Gone to Ground (23 page)

"I'm so sorry." Like they did Stevie's trailer. I knew what Tully would face. "I'll call her now."

"Then let me know right away.
Please.
"

"Okay. We'll talk soon." I ended the call and ran to my purse to rummage for the phone list. Found the piece of paper and punched in Cherrie Mae's number.

Please answer.

"Hello, Deena?" Cherrie Mae sounded out of breath.

"Where are you?"

"Just finishin my second house. I'm carryin my stuff out to the car. I got the pictures. But I'm toast, Deena, he caught me."

Oh, no. "You mean Mayor B?"

"He come home, and I couldn't get the pictures put away right. I think he knows I been in that drawer. If he don't already, he will soon as he opens it. But the way he acted—he knows."

I heard a car door slam.

"I'm scared, Deena. That man gon come after me. I'm scared to be by myself after dark. I got one more house to clean, then I'm puttin the pictures on my computer and takin em down to the
po
lice."

"Mike Phillips has just been arrested for Erika's murder."

A pause. "What you say?"

I told her Tully's story.

"Oh, have mercy. Poor Tully. Lord, help us all. Now they done gone and arrested
two
wrong men."

"But the blood. It's got to mean somethin."

"I don't know what it mean." Her voice rose. "But I'm tellin you—Mayor B's guilty. I knowed it by his face. The way he looked at me today when he thought I'd been in that drawer. He played with me, Deena. Downright played with me. Sent ice through my veins."

"You think—"

"I got to get those pictures down to the
po
lice
right now.
"

I'd never heard Cherrie Mae so riled up. "What about—"

"I'll tell my next customer somethin's come up and I'll do her house later. I got to get home and put those photos on my computer."

"Can you print them out?"

"Ain't got no printer. I'll take my computer down to Chief Cotter. Leave my camera home as back-up, just in case something happens to the ones on my laptop. 'In this world you got to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.'"

Those pictures would totally mess up the cops' theory about Mike and Stevie. Far as they were concerned, those two made much better suspects than Mayor B. "Don't leave the camera in your house, Cherrie Mae. That's the first place the police would come lookin."

"You right. I'll give the camera to you. You got a computer? You could make copies too. The more the better."

"No. But Tully does."

"All right then. I'm gettin home now. Then I'm gon make the
po
lice listen to me—whether they want to or not."

"Okay. Call me before you go to the station."

"I will."

I hung up and immediately called Tully to report what happened. Then I put down the phone and stared out my window, picturin an avalanche rushin toward all three of us. When it hit, who would be left standin?

By 3:30 I was almost ready to go. My heart knocked
around, and my ankles didn't feel too steady. But I wasn't gon let the chief see how nervous I was.

I sat at my kitchen table, takin one last look at the pictures on my computer. I hadn't gotten a close enough shot a the ring to show the initials inside the band. Still, these should be okay. Surely nobody else had a ring looked just like that one.

While the computer shut down I called Deena and told her I was set.

"Okay." She sounded a little out a breath. "I'm nervous. Keep us posted."

"Where are you?"

"At Tully's house. I picked her up and brought her over here so she could get her car and some clothes. The place is messed up a little but not bad. Nothin like they did to Stevie's trailer. I think they were careful, so Tully wouldn't have to be on her feet, putting the whole house back together. I'm helpin her straighten up."

The computer clicked off. I shut the lid. "She not stayin in that house by herself tonight, I hope. Tell her to stay with her parents. We still got a murderer out there."

"Don't worry, I've already given her that speech. She's not fightin it. She's too upset to do much of anything."

Poor Tully.
God, help that girl.

"Maybe you two ought to stay at her house just till I'm done with the
po
lice. I'll come over and we can have a meetin."

"Sounds good. But wait—we have Tully's computer. Bring your camera over here first so she can copy the pictures. She says it'll go fast. Plus you can leave the camera with us. We'll have two backups."

"Okay. Be right over."

When I pulled up to the curb outside Tully's, two neighbor women was across the street, talkin. Glancin at me and her house. No doubt gossip was flyin round Amaryllis. The
po
lice here—twice—and now Mike arrested. They had to be wonderin what I was doin here. I raised a hand and waved as I got out the car. They waved back. I could feel their eyes gawkin at me as I hurried up the sidewalk, totin my computer.

Inside Tully's house I set down my laptop and hugged her hard. She looked pale and worn. Deena didn't look much better. At least they was too tired to be fightin with each other. I figured they done formed an odd kind a bond—both of em with a loved one arrested for the same murder.

"Misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows."

We gathered round Tully's table, her computer bootin up. I gestured toward it with my chin. "You're lucky the chief didn't take it."

She gave me a sly look. "Oh, he'd have liked to. I made my mother come over here and get it before we went to her house."

"What did Michael do?"

"I stayed in the car with the doors locked. At first he wouldn't let Mom in, but he wanted to know what had happened with me. She barged around and got my computer and purse, and when he wouldn't let her out with them, she told him the police were right behind her, and he'd best let her go if he knew what was good for him."

Mercy. "Your mama got spunk."

Tully's mouth curved in a wistful smile.

I turned on my camera and stuck the connector into her laptop. "You don't have a printer, do you?"

She shook her head. "I wish."

"Me too." I made a face. "The
po
lice gon have to keep my computer till they can print out copies."

Deena sniffed. "You'll never get it back. Make em print copies while you're there."

I'd try. Who knew how things would shake down.

Grim silence fell over us as Tully went through her download program. Didn't take her long.

"There. Done," she said.

"Don't look at em, Tully." I didn't want her seein those dead women.

"Don't worry." She pressed her palms against her cheeks. "You think Chief Cotter will listen to you, Cherrie Mae?"

"Don't know. I'd like to think he'll want to hear evidence anybody brings. But things look so convenient for him now."

Lines pinched Tully's forehead. "What if all of this fits together? What if all three of them did . . . something?"

Deena make a
tsking
sound. "Then Mayor B would be the brains behind it. I can hardly see Mike or Stevie makin that man do anything. He holds their
jobs
in his hands."

We looked at each other.

Deena's eyebrows raised. "I haven't told you what Carl Cypress said. According to him, on the night of Erika's murder Stevie was all upset about somethin near the end of their work shift. He was stompin around, and he told Carl he was gonna 'make her pay.' Carl asked him who and what he was talkin about, but Stevie wouldn't answer. And then my brother said he had to 'clean up the big mess.'"

Tully's eyes widened. "What big mess?"

"I don't know. But what if Mayor B killed Erika before that factory shift was over, and then made Stevie go clean up the crime scene?"

Hmm. "But then who was Stevie talkin bout, he gon make her pay?"

"Don't know. I thought it was Erika because she's always taunted him."

"Maybe the 'big mess' was just something at work," Tully said. "After all, that's his job—cleaning."

"Yeah, maybe. It's just . . . the timin."

I mulled that over. "We got to add that to our notes—whatever it means." I pulled the papers from our first meetin out a my purse. "Here. You two look these over while I'm gone. Add anything new to em. We can talk bout it when I get back." My gaze fell on the first page where I'd circled a big question mark around Erika "comin into big money."

A thought flashed in my head.

"Tully, you think Mike really did plan to go away with Erika? Cause if he did, why would he kill her?"

Tully shook her head. "I think she was lying. I don't think he would have left me. He was too excited about our son." Pain flicked over her face.

"Then maybe the part bout money comin to her was another lie."

"Probably. Maybe she lied to Mike about the money, too, trying to bribe him away from me. And once he took off with her and learned the truth, she figured it would be too late. Sounds just like her."

Deena sighed. "But all this focuses only on Erika. Don't forget there are five other murders."

She was right bout that. This whole thing was a mess. I held out my arms. "I need to go. First we got to pray."

They grasped my fingers, and I led us all in prayer that God would give me the right words. And most of all that he'd lead us to the killer a those six women. Fast.

I pushed back my chair. "All right then. Be back when I'm done."

Chin held high—like I was confident as a fat cat—I left Tully's house and headed for the
po
lice station.

On Main Street, I
straightened my back as I climbed
out the car, my purse hangin from one arm. My hands was sweaty-slick on my computer.

Inside the station I spotted Ted Arnoldson first. He was sittin at a desk talkin on the phone. I caught the words
evidence
and
test.
Ted nodded at me, then turned away, lowerin his voice. The air in that little lobby crackled with energy. The
po
lice had to be trippin all over themselves, tryin to figure how to get
two
suspects for one murder.

Just wait till I got through with em.

The chief's office doh was closed. Muffled voices sounded behind it. I strode over and knocked. Ted looked over his shoulder at me and held up a finger—
wait
. I paid him no mind and knocked again. Next thing I knew Chief Cotter stood in the threshold, starin down at me. Behind him I could see John Cotter, sittin in a chair in front a the chief's desk.

The chief nodded, and his beefy jowls shook. "Cherrie Mae." He glanced at my computer, faint curiosity in his eyes.

"I got to talk to you. It's important."

He breathed in, makin his nostrils flare. "We're pretty busy right now. Can you come back?"

"Nope. It cain't wait."

"What's this about?"

"Erika's murder. I got new evidence."

John Cotter rose. I heard Ted Arnoldson hang up the phone, felt his eyes at my back.

"New evidence, huh." The chief rocked from his heels to his toes. "You remember somethin about bein at her house that night you forgot to tell me?"

"Nope." I looked around. "Can we sit down? I got somethin to show you."

Chief Cotter scratched the back of his head. "What is it?"

"You done arrested the wrong men for Erika's murder, chief. Or at least you need to arrest a third."

He gave me a look. So did John Cotter. And I knew Ted was starin at me.

"You tellin me you got
another
suspect for me?"

My courage wavered. I didn't like the way the man looked down at me. What did he see? Some five-foot African-American cleanin woman he could wave away with a flip a his hand? Sure was different from a week ago, when he
needed
my information.

I firmed my mouth. "That's exactly what I'm sayin."

The chief sighed. "All right." He sounded dubious. "Let's go in there." He pointed to the little room where they'd questioned me last Wednesday. "We'll make it quick, okay?"