Page 59 of Hell Hath No Fury

After scanning the menu, Fergusson set it down and rested his elbows on the table. “Okay, Honeywell. Out with it. Where’s Nell Anderson?”

“You first. What did you find to link Eric to Jones’s homicide?”

Fergusson looked at his partner, who shrugged. Bringing his focus back to Matthias, Fergusson said, “It’ll be public knowledge before long anyway. We found the murder weapon.”

A waitress appeared and placed a frothy mug in front of Matthias. “Are you gents ready to order, or do you need a few minutes?”

Lukan folded his menu and placed it on the table. “I know what I want.”

“So do I,” Fergusson said.

The waitress jotted down their choices and collected the menus. Once she was out of earshot, Matthias asked, “You found the knife?”

Fergusson shook his head. “The autopsy showed he’d been stabbed, but not by any of the usual items you think of where stabbings are concerned. Turns out it was a shard of glass.”

“What kind of glass?”

“The lab is still running tests. We received an anonymous tip to check the contents in the trunk of Baker’s car. Sure enough, we found a trash bag in his trunk containing a bunch of broken glass, including one piece with blood on it.”

Anonymous tip, Matthias thought.Nothing suspicious about that.But he kept his sarcasm to himself.

“The type matches the victim,” Fergusson continued. “It’ll take a while to get DNA analysis, but preliminary tests show the shard’s consistent with the fatal wound.”

Matthias lifted the mug to his lips, sipped, and used the time to ponder the new developments. “You said Jones was stabbed. Isn’t it possible he was pushed or fell through the pane and was impaled on the fatal shard?” Which still didn’t explain how it got into Baker’s car.

Fergusson shook his head. “Unlikely. If he’d gone through the glass, even accidentally, the body would show evidence of other nicks and cuts. There were none.”

“I have a question for you.” Matthias set down his mug and locked gazes with the trooper. “Your tip about Baker’s car was anonymous. Then he happily gives your man permission to search the vehicle. Why would he do that if he’s the one who put the murder weapon there?”

“You know as well as I do that an anonymous tipster is a legit reason to act on the information, and in this case, we hit paydirt. As for why he willingly gave us access, not my problem. We got him in possession of the glass with the victim’s blood on it. That’s all I need.”

Before Matthias could pose another question, Fergusson stopped him with a raised palm. “Your turn. Where’s Nell Anderson?”

Matthias took another sip before responding. “What does it matter? You’re convinced you have your killer.”

Even in the dim lighting, Matthias could see Fergusson flush. “Baker and the Anderson girl are close. She’s likely a witness if not a co-conspirator. Where is she?”

“I don’t know.”

“You said?—”

“I said I’d tell you what we found out.” Matthias told him about tracking Nell to the supermarket and then to the Highlander. “That’s where we lost her. She doesn’t have her phone with her, so we can’t ping it. She’s hitchhiking, so we don’t know what kind of vehicle she’s in. She’s been using cash, so there’s no credit card trail.” He didn’t mention the cash had been taken from Emma’s wallet. And Emma was keeping an eye out for charges on the card Nell had stolen from her. So far, nothing. “If Nell doesn’t want to be found, she’s not gonna be.”

Fergusson grunted. “Your girlfriend can’t be too happy about that.”

Matthias didn’t reply. Fergusson had no idea how unhappy Emma was.

The waitress returned with the troopers’ drinks—sodas, since they were still on duty—and hurried away.

Fergusson picked up a paper-wrapped straw and tore off the end. “Oh, by the way, lest you think I’m cutting corners, I looked into Baker’s so-called alibi.”

Matthias met his gaze. “And?”

“He did in fact check into the Pine Gables Inn on Saturday and checked out on Sunday. Paid cash.”

“Then why is he under arrest?”

“Because he checked in at 3:10 in the afternoon and checked out shortly before eleven the next morning. No one could confirm he stayed in his room the entire time. Cleveland isn’t that far away. I can make the trip in just over two hours if I drive straight through. He had plenty of time to check in, come back here, kill Jones, dispose of the body, and return to his room at Pine Gables.”