Dennis Holt looked across at Kelly and gave her a smile. “Good to see you, Kelly. I didn’t know you did work for Jayleen.”
“I’m the only one of Kelly’s old alpaca clients she kept once she started taking care of those two real estate and developer clients she’s got now,” Jayleen bragged. “I’m a lucky dog.”
Kelly smiled. “Well, Jayleen was my first independent client when I left the Washington, DC, corporate accounting firm and started my own practice here in Colorado years ago. So I’m kind of sentimental.”
“Well, I wish I had enough business to hire an accountant,” Dennis said with a half smile as he looked up at the approaching waitress.
“Hey, there, Sandy. I bet you folks have been swamped with customers this last week.” Jayleen addressed the older woman as she passed out menus.
“We sure have, Jayleen,” Sandy said with a friendly smile, pulling a small green order pad from her pocket. “Different people involved with the firefighters are here almost every night. Fire crews eat and sleep at their camp over at the Armory. The other folks like our burgers and steaks so much they come here before they head back to Landport or the Ranch.”
“Well, the next time you see those people, please say thank you for me, okay?” Kelly said. “I drove through the edges of Bellevue earlier today and saw all those signs outside people’s properties saying ‘Thank You, Firefighters!’ and ‘We Love You, Firefighters!’ and ‘God Bless You, Firefighters!’”
“The whole city owes them a big debt,” Jayleen said, scanning the menu. “If only that wind doesn’t whip up today like it did over the weekend. Those dry, hot winds caused that fire to flare up again. We’ve got sixteen hundred firefighters on the ground, and it’s still only 45 percent contained. Weather sure isn’t cooperating.”
“Yeah, it’s that wind I’m afraid of,” Dennis said, looking worried. “I’ve got friends up in Glacier View Meadows on the other side of the Poudre Canyon. And they’ve evacuated hundreds. That little section higher up is most at risk, I think.”
“I heard that, too.” Kelly said, glancing toward the windows. “The good news is they saved more than five hundred homes.”
“I’m just grateful that fire didn’t spread down the canyon near my place or my neighbors’. Firefighters were able to contain it around Poudre Park. I’m praying it doesn’t flare up again.”
“Amen,” Jayleen said.
“It’s all up to that blasted wind,” Sandy said, brow furrowing. “Now, has anything struck your fancy or should I come back?” Her pen was poised over the pad.
“Well, I know how good those burgers of yours are, so I’ll take the Philly cheeseburger,” Dennis said. “With fries and a black coffee.”
“I’ll have my usual burger smothered in green chili,” Jayleen said with a grin, handing Sandy the menu. “And coffee. Hold the fries.”
That did it. Kelly had been trying to ignore the tempting burger aromas floating all around, but no more. She threw in the towel. “Okay, so much for watching my diet. I’ll have the burger that’s smothered in grilled onions. Lots of onions. And black coffee, hold the fries.”
Sandy scribbled away with a contented smile. Another table surrendering all attempts at dieting. “You got it, folks. These will be out in a few minutes.”
Kelly decided this was as good a time as any to try and pry information out of Dennis and was wondering how to broach the subject of the interview when Jayleen spoke up.
“You know, Dennis, Kelly was telling me that Officer Warren was a real tough questioner. Friendly looking but a bulldog beneath. And I gotta admit, when she came up to talk to Curt and me this weekend she came across the same way. Every time you thought she was finished, she’d start up again. What’d you think of this Officer Warren? Did she ask you a ton of questions?”
Dennis folded his arms and leaned forward over the table. “Ohh, yeah,” he said, nodding his head. “I’d say bulldog isn’t close. Pit bull would be better. She’d ask one question after another and didn’t let up.”
Kelly leaned forward, glancing first to Dennis then Jayleen. “She kept asking me about the argument between Connie and Andrea and Jim Carson. Did she ask either of you about that?”
“She grilled both Curt and me about that as well. Wanted to know how long we’d known Connie and Andrea and Jim and all that.” Jayleen wagged her head. “Curt was this close to getting testy, I could tell.”
“She didn’t ask me much about that. What she grilled me on was my relationship with Andrea. How long we’d been married. How long we’d been divorced. Had it been amicable. And, of course, she even went into my past drinking problems.” He shook his head. “Boy, you’d think I was the one who’d threatened Andrea, not Connie.”
“Oh, Lord . . .” Jayleen sighed.
“Yeah, I wasn’t surprised, actually. It’s part of the divorce record.” He shrugged. “She also mentioned our divorce settlement. You know, dividing up our assets. The property and all. I mean, she didn’t leave any stone unturned.”
That got Kelly’s attention. “Wow, that sounds more like an interrogation than an interview.”
Dennis gave her a rueful smile. “Yeah, I kind of felt that way, too. But I think I know why. At the end, she mentioned that my address was in Poudre Canyon. Then she looked me in the eye and asked where I was staying in town since the canyon was still evacuated. I could tell she knew. She’d probably talked to the county deputy sheriff who knew I was hiding out at Andrea’s place. So, I came clean. I told her I was staying up there to take care of Andrea’s herd and my own and Jayleen’s animals, too. I wanted to make sure the animals were all right. I’d kept out of the way of the firemen and cops and laid low. But I didn’t dare lie to her. I figured it was a test.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Jayleen said. “You know, Burt said Officer Warren spent twenty years as a detective and has just now cut back to part-time, so it’s no wonder you felt interrogated.
“That was a good move, Dennis. I agree with you. She’d already checked with the local cops and firemen in the canyon and knew you were still there. She was trying to see if you’d lie to her. Tell me, what did she say when you admitted to staying in the canyon?”
Dennis looked down at the table. “Nothing, really. I explained about the animals and all, and she listened and wrote lots of stuff in that little notebook of hers. But she didn’t say much, she just asked another question.”
“What was the next question she asked?” Kelly probed. “After you’d explained about the animals.”
“Uh, she wanted to know where I slept and how I made phone calls. And how I got food. I told her I slept in the corral near the animals, in case any big cats came hunting. And there was already plenty of food there, so I didn’t need to come into town. Until today, that is.” He gave a half smile. “Then she wanted to know how I got here. She kind of smiled when I said I hiked down at night. My car was still parked up there at my cabin.”
“I hope she was impressed. I sure am,” Jayleen joked.
“Well, she didn’t act impressed. She’d smile, then ask me another question. She also wanted to know if I was the only next of kin Andrea had. I am, I guess. Andrea’s mom and dad died years ago and she had no brothers or sisters back in Nebraska. I had the feeling she already knew the answer to that because I gave all that information to the hospital. And they’d called me to ask how I planned to handle her death. You know, her body and all that. I told her that I arranged to have a local funeral home take Andrea from the hospital and keep her there until I could decide what to do.” Dennis stared at his folded hands, his voice softer.
“I reckon that Officer Warner could tell you were trying your best to handle everything,” Jayleen said. “I mean, you’re taking care of the herd at her ranch. And you’re having to handle the arrangements for Andrea’s death. Sakes alive, surely she can understand that.”
Dennis shrugged. “I don’t know. She would just listen and write stuff down. Every now and then she’d smile at me. So it was hard to know what she was thinking.”
“That’s probably why Burt said she was one of their best detectives.” A thought wiggled in the back of Kelly’s mind. “You said you drove to Andrea’s that night because the wildfire was glowing brighter on the other side of the canyon ridge near the top, and you wanted to warn her. Did you see Jim Carson there? I would have thought he’d be there with her.”
“Well, I thought so, too, and I called out his name when I found Andrea lying on the ground. But he wasn’t anywhere around. He was there with her when I left a couple of hours or so earlier.”
“Tell me, did you see Connie Carson? Apparently she told Officer Warren that she came back to Andrea’s ranch after she left with us.”
Dennis looked surprised. “No, I didn’t. I wanted to get back to my place and feed my animals. Why’d she come back?”
“Connie refuses to talk with anyone at the shop about it. But I’m guessing that Connie went back again to try to convince Andrea to let Jim go. Maybe Connie thought he would come back to her if Andrea stopped seeing him. But judging from what we saw that Saturday, I think Connie’s deluding herself.”
Dennis nodded. “Yeah, I’d have to agree with you. That guy Jim sure didn’t act like he wanted to get back together with his wife.” He looked away. “People breaking up, that’s always sad. Somebody always gets hurt.”
“Lordy, Lordy,” Jayleen said, shaking her head.
Kelly didn’t say anything. There was nothing she could add. Out of the corner of her eye, Kelly noticed the waitress walking up to their booth holding a tray filled with the most scrumptious-looking burgers she’d seen in a long time.
Thirteen
Wednesday, June 20
Kelly walked into the Lambspun foyer, escaping from the building heat outside. There weren’t any customers browsing in the central yarn room, so Kelly took time to check out the new arrangements of yarn and fibers. The Lambspun “elves” as she called Mimi and her staff had been at it again. Rearranging, adding new colors, displaying new patterns. The elf population had increased by one, with the addition of Cassie.
She walked into the main room and set her briefcase bag and coffee mug on the library table. As Kelly pulled back a chair to settle in and start her accounts, Connie walked around the corner from the workroom. She held a pile of magazines in her arms.
Connie looked up at Kelly, clearly surprised to see someone. “Oh, hi, Kelly,” she said softly, glancing down. “I have to switch these magazines, but I can do it later if it’ll bother you.” She started to turn away.
“No, no, it won’t bother me at all, Connie,” Kelly protested, settling into the chair. “Please keep up with your work. I actually like to have some human beings working around me. The cottage is absolutely quiet and sometimes you get tired of working alone.”
“Okay, if you’re sure,” Connie said, pulling out the chair at the end of the table.
Kelly deliberately pulled out her laptop and popped it open and turned it on, then removed some of Arthur Housemann’s file folders from her bag. She actually wanted to be able to chat with Connie a little to see how she was doing. But Kelly hadn’t been able to since the tragic Saturday events over a week ago. Connie had not returned to her former talkative friendly self since that time. Consequently, no one except Mimi had been able to actually have a conversation with her. Even Burt said he hadn’t had a talk with her yet.
It was clear that Connie was reluctant to talk to anyone. So Kelly figured the only way she could make an attempt would be to have an “accidental” chat, talking while something else was going on. Like it happened naturally.
Kelly noisily turned pages in Housemann’s folder in an attempt to look busy. Connie had removed several binders of magazines and stacked them on the table.
“How’re you doing, Connie?” Kelly started, breaking the ice. She looked over at the middle-aged woman with a big smile.
Connie didn’t look at Kelly, nor return her smile. She gave a half shrug. “Okay, I guess.” Then she didn’t say anything else.
Kelly took a sip of coffee and tried again, deliberately keeping her voice gentle and quiet, even though there was no one in the adjoining yarn rooms. “We all care about you, Connie. We’re your friends. You know that.”
Connie slid one magazine out of the binder and replaced it with one from the new stack. “I know,” she replied in a little voice.
Brother, Kelly thought. Normally talkative, vivacious Connie had been struck with a mute virus or something. Kelly had thought for sure that since Connie was talking to customers, she’d eventually return to her former self and start talking to friends again. But that hadn’t happened for some reason.
Kelly clicked on the icons for her spreadsheets and watched them fill the screen. Meanwhile, she watched Connie continue to silently replace magazines. So Kelly decided to take another tack. She would become the Chatty Kathy and see if she could draw Connie into conversation.
“Officer Warren talked to Megan and Lisa over the weekend. She talked to Marty and Greg and Steve, too. She actually drove over to the guys’ game at Greeley on Saturday and our softball game on Sunday. I had to laugh. Their impression of her was the same as mine. A smiling bulldog.”
Connie didn’t say a word, didn’t look up at Kelly, smile or nod. She simply kept changing out magazines in the binders. Kelly got an uneasy feeling in her gut. Connie’s behavior was really abnormal.
She tried once more. “Officer Warren was something else, I’ll say that. She had one question after another. Didn’t let up.”
At that, Connie glanced up, and Kelly couldn’t miss the concerned look on Connie’s face. Then she glanced down again. But this time, she asked softly, “What sort of questions did she ask?”
Kelly weighed how to reply, wanting to keep the sparse dialogue going if possible. “Oh, she asked me if I knew Andrea personally. And I told her not really. I’d just met her here at the shop. Then she wanted to know if I knew Dennis Holt, so I had to explain that I had met him when Jennifer and I were up in Poudre Canyon a couple of years ago seeing a piece of property she had for sale. Dennis was the next door neighbor.”
Kelly had settled back into the chair and deliberately stared off into the central yarn room, trying to appear as relaxed as possible. Connie was still watching and listening, which was an improvement over staring at the magazines and not saying a word.
“Of course, I didn’t tell her that I saw Dennis Holt creeping around in the bushes spying on Jennifer and me. We’d just gotten up to the cabin and found her client, Fred Turner, dead inside. So we were already on edge. Jennifer was calling the police and I was on the porch and noticed Dennis hiding in the bushes. Kind of hard to hide that bushy dark beard of his. It really spooked me.” She had to pause to draw in a breath.
“Did she ask about anybody else?” Connie asked in a quiet voice.
Kelly nodded. “Oh, yeah. She asked about everybody. Apparently she went out to Curt’s ranch this weekend, too, and grilled them as well. Jayleen told me Curt was this close to getting ornery and aggravated. I also saw Dennis Holt in town yesterday and he said Warren wanted to know everything about his divorce from Andrea and their property settlement and his past drinking problems. Dennis said it was an interrogation more than an interview.”
Connie glanced to the side. “What did she ask about me?”
Kelly paused before answering. “She wanted to know what happened on Saturday. I told her you came up to help Jayleen and saw your husband there. Then you guys had an argument.” Kelly sensed Connie would fill in the unspoken words.
Connie looked down at the magazines again, sliding one out and replacing it with a newer one. Kelly felt like she shouldn’t just let the conversation die out on that last statement, so she ventured in aga
in.
“Did it feel like an interrogation to you, Connie? When Officer Warren was with you, I mean.”
Connie’s lips tightened together. Kelly spotted that and hoped she hadn’t made her cry. Connie nodded her head. “Yeah, it did,” she said in a tiny voice.
“I’m sorry,” Kelly said softly, not knowing what else to say. Feeling bad that she didn’t.
Mimi walked into the room then, glanced at Connie then Kelly. “Good morning, Kelly. I think you’re the only person in the shop so far. It’s feeling really empty.”
“They’ll start coming in to escape the heat, if nothing else,” Kelly joked, deliberately adopting a relaxed tone of voice.
“If you’re finished with the magazines, Connie, there’re some skeins of that merino wool and mohair that need winding.”
“I’m finished, so I can do the winding right now.” Connie pushed back her chair and replaced the binders on the floor-to-ceiling shelves behind her. She started to take the stack of older magazines.
“You can leave them, Connie. I thought I’d put some in these empty spots I have on the turnstile in the corner here.” Mimi pointed to the corner between the workroom and the spinning alcove.
“I was going to get some more coffee,” Kelly said. “Would either of you like some?”
“None for me, thanks,” Connie said, as she walked toward the central yarn room.
“I’ll be up front as soon as I put these magazines away,” Mimi called after Connie. Then she turned to Kelly. It was impossible to miss the concern in Mimi’s gaze. “I heard you trying to talk to Connie a few minutes ago when I was going to my office. Did she actually talk to you, Kelly? She’s only talked to me so far, and the customers, of course. Thank goodness for that.”
“A little. It was like pulling teeth, I tell you, Mimi. She didn’t reply at first, then I started jabbering away, talking about how Officer Warren grilled everyone. And on and on. She actually looked up and asked what Warren wanted to know. What kinds of questions. So I told her in very general terms.”
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