want to know what I know? The evidence in front of me. That’s it. That’s what I have to go by, no matter what. You were a cop. You know that. And I’m also quite sure this is going to be a powder keg of a case. I can’t afford to let people say I allowed the Fortunes to push me around. I have to follow every procedure to the letter, which means I’m going to have to take her in for questioning. I have no choice here.”
Ross glowered at the man but before he could say anything, another officer approached them. He was vibrating with energy. Julie imagined in a quiet town like Red Rock, this sort of situation was the most excitement the small police force ever saw.
“We found what might be the murder weapon, sir,” the fresh-faced officer said. “I knew you would want to know right away.”
“Thanks, Paul,” the chief tried to cut him off before he said more, but the officer didn’t take the hint.
“It was shoved under a display table in one of the tents and it’s got what appears to be blood on it. I’ll have CSU process it the minute they show up. Take a look. What do you think, sir?”
All of them followed the man’s pointing finger and Julie could see a large, solid-looking ceramic vase. When she turned back, she saw that Frannie Fredericks had turned even more pale, if that was possible.
“What’s the matter?” Ross asked her.
She shook her head and looked back at her blood-stained slacks.
“Do you know anything about that vase?” Jimmy Caldwell asked her, his gray eyes intent on her features.
When Ross’s sister clamped her lips together, the police chief leaned in closer. “You have to tell me, Frannie.”
She suddenly looked trapped, her gaze flitting between Jimmy Caldwell and her brother.
“Fran?” Ross asked.
“It’s mine. I bought it from Reynaldo Velasquez,” she finally whispered. “I wanted to put it in the upstairs hallway.”
Ross muttered an expletive. “Don’t say anything else, Frannie. Not until I get you an attorney. Just keep your mouth shut, okay?”
She blinked at her brother. “Why do I need an attorney? I didn’t do anything wrong. I just bought a vase.”
“Just don’t say anything.”
“In that case,” the police chief said, “I guess we’ll have to continue this conversation at the police station.”
“You don’t have nearly enough to arrest her. You know you don’t.”
“Not yet.” The police chief’s voice was grim.
“Josh. You have to find Josh,” Frannie said suddenly. She clutched her brother’s arm. “Find him, Ross. Get him away from here.”
He looked taken aback by her urgency. “I’ll look for him.”
“Thank you, Ross. You’ve always taken care of everything.”
He opened his mouth to say something, then clamped it shut again.
“Let’s go, Frannie,” the police chief’s voice wasn’t unkind. “I’m sure it will be a relief to you to get away from this crowd.”
“Yes,” she murmured.
The police chief slipped a huge navy windbreaker over her blood-stained clothing, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders. By all appearances, it looked as if he were consoling the grieving widow but Julie saw the implacable set to his muscles, as if he expected the slight woman to make a break for it any moment.
Ross watched after them, his jaw tight. “This is a fricking nightmare,” he growled. “Unbelievable.”
“Do you need help finding your nephew? I was coming to find you and suggest you look for him. It would be terrible for him to stumble onto this scene without knowing the…the victim was his father.”
He muttered an expletive. “You’re right. I should have thought of that before. I should have gone to look for him right away.”
“I’ll help you,” she said. “We can split up. You take the midway and I’ll head to the dance.”
He blinked at the offer. “Why would you want to do that? You’ve already been dragged far enough into this.”
He wouldn’t get any arguments from her on that score. She would much rather be home in her quiet, solitary house than wandering through a crowd looking for a boy whose world was about to change forever.
She shrugged. “You need help.”
He eyes widened with astonishment, and she wondered why he found a simple offer of assistance so very shocking.
“Thanks, then,” he mumbled.
“No problem. Do you have a picture of Josh?”
“A picture?”
“I can’t find him if I don’t know what he looks like,” she pointed out gently.
“Oh right. Of course.”
He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket, and she was more charmed than she had any right to be when he opened an accordion fold in the wallet and slid out a photograph of a smiling young man with dark-blond hair, brown eyes and handsome features.
“I’m almost certain I’ve seen him around at the Foundation but the picture will help immensely,” she said. “I’ll be careful with it.”
“I have more,” Ross answered.
“We should exchange cell phone numbers so we can contact each other if either of us finds him.”
“Good idea,” he said. He rattled off a number, which she quickly entered into her phone, then she gave him hers in return.
“Now that you mention cell phones, it occurs to me that I should have thought of that first,” Ross said. “Let me try to reach Josh on his phone. Maybe I can track him down and meet him somewhere away from here.”
She waited while he dialed, impatient at even a few more moments of delay. The longer they waited, the more likely Josh would accidentally stumble onto his father’s body and the murder scene.
After a moment, Ross made a face and left a message on the boy’s voice mail for him to call him as soon as possible.
“He’s not answering. I guess we’re back to the original plan. I’ll cover the midway and you see if you can find him at the dance.”
“Deal. I’ll call you if I find him.”
“Right back at you. And Ms. Osterman? Thank you.”
She flashed him a quick smile, though even that seemed inappropriate under the circumstances. “Julie, please.”
He nodded and they each took off in separate directions. She quickly made her way to the dance, though she was forced to virtually ignore several acquaintances on her way, greeting them with only a wave instead of her usual conversation. She would have to explain later and hope they understood.
She expected Ross’s call at any moment but to her dismay, her phone still hadn’t rung by the time she reached the dance.
Country swing music throbbed from the speakers and the plank-covered dance floor was full. Finding Josh in this throng would be a challenge, especially when she knew him only from a photograph.
She scanned the crowd, looking for familiar faces. Finally, she found two girls she had worked with at the Foundation standing with a larger group.
“Hey, Ms. O.” They greeted her with a warmth she found gratifying.
“Hey, Katie. Hi, Jo. I could use your help. I’m trying to find a boy.”
“Aren’t we all?” Jo said with a roll of eyes heavily