The Telltale Turtle (The Pet Psychic Mysteries) (7 page)

She sat and waited in a large room while they dusted Tommy for fingerprints and swabbed him for DNA. She couldn't see where they hurt him, but he was terrified.

After two hours of testing, they came away with nothing. "Unless DNA turns up something, we're back where we were." Detective Abraham brought Tommy back to her.

"I'm sorry. But what he has to say is much more interesting." She explained everything the turtle had told her again, including his certainty that Colin was innocent.

"And Colin Jamison is the manager at the station where you work, right?" Abraham scratched his chin. "You think maybe the turtle might be prejudiced?"

"No! Tommy doesn't understand any of that. But you might start looking into another motive besides Colin wanting to inherit the family fortune. If Tommy says he's innocent, he probably is. One trait animals don't share with humans-they don't lie!" She explained about the caller that morning and gave him the phone number Corey had traced.

"It wouldn't be hard for him to get that information. He probably looked on the Internet or something and found out Colin works there. He put it together with what he heard about you finding the body. Things like that happen all the time." "

I wish that made me feel better."

"Was the caller threatening to you in any way?" Abraham's bushy blond brows knitted together above his brown eyes.

"No. But if he's withholding evidence that could clear Colin-"

"We'll check into it." The detective smiled at her and patted her shoulder. "I understand you want to help your friend. Let me know if that man calls back again. We'll let you know if the DNA tests turn up anything."

"Do you know where Colin is? No one's heard from him. I did come in without making you get a court order. You could help me out some."

"And I'd like to help you out. But we let him go. He's probably at home. He better not leave town until we finish our investigation."

"You don't know Colin, Detective. He's not that adventurous."

He frowned. "You'd be surprised how adventurous a murder charge can make a man, Mrs. Roberts. Thank you for coming in with your turtle."

Mary Catherine called Colin as she left the police station, but there was still no answer. She knew they were all wrong about him. She was upset when she couldn't reach him. Mindy told her he still wasn't at WRSC and she hadn't heard from him. They both knew Colin never went anywhere without his cell phone strapped to his hip!

She blinked in the bright sunlight when she stepped outside. There was a white Suburban waiting for her at the sidewalk, outside the police station. "How did you know we were finished?"

Charlie leaned against the hood of the SUV and lazily smiled at her. "I told you I still have a few friends on the job. Lunch?"

Baylor complained as she got in the truck. "Quiet," she scolded. "Or there won't be anything special in your bowl for dinner tonight!"

"I don't think your cat likes me." He stared at the puffed-up ball of fur Baylor had become. "Does he bite?"

"No, of course not." Baylor reminded her that he had sharp teeth and could bite if necessary. She warned him against the action. "Where are we going?"

"You recall that collaboration I asked you about earlier?"

"Yes"

"An opportunity came up that's too good to miss. It'll only take a few minutes. Then we'll have lunch. Are you game?"

"I suppose so," she answered warily. "What did you have in mind?"

An hour later, she began to question her judgment. "Where did you say we were going?"

"I thought we'd ride out to the beach for a few minutes. It's a beautiful day. Great company. Why not?"

Baylor growled. Charlie was as charming as he was devious. Mary Catherine was actually enjoying his conversation, totally ignoring what was happening, getting into the truck on the strength of a wink and a smile. She had only herself to blame for her predicament. "It looks like we're going to have a storm. Where exactly are we going?"

"The woman I'm investigating is out of town today. Her housekeeper always puts the dog outside while she's gone. I thought maybe you could talk to him. Find out who she's playing around with."

"Oh, Charlie!" She shook her head in disgust. Baylor agreed. This man was sneaky and underhanded.

"It's not a big deal," he assured her. "We pull up close to the fence where they keep the poodle. You talk to it and see if it tells you anything."

"It's not that easy. Just because you can communicate with an animal doesn't mean they always tell you what you want to know."

"You won't be doing any worse than I have. I've been following the wife around for six months trying to find out who she's having the affair with and I have zip. Her husband is starting to get a little upset."

"Did you ever think there might not be anything going on? Maybe the woman is innocent. Maybe the husband imagined it."

"Maybe doesn't pay the bills." He flipped on the headlights and windshield wipers as it started to rain. "I need evidence one way or another. The best way for me is if she's guilty, but the other way works too."

She looked out at the dark sky as they reached the Atlantic " beaches. "I don't use animals to spy on people."

I learned something interesting about your friend, Colin" He dangled the carrot with a smile. "We could trade."

Mary Catherine knew she was going to do it. But even if it proved to be useful information, she was never going to see Charlie again! The man was a menace! "All right. But you tell me what you know about Colin first. Then we'll talk to the poodle."

"Fair enough. While I was waiting at the police station, I talked with one of my old buddies. It seems your friend had a big disappointment after his parents were killed. All of the estate passed down to his aunt."

"Everyone knows that."

"Did you know he went to court, tried to get his share, but the will was unbreakable? There were hard feelings between them afterward. She was pushing the police to continue the investigation into her brother's death. I also heard Colin should've waited a little longer. Ferndelle only had a few months to live. She was dying from cancer."

"Really? I wonder if Colin knew." Mary Catherine tried to concentrate on what she was saying, but a loud screeching bounced inside her brain and made her want to scream. "Pull over!"

"What's wrong?" Charlie looked at her like she'd gone crazy.

"I don't know. Pull over, please!"

He pulled the truck off on the white sandy shoulder. Rain slammed against the windshield pushed by strong winds that added whitecaps to the dark gray sea stretched out to the horizon beyond the last leg of North Carolina. "What do you hear?"

"I don't know. I've never heard anything like it. I don't even know if I can interpret it."

"But you think it's some animal in pain or something?" He paused, his gaze scanning the horizon. "What is it? I don't see anything."

"Be quiet!"

"Sure" He shrugged and sat back with his fingers tapping on the steering wheel.

"I don't know what it is, but it's that way." She pointed toward the water.

"This isn't an amphibious truck. I had one of those. Couldn't make the payments."

"Just wait here," she said impatiently. "You too, Baylor."

The cat meowed loudly as the door slammed shut behind her.

"She gets worked up over this, doesn't she?" Charlie said to the cat as he tried to stroke the large orange head. Baylor growled low in his throat and showed his teeth, ears flattened back and eyes narrowed. "Do you know what I'm saying? Do you understand English or just hear thoughts?"

Realizing the cat wasn't going to answer, Charlie watched the animal focus on the window, looking in the direction Mary Catherine had disappeared. He got out of the truck, the rain immediately soaking him. It was warm, but the stiff breeze chilled him. He buttoned his sport coat, pulled up the collar, and hunched down inside it for protection against the weather.

He called out her name, but the wind threw it back at him, laughing as it rushed on. Holding one hand above his eyes so he could see through the downpour, he finally spotted her.

She was standing hip deep in a salt marsh by the side of the road. Charlie slogged toward her as she tried to untangle a pelican from some fencing that probably had been put up and forgotten years before. The creature was wild with agitation and fear as thunder hammered and lightning glittered through the dark afternoon sky.

One of the bird's large wings was caught in the wire. Mary Catherine held its head with one hand and tried to untangle its wing with the other. Remarkably, the bird didn't try to peck at her or hurt her in any way, but it wouldn't keep still either and she couldn't get it free.

"Let me help," Charlie offered, his husky voice loud above the roar of the storm washing over the coast.

She turned her head, marmaladecolored hair plastered against her face by the rain. "If you could get her feet out of the way... watch out for her beak!"

But the warning came too late and he yelped when the bird nipped him. "Why isn't he biting you? Tell him I want to help too." "

"She knows it. She's frantic about her baby, that's all." Mary Catherine finally managed to get the mother pelican detached from the wire. "There now!" The bird kicked Charlie, then flew away quickly.

I hope she said thank you," he said as they sloshed back out of the brine.

"I don't think so. Very few wild animals do. They work on a whole different level than pets we've bred to live with us. Some of them are impossible to understand."

"But they understand you want to help them." He stopped to help her out of the last part of the marsh and his warm hand held hers for a minute as she pushed her wet hair out of her eyes. "You're the genuine article, aren't you? No one is going to pay you for that. You just love animals."

She felt a blush come up in her face. Or it might've been a hot flash. She wasn't sure. Sometimes exertion brought those on. She was soaked and her clothes were probably ruined by the salt water. But it was worth it to see the admiration in Charlie's eyes. She didn't need Baylor's guidance to know what it was either. "Listening to them, knowing how they think, makes me more aware of every living creature, I suppose. You wouldn't pass a child in the pelican's situation. It would be the same way for me with that incredible bird."

"You're shaking." He put her cold hand to his warm face. "No wonder! You're colder than I am. I think we'll have to put off the poodle for today and go change clothes."

"Don't be silly." She tried hard to break free from the spell he was weaving around her. "You can turn the heat on and we'll dry in the car. We've come this far. We might as well get the job done."

She meant to sound competent, but realized she sounded a little gruff when he let go of her hand and started back toward the truck. It was probably just as well. She knew she was vulnerable to this man. She'd been alone too long with only Baylor for intimate company. She wasn't even sure Charlie was a decent man. And she didn't want to get involved with someone because she was needy and he looked at her like she was special. Although that had never stopped her before.

Mary Catherine hobbled across the road after him. She'd lost one of her lavender slingbacks in the marsh. One of her favorites too.

Charlie turned on the heat in the truck. "Are you sure about this?"

She closed the door behind her. "Absolutely. And thank you for your help with the bird. Is your hand all right?"

He held it out and she peered at it closely, holding it in hers until she realized how close they were and quickly dropped it. "The skin isn't broken. You should be fine. She didn't mean to hurt you.

"I know. Were you hurt?"

"No. I'm fine." She shivered. "Just cold. Does the poodle live down here on the beach?"

"Yeah." He started the truck moving forward again on the rough, steamy pavement that led out to the tip of the peninsula. The storm was already giving up on trying to push aside the large body of land it had come across. Rain fell fitfully and the wind still raced along the beach, but its fury was spent.