Leann Sweeney - The Cat, the Wife and the Weapon

“We just don’t know,” she said. “Not yet anyway. But we have Finn’s and Tom’s phones, so we can see how they match up as far as dates and times with those texts and calls. One other thing’s been bugging me and I was hoping Hilary Roth had the answer. She claims she doesn’t, though.” Candace closed the top of the potato chip package.

“What are you talking about?” I said.

“We figured Roth was trying to find Finn—but Rory Gannon seemed to be in town for the same reason.”

“Did you ask Hilary about Gannon? Had she contacted him recently?” I asked.

“She says no,” Candace said. “She has no idea why he had any interest in Finn.”

I blinked several times, considering this. “So we’ve got an unstable man who hasn’t seen his kid in who knows how long. But when Finn runs away from home, Gannon heads here and practically stalks everyone who’s had a conversation with Finn. Weird. I hope these phone logs help answer how Gannon knew Finn was here.”

The following morning, I walked into Belle’s Beans hoping for more than a cup of coffee—though coffee was something I desperately needed after staying awake most of the night worrying about Finn and Tom. Even though Candace asked for the BOLO from her cell phone, it had since been picked up by many police officers all over the county and subsequently did get on the police scanner. I was sure people in town were talking about more than the newest murder and a missing adolescent. Maybe someone had seen Finn last night—or better yet, this morning. I sure hadn’t heard a word from him—nor had I heard from Tom or Candace yet today.

I forced a smile when the Belle of the Day greeted me. I ordered a large coffee with an extra shot of espresso and doctored it with half-and-half and plenty of sugar. I felt as if my brain was about as functional as a plate of scrambled eggs. Nothing made sense; nothing seemed logical. I couldn’t even remember everything Candace and I had talked about last night, but I did recall we both still couldn’t figure out how Rory Gannon found his way to Mercy in the first place.

The crowd in the coffee shop all seemed to be staring at me as I wound between tables and took a spot right in the middle of the room. A few people smiled and nodded. If anyone knew anything about Finn or about Gannon’s death, I might be able to overhear their whispers.

Belle Lowry, the kind and savvy owner of Belle’s Beans, swooped to my table from out of nowhere and sat down across from me. She said, “Whatever have you gotten yourself into this time, sweetie?”

As usual, her snowy hair was perfectly coiffed and her coral lipstick had been applied in a straight line on both lips. At least she hadn’t missed below her lips like I’d seen her do at times. Her familiar and kind presence had a settling effect.

“Nothing good, Belle, that’s for sure,” I answered.

“Did you really find a stranger dead in Tom Stewart’s backyard?” she said.

“I did. I was searching for poor Dashiell and got more than I bargained for,” I said.

“Is the young man involved? Tom’s stepson?” she asked.

She was fishing for information, but I was the one who needed to do the fishing. I tried to change it up by saying, “What have you heard? And don’t be shy. I’m sure it’s plenty.”

She laughed. “Me? Shy? No one’s ever accused Belle of such a thing.” She leaned toward me. “Everyone’s talking about Tom and Karen, two of the most private people I’ve ever known. Not to mention Tom’s brother. What’re the odds of Bob Cochran showing up the same time as Tom’s stepson? I can’t hardly figure out what’s going on with that family.”

There it was. Out of Belle’s mouth often came the most obvious observations. I’d never even considered the timing of Bob’s arrival, but Belle was right to wonder whether it was coincidence. Hoping to mine more gold, I said, “You know Bob’s name. What have you heard?”

“Oh, I know Bob. He lived with Karen for a short spell before Ed came into her life. Never had two pennies of his own to rub together, so Karen let him stay with her. Something happened about five years ago and he up and left. An argument is all the grapevine could glean.” She smiled. “ Glean was one of my crossword puzzle words this morning. They say use a word three times and it’s yours. Got two more times to go.”

“I see. No one ever mentioned him, so I was surprised when I met him,” I said.

“You mean Tom never mentioned him,” she said. “He was none too happy about Bob leeching off their mother. When Bob left, Tom was singing a happy tune, I tell you. Fresh off his divorce, he’d been pretty mopey beforehand. She’s here, too. Hilary. Been in here drinking coffee several times. She’s a lovely-looking woman but there’s something about her. You are a much better match for our Tom.”

I felt the heat of a blush. Tom and I hadn’t exactly made our budding relationship public. Before I could reply, Belle’s face lit up.

She said, “Speak of the devil, look what the cat dragged in. A man who needs a serious coffee fix.”

It was Tom, looking completely exhausted and defeated.

Belle rose and worked her way between tables to the counter. She patted Tom’s arm and then pointed my way. Tom looked at me, but couldn’t seem to muster even a small smile.

He bought his coffee and came to my table. “You haven’t heard anything or you wouldn’t be sitting here alone,” he said. “I had no luck either. He’s simply vanished, Jillian.”

I reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “He’ll turn up once he thinks things through. But where have you been?”

“At every convenience store, gas station and truck stop within a fifty-mile radius.” He withdrew his hand and sipped his coffee, set the cup down and stared into the black liquid. “I plan to make flyers with his picture when I can get back into my house. Finn didn’t feel safe here, and that’s my fault. I have to make him understand how much he means to me.”

“He knows how much he means to you. He’s scared, that’s all. Wouldn’t you be? He didn’t want to talk to Hilary when she showed up and maybe he couldn’t even stand to hear her voice,” I said.

Tom’s eyes met mine. “Why did Hilary have to tell him about his father by shouting about his murder through a locked door? I know she’s cold, but come on. No wonder he ran.”

“She doesn’t seem like the kind of person who thinks things through,” I said. “She wanted to talk to Finn and thought she could get him to open the door with some shocking news. It was a little selfish.”

“A little ?” He laughed contemptuously. “As for not thinking things through, I’m afraid you’re wrong. She thinks everything through. She knew exactly what she was doing. She wanted him to feel guilty and she succeeded. I know how Finn thinks. He’s out there somewhere beating himself up for refusing to talk to his father before the man died.”

“I’ve had such little contact with her I was trying not to be judgmental,” I said.

Finally he smiled. “Because you think things through in a far different way. You give folks the benefit of the doubt. Wish the cop left inside me would allow me to do the same.”

“You had no luck out on the road?” I said. “No one has seen anyone who might possibly be Finn?”

He shook his head. “The only thing I accomplished was buying a new phone. Give me yours and I’ll program in the number. If Finn calls looking for me, you can give him this.”

I took out my phone and handed it to him. While he started adding the details to my contact list, I said, “You think Finn will call me and not Karen?”