It was quiet in the lobby of the police station. Agnes, Dan’s receptionist, was seated at her desk, the buttons on her intercom silent, a paperback open in front of her. As usual, she was dressed in a light blue shirt and darker blue pants held up with a wide black belt. There was no insignia on the shirt. Agnes wasn’t any part of law enforcement but that wasn’t how she saw her position. Mary had asked Dan once if he’d ever considered letting Agnes carry a gun. He’d asked her if she thought he’d gone insane. Mary smiled and wiggled her fingers as she and Millie started down the hall to Dan’s office.
‘Mary, I think …’
Mary ignored her. She was in no mood to gossip with Agnes. She had some questions she wanted to ask Dan and, if she was lucky, she might get him to take her home. She knocked once on his closed door and heard a faint, ‘Come in.’ She did. Dan was in but he wasn’t alone.
‘Mrs McGill. How nice to see you again.’ Special Agent Wilson pushed back his chair and came toward Mary, hand outstretched and face creased in a smile. ‘I’d hoped we’d meet. I owe you an apology.’
Mary’s hand was encased in his and her arm shaken. Her instinct was to pull it back, but good manners and a firm hold by Wilson kept her from it. Millie, however, wasn’t restrained by either. She growled softly, but with meaning.
Wilson let go immediately. ‘Your little dog is a bit possessive. Probably a good thing.’ He took her arm, gingerly, one eye on Millie, and guided her to the chair he had vacated. ‘Sit here. We were just finishing up. But before I leave, I wanted to say I’m sorry about yesterday. I didn’t mean to be so …’
‘Aggressive?’ Mary suggested.
The smile this time wasn’t so broad. ‘That’s one way of putting it. I’m afraid the shock of Ian’s death had me a bit on edge. I hope you’ll forgive me.’
‘Of course.’ Mary glanced at Dan, who watched Eric Wilson with what she recognized as distaste.
A sound came from the person sitting in the chair on the other side of Dan’s desk, one Mary hadn’t noticed until now. A young woman sat in it. The sound could have been a cough, a suppressed laugh or a snort. Whatever it was, it wasn’t respectful. Mary glanced at her then looked back at her again. Hurriedly, Mary assured Wilson she had nothing to forgive, that she understood completely, but her attention was on the woman. Short-cropped blonde hair, slender, long, tapering fingers that ended in well-kept but closely clipped nails, large blue eyes and a thin, straight nose that turned up slightly at the tip. ‘Miss Baxter?’
The woman started and the smile evaporated. ‘How did you know …?’
‘That you’re a Baxter? You’re every inch a Baxter. Which one of the boys is your father?’
She grinned, a little ruefully. ‘Cody. When he heard I was coming here he said I didn’t have to worry about being recognized as one of the notorious Baxter tribe. No one in this town would dream a Baxter would end up a cop, let alone a state cop. Guess he was wrong.’
Mary nodded. ‘When your father and his brothers were in high school, most folks thought they’d end up in the penitentiary. Evidently, they didn’t. At least, he didn’t.’
‘None of them did. And you are …?’
‘Mary McGill. This is Millie.’ Mary gestured toward Millie, who sat by her ankle, inspecting the woman with what appeared to be interest.
‘So you’re Mary McGill. My father’s told me about you. You actually taught him to cook?’
A picture of Cody Baxter, spatula in hand, remains of fried egg on the middle-school kitchen ceiling, appeared in Mary’s memory. She didn’t get too many boys in her home economic classes but Cody Baxter had smilingly stated he needed to learn how to cook. She wasn’t sure he’d learned much about cooking but he’d enjoyed flipping fried eggs. She sighed. ‘I guess you could call it that. What is he doing now? And the other boys, how are they?’
The woman smiled. ‘My dad’s a dentist. Cam is a Lutheran minister and Casey is a captain with the California Bureau of Investigation. They’re all married with kids and I’m the only girl.’
The fleeting idea the Baxter brothers could somehow be mixed up in robbing jewelry stores evaporated. ‘How wonderful. You must tell your father – all of them – I said hello. How is your grandmother?’
‘In a care facility. She’s pretty far gone, doesn’t recognize any of us. It’s really sad.’
Agent Wilson had been listening to this with increasing displeasure. ‘I didn’t know you knew this town, Baxter. You should have told me.’
‘I’ve never set foot in it until we came last night. My father grew up here but we never came, not even to visit our grandparents.’
How sad. But, given that all three boys had left home as soon as possible, not surprising.
‘Your uncle is Captain Casey Baxter?’ There was an odd mixture of expressions on Agent Wilson’s face as he stared at Emma Baxter. A wary look overlaid with exasperation and something else. ‘Somehow, I never connected … You didn’t think to mention that, either?’
‘Sir, it never occurred to me. My uncle – none of my family – has anything to do with this case.’ There was exasperation in Emma’s voice as well.
A confrontation seemed to be building but was defused by a knock on Dan’s door. Without waiting for permission, the door opened and Sergeant Ricker appeared. He nodded at Mary, ignored the two special agents and addressed Dan. ‘The coroner’s office just called. Seems Sacramento doesn’t want them to do the autopsy on Miller. They want to, and they want the body sent up right away. Our guys need you to tell them what to do.’
‘Tell them to release the body right away, of course.’ The aggressive tone Wilson seemed to favor was back.
Dan sighed. ‘They still on the phone?’
‘Nope. Said you should call them back asap.’
‘OK. Wilson, I think we need to talk to whoever made that “request.” Mary, do you have your car?’
She shook her head.
‘That’s what I thought. It’s too hot for you and Millie to walk home. Agent Baxter, do you have a car?’
She shook her head but didn’t look at Dan. She watched Wilson’s face get redder. Why? Mary wondered. Because Dan seemed to be questioning the release of Mr Miller’s body to somebody else? She didn’t know how those things worked but it seemed as if there was going to be a dispute and Dan wanted her out of the way. Never mind. She’d find out all about it later.
‘Maybe she can drive me home in your car. She’d have it back here long before you’re going to need it.’
The corners of Dan’s mouth twitched. ‘Good idea. Emma … you don’t mind if I call you Emma?’
She shook her head again.
‘Good.’ He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a more than full key ring, removed a car key and handed it over. ‘Mary knows which car is mine. Thanks.’
The door had barely closed behind them before the sound of raised voices followed them down the hall.