Part 24 (1/2)
”Highlight of my night,” Eve said. ”You think we can borrow that dog sometime. I'd like to introduce him to Nick.”
”Nice.”
”Jokes aside, this time, they're gonna book us, Mad.”
”Maybe not, if we give them the facts. All of them. Everything we know.” I pointed to my head and shook it, to remind her that my visions were off-limits for sharing with cops.
She nodded her understanding. ”You think they bug a detective's car?”
”Shut up.”
Werner opened the door and got into the driver's seat. ”You're lucky you're not in cuffs.” He started the engine.
We said nothing.
”Ms. Meyers, the only car we found in the woods belongs to Mrs. McDowell.”
”Lolique stole my car!” Eve wailed.
”Worse, she stole my rare Pucci bag. It probably sells for more than your car, because there are less in captivity. Your car you'll get back, but my bag won't be in it.” Neither will the councilman's sweater, dammit.
”I thought the designer was Gucci,” Werner said, looking in the rearview mirror. ”Not Pucci.”
I shook my head. ”You need to get your Pucci, your Rucci, and your Gucci straight.”
”Not if you set me on fire,” Werner said, ”but maybe I shouldn't be giving the two of you any ideas.”
”We're not criminals!”
”Let's see, I've got you for breaking and entering-”
”Entering,” Eve said. ”Not breaking. They ran so fast, they left the doors open. Check with the alarm company.”
We were under a streetlight when Werner nodded imperceptibly, which I wouldn't have noticed, otherwise. ”I found you,” he continued, ”in front of a safe talking about cheating Uncle Sam, and discussing a cape as if it were evidence.”
Holy sc.r.a.p! ”That was pure spec-”
”Save it for the station.”
”This is the station,” I pointed out.
”So it is.”
They questioned us separately.
For my part, it was easy to answer only the questions I was asked with the bits of truth we'd garnered. What Werner didn't ask, I didn't answer. The hard part was explaining why we'd speculated about embezzling and a cape.
”I can always tell,” Werner said as I tried to talk my way around the vision and all it entailed, ”when you're talking straight and when you're giving me the runaround.”
”We were only speculating about McDowell cheating the government.”
”That I believe. But Ms. Meyers mentioned that you had a cape.”
”I have a dozen capes. Eve's talking about the one I found in a donation box in front of my shop. Lolique gave those clothes to me. I think they belonged to the late Mrs. McDowell. I liked the cape and I was thinking about keeping it for myself, but I changed my mind. It's at my shop. Do you want it? Really, it isn't evidence. I brought you the quilt and rings, both solid evidence.”
Werner relaxed and steepled his hands. ”We know who the rings belonged to.”
I stilled. ”Good. Any leads on the case?”
”What makes you think they had to do with the case?”
”The unidentified bones that were in my storage room were wrapped in the quilt where I found the rings.”
His face a bit red, he did relax. Whew. He trusted me again. Maybe. ”We're going to get you and Ms. Meyers some first aid for your b.l.o.o.d.y feet.”
”Do you treat all your perps this well?”
”You're bleeding all over the place. The upholstery in my car will never be the same. And we're not too nice, because we're going to keep you here until we can talk with McDowell's alarm company. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any sign of an alarm system, and we don't want him to know we're checking up on him. Our clerk is calling a long list of area alarm companies as we speak. You might be here a while. Do you want to make a phone call?”
”No, thanks. I'm a big girl. My father won't worry. He'll think I'm at Eve's.”
”And her parents will think she's at your place. How long have you two been playing that card?”
”Pretty much since we were five.”
”Well, Ms. Meyers forgot. She made a phone call to her mother, who kindly delivered these.” Werner set my em barra.s.singly dorky alligator slippers on his desk in front of me. ”For after your feet are bandaged.”
”I left these at Eve's years ago,” I said, picking them up. ”I designed them in fas.h.i.+on school. Our a.s.signment was to make something creative with an alligator zipper.” I unzipped my alligators' mouths so their teeth would show.
Werner chuckled.
”I got the highest grade.”
”Mrs. Meyers also left you each a pimento cream cheese sandwich.”
”Yuck! Eve and I hate those. Just the smell tests our gag reflexes, and she knows it. The woman's diabolical.”
”She did seem to think you deserved whatever I had in mind.” His eyes twinkled as he stood and took my arm. ”Lean on me if it hurts you to walk.”
I carried my slippers and I leaned, while my stomach growled but I ignored it. It hurt worse on the hard floor than in the gra.s.s or on the rug in the McDowell house.
Werner saw that my eyes were tearing up and he slipped an arm around me.
”You're not going to carry me again, are you?”
”Not through the squad room, I'm not.”