Last to Die

mall, indistinguishable from thousands of others across the country. Was there some universal strip mall design they taught you in architecture school, photocopied blueprints passed around to every builder in America? She pulled into a parking spot and eyed the usual mix of businesses. A drugstore, a dress shop for big sizes, a dollar store, and a Chinese buffet. That was the one constant you could always count on, the Chinese buffet. “I don’t see it,” said Frost.

“Must be at the far end.” She pushed open her door. “Let’s stretch our legs and walk.”

“You sure this is the right address?”

“I confirmed it with the manager this morning. She’s expecting us.” Her cell phone rang, and she recognized the Maryland number of the detective who had investigated the Yablonski case. “Rizzoli,” she answered.

“It’s Detective Parris. Did you make it to Baltimore?” he asked.

“We’re here now. Can you still meet us tonight?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m on the road right now, but I should be back in town by dinnertime. How about we meet at the LongHorn Steakhouse around seven thirty? It’s on Snowden River Parkway. By then, I’ll be ready for some red meat. I’d rather not meet at my residence.”

“I understand. I don’t like to mix business and family, either.”

“No, it’s more than that. It’s this case.”

“What about it?”

“We’ll talk about it later. Did you bring your partner?”

“Detective Frost is right here with me.”

“Good. It always helps to have someone watch your back.”

She hung up and looked at Frost. “That was a weird call.”

“What hasn’t been weird about this case?” He eyed the strip mall, with its unexciting array of shops. “From NASA to this place.” He sighed. “Let’s do it.”

Leidecker Hospital Supplies was located at the far end of the mall, behind a storefront window displaying two wheelchairs and a quad cane. Stepping inside, Jane expected to find a showroom filled with medical equipment. Instead they found an office with five desks, beige carpet, and two potted palms. At one of the desks, a middle- aged woman with shellacked blond hair was talking on the phone. She spotted the visitors and said, “I’ll call you back later about that order, Mr. Wiggins.” Hanging up, she smiled at her visitors. “May I help you?”

“Ms. Mickey? Detectives Rizzoli and Frost,” said Jane. “We spoke earlier.”

The woman rose to greet them, revealing a slim figure in a well-cut gray pantsuit. “Please, call me Carole. I really hope I can help you. It still haunts me, you know. Every time I look over there, at her desk, I think about her.”

Jane glanced around at the unoccupied desks. “Are Olivia’s other colleagues around? We’d like to talk to them, as well.”

“I’m afraid everyone else is out of town right now, on sales calls. But I knew Olivia longer than anyone here, so I should be able to answer your questions. Please, sit down.”

As they all settled into chairs, Frost said: “I’m guessing you’ve been asked these questions before.”

“Yes, a detective was here several times. I’ve forgotten his name.”

“Parris?”

“That’s him. A week after the accident, he called here, asking …” She paused. “But I guess we know now it wasn’t an accident.”

“No, ma’am.”

“He asked me if Olivia had any enemies. Any old boyfriends. Or any new boyfriends.”

“And did you know of any?” Jane asked.

Carole Mickey gave a vigorous shake of her head, but not a hair moved in her perfect blond helmet. “Olivia wasn’t that kind of person.”

“Lots of regular people have affairs, Ms. Mickey.”

“Well, she wasn’t just a regular person. She was the most reliable sales rep we had. If she said she’d be in London on Wednesday, she’d be in London on Wednesday. Our clients always knew they could rely on her.”

“And these clients,” said Frost, “These are hospitals? Medical offices?”

“Both. We sell to institutions around the world.”

“Where are your products? I don’t see much on display here.”

Carole reached into a drawer and pulled out a heavy catalog, which she thumped onto the desk in front of them. “This is just our satellite sales office. The catalog shows our extensive range of products. They’re shipped out of warehouses in Oakland, Atlanta, Frankfurt, Singapore. Plus a few other locations.”

Jane flipped through the catalog and saw hospital beds and wheelchairs, commodes and gurneys. A glossy compilation of everything she hoped she’d never need. “Mrs. Yablonski was on the road a lot?”

“All of our sales reps are. And this office is home base, where I try to keep everything under control.”

“You don’t go out on the road yourself?”

“Someone has to hold down the fort.” Carole looked around the room with its beige carpet and fake palm trees. “But sometimes it sure does get claustrophobic in here. I should spiff things up, shouldn’t I? Maybe put in some travel posters. It would be nice to stare at a tropical beach for a change.”

Frost said, “Do your reps make their sales calls solo, or do they travel with associates?”

Carole gave him a puzzled look. “Why do you ask?”

“I just wondered if Olivia had a particularly close friendship with any of her colleagues.”

“Our five reps travel alone. And no, there were no inappropriate friendships in this office. For heaven’s sakes, this is Olivia we’re talking about. A happily married woman with a son. I babysat Will a few times, and you learn a lot about people just by seeing the sort of children they raise. Will’s a wonderful boy, very polite and well behaved. Obsessed with astronomy, like his father was. I just thank God he wasn’t aboard their plane that day. To think of the whole family being wiped out …”

“What about Will’s aunt and uncle, the Temples? Did you know them as well?”

“No, I’m afraid I didn’t. I heard they took Will and moved away, probably to escape all these sad memories. Give the boy a fresh start.”

“You do know that Lynn and Brian Temple are dead?”

Carole stared at her. “Oh my God. How did it happen?”

“Their farmhouse burned down in New Hampshire. Will wasn’t in the house at the time, so he escaped.”

“Is he all right? Is he staying with other relatives?”

“He’s in a safe place” was all Jane would say.

Clearly shocked by the news, Carole sank back in her chair and murmured: “Poor Olivia. She’ll never see him grow up. You know, she was eight years younger than I am, and I never imagined I’d outlive her.” Carole looked around the office as if truly seeing it for the first time. “Two years later, and what have I done with my extra time? Here I am, in exactly the same place, and I haven’t changed a thing. Not even those stupid fake palms.”

The phone rang on the desk. Carole took a deep breath and forced a smile to her lips as she answered it brightly: “Oh hello, Mr. Damrosch, so nice to hear from you again! Yes, of course we can update that order for you. Is this for multiple items, or just that one in particular?” She reached for a pen and began jotting down notes.

Jane had no interest in hearing a conversation about canes and walkers, and she rose from the chair.

“Excuse me, Mr. Damrosch, you can you hold on a minute?” Carole cupped a hand over the receiver and looked at Jane. “I’m sorry. Did you want to ask me anything else?”

Jane looked at the glossy catalog on the desk. Thought of Olivia Yablonski, hauling that heavy catalog from city to city, appointment to appointment, selling wheelchairs and bedpans. “We have no more questions,” she said. “Thank you.”

* * *

DETECTIVE PARRIS LOOKED LIKE a man who loved his beef and booze. They found him already seated at the LongHorn Steakhouse, sipping a martini as he studied the menu. His burly frame was so tightly wedged into the booth that Jane waved him back into his seat as she and Frost settled into the seat across from him. He set down his martini and gave them a typical cop’s once-over, the same cool survey that Jane was simultaneously conducting