Just a Memory (10 page)

He knew Hines had heard him cry out, but he stayed in bed. Hines knew he could do nothing for Mac. He had to remember it all–all that his mind was trying to keep hidden for some reason Mac would not know until he remembered. He was the only one alive who knew all of what happened that night. He
had
to remember. Despite how many months had passed, he wanted to believe it was too early for him to give up hope. It had to be.

If Mac remembered–no,
when
he remembered–he and Hines could bring the case to a conclusion. Then they both could get on with their lives.

Over an hour later, after taking another shower and remaking the bed, Mac finally surrendered to a restless but thankfully dreamless sleep.

Dressed in a conservative charcoal wool suit with a lighter gray silk blouse, Carolyn readied her notes for the Lakehaven Merchants Association officers meeting. This was the first meeting for the newly elected officers. No longer secretary, she now had the responsibilities of Programs Chairperson–to enlist willing speakers or make other program plans for the monthly meetings.

At first, being secretary and keeping the minutes and records in order seemed easier. Then with the months off for major holidays, the election meeting, and most of the summer ones off, she only had to plan seven programs. She'd only found one person in the group willing to be on a committee to help her. The goal didn't appear to be an impossible task, and right now, the work would take her mind off the burglary.

She put up the 'Open at One O'clock' sign to explain her absence over the
noon
hour. Thankfully her customers seemed happy to put up with her occasional time off if it meant keeping such a unique shop in the area.

She looked around the shop again before closing and locking the door. She wondered if she would ever get over the feeling that someone had invaded…no,
violated
her space. No matter how angry she felt, it didn't take away the feeling of fear and helplessness. She hated the feeling and the unhappy memories.

She'd been surprised to find nothing stolen or ruined. It appeared someone had just wanted to mess the place up and break some glass. Why? Try as she may, Carolyn couldn't imagine even one person who could dislike (she didn't want to think in terms of hate) her enough to want to hurt her that way.

For the first time since she'd opened the shop, she thought about giving it all up and getting a job elsewhere. This town had been home for half her life. She hated to leave, but if she didn't run the shop, that was her only choice. What could she do here to earn a living? Where else could she and Terri go? She managed to convince herself she was overreacting.

Thinking as positively as she could, she concentrated on the one good thing that had resulted from the break-in: Charlie had installed a new metal door. Without a battering ram or explosives, she didn't think anyone could break through it. She knew she would feel a lot safer working there late at night during her busy seasons.

Though Carolyn tried not to admit it to herself, another good had come from it all. Mac.

The door be hanged, she thought, smiling at her unintentional pun. Meeting Mac was definitely the best part. He'd been so sweet to come back with the pizza merely because he wanted to be there for her. Of course she would have to be certain that she confined her feelings to only those of appreciation.

Carolyn started her car and was backing out into the alley when she suddenly braked hard as a thought occurred to her. Mac
was
there as a friend, and not to check to see if she was involved with her own break-in, wasn't he? She didn't like the new unsettling feeling she got from that question. Although completely unfamiliar with police procedure, she didn't like thinking Mac would be that two-faced with her. Or was that the kind of thing the police did nowadays?

How could Mac suspect her? She'd already reported nothing missing. If she'd faked a break-in, wouldn't she have claimed a lot of money and goods had been stolen?

She groaned and shook her head to clear it. Making an effort to devote her attention to her driving and her thoughts to her meeting, she pulled into traffic and headed toward the motel coffee shop where the merchants met.

Harry, stocky and pasty-complexioned with dark hair and beady dark eyes, chuckled at the morning radio personalities as he pulled his gray sedan around the corner and trailed Carolyn to the coffee shop. After she went in, he drove down the block and parked where he could keep an eye on the entrance. When she came out, he planned to see where she went next.

He pulled out a cheap pay-as-you-go cell phone and keyed in some numbers. Time to report what he'd seen over the past twenty-four hours.

He spoke into the phone for a few moments, detailing Mac's movements.

"Then he brought pizza to this woman's store. And when they left later, he drove right behind her. I couldn't follow for long 'cause nobody was around and I didn't know if he would spot me. I looked up where she lives. She must be somethin' hot, taking him home on the first date." He barked a laugh that quickly died as he listened. "Yeah. I'm on her now. She's at a restaurant."

Harry glanced around to see if anyone was watching him.

"No, he ain't with her and I ain't gonna lose her neither. Hell, I can only watch one of them at a time, but if you send someone else, he'll pick us out. This place is so dinky I try to stay out of town at the dump where I'm staying as much as possible. Okay, if she goes back to the store where she works, I'll go back to tailing him. But it's not like there's a lot for him to do around here."

He listened, ploughing a rough hand through his hair and across his face. "Yeah. Yeah. I don't understand why you don't just end it now instead of taking this chance. How much longer do I got to stay in this burg?"

Harry nodded as he listened and then disconnected the call with a snap. Why wouldn't they just let him end it now?

Angry at being stuck in the tiny town, Harry sighed and settled down for the wait.

Chapter Five

Mac entered the small police station after yet another restless night. He greeted Ellie at the communications board with as cheery a 'good morning' as he could manage and listened as she gave him the overnight news from the Sheriff's Office. Not much happening. Good. He took the mail she held out to him and started toward his office, but stopped.

"Ellie, Hines hasn't come up with much on the break-in. Why don't you see what you can learn about White Properties this morning? See what people will tell you, since you've worked and lived here longer–things they might not say to Hines, for whatever reason, if he asked."

Mac knew how tight-lipped small-town people could be about their own community members when they were talking to someone they considered an outsider. While he hated to think it, the fact that Hines was black and one of a very small minority in this town might have something to do with it, too. Made him wish he could change some minds about that in the short time they would be here.

"Right away," Ellie said. "I stopped by county records this morning, but Mavis wasn't her old organized self. I let her know that learning White's recent real estate dealings was important."

Mac shook his head at the way things were done in small towns. "Good, and when Hines gets in, tell him I want to see him." At the sound of the entrance door swinging open, he looked up and added, "Speak of the devil."

Hines pushed in the door with his backside while he steadied a box of doughnuts with three big Styrofoam cups of coffee balanced on top. He looked up to find the two of them staring at him. "What? Whatever it was, man, I didn't do it!"

Mac and Ellie laughed.

"I don't know what it is you didn't do, but if I can have one of those coffees, I'll forgive you anything," Ellie announced as she rose to help him set the cups down without spilling. "Today's your day to make the coffee, Hines, and I'll take the Donut Dugout coffee over yours
any
time."

"Nice talk." He handed a coffee to Mac with his verbal report of his morning rounds. "All's quiet on the merchant front," he said. "Some of them are at a meeting at the motel coffee shop this morning."

Mac nodded. That had to be the meeting Carolyn told him about.

Hines turned to Ellie. "Uneventful night and not a sign of the 'strange sedan' that Ms. Ashton said was parked at the corner across from The Costume Nook." He emphasized the
zzz
sound in
Ms.
and Ellie giggled despite her obvious efforts not to.

With the mention of the costume shop, Hines had Mac's undivided attention. "Whoa!
What
strange sedan across from the costume shop?"

Ellie explained Mavis's call the night before.

"I think it's time you went in person to learn more about that and about White," Mac ordered. "Get all the details and tell me what you find out."

"It's probably nothing and Mavis means well," Ellie added. "She's one of Lakehaven's nosier citizens, and she's more than set in her ways."

"Ellie, remember rule number one in police work: Don't assume anything," Mac told her. Ellie nodded.

"I thought 'Thou shalt cover thy own tail' was rule number one," Hines interjected brightly.

"No, it's 'Thou shalt wear thy necktie with thy uniform'," Mac countered with a grin.

Hines pulled a wrinkled tie from his pocket and draped it around his neck. Biting into a doughnut, he promptly dropped powdered sugar on his navy lapel. He groaned. "Hey, now look what you made me do!"

"Hines, when you're done decorating your uniform," Mac said, leaning way over to bite into his own confection without powdering himself, "come in to the office and let's see what we have on the break-in. Looks like we should start looking at it as vandalism rather than burglary since nothing is missing."

"Nothing is missing?" Ellie asked.

"Carolyn said nothing was taken," he said as he looked through his mail. He popped the last of his doughnut into his mouth and caught Hines looking at Ellie with a smirk. Ellie stifled a smile and looked down. Mac licked the sugar from his fingers and decided to ignore the two of them.

"Ellie, when you've finished your coffee, go see that Ashton woman," Mac ordered in a business-like tone. "We'll catch the phone. By that time I'll be done answering this mail."

He fanned the few envelopes in his hand and continued into his office. Damned if he was going to let them smirk about his helping out some widow.

Even if he had slipped and called her Carolyn instead of Mrs. Blake.

The Merchants Association officers meeting scuttlebutt was mainly about the burglary. A few members had even showed up at the meeting to learn what they could about it. They wanted to prevent a repeat in their own stores, but no one could really suggest any preventative measures and they didn't know the cause of Carolyn's break-in since nothing was missing.

"You ought to talk to Chief Macdonald about what you can do to prevent it happening in your stores," Carolyn suggested helpfully. "He'd have some good suggestions and he's very easy to talk to."

"Carolyn, that's a great idea," Susan Kline, the owner of Gifts and Crafts, next to the movie theater, replied. "Maybe you could get him to talk to all of us at our next meeting."

The others agreed with an immediate chorus of yeses.

"Well, I can ask him," Carolyn allowed. "He seems to be quite helpful and genuinely concerned. He even came to my store in person to see what happened, in addition to sending someone else right away, of course."

She felt a rush of warmth when she thought of what happened at their initial meeting. She was glad when the owner of the shoe store spoke and the members quit looking at her.