Cluttered Attic Secrets (15 page)

“Hello? Hello?” Tina pushed the phone so close to her ear, it began to hurt. Hank and Brandon stared at her.

Slowly, she pulled the phone away so she could see the screen. It showed Leslie’s name. She hit end.

“Who was that?” Hank walked toward her.

Tina took a huge breath. “He didn’t say. Just said all of us had to get out of the house right now.”

Hank raised his eyebrows. “What did he say, exactly?”

“He said, ‘Clear out of Leslie’s Young’s house. Now. All of you. Remember what happened to her before. Could happen to any of you.’”

Hank’s eyebrows rose even farther. “We’d better do what he said.”

As Tina’s shock wore off, she got steamed. “I know we have no choice, but for sure we’re taking the papers we already have. Let’s go. We can go through all of them, then decide what to do next.”

Hank grabbed the box. Tina took one last look around the attic, her hands itching to be able to go through everything.

When they walked outside, Tina said, “Let’s go to Brandon’s place. He’ll be most comfortable there and can lie down if he needs to.”

“Sound good to me.” Hank stuck the box into his trunk and climbed into the Jaguar. “I’ll call Lisbeth to update her.”

Brandon and Tina got into her VW, and they all met at the condo. Inside, Brandon offered drinks, and Hank set the box down in the middle of the living room and opened the top.

They settled in, each grabbing a handful of papers to look through. Almost an hour went by before Hank spoke. “Well, this is interesting.”

Tina’s head jerked up, and Brandon put down the paper he was looking at.

“What is it?” Tina held her breath.

“It’s a list of names. All women and some children. I can’t figure out any reason for Aunt Margaret to have such a list. It appears to be her handwriting, but of course, we’ll need to verify that.”

Brandon shrugged. “Probably a list of people she was going to invite to a party.”

“What kind of party?” Hank asked. “Only mothers and children invited? She didn’t have a child to give a birthday party for.”

“Maybe she gave one for Leslie when she was little,” Tina suggested. “How old is that paper?”

Hank looked at her a moment before glancing back at the list. “Pretty old. Starting to yellow.” He held it up for them to see.

“Three ring binder paper.” Tina shrugged. “We’ll ask Leslie if her aunt ever gave a party for her. Is my name on there? Mother’s?”

Hank checked. “No.”

“Well, I would think we would be. Leslie and I have been best friends since birth.”

“That’s true.” Hank handed her the paper. “See if there are any names you know, either mother or child.”

Tina read the list slowly. “Not a one. Some of the children are boys, too. Not that that means very much. If the children are young enough, birthday parties often include both genders.”

“But surely you’d recognize some names.” Brandon held his hand out, and Tina gave him the paper. He looked through it. “I don’t see anyone familiar.”

“Well, and your name isn’t on there, either.” Hank took the paper back from Brandon. “I think that pretty much rules out a party list.”

“Some charity, then,” Tina suggested, “or a church membership roster, or some club. Maybe one of us make a computer search for the names and see what comes up.”

“I’ll do that.” Brandon stood up. “I’m used to my computer, so I should be able to do it faster.”

“Are there any other papers you picked that might relate to this list?” Tina asked Hank. “And do we know where the paper came from? Darn, we should have kept them separated. Too late now.”

Hank began searching. “A grocery list. A to-do list. And another one with women and children’s names on it. This one is dated.” He handed that one to Brandon.

“What’s the date?” Tina asked.

Brandon looked. “About two years before Aunt Margaret passed away. This page looks a lot newer than the other one Hank found. I think I’ll search these names first. Keep looking both of you, and if you find anything else interesting, bring it to me.” He headed to his home office.

“I think we might be getting somewhere,” Tina said. “But it’s still hard to think of a connection between all of this and Joshua Young’s murder.”

Hank didn’t comment. Tina stared at him. “What are you thinking?”

He cocked his head at her. Then he stood up. “I’m thinking I need to go see some people. I’ll catch up with you later.” He grabbed his jacket and was out the door before she could react.

Brandon came into the room and looked around. “Hank left? I heard the door close.”

“Yes.”

“And you’re mad enough to spit.” Brandon grinned.

Tina jumped up and hammered her fists on his chest. “You men are impossible.”

He gently grabbed her hands and moved her backward, laughing.

Tina felt the blood pounding in her head. She pulled away from Brandon’s grasp and fell onto the couch. Then, unexpectedly, she began to cry.

“Oh, Tina.” Brandon sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms.

She let him hold her, remembering all the times in the past he had comforted her with his strength and steadiness. She never allowed herself such weakness when she was with Hank. Held back any sign of weakness. Why did she do that?

Her phone played “My Man.” She jerked, then pulled away from Brandon. Caught his expression as she answered. Both mad and sad, mirroring her own feelings. She took the phone out of her pocket, took a deep breath. “Hank. You haven’t been gone long. What’s going on?”

“Lisbeth found Sophie. She wants you to come talk to the child. They’re at Sophie’s house, and it is the one the car was parked in front of.”

“I’ll be right there.” Tina ended the call. “You heard?” she asked Brandon.

He nodded.

“I want you to rest. I’ll call you as soon as we know anything. I promise.”

“I’m fine. I’ll work some more on the computer.”

Tina sighed. “I know I can’t change your mind.” She kissed him on the cheek, stood up, and left quickly without checking to see his reaction. Before driving away, she looked at her face in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot. Nothing she could do about that. She wished she had some eye drops. She slapped on her sunglasses and drove away.

Hank’s Jaguar, along with Lisbeth’s unmarked and a police cruiser were all parked on the street when Tina arrived. She walked up to the door, her mind whirling, wondering how she should approach the child. She heard a woman shouting inside before she rang the bell.

It took several minutes for the door to open, and Hank stood there, looking annoyed. “Come in. It’s not going well.”

Tina saw two uniformed police officers in the dining room. She and Hank walked into the living room. Tina had a faint impression of old furniture, the smell of cat litter, and a bit of clutter. But she quickly focused on Sophie who sat hunched in a child’s chair, too small for her, clasping a ragged, indeterminate stuffed animal to her chest. Her eyes were huge, but she wasn’t crying now.

Tina walked over to her and kneeled down. “It’s all right. No one is going to hurt you.”

“Who the hell are you?” asked the woman Tina had only gotten a glimpse of earlier. She had blonde hair with dark roots showing, a look Tina had never liked and never understood, and pencil-thin eyebrows, along with a thin nose and lips. She wore baggy jeans, a white t-shirt, and a loose yellow cardigan.

“My name is Tina Shaw. I met Sophie earlier in Leslie Young’s back yard.”

The woman glared at her. “And scared her half to death.”

Tina stood up. “She was already scared when I found her. You are?”

“None of your business. Are you police?”

Tina glanced at Lisbeth. “She’s a consultant.” Lisbeth stood ramrod straight, her feet planted on the faded blue rug, hands on hips. “A trained psychologist. Now, Mrs. Hendricks, if you’ll cooperate, this will go a lot better for all of us.”

“It won’t go better for me and Sophie. We’re not answering any of your questions. I demand to call my lawyer.”

“That’s your right.” Lisbeth took her hands off her hips and relaxed her stance. “But you are not under arrest, so there’s really no need. If you do, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you and your daughter down to the station.”

“What? What are the charges?”

“Breaking and entering.”

Mrs. Hendricks looked astonished. “Where? Where did I break and enter, and what does Sophie have to do with it?”

Either she was great liar, or she was telling the truth. Tina couldn’t decide.

Lisbeth exchanged a glance with Hank. Tina tried to keep her eyes on Sophie, but the argument was distracting. Sophie looked more scared than ever. Tina wanted to go hug her. She turned to Mrs. Hendricks. “You need to calm down. You’re upsetting Sophie. I assume she’s your daughter?”

Mrs. Hendricks looked at Sophie, and Tina noticed her expression didn’t soften. That concerned Tina. The whole situation concerned her. She spoke to Mrs. Hendricks again. “Look, we know something is going on at Ms. Young’s house. It will be better for you if you tell us what it is so we can clear it all up and everyone can get on with their lives.”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. Sophie is upset because all you strangers have come trouping into her house and are badgering me. Isn’t that right, baby?” She took a step toward Sophie.

The girl cringed. “You’re not my mommy,” she whispered.

Not completely surprised, Tina looked more closely at Mrs. Hendricks. She thought there was a family resemblance, but that could just be coincidence.

“What does she mean, Mrs. Hendricks?” Lisbeth asked.

Mrs. Hendricks threw up her hands. “I’m her aunt, her guardian. When she gets mad at me, she says I’m not her mother.”

“We need to see her birth certificate and your guardianship papers,” Lisbeth said.

Mrs. Hendricks glared at her and took her phone out of her pocket. She speed dialed someone and turned her back on Lisbeth. “Jeffery, this is Irene. The police are here, and I need to talk to you.”

Tina couldn’t hear what Jeffery said. She tried to think of a Newport lawyer she knew named Jeffery, but didn’t know anyone. It was interesting that Mrs. Hendricks had her lawyer’s number so handy and was on a first-name basis with him. Tina looked at Hank who stood near the doorway, out of the fray. The two officers remained in the dining room where she could barely see them.

Mrs. Hendricks put her phone in her pocket and sat down on a tan sofa. “Jeffrey won’t be here for about a half hour or so. He’s in Providence. You gonna wait?”

Lisbeth didn’t show what she was thinking. “No, Mrs. Hendricks, we won’t wait. Please come down to the station when your lawyer arrives.”

The woman looked shocked. “Exactly what do you think I’ve done, Detective Dodson?”

“As I said, breaking and entering.”

Mrs. Hendricks lifted her chin. “I’ve never done such a thing in my life.”

Lisbeth scowled at her. “Be sure to bring any proof you have of that. And remember, anything you signed with the previous owner doesn’t apply to the current one.”

Mrs. Hendricks shook her head. “How can I prove a negative? I signed nothing with Margaret Young. I really have no idea what you’re talking about and how Sophie could be involved.” She glanced at the child with a sour look. “She often runs off, who knows where.”

Tina looked at Sophie. She appeared to have stopped listening to the adults. She stared into space, her little hands still clutching the stuffed animal. Tina debated going to talk to her again, but decided against it. Then Sophie seemed to come out of her daze and looked up at Tina. Her brown eyes pleaded for something. Tina took a step toward her.

“Leave her alone.” Mrs. Hendricks’ voice was harsh. “No one talks to her until I consult with Jeffery.”

“Let’s go.” Lisbeth didn’t quite stomp out of the room, but her body language told Tina she was furious.

Hank waited for Tina to follow Lisbeth, then he fell in behind her. When they all arrived at the front sidewalk, including the uniformed officers, Lisbeth stopped. “Unfortunately, we have nothing substantial enough to arrest her for. Her actions are suspicious, but we need more evidence. And we can’t talk to the child without her permission. That said, if she doesn’t bring us proof that she’s Sophie’s guardian, that will change things. I’m sorry, Tina, that you came over for no reason.”

“Not a problem.” Tina avoided looking at Hank. She hated feeling so unsettled around him. “I have to admit, I couldn’t tell if Mrs. Hendricks is telling the truth or is an excellent liar. I suggest you investigate whether there’s another adult in Sophie’s life who is using her to get into Leslie’s house.”

Lisbeth’s eyes widened. “Without Mrs. Hendricks’ knowledge? Yes, that is a possibility. I’ll put both houses under surveillance.”

“What will you do if Mrs. Hendricks doesn’t show up at the station?” Tina asked. She noticed Peter Collier walking toward them. Out for a stroll around the block? He didn’t seem the type to go for a walk in the neighborhood. She shrugged and returned her attention to what Lisbeth was saying.

“Nothing we can do. Her lawyer will probably tell her to at least appear to cooperate, but that doesn’t mean we’ll learn anything. If she doesn’t contact us, then we have to get Child Protective Services involved for Sophie, though.”

Tina looked at Hank. “Where are you going now?”

“Back to the station. I’ll catch up with you later.” He had his stony face on, and Tina decided not to comment.

Everyone went to their vehicles, Tina feeling frustrated. Now she wasn’t just worried about Leslie, but about Sophie as well. Could she be in danger because of what she knew about Leslie’s house? There was nothing Tina could do about any of it except continue to learn more.

When she pulled away from the curb, she saw Michele sitting in her car, staring at her. Tina tapped the brake, thinking about confronting the woman but quickly decided against it. She was probably as secretive as Hank, and as good at avoiding answering questions.

Back in the parking lot at Brandon’s condo, she called Leslie.

Leslie answered on the second ring. “Hi, Tina.”

“You’re awake. Did you had a good rest?”

“Pretty good. I woke up sooner than I wanted to and couldn’t go back to sleep, though.”

“That’s not surprising.” Tina told her about Sophie and about the lists they’d found. She decided not to mention the threatening phone call just yet.

Leslie yawned loudly enough that Tina heard. “Sounds as if you’re getting somewhere. I feel like a slacker. What are you going to do now?”

“Look at more papers at Brandon’s.”

“Is he okay?”

“Seems to be. He needs to rest more, though. He looks exhausted.”

“I’m coming over as soon as I can get my act together.”

“How’s your mom doing?”

“She’s concerned, hovering a bit more than usual. But I think that’s understandable.”

“Yes, it is. See you in a bit.”

After they hung up, Tina sat in her VW and thought about her own mother. How much should she tell her and Uncle Bob? As little as possible, she decided as she got out of the car. When she turned around, she saw Michele standing near the entry to the condo, swinging her sunglasses in her hand.