An hour later, she was convinced she knew who had committed the robberies, and if she was right, who had murdered both Ian Miller and Jerry Lowell. But she wasn’t sure the evidence she could produce would convince the police. She thought Ian Miller had probably discovered the same pattern she had and had also wondered what to do. It was suggestive but by no means enough to convict someone. No more so than the fact someone owned a white-paneled van. But the suggestions were mounting up. She groaned aloud, leaned back and stared at the computer. What should she do now? Call Dan, of course. See what he thought. But the idea that she might be casting a shadow of doubt on someone who wasn’t guilty hung over her. Should she look for more evidence before talking to Dan? No. That wasn’t only silly but possibly dangerous. Someone had shot both Miller and Lowell. She didn’t want to be the third corpse. Besides, where else could she look? No, she’d tell Dan what she’d learned and then it would be up to him.
Only Dan wasn’t in. Agnes said so in a tone that seemed to end the subject.
‘Agnes, where is he? I need to talk to him.’
‘I have no idea. You know as well as I do, Mary McGill, that man never tells me anything. He and that rude policeman from Sacramento took off about an hour ago. I don’t know where they went or when they’re coming back.’
Agnes must mean he was with Eric Wilson. Were they questioning Marlene? Tommy? Talking to Mo Black? Or had something new come up? Frustrated, she tried to think what she should do next. Leave a message with someone? Not Agnes. She’d give Dan the message but she’d spend the next ten minutes trying to get information out of Mary about why she wanted to talk to Dan so badly. However …
‘Agnes, who is there? Gary? Ricker? Who?’
‘That cute Emma Baxter’s here. She just got off the phone. You can talk to her if you want. Mary, I never thought I’d see the day when I’d say nice things about any Baxter, but this girl seems to have some sense. Her grandfather never did and her poor mother was so worn down she couldn’t say boo to a goose. Why, one time …’
Emma. She’d talk to Emma. She managed to cut Agnes off when she paused briefly for a breath. ‘Let me speak to Emma.’
With a sniff, but blessedly no more comments, Agnes transferred her.
‘Emma Baxter.’
‘Emma, this is Mary McGill. I’ve been talking to John and Glen at the pet store and they told me something, then I got on the computer and I think … I’ve maybe …’ She was stumbling all over but she wasn’t sure what to tell Emma. She wasn’t sure she had anything real to tell her, but if she did … ‘Can you come over?’
There was silence on the other end. ‘You can’t tell me on the phone?’
‘I’d rather not. I need to show you. I’m not sure. Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions but I think I may have found what Ian Miller found. Can you come?’
There was no pause now. ‘I’ll be right there. I need to find a car.’
Mary didn’t pause either. ‘Millie and I will pick you up. We’ll come now.’
Mary could hear a soft laugh. ‘You must really think you’ve got something. I’ll be waiting outside for you. Oh. I have Ranger. Is that all right?’
‘Of course. Millie will be thrilled. Where’s Tommy?’
‘He had a meeting. Ranger wasn’t invited.’
The phone went dead. Mary stood up, headed for her purse and car keys then stopped. Millie was rolled up in a ball, under her desk, sound asleep. ‘We’re going to get Ranger. Aren’t you coming?’
Millie raised her head, saw the purse in Mary’s hand and raced for the door.