Several days later Dutch and I were sitting on my couch and he was pumping me for information. ‘‘You promise me this is off the record?’’ I asked.
‘‘Scout’s honor,’’ he said, holding up his hand pledge-style.
‘‘Fine,’’ I said after checking my lie detector. ‘‘Right before we made it to the prison, I had Candice pull over and check a few things on her computer so I could put the final pieces of the puzzle together.’’
‘‘What things?’’
‘‘Well, first I had her look back into Dillon’s financial records, because the box on the loan applications was checked for private mortgage insurance and I wanted to see when the balances of the loans were paid off.’’
‘‘When were they paid off?’’
‘‘They were paid in full about two months after his father’s death.’’
‘‘So he knew going into it that his father was a target?’’
‘‘That I can’t say for sure, but I do know he had a lot of guilt over it.’’
‘‘How do you know that?’’
‘‘In his house is this huge portrait of King Edward the Seventh. I did a quick Google search on Edward and it turns out that one of the biggest stories about him was that when his father, Prince Albert, died, Edward’s mother, Queen Victoria, accused her son of patricide. She said that it was the stress he’d caused by being such a deviant from the family that had killed his father.’’
‘‘That boy’s in need of some serious therapy,’’ Dutch said, shaking his head.
I nodded. ‘‘Anyway, the next call I made was to Selena. I told her that it was imperative that she contact her brother, Nero—he’s that inmate at Jackson I told you was being beaten up—immediately and have him call us.’’
‘‘Why do I think I’m not going to like where this is headed?’’
I smiled. ‘‘Remember,’’ I sang, ‘‘we’re still off the record.’’
Dutch sighed and looked like he was bracing himself. ‘‘Go on.’’
‘‘So we talked to Nero, and he’s a really nice guy, it turns out—’’
‘‘If you like criminals,’’ Dutch interrupted sarcastically.
I rolled my eyes. ‘‘Anyway, he was more than willing to help us with a little, er... distraction, if that meant it would stop the blackmail against his family and bring the guys who were doing it to justice.’’
Dutch tapped me on the head and said, ‘‘You are just damn lucky no one was seriously hurt by your ‘little distraction.’ ’’
I gave him a big grin. ‘‘All part of the plan,’’ I said. ‘‘I knew the warden would agree to meet with us. He’s that type of guy, very egocentric.’’
‘‘Was that type of guy,’’ Dutch corrected, and that caught me off guard.
‘‘What?’’ I asked.
‘‘He hanged himself late last night. I didn’t know if I should tell you or not.’’
I blinked at him a few times, but I honestly couldn’t feel sad. Sinclair was one bad dude. ‘‘Probably took the easy way out,’’ I said. ‘‘As a former prison warden, he would probably have been doomed to much worse in prison.’’
‘‘Exactly,’’ said Dutch. ‘‘So I’m assuming that when the tape ends at the part about you asking the warden if he believes in magic, that’s when the riot broke out?’’
I smiled again. ‘‘Nice timing, don’t you think?’’
Dutch shook his head. ‘‘I’m taking you to Vegas, Edgar. You’re too lucky for words.’’
I snuggled closer to him and changed the subject slightly. ‘‘How’s Bree?’’
‘‘She’s good,’’ he said. ‘‘I stopped by her house on the way here to check in on her. She’s even found a new job that pays better money, if you can believe it.’’
‘‘Really?’’ I asked, my tongue firmly in my cheek.
‘‘Yeah,’’ he said as he squeezed me tight and gave the top of my head a kiss. ‘‘Turns out someone put in a really good reference for her at that bank you used to work at.’’
‘‘You don’t say,’’ I said.
‘‘And she’s got a pipeline of loans to refinance too,’’ Dutch added. ‘‘She’d been taking the top page of every loan application home with her for the past two years, just in case she was ever cut loose.’’
I giggled. ‘‘Good for her,’’ I said. ‘‘My radar says that she and her hubby won’t be worrying about their finances for much longer.’’ Then I thought of something else and asked, ‘‘What happens now with your boss?’’
Dutch gave a sigh that blew wisps of my hair around. ‘‘As you know, when I walked in and accused the SAC of misconduct, I got my ass handed to me.’’
I gulped. ‘‘You may have mentioned that.’’
‘‘But in a way it was good, because now I know the SAC’s on my side. He’s going to be overseeing the investigation, making sure that I’m given clearance on my end to come up with proof, while leading Robillard in the opposite direction.’’
‘‘But Robillard’s still going to be working at the Bureau?’’
Dutch nodded and his chin rubbed my head. ‘‘Yep. For the time being, I’ve got to pretend like nothing has changed. I’ll still be reporting to him, but when I give him a status on Frost’s murder it will be the same as all the other investigators, bubkes.’’
‘‘I don’t like that you have to work for such a dangerousman,’’ I said, twisting around to face him. ‘‘What if he finds out you’re investigating him?’’
Dutch smiled confidently. ‘‘He won’t, babycakes. Trust me.’’
The worry in my heart only increased. ‘‘Please be careful, Dutch. Okay?’’
Dutch stroked my cheek. ‘‘Always,’’ he said. ‘‘And speaking of investigating, have you gotten any other feelings on those two college kids who disappeared?’’
I frowned. ‘‘You know, I looked at that file again yesterday, and there’s just nothing new. The creepy thing is that I know we’re not done with it. Something else is coming. It just hasn’t happened yet, but trust me, when it does we’ll know.’’
‘‘Sounds ominous,’’ Dutch said with a smile that didn’t quite touch his eyes.
I nodded. ‘‘Tell me about it.’’
We fell silent for a moment and then he said, ‘‘Hey, you feel like coming for a drive with me?’’
‘‘Where’re we going?’’ I asked.
‘‘I have a surprise,’’ he said coyly. ‘‘And no tuning in on it before I show it to you!’’ he demanded sternly.
My eyes widened and I let out a laugh. ‘‘Okay, okay!’’ I said, holding up my hands in surrender. ‘‘I promise. If the radar buzzes I will not tune in.’’
Dutch pulled me up off the couch and Eggy followed us to the door. I looked from my dog, whose tail was wagging furiously, back to Dutch. ‘‘Bring him,’’ Dutch said with a grin.
We piled into Dutch’s SUV and had driven only a short distance when Dutch reached into the glove box and pulled something out. ‘‘Here,’’ he said, handing me a sleeping mask.
‘‘You’re kidding me,’’ I said, looking at him like he was crazy.
‘‘Come on,’’ he replied with a big grin. ‘‘I want you to be surprised.’’
‘‘Fine,’’ I said. I donned the mask. ‘‘But it’s messing up my good-hair day.’’
We drove for a little longer. Then I felt the SUV come to a stop. I heard Dutch’s door open and he said, ‘‘Hang tight. I’ll come around and get you.’’ I waited for another couple of seconds and heard my own door open. ‘‘Here we are,’’ he said as he reached in and picked me up by the waist to help me down.
‘‘Can I take off the mask now?’’ I asked.
‘‘Almost,’’ he said. He swiveled me around and had me walk awkwardly forward for a few steps. ‘‘Okay, you can take it off now.’’
I whipped off the mask and opened my eyes. We were at Dutch’s house, but the structure was almost unrecognizable. Construction had completely
overtaken the bungalow and there was a huge addition where the bedroom window used to be. ‘‘What are you doing to your house?’’ I asked.
Just then the front door opened and Dave stepped out onto the front porch. ‘‘Afternoon, boss,’’ he said jovially to Dutch.
‘‘Dave.’’ Dutch nodded and grabbed my hand to take me up the rest of the walkway. ‘‘Congratulations, by the way,’’ he added, indicating the shiny new band of gold on Dave’s left ring finger.
I gasped and looked down at Dave’s hand. ‘‘You did it?’’ I said.
‘‘I did,’’ he grumbled, working hard to conceal a grin. ‘‘My old lady and I are officially hitched.’’
‘‘Dave, that’s fantastic!’’ I squealed. ‘‘Tell me all about it!’’
‘‘I will, but first I’m supposed to show you around,’’ he said and waved us in.
Dutch’s living room and dining room remained untouched, but that was about the only space that wasn’t currently under construction. ‘‘Over here is the new kitchen,’’ Dave was saying as we stepped over several pieces of lumber.
I did the appropriate ‘‘ooohing’’ and ‘‘ahhhing,’’ admiring the increased size and the new cabinetry. ‘‘It’s amazing, guys.’’
‘‘But wait! There’s more,’’ said Dave happily. ‘‘This way, lady and gentleman.’’
We followed him back through the living room and up the stairs and I stopped in my tracks as I saw the huge master suite open up in front of me. ‘‘Ohmigod!’’ I exclaimed. ‘‘This is huge!’’
‘‘Yep,’’ said Dave. ‘‘We pushed out several feet to create room for a walk-in closet and, over on that side, a new bathroom.’’
I walked into the closet and said, ‘‘This is bigger than my study!’’
‘‘And speaking of studies,’’ said Dave, wagging a finger at us to follow him back down the stairs and around to a new room just off Dutch’s study, ‘‘in here is the room that I’ve just finished.’’ He opened a door.
As I passed him, I noticed he gave a big wink to Dutch, and the minute I was inside I knew why. In a little doggy bed on the floor was a cute little dachshund puppy, who struggled off the bed on chubby legs and over to us. ‘‘A puppy!’’ I yelled and clapped my hands as I squatted down. ‘‘Dutch, when did you get it?’’
‘‘Yesterday,’’ he said. He came over and sat on the floor next to me. ‘‘I’m calling her Tuttle.’’
‘‘Unusual name,’’ I said as Eggy sniffed the puppy and happily wagged his tail. ‘‘I think Eggy likes her.’’
‘‘He better,’’ said Dutch and looked up nervously at Dave. ‘‘Can you give us a minute?’’
Dave nodded and closed the door behind him. ‘‘So what’s going on?’’ I asked. I let Tuttle go and she and Eggy began to chase each other around the room. ‘‘I mean, I don’t think Virgil’s going to take kindly to you getting a puppy.’’
‘‘He doesn’t have to worry about it,’’ Dutch said.
I reached out and grabbed his arm in alarm. ‘‘What have you done with Virgil?’’ I demanded.
Dutch laughed. ‘‘He’s with my mother,’’ he said. ‘‘She’s always loved that damn cat, and her own kitty, Moppet, died last year. I could tell she was ready for another one and I thought it was a good solution.’’
‘‘You gave away your cat?’’ I said.
‘‘I gave my mom a loving companion and solved the issue of space for my girlfriend.’’
‘‘So this is why you’re doing all the construction?’’ I gasped. ‘‘You did this all so that when I came over I wouldn’t feel cramped?’’
Dutch reached into his pocket and pulled something out. He opened my hand and placed a beautiful Tiffany key ring and a shiny new key in the palm of my hand. ‘‘No, Abby. I did this so that when I asked you to move in with me, we wouldn’t have space or cats or anything else between us.’’
Tears welled in my eyes as I looked down at my palm. ‘‘Oh, Dutch,’’ was all I could manage.
‘‘I miss you when you’re not around,’’ he said. ‘‘I can’t sleep when you’re not next to me, and I worry a lot about what you’re up to.’’
I laughed and reached up to cup his face in my hands. ‘‘I can’t believe you did all this for me,’’ I said to him.
‘‘So say yes,’’ he said.
‘‘Yes,’’ I said. ‘‘As soon as I find a renter for my place, I will move in with you.’’
Dutch smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. ‘‘I may know someone who’s a little tired of their living arrangement and is looking for a house to rent.’’
‘‘You do?’’ I asked.
‘‘And you do too,’’ he said. ‘‘Why don’t you call Candice and see if she’s had enough of living in a Pepto-Bismol bottle?’’
As I leaned forward to kiss his socks off, I said, ‘‘You think of everything.’’
Winking at me and using his best Humphrey Bogart voice, he said, ‘‘That’s why you got the radar and I got the brains, sweethot.’’
Victoria Laurie, Crime Seen
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