The Littlest Witness Page 9

  Thea had posed as a member of the cleaning crew one night to gain entrance into the building. She’d not only gotten the proof her father and his client needed, but the adrenaline rush had been like nothing she’d ever experienced. Rick had told her once that cops had that same high chasing suspects through dark alleys or breaking down doors in the middle of the night.

  Thea had been a lot younger then, and she hadn’t had nearly as much at stake. She wasn’t all that anxious to relive the excitement, but she could see no other way out of this mess. Tomorrow night she would go to Gail Waters’s office. She would find and destroy any evidence that might link her, Thea, to Baltimore. And to the dead reporter.

  She hoped and prayed she wasn’t too late.

  Chapter Six

  Every Tuesday, after Thea picked up Nikki at her pre-school, they rode the El to State Street in the Loop, where Dr. Nevin’s office was located.

  Even though Thea had lived all her life in a city, downtown Chicago was still daunting. The towering buildings rose like mountains toward the dismal gray sky, catching and trapping the wind from Lake Michigan in canyonlike streets, which were always clogged with traffic.

  Thea could hardly imagine a colder bleaker landscape, and yet, there was an undercurrent of excitement in the hustle and bustle of the crowds, an almost breathtaking beauty in the diversity of the architecture, a timeless quality even in the wind that swirled snow flurries like bits of lace confetti.

  Another time, under other circumstances, Thea would have adored Chicago. She would have enjoyed exploring the museums and galleries and the distinct neighborhoods that made the city so unique. She would have loved window-shopping along North Michigan Avenue, admiring the early Christmas displays, and then lunching on the waterfront, at the Navy Pier.

  But for Thea and Nikki, Chicago had become little more than a prison. Thea went to work and Nikki to school, and other than their visits to the park and to Dr. Nevin, they stayed inside as much as possible, minimizing the risk of detection.

  Thea thought about their situation on the train ride back home that Tuesday. Dr. Nevin had reiterated how very important it was for Nikki to feel secure. “You have to be very, very careful, Thea. Any change in Nikki’s routine, even one you and I might consider minor, could cause a severe setback.”

  Thea sighed, clasping Nikki’s hand. She’d been so careful these past four months. That was what made getting caught up in a police investigation so ironic—and so scary. It made her all too aware of her limitations. There was only so much she could do to protect Nikki, but if anything, Thea was a fighter. She wouldn’t give up without a battle.

  Already she’d laid the groundwork for getting into Gail Waters’s office that night. By making a few phone calls, she’d learned that the newspaper was on the bottom floor of an office building on LaSalle Street, and the janitorial services were subbed out to a company called Wendall’s Pro Clean.

  Then, just as she’d done years ago for her father, she’d called Wendall’s, pretending to be someone from the newspaper who was dissatisfied with their services. During a conversation with a chatty secretary, Thea had learned not only the names of the two brothers who owned and operated the company—their marital status and private peccadilloes—but also the name of the foreman in charge of the crew scheduled to arrive at the paper at ten o’clock that evening.

  Setting everything up had been almost too easy, but she had always been good at extracting information from people. Her father had told her once she’d missed her calling. She should have been an investigator, or even an actress, but she’d quickly reminded him that her skills weren’t exactly lost in the world of business.

  She tried to use those memories to buoy her confidence, but in spite of all her planning, she knew that something could go very wrong tonight. If she was caught breaking into Gail Waters’s office, she would not only likely be charged with the reporter’s murder, but she would also be sent back to Baltimore to stand trial for Rick’s.

  And Nikki would be sent to live with Lenore Mancuso.

  As she and Nikki got off the train at the Cottage Grove station, Thea shivered with the cold. Maybe she was wrong about all this. Maybe Gail Waters being at the apartment building the night she died had been nothing more than a coincidence. Maybe there was nothing incriminating in her files.

  But that wasn’t a chance Thea could afford to take.

  RATHER THAN WALKING the several blocks back to their apartment, as she would have done if she’d been alone, Thea hailed a cab. She had the driver let them off at a nearby market, and she and Nikki went inside to pick out something for dinner. By the time they came back out, it was growing dark and the snow was coming down in earnest. They trudged homeward, but as they neared the stoop of their building, Thea paused under a streetlight.

  The snow was so beautiful that for a moment she forgot the cold and the wind and what she might have to do that night to protect her daughter. Her fingers tightened around Nikki’s gloved hand as the two of them stood on the sidewalk, caught up in a swirling fairyland of white.

  For some reason there wasn’t much traffic on the street, and the city noises seemed muted by the snow. It was like being in a water globe, cocooned from the outside world. The silence—such glorious silence—had a spiritual quality to it, a healing peacefulness that seemed to touch the deepest part of Thea’s soul. As she lifted her face to the cold softness, a profound awareness came over her.

  Kneeling, she set the grocery bag on the wet street and placed her hands on her daughter’s shoulders. Gazing into Nikki’s eyes, she whispered, “I think I understand now.”

  Nikki gazed back at her, solemn and sweet, and Thea whispered fiercely, “I love you so much.”

  Still silent, Nikki captured a snowflake on her fingertip and touched it to Thea’s lips. Thea smiled, comprehending, and then, to her surprise and joy, Nikki stuck out her tongue, like any other child, and tasted the snow.

  Thea’s smile turned into a laugh, and she rose, lifting Nikki into her arms and whirling her round and round. For an instant their troubles faded, and they were caught up in a moment of pure happiness. Something significant had happened to both of them in that quiet moment. Thea wasn’t sure she could explain it, even to Dr. Nevin, but she knew just the same that her daughter was going to be all right. They both were.

  She set Nikki down and bent to pick up the damp grocery sack. “Let’s go have dinner.”

  They walked up the steps, and Thea, balancing the grocery sack in one arm, unlocked the door. Once inside, the warmth enveloped them, and as they climbed the stairs to the second floor, Thea felt more hopeful than she had in months, maybe even years.

  Perhaps that was why seeing Morris Dalrimple at her door—as if he had just stepped from her apartment—provoked such a strong reaction in her.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” she called harshly.

  He jumped as if a canon had gone off near his ear. His eyes widened when he saw Thea and Nikki standing at the top of the stairs.

  Thea had to fight the urge to grab Nikki and back away. She couldn’t help remembering what Mrs. Lewellyn had said to her.

  Ax murderers sometimes claim they have good intentions, but their victims are still just as dead….

  In spite of her trepidation, she moved down the hall to her door. Having gathered his wits about him again, Morris Dalrimple smiled and held out a piece of white paper. “For you.”

  Thea reluctantly accepted his offering. “What is it?”

  “An, er, invitation. Mama and I would like for you and little Nikki to come down some afternoon for, er, tea.”

  “Well, I—”

  “Would tomorrow be convenient?”

  He looked so expectant Thea had a hard time dashing his hopes—ax murderer or not.

  “This is very kind of you and your mother, but I rarely socialize, Mr. Dalrimple.”

  “Call me Dal, please. All my friends do. Won’t you reconsider?” he all but pleaded. “It would mea
n so much to Mama. She doesn’t get out much, you know, but she’s, er, seen you and your little girl coming and going from her bedroom window. She’s quite taken with both of you. Please say you’ll come…Thea. May I call you Thea?”

  No way she would subject Nikki to even a couple of hours with Morris Dalrimple. He and his mother might be perfectly lovely people once you got to know them, but just standing here in the hallway, Thea felt uneasy. There was something very disturbing about the way he looked at her, something almost sinister, as Mrs. Lewellyn had suggested.

  “I’ll have to let you know,” Thea said evasively. “Right now I need to get Nikki inside. She hasn’t had her dinner yet.” She glanced pointedly, at the grocery bag in her arms.

  Mr. Dalrimple nodded. “Of course. I understand. But I really do hope you’ll come. There’s something I, er, need to discuss with you.”

  Oh, no, Thea thought in dread. She unlocked her door, hoping to escape inside. She could hear his raspy breathing behind her, and a shiver crawled up her backbone.

  “It’s about that woman who died. That, er, reporter.”

  Another shiver. Thea turned to him slowly. “What about her?”

  “Didn’t you recognize her?”

  Thea’s stomach twisted in warning. “What do you mean?”

  He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “I don’t think we should, er, speak about it in front of the child.”

  Thea opened the door and reached inside to switch on the light. Her gaze automatically swept the room, making sure nothing was out of place. She said to Nikki, “Why don’t you go on inside, sweetie? You can turn on the TV, or color for a few minutes while I talk to Mr. Dalrimple. I’ll leave the door open so I can see you.”

  Nikki, ever obedient, did as she was told. Thea waited until her daughter had gathered up her coloring book and crayons from the dining table and brought them over to the floor in front of the television, where Thea could see her. Nikki chose a crayon, red as always, and began stroking up and down the page, seemingly unmindful of the picture.

  Thea turned back to Mr. Dalrimple. “What do you mean, didn’t I recognize her?” she asked again.

  He looked as if he’d said more than he meant to. “Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned that. I’m, er, helping the police with their investigation. I must be discreet.”

  “I’m sure they’re very lucky to have your help,” Thea said, automatically reverting back to her old instincts. Flattery could sometimes get you everywhere.

  Mr. Dalrimple preened with pleasure. “Well, yes. I’m not without some, er, experience in these matters.”

  “I didn’t realize.”

  Again he looked as if he regretted his words. “All I meant was, Mama and I love watching cop shows on television. We never miss an episode of ‘America’s Most Wanted.’ It’s a very informative program.”

  “I’m sure it is,” Thea murmured. She paused. “Getting back to Gail Waters. Did you recognize her that night…Dal?”

  He turned coy. “Did you?”

  “I never saw her before in my life. But you intimated just a moment ago that you did recognize her.”

  He cocked his head, regarding her curiously. “You know, I never noticed before, but the way you speak, the words you use…you seem very educated for a waitress.”

  Thea’s heart catapulted into her throat, but she forced her voice to remain even. “Waitresses go to school, too, you know, and besides, like you, I watch a lot of television.”

  “That explains it,” he said, but Thea realized he wasn’t at all fooled by her explanation. He was a lot cleverer than she and Mrs. Lewellyn had given him credit for, and maybe a lot more sinister. As if reading her thoughts, he said softly, “I’m in a unique position to help you, Thea.”

  She suddenly felt as if she needed to go inside and wash her hands. “What do you mean?”

  “The police trust me. They buy everything I tell them.”

  “What did you tell them?”

  “The truth. I didn’t recognize Gail Waters that night. I still have no idea how she got inside this building. It wasn’t until I saw her, er, picture the next day on TV that I remembered seeing her before.”

  “Where?”

  “She came here a few weeks ago looking for you.”

  “Me?” Thea could feel the grocery bag slipping from her suddenly wooden arms, and with an effort, she heaved it upward.

  “She didn’t know your name, of course, but I knew from her description she was talking about you and Nikki. She said she’d come to, er, visit a friend in the building one day and saw you and Nikki outside. She thought she recognized you as someone she went to school with. She wanted to know your name and which apartment you lived in.”

  And then it hit Thea why Gail Waters had looked vaguely familiar to her. The image came back to her in a bright damning flash.

  Thea and Nikki were coming home one day just as an attractive blonde was leaving. They met on the steps outside and exchanged brief glances and polite smiles.

  “What a beautiful little girl,” the woman had remarked in passing.

  Thea, accustomed to strangers admiring her daughter’s beauty, had murmured, “Thank you,” and then promptly forgotten the episode as she and Nikki went into their apartment to hole up for the coming night.

  That woman had been Gail Waters. She must have recognized them. That was why she’d come back to ask questions, but…if she hadn’t known about them until then, who had she come here to see that day? Who was this “friend” she’d been visiting? The same person who had let her in the night she died?

  “She obviously mistook me for someone else,” Thea said with a shrug.

  “Obviously,” he agreed. “But if the police found out she was asking questions about you, they could, er, make life, er, uncomfortable for you, if you know what I mean.”

  “I see your point,” Thea murmured. “What do you suggest I do about it?”

  He smiled slyly. “I have some ideas. If you come down for tea tomorrow afternoon, perhaps even dinner tomorrow night, you, Mama and I could figure out what to do.”

  As a bribe Thea had seen more subtle ones. “What about Nikki?”

  “Perhaps it might be best if you left her with Mrs. Lewellyn. We wouldn’t want to, er, distress her any further, would we?”

  Watch out for that man, Thea, dear. I don’t care at all for the way he looks at you…. He’s always very quick to speak so lovingly of his mother, but how long has it been since you’ve seen her?

  He’d eliminated Nikki from the equation, and somehow Thea doubted Mrs. Dalrimple would be making an appearance tomorrow night, either. Thea wasn’t quite sure yet how she planned to deal with him, but she knew one thing for certain. She wouldn’t be having tea in that creepy little man’s apartment tomorrow night or any other night.

  “I’ll have to talk to Mrs. Lewellyn,” she said. Before he could offer any more persuasions, footsteps sounded on the stairs. John Gallagher appeared at the top, silhouetted for a moment in the dim hallway light. He came toward them, and Thea was absurdly glad to see him.

  Beside her, Mr. Dalrimple pulled himself up to his full height of five-two or five-three. He drew a long rasping breath as if he was very nervous. “I see you’re making use of the, er, key I provided you, Detective.”

  “It’s come in very handy.” John’s gaze flashed from Dalrimple to Thea. His eyes narrowed, as if he was wondering what might be going on between them.

  Nothing, Thea wanted to assure him. But that wasn’t exactly true. Thanks to Dalrimple’s revelation about Gail Waters, he and Thea had suddenly become co-conspirators against the police. It was a position she found very uncomfortable. She didn’t like being indebted to Morris Dalrimple. She didn’t like him period, and even worse, she didn’t trust him. He was up to something, and her suspicions left a distinctly bad taste in her mouth.

  The damp shopping bag picked that precise moment to collapse, and in spite of her hand beneath the bottom, two apples tumbled from th
e split paper and thudded onto the carpet. John retrieved them, then placing his own huge hand beneath the bag, took it from her. “Looks as if you could use a little help.”

  He was good, Thea thought grudgingly, because now she had no choice but to invite him in.

  The same notion must have occurred to Mr. Dalrimple, because he muttered, “I should have thought of that myself.”

  John said, “Where do you want this?”

  “In the kitchen.” She started to follow him inside, but Mr. Dalrimple caught her arm. It was all Thea could do not to brush his hand away as she would an annoying fly.

  “I would, er, caution you to watch what you say around him,” he said in a low voice.

  “Thanks for the warning.” She tried to turn away, but his grasp only tightened.

  “I’ll do everything I can to protect you and your little girl. You can count on me.”

  Thea wanted to tell him she didn’t want or need his protection, but until she learned what was in Gail Waters’s files, and what, if anything, Dalrimple had found out, she wasn’t in any position to antagonize him.

  If she’d had any residual doubts about what she planned to do tonight, Dalrimple’s insinuation—what later might turn out to be extortion—had cleared the last of them away.

  SHE SEEMED EVEN EDGIER than usual, John thought as he watched Thea move about the tiny kitchen, putting away her groceries. Nikki was coloring at the coffee table, and except for a brief curious glance when he’d spoken to her, she was busy pretending he didn’t exist.

  He was surprised by how much he’d looked forward to seeing the little girl again, and how much he wanted to get a reaction from her. He’d never been around kids that much, never even thought he wanted to be. There might have been a time when he’d had some vague notion of starting a family with Meredith, but they had never really talked about it. Which, considering what had happened between them, was a good thing.

  John couldn’t explain why he was so drawn to Nikki, or to her mother, for that matter. He just was. Probably more than was wise.