Orchid Beach (Holly Barker 1)

“As you can see, the land along here has never been built on. A local guy put together several small parcels some years back, and I think he hopes to get a lot of money for it from some developer who wants to put in a gated subdivision. He wanted Chet’s property, too, but the old lady who owned it took a liking to Chet, and he got a real deal. And, until a subdivision gets built, he has a lot of seclusion out here.”

The road was ending up ahead, and Jackson turned left into a driveway marked by a mailbox. “The house is just around this bend,” he said, following the road and passing through an open gate. They emerged into a clearing, and a small frame house ahead was illuminated by their headlights. When Jackson switched off the lights, it was very dark outside. He reached into the glove compartment and took out a flashlight. “Come on,” he said.

They left the car and walked up a flagstone path to the house, with Daisy going on ahead. “This must be very pretty in the daytime,” Holly said.

“It is. Chet could fish off a little dock right behind the house.”

Holly stopped him. “Let’s walk around the house before we go in. Can I have the flashlight?” He handed it over, and Holly began a very slow walk around the place, playing the flashlight carefully over each window. She paused for a long time at the back door, then continued her walk. “There,” she said finally, pointing the light at the middle of a window. She pushed a bush aside and got close to it.

“What?” Jackson asked.

Holly pointed at the spot where the two sashes met. “This window has been jimmied,” she said, “and the intruder split a little piece off the wood right here. He pushed some sort of thin blade between the sashes and pushed the lock open.” She pointed at some smudges on the glass, rubbed a finger over them, then rubbed her fingers together. “Talcum powder,” she said. “He used rubber gloves. Some brands have talcum on them to make them easier to put on.”

They continued to the front door, and Jackson opened it with his key and flipped a switch. Two lamps came on. They were standing in a good-sized living room. A desk in a corner helped create a small office area. There was a sofa and a pair of chairs in front of the fireplace, and another corner held a round dining table and six chairs.

“I expect that’s where poker got played,” Holly said. The room was extremely neat and tidy. “I’d half expected the place to be trashed,” she said. “Looks like our intruder was very neat.”

“Or his cleaning lady came in behind them,” Jackson said. “Chet shared one with Hank Doherty.”

“I met her,” Holly said, “and I’ve got her number in my notebook, I think.” She dug her notebook out of her bag and found the number. “Let’s phone her before we start looking.” She sat down at Marley’s desk, picked up the phone and dialed the number.

“Shouldn’t you be careful about obscuring fingerprints?” Jackson asked.

“There won’t be any fingerprints; he was wearing rubber gloves, remember?”

“Right.”

“Hello, is this Mary White?”

“Yes,” the woman replied.

“This is Deputy Chief Holly Barker. We met out at Hank Doherty’s house a while back.”

“That’s right, I remember.”

“Ms. White, I understand that you worked for Chief Marley as well as Mr. Doherty, is that right?”

“That’s right. I’m still going out to his place once a week to dust, while he’s in the hospital.”

“That’s good. Do you remember when Chief Marley and Mr. Doherty were shot?”

“Sure, I do.”

“After that night, when was the first time you went to Chief Marley’s house?”

“Let’s see, it would have been two days later.”

“Did you let yourself in with your own key?”

“That’s right.”

“Did you notice anything unusual about the place that day? Had anything been disturbed?”

“Well…it was just a little messier than it usually was. Chief Marley is a very neat man. I mean, it wasn’t real messy, just a little bit. Things that were stacked up on his desk were a little bit messed up, but I straightened them. And there were two beer cans on the big table in the living room, half full. First time I ever found a beer can in the house. The chief would clean up after himself and his poker friends after they were there.”

“I see. Ms. White, I’m out at the chief’s house right now. Do you know if he had some special place in the house to hide valuables? A safe, or a lockbox, maybe a hidden place?”

“No, I don’t believe he did, except for that little box next to his desk. It’s one of those safe things that’s supposed to be fireproof, you know?”