Darkness Exposed (19 page)

“Yes, he does sound like he’s an excellent candidate,” Ian said. “And I can assure you that Mary and I did not have to put up with the kind of environment you were in. Although at least one of our hosts was not as gracious as yours.”

Ian and Mary related the events that occurred at Mercedes and Harvey’s house.

“So, why didn’t you go down to the basement with him?” Rosie asked.

“Well, Ian came rushing back into the room,” Mary said, trying to hide her smile. “His shirt was slightly askew and he looked like he’d been wrestling.”

“It’s not funny,” he said. “The woman is a menace, she thinks she’s irresistible and means to prove it.”

“Well, actually, having a woman like that paired with a partner who is little off-kilter could present another good scenario,” Sean said. “If Mercedes saw Jeannine as competition, she could have encouraged Harvey’s fantasies.”

“So, what do you suggest we do next?” Mary asked.

“Well, I’ll run the records on these suspects,” Sean said. “Anyone else on your list you want me to check?”

“No,” Mary said. “It seems like Gary is simply a harmless, lonely man. I think he fell off the suspect list once we met the other people on the list.”

Rosie smiled and clapped her hands. “Oh, I know,” she said. “We should have a dinner party, like they do in the Agatha Christie mysteries. Bring everyone together and see how they react with each other. Maybe we can drop some kind of bombshell and see how they react.”

Mary considered Rosie’s idea for a moment.

“You know, that’s not a bad idea,” she said. “Instead of dinner, we could do a brunch, then it done in the light of day. And we could have it on Saturday, so no one would be at work. What do you think, Sean?”

“As long as you are all careful, especially with food preparation,” he said. “Because we know Jeannine was drugged and we don’t want that happening to you.”

“It’s really no big deal,” Mary insisted, standing in the kitchen with Rosie. “I stop by Bob’s and just invite him to the brunch. I don’t go inside; I just stand in the doorway. Then, I’ll go over to Gary’s office with a plate of cookies and invite him too. All daytime. All safe. All with people around.”

“I really think someone should go with you,” Rosie said.

“You and Stanley have to go grocery shopping and Ian has to calibrate the bugs we placed today,” Mary said. “And, really, this is no big deal. Remember, I’ve been trained.”

Stanley leaned over and turned up the volume on Ian’s computer and the room was filled with an off-key and very sharp version of a Scottish love song:

O ye’ll tak the high road and I’ll tak the low road,
An’ I’ll be in Scotland afore ye;
But me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonnie, bonnie banks o’ Loch Lomond.

She turned and smiled at him. “It’s a good thing I’m pregnant and can’t eat any organ meat for fear of harming the baby,” she countered.

“Ah, Mary O’Reilly, you’re a fair wicked minx,” he said. “And you have me on that one. Perhaps I’ll let Bradley know I had the pleasure of tasting your lips a number of times today.”

“And I’ll tell him truthfully that it was like kissing my brother,” she said with a grin. “No harm intended.”

“None taken,” he said. “And, aye, I felt the same way. You’re a bonnie lass, but you’re not my Gillian and there’s the rub.”

She leaned over and placed a kiss on his cheek. “You’re a good sport, Ian MacDougal. Now, you just need to call Mercedes and invite them over for Saturday brunch.”

“Oh, you’ve a mean streak a mile wide,” he said.

“Think of it this way,” she said, as she rose from the couch. “If she’s on the phone with you, she can’t sing.”

Mary grabbed her coat, the final plate of cookies and her purse. “I have my cell phone,” she said. “So if you need to contact me, just call. I shouldn’t be very long at all.”

She dropped her purse and the plate off in the car before she trudged across the snow to Bob’s house. Knocking on the door, she thought about the experience Rosie and Stanley had undergone and a shudder went through her body. There was no way she would step foot inside this house if she didn’t have to.

The door opened slightly and Mary recognized the man from Jeannine’s memories. “Hello,” she said with a bright smile. “I’m Mary, Mary MacDougal, from next door. I believe you met my grandparents today.”

The door opened wider. “Yes, I did,” he said. “Would you like to come in?”

“I’m sorry,” Mary said, with what she hoped sounded like real regret. “I’m just on my way out to run some errands. But, I wanted to stop here and invite you over to our house on Saturday at eleven for a brunch.”

His smile was genuine. “Really? A brunch?” he said. “I haven’t been out of the house in so long. I would love to come. Can I bring something?”

“No. I mean, no thank you,” Mary said, tempering her first response and placing her hand on his arm. “Grandma loves to cook and she is in heaven planning the menu. So, just bring yourself and your appetite.”

“Thank you, I will,” Bob said.

Just then Ian ran out of the house and jogged over to Bob’s. “I worried when I saw you on the stairs,” he said. “I didn’t want you slipping and falling.”

“Bob, this is my husband, Ian,” she said. “And he’s a little overprotective.”

“Well, she is expecting our first baby,” he explained. “And I can’t help but feel I want to wrap her up in cotton and store her away some place safe.”

Bradley scanned through the electronic file he received on Paul Taylor. There was no doubt about it, the guy was a creep. The only reason he’d been released early was because he wasn’t considered a threat to society in general. “Yeah, only to his wife and three kids,” Bradley muttered.

He brought up the photos again. A smiling young mother sat behind her three beautiful children, two boys and a little girl. Bradley studied the little girl; she looked like she was about eight years old. Would his daughter look anything like her?

Mike grinned. “Yeah, you’re not stupid,” he said. “Actually, no, I was surprised. I figured I’d walk in on this big conspiracy. But the biggest news of the day is that I’m haunting the station. Go figure.”

“So, you thought one of the firemen might be behind this too?” he asked.

Mike shrugged. “The guy was a murderer and we got to go in and pick up the remains of what he did. Firefighting is about saving lives. We all risked our lives that night because this bastard decides he wants to get rid of his responsibilities and we all had to try and live with the fact there was nothing we could do. That’s not easy for firefighters.”

Mike floated back over to Bradley and gazed at the picture on the screen. “I found her,” he said. “She was dressed in a pink flannel nightgown and she had a pink ribbon in her hair. Her room was filled with stuffed animals and dolls. I was so relieved I had gotten to her before the fire. I was so grateful she was going to live to go to her high school prom. Then I picked her up in my arms and she was limp. I pulled my mask off, so I could check for her breathing, and that’s when I saw the purple marks on her neck and noticed that her lips were blue. I can’t explain to you the kind of rage I felt at that moment. If that guy had been close, I don’t know what I would have done.”

He stepped back and shook his head again. “Never saw the family photo before,” he said. “Never saw them all together like that. They were a beautiful family.”

Bradley nodded. “Yeah, they were. So, what do you think the next step should be?”

Closing his eyes, Mike took a moment and then met Bradley’s eyes squarely. “I might have a lead,” he said. “But I need to follow it up on my own.”

The fire station was dark when Mike faded into the main garage. Emergency lights cast an eerie glow on the large trucks and emergency equipment. Mike felt a little hesitant moving forward.

“Oh, wait,’ he said. “I’m the ghost in the room. I’m not supposed to get freaked out.”

He walked past the kitchen and the stairs to the sleeping quarters and made his way to the Chief’s office. Once through the door, he looked around the room, searching and finding the item he had come for. On the second shelf, behind the Chief’s desk was a framed photo of the Chief’s daughter and his three grandchildren. The same photo he had seen on Bradley’s computer just a few minutes ago.

The drive to Gary’s office in downtown Sycamore took about fifteen minutes. The sun was already beginning to set by the time Mary rushed through the parking lot and into the Waiting Room. An older grey-haired woman sat at the reception desk and greeted Mary as she came through the door.

“Hello,” she said. “I’m sorry, but we are closing for the day. Could I help you make another appointment.”

Mary came forward, smiling. “Oh, I’m sorry to be a bother. Actually, I’m not a patient, I’m one of Gary’s neighbors and I wanted to drop by a plate of cookies. My name is Mary MacDougal.”

“Well, isn’t that the sweetest thing,” the receptionist said. “I’m sure he’ll be delighted. Let me buzz him, he’s just in his office finished up his paperwork.”

She pressed the intercom button. “Dr. Copper, there’s a nice lady here to see you. She even brought you cookies. Should I send her back to you or do you want to come up.”

“I’ll be up in a minute, Shirley,” the slightly mechanized voice responded.

Mary felt an uneasy feeling wash over her. Her heart rate accelerated slightly and she felt as if she were trapped in the room. She took a couple deep breaths and tried to calm down. She’d never felt claustrophobic before.

“The doctor will be up here in a minute,” the receptionist said. “Would you like to sit down?”

Nodding, Mary started to turn away when she lost her equilibrium. The room started to tilt and the plate of cookies she was holding fell from her hands onto the floor. She grabbed for the counter and the room continued to sway. A moment later, she found herself leaning against Gary and being guided to one of the chairs in the waiting area. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Oh, well, those first few months of pregnancy can do crazy things to your hormones and your body,” Gary said. “Do you want to just lie down here for a while and rest? Shirley is going home now, but I could take you home when I close up in thirty minutes.”

She tried to clear her head. All she could think of was Bradley’s response to her staying alone with one of the suspects in a murder trial, even though he was the least likely to have done it. “I think he’d kill me,” she muttered.