Assault and Batter(33)

“I was cleaning up at the house last night and I found something that everyone missed, including you and the cops.”

“Was it something in Jude’s room?”

“No, this was downstairs stuck in a magazine near his favorite chair.”

I hadn’t searched the entire house, so I don’t know how I could have been expected to find whatever she’d uncovered, but I decided to just let it ride. There was no point getting into an argument with her when she was about to help my investigation. “What did you find?”

“This,” she said as she handed me a note written on the blank edge of a newspaper. It was enclosed in a plastic baggie.

In a woman’s handwriting, the note said,

Meet me at TCAAM shop after eight. We need to talk.

“It’s not signed,” I said.

“It doesn’t need to be. What else can TCAAM mean but Two Cows And A Moose? This note had to be written by Emily Hargraves.”

I couldn’t believe that my dear friend was involved in Gabby’s nephew’s murder. “They dated for a while, Gabby. Everyone knows that. This could be from months ago.”

“Turn the paper over,” she demanded.

On the other side, I saw a date clearly printed on the paper.

It was the day Jude had been murdered.

“Have you shown this to anyone else?” I asked her.

“Who do you mean, the police?”

“Of course that’s who I mean,” I said.

“No, I just found it, so I came straight over here.”

“How did you know that I would be here?” I asked.

“Come on, Suzanne. You’re the only one in town who has a Jeep that color. Besides, where else would you be?”

I nodded as I stared at the note. “What do you expect me to do about this?”

Gabby frowned, took a deep breath, and then she said, “Suzanne, I know that you and Emily are close, but I need you to talk to her about what happened the night Jude was murdered. If she did it, I expect you to turn her in to the police, just like you’ve done with every other suspect you’ve found in the past.”

I thought about it, and then I said, “You need to show this to Chief Martin,” as I handed the note back to her. “You found it. It’s your responsibility.”

“I turned it over to you, though,” Gabby said as she backed away from it as though it were radioactive. “If you think that’s the right thing to do, then you need to handle it yourself.”

“Why did you even give this to me?” I asked, feeling real anguish over the questions I was going to have to ask Emily if I decided to follow through on it.

“You’re trying to find Jude’s killer,” Gabby said. “This might help.”

“And you don’t think that Chief Martin is trying to do the exact same thing?” I asked.

“Maybe, but we both know he’s prone to pull the trigger as soon as he gets a solid suspect. I figured you could talk to Emily, bring this up, and then turn the note over to the police yourself.”

“I don’t know what I should do,” I said, torn between loyalty to my friend and my duty to give the police any relevant information that I uncovered.

“Do whatever you want. Just don’t destroy it.”

“There’s a copy, isn’t there?” I asked.

Gabby just shrugged, but her grin told it all. She wasn’t reckless enough to leave it in my hands entirely.

“The clock’s ticking, Suzanne,” she said, and then she headed back to ReNEWed, her shop beside Donut Hearts.

I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I walked back into the Boxcar.

“Okay, I’m officially worried about you,” Trish said the moment she saw my face. “What did that woman say to you?”

“Nothing,” I said absently. I needed to move, and fast. “Has Grace ordered for us yet?”

“I just put it in, and I was getting ready to grab your teas. Why?”

“Can you cancel our order?” I asked.

“Not a problem. You’re in trouble, aren’t you, Suzanne?”

“I’m not, but one of my friends might be.”

I motioned to Grace, who got up and came toward me.

Trish said, “One of these days I’m hoping that you’ll explain to me what this was all about.”

“I promise,” I said. “Just not now.”

Grace joined me up front. “What’s going on?”

“We’re leaving,” I said.

“But I…”

“It’s taken care of,” I said.

I started for the door, and Grace turned back to wave to Trish. “It was fun. We simply must do it again sometime.”

Trish just laughed, and Grace and I were out in the parking lot soon enough. I skipped picking up my Jeep, though. Where we were going was close enough to walk. I probably needed to get to the newsstand as quickly as I could, but I needed time to explain everything to Grace, too.