Grant house, don’t answer. I told him I’d give you this instruction, so all you have to say is that you want to wait for me. If he needs more information, we can meet tomorrow. Okay? Are you clear?”
“Yeah. I am. Thanks, Max.”
“Just remember, short answers. One-word answers are best.”
“I remember.”
I hung up and slipped the phone back into my purse. I made my way outside and when Alverez turned toward me, I smiled. “I’m all yours. Max said.”
I heard the sirens, and before he could answer, two marked cars had pulled up, their red lights spinning in the night.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
After Chief Alverez finished questioning me, he told me that he needed to talk to the senior technician for a minute, and then he’d drive me to my car.
“Okay,” I said, feeling shaky and weak, glad for his offer, embarrassed to admit that independent little ol’ me didn’t want to walk alone in the dark to my car.
We rode without speaking. All I heard were the comforting sounds of the droning engine and the soft claps of waves as they washed ashore.
Approaching the strip of stores where I’d left my car, I noted that the Taffy Pull was closed and dark. My car was the only one parked nearby. The entire area looked deserted.
Alverez said, “How are you feeling?”
“Embarrassed.”
“Well, you don’t need to be. Why wouldn’t you get upset when someone breaks in to a recently murdered man’s house?”
“I guess,” I acknowledged. I shrugged. “I’m okay.”
“You did fine,” he reassured me.
“Well… no, I didn’t. I used to pride myself on handling crises well. Now look at me. I’m a mess.”
“Jeez, Josie. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
My father used to say the same thing to me, that I had to give myself a break. Hearing Alverez speak similar words comforted me.
“Thanks,” I said, trying for a smile. “Also, thanks for driving me.”
“You going to be okay on your own tonight?”
I swallowed, fighting sudden tears. “You bet,” I said, aiming for perky.
He paused, then said, “If anything else occurs to you, don’t wait. Call me right away. Even in the middle of the night, okay?”
I shivered at the urgency conveyed by his words, and turned to look at him. In the glinty white moonlight, I could see the outline of his features, but not his eyes.
“Okay.”
“Here,” he said, reaching into his pocket. “Take another card so you’ll have my number handy.”
I took it and slipped it into my purse. After a pause, I asked, “Do you know how the person got in?”
“Looks like they just popped the lock.”
I shook my head. “I can’t believe it’s that easy.”
“Yeah,” Alverez said. “That lock is probably original to the house. A credit card would do it, no problem.”
“But the back lock requires a key.”
“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Apparently Mr. Grant didn’t use the back door much, so he thought it ought to be secure.”
“Really? How can you know that?”
He paused, then said, “It’s what I do, actually. I find things out. Like, for instance, the grocery-store delivery folks always came to the front door, by request.”
I nodded. “Funny, isn’t it? We’re in the same business. We both are paid to find things out.”
“Yeah. Same, but different.”
“Yeah.” I thought about what he said about the lock. “Should I tell Mrs. Cabot to change the lock?”
“Absolutely. I plan on telling her, too. We’ll be providing security until we figure out what’s going on. But she might want to add more, like an alarm system. Until the contents are removed.”
“That’ll be pretty soon, I guess. In a week or so, probably Dobson’s will take control of everything and put it all in storage in New York. So they can do their own research.” After a short silence, I added, “Well, I guess I better go.”
“Will you be all right to get home?”
“Sure. I’m glad to be away from the Grant place, I’ve got to tell you.” As I spoke, I decided not to be alone there again. “When you said you’re going to be providing security, does that mean that you’re going to station men at the Grant house?”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “Call me crazy, but I don’t really want to be there on my own again. And I don’t think I ought to let Sasha be alone there, either.”
“Makes sense. For the foreseeable future, I’ll have someone there.”
“Good. We’re scheduled to start the appraisal tomorrow morning. Will it be all right for us to enter?”
“Yeah, no problem. The technicians are just about done already. They’ll be out of here within an hour. I’ll tell the man on duty that you’re expected.”
“Thanks. Well, then…”
“You need me,” he interrupted, “you call. Okay?”
“Okay,” I agreed, grateful for his attention, yet still feeling self-conscious about my emotional spectacle. He came around the car to hold the door for me as I jumped down from the SUV. When I had my motor running, I waved a quick “See ya,” and he nodded and stepped back. As I pulled out and drove north, I glanced in the rearview mirror, and saw him, standing still, watching me.
Home again after spending more than fifty dollars at the grocery store, I put on a CD of Vivaldi’s
I was feeling better, more energized and less fearful. Even though it was approaching 10:00, I decided to proceed with preparing Monterey chicken. I was definitely not ready to rest, and it tasted better if it sat overnight in the refrigerator before baking anyway. I was grating Parmesan cheese for the bread-crumb mixture when Wes called.
“Hey,” he said. “Let’s meet tomorrow. Same time, same place, okay?”
“What do you have for me?” I asked.
“Another doughnut.”
“Please, God, no,” I said, understanding that he wasn’t going to give anything away on the phone. “Seven? At the beach?” I asked to confirm.
“Yup.”
“I’ll drive myself.”
“Ha, ha, ha.”
“See you then,” I said.
I turned back to my butterflied chicken breasts, white-hot curious about what he had to tell me. While I prepared the recipe, I went over everything I knew about Mr. Grant’s murder and the missing paintings. Where would Mr. Grant have hidden the masterpieces? I wondered if I had walked past them secreted somewhere and not even known it.
I ran water over my hands, rubbing my fingers to rid them of the breading mixture I’d used to coat the rolled chicken breasts, and stretched the plastic wrap taut over the roasting pan. I smiled as I placed it in the refrigerator
