“No, it’s not that, but yes, I agree we should move it.” I paused to take a breath. “I found a suitcase full of cash underneath the floor!”
Fern shrieked, dislodging a ribbon. She yanked on it, and let it fall to the floor. “Do you think it’s Earl’s?”
I shrugged my shoulders and grinned. “I’m not sure, but it’s definitely something.”
“Oh, goody!” Fern rubbed her hands together in excitement, then reached for the railing to descend the stairs. “Show me.”
“I will, but I think we need to call the police.”
“You haven’t done that yet?” She looked worried.
“No, I just found it.”
She brushed by me and went into the kitchen. “We don’t want the sheriff thinking we’re withholding evidence.” Fern picked up her phone off the counter.
“Are you calling dispatch?”
“No, I’m calling Cole.” She held the phone up to her ear.
“What, is he on speed dial?” I wasn’t sure why she would have his number so readily handy.
“No,” she said, “I haven’t figured out how to use that, but… oh! Sheriff Walker, yes. Hi, this is Fern Bailey.” She paused. “Charlee found something we think you’d like to see… what is it? Well, just get your butt over here and you can see for yourself… yes, okay, bye.” She set down the phone, a triumphant look on her face. “He’s on his way.”
“I can’t believe you said that to him,” I muttered.
“What? It’s important.” She patted her head and removed another dangling ribbon, before studying me. “Um, you might want to change your sweatshirt.”
I glanced down at my old gray sweatshirt with the Rockfish Bay High School Pirates logo on it. When I’d donned it after returning from Patty’s to help Fern with her closet decluttering project, I’d noticed a small stain (probably coffee). Now it was covered in dust and some raffia particles.
Fern giggled. “I wouldn’t want Cole to think you’ve been rolling around in the hay.”
“Ha ha,” I deadpanned. “Fine, I’ll change.” I traipsed up the stairs and found a black, mostly clean, lightweight pullover. At least if there was a coffee stain, I couldn’t see it. I also traded my yoga pants for some jeans, which also needed a wash.
My weekend trip was turning into a week, and I hadn’t brought very many clothes. I needed to do laundry. There was a drawer full of clothes I left at Fern’s, but they were from way back when and I wasn’t sure how many of them actually still fit. After a quick look in the mirror, I redid my hair in a messy bun. Raffia had found its way there as well.
On my way down the stairs, the front doorbell rang, and Fern rushed to answer it.
“Sheriff, please come in. Charlee!” she shouted.
“I’m here.” I rounded the corner to the entry.
Cole’s eyes found mine. Gone was the teasing glint from last night. “So, I hear you found something,” he drawled, like he suspected maybe we were just wasting his time.
“Yes.” I tipped my chin up a notch. “It’s in the barn.”
As the three of us trekked through the house to the backyard, I explained to Cole how Fern and I were clearing out the closet and I was moving boxes to the barn. We arrived at the tack room just as I got to the part about removing the floorboards
Cole stopped when he saw the suitcase and looked back at me. “You removed it?” he asked, mildly disgusted.
“Yes, because—”
He held up his hand to silence me. “I don’t want to hear your excuses.” He pulled a pair of latex gloves out of his jacket pocket and put them on before kneeling to open the suitcase. “I take it your prints are on this.” He didn’t bother looking up at me.
“Yes,” I said again, forgoing an excuse this time.
“In the future, if you see — or even think you see — anything suspicious, just call me,” he grumbled, clearly irritated.
“We did—”
“Before you touch anything,” he clarified.
I knew what he meant. I had known exactly what I was doing before I touched it, and frankly with his attitude, I didn’t feel bad about it either. “Yes, sir.”
He shook his head, dismayed.
“Oh, come on, Cole,” I took a step closer. “This is good, and you know it.”
He met my gaze, and something flickered in his eyes. Annoyance yes, but maybe amusement, or possibly interest. Last night, he’d told me to use his first name, and maybe that gave me a little leverage into cracking his tough exterior.
“Any guesses on how much is in there?” I gestured to the cash, giving him a wide grin.
I could tell he was fighting a smile, but eventually it came through. “Aren’t you going to tell me? I assumed you’d already counted it,” he smirked.
I shook my head. “No, but I was tempted.”
He chuckled briefly, then pulled out a flashlight and shined it down the hole where I’d pulled the suitcase from. “Not a bad hiding spot.” Finished with his perusal, he turned off the light and stood. “Fern, were you aware of the cutout in the floor?”
“No, and honestly, I usually don’t spend a lot of time out here. Mostly this room is used for storage,” she replied. Obviously, as it was filled with a hodgepodge of stuff, most of which Fern never used. “And as you know, I don’t lock it, so it was easily accessible if someone wanted in here,” she added.
“And you two think this has to do with Earl?” he asked.
Was the sheriff dense? Of course it did. I saved my snarky reply and simply said, “Yes.”
“Okay.” He nodded once and kneeled to close the suitcase.
“What do you think?” I asked.
Cole thought for a second. “I think it’s possible it has something to do with Earl’s death. But I don’t want to speculate until I can get it analyzed.”
That wasn’t the answer I was hoping for, but I wasn’t surprised by his vague response either. I knew Cole suspected something. He just wasn’t going to share it
