Most of the action, however, was in the house. The drapes were drawn in every room, but even from this far back I could see shadows dancing behind the curtains of several rooms. Was Cody inside? I wondered. According to the law, he would have been allowed to stay and observe but not interfere. If he was in there, it was more than likely that he had an attorney with him.
A few minutes later, as I stood with my arms crossed, trying to keep heat from escaping, two New York State policemen emerged. They were obviously working in conjunction with the sheriff’s department, and one was carrying two large paper bags, probably filled with items from the house, the other a large, official-looking leather case.
“Is it true Mr. Blaine gave you permission to search the property?” I called out, knowing the chances of an answer were slim.
“No comment at this time,” one of the officers shot back. “The sheriff will take questions at the press conference.”
“Do those bags mean you found something?” the TV reporter queried. He also knew he wasn’t going to score an answer, but he needed video for eleven.
As expected, no response.
I watched the two cops drive off in an SUV and turned my attention back to the house. There were still shadows moving, both upstairs and down, but standing outside wasn’t going to tell me who was in there.
I hoofed back to the red MINI and opened the passenger door.
“Does the coffee invitation still stand?” I asked.
“Yup. Jump in. Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee there’s not a bass hook poking out of the passenger seat.”
“I have a lot of respect for a woman who fishes,” I said as I settled into the front seat, keeping one eye on the Blaine front yard.
“Do you fish yourself?”
“No, never liked the worm part. I guess you could say my big outdoor hobbies are hiking and bird-watching, probably because they were things my father did. He died when I was twelve.”
“That had to be tough. Is your mother still alive?”
“Yes, though she’s currently off teaching in Nigeria.”
“Wow, how’d she end up there?”
“She developed a big case of wanderlust when she turned sixty, and she’s been traveling a ton and also accepting stints in far-flung places as a visiting professor. At least we get to stay in touch through the miracle of Skype.”
By now Alice had handed over a paper cup of coffee and refilled the plastic cup from the thermos that she was drinking from. Part of me was still on alert, suspicious there was an agenda behind her gift of a lead and the coffee klatch invite. But maybe what I was seeing was simply the salt-of-the-earth side of Alice.
“So back to the action here,” I said. “Did I miss anything before I arrived?”
“Not much. They brought out grocery bags, like the onesthey carried out a minute ago. It doesn’t look like they’re wrenching up floorboards.”
“Do you think the fact that Blaine gave them permission means he has nothing to hide?”
Alice tore at a ragged cuticle, considering.
“Not necessarily. The guy’s shrewd, and he’s not going to expose himself unnecessarily. If he killed her in the house, he probably did it without spilling any blood, so he knows there’s nothing in there to incriminate him.”
Noticing I’d guzzled most of my coffee, Alice kindly refilled my cup.
“Does it always turn this nippy in September?” I said.
“At night, you bet. Though we usually end up blessed with an Indian summer at some point.”
A thought began to bubble up in my mind. Alice clearly knew the area inside out, and so she’d be the perfect person to ask for insight about Sunset Bay. I’d be tipping her off to a lead that could prove to be a freaking gold mine, but without any context, that lead was in danger of becoming a dead end.
“You were nice enough to alert me to the search here, and now I’m going to return the favor,” I said. “But in exchange I need you to answer something for me.”
She raised a bushy eyebrow. “I’m all ears.”
I told her about the phone call then and how it had probably been prompted by the caller spotting me with Tom Nolan.
