And There He Kept Her (Ben Packard #1)(67)

“Does ‘actively investigating’ mean you don’t think it was an accident?”

“We’re keeping our minds open to all possibilities,” Packard said. “I’m not a big believer in coincidence when it comes to investigations. I believe in cause and effect. Things don’t just happen independently in parallel.”

Susan’s gaze was fixated on her empty water glass. “Someone might have killed Sam to keep him from telling what he knew?”

Packard nodded. He didn’t want the Scotch anymore. It felt wrong to be drinking Susan’s booze while indicating her daughter’s situation might be more dire than anyone wanted to admit.

“Could Jesse have killed him?” Susan asked.

“It’s possible. Is Jesse a killer? Does he have a reason for killing Sam? We don’t know that yet.”

Susan looked at Packard and Thielen, back and forth, like she couldn’t tell who she wanted to talk to or what she wanted to say. “So now what?” she asked.

Packard said, “We have to accept that something could have happened to Jesse and Jenny. There’s no pretending that’s not a possibility. They could also be hiding. They could want to call home but can’t for some reason. We don’t know. But we’re not out of options. Sam’s sister was at the house yesterday when I found him. She nearly overdosed on drugs. I still haven’t had a chance to talk to her.”

Susan made a face. “She has the neck tattoo, right?”

Packard nodded. “How do you know her?”

“She works at Hanson’s.”

Thielen sat up straight suddenly. Packard didn’t know why.

“Hanson’s Drug?” Thielen confirmed.

“Yes,” said Susan.

“How do you know that?” Thielen asked.

“You make a lot of trips to the pharmacy when your daughter is type 1 and your husband is dying of a brain tumor. I asked her about the bandage on her neck that never went away, and she told me they made her cover her tattoo while she was at work. I asked her what made her think it was a good idea to get a tattoo that high up her neck. She didn’t like that.”

Packard asked, “You’re saying she works in the pharmacy?”

“I’ve seen her all around the store. Stocking shelves and cashiering up front. I only ever talked to her at the pharmacy desk. She’d hand over the bag and ask if you had any questions for the pharmacist. Probably not a great place for a girl with a drug problem to be working.”

“Not at all,” Packard said. He took out his phone and sent a text message to Dan Gherlick, then gave Thielen a look that said it was time to go.

Packard left his Scotch unfinished, thinking about what he still wanted to do that night. “Susan, the sister working at Hanson’s is new info that we didn’t have before. We need to go so I can look into that. What do I owe you for dinner?”

“There’s no bill,” she said, moving their dirty glasses beneath the bar.

“We didn’t come here to get a free meal. Let me pay.”

“It’s not me. I planned to comp you but someone else paid.”

“Who?”

Susan pointed to the empty seat where the librarian had been sitting. “Ruth. She slipped Angie a note and asked for your bill. She paid it with hers.”

Thielen asked Susan to thank Ruth for them next time she came in. Packard left two twenties on the bar for Angie or the Scotch or whatever Susan decided to do with them. Outside, he and Thielen zipped up their jackets and stopped to figure out their next move.

“How the hell did we not know Sam’s sister worked at the pharmacy?”

“I’ve lived here ten years and I didn’t know,” Thielen said.

“The sheriff mentioned the other day that she was a cashier. It didn’t even occur to me to ask where.” His phone buzzed with a text message.

Thielen said, “It would have come out eventually. It’s barely been twenty-four hours since you found her and her brother. Neither one has been in any condition to talk to us.”

She was right but it didn’t make him feel any better. “Dan just texted me. He’s still at the hospital with Shannon. Tell me quick about the last guy you went to see today. Anything new from talking to him?”

“Emmett Burr? No, not really. He’s like the others. Elderly. Lives alone. He’s morbidly obese and in terrible physical condition. He remembers Sam and said he didn’t care for him much. Said he didn’t realize his pills had been stolen.”

“What about Kate Freeman at Lutheran Social Services? Did you get hold of her?”

“I did. I caught her waiting to board a flight at O’Hare. She’s on her way home from a conference. Won’t be back until really late tonight. She told me they had gently suggested Sam find another volunteer opportunity after his second summer with them. They’d had complaints about him but nothing specific about stealing drugs or anything like that. Kate said she’d meet us at the office tomorrow morning if you want to look at the addresses that Sam used to deliver to. She still has that information in their files.”

“That one’s yours. I’m going to the hospital to talk to Shannon Gherlick.”

“Right now?”

Packard nodded. “We’re already a day late on this information. Dan said she’s awake and knows about her brother. I want to catch her before she’s had too long to think about things. It’s gotta be tonight.”