Chapter Thirty-six

Chapter Thirty-six

I have to say, Ms. Macapagal, you either have the greatest intuition or worst luck when it comes to stumbling across crime scenes,” Detective Park observed as he finished taking down my witness account.

After years of living in Chicago, I still wasn’t used to the speed at which the Shady Palms Police Department arrived. I’d called less than ten minutes ago, and in that time, a full team had arrived to take pictures of the crime scene, search for evidence, and take down my and Mrs. Long’s statements.

I was going to make a flippant remark about some girls having all the luck, sarcasm being my preferred defense mechanism, but bit my tongue when I caught the look on Mrs. Long’s face. She still hadn’t taken off her winter coat, scarf, or gloves, and all that puffy black material seemed to swallow her up as if it were a physical manifestation of her grief. This woman had lost her only child as well as her husband in less than a week.

No, “lost” wasn’t a strong enough word to describe the unfairness of it all. It wasn’t some freak accident that took these men away from her. Their lives had been stolen.

My mind swirled with questions at this revelation. Was the person who stabbed Mr. Long the same one who poisoned Derek? Bludgeoned Janet in her office? Vandalized our restaurant? How many would-be killers and criminals were running around quiet little Shady Palms? And if the Long family was being targeted, did that mean Mrs. Long was next?

I asked Detective Park as much. He nodded, not in agreement, but to acknowledge he’d been thinking along the same lines. “So you noticed that connection as well. Don’t worry, Mr. Long’s sister is staying with her, so she won’t be alone in the house. And we’ll have patrol cars coming by every hour.”

I looked around the room but didn’t see the woman from the wake. “Where is his sister? What’s her name again? Cate?”

“Yes, Cate Long. According to Mrs. Long, Cate stayed at the funeral parlor to greet anyone who stopped by to pay their respects.”

“That’s strange. She didn’t seem particularly close to Derek. Why wasn’t Mrs. Long the one to stay behind?”

Detective Park cleared his throat. “Seems she needed to get away and clear her head for a while. I can’t blame her. Couldn’t have been easy for her to have to stare at the body of her son for hours on end.”

I winced, catching the rebuke in his voice. “That makes sense. What about Mr. Long though? Did he leave around the same time as her? I could understand her needing some time alone, but you’d think he’d be there in case anyone else showed up for the wake. He knows the people in this town; his sister doesn’t.”

He checked his notes. “According to Mrs. Long, she wanted to be alone but her husband insisted on accompanying her home. The last time she saw him alive was when he dropped her off at the house. He told her he was going to see his friend Craig Nelson and he’d pick her up in an hour. After he left, she went for a long walk to clear her head and bumped into you.”

“Was Mrs. Long actually walking for an hour? Or did Mr. Long get home early? Maybe he surprised a burglar who thought the family would be out at Derek’s wake and killed him in a panic? Is it silly to think everything that’s happened recently all ties to Derek’s case?” I spat out these questions as they came to me, one after another, not sure if Detective Park would actually answer me, but needing to get them out.

“Mrs. Long isn’t sure how long she was out for. She’s not wearing a watch and she didn’t have her phone during her walk. Until we talk to Mr. Nelson, we won’t know what time he headed back home or if that’s even where he went.”

“What about the murder weapon?”

A raised eyebrow was the only response I got. Fair enough, he’d already shared more than he needed to with me. I couldn’t expect him to tell me everything. Maybe if I played up my fear about constantly being so close to death, I could get his sympathies on my side. It’s not like I’d be lying anyway. This latest encounter had me shook. And then I remembered something Terrence had said.

“Oh, Detective, did you find a dachshund statue in Janet’s office? Her fiancé mentioned it to me.”

He glanced through his notes and shook his head. “Sorry, it’s not on the list. You sure it was there?”

“I never saw it but Terrence said she was planning on giving it to me. It seemed important to him, so I wanted to check.”

“I’ll ask my team in case they missed anything, but it’s doubtful.”

I couldn’t ask for more than that, so I thanked him. “You haven’t told my family about what happened here, have you?”

“I called Rosie once I got here and was able to ascertain your safety. She should be here any minute.” A frown creased the space between his eyebrows. “Is that a problem?”

“No . . .” I said, dragging that single syllable out. “I just, I was hoping to be the one to tell her. After all that’s gone on, a call from the cops is enough to trigger her anxiety.”

Detective Park swore loudly, surprising the heck out of me. “You’re right. I didn’t even think of that.”

I sighed and sat down. “I know you were just joking earlier, but this is starting to feel like too much. I don’t like that I’m always the one who’s around when these bad things happen. Like, am I being set up? Or what if something happens again, but this time I walk into the situation? Am I in danger, too?”

“We’ve already got patrols watching your home and restaurant. I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about.”

I wasn’t sure if that made me feel better or worse. “Because you were worried about our safety?”

Detective Park rubbed the stubble on the back of his head. “Among other reasons, yes.”

I remembered that he still considered me his prime suspect and was likely counting down the days till he could arrest me. So, worse. The knowledge that my family was under constant surveillance definitely made me feel worse. At least I knew Tita Rosie and Lola Flor were safe.

As if on cue, the two of them dashed into the room.

Tita Rosie went straight to Mrs. Long and grasped her hands. “Oh, Nancy. I’m so, so sorry.”

Lola Flor marched over as well, ignoring Detective Park and me. “Nancy, you can’t stay here tonight. The police will be all over this place and it’s not good for you to be here.”

Mrs. Long protested faintly, eyes on the space between my grandmother and aunt. “No, it’s fine. I’m fine. Cate will be here later to stay with me. We’re fine.”

“Cate can come over, too. Just for tonight.”

Mrs. Long didn’t respond.

Tita Rosie squeezed Mrs. Long’s hand. “Would you like to go back to the funeral home? Maybe talking to Cate will make you feel better. Then you can say goodbye to your son.”

That seemed to wake Mrs. Long up. “That’s a good idea. I need to clear my head. If Cate wants to stay with you, we can. I’ll leave it up to her.”

Cate agreed immediately. “I’m sorry, Nancy, but the idea of staying in the place where Ed was just killed . . .” She shuddered. “I’d never be able to sleep.” She turned to my aunt. “The funeral director said you were the one who provided the food for the wake.”

Under normal circumstances, my aunt would’ve beamed and asked what Cate had thought. But this whole Derek thing had left her more cautious, undermined her confidence. Her response was hesitant, as if she wasn’t sure what Cate was going to do with this information.

“Yes, my mother and I made the food. We own a restaurant here in town.”

Cate grinned, brightening her previously dour expression. That simple motion lit up her face, highlighting her kind, keen eyes. “Your food is unlike anything I’ve ever tried before. So delicious! If you’re going to feed us like that, maybe we can spend more than one night.”

Mrs. Long’s eyes widened. “Cate! Tonight is fine because Ed was just—it’s too soon to stay in that house. But we will not trespass on their hospitality.”

Cate took one of Mrs. Long’s hands into hers and patted the top of it. “I’m joking, Nancy. I’m here as long as you need me, wherever you choose to stay.” She paused. “And I’m sorry about Ed, I really am. I wish to God you didn’t have to go through this.”

She looked at us. “You probably think I’m cold, making jokes like this after my brother’s death. But this is how I deal with things. And right now, I’m more worried about Nancy’s safety and well-being, so thank you for opening your home to us. If it gets to be a problem, we can always check into a hotel.”

I chewed on a fingernail as I watched this scene, torn between pleasure at helping Mrs. Long in her time of need and discomfort at the thought of the difficult conversations I knew we’d have soon. At the very least, giving my aunt someone to take care of seemed to take her mind off our restaurant problems and my legal troubles, so this tragedy had one bright spot.

With that taken care of, there was one last thing I had to do. Swallow my pride and go talk to Adeena.