by J A Whiting
“Would you like to see the guns again?” Derek asked.
“No, thanks. That’s not necessary. Does anyone else, beside the family members, have access to the gun case?”
“No way. Definitely not.”
“Have you ever noticed one of the weapons missing?”
Derek’s eyebrows shot up. “Absolutely not. I would have reported it.”
“Does anyone borrow a gun from you?” Ian asked.
“On occasion. Family members, a few friends. It’s not a regular thing.”
“Did anyone borrow a gun recently?”
“No. No one.” Derek held his glass of tea in one hand.
“You’ve never had a break-in?”
“Heck, no.”
Derek’s wife, Paula, came up the staircase and entered the room. “Hello. I just got back from doing some errands.”
Derek introduced Paula to Ian and Claire.
“Can I get you anything?” she asked, and when the guests declined, she sat down next to her husband.
Derek explained what they’d been discussing about the guns and why Detective Fuller needed to talk to him about who had access to the gun case.
“Every avenue must be investigated,” Ian told Paula. “We never know who might have taken or stolen a gun. Sometimes the gun owner doesn’t realize one of his or her guns are missing until we speak with them.”
“Oh, gosh.” Paula put her hand on her chest. “Poor Grace. I liked her. She was a sweetheart. Derek probably told you Grace had been here to the house plenty of times. Who would kill her? The world’s gone crazy. It’s just too much.” She sadly shook her head. “We were away when it happened. We sent Harry a note to tell him how sorry we were.”
A shiver ran down Claire’s back. “Where did you go?”
“To the Bahamas. Hearing about Grace’s death shocked us.”
“How long were you away?” Claire asked.
“Ten days,” Paula said. “We left before Grace was killed.”
Claire took a quick glance at Ian and knew he was thinking the same thing she was.
Harry knew the code for the door and could get into the room over the barn. He knew where the key was hidden to unlock the gun cases. While Derek and Paula were away on vacation, Harry could have come by to borrow one of his grandfather’s guns … and used it to kill Grace Dylan.
23
After work at the chocolate shop, Claire spent an hour at Tony’s market helping him stock shelves and then she took the dogs for a walk along the river. The day was cooler and more seasonable for late April. The flowering trees were in bloom with fragrant, tiny white and pink blossoms. The Corgis sniffed here and there along the path sprinkled with some of the delicate petals that had fallen from the branches.
Spring was too short for Claire’s taste. She wished all the daffodils, flowering cherries, magnolias, and tulips would last longer than they did. Spring always seemed to be in a rush in Boston moving quickly from winter to summer in a flash of intoxicating green buds, grass suddenly turning lush overnight, and flowers bursting into bloom. After the long, cold, gray days of winter, the beauty of the season could take Claire’s breath away.
Watching the white sails of the boats moving over the water, Claire heard someone call to her and she turned to see a young woman walking over. It took Claire a moment to recognize Sandy Garrett, one of Grace’s friends from the master’s program cohort.
“I thought it was you.” Sandy patted Bear and Lady as they wagged their small tails. “Is there anything new on the case?”
“I don’t think so.” Claire was regretful.
Sandy walked beside Claire and the dogs. “I’ve been thinking about Grace. Little things pop into my head. Something funny she said, a homework problem she helped us with, her friendly smile.” Sandy sighed. “She was always cheerful, upbeat. She lifted everyone’s mood. Gosh, I miss her.”
“I wish I’d known her,” Claire nodded.
“There’s something that’s been bugging me,” Sandy said. “I didn’t bring it up at our meeting with you. I didn’t think it was relevant, but who knows.”
“What is it?” Claire’s heart began to pound.
“Grace and I were walking home after classes one afternoon and a car drove up and pulled to the curb in front of us. It happened so fast that we were startled by it. A guy got out. He was good looking. Grace stopped walking, her face was like stone. The man’s name was Martin. He got really close to Grace. He took her hand and she yanked it away. She told him she didn’t have time for his nonsense. Grace was really angry. She pushed him away. She told him to leave her alone or she’d call the police.”
Claire’s eyes were wide. “What happened then?”
“The guy swore at her. I thought he was going to hit her. Grace didn’t flinch. If he hit her, I know she would have fought back,” Sandy said. “And I would have joined her.”
“Did he leave her alone? Did he go away?”
“He did. But he had to say a few more rotten things to her first. He got into his car and floored it. I thought he was going to run over a couple who was crossing the street.” Sandy was breathing fast recalling the confrontation. “Grace had a couple of tears. She was so shaken by what happened. We went into a coffee shop to sit down for a while.”
“Did Grace calm down?”
“She did. We got coffees and talked,” Sandy said. “I think I was more shaken by what happened than Grace was. She told me it wasn’t the first time it happened.” Sandy leaned forward. “You won’t believe this, but the guy was the boyfriend of Grace’s roommate. Martin Gray.”
“I heard he’d been making a pest of himself with Grace,” Claire said.
“Well, he was. Grace told me he’d been texting her constantly. He used a different phone so her roommate wouldn’t recognize the number. Grace felt guilty that Martin was being so cruel to Jenny. She didn’t understand his behavior. She thought it was obsessive and pathological. We wondered if Martin was used to getting everything he wanted so when Grace wouldn’t go along with his insistent nagging to go out with him, he flipped out.”
“Did Grace tell Jenny what Martin was doing?”
“She didn’t. She didn’t want to hurt Jenny. But when Martin wouldn’t stop and then actually accelerated his pursuit of her, she wanted desperately to tell her friend.”
“But by then Jenny would have asked why Grace didn’t tell her from the start?” Claire questioned.
“Grace told me Jenny had begun to resent her,” Sandy said. “Jenny thought Grace had been flirting with Martin. She thought Grace had been leading him on and she was furious about it. She suggested Grace move out and get her own place.”
“She did? I thought that was Grace’s idea to move out.”
“I guess it wasn’t. Grace was very hurt. They’d been friends since elementary school and now that long friendship was ruined,” Sandy said.
Claire’s head was spinning. “So Grace agreed to move out? Why didn’t Jenny move out?”
“Grace told me Jenny was the one who found their apartment. Grace didn’t want to argue about it. She hoped that living apart might allow the friendship to heal so she agreed to find her own place,” Sandy said.
“Was that the last time Grace was bothered by Martin?” Claire asked.
“No, it wasn’t.” Sandy looked disbelieving that Martin’s harassment continued. “Grace said he held off for three days and then it all started up again.”
“Did Grace consider reporting Martin to the police?”
“No.” Sandy shook her head. “I told her to do it, but she worried if she did, it could make things worse between her and Jenny.”
“Did Grace tell other people about Martin?”
“I don’t think so. Grace talked to me and Bonnie Law. You remember Bonnie was the other woman who was at the meeting? I think Grace liked to talk to us because we were outside of her regular group of friends. We could be more objective.”
“Was Grace worried? Was she f
rightened of Martin?”
Sandy didn’t answer for a few moments. “I don’t think she was. I think she wished he would just go away. She thought he was childish and selfish. I don’t think she considered Martin dangerous, just an unbelievable nuisance. She resented him for damaging her relationship with Jenny.”
“When did Martin pull over in front of you and Grace?”
Sandy swallowed hard. “About a week before she was killed.”
Claire felt a chill roll through her body like molasses. “Did Grace talk to you about her former boyfriend, Harry Parker?”
“She did. She didn’t want to be with Harry anymore, but she wanted to remain friends. Grace told me she really cared about Harry even though it wasn’t going to work romantically for them.”
“Harry didn’t take the news of the breakup well, did he?”
“Not at first,” Sandy said. “Grace said he was upset and angry and thought he could talk her into giving them another chance. Harry didn’t understand why she was leaving him. I think it broke his heart.”
“Did he come to accept the split?” Claire asked.
“Grace liked to say he did. I don’t know if I agreed with that,” Sandy said. “I had a feeling Harry was pretending to be okay with it when in actuality, he wasn’t at all. He was at bar one night when we were there. We all talked for a while. Harry gave me the impression that resentment and anger were simmering just below the surface. I caught him staring at Grace that night. For a few seconds, his face was twisted with anger.”
After she and Sandy parted ways, Claire decided to walk around the city for a while to try and organize her thoughts and feelings. Over the past few days, she’d taken in so many conflicting facts and details and the information about suspects tossed her back and forth like a ping pong ball. She worried she was putting too much emphasis on reasoning and logical thinking which was blocking her ability to sense things about the people who were being investigated.
With a sigh, Claire said, “Come on, dogs. Let’s head home. I’m going to make a fire, sit quietly on the sofa with you two, and pay attention to my … intuition.”
Walking up the sidewalk of a small side street, something on the other side of the lane caused Claire to come to a halt. Her heart began to race.
In the window of a neighborhood pub, Jenny Harrington and Harry Parker sat together, both leaning towards each other over the table, looking deathly serious and intent on whatever it was they were discussing.
24
Claire and Ian sat on the backseat of the cab heading to Brookline to speak with Dr. Everett Burns, the dentist Martin said he’d met with in Portsmouth.
The previous night, Claire, Nicole, and Ian had met at Claire’s townhouse to discuss the case.
“They were right by the window of the pub. It was starting to get dark out. They were talking intently, very seriously. It worried me,” Claire told them. “My first thought was they were comforting one another over Grace’s death, but then I thought that I must be wrong. Jenny was angry with Grace and their friendship had been fraying to the breaking point. Grace had broken up with Harry and he wasn’t happy about it.” Claire swallowed and cleared her throat. “Then the thought came into my mind that they had worked together to get rid of Grace.”
Nicole’s mouth opened in surprise and she let out a gasp. “How awful. Those two might have plotted together to kill Grace? It’s more terrible than if one of them murdered her. Planning and scheming together? It’s such a chilling betrayal.” She put her hand to her forehead. “I can’t even wrap my head around it.”
“I don’t like the fact that Harry got rid of his old car a couple of days after Grace was killed,” Ian told them. “Were there blood traces in the car? Did he clean it as best he could but was afraid if the police tested the fabric, blood would show up? So he traded it in for a new convertible claiming he wanted to live his life to the fullest and not put things off anymore. Law enforcement is trying to track down the car, but it’s not going to be easy. The dealership sent it to auction and the vehicle has probably been sent overseas already.” Ian had leaned back against the sofa and stared at the fire blazing in the townhouse’s fireplace. “We have concerns about Martin. I should say, more concerns. The guy has a gun collection. He was in Portsmouth for a business meeting on the night Grace was killed. He claims the meeting started and ended late and then he and another dentist and two investors went out for dinner and drinks and he didn’t get back to the hotel until 1am. Jenny wasn’t with him and in fact, she returned to Boston that night for a few hours and won’t say why. So my question is this … was Martin really in a meeting? Did they really go out for dinner?”
“What about Jenny?” Nicole asked. “She came back to the city while Martin was busy with investors. Was her purpose to murder Grace? Harry’s friend told you he was acting distracted and nervous when she met him for a drink. She noticed he kept checking the time. Were he and Jenny going to meet up? Where they about to put their plan into action to kill Grace?”
Claire felt sick to her stomach. She could feel that Grace’s murderer was known to the young woman. It was not a random attack. Grace knew the person who took her life.
The cab dropped the couple in front of a large brick building. They walked through the parking lot and went inside to meet Dr. Everett Burns.
The man was in his late forties, medium height, with a few extra pounds, and almost completely bald. He wore black-framed eyeglasses that contrasted sharply with his pale skin and he seemed to buzz with energy. Burns invited Claire and Ian into his office. The space was nicely furnished and gave the impression of a competent, but very busy professional.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Burns said. “When you called, I was surprised to hear that Martin was acquainted with the murdered young woman. He must be quite shaken by what happened.”
Ian nodded. “The woman Martin has been dating was the deceased woman’s roommate.”
Burns’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know that.”
“We’re gathering details and making a timeline,” Ian informed the dentist. “It’s important to know when and where the people who knew Grace Dylan were at the time leading up to the killing. We aren’t accusing anyone. The information gathering can help us to pinpoint people who may have heard or seen something, but who are unaware of the importance of the thing they may consider trivial.”
“I understand. How can I be of help?” Burns asked.
“You met Dr. Martin Gray in Portsmouth recently?” Ian asked.
“That’s right. We went there for a business meeting.”
“Can you tell us when you were in Portsmouth?”
Dr. Burns flipped through his desk calendar for the exact date and reported it to Claire and Ian. “I was only there for the day. Martin and his friend stayed for a few nights to do some sightseeing.”
“Was the meeting successful for you?”
“Yes. I don’t know if Martin told you the purpose of our get-together?”
“He mentioned only that you and he were thinking of expanding your practices,” Claire responded.
Burns nodded. “Martin and I have an idea for joining together and providing dental services. We’re thinking of expanding into other states. Possibly setting up something similar to a franchise eventually. We met with some investors to pitch the idea.”
“It’s sounds like a smart business venture,” Ian said. “How do you know Martin?”
“Through professional organizations. We started talking business practices and then the idea came up for expanding together. Martin is an intelligent man. He has his MBA in addition to his dental degree. I’m glad to have met him.”
“Do you know much about Martin?” Claire asked. “His background, where he studied, things like that.”
“He grew up in Europe. He doesn’t talk much about that, but I get the impression he came from money, a fortune really. He conducts himself like someone who has never wanted for anything, like someone who has always had t
he best of things and expects to always have them. I assume he learned things from his parents about wealth management, asset protection, investing. Martin has his mind on his money. I don’t see that as a character flaw.”
“Do you know where he studied?”
Burns nodded. “He received his dental degree from King’s College in London, one of the best dental schools in the world,” Burns said. “Martin went to the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania for his business degree. He’s a very smart guy.”
“Have you met the woman Martin is dating?” Claire asked.
Burns raised an eyebrow. “Which one? Martin isn’t interested in settling down. He isn’t interested in a committed relationship right now. He doesn’t date anyone exclusively. But, I did meet the woman he was in Portsmouth with. Jennifer something or other. We only spoke for a few minutes. She seemed like a nice young woman.”
“Did Martin tell you he didn’t want a permanent relationship?” Claire asked.
“He did. He told me he enjoyed dating and had no intention of marrying or becoming involved with only one person. Martin said it wasn’t the right time for that, although it was something he wanted in the future when he found the right woman. Right now, he’s focused on building his assets and establishing himself in his business pursuits.”
“Is Martin easy to get along with?” Ian asked.
“He definitely has his opinions and wants things done in a certain way. He can be abrasive. He wants to be the one with the power when he’s in the room. I couldn’t care less about that stuff. If I see a promising investment, then I’m interested.” Burns smiled. “If the other guy wants the attention and the accolades, he can have them. I’m happy to do my work quietly and watch my bank account grow. My family and I live very comfortably, but I don’t have any need to have the biggest house, the flashiest car, the best of everything. I prefer security and stability, but, if my partners want to use their profits from our business ventures to spend lavishly, then I say go for it.”
