to move.” Casey’s eyes widened. “The photographs!”
“What?”
“The ones I found in Jasmine’s locker of her sleeping, and Jeremy in the tub.” She looked at Lou. “What if Paval or Ursula took them?”
“Why would they do that, unless they were kinky?”
“Maybe they are. The guy spends his days babysitting and pet-sitting for tenants, and he talks about them like they were family. It’s a bit strange.”
“Not if it means extra income. Apartment managers don’t make much, and he has a baby on the way.”
“Somebody should interview the tenants,” Casey said. “See if they’ve had photos snapped or items missing from their suites.”
“Give the cops the letters; let them figure it out.”
She opened her mouth to say something but stopped. Things were good between them again. Why jeopardize that? Still, the answers were close. She could feel it.
“Thanks for riding back with me.” Casey placed her hand over his. “Your company’s made the trip so much fun.”
“Thank my sister for teaching over here and offering to drive my truck back this weekend.” Lou stared past Casey. “Shit, is that who I think it is?”
Casey turned and spotted Gabrielle walking through the lanes of cars. “Oh, my god.”
Gabrielle stopped at a vehicle three lanes away and one car ahead of theirs.
“Holy crap, she drives a small silver car.” Casey stuffed the letters in her purse. “I wonder if that’s the vehicle Corporal Lundy’s been looking for. We need to get the plate number.”
“Why is she heading for the mainland on a Thursday afternoon? Didn’t you say she was a secretary?”
“Yep. Last night’s chat probably freaked her out, which means we’re going to be riding with a murder suspect.” She retrieved her cell phone. “I need to make sure Summer’s okay.”
“Tell Mom to watch for Birch’s brown Dodge Dart. Maybe she can get my brothers to check out the neighborhood.”
Casey listened to the phone ring. No one was picking up.
TWENTY-SIX
THE MOMENT CASEY SPOTTED WINIFRED’S Buick at the back of Rhonda’s house, tension shot through her shoulders and knotted her stomach. Why was the old bat still here? She parked next to the Buick. After yesterday’s chat with Gabrielle, the last thing she needed was another confrontation. Still, Casey had told Winifred to leave and she bloody well meant it.
She yanked her overnight bag out of the trunk, wishing Lou hadn’t had to return to work right away. After dropping him off at Mainland, she’d rushed over to Barb’s to see if everything was okay. It turned out that Summer and Barb had left for school early to grab breakfast at McDonald’s, and Barb had forgotten to bring her cell phone, which was why Casey’s call hadn’t been answered.
Casey trudged up the steps to the kitchen door, skirting a bag of garbage on the top step. It wasn’t like Winifred to leave garbage sitting around. Inside, the kitchen was spotless. The coffee maker hadn’t been turned on. The house was silent. Maybe Winifred had gone for a walk or was taking a nap. Maybe she was hiding in a closet waiting to ambush her with legal documents.
Casey started down the hall toward the front of the house. She peeked in the living room. No Winifred. She started up the staircase and listened for signs of life. At the second floor landing, she glimpsed the two closed bedroom doors at the front of the house. Summer’s room was on the left. Winifred was using Rhonda’s room on the right. Casey turned around. All was quiet from the two tenants’ rooms.
Reluctant to face Winifred, Casey hurried upstairs and into her apartment. A chorus of whistling guinea pigs greeted her. Tiny paws pressed against the bars as the guinea pigs stood on hind legs, while hamsters and gerbils scampered back and forth.
“Hey, kids.” She glanced at her blinking message light. She would have preferred to listen to the messages right away, but until the critters settled down, she wouldn’t be able to hear anything.
Casey fetched the veggies and then refilled pellet dishes and water bottles. She picked up Ralphie and let him nibble the carrot in her hand. He grasped the carrot while his mouth worked at breakneck speed. For a rodent, he was awfully cute.
The telephone rang. Casey answered and heard Marie say, “Good, you’re back.”
Anger surged through her as she thought of Jasmine’s letters and the bull Marie had told her.
“First, Stan wants you on the M6 with Wesley tonight and tomorrow night. He’ll call you about it, but I thought I’d give you a heads up.”
Casey sat down and placed Ralphie on her lap. “I thought I was off that assignment for safety reasons.”
“Yeah, well, Eisler received a note from that rock-throwing nut yesterday.”
“Really? What’d he say?”
“That he didn’t shoot at the bus, but that he wouldn’t stop throwing rocks until Mainland shaped up, whatever that means. Anyway, I can’t work nights because I need to go see my kids, so Stan’s putting you back on.”
Casey stopped stroking Ralphie. If the rockhound knew about the shooting, had he been there when it happened? She hadn’t seen or heard anything in the media about the incident. She recalled the people she’d seen: the three guys who’d been walking by when the shot was fired, and the old man with the long beard and hoodie pulled low over his forehead.
“What happened in Parksville?” Marie asked. “Did you meet Hannah?”
No point in denying she went. Marie wasn’t stupid. “You didn’t tell anyone I was going, did you?”
“No one at work knows, and Noel’s discreet.”
Casey sighed. The stupid woman had told the police’s prime suspect.
“Did you read Jasmine’s letters?” Marie asked.
“Yes, and I read some of them to Lou too. He came over and spent the night. Wasn’t that sweet?” She’d feel ashamed for rubbing Marie’s nose in it tomorrow, but right now revenge was sweet. “It turns out that Parksville’s a great place for hot sex.”
“We were talking about letters.” Her voice was sharp. “Stay on topic, Casey.”
“I am; Jasmine wrote about you.” She gripped the receiver. “You told her I stole Lou from you. You also told her I was Stan’s favorite and got the best assignments. How could you lie like that, Marie? What the hell is wrong with you?”
“She must have misinterpreted—”
“Stop it! You were playing her and that’s not only disgusting but selfish.” Casey returned Ralphie to his cage. “Get this straight: Lou’s with me and we’re staying together because that’s what we both want.”
“Not even you can predict the future. You thought your marriage would last forever and look what happened. Everyone knows you’re not anxious to try that again.”
“I don’t recall discussing marriage with you or anyone else at work.” Rhonda and Lou were the only ones who knew about her insecurity. “If Lou wanted to be with you he wouldn’t have gone all the way to Parksville to tell me that he loves me.”
“I didn’t call to talk about Lou, for shit’s sake. I thought you’d want to know that Paval found a new tenant for Jasmine’s place, and he’s been selling her stuff cheap.”
“Is that legal?”
“Hannah gave him permission to get rid of the furniture. She’s already had someone pick up photo albums and other personal stuff. Anyway, I remember you liked her footstool with the sunflowers, but you’ll have to collect it today. Whatever’s left goes to charity first thing tomorrow.”
“Making money off her death’s a bit cold, isn’t it?”
“That’s what I told Ursula. She said Jasmine owed them a week’s worth of babysitting so it balances out, but yeah, it’s beyond tacky.” Marie hung up.
Casey wondered if the footstool was still available. Should she go out there? It was nearly one o’clock. And
