Page 50 of Too Old for This
“They must have. Plum was never in here.”
Tula reaches down and swipes his finger around and behind the faucet. It comes up tinged with dark powder.
“What isthat?” I ask.
“Graphite. Kelsie must’ve tried to lift fingerprints here,” he says.
“I don’t understand.”
“Has the bathroom been cleaned since she was here?”
I think about this. Or pretend to. “I’ve straightened it up. But I haven’t done a deep scrubbing in here.”
He stares down at the sink. I would love to be an amoeba in Tula’s brain right now. So many theories to ponder.
Did Cole do something to Plum, and was he trying to implicate me? Had he planted the earring in my house? Or perhaps Kelsie knew Cole was guilty but didn’t have evidence to prove it. Or a body, for that matter. Maybe she lifted fingerprints to try and use them elsewhere, trying to frame him? Was that even possible?
I can’t wait to find out which theory Tula will investigate first. Not that it matters, because they’re all lies.
But I’m not done yet. This a tedious process, dropping hints and clues and waiting for Tula to pick them up. It requires patience and subtlety. A step too far and it becomes obvious, but not far enough and he will lose interest. It’s a little frustrating, to be honest, and it’s nothing like smashing someone with a hammer.
“Was that the last time you saw Kelsie?” Tula asks. “That day she found the earring?”
“No, it was a couple days later when I stopped by her house.”
He stares at me. “You were at her home?”
“Oh, yes. She didn’t tell you? I knew her grandmother. We both lived here for so long. Though I haven’t seen her recently, not since she moved into Merrydale. Kelsie said she didn’t remember much these days.” I stop and smile. “Baycliff is a small town in so many ways, isn’t it?”
“And why did you stop by her house?” Tula says.
“Because I found the back to the earring. It was rightthere.” I point to the corner of the bathroom, between the vanity and the toilet. “And I was very careful about picking it up. I put it into a little plastic sandwich bag. Since I had to run out to the store, I stopped by and gave it to her. She was a little surprised to see me on her doorstep, that’s for sure. I suppose that was rather rude of me. But I gave her the bag, and we chatted for a few minutes. That was it.”
“And this was what day?” Tula says.
“Let me check.” I walk down the hall to the kitchen, where my wall calendar is. “That must have been…Friday.”
Behind me, Tula’s footsteps halt. “Friday?”
“Yes.”
“What time?”
“Around…seven thirty? She was wearing workout clothes, like she had been exercising or something. Still had her sneakers on.”
Tula nods. He types into his phone, maybe making a note to search for a pearl earring and the back. He is less concerned about me and more concerned about why Kelsie was hiding evidence from him.
“Are you all right?” I ask.
“I’m fine, yes. Thank you. This has been very helpful.”
Tula rushes to the door and leaves. He and his confusion vanish. So does my phone problem. Always better to admit a mistake up front rather than try to hide it.
CHAPTER 28
Twenty miles outside of Baycliff, the road gets long and winding, and there are trees everywhere. It feels like I’m driving to the end of the earth. Which might be appropriate. When the buildings come into view, they remind me of a condo development. Or a hospital.
The lobby of the main building looks like it belongs in an expensive hotel. Thick carpets, low lighting, a roaring fireplace, and a hushed tone. No one speaks loudly in here; the noise is soaked right up.
