Page 72 of In the Bones
“She was unconscious, and she did lose a lot of blood, but she’s going into surgery. There’s a chance she’ll pull though—and if she does, she’s going to tell us everything. Get him out of here,” she told the EMTs, looking disgusted. “I’ll see you at the hospital, Mr. Martino. Until then, you talk to no one but us—understood? We’re a long way from being done with you.”
As the ambulance drove off, Mac said, “The plot thickens.”
Tim said, “At this point it feels like we’re wading through overnight oats. Could this guy really have an alibi for the night of the party?”
Shana stretched out her hands and ran them over her head, her eyebrows yanked high in frustration. “We’ll know soon enough. I asked Val to call the Hampton Inn in Potsdam, but I have a feeling he’s telling the truth. This guy wouldn’t be dumb enough to use a hotel two hours from the crime scene as an alibi unless he knows it’ll check out. As for yesterday afternoon,” she said, “we’ll have to talk to the secretary and piece together Martino’s day.”
“I don’t get it,” said Tim. “Martino’s the missing link, he has to be.” He raised his gaze to the sky, squinting into the bright sun. “We know he and Stacy are partners. Could she have colluded with him on the murder? He might not have been at the party that night, but Stacy sure was.”
“But doesn’t it stand to reason that whoever killed Angelica also attacked Nicole and Molly Kranz?” asked Mac. “It was Martino we found out here, not Stacy.”
“I was interviewing Stacy in A-Bay at the time of the attack,” said Tim. “There’s no way it was her.”
It wasn’t making sense. Mac said, “Molly told Blair she saw a man talking to Angelica the night she was killed. He was wearing a shirt with the name of a construction business. That sure sounds like Martino to me. How soon can we get a photo in front of her?” Mac turned to Shana.
“I’m guessing not for a day or two at least. It’s possible that’s not going to be an avenue for us at all. The doctors won’t know more until after the surgery, but she’s in pretty bad shape.”
“Molly Kranz is the key to the whole thing,” said Tim. “Without her, we may never know what happened to Angelica.”
“But Molly talked to Blair.” Blood whooshed in Mac’s ears as she said it, the realization of how critical her niece had become striking fast. “Blair has detailed information about what happened in that house.”
“Where is Blair now?” asked Shana.
“I told her to go home. She should be there.”
“I’ll head to the hospital and deal with Martino,” Shana said. “Tim, can you pick up Blair and get that statement? We need to record everything she knows while it’s still fresh in her mind.”
“Absolutely.”
Stepping away, Mac placed a call to Blair. It went straight to voicemail. Immediately, she tried again. That call went ignored too.
House rules. Blair would text or call her back. Mac passed the time brushing black dust from her slacks. Two minutes, then three. Nothing. She tried Blair’s number for a third time. Again, straight to voicemail.
Her next call was to Nicole.
“I’m home, but Blair’s not here,” Nic told her. “Is she supposed to be?”
“She sure as hell is,” said Mac. “I saw her a couple of hours ago. She had a run-in with the phrogger.”
“What?” Nicole’s tone was a needle stabbing at Mac’s ear.
“I told her to go home and lock the doors. You haven’t heard from her?”
“I haven’t seen Blair all morning.” The panic in Nicole’s tone was rising. “How the hell did she cross paths with Molly Kranz?”
Mac recounted what Blair had told her, including her claim that Woody couldn’t have slept with Angelica. That elicited a gut-wrenching sob, but Nicole recovered quickly.
“That woman. Molly,” she said wetly. “Is she dangerous?”
Mac had no choice but to tell her about the stabbing, and that Terry Martino was found at the scene and was now in custody. Something else registered then. Construction work was commonplace in the region, and Mikko had been planning a big renovation.
“It’s possible the man Molly’s been looking for works with Terry,” Mac said. “Molly saw him wearing a shirt with a construction company logo the night Angelica was killed.”
“So whoever did this is still out there? Woody!” Nicole’s voice was high and wobbly. “We need to find Blair!”
“No! No, you stay where you are—all of you. I mean it, Nic. I’m here with Tim. We’ll find her.”
As she ended the call, Mac thought once more of Molly Kranz. Molly had told Blair about the final hours she’d been with Angelica. Not long afterward, she’d been attacked. Why had Molly come to the Rivermouth after sharing what she knew with Blair? Hadn’t Blair said that Molly had been searching for the man she’d seen at the party? She might have spotted him in the area and followed him here. Except the only man they’d found at the Rivermouth was Terry. Could someone else have come and gone?
