“How would they know how long I was going to be gone? I might have been just going to the store.”
“All dressed up, and I bet you had flowers.” Jake bit his lip to keep from smiling at Robert’s guilty look.
“Okay, I give you that. I didn’t have the flowers when I left. I bought them on the way to her house. I know a florist, and she was working late, so she let me come by after the shop closed.”
“I know I didn’t say a thing about your date. What makes you think that it was someone here who leaked the information?”
“I get calls about things that happen, threatening calls. They know everything that goes on in here. We’re either bugged, or there’s a mole.”
“You sure it’s in the department?”
Jake grimaced. “Nate.” They both spoke at the same time.
“I am sure it wasn’t intentional,” Jake offered.
“Yeah, he just couldn’t keep it quiet.”
“We won’t be able to find out the one person because by now everyone knows.”
Robert’s chin sank to his chest. “What a mess!”
“This situation or your house?”
“Both. Barbara and her sisters are over there right now cleaning.” He started to sit forward, “Do you think?”
“No. She’s as clean as they come. I don’t believe she is in on this.”
“They tore up my bedroom. The bed, the—”
“I was there. I saw it,” Jake interrupted. “I agree with what you’re going to say. It looked like they were looking for something. What?”
“My question exactly. I don’t have anything anyone would want.” Then he thought about what he’d taken home. The memory of his files not in the exact order or neatness in his drawer.
“They searched my desk.”
“Who? When?” Jake froze his hand hovering over the paper he was just about to sign.
Robert stood and motioned for Jake to follow. “I could use a cup of coffee, how about you?”
Jake frowned as Robert stared at his phone then looked around the room and jerked his head toward the door. Jake followed.
“I don’t trust our offices. Check your phone and drop your pen under your desk. Feel around to be sure there’s nothing there.”
Jake asked, “Think they’d waste a bug on us?”
“I get the feeling this murder case is bigger than we think. It might go further up than this station.” Robert let his eyes search the empty break room, while Jake poured himself a cup of coffee. “I think there are people higher than our paygrade who are involved. Up the government ladder and maybe the political ladder.”
Jake made a face. “You think big. I can’t believe an average missing family would be connected to anyone as high up as you think.”
“It’s not the family. It’s who Calvin knows and who James’ is connected to. Follow the money is what Elliot Ness said when he was tracking Al Capone. Same business, different geography.”
Jake let out a whistle.” “I hope not.”
Robert drove home to meet the contractor, who never showed. Barbara ordered Robert out. It almost felt good to have someone else in charge. The niggling doubt that she might have something to do with this didn’t set well. What better way to derail suspicion than to offer to clean up the mess.
This was stupid. He’d been with her all evening, and she never made or got a phone call. There was no way she was involved with this. His instincts were almost always right. It was not Barbara. Or did he just not want to see the clues? He shook his head and shut down any further thoughts along that line.
When Robert pulled into his driveway later that night, the house was again dark. A brief charge of anticipation went through his nervous system. Pictures of the scene from the night before flew through his mind as he traced his steps to the side door. He unlocked and opened the door. He checked the floor inside. Clean. He went in, then shut and locked the door behind him. He turned the button, and the center light in the room came to life.
The place was spotless. The cupboard doors had been rehung. Robert opened them. The plates that hadn’t been broken were washed and stacked on the shelves, along with a few remaining cups and glasses.
On the small kitchen table, he found a note.
Robert, I had the contractor do the fix-up work.
He patched the holes in the walls.
You’ll have to do the major carpentry work on the doors.
There is a casserole in the refrigerator.
Pop it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Sorry about what happened. Barbara
He checked the fridge and turned on the oven as she ordered. He let himself relax and smile at her caring gesture. A hot, homecooked meal.
He walked through the house. It looked nothing like the night before, except sheets covered the damaged upholstery of the chair and the couch. He could see where the holes had new plaster. He checked his closet and pressed the release mechanism, the door shuddered and opened a little, but stopped. He saw the problem and knew it wouldn’t take much to fix it. It had been a long day. He made sure it was closed entirely and headed for the bathroom. He found a new towel set and his shaving mug with a new razor lay next to the sink. Leaning on the counter, he stared at his reflection. Part of him still felt the violation of his house. The other part began to acknowledge the warm feeling of having someone care for him. He felt some of the loneliness begin to fade.
His bed was made. A mattress pad stretched over the slits. Lying between fresh sheets, he remembered why it was nice to be married. A slow grin lifted his lips, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 16
Two weeks later, when the pipeline of leads had dwindled to a trickle, Robert began reading back through his notes from the beginning of the case. Jake parked himself in his favorite chair across from Robert. He sorted through the folder he’d brought with him. When he looked at the last page, he closed the folder and dropped it on the floor beside his chair.
Robert looked up. “Giving up already?”
Jake shook his head. “I’m trying to think about the family and their routines. They appear to be a normal family with church, school, and community affiliations. What connections would Kelly have outside their present community, where her parents had a tight rein on her? Where could she meet someone on the sly?”
“I probably need to go talk to Maggie. She’s my only connection to the family’s lifestyle. She and Mrs. Stevens are closer than some siblings. I talk to my brother a few times a year. We get along fine. We have other fish to fry.” He watched Jake nod and continued. “My mother gives me a running tab about my little brother. I’m sure she does the same thing to him about me. These two women had a connection I’ve never experienced before. Don’t you think if something traumatic happened in either family, the other would know? My guess is Maggie sensed a change in Debra and questioned her. Something made her fearful to talk about it. What?’
Jake frowned as he contemplated what Robert said. “I agree. Lorene and her sister, Tammy, are like two peas in a pod. Being eleven months apart, they were like twins. Irish twins. I’m told it’s called Irish twins.” He grinned and shook his head. “I have no idea why, so don’t ask.” He shook his finger at Robert to make a point. “When Lorene got pregnant, she got a call from Tammy. She wanted to know what was wrong and why Lorene was sick. Lorene hadn’t told her she’d been having morning sickness.”
“You mean the two of you had it,” Robert reminded him.
Jake shook his finger at Robert. “I’m not going to repeat. I had the flu.”
Robert gave him an exaggerated nod like he was trying to believe him, but his grin gave him away.