The Curse Оf Hollister House
- Автор: Дэйли Кэти
- Серия: A Cat In The Attic Mystery #1
- Год: 2019
- Язык: английский
- Год: Kathi Daley Books
- Жанр: Другие детективы
Электронная книга - «The Curse Оf Hollister House». Краткое содержание книги:
“Me too. It would be best for the pups.” Cass paused to call one of the dogs who’d gotten too far ahead back to our side. I was going to need to learn everyone’s name if I was ever going to do this on my own. I supposed that with time, I’d be able to identify each dog, but with the large turn over, I had no idea how Naomi and her volunteers kept track of everyone. “Did you get your volunteer hours worked out?”
“I did. I’m going to be here with you on Tuesdays and Fridays.” I noticed that earned me a very sweet grin. “I’m also going to come early on both days and help out with the training program.”
“Have you ever trained a dog before?”
“No, I haven’t. In fact, I have very little experience being around dogs at all. But I’m a fast learner, and I want to help, so Naomi said she’d train me to train the dogs. I’m going to come on Monday to observe the beginner’s class.”
Cass took my hand in his as we neared the little pond Naomi had added to the property. It was cool bordering on cold today, so the dogs didn’t seem interested in swimming, but I was willing to bet that during the summer they all would have waded in.
“The key to dog training is confidence and patience. Make sure whichever dog you are working with knows you are boss and that you will stand there all day until you get the behavior you are after, so he or she may as well give in and do what you ask so that you can both move on. It took me a while to get the hang of it, but now I’ve graduated to helping with the S and R training.”
“S and R? You mean search and rescue?”
Cass nodded. “Naomi has a team, of which Milo and I are members. We can’t always go on rescues with the others because most of the time when someone is missing Milo and I are on-duty for the sheriff’s department. But we train with the team and participate in rescues when we can. Once you are comfortable with the ins and outs of dog training, I’m sure Naomi would be happy to work with you in this advanced capacity if you are interested and if you were staying in Foxtail Lake.”
“I understand that being a member of the team would be a huge commitment, and she wouldn’t want to spend time training anyone with one foot out the door.”
“Exactly.”
“Honestly, I have no idea what my long-term plans are, so I think I’ll stick to basic training for now.” One of the dogs, a husky I was pretty sure Cass had called Thor, trotted over with a stick. I accepted it from him and then gave it a toss. “I spoke to Hope over at the library today,” I said after the dog took off running. “Did you know she was Tracy’s godmother?”
“I did.”
Of course, he did. He was a deputy. “Anyway, we got to talking about her death and how it seemed to mirror Stella’s. We discussed the fact that a good candidate for a suspect would be someone who worked at the middle school because that was where both girls were seen last, but then I told her about Hillary, the girl I called to tell you about, who disappeared from Rivers Bend ten years ago. After we chatted a bit, we decided it might be a good idea to look at those men and women who temped for the county and worked out of all the schools in the area. The time span has been twenty years, so we figured there wouldn’t be many if any subs who met those criteria.”
“There are three.”
“So you already thought to look?”
He nodded. “I’ve also interviewed the three. Veronica Jones has been a substitute teacher for thirty years and has taught at every school in the county.”
“Thirty years. That’s a long time. I wonder why she didn’t apply for a full-time position.”
“I asked her about that when we spoke, and she told me that she enjoyed the flexibility and variety that came with subbing. She didn’t want to get bogged down teaching a single grade or subject in any one school.”
“I guess that makes sense. Was she teaching at our middle school when Stella and Tracy disappeared and in Rivers Bend when Hillary disappeared?”
“She told me she didn’t remember where she was working ten and twenty years ago, so I’m having her employment records pulled. She did say that she had been subbing for the history teacher on the day Tracy went missing. The woman was nice enough and didn’t seem the sort to be a serial killer, but I’ll keep her on my suspect list until I can confirm her whereabouts on the days Stella and Hillary disappeared.”
When the dog with the stick returned, I accepted it and tossed it again. “Okay, who else do you have who fits the criteria?”
“Harvey Underwood, also a substitute teacher. He was new to the district when Stella went missing. He didn’t remember which school he was working at or if he was even working on the day Stella went missing, but he did say that by the time Hillary went missing he’d landed a full-time teaching job in Rivers Bend. He remembered Hillary and the panic everyone felt when she turned up missing. He also said he remembered the horror that replaced the panic when Hillary’s body was found.”
“If he had a full-time teaching job in another town, he wouldn’t have been here when Tracy went missing,” I pointed out.
“Actually, he was. About four years ago, the county underwent budget cuts, and the arts and music programs were cut. Harvey had been teaching art and shop classes in Rivers Bend, so he found himself unemployed. He went back to subbing and admitted to having been here in Foxtail Lake subbing for a middle-school math teacher on the day Tracy disappeared.”
“Seems like quite the coincidence.”
“I agree. I’m not ready to state unequivocally that Harvey Underwood is the guy we are looking for, but I did pick up an odd vibe from him. He appeared to be cooperating, and he did answer every question I asked, but the entire time we were talking, I had this feeling there was something he wasn’t saying.”
“So are you going to dig into his past?”
“I am. I’m waiting for verification as to where he was teaching on the day Stella went missing and then I’ll take it from there.”
“And the third suspect?” I asked, tossing the stick yet again.
“Ronald Trauner. He is a substitute custodian who works at all the schools in the county as he is needed. I hate to bring stereotypes into the conversation, but Mr. Trauner most definitely fits the description of the creepy custodian who never really interacts with anyone but watches everyone and everything and knows exactly what is going on at all times.”
“So he could totally have done it.”
“When I first met him, I was sure he had. I remembered the guy from when we were in school. To be honest, he sort of freaked me out then and he most definitely still freaks me out now. I even felt a moment of fear despite the fact that I had a gun and all he had was a mop.”
I frowned. “Do you mean that really tall guy with the black eyes and pale, pale complexion?”
Cass nodded.
“I totally remember him. He looked like a zombie. He was so pale, had sunken cheeks and dark eyes and never spoke. Even if you asked him a question, he sort of replied with a grunt. I figured he was mute.”
“He can speak,” Cass assured me. “He has a deep voice and he speaks slowly, as if considering each word before he says it. He answered my questions, but he was extremely monosyllabic. His answers consisted of one or two words for most of the interview.”
“Was he at the right schools on the right days?”
“I don’t know. I’m waiting for his employment records as well.”
“You’d think the staff at the county would be all over getting the records to you, given the situation.”
“You would think, but apparently, what seems urgent to us isn’t urgent to them. I have a lot of data to go through this weekend. I have a list of suspects, but if you are correct in your opinion that Hillary was killed by the same person who killed both Stella and Tracy, that changes things quite a bit.”