Murder on Sagebrush Lane (18 page)

52

“You realize you’ve lost what little you had left of your sanity, don’t you?” Ginger shook her head, and looked at her friend with disbelief.

“Oh ye of little faith.” Harrie smiled and set the flash drive on the desk in front of Ginger.

“What’s with the ugly, stubby little pen?”

Harrie explained about the flash drive, where she found it, what it was, and about the encrypted files she discovered on it.

“Why do you think you can do this? Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if you just turned it over to the FBI?”

“I will. I only want to ‘borrow’ it for a little while. Just long enough to flush out whoever’s stalking me.”

Ginger leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “And have you worked out how you will accomplish this crazy task?”

“Well . . .” Harrie hesitated. She scrunched up her face. “I was hoping you could help me with that.”

“Oh, brother. Here we go again. Why do I even talk to you about things like this? What is wrong with my own brain? I’ve let you talk me into these wild-ass schemes of yours since the first day I met you. And no matter how many times I promise myself not to let you pull me back in, I always do. Why is that?”

Harrie grinned. “Because I’m your best friend, and I depend on you to be my wing man.”

“Fellow occupant of the Looney bin is more like it.” Ginger frowned, and Harrie smiled back at her with a wistful, pleading expression. As always, Ginger gave up fighting the inevitable and harrumphed. “There you go, playing on my weaknesses again.” She leaned her elbows on the desk and propped up her chin. “When did you plan to do this?”

“I thought maybe now?” The statement came out like a question.

Ginger looked at her watch. “It’s 2:00 already. We don’t have much time. Tell me exactly what your plan is, and where I come in.”

“Let’s get going, and I’ll tell you on the way.” Harrie picked up the flash drive and went to get her purse. “Can you drive? I don’t want anybody to see my car.”

Ginger picked up her purse and car keys. “Sure, why not? I might as well go in all the way. I can only be prosecuted once, right?”

On their way out of the office, Ginger stopped to tell the lead transcriber they would return in an hour. Once settled inside Ginger’s yellow VW, she started the car and turned to her friend.

“Okay, Sherlock. Where are we going?”

“My house first, then if we have time, we’ll call on Winnie Devlin.”

Ginger backed out and shot a look at Harrie. “Why in the world do we have to see that woman again? She’s two tacos short of a full order.”

“Face it,” Harrie said. “She’s the most efficient neighborhood gossip I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet. We need to plant false information, and she’s the perfect conduit to spread it for us.”

“What if she asks you about the DNA kit?”

“I’ll tell her the truth. I used it on Katie this morning, and DJ delivered it to Steve. With any kind of luck, we should have the results soon.”

Ginger frowned. “I thought it took months to get a DNA test done.”

“Apparently that’s the case when you’re talking about a lab like those for the city or state. They get backed up and can’t get to them, so it takes a long time. DJ says it’s actually possible to get results within hours when it’s a private lab.”

“Yes, but I sensed you were supposed to bring it back to her so she could have it tested against her own.”

“Not gonna happen. I wouldn’t trust her with that. Once we prove that Katie’s DNA matches Michael Rinaldi’s remains, there’ll be no need for her to have the sample.”

They pulled in to Harrie’s driveway, went inside quickly, and locked the door behind them.

“Okay,” Ginger said. “Why are we here?”

“Because,” Harrie said as she went to the phone on her kitchen desk, “I’m going to check my Caller ID. I was too freaked out to do it earlier. I need to get the number of the man who called me Monday afternoon.”

Ginger went pale. “Please tell me you’re kidding! Are you crazy?”

Harrie grabbed Gingers shoulders. “Calm down. It’ll be fine. I told you, I have a plan.”

“It had better be a good one.” Ginger sat on one of the bar stools.

“Oh, it is,” Harrie said.

“Wait, a minute.” Ginger popped up from the barstool. “DJ had the phone company check on those calls yesterday at our office, remember? He must already have the phone number of The Creep.”

Harrie looked at her. “Good for him, but that doesn’t help me. I need that number for myself.”

Ginger’s eyes narrowed. “Oh? Why?”

Harrie smiled and opened her purse. She took out a small device and put it on the kitchen desk.

“What’s that for?” Ginger eyed the object suspiciously.

“That, my nervous friend, is a hand-held, digital voice recorder. I bought it a couple of months ago so I could dictate changes for the typists. We’re going to use it to trap Mr. Creepy Caller.”

“I still don’t get it.”

Harrie grinned. “You’ll see. We’re going to record what he says when I call him.”

Ginger’s eyebrows shot up. When she spoke, her voice squeaked. “You’re going to call him?”

Harrie ignored her while pressing the Caller ID button. The device held 50 numbers and it took a few seconds to scroll through and retrieve the one she wanted.

“Okay,” she said. “These two calls fit the timeline for the first call on Monday that went to the answering machine and the second one on Tuesday morning while I was here.”

Ginger came over to the desk to see for herself. “It can’t really be that easy. Can it?”

“Most criminals are pretty stupid, you know. It looks as though this is one of them.”

Harrie turned on the recorder and pressed the speaker button on the phone. Then she looked at Ginger. “Here we go. Are you ready?”

Ginger nodded, her eyes big. Then she said. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Harrie pressed the return call button and heard ringing on the other end of the line. The voice that answered sent a chill down her spine.

“Hullo,” it croaked.

Harrie swallowed hard. “You don’t sound so scary now.”

The voice on the other end didn’t speak for a couple of beats, then, “Who is this?”

Harrie looked at Ginger and nodded. It was the same voice, just not staged to sound so menacing. “Gee, a smart guy like you doesn’t recognize the voice of the woman you’ve been harassing?”

There was another long pause. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You have the wrong number.”

“Oh, really? Well then, all you have to do is listen, okay? This is Harrie McKinsey Scott, and I found the item you’ve been looking for. So if you want it, you pervert, you’re gonna have to come get it. Get a pencil and take down this address.” She gave him the address of her office.

“What’s the catch?” His voice sounded lower now, more like it did when she heard it last time.

“No catch, big guy. I just want to be left alone. I’ll be happy to turn it over to you tomorrow morning at 10:00 at that address. Take it or leave it.”

It sounded like he put his hand over the phone’s receiver, and spoke to another person in the room. Harrie and Ginger exchanged glances. Harrie pressed the mute button and said, “Sounds like he has a partner.”

After a minute of muffled voices, seemingly discussing the invitation, Mr. Creepy came back on the line. “How do I know this isn’t a trap?”

“You don’t,” Harrie said. “I guess you’ll just have to trust me if you want it bad enough.”

“What changed your mind?”

Harrie curbed her anger with great effort. “Isn’t it obvious? I’m tired of living out of a suitcase, and I just want to get my life back.” She waited a beat, then said, “So, are we on?”

At last he answered. “Fine. But this better not be a trap.” Then they heard nothing but the dial tone.

Harrie blew out a huge breath. She hadn’t realized she’d been holding it in. “So, that’s done.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Ginger came back to herself, all apprehension gone. “You’ve set up an appointment with this crazed stalker, and it’s like you just folded the freaking laundry. How do you plan to handle this?”

“Are you kidding me? When I tell DJ and Swannie tonight at dinner what I’ve set up, they’ll be all over it.” Her relief at having taken a step to end this made her almost giddy.

“But this time, they’ll
have
to let me be the bait.”

53

“What can I do to help?”

Harrie had just returned from her trip to the office, and the little side trip back to her house. Caroline was setting out dishes for the dinner Swannie would provide tonight.

“Thanks, dear, but there really isn’t anything to do. I’ll make the tea just before Lieutenant Swanson is due to arrive with the food, and the only other thing needing my attention is setting the table.”

“Great. I’ll go play with Katie for a bit.” She turned back to Caroline. “Did DJ say anything about his interview with Alexis Kane?”

Caroline said, “Come sit with me for a few minutes, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Harrie nodded, and looked at her watch. “Do we know when Swannie is due to arrive?”

“DJ talked to him. He said he’d leave his office early and would be here by 5:30. We have plenty of time to get Katie bathed and ready for bed, and you can even spend a little time with her.”

Harrie felt a sadness creep into her core. “This might be the last time I can do that. I imagine Alexis Kane will be taking her soon, don’t you?”

“Do you feel up to talking about it?”

“Sure,” Harrie said, and put a little smile on her face. “Tell me what you know.”

“Well, DJ called Judge Connors and set up a meeting for Mrs. Kane. She left here about 1:30, and headed downtown to show him the documentation that proves her relationship to Katie. I haven’t heard anything since then.”

“I shouldn’t have let myself engage in this fantasy about becoming Katie’s mother. It’s just that it seemed so . . . I don’t know . . . meant to be.”

Caroline went to Harrie and put her arms around her. “Hey, it seemed a reasonable assumption at the time. If things had been the way we thought, everything would have been fine. I think we all had our hopes up.”

Harrie wiped a tear away with the back of her hand. “She really is a special little girl, isn’t she?”

Caroline nodded. “Quite remarkable.”

Harrie sat up straight and smiled. “Okay, what else do we know right now?”

“Well, the good news is that Swannie expects to have the medical examiner’s report by this afternoon. Maybe then we’ll know a little more about what happened.”

“Uh, that reminds me. I guess I should tell you what else I did while I went to the office.”

Caroline tilted her head as she looked at Harrie. “That sounds ominous. What else did you do?”

So Harrie told her everything—about finding the device in Katie’s bear, discovering the encrypted documents, and what she’d done to stir things up with the stalker.

“Good grief! This puts everything in an entirely new light. But Harrie, you know that DJ, and Swannie will be more than a little upset with you for contacting that man.”

“I know, but I just wanted this to be over. It really threw me, finding out about Alexis being alive and ready to take Katie. I had to try something. When I discovered the stuff on the flash drive, it seemed like the logical thing to do.”

“I can’t say that I don’t understand how you feel because I do. I just don’t think DJ and Swannie will think your solution was the best road to take.”

Harrie leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She let out a deep breath. “I know. It was probably a harebrained thing to do. But it’s done now, and one way or another, things are set in motion.”

Caroline stood and squeezed Harrie’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s give Miss Katie a bath and spend time with her.”

The two women bathed Katie, and spent the next two hours happily entertaining her. Then Harrie prepared dinner for the little girl and sat with her while she ate. Caroline set the table and and by 5:15, everything was ready for the evening meal. Now they only needed the guests and the Chinese dinner.

Ginger arrived first, and she and Harrie took Katie to her room. There, surrounded by books and blocks, she quickly became absorbed in a game known only to her. They decided she was sufficiently distracted for them to leave her alone for a bit. They joined Caroline in the kitchen and discussed the day’s events.

Ginger frowned. “I still worry about your insistence on being present at this crazy sting operation you’ve planned. Besides, what makes you think that DJ or Swannie will allow you to do such a thing? They certainly didn’t last time, and I don’t see this being any different.”

“I have to agree with Ginger on this one, Harrie. If I know DJ, he won’t stand still for this. It’s just too dangerous.”

When they heard the key in the front door they immediately dropped the subject. They agreed Harrie would introduce this latest bomb when they were all together, after dinner. Probably not an ideal plan, but the best they had.

Harrie went in to check on Katie. The little girl yawned and rubbed her eyes. She reached out to Harrie, and Harrie picked her up. Katie laid her head on Harrie’s shoulder and popped her thumb in her mouth. Harrie chuckled softly and stroked the little blonde head. Katie was almost sound asleep when Harrie finally put her in the crib and tiptoed out of the room.

She hurried out to greet DJ. He hugged her to him and said, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m all right. It was such a shock, though.”

For the next few minutes, DJ filled them in on the details of his conversation with Alexis Kane. Everybody agreed she seemed to be exactly who she said she was.

Harrie suddenly brightened. “Wait a minute. I just had a thought.” She turned to Caroline. “Remember when she asked us if Bonnie Bellows had been in touch?”

Caroline nodded. “Yes, she didn’t seem surprised in the least when we told her about the visit on Monday.”

Harrie stood and paced excitedly. “But if Bonnie Bellows is really Monica Chambers, why wouldn’t Alexis call her Monica? The entire time she talked about her, it was always Bonnie.”

They all looked at each other. “Who knows?” Ginger said. “Maybe she didn’t know about the Monica Chambers identity. There could be a lot of reasons.”

Harrie slumped. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I think I’m grabbing at straws.” She turned to DJ.

“Did you have a chance to speak to Judge Connors?”

DJ shook his head. “I left him a message, but I know he had to be in court this afternoon. Maybe he’ll call later. I gave him my cell number.”

The doorbell rang, DJ went to answer it, and returned with Steve. Greetings were exchanged all around, and they filled him in on the unexpected appearance of Alexis Kane.

They were still discussing this when another ring of the bell announced the arrival of Lieutenant Bob Swanson and their dinner. Caroline and Swannie took the take-out cartons to the kitchen and poured them into serving dishes.

After dinner, Swannie leaned back in his chair. “Folks. I have news you will not believe.”

“Don’t tell me,” DJ said, “the OMI report wasn’t ready.”

“Quite the contrary,” Swannie said and shook his head. He seemed hesitant.

Harrie said, “Come on, Swannie, give us the news. Then I’ll tell you mine,” she added.

He looked around the room. “The body we found in Michael Rinaldi’s home . . .” he took a breath and blew it out. “The body is not Michael Rinaldi.”