Skein of the Crime (10 page)

Tommy turned away from Barbara and approached Mimi. “I wanted to thank you folks for coming to Holly’s service this morning. I . . . I really appreciate it,” he said, his face still puffy and his eyes red-rimmed.

Burt rose from his chair and came over to Tommy, wrapping a paternal arm around his shoulders. “Both Mimi and I know what it’s like to lose a loved one.”

Mimi stood and wrapped Tommy in a big hug. “You’re family, Tommy, and we take care of each other. Please sit down next to Kelly and Burt, and let me bring you something warm to drink.”

Tommy hesitated just a moment before he allowed himself to be guided into the chair between Kelly and Burt. “Some coffee would be good.”

“I’ll get it for you,” Mimi offered, approaching Barbara, who was still hovering forlornly in the doorway. “Have you had anything to eat? I’ll bring some of Pete’s cinnamon rolls.”

Without waiting for Tommy’s answer, Mimi beckoned to Barbara as she headed toward the café.

“Some food sounds like a good idea,” Burt said, patting Tommy’s arm. “You’ve rescued enough fainting people to know how easy it is to pass out on an empty stomach, especially in a stressful situation.”

Tommy’s face relaxed a little. “Yeah, you’re right, Burt. I’ll try to eat something.”

“Is there anything we can do to help you, Tommy?” Kelly asked, wondering what had precipitated Tommy’s argument with his mother.

Tommy’s shoulders sagged and his head dropped as if some invisible weight had been placed upon his back. He clasped his hands between his knees. “I don’t think anyone can help anymore. It’s too late for Holly. I just want to find out who was the creep that gave her those narcotic pain pills that night. Holly had never used opiates before. She didn’t know how to handle them.”

Kelly wondered if what Tommy said was true. Had she taken opiates before and not told him? Holly’s behavior had shown her to be reckless, so in Kelly’s eyes all bets were off on Holly’s truthfulness.

“How do you plan on doing that, Tommy?” Burt asked, his expression turning serious as he leaned toward Tommy, hands clasped between legs, mimicking Tommy’s pose.

Tommy raised his head, his expression hardening. Kelly noticed the angry hunch of his shoulders now. “I’m going to start asking questions around campus. I’ll crawl through the party scene until I find people who were at that party the other night. That’s how I’ll find out who was passing out pills. There’s always someone at those parties who’s selling stuff.”

Kelly caught Burt’s gaze, and they exchanged a look of dismay. That sounded like a really bad idea to Kelly.

“Tommy, that’s not a good idea, and you know it,” Burt advised quietly.

“Yes, it is, Burt. If I can get in with those kids, I’ll be able to find out—”

“No, you
won’t
, Tommy,” Burt countered. “Those kids will clam up as soon as they see you. Most of them know you and Holly were together. And once they see you asking someone questions, the rest of them will head out the back door.”

Tommy’s expression turned anxious. “That’s okay. I’ll keep after ’em. I’ll track ’em down at class, and—”

Kelly had to jump in. Tommy was clearly losing it. His grief over Holly’s death was pushing him to irrational thinking.

“Whoa, Tommy. Do you realize how crazy that sounds? If you start showing up around the university, following students to classes and stuff, that’s the same as stalking. And if you try to get in someone’s face and make them answer your questions, well . . . someone might charge you with harassment.”

Tommy’s eyes popped wide. “What? You can’t be serious. I’m just trying to find the truth here.”

“Kelly’s right, Tommy. Right now, you’re living on no sleep and no food. Take a look at yourself in the mirror. You’re looking really ragged. If you headed over to the university and started hanging around students, asking questions, they’d probably call the campus police.”

“You’re exaggerating, Burt,” he protested.

“No, he’s not.” Lisa spoke up from across the table. She let the knitted scarf drop to her lap. “I’m taking graduate psychology classes at the university now, so I’m over there every day. And there have been different occasions when the police had to escort someone off campus because they were becoming a public nuisance. Pestering students to buy some product or hand out brochures on some society or some such.” She shook her head. “There are all sorts of folks out there who’re not exactly playing with a full deck. You’ve probably been called out to take some of them away yourself. And the last thing you want to do, Tommy, is to put yourself in their category. If you were charged with something like that, it would follow you. You might even lose your scholarship over it. Whatever little information you might learn wouldn’t be worth the risk you’d be taking, believe me.”

Kelly was impressed with Lisa’s calm and cool line of reasoning that she presented to Tommy. It seemed to work. Kelly noticed the light of recognition go off in Tommy’s eyes. Lisa had found exactly the right thing to say to penetrate the cloud of grief that had fogged Tommy’s thinking. Lisa would make a great counselor one day.

Tommy’s expression softened. “I hear you . . .” he said in a quiet voice. “But . . . but I’ve got to do something! For Holly’s sake.” His voice drifted off.

Burt placed his hand on Tommy’s shoulder. “I know how you feel, Tommy. But the best thing you can do for Holly would be to go back to your medical school studies in Denver. Keep your promise to yourself to become a doctor. What better way to honor Holly than that?”

“I agree, Tommy,” Lisa said. “You can do far more good by becoming a doctor and helping other young people like Holly. The forgotten ones. The ones who slip through the cracks.”

Tommy sat up straighter. Lisa’s words seemed to spark something inside him. Kelly could almost see it in his face.

“You’re right, I know you are,” Tommy admitted. “But I still hate to think that creep got away with handing out those pills that killed Holly. I’d just like to find out who it is.”

“Why, Tommy? You want to go up and confront him or something?” Burt asked in a stern voice. “That’s a worse idea than going over to the university.”

“No, no, no . . .” Tommy backtracked, clearly startled by Burt’s cop-like response. “I thought my buddies on the ambulance squad could go and have a talk with him. Nothing threatening, trust me. Just let him know that people die from stuff like that. We’ve done it before, and believe me, a real quiet talk changes some people’s minds real fast. When we talk to kids, they listen.”

Burt visibly relaxed. “That makes much more sense, Tommy. We’ve had guys on the force do the same thing on campuses.”

The atmosphere of helping sparked an idea in Kelly’s head, and in the spirit of the moment, she offered it. “Tommy, I’ll be glad to help by asking around. I’ve got some girls on my softball team who’re over at the university, and I can ask them to check into that party scene. And I’ll report back to you what I find out, okay?”

A tiny smile started. “That’s nice of you, Kelly. Thanks.”

“And I’ll ask around, too,” Lisa offered. “I’m over in classes with students all the time.”

Tommy’s color started to return as his shoulders relaxed at last. “You guys are great. I really appreciate it. Why don’t you start with Patty? She’s still taking classes over there. And she still goes out to parties, too. She’ll be a big help.”

“Will do,” Kelly promised, spotting Mimi coming toward the table with a big pot of coffee. Waitress Julie was right behind her, holding a large tray, laden with plates and several huge cinnamon rolls.

“It looks like everyone could use a pick-me-up about now, am I right?” Mimi asked, placing the coffeepot on the table.

“Right as rain, Mimi,” Burt said with a smile. “I’d say Pete’s cinnamon rolls are just what the doctor ordered.”

Kelly glanced around the outdoor café on the university’s main plaza. Located beside the student union, tables were scattered around the plaza and were filled with students and university staff relaxing, studying, and clustered in meetings. September’s balmy temperatures invited everyone outside into the mid-seventies warmth. Bright sunshine glinted off the glass-paned side of the campus student union.

Kelly sipped her coffee as she sat at the table. Patty sat across from her, her dark brown hair hanging straight across one shoulder, tied with a band. “Thanks for meeting me this afternoon, Patty. I know how hard it is to find time to juggle classes and work.”

“I’m glad to do it, Kelly. Anything that’ll help Tommy.” She sipped her diet cola from a can. “I’m so glad you guys were able to talk him out of staying here in town and going to campus parties. That’s crazy.” She rolled her eyes. “Nobody would tell him anything. Most of them know Tommy, and they wouldn’t admit anything even if they did see something.”

“Yeah, both Burt and I figured Tommy was so strung out on grief, he’d stopped thinking rationally. So . . . we kind of shocked him into waking up. Burt and Lisa really helped. Lisa’s a grad psych student over here, and she gave Tommy a verbal ‘snap out of it.’ ”

“I’m glad you guys talked some sense into him. I wouldn’t have been able to do it. Every time I looked at him yesterday, I burst into tears.”

Kelly leaned over her plastic coffee cup. “I know we may be on a wild-goose chase, but at least we can tell Tommy we tried. If we learn anything, and his friends can go out and talk to the guy, who knows . . . maybe that’ll help Tommy find some closure on what happened.” Kelly shrugged.

Patty nodded solemnly. “Yeah, maybe so. I’ll start asking around. I didn’t want to admit this to Tommy, but I was actually at the same party that night. I saw Holly there, but she was only drinking vodka when I saw her.”

That surprised Kelly. “You were at the party? Then you’ll know who else was there. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Tommy.”

Patty glanced up sheepishly. “Thanks, Kelly. I appreciate that. I used to do the party scene a lot heavier a couple of years ago, but, man . . . that will take a toll on you.”

“Were you around Holly much that night?”

“Not really. I saw her in the kitchen talking to some of the new buddies she hangs with now. And like I said, she looked like she was just drinking. I got my drink and went back out to the living room.” She ran her hand through her dark hair and flipped it off her shoulder.

“Where was the party?”

“Over on Washington Street, in one of those big old houses with a wraparound front porch. It’s two houses from the corner of Mulberry. The guys that rent it have had lots of parties there, so there’s always a huge turnout. And last Friday was great weather, as you know. Must have been in the eighties during the day so it was still warm at night. People were everywhere. In the front yard, backyard, all over the porch, and the house was packed.”

“Do you remember some of the people?”

“Yeah, I do.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a small notepad. “Let me start writing down names so I won’t forget. That way, whenever I see someone on campus, I’ll remember to ask them.” She jotted down a couple of names. “I’ve got classes with these two, so I should see both of them tomorrow.”

“That’s great, Patty. You’re bound to find somebody who was hanging around Holly.” Kelly glanced at her watch. This afternoon had been consumed with nonbusiness activities. Well intentioned, but she needed to go back to work. “Well, I’d better get back to my own schedule. Gotta get some work done that’ll pay the bills.”

“I hear that,” Patty said, gathering her backpack as she and Kelly rose from their chairs. “I have to go over to my job at the university catering service. We’ve got a big dinner to serve for some distinguished professors tonight.”

Kelly handed Patty her business card. “Here’s my card. My cell phone is there. Don’t hesitate to call me. I work out of an office at home and am in my car a lot, so I can take calls anytime.”

Patty studied the card as they walked across the plaza. Kelly noticed Patty was as tall as she was. “CPA, huh? So, you must be pretty good with all those numbers. I had to take an accounting course once, and it drove me crazy.”

Kelly had to laugh. “Believe me, I feel the same way sometimes. Listen, I’m parked at a meter around the oval, so I’m going to cut across the plaza. I’m serious about calling me, Patty. Anytime.”

“Will do, Kelly.” Patty gave a wave as both women walked in opposite directions.

“Carl
, you are not paying attention,” Kelly teased her dog. “You’re looking the wrong way.”

Kelly pointed across the yard where Brazen Squirrel was making a mad dash across the top of the chain-link fence, mouth filled with a ripe crab apple. Carl either read Kelly’s mind or detected the movement, because he suddenly looked in Brazen’s direction and took off running. Barking furiously, Carl charged into the fence, rattling the chain link. By that time, however, Brazen Squirrel was already out of Carl’s reach.