Murder on Sagebrush Lane (15 page)

43

Thirty seconds later, everyone at the table was still looking at Ginger.

Harrie broke the silence. “Are you sure he was watching you?”

Ginger tossed the photo back on the pile. “I’m only sure that my gut told me this guy did not belong there. He was already on the block when I arrived, so he wasn’t following me.” She shook her head. “It wouldn’t hold up in court, if that’s what you mean. It just felt like he didn’t belong there, like he was casing the neighborhood.”

Harrie sat back in her chair. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

DJ looked up. “It’s the only thing that does make sense.”

Steve frowned. “What are you saying?”

“Well, think about it. Up until now, we’ve had no clue how this guy got the idea Harrie had something that didn’t belong to her.”

Harrie went from surprise to disbelief. “I’m confused. Are you saying you know what it is I’m supposed to have that he wants?”

DJ smiled at her. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? We have Katie.”

Steve said, “But why would this strange guy care if Harrie had Katie?”

Swannie raised his hand. “Excuse me for interrupting, but I have information that may shed light on that.”

All attention went to Swannie. He smiled. “The man in the photo has been identified. We saw in one of the surveillance shots from this morning that the suspect was using one of the telescopes they have up there for tourists to look through.”

“So what?” Harrie frowned.

Swannie smiled. “We figured he probably left his fingerprints, and we were right.”

“That was a long shot, Swannie. I’m guessing it paid off.” DJ nodded his approval.

“The old man still has a few tricks up is sleeve.” He turned to DJ and said, “You young bucks could learn a lot.”

DJ lifted his wine glass in a salute. “I humbly bow to the expert.”

The humor had lifted the deadly serious mood, and for a few moments the atmosphere was lighthearted. Then Swannie pulled another folder from his briefcase, and everyone became serious once more.

“We were lucky,” he said. “It didn’t take long for us to match the prints to a young man with a record in Ohio. His name is Randy Lynch.”

DJ said, “Is he a big time criminal?”

Swannie tossed a folder over to DJ. “Not so’s you’d notice. It seems he got in a bit of trouble as a teenager. He and a couple of other kids robbed a gas station. Served six months in juvenile detention. I contacted his mother, who still lives in Ohio. She’s stayed in touch with him, trying to make sure he kept his nose clean. She said when he was released, he seemed to have cleaned up his act. Went back to school and graduated with good grades. After that he tried to enlist in the Marines, but couldn’t pass the physical.”

“What was wrong with him?” Harrie asked. “I thought they really needed guys in the Marines.”

Steve shook his head. “They do, but they have to meet certain requirements. All kinds of things that could get a guy rejected. He’d need a lot of physical endurance to be a Marine.”

Ginger chimed in. “So what kept Randy Lynch out?”

“Diabetes,” Swannie said.

“That’d do it.” Steve emptied his wine glass. “What happened to him then?”

“Well,” Swannie resumed, “according to his mother he moved to New York City right after that, and things went pretty well for the next few years. He had a job as a file clerk in a big law firm. Then, almost a year ago, without any warning, he quit his job.”

Caroline had been listening intently to the conversation. “Did she say what brought him all the way from New York City to Albuquerque, New Mexico?”

Swannie grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.” He reached in his briefcase and produced another folder. “As you might expect, there was a woman in his life.”

“No surprise there,” DJ said.

Swannie flipped through the folder until he found the page he wanted. “Okay, here it is. According to his mother, young Randy was living an ordinary life until the day he met this woman. Apparently she was a rather plain girl, but had lots of moxie.”

Caroline laughed. “I don’t know many men who can use the word ‘moxie’ in a sentence with any understanding of what it means.”

Swannie blushed. “Ah, it’s nothing. I’m a big fan of 1930s gangster movies, that’s all. They’re always saying, ‘She’s got moxie.’”

“Nevertheless, I think it’s refreshing.” Caroline patted his hand. “Please go on.”

Swannie grinned and continued. “Okay, so this woman puts a kind of spell on old Randy. He quits his job and joins her in her business. Would you believe he became a dog walker?”

DJ said, “I understand there’s quite a demand for dog walkers in New York. All those apartments, no backyards for Rover to take care of business.”

“And think of all the great exercise,” Ginger added.

“But that still doesn’t explain why Randy Lynch turns up in Albuquerque, or why he’s walking around our neighborhood, spying on me.” Harrie frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.

“It will when I tell you the name of the woman. Monica Chambers, or as you know her, Bonnie Bellows.”

44

DJ stood. “Anybody interested in a cup of coffee? I really need one.”

Caroline pushed back her chair. “I’ll make a pot. It’ll give me time to think.”

“I’ll help you,” Harrie and Ginger said in unison, and followed her into the kitchen.

DJ sat back down and he, Swannie and Steve continued their conversation.

“We have to talk to Bonnie Bellows,” DJ said.

Swannie leaned back in his chair. “I did talk to her, remember? I had just discovered her real name only a couple of minutes before she came by my office.”

Steve said, “Did you confront her?”

Swannie shook his head. “I wanted to wait until we have more information about Monica Chambers. Besides, she was loaded for bear and demanding to know when she’d get Katie. I didn’t think I’d get information out of her when she was all riled up like that. And I wasn’t ready to tip her off that I was on to her.”

DJ frowned. “This calls into question her claim to be Katie’s aunt. And why does she call herself Bonnie Bellows if her name is really Monica Chambers? She must have known we’d check her out.”

“There’s a hell of a lot of stuff we don’t know at this point.” Swannie ran his hand over the top of his head. He turned to DJ. “Can you get the FBI involved? You guys are in a better position to learn more about Monica Chambers than I ever could.”

DJ nodded. “I think my boss will be agreeable, especially after he sees the results of my interview with Rinaldi’s supervisor.”

He told them briefly about the attitude Al Murray displayed at that afternoon’s meeting.

Swannie frowned. “Do you think Rinaldi had been stealing classified documents? It sounds like that’s what they’re implying.”

“I don’t know,” DJ said. “I want our computer forensic experts to look into it. They should be able to figure out what happened. But that’s not all. Al Murray was sweating bullets. He looked like he might pass out any minute. He’s hiding something.”

“What do you think it is?” Steve leaned in.

DJ shook his head. “I’m not sure. Initially I thought he was just upset about Rinaldi’s death, maybe as the supervisor, he was worried about the impact it would have on his group. But the more we talked, and I watched his nerves stretched almost to the breaking point, I decided it’s more personal. I’m wondering if Rinaldi is a convenient scapegoat for the breach that occurred.”

Swannie grinned. “That’s an interesting thought. Makes a lot of sense, too.”

“Here we are.” Caroline, Harrie, and Ginger returned, ladened with cups. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee permeated the air.

Swannie stared at his cup, deep in thought. He lazily stirred cream into the coffee, the spoon clinking out a monotonous rhythm. At last, he said, “Harrie, did you use that DNA kit on Katie yet?”

Harrie looked up from her own coffee cup. “The DNA . . .?” She shook her head. “You must be kidding me. Why in the world would I do what Winnie Devlin asked?”

“Well, it occurs to me that we could use the results of such a test. With two different women claiming a relationship to the child, it would come in very handy.”

“I don’t know . . . ” Harrie frowned. “Do we have the right to do that?”

DJ said, “Steve, what do you think?”

“The judge did sign an order giving you and Harrie temporary custody. With that order in effect, the two of you are her legal guardians until another order supersedes the first.”

Swannie spoke up. “I’d like to encourage you to do it, Harrie—the sooner the better. The test is a simple thing to perform. All you need to do is gently scrape the inside of her mouth with the swab in the kit, pull up the protective plastic case, and it’s ready to go to the lab.”

Harrie turned to Ginger. “What would you do if you were me?”

Ginger shrugged. “I’d do the test. It doesn’t hurt; it’s quick and easy. And just maybe it would help us get rid of Bonnie Bellows, or whoever she is, once and for all.”

DJ nodded. “I agree. What do we have to lose?”

Harrie said, “Maybe it would also put to rest the insane theory that Katie is Winnie Devlin’s granddaughter.” She nodded. “Ok then, I’ll do it in the morning. But where do I send it?”

Steve chimed in. “I’ll take care of that. My office has a lab in town that we use. We’ve had several paternity cases lately, and the turnaround at this lab is pretty quick . . . well, quick for a DNA test.”

“Then it’s settled,” Caroline said. She looked at Swannie. “Now may I ask a question?”

“Of course, lovely lady. Ask away.”

“Well, Bonnie Bellows already came by Harrie and DJ’s house yesterday looking for Katie. Am I right?”

Swannie nodded.

“And,” Caroline continued, “she went to your office this afternoon to see when she can get Katie, is that true?”

Swannie smiled. “That is true.”

Caroline put down her coffee cup and frowned. “Then why is Randy Lynch calling attention to himself by making threatening phone calls to Harrie? Are the two of them working together on this, or is he acting on his own?” She sat back in her chair.

“Is he trying to help Bonnie Bellows, or is he trying to stop her?”

45

“This is crazy,” Harrie said. She reached for the dishtowel Ginger had just taken from her. “I’m going to dry those dishes.”

Ginger held the towel behind her back. “Oh no you’re not. Now go sit with the guys and keep them in line. Caroline and I have this under control. You’ve been running at full speed all day.”

“But I—”

“But nothing.” Caroline stood beside Ginger. “You’ve been functioning on nothing but adrenaline since early yesterday. She took Harrie by the shoulders and turned her around. “Now, do us all a favor and go sit in there with your husband. Let’s see if you can unwind, okay?”

Harrie shrugged. “Okay, if that’ll make you guys happy. Sheesh.”

She joined the men just in time to hear DJ say, “Oh, I almost forgot, Swannie. Did you hear the news tonight?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I was stuck in traffic on I-25 when I heard it. It sounds like our buddy John Smith has an agenda of his own.”

Harrie turned to DJ. “What’s this?”

DJ explained about Smith going to the media and telling them Rinaldi’s murder was possibly connected to stolen documents.

“Why would he do that?” Harrie looked at Swannie.

Swannie shrugged. “I’m guessing he wants to stir things up for the CIA.”

Steve shook his head. “I fail to see why the CIA would be involved in a domestic espionage case, if indeed it is an espionage case. Do we even know that Rinaldi’s murder is connected to this incident at Sandia?”

“No, we don’t,” DJ said. “I’ll be talking about it with the SAC tomorrow morning.”

Harrie frowned and chewed on her lower lip. “I don’t understand what John Smith hopes to gain by telling a story like that. And why would the press put out news they hadn’t verified?”

DJ rubbed his chin. “I suspect he was trying to move things along. Yesterday he was pushing for information. Then there’s that fishy story he told me about the guy who was supposed to meet with Rinaldi.”

“Yeah,” Swannie said. “After you told me about it I checked all the reports for the last two weeks. No unidentified bodies have shown up. And there were no other bodies with any connection we could find to Michael Rinaldi.”

Harrie had leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. The fan blades overhead revolved rhythmically, sending gentle currents of air downward to the assembled group. The hypnotic effect made her realize just how tired she was. Her eyes drooped, and she shook her head to regain her concentration. “Why would John Smith want to make trouble for Michael Rinaldi?”

DJ said, “Don’t forget—he’s not really John Smith. He’s Colin Crider, and he’s ex-CIA.”

She shrugged. “So, you think the CIA is involved?”

“No,” DJ said. “I think whatever he’s doing here, involving himself in this case, has nothing to do with the CIA.”

Steve stifled a yawn and shook his head. “Sorry, I guess I’m more tired than I realized.”

Swannie looked at his watch. “Well, it is after 9, and it’s been a hectic couple of days. Maybe we should call it a night and see if we can get answers tomorrow.”

Steve stood up. “Good idea.” He turned to DJ. “Will you keep me posted?” He paused and grinned. “Without revealing any state secrets, of course.”

“Sure,” DJ said. “Maybe we should plan to get together again tomorrow evening. By then we might have more information.”

Caroline and Ginger came into the room. “That sounds good to me,” Caroline said. “Dinner here at 6?”

“Oh, no,” Swannie protested. “I can’t sponge off you guys again.” He turned to Caroline.

“Hey, I have an idea. Do you like Chinese food?”

Caroline smiled. “I love Chinese food.”

“Good,” Swannie said. “Tomorrow night I’ll provide dinner. I know this great Chinese restaurant. I pass it on my way home from work. I stop there every couple of weeks and get takeout. Would you all trust me to select an assortment of dishes for dinner tomorrow?”

“Why Lieutenant,” Caroline smiled at Swannie, “If we can’t trust an officer of the law, who can we trust?”