Mark wrote on his pad. “I’ve learned to trust people’s gut feelings about this sort of thing. Anything else?”
She paused before speaking. “I found a dead bird on the welcome mat. I don’t think it died there. It’s almost as if someone is sending me a message. But I don’t know what it means.”
“Do you and your husband have any enemies?” Mark asked. “People who want to get you back for something?”
“No. I’ve been trying to think of anyone who would want to make trouble for me. I haven’t even fired anyone. My last few employees left because they wanted to. And Wyatt, my husband, can’t think of anyone, either.”
Mark didn’t like the sound of the calls or the dead bird.
“I’ll ask around,” he told her. “If I hear anything, I’ll let you know. Start keeping a log of your hang-up calls. If you get more than a couple more, we’ll go to the phone company and get a trace put on your line. If anything else strange happens, page me. Don’t hesitate, even if it’s the middle of the night.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
Mark rose and left. He’d returned to Montana expecting to find life pretty boring. First Darcy had come into his world and now this. Was it possible there was going to be trouble in Whitehorn?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Mark left Melissa North’s house and drove directly to the sheriff’s office. Rafe was in, talking on the phone as Mark tapped on his open door. The other man waved him in. Mark took a seat and flipped through his notes until Rafe hung up the phone.
“What’s up?” the sheriff asked.
Mark crossed his leg, resting his ankle on his opposite knee. “A couple of things. I’ve been through the backgrounds of every employee at the Hip Hop Café, including that of Janie and Melissa North, who owns the place. I can’t come up with a single lead.”
Rafe dug through several files on his desk. The dark-haired sheriff pulled one out and opened it. “I have the report back from the forensic accountant. There’s a job we should all have,” he said with a grin.
“Not me.”
“Yeah, I was never a numbers person, either. Anyway she’s been through the Hip Hop’s books front to back. She came up with nada.”
Mark wasn’t surprised. “So we’re at a dead end.”
“Do you think the phone call was a hoax?”
Mark shrugged. “I don’t know how else to explain it. The problem is, why do it in the first place? It’s not the sort of thing kids would do. If it’s not true, who else would bother?”
Rafe frowned. “I see what you mean. Teenagers tend to go for splashier crimes. It’s one thing to steal a car for a joy ride. There’s the thrill of breaking the law and showing off to friends. But this isn’t their style. So who else had something to gain by sending us on a wild-goose chase?”
“That’s what doesn’t make sense. Okay, so we wasted a bunch of time. So what? It’s not as if there were more pressing crimes that went without an investigation. If this were a bigger city, I would say we’d been had by a crazy person. The only person who fits that description is Homer Gilmore. He talks to himself, but I can’t see him doing this, can you?”
“No.” Rafe leaned back in his chair. “Well, Mark, it looks like we have ourselves a bona fide mystery. Think we’re going to solve it?”
“No. And there’s more. I went to see Melissa North today. She wanted to know how the money laundering investigation was going. While I was there she told me that she’s been having hang-up calls. Someone also left a dead bird on her doorstep.”
Rafe swore. “What the hell is going on here? This is Whitehorn. We’re not supposed to have serious crime here.”
“I don’t know if it’s serious or not. I told Melissa to keep track of the next few hang-ups. If they continue, we’ll need to put a tracer on the phone line.” He patted his belt. “I also told her to page me with any information or questions.”
Rafe grinned. “About time someone got you out of bed in the middle of the night. The department paid good money for that pager.”
“Because Whitehorn is so big, you wouldn’t know where to find me?”
Rafe’s humor faded. “I don’t like any of this,” he admitted.
“I agree. I’ve got a bad feeling. Plus I can’t help thinking that I’m missing something really important. It’s just out of reach.”
“Let me know when you figure it out.”
“If I do.” Mark rose. “See you tomorrow, boss.”
