Crowned and Moldering

Her eyes widened. “You knew her? Who was she?”

“A friend from school. She was really sweet and very talented. And really pretty, too. We all thought she ran away because her dad was such an awful man. But apparently she didn’t run away.”

Callie frowned and I could see she was thinking about all of this and getting more and more upset. “That’s so sad. How will Uncle Mac live out there, knowing that someone died inside his house?”

“How well do you know your Uncle Mac?” I asked lightly, hoping to defuse her fear. “You must know that he loves all that macabre stuff. In fact, he’s thinking of writing an article about the bones for a magazine.”

She smiled a little. “That does sound like Uncle Mac. Okay, I won’t worry about him too much, then.”

The program started up again and the conversation ended. When the show was over, I offered to let Callie stay with me in the house if she didn’t feel comfortable in the garage apartment. “I have a couple of bedrooms upstairs and there’s a big bathroom, too.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be okay in the apartment.” She slipped her feet back into her shoes and stood. “Uncle Mac is right next door and he might miss me.”

I chuckled and stood, too. “I know he would definitely miss you.”

I walked her out of the house and up the stairs, just to make sure she felt safe. Then I gave her a hug and waited on the balcony until I heard her door lock. “Sweet dreams.”

Mac’s door opened and he glanced out. Despite a serious case of bedhead and drowsy eyes, he looked completely awesome and outrageously attractive in boxers with no shirt. “Hey, Irish.”

“Hi, Mac. Callie and I were watching TV. I just walked her back to her room.”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” he whispered. “G’night.”

*   *   *

Tuesday morning, I was mooning around the kitchen, thinking about Mac’s words the night before. He’d never called me sweetheart. Did it mean anything? Probably not. He’d been half asleep, after all. Truth be told, he’d been more like three-quarters of the way asleep. So I would be stupid to believe the endearment had come from his heart. The word had, nonetheless, given me a cozy feeling that kept me warm all night.

“Does that make me a fool?” I asked Tiger, as the pretty orange cat wrapped herself around my foot. I picked her up and held her close, listening to the sound of her intense purring.

I went with yes. “Yes, I’m a fool,” I muttered into Tiger’s soft neck. And, yes, I had better things to do than flounce around the house, worrying about such dumb things. Today was the first day on the parking-lot job. I needed to be fully awake and alert.

The phone rang loudly and Tiger jumped out of my arms. Robbie barked, as if demanding to know who was calling so early. I agreed with him.

I grabbed it before the noisy thing could ring again.

“Hello?”

“It’s Chief Jensen,” he said gruffly, then softened his tone. “I mean, it’s Eric. Hi, Sha

“Hi, Eric.” I held the phone between my ear and shoulder and poured myself a second cup of coffee. “What’s up?”

“Can you . . . that is, are you available for a consultation?”

I smiled at the difficulty he seemed to have when asking me for help. “Of course. Did you want to come over?”

“No. I need you to come to police headquarters. The sooner, the better.”

Chapter Ten

Eric was on the phone when I arrived at his office. He looked a

“We don’t have the budget,” Eric said, then paused to listen to whoever was speaking on the other side of that phone call. “Right. It would be pretty dumb to order DNA tests for every male in town over the age of thirty.”

DNA tests? Who was he talking to?

“That’s right,” Eric said. “We’ll have to take it on a case-by-case basis, depending on the evidence.”

Eric listened for another minute, then said, “Yeah, thanks, Jay. Keep me posted.” When he hung up, he looked fried.

“Who was that?” I asked.

“Medical examiner.”

“Everything okay?” I was sitting on the edge of my seat, ready to jump up and run out. “Should I come back later?”

“No, I need to talk to you right now.”

“Okay.” I scooted back in the chair and waited while he stared out the window for a moment. The view seemed to calm him down, because when he turned around and walked back to his desk, he was breathing easier and it looked like maybe his blood pressure was falling back to normal. But maybe he was just faking it.

“What’s going on, Eric?” I asked. “How can I help?”

He scowled. Not at me in particular, but at the world in general. At least, that’s what I chose to think, and I refused to take his bad mood personally.

“I really wish I didn’t have to involve you,” he said, still standing at the edge of his desk.

“I know, I know,” I said briskly. “I’ve heard it all before. You hate to trust me, but you have to. Blah, blah, blah, whatever. So, look,” I said, holding up my hand like a Girl Scout. “I swear myself to secrecy. On my honor, what’s said in this room will stay here. Like that Vegas commercial. What happens here in the jail stays in the jail. You called because you need my help, so let’s talk.”

I could see him biting back a smile. That was a good sign. Maybe he wouldn’t arrest me for being flippant to the lawman. I couldn’t help it, though. I was tired of his constant reminders that I wasn’t trustworthy. Because I was! Oh, sure, I’d discussed a few aspects of the case with Jane and Emily. And Mac. And Callie, too, now that I thought about it. But I hadn’t disclosed any deep dark secrets.

He sat in his chair and said without warning, “Lily Brogan was pregnant.”

It was like he was speaking in tongues or something. Or maybe I just didn’t want to believe it. “Wh-what did you say?”

“Lily Brogan was pregnant when she died.”

“Oh.” I had to concentrate on breathing because it felt like I’d had the wind knocked out of me. “Oh my God.”

“We should’ve found out sooner, but the medical examiner’s office deals with cases coming in from three different counties. So he’s always backed up.”

“But . . .”

He finally seemed to notice that I was stu

Chills skittered down my spine and the hair on my arms stood up in horror. Tears welled, too, but now wasn’t the time to get weepy. Still, my heart hurt for Lily and her baby and the future they would never have. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes,” he said. “Jay estimates that Lily was at least three months pregnant.”

“Three months?” I wrapped my arms around my stomach, as though I could protect myself from the tragic news. “That’s terrible.”

“Yeah.” He stared at the wall behind me. “Jay said the baby’s skeleton was still mostly cartilage, although bone was begi

His tone was eerily matter-of-fact but I knew he was hurting inside. I imagined a tiny skeleton three-and-a-half inches long and felt my spirit grieving. “Why are you telling me this?”

Through gritted teeth he said, “Because I need you to think harder, think back to that time, and give me the names of every single man Lily was involved with three months before she died.”

“Okay.” I nodded as if in a fog. “Okay. Wow. Well, we’ve gone over most of the people I remember. I told you about Cliff Hogarth.”

“Sha