And There He Kept Her (Ben Packard #1)(64)

In the rearview mirror he saw the cop get out of the car. It was a woman. She wasn’t wearing a uniform. Short and stocky. She walked with her arms out like a bodybuilder. He pushed open his car door, turned in the seat. The pain in his lower back made his left buttock feel like a glowing jack-o’-lantern full of fire and bent nails. He stood up slowly and closed the door, noticing the cop had left her car idling.

“Help you with something?”

“Are you Emmett Burr?”

“I am. Who wants to know?”

“I’m Detective Thielen with the Sandy Lake Sheriff’s Department.” She was dressed in gray pants and a white, long-sleeved top. She had a badge on her belt, a gun and a radio, too.

“If Ruth called you because I blew up at her at the library—”

The detective looked confused. “I’m not here because of a call from Ruth. I have some questions I want to ask you.”

It was no relief to find out Ruth had nothing to do with this. If not Ruth, then who?

“Do it quick. I’ve got frozen food I need to get inside.”

“Let me help you carry things in.”

Emmett sagged against the car and dropped his head. He worried that the girl might hear their voices and start making noise of her own. He turned away from the house and lowered his voice. “No, I can’t let you in. The house is not… It’s not suitable for visitors.”

Detective Thielen took off her sunglasses, like she needed to see him in the light. The sound of her car changed as she crossed in front of it and went halfway down the passenger side of his. He saw her look through his car windows. He pulled his ears back, straining to hear any sound coming from the basement at all.

“You sure? I can at least carry things up to the landing.”

“No. I don’t want any help. What’s this about?”

The detective looped around the front of his car and came up to him holding a cell phone. She showed him a picture of a prescription bottle with his name on it.

“Recognize this?”

“I recognize my name.”

“We found this bottle at Sam Gherlick’s house. You know him?”

“I know who he is. Used to deliver my Meals on Wheels.”

The detective nodded. “You ever let Sam in your house?” The way she asked made it sound like she was accusing him of something. Of letting Sam in but not her.

Emmett pushed the pain away and tried to focus on his words. Was she trying to trick him with the question? He licked his lips and tried to take a deep breath. He wanted a cigarette but was reluctant to light up in front of this lady cop who looked like she wrestled bears for the circus. “He helped me move some stuff around in the basement and in the garage a couple of times. I think that’s it.”

“Would he have had access to your pills any of those times? Did you notice them missing after any of his visits?”

“I don’t remember. It was a while back.”

“You don’t notice when pills you need for pain go missing?”

“I take pills for every goddamn thing you can imagine. There’s too many to keep track of.”

Detective Thielen stared hard at him while he talked. She didn’t blink. He felt like he was being scanned by a medical machine. She put her phone away and adjusted her belt. The radio at her side was turned down so that he could hear voices but not make out what they were saying. She looked back at his house and at something over his shoulder.

“You had any problems with break-ins out here?”

He felt like there was no right answer to her questions, no way to soften the hard glare she kept giving him. His hand went to the knife in his pocket. Could he take her down if he had to? Get the knife out, get the blade open? No. Besides, she looked like she could take a knife to the back and keep charging.

“No. No break-ins.”

“You got a boarded-up window on the side of your house. The side door on the garage looks like it won’t stay shut because of the splintered frame. That’s why I ask.”

“I broke the window when I fell against it standing on the bed trying to hang up a curtain I pulled down. Was cheaper to put a board over it than get a new window.”

Detective Thielen nodded. “And the garage door?”

“That damn door’s been like that forever. I don’t remember what the hell happened. Look around. There ain’t nothing out here to steal. I live on a union pension and social security. Anybody wants any of this shit, they can have it.”

“Mr. Burr, you take narcotics for pain. That makes you a target for addicts and anyone else looking for easy access to prescription drugs.”

“If Sam Gherlick took those pills from me, then I didn’t know it. If you caught him with my pills, you have my permission to arrest him. Is that what you want?”

The detective shook her head. “I’m not looking for your permission for anything. Just wanted to know how a prescription in your name ended up in Sam Gherlick’s house.”

“Did you ask him?”

“Sam Gherlick is dead.”

Emmett turned away and looked longingly at his house. He rubbed his thumb along the smooth side of the knife in his pocket. “I’m hurting right now, Detective, and could use one of those pills you keep asking me about. It’s too bad about the boy. Like I said, I haven’t seen him in a long time. Barely knew him.”