Assault and Batter(53)
“Well, we have to figure out some way to do it,” Grace said.
“I’m trying, but I don’t have much hope.” My cellphone rang just then, and I found myself hoping that it was Jake again.
It wasn’t, and the person on the other end of the line was not someone I wanted to have a conversation with at the moment.
But I didn’t really have any choice, so I went ahead and answered anyway.
Chapter 19
“Hello, Gabby,” I said. “Listen, I would have called you sooner, but I don’t have anything new to report. Grace and I are doing the best that we can, but it hasn’t been easy.”
“I’m not calling to chide you about not checking in,” she said in that particularly disdainful voice she had. “I need you to come to my shop right now.”
“We’re tracking down clues at the moment,” I said. The last thing I wanted was an audience with her.
“You are in the grocery store parking lot, at least you were two minutes ago when I drove past,” she said. “This can’t wait, Suzanne. Bring Grace with you.”
Before I could say another word, she hung up on me.
“What was that all about?” Grace asked me.
“We’ve been summoned by her highness to ReNEWed,” I said.
“We’re both about to get scolded, no doubt,” Grace said with the hint of a frown. “Doesn’t she know we’re doing everything we can?”
“I told her that, but it didn’t seem to satisfy her.”
“I’m shocked,” Grace said sarcastically, clearly not surprised by Gabby’s attitude at all.
“Nevertheless, we need to go over there,” I replied as I headed back to the Jeep.
Grace followed. “Why do I feel like I’m in school and the principal wants to see me?”
“I have the exact same feeling, but we might as well get it over with. If we don’t, she’ll just keep calling, and worse yet, she’ll be even more disapproving.”
“I wouldn’t wish that on anyone,” Grace said. “At least she wants to speak with both of us.”
When we got to Gabby’s gently used clothing shop, I saw that the CLOSED sign was in the window and the blinds had been pulled, even though we were in the middle of Gabby’s regular work day.
Grace studied the sign and the window treatments. “Are we even sure that she’s in there?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” I said as I knocked firmly on the front door.
“We’re closed,” I heard a muffled voice say from inside.
“It’s Suzanne and Grace,” I answered loudly.
“Why didn’t you say so?” Gabby asked as she unlocked the door and let us inside.
As we walked across the threshold, I asked her, “Why are you closed in the middle of the afternoon?”
“Soon, it’s not going to matter one way or the other, so why bother keeping up pretenses now?” I studied Gabby, and she looked as though she hadn’t slept since the last time we’d spoken. Dark circles were under her eyes, and her complexion looked positively waxy.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
“My last living kin was murdered, and the police think I might have done it,” Gabby said. “How do you think I am?”
“Has Chief Martin accused you of anything so far?” I asked her gently. I knew that she was lashing out at me because she was in pain, so I decided to ignore it.
“He comes around here every day with more questions,” Gabby said, rubbing her hands together constantly. “If he didn’t think I had something to do with it, why won’t he leave me alone?”
“He’s just doing his job,” Grace said.
Gabby wheeled on her. “Is it his job to harass me so much that I can’t even sleep at night? Is it his job to ask folks I know around town about me? He’s making my life a living nightmare,” she said.
“He’s just trying to find the truth,” I said, trying to speak in a soothing voice. “Gabby, you told me that you didn’t kill Jude, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”
She laughed, but there was no joy in it. “Suzanne, you’ve been the focus of the chief’s investigations before. If this town starts believing that I’m a killer, then I’ve already been tried and convicted in the only court that really matters.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know what I can do,” I said. What she said was true enough. It was too easy to be convicted in the court of public opinion without a shred of solid proof. “If you want me to talk to the chief for you, I will, but I’m not sure that I’d be able to do any good.”