Page 37 of A Little Bit Whiskey
“My mother’s case file isn’t very large, so I can’t imagine that it got lost, but it’s possible that it got misfiled. We all know the former chief of police wasn’t the best at his job.”
“That brings me to something else that I’m wondering if it ever made it into that file,” Carter said. “Were you aware that we received a call from your mom’s cell five days after she disappeared?”
“You what?” She stood, sloshing her wine down the front of her shirt. “Why is this the first I’m hearing of that? Carter, you promised me you wouldn’t keep things from me. That there would be no more secrets.”
“I didn’t keep anything from you,” Carter said with a deep tone. “Again, I reported that call. Showed the police, which included Fred. But you should know it was a hang-up. There was no one on the other end. And her phone and car were found a day or two later. It turned out to be a dead end. However, I’m struggling with why it wasn’t in any of the reports.” Carter held up his hand. “Unless Fred was simply trying to protect you, which I understand. I’m just not sure why these were left out or what else isn’t in that file.”
She eased back into the sofa. “May I keep this?”
“Of course,” Weezer said.
“Is there any reason you don’t want me telling Fred I know about these two items?” Tamsyn asked.
“I doubt those things will help with anything, but feel free to do whatever you need to with the information.” Carter glanced toward the ceiling.
“Is there something else you’re not telling me?”
“It’s not that,” Carter said. “It’s just that no matter whose remains those bones turn out to be, if foul play is determined, I’m sure a search warrant is coming to my doorstep.”
“Probably sooner than later,” Tamsyn agreed.
“I want to get ahead of that and I’d like you to go through every inch of this house. The winery. Every building. Every nook and cranny before that happens.”
“That’s a little unethical,” Tamsyn said.
“It’s better than us going through this place and possibly finding something else and then being accused of tampering with it. Or being tempted to hide it.” Carter arched a brow. “At least if it was you, I’d know it would be handled properly.”
“Are you saying you don’t trust my department? Fred? You put him in office.” Tamsyn took a large gulp of wine before setting it on the coffee table. She had her own reservations about the Candlewood Falls Police Department. A few things had fallen through the cracks, but that didn’t mean they were incompetent. It meant that things weren’t put in the right place.
It happened.
Carter exchanged glances with Weezer. “It’s not about trust. I have no issue with Fred. But I don’t understand why these things weren’t told to you. It’s something that Fred and I discussed in the past, when you first joined the force and started using your own contacts to conduct a personal search.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. The two of you talked about that?” she asked. “Did you also sit around discussing who my father might be? That you weren’t my dad?”
Carter rubbed the back of his neck. “Those topics did come up, but he’s never wanted you to pursue that search and I chose not to tell him I was helping you. I figured that was your business.”
“Damn right it was,” she mumbled. She let out a long breath. “If I were to conduct any kind of search, it would have to be under the pretense of helping my boyfriend with something. Inventory at the winery. Cleaning out his childhood bedroom. I don’t know and I certainly don’t like the way this is feeling. But I do get why you’d want me to do it.”
“This has less to do with protecting ourselves from what might be coming,” Weezer said. “If that were the case, we’d do it ourselves.”
“It’s more about the feeling that someone is gunning for us. That too many things didn’t get filed properly. And the fact that you might not actually be part of any search, but only allowed to be there as a courtesy.”
She hadn’t thought about that, but Carter was right. “Okay. I’ll do it. But if I find anything, we have to call Fred.”
“Understood,” Carter said.
“The current force is comprised of a lot of young officers, but there are two old-timers left. Jake Harlow and Mark Rose. They spend all their time in administration these days, but do you know what their roles were back in the day?”
“Mark was in your role, basically second-in-command. Jake was a beat cop,” Carter said.
“Why didn’t you want Mark as chief of police?” She knew at one time Mark was high up the ladder, but for some reason, she always thought Fred had been second to Jack Harper.
Weezer laughed. “Mark’s a nice guy, but the first thing Fred did was put him behind a desk. Have you ever wondered why?”
“No,” Tamsyn said. “I was twenty when Fred took on the role. I was away at college. When I came back and finally agreed to work for Fred, Mark was already behind a desk and loving it. I didn’t think to question it and he’s retiring the first of the year.”
“It’s about time. That man is ten years older than me,” Carter said. “That was one reason I didn’t want to back him. But the bigger reason was he has no backbone.” Carter laughed. “While Fred can’t stand up to Anna to save his ass, he can to the rest of this town. I once saw him go head-to-head with Silas. Even I chose my words wisely with that man, and he’s one of my best friends since childhood.”
