I explained about Ned’s early morning call to Gracie.
Tom’s lips tightened. “That poor thing. She’s been through so much. She really could use a break. If the cancer isn’t enough, now she has to deal with the common flu.”
“Let’s hope it’s the common flu. I’m afraid that these things have a way of getting real serious real fast when someone has been as sick as Nora for as long as she’s been ill.” I sliced the casserole and set a large piece on a plate. “Would you like toast?”
“I would, but I’ll get it. Do you want a piece as well?”
I slid the second piece of the casserole onto a second plate. “Sure, I guess.” After setting both plates on the table, I refilled my coffee and poured a mug for Tom.
“So, what are you up to today?” Tom asked.
I went through the schedule I’d already outlined in my mind.
“So has Cass settled in on some suspects?” he asked after I’d mentioned that I planned to meet with Cass to discuss his progress.
“A few. I’m not sure they can even be referred to as suspects. Maybe people of interest would be better. As far as I know, Cass has no reason to suspect anyone specifically, but he is looking into some of the victim’s relationships. As a psychologist, Dale dealt with all sorts of people.”
Tom took a bite of his egg dish. “I guess that’s true. The guys and I were chatting about it when I stopped by the lodge last night. The popular opinion amongst those who knew Dale was that the killer was more likely to be someone from his past than from his present.”
I frowned. “From his past? What do you mean by that?”
“I guess the guy was responsible for sending Clay Barrow to prison.”
“Clay Barrow?”
“He’s a crime boss based in Chicago. Before moving to Foxtail Lake and opening a small practice in his home, I guess Dale worked for a large firm in Chicago. Somehow he found out that one of his patients had inside information that he realized could be used to send Barrow to prison for a good long time, so he asked around a bit until he found someone in law enforcement he trusted, and then he shared what he knew. Of course, the whole thing wasn’t as simple as that. The guy is, after all, a crime boss. But I guess the information supplied by Dale led the Fed’s down a road of inquiry that eventually led to his arrest and conviction.”
I frowned. “Why do you know this and Cass doesn’t? Or at least he didn’t the last time I saw him.”
“He knows now. I used the phone at the lodge and called and told him. Apparently, Smitty is, or I guess I should say was, somehow related to the late Doctor Conover, which by the way, is not his real name.”
“It’s not?” I asked.
Tom shook his head. “He changed it after the thing in Chicago was over. I think Smitty said his real name is Glen Breeland.”
“I guess it makes sense that he’d not only change his residence but change his name if he did end up on the hit list of some really bad people. I wonder why he chose Foxtail Lake.”
“Smitty said the reason he moved to Foxtail Lake was because he’d been here before. I guess he used to visit Smitty’s family sometimes when they were kids.”
I supposed that made sense as well. “So if the killer doesn’t turn out to be a patient, then it could be someone associated with this crime boss. Maybe a family member or gang member who is out for some payback.”
Tom shrugged. “It’s a story that works for me.” He got up and refilled his coffee. “More?” He held up the pot.
“No. I think I’ve had enough. I should clean this up and head into town.”
“I’ll clean up the kitchen; you go ahead and do what you need to do.”
“Thanks.” I decided to take him up on his offer since I really did have a lot to do. “Gracie didn’t think she’d be long. In fact, she indicated she’d be home before lunch.”
“That works for me. Once I clean up in here, I’ll continue with my painting.”
“It’s nice of Gracie to go to so much effort for Paisley.”
Tom nodded. “Yeah, I guess, but I think that Gracie is getting more out of this sewing idea than anyone. I know the reasons she chose not to settle down and have children, but I don’t think those reasons have made it any easier for her to live with the emptiness left by what she could and should have had if she’d just let herself.”
“I guess she was protecting not only herself but any man she might fall in love with.”
He narrowed his gaze. “Maybe. But Gracie lived her whole life governed by a curse that, in my opinion, is nothing but a bunch of hogwash.”
“Maybe you’re right, but maybe you’re wrong. I know that believing in a curse seems pretty out there, but both Gracie’s sister and her niece chose not to believe in the curse, and both married and then died at a young age. I know that the concept of a curse is hard for most folks to wrap their head around, but Gracie believes in its power with all her heart, and quite frankly, so do I.”
With that, I headed upstairs to gather my belongings. Believing in something as abstract as a curse wasn’t an easy road to travel. Most folks thought I’d plum lost my mind if I dared to bring it up, so mostly I didn’t. And I will admit that there had been times in my life when I actually did stop to wonder if I wasn’t crazy for believing in such a thing, but my parents had died as the curse predicted they would, and in my mind, if something couldn’t be definitively proven one way or another, then it was best to come down on the side of playing it safe.
Chapter 5
Cass was working on the large table in the conference room when I arrived. Milo, who had been sleeping at his feet, got up to greet me.
“You look busy,” I said as I ruffed Milo behind the ears.
He nodded toward the piles of half-burned documents spread out over the table. The table looked the same as it had when I’d been here yesterday. I really couldn’t tell if he was getting anywhere. To the naked eye, it looked as if he wasn’t, but I supposed I should give him credit for knowing what he was doing. Perhaps he was working off some sort of personalized sorting system.
“I’m getting nowhere,” he groaned.
Or maybe not. “Can I help?”
“Not really. The problem is there are large chunks of most of the documents in the top file cabinet that are simply missing. Piecing them together has provided minimal results, and while I guess it’s a worthwhile task to attempt, I feel I might make better use of my time by interviewing folks who might actually know what was going on with Dale.”
“So have Gwen work on this,” I suggested.
“That’s a good idea. I’ll do that.” He stood up and pushed his hands into his lower back. I wondered how long he’d been sitting there.
“I spoke to Tom this morning,” I informed him. “He has an interesting theory.”
Cass nodded. “If you are referring to the theory relating to Clay Barrow, I do agree that the lead is an intriguing one that hasn’t previously been brought to light. I’m waiting to hear back from my contact in the FBI, but based on my initial conversation with the people who monitor these sorts of things, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus that anyone from Dale’s old life followed up and tried to find him after he changed his name and moved.”
“But a crime boss went to prison. It seems like there would be someone out to get revenge on whoever put him there.”
Cass began reboxing some of the piles of paperwork he’d already gone through. “That may be true, but according to what I’ve been told, the man Dale spilled the beans about wasn’t a popular guy, and even those who worked for him are happy he’s gone. Clay is not only in prison but in an extremely secure prison with no outside contact. They seemed to think that it was unlikely, yet admittedly not impossible, that Dale was killed by one of Clay’s men.”