GUNNED (27 page)

“Wait a minute. That’s not Cyrus Shalt. What the heck hell, John,” I said to the screen. “You arrested the wrong guy!”

“I believe that is Jeff Jamison, no?” Annie said.

“Yes it is. What is going on? John never said a thing, not one thing last night while we were pouring out our theory about how it had to be one of the Shalts.”

“Kiddo, I hate to tell you, but you don’t work for the police.”

I dropped back down onto my cushion and tore off a large chunk of sandwich with my teeth.

“It is not all John’s fault. Gerard did not confide in me either when we went to bed. I do not like not having the outside road to all the police information.”

Theresa and Frances looked at Annie.

“Inside track,” I said. “And I agree, Annie. It’s the pits.”

“Why do you think the police went after this other man?” my mother asked.

“Probably because that was my original theory. Mr. Spiegel stopped by the Jamison home on the night he was killed. Both Mrs. and Mr. Jamison left their house, separately, after the visit. I told all of this to John the other night because I really thought one of them might have gone after Sheldon Spiegel. And they have a gun. But then after Annie and I talked with Shirley yesterday and she told us about the financial problems the Shalt Nursery was having and the rumors about them cultivating more than orchids in their hothouses, I felt pretty sure I was on to something.”

“Last night while waiting for Meme, we came to the conclusion that the Shalts and the sister, the nurse, had the best motive for wanting to get another child. We told all of this to John and Gerard last night,” Annie said. “I feel betrayed. While we shared everything we had, those two had other ideas and did not once confide in us. Gerard will find himself on another airplane going home.”

“Don’t be too hard on him, Annie. He’s only following the orders of John Van der Burg. The last couple of murders that hit Indian Cove, I solved, so I guess it’s only fair that the police win one once in a while.” I tried to be light and cavalier about the whole thing, but I was disappointed. And something else. No matter what that husband of mine thought, I was pretty sure he was wrong.

I couldn’t believe that Annie and Gerard would be gone in two days. Having them stay with us was such a pleasure. It was like Meme said. They were family. But all good things have to come to an end, and I guess I needed to get back to my business and earn my keep.

“Ah, it looks like Belgium outside,” Annie said. “It must be God’s way of preparing me for my return to Brussels.” She stood by the kitchen sink looking out the window at a sheet of water cascading down from the heavens. Maybe she was right.

“It’s going to be very strange waking up on Monday without you here.”

Annie came and sat next to me at the kitchen table.

“Gerard and I feel the same. My husband has so enjoyed going to work every day with John. You wouldn’t think he had any vacation at all, but he has loved every minute of it. We are in love with very odd men, no?”

I nodded. “Yes, we are. I never thought I would date a cop much less marry one, but I wouldn’t trade John for anything.”

“Even though he arrested the wrong man?”

“Annie, don’t ask me to explain it, but I think he’s wrong.”

“John has not arrested Mr. Jamison, so perhaps he is not completely certain of the man’s guilt either, and Gerard has let a few things slip.”

I put my mug down on the table, sloshing some tea onto my place mat. “He did? Like what?”

Annie shook her head quickly. “Do not get too excited. It wasn’t anything—what is the word, specific. Yes, that is it. It wasn’t anything specific, but I think they are looking into someone else. Gerard said that if they could confirm a few more pieces of the puzzle it will all click into place.”

“Well, that’s because they’re waiting for the ballistics report on Mr. Jamison’s gun.”

“No. I think bringing Mr. Jamison in was simply to eliminate him. I do not think he was a true suspect. They were doing their due diligence. That is what Gerard said.”

“So maybe we were right. I bet John’s going to bring in someone from the Shalt family next.” I got up and went to the refrigerator for some cold water. “Annie, this weather is pretty crazy today and I think it best to wait and hear from John, so what do you say we do some laundry. I don’t want you going home with a suitcase full of dirty clothes.”

“Thank you, Alex. That will be a big help.”

Annie went upstairs to gather all of her dirty things along with Gerard’s. I got the hand towels out of the powder room downstairs and took them into the laundry room off the kitchen. Since my guests had arrived I’d been tossing the morning newspaper onto the washing machine and there had to be over a week’s worth sitting there. I picked them all up and dumped them on the kitchen table.

“I think this is everything,” Annie said, holding a laundry bag overflowing with clothes.  “We never had a chance to do a wash up in Boston, so I have a lot. Will it all fit?”

“It should. If not, we’ll just do two loads.” I got everything into the machine, added the soap and white vinegar, which I use in place of fabric softener, and pressed the start button.

I filled my new electric tea kettle with more water while Annie made another pot of coffee. I put several slices of coffee cake on a plate and brought it over to the kitchen table. While I waited for the water to boil I called my sister and told her to meet us tomorrow night at a seafood restaurant on the beach, Gerard’s treat. Next, I called my mother and she said they would pick up Meme and Frances and Theresa. Then I called the restaurant and made a reservation for tomorrow evening. Gerard had insisted on including the entire family and I was looking forward to the evening.

Annie and I took our warm drinks to the table and I picked up a piece of the coffee cake and took a bite. Starting next week, I planned on getting back into my routine of no desserts and plenty of exercise.

“If we have time this afternoon, Alex, I would like to stop at the market. My daughter has a fondness for brown sugar cinnamon Pop Tarts and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.”

“She does?” I laughed.

“Oh, yes. Chloe loves all things American. During the summers when we would go to Boston to stay with Ken and his family, my daughter developed a love of these Pop Tarts. We can get them at the American store in Antwerp, but they cost a lot of money. Of all the things I could bring her, this is what she asked for. Crazy, no.”

“I can understand completely. With all the delicious food your country has to offer, when we were there last year, I kept missing M&M’s. But I made up for it with croissants and some heavenly pastries.”

While we chitchatted, I started to sort through all the newspapers. I hated to toss them without reading them, but there was no way I could catch up with this stack when another one arrived on my doorstep each day.

Annie took a couple and sat there with her coffee while she turned the pages.

“Your newspapers are very large.”

“That’s nothing. You should see the Sunday edition. There should be one here.” I looked over the stack on the table and then returned to the laundry room. “Here it is,” I said placing it next to Annie. “It was on the floor by the dryer. It’s got tons of ads, and Sunday supplements. It can take all morning to read, but on a snowy morning, there’s nothing better than a cup of tea, some snacks, and the Sunday paper. John and I actually fight over certain sections—Annie, are you okay?”

All the color had drained out of Annie’s face. She folded the page she had been reading over and then handed it to me. There were several articles and I looked at the headlines of all of them, and then my body went ridged and I felt a chill slowly crawling up my back.

“You see it, don’t you?” Annie asked. “You understand the significance. It is what we both knew but forgot.”

I nodded slowly. “Uh-huh. Damn! How could I let this get by me!”

“I did not pick up on it either. We had so many people to speak with and every one of them had a motive.”

I shook my head slowly and then a smile formed and I looked at Annie. “We did it. We solved the crime. And this time we’re right. I know it.” I went over to a drawer where I keep junk. Everyone has one and mine is no different, though perhaps a bit more organized than most. I had to rummage around before I found a pad of paper and a pen that still worked. I brought them back to the table and started to list all the reasons why I thought we were right. All the reasons that had been in front of us this entire time. When I was done, I turned the pad around so Annie could see it. “What do you think?”

Annie read the list, nodding and saying
oui
over and over. “
Mon Dieu
! We did it. Now what?”

“Now I need to call Shirley.”

As soon as the laundry was done, Annie and I headed to Stamford. Shirley had managed to get me the address I needed, but it wasn’t noon yet, and I thought our best bet would be to catch her at lunch.

We found a grocery store and Annie stocked up on treats for her daughter.

“This is all you want, Pop Tarts and macaroni and cheese?” a mystified checkout girl asked.

“It’s a gift.”

The girl pressed her lips together. “Okay, but there’s a mall down the street. You could probably find something really nice there.”

Annie explained her odd choice of purchases.

“Wow! That’s really cool that your daughter likes this stuff too. I love macaroni and cheese. I’m a student so I eat a lot of it.”

Annie paid for her things and thanked the young woman.

We got back in the car and headed to our destination and found a parking garage next door. It took a while for us to find a vacant slot that wasn’t reserved for an employee, and ended up a few floors below ground. Once in the building, we made our way to a bank of elevators and got off on the sixth floor. I walked up to the reception counter and waited for the man behind the desk to finish helping someone else.

“Good afternoon, I’d like to see Rhoda Newman.”

“Sorry, you just missed her.”

I looked at Annie and sighed. “Great. Now what?”

“She went to lunch. You could wait, but she usually just goes downstairs. There’s a cafeteria on the first floor,” the receptionist explained.

I smiled at the man. “Thank you. We’ll head back down there.”

We found the cafeteria and looked around. There was a long line of people winding their way through the display of lunch choices, but I didn’t see Rhoda. Neither Annie nor I was hungry so we moved away from the food area and walked into a large dining hall. I scanned the tables to the left, while Annie looked right.

“There she is,” Annie said.

Rhoda Newman was eating a salad. She had a book opened and no one else was at her table. We made our way through the crowded room.

“Rhoda? Hi, it’s Alex Harris.”

Rhoda closed her book. “Oh, hello. What are you doing here? How did you know where I worked?”

“I have a friend who’s been helping me and she’s a private investigator. She was able to find your place of employment for us.”

Rhoda shook her head. “That’s frightening.”

I felt like a stalker.

“It is, and I’m sorry to bother you at work. We’ll just take a minute, but I had a couple more questions.”

“Does this mean you know who killed Mr. Spiegel? Does it have anything to do with—” she took a deep breath. “Does it have something to do with Erika?”

“I’m not entirely sure yet, but we’re getting closer to finding the answer.” I couldn’t tell this woman, not here in a public place, that I was pretty sure I knew who killed Mr. Spiegel, and I was equally certain that that person had switched their child with Rhoda’s.

“Do you feel up to answering just a few more things?” I asked.

“If you promise me that as soon as you know for sure, you’ll let me know.”

Annie and I both nodded.

“Okay, what do you need to know?”

“Did you speak with any of the other mothers while you were in the hospital?”

Rhoda wiped a bit of salad dressing from her lips and indicated that we should take a seat. Annie sat down across from Rhoda while I asked a woman at another table if I could use her extra seat.

“We all had private rooms and for the first day or two, I was sick and slept most of the time.”

“But after that?” Annie prodded.

“No, as soon as I was up to it, Ira took us home.”

I could feel my entire theory falling apart. I was positive that Rhoda and the killer had talked at some time. Even if they hadn’t, the switch could have been made by pure luck, but I didn’t think so. And then Rhoda said something else.

“When I arrived I talked with a couple of others who came in around the same time as I did. You had to fill out all sorts of forms. Ira parked in front of the hospital so I wouldn’t have to walk, and after he got me inside, he ran off to move the car. I was young and really nervous and I didn’t have anyone with me besides Ira.”

“So you talked with these people?”

“Yes. One of the other mothers and I were both in a lot of pain and just sitting there waiting to be taken upstairs. She started talking and I think it was more just to forget about what was going to happen. Having a baby is a scary thing.”

“What did you tell her? Do you remember anything that you said or anything that she asked?”

“My name. I remember introducing myself. I told her my husband was just parking the car and he would be right back. She asked me if I had family to help me with the baby afterward and I said no, it was just Ira and me. I remember she said she was having a girl and I told her I didn’t know what I was having, but I felt it was a girl, too. No special reason, I just had a feeling my baby was a girl. I told her I already had the name picked out. She was older than me and it was nice to have someone to put me at ease. Another woman came in about that time. She too was older and she patted my hand and told me everything would be okay. It would have been nice to have my parents there.” Rhoda got a faraway look in her eyes and then a tear crept down her face.