Read Broken Vows Mystery 03-In Sickness and in Death for Free Online Page B

you.”
    He tossed the cheese on the counter. “How about grilled cheese sandwiches and soup?”
    I busied myself with opening cans of clam chowder and microwaving them while Ray slathered butter on the bread and sandwiched the cheese slices. I wasn’t going to let him ignore the elephant on the table, however. “What about the arm, Ray?”
    “They’re looking for fingerprint matches. We haven’t had any calls about a missing local woman, so we put the word out we have an arm and no body.”
    “Were there any fingerprints in the Camry?”
    “Dozens. They’re being matched as well. I’m not holding my breath.” He opened the oven and slid the tray of sandwiches under the broiler.
    “Did Danny tell you anything else? Why did he take off in the first place?”
    Ray leaned against the oven door with his arms folded. “He wanted to see his dad.”
    My heart panged in sympathy. “Why didn’t he ask me to take him?”
    “I don’t know. He’s impulsive.”
    Was that understatement supposed to be an excuse or a medical diagnosis? I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer. “Can he see his father?”
    “I told Danny I’d take him to see his dad tomorrow, if he behaves himself.”
    Maybe that would relieve some of Danny’s distress. “Was the key in the Camry’s ignition?”
    “That’s what Danny says.”
    “But you don’t believe him?”
    Ray peeked in the oven to check on the sandwiches. He flipped them. “All I know for sure is the key was in the ignition when the car was stolen from the used car lot. But it didn’t have a key chain on it, just one of those white tags with the vehicle identification number written on it.”
    “Why would they leave the key in it at the lot? Are they idiots?”
    “It needed new brakes. Someone was supposed to pick it up after hours and drive it to the garage.”
    So Danny wasn’t completely at fault for rear-ending the Volvo. “Do you think Danny’s dad might have stolen the car, put his key chain on it, and left it at the psych center?”
    “Maybe. He won’t even admit to stealing the Cadillac Escalade he was caught driving.”
    I wondered if he’d tried the finders keepers excuse, too. “Did he tell you anything more about where their things are? Where they lived?”
    Ray shook his head as he pulled the tray from the oven. “We sent his mug shot and a description of Danny to area homeless shelters, but none of them claim to have housed them. I’m beginning to wonder if they lived from stolen car to stolen car. Danny’s father does not have any vehicle registered to him in the state of New York.”
    What a horrible existence. Again, my heart bled a little for Danny and even for his father.
    I scooped the soup into bowls and set them at the breakfast bar. Ray sliced the sandwiches and went to call Danny for dinner while I poured milk.
    Danny chose the chair near the wall. He seemed pleased when I sat next to him. Perhaps he feared Ray would fire more questions at him during dinner. But instead Ray formulated a plan of attack for painting Danny’s new room that included Danny carrying all the baby furniture to the garage as soon as Ray disassembled it.
    I cleaned up dinner while they started working. Then I contributed to the effort by moving the rocking chair into our living room. We would need the extra seats for our guests tomorrow anyway. I also cleaned the bathrooms and vacuumed the whole house, including Noelle’s now empty room.
    I told myself the dust from vacuuming had caused the tears to form in my eyes.
    ____
    Thanksgiving morning we awoke to find two feet of snow on the ground. Ray sent Danny outside to shovel the driveway and the sidewalk while he stuffed the turkey, a task he took great pride in each year. He planned to keep Danny working all morning, and he did. By the time the doorbell rang at a few minutes after two, the bungalow smelled of fresh paint mixed with turkey, pumpkin and apple pie.
    Cory had on tan khakis and a gold long-sleeve