an axe to grind about Holly, but Lynette has never met Holly. She’s judging solely on her behavior with Tommy. Lisa even called Holly’s behavior manipulative. And Barbara has inferred as much whenever she talks about Holly, and she’s known Holly since she was a kid.”

  Burt stared at the lake. “Let’s say they’re all correct, and they may well be. What does it matter now? Holly’s dead.”

  “Well, Lynette went on to say that Tommy told her Holly was driving him crazy. And he didn’t know how he would handle his medical studies and Holly at the same time. Lynette said Tommy and Holly also had a big fight that Friday. He told Holly he wasn’t going to spend weekends in Fort Connor anymore because he needed to study. Apparently Holly blew up and started yelling at him. So Tommy walked out on her.”

  Burt looked skeptical. “When did Tommy tell Lynette all this?”

  “Right afterwards. He stopped at Lynette’s Loveland apartment on the way out of town for dinner and . . . relaxation.” Kelly let her words hang there, knowing Burt would pick up on their implication.

  Burt paused, his face somber. “I see. Did he stay over?”

  “I asked that, too, and Lynette said Tommy left before midnight.”

  Burt turned to her, with a shocked expression. “Surely you’re not suggesting that Tommy gave Holly those opiate narcotics, are you?”

  Kelly shrugged. “All I know is those comments made me start thinking, Burt. Tommy was under a lot of pressure. What if Holly’s constant demands made him snap? Tommy would have known how to get those pain pills. He could have picked her up from the party, given her the pills, then waited until she was sleepy, and dropped her off along the river trail.”

  “Kelly, you can’t be serious,” Burt said, clearly appalled by her suggestion. “I’ve known Tommy for four years. There’s no finer young man out there. He’s conscientious, kind, smart as a whip, and as honest as the day is long. There’s no way he could harm anyone. Let alone the girl he’d loved for so long.”

  “But the girl he’d loved had turned into a demanding, manipulative burden who played on Tommy’s guilty conscience.”

  “What guilty conscience? Tommy’s never done anything wrong,” Burt protested.

  “Tommy told Lynette Holly tried to commit suicide a couple of years ago. She called Tommy after she’d taken too many sleeping pills. Ever since then, whenever Holly called, Tommy jumped. What if Tommy finally got tired of Holly’s demands? He’d just spent the evening with a girl who cared for him, and it sounds like he cares about Lynette. What if Tommy decided to end the guilt trip once and for all?”

  Burt frowned but didn’t say anything for a minute. “I’ll admit that is a disturbing thought, but I still think you’re way out in left field with this one, Kelly. Tommy’s not a killer.”

  “You may be right, Burt. I’m just speculating here. Can’t help it. It’s the way my mind works. One thing I’ve learned these last few years of sleuthing is that people are often not what they seem. I’ve met enough charming, manipulative liars to teach me that.”

  Burt shook his head. “I still don’t think Tommy could do that.”

  “All I know is what I’ve seen and heard. Tommy has been under a huge amount of stress. People have commented on th
e heavy responsibility he felt for Holly, and how Holly was always calling Tommy to rescue her. What if he snapped under all the pressure? Anybody can snap, Burt. Including Tommy. Especially if he learned that Holly was cheating on him.”

  Burt stared out at the glassy lake for a long moment. “I hear you, Kelly, and you’re right. Any one of us can snap under pressure. Maybe I’m too close to the people involved to be impartial. I’ll run all this by Dan and see what he thinks. He can decide if he wants to question Tommy or not.”

  “I’m sorry to tell you all this, Burt, but I thought it was important.”

  Burt let out a tired sigh. “You’re right, Kelly. It is important. Let’s see what Dan decides to do.”

  Kelly felt a little sad, like she’d brought news of the death of a loved one to a family. She didn’t know what else to say, so she said nothing. Instead, she stood with Burt and stared out at the lake surrounded by green mountains. Soon winter would chase away fall’s fragile beauty.

  Kelly watched the black stream of molasses pour into the spicy dough mixture as she stirred it with a wooden spoon. She hadn’t lost her touch with Aunt Helen’s gingersnap cookie recipe. Even though she hadn’t made them since last holiday season, they were turning out fine. At least the dough looked exactly right. Now, all she had to do was make sure each batch didn’t overbake in the oven. She’d have to keep the timer with her constantly.

  During the drive out of the mountains that afternoon, Kelly decided tonight was the perfect time to make the cookies for Megan and Marty’s party. Nothing else was scheduled for this evening. Steve wasn’t home this weekend, so Kelly was alone. She didn’t feel like working on client accounts this evening, so she might as well do something else useful and make the cookies.