Chapter Nineteen
For the fourth time that day, I walked up the stairs to my third-floor apartment. I was absolutely going to count this as exercise and not worry one bit that I’d stopped at the kitchen on the first floor and raided my mother’s unending supply of snickerdoodles. I deserved them.
Opening my door, I was greeted by Peanut, who tried to jump up and almost knocked me over. I gently scolded her and told her to get down. She sat on her rump, then gave me the goofiest smile. I loved that dog and was so happy that in the end she was mine, even after the turmoil of how she had come to be in my house in the first place. I guessed I should have been thankful that she was used to living in tiny places, since my space was small and tight and quaint.
I maneuvered around her and put my plate of cookies on the kitchen table. After turning around, I showed Peanut that I had her treats, and as I knew would happen, Mr. Fleefers then deemed me worthy of a visit. When I’d picked up the snickerdoodles downstairs, I’d also raided the animal treat jar. This one was new, about three months old, and my mother was very pleased with her garage-sale find of a cat and a dog nestled together and napping in ceramic.
Hey, at least she hadn’t been bugging me too much about kids now that she had these two adorable children to spoil.
I handed out treats, then got down to business. After pulling my laptop over, I smiled when I saw the folder Max had put together of the information he’d been looking into at my request.
Nothing much on Jason Huntington, though. I was definitely going to pay him a visit and find out if he knew where Bethany was. She still hadn’t answered her cell phone. I was starting to get worried about her. She should have been back at work, and there had still been no word from her today. I wasn’t willing to fire her as a no-call, no-show just yet, at least not until I found out what had happened and why she hadn’t gotten in contact with us.
But Jason paid his taxes, was an upstanding citizen, was underpaid, and had never had any issues with the law. He was an outlier in the murder case, and I knew that, but I wanted info on all the players, and he was a player given that he had been involved with both Bethany and Audra at one point. From what I could tell, he didn’t have a big enough motive; however, that didn’t mean he hadn’t held a grudge about the way Audra dumped him and moved on so fast. Then again, he had moved on, too, so I almost had to be willing to cut him out of my investigation altogether. I wasn’t ready to do that, though.
But why would Jason have gone out to where Audra was working to kill her when supposedly she was no longer in his life, and why would he have chosen now? I made a note on the pad next to me to ask these questions when I went to talk with him. I was hoping to drag Max along with me just to be safe, in case Jason was the killer.
Then I had Bethany herself. I didn’t want to think she could have done something heinous like this, but why would she be out of communication for so long? What if Audra had been there with her the night she was taking pictures? Maybe that extra something in the picture wasn’t a wall but a hand or a piece of paper that had obstructed the camera lens. I’d thought about that on my way home from talking to Mama Shirley. I hadn’t considered the pictures in days, since I had so much else whirling through my brain, but if there was no missing wall at the mansion, then it had to be something else. I made another note on the pad, to ask Burton if he had been able to make any progress with the pictures I’d texted him at his request.
Which made me move on to Caleb. I didn’t want to look into him too much, because he was related to Letty, but his story could just be a convenient fabrication. He had known where Audra was around the time of her murder and had run when questioned by the police. I’d believed him when he said that he hadn’t murdered Audra, but I had been known to be wrong before and had to put everyone under the microscope.
And then there was Mrs. Petrovski. She wasn’t a tiny thing, but I didn’t think she would be capable of actually moving a body wrapped in a heavy carpet to the Dumpster. How would she have managed that, and why would she have done it? Unless she’d had help. But who would have helped her? Unless she really was part of some kind of central Pennsylvania underworld and had been able to call in one of her goons to make the move for her.
Another note went down on the pad, and I honestly didn’t know where to start. With Jason? But I wanted Max with me. Caleb? I wanted him to be last, so as not to irritate Letty. Bethany was not really on my suspect radar, and I could maybe find out about her from Jason. Mrs. Petrovski I was going to need help with.
Okay then, Jason it was. I’d start there and go on. I was nervous, to say the least. I didn’t mind asking the tough questions, and I wasn’t afraid to take people to task, but I also didn’t know these players well, hadn’t even met most of them before this whole thing started. Then again, I had thought I’d known the players before and had been totally wrong—in fact, I had almost drowned once and had been put on the train tracks, to get run over, like a character in a cartoon—so there wasn’t much to be gained by knowing people, anyway.
At that very moment, Max opened the front door, interrupting my train of thought. Peanut rushed to greet him, and of course, so did Mr. Fleefers, the brat cat.
But I stepped into the middle of all the chaos and offered him something better than panting dogs and purring cats. “You want to go start the inquisition?”
He smiled and kissed me. “I thought you’d never ask.”
* * *
We took his truck, just so that no one would know it was me, in case anyone was looking. With Preston in jail, I figured most people would think the murder case had been solved and they could go back to their regularly scheduled lives. Or at least that was what I hoped. I needed them pliant and unassuming, if I was going to ask the hard questions.
After pulling up in the apartment complex, we chose a parking spot that was between Jason’s apartment and Caleb’s, because if we didn’t get anything from Jason, then we might as well just check in with Caleb to see what was what.
I hadn’t heard anything from Burton after I texted him to find out about what had been found in the car that was in the parking lot or about the pictures. I had left Matt a message, too, but he’d texted me back that he was on the hunt for a drug dealer and couldn’t talk at the moment. Totally understood. We’d catch up later.
And again I thought, What did we do without cell phones? So much contact, so much availability. It wasn’t always awesome to be able to be contacted at any time, but right now I was blessing the cell gods and thanking them for everything I had.
“Okay, so when we go in, what are we asking about?” Max had a hand on the small of my back, following my lead but right next to me. I loved it.
“We’re going to ask about Bethany and find out if he knows where she might be. They’re supposed to be dating, and he’s the emergency contact on her employment form, so I at least have a right to be at his door, since he isn’t answering his cell phone, either.”
“Am I the silent partner? The heavy along for the ride, in case things get nasty?”
I laughed out loud. “Heavens no. You’re going to be right there beside me, and if there’s anything that you think we should ask, then go for it. You do this with money all the time. I don’t think this will be much different. Interrogating is interrogating.”
“I don’t know what you think I do, but rubber-hose interrogation is used only for special occasions.”
I tucked my arm into his elbow. “We’ll do just fine. I left my rubber hose at home, so we’ll just use our words.”
I knocked on the second-floor door and waited. I heard someone moving around inside, but no one answered the door. So I knocked again and called out, “I’m just looking for Bethany! I’ve been trying to call her, but she’s not answering her phone. I’m her employer.”
Still no answer, but more footsteps scurrying around. I was not above breaking the door down if he was doing something he shouldn’t be. Maybe Max would have to be my enforcer, after all.
I raised my hand to knock again, and the door opened, almost making me bop the man, who I thought must be Jason Huntington, in the nose. “Sorry about that, sorry. I’m just heading out.” He hopped on one foot while getting the other one into his sneaker. “I fell asleep, and I was supposed to be at the hospital thirty minutes ago. I’m sorry.”
He wasn’t wearing scrubs or some kind of uniform, just jeans that had seen better days and a T-shirt that looked like it had either been slept in or picked up off the floor.
“Are you going to visit someone?” I asked as he ran farther into the apartment, stuffing his keys and wallet into one pocket while he smoothed his wild hair down with his other hand. The guy was a mess, and I felt like I should keep him for a moment just to calm him down so he didn’t drive like this.
“Yes. Bethany. Sorry. I really have to go. I don’t want her to wake up, and I’m not there. She’ll be sad, and I can’t stand to see her sad.” He rushed the door, but Max stood his ground in the doorway and put his hand out.
“Slow down for a second,” Max said. “You’re going to end up in the hospital yourself if you don’t calm down and take a deep breath.”
Max could be authoritative when he wanted to be, and he commanded a room without being domineering. He was strong, intelligent, well spoken, and mine.
Jason stopped in his tracks, bent forward, and inhaled a deep breath. I wanted so badly to ask him what had put Bethany in the hospital, but I was trying to follow Max’s lead and let this poor guy catch his breath.
“Take another one, and take a minute to just rest. Bethany will be okay. She has staff caring for her, if you are going to see her at the hospital. You can make your excuses, say Tallie was looking for her and just wanted to make sure she was okay,” Max said.
“I’m just so exhausted,” the younger man said. “I’ve been doing this for days. I tried to sleep at the hospital, but I just can’t get comfortable, and I had no clean clothes. I’m not even sure if these are clean, but I overslept, and I want to get back to my girlfriend.”
“It’s okay.” I patted him on the shoulder as he straightened back up. “I’ll vouch for you, and from what I know of Bethany, she is not going to be angry that you’re a little late. She cares about you a lot. She wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”
“I know, but I feel terrible about the whole thing.”
Again, I wanted to ask what had put my employee in the hospital, but I felt that demanding answers right now would only backfire on me. But had he hurt her the same night he’d killed Audra? Had Bethany seen him kill Audra, and had he tried to hurt Bethany, too, but couldn’t bring himself to do it? Maybe he had killed Audra and had made assertions that he had just found the body, and then maybe something happened to Bethany, and now she had amnesia. I told myself to hold on a minute, because I was going to a far-off land, with no known facts, and that never did me any good.
“Why do you feel bad?” I asked.
“I was supposed to pick her up from that huge mansion outside of town, and when I got there, she was crumpled in her car, with her eyes closed. I couldn’t find anything wrong with her, but I also couldn’t wake her up. Her speech is slurred at the moment, because whatever drug they gave her at the hospital is still messing with her system, but they tell me she’s going to be okay now. Because they can’t figure out what precisely it is that affected her, they have to keep her for observation. The doctor couldn’t even have her system flushed. It’s been a huge mess and worry. But seeing me comforts her, so I don’t like to be away for too long.”
“Is that why no one is answering her phone?” I asked.
“To be honest, I don’t even know where her phone is or if she still has it. I rushed her to the hospital as soon as I found her, knowing it could take a while before Bethany’s friends or family got there. I’m a paramedic, so I knew what to do to make sure she was safe. I brought her to that hospital because, no offense to your West Shore hospitals, but I like that one better and my dad’s on staff, so I could make sure she was getting the very best care possible.”
That all made a lot of sense, but I wanted to see Bethany for myself. “Do you mind if we tag along for a visit? I really do just want to see her to make sure she’s okay and to assure her that we’re thinking of her. Her job will be there when she’s ready.”
He looked me over and shrugged. “Actually, she would probably love to see you. Your name was one of the first things out of her mouth when she came to the first time.”
“Does she know who did this to her or how it happened?” I asked. This information would, of course, be invaluable.
“We haven’t been able to piece together much of the story. From what I can tell, she said she was going to take pictures for you, and while she was doing that, someone must have drugged her and knocked her unconscious, and she went down. I think they dragged her down the stairs, because she has some bruising on the back of her thighs, and they must have stuffed her in the car. Until she’s fully awake, I don’t have much more than that.”
I needed her to be fully awake and answering questions. Jason’s cell phone rang at that moment, and he apologized, with a look, as he yanked it out of his back pocket.
“Yeah? She is. Okay. I’ll be right there. Is she crying? Tell her I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
He turned to us with his mouth set. “I really have to go. She’s awake and not crying, but she’s asking for me, and she’s scared. Why don’t you come with me? Maybe she’ll feel better for having seen you.”
“We’ll be right behind you,” I assured him.
We got there in record time. Obviously, Jason did not worry about getting pulled over by the cops like I did, and Max was right on his tail the whole way. Harrisburg Hospital had tricky parking, so we momentarily lost him in the parking garage, but we caught up with him at the elevators.
“Has anyone been able to tell you what drug they gave her?” I asked as Jason jabbed the elevator button thirteen times in a row. I put my hand over his. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I just want to get there.”
To make sure that Bethany didn’t talk to anyone and tell them Jason was the one who had drugged her? Because he wanted to figure out how to finish the job? Although why would he have brought her to the hospital in the first place if he had meant to kill her?
Sometimes I hated my own mind, as I was always imagining bad things about people who probably hadn’t done anything wrong at all. But I couldn’t take the chance, and I was in full amateur-sleuth mode at the moment.
Perpetrators, watch out!