Chapter 7: Chapter Seven

By the time my brother and his friends showed up, the lasagna was almost done. I had a bottle of wine uncorked. I might have had a sip or two for liquid courage. My brother’s favorite beer was in the fridge and a cherry pie was ready to go in the oven when the lasagna came out.

The guys walked in without knocking. They’d only been out to my house a few times. We had a Friendsgiving Thanksgiving night a year ago for people who might not have family in town, and for a few who did. We, my brother and I, made enough to take to the officers working the holiday shift at the station.

But most of the time, my brother is the entertainer. He likes to barbeque all summer and our friends tend to congregate around his fire pit in his backyard. We only use my place if we need a bigger space.

“George Clooney, give me five,” Jake said. It was one of the few tricks George deemed worthy of learning. He stuck out a paw and then rumbled something.

“Is that so? I’ll see what I can do.”

My brother laughed. “What did he ask?”

“What? You didn’t understand him? It was perfectly clear. He said Ainsley’s lasagna smells delicious and he wants a piece.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it.

“Hey, guys, there’s wine on the counter and beer in the fridge.”

“What do you guys want?” Kane asked as he walked in behind my brother. “And, Ainsley, I brought some of my mom’s homemade garlic bread. She sent some home to put in the freezer last time I was there.”

“Beer,” my brother said. No surprise there.

“If the wine is from Michael’s place, I’ll try whatever you have opened,” Jake said.

Kane handed me the foil-wrapped package.

“Thanks, I hadn’t put mine in yet. I can’t wait to taste this. Homemade is always so much better than store bought.”

He nodded. After grabbing the drinks, he headed toward his friends.

I put the bread in and was chopping a salad when Jake came into the kitchen.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

The oven dinged. “There are some pot holders over there if you want to get the lasagna out for me—and the bread. You can just set them on the stove for right now to cool.”

“Got it. Everything really does smell amazing. Thanks for making us a meal tonight.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So is this some kind of plot to get information from your brother?”

I stopped chopping the tomato. “Uh. I don’t know what you mean.”

He chuckled. “Dave works with me at the fire station. His aunt is Ms. Helen who is a member of the book club.”

“Oh.” Darn that woman and her mouth.

“She mentioned to him that you and your friends were putting together a suspect board.”

I kind of wanted to slam my head against the cabinet at that point. It was dumb that I ever thought we could keep things quiet.

I sighed, and he chuckled again. “You should tell your brother what you guys have heard. Michael doesn’t deserve what’s happening to him. I’ve been friends for years with Greg and Michael. It’s ripping Greg up, but he’s doing what he must.”

“I know but I don’t feel like the police, in general, are really trying that hard.”

“What?” Greg asked.

Crud. He and Kane were standing in front of the breakfast bar. I thought they’d been a bit further away by George. The whole downstairs was an open concept, but it was a big space.

Once again, I had a serious case of foot-in-mouth disease.

“I only mean, that you have your suspect and evidence, and there seems to be a reluctance to look at anyone else, even though you know he didn’t do it.”

My brother’s eyebrow went up, which was never a good sign. “Ainsley, he’s my friend. I’m doing everything I can to get him out of there.”

“So, you don’t believe he did it.” He had no idea how important the answer to that question was to me.

“Of course, I don’t. But the evidence is there, and all of the other suspects have alibis. He had a bail hearing. I don’t understand why he’s deciding to stay in lockup.”

It was such a relief to hear him say those words about Michael’s innocence. “Wait, there are other suspects?”

Greg frowned and then glanced up at the ceiling like he was asking heaven for patience. “Yes, Ainsley. We are looking into all the leads.”

There was an uncomfortable silence. I finished chopping the last bit of tomato. I like my salads in bite-sized pieces.

“And he’s staying in lockup because he doesn’t want anyone to be financially responsible for him. Not that he’d go on the run. But he doesn’t want anyone’s money. That’s the kind of guy you have in jail.”

Another uncomfortable silence. It might be a while before my brother accepted another invitation from me to hang out again.

“Greg, can you take this salad to the table?” I asked more to change the subject than anything.

“I’ve got the lasagna,” Jake said.

“If you’ve got something to put the bread in, I can take care of that,” Kane added.

Nothing like an argument with siblings to throw a damper on the night. I handed Kane a basket for the bread. I’d already set the table, so we put all the food in the middle and passed it around family style, except for the lasagna, which I served.

The guys chatted about football and basketball. The police and fire stations were sponsoring a charity event for the basketball program for kids in need.

I jumped up when I realized I’d forgotten to put the cherry pie in the oven.

“Do you need help with anything?” Jake asked again as he followed me into the kitchen. He was so polite.

“Just putting the pie in the oven.”

“You need to tell him what you guys found out, Ainsley.”

Those gorgeous eyes of his, well, it felt like they could see right through me.

“I don’t want to ruin the dinner. I feel like I’ve put you guys through enough and I really am sorry about that.”

“Nothing to be sorry about. Your brother is one of my best friends and will be for life, but you might find Kane and I are pretty good allies for you. We’re worried about the same thing. Kane’s been working double shifts trying to find some other evidence to prove Michael’s innocence. So don’t worry about us. We’re just as interested in what you have to say, as you are in finding out what Greg knows.”

For the first time in days, I smiled. A genuine one. “Thanks. But get ready because he is most likely going to rip my head off. It’s like poking a bear lately with him.”

“We can take it. And he’s under a lot of stress. Like I said earlier, Michael’s his friend, too.”

I knew that. But it didn’t make it any easier to start that line of questioning with my brother.

I cleared my throat as I sat back down. “I meant to tell you earlier, there was some vandalism out at Michael’s place.” I explained about the lettering.

“Why didn’t Shannon call me?”

I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so I just stared at my lasagna.

“Oh,” he said softly. “Well, it’s a crime and even if she is angry with me, she should report it. I’ll go take a look as soon as we’re done with dinner.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Greg, let me know when you’re done looking into it,” Jake said. “Then I’ll take some of the guys over tomorrow morning and see if we can power wash the paint off,” Jake said.

“And there’s something else I need to tell you.” But I really don’t want to.

He put his fork down and took a sip of his beer. “If it’s about your murder board, I already know. Erma’s nephew works at the station.”

Well, that was sort of a relief. “Did they tell you what we’d discovered?”

“No,” he said flatly.

I told him everything from the wife’s vacation to the girlfriend being very rude. All of it.

“I think, what we’re doing—sometimes people may not want to talk to the police like they would a friend or neighbor. I’m quite certain you aren’t happy with my snooping, but I made a promise to Shannon to help any way I can.”

“Ainsley, you think a group of amateur detectives are better at solving a case than the police?”

I sighed for the fourth time that night. “No. Please don’t get defensive. I need you to hear what I’m saying. I’m just asking folks questions and that’s what the book club gang is doing. We all love Michael, and none of us likes the idea that there’s still a killer running around. And you’re really busy with the fall festival, and the college homecoming. I’m just asking that you let us be the ears for you. Like a community patrol or something.”

He rubbed his forehead and then pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re going to do this whether I approve or not, aren’t you?”

I bit my lip and then nodded.

“Fine. I’m going on record as saying I do not like this at all. I’m worried you might get hurt. As you said, there could still be a killer on the loose. But don’t do anything stupid or dangerous. You’re all I have left.”

I reached over and patted his hand. “Any chance I could see your police files?” I grinned.

“Ains, it’s an active police investigation. That would be a no.”

“Okay. Okay. I had to ask.”

The guys chuckled.

The oven dinged again. I started gathering plates, but the guys picked up their own and followed me into the kitchen. “I’m guessing you all want pie?”

“Yes,” they said in unison.

“Coffee and cups are over there if you want some. And, Greg, can you get the ice cream out of the fridge?”

We took everything back to the table and I served them on my fiesta ware I’d picked up at the Round Top Antiques Fair earlier in the fall. I’d bought all different colors and liked to mismatch them with my place settings. It’s the little things like that, that keep me happy.

An hour later, they were all set to go.

Kane was the last to leave.

“Hey, can I ask you a few things?”

He glanced outside and then back at me. Then he shut the door.

“Sure. But if it’s about the case, I’m not sure I can share. My work falls under the same guidelines as your brother’s.”

“Right. I get that. I’m just curious why all the evidence points to Michael when there are so many other suspects. You heard what I said. They all had motive, something Michael didn’t have.” Unless he’d found out about the victim hitting on Shannon. But I wouldn’t even let my mind go there. Even if he had known, it wouldn’t have been a reason to murder the guy. I did leave that part of my explanation out when I told Greg “everything.”

“I can’t tell you much, but the force it took to kill someone with a wine bottle like that, well, it had to be someone tall and strong. Michael is both. From what I understand, it just wouldn’t be possible for most of the other suspects to do that. It’s actually very hard to kill someone like that. The bottle broke in such a way that one of the shards cut the stem of the brain. It’s odd because the skull is a great protector and hard to break through.”

Well crud. That was exactly what I didn’t want to hear.

If we were going to help Michael, we had to find someone with motive and the strength to have killed the victim.

His wife and girlfriend had alibis. And Danny Avery hadn’t been in town and would do anything for Shannon and Michael.

I sat down next to George Clooney on the couch.

Then it hit me. Instead of thinking about who tried to the kill the victim, maybe I should focus on a different tack. That wine bottle had been very specific.

Who would want to frame Michael for murder?