Annie's Rainbow - Fern Michaels [22]
“You’re closer,” Jane shot back.
“Daisy Shop,” Annie said, a smile in her voice.
“Miss Clark, or is it Miss Abbott?”
“This is Annie Clark. How can I help you?”
“This is Peter Newman.”
Annie’s voice soured immediately. “What can I do for you, Mr. Newman?”
“You can give me permission to run a forensics test on yours and Miss Abbott’s automobiles. We’re checking all the cars. There’s a possibility fibers from the canvas money bag might show up. We’re now. working on a theory that the money bag was tossed into one of the cars with open windows and then a third party retrieved it later on.”
“That’s going to be difficult, Mr. Newman. My car gave out on me about three weeks ago, so I junked it. I can give you the name of the scrap dealer. Jane’s car is still here if you want to check it.”
“When would be a convenient time?”
“I’ll put Jane on the phone. You’ll have to work out a time with her. The junk dealer is Casey and Sons in Jedburg.”
Annie made a face as she handed the phone to Jane. She turned away to gather up the papers on her desk, her heart pounding so loud she thought for sure Jane would hear it.
Jane slammed down the phone so hard it bounced out of the cradle. “That damn guy just doesn’t give up. Fibers my foot! Do you think he’s harassing us? He’s coming by at six on Wednesday. My, God, Annie, what if it was my car? What if there are fibers in it?”
“Jane, you didn’t do anything wrong. If somebody dumped something in your car and took it out later, you are not responsible.”
“Tell that to some cop when he comes to arrest us. I could tell by the look on his face that night he came to the apartment that he didn’t believe one thing we told him. He thinks there’s something fishy about us. The suspicion just oozed out of his pores.”
“He’s doing his job. He’s leaving no stone unturned. Isn’t that what they say on those cop shows on television?”
“Yeah. What’d that junk guy say he was going to do with your old bus?”
“Sell it for parts and compact the frame. It’s probably in some landfill by now.”
“That guy will buy hip boots and go digging around. Trust me.”
“Do you think so?”
“Yeah, I think so. He’s probably thinking you did it on purpose to get rid of the evidence. I bet the rat is calling the scrap dealer as we speak.”
Annie’s heart skipped a beat. “So let him.” Her voice was so defiant-sounding, Jane raised her eyebrows. “I think the guy is a weasel, and I didn’t like him the first time I met him. He’s slick. If he bothers us again, I think we need to report him to his agency.”
“I’ll be glad to do it.”
“Ha! You’ll have to fight me for the phone. Nothing would give me greater pleasure.”
“I’m going to try and find a female CPA. I’ll be back in a little while. Are you sure this is all I need to give him or her.”
“It better be. It’s all I have. Good luck, Jane.”
Annie sat for a long time, one hand on top of the phone. Should she call Casey and Sons or leave well enough alone? Leave well enough alone. If a car was compacted, would it be possible to pry it open? Could the old mats and seats be taken out? Did Casey and Sons sell the seats or the mats? Was the insurance investigator trying to scare them? If he was, he was doing a good job.
She was scared out of her wits.
CHAPTER FOUR
Annie sat alone in the living room of her new house staring at the twinkling Christmas tree lights. With the two Daisy Shops closed for holiday break, she felt at loose ends. Two days of sleeping around the clock had left her rested . . . and bored. These days Elmo was busy with his two lady friends, Jane was dating the accountant who was managing their financial records, and her mother was so busy at Westbury Center she didn’t want to be bothered with visits from her daughter.
She toyed with the idea of calling Daniel Matthew Evans but realized at the last moment that he, too, like his students, probably went home for the holidays. One luncheon date and one concert hardly made for a relationship or gave her the right to call and ask him to come over for a glass of wine.
She felt tense and didn’t like the