Cluttered Attic Secrets (17 page)

Hank pulled out his gun, and Tina retrieved hers from her purse. They stepped into Brandon’s condo, then stopped when they saw the box, which had been next to the coffee table, was gone. Hank hurried to Brandon’s office. His computer was missing, and there were no papers on the desk.

Gun still in hand, Hank walked through the condo, checking the closets and bathroom thoroughly. Then he went back to close and lock the front door. He lowered himself into a chair in the living room and called Lisbeth.

Tina put her gun away in her purse and sat opposite Hank, feeling totally drained and overwhelmed. She wondered if Brandon would remember any of the names on the lists they’d found. She wondered what else might have been in the box they didn’t get to.

After Hank explained everything to Lisbeth, he called Brandon and put him on speaker so Tina could hear.

“Hey, good news and bad news. Someone got into your condo and took the box and your computer. That’s the bad news. The good news is someone came into your condo and took the box and your computer. That’s good because Lisbeth will tell your doctor what happened and they won’t be able to toss you into the psych ward for attempting suicide anytime soon. No guarantee about the future at the psych ward, though, if you don’t straighten up.”

“They trash the place?”

“No. They were surprisingly neat. You don’t seem too worried about your computer.”

“I back up everything on the cloud. First thing I did was input the lists into a spreadsheet and backed them up. So at least we still have those. Of course, don’t know what else was in the box.”

Hank looked relieved. “That is good news. How’re you feeling now?”

“Better since I threw up, actually. I expect to go home tomorrow. I’m shooing my parents and Leslie out soon. Did you happen to check to see if the Chinese food container was still in the trash?”

Hank stood up quickly. “No, we didn’t. I’ll check now.”

They both walked into the kitchen. Hank pushed the pedal on the trash can. It was empty.

“They took that, too, Brandon.”

“Thorough bastards.”

Tina could hear the disgust in his voice.

“That they are.” Hank said. “This has become way too dangerous to continue to allow civilians to help with the investigation. As of right now, you, Leslie and Tina are off the case. You are to go back to your lives and let the police handle it.”

“No,” Tina whispered. Her first thought was of little Sophie. Then Leslie, in limbo, having to live with her parents again for who knew how long.

Brandon remained quiet for a few beats. “You’re right, of course. I’ll back off.”

Hank frowned. “That was too easy, my friend. I’m serious. Lisbeth is quite worried about all of you. So am I. It’s obvious we are dealing with some smart people. Dangerous people.”

“I agree with that.” Brandon sighed. “And I do need to get back to work. I have several cases pending.”

Hank did not look convinced. “Think of your parents and Leslie. If anything happened to you…”

“Okay, Hank, pile on the guilt. I get the point. I’ll back off.”

Hank looked at Tina. She shrugged. Had no idea what Brandon might do. Hank rolled his eyes and mouthed, “You’re next.” She rolled her eyes back at him.

“All right. I’ll take your word for it. Get some rest. We’ll be in touch.”

After Hank ended the call, he said, “Same goes for you, double.”

She tried to smile. “I knew that was coming.”

“I know how you are, Tina. Back off.”

“I know you’re right. Really, I do. I’ll be good.”

He took a step toward her, waited. She closed her eyes and walked into his arms. It felt so good to be there again. She melted. He kissed her hair, ran his hands down her back. She snuggled against him, trying to get closer. Lifted her face to him so he could kiss her eyes, her lips.

She lost all sense of time as they stood, kissing, touching. But when Hank started to raise her shirt, she stiffened, and pulled away. “Not here,” she murmured. Not where she and Brandon had made love so many times.

His hands stilled, then fell to his sides. “Don’t know what I was thinking.”

She laughed softly. “Who was thinking? We were only feeling.”

He took a step backward. “You were thinking.”

“Not until you…” She swallowed a huge lump in her throat.

Hank bent his head, gazed at the floor. Then he met her eyes, smiled. “You’re female.”

She laughed. “You finally noticed.”

He laughed, too. “Let’s go eat.”

She grabbed her purse. “All right. It’s about time you decided to feed me.”

“Where do you want to go?” Hank opened the door for her, then locked it, double-checking to be sure it was secure.

“The Creamery would be perfect. Fast, but delicious.”

“Sounds good to me.” He looked at his watch. “The one in Middletown stays open until ten.”

“I never paid attention to their hours. When does the one in Newport close?”

“At nine every day except Friday and Saturday, when they also stay open until ten.” Hank opened the passenger door for her, and she slipped into his Jaguar, put her head back on the rest, and closed her eyes. The exhaustion was back, worse than ever. She hoped she’d be able to stay awake long enough to eat.

“You know their hours?”

“I eat there quite a bit when I’m in a hurry. Or grab an Awful Awful.”

“How many of those can you drink in one sitting?”

“When I was younger, I sometimes had four to get one free. Not any longer. It was a point of honor to go after Thanksgiving dinner and have one. Sally always challenged me to it. Of course, she just sat and watched me drink it.”

Tina was glad to hear him able to mention his sister’s name without a catch in his voice. Now that he and his mother were communicating better, he’d loosened up some.

Tina’s eyelids dropped the whole time she ate her hamburger and drank her milkshake. She was aware Hanks watched her. “What?” she finally asked him.

“Just being sure you don’t go face first into your burger.” He smiled at her.

“Funny. Funny Hank.” She took the last bite and the last sip and stood up. “Need to get home, for sure.”

Hank left a tip and followed her to the door. She barely remembered the drive home, his goodnight kiss, and climbing into bed.

***

Tina woke the next morning, glanced at the clock, rolled over and went back to sleep for another hour. After showering and getting dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved green t-shirt, she clambered down the back stairs into the kitchen.

Uncle Bob sat at the table reading the newspaper. Princess’s tail thumped the floor, and she stood up to greet Tina.

When Uncle Bob looked up, Tina said. “’Morning. Coffee.”

He grinned at her and went back to the paper.

As she poured a mugful of java, she wondered if there was anything in the paper about what had happened to Brandon. She hoped not. She put an English muffin in the toaster and poured cereal into a bowl. Obviously, Uncle Bob wasn’t making breakfast this morning.

When she’d fixed everything the way she liked it, she joined her uncle at the table. He put the paper aside and looked at her. “What have you been up to? Your mother and I hardly ever see you anymore.”

She guessed there was nothing about Brandon in the paper, or her uncle would be a lot more agitated. She wished she’d had the presence of mind to think about what to tell him and her mother. They’d worry.

Tina heard her mother coming down the stairs. When Princess stood up again, Uncle Bob turned his attention in the direction both the dog and Tina looked.

“You’re up,” Laura said when she came down the last step. “Where have you been?”

Where had she been? Leslie’s, Brandon’s, Sophie’s, the hospital, the Creamery. Where hadn’t she been? Home.

She laughed a little. “Everywhere. I don’t know where to start.”

“Yesterday morning would be good.” Laura poured herself some coffee and sat down at the table.

“Well, Brandon, Hank, and I went to Leslie’s yesterday morning to see if we could find papers or diaries or anything about the house.  We were taking a break in the kitchen when I saw a little girl run across the yard. We went out to see her, and she was crying, saying she hated the house and didn’t want to go inside anymore. Then someone called her, and she took off. The woman drove away in her car with the child, and we went back to the attic for a while.”

She decided not to mention the threatening phone call. “After we gathered up a bunch of papers, we went to Brandon’s condo. He wasn’t looking too good, and I thought he should rest. I also thought he’d be more comfortable at home.”

“Is he okay?” Laura asked.

How to answer that question?
“I think so.”

Laura frowned. “What does that mean?”

“I’ll get back to that. We found some papers with lists of names on them—women and children. We were wondering what they could be for. Maybe a birthday party for Leslie? Did we ever go to one at Aunt Margaret’s house? I don’t remember doing that, and none of us recognized any of the names.”

Laura shook her head. “No, and I’m sure you and I would have been invited.”

“You don’t know of any reason Aunt Margaret would have lists like that? We thought they were in her handwriting.”

“Not a clue.”

Tina turned to Uncle Bob. “You understanding me okay?”

“Just fine. You’re easy to lipread, you know.”

She smiled. “Okay. So, while we were looking for more papers, Hank got a call from Lisbeth and he left.” She wasn’t going to tell the about the rift between her and Hank.

But her mother must have seen something in her expression. “Something’s not right between you two?” She put her hand over Tina’s and squeezed.

Tina looked up at the ceiling. “You don’t miss a thing, do you?”

“I’m your mother.”

“I totally realize that.”

Uncle Bob laughed. “You gotta stop fighting it, kumquat. Go with the flow.” Then his look turned serious. “Be happy and grateful that you have such a wonderful mother.”

Tina couldn’t help smiling. “And wonderful great-uncle.”

“Yes, it was a great day when I stopped being a mere uncle to your mother and became a great one to you.”

They all laughed. “Hank and I are working it out. And that’s all I’m going to say about it.”

Laura sighed heavily. “You better. Mitzi and I are counting on it.”

“Oh, boy. The pressure.”

Laura squeezed her hand again, then pulled it away to take a sip of coffee. “It’s destiny. Had to be either Brandon or Hank.”

“You were rooting for Brandon before, though.”

“Safer. I didn’t think he was apt to be in any danger. Until now.”

Tina cleared her throat and gazed up out the window over the sink, thinking. She realized Brandon had been attacked once and apparently poisoned, too. Was it because he was Brandon, or just because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time?

“What?” Laura sat up straighter in her chair. “What else happened?”

Tina couldn’t look at her mother or uncle. “Brandon may have been poisoned.”

“No!” Both of them stared at her, wide-eyed.

She explained everything.

Laura shook her head, her expression disbelieving. “Why? Why would anyone attack him, then poison him? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“They must have wanted the papers we collected. And used that way to get him out of his condo.” Tina looked at her empty coffee mug, debated getting some more. She wasn’t sure her legs would hold her up, though.

“You have to stay completely out of this now, Tina.” Laura’s voice was tight with worry. “You should probably even leave Newport until it’s all over. There is obviously something very fishy going on, and dangerous.”

“Well, I’m not leaving Leslie
and
Brandon when they need me.”

“They should probably leave town, too.” Laura pounded her fist on the table. “Let the police figure it out.”

“Like that’s going to happen. I’m sorry I told you everything.” Tina stood up. “This conversation is over.”

“Tina, please. Why don’t you think the police will figure it out?”

“Oh, they may. But they don’t believe half what you tell them. Who do you think thought of the secret room? Who found the little girl? The genealogy? They wouldn’t be nearly as far along as they are if all of us hadn’t been so pro-active.”

“But look at the other side. Would Leslie have been kidnapped, or Brandon attacked if you had all done nothing?”

Tina’s face got hot. “You think we caused Joshua Young to get killed?”

Laura looked stricken. “Of course not. You didn’t cause anything directly to start this whole chain reaction. But you are obviously all in someone’s way. And we know that someone is capable of murder.”

“You mother has a point,” Uncle Bob said. “Don’t disregard it without some thought.”