Page 102 of Half Baked

“That’s it?I have the police trying to track me down. My husband said they showed up at our doorstep while I was at the grocery store. Now I have a trunk full of frozen food that’s about to melt thanks to you.”

“I didn’t send the police after you,” I said.

“Oh, yeah?” she demanded. “Then I guess it’s coincidence you showed up at my business with adetective, asking for me, and then a uniformed policeman showed up at my door the next morning?”

I suspected they wanted to talk to her because of Detective Bergan’s murder, but I couldn’t tell her that. “Look, I promise you, the only reason I wanted to talk to you is because you knew my mother. Noah, the detective I was with, is my boyfriend. The police knocking on your door hasnothingto do with me.” Then a stupid idea popped into my head. Actually, it wasincrediblystupid, but I decided to pursue it anyway. If the police picked Gina up, she’d likelynevertalk to me. “To prove that I wasn’t trying to trick you, you can lay low at my house for a while, if you want. I can help you with your frozen stuff. I have a big chest freezer in my garage.”

“How stupid do you think I am?” she demanded. “You just got done saying your boyfriend’s a detective. For all I know, he’s gonna be there, waiting to arrest me.”

“I doubt they want to arrest you,” I soothed. “Only talk. But Noah’s not with me, I promise. He’s working on a case, so if you come over, you’ll be safe. It’s just me and my aunt here for the entire day.”

“And why would you help me?” she demanded.

“Because you knew my mom, and she obviously liked you enough to invite you into the women’s club.”

“So, your momwasAndrea Baker.”

“Yes.”

She was quiet for a long moment, then seemed calmer when she said, “I wondered when Susan said your last name was Baker and you were asking questions about your mother.”

“So will you talk to me? For my mom? I promise, I won’t tell the police you’re here. My boyfriend doesn’t live with me, so I probably won’t see him until tonight.”

“You promise you won’t double cross me?”

“Gina, I only want to know more about my mom.”

“Then why do the police wanting to bring me in for questioning?”

She seemed on the verge of changing her mind, so I said, “I think I might know why, but I don’t want to discuss it on the phone. I’ll tell you if you come over to my house.”

After seconds of silence, she finally sighed. “Okay. Give me your address.”

I gave it to her, then said, “When you get here, pull into the driveway. You can park in the garage. My freezer’s out there so you can take care of that too.”

“Why do I feel like I’m going to regret this?” she whined.

“I promise you won’t. Call me when you’re almost here so I can open the garage door for you.”

She hung up, and I grabbed my car keys. I had multiple reasons for asking her to pull into the garage. True, the freezer was in there, but I also wanted her to come through the back door. I wasn’t sure Aunt Deidre could handle a new face showing up today. She was barely toleratingme. But Noah was having police cars do regular drive-bys, and if they were observant, they’d notice a new car in my driveway or in front of my house. And if they were extra diligent, they’d run the plates. If they were wanting to bring Gina in for questioning, they might be looking for her car. I’d promised to help her, so that meant I had to keep it hidden.

Noah would likely have a fit when he found out, but I’d deal with him later. I got the sense Gina would clam up the second the police got a hold of her.

After checking to make sure Aunt Deidre was still watching TV, I headed out the back door and went through the detached garage side door. I’d been working on getting it cleaned out so I could park inside, but it didn’t seem fair to park in the garage when Mallory’s car was either in the street or the driveway, so I hadn’t finished.

There were a few items scattered around, so I moved them out of the way and went back inside the house. When Gina called, I’d open the garage door, move my car, follow her back into the driveway, then shut the door.

Easy peasy.

And it was. She called and everything went according to plan. Once she turned her engine off, she got out, giving me and the closing garage door a wary look. She looked like she was in her mid to late forties, with blond hair. She had on a track suit, but she was wearing full makeup. Thankfully, she didn’t look threatening, just pissed and scared.

“You know you’ve trapped me in here, right?” she asked.

“I didn’t trap you. I hid you. I could get in trouble for this so give me some credit. Now let’s get your groceries taken care of.”

Shaking her head and muttering something about a bad idea, she opened the trunk of her sedan and pulled out two grocery bags. “I hope you have enough room in your freezer.”

“I do.” I gestured to a chest freezer in the back and opened the lid. “It’s only half full.”

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