“I guess that means we need to go for a ride.”

  Maggie rose and grabbed a lightweight jacket. “Good. I’m ready. I’m in the mood to bust a few heads.”

  Greg didn’t comment on her statement as he grabbed the keys from his desk and went to the door. Locking it seemed a little foolish since anyone could just push through the cardboard and get to their stuff. Mostly it was the computers. High-priced equipment that was easily attached to their emails. Not really safe.

  Outside in the morning sunshine, Greg took his time going to the car. Maybe they should walk. The air might do them good. But then again, they might get hit by a car. Not a lot of people seemed to want them around.

  A tomato smashed into the side of his car and slipped to the ground. Greg turned in time to see one of the Tremell brothers lean back in the passing car window as the vehicle sped away.

  Maggie jumped from the car. “What was that? Are you all right?”

  Greg sighed. “It was just a tomato. Hopefully, the acid won’t ruin the paint.”

  He climbed behind the wheel and pulled out onto the road. The sound had mimicked a gunshot. Maggie had every right to be concerned. They all had the right to be concerned. Life had sent them a curveball. One they definitely hadn’t been expecting. If they survived this one then he never wanted to leave home again.

  ****

  “Nice shot, brother.”

  “Good driving, brother.”

  Von beamed at the praise. He had completed an excellent throw. It would have been nice to do it while they were moving, but Horace had to slow down. Now they were sure to be caught. Wonder what the punishment for throwing a tomato at a cop car was?

  And despite telling Horace he needed to keep them off the police radar, he’d been the one to suggest tomato throwing. He wanted them out. Maybe this would encourage them to leave.

  “What now? I mean, we have all day left.”

  Horace was correct. They had all day to drive around and get into mischief. Their mother had said that was all they were good for. It wasn’t exactly true, but it was close.

  They had no goals.

  No job.

  No life, really.

  He’d tried to make a life with Ann Marie. Sure, she’d been too young for him. That hadn’t stopped her from being with half the county in some form or another. Of course, with him he only got a little bit of flirting. She was so pretty; he hadn’t really minded.

  He would have married her and made everything legit. Even with the rumors that she was carrying a bun in the oven. He would have made her bona fide. But she wasn’t into him like that. He’d told her so. In fact, after he kissed her, she’d smacked him and punctuated it a little more.

  “Stop your brooding. I’m sure we can find something to do.”

  “Why don’t we go home? We got chores that need doing.” The thought of not ever getting married and having no life plans sobered him like he hadn’t thought possible.

  “You want to go home and do chores? You feeling well?”

  Von felt just fine. He was just growing tired of the bad boy routine. Maybe it was time that he told Horace how he felt. He wanted to get out of dodge and start a new life.

  It was possible.

  Maybe…

  After this next baseball season when he got noticed he’d have all kinds of offers to leave. He had gotten himself put on the police team as a model prisoner. Of course, if he kept throwing tomatoes at officers, he would probably lose that privilege.

  There was the classic apology. That might work.

  “You really want to go home and do chores?”

  “I really do.”

  “All right then. We’ll go home.”

  Horace whipped the car around in the middle of the road among honking and swearing at other drivers. It came through loud and clear over them Bluetooth thingies in the cars.

  If he made it home, then maybe he’d take the time to tell Horace he was done. He wanted a better future. Surely, a brother would understand.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Nice to meet you, Chet Mahon. I’m Detective Ericka Stone. I-I’m working with the local police to solve the murder of Ann Marie Hudson. Since she was your employee, I just need to ask you a couple of questions.”

  Joey’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the ancient counter. “Of course. What do you need to know?”

  Ericka had questioned many suspects and just people in general, but this was the hardest questioning she’d ever had to do. Not long after arriving in New York and starting her new job, she’d been forced to go undercover with the Malone family. At that time, she’d thought she was in love with Joey Malone. He’d thought about taking her away and being with her forever until his father decided to give up a mob family and they’d had to be put into federal custody. That had ended any romantic notions.

  Why had she let him go?

  Because at the time she was still trying to find her family. Now she’d found them, and she didn’t have them either. How things had changed.

  “Um, I-I need to know did Ann Marie have a boyfriend?”

  “Several. Probably a different one every week.”

  “She talked about them?” Ericka shifted from side to side trying to make the questions flow naturally.

  “Yes. And they came in to visit her.”

  Ericka jotted down notes on a pad, even though she didn’t need them. Or maybe she did. She had a feeling that she wouldn’t remember any answer he gave after she left. She’d only remember how he looked. His dark, soft hair had been cut so that it was shaved around his ears and thicker on the top. It had a wave to it that she didn’t really remember. There was a sadness around his eyes that definitely hadn’t been there before.

  “Anything else?”

  “Oh, yes, do you know anyone that might want to hurt Ann Marie?”

  “All the girls on the cheer squad? I’ve never seen a cheer squad for baseball. But this town, this town, is crazy about the sport. Most of the clothes that we dry clean are baseball uniforms.”

  “Oh.” She should have had a follow up question to that, but her brain had stopped working.

  He reached across the counter and took her hand that held the pencil. He massaged a spot on her wrist. “How have you been?”

  She swallowed.

  “And what are you doing here? I know why I’m here in the armpit of the earth, but you, you should be in some classy place living in luxury. You should have your every whim catered to.”

  “Now you sound like Frankie.”

  He chuckled. “You mean Doyle.”

  “Doyle?” Her eyes widened. She knew that Frankie would hate that name. And he would hate working in a place like this even more.

  “Yup. It seems to have worked for him. He’s met a dozen girls. Of course, he never gets too serious. You know Fr— Doyle.”

  “What about you? Do you have a special someone?”

  Ericka felt her throat wanting to close with emotion.

  He reached out and cupped her cheek. A smile tugged at his lips.

  She should have pulled away. She wasn’t sure why she didn’t. But when the phone rang, she jumped two feet back like she’d been scalded by hot water.

  “I-I have to take this. Excuse me.”

  She put the phone to her ear. “Hello?”

  “Ericka, it’s Greg. We’re headed over to the local police department. They have information on the DNA that was on Ann Marie’s lips. Where are you?”

  “I’m at the dry cleaners.”

  “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. Did you find out anything useful to the case?”

  “Useful to the case, not really. I’ll fill you in later.”

  “Sounds good. Can you meet us at the police station?”

  “I can.”

  “And call Quinn. See if he’s coming in today. If not, I need someone on computers. We’ll have to call for some kind of New York backup. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can leave. I hope.”

  Why did that not set as well as it had just ten minutes before?

  “Will do.”

  “See you there. Love you.”

  She licked her lips and opened her mouth to reply but the line had gone silent. She was almost relieved.

  “New beau?”

  She twirled so fast she almost dropped the phone on the checkered tile floor. “It was Detective Kane.” Guilt filled her. Detective Kane, indeed.

  “Oh, he’s here too.”

  “We all got temporarily transferred here.”

  “That must have been tough.”

  She shrugged. “It hasn’t been easy.”

  “Have the locals mentioned the dry cleaners?”

  She looked at him. He looked nervous. She shouldn’t tell him. They were investigating them as well.

  “Why would they do that?”

  He shrugged. “Just wondering. When a new business comes into this town the locals seem to try to make waves to get them kicked out. We’ve watched several businesses come in and leave almost immediately.”

  “I see.” She paused. “Is the comic book shop new?”

  “Nah, that business has been around since before we came. I do know that they have illegal poker games in the back room, but they don’t do anything about them because Russ Thomas is one of the regulars.”

  “The police officer, Russ Thomas?”

  “Yup, the very one.”

  Ericka opened her mouth to say more but her phone buzzed her in hand. She looked at it and read the question about whether Quinn was coming. It was a group message with the question sent to Quinn.

  “You need to go.”

  “I do.”

  “Will you come back?” His eyes glistened with tears that didn’t fall.

  She reached over and grabbed his hand. “I want to.”

  He nodded. “I’ll be here.”

  She walked backward until she reached the door. The cab waited across the parking lot. She didn’t feel like climbing in the car with him. She looked down the road. The station was just across the railroad tracks. She needed the alone time. She needed to think.

  She leaned into the open window and handed him more money. “Thank you for waiting, but I think I’m good.”

  “If you say so, lady.” He snatched the bills, then he was gone.

  She lifted the phone and called Quinn. “You coming in today?”

  “Ericka, I don’t know what to do.”

  “I know that Fanny is upset. I know she left with Tristan. I don’t know where you are, but I’m going to the station to get the DNA results from your idea.”

  He sighed.

  “Do what you need to. But Greg wants to know.”

  “I’ve never really loved anyone like this before.”

  “I get it.”

  “Do you? It seems like you’ve had quite a few relationships over the years. None that panned out. Maybe it was because you thought of yourself and not them.”

  Ericka choked back tears. He wasn’t wrong.

  Look at Joey. She could have left with him. She could have lived her life with him wherever he went, but she’d chosen herself over him.

  Plain and simple.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. This is not your problem, or life, it’s mine.”

  “It is.”

  “I’ll call Greg.”

  “Very well. Good luck.”

  Ericka hung up the phone. She straightened her shoulders and sniffed back her tears. When had she gotten so weepy. It was a recent thing, she was sure of it.

  Sunlight struck the back of the metal sign announcing the police station. She just needed to make her feet walk there. She could do it.

  After she got this hiccup solved then she needed to figure out what to do about the Malones. The locals thought they were mobsters. Amazing how close they were to the mark.

  ****

  Greg peeked through the glass window of the police station and saw Ericka hoofing across the railroad tracks and headed their way. Behind her at the dry cleaners he could make out a figure looking their way.

  He narrowed his eyes as he approached the glass, but he couldn’t make out who was in the other window. Why they were staring at Ericka was also a good question, but one he had to table.

  The bell rang above the door as she pushed it open. He turned. Before he could speak, she blurted, “Quinn isn’t coming. At least not right now. But he said he would call you.”

  He nodded. He had considered that would happen. He’d asked Manis for a replacement but was told that since they were only working on this one case, they could just wait until they got home and then work it out. The fact that Quinn had abandoned them wasn’t going to look good when they returned, but he had to do what he had to do.

  Officer Emmett Bagger stepped from the back. He sauntered up to their counter and leaned on it with his full body weight. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  Greg started. “We got an email that the DNA from Ann Marie had returned.”

  “From whom?”

  “From the medical examiner or from Russ Thomas.”

  Ericka tensed at the sound of Thomas’ name. Greg would have to ask her about that later.

  “I don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. Can you show me?”

  Maggie pulled up the email on her phone. “See?”

  Glasses perched on the tip of his nose, Bagger scanned the email. “Wonder why this didn’t come to my office.” He handed over the phone and went to his computer. “Well, here’s your problem. That’s not a legit email from the medical examiner.”

  “Are you saying that was a scam?” Maggie’s voice rose to shriek level.

  Greg took a position between Maggie and Bagger. She was about to go postal on the guy, and he didn’t even notice.

  “Can I see your email?”

  Bagger stepped back and held out his hand.

  Indeed, the email addresses were different. However, Greg wasn’t convinced that it wasn’t true. “Is Thomas around?”

  “I think he went out to investigate a burglary. But he should be back soon.”

  Now there was a burglary in the town. He didn’t know whether to ask if they needed help, or just wait to be asked to do their job. For now, he kept his mouth shut.

  “We’ll wait.” Greg, Ericka, and Maggie plopped into the black faux leather chairs with rusted metal arms. The material caused them to slip against the back. He tried to scoot forward only to be sent backward again.

  He wanted to ask Maggie what happened to upset her. He wanted to ask Ericka why she made the face when Thomas was mentioned. None of that could be done in this office with Officer Bagger paying so much attention to their every move.

  Bagger lifted the phone to his ear then rotated his chair so they couldn’t see his face. They could still hear his every word.

  “Did you send an email about DNA?”

  Pause.

  “Why did you send it to them, you big dummy! We needed to figure this one out to get these people out of here.” Bagger rotated around and offered a smile.

  Greg kept his expression neutral. He didn’t want the guy to know they knew exactly what he was saying, and he was the big dummy.

  “Get over here and explain what this email means. And you better do a good job.” The phone sounded like it cracked when it struck the cradle.

  “He’s coming over.”

  Maggie said, “Who?”

  Good going. Now they would know who he was talking to.

  “The medical examiner.”

  Ah. So, he and the medical examiner were working to get them out of there. Really, it was the entire town but at least they knew now who was at the top of the ticket.

  Maggie and Ericka crossed their legs and got comfortable. He crossed his at the ankles and settled back in the chair. They didn’t have to wait long. The medical examiner popped into the office; his smile faded quickly.

  “Oh, you’re all here.”

  “Of course. You emailed us.”

  “I-I did.” He swallowed and looked at Bagger as if seeking permission.

  “Well go ahead and tell them. Not like they won’t find out now.”

  Dr. Rose redirected his attention to them. “Well, you see, I checked the lips like Thomas suggested…”

  Greg didn’t interrupt. That had not been Officer Thomas’ suggestion, but he’d let it slide. He wanted answers and justice for Ann Marie more than he wanted to be right.

  “And…” Maggie crossed her arms over her chest, letting her impatience shine through.

  “And… there were numerous samples on her lips.”

  “What?”

  “I mean, she’d been kissed multiple times since her lips had been wiped.”

  “Any names?” Greg wouldn’t question like Bagger. He just wanted information.

  “Well, there was Von Tremell.”

  “Von!” Bagger’s eyes widened. “He wasn’t at the party.”

  “While he might not have been there, but he had kissed her fairly recently. And, um, a number of unknown male samples that I don’t have matches for. And then, um, well, um…”

  “Spit it out, boy.”

  “Russ, Russ Thomas.”

  Officer Bagger’s swift intake of breath voiced how they all felt.

  “We need to get a warrant to test every male at that party,” Greg stated.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’ll work on that.” Bagger didn’t look happy about the situation, but at least he was going to help.

  “And you need to get Thomas back in here for questioning. He needs to tell us why he didn’t mention kissing Ann Marie.” Greg waited for Bagger to reply.

  Bagger nodded as he lifted the phone to his ear.

  The medical examiner came closer to them. “I’ll send you the official report as soon as I type it out. I’m sorry that I was so vague. I didn’t know how to well, you know—”

  “Say that Thomas was involved?” Ericka blurted out the question.

  Dr. Rose nodded. “Exactly. But now I guess it doesn’t matter. Plus, it seems that Ann Marie was on a kissing frenzy the day before she died. It’s very strange.”

  Then he walked out the door. Bagger retreated to a back room. Ericka leaned in.

  “We need to call the school.”

  “Why?”

  “Think about it. She kissed all those guys in one day. The baseball team was about to start the season, so they were celebrating. What if the school had a carnival, and—”