The first one I read was the letter lying on top. If I hadn’t read any others, it would have told me a story of a man who hated Pepper enough to kill her.
But it wasn’t just the one letter. There were dozens of them from the same man dating back a decade at least. All of them were hurt and angry.
They were from Pepper’s high school boyfriend. Apparently, she had been pregnant and had been sent away to have the baby. A baby she gave up for adoption without consulting him.
Reading the letters, I found out that he wasn’t hurt because they split up. He was hurt because his son was gone. He wanted the baby, and his parents would have helped him raise it.
Then later in the letters, it appeared that Pepper relented and told him what adoption agency she used. The letters were still furious, though, because as it turned out, the young man’s parents would have helped him raise the kid, but they wouldn’t help him go to court to get his son back.
He did that himself when he was eighteen, but when he met the adoptive family, he couldn’t go through with it. His son was happy, healthy, and had a life he couldn’t even hope to give him for a long time. Not at eighteen. That, and he couldn’t imagine ripping his little boy away from the only parents he ever knew. From the moment he laid eyes on the little guy, Kurt Prinn loved his child too much for that, so he settled for regular visitation.
He loved his child, but he hated Pepper.
Every new heartbreak and defeat, he wrote Pepper a letter. In all those years, losing his son and hating Pepper seemed to be what defined him and his life. Judging by the level of spite and vitriol in each letter, it seemed that Christmastime was the worst for Kurt. Those letters wear nearly the nastiest of all, and they came every year.
Every year that Kurt could spend Christmas and play Santa with his child was a fresh wound for him. It seemed to get worse too. As the years got closer to the little boy being middle-school aged, Kurt realized he’d never get back what he’d lost. The boy would become an adult in a few years, and he’d never get to be his father.
Was it enough to motivate him to kill Pepper? It sure seemed like it to me. I knew Jeremy would find these letters when he searched the apartment himself. He may have already found them.
Still, I used my phone to take a picture of a few of the worst. I wanted to have them just in case I decided to confront Kurt Prinn.
I didn’t find anything else significant in her tiny apartment. The most striking part was that she had a fridge and cabinets full of food. It appeared to be more food than even a family would eat, but then again, she worked at the grocery store. I assumed she got a pretty significant discount, so she was able to buy as much as she wanted or needed.
When I decided there was nothing more to see, I collected Meri and headed over to Josh’s apartment so he could lock the place back up again. I raised my hand to knock on his door, but he opened it before I could.
“All done?” he asked.
“Were you waiting there for me?” I asked. He’d startled me when he opened the door, but I hoped I hadn’t sounded rude when I asked him that. “I’m sorry, you just surprised me.”
“Sorry,” he said and blushed. “I was getting some tea and heard you walk down the hall. The walls around here are a bit thin.”
“It’s all right,” I said. “I’m all done at Pepper’s place for now. You can lock up again.”
“When are you coming back?” he asked and stepped into the hall so abruptly that I had to step back. “Excuse me,” he said and blushed even more furiously.
At first, I’d thought he was unusual, but I started to think he just struggled with relating and communicating with people. I chastised myself and swore to cut the guy some slack. It was obvious he was doing his best, and he must have been struggling with Pepper’s loss as well, if they were close enough friends that he had a key.
Were they just friends, though?
I’d heard rumors about her that perhaps she was stringing along more than one man. Maybe Josh was one of them.
“You and Pepper must have been close if she gave you a key,” I said as casually as I could.
“She had a cat,” he said, and on cue, a fat gray cat showed up at the door. “Go back, Snuffles,” he said and shut the door.
“Oh, you have her cat,” I said. “That’s sweet of you.”
“No one ever came to get him. She wouldn’t have wanted him to be alone and starving in there. You don’t think I’ll get in trouble, do you?”
“No, I think it’s a really good thing you did,” I said. “So you had the key to help her with Snuffles?”
“Yeah, so I could check on him if she had to work a double shift. Sometimes she went out of town and I’d feed him and tend to his litter box.”
“Well, you’re a good friend, Josh,” I said.
“So, when are you coming back? To pack up her apartment? I could help,” he offered.
“I, uh… I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m going to hire someone to do it,” I said. “I’m going to send in a professional crew to pack everything up for her family.”
“Oh,” his voice dripped with disappointment.
“But you can help me out by letting them in. I still don’t have a key. Could you lock up the place when they’re done?” I asked.
That seemed to brighten him some. “Sure. I can do that.”
“And keep taking care of Snuffles if you can. I already have a cat and a dog, or I’d offer,” I said but then thought better of it. “But if you can’t, I’ll take him.”
“No, that’s okay. Snuffles and I get along just fine. I don’t mind. I think she would have wanted him with me,” Josh said.
“Okay, well, thank you so much, Josh. Keep an eye out for that moving crew. I’ll send them your way,” I said. “Do you have specific hours you’re available?”
“No. I work at home on my computer. I’m always here,” he said.
After that, I told him goodbye and headed out to my car. On my way, I got a call from Viv.
“Sorry to bother you if you’re busy,” she said when I picked up and said hello.
“I’ve always got time for you,” I responded.
“Well, I hate to bother you with this, but I figure it’s going to make its way back to you one way or another anyway,” she said.
“What is it?” I asked.
“The woman who works as a housekeeper for the Bootique Bed & Breakfast said that the owner is looking to talk to you,” Viv said.
“Me? Why?” I asked.
“Well, apparently, Azriel was staying there for a few days before he crashed your wedding,” Viv said.
“He’d been in town for a few days? And he waited to crash my wedding?” I asked, but it was more rhetorical than anything.
I’d assumed he’d just shown up at the last minute. If he’d been in Coventry for days, hiding out at the bed and breakfast, he could have come talk to me sooner. Crashing the wedding must have been for his own amusement. For the first time, I really felt myself let him go. Perhaps before, a tiny part of me had been hanging on to him, but it was gone. I felt any love I’d had for him evaporate right then and there.
“He did,” she said. “I’m sorry.”
“Well, it’s over now. Thanks for telling me,” I said.
“That’s not all,” Viv said. “The reason I called is because the owner of the bed and breakfast has got it in her head that perhaps you’ll pay for his room. I guess she went to charge his card after he got arrested and it declined. He’d only paid for one night up front.”
“Me?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Viv answered.
“I was married to the guy for one day, and now I’m supposed to pay his debts,” I sighed.
“I don’t think anyone really expects you to,” Viv said. “But that doesn’t mean she won’t try. I think with the tourist season coming to an end when this weather does, she’s trying to make sure she has enough money to get through the winter. Every little bit, you know?”
I sighed again. “Yeah, I get that. I’ll go pay it.”
“Kinsley, I wasn’t trying to guilt you into paying it,” Viv protested. “I just thought you might understand where she’s coming from.”
“You didn’t,” I said. “It’s the right thing to do. I’ve got the money, and helping out a fellow Coventry business is important to me.”
“I’m proud to have you as a friend,” Viv said.
“Back at you, babe,” I said.
We got off the phone, and I finished walking to my car. Instead of heading home, I put it in gear and headed out for the Bootique Bed & Breakfast.
Chapter Seven
Karen McKinley was standing at the inn’s tiny front desk when I walked inside. When she smiled at me with relief, I knew I’d done the right thing. If the money meant that much to her, then I was glad to pay it.
“Good afternoon, Kinsley,” Karen said. “How can I help you, dear?”
“Um… I figured I’d come in and pay Azriel’s bill. Word is he skipped out, and I’d like to take care of that,” I said.
“It got back to you that I said something about it,” she said, looking unexpectedly embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s not…”
I cut her off. “It’s okay, Karen. I’ve got the money, and I’m glad to help. Please, let me pay the bill.”
She thought about it for a moment, and then plucked the invoice from a folder and slid it across the black granite counter to me. I looked it over and then took a stack of twenty-dollar bills out of my purse. I kept a lot of cash on me. For one thing, Hangman’s House provided big time, and for another, I wasn’t too worried about getting robbed.
I counted out enough to cover the bill and slid both the invoice and the cash back across the counter to her. “Pleasure doing business with you,” I said with a smile.
She seemed taken aback but thanked me profusely. When it was done, I headed back outside to go home.
And ran right into Jeremy.
“I thought you were going to stay out of things,” he said without even saying hello.
“Well, hello to you, Deputy. Or, is it sheriff while Thorn’s off the case?” I asked with one eyebrow cocked up.
“It’s still deputy,” he said with a chuckle. “But you can’t distract me. What are you doing here? I really thought you were going to stay out of things.”
“I am staying out of things,” I lied, but I wasn’t at the bed and breakfast because of Pepper’s death. So, it was only a half lie. “I’m here because Azriel was staying here, and his credit card got declined. I paid the bill because Karen needed the money,” I said.
“Oh,” Jeremy responded. “That’s kind of you.”
“Yeah, so you can stop accusing me of nefarious things,” I said.
“Just doing my job, ma’am,” Jeremy said and tipped his hat to me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked and hoped that our little rapport might lead to him spilling some details. “You don’t think the bed and breakfast had anything to do with Pepper’s murder, do you? It couldn’t have been Azriel, right? He was in a jail cell when she died.”
“Mind your own business,” Jeremy said sternly, but he wasn’t angry. “Have a good day, Kinsley.”
He went inside after that, and I had no choice but to leave. I wanted to try to sneak back inside to listen in, but it would have been too obvious.
I was too antsy and anxious to just go home, so I decided to go back to the square. I figured it wouldn’t hurt for me to take another look at the Santa house. Maybe they missed something.
I called my Dad along the way and found out he was doing fine. He too was determined to keep me out of things this time because he didn’t want any of his troubles making my life harder. So, aside from finding out that he and my Mom were doing well, and that he most likely wasn’t going to get arrested for Pepper’s murder, I didn’t get much out of him.
But, I was determined to keep going. When I looked in the rearview mirror, I could see Pepper’s ghost sitting in my back seat. I was close to something. I just had to figure out what.
Chapter Eight
I arrived at the square, parked, and was about to walk over to the Santa house when I saw Thorn come out of the Brew Station. He had a coffee in his hand, and when he saw me, a smile on his face.
He waved to me, and then hurried across the street. “I was just looking for a reason to take the rest of the day off work,” he said.
“Oh, were you now?” I teased. “We can’t have the sheriff of this town slacking.”
“I’m not slacking,” he said with a chuckle. “But being as I’m off the biggest case we have going right now, I have time to burn.”
“It just so happens that I was looking for something to do as well,” I said.
“You were about to go look around the Santa house, weren’t you?” he asked, but there was no anger or condemnation in his voice.
“If I was?” I asked carefully.
“I won’t say a word about it,” he said and offered me his arm. “In fact, I would offer to go snoop around with you. If that’s what you want to do?”
“You would?” I was taken aback. “You don’t like being off the case, do you?”
“I don’t,” he said, “but hear me out. What if I had something better in mind?”
“I’m listening,” I said.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I have something I want to tell you, Kinsley,” Thorn said. “I’ve been waiting all day to tell you that I love you for your grayness.”
That made me burst out laughing, and Thorn guffawed right along with me. It felt good. “I don’t think that sounds as romantic as you maybe intended it to be…”
“Gawd, get me out of here,” Meri said and jumped out of my bag. I watched as he took off running toward the courthouse. He stopped on the steps and watched us from a safe distance.
“Hear me out,” Thorn said. “You told me once that Azriel got to you because he loved your darkness. He loved those things about you, right?”
“Yeah, he did say that, but…”
“Let me finish,” Thorn said and kissed me on the forehead. “But, did he love the light in you? Because I do. I love both. That’s why I say I love your grayness, Kinsley. I love everything about you. I understand that sometimes, because of what you are, darkness is your way. I more than accept that, but I love the light too, baby. I think that Azriel just loved in you what he saw of himself. I worry that he enjoyed trying to twist you into the worst version of yourself.”
“I never thought of it that way,” I admitted.
“I want you to be the best version of yourself. Whatever that is. Sometimes it’s going to be light, and sometimes it will be dark. As long as it’s what you want and need, then it’s what you should be. I’ll love you no matter what, sweetie. Good times, bad, and everything in between, but I have a question,” Thorn said.
“Yes?” I squeaked the words out because I was on the verge of breaking down into literal sobs of joy. His words had hit me like a truck.
“I haven’t always gone about things the right way. I’m not talking about setting up your ex to be arrested or anything like that. None of that is true, but what is true that I’ve gotten some… a lot of the day-to-day stuff wrong. I’ve floundered in this relationship too, but I don’t want to talk about blame. I accept mine. What I want to know is can you love all of me too? Can you forgive me when I mess up? Can you love me flaws and all? On the condition that I promise to work on them.”
“There’s no condition, Thorn,” I said and took his hands in mine. “I would never condition it. I love you, baby. Thorns and all.”
“Then marry me, Kinsley. Marry me right now, please.”
“Okay,” I said and that’s when the tears really started flowing. “How?”
“The courthouse is still open for another half an hour. I’ve got the marriage license in my cruiser. Let’s go track down a judge,” he said and started pulling me t
oward his cruiser before I even had a chance to blurt out “yes,” which I totally did.
Marriage license in hand, Thorn and I rushed into the courthouse. We got on the elevator and went up to the floor where the judges had their chambers. There were three, and their secretaries sat at desks in the same area.
When Thorn told them why we were there, all three got up to go check with their bosses and see if one of them was available. Fortunately for us, one of them was, and the secretaries enthusiastically agreed to be our witnesses.
It was just a slap-dash civil ceremony, and it took about five minutes, but it was done.
Yule Be Magical (Familiar Kitten Mysteries Book 8) Page 7
