Michael and Maguire arrived at the constabulary at ten o'clock. The streets held several tourists who waited outside for the shops to open. Only two more shopping days until Christmas. And then I'll be through all of the holiday whoop-de-doo for another year.
"Excuse me," a woman said, nearly colliding with him on the boardwalk. She smiled, displaying attractive dimples on her smooth young cheeks. Dressed in a snug-fitting quilted coat with a fur hood, she looked directly into his eyes. At another time he might have taken her interest and responded with a bit of mischief of his own, but not this time. I'm not in the mood for flirting.
Hoping that she'd get the message, he glanced down at the boardwalk. Once he'd gathered his composure, his eyes traveled back up, where he noted a purse that she possessively tucked under her arm. He blinked. I think that's a genuine crocodile bag. Look at the gold clasps. Not like I'm an expert, but I remember women buying those in Chicago. Very classy and expensive.
Stepping around the woman and headed toward the constabulary, Maguire trailed behind. Once through the entrance he dropped the dog's lead. Maguire took that as a signal to move ahead, his tail waving from behind. He disappeared down the hall as Michael closed the door. This time he made sure it was securely latched.
Michael smelled the coffee, already brewing from the break room. I guess Janis got here early. He had appreciated the time at home, looking over his to-do list and preparing for the emotional upheaval the next couple of days would bring.
Christmas Eve would be the worst. But by the time he got to Meadow and Sage's house for breakfast Christmas morning, he'd be tired but ready to take on the rest of the year. The memory of Sage's hug helped. I do have friends. Maybe one day I'll tell them why I'm such a moody bastard over the holidays.
Hearing the door behind him open, Michael turned only to feel relief. Thornton, his hand firmly grasping Logan Tippett’s elbow, spoke up. "I think this guy is a day late for his interview." The teen hung his head.
"I'm sure Officer Jets will be happy to see Logan," Michael commented dryly. "And when she's done, I want to know how my state-of-the-art electric drill found its way under his bed."
Logan's head dipped further as if he felt contrite. It may be an act. Michael felt his jaw tighten. That's better. Don't let your weakness show. The kid could be a killer.
Janis Jets appeared in the doorway. She did not look amused. "Give me that kid," she told Thornton. Jets didn't wait for Logan to come closer. She walked over and to Michael's surprise, turned the kid around and clipped a pair of handcuffs around his wrists. "Logan Tippett, you are being taken into custody for not showing up when I asked for an interview, and for inconveniencing a police officer."
Inconveniencing a police officer. Is that a thing? Michael didn't let on that he doubted Jets’s tactics. Instead he watched as she marched him through the doorway. "You two follow me." Jets's voice came from around the corner. "I'm going to tuck Logan up in a cell. See how he feels about that!"
"Come on, Thorny," Michael urged. "I smell coffee. You can tell Jets what you know. We'll get to the bottom of this."
Thornton, Michael, and Janis sat at the table, and Janis had already pulled out her iPad. She looked over at Thornton. "So where did you find the kid?"
The big man sighed. "He's been at my house the whole time. Me and the Mrs. kinda took a liking to Elf Two at first. He seemed lonely and lovesick. I wasn't around much with my kids, when they were his age. At least I'd show up for Christmas. What kind of parents are they? So Logan, he reminded me of me when I was his age—awkward, girl crazy, and insecure."
"And Robyn, did she feel the same way?" Jets asked.
"Yah, she did. Robyn has a soft spot for kids. Even though she didn't want any of her own, she can't stand to see anyone take advantage of children, even teens. Especially teens. She didn't like the way Betty pushed him around and made him stand in that damned nutcracker for hours at a time spying on people. She worried that the kid might suffocate in such close quarters.
"I taught him how to drill holes into the nutcracker for air and for him to see. If you look carefully, each one of the big buttons has a hole drilled right in the center. Logan looked out from there, and it lets some air inside so that he could breathe."
"Sounds like workplace harassment," Jets mumbled. "Why didn't the kid complain?"
Thorny leaned forward, folding his hefty arms on the table in from of him. "Well that's the thing. We realized pretty soon that Betty hired us because she knew we wouldn't squeal. We noticed her side hustle the first day. It took some time to realize all of her employees were scared of her, and she'd threatened all of us so that we'd do her bidding."
"On the one hand everyone in Lily Rock has a side hustle to make ends meet,” Jets said. “Typical small town. But on the other hand, I get the feeling that Betty was blackmailing people, and that's not just a side hustle, it's illegal." She frowned.
"I know," Thornton mumbled. "But we couldn't say anything."
"What did she have on you?" Jets looked calm, but Michael knew she was onto something important. He'd realized in the other interviews, by watching her carefully, that her eyes gave her away. Her pupils pinpointed Thornton like a cat watching potential prey.
Thornton's mouth closed tightly. It appeared that he was not going to answer Janis's question. She waited but to no avail. So she opened her iPad and made a few notes. Once she finished, she looked up again. "If you're covering for Elf Two in there, you'd better come clean. Keeping quiet and not answering my questions makes you look very suspicious. I can arrest you for being an accessory to murder. Unlike inconveniencing an officer, that is a real thing." Her voice crackled, making the hair on Michael's neck stand up.
Thornton squirmed. "The kid has nothing to do with Betty's death." He turned to face Michael. "A couple of days ago he came to tell me that the bolts in the nutcracker boots had been removed. He asked me what to do, so I gave him my drill and told him to put the bolts back in. It happened a couple more times. As soon as Logan showed up for work he'd find the bolts removed. I had to keep giving him bigger ones so that they'd grip the wood."
"Why did he steal my drill if he had yours?" Michael asked.
"I have no idea," Thorny replied quickly. He looked away, over Michael's head, as if he were nervous.
"Didn't you wonder why the bolts kept being removed?" Michael asked.
Thornton looked back at Michael. "I thought it might be vandalism. I knew how everyone in Lily Rock was sick and tired of that all aboard announcement coming every hour for an entire week. I mean, Betty just ignored everyone's complaints. So I thought someone finally got sick of it and undid the bolts, you know, just to make a point."
Michael inhaled deeply as Jets typed into her iPad. She looked up at Thornton. "I'm going to write all of this down in a witness statement for you to sign. But I am warning you now. It's what you're not telling me that will bring you down. You are holding something back, mainly why Betty King hired you in the first place. She had something on you and I want to know what."
Thornton crossed his arms in front of his chest. He shook his head. "I just can't tell you. Not because I don't want to, but it's not my business. Robyn and I keep our financial lives separate. Things have been tight so I've taken over a lot of the bills. But I never ask her why."
A look of surprise came over Jets's face. She raised her eyebrows at Michael.
Did he just give away what he'd been trying to keep back this whole time… That Robyn had a financial problem but not him?
Jets nodded. "Keep your finances separate, you say?" She tapped the table with her fingers. " I'm going to arrange an interview with Robyn, just to see what she has to say about all of that."