He mumbled “Wow” under his breath.
The smell of unwashed bodies and the droopy-eyed looks of the alcoholics and drug addicts made me tug on Finn’s elbow and we went quickly through that door. A sleepy-looking B.J. was sitting at the desk to our left. He wore a headset and was talking on the phone.
“Yes, ma’am,” he was saying. “We do have a leash law. Let me give you county animal control’s number.”
Sitting on one of the two chairs in the small waiting area was Thelma Reese, a retiree with a big heart. She held a plate of scrumptious-looking coconut cupcakes. I smiled at her and said, “Hey, Thelma. Looks like someone was up early baking.”
“Hey there, Jillian,” she said. “I brought these for Morris, seeing as how he helped me out yesterday. Locked my keys in the Ford 150.”
“Uh-oh. I heard someone say Morris is off duty today,” I said.
Her face crumbled with disappointment. Rumor was Thelma locked her keys in the car on purpose at least once a month so Morris could come to her rescue.
B.J., now off the phone, said, “Take them on over to his place, Thelma. You know how he loves sweets.”
She perked up and rose. “You’re sure it would be all right?”
“Perfectly fine,” B.J. said.
She was out the door so fast I hardly got a whiff of those cupcakes.
Finn said, “Cupcakes? Really? Between that lady and the people outside the door, I feel like I’ve landed on another planet.”
“Not like on TV, huh?” I said.
B.J. said, “Let me buzz Deputy Carson—oops, don’t have to. Here she comes.”
Candace came out of the chief’s office and walked down the short hall in front of us, passing the closed doors I knew were the interrogation rooms.
“Thanks for coming, you two.” She looked at me. “I’ll take it from here.”
Finn stepped back and held up his hands. “Wait a minute. She’s staying with me, right? And where’s Tom? Tom told me—”
“Your mama’s been worried about you,” Candace said.
Finn shook his head. “She doesn’t worry about anyone but herself. Tom said she just wanted to see me, not talk to me.”
Candace narrowed her eyes and stared at Finn for a few seconds and then she nodded. “I understand. Come with me.”
Finn didn’t move. “Mrs. Hart, too?”
“Sure,” Candace said. I couldn’t read her expression because she was in total cop mode, but she sounded unbothered by Finn’s request.
“What did my mother tell you?” Finn said as we followed Candace through the ancient wooden gate separating the waiting area from the hall.
“Hang on,” she said, as she opened the door to the first interrogation room.
Before we went inside, I heard a woman call, “Finn. Oh my God, you
She came running toward us. She must have been in Chief Baca’s office. She nearly toppled because of her super-high black heels, and was dressed all in black—black wool coat, black tights. Even her hair was such a dark brunette color it was nearly black.
Eyes averted, Finn started to back up, his face ghostly pale.
“Hang on, Finn,” Candace said. “I’ll handle this.” She stood squarely between Finn and the woman I assumed was his mother.
“He’s not ready to talk to you, Mrs. Roth,” Candace said.
Tom appeared in the door of the interrogation room we’d been about to enter. “Stay away from him, Hilary.”
Tom’s ex-wife stared at him in confusion at first and then said, “What happened to you, Tom? Were you in the car with Nolan when—”
“You know damn well what happened to me, Hilary. So—”
I held up a hand, my heart pounding in reaction to this confrontation. In a firm voice, I said, “Tom, why don’t you take Finn with you?”
“Jillian took the words right out of my mouth,” Candace said, nodding her head in the direction of the room Tom had emerged from.
Tom’s anger seemed to dissipate in an instant. He nodded and gestured Finn inside. The door shut after them and I felt as if I could breathe again.
Hilary Roth closed her eyes and shook her head sadly. “I’m sorry if I caused a problem. I’m so glad to see that Finn is all right and so confused by everything that’s happened. I’ve already lost someone I love and—” Her eyes filled. Exquisite, big brown eyes. She raised a gloved hand to her crimson lips. “I’m sorry. I still can’t believe Nolan’s gone.”
Candace stepped toward her. “We here in Mercy are sorry for your loss. We’ll do everything we can to find out who did this to your husband. As you requested, you’ve seen your son, so you’re free to leave now.”
Hilary didn’t seem to be paying attention and instead focused on me. “So you’re Jillian? The woman Chief Baca told me about? The one who cared for Finn?”
“Um, yes.” I was almost at a loss for words. When I heard both Tom and Finn disparage this woman, I’d developed a mental picture of someone who looked like a Halloween witch, maybe even cackled, too. Not so. She was stunning. Since I couldn’t see a line or a wrinkle on her expertly made-up face, it was difficult to even guess her age.
Candace said, “Chief Baca is finished talking with you, so as I said before—”
“The chief was so very kind,” she said, her Carolina drawl thick as sorghum. “Is there a place in town I could stay while I wait for Nolan’s—” She pulled her lips in as if trying to gather herself. “For the postmortem to be done?”
“All the motels are maybe ten miles north once you get on the interstate,” Candace said. “We do have a bed-and-breakfast in town, though.”
“Do you think I could stay there on such short notice?” she asked.
Candace turned. “B.J., would you please help Mrs. Roth call the Pink House?”
“Sure enough,” B.J. answered.
Candace and I stepped aside to allow her by. As she passed me, she said, “Thank you for helping my boy. He’s been so troubled lately.”
Up close, I did see a few fine lines around her eyes. Her scent was familiar—Chanel No. 5, like Kara wore. I was still surprised by her. She seemed kind and genuine. No, not a Halloween witch at all.
Candace put a hand on my back and told me to join Tom and Finn. “I’ve got to talk to the chief for a second.”
I’d visited the other interrogation room, the one where a suspect could be handcuffed to the table. Pretty awful. This one was different and looked more like a barren kitchen. The maple table had to be fifty years old and the four high-back wooden chairs might have come straight from my grandparents’ estate sale.
Finn was sitting next to Tom, and I took a seat across from them. I poured water into a paper cup from the stainless pitcher in the center of the table and took a long sip. My mouth was a little dry after meeting Hilary.
“Water?” I asked Finn.
“No, thanks,” he said.
Tom slapped a pack of Trident gum in front of Finn. “How about this?”
Finn smiled. “You remembered.” He punched out a piece of gum from the packet and popped it in his mouth.
Tom then offered the gum to me, but I refused.
I didn’t want to even mention Hilary, so I said the first thing that came to mind. “You mentioned you lost your phone. Are there friends in North Carolina you might want to talk to? Like from your high school?”
