“What I’m trying to say is, Maggie had to have known something was wrong. What does she know and why is she keeping it a secret?” Jake lowered his voice.
Robert leaned forward, resting his arms on his desk. “I agree, it must be something sinister if we are whispering about it too.” His voice dropped to match Jake’s.
Jake looked up and grinned back. “You’re right. Are we surmising there is something along the organized crime line that lends suspicions to this missing family?”
“My guess is yes. That clue along with the goons who dumped me in the river. I’m going to work more on the mob theory. There’s some connection.”
Jake shrugged, “Okay, I’ll go with the not guilty until proven innocent on the crime side.” He picked up his folders and gave Robert a salute as he sauntered back to his desk.
Robert gave Maggie a call and asked if he could look at the Stevens’ home again. The police had released it back to the family.
“We’ve started to pack things up. We’re going to have an estate sale. You’re welcome to look at anything you want. Do you have something particular you’re looking for?” she asked.
“Not really. I haven’t been in the house since those first few weeks. If you’ve been going through anything, maybe there’s something that was missed.” She agreed to meet him at the house and let him in.
Robert left the station, and instead of driving down Sandy Boulevard, he drove up to Grand Avenue then to Belmont Street and headed east. When he got to the bottom of Laurelhurst Park, he slowed. Barbara hadn’t been at work when he left. He wondered if she went home or met someone for lunch. As he came near her apartment building, Barbara stepped out of the front door. Robert slowed to stop and speak to her. A man followed her from the building.
She and the man stood talking on the sidewalk. He bent and gave her a brief kiss on her lips, and she clasped his arms in her grasp. Robert drove on past. A feeling like shock hit his chest, then disappeared. Who was the man? He didn’t look like a father, and he knew she didn’t have an older brother. You’re foolish. He chided himself. It could be just a friend coming out of her apartment. Kissing her? He snorted. He drove, barely keeping to the speed limit, down 39th Avenue to Halsey Street and over to 55th Avenue, taking a right turn, proceeding one block, and taking another right onto 56th Avenue. He parked in front of the Stevens’ house and met Maggie on the porch.
Maggie opened the door and let Robert in. It looked almost the same as it had that first day. The Christmas tree had been taken down. A trail of dead pine needles made a path to the front door. There was no tree outside, so it must have been picked up.
A box with all the ornaments in their squares sat in its place. The Santa suit had fallen off the chair, and the bag of candy canes was missing.
“Detective, tell me where we are in this investigation. Are we any closer to finding out who killed my brother and his family?” Maggie asked, following him up the stairs.
“Maggie, I wish I knew.”
In Kelly’s room, nothing had changed. “Is this the room of a fourteen-year-old, teenage girl?” He walked to the closet and opened the door. All her dresses hung neatly, evenly spaced on the wooden pole. He looked down to see three pairs of shoes; oxfords for school, Mary Janes for church, and a worn and torn pair of sneakers. The rest of the closet floor was empty
“Debra told me Kelly changed. She was always a good girl. Even her friends called her Pollyanna. Debra said she acted more pleasant, helpful, and quiet. She stayed in her room except for dinner and never complained about cleaning up. She acted like the perfect daughter. The other girls complained she didn’t play with them anymore.”
Robert sat on the bed, and Maggie sat on the chair by the desk. “Maggie, I’m sure Kelly was pregnant.”
Maggie remained silent for a moment, then she spoke, “I know you asked me about it a while ago, but when you didn’t bring it up, I thought you might have forgotten about it.”
“No, I needed confirmation. You said she didn’t go to her regular doctor, so I am guessing it was one out of town.” Maggie nodded. “Then she did talk to you about it?”
“Debra told me about Kelly and asked if I thought one of the relatives would take her until the baby was born, and then she would give it up for adoption. I told her about a cousin I was close to in California. I said I’d call if she wanted me to. She told me to wait. Karl was going to work with the father of the boy and see if he would pay for her care.”
“Did she tell you who the boy was?”
Maggie shook her head. “Debra seemed scared, and she wouldn’t tell me. I even asked her if there was something that she was afraid of. Debra smiled and said no. I could see in her eyes she was lying. What could I do?”
“That was the last time you and Mrs. Stevens talked about it?” She nodded. “Did you observe anything between Kelly and the family?”
“No, we saw the four of the family at church the week before, but Kelly didn’t attend. Debra said she wasn’t feeling well. Another time she spent the night with her girlfriend. Karl never mentioned her name at all. I didn’t press.”
“Did you notice if her friends came over a lot, or did they stay away?”
Maggie pinched the bridge of her nose before answering. “Last spring and summer, she spent a lot of time with one of the girls. Debra told me she might as well move over there for as much time as she stayed there.”
“Who was the girl?”
Maggie tilted her head in thought, “Angel, no, Angie I think.”
Robert nodded and wrote the name in his notebook, then went to the bookshelves. He looked through the school books. The crime scene team had done an excellent job. He could see the residue of powder where they tried to lift prints. There were only three books with the names of each class written on the cover. Inside, the pages contained homework assignments, but no side notes or comments. Not even the Pee-Chee folders had names of boys or things most girls wrote on them. He did notice “ANGIE—FRIENDS 4 EVER” written on one of the folders.
“Did you make that call to your relative in California?”
“No. I asked Debra about it at Thanksgiving.” She paused a moment as if to decide what to say next. Robert heard her take a breath, “Kelly ate at the kid’s table. When she finished, I saw her put her dish in the sink, and she went upstairs. I didn’t see her come down the rest of the day. While we washed and dried dishes, Debra told me they were working things out and might soon have a solution. I figured Karl must have talked to the boy or his father.”
“Did Debra ever give you a hint about who the boy was?” Robert repeated the question.
“No.” Her answer was short
“Maggie.” Robert faced her, “You and Mrs. Stevens had a special relationship. I doubt she kept important information from you. It seems like she shared everything with you. Are you holding out information from an investigation? If it comes to light, you can be prosecuted for obstruction of justice.”
Maggie’s face turned pale. Her hands shook as she wrung them in her lap. Her top teeth worried her bottom lip, and Robert waited, hoping she’d break and tell what she was hiding.
Maggie stood and walked to the door, “Are you coming?” she asked when he didn’t move. The moment was lost.
“I can’t see anything here that’s going to help me find her killer.” He stood at the door and took one more look around the room, hoping some clue would start glowing and reveal itself. Nothing happened. He followed her downstairs.
“Have you talked to Calvin?” Robert asked when they reached the first floor.
“He called me the other day and asked when we were having the sale and if I thought there’d be a lot of money from it. He’s waiting for the probate to come through to see what he gets from the estate.”