Ellie never did get the chance to have a mid-afternoon snack. By time the store closed at six, she was starving, tired, a little frustrated, but at the same time she had to admit that it was nice to have so many people in the shop. With the revenue they’d earned, they could replace the front windows in time for winter, which would save them quite a bit on their heating bill once it got really cold.
As much as all she wanted to do was curl up in bed with Beau and read a good book, Ellie knew there was one more thing she needed to do before she could relax. With what she had learned, she knew she would have to tell Will. Not only because it could help clear Dave Ainsley’s name, but also because not saying something about it could be considered withholding evidence.
The number was logged in her cell phone and Ellie took a deep breath before she dialed. As it rang, she wondered if he was at home or at the station and she found herself preferring the idea that he was still at the police station. There was something a little too personal about the idea of calling him at home.
Ellie was about to give up on the call after the fourth ring, but the call connected before her finger reached the button to end it. As Will said his hellos into the phone, she realized she wasn’t exactly sure where to start.
“Detective,” she began with a cough. “It’s Ellie, Ellie Reid.”
“Please,” he said with a laugh, “call me Will. Unless I have to arrest you for some reason, of course.”
“Sorry,” Ellie apologized. “But I learned something today and I think you should be aware of it.”
“You learned something?” Will said, his voice turning sterner. “Ms. Reid, I believe I mentioned that it can be dangerous to go around snooping and not just that, it could jeopardize our case.”
“I wasn’t snooping!” Ellie promised him. It was a little white lie, but it was also kind of the truth. She’d simply gone to buy a coat from Simone, it wasn’t her fault that Simone was a bit of a gossip. She explained that all to Will and at first he only replied with a heavy sigh.
After a minute, and a lot of nerves on Ellie’s part Will said, “An adoption? Do you know who the birth mother is?”
“No,” Ellie admitted. “But I really don’t think Dave would have killed Abbie right before they were set to adopt a child. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Perhaps,” Will agreed. “But you have to look at all the angles here, Ellie. What if Mr. Ainsley didn’t want to go through with the adoption and didn’t see another avenue out of it? What if Ms. Dietz has her information wrong? We need to investigate this, but off the record we’re bringing in Dave Ainsley to speak about his involvement in this mess.”
Ellie’s heart sunk. Having to be officially questioned, maybe even charged by the cops would destroy Dave and is reputation in town. She wanted to stop Will, but she needed more time to gather evidence.
“Please, give me some time,” she pleaded with Will. “Don’t bring him in yet.”
“Ellie, I’ve told you it’s dangerous to investigate,” Will said.
“I’m not going to do anything dangerous,” she promised him. “I just want to talk to someone first, okay? Can you give me until Monday afternoon?”
“Ellie, you know I can’t –” Will tried, but Ellie cut him off.
“Yes you can,” she insisted. “Monday afternoon. I’ll give you something to prove you don’t need to treat Dave Ainsley like a suspect.”
The phone was quiet for a second and Ellie feared she was in for a lecture, but she was wrong. “Deal,” Will sighed. “Don’t make me regret this.”
“I won’t,” Ellie promised him and she meant it. She wasn’t exactly sure how she was going to follow through with that promise, but she wasn’t going to stop working until she did.
“Who was that?” Ma’May asked as she entered the living room right as Ellie ended her phone call.
“Detective Murphy,” Ellie told her. “I think I might have some information that could keep Dave out of jail until the real killer is found.” With one look from her grandmother, Ellie knew she couldn’t say that without filling in the rest and she gave her the rundown of what Simone had told her earlier.
“Poor Abbie,” Ma’May sighed when Ellie was done telling her about the adoption. “Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse.”
“I know,” Ellie agreed. “I hate to change the subject,” she added. “But, um, what do you know about Detective Murphy?”
Ma’May’s face lit up at her granddaughter’s question. “Interested in the dashing detective, are we?” she asked and if Ellie didn’t know any better, she’d swear her grandmother was a fifteen year old girl, not a seventy year old woman.
“No,” Ellie insisted. “But if I’m going to keep investigating – with or without his permission – I want to know who I’m working with. It’ll help me know when I’m crossing the line.”
Ma’May’s face made it clear she didn’t believe her granddaughter. “Well, I’ve learned some things from the gossip I hear at euchre. From what I’ve heard, he’s in his early thirties, single, and moved here recently from Milwaukee.”
“I meant more as a police officer,” Ellie sighed, though it wasn’t the exact truth. She did want to know more about him on a personal level and it seemed like Ma’May was exactly the woman to find out more. While Ellie investigated the murder, Ma’May could investigate the man.
***
Monday morning couldn’t have come fast enough. Ellie had tried to get in touch with Lars Conrad, the only lawyer in Dundurn, before then, but like most nine-to-fivers he wasn’t available on weekends. She’d had no choice but to sit around and wait for business hours to roll around.
With the office closed she couldn’t even make an appointment to see him. Her only option was to go down to his office bright and early and see if he had a few minutes to talk to her before his first appointment of the day.
While Beau was a natural ice breaker, she decided to leave him at home for this adventure. She didn’t think Lars or his legal secretary would bar her from entering the office over her well behaved mutt, but she couldn’t be sure of it. If they did, she’d be out of luck and would for sure miss her deadline to get some kind of proof to Will that Dave wasn’t their man.
Ellie made it to the front door of Lars’s office right as his secretary, Jennifer Kline, unlocked the deadbolt. She was an older woman, well past the age most people choose to retire, but her eyes were still bright and she was an avid reader of sultry romances, all of which Ellie knew from the shop.
“Ms. Reid,” Jennifer greeted her as she entered the office. “I don’t think you’re on my appointment calendar for today. Can I assist you?”
“I was hoping to speak to Mr. Conrad,” Ellie told her. “I just need five minutes of his time.”
Jennifer pursed her lips. “You don’t have an appointment,” she said. “Mr. Conrad has an open appointment on Friday at four in the afternoon. I can pencil you in for that if you’d like.”
Friday afternoon was way too late. Ellie needed to move now and she wasn’t going to let Jennifer Kline get in her way.
“I’ll only be five minutes, I swear,” she said. “I just have a small question for him.”
Jennifer eyed her suspiciously, but then she sighed. “Fine,” she said. “Mr. Conrad’s first appointment called and said they are running a few minutes behind. You have five minutes.”
Ellie thanked her profusely as she backed her way down the short hallway to Lars’s office. The walls were all a dusky peach with white trim and the door to his office was bright white. With a rap of her knuckles on that white door, Ellie waited for a response.
“Come in,” Lars called and he was obviously shocked when he saw Ellie step inside.
“Oh, Ms. Reid, hello,” he greeted her as she sat down. “I thought my eight o’clock was with Carol Jones,” he continued as he searched through some papers on his desk.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have an appointment,” she said. “I just had a quick question. Spur of the moment kind of thing and wanted your opinion before I put in the time on it.”
Intrigued, Lars said, “Okay,” and let Ellie continue.
“I was wondering,” Ellie said and then took a big breath in, “what do you know about adoption?”
“Are you looking to adopt?” Lars said, his eyebrow raised in curiosity. “I believe I’ve heard you’re recently divorced.”
“That’s true,” Ellie said and she knew she was going to have to reveal a little more about herself than she usually enjoyed sharing with people if she wanted more information. “But I’ve always wanted kids. My grandmother had my dad at twenty and then my dad was only twenty one when I was born. Having kids young kind of runs in my family and I was hoping to join in that tradition when I graduated college, but it just didn’t happen for me.”
That was a bit of an understatement. She and Alex had gotten married not too long after they’d graduated college and then they’d started trying for a baby right away. After six months with not even a blip in her regular schedule she started to worry. After a year she went and saw a doctor. By twenty-five she’d gotten the confirmation that pregnancy just wasn’t something that was ever going to happen for her.
She’d been devastated and spent all her time researching adoption, IVF, and any other option she could think of. Alex had been less upset, or at least that was how he’d acted. He said over and over again that he was upset too, but he never cried like Ellie had, he’d never screamed into a pillow in frustration. He said he dealt with the pain differently than her, but a resentment had grown between them, one that they were never able to work past.
“Adoption is a lot of work,” Lars told her. “And can be quite expensive considering the legal fees and such. Is that something you’re sure you want to take on as a single woman?”
“Honestly?” Ellie asked. “I’m not sure. I was hoping maybe for your advice, or if you know any adoptive parents I could speak with?”
Lars scratched his chin before he answered. “I’m not sure if I can reveal that information,” he said. “I don’t think Stella would appreciate that, even if the adoption doesn’t go through anymore.”
Instantly, Lars’s face scrunched when he knew he’d said too much. Ellie fought to keep her face neutral, like she had no investment in the name or what he meant. If he thought she was going to go around blabbing, he might be keen to reach out and warn someone ahead of time.
“That’s fine,” she said with a soft wave of her hand. “I’m not sure I’m ready to take the next step anyway. I just wanted someone with some knowledge to give me a little feedback on if it is a good idea, that’s all.”
Lars relaxed some at that. “No problem, my dear,” he told her as he stood up out of his seat to lead her out of the office. “I’ll make a few calls and see if anyone might be interested in giving you some personal feedback.”
“Thanks, Mr. Conrad,” Ellie said with a polite, demure smile. “I’d really appreciate it. And thank you for taking time to chat with me.”
“Happy to help,” he told her. “But I believe my appointment is here. Have a great day.”
“You too,” Ellie said as she slipped out the door.
Carol Jones was sitting in one of the chairs in the front waiting area and gave Ellie a scathing look as she passed, but Ellie didn’t care. She had another clue to go on and her mind was racing with curiosity and excitement as she stepped outside into the cool autumn morning.
If not for Lars’s little slip up, she might never have even heard of the woman named Stella. Not just that, but he’d said something about the possibility that the adoption wouldn’t go through as planned. It was quite possible that the reason there was an issue was that the adoptive mother had recently passed away, which could mean that she was the woman giving up her baby to Dave and Abbie Ainsley.
And that could make her a suspect.
If this Stella had suddenly changed her mind about the adoption, maybe she had panicked and thought she needed to take drastic measures against the couple. Stranger, more violent things had happened in the past over children. It was entirely possible and that meant one thing. Ellie was going to have to find this Stella and speak with her in person.