“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she said, and eased herself off her seat and made her way to the bar. She ordered a glass of wine and sat there for a moment sipping it. Lanny caught her eye and nodded hello, but didn’t come over to talk to her. He was frowning and looked like he was in a bad mood. She was about to take her drink back to the table, figuring that Lanny wasn’t in a social mood, when suddenly he was right next to her.
“You did come. I wasn’t sure if you still would,” he said cryptically.
“Yes. As I mentioned, they really wanted to come and insisted I go with them.”
“That’s nice.” His cell phone buzzed and his face grew stormy when he saw who was calling.
“Did you take care of it?” he barked into the phone, followed by, “I don’t care what his excuses are. We had a deal. He knows what the consequences are. Just handle it.” He slammed the phone down on the bar when he hung up and then turned to Jane and apologized. “I’m sorry. I don’t usually lose my cool like that.”
Jane was shocked at his behavior, but simply stayed calm and said, “Rough day?”
He chuckled. “Something like that. I’d love to stay and chat, but I have to go talk to someone. Maybe I’ll catch up with you later. Good luck.”
“Thanks.” Jane took her drink back to the table and said softly to both Gramps and Carl, “I’m ready to go whenever you two are.”
They looked at her in surprise and then Gramps said, “We’ll go right after this hand. Right, Carl?”
“But I am in the middle of a winning streak!” Carl protested.
“Janie wants to go Carl. So we’re going.”
“Fine.”
Both Carl and Gramps won their hands, which made Carl happy, but he was still muttering about leaving too early as they walked outside and got into the car.
“I’m sorry, Carl, I just got a bad feeling after talking with Lanny. He’s in a funny mood. Things don’t seem to be going his way today and I sense that he has a bit of a temper. I thought it best for us to leave, especially given what I found out earlier. I was on the fence about whether or not to share it with you both yet, but I think it’s best if I do.” She went on to tell them what she’d discovered earlier and confirmed with her searches.
“I gave Jake the information before we came here tonight and he’s sending it off to be investigated tomorrow morning.”
“So, it doesn’t look good for Maxine or Lanny, or even Chester. He must have known, too, I imagine,” Gramps said.
“I’d be very surprised if he didn’t know,” Jane agreed.
“You know, I meant to mention this earlier and it slipped by mind. I’ve been doing some asking around, too, and you know the good Judy? Well, we had lunch at the 99 yesterday and we were chatting about this and she said she remembered that Chester and Maxine were once high school sweethearts. They got in a tiff one summer, broke up and Chester was out one night drinking, trying to get over Maxine, and met Samantha. They hooked up and it was just a fling for him, but she got pregnant, and he did the honorable thing.”
“But they don’t have any kids.” Jane said.
“Supposedly, she lost the baby. If there ever was a baby,” Gramps said cynically.
“Odd, then, that she and Maxine were such good friends,” Jane said.
“Samantha didn’t know about Maxine until years later. Neither Maxine nor Chester ever said anything to her, and she and Maxine met in a yoga class and hit it off. Eventually, she found out. Her marriage to Chester was never a good one. They were never really in love, though she was always more in love with him. She made Maxine her beneficiary and told her she owed her, because she did feel guilty for stealing Chester away, even though she never did it intentionally.”
“So why did they kill her, then?” Jane asked.
“Greed and hatred would be my guess,” Gramps said. “Maxine was friendly with Samantha, but always resented her for taking Chester away. By killing her, she gets everything. Chester and all of Samantha’s assets. I suspect she felt she was due, for not having Chester all those years.”
“Maybe. But did Chester know?”
“Chester is no angel. I’d be very surprised if he didn’t know, though it’s certainly possible.” Gramps said as they pulled up to Janie’s door.
“Thanks. I’ll keep you posted,” Jane said as she got out of the car.
“You’d better!” Gramps said with a chuckle.
28
“Jane, can you help us out?” Jake asked. He’d stopped into the Comfort & Joy and pulled Jane aside for a moment and filled her in. The computer team for the state police had found the same information that Jane did and they were ready to act, but they wanted to kill a few birds with one stone.
“So, we’d like to arrest Lanny and shut down the Mumford operation at the same time. If you, your grandfather and Carl could go like you normally do and then text us to come in, we’ll be waiting outside. At the same time, we’ll have another team bring Chester and Maxine in.” They had dug even deeper and found something that connected Chester, as well. It turned out that he also had a fifty thousand dollar payment to Lanny’s company on the same date, and the police theorized that they shared the cost of the hit equally.
“Okay. My grandfather and Carl will love this,” Janie said.
“Well, be careful, Janie. I’m not convinced this is the best approach, but they really want to shut the Mumford gambling down.”
“We’ll be careful,” Janie assured him.
* * *
“Look a little less excited, both of you,” Janie said as they walked into the function hall on Smith Road in Mumford. This time, the event was being held on the second floor. Evan was happy as ever to see them and this time, they’d arrived a little earlier than usual. Jane was the most nervous of the bunch.
She knew that by now, Lanny was aware that both Maxine and Chester were under investigation and that their records had been subpoenaed. She wasn’t even sure if he’d be in because of it. But an hour later, he was in his usual position at the bar, glowering at the room.
She supposed that he probably felt safe here as the police were unaware of the Mumford locations. Jane waited a few minutes and then told Gramps she was going for a glass of wine. They’d discussed the plan earlier. She was to go to the bar and hopefully talk to Lanny, and after about five minutes, Gramps was to send a text message to Jake, giving them the green light to come in.
Jane ordered her drink and glanced Lanny’s way. He was staring at her, his face unsmiling. She took a sip of her wine and waited. He came over to her finally and sat next to her.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” he asked, looking at her intently.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” she said. She wasn’t surprised that he’d figured out that she was involved. He’d been wary when he saw her at the company party, and no doubt Maxine and Chester had called and filled him in as soon as they were arrested.
“I think you know. It makes sense. It’s what you do. Investigate, even when you don’t really do it anymore. I’m not stupid, you know.”
“No, you’re not. You strike me as pretty smart, actually. So I wondered why you’d do it? You don’t need to.”
Lanny smiled, then leaned over and lightly ran his hands along the side of Jane’s chest and across her back. When he was apparently satisfied that she wasn’t wearing a wire, he said, “No, I don’t need to. It might shock you, but I do it because I want to. It’s a business transaction. I make other people’s problems disappear, and I’m very good at it.”
Jane was shocked, but then collected herself and asked the question that she was really dying to know. “What was up with that note? ‘I took care of her for you?’”
Lanny chuckled. “Oh, I had a little fun with that. We talked about how to kill her and how to dispose of the body and it just seemed perfect to leave it by your trash, given that you had more of an obvious motive than anyone, it seemed, given her antagonistic attitude toward you and the la
wsuit. I added that note just to stir things up and make it seem like maybe you had hired someone or at least that someone else was involved. I thought it was rather clever, actually.”
“Not that clever, unfortunately. For you, that is,” Jane said as there was a commotion downstairs and then suddenly a team of police burst into the room and told everyone to freeze. Lanny jumped up and ran, but they were ready for him and the closest policeman hit him with a Taser and then threw cuffs on him.
“Everyone out, and down to the station. We’ll need statements from everyone here.”
“I guess that means we don’t get to cash in before we leave?” Carl asked.
“Carl, it’s time to go,” Gramps said. “Janie?”
“Right behind you.”
29
The following Monday, Jane had just put a second batch of toasted coconut and pineapple muffins in the oven when the front door chimed and Jake walked in. It was early. Jane had just unlocked the front door and Melissa had arrived only a few minutes before and was tying on her apron as she walked to the register.
“Do you have any of those pineapple muffins ready yet?” Jake asked when he reached the counter.
“Sure do. Just put a second batch in the oven, because they’ve been selling out every day. Coffee, too?”
“Medium, black. Thanks.” Jake paid and then said, “Can we talk for a minute?” Melissa was standing right there, so Jane guessed he meant privately.
“Sure. Melis, I’ll be right back.” She walked to the back of the shop and sat at a small corner table. Jake settled into the seat across from her and took a sip of his coffee.
“I just wanted to thank you again for helping, especially with Lanny. They’ve been wanting to shut down that Mumford gambling ring and the group that Lanny was involved with for a long time. He was into a lot more than just gambling, as you probably gathered from his involvement with Maxine and Chester.”
“I’m not surprised to hear it. I thought he was so charming at first, that a little harmless gambling might be the extent of it, but I saw a very different side of him at the end. It’s a shame, because he’s smart, like his brother. He could have gone far in a legitimate business.”
“How’s that investigation going?” Jake asked. “Have either Lanny or his brother been tied to those murders?”
“Not yet, though it looks as though Lanny is probably involved. They’re still not sure about his brother. There’s a lot of investigating left to do there.”
“You won’t be the one doing the digging, I hope?” Jake looked at her intently and she appreciated his concern.
“No. I don’t plan to be involved any further with the Drummond case. I just want to make my muffins and pot pies and live a quiet life here in Waverly.” Jane was being dramatic, but she meant it.
“I’m glad to hear it. And your life doesn’t have to be that quiet. There’s always trivia.”
Jane laughed. “That’s about as wild and crazy and I want to get these days.”
“Good, so does that mean we’re on for tomorrow night?” Tuesday was trivia night at the pub.
“Sure, that sounds like fun.”
“Great. I’ll swing by for you at about six.” Jake stood up then to head off to work, but then he turned back and grinned. “Oh, and Jane. It is a date.”
He left, and Jane was still smiling as she walked back to the register. Life in Waverly was very good indeed.
About the Author
Pamela M. Kelley lives in the historic seaside town of Plymouth, MA near Cape Cod and just south of Boston. She has always been a book worm and still reads often and widely, romance, mysteries, thrillers and cook books. She writes cozy mysteries and romances and you'll probably see food featured along with a recipe or two.
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Also available, book 1 in the Waverly Beach Mystery Series, TRUST.
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