“LET ME CHECK with Piper about Phil’s address,” Jay said. “She’s upstairs. Can you hang on another minute?”
“Of course,” Guy said. “Hurry, please.”
“Piper, do you know where Phil Kagan lives?” Jay yelled. “His home address?”
“You know, I don’t,” she said, running down the stairs. “If it’s not on his employment app … And he doesn’t socialize with any of the other staff, that I know of, so there’s no one else to ask.” She double-checked the records sitting in front of Jay. “We always either hand him his paycheck or send it to his PO box. That’s odd. Looks like we never got a street address for him.”
“Did you hear all of that, Guy?” Jay asked.
“Yeah. But you told me you required a street address on the employment application,” Guy said.
“Well, I guess we don’t. It really makes no difference to us one way or the other where an employee lives,” Jay said.
“Is Phil Kagan sick very often?” Guy asked.
“No, hardly ever,” Jay said. “In fact, come to think of it, I don’t recall a time he’s ever called in sick before or gone home sick from his shift, for that matter.”
“He’s due in tomorrow on the day shift, correct?” Guy asked.
“Yeah, he is,” Jay said. “What’s this all about, anyway?”
“We have some questions he needs to answer,” Guy said. “Leave the employee work applications in a folder at the front desk, will you, please? We’d like to take a look at them.”
“They’ll be there waiting for you.”
Guy ended the call and locked eyes with Claire. Anger penetrated the investigators. The nerve and shameless audacity of the day chef to walk into their room and persuade the housekeepers to hand over the two books—it stuck in Claire’s and Guy’s craws like nothing else had in a long time.
“Kagan must have heard me talking to LoLo on my cell phone this morning at breakfast,” Claire said. “He wanted to look at those books before we did.”
“Seems that way,” Guy said. “I’m curious why.”
“He knows something. Phil Kagan knows something about the murder. We have to talk with him.”
“Well, we’ll need to find him first,” Guy said. “Otherwise, we’ll be forced to wait until tomorrow.” He paused.
Claire look annoyed.
“I’m calling Jay back on another issue,” Guy said. He dialed the number.
“Jay, Guy here. I’ve got another question for you. It’s about your employee, Chaz Warner. Is he related to Sheriff Bell, by any chance?”
“He is. How’d you find that out?” Jay asked. “Chaz is his cousin’s kid. Chaz never mentions it, though. Doesn’t want the staff to find out I did the sheriff a favor by hiring him.”
“I figured it was something like that,” Guy said. “Thanks, Jay.”
Guy told Claire what he’d just confirmed.
“No wonder the sheriff conveniently forgot to tell us about Chaz’s past conviction. Makes sense now. He was trying to protect a family member. This is a small community, and that’s how things work,” Claire said.
“Let’s ask the other employees if they know where Phil Kagan lives,” Guy suggested. “We may get lucky.”
They hurried to the kitchen and asked the staffers on duty if they knew where Phil lived. Everyone said no.
Hazel Schroeder, the supervisor of the restaurants, threw her arms up into the air. “And what is it you want with Phil Kagan, I must ask?”
“Just want to talk with him,” Claire said. “No big deal.”
“Well, the man’s sick. Is that okay with the two of you?” Hazel asked. “Or is he not allowed to get ill? He left grabbing his stomach. Probably exposed us all to the flu.”
For whatever reason, Hazel certainly had an attitude that morning. She stomped off, but just before she vanished from sight, Claire observed Hazel pull a cell phone from her pocket and dart a look back toward the investigators.
“I’d be interested to know what set her off,” Claire whispered to Guy.
“Phil’s going home sick probably caused more work for Hazel,” Guy said. “By the way, was she wearing that ring on her fìnger today?”
“I saw her turn away from us when we entered the kitchen, and she thrust something into her apron pocket,” Claire said. “My guess? It was the ring.”
“Okay. Strange. Things are definitely becoming more complicated.”
“Or more intriguing,” Claire said. “Heidi’s missing. And now Phil Kagan cannot be located.”
“Let’s pay Sam Barlone another visit,” Guy suggested.
Claire nodded.
The investigators drove to Sam and Heidi’s trailer home. As with the first time, they found Sam working outside in the garden. He looked up when the 4 X 4 pulled into the driveway and walked toward them.
“I have to get these watered,” Sam said, pointing to the flowers. “Then I’ll be on my way to look for Heidi, although I have to tell you, I’m running out of places to search for her.”
“Still no word?” Claire asked.
“Nothing,” Sam said.
“Damn!” Guy said. “She needs to turn herself in before the patrol deputies find her and haul her in. It’ll look much better for her, believe me.”
“I realize that,” Sam said. “Her attorney calls me five times a day, asking if I’ve heard anything.”
“Think carefully, Sam,” Claire said. “Did the two of you ever fight or have an argument before you got married? One where Heidi took off for a while? Or did the two of you ever escape somewhere for a special night away?”
Initially Sam was silent. Then he said, “You’ve given me an idea. We once stayed at an inn in Kalispell. It’s a small place with only a few rooms, and it’s out in the countryside. I suppose there’s a chance she could be there. I’ll find the number and call the inn.”
“Don’t make that call, Sam,” Claire said. “That will tip her, and she’ll leave. Why don’t you go get little Ethan, and the four of us will drive to Kalispell and check it out. She won’t be able to resist seeing her son.”
“You don’t mind?” Sam asked.
“Not at all,” Claire said. “Go throw a bag together for Ethan. We’ll wait in the car for the two of you.”
Sam disappeared into the trailer. He reappeared minutes later, holding the baby secured in a car seat and carrying a tote bag over his shoulder. He climbed into the back of the Land Rover Discovery and secured the infant’s seat. After clamping on his own seatbelt, he announced he was ready to go.
The trip to Kalispell was only fourteen miles, and they were there in no time.
With Sam’s help, they located the inn and parked nearby. Together, they walked into the lobby.
“We’re here looking for Heidi Flynn,” Sam said.
“What an adorable child,” the female proprietor said, looking at little Ethan. “Let me check our registry. You said the name is Heidi F-l-y-n-n?”
“That’s correct,” Sam said.
“No, no one here by that name,” the woman said.
“Are you sure?” Sam asked.
“Positive.”
“She’s twenty-one, blonde, and has huge blue eyes,” Sam said.
The woman hesitated. “You said she has blonde hair?” Sam nodded.
“No. Nobody like that is staying here.”
“Check under the last name of Barlone, B-a-r-l-o-n-e, will you, please,” Sam asked.
“No one here by that name, either,” the woman said.
The group returned to the green 4 X 4.
Out of the blue, Claire shouted, “I just saw someone peering at us from around the side of the inn. She tiptoed off. Over there.” Claire pointed. “I’m sure of it. It was a young woman, and she pulled her head back when I saw her. Let’s take a look. Sam, you stay here with the baby.”
Claire and Guy bolted from the car and tore off toward the place Claire had indicated. No one was there. They ran around to the back of the building just in time to see the female ducking down into a thick wooded area.
“Come on,” Claire said. “It could be her.”
The investigators raced to the area and found a young woman, hunched down, crying. She turned her head toward them and looked up. Her hair was black, but her eyes were blue. And huge.
“Heidi?” Claire asked.
The young woman started to bawl. “It’s me.”
Guy helped her to her feet.
“You had us all worried,” Claire said. “It never helps to run away from a problem.”
“I was so afraid. I didn’t know what to do.” Heidi let out a cry of grief.
“Heidi, we have a surprise for you,” Claire said.
Heidi looked at her questioningly.
“There are a couple people waiting for you in the car, and they’ll be mighty happy to see you,” the female sleuth said.
Heidi ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the 4 X 4, and Claire and Guy shadowed closely behind. Sam flung the car door wide open and jumped out to embrace Heidi. He kissed her several times and wiped away her tears. Then she jumped into the backseat and kissed little Ethan over and over. “I’ve missed my boys so much,” she cried. “Thank you for finding me.”
The reunion was heartwarming.
“Whatever lies ahead, we’ll face it together,” Sam said. “But first, you need to turn yourself in.”
Heidi nodded.
“And even before that, we’d like you to collect your things from the room, Heidi, and have you check out. We’ll help you,” Claire said.
A shaking Heidi grabbed one of Claire’s arms and one of Guy’s.
“Let’s go,” Heidi said.
“I’ll wait here with Ethan,” Sam said. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and called Attorney Wilkes to let him know Heidi had been found. “We’re bringing her back to the detention center,” the relieved husband informed the also-relieved attorney.
“I’ll meet you there,” Attorney Wilkes said.
As Heidi, Claire, and Guy walked toward the inn, Claire pulled her cell phone from her purse and called Sheriff Bell. She let him know Heidi had been located and that they were driving her in to the Lake County Detention Center in Polson so she could turn herself in.
Minutes later, Heidi was checked out and all five were settled in the Discovery and on their way.
Sam looked over at his wife several times, taking in her new look. “I hope that hair color’s not permanent,” he said. He grinned.
Through misty eyes, Heidi laughed.
THE DETENTION officers at the Lake County Detention Center in Polson were expecting the arrival of Heidi Flynn, as Sheriff Bell had called ahead with a heads-up on the situation. Both the sheriff and Attorney Wilkes were waiting in the lobby when the investigators walked in with Heidi, Sam, and Ethan.
Heidi was immediately cuffed and led to a holding cell.
Attorney Wilkes announced that he would like a few minutes alone with his client, and he was led to the small locked room.
Sheriff Bell, Claire, Guy, Sam, and Ethan waited in the lobby. At that moment, Ethan started to bawl. His face turned bright red, and he started to hold his breath. Sam tried his hardest to console his son, but the crying only got worse.
“He wants his mother,” Sam said. “Nothing will stop him when he gets this way—unless Heidi holds him.”
“Give him to me,” Claire said. “I’ll bring him in to see her.” Claire walked over to the sheriff, explained the urgent situation, and pleaded to be led to Heidi’s jail cell. Sheriff Bell took a long look at Ethan.
“She’s only allowed one visitor a day, other than her attorney,” the officer said. “And only one at a time. But exceptions can be made for cause. Come back with me. If Attorney Wilkes and Ms. Flynn have no objection, I’ll allow you to stay with them. We need to find some way to quiet this screaming baby.”
The sheriff motioned to a detention officer and requested he accompany the female sleuth and Ethan to Heidi Flynn’s cell. Once there, both Attorney Wilkes and Heidi readily agreed to have Claire join them as soon as they heard Ethan’s cries of distress.
“I agree to this, Ms. Caswell, but I must insist that you continue to hold the baby,” the attorney said, “until I complete this interview. I need Heidi’s full attention.”
The child stopped crying the moment he saw his mother. Claire sat down next to Heidi so Ethan could see his mother and touch her arm. It seemed to pacify the child for the moment. Claire listened intently to the questioning.
“Heidi, I want you to tell me everything you know in connection with the murder of Blake Helms. Everything. Every tiny detail,” Attorney Wilkes said.
“There’s not much to tell. I didn’t kill him.”
“Well, then, please explain to me why your palm prints and fingerprints were found on the inside doorknob of one of the lodge’s front doors and also on the check-in desk’s countertop the morning of the murder, why an eyelash of yours was found at the scene, and why the bullets that killed Blake Helms came from a gun exactly like yours. I also need to hear about the juvenile burglary incident you had some involvement with.” He glanced down at the blue jeans she was wearing. “Also, I need to know about that missing rivet near the front pocket of your Levi’s. One just like it was found at the scene of the murder.”
Heidi swallowed hard. “I can explain all of it.”
“I’m listening,” Attorney Wilkes said.
“It’s a long story,” Heidi said. “You see, that morning—the morning Blake was murdered—my little son couldn’t sleep. He cried for hours straight, until I took him to the car and drove him around for an hour or so. I let my husband stay home and rest. He was so tired. Traveling in a car always puts little Ethan to sleep right away, and it worked like a charm that early morning, too.”
Attorney Wilkes took notes as she spoke.
“I had seen Blake Helms the afternoon before. He had come in to the lodge for an early dinner. I was working late, and I ran into him. All I said was hello to the man, and he started in on me. Yelled at me in front of the people I work with. He told me my rooms were not being cleaned properly. I couldn’t understand it, because I was cleaning them perfectly. We had a bad argument.”
“And then what happened, Heidi? Did you stop back at the lodge to see him in the early-morning hours when he was on his shift?”
“I did,” she said. For the next few minutes, she couldn’t talk as she battled tears. She reached for little Ethan’s arm and held on to it for a time. “I just wanted to ask him why he always picked on me. I wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with the man, just the two of us, with no one else around. I wanted to tell him how hard I work and always have. I wanted to tell him how well I clean the rooms. I wanted to ask him to stop embarrassing me in front of my coworkers. And I wanted to tell him to back off and leave me alone.”
“So you parked your car at the lodge, left little Ethan asleep in his car seat, and went in to confront the man?” the attorney asked. “Then what happened?”
Heidi contorted her face into an ugly expression, and she dropped her head. For a good three minutes, she did not speak.
Ethan had fallen fast asleep in Claire’s arms, and the sleuth’s attention was riveted on Heidi, awaiting her answer.
“Heidi, take your time. Tell me exactly what happened next,” her attorney urged. “This is critical.”
Heidi closed her eyes. “I walked a few steps into the lobby and did not see Blake at first. He wasn’t standing behind the check-in desk. And blood was spattered across the top of it, the wall behind it, and all over the area. The sofa and chairs had been ripped up and turned over. Pictures were not hanging on the walls. I didn’t know what had happened, but I knew it was something horrible. That’s when I looked down and saw his feet sticking out from behind the desk. There was blood all over, so I walked around it and over to the far end of the front side of the check-in desk, leaned over it, and looked down to see his body. He was not breathing, and he was not moving. I called out his name, and there was no answer. It was clear to me he was dead. Blake was covered in blood. He’d been shot to death.” She trembled convulsively with revulsion, clearly traumatized reliving the incident.
“What did you do next, Ms. Flynn?”
“I panicked. I ran out to the car and drove home as fast as I could. I cried all the way. I put Ethan into his crib, washed my face, and climbed in next to my husband. I never said a word to anyone. I thought they would think that I had done it.”
Her attorney scribbled notes. “When you leaned over the check-in desk, did you put your hands on the top of it to brace your body? And did you touch an inside front doorknob when you let yourself out?”
Heidi thought for a moment. “I did. My answer is yes to both of your questions.”
“That explains the palm prints on the top of the check-in desk and the palm prints and fingerprints on the inside door knob,” Attorney Wilkes said. “Also probably answers why your eyelash was found at the scene, and it even explains the blue jean rivet. That must have popped off when you leaned over the check-in desk and rolled. Now, what about that juvenile burglary charge?”
“I never did time on that,” Heidi said. “I was with a group of kids who entered a garage and took some things, and because I was in the car that transported them there, I got charged, too. I had no part of it. I didn’t even know they had been planning to do it. I stayed in the car the whole time. But I ended up getting probation. The kids had done some other burglaries in the past, and I got pulled into the whole mess, even though I was innocent. It’s not a good memory.”
“Another question. Why did you fail to show up for your arraignment on Thursday morning, Ms. Flynn?” the attorney asked. “I need to hear this in your own words.”
“I was just plain scared to death, so I hid,” Heidi said. “I did that as a child when my father was on a drinking terror. I’d hide until things got better. It’s old behavior, and I know it’s wrong, but that’s what I did. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you for being honest with me, Ms. Flynn,” her attorney said. “I have a few more questions for you. First, where is your gun?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t know. I always carried it in my purse. Sam told me to. In case my car would ever break down or some other trouble started and I needed to defend myself. Earlier in the week—the same week Blake was murdered—I noticed it was missing from my bag when I went to leave work one day. I haven’t seen it since. And my box of ammo was missing from my purse, too.”
“Any thoughts on who might have taken your gun, Ms. Flynn?” Attorney Wilkes asked.
“No. None.”
“Any thoughts on who might have wanted to frame you for the murder of Blake Helms, Ms. Flynn?”
“No.”
“Did you ever draw your gun on Rosie Flores?”
“No, I did not.”
“Okay, Ms. Flynn. I now have something to work with. I’ll see what I can do about getting you out of here. If I can pull some strings, I might be able to make it happen. But don’t plan on it. Oh, and by the way, what time did you arrive at the lodge the morning of the murder?”
“Probably about 2:45 a.m.,” Heidi said.
The interview had ended, and she leaned over and kissed the still-sleeping Ethan on his cheek. “Goodbye, my little man. Mommy loves you,” she said.
ATTORNEY WILKES, Claire Caswell, and little Ethan returned to the others. The attorney filled Sam and Guy in on what Heidi had divulged.
“This is all good, right?” Sam asked. “She’s explained everything.”
“Not really,” Attorney Wilkes said. “In fact, if you want my honest opinion, and I’m sure you do, things just got a whole lot worse.” He sighed. “Heidi has now admitted to being at the scene of the crime at or about the time of the murder. Add this admission to the following facts: her palm prints and fingerprints were the only ones found at the scene; her eyelash and a rivet from her Levi’s jeans were found at the scene; the bullets used to kill Mr. Helms are the same caliber as those used in Heidi’s registered gun, and most likely from her specific gun model, as well; and Heidi and Blake argued regularly.”
Attorney Wilkes took on a grave expression. “So, all in all, I’d say the case against her is solidifying nicely for the prosecution. We have only Heidi’s word that she didn’t kill Blake Helms, and that’s not enough. We need more. We need proof that she didn’t.” He cleared his throat. “If someone used Heidi’s gun to kill Blake Helms in an attempt to frame her, they got the added surprise bonuses of her showing up at the scene unexpectedly around the time of the murder and leaving behind her DNA and other evidence. The actual murderer must be out celebrating. He could never have dreamed up anything so perfect as to have all this extra circumstantial evidence piling up against Ms. Flynn.” He took in a deep breath and exhaled. “It’ll be difficult, if not impossible, to argue Heidi’s case successfully without something solid to back it up. So, in answer to your question, Sam, no, this is not good.”
No one spoke for a time.
“We’ll need to figure out who the real killer is—and fast—if we’re going to help her,” Claire said.