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Liz reached out to steady herself. “Mick Grotto is dead.”

“From his sustained injuries,” Gloria said. “Which means the police will kick their investigation up a notch. My guess is they’ll be on your doorstep within a matter of hours. Where are you?”

“Standing in my future kitchen.”

“And Echo is there with you?”

“She is. I had her pack some things up and now we’re trying to figure out what our next step will be.”

Gloria lowered her voice. “Can Echo hear you talking?”

“Mmm. Hmm. ”

“I see. My number one priority is your safety. I’m starting to suspect we don’t have the entire story. It’s hard to tell if Echo is being completely forthright and honest about this whole story involving a senator and an investigator’s suspicious death.”

“True.” Liz avoided looking at Echo, certain the woman was listening in on her end of the conversation. “Ruth and Lucy also called. Let me get back to you.”

“Please be careful,” Gloria said. “Do you want me to come by? Never mind. I’m on my way. This calls for a Garden Girl’s meeting of the minds.”

A sense of relief washed over Liz. She wanted to go with her gut, to trust Echo, but now a man was dead. What if Echo had busted the window to deflect attention away from herself? What if she somehow already knew Grotto was dead? The police would be hot on her trail. It was possible that her plan was to use the attempted break-in to try to convince them that a “mystery” person was after her.

Liz needed to dig into the Appolina story, to see if what Echo told her added up. But first, she needed to figure out what to do with her tenant, who was anxiously peering out the window. “I think you’re right. I’ll see you in a few.”

As soon as Liz ended the call, Echo stopped pacing. “Grotto is dead. That’s who you were talking about.”

“He is.” Liz shoved her phone in her pocket. “Let’s go over to the camper and have a cup of coffee.”

“I…I need to head to work.” Echo’s lower lip trembled as she scooped her pup up and held him close. “Would you mind if Teddy stayed here with you? I’m afraid to leave him at home.”

“Not at all. ”

“Thanks, Liz, for believing in me and trying to help. If Appolina has someone out there, it’s only a matter of time before they get to me.”

Liz asked the question that had been lingering in the back of her mind from the moment Echo shared the story about Senator Appolina. “If Grotto was sent here to come after you, why was he attacked?”

“Who knows? Maybe he got sloppy, left some sort of trail leading back to Appolina, and he found out. Maybe Grotto made a deal to take me out for a certain amount, and then once he found me, he upped his fee and wanted more. Appolina knows how to find me now and no longer needed Mick Grotto.”

“If he’s as guilty as you say and going with the theory he is involved in Grotto’s death, we need a safe house for you.”

Echo offered her a grim smile. “I could sleep in the barn. I doubt the hoity-toity politician would dirty the soles of his shoes and come looking for me there. ”

Unless he hired a thug, even worse than the last one. Liz briefly closed her eyes. “We’ll figure something out. Just watch your back and Floyd and I will do the same.”

“I will.” Echo gave her pup a gentle hug as tears welled up in her eyes. It broke Liz’s heart to see her hand shake as she placed her beloved Teddy on the floor. “I wish I had never taken that evidence technician job.”

“But you loved your job,” Liz gently reminded her. “Is that why you’re hesitant to apply for a position with the Montbay County Sheriff’s Department?”

“Yes, and no. I…I thought if I flew under the radar, Appolina wouldn’t find me. He would give up and I would be free.”

“Do you think he set your place on fire?”

Echo nodded. “Without a doubt. He was behind my last house burning to the ground, was the one who sent me anonymous death threats. After the fire, I knew I had to get out. I thought West Michigan would be far enough away. I guess I was wrong.”

Liz accompanied Echo to her car and watched as she climbed in, her shoulders slumped and a look of defeat mingled with fear etched on her face.

Frustrated, Liz clenched her fists. There was nothing she could say, no guarantee she could make that the woman would be safe. It was obvious someone was after her. Whether it was Senator Appolina or someone else. A person or persons were out there and they knew exactly where to find Echo.

A patrol car crested the hill and pulled into Liz’s driveway. Another Montbay County Sheriff’s vehicle followed close behind. Sheriff Nelson emerged from the first vehicle. With a light hand on his holster, he made his way toward them.

“Liz,” Echo whispered .

“It will be all right,” Liz said. “We need to find out what they want.”

“Morning, Mrs. Rasmussen.” The sheriff tipped his hat, his eyes laser-focused on Echo. “Ms. Quigley?”

“Y-yes.”

“Could you please step out of your car?”

Echo did as the sheriff instructed. “What is going on?”

“I’m here to question you about the death of Mick Grotto and ask if you’d be willing to accompany me to the police station.”

“Question?” Echo’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“I would like to go with her,” Liz said.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Rasmussen. You can’t be with her in the room. There’s no sense in you following us down there just to sit in the lobby.”

“But… ”

“It’s okay. I have nothing to hide.” Echo’s eyes met Liz’s. “Can you stop by the house and grab that insurance policy for me? I’m thinking it will be best if you hang onto it in case I need it sooner rather than later.”

“Insurance policy?”

“You know, the one we were talking about.” Echo stared hard and it dawned on Liz that she was referring to the DNA sample.

“Yes. Yes, I’ll go get it.” A ball of lead settled in the pit of Liz’s stomach as she watched the second officer escort Echo to the back of his patrol car. He placed her inside and drove off. The sheriff slowly followed behind.

Liz’s feet were glued to the driveway, her eyes following the vehicles until they disappeared from sight.

Was Echo guilty? Would they charge her with Mick Grotto’s death? She was still standing there, rooted to the same spot, when her cell phone rang. It was Floyd.

“I don’t mean to bother you, but was wondering if you could run over to Echo’s place and make sure she’s all right. She hasn’t shown up for work yet and isn’t answering my calls.”

“She won’t be coming in today.”

“Is she sick?”

“The police picked her up. She’s on her way to the station for questioning.”

“No kidding. They must’ve figured she was the gal in the sketch.”

“Someone tried to break into her place last night through the back door. They didn’t bust the glass out but came close.”

“Did she call the police?” Floyd asked.

“No. Teddy alerted her to something last night. She got up to check it out but didn’t find the cracked glass until this morning. ”

A car crested the hill. “Gloria is here. I told her what happened, and she offered to come over.”

“Do you want me to come home?”

“There’s nothing you can do. Either Echo is involved or she’s innocent. We need to figure out which it is.” Liz promised to call him as soon as she had an update.

Gloria coasted into the driveway. She sprang from the car and hurried to Liz’s side. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s gone.”

“Who is gone?”

“Echo. Sheriff Nelson and another cop just left. They’re taking her down to the station for questioning.”

Lucy’s Jeep flew down the road. She parked next to Annabelle, Gloria’s car. Margaret and Lucy emerged.

Ruth’s spymobile was right behind them, and Dot and Ruth climbed out.

“Did we miss anything?”

“Only if you wanted to be here when Nelson and one of his deputies showed up looking for Echo.”

“I knew it was only a matter of time,” Ruth said. “Gloria told us Grotto was dead. How did Echo react?”

“Defeated. She’s defeated and, if she’s telling me the truth, she thinks she’s in serious trouble. This goes all the way back to Detroit when she was an evidence technician,” Liz said.

“Hang on.” Dot tapped the top of the bakery box she was holding. “This calls for coffee and donuts. I have everyone’s favorite.”

“We can’t come up with a plan of action on empty stomachs,” Gloria said.

“I’ll brew another pot of coffee.” Liz counted heads. “I don’t think we’ll all fit in the camper. ”

“I noticed a coffee pot in what was the kitchen,” Lucy said. “I’ll start a fresh pot. You grab your laptop and we can all catch up with where we’re at.”

Fifteen minutes later, the Garden Girls had assembled in Liz’s future kitchen while Dot handed out baked goods. “Gloria, here’s a chocolate éclair. There’s an apple turnover for Margaret. Lucy gets the pink frosted raspberry twist. Ruth, here’s your favorite glazed donut. I wasn’t sure about you, Liz, so you get a frosted chocolate with sprinkles.”

Liz thanked Dot for the donut and nibbled the edge. “This is delicious.”

“Fresh from Dot’s Restaurant,” Dot said. “Kip has mastered my secret recipes.”

“Brian is working at the hardware store this morning,” Gloria said. “I warned him we might be stopping by later.”

“Why would this involve Brian?” Margaret asked.

“Senator Appolina,” Liz said .

“Senator Appolina,” Ruth repeated.

“According to Echo, he was being investigated for taking bribes. The lead investigator died while things were heating up. His death was ruled a suicide. Echo and her colleague began investigating his death and found some sort of DNA beneath his fingernails.”

“Ah.” Lucy arched a brow. “I heard about that case. It was suddenly dropped.”

“Or swept under the rug,” Ruth said.

Liz continued. “Thinking there was more to it, Echo and the other technician were trying to turn the potential evidence over when her colleague also died.”

Dot’s hand flew to her lips. “How awful.”

“So now there’s a dead investigator and dead colleague, Vanessa,” Liz said. “Remember when we discovered Echo’s Detroit rental burned to the ground? She’s convinced she was the target. Fearing for her life, she quit her job, packed up and moved here.”

“Which is why she didn’t want Floyd to put her on the payroll, was driving around with an expired license and hasn’t applied for a job with the county,” Gloria said.

“Her plan was to disappear. She hoped Appolina would forget all about her and she could start over,” Liz said. “Grotto is dead and someone tried to break into her home last night. She has the DNA sample, what she called her insurance policy, hidden somewhere. She told me to get it and hang onto it.”

“Then maybe you should.”

“The only problem is, she didn’t tell me where she hid it.” Liz motioned to Ruth. “Were you able to get the results back on Echo’s fingerprint?”

“Not yet. Leonard is still working on it. We should have something this morning.”

Margaret cleared her throat .

“What?” Liz asked.

“She could be lying. What about the police sketch of the woman who was near the boat ramp around the time Grotto was attacked? A lead investigator and colleague are dead, but Echo manages to escape. She’s acting suspicious and went MIA around the time of Grotto’s attack. What if he had some dirt on Echo, bribed her and she went after him?” Margaret polished off the rest of her turnover. “Why would Grotto show up on your doorstep? Wouldn’t he want to catch Echo off guard?”

“All valid points.” Liz lifted the lid on her laptop and typed Senator Appolina’s name into the search bar. Several stories popped up, the most recent from six months ago.

Confirming Echo’s statement, Appolina was being investigated for taking bribes. There were several quotes from the lead investigator, followed by a story about his sudden death. It was ruled a suicide, just as Echo had said .

“What about Echo’s colleague, Vanessa?”

“She’s mentioned once.” Liz copied the woman’s name and added it to a new search screen. Corroborating Echo’s version, the technician had died nearly six months ago. Cause of death was, once again, suicide.

“Our next step is to track down this DNA evidence,” Ruth said.

“Echo told me she put it in a safe place.”

Gloria downed the last of her coffee. “It has to be somewhere nearby.”

Ruth reached into her purse and pulled out a handful of rubber gloves. “We need to figure out if Echo is telling the truth or if she intentionally damaged her home in an attempt to cover up.”

Margaret clapped her hands. “Let’s roll.”