Death of a Dapper Snowman (28 page)
“Good,” I said.
After a long series of questions, Officer Peggy Wiggles said, “Stop me if any of this is wrong, but as I understand it, your father’s girlfriend, Pam, was upset because Finnegan Day was pursuing his younger physical therapist. Pam was in an agitated emotional state over getting dumped for someone younger, so when she saw Mr. Michaels talking to his long-lost daughter at the diner, she assumed he was her lover, and she snapped. On the recording, she referred to drugging him, so it’s possible she fed him sleeping pills, perhaps claiming they were antacids, as she did with you, and then she strangled him in his sleep.”
“Allegedly,” said Logan. “
Allegedly
strangled him.”
Jayne’s eyebrows rose high on her forehead. “Sir, this is
your
client’s statement.”
“Force of habit.” He grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. Just got excited and wanted to contribute.”
I gave him a pat on the arm. “And I appreciate it.” I kept patting his arm, which was so warm and muscular. He turned his forearm around and clasped my hand in his, giving it a squeeze for a moment.
He fixed his serene blue eyes on mine and said, “That woman tried to kill you, too, Stormy. She’s not going to get away with this.”
“Lucky for me, she’s a lousy shot.”
His blue eyes stayed locked on mine and expression changed to one of worry. “It wasn’t just the shooting. She tried to drug and drown you. That’s two counts of attempted murder.”
He was still holding my hand, and between that contact and his expression, my heart was melting.
“But you got away,” he said softly.
We both looked down at our hands, and he self-consciously unclasped his from mine and returned it to his lap.
Peggy said, “You are definitely the offspring of Finnegan Day. I never worked with him, but his reputation is well known.”
“I am my father’s daughter.”
“And he’ll be pleased to see you’re still alive.”
I shuddered at the idea and said bravely, “Lucky for me, Jeffrey likes to play hockey, and he knocked those sleeping pills down.”
“My cat does that,” Peggy said. “He loves playing table hockey. Mostly he just wrecks my reading glasses and breaks my favorite mugs. He’s never saved my life before.”
“What kind of cat have you got?”
“The best kind. A chubby ginger with a stubby tail.”
“Sounds cute. What’s his name?”
“Peekaboo. I know it’s silly, but he actually play peekaboo. And he hides in laundry.”
“That is so cute! Do you have a photo?”
Logan interrupted us with a throat clearing. “Ah, I’m sorry to derail this discussion of our feline friends, but we should keep things going.”
“You’re a good lawyer,” I said with a smile.
Peggy didn’t say anything. Apparently, she had not warmed up to Logan as much as I had, which was fine with me. I wanted to be the only woman with a pixie haircut playing a prominent role in Logan’s life.
We were interrupted by the receptionist popping her head in. “They’ve got her in custody,” the receptionist said.
Peggy nodded and got up from her chair.
“They got Pam?” I squeaked.
Logan said, “My client would be more comfortable not confronting the woman who tried to murder her.”
Peggy gave me a sympathetic look. “Don’t worry. She won’t be coming through here while you’re here. Give me a few minutes and wait here, would you?”
“Sure,” Logan and I answered in unison.
“Oh, and Stormy,” she added, “Tony is taking care of everything. He said to thank you for everything, and he’s sorry he couldn’t also be here to say so personally.”
She left the room, and now the two of us were alone.
“Who’s Tony?” Logan asked.
“Officer Tony Baloney. I mean Officer Tony Milano. He was my father’s partner.”
“Oh,” Logan said with a nod. “I thought maybe he was your boyfriend.”
I snorted. “Gross. Tony’s old and gross.”
“Hmm.” Logan looked at me with the cool expression of someone skilled at detecting lies.
“He’s married with kids,” I said.
“I understand.”
“I don’t have a boyfriend.”
He smirked. “Good to know.”
His blue eyes moved down from my face, moving slowly. I adjusted the overlap on the top of my bathrobe to preserve my modesty, and pulled the terry cloth rope belt tighter.
“What about you?” I asked. “Did you move to Misty Falls by yourself, or will someone be joining you at the duplex?”
“Are you inquiring as my landlady?” he asked cheekily. “If there’s someone else living on my side, will I have to pay a greater than fifty-five-percent share of the electricity bill?”
I snorted defensively. “You should pay more if you have excessively long showers.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” He sorted through the pile of candy on the table between us and opened a bag of pretzels. He offered me a pretzel, the square-looking chunks of salt sparkling like tiny diamonds of savory deliciousness.
I accepted the pretzel and crunched it in my watering mouth. He’d artfully dodged my question about him having a girlfriend, which meant either he had one, or he couldn’t easily shut off lawyer mode.
After a moment, he said, “I wish I could have seen you jumping out of that bathroom window.” He chuckled. “It’s not too soon to laugh about that, is it? You… running around in the snow in nothing but that bathrobe… it’s quite the image.”
I grinned at the memory. “This has all the makings of a fantastic new Christmas tradition.
The hundred-yard-dash, through the yard in a bathrobe.
”
“Or forget the bathrobe and go naked,” he said. “Like skinny-dipping, but the more extreme, Misty Falls version.”
“You sound like you know a thing or two about skinny-dipping.”
“I grew up in a small town not unlike this one. I know a thing or two about how to have fun outside of major urban centers.”
“Is that so?” I glanced over to the laptop and recording equipment. “The session’s still recording, Logan. Is there anything you want to confess to, on the record? You’ll feel better once you get it off your chest.”
He gave me a mischievous look. “Not really. Lawyers are good at keeping things up their sleeves and biding their time.”
His eyes went to the gap at the top of my bathrobe again. I pulled the terry-cloth belt tighter and smoothed down the front again.
“Do you always look down your client’s clothing? Is that what got you in trouble at your last law firm?”
He flicked his gaze up to meet my eyes and gave me a foxy grin. “I would have, if I’d had a client as cute and funny as you.” He licked his lips and peered down again.
“Stop it,” I said, giggling. “You’re causing a scandal. This is all on the recording, and the whole police department will hear it.”
He leaned over to the laptop and stated, clearly, “This is Logan Sanderson, and I’d like to state, for the record, that my client, Miss Stormy Day, is dressed inappropriately for this meeting. As her lawyer, I would advise her to don proper attire for the next one. Maybe a loose turtleneck and a cardigan. Or one of those cat-lady sweaters with the sequins and bells.”
I gasped. “You are so bad.”
He smiled. “Just trying to make you smile. You’ve had a tough night, haven’t you? It’s part of a good lawyer’s job to put his client at ease so she can function.”
“Oh. So you’re just doing your job?” A little squeak of disappointment made its way into my voice. Here I thought he was flirting with me because he liked me. But if he was just trying to make a good impression with me, and with the Misty Falls Police Department, that wasn’t quite as enjoyable.
He nodded and said in a serious tone, “I might joke around here and there, but I do take my work very seriously. Stormy, if you ever need me again in a legal capacity, please don’t hesitate to call.” He smiled warmly. “Or just knock on my door if the light is on. Any time.”
“For legal matters.”
“Sure.”
Just then, Peggy came back into the room and told us everything was under control.
“Lucky for the boys, she was out of bullets,” Peggy said.
Logan leaned forward. “Was anyone hurt?”
She took her seat with a sigh. “Not tonight. Thanks for asking.”
Jeffrey padded into the room on silent feet and jumped up into my lap.
Peggy smiled warmly at the cat. “And Jeffrey solved the The Case of the Mouse Who Nibbled the Snack Room Crackers.”
“Good boy,” Logan said, sounding like a proud father.
Peggy checked the recording equipment, then we continued doing my statement, but the shock of what had happened was finally setting in and everything whirled past me in a blur.
After a while, Peggy said, “One of the crime scene investigators got the bullet out of your car, so at least we won’t have to impound that as evidence. That’s a nice car you’ve got.”
“My car?” I blinked at her for a moment, then remembered. “Oh, right. Sorry, I spaced out there.”
“It’s late,” she said. “I’m sorry we couldn’t round you up some clothes, but I’ve got some spare shoes and socks in my desk that you can borrow to get home.”
“Thanks.” I looked down at my bare feet and my mind went blank. It had been a long night.
Officer Peggy Wiggles excused herself, then returned with the shoes and socks. I pulled them on while Logan made jokes about carrying me to my car.
He was being very funny, but I was too tired to laugh. I just wanted the day to be finished.
“She’ll confess,”
Logan said as we walked out of the police station together. “They won’t need it, with the mountain of evidence, but it’ll make for a speedy trial when Pam confesses.”
I held Jeffrey tightly in my arms as we walked out into the snowy parking lot. The sky was pink, casting a warm glow on our surroundings. The long night had passed and morning was coming. I could hear the whooshing sounds of morning commuter traffic—at least three vehicles driving by.
I was still wearing the ridiculous bath robe I’d arrived in, but thanks to Peggy’s athletic shoes, which were only three sizes too large, I wasn’t walking barefoot through the snow.
“What makes you say she’ll confess to everything?” I asked Logan. “Your expertise with criminal clients?”
“I’ve seen enough to have my own hunches. I have a feeling she’s the confessing type.”
“You get hunches?”
He gave me a charming grin. “There’s just something about the truth, isn’t there? It wants to get out. The truth will wait and wait, until the time is right, but it always comes out. The truth has a mind of its own.” He looked down at Jeffrey, who was snuggled in my arms. “Isn’t that right, Mr. Kitty?”
We reached my car, and I handed him the cat so I could punch in the keyless entry code to open the door.
When I turned back to get the cat back, Jeffrey had his elegant arms around Logan’s neck and was rubbing his whiskered cheek against the man’s beard with a ferocity I’d not yet seen.
“Somebody likes me,” Logan said. “Wow, go easy on the beard, Mr. Kitty.”
“His full name is Mr. Jeffrey Blue.”
“Good to know. I will try to always address my landlord respectfully and correctly.”
I had to pry Jeffrey away from his new friend so I could load him back into the car. He disappeared underneath the passenger seat. I noticed the crime scene investigators had put a makeshift plastic covering over my shot-out rear passenger window. I climbed into the driver’s seat, shut the door, and lowered my window.
“Logan, thanks for everything. Really. I appreciated having you there with me during a stressful situation. Let me know if I can ever repay you… in any way except free rent. I’m afraid I’m not as rich as this car makes it seem.”
“Maybe I’ll need your expertise in the future.” He backed away, toward his vehicle. “Stormy? The sun’s about to come up, and there’s a place outside of town I like to sit and watch the sunrise.”
My heart skipped merrily inside my chest.
Was this handsome man inviting me to watch the sun rise with him?
He continued, “That detour should kill about twenty minutes or more. Does that sound fair? That way you can drive back home to the duplex and let yourself in without me around, bugging you for a drink, or heaven knows what else.”
I started to say
maybe I wouldn’t mind a drink after all
, but then I stopped myself. It had been a long night. I was vulnerable, and he knew it. If we got back to the house we shared at the same time, there’d be some excuse made, and then one of us would be on the wrong side of the shared wall, all because of raw emotions and frayed nerves.
It wasn’t yet time for us to share a moment like that, assuming something like that was meant to be.
As we looked into each other’s eyes in the police station parking lot, I knew driving home ahead of him was the smart choice. I knew it, he knew it, and even the cat meowing his complaints from under the passenger seat knew it.
“Sounds good,” I said evenly. “Twenty minutes is more than enough. It’s always so weird when you say goodbye to someone, and then you see them again right away, and then you’re all…” I stopped talking and just pushed the button to raise the window.
I leaned down to peer under the seat at Jeffrey, then I sat up, clicked my seat belt on, and drove away.