Daniel Palmer - Helpless

“Well, it was pretty scary, what happened to Kelly. And then the whole incident in the woods. Did the police ever catch the guy?”

“No,” Tom said, his voice revealing his disappointment. Even more dismaying, neither he, Roland, nor Marvin could find Lange anywhere, despite all three having made considerable efforts. It appeared that the former private had vanished from earth like the morning fog.

“That must be very unsettling,” Rebecca said.

“We’re taking precautions,” Tom said. “The house is now fully alarmed. And thanks to my ‘friend of Roland Boyd’ discount, we’ve got ourselves an outdoor-lighting perimeter detection system, too.”

“What’s that?”

“Sensors in the woods that trigger outdoor floodlights if any of them get tripped.”

“Wow, sounds impressive.”

Tom laughed a little. “So far we’ve scared away a bunch of deer.”

“Well, between your close watch over Jill and the alarm systems, what else can you do?”

“I could have forced her to leave Shilo and move to Westbrook,” Tom said.

“And have a sullen, furious daughter to look after? No, I think you were right to move here.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

Rebecca took a sip of her tea and looked at Tom in a sorrowful way. “Tom, are you really up for this?” she asked.

“For what?” answered Tom, though he knew what she was asking.

“Raising a daughter,” said Rebecca. “Not to mention one who doesn’t seem very open to the reunion, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

“Well, we both know that Kelly never had many nice things to say about me.”

Rebecca puckered her face. “Forgive me for speaking ill of the dead, but we both know that Kelly was full of s-h-i-t. And I told Jill on any number of occasions to give you a chance.”

Tom returned an appreciative smile. “I figured one day my free plumbing and tree removal services would pay dividends.”

“Well, I’m just saying, if you need anything, anything at all, don’t you hesitate to ask. Now then, back to Jill and raising a daughter. I’ll help out as much as I can. Cooking, carpool, what have you. But this is a lot to take on, Tom. What about your dad? Can he help out in any way?”

“Dad hasn’t been right since my mom died. He’s living in Florida these days and his health isn’t very good, and I don’t think he could make the trip back to New Hampshire anytime soon.”

“Not even for Jill?”

“Kelly kept Jill out of his life, same as she did mine. No, I wouldn’t put that on him.”

Tom heard loud knocking on the door. Four quick, hard bangs. He gave Rebecca a curious look.

“Are you expecting anybody?” Rebecca asked.

Tom shook his head. He left the kitchen, trotted down the carpeted front stairs.

Through the sidelight windows Tom saw Brendan Murphy and Rich Fox lit up by the yellowish glow of the two outside front lights. Murphy was dressed in a tweed sports jacket and tie. Fox wore his police uniform.

Jill! Tom thought. Had she snuck out of the house without his knowing? Was she in danger?

Tom opened the door in a hurry, and Murphy more or less pushed himself inside, flashing a piece of paper clutched in his hand.

“I’ve got a signed warrant to search these premises,” Murphy said, slipping on rubber gloves as he marched up the front stairs. “Officer Fox will be assisting me as a witness, ensuring that I’ve conducted the search to the specifications of the warrant. Oh, and we’ll be removing all your home computers, too.”

Tom felt an icy chill. He didn’t think the police had been all that thorough investigating the house after Kelly’s death. It was just a robbery gone bad, or so they believed. But a search warrant was an entirely different matter. Tom wasn’t worried about Murphy finding evidence that would incriminate him in Kelly’s homicide.

But he did worry Murphy might dig up something else.

Something Kelly might have hidden.

Something Tom wouldn’t want anybody to find.

Tom held the door open for Fox.

“Tom,” Fox said, taking off his hat and tipping his head toward Tom in a quick salute. He trailed Murphy into the house.

“Hang on, Brendan,” Tom shouted, bounding up the stairs behind Fox and Murphy. “Let me see that piece of paper.”

“Suit yourself,” Murphy said.

Tom read the warrant over while Murphy and Fox got to work searching the living room. They both wore gloves and had plastic bags and markers for evidence gathering. Pink anti-static bags for computer stuff, clear plastic bags for other evidence.

Rebecca emerged from the kitchen and surveyed the disruption with a stunned expression. “Brendan, what’s going on here?” she asked.

Murphy didn’t answer. He was opening the drawers of a living room desk and rifling through the contents.

Fox walked over to where Rebecca stood, and Tom joined them. “Hi there, Rebecca,” Fox said to her. “We won’t be too long. A couple hours at most. Sorry about this.”

Rebecca looked at Tom for confirmation. “The search warrant is official. I’ve got to let them do it,” Tom said.

“Well, what are you looking for?” Rebecca wanted to know.

“That’s police business,” Murphy replied.

Tom didn’t like Murphy’s tone. “Were you waiting for me to move my stuff here before you got a warrant?” he asked. “Was that your plan?”

“Whatever you want to think,” said Murphy.

“Were you thinking I’d crack because of the pressure your little team interrogation put me under?” asked Tom.

“Do you have something you want to confess?” asked Murphy. A brief two-man stare down ensued. “I didn’t think so,” Murphy eventually said.

Fox looked sheepishly at Tom. “Listen, Tom, I’m sorry about this,” he said. “I know this is awkward.”

“Well, considering I have to coach your daughter, I’d say ‘awkward’ is a bit of an understatement,” Tom replied.

“If it’s any consolation, Abbey loves playing for you,” Fox said. “She’s not going to know we were here.”

Tom gave a strained smile. He knew that wasn’t true.

Jill had come out of her room. “What’s going on?” she asked, her arms folded across her chest in a defensive posture.

Tom stood beside his daughter. “Honey, they have a search warrant for the house,” he said. “We have to let them do this.”

Jill’s expression became one of total disgust. “Why? What are they looking for?”

“I think they’re trying to decide if I’m a suspect in your mother’s death,” Tom said.

“What! You’re kidding! Don’t they know that I saw the guy spying on us in the woods? That’s who did it! That’s who broke into the house. Why aren’t they looking for him?”

“We’re following all leads,” Murphy said, “including the name your father gave us.”

“Kip Lange,” Tom said to Jill, so she’d know what he told them. Tom didn’t worry about tipping the police off to Lange. Lange could give up Kelly’s role in the drug theft, for all he cared. The link to Tom had died with his ex-wife in that ravine.

Unless Kelly told Lange something before she ran…

Jill was what mattered to Tom now—her safety and as a result, his peace of mind. Tom would sleep better at night knowing Lange had been either ruled out as a suspect or arrested for Kelly’s homicide. But if Roland and Marvin couldn’t locate Lange, Tom doubted Murphy would fare much better. Especially given how Murphy’s sights seemed firmly locked on Tom.

“This is so unfair,” Jill said. “Do they have to search my room, too?”

“Every room,” Murphy said.

“Well, do you guys want some tea while you’re digging through their stuff?” Rebecca asked.