Tragic Toppings (23 page)

“I’m glad,” I said.

“About lunch, or the graduation?”

“Both,” I answered with a grin. “Grace and I just met with Gina Parsons over sandwiches, and I’m thrilled that George’s therapy is coming along.”

Jake smiled at me, and I felt my heart skip a little. “It sounds like it’s just you and me this afternoon,” he said.

“I love it. Did you two get to speak with anyone yet?”

“No,” he admitted. “We chased some bad leads all morning, but I have hopes for this afternoon.”

“We went two for two,” I said. “I’ve got some interesting things to share with you.”

“Share away,” he said.

Once I brought him up to speed, I asked, “So, who do we believe, Betsy or Gina? It’s crucial that we find out who Tim was supposed to see, but I don’t know how we can prove it either way.”

Jake nodded and took a moment to consider what I’d told him. “It’s a shame he didn’t keep a journal, or at least a chart to keep track of his love life.”

“How do we know he didn’t?” I asked. If Tim had kept any sort of record of his love life, it could be a goldmine helping us figure out what had happened to him.

Jake just shrugged. “I asked Chief Martin about it, and he said they didn’t find anything but an old wall calendar with all of his jobs listed on it. There wasn’t a thing there about his personal life.”

“How nice that he shared that with you,” I said.

Jake grinned. “Hey, remember, I do have official standing.”

“I’m glad one of us does,” I said. “We’re not going to wait for the others to keep digging, are we? I want to take advantage of every second we’ve got.”

“I agree. There’s just one thing, though.”

“What’s that?”

Jake looked at me intently before he spoke. “I take the lead, Suzanne. Feel free to interject if you feel as though I’m missing something, but my badge and my title carry some weight here. The less we admit that our investigation is unofficial, the better chance we’ll have of getting answers. Agreed?”

“Got it. You’re the boss,” I said.

He kissed me, and then said, “We both know better than that, but let me have my delusions, at least for now, anyway.”

I could keep my mouth shut. At least I hoped I could. “So, who do we speak with first?”

“I’d like to talk to Stu,” Jake said. “I’m still trying to check up on Orson, but I’m having trouble tracking Laney down.”

“The errant bartender,” I said. “Was she one of your tasks this morning?”

He nodded his agreement. “George and I decided that if we could come up with an alibi for Orson, we wouldn’t have to pursue that angle anymore.”

“And what did you find out? Did you discover any leads about where she might be?”

“As a matter of fact, she’ll be at the bar in two hours,” Jake answered. “We can talk to her then. I swear, we tracked that woman all over three counties, but she was one step ahead of us the entire morning.”

That didn’t sound good. “Do you think she was purposely trying to avoid you?”

“No, I doubt she even knew we were that close behind her. I think it’s just a coincidence that we kept missing her.”

I smiled at him. “You told me once that you didn’t believe in coincidences, Jake.”

He shrugged. “I stand by it as a general rule, but there has to be an exception sometimes.”

“Like never dating a suspect?” I asked with a smile. That was indeed what we’d done when we’d first met, though I was still under a cloud of suspicion at the time.

“You weren’t always a suspect,” he said.

“At least I’m not at the moment,” I replied. “Where do we find Stu?”

Jake glanced at his watch as he pointed up the abandoned railway path. “According to my sources, he should be coming out of the Boxcar any minute now.”

“So that’s why we’ve been hanging around in my parking lot.” I started to get out of the car as I said, “We don’t have to wait until he’s finished eating.”

Jake put a hand on my arm. “Take it easy, Suzanne. Things will go smoother if we do this without any witnesses around.”

“We’re not going to rough him up, are we?” I asked as I got back into the car. “Why does it matter if anyone else sees us talking to him?”

Jake let out a deep breath, and then said, “Just being seen with me carries an air of guilt.” He rushed to finish the thought before I could interject. “I don’t mean with you, and you know it, but as a state police investigator, I have to be aware of the ramifications of what I do to the innocent as well as the guilty.”

I’d never looked at it from his point of view before. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I know I have a tendency to fly off the handle sometimes. This way is better.”

“Would you mind speaking a little louder into my lapel pin?” he asked me with a smile. “I want that on the record.”

I covered the pin with my hand as I said, “If I thought you were actually taping us, I’d say something entirely different.”

Jake was about to comment when he pointed up the path. “Speak of the devil, and he appears. That’s Stu himself.” I looked up and saw the man light one of his cheap cigars once he was outside the restaurant.

“Let’s go,” I said as I got out of the car.

“I’m taking the lead, remember?”

“Sure, as long as you’re doing a good job of it.”

“And I’m guessing you’re the sole arbiter of that, right?”

I winked at him. “Hey, you’re getting better at this. You got it on the first try.”

We got within ten feet of Stu Mitchell before he noticed us approaching him. Stu tried to step out of our way when Jake stood squarely in his path.

“Stewart Mitchell?” he asked as he pulled back his jacket, revealing his badge. Again, I wasn’t sure how kosher that was, since he wasn’t officially on the case, but it must have passed his own internal test of what was right.

“Folks call me Stu,” the man corrected. He was dressed neatly in a suit, but it was well worn around the cuffs and sleeves, and the shirt that poked out hadn’t been cleaned or ironed in quite some time. Stu’s shoes, though polished, were also well worn. Hang on a second. Was he a little off balance as he stood there? Trish didn’t serve alcohol in our dry county, but unless I missed my guess, Stu had been partaking, anyway.

“Stu it is,” Jake said amiably enough. “We need to talk.”

“I didn’t have anything to do with killing Tim, and that’s the honest truth,” Stu said, his words rushing out at us. “You can’t pin it on me, so don’t even try.”

“Who are you talking about, Stu?” Jake’s voice had gotten soft, and it might have been interpreted as friendly if you didn’t know him. He seemed to be onto something, and it gave him a calm presence that I admired.

“It’s Tim Leander you’re here to talk to me about, and we all know it.” He gestured at me. “Who’s that?”

“An acquaintance of mine,” Jake said.

I wasn’t sure I cared for that description coming from my boyfriend, but then again, I knew that he had to be careful of exactly what he said.

“I didn’t do it,” Stu repeated. “You can gang up on me all you want; my story isn’t going to change.”

Jake shook his head, as though he was disappointed with a small child. “Stu, there’s a very easy way to make me go away for good.”

“What’s that?” Stu asked, his reddened eyes squinting at Jake carefully.

“Where were you the night Tim was murdered?” Jake asked.

“I was entertaining a lady friend all evening,” Stu said.

“Really?” I asked.

“I have lady friends,” Stu said defensively.

“I’m sure you do,” Jake said. “What was this one’s name?”

He looked around as he scratched his chin, and it was clear Stu was debating whether to tell us or not. All it took to convince him was for Jake to pull back his jacket slightly so Stu could see his gun. It wasn’t a threatening move, but it made a statement nonetheless.

“Okay, fine, it wasn’t a lady.” He looked around, though there wasn’t a soul nearby, and finally admitted, “If you’ve got to know, I was at the plasma center donating some blood. I was a little hard up, and I needed the cash.”

“And you’re trying to tell me that you were there all night?” Jake asked. It was clear that he didn’t believe him. “Come on, Stu, we both know that it doesn’t take that long.”

“I had some problems afterward,” Stu said. “They kept me for hours. Go on, ask the nurse who volunteered there. She stayed with me the whole time.”

“Do you happen to remember her name?” Jake asked.

“Yeah, sure I do. It was Nickel. No, hang on a second, that doesn’t make any sense. It was Penny. That was it, I’m positive.”

“Nice try,” I said, “but Penny Parsons was at the hospital all night.”

Jake looked surprised when I volunteered the information. He turned back to Stu and said, “Are you lying to me? I don’t like it when people lie to me.”

“It’s the truth,” Stu said, the anger clear in his voice. “Ask her.”

Jake seemed to take that in, and then he nodded. “Trust me, I’m going to. Don’t go far, Stu. I may need to talk to you again.”

“I’ve got nothing to hide,” he said, his anger fading away and his tone becoming more defensive.

“Let’s hope that’s true, for your sake.”

Stu walked past us and headed for the bus stop. I wasn’t exactly sure where he lived, but I didn’t envy him the wait. Our bus system wasn’t exactly known for its promptness. In fact, some folks built in a buffer of half an hour or more, and they got upset when the bus actually ran on time.

“How do you know Penny was working?” Jake asked me as we walked back to his car.

“Gina told me when I spoke with her today.”

Jake nodded. “We still need to confirm that it’s true.”

As Jake got into his car, I followed suit. “Let me guess. We’re going to the hospital right now, aren’t we?”

“The sooner we can take his name off our list, the better. You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”

I shook my head, thinking about how my friend might react to the fact that I’d been a little hard on her mother. “I’m just hoping Penny hasn’t spoken to her mother since I did.”

CHAPTER 15

“Suzanne Hart, how could you? I thought we were friends.”

It wasn’t the greeting I’d been hoping for when I first saw Penny. So much for the chance that she hadn’t spoken to her mother yet. We were in a crowded ER with victims from a car crash and an accidental stabbing, and Penny’s voice still managed to get us more attention than any of them had garnered.

“We are,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. “Penny, I had to talk to your mother to see if I could somehow clear her with the police. There was no other choice, and I was trying to help her out, not do her any harm.”

“She said you accused her of murder,” Penny said. Wow, was she angry.

“Penny,” I said, snapping her name out like a whip. “She seemed happy enough to talk to me, especially at first. I didn’t accuse her of anything, and that’s the truth.”

“You asked her for an alibi,” Penny said, her tone of voice leveling out somewhat as she glanced over at Jake. He’d decided to let me handle this myself, and he didn’t say a word as Penny and I talked.

“I told you, I’m trying to help her clear her name,” I said. “Trust me, you don’t want folks around this county thinking your mother might be a murderer. I’ve been painted with that particular brush before, and it’s no fun.”

Penny seemed to take that in. “Let me get this straight. You wrecked her day, but you were really just trying to help her, is that what you’re saying?”

“I’m sorry if I upset her. I had the best of intentions,” I replied. I really didn’t want to make Penny angry again.

Jake finally decided to step up. “There’s something we need you to clear up, and then we’ll get out of your hair.”

“If it’s about my mother, I’m not at all sure I care to talk to you.”

“It’s not that,” I said. “I’m really sorry about interrupting. We know you’re busy.”

Penny shook her head. “Not particularly. We’re overstaffed at the moment, so I just punched out.”

“Then you have a second,” Jake said.

“Just that, but I’ve got plans.”

“Of course you do,” he said. “I understand you worked a double shift here the night Tim Leander was murdered.”

She frowned before answering. “No, that’s not right.”

“Penny, your mother told me you did,” I said, also supplying the information for Jake’s save.

The nurse shook her head. “She was mistaken. I worked my regular shift here in the ER, and then I pulled one at the plasma bank. It’s a way to bring in a little extra income from time to time, so I do it when I’m not busy. Why, am I a suspect now?”

“We’re just trying to clarify things,” I said.

Jake asked, “Did you treat a man named Stewart Mitchell?”

“Oh, yes, Stu was there most of the night. He started hitting his flask the second we were through, and he fainted before he got to the door. We had to keep him here to make sure he was all right.”

“He didn’t slip out anywhere when you weren’t looking?” Jake asked.

“No chance, and I’ll swear to that in court.”

Jake nodded, and as he turned to go, I realized that I wasn’t going to get a better opportunity to talk to Penny about her mom than right now.

I took a deep breath, and then asked her, “As far as you know, did your mother have a date with Tim that night?”

“No, of course she didn’t,” Penny answered a little too quickly. “She was home all alone watching a movie.”

Okay, that was exactly what her mother had told me. That didn’t mean that it was the truth, though. “Is there any way she can prove it?”

Penny scowled openly now. “I’m still not sure she should have to, but she left me half a dozen messages that night on my cell phone. She does that when she’s feeling lonely and I can’t answer my telephone. Can’t you check that out?”

“She could have called you from anywhere with a cell phone,” Jake said.

Penny laughed. “You don’t know my mother. She won’t go near one, no matter how much I beg and plead. All of her calls were made from her home. Check the records. It should clear her.”

I thought of half a dozen ways that could have been faked, but I didn’t say anything. “It’s clear that you love your mother. We’re just trying to get to the truth.”