“Do you have the other three letters?” Cooper hoped she did.
“I burned them.” Little Mim held her forehead for a moment. “I’ve been abysmally stupid. I didn’t want Blair to find them.”
“No phone calls?” Rick pressed.
“No.”
“If my daughter has received these letters and the threat is to end her political career, I think we can surmise that other women have received letters, as well. More than likely exposure was promised, too, and for all we know, their lives may be threatened. Prying money out of the unwilling often takes force.”
“No one has come forward with any complaint,” Rick said.
Cooper, sensitive to the situation, met Rick’s eyes. “If a woman can keep paying, she might not come forward. There are good reasons not to, as you know.”
“Well, yes,” Rick agreed.
“And if Little Mim’s medical past is broadcast in some way, that will do one of two things.” Coop took a breath. “Drive someone out or drive them further in.”
After more discussion, Rick told Big Mim that he would be visiting Tony Long on site tomorrow and Coop would find Mike. “Have to check out both. If Mike is corrupt, no point waving the red flag at him alone.”
“Wise.” Big Mim rose and put her arm around Little Mim’s waist for a moment, then dropped it. As the two were turning to leave, Big Mim said, “I think, Rick, that Carla may have received these letters, too.”
Cooper and Rick remained in his office for a few minutes after the two women left.
Coop dialed the Barracks Road Shopping Center to check on Box IS, which was in Bechtal’s name. Then she called Love of Life. The lady answering the phone gave their street address. They had no box at the post office, and she was upset that someone had used their name for a EO. box.
“Well, what a surprise,” Rick said, without surprise.
“If they killed Will Wylde, they’ll kill again,” Cooper said flatly.
“That has crossed my mind. And you can be sure it’s crossed Big Mim’s, as well. Even if her daughter’s political career is smashed, it may be what saves her life.” He sighed. “Let’s go to the post office and check the paperwork for whoever rented Box Fifteen.”
“So you think there are more letters?” Yep.
“Me, too.”
And there were.
Later that evening, sitting outside in the twilight, Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker watched barn swallows dart in for their night’s rest. Next the bats came out, their tiny little cries tantalizing to the other animals. The humans could hear a squeak now and then, but the two cats and dog heard the entire concerto, the dominant key being A—at least, they thought so.
Harry and Fair leaned over a paddock fence, watching the three fillies and one colt.
“Time to wean.” Harry never liked that chore; the screaming upset her.
“Yes, it is. Won’t be long before I’ll need to geld the fellow, too.” He pointed to Venus, huge and bright above the Blue Ridge. “She’s impressive. I like it when Mars is in the sky, too, that pulsating red dot—a dot compared to her, anyway.”
“They had an affair, remember?”
“I do. Her husband threw a net over them.” He squeezed her hand. “The myths ring true.”
“Powerful stories that reveal to us what we are. Maybe that’s why the Christians felt the need to suppress them.”
“Didn’t work.”
“No. The truth will out. That’s why I know we can help Tazio.”
“Honey, everyone will do their best.”
“We have to help Tazio.” Mrs. Murphy noticed a small moth zigzag in front of her, then lift straight up.
“Why?” Pewter preferred a more sedentary routine than chasing after culprits.
“For Brinkley.” The tiger felt such pity for the yellow lab.
“Oh.” Pewter couldn’t argue with that. “But he’s with Paul.”
“Not the same,” Tucker responded. “And he knows what’s going on. He’s got to be wretched. Mrs. Murphy is right. We have to help Tazio.”
“What do we do?” Pewter hoped it wouldn’t require too much physical exertion.
She didn’t mind some exertion, but she preferred it in short bursts, like when she tried to grab the blue jay.
“We go everywhere that Mom goes. We shoot into her truck before she even picks up her purse.” Mrs. Murphy smiled. “I can always sense when she’s fixing to leave.”
“We all can do that,” Pewter snidely replied.
“Everywhere she goes, if there’s another animal, we ask questions. Did they know Carla? Do they know Jurgen? Have they seen or heard any trouble? You know what to do. The wild animals see things we don’t, too, because of their hunting patterns. If we can, we need to talk to them.”
“No rats.”
Tucker, tongue hanging out slightly, asked, “And why not?”
“I didn’t think those two at Poplar Forest gave us our proper respect.” Pewter huffed some more.
“They’re rats, not mice, Pewts.” Mrs. Murphy felt a beetle crawl over her tail, which she flicked, and the beetle flew off.
“Still, cats have precedence over rats. It’s like a duke over a count, you know.”
Mrs. Murphy and Tucker looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
“For Brinkley,” the tiger said.
“For Brinkley,” Tucker chimed in.
Finally, “For Brinkley,” Pewter sighed.
23
Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker failed the next morning because Harry, knowing she would be out most of the day, had slipped the sliding door down on the animal door. The two cats and dog remained in the house. Pewter grumbled, then slept. Tucker howled. Mrs. Murphy tore a hotpad to pieces, throwing it all over the kitchen.
Blithely unaware of her hotpad’s fate, Harry first stopped by Planned Parenthood to see if Folly Steinhauser was in.
Kylie Kraft, in crisp white, walked into the lobby after Harry had spoken to the receptionist, Anita Cowper. “Harry, how are you?”
“ Good. Yourself?”
Kylie’s pretty features darkened. “As well as can be expected. Nothing will ever be the same, and none of us knows what will become of Dr. Wylde’s practice.”
“Are you looking for another job?”
Kylie replied, “Not yet.” Then she brightened. “But I am looking for another boyfriend.”
“What happened to the one you were with at Poplar Forest?”
She wrinkled her nose, her red curls bright around her face. She spelled it out: “B-o-r-i-n-g.”
“You won’t have too much trouble finding another one.”
“All I want is a young, handsome, funny, sweet man with tons and tons of money. Working isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”
Harry laughed. “Depends on whether you love your work.”
A stout middle-aged lady came out from the back hallway and handed Kylie some flyers. “That ought to hold the office.” She turned to Harry. “May I help you?”
“Thank you, no. I asked Anita if Folly was in, and she told me this was her day to be home.”
The woman walked back down the hall.
“Harry, if you hear of a good job in another doctor’s office, would you let me know? But I don’t want to work OB/GYN anymore.”
“I’ll let you know.”
A half hour later, Harry had tracked down Penny Lattimore at Keswick Country Club. She’d started her round of golf early and finished early.
Before Penny could go to the sports-club lunchroom for morning tea with the girls, Harry smiled and asked for a minute of her time.
“Harry, what are you doing out here?”
“Thought I might find Greg Schmidt.” She named a prominent equine vet.
“He doesn’t play golf, does he?”
“You know, I don’t know, but I thought he might stop by for late breakfast or early lunch. How have you been?”
“Fine. Well, it’s been terribly upsetting, what with Carla’s murder. She really had put her heart and soul into building that house. She often asked me to go over things with her, since I had so recently built mine, plus I had to deal with that slimeball Mike.”