by J A Whiting
“Miss Angie?” Finch had completed the cleaning task and was standing in his living room looking into the sunroom.
The young woman startled when he called her name. “I’m coming. I was admiring your work.”
The cats and dog jumped off the sofa, darted out of the apartment ahead of Finch and Angie, and raced into the Victorian’s family room.
Leaning on his cane, Finch pinned his eyes on Angie. “Is there something … interesting about the painting?”
“I’m not sure.” Angie shrugged one of her shoulders. “Maybe?”
15
Angie sat at the kitchen island eating her dinner and Finch was heating water for tea when Courtney came into the house and hung her jacket in the back hall.
“Everything okay?” The young woman went to her sister and gave her a hug.
“I’m okay. It’s been a long day.”
“It must have been such a shock.” Courtney sliced a piece from the apple pie on the counter and carried her plate over to sit next to her sister. “I’m glad Jenna was with you. Is she doing okay, too?”
“Yeah, she is.”
Carrying her briefcase, Ellie came into the room wearing a dark green dress and a camel hair jacket. “I’m back from the meeting. It ran late.” Ellie was a member of the town selectboard. “What a day you had,” she said to Angie. “Can you tell me about it or do you need a break? Want to wait until tomorrow to talk about it?”
“No, I can tell you.” Angie retold the story of being at Jessica’s house and realizing something was amiss, calling the police, waiting around for news, and interviewing Jessica’s sister, Julia. “We’re putting her on the suspect list for now. She made it seem like she and Jessica were close, but there were holes in her comments and I think she was jealous of her sister. The chief will look into where she was around the time of the murder.”
“Two friends murdered in two states.” Ellie shook her head. “What in the world is going on?”
Finch said, “Miss Angie is interested in the painting I’m doing right now.”
One of Courtney’s eyebrows raised. “Oh?”
Ellie looked at her sister. “Interesting how?”
“The way you think it is,” Angie told them. “I was drawn to it. I couldn’t stop looking at it. There’s something about it.”
“It’s the farmhouse scene?” Courtney asked to be sure she knew which piece of artwork was being discussed.
“It is,” Finch said.
“The farmhouse in the painting isn’t Rachel’s place though, right?”
“It is not.”
“Do you know where the farmhouse in your painting is located?” Ellie questioned.
“I don’t. I thought it came from my imagination.”
“Well, if Angie can’t stop looking at it, I’d guess it’s from more than your imagination,” Courtney speculated. “It must be a clue. How can we find out where it is?”
“I think we’ll have to wait and see what else presents itself in the case,” Angie said.
“I really don’t like waiting,” Courtney said and turned to Finch, “but we’ll all be on the lookout for anything that can give us more information about what’s in your painting.”
After a little more discussion about the painting and the murder cases, Angie asked Ellie how her meeting went.
“It was routine stuff, at least until the end.”
“How do you mean?” Courtney asked.
“I’ve been approached to run for State Representative.”
“What?!” Courtney’s eyes went wide.
“Oh, my gosh, Ellie,” Angie said. “That’s amazing.”
“How wonderful,” Finch smiled broadly.
“It took me by surprise.” Ellie poured herself of cup of tea. “The current state rep is retiring. A group of people are looking for a good candidate. They talked with me after the board meeting. I barely said anything, I was so dumbfounded. They asked me to think it over, give it some consideration. They think I’d have a good chance of winning.”
“Well, wow,” Courtney hugged Ellie. “What great news.”
“I never even considered running for something like that.” Ellie sipped her tea.
“You’re going to do it, aren’t you?” Courtney asked.
Ellie looked at them. “I don’t know.”
“What are you thinking?” Angie questioned. “Want to talk it over with us?”
“It’s a huge compliment to be asked to run, and I think I’d really like representing the area and working to try to make things better. I’d like to do more to help people.”
“I hear a but coming,” Courtney observed.
“But would I be able to still run the B and B?”
“We could all pitch in and help with that,” Angie offered.
“I’d be in Boston a lot of the time and I’d be working here in the district talking to people, finding out about their needs.” Ellie looked down at her mug. “It would be more than a full time job. And you all have full time jobs yourselves.”
“We can help with the inn, but you might need to hire an assistant manager to oversee things while you’re busy with state business,” Finch said. “A manager would provide continuity of service and keep things running smoothly.”
“That’s a good idea.” Angie agreed with the suggestion.
“But then I wouldn’t be running it anymore, at least not the day to day stuff.” Ellie frowned. “I like running the B and B. I enjoy meeting the guests, making the breakfasts, helping them plan their trips, making their vacations pleasant and interesting. I’d miss it.”
“But would you miss it more than you’d enjoy working in government at the state level?” Courtney asked. “You be a great state rep. You’re smart, hardworking, honest, compassionate. You’d do so much for the area.”
Ellie thanked her sister for the compliments. “I just don’t know.”
“Give it some time, Miss Ellie,” Finch suggested. “Go over the pros and cons. Think about where you’d like to be in the future. What work would you like to be doing? You don’t have to make a decision tonight. Talk it over with Jack, too. Get his opinion.”
“I will.” Ellie sighed. “Right now, I don’t have a clue what to do.”
“Both options are great,” Angie smiled. “You can’t go wrong with whatever you decide to do.”
The cats trilled from the corner of the kitchen where they sat with Violet listening to the conversation.
Ellie nodded. “I love running the B and B and I’d love representing the area. Maybe I need to split into two so I can do both.”
“That would be way too much work.” Courtney shook her head.
Josh came in carrying Gigi and the little girl smiled and reached out her arms when she saw her mother. Angie hugged her and kissed the top of her head.
“Ellie has good news,” Angie told Josh after they shared a kiss.
“Are you engaged?” Josh looked excited and everyone chuckled.
“No, I’m not,” Ellie told him.
“Oh, too bad. I was looking forward to a wedding.”
“It’s professional news.” Ellie explained about the opportunity.
“Congratulations. What a wonderful compliment.” Josh smiled at his sister-in-law. “You’d do a terrific job.”
Angie rocked her daughter in her arms. “I think it’s time to put someone to bed.”
Ellie said, “That sounds good to me. I’m going up to my room, clear my head, and read for a while. I’ll think everything over tomorrow.”
“Good night, all.” Josh, Angie, and Gigi headed upstairs to their suite of rooms for the night.
The next afternoon, Chief Martin called Angie to see if she would accompany him to Boston to speak with someone who had worked at the architectural firm with Rachel. No one else in the family could go, so the chief picked her up and they went to the city themselves.
Twenty-nine years old, Kim Michaels was tall with long black hair. She was an architect and a fri
end of Rachel. The chief had interviewed the owners of the firm along with some of Rachel’s colleagues, but no one had pointed him to Kim until the administrative assistant emailed him with the suggestion he speak with her.
Meeting in a coffee shop in downtown Boston, Angie and the chief spotted the woman immediately and went to sit with her.
“It was more than a shock to hear what happened to Rachel. First, she was missing and I had so much hope she’d be found safe. Then, I found out she was dead. An icy chill goes through me whenever I think of her.”
A waitress came over and took their orders.
“You met Rachel at work?” Angie asked.
“Yeah. She was great, so helpful to me when I first started. I’d been working at a small firm and I felt overwhelmed at the large company. Rachel showed me the ropes and answered my questions. I think I would have left if not for her.”
“You became friends,” Angie said.
“We were friends, yes, but we didn’t do a lot together outside of work. I live in the city and Rachel lived up the coast in Sweet Cove. She didn’t usually want to linger after work. Partly because we worked long hours and she just wanted to go home when we were done. She liked living outside the city. She liked the peace and quiet and being by the shore. Rachel started working more from home, three or four days a week.” Kim’s face changed to an expression of dismay. “If she didn’t live in a such an isolated house, maybe she’d still be alive.”
Chief Martin asked, “Did you see her less after she started working from home more often?”
“No, that’s when we started doing things together after work. On the days she came into the firm, we’d go to dinner afterward or we’d take a long walk around the neighborhoods. A couple of times we went to a baseball game. I missed seeing her when she decided to do more work from home. She said she missed me, too, so we made sure to connect whenever we could.”
“When was the last time you saw her?” the chief questioned.
“Oh, it was about three weeks before she went missing. She was supposed to come in to work a couple of days before she disappeared, but she changed her mind about it. Then I heard what happened, and honestly, I almost passed out.”
“Did Rachel confide anything to you about someone she might be having trouble with? A disagreement, a complaining client, someone who was bothering her?”
Kim looked down at the table and didn’t say anything for a minute, and then the waitress brought the beverages over and set them down.
The chief leaned slightly forward. “Do you know of someone Rachel was having issues with?”
After taking a deep breath, Kim lifted her mug and took a long drink. “Sometimes Rachel complained about that guy she was seeing. He was always busy. She would have liked to see him more. She also complained about her sister, Rebecca. Rebecca was always crying poverty to Rachel. Rebecca never seemed like she was all that nice to Rachel. Rachel often gave her money to help out with whatever bills her sister was nagging her about. I didn’t think it was fair. Rebecca would blow her money on stuff and then wanted Rachel to bail her out. Rebecca got angry with Rachel for some reason and the two hadn’t been talking.”
“So Rachel didn’t feel close to her sister?”
“I wouldn’t say so, but Rachel was always kind and giving. She told me Rebecca was a pain, but she didn’t want to hurt her feelings.”
The chief was about to ask another question, when Kim cleared her throat. “Rachel told me something that she made me swear I’d never tell anyone about.”
The little hairs on Angie’s arms stood up.
“Now that she’s gone, I suppose my promise doesn’t matter anymore.” Kim looked to Angie and the chief. “Does it?”
Angie said, “If you think it would be helpful to the investigation, then I think it’s okay to tell what you know.”
Kim clutched her hands together. “Right before she died, Rachel received death threats.”
16
Angie’s eyes bugged at Kim’s statement.
The chief straightened. “How did she receive the threats? What did they say?”
“She found them in her mailbox. The messages were scrawled in crayon on a piece of paper. One said, Keep out of my life. Don’t go to the police or you’ll end up six feet under. The other said, Enjoy the next few days. They’ll be your last.”
“When did she get the messages?”
“A few days before she disappeared.” Kim’s eyes watered.
“Did you see the notes?”
“No, she described them to me. Rachel was supposed to come to work for a few days that week, but she decided to stay home. She told me where she found the notes, what they looked like, and what they said. I told her to go to the police with it.”
“She didn’t?”
“She told me she’d burned them,” Kim said. “She was so angry over it. She felt violated so she destroyed them. She wanted them gone. I was disappointed that she did that. It was evidence, but I understand why she got rid of them.”
“Did she have any idea who might have sent them?” Worry was etched on Angie’s face.
“She didn’t. She couldn’t think of anyone who had reason to threaten her. And the note said not to go to the police. Rachel was afraid someone was watching her. She was afraid to alert the police about the threat.”
“Were those the only threats she received? No phone calls? No more notes?” the chief asked.
“Nothing else that I know of.” Kim wiped at her eyes. “I should have insisted she go to the police. Or I should have called and reported it myself.”
“Rachel wouldn’t have wanted you to do that,” Angie said. “It would be easy to consider the threats were a prank. No one could have predicted what happened.”
“Did Rachel tell anyone else that she’d received the notes?”
Kim shook her head. “I don’t think she did. She wanted to forget about it.”
“I’ve requested the firm provide a list of clients Rachel was working with before her death. I’ll go through them again in case one of them is responsible for the threats,” Chief Martin said. “Did Rachel ever mention feeling afraid of anyone?”
“She didn’t, no.” Kim sighed. “I wish her dog was still alive. Maybe Violet could have warned her when someone showed up at the house. Maybe she would have barked. Maybe she would have attacked the person. Rachel loved that dog. She was heartbroken when Violet died. Heartbroken isn’t a strong enough description of how she felt. She was devastated. If Violet had been alive, she might have been able to help save Rachel.”
“How did Violet die?” Angie asked.
“Violet was diabetic, and the insulin wasn’t helping anymore. She’d started having seizures. She had a seizure one day and died in Rachel’s arms.”
Angie’s heart tightened with sadness. “That’s terrible. The poor dog. Poor Rachel.”
The next morning Angie was back in the bake shop working the counter while her employees made drinks, plated desserts and baked goods, served the customers, and kept the cases and cooler full. The shop was busy all day and many of the locals were discussing the murders of the two women who had been friends for decades.
Angie overheard theories that the women were involved in a drug ring, were smuggling stolen goods, had been secret agents, or had been sheltering international fugitives. All of the suggestions were wrong, but Angie appreciated the creativity of the ideas and looked forward to sharing them with her family later in the day.
When she was wiping down the tables and preparing to close, one of her regular customers came into the bakery. Tori Brothers looked tired and just plain worn out. Angie hadn’t seen her for over a week and had wondered if she’d been ill.
“Tori. Hi,” Angie greeted the woman warmly. “I don’t usually see you in the afternoon. How are things?”
“Hi, Angie. I’ve been busy with a bunch of stuff. I’ve taken on new clients so I’m busier than usual. And money’s tight. I can’t justify splurging on a c
offee shop drink every day.”
“I’m glad to see you. What can I get for you?”
“The usual. A protein smoothie. I could use a pick me up. I still have four more clients before the end of the day.” Tori took a seat at the counter and watched Angie prepare her drink with fresh berries, milk, cocoa powder, and vanilla. “That sure looks good.”
While Angie made the smoothie, she kept her attention and focus on the intentions she was putting into the drink … stamina, hope, positive energy, and resilience.
“Here you go.” The smoothie had sliced strawberries and a sprinkle of ground chocolate on top. “Would you like a cover on it?”
“Yes, please. I wanted to come by to tell you we’re moving.”
Angie’s face showed surprise at the news.
“I can’t keep up with the mortgage payments and the property taxes. Dan borrowed heavily against the house so I don’t have much equity. I have to sell it. I don’t want to, but I have no choice. Everything in Sweet Cove is too expensive for me to buy and the rents are high, too. I hoped to be able to keep the kids in the same school, but it just isn’t possible. We’re going to live with my sister for a while. Thank heavens my sister and I get along and the kids love her. It will help me save money so I can get back on my feet. Dan didn’t have any life insurance and I don’t have much in the way of savings. My sister lives two towns over. I’ll be able to keep all my clients, but my route to their houses will be different coming from my sister’s place and I won’t be passing your shop anymore. And anyway, I can’t spend money on little luxuries like smoothies.”
“I’m sorry to see you go,” Angie told her. “Come by once in a while if you can.”
Tori nodded. “If only Sweet Cove had some small affordable houses. I love this town. My kids do, too. It just isn’t possible for us to stay under the circumstances.”
When she began rustling through her bag for her wallet, Angie waved her off.
“It’s on the house.”
“You can’t do that. You did the same thing the last time I was here.”
