Mind Play (Bennett Sisters Book 3) (26 page)

She s
e
t her file down. “No such luck.”

She glanced at Mike. “Can you go back to the precinct
and look for the rest of the file?”

Mike nodded
.
“Let me go check.”

Jake grabbed the next file. “I’ll stay here and keep digging.”

Claire pushed back her chair to stand
.
“I’m going to check out a lead.”

Butch stilled Claire’s departure. “Just a minute
,
angel
.
Where are you going?”

Claire picked up her coffee and drained the last of it. “I’m going to the café for more coffee of course.
”
Butch raised a brow at her answer. She knew she wasn’t leaving the place without him but wouldn’t let on
to
the others what she was thinking, not yet anyway. Not until she had something to report back. Her idea was a long shot, but it was one she wouldn’t let slip through her fingers, like the paperwork
missing from
the file
s
.

“I’ll go with you.”

Butch followed Claire out and pulled open his passenger truck door and helped
her
inside.

“What aren’t you telling me,
angel
? I can tell by that look in your eye something is going on in that
pretty little
head of yours.”

Claire glanced at Butch
,
and her lips tilted up in a smile. “You do know me
,
don’t you?
”

“Yep, so are you going to tell me?”

“Not yet, I’ll fill you in if my hunch is right. We need to go to the Starlight Café.

“Why? Emma’s not there.”

“We aren’t going to see Emma
. W
e’re going to see the unofficial historian of Southall.”

Butch narrowed his eyes but didn’t say another word. They drove to the café in silence. Claire was glad Butch was driving. Her mind was going ninety to nothing
,
hoping beyond anything that her answers were waiting for her at the café.

The café wasn’t as busy as it usually was, but
the person
she looking for was there. Mrs. A sat at the same table
where
she was always perched when Claire had visited. Finding her here wasn’t detective work
. T
he old lady was always here with her co
horts
planning everything that went on in town.

Claire heard Butch chuckle behind her as she went to the table and pulled out a chair. “Mrs. A, I’m sorry to interrupt all of your planning, but I was hoping you could help us.”

“Sure
,
dear, what do you need
?
”

“I appreciate it. Do you remember when my dad was killed twenty years ago
?
”

“I don’t think any of us will ever forget that day, dear. What can I tell you that you don’t already know?” Mrs. A’s white eyebrows were knit together. Their dad’s death had been hard on a lot of people in town. The questions it left behind left the town in unease and always had if she thought about it.

“We all know the story or some version of it, but the file d
oesn’t
mention who his partner was back then. Do you know who that would have been?”

“Well
,
dear, most of them like
d
to work alone back then, but if I had to guess, I would have to say Detective Berman. He and your dad were close.”

Claire stood, “I know who he is and you
’
r
e
right. I should have thought about him. Thank you, Mrs. A
.
”

Claire turned to leave but hesitated and turned back around. “One more thing, do you know where we can find the
d
etective?”

“Sure
,
dear. He lives right next door to Butch in the retirement community.”

After a year of knowing Butch, she
’d known
where he lived, but she
’d been
sure he would have moved out by now. The thought gave her pause. Was there a reason why he hadn’t
?
“Thank
s
again.”

Butch took her hand and guided her toward the door. “I know what you
’
r
e
thinking,
angel
. I haven’t moved because I haven’t found the right house. My
realtor
keeps showing me places that I have no interest in.”

Claire smiled. “We need to go see the detective.”

****

Butch should have been surprised where Claire had wanted to go, but he wasn’t. He should have been even more surprised by
whom
she wanted to talk to, but again he wasn’t. What did surprise him was her question for his landlord. Why did she want to know
the name of
her dad
’
s last partner
?
He could assume she wanted the rest of the story
,
and he was the man that could tell
them
. His
angel
was a genius,
both
beautiful and smart. Butch drove to his house and parked. H
e
and Claire walked over the little strip of fake grass and knocked on his
neighbor’s
door. Butch heard the old man holler through the door. “Just a minute.”

They waited for what seemed like five minutes but was probably mere seconds before the gr
a
y
-
haired man pulled the door open, knocking
it against
his walker that was in the way.
Butch hoped for Claire’s sake that the old man remembered what she wanted to know and that his mind hadn’t slipped.

“Detective Berman, I’m Claire Bennett. I believe you use
d
to work with my father.”

The old man’s eyes gleamed. “Ah yes, you’re the spitting image of him. How are you
,
dear
?
”

The
d
etective pulled his walker back out of the way, turned
,
and started to make his way down the foyer, calling over his shoulder, “Come in, come in, Butch
,
grab that door and close it, will ya
?
”

“Sure thing.”

****

Claire took a deep breath and smiled. The fresh scent of Apple pie tickled her nose, not at all what she was expecting. She
’d
imagined as she stood outside the door that the old man was a bachelor that had lived a hard life as a detective on the streets
, n
ot a gentle man who baked pies. Claire eased slowly down the hallway behind the detective and glanced at all of the family photos on the wall. His place was homey and charming and nothing like she
’d
expected.

The detective positioned himself in front of his recliner and eased down into
it
. He hit the mute button on the television and turned toward them, motioning them to the sofa. “It’s good to see you again
,
Claire. Last time I saw you girls, you were barely teenagers.

“Yes
,
sir, that was a long time ago. I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about when you worked with my dad
.
” Claire held her breath, hoping the man was going to help them. He could possibly be the one with the answers
since
a paper trail
no longer
existed.

“Sure, but only if you don’t mind me asking you something.”

Claire glanced at Butch, sure that his frown matched her own. “Uh
…
sure, detective. What do you want to know?”

“Why now? I figured Mike or Abby would be the ones that eventual
ly came by
. W
hy you and why now?
”

That wasn’t something Claire had
n’t
been expecting. For the first time in her life, she was at a loss for words
. I
t wasn’t as though Claire didn’t trust the man
. H
eck
,
her father had. But his question was just leading to more of her own.

Claire cleared her throat and linked her hands in her lap. “I have reason to believe that someone is
holding a grudge against
my family, and somehow
,
they’re connected to my dad. I’m just trying to figure out who and why. Mike brought the files to my house
,
and we noticed there were some things missing out of his last file. I thought maybe he might have said something to you, or you might know something about it.”

“Ah, does this have to do with that
Sal
that died
?
”

Claire glanced at Butch
,
who now had his arms crossed over his chest.
“What do you know
,
old man?”

Chapter 14