Iris Avenue (9 page)

“Just so you know I am who I say I am,” he said. “You know why I’m here, obviously. We’re interested in your brother’s disappearance as related to an investigation we’re undertaking, and I’m hoping you’re willing to share what you know.”

“I’m wondering if I should have a lawyer present.”

“I’ve already spoken with your brother Sean and your sister-in-law Ava, and if you’d like to call either of them to check me out, I understand completely.”

“I’m going to be honest with you, Jamie. The most important thing in the world to me is my family. I’ll do anything to protect them. My brother Brian has lost the privilege of being called family. If you’ve already talked to Ava and Sean, you know all the reasons why. I don’t know what else I could tell you.”

“I understand you have a letter,” he said, “from Gabriel Cortez.”

Maggie felt sick at her stomach. She’d expected all sorts of questions but nothing that involved Gabe. Jamie was looking at her compassionately. Maggie knew she would have to share it sooner or later, and later might include a subpoena. She got up and went to the back wall of the office, opened the safe, and then used a key that only she possessed to open a locked box inside the safe.

The letter, from her ex-boyfriend Gabe, had only recently come into her possession after being hidden in Margie Estep’s attic for seven years. Part of the reason she and Scott weren’t speaking was because he found the letter and didn’t immediately give it to her; she found it after he accidently dropped it. The other reason was detailed in the letter itself.

The paper was now creased and somewhat tear-stained. Jamie treated the letter with care, as if he understood how precious it was to her, and he took his time reading it.

When he finished, he said, “I’d like a copy.”

Maggie had a small fax/printer/copier in her office, and made a copy for him before returning the letter to the box in the safe.

“I’ve met him,” he said. “He seems like a nice guy.”

“Who, Scott?”

“No, your ex. Gabriel.”

Maggie felt like she’d been punched in the gut.

“When did you see him?” she asked.

“Last week, in Florida.”

“I didn’t know what happened,” Maggie said. “He just disappeared one night. I don’t even know if he’s telling the truth in the letter. Turns out I didn’t really know him at all.”

“He said when I saw you to tell you he’s truly sorry he hurt you.”

Maggie felt tears well up. Even though she thought she’d cried all she could over Gabe, she continued to find fresh grief with every revelation.

“He’s getting out,” Jamie said.

“I thought he got ten years,” she said.

“He’s been a model prisoner, and he’s agreed to help us with our investigation in exchange for an early release.”

“Where will he go when he comes out?”

“Mrs. Crawford has agreed to let him stay with her.”

“Lily Crawford?” she asked. “How did Lily get involved?”

“She’s agreed to be responsible for him. She even offered to put up any bond necessary.”

“But why would Lily do that?” Maggie asked.

Maggie reflected that Lily knew them both well, and had been fond of Gabe, but not as anything more than a dear friend and neighbor. If Jamie knew more, he wasn’t saying.

“When will he be here?” she asked.

“In a few days,” Jamie said.

“Great,” Maggie said. “Whether I like it or not.”

“I know this is hard for you,” Jamie said. “I hate to be the one to bring you news that upsets you.”

“Is there anything else?” Maggie asked him. She wanted him to go so she could think.

“You saw your brother in prison before he escaped,” Jamie said.

“Yes,” Maggie said. “He was worried someone inside was going to kill him. He said there was a price on his head.”

“Did he mention any names?”

“He said someone named Mrs. Wells was paying for the hit. He said even though Ava was paying back the money he ‘borrowed,’ it was personal between them. She wanted revenge.”

“Anything else?”

“He said he was sorry about what happened to Gabe.”

“He apologized?”

“Oh, not to me, or to his wife and kids, or anyone else in our family. No, Brian doesn’t think we count, for some reason. But he said Gabe wasn’t involved in what he did, just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and took the fall for it.”

“Have you heard from Brian since he escaped?”

“No. I figure he’s long gone from here, don’t you?”

“We don’t know.”

“If he contacts me I’ll let you know. I wouldn’t help him.”

“I got that feeling,” Jamie said.

“It’s like living in my own personal soap opera,” Maggie told him. “I just wish it would end.”

“Would your parents help him?”

“Of course,” Maggie said. “They still think it’s all some huge mistake. We haven’t told them everything, trying to protect them. I don’t want them to be hurt anymore than they already have been.”

“It will all come out at the trial, you know. What about your brother Patrick?”

“He wouldn’t help Brian. He’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

“Is there some particular reason Patrick and Brian don’t get along?”

“Same as with me,” Maggie said. “Brian’s a jerk.”

“Your sister-in-law seems anxious that Patrick not be involved.”

“She’s just trying to protect everyone,” Maggie said. “There’s no reason for you not to talk to Patrick.”

“Can you think of any place Brian might go to hide?”

“No,” Maggie said. “Up until a few weeks ago, I hadn’t seen or heard from him in over six years. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“You seem too nice to be a fed.”

“Is that a question?”

“How does somebody decide to be an FBI agent?”

“I was a paperweight for a long time,” he said.

“A paperweight?”

“I sat at a desk, papers came and went, and I stared at a computer all day every day. I went to lots of meetings. I was really bored.”

“Then what happened?”

“I applied for more active duty.”

“When was this?”

“About five years ago.”

“How many cases have you been on?”

“Just this one.”

“For five years?”

“It’s complicated; there’s a long history and a widespread network. Careful, methodical work is more likely to bring about the desired result.”

“Not a lot of gunplay, then.”

“No,” he laughed. “No shoot-outs so far. Just a lot of interesting connections and coincidences.”

“Which you can’t tell me about.”

“No, sorry.”

“I get the feeling you know a lot more about me than I think. Am I being paranoid?”

“I do know a lot about you. You’re a pivotal person in this case. Your brother, ex-boyfriend, sister-in-law, and the police chief you dated are all involved in some way. I recently got to see the video of your meeting with your brother in prison.”

“So there was no reason to ask me about it.”

“Sorry, I have to corroborate facts. It’s part of my job.”

“What part of me telling off my brother inspired you most?”

“Well, your passion, for one thing. I thought, ‘I’d hate to be on the wrong side of this woman.’ But I also thought, ‘What a woman to have in your corner.’”

“You said Scott was involved. Not in a bad way, I’m sure.”

“He’s not in any trouble.”

“He’s a good man,” Maggie said. “You can count on him.”

“I can understand why he might bend the law a little for you. I might have done the same. I take it that relationship is over?”

“Yes,” said Maggie. “No use dragging him down with us.”

“Are you quite sure about that?” Jamie said.

“I finally quit fooling myself,” Maggie said. “There doesn’t seem to be any point in believing my life is ever going to be normal or my family any more sane. If you know all there is to know about us you must agree.”

“A lot of families are weird and crazy.”

“Rose Hill definitely has a higher percentage. You’ll find out I’m right.”

“Well, here’s my card,” Jamie said as he stood up. “Please call me if you hear from Brian or think of anything that might be helpful.”

“Are you under cover? Do you want me to say you’re a book rep?”

“I don’t mind people knowing who I am, but please don’t share what we talked about.”

“No problem.”

Jamie put on his coat and then stuck out his hand to shake Maggie’s. His handshake was warm, strong, and set off some alarm bells in Maggie’s own department of defense.

“It’s been such a pleasure to meet you,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll cross paths again before this is all over. I’m looking forward to it.”

He gave her a warm, knowing smile that implied the pleasure wasn’t purely professional. Maggie blushed again.

After he left Jeanette stuck her head inside the office.

“That was a damn fine looking man. I hope you bought a lot of whatever he’s selling.”

“I did,” Maggie said. “I bought the whole package.”

Hannah received a call from Caroline Eldridge, begging her to come out to her house and evict some raccoons. A self-determined spiritualist explorer, Caroline had inherited the lodge from her older brother, the recently murdered Theo. It was a stone and timber Craftsman era mansion that sat high atop a ridge between Rose Hill and the ski resort town of Glencora, overlooking Gerrymaine Valley and Bear Lake. The snow was still thick on the ground up there, and the temperature was always ten degrees lower than in Rose Hill.

One of the Buddhist monks currently staying at the lodge answered Hannah’s ring outside the heavy front door. She was surprised to find he was a man about her size, with light freckled skin, hazel eyes, and wire-rimmed glasses. His head was shaved, but Hannah could tell his hair had been a mousy brown, much like her own. The incongruence of the camouflage-print thermal underwear shirt and leggings he wore underneath his bright orange robe was disconcerting at first. He also had on heavy wool hunting socks with his sandals.

The man bowed deeply with his hands in a prayer formation in front of him. This was Hannah’s first experience with a monk of any persuasion, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do. Caroline had told her on the phone that she shouldn’t talk to them, but how in the world could she communicate what she wanted?

“Hiya,” she said finally, after they each bowed to each other a few times. “Is Caroline home? She said there was a raccoon family living in the ceiling of the garage apartment. I’m going to try and catch them for her.”

The monk backed toward the kitchen, bowing continually. Hannah followed him. As soon as they entered the kitchen he disappeared into what used to be the dining room. As he opened the door Hannah could hear chanting and the scent of sandalwood incense wafted in.

Caroline was sitting at the kitchen table, her head in her hands.

Hannah cleared her throat.

“Oh, Hannah,” Caroline said as she looked up.

“You okay?” Hannah asked.

“I’m fine,” Caroline said. “It’s nothing a few days of warm weather wouldn’t cure.”

“It won’t be warm up here until June,” Hannah said. “You may need to take a vacation before that.”

“I can’t go anywhere while the monks are here,” Caroline said. “There’s too much to do and I have to take care of them.”

“How long are they staying?”

“Who knows?” Caroline said with a sigh.

“That’s a pity,” Hannah said.

“Oh, no,” Caroline said. “It’s a privilege to have them here; any inconvenience to me is far outweighed by the greater good. I’m not suffering at all; suffering is just an illusion.”

“Are the raccoons you called about real?” Hannah asked, “Because I can’t justify the mileage on imaginary ones.”

“They’re real and extremely noisy,” Caroline said. “I don’t want them harmed in any way, just relocated, if possible. They’re keeping Petula and Sven awake at night and heaven knows we all need our sleep; we get so little of it as it is. Not that I’m complaining. Some yogis go for months without sleep or food. I’m not quite that evolved yet. It helps that I’m vegan even though I’m considering becoming a fruitarian. It’s just that there is so little organic fruit available and you have to be sure it fell off the trees naturally and wasn’t removed forcibly; fruitarians consider that murder. You can’t be sure of the cruelty free purity of the fruit when it’s shipped in…”

“That’s all really interesting,” Hannah interrupted. “But I need to get started, if you don’t mind. I have a humane trap I can set up and once they’re caught I’ll relocate them somewhere else. We need to figure out how they got in, though, and seal it up.”

“Sven will do that,” Caroline said. “He’s handy. Have you met Petula and Sven? They’re from Stockholm. I met them at a conference in Seattle. They’re both Reiki masters and have completed all but the most secret levels of a Sacred Energy Medicine course I was involved in for awhile. They’re working for me to earn the money to pay for the last module. Once they complete the training they’ll be able to manipulate the electromagnetic field that surrounds us, that connects us all. It’s powerful magic and not just anyone can do it; you have to be born with the gift. Not many people understand the importance of the electromagnetic field. Did you know cell phones interrupt the radar that bees use to navigate? That’s why they’re disappearing at such a fast rate. It affects humans and animals as well but most people aren’t sensitive enough to detect the changes in the atmosphere…”