Medora Sale Six-Book Bundle: The Complete John Sanders/Harriet Jeffries Collection by Sale Medora

Author:Sale, Medora [Sale, Medora]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781443443814
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Published: 2015-03-31T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 2

By the time Rob Lucas was back downtown, it was dark—dark, late, cold—and even people who were supposed to have been working that day were home tucked up cozily in front of their television sets.

“Anything come in on the girl’s fingerprints?” he asked, and sat down to tackle the clutter on his desk.

Patrick Kelleher glanced up. “Yeah. They’re all over the apartment, including on that phone. She was the last person to have used it. And in my book that makes her the one who called in.”

Kelleher’s words were lost in the rustle of paper. “Where in hell are my reports?” said Lucas, sorting rapidly through the mess.

“Baldy came in and got everything,” said Kelleher.

“Why?”

Kelleher shrugged.

“Anybody get anything else from the girl?”

Kelleher shook his head. “Don’t think so. You going to let her go?”

“What do I hold her for? Lying to a cadet?” he said wearily. “Look, I’m leaving as soon as I talk to her again. Tell Baldy if he comes by.”

“Oh,” said Kelleher. His voice turned mock-official. “Inspector Baldwin has requested that you report to him as soon as possible. If you step into the hall, you might bump into him. He’s kind of upset.”

“Thanks,” said Lucas, “a helluva lot,” and headed out the door.

He collided with him as he rounded the corner. “Ah, Lucas. Good. A word with you,” said Baldwin, leading him away from his office. “I’m assuming control of this case. Not anything against you, understand—”

“No need to apologize, sir. It’s not my case. I was supposed to be off this afternoon.”

“Whatever,” he said irritably. “Anyway, you and Patterson—you understand, Neilson was influential. And Mrs. Neilson is very involved—charities, fundraising, horses, opera, you know what I’m talking about. Anyway, you and Patterson just don’t have the clout, or maybe even the tact, to deal with them.”

“I don’t mind, sir.” Lucas yawned. “Patterson might be annoyed, though. He has lots of tact when he needs it.”

Baldwin grunted. “That may be—but he has trouble remembering when to use it. Look, I’ve got Marty Fielding sitting in my office right now, bitching about police harassment of Neilson’s widow. What in hell did you say to her?”

“Not much. We chatted about her horses, I asked her where she was during the relevant time period—”

“You asked Mrs. Neilson where she was?” said Baldwin. He looked incredulous. And then, in spite of himself, he added, “Where was she?”

“Out riding. Alone. She does it all the time.” He paused to let that sink in. “Do you think someone would kill someone to prevent him from getting rid of a favourite horse, sir? Because if that’s possible—”

“Oh, for chrissake, Lucas, leave Neilson’s widow to me. And I want you to check in with me personally before you do anything; and I want reports—detailed reports—on everything you do, say, or find out. Have you got that? I’m going over to the hotel, and I’ll pass the word on to Patterson. What are you doing now?”

“Releasing the witness we found at the hotel—and then going home.

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