Gretchen asked, “What kind of repairs?”
He shrugged. “I don’t really remember. I always had to have someone come in and paint the place between tenants.”
Josie asked, “Was there any work being done to the basement?”
“I really couldn’t tell you. Listen, I’ve got six rental properties, my office, and this big old place. We’re talking about sixteen years ago. I’m sure there were repairs on Hempstead over the years, but I don’t remember them all. I can tell you this though: I needed permits for anything I did to those rental properties. You should check with the City Codes office.”
“We will,” Gretchen said. “You didn’t keep your own records of repairs made to your rental properties?”
“For taxes maybe,” he said. “But not that far back.”
Josie asked, “What about Beverly? Do you remember her?”
“I’m sorry to say, no. Not really. I don’t think I ever met the kid. I just know Vera had one. She was required to list other residents on her lease. Plus, she always made a big deal out of being a single mother. Couldn’t have a conversation with her where she didn’t mention it.”
“Are you aware of Vera ever having any men living or staying with her?” Gretchen asked.
“No,” Plummer sighed. “Listen, I don’t get to know my tenants, okay? They mail in their checks and call me if a pipe breaks. Then I call a contractor and pay them to make repairs. That’s it. I don’t see these people. I don’t socialize with them.”
“Got it,” Josie said. “Do you have a list of contractors you use regularly?”
“Sure. Tammy can email a list of them to you. You have an email address?”
Gretchen jotted it down and handed it to Tammy.
“One last thing,” Josie asked. “Do you own any firearms?”
He lowered his head, a smile on his face. “Of course,” he said. “You think I might have killed this kid.” He stood up and started walking out of the room, beckoning them along. “Come on,” he called.
They followed him down a series of hallways to a study filled with shiny wooden bookcases and a behemoth of a desk. Along one wall was a gun cabinet and behind its glass, Josie counted three rifles and one shotgun. None were nine-millimeter. Gretchen studied them and wrote down their models. Plummer said, “I used to hunt. A long, long time ago. Never actually got anything, but I’ve had these guns ever since.”
“No pistols or revolvers?” Josie asked. “For home or self-defense?”
“None,” Plummer answered.
It would be easy enough to check with the State Police or FBI to find out whether he was lying or not. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Plummer,” Josie said. “We look forward to receiving that list of contractors from your…”
“Secretary,” he answered without missing a beat.
They thanked him and made their way back to the car. The rain had diminished to a light drizzle, for which Josie was grateful. It had to stop sometime, didn’t it? As they pulled away, Gretchen made a face of disgust. “A guy like that? With a thing for young women?” she said. “There’s no way he didn’t notice Beverly Urban, as attractive as she was.”
“Unless he’s telling the truth that he never met her,” Josie argued as they cruised out of Quail Hollow, waving goodbye to the gaggle of protestors. “He doesn’t seem like the type to be bothered with lowly tenants, unless their rent is past due.”
“True,” Gretchen said. “Still, I don’t think we can rule him out completely.”
“Put him on the list then,” Josie said. With Ray, she added silently.
Gretchen took out her phone. “It’s late,” she said. “We still have to wait for the list of contractors from Tammy the Secretary, and the City Codes office is closed. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. Should we call it a day?”
“Sure,” Josie said. “I’m going to take my yearbook home, though, and see if I can put together a list of Beverly’s closest friends.”
Twelve
The downstairs windows of Josie’s house were alight. Inside, the dogs greeted her in a frenzy. The house was redolent with delicious smells coming from the kitchen. On the couch, little Harris snoozed in a pair of Spiderman pajamas. From the kitchen, Misty called out, “Josie, is that you?”
“Yeah,” Josie replied, squatting to pet both dogs. Pepper lost interest after a moment, but Trout stayed, pushing his fat little body into Josie’s hands.
“I’m making a roast,” Misty said. “I hope you didn’t eat.” She poked her head out of the kitchen, a hopeful look on her face. “Did you bring anyone with you? I made a lot of food.”
Josie smiled. “No, sorry. But Noah’s car is out front. Isn’t he here?”
“In the shower,” Misty replied, disappearing back into the kitchen. “We’ll eat in a half hour!”
Josie trudged up the steps with Trout racing anxiously behind her. She found Noah in their bedroom; a towel slung low across his hips, chest bare, toweling his thick brown hair dry with another towel. Sometimes, they got so caught up in their day-to-day lives, she forgot to admire him. She leaned against the closed door and studied the muscular lines of his body, her eyes landing on a circle of puckered flesh in his right shoulder, the sight of it bringing back a wave of guilt. She’d shot him once. He’d forgiven her, but she’d probably never forgive herself.
“Hey,” he said, tossing the towel he was using to dry his hair onto the bed. His brown locks stuck up in every direction. Josie walked over and smoothed them down, away from his face. He rested his palms on her forearms and smiled at her. “I saw you on the news today.”
She raised a brow. “I thought you were on emergency calls all day. You still found time to watch television?”
He pulled her in for a hug. She rested her cheek against his warm flesh. He said, “Mett and I stopped in at the station after we were finished and found out about it from a couple of patrol guys. It was easy enough to find the clip on the WYEP website. I’m glad you’re okay.”
She pulled back and looked into his face, glad that he didn’t lecture her for doing something dangerous. “Did you hear about the press liaison the Mayor sent over?”
“I met her actually. She came in trailing the Chief after some meeting with the Mayor, just as cheery as could be. He went into his office and slammed the door in her face.”
Josie shook her head. “I guess the meeting went well.”
“Looks like we’re stuck with her. Mett seems pretty happy about it though.”
“What does that mean?”
“What do you think it means? I think he’s got a crush on her. Either that or he was trying to make her feel really comfortable.”
“When’s the last time Mett tried to make someone comfortable? He’s all about doing the job and that’s it.”
“Not today,” Noah said. He let go of her. “Today he was all about this woman. Anyway, tell me about the body.”
As he got dressed, Josie sat on the bed and ran through everything she and Gretchen had discovered that day. Noah listened without comment.