by Kathi Daley
“And?”
“And several things. First of all, Harriet had left a reminder on her calendar that she had a lunch date with JM on the day she died.”
“Who’s JM?”
“I have no idea. Roy didn’t either, but he is looking into it.”
“I suppose that if she kept her meeting with JM, then this person could be the one to give her the bomb.”
“Roy and I thought so as well. He is taking the lead very seriously. He also spent a good amount of time on Sunday canvassing Harriet’s neighborhood and talking to her neighbors. He hoped to find someone who had noticed something.”
“Something like what?”
“A new person in her life. Unusual patterns in behavior or perhaps unusual travel patterns. Anything at all that would provide information as to what was going on in her life prior to the explosion.”
I took a bite of my sandwich. “And did he find anything?”
“Not really. At least not as of yesterday, which was the last time I spoke to him, but I could tell that he has no intention of giving up until he figures this out.”
I frowned and sat back in my chair. “So what has Kate been doing all this time? I haven’t heard her name mentioned since the beginning.”
Kyle looked surprised at my question. “I’m sorry. I thought I told you. Kate took an emergency leave from work. I don’t have all the details, but apparently, she had a family emergency and left town on Saturday morning. Roy isn’t sure when she will be back.”
I was sorry to hear that Kate had a family emergency, but not all the bummed to find out that I didn’t have to worry about tripping over her as we continued with our investigation. Of course, now Roy was on his own again, which was not going to make things any easier on him. I supposed that Kyle and I would have to pick up the slack and pitch in even more than we had been. Of course, I had sisters to parent and a job to do, so I couldn’t commit all my time to the investigation, and Kyle had a town council to put back together, so his time was limited as well.
“Okay, so between you and Roy, you managed to establish that there was nothing odd in her phone or banking records and that she was scheduled to have lunch with JM on the day she died. Do we know where they had lunch?”
Kyle shook his head. “The note just said ‘lunch JM’ on that date. The time and location were not noted, but as I said, Roy is looking into it.”
“Okay, so what else?”
“I’m close to getting into an online storage account I found a link to amongst Harriet’s things. I’m hoping the account contains her blogs and the notes for her blog. I haven’t forgotten that her home office was trashed leaving me to believe that someone thought she had something they didn’t want to be revealed.”
“How long will it take you to complete the hack?” I asked.
“I’m hoping to be in by the end of the day; tomorrow morning at the latest. If we don’t find an obvious reason for someone to have killed Harriet in the file, I’m afraid we’ll be back to square one. Roy has been working long hours, but so far, none of his leads have panned out.”
I did feel sorry for Roy. This was not an easy case. “I noticed you had a bunch of files on the coffee table.”
“They are all the files I took from Harriet’s home office. Given the fact that her office was tossed, I have a feeling the file with the actual motive for her murder, if there even was a file, is long gone, but I decided to wouldn’t hurt to take a look at what else she was up to. Roy had one of his temps gather up all the files and loose paperwork that he’d found in her home and bring them to me. There is a lot. Most of it is probably totally irrelevant to whatever is going on, but it needs to be looked through and eliminated just in case.”
I had to smile. “You’re a good guy, Kyle. It sounds like the town should put you on the payroll.”
Kyle chuckled. “You aren’t wrong; however, I don’t need the money so I’ll just consider this my civic duty.”
I got up, grabbed the coffee pot, and refreshed both our mugs. “I spoke to Greg yesterday. He told me that you offered him one of the open council seats.”
Kyle nodded. “Jeff and I spoke to Bookman. We decided to start by offering the open seats to Greg, Rita, and Doc. I did talk to your dad, but as you suspected, he wasn’t interested. To be honest, I pretty much expected Greg, Rita, and Doc to turn down the offer as well, but Rita accepted right off the bat, and Greg and Doc said they’d think about it.”
“So what made you decide to ask Rita instead of Brandon?”
“You made a very good point when you suggested her. She is just as qualified as Brandon is, and it would be nice to have at least one female town council member. I was happy she accepted, and hope the other two will as well. I know Greg is busy, so it might not work for him, although he does have a certain amount of flexibility in his schedule. Still, Bookman said he’d worked with him on a grant for the high school arts program, and it was his impression that the man was not only very intelligent but organized and proactive as well.”
“I agree. Greg is a great guy and would make a wonderful addition to the council. Not only is he intelligent and hardworking, but I’ve known him to be fair and open-minded as well. It’s rare for the entire staff of a high school to be a fan of the principal, but in Greg’s case, I can’t think of a single staff member who doesn’t admire and truly like him.”
“I’m convinced. He needed to speak to his wife about it, which is fair because the council will take up some of his nights and weekends. He said he’d get back to me today, but with the snow, it might be tomorrow. Doc was a bit less certain and wanted to noodle on it a bit, but he said he’d get back to me by the end of the week. He has the time, and he has a unique skill set that will come in handy. My sense was that he wasn’t sure he wanted to make that sort of a commitment, but I also think he feels bad that Bookman, Jeff, and I are left to deal with this total mess and he wants to help out if he can.”
I bobbed my head. “I bet he does it. Even if he only agrees to a limited term, he is the sort to roll up his sleeves and pitch in when there is something that needs to be done.”
“I hope so. I think he could really help.”
Kyle got up and began clearing the plates, and I pitched in to help. Poor Kyle. He looked exhausted. Between trying to put the town council back together, taking care of town business, and helping to figure out who blew up the town hall, the guy had a lot on his plate. And if you threw Thanksgiving on top of all of that, I was afraid it was too much.
“Maybe we should consider moving Thanksgiving back to the resort. It is a lot of work to host such a huge gathering, and you already have so much to deal with.”
Kyle shook his head. “No. I want to do it. I spoke to Rosalie, and between her and Ben, they have assured me that they will take care of the hams, turkeys, and rolls. Jenna and Frannie are bringing desserts, and my mom is going to tackle the vegetables. We just have to make mashed and sweet potatoes and a few appetizers. I figure that between you and me, Ashley and Gracie, your dad and Rosalie, my mom, Kiara, and Annabeth, your grandpa and Doc, Jenna and her family, Bookman and Helen, Frannie and Hazel, that is only nineteen people. Quite a few less than normally attend. Is there anyone I am missing?”
“I think that is the main gang, although we should ask Bree, Pastor Dan, and Hannah, which will bring us to twenty-two.” I felt a pull at my heart. “I can’t believe so many people who attended last year’s Thanksgiving feast are no longer with us.”
Kyle took my hand in his. He gave it a squeeze. “It has been a tough year.” He kissed my forehead. “But this year will be better. Things are really up in the air right now, but once we get everything back on track, things will be better.”
It felt to me that Kyle was trying to convince himself of this fact even more than he was trying to convince me.
“Maybe we should hold off on making the big en
gagement announcement for a while. I’m not sure that Thanksgiving is the best time to do it.”
Kyle frowned. “Are you having second thoughts about the engagement?”
“No. Not at all,” I assured Kyle. “But the girls need time to adjust to the idea, and I just feel like our announcement would be tainted by the fact that Harriet is sure to be on everyone’s mind this Thanksgiving. I want our announcement to be a happy occasion associated with only happy thoughts. I’ve told everyone in my immediate family, and I know you told your mom. In a way, telling folks as we see them, rather than making a huge announcement, seems like it might be the better way to go. Although…”
“Although what?” Kyle asked.
“Although once we make it public, people will start asking about a date. I told the girls we’d wait to settle on a date until everyone has had a chance to get used to the idea and we’d had a chance to work through their issues, especially Gracie’s.”
Kyle kissed me gently on the lips. “I agree with everything you have said. And I’m fine with waiting to make an announcement. I really do want Ashley and Gracie to know that their feelings matter and I want you to take the time you need as well.”
I put my hands on Kyle’s cheeks. “And that is just one of the many reasons I love you so very much.”
Chapter 20
Wednesday, November 15
Kyle called me the next morning to let me know that he had gotten into Harriet’s personal online storage system. He asked if I had the day off as I had the previous day, but as of this morning, school was back on. I did have a number of vacation days saved up, however, and this did seem important, so I called Greg and explained the situation, and he offered to get me a sub. I dropped the girls off at school and then headed over to Kyle’s.
“It was nice of Greg to give you the day off.”
“He wants us to figure this out as much as anyone, and I do have a bunch of vacation days saved up. What did you find in Harriet’s saved documents?”
“The notes for the November blog for one thing. As far as I can tell, the blog has not been written yet, but if Harriet had actually used the notes in the file, I suspect there would have been a lot of people standing in line to wring her neck.”
I cringed. “Okay. Part of me doesn’t even want to know what she had dug up if her plans for the November blog were that bad. Still, given the fact that her home office was ransacked, it does look as if at least one of the individuals who would have been targeted in an upcoming blog might actually make a better suspect than the individuals affected by a past blog. What was she planning to write?”
“Unlike past blogs, she had notes on four individuals rather than three in a file marked November blog. Victim number one is Jennifer Black. She owns the bakery that recently opened on the north side of town.”
“I know who she is, although I’ve never actually spoken to her. I don’t think she has lived in the area very long. What did she do, or I guess I should say, allegedly do?”
“She allegedly buys her baked goods at a bakeshop in Carson City, and then resells them in Serenity claiming that they are her family recipes.”
I raised a brow. “I suppose she wouldn’t want that getting out. I can see that it might destroy the business she is just getting started. I wonder how Harriet even found out about something like that.”
“I don’t know. And I don’t know if it is true. But it does seem that if Harriet had revealed that Jennifer is reselling someone else’s baked goods and marketing them as her own, it would have hurt her business whether it was true or not. Still,” Kyle paused, “I’m not sure that exposing Jennifer’s false advertising would warrant her blowing up an entire building.”
I sort of doubted Jennifer was the potential bomber we were looking for. “Who else do we have?”
“Girard Bowman. Apparently, he has been stepping out on his wife.”
Girard Bowman was a man’s man. He was tall, built, and an ex-football player who had a reputation with ladies. He liked to hunt and fish, and he owned his own taxidermy shop. I supposed in terms of having a violent nature, he might fit the profile of a man who would kill someone, although, in terms of motive, he seemed more like the sort to brag about an affair rather than to kill over it. “Who is he allegedly sleeping with?”
“Will Colter.”
“Will Colter. The guy who owns the dance studio?”
Kyle nodded.
“I didn’t realize Girard was gay. I mean, he is married. To a woman,” I emphasized.
“He is, and I hadn’t a clue he was gay either. Keep in mind he might not be, but if he is and Harriet was about to out him, I could definitely see him wanting to stop her.”
“Well, yeah. He has to be our killer. I can totally see him blowing up a room full of people just to watch the fireworks. The guy is a real scary sort.”
“I agree that he seems capable of something like setting off a bomb, but I do think we should follow up with victim number four as well.”
“Victim four? What happened to three?”
“Victim number three was going to be Lloyd Benson. Not only is it impossible to follow up with him, but I doubt he blew himself up.”
“Lloyd? What did Harriet have on Lloyd?”
“According to the notes, which keep in mind are nothing more than unverified rumors at this point, Lloyd bribed Mayor Wallaby to push through several of his developments back when Wallaby was mayor. According to the notes I found, Harriet was going to use that information to make the case that he should be kicked off the town council and that any and all future developments he might sponsor within the town limits should be denied.”
“Wow.”
“Wow is right. If that is true and Sinful Secrets would have revealed it, then it could have made things very difficult for Lloyd. Especially if the rumor turned out to be true and Harriet had proof of the dirty dealings.”
“If Lloyd hadn’t been a victim of the bomber, I would totally have suspected him. But I agree, it is unlikely he blew himself up, and it does look as if he might have been behind the emergency meeting, so who is victim number four?”
“Victim number four is Kate Baldwin.”
“Kate Baldwin? Officer Kate Baldwin? Roy’s new partner and my new pain in the backside? That Kate Baldwin?”
Kyle nodded. “Apparently, when Kate was in college, she was arrested for attacking a woman named Jackie Leman, who she accused of being responsible for her father’s death.”
I narrowed my gaze. “If I remember correctly, Kate’s father was a cop who died in the line of duty when she was a kid. I don’t remember if Kate ever said how he died, I assumed he was shot. Did this woman shoot him?”
“No. I called and spoke to Roy, and he said he’d look into it. He called me back a while ago to let me know that Jackie Leman was the daughter of the murder victim whose death Kate’s dad was investigating at the time of his death.”
“On the first night we met Kate, she told us that her dad died in the line of duty, trying to protect civilians who shouldn’t have been anywhere near a crime scene in the first place. I wonder if Jackie was one of the civilians she was talking about.”
“Perhaps. That might explain why she attacked the woman. Harriet’s notes didn’t go into detail as to why Kate attacked the woman, only that she had and that she was arrested for assault and battery.”
I frowned. “So Kate killed Harriet because she was going to reveal that she had a record? I guess that her tainted past isn’t something she would want to get around, but to kill someone to keep it quiet. It seems like a stretch.”
“I agree. But in my book, it does make Kate a suspect, especially when you add in the fact that she left town for a vague family emergency just as the investigation into the bombing got started.”
“That’s a good point. Was there anything else in the file?”
“There was a file with additional security attached to it. I’m working on getting into it, but the security is pretty sophisticated.”
“Seems odd that Harriet would have a file with that level of security.”
“I agree. I don’t know who set up the security for the file, but I’m sure it wasn’t Harriet. Anyway, it may take a while, but I’ll get in. In the meantime, I found a list of passcodes, one of which will allow me to access the town’s files.”
“Didn’t you already have access to the town’s files?”
Kyle shook his head. “No, the only people with access were Bookman, as mayor, and Harriet. I asked Bookman for the passcode, which he gave me, but Harriet had changed it. In fact, it looks as if she changed the town’s passcode the day before she died. Bookman didn’t remember receiving a new code. Maybe Harriet gave it to him, and he forgot, or maybe she never gave it to him. There is no way to tell at this point. Anyway, once I finally got into Harriet’s system, and realized she had a master password sheet, which included the password for the town’s online file storage, I was able to use that code to get into the town’s files.”
“Did you find anything interesting?”
“Not really, although I have really only touched the surface in terms of examining the files. It is going to take some time. In the meantime, I thought we might see a woman about a donut, and after that, we might want to check into either getting something stuffed or dance lessons for the girls.”
I raised a brow. “So we follow up with the easier leads. Works for me, although the girls already take dance lessons from Miss Marsha.”
