Lin’s heart was beating fast as they turned onto the woman’s front walk and then went up the stairs to the porch.  Under the porch light, Lin could see a frown pulling on Mrs. Abbott’s facial muscles.

“Do you think the embezzler knew Greg was on to him?  Do you think he killed Greg?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” the woman said solemnly.

“Did you tell the police about this?” Lin asked.

“Indeed, I did.”  Mrs. Abbott stood a little straighter.  “But no one’s been arrested so it mustn’t have been any help.”

“I bet it was a huge help.”  Lin’s mind was racing.  A thought popped into her head and gave her such a jolt that she nearly dropped the grocery bags.  “Would you like me to bring these inside?”  She wanted to hurry away to pursue her idea.

“No, my dear.  Just set them down.”  Mrs. Abbott pointed to the porch floor and thanked Lin for her help.

Lin was about to hurry down the front steps when Mrs. Abbott let out another sigh as she fumbled in her purse for her house key.  “Poor Greg.  He really seemed very much alone in the world.”

Lin’s heart clenched.  She stood still for a moment and then she moved slowly down the steps.  For a good part of her life, she’d been all too familiar with the feeling of being alone.

Chapter 22

Leonard.  It had to be him.  Lin raced up Main Street to get to Viv’s house as fast as she could.

Leonard had access to Hammond’s back office files and he was probably in need of money.  Greg ignored the business so it must have been fairly easy to doctor the books.  He must have known that Greg was interested in Viv’s house.  He must have seen the books that Greg was reading.  Maybe Leonard even knew what Greg hoped to find on Viv’s property.  Lin’s brain was trying to fit all the pieces together.  He must have known that Greg had discovered that he was embezzling from the business so, to save his skin, Leonard murdered Greg.  Lin berated herself for not seeing it sooner.

A shadow stepped from a dark yard onto the sidewalk in front of Lin causing her to pull to a halt.

Leonard.

Fear gripped her throat and her body felt like rubber.  She wanted to whirl and run, but she didn’t want to incite him.  She forced herself to take slow breaths.

The man’s face was bruised and cut.  His hair hung in long strings around his cheeks.  Leonard’s lip was twice its usual size.

He must have been one of the two men fighting at the side of Viv’s yard the other night.

“I been lookin’ for you.”  Leonard shuffled to the side so that he wasn’t directly under the streetlamp.

Lin glanced around, but there was no one walking in the area.  She took a tiny step back.  She swallowed hard, but her constricted throat only allowed her voice to come out as a squeak.  “What do you want?”

“I need to tell you something.”  Leonard flicked his eyes side to side and up the street.

“I need to get home.”  Lin’s heart pounded so hard she was sure that her chest would burst open.  She took a step to her left, but Leonard moved to block her way.

Even in the thin light of the streetlamp, Lin could make out Leonard’s yellow, chipped teeth.

“I’m in trouble,” Leonard mumbled.

“Yeah, I know.”

Leonard’s face screwed up.  “How would you know?”

Lin wished she was a foot further back from the man.  If she tried to run, he would just reach for her arm and grab her.  She waited for an opportunity.

“People talk.”  Lin forced her shoulders back.

“Nobody knows this.”  Leonard stepped closer.

Lin gently slid both of her feet an inch out of her flip flops so that when she got the chance she could more easily step out of them and run as fast as she could.

A car came up the small hill of the street and caught the two people standing on the sidewalk in the headlights.  Lin would rather be hit by a car than dragged away and killed by Leonard.

Lin bolted into the road in front of the vehicle hoping they would see her and stop in time to avoid hitting her.  She grimaced and closed her eyes waiting for the hit.

Leonard ran into the yard of the house to his left and disappeared into the trees.

The car screeched to a stop.  The driver jumped out and hurried to the side of the shaking young woman standing in front of him in the dark.

***

When the police arrived, Lin was still shaken.  She explained why she had run into the road.  “I think a guy who works for Hammond Landscaping is responsible for killing Greg Hammond.  The guy’s name is Leonard.  I don’t know his last name.”

The two officers exchanged a look.  One of the men said, “We know who you mean.  It’s not him though.”

Lin’s eyes flashed.  “Why isn’t it him?”

The other officer spoke.  “We know where Leonard was the morning Mr. Hammond was killed.”

A questioning expression spread over Lin’s face and she tilted her head to the side.  “You do?”

The first officer nodded.  “He got into some mischief the night before.  He was a guest at the police station until after the murder took place.”

Lin’s shoulders drooped.  She felt foolish for making the accusation.

“Did he threaten you this evening?  Do you want to make a formal complaint against Mr. Reed?  Leonard Reed.”

Lin blinked.  “No.”  She shook her head.  She wanted to get away from the police officers and get to Viv’s house where she could forget the whole evening.  The officers offered to give her a lift, but she declined and instead, walked the remaining few blocks to her cousin’s place.

The house was dark when she arrived.  She unlocked the front door and flicked on the lights.  The dog greeted her with sleepy eyes and Queenie arched her back and yawned from her place on the sofa.

“I made a fool of myself tonight,” Lin told the animals.  She let out a long groan.  She kicked off her flip flops and climbed the staircase to the spare room where she pulled off her dress and put on a T-shirt and a pair of long pajama pants.  She picked up one of her crossword puzzle books, went downstairs and into the kitchen.

Nicky woofed to be let outside.  Following the dog to the back door, Lin texted her cousin.  A moment later, Viv replied that when she was on her way home after the power outage at the club, she had to stop at the bookstore because an employee was sick and couldn’t finish her shift.  She’d just finished locking up and would be home in a few minutes.

Lin opened the back door, let the dog out, and stepped onto the deck.  Cloud cover hid the moon and stars making the yard unusually dark.  She sucked in a long deep breath and sat in one of the chairs.

How could she have been so wrong about the killer?  Everything seemed to fit.  A wave of guilt washed over her.  It had been easy to suspect Leonard.  The way he looked and his poor social skills made Lin uncomfortable and she always wanted to get away from him, but those things didn’t make him a murderer.  She’d been too quick to jump to conclusions.

Lin looked out over the yard.  “Nick?”  She stood and walked down onto the grass where she called the dog’s name again.

Bits and pieces of information flashed in Lin’s mind like tiny sparks.  Leonard had said that he wanted to tell her something, he’d said he was in trouble.  He looked like he’d been in a fight.  Other thoughts sparked in her brain and her mouth dropped open in realization.

Just about every time the ghost had appeared, one particular person was present.  Lin closed her eyes.  Everything aligned and pointed to one person.  My God.  How did I miss it?  I know who killed Greg Hammond.

Nicky’s insistent whine from behind the shed shook Lin to attention.  A man’s moan floated on the air.  Flickers of anxiety pulsed down her back as Lin rushed to where the sounds were coming from.  Rounding the corner of the shed, Lin saw Nicky standing over a man who lay on the ground face-up.