Deadly Echoes (24 page)

“About seven o'clock?” I told him the name of the restaurant and how to get there.

“I'm sure I can find it. Fredericktown is so small, if I get lost, I'm confident I can find someone who can direct me to the steak house.”

I smiled. “Especially since it's the only steak house in town. Believe it or not, their steaks are fantastic. Even someone from the big city will appreciate them.”

He chuckled. “I'm sure I will. Thanks again for inviting me.”

I walked him to the front door, said good-bye, and watched him drive away.

“Seems like a nice man.” I turned to find Janet behind me, wiping her hands on her apron.

“Yes, he is,” I agreed. “Just goes to show that the police do care.” I sighed. “Hannah was always so frustrated with them. She started trying to get someone to look into our parents' murders when she was only nineteen, but no one would listen to her. Too bad she never connected with Anson.”

“How old do you think he is?” Janet asked.

I shook my head. “I don't know. Mike said something about knowing him for over twenty years. I guess that makes Anson somewhere in his late forties or early fifties.”

Janet shrugged. “Some people just look younger than they are. Unfortunately, that's never been my problem.”

I frowned at her. “That's not true, Janet. You look great for eighty.”

Her eyebrows shot up and she laughed. “Very funny. See if I ever make you another bite to eat.”

It was my turn to giggle. “You look great, and you know it. I think you're just fishing for compliments.”

She sighed dramatically. “Only because I have to. No one else gives them to me.”

“Oh goodness. You
are
mistreated.” I grinned at her. “I've noticed that Mr. Banks from Barnes brings his dog, Bowie, to the clinic every chance he gets. If Bowie sneezes, Mr. Banks makes an appointment. He's definitely got eyes for you.”

“Oh,
pshaw
.” Janet turned pink. “That man doesn't even know I'm alive.”

Hiram Banks was the president of a small bank in Barnes. Knowing a man named Banks who worked for a bank was a source of amusement, but he was actually a very nice man. An attractive widower who really did seem interested in Janet. I expected him to ask her for a date one of these days, and I prayed she'd accept. After her very unhappy marriage, I knew she was gun-shy, but Janet had a lot of love to give. She and Hiram would make a great couple.

“So what did Anson have to say?” she asked.

“He wants to help us, Janet.”

She smiled. “That's wonderful.” She came over and gave me a hug. “This is just what you've been working for. I'm so proud of you.”

“I'm thrilled, really.”

Janet stepped back and looked at me closely. “You don't look that thrilled. Is something wrong?”

I shook my head. “No, it's great. I hope that tomorrow night Paul and I will be able to hand everything over to Anson and go on with our lives. But Paul's not sure we have enough to give them.”

“That's not all you're worried about, is it?”

I looked at her with surprise. “What do you mean?”

“You're worried that after Anson Bentley takes over, you and Paul won't have anything in common.”

I looked at her with surprise. “How do you do that? Read my mind?”

Janet smiled. “It comes from knowing you, honey. Sarah, that man is crazy about you. Yes, your relationship will be different. It will be better. Now you'll have time to get to know each other without the specter of death hanging over you. If it's meant to be, your relationship will blossom.”

“I know you're right.” I met her gaze. “I think I'm in love with him, Janet.”

“I know,” she said softly. “And loving someone means putting your heart in their hands. It's scary.”

I nodded. “Well, after tomorrow we'll see what Paul and I have left.” I headed toward the stairs. “I just hope it's enough.”

Sunday seemed to crawl by. Although Jonathon preached a wonderful sermon about trusting God, my mind kept wandering. I was happy to see Cicely paying close attention. The past two weeks she'd stopped arguing about going to church and actually seemed to look forward to it.

After church, we went home and had lunch. Cicely asked to go with Janet on Monday and help at the clinic, but I reminded her she needed to study for tests scheduled the rest of the week. A few weeks ago she would have pitched a fit when I said no to her, but outside of a little minor whining, she accepted my decision without much resistance.

Paul picked me up at six-thirty, and we headed toward Fredericktown. He was quiet as we drove away from Sanctuary.

“Did you talk to Mike about Anson?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“Yes, and he wasn't happy.”

I shook my head. “I don't get it. Isn't this what we should all want? Why isn't Mike relieved that Anson is taking over? We
can't solve these crimes ourselves. Nor can we prosecute anyone. This is the best thing we could have hoped for.”

“Of course it is.” He looked over at me, a frown on his face. “I don't know what to think about Mike's reaction. It's as if he doesn't trust Anson.”

“Anson seems to feel the same way about Mike,” I said. “Surely they're not in some kind of competition for who can solve the case first.”

“That doesn't make sense. Hannah's murder is far from solved.”

“You know, Anson could still decide Steven Hanks was totally responsible. And he hasn't reopened my mom and dad's case yet. It's still up to us to convince him to take our claims seriously.”

“You're right.” He pointed at the tote bag I'd brought with me. “I take it that's our evidence?”

I nodded. “Everything I could think of, along with my own notes.” I smiled at him. “Well, they're not really notes now. I rewrote them so they'd make sense.”

“It's a little hard to accept that it's none of my business anymore. Except when it comes to you.”

“I'm a little worried about that,” I said slowly, turning to look at him. You know, we've never even had a normal conversation.”

He was silent for a moment. “Okay, how about this? When we go on our date, we won't be allowed to talk about the past. Instead, we'll concentrate on getting to really know each other. Talk about our hopes and dreams. You know, all the stuff couples talk about.”

I smiled at him. “Our hopes and dreams? That doesn't sound like you.”

“I'm trying to sound sensitive. Don't judge.”

I laughed. “Okay, you've got a deal.”

I stared out the window at the passing scenery. There was still some snow on the ground, even though the streets were clear. I loved snow and always hated to see it melt away. A sudden memory from my childhood popped into my mind. Without realizing it I sighed.

“Something on your mind?” Paul asked.

“I just remembered something—a time when Hannah and I made snow angels. Her death has dredged up things I'd forgotten. To be honest, a lot of the past is a blank. It makes sense that I can't remember much from the murders. But why is it so hard to remember the good things? Cicely's going through the same thing.”

“Because when it hurts too much, the mind protects itself.”

I studied him. “Is it that way with you? About your brother, I mean?”

He nodded. “Yes. It's almost as if we had no past before the accident. Just little bits and pieces that jump into my head sometimes. Or in my dreams.”

“After the truth comes out, I hope Cicely and I will be able to face the past more easily.”

He smiled. “You will.”

“Is that a promise?”

“Yes. It's a promise.”

We rode in silence the rest of the way, both of us lost in our own thoughts. When we pulled into the parking lot at the steak house, Paul pointed to Mike's SUV.

“Mike's here.”

“And that's Anson's car right next to him,” I said.

“A silver Lexus,” Paul said. “Nice car. I guess being a captain on the Kansas City Police Department pays pretty well.”

“Are you jealous?”

Paul grinned. “Hey, don't knock my 2006 Chevy pickup. It's pretty classy.”

“Yes, it is. And I'm not knocking it.”

He turned off the engine, got out, and opened my door. Then he took my arm. There were a few slick spots in the parking lot, so I walked carefully, holding on to him until we reached the entrance. Once inside, we spotted Mike and Anson sitting at a table across the room. Anson smiled broadly and waved us over. Mike looked tense. Was he angry with us? Although I liked Mike, I was determined to do the best thing for Hannah. If that meant we had to trade Mike for Anson, so be it. Besides, if Anson Bentley had reasons to distrust Mike, it stood to reason we should be cautious.

“Hello,” Anson said as we reached the table. He stood up and held out a chair for me. I slid into the seat next to him, and Paul sat down at the other side of the table, between Mike and Anson.

“Hi,” I replied. “Thank you again for meeting with us.” I smiled at Mike. “Hello, Mike.”

He nodded but didn't say anything. Were we in for an uncomfortable evening? I shot a quick look at Paul, and he rolled his eyes. Obviously he was wondering the same thing.

Just then the waitress came up to the table. After giving her our drink orders, I studied Mike, who hadn't said a word except to the waitress. He wouldn't meet my eyes, and his jaw was working overtime. I opened the menu the waitress had given us and perused the choices.

“Their steaks are great,” Paul said.

In the end, we all ordered steaks, but I went with a small filet, while the men ordered rib eyes. My stomach was doing flip-flops, and I wasn't sure I could even get that much down. Would tonight bring us the results I'd been praying for?

After some small talk, Mike finally joined in the conversation. I could tell he wasn't completely relaxed, but I forced myself to concentrate on Anson. Gaining his help was more important than massaging Mike's ego.

“Let's talk about your sister's case,” Anson said finally. “I've reviewed the notes Detective Sykes made before he died, looked through your sister's case file as well as your parents' file. Doug's concerns have become mine. First of all, there are the flowers. Frankly, in and of themselves, they're not enough for us to rule Hannah's death as anything beyond a murder that occurred during the commission of a crime. But in looking at your parents' murders and reading Doug's notes, I see your sister received white orchids at work the day she was killed. According to Doug, her coworker said she was very upset and left work immediately. That tells me those flowers meant something.”

“Yes,” I said. “They had to have been sent as a threat. By the person who killed her.” I cleared my throat. “It proves the murder was premeditated. Steven Hanks was a drug addict, looking for a way to support his habit. From what I've heard, he wasn't the kind of person who could have planned a murder. Besides, why would he? He didn't know Hannah. And he certainly was too young to be involved in my parents' killings.”

Anson nodded slowly. “You're right, Sarah. I'm willing to look at someone other than Hanks. By the way, I tracked down the flower shop. It wasn't easy. The flowers were ordered by a man who came into the shop and paid cash. He gave them the name Matt Brown. I suspect it's an alias.”

“Could they give a description?”

Anson shook his head. “All anyone could remember was that the guy had a wool cap pulled down low and kept his collar high. They didn't think anything about it because it was cold that
day. They were really busy getting ready for a wedding, so no one paid much attention to him. I suspect he picked that shop because everything was so hectic and there were no security cameras. He knew what he was doing.”

“That's not much to go on,” Paul said with a frown.

“I realize that,” Anson said. “But it certainly made me sit up and take notice. Why would he work so hard to hide his identity?”

Anson looked at Mike. “What do you think, Mike?” he asked.

Mike flushed. “To be honest, the flowers are . . . interesting. But by themselves they won't lead us anywhere. I think we need to forget about the flowers and try to find some real evidence.”

“But they were ordered the day before Hannah was killed, Mike,” I said. “If nothing else it proves her death wasn't the result of a robbery gone wrong. Can't you see that?”

Mike finally looked at me. “Yes. I know why you think that's important, Sarah,” he said, obviously frustrated. “But all that tells us is that Steven Hanks might not be the mastermind behind the murder. But he could have been hired by someone else.”

“Who would hire a drug addict?” I asked. “It's too dangerous. I don't think he had anything to do with it.”

“You might be right, but my point is that flowers are not direct evidence. And until we have something that clearly connects someone to Hannah's murder, we have nothing that will move this investigation forward.”

Anson nodded. “I think Mike's right. White orchids mean something to this killer, but we have no idea why. We need more.”

“I believe Hannah took them home so she could figure out where they came from,” I said. “Ever since Hannah was nineteen she'd been trying to solve our parents' murders. I guarantee you she took that flower delivery very seriously.”

Anson nodded. “I'm certain she did. Let's put the flowers aside for now. Can you tell me what other evidence you have?”

Paul and I took turns bringing up the other suspicious clues we'd uncovered, from Hannah's house burning down, to the man showing up at her workplace, and the murders that happened soon after our parents' that seemed so similar. I told him about the names and numbers in her phone book and the corresponding calls on her phone.

“We haven't been able to find this John Smith,” I said, “but this other crime was important to my sister. Somehow I think it ties into our parents' murders.”

When we finished, Anson was quiet for a while. Finally he said, “That's very impressive.”

“I brought copies of everything,” I said, picking up the tote bag and handing it to him.

“I can take this back with me?”

“Yes. Maybe you can find John Smith. And figure out if he's the
J
Hannah refers to. Also, there's a
JR
in her phone book with a star by his name. The number doesn't work. He might be important, but we're not sure.”

“I'll go through all this very carefully,” Anson said. “You have my word.”

Just then the waitress brought our food. A few minutes after we started eating, Anson brought the conversation back to our previous discussion.

“So, Mike,” he said, looking at the detective. “You agree with everything Sarah and Paul have said?”

Mike nodded. “I've gone over all of their information. I think whoever killed Sarah and Hannah's parents may have also killed Hannah. I just can't find a motive. Maybe you'll do better.”

I let out a deep sigh of relief. Mike seemed to be warming up, but I could still see tension in his face.

“I'd like you to work with me on this if you would, Mike,” Anson said. “You too, Paul. I'm not ignoring you, but Mike lives and works in Kansas City. That makes it easier for him to get involved.”

“I totally understand,” Paul said. “Sarah and I are grateful for your help. All we ever wanted was for the police in Kansas City to look at this crime again, recognizing that there could be more behind it than what it originally appeared to be.”

“Then you've achieved your goal,” Anson said with a smile. “I'll contact you in a few days, after I've had a chance to go through all of it and confer with my associates.”

“Thank you so much, Anson,” I said gratefully. “You're an answer to prayer.”

He smiled. “I don't know that I've ever been called
that
before, but thank you.” He glanced at his watch. “I'm sorry to keep you so late. You have school tomorrow, don't you, Sarah?”

I shook my head. “Actually, I don't. Ongoing furnace problems and freezing temperatures have created a day off while the furnace is repaired.”

Anson smiled. “I'm sure Cicely is happy about that.”

“Not really. She wanted to go to the veterinarian clinic tomorrow and help Janet. I told her she needed to stay home and study instead.”

“I've never known a young person to enjoy studying.”

I chuckled. “The funny thing is, she really does like to study. She's very smart. And she loves history. I don't think academics were stressed much at her school in Kansas City. Now that she's attending a school with children who enjoy learning, she's beginning to blossom academically.”