The Piper

FIFTY-FOUR




Olivia tried not to think on the way back, to concentrate only on the droning effect of the road. But the noise of it was strong in her mind. The long blond ponytail, the soft pudgy hands, the gentle look of a lamb. Offering her tea. She had sat and listened to the microwave ding, the slam of cabinet doors, while the dog lay in a pool of dried blood where it had died at the kitchen door. What kind of dog was it, she wondered. She could only picture Winston, which didn’t help her state of mind. And the bodies, stiff and still in the basement while everything inside the house gathered dust.

It was dusk when she got back to Knoxville. She was tired and she wanted a hot bubble bath, the new familiarity of her hotel room. But she drove to the house first, not to go inside, just to look.

Every single light was on. Like they always were, when the bad things happened.

What would happen if she went inside?

Before she could make up her mind, her cell phone rang. McTavish again.

‘Olivia? Listen to me. Are you back in Knoxville yet? Are you at the hotel?’

‘No, I’m headed over there right now. God, what now, McTavish?’

‘Look. Olivia.’

She waited. Heard him breathing.

‘I’m going to give you the heads up, okay? Go somewhere else for the night.’

Olivia felt the bottom of her stomach drop, the feeling getting all too familiar. ‘Why, McTavish? What’s going on?’

‘Donnie Withers is going to be sending someone out to pick you up. He doesn’t have a warrant out for your arrest, not yet. He’s going to bring you in for questioning, as a person of interest, and he can keep you, Livie, for forty-eight hours without charging you. You can’t avoid this, understand. Don’t do something stupid like run. But we can delay it. If he doesn’t know where you are, and he doesn’t have an arrest warrant, he has to find you. So we have some time to prepare. If you’re hungry, get something to eat. Take a shower, have a good night’s sleep. And be ready, be mentally prepped. My advice is to get an attorney and then let them handle the arrangements with the police.’

Olivia felt cold all over, and she began to shake. ‘Again, McTavish. Why?’

‘Livie, listen to me. The teapot was there, the mugs were on the coffee table in that little office, exactly like you described. One of the cabinet doors was even open part way in the kitchen, right where the teabags were kept. There was a spoon on the counter, a jar of honey, everything exactly like you said it would be.’

‘So what then?’

‘There aren’t any prints except yours.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘One of the tea mugs has your fingerprints all over it. The other one, nothing.’

‘No prints at all?’

‘Like it was fresh out of the dishwasher.’

‘Whoever the killer was, McTavish, I saw him. I talked to him.’

‘But you get it, Livie, that to someone like Donnie Withers, that just doesn’t make any sense. And he doesn’t get why the guy would go back there four days after he did the killings just to have a cup of tea.’

‘But if I was in on it somehow, why would I go back? Look, this guy was in the house with me, he had to have left something, some kind of DNA track, down by the bodies, by that kitchen door.’

‘Yeah. And we got fingerprints there. Prints of a guy with felony hits that would turn your stomach, but he ain’t no blond guy with blue eyes. He ain’t the guy you described. Donnie’s pegging him for the murders, and he wants to pick him up, but technically it’s not his case, and there are jurisdictional problems that are slowing things down, even though for once everyone seems to be cooperating. But we’re going all out on one thing, which is picking this guy up.’

‘Then what does he want with me?’

‘He thinks he’s got your accomplice.’

‘What?’

‘Yeah, I know it sounds crazy, but Olivia, it looks strange. Donnie’s trying to make sense out of the whole mess. He’s got bodies piling up under suspicious circumstances, and one person making money on the deal out of life insurance, and that would be you. He figures if he gets you locked up in a little room, you’ll flip on this guy and tell him where he is.’

‘And Teddy?’

‘He’s looking for her body, Livie. He doesn’t think she’s coming back alive.’

‘So they’ve written her off?’

‘Not written her off. Looking for her killer. Livie, hon, I know you didn’t do this, but you have to admit, it’s looking pretty strange. No matter what Donnie does, I’m finding Teddy for you and I’m not stopping till I do. Livie? You there?’

‘Here. Okay, McTavish.’

‘I don’t have to tell you not to let anybody know you got a heads up. Donnie made sure I was out of the loop, but I’ve got a lot of friends. It’s after six, that’s why Donnie is doing it now. It will take you some effort to lawyer up. Find a place to spend the night. Don’t use your credit card, don’t leave a paper trail. In the meantime, I know a guy who knows a guy, and I can get the legal end going for you, if you’ll trust me on this. She’s expensive, by the way. The lawyer. But—’

‘I’ll give her the mortgage to my house.’

McTavish actually laughed. ‘Livie. You dog. You won’t do anything stupid, right? I did the right thing, giving you a call?’

‘I guess that depends on how you define stupid, McTavish. But yes. You did the right thing. And I get how much you’re doing for me here.’

‘The main thing is we find your little girl. Detective Donnie may be distracted with his Mister Man hunt, but I’ve got my eye on the ball. Livie. I just want to tell you—’

‘Don’t tell me anything right now, McTavish. Let’s see how this all plays out.’