Murder on Sagebrush Lane (17 page)

49

“Should I call Steve? Maybe he could take her to meet Judge Connors.” Harrie was speaking softly into her cell phone. She had excused herself from Caroline and their guest, and retreated to the bedroom so she could alert DJ about the situation.

“No, I’ll phone him before I head out. Maybe he can let Judge Connors know about this development. I should be home in twenty minutes or so. Can you keep Mrs. Kane there until I arrive?”

“You know me. I’ll just keep interviewing her in my inimitable way, and the time will fly.” Her laugh sounded small and brittle. “I’m being a little bit glib, because this development was the last thing I expected.”

“I know, Sweetheart, but just take a deep breath. We’ll figure this out.”

“All right. But hurry, okay?”

Harrie disconnected the call and on her way out of the room looked in the mirror. The woman gazing back at her looked frazzled. I have to remain calm, she told herself. How could we have been so wrong about Katie’s situation? She ran her hand through her hair. It would have to do.

When she returned to the living room, Katie was happily chattering to Alexis. At the sight of the two of them, so happy and comfortable with each other, Harrie’s heart dropped. She felt her last hope dissolve, but she put a smile on her face and said, “Miss Katie, how about some lunch?”

The little girl slid off Alexis’ lap and ran to Harrie. “Pea Butter?”

Harrie laughed. “Of course you can have peanut butter.”

“That girl really loves her peanut butter sandwiches,” Alexis said.

They all adjourned to the kitchen, and Harrie made the sandwich. While she worked, Caroline put Katie in the chair and gave her a glass of milk. Alexis sat across the table from Katie, sipping a cup of coffee. For the next couple of minutes, the only sound in the room was Katie’s one-sided chatter to her glass of milk.

“Mrs. Kane,” Harrie started to speak.

“Please call me Alexis, will you?”

Harrie nodded. “Okay, Alexis. My husband is on his way here and should arrive shortly. Can you wait to speak with him?”

“Of course,” Alexis said. “I should imagine he has quite a few questions, since he’s an FBI agent. I fully expected I would have to provide official proof that I’m Katie’s grandmother.”

Harrie said, “Before he arrives, can you tell me about this detective you hired to find Katie?”

Caroline looked from Harrie to Alexis. “What detective?”

Alexis smiled apologetically. “I mentioned to Harrie that I had hired a detective when I heard about Michael’s murder from my friend. She told me you had Katie, and I wanted to find out where she was being kept.”

When DJ walked into the kitchen a few minutes later, the three women were still seated around the table, and Katie was enjoying the attention from her audience.

“Hello, ladies.”

Harrie said, “DJ, this is Alexis Kane. Alexis, my husband, DJ Scott.”

Alexis stood and came over to shake hands with DJ. “I’m happy to meet you, Agent Scott. I’m sure we have lots to discuss.”

“We do, Mrs. Kane. Let’s take this into the living room so we can talk privately.” He motioned with his head toward Katie, and Alexis nodded her agreement.

After they left, Harrie and Caroline exchanged looks. Harrie knew there was no way she would be allowed in the room where DJ and Alexis were discussing the situation, but her curiosity was intense.

“I wish we could have briefed him first. He’s going in there without any information.”

Caroline smiled. “I wouldn’t worry about DJ. He’ll find out all there is to know, I’m sure of that.”

Caroline cleaned up Katie’s lunch dishes, while Harrie washed the little girl’s hands and face. They were both straining to hear anything possible from the conversation in the living room. Harrie helped Katie down from the kitchen chair.

“Come on, Sweetie. Let’s go play in your room, okay?”

Katie pointed to the living room. “Go Gamma?”

Harrie reached down and lifted Katie into her arms. “Not right now, Sweetie. Gamma’s busy. You can see her in a minute.” She looked at Caroline, who shrugged.

Harrie said, “Where’s your bear, Sweetie?”

Katie pointed to a spot under the breakfast table and wiggled out of Harrie’s arms to retrieve it. “Bayehr dare. Bayehr boo-boo.”

“Oh, no,” Harrie played along. “What happened to Bayehr?”

“Bayehr hurt.” Katie brought the toy to Harrie and extended it to her. She pointed to a place along the back seam where the stitching was coming undone.

“Oh my goodness,” Harrie said. “Do you want me to fix him?”

Katie solemnly nodded her head. “Yes, pease.”

Harrie spent a few minutes putting out a set of blocks, and Katie immediately became engrossed in building things. Harrie decided to take the time to make the bear repairs.

She went into Caroline’s all-round activities room. It contained a computer, a sewing machine, and an array of art supplies. Harrie knew where the sewing box with needles and thread was kept, and she got it out. She selected a sturdy needle, and after careful thought decided on a beige-colored thread. She prepared the needle, then inspected the seam. It appeared there had been repairs on this bear in the past. No big surprise there. She remembered a stuffed rabbit she had as a child. The poor creature went with Harrie everywhere, including out in the backyard dirt pile where Harrie made mud pies. The rabbit endured frequent surgeries over the years to keep the stuffing from falling out.

Harrie smiled as she thought about the long-ago toy, and wondered where it had ended up. She brought herself back to the current task of repairing Katie’s beloved bear. As she pinched the furry fabric together to stitch it up, she felt a hard lump just under the surface.

Her fingers explored the opening, and she pulled out what appeared to be a stubby fountain pen, about three inches long, and maybe a half an inch around. It was made of some sort of silver colored metal and had a cap with a pocket clip on one end. She turned it over in her hand and inspected the black lettering. The numbers “512”, followed by the letters “MB” were on one side, and on the other was a logo unfamiliar to her. She smiled. She knew exactly what it was.

The sensation that spread throughout her body was a combination of excitement and alertness. She knew this discovery was important, and equally dangerous, especially for Katie. She made the decision, almost without her conscious thought. She stuck the object in the pocket of her jeans, and with her heart pounding in an odd sort of excitement, she returned to the task of bear repair.

As she stitched, her mind churned, running through all the possibilities. How did the object find its way into Katie’s bear? Who might have chosen to conceal it there? And the most important question, why?

The repair was swiftly completed, and Harrie put away the sewing kit. She would have to turn this over to DJ as soon as he finished questioning Alexis Kane. Her mind whirled with questions and ideas about how to get answers on her own. The next thing she knew, she was back in the bedroom, where she retrieved her purse and stuck the object in a small zippered pocket deep inside.

Harrie then realized there was no way she would show it to DJ—at least not yet. She had an idea, and she was confident she would figure this out on her own. DJ would see she could help with this investigation.

It was the opportunity she’d been waiting for.

50

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Harrie assured Caroline. She hurried into the garage without waiting for a response. Now that she had a tangible piece of evidence, she needed the seclusion of her office to investigate it. She backed out of the garage, hoping DJ would continue questioning Alexis Kane until she returned.

On the way to Southwest Editing Services, Harrie pondered the object she’d found in the teddy bear. Though it looked like a small, fat fountain pen, she knew it was a thumb drive, masquerading as a fountain pen. She needed a little privacy to examine it. She hadn’t dared take the time at Caroline’s to check it out. She was afraid DJ would come in and catch her. She had seen a similar device in a computer magazine recently. The question that stumped her was why had it been hidden in Katie’s bear?

As she parked the car in front of her office, it occurred to her Ginger might try to discourage her investigation. She grabbed her purse and resolved to conceal this new find from her friend—just until she knew exactly what was hidden on it.

Harrie’s timing was perfect. Most of the staff had gone to lunch, but to make sure, she walked back to the vault/file room. Empty except for the table, chairs and filing cabinets. The building containing their office had once been a savings and loan branch, before those entities became extinct. When she and Ginger rented the building, they saw the vault as extra security for their files. It had turned out to be a very useful room.

Ginger sat alone in her office, head bent over a pile of paperwork. She looked up when Harrie knocked on the doorframe.

“It’s about time you got here,” she teased. She came around the desk and hugged Harrie.

“Okay,” she said, then stood back and studied Harrie carefully. “What’s going on? You’ve got ‘that Lucy look’ you get when you’re up to no good.”

Harrie’s eyes widened in mock surprise. “Why, Ethel. I have no idea what you mean. I just came to pick up the manuscript I was working on.”

“Right,” said Ginger. “And I’ve decided to enter the Miss America Pageant this year representing the State of New Mexico.” She shook her head. “Don’t try to give me one of your snow jobs.”

Harrie swallowed and tried her best to look indignant. But Ginger had already turned back to her desk.

She put her glasses on again and looked at Harrie over the tops. “And how, may I ask, did you get away?”

“Come into my office. There’s so much to tell you, and I’m short on time.”

The two friends settled in Harrie’s office around her conference table. She’d brought her laptop along, and she set it up while they talked. She explained about the unexpected visitor they’d received this morning, and DJ’s subsequent trip home to question her.

“That’s certainly a surprise. I thought there were no relatives left for Katie, except Bonnie Bellows.”

“I know, that’s what we told her too. But she explained all that.”

Ginger drew in a quick breath. “Oh, Sweetie, I’m so sorry. It just hit me what this means to your plans for keeping Katie.”

Harrie nodded. “I know, I felt so stunned when she first told us who she was, I didn’t tumble to that. Obviously, if she checks out, and is who she says she is, she’ll be taking Katie.”

Ginger reached over and put her hand on Harrie’s arm. “Are you gonna be okay?”

Harrie leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. “I don’t have a choice, do I?” She blew out a breath. “That’s what happens when you get your hopes up. You know, I think I must have known all along it wouldn’t happen. There was always this . . . thing hanging there, a feeling, warning me not to get too close.”

“You could still have one of your own, you know.”

“Oh yeah. I’ve really been successful so far, haven’t I? No, I think maybe it’s a little late for that. I’ll just concentrate on caring for cats instead. Anyway, I’m not sure I could manage it this late in my life. Especially with an infant.”

Ginger hesitated for a moment. When she spoke, it was little more than a whisper. “You could adopt.”

“That seemed like a really good idea when I thought it was going to be Katie. It seemed so logical and right, but now . . . .” She trailed off, letting the rest of the thought hang there, unable to be said.

“Ok,” Ginger said as she stood. “I’ll let you get your paperwork together. Stop by my office before you leave, will you?”

Harrie sat at her desk with her laptop, thinking about her next step. Then she dug the device out of her purse and inspected it. Pulling off the cap exposed the end of the thumb drive, and she plugged it into the USB port on her laptop. She looked around to see if anyone could see her. Ginger once again bent over her desk, all attention on the copy she was editing, and one typist had returned from lunch and busily worked at her task. The coast was clear.

A little icon had popped up on the screen when she attached the thumb drive to her computer. She clicked on it and a directory appeared. It showed a long list of files, none of which meant anything to her. After a brief hesitation, she arbitrarily chose one and pressed the mouse button.

The desktop image cleared and then odd symbols and letters populated the screen. “What the—” Her brow furrowed, and she leaned closer to make sense of the mess in front of her. It was nothing but gibberish. She pushed away from the table in frustration.

“Now what?”

Then she had another thought. Since Katie obviously wasn’t what those people were after, did they know her bear had concealed something like this? Did they know they were looking for the thing she now held in her hand? Whether they did or not, she had an idea how to lure them out.

51

DJ closed his notepad. “Do you have any questions for me, Mrs. Kane?”

Alexis shook her head. “Not unless you can tell me when I can take Katie with me.”

“I put in a call to Judge Connors before I came to talk with you.” DJ looked at his watch. “It’s almost 1 o’clock. He should be getting back to me any minute. He’ll want to meet with you, and I’ll drive you down there if you’d like.”

“No, that’s not necessary. I can drive my car. In the meantime, I need to go by Michael’s house and check on things.”

“I’m afraid you can’t do that just now. The house is still a crime scene, and the police haven’t released it yet.”

A look of pain crossed her face and was gone as quickly as it appeared. “I hadn’t thought of that. I just assumed . . . .” She turned and gazed out the window. “How much longer will it be, do you know?”

DJ smiled. “Well, as it happens, I have another call in to the detective in charge of the investigation. I could give him—” The ring of his cell phone interrupted. “Let’s hope that’s either the judge or the lieutenant. Excuse me a moment, please.” He stepped into the hall and spoke quietly into the phone.

He ended the call and turned to Alexis. “That was Judge Connors. He can see you at 2:00 p.m. in his chambers. Are you sure you don’t want me to take you down there?”

“No, thank you, Agent Scott. You’ve been very kind, but to tell you the truth, I’m feeling a little restless. I need to get in my car and drive. I think better when I’m driving. If you’ll just write down the address and tell me which floor he’s on, I’ll be fine.”

“Ok,” he said, “if you’re sure.” He jotted down the information on the back of one of his business cards.

“Here it is, and this is my card. Please call me as soon as you have any information, will you?”

“Of course,” she said, and she reached for her handbag. “I’ll just slip out before Katie comes looking for me. I don’t want to upset her by leaving her again.”

“Good idea.” DJ opened the front door. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you, Agent Scott. You’ve been very nice. I’ll speak with you soon.” She got in her car and left.

Before DJ could do anything else, his cell phone chirped again. This time it was Lieutenant Swanson. DJ explained about Alexis showing up at Caroline’s and her relationship to Katie.

“Oh, Lord. How is Harrie taking this?”

“I don’t imagine she’s doing very well, but we haven’t had a chance to really talk about it.”

“Okay, listen. I’m going to bug out of here a few minutes early tonight. I’ll stop by and pick up the Chinese food, and be at your mom’s house by 5:30. Will you make sure that’s okay with her? I have to run right now. I’m meeting with my team, and we’ll be going over the ME’s report.”

“The Medical Examiner got back to you already?”

“Yeah. It didn’t hurt that the news went out on the radio. The brass at Sandia are anxious to get this solved, and the powers that be probably encouraged the Office of the Medical Investigator to get a rush on it.”

“Can you bring me a copy of the OMI report? I’d like to include it in my file.”

“Sure. I’ll make two so you can share it with the SAC. I’ll see you about 5:30.”

DJ went in search of Harrie and instead found his mother.

“Where’s Harrie?”

“She went to pick up the manuscript she’s working on. Remember? She told you she needed to do that.”

DJ shook his head. “Yes, I remember, but I didn’t think she’d leave so soon.”

Caroline smiled at her son. “DJ, it’s after 1 o’clock. If she planned to get any work done, she couldn’t wait.”

DJ frowned, and Caroline patted his arm. “Harrie is very good at her job, and she has responsibilities to the company and the rest of the staff.”

She stopped and looked into his eyes. “DJ, you’re usually quite reasonable. Why not now?”

“Because Harrie’s in danger, and I don’t understand why everybody can’t see that.” He turned away and paced the room.

Caroline shook her head. “Nobody’s saying she isn’t. For heaven’s sake, she’s had to leave her home and move in with her mother-in-law. I think we all understand the stakes.”

“But you’re not helping me keep her here, where she can be protected. You seem to think it’s perfectly okay for her to drive around, taking care of business as usual.”

“David James Scott, listen to me.”

He stopped and turned back to his mother. “Wow. All three names. I guess I’m in trouble.”

She went to him. “Sweetheart, I really do understand that you’re worried about her. But she can’t stop living her life. Give her a little room to do her job. Try to understand how she feels. You don’t want her to pretend to be somebody else, do you?”

DJ opened his mouth to retort, then stopped. His eyes narrowed. “Did Alexis Kane mention anything to you about Bonnie Bellows changing her name?”

Caroline frowned. “Uh . . .no. Maybe she discussed it with Harrie while I was getting Katie. Is that important?”

“Maybe. I don’t know. I have work to do.” He hugged his mother. “I’ll see you about 5:00 o’clock, okay?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. His mind was already at work on how Alexis Kane fit into the puzzle. Were things really as simple as she had explained? Or was this one more person with an agenda yet to be discovered?