Missing Pieces(35)

“I’m sorry,” Jack said, reaching for her hand. His fingers were ice-cold. “It was terrible. He kept asking me about what happened in Julia’s hospital room. It was like I was reliving it all over again.”

“Why would he want to know about that?” Sarah asked.

Jack shook his head. “I don’t know. I thought at first he wanted to know about how upset Amy was when Julia died, how she scratched that nurse, but he kept asking me about Julia. About what physically was happening. When she started having a seizure, how long it lasted? Who was in and out of the room and when.”

“What does who was in the room have to do with anything?” Sarah asked in confusion.

“That was what I wondered. But he kept asking.” Despite the ambivalence that she’d felt toward Jack since arriving in Penny Gate, she couldn’t help feeling sorry for him now. Seeing his aunt die was a terrible thing and she knew that it shook Jack to his core, but she couldn’t help wonder if there was more to Gilmore’s interrogation than what he was telling her.

“Go for a walk,” she urged. “We’ll be fine here for now.”

Together they moved toward where Dean and Hal were sitting. “I’m going to go out and get some air,” Jack said. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“What was that all about?” Hal asked as they watched Jack leave, the door slamming behind him. “Do you think I should go after him?”

“Let him be,” Dean said before Sarah could explain. “Gilmore probably asked him a bunch of questions about Amy. I’m sure it was hard to admit to Gilmore just how screwed up she is.”

“I know Amy’s got problems, but why would she hurt Julia?” Sarah asked. “If there was one thing Jack has said about Amy, it’s how much she loved Julia.”

“Yeah, but what he didn’t tell you was that Amy, when she’s mad, can get pretty violent. A few years back she pushed a boyfriend into a busy street.”

“Dean,” Hal interjected. “You know there’s a lot more to the story than that.”

“Maybe so, but the guy ended up with a broken leg.”

“They were arguing...he grabbed her arm first,” Hal countered.

Dean took a breath. “My point is, when Amy feels threatened, she doesn’t just get mad, she gets furious.”

“The fellow didn’t press charges...”

“She pushed him in front of a moving car, Dad.” Dean’s voice rose sharply.

Fifteen minutes later the sheriff and Celia came into the lobby and, like Jack, Celia looked a bit shell-shocked. Her eyes were red-rimmed as if she had been crying. Sarah dreaded being called next. Though she knew nothing about Julia and didn’t have anything to hide, she hoped that the sheriff would pass her by and ask Dean or Hal to come back with him next.

“Sarah,” Gilmore said, looking down at her from beneath his heavy brows. Sarah released the breath she was holding, gathered her purse and followed Gilmore down a long corridor. She wondered where Amy was in the building. Was she in one of these rooms being questioned or was she locked away in a cell in the basement? She imagined Amy screaming and crying for help from behind bars, insisting on her innocence and begging to be released. The thought that she was all alone and yet within earshot of her own family was chilling.

Gilmore led Sarah to a partially opened door labeled with a placard that read Verne Gilmore, Sheriff. “Come on in,” Gilmore invited, and they stepped into a cluttered office that held a mismatch of furniture—a battered old oak desk, rows of metal-framed file cabinets and a bookshelf that ran the length of one wall.

Atop the bookshelf were three framed photos—a young Gilmore dressed in his deputy’s uniform standing next to a beautiful, dark-haired woman, and a family portrait showing Gilmore and the woman with two teenagers. His children, Sarah figured. The third photograph was of three toddlers all piled on Gilmore’s lap. A wide smile of joy spread across Gilmore’s face. “Cute kids,” Sarah observed.

“Thanks,” Gilmore said simply. “Please, take a seat.” Sarah sat down in a chair and Gilmore perched on the edge of the desk in front of her. Sarah wondered if he did this to tower over those he interviewed. A subtle but very effective intimidation strategy.

“So, Mrs. Quinlan, I’m hoping that Penny Gate has been treating you well.”

Sarah shifted in her seat. “Yes, it’s a nice town. Everyone has been very welcoming.”

“Good, good, glad to hear that. Shall we get right down to business?” he said, and Sarah nodded. “When did you first learn of Julia’s fall?”

“Early Monday morning. Jack and I flew here that same day. We got to the hospital around 7:00 p.m.”

“What did your husband tell you about what happened?”

“Julia fell down the stairs and her injuries were severe. Hal said that Amy was the one who found her and called 9-1-1.” Sarah watched as Gilmore scratched notes into his small, black notebook. “I’m not sure how Jack and I can help you with this. We weren’t even here.”

“Yes, but you both were in the room when Julia died,” Gilmore said matter-of-factly. “You both could be witnesses.”

“To what? A murder? While we were in that hospital room?” Sarah asked.

Gilmore ignored her question and moved on. “How did Hal react?”