Gloria. The quiet woman who spoke up at the meeting when Jen tried to shut down Conrad and Jolene. Gloria, who’d said she wanted to hear all opinions.
I don’t know her well, other than that she’s always seemed kind. She’s one of the last arrivals, and she works at the general store. She’s quiet, barely says a word to anyone.
In other words, perfect council-spy material.
I thank Devon, take my cookie and head out.
* * *
Gloria isn’t at the general store.
“She took a sick day,” Petra says, when I find her closing up alone. “Killer migraine, apparently. Hungover, if you ask me.”
“Gloria parties? I got the impression she was something of a loner.”
“Mmm, I wouldn’t say she’s a partier or a loner. I do know she got herself a boyfriend recently. Don’t ask me who. She’s not volunteering that information, and I don’t pry.” A roll of her eyes. “You know what this place is like. Secrets, secrets, and more secrets, most of them not worth the effort of digging.”
Petra would know. In Rockton, she’s a comic-book artist turned part-time artist and shop clerk. In her former life, she was a spy. A professional one.
She continues, “In a town with so many secrets, people should get tired of them, but I swear, it just makes them want more. The way Gloria acts, you’d think she was secretly hooking up with Eric.”
“Maybe she is.”
“Yeah, and I’m dating Isabel.” She shakes her head. “No, this is just a secret for secrecy’s sake. When Gloria finally reveals her mystery lover, it’ll turn out to be someone like Ted.” She makes a gagging noise.
“Ted’s dating Frieda.”
“What?” Her lip curls. “I need to have a talk with that girl. But yeah, Gloria is an odd one. She asked for this job, but her customer-service skills suck. She’s not rude. It’s like dealing with a self-serve checkout. No chitchat. No welcoming smiles. No ‘have a nice day.’ We moved her into the back fast.” She eyes me as she puts away the inventory list. “Wait, she’s a suspect then? For our council-spy whistleblower?”
“No one said anything about council spies.”
“Right.” She gives me a look. “Well, not that I have any experience in these matters, cough-cough, but Gloria would make a shitty spy. Sure, she passes under the radar, but she’s not going to get intel in Rockton by listening at doors. Here you need to be part of the conversation.”
“So you say she stayed home today.”
“Way to bring me back on track, Case. Fine. Yes, she stayed home. I suspect a hangover because ever since she’s hooked up with this guy, she’s been coming in bleary eyed.”
“Did she work yesterday?”
“Nope, it was her day off.”
“Did you see her at all today? Or did someone deliver the message that she wasn’t coming in?”
“She stopped by. Holding her head. Wearing sunglasses.” She shoos me toward the door and then stops. “While I figured she was hungover, it’s also possible she was faking it. I just wouldn’t expect that from her. I did bump into her yesterday. I missed the meeting—figured you guys would catch me up—and I was heading into the bakery as she was coming out. I asked if she’d been to the meeting, and she jumped like I’d accused her of skipping work. She reminded me it was her day off. I said yeah, I know, and I was asking about the meeting, since I wasn’t at it. She mumbled something and got out of there fast.”
“Interesting.”
“I thought so.”
* * *
After that, I break for dinner, which is more about sharing my leads with Dalton than needing to eat. When I’m this involved in an investigation, I tend to forget everything else. Today, though, I want to talk.
We pick up dinner and dine alone at the station. My investigation so far seems straightforward. Not much to bounce off Dalton, really. Gloria taking over the movie-poster work this week would seem to confirm what Ted heard—that someone posted the Anders sign behind the regular one. Gloria might not be prime spy material, but she’s definitely acting like someone with a guilty conscience.
Is the new boyfriend the key here? Gloria finds a boyfriend and starts getting secretive. A boyfriend who doesn’t want anyone to know they’re dating … because he’s setting her up. She’s on the movie committee, and he wants access to that poster.
What I really need from Dalton is data. Well, no, I also want some time with my guy, time to decompress and prepare for another long night of work. But, yes, data, too. Is there anything in Gloria’s background I should know about?
Dalton considers long enough that, in the past, I’d have jumped in with apologies for putting him on the spot. I know better now. I’d only be putting him on the spot if he felt obliged to share private details with his detective because she’s also his lover. While Dalton can overdo it trying to please me, that means puppies and chocolate, not breaking resident confidentiality. If he’s quiet, it’s because he’s accessing his mental file on Gloria and deciding what might be pertinent.
“If someone wanted to woo her,” he says, “alcohol would be a good way to do it.”
“She’s a drinker?” I frown. I’ve never seen her in the Roc, and residents can’t purchase take-home in any significant quantity.
Before Dalton can answer, I say, “Oh. Wait. You mean she’s a former drinker. An alcoholic. She meets a guy, admits she has a problem, and the asshole takes advantage.”
Dalton doesn’t confirm. He doesn’t need to—he’s given me enough of a hint. Such a scenario only reaffirms that I need to take a closer look at this boyfriend, whoever he might be. It could be unconnected to the sign—just some horny guy like Ted, willing to seduce a recovering alcoholic with booze. I still want to know who it is. We have ways of turning off that particular pipeline.
The fact that her lover seems to be plying her with booze means he has access to it himself. Stealing it is impossible. Nothing is locked down tighter. Either her boyfriend has the status to purchase more or he has the credits to buy others’ allotments. Either way, it means he has a high-ranking job.
We come up with a short list of suspects. Then dinner’s over, and I’m off again, leaving Dalton on full-time patrol. Not his favorite place to be—especially when most of the issues are people wanting answers about Anders—but with our deputy on desk duty, we don’t have much choice.
I stop at Gloria’s apartment first. She’s home but not answering the door. When I knock a second time, I catch a faint click and think she’s unlocking it. Nope. Apparently, she crept over to lock it.
I move to the window and shade my eyes to peer in. I don’t need to check. I know she’s there. I just can’t resist letting her know that I know. There’s an advantage to making her even more nervous. The cops are closing in. Time to give up.
While I could call in Dalton and his skeleton key, I decide to drop it. Let her stew tonight and confront her in the morning. Maybe I’ll get lucky and she’ll confess. If not, though, I need more than one person saying she volunteered to put up the sign.