She hesitated, not knowing what to do. The afternoon was waning, and it would grow dark soon, so she tried calling Caleb. No answer.
She decided to try Floby, who might have found out something about the body in the attic.
He did answer her call, then groaned when she identified herself.
“Please don’t tell me that you’ve found another body in your house,” he said fervently.
“No, but…I think I might have found…well, I’ve found a bunch of dirt that’s been recently dug up.”
“In your yard?”
“No.”
“Where?”
“The cemetery.”
“The cemetery? Is this some kind of a joke?” he demanded.
“No. Please, Floby…can you come out and see what I’m talking about?”
“For God’s sake, why?”
“Floby—what if someone was buried there and then dug up? Would you be able to tell?”
“In a cemetery?”
“It’s actually outside the cemetery proper, in unhallowed ground. The thing is…” She paused, then drew a deep breath and went on.
“I think the woman Caleb found on the beach might have been buried there, then dug up and thrown in the ocean later.”
“All right.” He sighed. “Actually, it’s already been a theory of mine that she was buried—then dug up and dumped. It’s past quitting time anyway, and I won’t have the results I want until tomorrow, at least. You shouldn’t go wandering around by yourself, though, seeing as it’s almost dark. I’ll come get you, so just stay put, you hear?”
“Thank you, Floby. I’m right on the plaza, so I’ll wait for you in the café near the Casa Monica Hotel, okay?”
“I’ll find you.”
Frederick Russell’s widow, Ginger, was a perfectly named slim redhead. She had pretty features, though looking drawn now, from the sadness that seemed to weigh her down.
She’d suggested they meet in the parlor of an Old Town hotel, now charmingly set for evening tea.
“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Caleb said as he took a seat across from her. “But I’m not sure how I can help you. I found your husband’s body, but I don’t know anything about him or how he came to be there. You said he was murdered, but…”
“First you should know that Ricky—sorry, that’s what I called him—didn’t speed, and he knew these roads like the back of his hand. He was one of the most responsible people I’ve ever met. He didn’t drink, and he didn’t do drugs. There’s no way his death was an accident.”
“Perhaps there was something wrong with his car,” Caleb suggested.
She shook her head, smiling sadly. “No way. He kept it in perfect repair.” She took a deep breath, visibly steeling herself. “I’ve asked around, and I know who you are and why you’re here. I’m just curious if you’re aware that my husband and the girl you came down here looking for disappeared at pretty much the same time?”
“I knew it had to be around the same time, yes, given when you’d reported him missing. But with the amount of time your husband was in the water, they couldn’t establish an exact time of death,” Caleb said.
“The night he disappeared, I was talking to Frederick on the phone when he suddenly said something like, ‘What the hell…?’ And he wasn’t in his car then, he was walking in Old Town. He was meeting a client for dinner. I think he saw something, something that bothered him, and went to see what was going on. You had to have known my husband—he would never have passed up a chance to help someone. And that’s the last that was seen or heard of him,” she said. “But I think—no, I’m sure—that when he went to help, something happened, that he got involved in something he couldn’t handle and was killed for it. The police didn’t believe me then, and I doubt they’d believe me now, but I’m sure of it.”
Caleb glanced at his phone, which he’d set on the table, and realized he’d missed a call.
From Sarah.
He rose. “Mrs. Russell, thank you for calling me. I swear to you, I’ll do my absolute best to find out what happened to your husband, and whether his death is related to the disappearances of these girls.”
She offered him her sad smile again. “I know you will. Martha Tyler told me there’s something special about you. That you would help me.”
“That was very kind of her. I’ll keep in touch,” he promised.
He walked out onto Charlotte Street and pulled out his phone, trying to reach Sarah. He felt his heart slamming as the phone rang.
But then she answered. “Caleb?”
“I’m here.”
“I was just trying to reach you. I need you to meet me as soon as you can.”
“In church?”
A long moment of silence followed, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he waited for her answer, and then he cursed silently when she finally replied.
“No. The cemetery.”