Dead Giveaway

'We've had some carjackings in the past few months, elderly women beaten and robbed. Previous tips indicate a gang connection in those cases. Doesn't exactly fit the M.O., since the Olsen woman was younger than the other victims and her car wasn't stolen, but it's close enough to follow up on.'

'Why not take her car? It was expensive.'

'Maybe too expensive, too flashy. The bad guy figured we'd find him easily. The thing had GPS, the whole nine yards.'

'Any witnesses?' I asked.

'Crowded busy place, that lot. Believe it or not, the busier the place, the less likely people are to notice a snatch. We'll be interviewing plenty of people anyway, and that's not something you need to be involved in. If you don't know about witnesses, you won't have much to tell reporters should they come calling.'

'Oh. Because of Will's being a collegiate star athlete?'

'Yup.'

'Are you hedging? Do you have a witness who says Verna Mae was carjacked in the lot and driven around back?'

Jeff sighed. 'You don't quit, do you?'

'Never. Is that what happened?'

He sighed. 'No witnesses so far. We can only hope we find something the killer might have left behind besides coffee grounds on the floorboard. Fingerprints would be a bonus.'

'I don't know, Jeff. Don't you think a struggle, even in a busy lot, would have been noticed? He must have had a gun or—'

'Or she knew him. Anyway, solving the murder is my job. You have plenty to do on your end.'

'Yeah, but think about this. What if someone knew Verna Mae planned to meet me? What if that person didn't want the meeting to happen? Could that be why she ended up dead?'

Jeff grinned. 'I think your daddy would say you have a total lack of ignorance. If you find out anything supporting your theory, come see me. Meanwhile, I have to look in more obvious places. Like gangland. But only after I slog through paperwork hell. Time for you to go.'

'I'm out of here.' I came around his desk and took his face in my hands before he could protest. I planted one on him and found his mouth sticky-sweet with gum, just how I liked it.

'Go before one of the nosy jerks I work with sees us. We now have a professional relationship, remember?'

'No sleepovers?'

'Well... we will have to discuss the case,' he replied, his eyes glinting.

'Glad we're on the same page.' I smiled and left.

Unlike Jeff, who seemed to go days without sleep, I went home and crashed. I awoke hours later to find my sister, Kate, standing over me.

'Are you okay?' she whispered.

'I'm fine. Unless there's a reason you're whispering.' I sat up and rubbed at my eyes. Diva stuck her head out from under the quilt and blinked a few times, then ran out of the bedroom. She was ticked. Her visit to cat heaven had ended too soon.

'I was whispering so I wouldn't startle you,' Kate said.

'What are you doing here?' I asked. 'Don't you have patients to see?'

'It's Saturday, Abby.'

'Is it?'

'Yes. I saw your car in the driveway and you weren't downstairs. Since it's after two o'clock, I was wondering if you were sick.'

'You've been spending too much time with Aunt Caroline. I'd expect her to come in and check on a break in my routine, not you.' Aunt Caroline is Daddy's sister and she's always on the look out for ways to meddle in my business. I swear she drives down my street twice a day to see what's going on.

'Please don't compare me to her,' Kate said.

'Sorry,' I said quickly. 'I just don't want you to run home for your homeopathic playbook, okay?' Kate loves to take care of me with the most god-awful herbal concoctions on the planet.

'You haven't napped since you were three. What's going on? And what happened to your hair?'

You'd think twins, even fraternal like us, would have plenty of similar traits, but Kate got the good hair, hands down, her dark brown hair so shiny and bouncy she could have done shampoo commercials.

'I was up late on a case and wasn't exactly concerned about my personal grooming. It's sad, though, isn't it? You could probably shave my head and make a hay bale.'

Kate laughed. 'I'm with you there. Is the Knight case making you lose sleep?'

I nodded. 'That woman who found baby Will on her porch was murdered.'

Kate sat next to me on the edge of the bed. 'Oh, my God. That's awful. Did you ever get to talk to her?'

'Yes. Finding her was easy. The Knights had all the newspaper articles about the abandonment. But the way she died wasn't at all easy. I feel so terrible about the whole thing, Kate.'

'Is her death connected to Will's case?'

'It's kind of a long story. While I take my second shower of the day to wake me up, would you mind running home for some green tea? Then we can talk.'

She looked at me like I'd asked her to go on a safari. 'You're serious?'

'Just plain green. None of that chai stuff.'

'Sure, but—'

'I promise, the tea is all part of the long story.'

While she went home—eagerly, I might add—I showered, used about half a bottle of conditioner on my hair and dressed. The hair did show some improvement, but now I smelled like a peppermint.

Hot green tea for us both was waiting when I came downstairs, and we sat at the kitchen table while I filled Kate in on the events of the last few days.

When I finished, she said, 'You went to Verna Mae Olsen's house in the middle of the night? By yourself?'

'You have to leap on an opportunity when it presents itself.' I drank the last of my plum/berry green tea, deciding it was pretty good even without much sugar.

'What's your next move?' Kate asked.

'The social worker. Maybe she knows how Verna Mae found out about Will. Then there's that blanket. The brand name is POSH PRAMS. I'm hoping I can trace it.'

'From nineteen years ago? How?'

'Don't know yet. Got any ideas?'

'Hey, you're the investigator. My concern is Will. How's he handling this emotionally?'

'Very maturely. He's an awesome kid.'

Kate smiled. 'I think so, too. Sensitive, but tough. If you think Verna Mae was his mother, who was the father? Obviously not Jasper Olsen.'

I rested my elbows on the table and supported my chin with my fists. 'That's another challenge. Maybe we can get back inside the house, look for clues to lead us in the right direction.'

'We?'

'I could use your help. That woman had a lot of crap.'

'Don't we all,' Kate said.

6

Though I'd hoped Kate and I could get inside Verna Mae's house Sunday—Kate didn't see patients on Sunday—Burl Rollins said it would be another day or so before the property would be turned over to Will. After this disappointment, my sister convinced me to take a day off, and we spent Sunday shopping on the Kemah Boardwalk,