by Lynn Cahoon
“Oh, I got the joke. What’s up?”
“I guess if you’re not going to laugh at my humor, I’ll just get to the point. Your uncle is absolutely dead.”
Well, that was the answer I’d been looking for, but for just a second, I’d hoped that the story might just be different. “I assumed that would be your answer.”
“Let me tell you how I know. I didn’t do the autopsy or the burial, the other funeral home did; however, the doctor who pronounced him dead in the hospital is a good friend of mine. So I called him. He remembered your uncle very well. He said to send his good wishes to your aunt. It seems they played cards together back in the day.”
The flash of memory made me smile. Aunt Jackie had her bridge group come every Friday night, even through my high school years. I’d be leaving the house to get to a football game or just hang out with my friends and her group would be coming in with bowls and plates filled with snacks. I always put away some of the better items for a snack when I got home.
“Jill? Are you still there?” Doc Ames’s concerned voice pulled me out of the memory.
“I’m walking home. I must have hit a dead spot. Thank you so much for looking into this. I’m not sure that losing Uncle Ted a second time will hurt more or less than dealing with the fact that someone was trying to trick her.”
“Your aunt is a strong woman. She can take the truth.” I heard a bell go off in the distance. “That’s my tea. I’ve moved my microwave into my office so I can warm up my drinks when I let them go cold without walking all the way upstairs to the apartment.”
“Have a good day, and thank you.”
I put my phone back into my tote and tried to decide when I should tell Aunt Jackie. If I waited to tell my aunt this part of the story until after she got back from the city, she might be worried about it all the time she was supposed to be relaxing. Or I could just call her tonight, so she could get over being mad at the guy calling her before Saturday and actually have fun.
I decided to call her as soon as I got home.
Toby was getting into his truck when I walked up to the house.
“What’s going on?” I paused at the doorway, my keys in my hand.
“Greg just called me in early. The good news is, the city has to feed me because I’ll be working more than eight hours. I love a free meal.” He waved as he pulled the truck out of the drive.
I greeted Emma when I opened the door. “Uncle Toby was just here and said hello.”
Emma woofed up at me. I grabbed the mail off the floor. I had a slot in my door for a mailbox. Sometimes I loved it, but sometimes, I worried Emma would change her pillow-chewing habit and eat my electric bill. So far, it hadn’t happened.
I put the mail on the table and let her out, then got myself a glass of iced tea before sitting down to sort the mail. Most days it was a mixture of bills, junk mail, and, since Greg moved in, a sports magazine.
Today was more of the same, except for a letter from the Senior Project marked “urgent.” I opened the envelope and wasn’t surprised when an intake form fell out along with the letter. Scanning it, I could see it was a form letter for new clients prior to their appointment. Today, there was a scratched line at the bottom.
Miss Gardner, it is important for our federal grants for us to keep track of the type of people we are serving. Please complete the enclosed intake form and return as soon as possible. Earl Hess.
That made sense. Grant reporting was an important part of any nonprofit’s accountability process, but with what had just happened to my aunt, I wasn’t going to fill this out now, later, or even if hell froze over. I stood to throw it and the junk mail in the trash, then glanced at the envelope again. My name, my address. But I hadn’t given Denyse either. How had Earl Hess gotten it?
I set aside the letter and put the bills away in my office to pay another day. The magazine, I left on the table. It could wait there until Greg got home. I suspected he took them to work with him after he’d read them because he never had a stack sitting anywhere in the house. I knew Greg was probably going to be late again, but tonight, I’d stay up to wait for him.
The letter had me that spooked.
* * * *
Greg shook me awake. “Why didn’t you go to bed?”
I rubbed my eyes and picked up the book that had fallen to the floor when I fell asleep. “I wanted to show you something.”
“You could have shown me in the morning.” He pulled me to my feet. “Can you stand while I let Emma out?”
“I’m awake. And I’ll go with you to the kitchen. The thing I want to show you is in there.” I hid a yawn behind the back of my hand as I followed.
After letting Emma outside, he held up the magazine. “This?”
“Yes, I wanted to make sure you got your sports scores.” I reached past him and grabbed the letter. “This. I got this in the mail today. Not at the shop, but here, at the house.”
He took the letter and read it. Frowning, he set it down and let Emma back in. “So you’re refusing to fill out their form? It’s probably a smart idea. I mean, especially with what we found out today. Ben may be dead, but we don’t know if he was the only one with the leaked information.”
“Yes, I’m refusing to give my info. But that’s not the issue.” I held up the envelope. “Look how it’s addressed.”
He took the envelope, read it again, then set it down. “Look, Jill, I’m beat. If there’s something wrong with that address, I’m not seeing it. Maybe we should talk in the morning.”
“There is nothing wrong with the address.” I poked at the envelope with my finger. “And that’s the problem.”
“But if there’s nothing wrong, why is that…” His face showed comprehension as he picked up the envelope again. “How did they get your home address?”
“I don’t know. I gave Denyse my cell and my email address to send me information, but not my home address. Not with what was going on with Aunt Jackie.” I shivered, even though it wasn’t cold. “Tell me there’s a logical explanation for this.”
He pulled me into a hug. “There may be. Where’s your laptop?”
“On the counter over there.” I pointed to the shelving unit I used as my kitchen office storage. It saved me steps from walking to the office two rooms over.
He booted up the computer and went to a search screen. I watched as he typed in “Jill Gardner, South Cove, CA.”
The hits that came up all were around the shop or mentions in Darla’s articles for the local paper. I had a minilisting on the city council page as business liaison, but that listed my work email. Nothing had my home address on it.
“Well, isn’t that interesting.”
“If you think creepy is interesting. Did you really expect to find my home address on Google?” I rubbed my face.
“Actually, you’d be surprised at how often it works. But if it’s not there, I think I’m going to go talk to Mr. Hess in the morning to find out where he got your address.” He walked over to the counter and grabbed a sealable plastic bag. He used a napkin to put the letter and envelope into the bag.
“Isn’t that overkill?” I nodded to the letter, now sealed in a bag on my kitchen table.
Greg locked the back door and turned off the kitchen light. “Not when you add in Ben’s murder and your aunt’s problem. I think we might have just gotten lucky. Let’s go to bed. I’ve got an interview to schedule in the morning.”
As we walked upstairs, I paused. “Is Toby still watching the empty house?”
“Yes, and Pastor Bill is still at Sadie’s. He says he’s there for the duration and is crafting a brief announcement to add to his sermon on Sunday. You should have seen Sadie’s face turn beet red when he said that.”
“You stopped by to see them? Is she all right?”
“Your friend is fine. They had a night of movies and popcorn last
night, and tonight they were going to pull out the board games. She said having him over reminds her of the sleepovers she used to have as a teenager.” Greg opened the bedroom door for me. “That time, the pastor blushed.”
“You are so bad.” I headed to the bathroom to get ready for bed, and by the time I got out, Greg was already asleep on his side. Emma was lying next to him, watching me. “Yes, you have to get down and sleep in your own bed. There’s no room for all three of us.”
When I snapped my fingers, she got down and I climbed in. I was asleep before I could think more about Sadie and Pastor Bill.
* * * *
The next morning, Greg and the letter were gone when I got up. By the time this case was over, he’d need a week to get caught up on sleep. I didn’t have time for my normal run with Emma, so she pouted as I got ready for work. “You’re just going to have to be mad at me,” I told her as I was leaving. I couldn’t even ask Toby to take her because he was burning the candle at both ends like Greg. Making a mental promise to Emma to run after work, I made my way into town.
Fall in South Cove is lovely. The stores all decorate in autumn colors, even though we didn’t get the fall leaves like places north. And instead of frost, we got fog. The town seemed like a shot out of a Sherlock Holmes story as I moved my way through the empty streets. Diamond Lille’s was open, her parking lot full. The bright lights shone out through the fog, and I could see people sitting at the tables nearest the window.
Which reminded me, I hadn’t told Greg about Denyse’s comment about Hess not being at the Senior Project for very long. I didn’t think the fact she thought he was obsessed with rules was important, but as I texted the information, I added that as well.
I’d finished the text just as I reached the store. Looking up as I tucked the phone into my purse, I frowned. The lights were on in the store. I paused at the café tables and retrieved my phone.
“Do you need me to work?” Aunt Jackie asked, her voice still heavy with sleep.
“No. I need to ask you a question. Did you leave the lights on last night or did you already come down and open the store?” I knew the first answer would be no, but there was a chance.
“No and no.” Now I could hear my aunt was wide awake. “I’ll go down and check…”
“Do not leave your apartment. In fact, go check your doors and make sure they’re locked and put chairs under them. I’m calling Greg.”
“Okay. I’m going right now.”
“I’m not hanging up until you check the rest of the apartment.” I glanced upward and saw my aunt’s bedroom light go on.
“I checked the closet and the bathroom. No boogeymen. Now I’m going into the kitchen and living room. Door on outside locked, and now a chair is blocking the door.” She paused as she walked over to the other door. “Okay, the other door is locked. Where are you?”
“Outside the front door of the shop. I’m hanging up now and calling Greg. I’ll call back in a minute.” I dialed Greg’s number and he picked up on the first ring.
“Hey, beautiful. I’m going to sneak out for some coffee later.” He paused, and I jumped in.
“Did you see the lights on at the shop when you came in?”
“No, but the station is closer than the shop. I don’t usually drive that way.” Any humor that had been in his voice faded. “Why?”
“Because lights are on now and Aunt Jackie says she didn’t leave them that way when she closed.” I dug for my keys. “Just stay on the line with me. I’m opening the door now. She probably just forgot. She’s had a lot of things on her mind.”
“Jill, you stay right where you are. I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.”
I took a step toward the door. “Don’t worry about it. I’m probably just sensitive after getting that letter.”
“I told you to stay put. I’m almost there.”
I turned around and saw Greg a few buildings down, crossing the street. The good thing about living in a small town was that no one was ever very far away. Typically, the only thing that made people late for meetings was leaving later than they needed to. Or doing one more thing at home. I waved and hung up my phone.
Between you and me, I was glad Greg had decided to come walk me through the shop. I expected to find I was right about my aunt being forgetful was the cause of the ruckus, but it didn’t hurt to have the local police detective right there, just in case. I held out my keys and he took them and unlocked the door.
“Stay out here and keep your phone handy. If anyone runs out, call nine-one-one. If you hear something weird, stay out here and call nine-one-one. If you see anything but me waving you in, stay out here and call nine-one-one. Got it?”
“Hmmm, let me think. What was that number again?”
“Fine, I insulted you, but just stay out here, okay?” He gazed into my eyes and I nodded.
“I’ll have my finger on the trigger.” I watched as he unlocked the door and handed me back the keys. “Be careful,” I whispered.
Greg nodded, and with a hand on his gun holster, opened the door and went inside. I watched as he went through the dining room, into the stacks, and then reappeared. He went into the back room, and it was a few minutes before I saw him come back and wave me inside. When I came in, I met him at the coffee bar, where he was pouring coffee into a to-go cup. We had one pot on a timer so I’d have coffee as soon as I opened.
“All clear. I went upstairs and cleared your aunt’s hallway as well.” He sipped his coffee as he walked over and studied the light switch. He picked up the phone and dialed. “Tim, can you come directly to Jill’s coffee shop and take some prints for me?”
As Greg gave Tim directions to dust not only the light switch but the front and back door handles on the shop, I grabbed some paper to tape above the handles to keep customers from touching them. I kicked a doorstop into the front door so people could just walk in.
“Good idea.” Greg nodded to the open door. “He’ll be here in about fifteen, and once he’s out of here, you can clean up the dust and get on with your day.”
“Do you think she just forgot?” I glanced upward, like I could see the apartment through the floorboards.
Greg shrugged. “You both have been through a lot the last few weeks. Still, I’d rather not assume its stress. Just in case.”
My phone rang and I jumped. “Crap, I forgot to call her back.” I accepted the call. “Hey, Greg’s here and everything is all right.”
“Well, not everything. Have Greg come upstairs a minute.”
I moved toward the back, then walked back to the door, kicking out the doorstop and locking it. “We’ll be right up.”
“You have a store to open.”
“Don’t argue with me. They can wait a few minutes for their coffee.” I hung up and nodded to the back door. “Something’s wrong upstairs.”
He hurried past me and was at Jackie’s door before I cleared the stairs. Jackie and Greg were watching me. “What’s wrong?”
“Come this way.” Jackie walked through the apartment and pointed to the open door to the patio. A red envelope was taped to the door with one word on the front: “Jackie.”
Greg pulled out a pair of latex gloves and took the envelope off the door. Then he walked over to her small table and carefully opened the seal. “Get me a plastic bag, will you?”
My aunt went to a drawer and pulled out a couple of boxes, setting them next to Greg. “Not sure what size you need.”
He smiled and picked two gallon bags. “This is fine.”
My aunt took the boxes back, then came to watch as Greg slipped the envelope into a bag and then looked at the card. It appeared to be a Valentine’s Day card. When he opened it, the signature was big on the bottom. Greg read the handwritten message aloud. “ʻI’m sorry I missed so many days. Love Ted.’”
“He’s not dead.” My aunt choked out th
e words.
I grabbed her arm. “Look at me. I was going to wait to tell you, but Doc Ames verified that Uncle Ted is dead. He knew his physician and called him. He said he personally declared him dead at the hospital. There’s no mistake.”
“Jackie, Jill’s right. I’ve talked to the people at the county records department. The death certificate was misfiled. Your husband is dead. This is a hoax.”
“So how did he know where I live?” My aunt sank into a chair. “I was so careful. I know you think I’m a silly old woman for believing, but I didn’t give the man who called any information about where I lived or what I did.”
Greg and I exchanged a look. Those were the exact questions I’d had of my letter from the Senior Project last night.
“We found a database on Ben Penn’s tablet. We think he was involved in this scam.” Greg put the card into the second envelope.
“But he’s dead. How could he have placed this card?”
Greg took out a notebook. “When was the last time you exited the apartment from this door?”
“Yesterday evening. I watered all the plants. The card wasn’t there at seven when I closed and relocked the door.”
Greg looked at me. “Jill, why don’t you go downstairs and open the shop? Tim will be showing up soon. I’ll be down as soon as I ask a few more questions. Jackie, do you need me to go downstairs and get you a cup of coffee?”
“I’m fine, but if you’re going to question me, can I go change into some clothes? I’m not used to entertaining people in my pajamas.”
A smile flickered on Greg’s face. “Of course.”
“We can talk when you’re done.” I touched my aunt’s arm. “If you need anything…”
She grimaced. “All I need is for this nightmare to be over. I’m so glad I’m going to the city tomorrow with Mary. I need a break.”
As she walked away from me into her bedroom, I heard Greg mutter, “You’re not the only one.”
I kissed him, then hurried downstairs, hoping I wasn’t making Tim—or worse, a customer—wait for their coffee.
