Chapter 6 #2
“Divide and conquer. Let’s do it.” Liam gave him a fist bump and headed into the bedroom to open bureau drawers, and the closet.
He searched though the pockets of all the clothing hanging there but found nothing.
There was nothing behind the books on the built-in shelves either.
In the corner of the bedroom, he found a duffle bag on the floor and quickly unzipped it.
Inside, he found dirty workout clothes, an empty plastic jar of peanut butter, a used plastic spoon, and tennis shoes.
Getting down on his hands and knees he looked under the bed and found two more empty peanut butter jars and put them on the bedside table.
In the kitchen area, he found a large plastic bag and put the jars inside and then went into the bathroom.
For a guy he had to admit the bathroom was spotless.
Simone was meticulous about keeping theirs clean, but Reilly had either cleaned it before his death or the Flynn’s had a maid service that cleaned their home.
But the empty plastic jars under the bed told a different story unless Reilly had finished off those jars after the place was cleaned.
“Did you find anything?” Hunter came to the bedroom door.
“Yea, empty peanut butter jars, two under the bed. What about you?”
Hunter held up two of the same. “Stuffed in the side of the couch.”
“What did I tell you about the guy? Did you find anything else?”
“No sign of any prescription drugs or OTCs.”
“None.”
“What do you want to do with these?” Hunter held up the empty jars.
“Toss them here,” Liam caught the jars and put them in the bag. “I don’t know why, but I have a feeling keeping these might be the right thing to do.”
“I always say go with your gut, even when it doesn’t make sense at first,” Hunter agreed. “It’ll never steer you wrong. Anything else we should look for?”
Liam shook his head and grabbing the duffle they headed up the stairs, turning out the light as they exited.
“What’s that?” Hunter pointed at the duffle.
“Reilly’s dirty workout clothes” Liam said. “I’m going to leave them in the laundry for Harley instead of her finding them weeks later when they are really ripe.”
“Eww. Yea.” Hunter’s features folded into a mask of disgust at the smelly suggestion. “Good idea.”
“I’ll mention it to Ms. Fiona before we leave so she can tell her,” Liam said and dropped the duffle on the folding table. They headed to the living room where they found a crying Harley sitting beside her neighbor.
“Did you find anything?” Harley asked, pointing at the plastic bag.
“Empty peanut butter jars. I collected them to get them out of the room,” Liam explained. “I also left a bag of his dirty work out clothes in the laundry room.”
Harley sniffed and wiped her nose with a tissue. “But no drugs or meds to explain what was in his blood?”
“Not that we found downstairs,” Liam said. “Can we look in the cabinets here? I know you already did, but just for our report?”
“Go ahead.” Harley waved them in the direction of the cabinets.
Hunter stepped forward and extended his hand. “I’m Hunter West. We haven’t met yet. I wish it weren’t under these circumstances.”
Harley accepted his hand as she stood. “So nice to meet you. Carly and the girls were telling me about you and Maggie on Friday before …” her voice broke and it was a minute before she said, “I was looking forward to meeting you both. Maybe after everything settles down we can all get together?”
“That would be great,” he agreed. “Maybe Fiona and her husband can join us.”
“So sweet of you to want to include us old folks,” Fiona said. “But Howard and I don’t go out much anymore. Not like you young people.”
“Hunter, I found more peanut butter,” Liam said, coming in with a full jar and one that was almost empty. “Do you eat it, Harley?”
“No. Never acquired the taste like Reilly.”
“I’ll take these along with us then,” Liam said. “Like I told Hunter, I have this gut feeling it might be important. If it isn’t and you want them back…”
She laughed and held up her hands in protest. “No, thank you.”
“Then we’ll get out of your way,” Liam said. “I hope our search didn’t upset you too much and your headache is gone.”
“It’s not, but I’ve taken medicine for it,” she told them. “But it should be better soon.”
“We’ll be in touch,” Liam said.
“Thank you for everything you’re doing to figure out why my brother died,” she said.
“Of course,” Hunter said. “You take care now.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. There was nothing else she could do, so in silence, Liam and Hunter left.
Harley tried to relax after the men left but Fiona stayed, crocheting and chattering about nonsense until she wanted to pull her hair out. Finally when she couldn’t take it a moment more, she said, “I really need to lie down again. Would you mind terribly going home?”
“Of course not,” Fiona replied, gathering up her yarn. “If you need me, I’m only a phone call away.”
Harley helped her gather her crochet supplies, making sure she didn’t leave a skein or needle behind and walked her to the door. “Thank you for the lovely wreaths and for being here when Liam and Hunter came over.”
“Don’t mention it. I’m glad to help out,” Fiona replied. “I could bring you dinner tonight if you like?”
“I have plenty of casseroles that have been dropped off by officers’ wives,” Harley said, opening the front door. “Would you like to take one for your dinner? I’m going to have to get freezable containers to store them in.”
“I can do that for you tomorrow and drop them off,” Fiona said.
“If you insist,” Harley said, wishing the kindly woman would just leave.
“I do. It’s the least I can do to help you in this time the way your gran did for me when I lost my own mother,” Fiona said.
“I understand,” Harley said, recalling her grandmother’s great generosity. “Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow and hope this headache is gone by then.”
“So do I, honey,” Fiona said and waved before walking briskly down the front stoop.
Harley closed and locked the double doors, leaning against them just as her cellphone rang. She looked at the caller identification and couldn’t believe it. Scottie after all this time. She hit accept immediately and didn’t wait for his voice.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
“As it can be,” he said. “How are you? Can I see you?”
“I-I’m not sure if we should yet,” she said. “I want to see you so badly. This has been torturing for me. In losing Reilly, I’ve lost part of myself and yet I’ve lost the other half of me not being with you.”
“I feel the same way, baby,” Scottie said, and she heard the anguish in his voice. “That’s why I think we should meet somewhere instead of talking on the phone. Catch the ‘L’ and I’ll meet you up at the stop closest to the Navy Pier.”
“Scottie,” she said about to tell him she had a migraine but realized it was gone. That finally hearing his voice again made her feel a hundred times better. The nausea was subsiding. Was it her meds finally working or was it him that was making her feel better?
“Yes?”
In a split second she made her decision.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She ended the call and went upstairs, to change out of the lounging clothes into jeans and a dark green hoody.
She brushed her teeth, vigorously, not remembering the last time she’d done so.
Then brushed her auburn hair until it’s golden highlights gleamed and braided it, appreciating the silky feel beneath her fingers.
Downstairs, she pulled the hood up over her head so no one could recognize her.
Then she tucked her house keys, phone, and small wallet in the pockets of the hoody before putting on her jacket and gloves and slipped out the back stairs to make sure Fiona didn’t see her leave.
Keeping to the alley between the Brownstones and the next street over, she walked to the corner where she caught a taxi to the nearest metro station.
Scottie was waiting for her when she got off the ‘L’ near the Navy Pier. “Aren’t you a sight for my weary eyes.” He pulled her to him in a tight squeeze.
“I don’t know about that,” she replied. “I had a migraine up until I got your call. I’m sure I’ve looked better.”
“No, you look wonderful,” he said. “Honey, I’ve missed you so much.”
He released her enough so he could cup her face with his hands and planted a hungry kiss at her mouth. It was a soul-crushing kiss that brought tears to her eyes, and she crumbled against him, gasping for breath as she bawled in his arms.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” he murmured, and stepped back, wiping away her tears as fast as they fell. “If I could take it all back I would. If I could change what happened … If I could bring Reilly back…”
She pushed away from him and realized people were staring at them since they were still on the ‘L’ platform, but it didn’t matter.
Reilly’s death had pushed her beyond reason.
The man she loved was responsible for it all because they’d kept their relationship a secret because he’d never told her the one thing that could have made it possible to have told her brother about them.
She knew she was partly to blame because she’d never asked why, but she was asking now, and she wanted the answer.
Before she reconsidered she blurted, “Why didn’t you tell me why you and Reilly hated one another?”
Scottie stared at her for a moment, his mind spinning. They were supposed to be finding comfort in one another after the past few days and yet she was hitting him with this.
“Where’s this coming from? Why now? You knew for months we didn’t like one another, and it never was an issue.”
She nodded raking her front teeth over her bottom lip. “That was my mistake. I should have asked.” She punched him in the chest with her index finger so hard it hurt. “No, I should have demanded an explanation from you and Reilly. We should never have kept our relationship a secret. Now he’s dead.”