Make Quilts Not War - By Arlene Sachitano Page 0,35
if you want, Harriet can call Detective Morse.”
Jenny stood in silence—weighing her options, if the emotions flitting across her face were any indication. Harriet and Tom waited, equally silent.
“Okay,” she agreed. “Make the call.”
Harriet pulled her phone from her purse, found Detective Morse in her contacts list and made the call. As she’d expected, Morse instructed her to tell everyone to stay put until she got there.
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to stop what you’re doing for now,” she informed the tow truck drivers.
“Is this going to take a while?” the older of the two men asked. They looked like they might be a father and son—both had barrel chests and slight beer bellies. And two unrelated people couldn’t possibly share that same hooked nose. “We just got another call,” he continued. “They’re over near the high school. We could be back in an hour or so.”
“Go,” Tom said. “I’m sure we’ll still be here when you’re done.”
“Surely not,” Jenny said. “Slashed tires can’t possibly warrant that much attention.”
“I’ll wait with your car if you’re done before then,” Tom offered.
Harriet pressed the face of her phone again while Tom was talking.
“Are you in your jammies yet? You are? Can you please meet me in the parking lot in front of the exhibit hall? Jenny has had a little car trouble. I think she might appreciate the support.” She turned to Tom. “Aunt Beth’s back at the restaurant with Jorge, prepping food for tomorrow.”
“Did you have to call your aunt?” Jenny asked. “I was hoping we could just keep this between us.”
“Us and Tom and the tow drivers, Detective Morse and whoever she brings with her,” Harriet said. “Jenny, whatever is going on, you’re going to have to talk about it, and I suggest sooner rather than later, before anything more serious happens. I thought you might like the support of the Loose Threads when you do.”
Chapter 15
Jorge’s pickup stopped a discreet distance from Jenny’s car, and he got out, coming around and opening Aunt Beth’s door before helping her down to the pavement. Aunt Beth strode over to Jenny and pulled her into a silent hug. Jorge came to stand beside Tom and Harriet.
“The fun never ends around here, eh?” he said with a grim smile. “Do you have any idea what happened?”
“None at all. We went to one of the movies, and when we came out, there was a tow truck hooking up to Jenny’s car, and she hadn’t told anyone,” Harriet said in a quiet voice.
“Harriet thought Jenny might need some moral support, so she called her aunt. Jenny agreed to let us call Detective Morse instead of nine-one-one,” Tom added.
“This is getting to be a habit,” Detective Morse said as she got out of her car ten minutes later. She’d stopped behind Harriet and Tom. “Are there any crimes in Foggy Point you’re not in the middle of,” she asked Harriet.
“Not on purpose,” Harriet protested.
“So, what happened here? The Cliff Notes version, not the novel.”
“We came out after the movies, found Jenny here with all four tires slashed and a tow truck. We called you. That brief enough?”
Morse turned to Tom.
“You have anything to add?”
He held his hands up as if to protest.
“Nothing. It’s like Harriet said.”
Aunt Beth guided Jenny over to the group.
“Do you have any idea who would do this?” Morse asked Jenny. “Do you have any enemies? Anyone been bothering you recently?”
“Someone tried to shoot her,” Harriet said. “Isn’t that enemy enough?”
“I’m sorry, Detective Truman, I didn’t realize you’d joined the force,” Morse said sarcastically.
“Jane,” Aunt Beth said, “what’s gotten into you? You know Harriet’s just trying to help. You wouldn’t even be here if she hadn’t insisted Jenny call.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just that there’s a lot of pressure to solve the murder before the big festival weekend events. The city council members have each come to the department and spoken to my boss.”
“This should help, then,” Harriet said. “Another try at Jenny should help focus the investigation, right? Weren’t you still investigating the victim’s background?”
“Quite the opposite, actually. The victim does have some issues, but this just clouds things. If Jenny was the target of the sniper, and he realizes he killed the wrong person, why would he slash her tires instead of shooting at her. If that person knew where her car was parked, he’d wait for her to come out here and take a second shot.”