The Way of Grace (Miller's Creek Novels) (39 page)

True. Hadn’t she proved the fact when she’d entered Andy’s o
ffice
without his knowledge or permiss
ion? She
removed
a
business
card
and pen
from her purse
and scribbled
her
new
cell
number
, then
handed
the card to Consuela. “C
all m
e for
any reason, but
please
don’t share my
number with anyone else.”

The woman
stood and pocketed the card, a kind smile in place. “
I won’t. I also won’t tell her
you were here. It could
cause problems, as I’m sure you understand.”

Grace
hugged the kind woman
. What a burden she carried. “Please know that you and your
family
are in my prayers.”

Consuela’s eyes misted over. “A
nd you
in mine
.”

Like a mass of interconnected gears, Grace’s
mind
gyrated
as she made her way through Miller’s Creek to her house. She still had nothing concrete, but knowing that
Consuela also recognized a problem
somehow made her feel better.

Instead of turning into her driveway, she
continued down the
dusty
dirt road to the
Cates’ place, less than a mile
away
. Wanda Cates, the mayor’s secretary, was well-known in Miller’s Creek for her sh
arp eyes
. If anyone had seen
anything out of the ordinary
yesterday, it would be Wanda
.

The door to the little rock house swung open on t
he first knock, and Wanda
flung open
the
squeaky
screen
door as well.
“Hello
, neighbor.
What in tarnation brings you down this way?”

Grace smile
d
at the woman’s greeting.
“Hi, Mrs. Wanda.
I actually have
a few questions to ask. Do you mind if we talk?”

“Not at all, not at all.
Come in, come in.”
She stepped aside and wav
ed her through the doorway.

It took a moment for Grace’s
eyes
to adjust to the dark
room
.
Aged
oak f
loors,
antique furniture
, and over-abundant knickknacks
slowly came into focus
, and t
he room reeked of Harvey Cates’ cheap cigars.

“Have a seat, have a seat
.” Wanda
clamped a bony hand on her shoulder,
motioned to the couch and
then
roosted
in a nearby chair. “W
hat’s on your mind?”

Now
that
was a loaded question.
Best to stick to
the point.
“
I
wondered
if you’d seen anything unus
ual at my house yesterday. I
think someone may have been there while I was at work.”

“Now that you mention it, there was som
eone there when I came home for
lunch.
I was
runnin
’
a bit behind because Steve had
some
filin
’
for me to do
—that man always has
filin
’
for me to do—but a
white van
was in your driveway
.
Looked like they were
fixin
’
your fence.
I
was just
tellin
’ Gladys
earlier today
that y’all must be
havin
’
work done while your Papa’s away.”

Grace fought to keep a
smirk off her face.
Ahh
, the good
old Miller’s Creek grapevine.
“Well, b
e sure to thank Mr. Cates for taking care of the farm animals. I know Papa appreciates it.”

Wanda frowned. “In all the years we’ve lived near y’all, I’ve never known your Papa
to go away like this
.”

A point she’d considered at least a thousand times.
“I know
he misses
my brothers and their families
and
wants to spend the Thanksgiving
with them.”

“And what about you?
What are your plans? Headed
south
?”

Grace sh
ook her head. “Um, no, I…I
have
work
to do
.”

A stern look descended on Wanda’s f
eatures
. “Well, if you ask me, you
should
a
never have taken that job in Morganville, especially after all Andy Tyler’s
gone and
done for you.”

The words stung, but Grace
managed
to keep a pleasant look on her face. “I’m very apprecia
tive of Andy
, but this i
s something I had to do.”

Wanda sniffed. “Well, that being said, we’d be pleased and proud if you’d
join our family for
Thanksgivin
’
dinner
.”

“Thanks, but I already have other plans.”
Plans to turn over every rock until she
uncovered
Elena’s agenda.
“The person working on the fence,
was it
a man or a woman?”

“Goodness, child, don’t you know?
” She clucked the words.
“
I’m
guessin
’
it was a man, but I didn’t recognize him with
his
paint clothes and big hat. He did a mighty fine job on that fence now, didn’t he? It hasn’t lo
oked that good since your Mama
. .
. ”
A
look of horror fell
on
the woman’s
face.

Grace
forced a smile.
The awkward m
oments when people mouthed unthinking
words were almost as difficult to deal with as her mother’s death.

“Gracious me, I didn’t intend
to . . . I mean
,
I’m so sorry . . .”

“
It’s
okay
, Mrs. Wanda
.
I know you meant no harm.
”

Wanda reached over and patted her hand. “You’ve always been such a sweet girl, Gracie.
I know your Mama would be so proud of you.
”

“Thanks
.” She attempted a
nother
smile. “
Forgive me if I’m asking
too many questions, but did the van have any sort of lettering on it, maybe the name of a company?”

The
woman stared off into space and scratched her chin. “Not that I recall.”

No lead here. With a sigh, she rose to her feet. “Thanks so much for all your help, Mrs. Wanda. Guess I’d better be go
ing. H
ave a wonderful Thanksgiving.” Grace
stepped
onto
the concrete porch, Wanda
close on her heels.

“You, too, Gracie.
Let us know if you need anything.”

With a wave,
Grace hoisted herself into the old pickup and turned the ignition. It roared to life
with the new battery
Matt ha
d
purchased and
installed
. She backed onto the d
usty
road and headed toward the house.
At least now she had proof that she wasn’t going crazy. Someone had repaired the fence, and she had a witness.
Though
her case wasn’t airtight,
it was past time
to
let the authorities know
her suspicions
, especially w
ith everyone about to be
snowed under with
holiday festivities
.
S
he passed the small frame house and made her way to
the police station
.

Ernie’s
older model police
car still
stood in the parking lot
. Good.
Grace parked
,
breathi
ng a quick prayer for
guidance
.
A bell rang as she entered
the room
,
the air
thick with stale coffee
.

The policeman
poked his
bald head out of the
office door.

“Hey, Ernie, you’re just the guy I’m looking for.”

His eyes held a
peculiar
soberness
instead of the friendly light
.
“Hi, Grac
i
e
.
Uh, would you have a seat for
now
? I’ll be with you in a sec
.”

“Sure.”
A frown
took up residence on her
forehead. He seemed upset abo
ut something.
Probably whatever case he was involved with at the moment.
Grace
removed her coat and
took a
seat in
a
chrome
and fake leather chair as Ernie closed his
office
door
behind him
.

A few minutes later, the door
re-
open
ed, and Ernie stepped out
.
“Y
ou can come in now.”

Sh
e gather
ed
her
things
and
traipsed to hi
s office. “I promise not to take
too much of your time
, but I nee
d to talk to you
.”

Ernie
didn’t respond, but
moved behind his desk.

Grac
e rounded the corner expecting an empty office. Instead,
Elena Delgado and one of t
he private investigators
were seated in the only two chairs
. The petite prosecuto
r looked over at her
,
a
cold, but
satisfied smirk plastere
d
across
her face
.

Ernie
faced her
, both hands on hi
s hips, his thick moustache wobbl
ing
back and forth
.
“Before you say anything else,
Gracie,
hear me out
.”

He
closed his eyes and took a deep breath,
as though in pain
. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be held against yo
u in a court of law.
”
Ernie’s lips continued to move
, but all Gracie heard was a ferocious roar as
the
blood drained from her head.

16

A
ndy’s
mini-van
sped by the Miller
mansion early Wednesday morning
,
and sent leaves scattering
. Matt
almost
choked on his
coffee. What was
Andy
doing back
from his vacation
?
Without stopping to grab a jacket, he headed out the door and down the path
which lead
to
his brother’s
house
.

Matt rounded the corner as
Andy
lugg
ed
a black duffel bag from
the van and slammed the door
. He
glanc
ed up, lines of fatigue surrounding his eyes.
“Hey,
b
ro
.”