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Annie followed and found her fiddling with the coffee maker. Candace shot her a glance. “I need to eat something and get back to work. Coffee?”
“I never turn down coffee.”
The kitchen was like one out of a home magazine with marble counters, black cabinets, and gleaming brass fixtures. Annie perched on a leather barstool at the breakfast bar. “Yourhome is lovely. I heard you were a designer, but I see you have a real estate badge.”
“I stage homes for them. It’s fun and different. I’ve been doing that for about a year.” Candace rummaged through the top freezer and drew out a paleo bowl that she popped into the microwave.
“Have you heard from Glenn?” Annie asked.
The coffeepot beeped, and Candace drew down two mugs. “Cream, sugar?”
“Black, please.” Annie waited until the coffee was poured to see if Candace would answer the question.
Candace slid a mug across the counter to her. “I haven’t heard from him since before he was injured.” Her voice wobbled. “I don’t believe he did those things, but the sheriff seems to have a lot of evidence.”
“People can hold secrets even from the ones they love. And I don’t doubt he loved you. When I questioned him about another incident some weeks back, he mentioned you.”
Candace swallowed a gulp of coffee and nodded. She set her cup on the counter and turned when the microwaved beeped. “I hope you don’t mind if I eat.”
“Not at all.” Annie inhaled the aroma of the strong coffee and took a sip while she watched the other woman open her meal and grab a fork. From Candace’s rushed movements, Annie didn’t think she had long to pry information from Glenn’s wife, so she had to make the questions count.
The pictures. That should be her focus. “We found some puzzling pictures, and I wondered if you’ve ever seen them.” Annie pulled the photos from her back pocket. “We found these in a hidden compartment.”
A puzzled frown crossed Candace’s forehead. “We have no hidden compartments. I bought all the furniture.”
“I’ll show you where we found them after you eat your lunch, but have you seen these before?”
Candace speared a piece of broccoli and chicken and popped it in her mouth. There was only silence as she flipped through the pictures. “They’re new to me.” She handed them back.
“Look at what’s written on the backs. We think what he’s wearing and what’s on the back might go together into some kind of code.”
Candace’s face reddened, and she grabbed a tissue from a box in the corner to dab at her eyes. “Why would I help you pin more stuff on my husband? I just want him to come home. He wasn’t ready to be out of the hospital, and I doubt whoever took him has the know-how to take care of a coma patient. He’d barely awakened when they took him! This has been a nightmare, and I want to wake up now.”
“I wish I didn’t have to bother you with this, but I think Glenn is in danger. He called me.” Annie told her about the conversation and wished she could offer words of comfort, but this bad dream wasn’t going to end for Candace or Glenn anytime soon. “He should still be in the hospital.” She flipped over the pictures and pushed them back toward Candace. “Please, anything you might notice would be helpful.”
Sniffling, Candace examined each picture and the words written on the back. “He’s wearing promotional hats and tees. They aren’t his, and I don’t know where he got them or what he did with them after he wore them. They’re not in our bedroom, and I’ve never seen them.”
So it was likely their guess was right about the pictures beinga communication of some kind. “Do the words mean anything to you? Massey Ferguson or the others? Did he have any friends who those words might point to?”
Candace took a couple more bites, and Annie waited for her to think it through.
Candace ate the last of her meal and tossed the container. “The only one might be the Massey Ferguson thing. He has a hunting buddy who buys and sells vintage tractors. He’s got several of that brand, probably more than any other type.”
A hunting buddy. Annie’s pulse increased, but she kept her expression neutral and her tone light. “What’s his name? It’s probably nothing, but I’ll check it out.”
“Eric Bell. I don’t have an address or a phone number. To be honest, I hated his hunting. It was an obsession, and I felt it took him away from me more than I liked. We both work hard, and I wanted to spend time together on the weekends, but it didn’t often happen. He’d get calls even when we already had plans and would leave abruptly. I didn’t like it.”
Annie rose and gathered up the photos. “I don’t blame you. If you walk me out, I’ll show you where we found these.”
Candace nodded and they went through the dining room to the living room. Annie pointed out the drawer Jon had disassembled.
Candace examined it and frowned. “He had to have done that on his own. It didn’t come that way.”
For the first time Annie spotted uncertainty in Candace’s gaze. She was probably beginning to wonder if she knew her husband at all.
***
While Annie was in a meeting with Mason, Jon wandered down Kitchigami Street past the bank and Copper Club Tavern. This block of Victorian architecture had been restored to its former glory with multiple paint colors and original hardware. He loved the transoms and corbels decorating the storefronts through town.
