by Grace York
Isaac forked the last bite of apple and cinnamon slice from his plate into his mouth. He ate slowly, his eyes moving from person to person around the table. Addison felt like she was at a job interview, or something else equally stressful. She was being scrutinised, and she didn't like it. She considered shooing the entire crowd off to bed and home, but something about the way the group waited for the detective's response stopped her. She realised she needed to hear what he thought, too.
Finally Isaac finished the slice, pushed his plate away, and folded his arms in front of him.
"All right then," he said. "Let's hear your theories."
25
"We don't think Richard Divola is the killer, for starters," said Adam. He turned to Addison. "I'll let you explain," he said, before racing off upstairs.
Isaac looked at Addison expectantly.
"Um… we went to see him at his salon today," said Addison. She waited to be told off, but Isaac just kept staring at her, so she explained their conversation with Richard about his business.
"He'd been accusing Josie of poaching his clients, which we knew wasn't true. That's not the way Josie does business. So we went over to ask him about it, and he admitted he'd done the wrong thing."
Addison didn't mention the Parkinson's Disease, it wasn't her place to discuss the man's private life in such a public way, but she told them of his friendship with Perry Abbott and how he regretted letting the feud continue for so long.
"It felt genuine to me," said Addison.
"Me too," said Adam, who'd returned to the table with his laptop. "He seemed like a man who had a few regrets in life and was starting to feel the weight of them as he aged. He might be a grumpy old man, but I can't see him as a killer."
"Okay," said Isaac. "Richard Divola is out, according to the Beach House Murder Club. Who else have you got?"
"Not so fast," said Mrs Jones. "What did you find out about Ted King?"
"I told you, I can't—"
"Oh, no," said Layla. "It doesn't work that way. We give you something, then you give us something."
"This isn't a negotiation," said Isaac.
"But that's how they do it in the movies," Layla insisted.
"This also isn't a movie," said Isaac. "We're not trading information here. This is a real-life murder investigation. We've got a killer out there, Layla. As much as I recognise you all want to help, and I know I've contributed to that by letting Addison and Adam get involved, I can't just reveal personal information about suspects to a group of citizens. It would be highly unethical."
"But you can tell Addison," said Layla.
"To a point, yes. Because she's an authorised police volunteer who's signed a confidentiality agreement."
Mrs Jones leaned forward. "So how about the two of you go in the kitchen and make another pot of tea, and while you're in there you can tell Addison whatever you can. Then when you come back here, Addison can tell us whether we can rule out Ted King too." She sat back and folded her arms across her chest, as if she'd just delivered a telling-off to a group of naughty school children.
"Why do I…" Isaac began, then sighed. "Okay, fine." He pushed back his chair and stood, shaking his head all the way into the kitchen.
Addison followed, and when they closed the door between the great room and the kitchen they heard the rest of the table burst into laughter.
"Sorry about that," said Addison as she filled the kettle. "They've gotten a bit out of hand."
Isaac shrugged. "If it wasn't so serious it would be kind of funny."
Addison was glad he could see the lighter side of things. "You don't really need to tell me…"
"It's okay. It's no big deal, really." He turned back towards the closed door. "Adam isn't joining us?"
"I think he's got Lucy McGregor in his sights. Ever since he saw her at the pharmacy he's been googling and searching and whatnot, but I don't think he's found anything yet. I suspect that's what he's up to now. He'd love to find something to impress you, I'm sure."
"Fair enough." Isaac took a seat on one of the kitchen stools while Addison made the second pot of tea. "We questioned Ted King about the second mobile phone. He admitted not handing it in, but he said it was for personal reasons. He was evasive, but we eventually discovered some photographs and text messages on that phone he didn't want the world to see. Especially not his wife, if you catch my meaning."
Addison did. "Right," she said, eyebrows raised. "You didn't find anything on his phone that could help us with the investigation then?"
Isaac shook his head. "Afraid not. But the timing of the texts rules both him and another suspect out of the frame for Abbott's killer. They were carrying on quite the conversation right before the dogs got loose, so unless they were texting at the same time as slipping the poison into the glass in order to give themselves an alibi, I doubt it was either of them."
"Plus, if they did it for an alibi, why hide the texts from the police?" said Addison.
"Exactly."
"So who was the other suspect?"
Isaac lowered his voice. "Ebony Weir."
"The organiser of the dog show? One of the judges was carrying on an affair with the person in charge?"
"King denied it was an affair. He described it as a bit of harmless flirting. He said he wasn't proud of it, and he'd already vowed to come clean to his wife. Apparently Abbott's death put things into perspective for him."
Addison was glad to hear it. Not that it was any of her business, but she didn't like to hear of trouble within marriages. It made her sad to think of deceit between people who must have loved each other at some point.
"So that all but rules both of them out," said Addison. "Although I don't remember Ebony being a strong suspect."
"No, she wasn't. But that's the thing with this case. There are so many people who were there, all of whom could have known about the poison and had access to the glass."
"Right," said Addison. She poured boiling water into the teapot, closed the lid, and replaced the cozy over the top. "We came to the same conclusion. Too many people with means and opportunity. So that means we should focus on motive, doesn't it?"
"It does." Isaac picked up the teapot and headed for the great room.
Addison opened the door for him. "So who do we have left with enough motive to want Perry Abbott dead?" she asked as they rejoined the Murder Club.
"I might be able to answer that," said Adam, looking up from the screen of his laptop. "I think I've found a motive for Lucy McGregor."
26
"Well don't keep us in suspense, man," said Lenny. "What have you found?"
Adam raised his eyebrows at Isaac.
"We weren't able to interview Lucy McGregor today," said Isaac. "She called in sick to work and we couldn't find her at home. We were going to have another go tomorrow. So if you've found something, please share."
"Okay. It took me a while and a lot of digging on social media and news sites, but I've found a connection between Lucy and the victim. It seems her parents were killed in a car accident years ago." Adam's eyes diverted back to his screen. "Twelve years ago, to be exact. They were hit by a drunk driver. Mr McGregor was killed instantly, but Mrs McGregor lasted a couple of weeks on life support. Lucy was barely a teenager at the time, her sister even younger."
"Oh, how awful for them," said Brooke. "I can't imagine going through something so horrible."
"What's that got to do with Perry Abbott?" asked Isaac.
"He was the drunk driver's lawyer," said Adam. "And he got the guy off."
"Got him off?" said Mrs Jones. "What do you mean?"
"I mean got the charges completely dropped. It was a technicality, by the looks of it. The police stuffed something up… no offence, Isaac… and Perry Abbott jumped on it. The case was thrown out, and the guy who killed the McGregors walked free."
Addison sat back in her chair. "Wow. The poor girl. Not only did she lose her parents, but the person responsible didn't pay for it at all. That'
s terrible."
"That's motive," said Adam.
Addison thought back to the night of the dog show presentation dinner. She remembered talking with Hazel, Mrs Jones, Josie, and Juliet about Lucy while they were watching the unfolding chaos of the dogs running amok. Lucy wasn't doing much to help the situation, if Addison remembered correctly.
There was silence for a moment while everyone at the table contemplated Adam's revelation, then just as quickly there was a cacophony of noise as each person voiced their opinion at once.
"It puts her top of the list," said Lenny.
"I don't think it was her," said Mrs Jones.
"I told you there was something about her," said Brooke, mostly to Lenny.
"She's so young," said Layla.
Adam sat back and smiled, enjoying the upset he'd caused.
Addison turned to Isaac. "What do you think?" she asked. The rest of the table fell silent to listen.
"I think we'll need to give it due consideration," he said. "Thanks, Adam. That's good work."
Adam beamed with pride, but his moment was short-lived. They were interrupted by insistent barking coming from next-door.
"That's Charlie," said Addison, already out of her chair and heading for the kitchen. "He doesn't usually bark like that unless something's wrong."
She raced through the kitchen and out the back door, followed closely by Isaac and the rest of the crew. The last light of the day was just enough for them see where they were going. Charlie continued to bark, and Addison followed the noise through the open gate in the fence and into Mrs Jones's yard.
Charlie and Bella were both on Mrs Jones's back porch. Bella was trying to get to her food bowl, but Charlie was blocking her way. He seemed to be doing his best to stop her eating whatever was in the bowl.
"Charlie!" Addison called. "What's wrong?" The dog looked up at her briefly before resuming his stance against Bella.
Adam raced past Addison and up onto the porch. "What's up, mate?" he said to the little dog, careful not to get too close. Addison had never seen Charlie so worked up.
"Bella, come!" Mrs Jones had caught up to them, and Bella instantly obeyed the command and went to her mistress. "What's got into the two of you?"
Charlie retreated once Bella was safely by Mrs Jones's side, and Addison and Adam both peered into her food bowl. There was a chunk of meat in there.
"Mrs Jones, did you give this to Bella?" asked Adam.
Mrs Jones leaned forward to check the bowl, and shook her head. "No, I didn't. Bella doesn't eat raw meat. I cook all her food myself. How did that get in there?"
"Stand back, all of you," said Isaac. He got close to the bowl and had a good look, then turned back to Addison and Mrs Jones. "Keep the dogs away from this."
"Let's take them back to the beach house," said Layla. "I'll take Charlie."
Mrs Jones picked up Bella and started towards the beach house, and Layla called to Charlie. The little dog gave Addison one last glance before trotting off behind Layla.
Isaac pulled out his mobile phone. He used it to take a couple of photographs before making a call.
"Kendall? It's me. You'd better get over to Mrs Jones's residence. It looks like we might have a crime scene."
"A crime scene?" said Addison once he'd ended the call. "What do you mean?"
In the dying light Addison noticed Isaac's brow was furrowed. He looked as concerned as she'd ever seen him.
"If Mrs Jones didn't give her dog that piece of meat, who did?"
27
"It must be poisoned," said Adam. "It's the only explanation."
"It's not the only explanation," said Layla. They were gathered in the kitchen of the beach house once more, with the exception of Isaac who was waiting next-door for Kendall to arrive. Addison was making another pot of tea.
"Okay, what else could it be?" Adam asked.
Layla opened her mouth to speak a couple of times, closing it again when she clearly couldn't think of any explanation as to why a chunk of raw meat had mysteriously appeared in Bella's food bowl.
She turned to Mrs Jones, who was sitting at the kitchen table with Bella on her lap. "You're sure that meat wasn't there when you came over tonight?"
"Positive," said Mrs Jones. "I gave Bella her dinner at the same time as I ate my own, as I always do. When I left the house to come over here, I checked her bowl to make sure she'd eaten it. The bowl was definitely empty."
"See," said Adam. "Someone has snuck into Mrs Jones's yard while she was over here tonight and put that meat in Bella's bowl. Why do that?"
"Maybe someone had some meat left over they didn't want to go to waste?" said Layla, but judging by her frown even she wasn't convinced of that theory.
"Who'd give food to someone else's dog without asking the dog's owner?" said Lenny. "No, I'm with Adam. That meat is poisoned. Especially given that the head judge of the local dog show was just poisoned. It can't be a coincidence."
There was silence while that sank in, until Brooke asked the question on everyone's mind.
"Who'd want to poison a cute little dog like Bella?" She stood protectively beside Mrs Jones and leaned over to stroke Bella behind the ears.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" said Lenny.
Five sets of eyes turned his way.
Lenny crossed his arms and leaned against the kitchen counter. "It must be whoever killed Perry Abbott, of course. It's all about the dog show. Killing the judge didn't get them the win, so now they're trying to bump off the competition." He looked at Mrs Jones. "Was the Best in Show award re-scheduled?"
Mrs Jones shook her head. "No, they abandoned it for this show. But there's another show next month over in Scottsdale, and most of the same dogs will be in the running."
"Including Bella?"
"I'd decided to enter her, yes. Oh my goodness, did I put her in danger?" She gave the dog a tight squeeze.
"I'm sure you didn't," Brooke reassured Mrs Jones.
Lenny raised his eyebrows. "I don't know."
Addison hadn't heard of anything so absurd. "You think whoever is behind this killed Perry so they could win Best in Show, and when they didn't, they decided to kill Bella here so there'd be one less dog to compete against next time?"
Lenny shrugged. "Well, when you put it like that it sounds dumb."
"It sounds very dumb," said Addison. "There's a big difference between killing a person and killing a dog. And winning a dog show isn't a good enough motive for either of them."
"What if poisoning Bella was meant to throw us off the real killer's tracks?" said Adam.
"So we'd think it was about the dog show when in fact it wasn't?" said Addison. "That's a more likely explanation."
"That's what I think," said Adam. "My money's still on Lucy McGregor."
Addison had heard enough speculation for the time being. She filled the teapot, then poured some of the tea into a travel mug and screwed the lid on tight. "I'm going to take this over to Isaac," she said. "You all stay here and look after Mrs Jones and the dogs."
Charlie, who'd settled himself by the back door as if guarding against anyone going back over to the contaminated meat, stood when Addison approached. She leaned down and gave him a good scratch on the head and behind the ears.
"You're a good dog," she said, before turning to Brooke. "Can you get him and Bella a treat?"
"Sure."
Charlie's eyes widened. 'Treat' was one of his favourite words, second only to 'walk'. He recognised both instantly, and both resulted in the kind of excited jumps and circles he was performing right now. Addison used the distraction to slip out the back door without him.
Isaac was busy investigating Mrs Jones's backyard security measures while he waited for Kendall Short. He accepted the mug of tea.
"Thanks. I think whoever it was came through this gate," he said. Mrs Jones's house was on a corner, and there was a gate in the side fence that had no lock. "Her security is terrible."
"It's a small seaside town," said Ad
dison. "My side gate isn't locked either."
"Perhaps it should be, in light of recent events."
Addison realised he wasn't just talking about Bella's attempted poisoning or Perry Abbott's murder. There had been a spike in nasty happenings since Addison came to Getaway Bay.
"Fair point," she said.
Isaac raised his tea mug. "This is good. You not having one?"
"I've had as much tea and coffee as I need for one day." She pointed back to the beach house. "They're all speculating in there as to who did this, and why. Do you have any ideas?"
"There is one person I've quietly had on my radar," he said. "I left Diaz at the station doing some more research."
"Is it Lucy McGregor? Adam is keen on her as the culprit, but I'm not so sure. She seems so young and nice."
"Killers come in all shapes and sizes, Addison. You should know that by now."
"True. But…"
"I agree," said Isaac. "She doesn't strike me as a killer. Nevertheless, Adam has uncovered some interesting information. Lucy's connection with the victim must be examined."
"So who's your main suspect then?"
He was about to answer but was distracted by a set of headlights on the other side of the fence. Two car doors opened and closed, and Isaac opened the gate to let Kendall in. She was dressed in jeans and a lovely floral top, and Addison was momentarily struck by how pretty she was. It was a nice change from seeing her in her police uniform.
Jason Sadler followed Kendall through the gate and rushed straight to Addison.
"Are you all right? Is Mrs Jones okay?"
Addison was touched by his concern. "Everyone's fine, Jason. They're next-door at the beach house if you want to go and say hi. Sorry to interrupt your date."
Jason shrugged. "We were just about to see a movie. You're all far more important. You're sure you're okay?"
Addison could hear Isaac explaining about the meat in Bella's bowl to Kendall, and realised he hadn't told her what was going on over the phone. All he'd said was there was a crime scene at Mrs Jones's house. No wonder Jason was so concerned, the poor boy. Addison quickly explained the situation.
