Tj Jensen Cozy Mystery Boxed Set 2: Books 6-10

by Kathi Daley

I laughed. “Yeah, we’ll see how much you love all that energy after the girls really settle in. It can get pretty hectic at times. It looks like Kyle is here. I’ll see you this afternoon.”

  Kyle was about to get out of the car, but I motioned to him that I was on my way. I grabbed my purse and notebook and headed out the front door. He leaned over for a quick kiss once I slid onto the front seat.

  “I think we should go on a date,” I said as he pulled onto the resort road.

  “I’d love to. Where do you want to go?”

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. I made a comment to Ashley this morning that our relationship had evolved now that you and I were dating, and she pointed out that she’d never seen us go on a date; the only thing that’s new is the kissing. I think things will go over better if we tell people we’re dating rather than kissing, so we need to go out on a date.”

  Kyle reached over and took my hand. “I’d love nothing more than to date you. I assume kissing is still on the table?”

  “Absolutely.” I tightened my hand around Kyle’s. I was enjoying this new paradigm between us. “By the way, I told Hunter about us.”

  “And…?”

  “And he says he’s happy for us. I could tell he was a little hurt, but I really believe it’s as important to him as it is to us to maintain the friendship we all share.”

  Kyle seemed relieved. “I’m glad he’s okay with things. I was a little worried about his reaction to the news. He’s been a good friend to me, and I know how important he is to you. The last thing either of us wants is to hurt him.”

  “I agree. And I really think he’ll be fine.”

  Kyle smiled as he turned onto the highway. “Good. How did the visit with your father go?”

  “Really well. Better than I hoped. He seems to be doing a lot better and the girls adapted quickly to his appearance, as well as to the tubes and monitors he’s still attached to. They had this whole discussion about redecorating the girls’ rooms when he gets out.”

  “So you’re planning to stay at the resort?”

  “For now.” I turned slightly in the seat. “Rosalie swears she wants us there, and I think it’ll be the best thing for everyone at this point.”

  Kyle clicked on his blinker and turned into the library lot. Frannie’s car was already there. We parked on the side and headed to that entrance. Frannie had asked me not to use the front door so no one driving by would think the library was open.

  “I have the book the men both looked at out on the table,” Frannie said. “I’ve looked at it until I’m cross-eyed and I can’t figure out what interested them. I’m hoping you can provide a new perspective.”

  “We’ll try,” I promised.

  Frannie tucked a stray hair up under the tight bun she often wore. “I’m not sure figuring it out will even be relevant to Harold’s death, but it makes me feel useful to try to provide some insight. I’m still having such a hard time with the whole thing.”

  “Yeah.” I squeezed Frannie’s hand in an offer of support. “Me too.”

  The book was a scrapbook of sorts, containing a collection of letters, photographs, newspaper articles, and maps. I’d seen several other books similar to this one covering different periods of time. This one, as Frannie had mentioned, covered 1968 to 1978. A number of things had happened in that ten-year period, so narrowing down what the judge and Bristow were interested in wouldn’t be easy unless there was an additional clue to find.

  “You said Bristow looked at books from other time periods before honing in this one?” Kyle asked.

  Frannie nodded. “As I said yesterday, I had the feeling he was looking for something specific but wasn’t certain where he’d find it.”

  Kyle turned several pages, pausing to glance at each one. “We know he’s a developer, so it would make sense that he was looking for something to do with real estate. Maybe a land transfer or something relating to a deed.”

  That made sense to all of us. If Judge Harper had come looking to verify whatever it was Bristow was searching for, he must have discovered something relevant to the strip mall he was trying to build.

  Frannie and I stood behind Kyle so we could all look at the book at the same time. Frannie had said it seemed as if whatever the men were looking at was in the middle of the book, but because there was no way to know where the middle started and the beginning ended, we decided to start on the first page.

  Looking through the book was interesting. There were photos of Serenity that did a lot to demonstrate how much it had changed in forty odd years, as well as newspaper articles announcing births and deaths and awards and honors. And there were blueprints and street maps, as well as maps that showed land owned by the forest service as opposed to private ownership. Every page seemed to hold something that looked both relevant and non-relevant. It was so hard to know what might be important when we didn’t know what Bristow had been looking for in the first place.

  “I’d think Bristow would be most interested in anything having to do with the land he wants to develop,” I pointed out. “Can we isolate that land on these maps?”

  Kyle turned back to a map we’d found earlier. “It looks like this is the county road that used to service the whole area.” He slid his finger along a narrow line. “Given the location of the lake, I’d say the land he wants to develop is about here.”

  I narrowed my gaze to focus on the spot Kyle was pointing to.

  “Who owned it back then?” I asked.

  Kyle turned back to the map that showed individual plots. “If I had to guess, the plot Bristow owns now is this one. The key indicates that in 1969, the date this map was drawn, the land was owned by Zachary Collins.”

  I looked at Kyle, who had inherited Zachary’s entire estate when he passed away. “How did Bristow end up with it? Zachary would never have sold to a developer.”

  The room fell silent as we all paused to consider the situation. Eventually Frannie spoke. “Zachary could have sold it to someone who sold it to Bristow. We can search the county records for the ownership history now that we have a plot number. Of course, the county offices aren’t open today.”

  “I can probably find the information online, but I sort of doubt that’s what we’re looking for,” Kyle answered. “Based on the fact that Bristow came in here and spent a ton of time looking for something, it must have been something he couldn’t easily find by some other means.”

  “Kyle’s right,” I stated. “If Bristow wanted to know who owned the land back in the sixties, all he needed to do is go to the county or, as Kyle said, look it up online. Whatever he found was something he wanted the judge to know about. It must be something that would help him in his campaign to build his mall.”

  “What if he was looking for something damaging about Harper?” Kyle suggested. “Something he could use to blackmail him.”

  “That actually makes sense,” Frannie said. “Harold was definitely leading the charge in opposition to the development. What if Bristow heard something damaging about him but didn’t have any proof, so he came into the library to look at these old books? And he found what he was looking for and told Harold that if he wanted to keep his secret he’d have to support his project. Harold might have come here to confirm what Bristow had told him.”

  “There’s only one problem: how would that lead to Judge Harper’s death?” I asked. “If Bristow had something damaging on him, he wouldn’t need to kill him.”

  “True,” Frannie admitted.

  “Frannie’s theory could still be correct if Bristow wasn’t the one who killed Judge Harper,” Kyle pointed out.

  The room fell silent as everyone paused to consider the situation. There really did seem to be so many variables at work. It was hard to focus on any one thing.

  “Maybe Bristow was looking for something else,” Frannie eventually said. “Something having to do wi
th the mall he wants to build, but not the ownership of the land specifically.”

  “Like what?” I asked.

  Frannie paused. “I agree with Kyle that if he was looking for deeds or other questions having to do with land ownership, he would look online or perhaps go to the county. I also agree that if he was looking for something to blackmail Judge Harper with and it worked, he wouldn’t need to kill him. I suppose he could have found something he believed would be of use in convincing Judge Harper to change his vote, but in the end Judge Harper stuck to his principles. Or…”

  “Or?” I asked when Frannie trailed off.

  “Judge Harper had been citing a building code which prohibits certain types of commercial development within the town limits as the main reason behind his objection to the project. I don’t think anyone has questioned the fact that such a statute exists, but what if Bristow found out something that no one else seems to know?”

  I waited for Frannie to finish her thought. A look of understanding crossed Kyle’s face, but I still wasn’t sure where she was going with this.

  “I don’t know this for a fact, and it may not even be true, but some prior town council could have already changed the code or at least opened the door to changing it, and no one remembers. The statute that Judge Harper has been quoting was part of the initial town charter. It’s been more than seventy years since it was written, and Bristow can’t be the first person to want to build a multi-level commercial property.”

  I knew there was one other commercial property in town which had six units. I also knew there was a lot of controversy at the time it was built, but it was a modest professional building and not a retail outlet so it managed to squeak through the permit process. Bristow wanted to build a strip mall with a large box store as an anchor and at least ten smaller retail outlets.

  “If Bristow found a precedent set by a previous town council, that could sway the vote,” Kyle admitted. “It’s pretty much fifty-fifty at this point anyway, so it wouldn’t take much.”

  “But there aren’t any large commercial centers in town,” I argued.

  “True. But what if one was approved but never built for another reason, such as funding?” Kyle asked. He looked at Frannie. “Do you remember seeing minutes or anything to do with town council meetings in the book?”

  Frannie shook her head. “Not specifically, but I wasn’t looking for them at the time. I suppose there could very well be something in the book relating to a historical town council meeting.”

  “I know you don’t usually check these books out, but do you think Kyle and I could borrow it?” I asked Frannie after considering the situation for a few minutes. “Just for a couple of days. We really need to get going right now, but we can look through it later and maybe find a document having to do with building codes. Even if we don’t, maybe something will come up in the investigation that helps the whole thing make more sense. It would be good to have the book for reference.”

  “I’ll keep it locked up in my office,” Kyle promised. “It’ll be safe.”

  Frannie paused. She had a frown on her face that made her look older. I could see she was taking Judge Harper’s death harder than most—the two had been friends for a very long time. “Under the circumstances, that will be fine. But do let me know if you figure this out. I don’t know if Bristow killed Harold, but I have a feeling he’s up to something. I’d like to know what it is.”

  Chapter 12

  We left the library and went to Kyle’s house to drop the book off. We still had a few hours before we needed to get back to the resort, so we decided to order pizza and have our first date. Sure, it was a lunch date and we were working, but I found the need to get a first date of any variety out of the way, and if referring to what we were doing as a date would accomplish that, I was all for it.

  “Where do you want to start?” Kyle asked as we nibbled pizza and sipped the microbrew he had on hand.

  “I’ve pretty much narrowed my list down to three suspects, not that there couldn’t be others.”

  “What do you have?”

  I set my slice back onto my plate and picked up my notepad. “Striker Bristow, Sam Wilson, and whoever killed Jennifer Reinhold if her husband turns out not to be guilty. In my mind, Striker Bristow is probably our best suspect, but for the purpose of this conversation I’m going to suggest we start with the Jennifer Reinhold case and circle back to Bristow.”

  Kyle picked up the large envelope that contained the files and other papers from the judge’s safe. “I have everything on Reinhold Roy sent me, but it isn’t the complete file. What we really need is the original sheriff’s file. What we’re talking about is trying to prove or disprove that Steven Reinhold killed his wife. If he did, I don’t see how Harper’s decision to take a second look at the case could have led to his death, but if he didn’t, someone else did, and that person, it would seem, would have a vested interest in making sure Steven was never proven innocent.”

  “Let’s look at what we have after we finish eating. If we need more—and I suspect we will—I’ll call Roy to see what I can work out. He wants us to keep a low profile, but he also wants Judge Harper’s killer found. Roy knew the judge most of his life. Kate might be a by-the-book sort of person, but for Roy it’s personal.”

  “If I remember correctly, Reinhold’s wife was found dead in a shallow grave behind her house almost eight years ago. It’s possible that if Steven didn’t kill her whoever did has long since moved on.”

  “Do you remember where the couple lived?”

  “Just a couple of streets over from Judge Harper,” Kyle answered. “In fact, I believe the main reason Clarissa Halloran, the woman who’s trying to clear Steven now, went to Harper with her theories in the first place was because they met at some sort of neighborhood block party.”

  I sat back in order to give Kyle my full attention. “Okay, walk me through what you remember.”

  “Hang on. Let me get the file so I can refer to it.”

  I checked the messages on my phone while Kyle went for the file. There was one from Jenna, letting me know she and Dennis were talking about the Fourth of July festivities and asking if we wanted to attend the fireworks together, and another from Gracie, asking if I was coming back to the resort. I answered yes to both.

  “Okay. Let’s see what we have.” Kyle set the folder on the table and opened it after he sat back down. “Steven and Jennifer Reinhold moved into the neighborhood where Judge Harper lived shortly after they were married in 1998. According to statements from the couple’s closest neighbors, they had a rocky marriage and loud arguments were commonly overheard coming from their home. Eight years ago, Reinhold made a 911 call, reporting that his wife had been missing for three weeks. The deputy who responded asked why he had waited so long to call, and Reinhold reported that his wife frequently took off for short periods of time after they’d had one of their noisy fights.”

  “Does it give the deputy’s name?” I wondered.

  Kyle glanced at the file and then looked up at me. “Clark Leighton.”

  “Clark retired shortly before you came to Paradise Lake. Last I heard, he’s been living in Florida. He was a good guy and a good cop, so if he was the one who investigated the case we can trust his report.”

  “It’s hard to say if he was the official investigator,” Kyle responded. “We’ll need to try to get the original file.”

  “Yeah, we will. Go on.”

  Kyle glanced back down at the file. “After Reinhold reported his wife missing there was an extensive search for her. Not only had she not come home, she hadn’t used her credit cards, accessed her bank account, or called any of her friends. Cadaver dogs found her body buried behind the house, and Reinhold, who had a history of spousal abuse, was immediately considered a suspect. The parts of the file sent to me don’t outline the details of the investigation; they only show that he was e
ventually arrested and convicted of killing his wife.”

  I frowned. “So he’d been in prison for almost eight years, and all of a sudden his neighbor decided he was innocent and asked Judge Harper to look into it. Why then?”

  “I’m not sure. As I remembered, Clarissa Halloran did meet Judge Harper at a block party, which seemed to facilitate her asking him to take a second look, but she must already have believed in Reinhold’s innocence. I don’t know why she didn’t take the initiative to have the case reinvestigated sooner, but she still lives in the same house, so I guess we could ask her.”

  “I remember Roy saying he was going to talk to her after we discussed this case the first time. I’ll need to talk to him and see where he’s at with it.”

  “Judge Harper’s notes list a bunch of people, which should give us a starting point if we decide to pursue this,” Kyle informed me.

  I pushed my plate into the middle of the table. “I’m pretty much done eating. I think I’ll call Roy now to see if he spoke to Clarissa, and if he can show us the original file.”

  “I’ll put the leftovers away and head to the computer room. I want to check into a few things relating to Bristow that have come to mind since our conversation with Frannie. Why don’t you join me there when you’re ready?”

  I smiled at Kyle as I got up and headed out to the patio overlooking the lake to make my call. Kyle had a great house in a terrific spot, perched on the shoreline of Heavenly Bay, an isolated cove at the far north end of Paradise Lake accessible by a narrow channel. Kyle had built a dock and a boathouse after he inherited the property, making for a peaceful and romantic place to while away a summer afternoon.

  “Hey, Roy, it’s Tj,” I greeted him when he answered his cell. “Is this a good time? Can you talk?”

  “Yeah, I’m at home. What’s up?”

  “Kyle and I have been chatting about a strategy for our very private and unofficial investigation into Judge Harper’s death, and I wanted to ask you if you ever had the chance to pull the original file regarding Jennifer Reinhold’s murder.”