***
Rebecca introduced Katie and Clem to the detectives. Katie recounted what she had told Rebecca earlier about the sisters wanting Jake to check the furnace for them and her doubts about Jess King’s innocence.
Dan thought it unusual that for years Katherine Bradbury was unaware her great-great-grandfather had family members. She said her grandfather told her about the connection when he was on his deathbed. He questioned why a young woman would travel across the country to visit two old ladies who died shortly after her visit. Although Caleb Bradbury died several years before, the Bradbury name was still well-known. He’d need proof Katherine was telling the truth before he could let Jake Morgan off the hook.
“Detective North, I’d like your permission to look through the Bradbury home. I have a theory about those hiding places and what secrets they held.”
“You know I can’t let you have free rein in a house that is a crime scene. However, I trust your instincts and I’ll go with you. It will have to wait until morning. I have more investigative work to do.”
“May Katie go too?”
“Don’t press your luck, Rebecca. You and only you.”
Rebecca reluctantly agreed. “What time shall I meet you there?”
“I don’t trust you, I’ll pick you up outside the station after your show. Don’t go snooping around the mansion until tomorrow.”
Chapter Fifteen
Kenzie flew from her seat in the waiting room, she ran to Jake throwing her arms around his neck.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Jake said when he saw her. “It looks like I’ve gotten myself into a mess.”
“Mom and I talked to Katie Bradbury, she’s the Bradbury sisters’ niece. She remembers hearing the twins saying they wanted you to check the furnace for them. She will tell Detective North what she heard and about the man she was with, Jess King. Jake, he might be the one who took the money from the basement hiding place.”
“Kenzie, I haven’t been honest with you. The detectives found out I’d taken out a loan for a large amount of money and paid it back in a matter of days. I can’t tell you why I did it or the reason it was needed. I’m not trying to be evasive, it’s not my secret to tell. I can assure you it doesn’t concern you, but I do understand if you want to call off our wedding.”
“Call off the wedding? Why in the world would I do that? Whatever you did, I know you had a good reason. You say it doesn’t concern me and I accept that.”
“You aren’t a little curious?” Jake asked.
“Sure, I’m a born snoop, it’s in my genes thanks to my mother. Speaking of my mother, she will not give up on this mystery until you are off the hook. I think Detective Dan is having second thoughts because Mom is adamant about your innocence.”
In a small farmhouse in Kensington
Lindsey Sutton sat at her parent’s kitchen table with the Kensington Herald spread before her. The familiar face of Jake Morgan caught her eye and her heart sank. It can’t be, Jake is accused of murder and robbery, is it because he helped me out?
Lindsey reluctantly called the familiar number. She thought the danger was over but the threats made against her and little Jamie were fresh in her mind.
Jake held Kenzie in his arms. For the first time since he was handcuffed and driven to the police station, he felt hopeful this mess would be over soon thanks to Rebecca being on his side. His phone rang, interrupting his thoughts.
“Jake, it’s Lindsey, I’m reading about your arrest; is it because of the money they suspect you?”
Jake turned his back on Kenzie and whispered into the phone. “That’s part of it but I was arrested before they knew about the money. I think the bank officer reported the loan. I shouldn’t have repaid it so quickly. It raised suspicions and interfered with his commission, he wasn’t happy with me. There is nothing to worry about. I refused to tell the detectives about you.”
***
Kenzie didn’t ask what the phone call was about. She wrapped her arms around his waist, he held her again, but it wasn’t the same. If only he would confide in her, Kenzie knew whatever Jake was hiding weighed heavily on him.
***
“Mama,” said Lindsey, “will you watch Jamie for a few hours, I must take care of something in Oakwood Park?”
“Dear, I hoped the problem you fretted over was solved. You have been calmer lately.”
“That problem has been solved, another has popped up and I have to rectify a terrible mistake.”
The Oakwood Police Station
A young woman with a hat pulled almost to her eyes and dark glasses appeared at Midge’s desk.
“Hello, I’d like to speak to the detective in charge of the Jake Morgan matter.”
“What is your name, ma’am?”
It didn’t surprise Midge when the young woman refused to give her name saying she had information that would clear Jake if only the detective would see her.
Midge’s instinct told her the visitor was legitimate. She excused herself, turning her back to knock on Dan’s door. Lindsey heard a deep voice telling the woman to come in. Midge walked into the office closing the door behind her.
“Dan, there is a young woman waiting to see you, she won’t give her name but the poor thing is shaking in fear. She says she has information about Jake Morgan.”
Dan said to send her in. He was looking for any excuse to eliminate Jake Morgan as a suspect in the Bradbury case.
Midge opened the door and motioned for Lindsey to come into Dan’s office.
“Ma’am,” said Dan, “I’m will have to see your ID before I hear what you have to say.”
Lindsey took a Nevada driver’s license out of her wallet handing it to the detective.
“Ms. Sutton, what brings you to Oakwood Park and what do you have to tell me about Jake Morgan?”
Lindsey took a deep breath and removed her hat and sunglasses. She is a pretty young woman with signs of worry on her face. Despite being an impartial detective, Dan felt sympathy for her obvious discomfort.
“I met Jake in college, he and my deceased husband were frat brothers and roommates. Ace, his given name was James, and I weren’t married until after graduation. I was a naïve farm girl who didn’t see the signs of a gambling addiction. Jake tried to tell me Ace was bad news, but I didn’t believe him. I knew he liked playing poker, but my parents played cards with their friends every Saturday night and it seemed like harmless fun.
“We married the week after graduation at my folk’s farmhouse. Ace surprised me with a honeymoon trip to Las Vegas. We stayed in a fancy hotel with a beautiful swimming pool. The first few days were magical. I was madly in love with my new husband. I didn’t mind that he left me by the pool to gamble. He told me he was winning, and I believed him. What I didn’t know was that he’d taken our wedding gift money and gambled most of it away.
“Our official honeymoon ended and Ace insisted we stay in Vegas. He rented a furnished apartment for us. I didn’t want to live that far away from my family and friends but Ace told me if I loved him, I would do what he wanted.
“We both found jobs and settle into our new lives. Ace promised he would stop gambling, and he did for a few years. When our creditors called again, I knew he hadn’t kept his promise. That was around the time I discovered I was pregnant with our son. I foolishly thought Ace would change when he became a father; however, that didn’t happen.
“Six months ago, Ace came home covered in bruises. I knew he’d gone to a loan shark, and it was the last straw for me. I left him taking our son, Jamie, with me.
“It wasn’t long after I’d moved back home, I had a call from the state patrol. Ace had been killed in a one-car accident. I don’t know for sure if it was an accident, a suicide or something more sinister.
“A few weeks ago, I received a phone call threatening me and my son if we didn’t pay Ace’s debt of twenty-thousand dollars. I hoped it was a crank call but two days later, the same person called again saying the repayment would
be twenty-one thousand and would go up each day it wasn’t paid in full. He said how cute my little boy looked sitting next to his grandfather in his pickup and how unfortunate it would be if that truck went over a cliff.
“I panicked, I knew the person meant business. I called Jake Morgan for advice. I don’t have that kind of money and neither do my folks. My credit rating took a hit, and I knew I’d never be approved for a loan. Jake offered to arrange for a loan and I could pay him back when I received Ace’s insurance money. The policy had a suicide clause and his death was still being investigated.
“I accepted his offer because I didn’t feel I had a choice. The next day I received a call that the investigation into my husband’s accident had been completed and found that faulty brakes were the cause.
“The insurance company sent a cashier’s check directly to my bank account. I withdrew the money to pay back the loan and had the cash delivered to Jake’s office.
“I didn’t want to show my face because I still live in fear that the loan sharks will appear. I know I’m being unreasonable, I think it will take me a while to get over the scare.”
“Mrs. Sutton, I appreciate your coming in today. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for you to talk about your experience. I’ll do my best to shield you from questioning if the case goes to court. There are no guarantees. At the time the money was stolen, Mr. Morgan didn’t know the insurance claim would be settled.”
“Detective, Jake told me he would repay the loan immediately because I asked him to. He didn’t have to do this for me, he is a kind man who knew I was frightened and wanted to make my life easier and now he is suspected of murder and robbery. I know he wouldn’t kill anyone. If you knew him, you would know that too.”
After Lindsey left the office, Dan turned to Erica. “Everyone is a character witness for this guy. Doesn’t he seem too good to be true?”
“No, there are good guys in this world, Detective, you have been exposed to the worst elements of society. It comes with the territory, I have a hard time picking out the good ones too. I’m thinking we’ve got the wrong man.”
“We should focus on this Jess King character. I wonder where he took off to after Katherine Bradbury went home without him. I’d bet he dumped the rented car near a dealership. I’ll check with the rental car company to see where they located it.”
In a seedy motel outside of Kensington
Jess King sat at a table covered with cigarette burns and various stains. He cursed the car he’d bought off a used car lot, the thing sputtered and died and was now being worked on by a mechanic at Schmidt’s Auto Repair. He should have kept the rental car, at least until he got to the city. He wondered what happened at the Bradbury house and why there were cop cars there when he went back to find more hidden money.
His car would be at the shop until tomorrow morning, this dump would have to do until he picked it up. He counted his money noting how quickly he was spending it. There was nothing to do but wait and watch television. He found a news station and the broadcaster said the Bradbury sisters were dead because of a robbery gone wrong. If I go back there now, they’ll pin the murders on me. I should have used a fake name when I bought that stupid car. I don’t have to worry, Katie is safely in Wyoming, too far away to know what happened to her aunts. No one in that dumb town of Oakwood Park knows I exist.
Chapter Sixteen
Detective Daniel North’s Office
As Dan looked over his notes, he thought about his little sister, Angie. Lindsey Sutton reminded him of the sister he adored. Angie had made a few bad choices in the romance department but is now happily married to a great guy.
“What are you thinking, Dan?” asked Erica. “You are in your own little world.”
“I was thinking about Lindsey Sutton and how some women are attracted to guys who aren’t good for them.”
“We’ve all been there, you know what they say about kissing toads.”
“How many toads have you kissed, Detective West?” Dan teased.
“More than my share, I’m afraid. I was at a disadvantage because I’m so tall. The short guys didn’t want to have anything to do with me and it limited my exposure to men.”
“Are you saying all tall men are bad guys?”
“No, not all, only the ones I pick,” Erica laughed. She could feel her cheeks warming, how could an otherwise intelligent man be oblivious to her desire for him? Was he that insensitive?
“So, if I asked you to go to dinner with me and you accepted, does that mean I’m one of the bad guys?”
“If you asked me to go to dinner, it would be because you are hungry. If I say yes, it means I’m hungry too. That’s not a date.”
“Okay, Erica, will you go on a date with me?”
“North, are you mocking me?”
“No, West, I want to have dinner with you. Not as a cop or a co-worker or because I’m hungry. I want to have dinner with you because you are an intelligent, interesting, beautiful woman and I want to forget police work for the evening and concentrate on you.”
“I’d love to have dinner with you.”
At the Snow Home
The house was filled with chatter and laughter. It was the way Rebecca liked it. She’d invited Katie and Clem to join the family for a cookout.
Andy and Clem talked about horses and Wyoming while Andy grilled steaks. Kenzie and Katie cut vegetables for a salad while Rebecca checked the potatoes baking in the oven. Alex and Jake were having a strategy session in the den. Kenzie, the romantic was giving Katie a crash course in the art of attracting a man’s attention.
“Katie, what do you wear when you go to the bank in Elk River?”
“What I always wear, a western shirt and jeans.”
“What would happen if you unbuttoned the top button? Kenzie reached over and undid the top and second button on Katie’s shirt.”
“There, that’s better, and it doesn’t show a thing you don’t want Mr. Ned to see yet.”
Katie’s face turned scarlet. “I don’t want Ned to think I’m a brazen Hussy.”
Kenzie stifled a giggle. “If you unbuttoned the shirt to your navel and went braless, you might look like a brazen hussy but showing a little skin won’t destroy your reputation.”
The girls carried the salad and plates to the patio table with Katie showing her new look.
“Katie, did you do something to your hair? You look different; I like it,” said Clem.
“Men can be so obtuse,” whispered Kenzie.
***
Alex and Jake pieced together the clues connecting Jake to the crime.
“There is evidence the basement window was jimmied open allowing access to the house.”
“The sisters gave me a key when I first serviced their account. I’d have no reason to break in.”
“Only if you wanted it to look like a robbery.”
“I can’t argue with that, but why would I take money from the basement hiding places when I was familiar with the stashes Emma kept in the fireplaces throughout the mansion? I didn’t know they had hidden money down there too.”
“You might have planned to start there and work your way upstairs. Maybe the sisters heard you and came to investigate causing you to escape through the window.”
“Okay, but why would I leave my fingerprints all over the furnace and wear gloves to loosen the bricks?”
“You were checking the furnace and noticed money appearing behind a brick. You came back later to investigate and wore gloves forgetting you left your prints on the furnace.”
“All right, Alex. You’ve convinced me I’m guilty. Where do we go from here?”
“You can tell me what the twenty-five-thousand-dollar loan was about.”
“I told you before, I won’t talk about it.”
“I’d like to know more about this Jess character who came to Oakwood Park with Katie. She seems to think his only interest was in the Bradbury fortune. It looks like he returned the car he’d rented to drive Katie to Bradbu
ry Hill and rented another in her name. The first car was a flashy convertible and the next one was a nondescript sedan. Was he trying to be inconspicuous? He abandoned the rental near a used car lot on the road to Kensington. I wonder if Dan North has checked to see if he purchased a car there. It’s not like he was on a bus route. Katie said he mentioned going to New York City. He could easily be lost in the crowd there.”
“You think he helped himself to the sisters’ money when Katie went back to Wyoming?”
“Maybe, but how would he know the money was there? He’d been in the mansion for less than fifteen minutes. Katie said he was waiting in the car when she came outside and was fuming. It doesn’t sound like someone who’d discovered a windfall.”
***
Murder on Bradbury Hill Page 7
