Bone Dust White (14 page)

“My aunt has allergies so we couldn’t have pets.” She takes the kangaroo from Macy and gingerly puts it back on the shelf. “When I was younger I used to rescue unwanted stuffed animals. I liked to sew them up and give them a home.”

“Where did you find them?”

“Flea markets, garage sales. Places like that. My aunt hated it. The first thing she did was throw them in the washing machine when I brought them home.”

Macy points to the new teddy bear. “What about this one? It doesn’t look like a stray.”

“It was a gift.” She glances up at the ceiling light before turning to Macy. “Who changed the bulb?”

“Had it gone out?”

Grace sits down on the bed and closes her eyes. “When I was in the woods with my mom, I could see right into my room. It blinked a few times and went out.”

Macy glances over at Warren. “You need to check that bulb for prints.”

They hear Elizabeth out in the hallway shouting at someone. Her voice rises up from the floor below. “Grace, are you up there?”

Warren makes for the door and steps outside to meet her. “Elizabeth, we’re almost done in here. You need to give us a few more minutes.”

“I’ve given you as much time as I’m going to. I want you out of my house.”

“You know we can’t do that.”

“I heard that Grace fainted. She needs to go back to the hospital immediately.”

The landing is crowded. Jared, Carson, and two police officers hover at the top of the stairs. Elizabeth tries to sidestep Warren so she can look inside Grace’s bedroom but Macy steps out with Grace and shuts the door firmly behind her.

Elizabeth takes hold of her niece’s hand. “You poor thing. We’re taking you back to the hospital.”

Macy steps between them. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth, but I still need to ask you a few questions.”

“Can’t it wait until morning?”

“I promise to be brief.”

“It’s late.”

“It’s not late. It’s only a little after six.” Macy gestures to Jared and Carson. “Grace will return to the hospital with the paramedics. I’ll run you over there when we’re through here.”

Elizabeth crosses her arms in front of herself. “It doesn’t seem like you’re giving me a lot of choice.”

“Like I said, I promise to be brief.” She looks at the two police officers. “I need another few minutes up here with Warren. Could you take everyone downstairs and make sure Elizabeth is comfortable? Get her a cup of tea or something.”

Warren follows Macy back into Grace’s room and shuts the door behind him.

“Macy, I’m not going to tell you how to do your job, but Elizabeth isn’t used to being bossed around like that. It may make things easier if you’re gentle with her.”

“I’m not here to hold her hand. I’m trying to figure out who killed her sister.”

“And I’m just trying to help. I’ve known Elizabeth a long time. If you want her to cooperate you’re going to have to use a bit more charm.” Warren looks around the room. “Did you find anything?”

Macy hands him the evidence bag containing the silver strand of hair. “This was in Grace’s drawer. Maybe whoever did this left it behind?”

Warren holds the bag up to the light. “Impossible to tell. It may belong to Elizabeth.”

Macy walks over to the window. “Grace must have stood here and watched. You can see her handprints on the glass.”

“It’s a good fifty, maybe sixty yards to where we found them. I’d be surprised if Grace could give an accurate description.”

“But it would be close enough for her to recognize someone she knew.”

“You think Grace knew who the killer was?”

“It’s not making much sense but this feels personal.”

“You know, there was a lot of press about Grace’s heart transplant. Her name and picture have been in the papers. She’s a pretty girl; someone may have fixated on her. Someone could have made it personal.”

“If the office downstairs hadn’t been ransacked, I’d agree with you. But whoever broke into the house was looking for something specific.”

“Given a filing cabinet has been cleaned out, I’d say they found it.” He pauses. “You worked that case involving the four Eastern European girls?”

“I did.”

“Arnold Lamm was a suspect.”

“He’s still a suspect.”

“This could be related. Leanne left town at around that time.”

Macy heads for the door. “I need to go talk to Elizabeth.”

“Remember what I said.”

“It’s been noted. I promise to be gentle.”

*   *   *

Macy sits across from Elizabeth at the dining room table sipping a cold cup of coffee. Through an open archway she can see officers moving about inside Arnold Lamm’s office. The filing cabinets and locked desk drawers have been pried open with a crowbar. Papers printed with Cross Border Trucking’s letterhead are scattered across the floor. It’s all being documented as evidence.

Macy pushes a box of tissues in Elizabeth’s direction and offers to make her another cup of tea.

Elizabeth wipes her eyes and says she’s had enough tea for one day. “I knew Grace wasn’t well enough to deal with this.”

Macy looks at her watch. “She’s back at the hospital by now. They’ll take good care of her.”

“She shouldn’t have come out here in the first place.”

Macy wants to disagree but apologizes for the missing house keys instead.

Elizabeth waves her off. “I can’t blame that on you. You weren’t here.”

“But I’m here now. Everything is my responsibility.” Macy waits a few seconds. “Can you shed any light on all this?”

Elizabeth throws her hands up in the air. “I don’t understand any of this. My sister and I were never friendly. Our mother tried everything but Leanne would never meet us halfway. She seemed to take pleasure in making me miserable. As far as I’m concerned the only thing she ever did right was leaving town.”

“Tell me about Grace’s childhood. I’ve read the files from social services but I’d like to hear your thoughts firsthand.”

Elizabeth pulls her cardigan around her. “In the years before we adopted Grace, we only saw her a handful of times. Our friend Dustin kept tabs on her, making sure she was taking her medication, sneaking her money for food. Things like that. He’d make a point of stopping by Leanne’s place unannounced.”

“Is Dustin the man I met at the hospital yesterday?”

“That’s possible. He was with Grace. He and Leanne were friends but he didn’t approve of how she lived. He was more than willing to help us keep an eye on things. We were worried Grace didn’t get enough to eat. We’d see her from a distance sometimes. She was painfully thin.”

“It must have been difficult for you to sit back and do nothing.”

“When Leanne went off the rails completely, Dustin would take them in but they’d never stay long. My sister always had a stubborn streak. Once she was stable and Grace was fattened up she’d be out living in that dreadful trailer again.”

“Did Grace ever have any close friends? Someone from her past who we could talk to?”

Elizabeth’s eyes well up. “Leanne had a bad reputation in Collier. Affairs with married men, drink, drugs, things like that. I’m afraid people took it out on Grace. She was bullied in school.”

“Didn’t it get any easier for Grace when her mother left town?”

“We were hoping it would, and believe me when I say we tried hard once she was here with us. I’d organize things through my friends, but I got the impression she found other children boring. She preferred the company of adults.”

From her chair, Macy can see straight into the kitchen. The refrigerator is covered with family photos. Grace looks cheerful in every single one and yet all the photos they’ve shown on the news portray her as an unhappy child. “When did Grace’s health problems start?”

Elizabeth relaxes. “As a toddler she was diagnosed with leukemia. She survived but her heart was damaged. She was in and out of the hospital for years. Arnold and I have paid for all her medical insurance and expenses from the time she was born.”

“How did you manage that?”

“Arnold did what he had to do. I didn’t ask questions.”

“How did Leanne feel about the arrangement?”

“She told Grace her father was paying for everything.”

“But Grace doesn’t know who her father is.”

“It was a horrible thing to do. It gave Grace hope. She was crushed when she found out we were paying for everything, but the damage was already done. She’s obsessed with finding him.”

“Do you have any idea who he might be?”

“I’ve had my suspicions, but now Leanne is dead and Grace may never know the truth.”

“I’d like to hear your thoughts. It may be important.”

“It’s all based on rumor. It’s nothing more than gossip.”

“I’m not going to hold you to it.”

Elizabeth hesitates. “Near as I can tell my sister only had one serious relationship and that was with Toby Larson. I’ve always had an inkling he was Grace’s father.”

“The used car salesman in the television ads?”

“That’s him. At the time he was married to Pamela Larson. Still is.”

Macy makes some notes. “So it was an affair?”

“I’ll never understand what Toby saw in my sister. He’s such a good man. Since Arnold died he’s made a point of coming up here to check on us. He was supposed to come over this week to have a look at Arnold’s truck. I was going to give it to Grace but now I’m not so sure.”

“Does Grace suspect Toby is her father?”

“I’m sure she does but we’ve never discussed it openly.” Elizabeth runs her finger across the rim of her cup. “You see, Grace knows Toby is just one in a long list of possibilities. She says she doesn’t remember much about the years she spent living with her mother but I think she remembers plenty. There were a lot of men going in and out of that trailer.”

“Did Toby’s wife know about the affair?”

“Oh yeah, Pamela knew. Toby likes to make light of it but I hear she nearly killed him the night he tried to leave town with Leanne.”

“When was this?”

“Eleven years ago. It was the same night Leanne left Collier for good.”

“Is Pamela the type of person to hold a grudge?”

“Maybe you should ask her yourself.” She looks at her watch. “She should still be at the hospital. If we leave soon you just might catch her.”

“Does she work there?”

Elizabeth clenches and unclenches her swollen hands. “No, she’s at the hospital for personal reasons. Her daughter Hayley attempted suicide this morning.”

“I’m sorry, that’s awful.”

“With Hayley it’s always been awful. I don’t know how Brian has put up with her all these years. Arnold warned him but he went ahead and married her anyway. God knows what she gets up to when he’s out on the road.”

“Her husband worked for Arnold?”

“Yes, occasionally, as an independent contractor.”

“Grace told me her mother sent her money on her birthdays?”

“Yes, but don’t read too much into it. Every year she’d stuff a wad of dirty bills into an envelope with a birthday card. There was never a note or return address.”

“It sounds like Leanne was afraid of letting people know where she was living.”

“It may well have been the case, but she still could have included a note. Those cards could have come from anyone. Do you have any idea how that made Grace feel?”

“Did Leanne try to contact you?”

“No,” she says, staring back at Macy. “And if she had I would have told her to stay away.”

“Were Grace and her uncle close?”

Elizabeth looks down at the table, smoothing the linen with her fingertips. “He doted on her, took her on fishing trips.”

“So they’d spend a lot of time alone together?”

Elizabeth’s head snaps up. “What are you implying?”

Macy glances at her notes. “Grace may have told her uncle more about her relationship with Leanne than you realize. I want to understand why Leanne left town so suddenly and why she was desperate enough to leave Grace behind.”

“Arnold wasn’t the type to have heart-to-hearts. I don’t think I ever saw them hug.” She gestures to a framed photo of her husband standing arm in arm with a friend. “Grace took that photo when she was about thirteen. She always looked forward to their trips. They’d spend a lot of time planning them.”

In the picture Arnold Lamm holds up a massive fish by the gills, but there is something odd about the composition. It’s only when Macy gets up to inspect it that she realizes there was once a third man in the photo. She points to the man standing with Arnold. He wears sunglasses and grins into the camera. His hair is cut short, making his head appear unnaturally round.

“Who’s this?”

“That’s Hayley’s long-suffering husband.”

Macy steps away from the picture. “That’s one big walleye.”

“Arnold broke the state record that year. That fish weighed nearly eighteen pounds.”

“I suspect you got pretty bored with cooking walleye.”

“No, not at all. Coming up with new recipes was part of the fun. We even tried smoking some but it didn’t turn out very well.”

Macy takes a deep breath. “Elizabeth, I’m sorry, but I have to ask you what you know about your husband’s business dealings?”

“Why? What does that have to do with what’s happened?”

“Other than Grace’s room, your husband’s office was the only part of the house that was disturbed. There’s evidence to suggest Leanne’s killer has taken away the entire contents of one of the filing cabinets.”

“My husband was away a lot for work. He had a whole life I knew nothing about.”

“He was in business for thirty-three years. That’s most of your married life. I have a hard time believing you were never involved.”

Elizabeth looks down at her hands. “I know what you’re trying to do and you’re not going to get away with it. Arnold was cleared of any wrongdoing.”

“Did he have any enemies?”

“The trucking industry is a rough business. I’m sure Arnold had enemies. I just have no idea who they were.”

“Did Arnold keep cash in his office?”

“I didn’t find anything like that when I cleared out some stuff a few months ago. Why?”

“We found evidence that there was once a manila envelope secured with masking tape to the bottom of one of the overturned drawers. We don’t know if it was recent or not so we don’t know if whoever broke in found it.”