Double down, p.7
Double Down, page 7
He cleared his throat. “You might want to put some shorts on.”
“Hand me that pair on the end of the bed.” She sat back down on the chair and pulled the shorts up to her thighs, then stood and pulled them the rest of the way up.
“Much better if you want me to behave myself.” He motioned for her to walk ahead of him out of the room.
When they were seated on the couch, the bowl of popcorn between them and a romantic comedy playing on the television, she asked, “Did you find anything when you looked around outside?”
“Footprints alongside the house and where I think he was trying to go over the fence into the backyard. I’m pretty sure between the dog and donkey, and us showing up, he changed his mind.”
“He was trying to break into my house? Why?” Her head had started to clear. “We should call the police.”
Heath stared at her. “I am the police.”
“Yeah, but is Detective Dick going to believe you that someone was breaking into my place?” She grabbed her crutches.
“What do you need?”
“My phone. I’m going to at least call Quinn. This could have something to do with what happened down the road.” She shoved the crutches under her arms.
“I’ll get it, but I don’t think he’ll be any more interested than Detective Jones.” Heath dug her phone out of her purse and handed it to her.
She hesitated. What would he think with her and Heath cozily sitting here? Did she care what he thought? Anger pushed her to scroll and press the icon by his name. He believed she could kill someone she barely knew. He didn’t know her, and she didn’t care what he thought.
“Pierce,” he answered in a sleepy voice.
“It’s Dela. I was out with some friends tonight and when I came home Mugshot and Jethro were making a lot of noise. Heath went to check on them and a man ran out from the side of my house. Heath said there are footprints that show he was trying to get in.”
“Heath said that, did he?” Sarcasm dripped from his words.
“Pull your head out and listen. Someone was trying to get into my house. I have nothing to steal, why would they be trying to do that?” She was becoming clearer and clearer headed. The only reason she could think of was to plant evidence against her.
“Do you want me to come out there and take a look?” he asked, in a tone that stated he’d rather stay right where he was.
“I just want it to go on record that someone tried to break into my place.” She ended the call. “Asshole,” she said under her breath.
“That’s no way to talk about a federal agent,” Heath said, grinning.
She shifted to face him. “Why do you think someone was trying to get into my house?”
The grin disappeared. “Not knowing about the animals in the backyard, I would say he wasn’t a burglar. Otherwise, the place would have been checked out earlier, and he’d have known about them. I think the woman and man who left the bar, told someone you weren’t at home and that person came over here to leave behind something that would incriminate you more in the homicide of Paul Winter.”
She nodded. “That’s what I think, too.” She picked up the bowl of popcorn and set it in her lap as she scooted over next to Heath. “Any chance you can stay here all night?”
Chapter Ten
The following morning, Dela woke to the smell of coffee and bacon. She’d hobbled to bed about 1 a.m., leaving Heath to sleep on the couch. After using the bathroom and combing her hair, she swung down the hall and into the kitchen.
Heath was a welcome sight, flipping bacon in his bare feet and rumpled clothes.
“Good morning. What time do you have to be to work today?” she asked, picking up a cup and popping a coffee pod in her one-cup brewer.
“I don’t have to go in. It’s my day off. If you can take me home after we eat, I’ll change clothes and come back over here for your meeting with Marty.”
She studied him. “Are you sure you should know what we’re doing? I mean we are civilians trying to solve a murder. Don’t you have to report everything to Detective Dick or your Chief of Police?”
“I’m planning on telling the chief everything. As for Jones... I won’t tell him anything. Let him and Pierce discover they won’t find anything else against you.” Heath placed a plate of bacon and eggs in the middle of the table.
Dela glanced at the two eggs that had been flattened and cooked all the way through. Just the way she liked them. “You remembered.”
Heath sat across the table from her. “I remember everything. The memories of our times together are what got me through the tough times looking for my dad. And dealing with the problems at Pine Ridge.” He searched her eyes. “Are you ready for a roommate yet?”
She pulled the plate of food towards her. “I could get used to someone cooking for me.”
“You never have liked to cook.”
“You say that as if it’s a bad thing.” She smiled.
Heath laughed, and said, “I imagine that was one of the things you liked best about the military. You didn’t have to cook your own food.”
“It was one of the perks.”
A knock on the door startled them both.
Mugshot began barking.
“I’ll get it.” Heath stood and walked into the living room.
The only person she could think of who would be here this early would be her mom. She probably heard about Dela taking a mandatory vacation and came over to keep her company. But it wasn’t a female voice she heard.
Quinn strode into the kitchen. “Well, if this isn’t homey.” His face was blank but for the ticking of the muscle over his jaw.
“I didn’t want to be alone last night after we chased that man away,” Dela said, hoping Quinn stayed angry and didn’t look under the table. The thought of this man seeing her footless leg bothered her. He’d belittled her so much in Iraq that she didn’t want him to see a real flaw.
Heath walked into the kitchen with his shoes on. “Come on, I’ll show you the tracks.” He picked up a piece of toast and headed to the front door.
Quinn spun and followed Heath.
Dela let her breath out and sipped her coffee. She was no longer hungry. A huge knot had taken up residence in her stomach. Maybe he’d take a look at the prints and then leave. No sooner had the thought emerged than the two men walked back into the house.
Heath walked over and made a cup of coffee as Quinn took a seat at the table. “I need your statement about what happened.”
Dela began as Heath placed the cup of coffee in front of Quinn and sat back down.
“Who were you with at the restaurant?” Quinn asked.
Dela listed the names of the people.
Quinn’s right eyebrow rose. “I didn’t know you hung out with the people you work with.”
“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” She couldn’t help the retort. There had always been something about the man that made her want to battle him.
Quinn raised an eyebrow, and Heath snickered.
“What time did you come home?” Quinn asked.
Dela wasn’t sure. She glanced at Heath. He had only had one beer at the start of the evening.
“It was ten-thirty,” Heath replied.
The FBI agent narrowed his eyes, studying Dela. “You didn’t know what time you came home?”
“Molly bought me a drink. I didn’t realize how strong it was until I’d had about half of it. That’s why Heath drove me home. After we chased off the burglar, I didn’t want to stay by myself because of still being fuzzy.” She picked up her fork and played with the cut egg on her plate.
“Any idea who the person was that ran away from the house?” Quinn asked. “Or any description?”
“I didn’t see him,” Heath said.
“He was average build, had on a hoodie, dark-colored. He ran out from the side of the house when the porch light came on. Then onto the road and he headed south.” Dela shifted her attention to Heath.
“I ran out to the road when she told me he went that direction but I didn’t see anything.” Heath picked up his cup of coffee.
“South? That’s toward the crime scene.” Quinn studied her. “If it weren’t for the footprints, I’d say you were making this up to throw suspicion off of you.”
Dela wanted to throw what coffee was left in her cup in the man’s face.
Heath reached over, stopping her arm before she’d even flinched. He did know her well.
“I would never do that. My years as an M.P. trained me on how important evidence is to catch a suspect. I gave you my clothes and jacket. Did you find any of the victim’s blood on them?” She would turn the tables and question him.
Quinn had a glint in his eyes. He’d known she had planned to retaliate at his statement. “You know there hasn’t been enough time for the clothes to even get to a lab to be tested.”
“Was the victim cooking meth to sell himself or for someone else?” Dela asked.
“I would think you would know that since you trashed the equipment.” Quinn held her gaze.
“I didn’t go in the house, and I didn’t know he was making meth until you told me.” She peered back at him, steadily.
Her phone rang. It was in her bedroom. Dela started to pull her crutches up when Heath stood.
“I’ll get that for you.” He jogged down the hall and came back, handing her the phone.
It was Marty. “Hey,” she answered.
“I’m going to be late. Ummm... so will Molly. I never made it home last night,” Marty said.
Dela grinned. “I see. Well, there’s no hurry. I have company.”
There was silence. “Why don’t you text me when you’re alone.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She ended the call.
“Who was that?” Quinn asked.
“Marty. He wanted to let me know Molly would be late coming over to check out my new pet. It appears the two of them spent the night together.” She smiled, happy for her friend who had been in a bad first marriage. Dela met Marty when she went to work at the casino and had never seen or heard him deride or hurt anyone with words or fists.
Quinn studied her. “Why did Marty call you? I would have thought your friend would call.”
“That half of a drink I had last night that made me fuzzy? Molly had two and the last half of mine. I’ll be surprised if she even makes it out of bed before noon.” Dela glanced at Heath.
“Yeah, she was pretty wasted when they left the bar last night,” Heath added.
“Did you tell me the name of the place?” Quinn’s pen was poised over his notepad.
“The Rowdy Spur,” Heath said.
“I heard they have good food.” Quinn glanced up from his scribbling.
“It was a fun night out, given the mess my life has turned into,” Dela said.
Heath rose and started brewing another cup of coffee.
“Don’t you need to go to work?” Quinn asked.
Her friend faced the FBI agent. “Today is my day off. I know with a homicide you’d think I’d be needed but I was asked to take my two days off by Detective Jones. He seems to think he has this homicide all but closed.” Heath studied Quinn. “Are you feeling the same way?”
Quinn stared defiantly back at Heath. “I’m following the evidence.”
“The word of an old woman who may have lost track of the time she saw me fighting with Winter and when she walked over to check on him.” Dela slid her unfinished breakfast to the middle of the table. She would have stood and left the room but she didn’t want Quinn to see her stump sticking out below her shorts.
The Special Agent sat back in his chair. “She is a reliable witness. She stated what time she saw you fighting. It had been right as she had finished a television show she likes and was headed to the bathroom. She said you and the victim were struggling, you both went down, and she saw you standing with a knife in your hand.”
“Then she should have seen me walk to the shed, put the knife in there, and go catch Jethro,” Dela said. “If she didn’t see me put the knife in the shed then she didn’t stay by the window to see what happened.”
“How much time had elapsed from the time she saw the fight until she checked on the victim?” Heath asked.
Quinn stood. “I’m not giving you our evidence. And don’t go down there and harass the woman.” He stared at Dela.
“What about Mrs. Winter? Did she vouch that she’d asked me to go get Jethro and she’d told me that her husband wouldn’t be there?” Dela asked.
The muscle in Quinn’s jaw twitched. “She wouldn’t talk to me.”
Dela rejoiced on the inside. “Oh. Well, I hope you find someone she will talk to. She is the reason I collected the donkey. I was asked.”
Heath walked to the front door. “I hope when you and Detective Jones discover the real murderer, you’ll both personally apologize to Dela.” He held the door open, waiting.
Quinn glanced at Dela and walked to the door. Before stepping through he said, “For your sake, I hope you stay out of this investigation. If you stick your nose in, it will only muddy up the evidence.”
Chapter Eleven
Dela texted Marty as soon as the door closed.
“I’m getting dressed. You can use my car to run home and get some clean clothes and come back,” she said, pushing up onto her crutches. “We have work to do. I want to have a talk with Mrs. Swan.”
“We’ll have to be careful. After Quinn’s comment, I wouldn’t put it past him to have someone watching her house to see if you try to talk to her.” Heath picked up the dishes on the table and placed them in the sink.
“Do we know who her family is? And maybe her habits? We could talk to her someplace other than her house.” Dela had wanted to check on the woman’s mental state from the beginning. The time frame didn’t work. Winter had to have been killed a good twenty minutes to a half-hour after she’d left him for it to have happened after Heath had driven out to check on him and been called away.
“I do know who her daughter is. She works at the travel center. After Marty gets here, we can go talk to her.” Heath headed to the front door. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”
“I’ll be dressed by then.” Dela heard the front door close as she swung into her room.
♠ ♣ ♥ ♦
When Marty arrived, he was followed by Molly. Dela and Marty stood watching Molly check over Jethro.
“He seems to be in good condition. I’d say he’s about ten. You’ll have him for a good twenty more years if Mrs. Winter doesn’t take him back.” Molly released Jethro’s lips after looking at his teeth.
“Twenty years? I hope she or her son does. I’m not sure I want to have an animal I can’t take with me on trips.” Dela patted Mugshot’s head as they watched the donkey’s check-up.
The sound of another vehicle arriving had to be Heath.
“We’re in the backyard,” Dela called out.
The gate opened and Detective Dick stepped through.
Mugshot growled and Jethro’s ears went back.
Her home had become a magnet for law enforcement. “Can I help you?” she asked the detective who stared at the donkey and then Marty and Molly.
“I have some more questions. What is going on here?” Detective Dick asked.
“This is Jethro, the donkey Mrs. Winter asked me to get because he had run out of food and her husband wasn’t there to take care of the animal.”
“But her husband was there. Did he think you were stealing his donkey?” Dick pointed to Jethro.
“I don’t know what he thought. He attacked me before I could say anything. Once he was no longer a threat—”
“Dead.” Dick peered at her.
“No, not dead, holding his crotch. I haltered Jethro and walked him back here. Molly is checking his medical condition.” She decided to see if she could get anything out of the man. “Did you talk to the neighbor? Get times when things supposedly happened?” Dela watched Molly look at the donkey’s hooves rather than look at the detective.
“Mrs. Swan has given her statement.”
She glanced up. He was smiling. He wasn’t going to give her more than that. “What questions did you have for me?”
“We can go inside.” He motioned to the French doors leading into the dining area.
“I’d rather talk to you out here where I have witnesses.” She smiled.
Detective Dick frowned. “I want to know why Officer Seaver didn’t bring in the clothes you were wearing during the attack? FBI Special Agent Pierce had to make an extra trip to get the clothing from you.”
“Because you sent Officer Seaver here to collect clothing with blood on them, which he didn’t find in my house because I didn’t kill Mr. Winter. And while he was searching my house, I was sitting in your interview room, wearing some of the clothes I had on during the attack, talking to you.” She stared at him. He didn’t flinch at her being sarcastic about the clothes being in front of his face the whole time.
“Did Special Agent Pierce tell you about the person who tried to break into my house last night?” She studied the man. His eyebrows rose and the sneer on his lips puckered. “I see by the surprise on your face he didn’t. I called him last night and told him. Agent Pierce came by here first thing this morning for my statement. You might want to work more closely with the FBI.”
“Tell me about this supposed break-in?” He pulled out a book.
“I’m not going through it again. You can look at Special Agent Pierce’s notes.” She heard another vehicle. She hoped Heath didn’t come back here. It would only give this man more reason to keep him off the case.
It was several minutes before the gate opened and Travis walked through carrying some posts. “Hey! I didn’t know you were having a party.” He and Melvin carried the posts into the backyard and set them down.
“It’s not a party. Your mom is checking out Jethro. Marty came with her. And Detective Jones was just leaving,” Dela said.
The man glared at all of them and pointed at her. “Just because you have these people fooled into thinking you aren’t a killer, doesn’t mean I’ll fall for your innocent act.” He stomped over to the gate and disappeared.
