Chapter 15

Rory spent the next morning catching up on work followed by a quick run into town for some errands. When she returned home and drove by the Kowalski-Palmer house, she spotted Tammy sitting in her car in the driveway. Rory went inside her own place and settled down to work. Half an hour later, she glanced out the window and saw the car still in her neighbor’s driveway with Tammy immobile behind the wheel.

Rory headed outside to make sure the woman was okay. She walked up to the driver’s side of the car and peered anxiously inside. Tammy sat back in the seat, hands on her lap, staring straight ahead.

Rory tapped softly on the closed window and called the woman’s name. “Are you all right?”

Tammy jumped in her seat and turned toward Rory, a vague expression on her face. She rolled down the window as soon as she realized someone was there.

“Rory, what can I do for you?”

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. You’ve been sitting in the car for at least half an hour.”

“Have I?”

Her eyes filled with concern, Rory said in her softest voice, “Are you okay?”

“Okay?” Tammy sighed. “Okay as I can be, I guess.”

“Can I help you with something? Take you somewhere? Run an errand for you?”

The woman stared down at her lap. “The grandkids wanted the stockings Mindy made for them. They’re not in the house so I thought I’d check our storage space and see if that’s where they are. But...I can’t seem to make myself go there.”

“I’ll take you if you want.”

Tammy turned sorrowful eyes to Rory. “Would you?”

“No problem. My car’s just across the street.”

“Drive this one. I’ve got plenty of space for boxes in the back just in case I find something else I want to bring home.” She got out of the car and handed the keys to Rory. They swapped places and were soon on their way.

“Where am I going?”

Tammy gave her an address within half a mile of the beach.

As they got closer to their destination, all Rory saw were single family homes, not the kind of area where a storage facility usually was located.

“Am I going the right way?” she asked Tammy. “I don’t see a storage place.”

“This is the right street. The place is halfway down the next block. We rent a room above a friend’s garage to store all of our decorations in.” She pointed to the driveway of a single-story house not unlike Rory’s own. “Here we are. They’re planning on tearing down the house some day. Until then they’re letting us rent the space for next to nothing.”

Rory parked in the driveway. Before getting out of the car, she peered out the window at the property. Three newspapers were scattered across the neatly trimmed lawn and a restaurant flyer was sticking out of the mailbox.

Tammy shook her head in annoyance. “The papers were supposed to be held.”

“Your friends are out of town?”

“They’re visiting family on the East Coast.” Tammy got out of the car and gathered up the newspapers before they walked down the driveway toward the detached garage. She dropped the papers in a box on the back porch and led the way to the side door of the garage. When she went to put the key in the lock, the door opened inward at her touch. “That’s odd. It should be locked.”

“Maybe Mindy forgot to lock it the last time she stopped by.”

“Maybe. But it’s not really like her.”

They cautiously pushed the door open further and listened for any sounds before walking up the stairs to the space above. When they got to the top they found the single four hundred square foot room in disarray. The contents of half a dozen boxes were spread across the wood floor. Santas and strings of Christmas lights mingled with Fourth of July banners and St. Patrick’s Day shamrocks. Off to one side photo albums and other memorabilia tumbled out of a small box.

“The place isn’t normally like this, is it?” Rory asked.

“Not as far as I know. Mindy was the one who usually came here. Every time I was here with her, it was all very neat and organized.”

Rory’s gaze fixated on an area off to one side. “Could Mindy have been coming here that day?”

“Maybe. Why do you ask?”

Rory pointed to a spot on the floor. “Is that Mindy’s phone?”

Tammy stared at it for a moment, then nodded. “Looks like it to me.”

They stepped forward. At the same time, they both spotted a tiny Christmas tree earring lying abandoned on the floor.

Tammy gasped. “That’s her earring. She was wearing it the last time I saw her.”

“I think it’s time to call the police.” Careful to touch as little as possible, Rory led the way back down the stairs. After she made the call, they waited silently in the car for the police to arrive.

  

Detective Martin Green came out from around the side of the garage and headed toward where Rory and Tammy were leaning against the SUV. A uniformed officer stood nearby, his face impassive.

“The door was unlocked when you got here?” Martin asked.

“The door was closed, but I didn’t have to use my key to get in,” Tammy said.

“Was it usually locked?”

“Always.”

He took a notepad and pen out of the inside pocket of his jacket. “Can you give me the contact information for the owners? I gather they’re out of town.”

Tammy pulled up the information on her cell phone and showed it to the detective who wrote everything down. “They’re visiting family in Pennsylvania or something like that.”

“Thank you. When was the last time you or Mindy were here?”

“I’m not sure. I hardly ever came, but Mindy was in and out, especially since she started decorating for Christmas. She must have been here Friday, though.”

“What makes you say that?”

“We saw her cell phone in the room,” Rory said. “At least we think it’s hers. We didn’t touch it. And there’s an earring on the floor I remember seeing her wear recently.”

“The earring’s definitely hers. She was wearing it the last time I saw her,” Tammy said.

“Did she have some particular reason to come here on Friday?”

“Maybe...I came here today to get the stockings she made for our grandkids. She was planning on doing that sometime. She could have stopped by when she was out shopping.”

“When you two were up there did you notice anything missing? Or anything out of place.”

Tammy screwed up her face in thought. “I don’t know. I’ve really only been here a few times. Once when we moved everything in. It was neat and organized when we were done. The other times we didn’t stay very long. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it as messy as it is now. In its current state, I’m not sure if I’d know if anything’s missing or not.”

“I may want to have you come back later after we’re done processing the scene to look it over in more detail. Is that all right?” Martin said.

“It’s fine.” Tammy slumped against the side of the car.

Rory looked at her with concern. “Do you need us for anything else?” she asked Martin. “I’d like to take Tammy home.”

“That’s all I need for now. I’ll let you know if I have any more questions.” He headed over to the side of the yard to make a phone call.

Tammy was about to get into the passenger side of the SUV when she stopped and turned wide eyed to Rory. “Do you think...is it possible...that this is where Mindy was...killed? That she came here that Friday and someone...attacked her? I know this is supposed to be a safe city, but random attacks can happen anywhere.”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“I saw those Christmas lights and all I could think of was them wrapped around her neck.”

“So she was strangled, then? I didn’t realize the cause of death had been released.”

“That’s what I was told.”

“Do you want me to ask Martin what he thinks?”

“Could you?”

Rory nodded and headed over to where the detective had just finished his call. “Martin, do you think this could be where Mindy was killed?”

“What makes you ask that?”

Rory glanced over at the car where Tammy was anxiously watching them. “Tammy wanted to know.”

“Interesting.” He studied Mindy’s wife before directing his attention back to Rory. “Maybe. Did she have any particular reason for asking?”

“She saw the strands of lights and thought maybe they were used to strangle Mindy.”

Martin’s gaze sharpened. “What makes you think she was strangled?”

Confusion washed over Rory. “Tammy told me.”

“That detail was kept from the press. Do you know how she found out?”

“I thought it was you.”

He shook his head. “I wasn’t planning on telling her about that yet. See if you can find out who mentioned it to her and when.”

“She also brought up the possibility that this was a random attack.”

“There haven’t been any such incidents in the city in recent memory. I doubt it was random. We’ll canvass the neighborhood and see if anyone saw anything.”

Rory nodded and headed back to the SUV. Tammy opened her mouth to say something, but Rory indicated with a wave of her hand to wait until they were inside the car. When they were on the road, Tammy looked over at Rory. “Well? What did he say?”

“He didn’t commit either way to this being where she was killed, but I think it’s a possibility.” Rory took her eyes off the road for a second to look over at Tammy. “Who told you she’d been strangled?”

Tammy sank back in her seat. “Someone. I’ve been in such a haze since...it happened that I honestly can’t remember who told me what. I’ve talked to so many people. Is it important?” A worried tone crept into the woman’s voice.

Rory gave her a reassuring smile. “Probably not.”

They sank into a silence that lasted throughout the short drive to Seagull Lane.

Before she headed back to her own place, Rory said, “Let me know if you need anything.”

A little unsteady on her feet, Tammy nodded and walked down the path toward her house.