by Anne Patrick
Kris pulled in behind a patrol car and blue Cadillac parked in front of Gyman's Liquor on Main Street. Up ahead, Gwen saw a man in his fifties with his arm around a younger man. "Must be the vic's family."
"I'll talk to them."
Gwen finished the rest of her drink and grabbed the file from the dash. "See you inside."
Crime scene tape stretched from both corners of the red brick building and extended out to the street. Gwen lifted the yellow strip and ducked underneath. Officer Lindsey Sheehan stood guard just inside the door.
"Good morning, Detective Jamison," the young brunette greeted.
"Morning, Lindsey." Gwen scanned the small store. Two aisles of assorted liquor bottles sat length-ways a few feet from the coolers on either side. "CSU already finish?"
"Yes, ma'am, about twenty minutes ago. Officer Burks, first on the scene, asked me to tell you he's requested the video from the ATM across the street. You should have it this afternoon."
Gwen turned and peered out the window to the ATM. The way it was situated it had a great view of the front of the store. She didn't expect much from it though. The guy always parked far enough away from the stores so no one could ID his vehicle. Plus it would be dark.
Gwen walked behind the counter, stepping carefully around the dark crimson stain on the wood floor, and looked underneath. The shelf was empty. "Do you know if CSU collected any evidence from under the counter?"
"A 9mm and a cell phone belonging to the victim."
"How much did he get this time?"
"There was less than a hundred dollars in the register. Mr. Gyman was nervous because of the other robberies so he made a night deposit earlier in the evening."
Gwen shook her head at the senselessness of it all. She thought back to the surveillance video. Had he taken that last shot because Mrs. Gyman had challenged him or because of the meager amount he netted?
She did a thorough walk-through of the store then returned to the counter and read over the responding officers' report. After a canvass of the area, only one neighbor heard gunfire. Mr. Harold Williams, who lives above the Borderline Café on the north side of the street, heard two shots then another a minute or two later. When he looked out his window, he saw a small figure running from the store and down the alley.
Could have been the robber, but their guy wasn't small. He was over six feet. Another witness maybe?
Kris came in the door.
"How'd it go?" Gwen asked, closing the file.
"He wants to know what's taking so long. He's losing money."
"Compassionate soul." Gwen looked out the plate glass window. "That his kid?"
"Yeah. He's twenty-five, from a previous marriage. Their other two boys, twelve and ten, are with friends."
Gwen glanced over at the young officer standing near the door. "Was Shawn Cooper the CSI who worked the scene?"
"No, Brent Siequest."
"All right. Kris, you wanna have a look around?"
"Not necessarily. The layout is similar to the others. I'll look at the photos later. What'd they find underneath the counter?"
"Cell phone and a 9mm."
"Foolish move."
"He was distracted. Maybe she thought she had enough time to get off a round." It was the only explanation Gwen could think of for the woman to make such a poor choice. "The good news is we have a witness who lives above the café. I want to talk to him before we head back."
"Are you releasing the scene, Detective Jamison?"
Gwen was tempted to let the man stew for another hour or two but didn't. She knew people grieved differently. "Yeah."
*****
Harold Williams came to the door still in his plaid pajamas and white robe. The silver-haired man looked to be in his early seventies and wore his coke bottle-shaped glasses low on his nose. "You more cops?"
Gwen showed him her badge. "Detectives Jamison and Todd, sir. May we have a few moments of your time please?"
"I guess so." He pushed the door back, allowing them to enter, and then invited them into a small modest living room with only a sofa and recliner. "I told the other officers everything I know." He sank down into his chair and motioned for them to do the same.
Gwen sat down and opened the file. "I have their report right here, sir. You say you saw a small figure running from the store and down the alley, but the person we have on the store's surveillance video is a male over six feet tall. Is there any chance the individual you saw, came out of the store shortly after the robbery took place?"
"I suppose." He pulled on a lever at the side of his chair and lifted the footrest. "All I know is the person I saw wasn't no six feet tall."
"Could you tell if it was a male or female?"
"Nope. Too dark. There was something white hanging around their neck though."
"You mean like a scarf or a wrap?" Kris crossed her legs and scribbled something in her notebook.
"A scarf. That's what it looked like anyway. The ends hung down past the person's waist."
Gwen had read over both of the officers' reports. There was no mention of a scarf. "And after this individual came out, they ran down the alley?"
"Yes."
If this person was inside the store, they might have been the one to call 9-1-1. "Will you excuse me just a moment please?" Gwen went out into the hall and called CSU. She was surprised when Coop answered. "It's Gwen. Have you processed the prints from Gyman's Liquor yet?"
"Not yet. Give me another hour."
"Thanks, Coop." Gwen reached for the doorknob just as the door opened.
Kris stepped out and closed the door behind her. "His game show is coming on. He said if we had anymore questions we'd have to come back."
Gwen headed to the stairs. "I think we caught a break, Kris. The person he saw may have been our 9-1-1 caller, if so, we may have their prints and another witness."
"You think they were in the store during the robbery?"
"They could've been and just ducked out of sight. Coop said he would let us know something in an hour."
"We need to finish watching that video."
"You watch. I'll drive." Maybe by the time they got back to the station, Coop would have something for them.
"No, we'll both watch while we're eating breakfast. I'll grab us a table downstairs and you get the laptop from the car."
"All right." If they didn't eat now, Gwen would probably want to skip lunch, and then her partner would be grouchy the rest of the day.
A half hour later, Gwen and Kris sat at a back table and watched the video. Seconds after the robber fled, a smaller person entered the picture. Using the counter as reference, Gwen judged this someone to be around five-two, not much over a hundred pounds. A dark hoodie blocked the face from the camera. The individual peered around the counter at the body then darted out of the store.
Disappointed, Gwen closed the laptop.
"The person wore a white scarf like Mr. Williams said."
"It hasn't gone below eighty in days. Why would anyone be wearing a hoodie and scarf?"
"Beats me, but if she's still wearing it, she'll be easier to spot."
Gwen bit off a piece of bacon as she looked at Kris. "You think it's a female?"
"Or a young boy. Throw in the scarf and my bet is it's a girl."
"If they'd just looked at the camera we could've gotten a usable picture to distribute to patrol, and we could've questioned the neighbors to see if someone could make an ID." Gwen took another bite then washed it down with a sip of coffee.
"Well she didn't, so lets move on."
"To what? We don't have anything to go on. Just like the previous robberies."
"What about the chain-wallet?" Kris suggested. "He's wearing the same one in all four surveillance videos."
"They're a dime a dozen. You can get them at any retail store. Did Mr. Gyman give you anything?"
"He left the store around ten to make a night deposit then went home. Said his wife usually worked during the day, after she got
the kids off to school, and would leave around two-thirty. On weekends, she would work eight till closing."
"And they close at two."
"Yes."
Gwen's cell phone rang and she took it from her pocket and answered.
"Sorry, Gwen, no foreign prints on the phone or cash register," Coop informed. "And no hits on the ones from the door."
"All right. Thanks." She started to hang up but then thought of something else. "Hey, I thought you went off at seven?"
"I switched to days so Angie and I could spend more time together. It'll probably be tomorrow before I have the ballistics report."
Gwen hung up and laid the phone on the table. "No hits on the prints." She leaned back in the booth. In all the years she'd known Coop, he had always preferred the graveyard shift. Although it was unsettling that he had moved on so quickly after their breakup, at the same time, Gwen was happy for him. They had been friends long before they started dating.
"You know Adkins wore gloves when he pulled that burglary he did time for."
"Most burglars do. Plus, Adkins doesn't even own a car." Gwen drank some of her coffee. She knew what Kris was thinking. That Gwen had screwed up big time by letting him go Friday.
"He could've borrowed someone's car or stolen one. Do you know where he is?"
"The Greer House on Broadway."
"Where you stayed as a kid?"
"Yeah."
"Look, Gwen, if it does turn out to be Adkins, don't beat yourself up. You made a judgment call. Personally, I like seeing that side of you. Makes you almost human."
She ignored her partner's jab. "It's not him, Kris, but to ease your mind we'll go have a talk with Tony."
CHAPTER FOUR
Gwen looked up at the brown and white two-story Victorian with bay windows and a large wrap-around porch. A good portion of her teenage years were spent here. The only good memories of her childhood, besides those of her father, she could remember. Up until last year, Gwen had spent most of her holidays here with the Greer family.
"Ready?" Kris asked from the passenger seat.
Gwen grabbed the keys from the ignition. "Let's go."
Tony Greer answered the door, wearing khaki shorts and a blue polo shirt. "Gwen. I was hoping you might drop by." Three years older than Gwen, slim with short black hair, Tony was the closest thing to family she had now.
"Hi, Tony." She gave him a hug then stepped to one side. "You remember Kris."
"Of course." He shook Kris's hand. "It's nice to see you again."
"You too, Tony."
"Can we talk?" Gwen asked.
"Sure. Come on in."
In the foyer, Gwen glanced up the grand wooden staircase that led to five of the six bedrooms in the house. Hers had been one of the two facing the lovely garden. Part of Gwen's weekly duties to earn her allowance had been to help Mrs. Greer tend her flower garden. Gwen remembered the wonderful talks they often had and smiled.
On the wall, Gwen noticed the large painting of Christ looking over Jerusalem. It had been one of Mr. Greer's favorite portraits in the house. As a teenager growing up here, she had been expected to attend church with the family. It was the only thing Gwen didn't like about living here; she didn't share their beliefs. They had never judged her because of it though, and she appreciated that.
"Shall we go into my office?" As a computer programmer, Tony worked mainly from the home. He slid open the massive, mahogany, pocket doors and invited them inside. Eight-foot windows provided plenty of natural lighting to the room. "Have a seat."
"Thank you." Gwen and Kris moved to the brown leather sofa and sat down. "We're here about Stuart Adkins. He is still staying here, isn't he?"
"Yes. He's working out very well. Has been a big help. I'm glad you sent him over."
"I meant to call and warn you he was coming, but I got busy and, well, I knew you wouldn't mind." Like his parents, Tony had a kind and generous heart. Instead of selling the family home, he and his wife, Kara, a high school science teacher, had kept it and now, occasionally, opened their doors to people of all ages who needed a temporary home.
"Stuart is quite the handy man. Did you know that?" Tony sat in one of the matching chairs. "He helped Kara and I work on the renovations all weekend."
"That's good. Did he leave at any time?"
"Not that I know of. We painted most of Saturday, and Sunday we put together shelving. Is something wrong, Gwen?"
"What about in the late evening hours?" Kris asked. "Say last night, around midnight?"
"He went up to his room around nine. I didn't see him again until breakfast." He looked at Gwen. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"
"I should've told you before I sent him to you, but Stuart has a record for burglary."
"He told me. He also mentioned that you questioned him about some liquor store hold-ups. Is he supposed to have done something last night? Is that why you're here?"
"There was another robbery early this morning," Gwen told him. "The owner's wife was killed."
"Oh no." Tony lowered his head and shook it. "Well it couldn't have been Stuart. He doesn't even have a car. I gave him a lift to work this morning."
"Could he have borrowed your keys and snuck out of the house?" Kris asked.
Gwen stood and walked over to the ornate fireplace. Several framed photographs lined the mantel. She spotted the one of her and Tony standing on the staircase.
"I suppose, but I don't think he did."
"Where do you keep your keys, Tony?" Gwen turned and folded her arms.
"When they're not in my pocket, on my dresser."
"Do you have a spare set you keep out in the open?"
"On the peg in the kitchen. The driveway is right next to our bedroom window, Gwen, and Kara is a light sleeper. The only way he got that car out of the drive without waking us, is to have pushed it."
"I don't think he did it either, Tony, but we had to check him out anyway. It's our job."
"I understand." He came over and stood beside her. "We've missed having you come over. The holidays weren't the same without you."
She smiled at him, feeling a little guilty for pushing them away this past year. The deaths of Mr. and Mrs. Greer, only months apart, had hit Gwen hard. Margaret had died of a massive heart attack while working in her garden. Anthony joined her two months later after losing his battle with cancer. Gwen suspected it wasn't the disease that really killed him, but a broken heart. She had never seen two people more in love.
They were her foster parents on paper, but in Gwen's heart they were much more than that. "So you're renovating?"
"Yeah. You wanna see?"
"Sure."
Gwen and Kris followed him upstairs. The open space at the top of the stairs was now filled with bookshelves, chairs and a sofa. The smell of fresh paint still hung in the air.
"It's going to be a study area."
"Is Kara pregnant?" They'd been together five years but so far had been unable to conceive.
Sadness clouded his expression. "No. We've tried everything but nothing worked." He then smiled. "So Kara and I have decided to become foster parents, and eventually adopt."
"Oh, Tony, that's wonderful." She gave him another hug.
"Yeah we're pretty excited about it. We just finished the licensing process and according to the agency, we could get a child any day now."
"Congratulations." Kris offered her hand and he shook it.
"I don't imagine the agency will approve of a convict living under your roof." Had Gwen known of their plans, she never would've sent Adkins to them.
"I told Stuart our situation and promised him we'd help him find another place to stay if we do get a call. He's making pretty good money where he's working so it shouldn't take him too long to get back on his feet. We promised to help him out with a used car."
"You don't have to do that, Tony. That isn't why I sent him to you."
"I know that, Gwen. Mom and Dad would want me to help him, and it's not like
we can't afford it. How else am I going to spend the money they left me?"
They'd left Gwen a sizeable sum of money as well, which came as a complete surprise. She had refused it at first, but Tony insisted she take it. As far as his parents were concerned, Gwen was their daughter. It wasn't the first time they had helped her out financially. The former owners of one of Shorewick's main factories, which Anthony built, had paid for most of Gwen's college tuition.
Tony walked them to the door then hugged Gwen. "You should come over to dinner sometime. Kara would love to see you."
"I'll do that. And thanks for all you're doing for Stuart."
"No thanks needed."
In the car, Gwen turned to Kris. "Let's go talk to Adkins former neighbors then re-visit the neighborhoods near the previous robberies. We know the guy cases the stores prior to hitting them. Maybe someone has remembered seeing someone hanging around in the days before."
"All right." Kris buckled her seatbelt. "Hey, why didn't you tell me you weren't going to Tony's for the holidays? You could have spent them with us. You didn't have to be alone."
"I wasn't alone." Gwen started the engine and pulled away from the curve.
"I'm not talking about your cat."
"Neither am I. If you must know, I had Mrs. Bernstein over for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Her son was overseas this winter and she didn't want to fly to her daughter's place in New Jersey."
"That was nice of you."
"I didn't do it to be nice. I did it as a way of getting out of going to Tony's."
"I know how much the Greers meant to you, Gwen, but he was hurting, too."
"Yeah, I know."
"If you'd just talk about your feelings instead of bottling them up inside you, you'd be a lot better off."
Gwen glanced over, her eyes narrowing on her friend. "So you've told me."
"Fine, but when you end up with an ulcer the size of a watermelon—"
"You can tell me I told you so." Gwen pulled onto Gleason Boulevard and headed to the north side of the city. Along the way, they stopped for some bottled water so they wouldn't get too dehydrated in the heat.
