Lacey was grateful when Don Otter, the chief of police, walked in the door and broke the silent tension.
“I’m glad you’re all here,” the chief said.
“Hey, Don.” Ty rose to greet the man and shake his hand.
The big man nodded.
“What brings you out so early in the morning?” Ty asked.
Don settled his large body into a seat and leaned forward, stretching the buttons over his shirt. “My men have been all over the site of the shooting. The footprints outside definitely belonged to a man. Some matched Marc Dumont’s shoe we confiscated from the hospital, the other prints are unknown. No fingerprints beyond the obvious, Flo, Lilly, Ty, etc. The bullet taken out of Dumont during surgery was sent to forensics and we should have answers soon.”
Lacey gagged.
Molly grabbed her hand.
How odd that the two women who felt so drastically different about Marc Dumont had formed such an unlikely bond, Lacey thought.
“Then we started interviewing the neighbors,” the chief said.
“Did anyone give you anything more on the car or the shooter beyond what we saw?” Ty asked.
“Which amounted to nothing useful,” Lacey said in frustration.
“You were running for your life. Nobody’s holding lack of detail against you,” Hunter said. “Besides, we have a car color. I wouldn’t call that nothing.” Hunter shifted his gaze to the chief of police.
The man nodded his agreement. “And one of the neighbors reported the same car color you did, along with some new information.”
“What did they see?” everyone asked at the same time.
The chief chuckled. “Ty, your mother’s best friend and the neighbor across the street-”
“Mrs. Donelly?” Ty asked.
The other man nodded.
“Viola Donelly said she was sitting in her study that overlooks the street reading the latest John Grisham novel when a tan car pulled up in front of her house.”
“Did she see the man get out of the car? Did she see who shot Marc?” Molly asked.
“Unfortunately no,” the chief said. “But Viola managed to catch the first few numbers of the license plate,” he said, obviously pleased. “We traced it back to Anna Marie Costanza, of all people.”
Molly’s gaze jerked toward Hunter.
Lacey knew what the other woman was thinking. Hunter believed Anna Marie had told her brother about Hunter’s court case, and her brother, the trustee, had talked the judge into moving the date, keeping Hunter too busy to get involved with Lacey. Then her brother, the trustee, had paid Dumont a visit soon after he’d met with Lilly. And not long after that, Marc Dumont was shot while paying Lacey an unwelcome house call.
Lacey doubted she could explain it all to the police, but somehow, Ty summed it up for the chief in a clear, concise manner.
The big man scratched his head. “You’re saying you think Paul Dunne’s involved in the shooting?” the chief asked, surprised.
“And the attempts on Lilly’s life,” Ty said.
Molly jumped up from her seat, more animated than she’d been all morning. “Did Anna Marie ever say she lent her car to her brother, Paul?”
The chief shoved his hands into his front pants pocket. “Why?”
“Because she does that often. Anna Marie doesn’t drive the car much except to work. She says she likes to keep the engine running smoothly, so she has Paul drive it about once a week.”
Which meant Paul could have followed Uncle Marc to Lacey’s. But why would the trustee want Uncle Marc dead, Lacey wondered.
The chief shook his head. “She said her car was stolen.”
Hunter narrowed his gaze. “Had she reported it?”
“No.”
“And didn’t you find that suspicious?” Ty pushed the subject.
“We did, yes. But we don’t have the car, so we can’t dust it for prints. And even if we could, we now know finding Paul’s fingerprints wouldn’t amount to squat. There’s a good reason for them to be there.” Chief Otter shrugged. “Listen, guys, I see you have your theories and Ty, I trust your judgment, I really do. But in this case, you’re accusing an upstanding citizen of our town without a shred of proof. And that means we have to be careful.”
“Then search his house or his office. I’m sure you’ll find
Ty came up behind her chair and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“I’m sorry, but there’s no probable cause for a warrant. We’ll keep looking into it and when Marc Dumont regains consciousness, the hospital knows to call me immediately. Maybe he’ll reveal something of interest.”
“I’m not holding my breath,” Lacey muttered.
Ty squeezed her tight. He must have known a search warrant was asking for the impossible.
The chief apologized and went to check on her uncle’s status, leaving the four of them alone.
Lacey rose and started to walk away, unable to speak without screaming in frustration. She just couldn’t believe they’d hit a brick wall. Again. Three incidents and they were no closer to finding out who wanted her, and now her uncle, dead.
“I have an idea,” Molly said, stopping Lacey in her tracks.
Lacey pivoted. “I’m listening.”
“Anna Marie wouldn’t talk to the police but maybe she’ll talk to us.” Molly gestured between herself and Lacey. “She’s a good woman. She might be protecting her brother but there’s no way she knows she’s hurting people in the process. I really believe if we talk to her, she might break down and give us something to go on.”
Lacey nodded, slowly warming to the idea. “I like how you think.”
“I don’t,” Ty said. “I don’t want either of you going to question Anna Marie. If her brother
“Then come with us if you want to. But Molly’s idea is a good one and we’re going to talk to Anna Marie,” Lacey said, her tone leaving no room for argument.
She couldn’t allow Ty’s fear, or even her own, to sway her. They had to end this thing once and for all.
BEFORE THE MEETING with Anna Marie, Ty wanted to spend some time with his mother. Since Anna Marie wouldn’t be home from work until later, he had the afternoon to spend at the hospital. Hunter had gone back to work, though he’d promised he’d meet Molly for dinner later. Molly had tried to avoid seeing Hunter again today but Hunter had insisted. Things didn’t look good for the couple if Molly’s withdrawn attitude was anything to go by. Ty felt awful for his friend. And he hoped he wouldn’t find himself in a similar situation not too far in the future.
Ty had talked the chief into posting a plainclothes person in the hospital to keep an eye on Lilly, who very well could have been the target today, too. At the very least, the shooter might think Lilly could ID him and come after her to protect himself. Ty wasn’t taking any chances with her safety. While the women went to the cafeteria for a cup of coffee, they had an escort.
Meanwhile, Ty waylaid the food service cart in the hallway and picked up his mother’s tray. He knocked once and let himself in.
To his relief, Flo sat up against her pillows. Although she had an IV attached to her arm, the color had returned to her cheeks and she had a smile on her lips. A quick glance at the visitor’s chair revealed the reason.
“Hello, Dr. Sanford,” Ty said, setting the tray down on the mobile cart by the bed.
“Call me Andrew, please.” The other man rose and extended his hand.
Ty shook it, pleased his mother wasn’t alone and had someone in her life that obviously made her happy. She’d lived on her own for too long, Ty thought.
“Andrew, I’d like to have a word alone with my son,” his mother said.
The doctor strode to the bed, leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m going to visit some patients and I’ll be back soon.”
