**

  When Missy came home at lunch time to check in on Mattie and the girls, the nanny met her at the door, with a strange look on her face.

  “Shhh…” she told Missy, grabbing her boss by the hand and dragging her into the living room. Once there, she stopped short and pointed, putting a hand over her mouth.

  Missy’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Oh, that’s precious,” she whispered.

  Spencer was sitting on the couch, head back, snoring, with Jasmine cuddled in his lap, and Kaylee snuggled against his side. All three were sound asleep. Missy stifled a giggle and headed toward the kitchen to let them rest.

  “Well, it looks like swimming day was a success,” she laughed, once they were out of earshot.

  “The girls had a great time and after lunch they just passed right out,” Mattie nodded.

  “Spencer too,” Missy grinned. “Is there anything more adorable than a big strong man cuddled up with two tiny princesses?”

  “If I find anything, I’ll let you know,” Mattie smiled. “You were right about him. He seems to be a good guy.”

  “The best,” Missy agreed. “Now you can just enjoy his company.”

  “Well, that’s kind of a leap, but at least he’s not driving me as crazy anymore,” Mattie joked.

  “Baby steps,” Missy shrugged.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  * * *

  “So, it seems pretty clear who our main suspect is,” Chas mused, as he and Spencer went over the information gathered so far in the Brogan case.

  “But we have her on camera at work during the time of the murder,” Spencer pointed out, looking at the various timelines.

  “Unless she was fast enough to get it done and get to work on time.”

  “She would’ve had to have been there waiting for Hayley to leave in order to accomplish that and make it to the hospital when she did,” Spencer commented.

  Chas thought for a moment. “Hayley was the last person to see her father alive.”

  “Her interview was spot on, though. There’s no way. She’s grieving the loss of her dad, there’s no way she killed him,” Spencer shook his head.

  “You know as well as I do that perps often turn out to be the last person that you’d suspect,” Chas reminded him.

  “She had the opportunity,” Spencer conceded.

  “And the motive. Buster’s business went to her, not to Brenda,” Chas tapped the file folder with his pen, thinking. “Hayley’s name was the only one that Brenda brought up.”

  “But Brenda is a master manipulator by all accounts, who has reason to cast suspicion away from herself,” Spencer sighed.

  “Okay, we’ll we’re chasing our tails in circles at this point by building multiple credible suspects, so let’s talk about who we can eliminate as a suspect,” Chas suggested, frustrated.

  “Agreed. What about Heath?”

  “He answered my questions honestly and didn’t seem nervous, but that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t involved. I think there’s a strong possibility that he may have at least helped Brenda plan the murder.”

  Spencer nodded. “Or, maybe the two of them planned it and then paid someone to actually do it,” he guessed.

  “But whoever did it was someone that Buster knew. Someone whom he trusted enough to get close to him for the first shot. So, I doubt that it could’ve been a total stranger.”

  “Still, isn’t it worth at least taking a look at Heath and Brenda’s banking records to see if either one of them withdrew a large sum of money recently?” Spencer persisted.

  “Definitely,” Chas agreed. “The more evidence we can get, the better. Does Ringo have that stuff yet?”

  “I’m sure he does, I haven’t seen food being delivered to the control room for a couple of days, which means he hasn’t been working very hard. He probably has all of his reports ready to go and is sleeping at his station,” Spencer rolled his eyes.

  “You know what to do,” Chas reached into a drawer and tossed him a bag of crunchy cheese puffs.

  “I’ll be right back,” the young man sighed.

  **

  Ringo sat munching cheese puffs and sipping at a chocolate milkshake after he tossed a smudged file folder onto the desk in front of Chas.

  “The bank stuff all seems pretty normal, but wait ‘til you see what’s on pages four through nine,” the hacker smiled a secret smile.

  Chas, with Spencer looking over his shoulder, ran a finger down the lines of bank transactions for Brenda and Heath that Ringo had acquired, agreeing with the hacker’s assessment. There was really nothing remarkable there. Flipping to page four, he scanned the page carefully.

  “Check out the lines that I highlighted,” Ringo suggested, crumpling up the now empty cheese puff bag and loudly sucking the residue from his fingers. “There’s some interesting stuff there, don’t ya think?” he slurped from his milkshake, making Spencer cringe a bit.

  Chas looked at Spencer, who nodded his agreement to the unspoken comment.

  “Anybody up for Chinese food?” Ringo asked.

  **

  Spencer caught up with Hayley at the shooting range. The attractive young woman had a perfect stance and form. He waited until she was done firing and had stopped to reload before approaching her.

  “Hey, are you Hayley?” he asked with a smile.

  “Yep, sure am,” she gave him a puzzled look.

  “My name is Spencer Bengal, and I work with Detective Chas Beckett. Can I talk with you for a little bit?”

  “Sure,” she nodded, reaching under the ledge in front of her for her purse, into which she tucked the gun.

  “Nice pistol,” Spencer commented, as she followed him out of the building.

  “Thanks, it’s new, so I’m not really used to it yet. I figured with my daddy getting murdered and all, it was probably time for me to think about protecting myself.”

  “How long have you had it?”

  “Just a few days.”

  “Where’d you pick that baby up? I might want to take a look at getting one,” he commented casually.

  “Sport Mart over on Santaria Street. They have a really good selection.”

  “That’s what I’ve heard,” Spencer nodded, making a mental note. “I’d like to go over some details regarding your dad’s case with you, if you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind at all. I don’t know what help I can provide, but I’ll sure try,” she said earnestly.

  “Mind if I check your firearm before we get started?”

  Hayley looked puzzled for a moment, but quickly recovered. “No, of course not,” here you go,” she reached into her purse and handed the gun over, grip first.

  Spencer made sure that it was unloaded and that the chamber was clear, then handed it back. “Great, let’s get started.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  * * *

  “Detective, neighbors have called in to report activity at Buster Brogan’s house,” the dispatcher told a sleepy Chas when he answered his work cell.

  “Brogan’s house? We still haven’t cleared the scene,” Chas mumbled.

  “According to the neighbors, the crime scene tape is down, and the front door is open.”

  “Open?” Chas repeated in disbelief.

  “We’ve dispatched officers to the scene. They’re en route.”

  “I am as well, thanks,” Chas hit End and flipped back the covers, sliding out of bed.

  **

  “Anything missing?” Chas asked one of the forensics techs on scene.

  “We’re checking through the inventory right now,” the tech held up a clipboard. “But whoever came in here was like a bull in a china shop. We’ve got footprints, fingerprints, clear sign of forced entry. Someone was either trying to send a message with this break-in, or was just plain clumsy about covering their tracks,” he observed.

  “How soon before we can get some results?”

  “We’ll run the prints through the databases, both local and national, and get results to you first thing in the morning.”

  “Make it happen,” Chas nodded grimly. “I’ll also want a list of missing items.”

  “You got it, Detective,” the tech nodded and turned back to his task.

  **

  “Carl Christianson?” Chas asked, when a casually-dressed middle-aged guy opened the door.

  “Yep, that’s me. What can I do for you?”

  “I’m Detective Chas Beckett, Calgon PD. I’d like to ask you some questions regarding the murder of Buster Brogan.”

  “I didn’t know Buster, but I read about it in the paper. Awful thing,” Carl shook his head. “You wanna sit out here?” he gestured to two white Adirondack rockers on his porch.

  “Perfect,” Chas nodded.

  Carl padded outside, barefoot and sat in one of the chairs, while Chas sat in the other. “You caught me by surprise,” he chuckled, crossing his feet at the ankles. “I just finished breakfast with the wife.”

  “I understand,” Chas gave him a perfunctory smile. “Mr. Christianson, do you have a friend named Scooter Jones?”

  “I wouldn’t call him a friend, but I know him because we both work at the highway department.”

  “Has he ever been over here, to visit with you?”

  “Just once. We don’t really know each other that well.”

  “He’s only been over here once?” Chas confirmed.

  “Yep.”

  “When was that?”

  “Last Wednesday, right around dinner time.”

  “How are you so certain of the day and time?” Chas probed.

  “Because I have poker night with some of the guys on Wednesdays, so me and Jeannie always get pizza on Wednesdays. It was kinda weird, how it all worked out, Jeannie and I talked about it at the time. Scooter called up sounding all out of breath and kinda shaky. He asked if he could come over, and I thought it was weird, but I told him he could. Told him we were gonna order some pizza and asked if he wanted to stay for supper. He said he was at a pay phone in front of Burger Barn and that he had just eaten, so we only ordered enough for us. Then, when he got here, he was acting kinda strange, and when the pizza got here, he said that he was starving and he wanted some pizza. I was like, hey man, didn’t you eat already? And he says, nope, I didn’t have time. Now, he had just told me on the phone that he already ate.”

  “He called you from a pay phone?”

  “Yep. That was kinda weird too. I thought everyone had cell phones these days.”

  “Did he say why he was calling you from a pay phone?”

  “No, he didn’t.”

  “What time was it that he called you?”

  “It was right after five, because we always order our Wednesday pizza around five-fifteen. We’re creatures of habit,” Carl chuckled.

  “Did you notice anything about his clothing?”

  “He wasn’t wearing what he wore to work that day. He always wears overalls and t-shirts, but he was wearing one of them track suit kinda outfits. I just figured that’s what he changes into when he goes home,” Carl shrugged.

  “Has he ever mentioned Brenda Brogan to you?”

  “Not specifically, but I’ve heard him talking about her before. How he goes over and visits her when her husband isn’t home and how he takes her food and does her shopping sometimes. Sounded to me like she was leading him on and taking advantage of him, but who am I to judge. Each to his own, you know what I mean?”

  “You think he’d do anything she asked him to?” Chas asked.

  “Who knows? Seems like it though,” Carl nodded.

  “Does Scooter have a temper?”

  “Not that I’ve seen. Seems to be pretty mellow. Not too bright.”

  “Do you think he’d be capable of murder?”

  “I wouldn’t think so, no,” Carl shook his head.

  “Even if Brenda asked him to commit murder?” Chas persisted.

  “That I don’t know, Detective.”

  **

  This time Chas went to the work site to find Scooter Jones. The road sign holder was covered in construction dust, and there were plenty of rocks of the type that had flown through the detectives’ front window scattered about. Scooter was dressed in his daily overalls and t-shirt.

  Chas went directly to the foreman on site, and the foreman called over one of the workers. The three of them approached Scooter.

  “Scooter, Daniels is going to take your place here, cuz this detective needs to talk to you for a little bit,” the supervisor explained, raising his voice to be heard over the traffic.

  “I ain’t got nothing to say,” Scooter shook his head, his eyes narrowed.

  “It ain’t a request, Scoot,” the supervisor hiked a thumb back toward the side of the road.

  Daniels stepped forward and reached for Scooter’s sign, and the large man reluctantly turned it loose, following the supervisor and Chas to the side of the road, where it was both quieter, and much less dangerous.

  “Take as long as you need, Detective,” the supervisor said, giving him a little salute, before turning back to the project.

  “I ain’t got nothing to say,” Scooter repeated, as soon as his supervisor left.

  “Okay,” Chas nodded. “Then you can listen to what I have to say. I had a nice visit with your friend Carl a little bit ago. Remember how you told me that you went to his house a lot of times? How many times was that? Like a dozen or so?”

  “I don’t know, maybe?” Scooter refused to look at him.

  “Less than ten?”

  “Yeah, maybe seven,” Scooter agreed.

  “That’s funny, because Carl said you never came over to his house before last Wednesday.”

  “Maybe he don’t remember…” Scooter mumbled.

  “He also said that you called him from a pay phone in front of the Burger Barn. Why did you do that, Scooter?”

  “I had…umm…lots of quarters to use,” he fidgeted.

  “So, you used quarters rather than using your cell phone?”

  “I left my cell phone at home,” he shrugged.

  “Really? Because the cell phone locator records that I looked up tell a different story. They show that you had it with you when you made that call. You also had it with you when you were at Buster Brogan’s store right before that call, and when you were at Brenda Brogan’s house right before that,” Chas challenged, Scooter’s alibi falling apart like a wet paper towel.

  “I…no, somebody must’ve got ahold of it,” Scooter shook his head, blinking rapidly.

  “You called Brenda Brogan twenty-six times last Wednesday, why is that?”

  “We like to talk, I don’t know.”

  “Normally you only call Brenda four or five times a day, and interestingly, the calls stopped right around seven o’clock that night.”

  “So?” Scooter’s eyes darted left and right.

  “You also made a phone call to Brenda from that pay phone before you talked to Carl. What did you talk to Brenda about, Scooter?”

  “How should I know?”

  “Found your fingerprints at Buster’s house last night, after you broke in. What were you looking for?”

  “I wasn’t looking for nothing, I was just getting some stuff for Brenda and her key didn’t work, cuz Buster had gone and changed the locks on her.”

  “What stuff were you getting?”

  “Like, clothes and stuff.”

  “Brenda didn’t have any remaining clothing at Buster’s, it would have been on the police inventory. Do you realize how much trouble you’re in? You might want to start telling the truth Scooter. It’ll be much easier on you if you tell the truth, because right now, you’re under arrest for the murder of Buster Brogan.”

  The large man’s face crumpled as realization set in, and his reticence turned swiftly to panic.

  “Okay, but don’t do nothing to Brenda, alright? I done it. All she did was tell me to do it, and help me figure out how, so she ain’t done nothing wrong,” Scooter pleaded. “Don’t tell her I got caught, alright? She’ll be mad at me for messing things up.”

  “Brenda is being arrested for Conspiracy to Commit Murder as we speak,” Chas informed him grimly. “You should really be more worried about yourself. You have the right to remain silent…” he began, and Scooter started to weep, following Chas, like docile livestock, to his unmarked vehicle.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  * * *

  “But why did Scooter throw a rock through your living room window?” Echo asked Missy, wide-eyed as they discussed the arrest.

  “Brenda told him to. She said that it would scare Chas away from working on the case. I personally think that she was trying to set him up to be caught, so that she wouldn’t be blamed. Seems like he was totally willing to take the fall for the whole thing.”

  “Is it weird that I kind of feel sorry for the guy?” Echo said, swiping her finger through the dollop of frosting on the top of her cupcake and licking it.

  “No, it’s not weird. She was manipulative and used his feelings for her against him. It’s sad really,” Missy agreed.

  “I’m so relieved that Buster’s daughter wasn’t involved. She seems like such a nice girl,” Echo commented. “You think she’ll keep the furniture store up and running?”

  “I doubt it. Buster’s work was what gave that store its name. If she doesn’t find an amazing craftsman to replace him, probably the best she’ll be able to do is sell off the existing inventory.”

  “That’s sad. What a tragic thing all the way around.”

  “Definitely,” Missy nodded sadly.

  “On a more positive note,” Echo’s eyes sparkled. “Joyce and Kumar went on a date last night and today the two of them were laughing and catching each other’s eyes across the room. It’s absolutely adorable,” she laughed.

  “Joyce and Kumar?” Missy was delighted at the thought. “I never would have put the two of them together. He’s so polite and shy and sweet, and she’s a bold little dynamo, but yes, that is cute,” she agreed.