“Talk to you later. Go back to sleep.” Dylan kissed me and left for an early Monday breakfast meeting with a client.
“Mmm.” I looked at the clock, saw it wasn’t even six, and caught sight of Smoky Joe following Dylan out of the bedroom.
“I’ll feed him,” Dylan said.
“Thanks.” I drifted back to sleep feeling nurtured and cared for. It was almost like being—no, I would not say the M word, not even in my mind.
When the alarm sounded an hour later, I leaped out of bed, eager to start the day. I hummed as I showered, dressed, and ate my breakfast. I babbled to Smoky Joe as we rode to the library—about the lovely summer weather and Aunt Harriet and Uncle Bosco’s upcoming Fourth of July barbecue later on in the week.
I hadn’t been in my office more than five minutes when Evelyn showed up. She perched on the corner of my assistants’ desk and crossed her arms. “Someone’s in a chipper mood,” she observed.
I shot her a sidelong glance then turned on my computer. “And someone’s making an early appearance. What gives?”
Evelyn shrugged. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by to find out if you’ve heard anything further regarding my brother’s upcoming visit.”
“Nothing since I spoke to Michelle on Wednesday.”
“Oh.”
She sounded so disappointed, I offered to call Michelle later to find out when he was planning to come.
“Thanks, Carrie. Much appreciated. Any new developments in finding Aiden’s killer?”
I pursed my lips. “Nothing concrete, but I’m sure learning plenty about the people in his life. Nurse Gwen claims she and Aiden were in love and he was planning to divorce Donna. She insists Aiden was not having an affair with Roxy but trying to get her back together with Miles, only that backfired and Roxy seems to have fallen in love with Aiden instead.” I finished with Roxy’s outburst at Aiden’s memorial service on Friday.
“So any one of them—Roxy, Miles, Donna, even Gwen—might be the murderer.” She shot me a sidelong glance. “Or Tommy.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me at all. But let’s not forget Aiden’s partner, Dr. Nick Gannon. Nick wanted to expand their practice to another location, but Aiden wasn’t keen on the idea.”
Evelyn made a scoffing sound. “That’s a reason to kill someone?”
I laughed. “By now you should know that people kill for all kinds of crazy reasons.”
“Unfortunately, you’re right.”
“Tonight Angela and I are going over to her cousin Donna’s house to check out Aiden’s computer, files, and papers. According to Donna, before he died Aiden spent several evenings holed up in his office going over … well, she’s not sure what, except that she’s pretty sure it had to do with his practice. It’s probably what he wanted to talk to Dylan about.”
“That sounds promising,” Evelyn said.
“Of course John Mathers searched Aiden’s office and might have discovered what was troubling Aiden. If only I could figure out a way to ask John what he found.”
Evelyn chuckled. “Though our police chief is a good friend of yours, you can’t very well ask him to share whatever clues he’s unearthed.”
“Sometimes he shares, but not always.” I grimaced. “Our exchange of information often goes in one direction.”
“How is Angela? She looked very pleased with herself when I saw her this morning.”
I grinned. “She and Steve are very happy. They had Dylan and me over for a barbecue yesterday.”
“And how are you and Dylan getting along?”
“Great.”
Evelyn’s ghostly blue eyes twinkled. “Yes. That’s the impression I’m receiving this morning.”
My cell phone’s jingle played, saving me from responding to her comment. It was Michelle. She sounded excited.
“Oh, hi, Michelle. I was hoping to hear from you.”
“My father’s coming today! I’m picking him up at the airport in an hour! He can only stay till Wednesday, but isn’t that wonderful?”
“It sure is!” I thought quickly. “Michelle, I was wondering—I’d love to meet your dad. I know you both have a lot of catching up to do, but do you think you could stop by the library sometime tomorrow afternoon? I would so much like to meet him.”
“Of course, Carrie. I don’t see why not. Especially since I’ve got you to thank for getting us together in the first place.”
Those can’t be tears in Evelyn’s eyes since ghosts don’t cry. Must be the reflection of the overhead light.
“That’s great! I’m looking forward to meeting him,” I said, ending the call.
“Oh, Carrie! I’m so happy, I wish I could hug you!” Evelyn said.
“But you won’t,” I said, shivering at the thought.
“Of course not. And now I must let you get on with your library duties. After all, that’s what you’re being paid to do,” she said as she faded away.
And leave me more curious than ever as to why you just have to see your brother Harold after all these years.
The rest of the day was quiet and uneventful. The pulse of the library had slowed down—probably because people took vacations in July and August or simply because it was summertime and they preferred being outdoors enjoying the warm weather. At any rate, fewer patrons attended daytime activities. Which could be why the library was closed on Sundays from Father’s Day through Labor Day. Whatever the reason, I was happy to have Sundays off for the next two months. Since the newsletter was taken care of, I looked in on the few ongoing programs, then concentrated on the dreaded monthly financial report that was due next week.
Angela had offered to feed me barbecue leftovers for dinner that evening, but I thanked her and drove Smoky Joe home. After having a light dinner, I started out for Angela’s place so we could go to Donna’s house together.
Steve welcomed me with a hug. I followed him into the kitchen, where Angela was ending a phone conversation.
“That was my mom,” she said. “She told me to thank you for investigating Aiden’s murder and to please let her know if you’ve found out anything new.”
“I only wish I had something worthwhile to report.”
Angela grimaced. “John called the house earlier today wanting to know where Tommy was since he wasn’t answering his cell. Mom got upset when John asked her to tell Tommy to call him ASAP but wouldn’t say why. Now she’s worried Tommy’s in trouble with the law.”
“You’re John’s good buddy,” Steve said. “Has he told you anything about the case?”
“Nothing.”
“Maybe we’ll learn something important tonight.” Angela kissed her husband and grabbed her bag. A minute later we were on our way to uncover what Aiden’s home office might reveal.
Donna greeted us at the front door, her finger to her lips. “Ssh! I just got the kids into bed. If they see you they’re going to want to come down and visit. I’ll take you to Aiden’s office, then go upstairs to read them a story.”
Angela and I nodded and followed Donna. As we crossed the hall, a young voice called out, “Mommy, hurry up.”
“Be right there, Liam!” Donna called back. “Pick out the book you want me to read.”
“Two books!”
“Okay, then let your sister choose one too.”
When Liam was out of sight, Donna let out a sigh. “How I miss my au pair Chloe. She flew home to France yesterday for a two-week vacation that was planned months ago. I’m counting the days till she returns.”
She opened the door to Aiden’s office and switched on the overhead lights. “I keep the door closed so the kids won’t come in here.”
And the shades are drawn as well, I noticed, glancing to my left at the two long windows facing the back lawn and, beyond that, the Sound. The wall opposite the doorway had built-in shelves filled with medical books and stacks of medical journals. Before it stood a large leather chair and a sleek modern desk, bare but for a laptop and a lamp. In the corner farthest from the windows stood two large metal cabinets.
A lounge chair and a magazine rack occupied the corner of the room to the right of the doorway. The wall facing the windows was covered with family photos and copies of Aiden’s diplomas.
“I imagine Lieutenant Mathers has already looked through everything,” I said.
“He had his IT guy go through Aiden’s computer along with every paper and file in hopes of finding clues pointing to Aiden’s killer. Everything’s back the way it was.”
I pointed to the file cabinets. “What did Aiden keep in them?”
Donna shrugged. “Records pertaining to the house and the cars. Old tax returns. There are files related to the practice—the rental lease, the partnership agreement. I glanced at them briefly. I’ll have to go through every one of them when my accountant comes next week.”
“You said Aiden was probably upset about something related to his practice,” I said. “Did he bring home paperwork related to the office?”
“I don’t think so. Why would he? Vera handled billing, payroll, appointments, and patients’ records on the computer.”
“Do you know if Lieutenant Mathers found anything helpful?” Angela asked.
“If he did, he didn’t tell me.”
“Mommy.”
We all turned as little Emma, barefoot and in her nightgown, opened the door.
“Feel free to look around—not at my tax returns, of course, but anything else.”
Donna carried Emma out of the office, and Angela and I got to work. “I’ll check the computer and desk drawers. Why don’t you go through the file cabinets?”
“Will do,” Angela said.
The desk had two drawers—a narrow center drawer and a right side drawer about a foot wide and two feet deep. The top drawer was crammed with pens, staples, paper clips, rubber bands, and a row of stamps—the usual supplies expected to occupy a desk drawer. I collected a few pieces of paper and Post-its, which I placed on the desk top. Two had a name and telephone number on them. The others were old receipts.
The side drawer was used to hold larger items. There was an address book, a current appointment book, which I pulled out to study, a personal checkbook, several empty file folders, and a few envelopes. I opened the appointment book, which Aiden had used for personal engagements. I smiled to see he usually drew icons instead of writing down words: A drawing of a molar on a page in early June—no doubt a dental appointment. Another had the outline of a car. Inside the car was written “oil, lube, tires rotated.”
I turned to the week in June when the poison had been administered. Three of the days before Angela and Steve’s wedding had dollar signs next to large question marks. Okay. That meant he was concerned about expenses. Home expenses? Expenses Donna was maxing out? Or expenses related to the practice? It didn’t say.
I turned to the week after the wedding. Monday’s icon was a stick figure in a deerstalker bent over a magnifying glass. Next to it was a phone number. I felt a jolt in my solar plexus when I recognized Dylan’s office number.
“Find anything?” I called out to Angela.
“I have the folder with a copy of Aiden and Nick Gannon’s partner agreement, along with a copy of their lease.”
“Anything else?”
“There’s a folder filled with printouts of services the office billed for the past four months.”
I walked over to take a look. “That sounds interesting.”
“Okay, but what does it mean?” Angela asked as she handed me the folder.
“Maybe Vera overcharged some patients and pocketed the difference,” I said as I rifled through the papers. “But Aiden hasn’t made notations. Without seeing his charts or whatever records he and Nick keep, we can’t possibly know if some expenses are bogus.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Angela said. “But why this folder?”
“I haven’t checked out his computer yet,” I said. “Maybe he created a document where he goes through these charges. But before I start, I’m going to need to find a bathroom.”
“There must be one close by,” Angela said.
I left the office and walked down the short hall and stopped at the first door. Sure enough, it was a small powder room—just large enough for a toilet, a small sink and a tiny stand that held a sprig of dried flowers. I was about to step inside when I heard Donna’s voice coming from the kitchen at the end of the hall. She was speaking to someone on the telephone. There was a secretive tone to her voice that made me curious.
“Really? That’s so sweet.” She laughed, a seductive, intimate laugh.
I edged closer to the kitchen, not wanting to miss one word of the conversation.
“Of course I’ve been thinking about you, but I haven’t—” Then sharper, “if you’ll remember, I recently lost my husband.”
Pause. “No, the police aren’t any closer to finding his killer. If you ask me, I think it’s my ape of a cousin. He was furious when Aiden decided not to put money in his movie. I told Aiden that Tommy was a loose cannon and he listened to me. My husband was brilliant but gullible. If I didn’t put a stop to some of the things people wanted him to invest in we’d be living in a hovel.”
So she knows more about the family’s finances than she claims.
Silence as Donna listened to her caller.
“Impossible. My au pair’s away, and I can’t leave the kids alone … No, you can’t come here!”
I peered around to catch a glimpse of Donna. She paced as she listened, her lips pursed. Finally, she said, “I can meet you tomorrow when the kids are in day camp.”
A smile bloomed. “I’m afraid that will have to wait.”
Pause.
“Until I let you know. Jeez, I just buried my husband.”
Donna cocked her head from side to side as her caller ranted. Finally, she said, “I’m sorry, but meeting at the museum is the best I can do right now. Unless you’d rather not.”
Pause.
“Of course I miss you.”
Pause.
“Me, too.” A little laugh. “Then shall we say eleven thirty, a half hour before the museum opens? We can walk through the grounds as usual. And I’m hoping they have a new exhibit of paintings.”
The conversation was winding down. I hurried to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face.
So Donna has a lover! Why was I so surprised? She was a beautiful, vibrant woman in her prime stuck in a marriage that had gone stale. Her husband had found someone else, why shouldn’t she?
The list of suspects had suddenly grown longer. If Donna had thought so little of her marriage vows, maybe she was the person who had murdered Aiden, after all. Or maybe her lover, whoever he was, had killed Aiden. From the little I’d just heard, he’d been the more eager of the two to get together.
They’d made arrangements to meet at a museum tomorrow. I had no idea which museum, but I intended to find out.
Angela’s mouth fell open when I reported what I’d overheard. I put my finger to my lips and quickly added, “I know. It’s a lot to take in, but we’ll talk about it later.” I was whispering, even though I’d closed the door to Aiden’s office. I didn’t want Donna to find out we knew about her affair.
Angela nodded. “You’re right, but my head is spinning. My mother used to call Donna and Aiden the perfect couple.”
The computer wasn’t password-protected so I was able to glance through the list of Aiden’s recent documents and downloads. He even kept a document labeled “passwords” so there was no difficulty getting into his personal files, his Facebook page, even his emails.
After a half hour of going through document after document, I gave up. “There’s nothing here that relates to the practice.”
“What about his emails?” Angela asked.
“There are a few to and from Nick in which Aiden tells Nick in no uncertain terms that he won’t even consider expanding the practice until certain issues are resolved—I have no idea what he’s referring to. Aiden writes in one of the last emails that he wants them to meet. Nick says sure.”
“Anything else?”
“There are email exchanges with Roxy. The ones from Aiden are short and supportive. Roxy’s fall into three categories: depression, anger at Miles, and excessive gratitude toward Aiden for being so caring.”
I turned off the computer, and we went to look for Donna. We found her in the kitchen, talking on her cell phone again. She gestured to us to sit down while she continued speaking. Finally, she ended the call a few minutes later.
“Sorry. That was my lawyer. I needed his input regarding a few matters and he filled me in on some others that require my attention.” She shook her head. “I had no idea things could be so complicated.”
What an accomplished liar you are, I thought as I spun out my own fib. “I’m sorry. I suppose Aiden took care of everything financial.”
“He did,” Donna said. “My accountant sat me down last week and started explaining things to me. At first it seemed like a jumble of numbers with all sorts of rules and regulations, but I’m catching on.
“Would you like some coffee? I’m eager to find out if you learned anything helpful.”
Angela and I exchanged glances. “Sure,” I said. “That would be lovely.”
Donna started a pot of coffee—regular, we all agreed—and placed a platter of cake on the table. “People have been so kind—bringing over casseroles and desserts. I have enough to feed the kids and me for months.”
When we were seated at the table, she asked, “So, what did you learn?”
“Nothing very new or revealing,” I said.
“Aiden printed out pages of office charges, but we have no idea why or what they mean,” Angela said
“I could ask Vera or Nick,” Donna said.
“I wouldn’t do that,” I said quickly.
“No, I suppose that wouldn’t be wise,” Donna said.
“Where’s Aiden’s cell phone?” Angela asked. “Then we’d know who he called and texted.”
“Unfortunately, the police still have it. I’ll be getting it back soon.”
I drank the last of my coffee and shook my head when Donna asked if I’d like more. “Aiden wanted to see Dylan, which means he was possibly concerned about something illegal. Is there any place where he might have hidden papers or a flash drive?”
Donna made a scoffing sound. “Why would he? Aiden knew I didn’t take an interest in the business end of his practice. Though I must admit, I once checked his email and read all those pathetic messages that Roxy sent him.”
Roxy. “Frankie mentioned that Miles asked you to intercede for him to try to convince Roxy to give him another chance,” I said.
Donna raised her eyebrows. “She did, did she? My little sister should learn not to talk about things that don’t concern her.”
“Come on, Donna, the family’s worried about Roxy,” Angela said. “From what I’ve heard, she was very happy when she was married to Miles.”
“Miles is a great guy,” Donna said, frowning. “Aiden considered him his best friend. He’s generous and supportive, but though he claimed to love Roxy, he ran around.”
“I didn’t know that at the time,” Angela said, “but then I wasn’t close to Roxy.” She thought a minute. “Did you know?”
Donna shrugged. “I guess. Aiden knew and one day it slipped out.”
“How did Roxy find out?” I asked.
Donna gnawed at her lower lip. “I thought she should know what her husband was up to.”
So Donna told Roxy and Roxy divorced Miles and turned to Aiden. “Did Roxy resent you?” I asked.
“Of course not! Why should she? I only told her what she had a right to know.”
Time to change the subject. “Donna, please think. Aiden was worried about something, and it might very well be connected to the practice, but we didn’t find any evidence of it in his office. Where would Aiden put something he didn’t want anyone to see?”
Donna threw up her hands. “I have no idea.”
“Let’s try to figure this out. Aiden was planning to call Dylan a day or two after Angela’s wedding and probably set up an appointment. Could he have put a folder or papers in a brief case and left it in his car?”
“We can check, though I think Lieutenant Mathers examined both cars.”
We went into the garage and looked through Aiden’s Lexus. There was no sign of a large envelope or briefcase that could hold a folder.
“What about a flash drive?” Angela asked.
“He used them occasionally,” Donna said. “He said this way he didn’t have to clog up his computer.”
Now she tells us! “Let’s check the pockets and crannies in the car,” I said.
The three of us looked for a small flash drive in every possible compartment. We even checked the ashtray. No flash drive.
“Sometimes he kept one on his key chain,” Donna said.
“Where are his keys?”
Back in the house, Donna led us to the front hall. She stuck her hand in the small bowl on the narrow table and pulled out a bunch of keys. On the ring was the very thing we’d hoped to find.
“Finally!” I said, holding up the flash drive. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”