Trouble at the Kennel (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery #9)(33)
“And the second one?”
“Pretty much the same scenario. Even if Sandy knows her husband killed Mary, without her testimony and no witnesses, my hands and the court’s hands are tied.”
“So what you’re telling me is we wait around to see if he kills Sandy or the baby, and if someone sees him do it, then he can be charged with murder. Hate to say it Sheriff, but that sucks. Two lives are possibly being placed in danger and there’s nothing you can do about it? Is that what I’m hearing you say?”
“Pretty much, and believe me, I don’t like it any better than you do, but the law is very clear. My hands are completely tied at this point; however, I will say that he’s now number one on my list of suspects.”
“Fat lot of good that will do. So far we’re talking about one murder. Wait until there’s another one. There’s got to be something more that can be done.”
“The only thing that can be done is for Sandy to be willing to testify against him. She needs to be convinced that it would be best for everyone if she’d point her finger at him.”
“Mike, I know you have ways that you can get her home address. Would you see if you can do that while I fix dinner? Maybe if I paid her a visit at her home I’d have better luck, particularly since her husband won’t be back until tomorrow evening.”
“I’m not sure I want you to go to her home. I don’t feel very comfortable about you doing that. It could turn out to be a dangerous confrontational scene.”
“I’ll take Rebel with me. Sandy isn’t a threat and since Hank’s gone, there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Kelly, if I’ve learned one thing about you, it’s that there’s always something to worry about when you want to go off on your own while trying to catch a killer. I’ll see what I can do,” Mike said in a resigned voice as he walked down the hall to his home office.
CHAPTER 26
At nine the next morning Kelly had just returned from walking Skyy in a grassy area near the pier when Roxie said, “There’s a call on the telephone for you. I told the woman you’d be with her in a minute.” Kelly put Skyy back in the storeroom and secured the latch on the gate. She walked over to the telephone extension and said, “This is Kelly Reynolds. May I help you?”
“Oh, I’m so glad you took my call. It’s Sandy Reston. I really need to talk to you. Could you come out to my house? Please? If you don’t, I think I’ll lose my nerve.”
“Of course. I believe you told me you were in one of the new developments south of town. What’s the address?” She didn’t want Sandy to know that Mike had found the address the evening before and given it to her. She listened carefully, and then said, “It will take me about twenty minutes. Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I’ve made some important decisions about Hank and our relationship, and I really need to talk to you.”
“See you in a few minutes.” Kelly took off her apron and walked into the front area of the coffee shop. “Roxie, I need to leave for a little while. I’m going to take Rebel with me, but would you walk Skyy in about an hour if I’m not back by then?”
“Love to. That little girl is getting to me. She’s adorable. I think I’ll call her wiggle butt. She shakes her rear end so hard when she’s wagging her tail, it looks like she’s made of two parts,” she said laughing. “Go on, we’ll be fine.”
“Come on, Rebel. I want you with me.” They got in the minivan and drove south of Cedar Bay to where Sandy Renton lived. Kelly easily found her house and parked her minivan in front of it. “You stay here, Rebel. I shouldn’t be too long. Probably better tell Mike where I am.”
She took her phone out of her purse as she opened the door of the minivan. She pressed in Mike’s number and heard his answerphone message, “You’ve reached Sheriff Reynolds. I’m not available to take your call at the moment. If this is an emergency, please call 911, otherwise I’ll return your call as soon as possible.” She decided there was no need to leave a message with Mike as it would probably just cause him to worry about her.
She put the phone in the pocket of her jeans and walked towards the house. Just as she sensed that someone was behind her she heard a voice say, “What you feel in your back is a gun. I have no problem with having to pull the trigger, but I would prefer it if we both went inside where Sandy is, and we can talk. After all, it’s her fault you’ve even here.”
Hank pushed open the door of the two story tract house. Kelly saw Sandy sitting on the sofa crying. “I am so sorry, Kelly. You’ve never met him, but this is my husband, Hank. He came home early from his business trip and wanted to know what I’d done during the day. I made the mistake of telling him about our conversation.” There were fresh black and blue marks on her upper arms and a small gash on her forehead.
“Sit down, Kelly,” Hank said. “You and I are going to take a little ride out of town in a few minutes. Don’t want anything to go down here at the house. The neighbors might hear something and call your husband. That would be rich, wouldn’t it? He comes to the house for a disturbing the peace call and finds his wife dead,” Hank said laughing. “No, I have something much better planned. There’s a small abandoned shack out on my employer’s lumber property that no one knows about. I discovered it by accident one day a few months ago. Make a nice place to meet your maker. Sandy, say goodbye to Kelly.”