I grabbed a small nail file from my purse. Kneeling in the closet, I inserted the nail file, pried a bit, and a small section of the floor lifted up. In the space between the joists was a bag. Pulling it out, I found a ledger inside. Luckily I carried a “mom” purse Jenny teased could hold a small nuclear missile. Tossing the book in my purse, I closed up the opening in the closet and returned to the office to continue clearing it out.
At four thirty, Melissa poked her head around the corner. “Quitting time.”
Stretching, I looked at my watch. “Already?”
“Yes. You put in a full day.” She laughed. “You could always come back tomorrow.”
“No. I’m sorry, but I promised my daughter I’d take her to the lake.”
“I can see why you’d prefer that over this any day.” She smiled. “Thanks for doing this. I don’t often get free labor. Did you find anything helpful?”
Avoiding her eyes, I stared at the floor. “Oh, by the way, were all of the bedrooms cleared out when the police searched?”
“No. They wouldn’t let me in till this week to start removing all this stuff.”
“Wow. It must have been tough for them to find anything.”
Melissa grinned. “To be honest, I think they saw the living room and just kind of gave up.”
The doorbell rang, and Melissa answered it. Rob stood on the porch. “Hello?” she asked.
“Rob, what are you doing here?” I sputtered, as I realized I had completely forgotten to text him the last two hours.
He smiled. “Looking to see if you were done for the day.” He held his hand out to Melissa. “I’m Rob Jensen.”
She shook his hand. “Melissa Stone. Pleased to meet you.”
I moved out the door to join Rob. “Thanks again, Melissa. I’ll see you around.”
She waved and shut the door.
Rob frowned. “I thought we had an agreement?”
“We did. I’m sorry. I got focused on the task at hand and forgot.”
“Did you find anything?”
“Let’s go back to my place instead of discussing this on Ben’s stoop.”
We footed it back to my house, the ledger burning a hole in my purse. I unlocked the door and invited Rob in.
“Nice place.”
“It suits Jenny and me.”
“I like your gardens too.”
“They’re not half as nice as Nancy’s next door, but I don’t have the kind of time she does. They take some work, but I think they’re worth it. You should see them in spring.”
“I’ll take that as an invitation.”
I smiled and gestured to the sofa. “Why don’t you have a seat? Would you like something to drink?”
“Water would be fine. Thanks.”
Putting some ice and water into two glasses, I carried them out to the living room. The cats followed me in and were soon vying for Rob’s attention. He saw some string Jenny left out and soon dangled it to play with them. “Who are these beauties?”
“The brown-and-gold one is Drambuie and the black-and-white one is Courvoisier.”
He smiled. “Do you have a drinking problem I missed?”
I laughed. “The names just seemed to fit.”
Drambuie jumped up on his lap and head butted his hand. He petted her and then fixed me with his gaze. “Are you going to keep me in suspense, or are you going to tell me if you found anything?”
“I found something, but I am going to continue to keep you in suspense. I don’t want to sit down on the couch in these clothes. I’m filthy, so I’m going to take a shower, change, and then we’ll talk.” Grabbing my purse, I headed upstairs.
“Do you always bring your purse when you take a shower?”
“Only when there is a reporter in the living room.”
Closing the door to the master bedroom, I quickly stripped out of my filthy clothes. The shower was welcome, and it felt great to wash off all of the dust and grime. Throwing on some jeans and a shirt, I made quick work of a minimal makeup refresh and rejoined Rob downstairs. Jenny was home from school and sat next to him playing with the cats.
She gave me a funny look. “Showering in the middle of the day?”
“Don’t be fresh. I was helping Melissa clean out Mr. Ford’s house, and I really needed that shower.”
She frowned. “Why were you helping Melissa?”
“Because she needed it and she asked me.”
“That’s weird. I didn’t know you were friends.”
I crossed my fingers behind my back. “You don’t know all of my friends.”
“You’re doing that finger-crossing thing again. Whatever. I need to do my homework. I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
Rob smiled. “That finger-crossing thing?”
My face burned. “Okay, I know it isn’t very adult, but I do it occasionally.”
“When you lie?”
“Whatever.” I opened my purse and removed the ledger.
Sitting next to Rob, I flipped it open. There were thirty pages with writing on them. It was in some type of code.
Rob sighed. “This is going to take a while.”
“I need to get dinner started. Do you want to stay?”
“If you think you have enough. That way we can work on this.”
“Agreed, but before I call Jenny down, we need to put the ledger away. I don’t want her involved in this. It may be dangerous. Why don’t you bring it in the kitchen so we can talk while I throw something together?”
I walked into the kitchen. “Leftover chili and corn bread work for you?”
“Love it.” He sat at the counter, his head bent over the ledger.
I took the chili out of the freezer and the corn bread carton out of the cupboard. Putting the chili into the microwave to reheat, I made the corn bread. It went into the oven, and I set the table for three. “A beer sound good?”
“Sounds great.”
Twisting off two beer caps with a towel, I poured the beer into glasses and put one at Rob’s elbow.
He didn’t look up. “Thanks.”
Sitting next to him at the counter, I looked over his shoulder. “Anything?”
“Yes. Most of the recent ones seem to be repeating.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look here. See this one?” He pointed midway down the page. “It has the same symbols, letters, and amounts as this one two pages later. The next three repeat as well. And they seem to be divided by months. Either Ben was making some off-book loans, or you’re right—he was blackmailing people.”
“People?”
“It would appear so, since there are recurring different entries.”
“So it’s possible more than one person had a motive to kill him.”
“Yes.”
Worried, I took the book and put it down. “We need to give this book to Detective Ziebold.”
“How are you going to explain finding it?”
“Just the way I explained it to Jenny.”
“Including the finger-crossing thing?”
I gave him a dirty look. “You are too funny.”
“Mind if I take this over to the office to photocopy it before you turn it in?”
I smiled and handed it to him. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter 14
The next day, I explained how I unearthed the ledger to Detective Ziebold. His eyebrows rose several times, but at the end he thanked me for bringing it by. Writing out a statement, I signed it. Then he drove me to Ben’s house.
Melissa answered the door. Detective Ziebold said, “Ms. Stone, I understand Ms. March was helping you clean out this place yesterday. Is that correct?”
Melissa caught my eye over his shoulder. I nodded slightly. “Yes, yes, she did.” She gave me a pointed look. “I thought you weren’t going to be able to help today, Merry.”
“That’s right, but the detective wanted me to stop by with him this morning, so here I am.”
Detective Ziebold ente
red the house. “I want Ms. March to show me where she found something yesterday.”
Melissa gave a visible start. “Found something? What did you find?”
I jumped in. “I didn’t mention finding anything to Melissa yesterday. Sorry, Melissa.”
“It’s better you didn’t,” he said. “The less people who know, the better.”
Melissa frowned. “Know what?”
“Never mind. Ms. March, please show me where you found it. Ms. Stone, I’d appreciate it if you would remain here until we come back.”
“I’m responsible for this house right now.”
“Regardless, this is police business, so please stay here.”
Melissa gave me a dirty look as Detective Ziebold followed me to the small bedroom. I opened the door and marched over to the closet. Pointing at the difference in the flooring, I stood aside. Detective Ziebold put gloves on and used his pocket knife to pry up the loose boards. He saw the bag in the open space and arched an eyebrow at me.
“The ledger was in that bag.”
“I still don’t understand how you found this when you were working in the other room.”
“As I explained, Melissa told me to put anything valuable on the bed in this room.” I pointed. “Those are the stamps I found.”
“Why did you look in the closet?”
“The door was open, and I just happened to see the difference in flooring.”
“Must have good eyes.”
“I do. Do you need anything else, or can I go now? I promised to take my daughter to the lake this weekend, and I still have a few things to do to get ready.”
“Yes, you can. Please stop by the police station so we can get your prints, since I’m sure you weren’t wearing gloves.”
“Will do. Will Monday be okay?”
He put the floorboard back. “Yes, that’s fine. Have a nice weekend.”
I quickly left the room and was trying to make a graceful exit when Melissa stopped me. “Why didn’t you tell me? I specifically asked if you found anything, and you said you didn’t.”
“I know. But I felt the police would be even madder at me for meddling if I did tell you.” I paused. “I’m sorry. Thanks for sticking your neck out for me.”
“That’s okay. I don’t think I want to know what you found anyway.”
I returned to my house. As I opened my garden gate, Nancy called over, “I heard you found something at Ben’s house. What was it? Does it explain why he was killed?”
Pivoting, I joined her on the porch. “Nancy, this is dangerous. Someone was killed, and we don’t know who did it. We need to be quiet about this. We don’t want to turn ourselves into targets.”
She lowered her voice. “Huh. I hadn’t thought about that. What did you find?”
I took both of her hands in mine and gazed into her eyes. “Because I like you, I’m not going to tell you. I’m also going to ask you not to tell anyone else I found something.”
“Don’t worry. I only had time to call two people, and I swore them both to secrecy.”
I sighed. “No one else. Promise me.”
“My lips are sealed!” To show she meant it, she pantomimed locking her lips with a key and throwing it over her shoulder.
“Jenny and I are going to the lake this weekend. Will you check on the cats for me?”
“Of course.”
“You still have my cell phone number, right?”
“Yes. You programmed it in for me. Have a good weekend.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you late Sunday. I’ll make sure to bring back some of those apples you love. You have a good weekend too.”
Scooting over to the house, I made sure the cats had extra food and water and put a few things in my overnight suitcase. Next, I grabbed Jenny’s bag from her room, snatched some food from the kitchen for the weekend, and packed the car. Locking the house up, I drove over to the school to pick her up. By a few minutes past three, we were on the road to the lake.
“Not as much traffic as there is in the summer,” Jenny said.
“Thank goodness. How was school?”
“Busy, as usual. Mind if I listen to my tunes on the way?”
“No problem.”
Putting in her earbuds, she was lost to the world. An hour later, we unpacked the car. Entering the small A-frame house, my shoulders loosened. The wall of windows on the back showcased the sun dancing on the lake’s surface. “Why is it we don’t get here more often?”
She stowed the milk in the refrigerator. “We’re busy.”
“But still. It’s so serene, and the colors of the trees are brilliant this fall.” I hugged her and stepped back. “We’re lucky to have this place.”
Jenny smiled. “Luck had nothing to do with it. You work really hard! When’s dinner?”
“An hour or so.”
“Call me and I’ll set the table.”
Pouring myself a glass of wine, I pushed the French doors open. I ambled across the flagstone terrace and sat in one of the Adirondack chairs. As I sank into it and shut my eyes, the bird calls and the lake lapping against the shore gave me a feeling of peace. My troubles slipped away. Then it occurred to me that I hadn’t gotten a copy of the ledger before I left. Darn! I wondered if Rob had worked out the code yet. My mind wandered to his green eyes and chiseled features. I could get lost in that face and, oh my, that body.
I mentally slapped myself. I was not ready for another relationship. Or maybe I was. Then my mind flitted to John. I hadn’t heard from him lately. Probably because he was busy closing on his house. Feeling faintly guilty for not having offered to help, I made a mental note to call him on Monday. Why was he being less than truthful with me? Blue eyes or no, caution was advised when it came to Mr. John Gordan.
✽ ✽ ✽
The next morning dawned cold. Sipping our cocoa, Jenny and I planned a canoe ride. Interrupted by the phone ringing, I pressed speaker. “Good morning, Nancy. How are you?”
“Well. But you’re not going to like what I have to tell you. Your house was broken into last night. I came over to check on the cats this morning, and it’s all topsy-turvy.”
“What?”
“I called the police, and they’re on their way, but I think you should get back here.”
“Are the cats okay?”
“Yes, they were hiding in the basement. They’re fine, and I’ve shut them in the upstairs bath with their food and litter box so they don’t wander off.”
“We’re leaving right now.”
Jenny and I raced around the house throwing the things we had unpacked the night before back into our bags. Just as we were putting them into the car, I received a text from Rob. “Are you okay? Just heard about break-in on police scanner.”
“Yes, getting into car now.”
“I’ll meet you at your house.”
I glanced at Jenny. “Rob’s going to meet us at our house.”
“Why?”
“He’s concerned.”
“No, why would someone break into our house? Is it because you found something at Mr. Ford’s?”
I sighed. “How did you know I found something at Mr. Ford’s?”
“Cindy, who found out from Michael, who found out from Bobby Ziebold. You know there aren’t any secrets in this town. And why wasn’t the alarm on?”
“I must have forgotten to set it. That won’t happen again.”
“What did they take?”
“I have no idea. You heard as much as I did from Nancy.”
“Mom, I’m scared. What if we had been there?”
I came around the car and hugged her. “It will be okay. I’m sure it’s not that bad, and as soon as we can get there, we can see for ourselves.”
“Drive fast.”
“I’ll get us there safely as expeditiously as possible.”
We both hopped in the car and raced home.
When we came down our street, the sun glinted off the patrol car’s red-and-blue lights twirling silently in their co
mpartments. Rob, Nancy, and the patrol officer talked on the sidewalk. As we pulled up, Rob broke away from the group and hugged me as I got out of the car.
“Thanks. How bad is it?”
“It’s pretty messed up, but it doesn’t look like much was taken.”
The patrol officer stepped forward. “Ms. March, we’ll need you to go through the house and identify anything that’s missing.”
“Did you find out how the person got in?”
“The laundry room window was smashed.”
Hurrying to the front door, I gasped as I opened it. My sofa cushions were tossed, all of the drawers to the built-ins were out on the floor, and the chairs were overturned. Jenny started to cry.
I put my arms around her. “Maybe you should wait in the car or go over to Mrs. Piedmont’s until I take a look in here.”
“That would be worse—not knowing how bad it is. Can we go up to my room next?”
“Yes, of course, honey.”
She ran up the stairs with me trailing on her heels. As she rounded the corner, she saw her door was open and came to a dead stop. Almost running into her, I put my hands on her shoulders. “I’m here, honey.” Everything from her drawers seemed to be on the floor or bed. It looked like someone had been searching pretty thoroughly.
“Mom, all of my stuff is still here: my flat screen, my iPad, everything. But some stranger touched my things! Why would someone do that?”
Rob and I exchanged a quick glance. I asked the patrol officer, “Would it be okay if she straightened up her room?”
“Yes, we’ve already fingerprinted everything.”
I squeezed Jenny’s shoulders. “Would you feel better if you cleaned up?”
“I’d feel better if this hadn’t happened. But I do want to clean up my room.”
“Anyone home?” Patty called from downstairs. “Wow. What a mess.”
“We’re up here.”
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