by Mallory Kane
“You were at her house?”
Ralph waved a hand. “Again, no comment.”
“Will your lady friend verify that you were there?”
Ralph shook his head. “No. Absolutely not.”
“Tell me about the meeting at Misty’s house.”
“The meeting? You mean Monday? What about it? Misty’s house was dark and musty, but the meeting was productive.”
“Do you recall Misty getting a phone call while you were there?” Cade asked.
Ralph’s gaze flickered to Laurel. “I went to the bathroom and when I came back into the dining room Misty was talking on the phone. I didn’t pay much attention to the conversation.”
“So you don’t know who she was talking to?”
“Sure.” He smiled at Laurel. “She told us all after she hung up.”
“What else did she tell you?”
“Nothing. Just that Laurel was going to stay with her this weekend.”
Cade stood and walked behind Ralph. “Okay. If you can’t give me something to prove to me that you weren’t anywhere near Misty’s house last night, I’ll have to ask to search your hotel room.”
Ralph obviously didn’t like Cade standing behind him. He smoothed the back of his hair nervously and struggled not to turn around.
“Give me a break. First of all, you won’t find anything. Second, no judge would give you a warrant based solely on my refusal to embarrass someone just to give myself an alibi.”
“All right,” Cade said, still behind him. “If I won’t find anything, it can’t hurt to let me look.”
Irritation and something else flashed in Ralph’s eyes. He spread his hands. “You’re asking me to prove a negative. I’m thinking it’s your job to find proof. Now if you’ll excuse me—”
Cade stepped out of the way as Ralph pushed his chair back.
“I have a party to finalize, and thanks to you and your questioning, we’ll be lucky if we’re ready by the time the party starts.”
Cade put his hand on the door. “One last thing. Where were you at around six o’clock yesterday evening?”
“Around six? I was in my hotel room, getting ready for my date.”
“Can anyone corroborate that?”
“I called Kathy about that time—a question about the decorations.”
Laurel sat up straight. “Kathy said she was taking a nap.”
Ralph pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and punched a couple of buttons. “I called her at 6:11 p.m. on the dot and talked to her for two minutes and seventeen seconds. Are you saying she doesn’t remember talking to me?” Ralph shook his head and locked gazes with Cade. “Poor girl. She really needs help.” He reached for the doorknob.
“Ralph.” Laurel stood. “Did you call Kathy’s home phone?”
Ralph looked thoughtful. “No. Her cell.”
She exchanged a glance with Cade. Kathy could have been anywhere, even inside Misty’s house.
Ralph turned as he stepped through the door. “Laurel, you look nice. Nice.”
Shuddering inwardly, Laurel handed him her card. “Call me if you think of anything else.”
Ralph pointed a finger at her and winked, then closed the door behind him.
“He is so creepy,” she commented.
Cade flashed her a quick grin. “Creepy, maybe. Cagey, definitely. I’d bet you a hundred dollars he talked to his lawyer last night or this morning.”
She shook her head. “I’m not taking that bet. Do you think he’s the one who attacked Misty and me?”
“You need to answer that question. Was it a man who maced you and threw you down?”
She closed her eyes and replayed the attack in her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t see anything—the perp must have been wearing black. And he barely touched me. Just maced me and tossed the blanket over my head when I came inside. I hit the floor like a rock.”
“Footsteps? Aftershave or perfume? Anything?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t remember smelling anything. I didn’t even smell the smoke until later.”
“And you said you were outside about five minutes?”
“At the most. Not long enough for anyone to search for the photos.”
“What about after you were maced?”
“I suppose by the time I crawled into the bathroom and washed my eyes out, it could have been five more minutes. I don’t know. The fire got so big so quickly.”
“Right. Kit said something about dried-out wood and rotten draperies.”
A tentative knock sounded on the door, and Debra peeked in. “Should I come in now, or did you want me to wait?” Cade stood. “No. Come in. We’re ready.”
Debra chose a seat a couple of chairs down from Laurel. She clasped her hands in her lap. Her gaze flitted between the two of them like a frightened bird. “I don’t know what I can tell you. I don’t know any more than I did last night.”
“What did you do after Misty was taken to the hospital?”
“I went home.”
“So you didn’t hear the fire trucks later?”
She shook her head. “I went to bed early.”
“What about earlier? What were you doing at around six o’clock?”
“Six o’clock?” Debra’s eyes grew wide. “I was at the grocery store. Then I went over to Daddy’s and cooked supper for him.”
“Did you see anyone you knew?”
“Now that I think about it, no. How funny.”
“When did you leave your dad’s?”
“I think it was nearly seven. When I got home my husband complained about his supper being late.”
“So you don’t know who attacked Misty.”
Debra caught her lower lip between her teeth and lowered her gaze to her pink fingertips. “No.”
Debra did know something. Laurel was sure of it. She’d be easy to crack, too. Laurel opened her mouth to press her for information but Cade stopped her with a subtle gesture.
“But you have an idea, don’t you?” he said gently.
Debra looked up and Laurel saw tears glistening in her eyes. “No! No. Why would you say that, Cade? I don’t know anything. I promise.”
Cade leaned back in his chair and studied Debra. Laurel studied him. He exuded strength and protectiveness, and Debra was obviously drawn to that like a moth to a flame.
Laurel felt the other woman’s tug of war. Debra couldn’t reveal what she knew, but she wanted to please Cade.
It occurred to Laurel that Debra had always been a follower, always been a people pleaser. She’d been let into Kathy’s elite circle because she’d fawned over her. Laurel remembered something else, too. She’d never seen Debra be mean to anyone. She’d followed Kathy’s instructions, but she was always apologetic. Could she have picked the lock on Misty’s front door and sneaked in and hit her? Laurel doubted it. She knew for a fact that it wasn’t Debra who’d attacked her.
“Cade, please.” Debra fidgeted. “Stop staring at me. I can’t tell you anything.”
He nodded. “Okay. You can go. Here.” He held out a hand to Laurel. “Take one of Agent Gillespie’s cards in case you remember something.”
Biting her tongue, Laurel handed him a card. He gave it to Debra.
As soon as the door closed behind Debra, Laurel spoke. “What are you doing? You almost had her. Ten more seconds and she’d have spilled everything she knew.”
He shook his head. “She was about to break. I had to back off. I didn’t want her to start crying or all the questioning would be over.”
“Maybe.” Laurel wasn’t totally convinced. Was Cade a big softie who couldn’t resist tears? Or was he just very smart?
Chapter Five
“Debra knows something,” Laurel insisted to Cade. “I’m sure of it. We need to talk to her again.”
“My guess is she knows a lot, but she’s too afraid of somebody to talk.”
“Kathy.”
He nodded and stood. “I’ll get Mary Sue.”
Just then
the door burst open. Kathy breezed in, bringing with her the smell of cigarette smoke. “Are you finished yet?” she demanded. “We need this room to store supplies in.”
Cade took her elbow and guided her out of the room. “Mary Sue and Ann Noble are the last ones. Just a few more minutes and we’ll be out of your hair.”
When Mary Sue came in, she paid about as much attention to Laurel as she did to the floor—none. Her whole attention was aimed at Cade.
Still amused by Mary Sue’s blatant flirting at the hospital, Laurel tried to catch Cade’s eye. He ignored her.
“Mary Sue, you remember me from high school, don’t you?” she said, sliding a card across the table toward her.
Mary Sue’s eyes barely flickered toward her. She picked up the card and glanced at it. “Vaguely,” she said, and smiled at Cade.
“Mary Sue. Look at me.” She resisted the urge to snap her fingers in front of the woman’s face. “Do you know anything about the break-in at Misty’s house? Or the fire later that night?”
“Of course not.” She shot Laurel an annoyed glance, then looked back at Cade. To Laurel’s surprise, she actually batted her eyelashes.
He cleared his throat and sat back in his chair. “Where were you around six o’clock last night?”
“Oh, heavens, Cade,” she said, waving a perfectly manicured hand. “I don’t know. Yesterday was a very busy day. I was probably picking up my boys at soccer practice.”
“Probably?” Laurel repeated.
“After that I was at home with my husband and children. Someone called me about Misty, so I called my friend Dolly at the florist shop, got her to whip me up a bouquet and took it to the hospital. You were there.”
“Who called you?”
She swished a manicured hand through the air. “I don’t remember. I was so distraught about Misty. One of my neighbors, I suppose.” She glanced at Cade coyly.
Laurel grimaced internally at Mary Sue’s posturing. Did she actually think that southern-belle routine worked?
She glanced at Cade and caught a look of utter misery on his face. She had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. He looked like a man facing the gallows.
“What about the time of the fire?”
Mary Sue shrugged. “In the middle of the night? I was asleep. I didn’t hear about the fire until this morning.” She gave Laurel all her attention for the first time. “Was that you that nearly got burned up?”
Laurel literally bit her tongue to keep from lashing out at the prim and vacuous woman. “On Monday,” she said through gritted teeth, “you were at a meeting at Misty’s house.”
“Was that just Monday? It seems like a week ago.”
Today’s Saturday. It was a week ago. “You were there when Misty answered the phone. You heard her call me by name, right?”
Mary Sue looked blank. “I remember a phone call. Misty mentioned pictures. I thought it must be the drug store, calling her about a roll of film.”
“You didn’t hear her mention Wendell Vance or graduation night?” Laurel asked. Mary Sue set her teeth on edge. She couldn’t possibly be that out of tune with the world, could she?
“No. At least, I don’t think so.”
“All right, Mary Sue. You can go. Please ask Ann Noble to come in.” Cade’s tone was commanding, so Laurel kept her mouth shut while Mary Sue managed to touch his arm twice before he ushered her out the door.
Laurel put her head between her hands. “Oh, my gosh. Is she always like that?”
“Far as I know. What was she like in high school?”
“I have no idea. I never talked to the CeeGees. I wasn’t worth their time.”
“That bothers you?”
She laughed. “Not anymore. I think we can eliminate Mary Sue from the suspect list. She couldn’t possibly have planned or carried out the attack on Misty.”
The door opened and Ann Noble stepped in. Her navy blazer and plaid skirt were impeccably pressed, and the low-heeled navy shoes she wore were polished to a high shine. Her glasses hung by a practical cord around her neck, and she clutched a leather folder. Her only concession to fashion was her perfectly applied makeup.
“Chief Dupree.” She nodded at Cade and then held her hand out to Laurel. “Hello. I’m Ann Noble, personal assistant to the mayor. I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“No, we haven’t.” Laurel stood and took Ann Noble’s hand. “I’m Special Agent Laurel Gillespie, with the FBI. Please sit down.”
“Do you have a card, Agent Gillespie?”
Proactive. Laurel handed her a business card.
“Ms. Noble, thank you for coming down here.” Cade used his killer smile to full advantage. “We just have a couple of questions. Were you at the Reunion Committee meeting at Misty Waller’s house on Monday?”
“Yes, of course.” She perched her glasses on her nose, opened her folder and took out a sheet of paper. “I’m sure you’d like to track my movements since then. So I took the liberty of preparing a record of my appointments and locations since the meeting at Ms. Waller’s house. I’ll give you a few minutes to look that over and you can let me know if you have any questions.” She extracted a second sheet of paper and handed it to Laurel.
Cade sent Laurel a furtive glance. She had to bite her lip to hide her amusement as she skimmed the sheet. Ann Noble was wasted in Dusty Springs. She should work for the State Department. She might actually accomplish herding cats.
“You’re not originally from here, are you?” Cade asked her.
Ms. Noble let her glasses drop to her chest. “No. I moved here six years ago from Southhaven. I’d known the mayor in law school.”
“You’re a lawyer?” Laurel asked.
She shook her head. “Regretfully I had to leave school when my mother became ill.”
“How did you end up on the Reunion Committee?”
“The Mayor wanted to be sure the committee had everything they needed for a successful reunion. It’s part of his community involvement campaign.”
“Tell us about the meeting at Misty Waller’s house.”
“Of course. Although as I just pointed out, the only reason I’m on the committee at all is as a representative of the mayor. I have no personal connection to any of the members. I’m happy to help, though. I do have very good powers of observation.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Ms. Noble went through an exhaustive play-by-play of the entire meeting. “So we were just about to wrap things up when the phone rang.”
Cade’s body language shifted slightly. He was intent on what Ann Noble was going to say.
“Misty said, ‘Hi, Laurel.’ After she listened for a moment, she said, ‘Photographs from graduation night? I don’t remember.’ She said she’d look to see if she had any with Wendell in them as soon as the meeting was over.”
Laurel gaped. Powers of observation, hah. Ann Noble had an eidetic memory. She’d quoted practically word for word what was said.
Cade’s gaze flickered her way then back to Ann Noble, who directed her next comment to Laurel.
“The fact that Misty mentioned photographs and the name Wendell apparently upset you, Special Agent Gillespie. I can only speculate, but I assume you didn’t want her talking in front of the others, since you ended the call almost immediately.”
“What about the other people in the room?” Cade asked. “Did any of them react to what Misty said?”
Ann frowned. “I did notice that Kathy Adler seemed extremely interested in the phone call. None of the others reacted. Not really.”
Not really? From the look on Cade’s face, he was thinking the same thing she was. Ann Noble wasn’t one to prevaricate. “You noticed something else, didn’t you?” Laurel asked.
“I hesitate to say anything, because it’s just an impression—” She paused for an instant. “But when Misty mentioned the name Wendell, Mary Sue Nelson gasped, and Debra Honeycutt grew white as a sheet.”
“What about Langston? How did he react?�
� Cade asked.
Ann picked up her glasses and inspected them. She flicked a speck of lint off one lens with the tip of a nail. “He seemed more bored than anything. I don’t think sitting in a roomful of women drinking iced tea is his thing.”
“So he was in the room the whole time?”
Ann held her glasses up to the light.
Stalling for time.
“As I recall, he may have excused himself just prior to the call. But he returned quickly.”
Cade leaned forward. “What were you doing last evening from—let’s say—six o’clock on.”
Her neck flushed. “I had a date.”
“Starting at six o’clock?”
“I got in from work, bathed and changed and my date arrived around eight.”
Eight o’clock. The same time as Ralph’s date. Laurel glanced at Cade, but he was studying Ann.
“Where did you and your date go?”
Ann’s flush traveled up to her cheeks. “We—stayed in.”
“Who was your date?” Laurel asked her.
Ann sat upright and sent Laurel a quelling look. “Is that pertinent?”
Cade spoke up. “Unless we know who you were with, you leave yourself with no alibi.”
“Alibi? Surely you’re not serious.”
“Oh, yes, ma’am, I’m very serious. What time was your date over?”
Ann pursed her lips. “Very late.”
“So you won’t offer any proof of where you were for the whole night?”
She glanced at her watch. “I really should be getting back to my office. I’m supposed to coordinate a teleconference for the mayor in about twenty minutes.” She slid her chair back and picked up the leather folder.
Cade stood as she did. “On a Saturday?”
“Of course.” Her mouth twisted in a smug smile. “I am available to the mayor any time he needs me.”
“If you decide to come clean about your date, please call me.”
“Certainly.” She twisted the doorknob and jerked the door open. On the verge of bolting, she froze, then closed the door again and turned around.
“If I disclose who I was with last night, can I count on your discretion?” A bright flush rose from her neck to redden her face.
