Page 31 of Gem Warfare

Alice answered after only a few rings. “Are you at work today?” I asked.

“I just finished my shift. Why? Are you nearby?”

“Not far. I wanted to ask you a couple questions.”

“I have to run errands so let’s talk on the phone. Unless it can wait until later?”

“Now’s good,” I said, watching Laura Reynolds exit the jewelers and head down the street. “Do you know a Carrie Dugan? She works at the hospital.”

“Hmm. Yes, I think so. She’s a doctor. Is she pregnant? Blond?”

“That’s her.”

“What did she do?”

“Probably nothing. Did you know she bought the end house on my parents’ street?”

“The one with the body that just got dug up? Wow.”

“News travels fast.”

“Your mom called me this morning.”

“Please tell me she didn’t ask you to take its pulse.”

Alice laughed. “No, she didn’t. She just wanted to make sure we prepared the kids so they wouldn’t be scared. For the record, they won’t be scared. Rachel’s been watching surgery videos online and seems to have nerves of steel. I see a medical career in the future. So what do you want to know about Dr. Dugan?”

“I just wondered what your impressions were of her?”

“I don’t know her that well but she’s nice, polite, fairly popular with the staff and the patients too. She’s got a good bedside manner. They don’t teach that in medical school. I’m notsure what else I can tell you. There’s never been any complaints that I’ve heard of.”

“Do you know anything about her background? Did she grow up here?”

“I don’t think so. I got the feeling she might have spent some of her childhood overseas. Her husband grew up here though. I think they met on vacation one year.” A car door opened and shut and Alice continued, “That’s real bad luck to find a body in the yard. Your mom said Dr. Dugan’s husband dug it up and got quite the fright.”

“He did. So nothing stands out about Carrie Dugan?”

“Not that I can think of. She’s always seemed nice to me, and the times I recall her mentioning her husband, she’s always been complimentary. I think he came into the ER once. They seemed a nice pair but I can’t say I was observing them particularly. I’m sorry, I don’t feel like I’m giving you what you’re looking for.”

“No, you are. This is helpful, thank you.”

“I’ll see you at dinner?”

“Absolutely.”

“I wish it could be sooner but with the kids’ schedules and my shifts, we just can’t until the weekend.”

“I understand.”

“Don’t go solving the case without our help!”

That call done, and nothing untoward uncovered, I headed back to the office. Delgado was still there at his computer and apparently, I’d missed Solomon by minutes, which was disappointing, yet also useful since I wouldn’t be distracted by him.

As I walked through the door, Mom texted me suggesting lunch, which I was sure was simply a politer way of requesting information.

Settling behind my desk, I spent an hour perusing the Dugans’ lives and found nothing to suggest they were secrethomicidal maniacs who’d started out in their teen years. If anything, they were fairly dull.

A starter home was purchased shortly after they got married six years ago with a gifted down payment from Carrie’s parents. The small Harbridge apartment was sold and they made a good chunk of money to put into the new house and renovations. They had rented a small apartment while the bulk of the work was undertaken over the past two months and had given up the lease only last week. I wondered how much they regretted that decision now that their backyard was a crime scene.

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