She Waits (25 page)

Okay, Maggie, please ask her...

"How would Aunt Sarah compensate you, Al?"

I could see the color rise in Allison's beautiful long neck. "Money. She promised to help me with my antique shop. Y-you know I'm having difficulties."

"Al, you could have come to me. I would have helped you," Maggie said and I heard the sincerity in her voice.

"Mags, we're not seeing each other anymore. How can I ask you for money?" Allison questioned in a quiet voice.

"Aunt Sarah, I'm afraid, is somehow involved in all this, Al," Maggie said. "We found a notebook in Bedford's apartment that really implicates her. We need your help now, to determine how deeply she's involved. It could even be that Uncle Nathan is involved as well."

Allison's head shot up at the statement. She looked from me to Maggie. "How can that be?"

Maggie looked over at me.

"There's a great deal going on here, Allison," I said. "Too much to go into now. You'll have to trust Maggie, and help her, not for me, but for Maggie's sake. Someone is trying to kill her."

"Allison, dear. For the sake of all of us and for all the years we've known each other, please listen to Kate," Hannah implored.

Allison sat back against the cushions of the couch and stared at nothing in particular. "What do you want me to do?"

"I need you to get Sarah out of her house for at least an hour this afternoon," I said.

Allison gave me a curious look. "Okay, I can call her and take her to lunch."

"Tell her Maggie told you that I found more evidence. That should do it," I said confidently. "Look, Allison, I know you and I got off on the wrong foot, but do you believe what we've said?" I asked.

"Yes, Kate I do. I-I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. I can't believe I've been so blind," she looked at Maggie and smiled sadly.

"I would suggest that you go on as normally as possible. Tell Sarah what you think she needs to hear, but please be careful. One person is dead, and three others have been tossed around. So, please, don't take any chances with her. If she says or does anything strange, tell Maggie or Steve right away."

Allison agreed and took out her phone.

With Allison gone to get Sarah out of the way, we planned our mission. Mac and Teri returned from town. Steve had the evidence in the evidence locker at the police station.

"Well, let's put together a plan of attack," I said. "We'll get to the house and then, Hannah, you lead us to the right closets. We check out the rooms and we're gone. That's it. In and out as quick as we can." I looked at Hannah. "Right?"

She nodded. "R-right."

We all gave her a suspicious look. "Hannah, right?" I asked.

"Yes, yes. I said it would be fine. Don't make me nervous."

"Crap, this is going to be a nightmare. Okay, let's go. I suggest we walk, just in case."

The day was dark, gloomy and depressing. Although it had stopped raining, the thunder still rolled in the distance.

"Okay, please, let's all be careful not to disrupt anything. In and out," I urged as we walked down the path. I tried not to feel like as if I was leading a funeral procession.

They all agreed.

"No worries, we'll be fine. As long as they don't come back early," Mac said and I nodded.

We came to the clearing as Allison's car pulled away--perfect timing. We slowly walked up to the house and Hannah pulled out her keys. She turned with a gleeful smile.

"I feel like I'm, what is it called? Breaking and entering?"

"Don't kid yourself, that's exactly what we're doing. Even though you have the keys, Aunt Sarah would be highly aggravated right now if she saw us," Maggie said dryly. "So Aunt Hannah, please just let us in."

"Heavens, which key is it?" Hannah sighed and fumbled with the keys.

I felt ridiculous as the five of us stood crammed at the door.

"Hannah, may I?" I asked and took the keys from her. She pointed to the right key.

We slowly walked in and looked around. "Okay, Hannah, which room is Sarah's and Nathan's?" I asked.

Hannah looked up the stairs and hesitated. "Well, I think..." she started.

"You think? Aunt Hannah, don't you know?"

Hannah rang her hands. "Well, I thought I did. Don't make me nervous, Margaret," she said.

I rubbed my forehead. "Okay, okay, let's split up. Mac and Teri take the closets on the first floor. We'll go upstairs."

Teri and Mac nodded and went to the closet in the foyer. Upstairs, there were three bedrooms. "Okay, we each take one. Be careful," I said.

As we split up, Hannah and I started for the same bedroom, nearly bumping into each other. I gave her a helpless look.

"Sorry, dear," she mumbled and headed for the next room.

I quickly checked out the closet, searching every article of clothing. There were men's clothes but no jackets or coats. Actually, it looked like a spare room that wasn't actually used. There was a bed and dresser but nothing else of a personal nature.

From the hall, I heard Hannah exclaim. I dashed out to see her holding a silk scarf.

"I knew I gave this to Sarah!" she announced triumphantly.

I hung my head and Maggie patted my shoulder.

"Aunt Hannah, dear, please, we don't have time," Maggie said. "Now put that back exactly where you found it."

Hannah gave me a sheepish smile, which I acknowledged with a patient smile. She turned back into the room.

Maggie laughed and walked back to her room.

In a few minutes, Maggie called me.
This better not be a borrowed pair of earrings.

Maggie held a man's jacket. I was exhilarated. Mac and Teri came up the stairs. Maggie was staring at us, amazed. Hannah came in behind us.

On the front of the double-breasted jacket were two rows of gold buttons; the top button, however, was missing. I was shocked. I hadn't expected to find anything.

"Where did you find this jacket?" I asked Maggie.

"It was thrown on the chair in the corner. I just picked it up," she said, stupefied.

I took the jacket and checked the pockets, then checked the lining. There were initials embroidered on the lining of the inside breast pocket: NAW in script.

"Nathan Alexander," Hannah supplied. "Oh, dear."

"Well, that answers that," I said.

"Okay, let's get out of here," Maggie said, shivering.

"We'll have to tell Steve. Leave the jacket; let's put it back the way you found it," I said and handed the jacket back to Maggie. "
Exactly
as you found it."

"Can't we take the jacket?" Teri asked.

"No. If we take it, they'll know we were here. We need an advantage and if they think they still have the upper hand, that's our advantage."

Chapter Twenty-Three

Maggie and I drove into Cedar Lake later that afternoon to fill Steve in on what was happening. He sat there holding the gold button.

"Nathan?" he asked, sounding incredulous.

I had to agree, this whole mess was incredulous. "I haven't seen Nathan since the party. He was called away for some emergency," I said.

"I know. I saw Sarah this morning," he said. "She told me he was still in Dubuque, but he'd be back tonight. I suppose I'll take a run over there and have a chat with him when he gets home." He picked up the phone and called Sarah. After a brief discussion, he hung up. "Sarah says he's still not home, but thought maybe he should be by now. I'll check later. I don't like this."

"I don't like this either, Steve," Maggie said and I heard the weary tone in her voice.

"You still have all the other evidence in the safe," I said.

Steve motioned behind his desk, "Yep, all secured." He picked up Bedford's notebook. "I read this little thing. Not much evidence, but it does tell us about the family. Your grandfather and Sarah? Shit. And what's this about taking your car, Maggie?'

"I have no idea why Bedford would write that. He was right, though. I was angry with Aunt Sarah for taking my car and not saying anything. I don't remember why she took it."

I picked up the book and found the page. "Cinco de Mayo. That would have made it what? The fifth of May, right? If my Spanish serves me correctly, which it usually doesn't. That reminds me of a great Mexican restaurant in Chicago..." I looked at Maggie who grabbed the notebook and stared at the page. Her complexion had turned ashen. "Maggie, what's wrong?"

She said nothing and looked from Steve to me. "Dad died on the fifth of May, six months ago."

Steve sat forward and took the notebook. I sat there, stunned. "Sarah borrowed your car on the same day your father died in a hit-and-run in Chicago. And the driver was never found."

Steve whirled around to the file cabinet and plucked out a manila folder. "Jonathon Winfield. DOA at Northwestern University Hospital in Chicago, on May 5, 2006. Hit-and-run. Blah, blah, no driver found, no witnesses. Time of death, approximately 2 a.m...." Steve skimmed through the other pages. He looked up. "Well, I suppose I'll have to talk to not only Nathan, but Sarah. This doesn't prove anything. I'm sure she has an alibi. She could have been anywhere with your car. Okay, so why don't you two go home, and I'll call you later? Don't talk to anyone about this. Of course, tell Hannah but stay put until you hear from me. I can't believe we found this out. It's amazing."

The king of all understatements.

We all sat in the kitchen, once again trying to cram five people around the table. No one had much of an appetite as we picked at our food.

I told all about our meeting with Steve. Hannah was visibly shaken. Maggie sat next to her and put he arm around her. Mac and Teri were equally stunned.

"This doesn't look good for Sarah, but Steve is right," I said. "She could have been anywhere and I hope she has an alibi. And I'm worried about Nathan, that button from his coat found at Bedford's doesn't help him at all either. Let's think of Sarah and all that we have seen so far. She broke into the house--I know it was her. She argued with Bedford. She ran around in the woods like a crazy person. According to Bedford's notes, she had something going on with Alexander and had a screaming match with Jonathon. You know, come to think of it, Bedford's handwriting--I said it looked shaky in the passages about Jonathon and the Maggie's car."

"What do you mean?" Teri asked.

"Shaky like an elderly man was writing it, which could mean that the argument would have precipitated Sarah taking the car on May 5
^th
. Maybe the two are connected, maybe not. I hope Steve finds out. It's in his ballpark now. It's a police matter."

"Well, I for one can't believe the turn of events in the past few days. My God, what will happen now?" Hannah asked sadly.

None of us could answer that. I only hoped I was right and Steve could take it from there. It was late, and the mood was somber. We all decided to try and get some rest. We had no idea what tomorrow would bring.

A nice hot bath, I thought and when I eased myself into the hot water, I felt instantly relaxed. I laid my head back and closed my eyes as my mind wandered, and I thought about the week's events. Now I really had a headache.

There was a knock on the door. "Kate?" Teri whispered.

"Hmm, c'mon in," I sighed dreamily.

She poked her head in. "You've been in here a long time. Maggie wanted me to check on you."

"I'm fine Teri, I'm fine. I..." I laid my head back and put the hot cloth on my face.

"I know. You're not used to the attention. Well, I think it's..." she started again and I interrupted her.

"Oh, can I please take a bath by myself?"

I lie there for a while longer and almost fell asleep right in the tub. I was extremely stiff when I lay down on the bed and Chance jumped up. "Hey, you mutt, where've you been?"

Again, there was a knock at my door. "C'mon in, Teri, the door's open," I said with my eyes closed. "You can tell Dr. Winfield I'm fine and I didn't drown."

"Well, she'll be relieved. She was told you were accident prone," Maggie said and I opened my eyes.

"I thought it was Teri," I said and started to sit up.

She waved me back. "Don't get up. How do you feel?"

"I'm fine," I said. I noticed she had her doctor bag.

She followed my gaze and smiled. "It occurred to me I haven't checked your shoulder," she said as she came over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine," I repeated. She opened her bag and took out a tiny flashlight.

"I know. I want to check out your head, see if there's anything there," she said frankly. "Lie back please," she said professionally, as she shined the light in my eyes. "Now, look straight ahead."

I did. She put her finger up. "Follow my finger," she said professionally and I did.
If she says, look at my thumb...

"Mm-hmm," she said and turned off the light. I hate that doctor thing they do.

"Whatta ya mean, 'Mm-hmm'?"

"It's just as I suspected," she said, shaking her head. "You have a definite independent streak. I'm afraid it's inoperable." She gave me a smug grin.

I let out a hearty laugh. "Okay, I had that one coming."

"Go to sleep and no getting up to wander in the woods in the morning," she ordered.

"Okay, okay, you bossy thing," I said. Chance jumped up and lay at my side.

Maggie ruffled her ears. "You, too, go to sleep," she said as she kissed her head. Chance was in heaven; her tail was wagging so fast I thought she'd take off.

Then, unexpectedly, Maggie leaned over and gently kissed my forehead then my cheek. "I wouldn't want you to feel left out. Good night," she said tenderly as she walked out.

My heart was racing as she left me staring at the door like an idiot. I was doing that a lot this week. However, I knew how Chance felt. If I had a tail...

I woke at six-thirty, sat on the side of the bed and flexed my neck. I heard a noise behind me and turned. Maggie was standing there half-asleep. She looked tired, worn and, God help me, adorable.

"Kate, what are you doing? It's only six-thirty," she said, with a yawn.

"Waiting for a bus. Go back to bed," I said.

She was leaning against the door as I walked up to her.