Chief Edwards’ eyes were fixed on Roy. His face was stony. “Will you excuse us a minute, Wally?”
“Um, sure. Whatever you say, Chief.”
Wally scurried over to where his wife was setting out appetizers. Voice low, he said something to her, and both of them pretended not to look in Annie’s direction.
“What’s been going on with Mrs. Dawson’s case, Roy?”
Roy was unable to look his boss in the eye. “Just what I told you, Chief. It’s been kind of quiet lately.”
“You mean, except for those two notes you didn’t tell me about?”
Roy glanced at Annie. “I, um, I didn’t say anything because I was hoping to have a breakthrough before now. I thought it would be better if I solved the thing and then let you hear about it. No use bothering you when there’s really nothing much to report.”
“Nothing to report? ‘Nothing,’ as in that man you saw on my front porch?” Annie glared at him. “Or was there anybody there at all?”
“Annie—”
“What’s been going on here, Roy?”
“It’s not what you think.”
“And what do I think? That there wasn’t anybody on my porch that day but you? That there wasn’t anybody prowling around my house last night but you? That you were the one writing those notes all along? Why don’t you want me to find out about Susan, Roy?”
“No, no. You’ve got to listen to me. It wasn’t like that. I didn’t start it.”
They had kept their voices at a conversational level, but it was clear that the people around them knew that the three were engaging in more than small talk.
“Let’s go over to the office and talk about this,” Edwards said. “That’s not a suggestion, Officer.”
As they walked toward the exit, Alice pulled Annie aside.
“What’s going on?”
“Just getting something straightened out.” Annie realized that her expression must be tense to say the least. She forced a bit of a smile. “It’s all right. We’ll be back in a few minutes.”
The town hall was just across the street from the church and its community center, and soon Annie, Roy, and Edwards were in the chief’s office. No one had said anything during the walk over, but as soon as he had shut the door behind them, Edwards demanded an explanation from his officer.
“I know it sounds pretty lame, but I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Why don’t you want me to find out about Susan?” Annie insisted.
“What?” Roy laughed faintly. “No. Susan? I don’t know anything about her. She’s dead. What do I care?”
“Then why did you write those notes? Why were you threatening me?”
“I would never threaten you. You must know that. I thought—” He glanced at his chief and ducked his head. “Annie, do I have to explain?”
Edwards crossed his arms over his broad chest. “I want to know what’s been going on here, Hamilton. What do you have to do with these notes?”
“I don’t know what I was thinking. I swear I’ve never done anything like this before. I just—” Roy swiped one hand over his face. “I thought if I kept writing those notes, Mrs. Dawson would keep coming to me about them, especially if she thought I was in charge of the case. Then I’d be able to talk to her, and she wouldn’t just blow me off. And I thought that, if she spent a little time with me, she might get to like me after all.”
“And when did this plan come to mind?”
“It was after she brought in that first one,” Roy admitted. “You gave it to me to analyze, and I realized—”
“Wait a minute. After the first one? That one wasn’t yours?”
“No. I did the last two, but not the first one. That one, I swear, I’ve been all over it and there’s just nothing traceable about it. That’s what gave me the idea.”
Annie had to clench her jaws to keep from boiling over. “So we’re no closer to knowing who left that one for me?”
“No, I guess not.”
“And really, there wasn’t anybody on my porch that day?”
“Shoot, Annie.” Roy managed a pale imitation of his usual grin. “You caught me right after I put that note through your mail slot. What else could I say?”
“And last night?”
“I figured you’d call me if you thought somebody was out there, and then maybe we could talk, spend a little time …”
He shrugged weakly, and she pressed her lips together, keeping her rising anger in check.
“What part of Terroristic Threat don’t you understand, Officer?” Edwards glared at Roy. “How about Abuse of Authority? Sound familiar?”