Deadly Echoes (20 page)

I cleared my throat. “Now, maybe we should get back to the reason we got together tonight.”

He looked confused for a moment. Then realization dawned. “Oh yes. The phone.”

“Why don't we finish our dessert, and then we'll talk about the phone?”

Paul nodded his agreement. He still looked a little thunderstruck. I knew the feeling. Being so bold wasn't usual for me, but I felt pretty good about it.

“Coffee?” Janet's smile as she carried in our coffee made it clear she'd overheard at least part of our conversation.

“Thanks, Janet,” Paul said. “This cake is delicious.”

“Thank you, Paul. I'm going upstairs to watch TV so I won't disturb you.” She pointed toward the window. “You might keep an eye on the weather. Snow's moving in. I'd hate for you to get trapped here.”

Paul cleared his throat. “No, we wouldn't want that. I might have to eat another piece of cake.”

Janet laughed. “If it gets too bad, you're welcome to the couch.”

“I appreciate that,” he said with a grin, “but the chief isn't too compassionate about bad weather. He'd rather have me stuck out in a storm, trying to get to work, than somewhere else where I'm safe and warm.”

“Then I'd make it fast, you two.”

“We will,” I said.

Paul took a sip of coffee and stuck the last bite of cake in his mouth. “Okay,” he said, putting his fork down, “first of all I want to talk about your friend Mike. I heard back from my contact at the police department right after I talked to you. Mike's an ex-detective with the KC police. Had to retire because of an
injury. He definitely does some private investigating. I heard very good things about him.”

“I thought your contact wasn't talking to you anymore.”

“I didn't ask any questions about your sister's case, so he opened up some. I don't intend to push him any more right now. I might need him down the road.”

“Mike told me exactly the same story. Do you feel better about him now?”

“Well, let's just say I'm glad to know he's who he says he is. As far as the rest of it, we'll see.”

“You're very suspicious.”

Paul's eyebrows shot up. “With everything that's been going on? You bet I am. Better safe than sorry.” He got up and got his jacket, pulling out a note pad and a pen. He sat back down and flipped the pad open. “Now, about the phone. First of all, I was able to figure out Hannah's voice mail code.” He shook his head. “Using your child's name and the numbers of your address is pretty standard. People really need to work harder to create codes that aren't so easily cracked.”

“If I ever get a fancy cell phone, I'll remember that.”

He smiled. “I'll make sure you do.” He glanced at the notes on the pad. “There were calls to work, a couple of calls to Cicely's school. I've written down the others. Have you gone through her address book?”

“Yes. Do you want me to get it?”

He nodded. “In a minute. But first I want to show you something.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “You know, you really need to get a cell phone. They can come in handy.”

I started to protest, but then I remembered being at the mine. Reuben had told me to use his cell phone to call for help if anything went wrong. Although I'd told him I would, what if he
had an iPhone or something beyond a simple phone? I wasn't completely certain I could have figured out how to use it. The only other person who could have helped was William, and I was pretty sure he knew even less about electronic devices than I did.

“I know how to use a regular cell phone,” I said. “I'm just not sure about these newer models.”

“It's the same principle,” he said. “You just take a different route to get there.” He turned it on and then showed me how to find the application for phone calls. It was easier than I thought it would be.

“I guess I've been letting all the fancy applications scare me off.”

“There are a lot more things you can do like access the Internet, take pictures, you can send text messages . . .”

“Whoa,” I said, laughing. “This is enough for now. Let's leave all that for another lesson, okay?”

“All right.” He put his phone away. “Why don't you go and get that phone book?”

I hurried up the stairs, got the address book, and came back, handing it to Paul. Suddenly, the wind shook the house, rattling the windows. Murphy, who had curled up on the floor by Paul's feet, raised his head and barked at the sound.

Paul frowned at the book and then shook his head. “I may have to leave sooner than I planned. Why don't you take this list of phone calls and match the numbers from Hannah's phone to the numbers in her phone book? Can you get it done so I can pick it up tomorrow?”

“Yes. I'll work on it tonight. Where's the cell phone now?”

“It's at the office. I'm going to contact the police in Kansas City and tell them we found it. Then I'll send it on to them. I got everything I needed from it, and I can't hold on to it any longer, since it's evidence.”

“I understand.”

“Here are the numbers I'd like you to check out.” He tore a page out of his note pad and handed it to me. Then he took his laptop out of its bag and put it on the coffee table. After a few strokes on the keyboard, he brought up a page with Hannah's name and picture on it.

“I couldn't read anything on Hannah's page, because I don't have access, but I could see her friends. There aren't a lot of them. I wrote down their names. You can go through this list and see if anyone pops out. Also check to see if any of these people show up in her address book.” He took another sheet of paper from his notebook and handed that to me too.

I took it from him, then scooted closer to peer at the computer screen. “What am I looking at?”

He pointed to the screen. “This is Hannah's Facebook page. As I said, we can't see her posts because she hasn't friended us.”

“Did you just say ‘friended'?”

He grinned. “Yes. I know it's not a real word. If you were on Facebook, you'd understand.”

I wanted to ask why I'd have to butcher the English language if I wanted a Facebook page, but I kept my opinion to myself.

Another strong blast of wind from outside got Paul's attention. “I'm sorry, but I need to get on the road before this storm hits.”

“I think we need to find John Smith,” I said. “Hannah was talking to him before she died, and in her notes she said, ‘
J
might be behind everything.'”

“I agree, but I have no idea where to start,” Paul said, frowning. “Without some kind of clue, I don't know how to proceed. Let me think about it some.”

“I guess we don't have much of a choice.”

I stared down at the phone book. “Oh no,” I said. “What is
wrong with me?” I flipped the book open and searched until I found what I was looking for.

“What's wrong?” Paul asked.

“You said something about John Smith being a common name. Maybe that's why I forgot.”

“Forgot what?”

I handed him the small address book. “Look. A number for John Smith. I can't believe I forgot about it.”

“You've had a lot on your mind,” Paul said gently. “It's understandable.” He brought up a page on his laptop and asked me to read him the number. “I'll see what I can find out. Might as well give me the number for
JR
too.”

I read both the numbers to him.

“If John Smith was meeting with Hannah before she died, he may be the person who can help us.”

“Or the man who killed her. Please be careful, Paul,” I pleaded.

He smiled at me. “I will. Don't worry. I'm going to check him out before I call. I don't want to scare him away.” He closed his laptop and slid it back into its bag. “So you think this Mike guy is on the level?”

“I think so. Doug obviously trusted him too or he wouldn't have told him his concerns about Hannah's murder and asked for his help. Mike didn't have to come here, Paul. He could have just walked away.”

Paul frowned. “If Sykes's death had anything to do with Hannah's murder, couldn't Mike be in danger?”

“Maybe. I don't know.”

Paul stared at me, his expression serious. “We can stop at any time, Sarah. We don't have to do this. We can just leave everything with the Kansas City police and take our chances.”

I shook my head. “I think we have to do everything we can
to find the truth. Taking a chance that a murderer could walk free to hurt someone else is too dangerous.” I smiled at him. “A very smart sheriff's deputy told me that.”

Paul grunted. “I'm not so sure how smart he really is. Sometimes I wonder if he should have kept his mouth shut.”

“Look, all we have to do is let Mike figure out what's going on. Then he can contact the Kansas City police and urge them to rethink Hannah's case. He was a detective. They'll listen to him. Isn't that all we've wanted from the beginning?”

He nodded. “You're right. Sykes's death makes me nervous though. I want you to be especially careful, okay?”

“I'm fine. Besides, with Mike nearby, I have even more protection.” I put my hand on his arm. “You be careful too. I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you.”

He put his hand over mine. “Please don't worry. I know how to protect myself.”

“I'm sure Doug Sykes thought the same thing.”

Paul grunted. “
If
his death had anything to do with Hannah, he probably didn't see it coming. I'm taking special precautions, because I know we need to be careful.”

“Good.”

Paul stood up, got his coat, and walked to the front door. I went with him, looking out the window first. The snow was just starting to come down. The wind was so strong, it blew the snow sideways.

“I'll try to find out something about this John Smith tomorrow,” Paul said. “If nothing concerns me about him, I'll call the number.”

“I'll start trying to match the numbers and names you gave me to the information in Hannah's phone book,” I said. “Maybe we'll find someone else she was talking to before she died, and
it will lead us to something that will help us. Again, I'm sorry I spaced on John Smith's name. I don't know how I did it.”

Paul shook his head. “Sarah, you're operating under extremely stressful conditions. I think you're doing a wonderful job. Don't worry about it.”

I smiled at him. “Okay. I hope we can get together tomorrow night. Call me so we can make different arrangements if the weather is too bad.”

“I will.” He zipped up his coat and then leaned over and kissed me. This time I didn't pull back.

I watched through the window as he drove away. My feelings for him were stronger than ever. Was it love? I wasn't sure. I wanted a relationship with him, but what if death was the only thing binding us together?

I spent some time sitting at my desk, working on the list of phone numbers Paul gave me. I was able to match several of them, including two from John Smith. I prayed Paul would be able to find him. I had some questions for him. It crossed my mind that once we found John, we should turn over his name and location to the police. What if he was dangerous? I was glad Paul said he would be careful making contact with him.

I also matched calls to Cicely's school. Hannah had called a Dr. Wentz several times. The doctor's office called back once, the school called back twice, and someone from work called her several times. I'd talked to Hannah on the phone around the dates listed. She'd been home, sick with the flu, and then Cicely had come down with it. These calls made sense in the light of those circumstances.

There were a couple of calls I couldn't figure out. I did a quick Internet search and found that one was a pizza place near Hannah's house. The other belonged to a local pharmacy. I also matched several calls to Claire Freeman, the woman who had put together the memorial service for Hannah. I found
a call from Hannah's boss, Tom Sparlin, during the time she was sick. I think he'd helped Claire with the memorial service, but I was still in shock when we talked, so I wasn't completely certain about that.

I decided to give Claire a call tomorrow. I thought if anyone could provide additional information about Hannah, it would be Claire. I'd wait and talk to Paul before phoning anyone else. Especially people I knew nothing about. I was just about to quit when I realized one of the numbers on Paul's list that I hadn't matched looked familiar. I checked Hannah's phone book again. Sure enough, it was the same as the number written next to
JR
, the entry with the star. I'd missed it my first time going through the list. I made a note to tell Paul about it. I was tempted to dial it just to see who answered, but I didn't want to risk doing something wrong, since Paul already planned to check out the number. I searched the number online, but nothing came up.

By the time I finally quit working, it was almost one in the morning. For almost another hour I lay in bed thinking about Paul. It was hard to believe he liked me, but knowing he did made me almost giddy with happiness. God's words kept running through my head.
You were never second to Hannah. You were framed
by me to be my special, unique, and blessed daughter.
When will you trust me?

At some point I fell asleep and then woke up with a start. When I looked at my alarm, I realized it hadn't gone off. I'd slept an hour later than I should have. Wondering what happened, I jumped out of bed, grabbed my robe, and practically ran down the stairs. Janet sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee. She smiled as I rushed in.

“Jonathon and Pastor Troyer called off school today. There's too much snow for the kids who live out in the country to get to school safely.”

Since most of the children lived outside of town, when the snow was especially deep or the roads icy, the churches closed school. All the families of schoolchildren had home phones except for three. The neighbors of those families had phones, and they would let them know there was no need for them to make the trek into town.

“Did you turn off my alarm?” I asked.

Janet nodded. “I heard you up late and thought you could use the extra sleep.”

“Thank you.” I nodded toward the stairs. “You turned off Cicely's alarm too?”

Janet chuckled. “No, she did. She heard the phone ring and ran downstairs to see if the call was about school. Once she found out she didn't have to go, she said that was ‘awesome' and went back to bed.”

“Children are so funny. Even when they love school, they get excited about snow days. It's hard to figure.”

“You did the same thing when you were in college.”

“Yes, but that was because I had an extra day to study. I'm pretty sure none of my students will be doing much of that today. I bet we'll see quite a few snowmen before the day is over.”

Janet smiled and nodded in agreement. “So what will you do with your day off?”

“I'm not sure. I might make a few phone calls.” I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down at the table while I told her about my findings of the night before.

“So you think Claire might know something about Hannah's death?”

I shrugged. “I don't know, but I intend to find out. She may have been closer to Hannah than anyone else in Kansas City. I'm hoping she'll be up-front with me. There are a couple of
other numbers that I'm going to give to Paul to follow up on. Hannah called them before she died.”

“You might be able to enter the numbers into a search engine and see if it matches anything.”

“I did that. Nothing came up.”

Janet got up and went to the oven. She opened it and took out a pan of cinnamon rolls.

“I thought I smelled something good,” I said with a smile. “Yummy.”

“I figured you and Cicely would enjoy these.”

“Janet, have you ever heard of Facebook?”

She laughed. “Of course. You mean you haven't?”

I nodded. “People at school talked about it, but I never got involved with it.”

“You know, Facebook can tell you a lot about a person. You could use it to look up some of the people you're interested in. Like this Claire person.”

“I might do that. Do I have to sign up for it?”

“Probably. But you can use my account if you want. Just enter my e-mail address and then Murphy Dowell 1234. No spaces though.”

“You use Murphy's name as a password?”

“Sure.” She smiled. “I bet most people either use their pet's name or their child's name.”

“Paul said crooks can gain access to our information because people use their addresses and their children's names for their passwords. I imagine the same holds true for pet's names. Maybe you should pick something else.”

She frowned at me. “Good point. After we're done, maybe I'll change it. Of course, the harder I make my password, the more difficult it is for
me
to remember it.”

I grinned at her. “I guess it won't do you much good if you lock yourself out.”

“You're right about that.” She sighed. “Now, back to Facebook. You'll be able to read some of the pages, but there are others you can't read unless you're that person's friend. I know it sounds confusing, but if you need help, let me know. I'll walk you through it.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

After eating two cinnamon rolls, I went upstairs. As I passed Cicely's room, the door opened and she came out.

“No school today,” she said with a smile.

“I know. Now you have time to catch up on your homework.”

Her mouth dropped open and her face fell. “I . . . I thought I
was
caught up.”

I pretended to look confused. “Oh, that's right. Well, then, I sentence you to help me bake chocolate chip cookies and play Scrabble with Janet and me this afternoon.”

She grinned. “I like that kind of homework.” She came over and hugged me. “Thanks, Aunt Sarah. That sounds awesome.”

“First of all, you'd better get a couple of cinnamon rolls inside you to warm you up. It's cold outside, and the house is still a little chilly.”

Cicely wrapped her arms around herself. “Sure takes this house a long time to heat up.”

“I know, but it will be better soon.”

Janet always turned the heat down low at night to save money. The old, drafty house took its sweet time warming up in the morning. Until then, a thick robe and hot coffee was my only defense.

I went to my room and changed clothes. Then, after gathering together all the notes I'd made the night before, I sat down
at my desk and turned on my laptop. It didn't take me long to find Facebook. I logged in using Janet's account. There was a spot at the top of the page where I could enter names. On a hunch, first I entered Hannah's name. Sure enough, at the top of a list with several Hannah Millers, I saw my sister's picture. I couldn't read anything on her page. I could, however, see the list of “friends” Paul had mentioned. I opened the list and found Cicely. She not only had a Facebook page, but I could see pictures and posts. Wondering if someone her age should be on a social page that could be accessed by scores of strangers, I searched for information about age limits. When I found the answer, I quickly got up and went to her room and knocked on the door.

“Just a minute,” she called out.

I waited until she opened the door. She'd changed into jeans and a sweatshirt. I crooked my finger at her and asked her to follow me. As she walked into my room she looked surprised to see her Facebook page up on my computer screen.

“I don't know much about Facebook,” I said, “but I do know someone your age shouldn't have a page. The rules state you're supposed to be thirteen or older. I'm surprised your mother let you have a Facebook page. Did she know there's an age limit?”

Cicely shook her head. “No, I didn't tell her. A few days before she . . .”

“Before she died?” I said gently.

Cicely nodded. “She told me to shut down my page. I told her I would, but I didn't. I'm sorry about it now.”

“Look, Cicely. It's just not safe. Besides not being old enough, you have your page set so anyone can see your posts. There are lots of bad people out there. The rules are for your safety.” I could see the challenge in her expression, but I had no intention of backing off. “I need you to remove your page, honey. And
please be cautious about the places you visit on the Internet. Until we know what happened to your mother . . . and why . . . I need you to be really careful.”

She considered this. “Okay, Aunt Sarah,” she said finally, her shoulders slumping. “I guess I can e-mail or chat with my friends. I don't have to be on Facebook to do that.”

“That's fine. Just people you really know though, Cicely. And before you delete your account, I want to see any friends who signed on a month or two before your mom died.”

Her eyebrows shot up with alarm. “You think whoever killed my mom might be one of my friends?”

I shook my head. “I don't think so, but I imagine there are people out there who could use information posted on your page to find out where you are. Right now, it's not a good idea. Can you understand that?”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah. I'll make a list of new friends and then I'll take it down.”

“Thank you. Now I have another question. Is there any way I can see your mom's page?”

She nodded. “I can log on and show it to you.”

“That would be great. Can you do that without getting in trouble?”

She flashed me a quick smile. “Are you asking if the Facebook police will throw me in Facebook jail?”

I laughed. “I told you I don't know much about Facebook. I just proved that, didn't I?”

“It's okay, Aunt Sarah. You know a lot of stuff other people don't know.”

I wasn't certain whether I should be offended by her patronizing comment or touched that she felt she needed to defend me. I decided to go with the latter response.

“Do you want me to go to my room and use my laptop, or do you want me to do it here?” she asked.

“Why don't you do it here? I'd like to watch you. I'm not saying I'm ever going to have a Facebook page, but I'd like to understand something about it if you're going to be involved with it when you're older.”

I stood up and let her slide into my chair. As she started clicking keys, something occurred to me. Where did Cicely get her laptop? Was there any chance it was one of Hannah's old ones? If so, could it have information that might help me find out what happened to her?

“Cicely, where did you get your laptop?” I asked. “Isn't it unusual for ten-year-olds to have their own computers?”

She laughed. “Boy, you really don't know much about kids, do you? All of my friends have either a laptop or an iPad. My school in Kansas City has a Web site where they post stuff for our parents and us all the time. We can even get homework assignments.” She stopped typing and looked at me. “I got my laptop from a friend at school. Her folks got her a new one, and she gave the old one to me.” She shook her head. “I'm really glad I had it in my schoolbag and took it with me to Cora's. It could have gotten burned up in the fire.”

I nodded absentmindedly and smiled, but I was disappointed the laptop hadn't belonged to Hannah.

“Hey, what's everyone doing?” Janet had come in the door and was smiling at us.

“Cicely's signing on to—”

“Logging in,” Cicely corrected.

“Oh, sorry. Cicely is
logging in
to Facebook. I want to read Hannah's Facebook page.”

Janet frowned. “Cicely's too young for a Facebook page.”