Seed No Evil Read Online Free Page B

Hurry, Abigail. I’m nervous.”
    â€œMom, if you think the police are harassing you, don’t answer their questions. Remind them that Dad was a cop on the force, and if that doesn’t do the trick, tell them you want an attorney, okay?”
    â€œIf you think that’s necessary.”
    â€œTrust me on this, Mom. Remember, I clerked for a public defender, and by the way, if you want me to call Dave, I’m sure he’d be willing to come down to the station right now.”
    â€œWhat’s happening?” Marco asked.
    I covered the phone. “Beverly Powers is dead. Mom found her body, and now she’s at the police station answering questions.”
    Marco already had his car key in his hand. “Let’s go.”
    â€œOkay, Mom, we’re on our way. Should I call Dad and let him know what’s going on?”
    â€œNot yet, honey. Better let me tell him when I get home.”
    My father, retired sergeant Jeffrey Knight, had been a cop on New Chapel’s force for twenty-four years when a drug dealer shot him during a pursuit. The subsequent surgery to remove the bullet had gone badly, leaving my dad paralyzed and for all practical purposes wheelchair-bound. I was devastated, as was my mom, but my dad was stoic about it. He made the best of his life, setting an example for my two brothers and me. But back to the situation at hand, Mom was right. Better to tell Dad after the fact.
    I ended the call and hurried out to Marco’s car, where we took off for the five-minute drive to the police station. At the station, I found my mom sitting on a bench, looking pale and upset.
    She sprang up as soon as she saw us and came forward to give me a hug, holding on tight for a long time and then stepping back with a heavy sigh. Her worry line was deeper yet, and her eyes troubled. “The police officer said I could go home, but I have to make myself available to come back down for further questioning. They fingerprinted me. Can you believe it?”
    â€œI’m sorry you have to go through this, Mom,” I said. “It’s traumatic to see a dead body, especially when it was someone you know.”
    â€œLet’s talk in the car,” Marco said, and put his arm around her to escort her to the Prius.
    We tucked Mom in the passenger seat and I slid in the backseat, leaning forward to talk to her. “Start from the beginning.”
    â€œOh, let me think. I’m so distraught, it’s hard to focus.”
    â€œExplain to Marco what you do at the shelter,” I said.
    Starting with a routine description seemed to help. “Every day after closing time at five o’clock, two volunteers sort through and distribute boxes of donated supplies to the various pet wards and play with the kittens and puppies to socialize them. On Mondays, that’s Susan O’Day and me. Then around six thirty, we check to be sure all the cages are shut and the security lights are turned on, and we leave.”
    â€œVolunteers are in charge of locking up?” Marco asked, clearly surprised.
    â€œThat’s the system. Today Susan couldn’t make it, so I just concentrated on distributing supplies and playing with the kittens. Bev Powers was there when I arrived, and she told me not to bother locking up because she had work to do and would handle it when she was done. She asked me to let her know when I was leaving. So after I finished with the kittens, I checked the cages in the cat ward, then went into the back hallway where the administrative office is. I called her name, but she didn’t respond, so I looked around in the office. Her purse was there, but she wasn’t.
    â€œI finally went to the dog ward and looked inside. I noticed that two cages at the back were empty. That was strange because I knew that the dog ward was full beyond capacity. The whole shelter is overflowing with animals. So I walked farther into the ward, and that’s when I realized