Memories and Murder

by Lynn Cahoon

  “Which is why you changed the locks?” Denyse challenged. “Or was there another reason?”

  “Jackie has been getting calls from a blackmailer. Changing the locks is supposed to keep out the riffraff, but I guess even that didn’t work.” My tone was flat, but I could feel my anger seeping through the words.

  “Cute. But don’t get all high and mighty with me. I’m here to help. Don’t you remember our slogan?” Denyse leaned forward. “Moving here was the worst decision I’ve made for a while. It didn’t help when that moron followed me.”

  “Are you talking about Earl or Ben?”

  The twitch in her cheek told me I’d hit the spot with my guess. I rolled my shoulders. “Or maybe both.”

  “Ben was supposed to be working the Atlanta area. Earl, I set up in Des Moines. But neither one of them could deal with being alone. You can’t overfish an area or the fish realize what’s going on and you get caught. I told them both to stay put, but they’re men. What can you expect?” She narrowed her eyes. “I came here today to try to determine if you were putting things together yet. Your aunt should have stayed put in the city. She never would have been picked up as a mark again if she’d stayed put. It’s hard to keep track of the sheep you’ve already fleeced.”

  “I was just a sheep to you? That man—he pretended to be my dead husband. Don’t you have any feelings at all?” my aunt barked out at Denyse. Apparently, she was tired of letting everything go.

  “Like I said, the idiots targeted you a second time. If they had been coordinating with me, I would have seen the duplications. Neither one of them were detail people.”

  “Were? Is Earl dead too?” I knew he was alive and probably singing like a canary. That was what happened when the woman you loved left you tied up in a hot garage. Loyalty got tested.

  “You’re awful chatty. Are you expecting your white knight to come save you?” Denyse peered at me. “What are you expecting to happen here? If you’d just kept your nose out of it, I would have been gone tomorrow and your aunt would have lived through this. Now, she’s going to have a heart attack and you’re going to die trying to save her. Maybe a fall down the stairs. We’ll start inside, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll move to the outside staircase.”

  “Don’t you have things all planned out? I’m taking this isn’t your first rodeo.”

  When she didn’t answer, I pushed. “Seriously, you’re going to kill us anyway, why not brag a little?

  “Stand up.” She waved the gun at me.

  “What?” Now I was completely confused.

  “Stand up and take off your shirt. Let me see if you’re bugged.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Paranoid much?”

  “Are you going to stand up or do I shoot your aunt in the foot? That will really hurt, and if she already has arthritis, it’s going to bother her the rest of her life.” Denyse turned the gun toward Jackie’s foot.

  “Fine, but I think you’re just getting your jollies.” I stood and pulled off the South Cove Rocks T-shirt I’d been wearing all day. I slowly spun around. “Satisfied?”

  “It makes me feel better, yes. I can’t be too careful with you. Rumor around town is you like solving murder cases. Is that to get one-up on your boyfriend? Or is he just dumb as dirt?”

  I wanted to respond, tell her that Greg was one of the smartest men I’d ever met, but it was clear the woman had a thing about being better than the men in her life. I pulled my shirt back on and sat. “I just like figuring out puzzles. But I didn’t realize you were involved in both Ben’s murder and my aunt’s phone stalker until I walked into the apartment.”

  “Really? I thought you’d figured it out today, in the shop. You looked a little off when I left. What had you concerned then?” Denyse leaned forward, watching me.

  “I was thinking about Ben and his other woman. You know, the nurse at the nursing home?” I wanted to get her angry. Maybe she would make a mistake.

  “That tramp? Who can account for where a man wants to take a drink?” She bit her lip. “Maybe I should have killed him then. That would have saved me some aggravation.”

  “I should have figured out your involvement.” I mentally slapped myself. Denyse had mentioned Jackie’s being in a Ponzi scheme. I’d never told her what happened, just that she was victimized before. That was what had been bothering me. But when Fred came and told me about Greg, that had distracted me. “Actually, it was something Greg told me. That someone at the Senior Project had said that Paula and Ben were breaking up. And then Paula admitted she’d found your love letters to her boyfriend. What? Had he broken off your relationship so you shot him?”

  “Like he’d choose that weak dishrag he was using as a place to stay over me.” Denyse looked almost offended. “No, he died because he was stupid. And because he threatened to turn me in if I didn’t increase his cut. Greedy little traitor.”

  A knock came on the back door.

  “Just be quiet,” Denyse whispered, her dark eyes showing her fury. “What is this, Grand Freaking Central?”

  The knocking continued. “Oh, Jackie, it’s Harrold. I’m here to take you to dinner and celebrate our new engagement. Don’t even pretend not to be home. I’m not going anywhere, not again.”

  Denyse closed her eyes, her teeth gritted together. “Okay, let’s move to the door. Jackie, you’d better convince him to leave better than you did this one.”

  “If you hadn’t dropped the gun and made a noise, she would have gone away.” Aunt Jackie rose slowly, and I followed suit.

  Our group of three moved over to the door, and when Jackie opened it, Harrold’s voice boomed into the room. “You’ll never get rid of me again. Not after all that we’ve been through.”

  I watched as Harrold quickly took Jackie’s arm, pulling her out onto the patio. I realized then that we were being rescued. I pushed the door shut after her and felt the gun in my side.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Denyse shouted at me.

  Before I could answer, I heard the crack of the other door and dropped to the floor. Denyse spun around, but not quickly enough, as Greg, Toby, and Tim had already come through the door and Toby had the hand holding the gun above her head. Tim was on the other side, with the left arm behind her back. I heard her scream in frustration, but I watched as Greg calmly took the gun out of her hand.

  “Cuff her and put her in the back of the squad car. Tim, you keep watch, and Toby, you go let Emma out of Jill’s car before she rips open the door.” Greg kneeled next to me. “Why am I always rescuing you?”

  “Because you love me?” I let him pull me off the floor and into a standing position. “How on earth did you know what was going on?”

  “Harrold. He came by to pick up Jackie and saw Emma in the car. She was going crazy, trying to get out and up to the patio. Harrold went up the stairs onto the patio and listened for a few minutes at the open kitchen window.” Greg pointed to the window, where the breeze was making the curtains fly. “He thought maybe you and Jackie were fighting about this whole stalker thing, but when he realized Denyse was inside, he came back down and called me.”

  “Is Emma all right?”

  The back door opened and Emma flew inside. She was pulling Toby by the leash and stopped in front of me. She jumped up, put her feet on my chest, and gave me several doggy kisses.

  “Somehow she knew you were in trouble.” Greg stroked her head and then snapped for her to get down.

  I knelt to be at her level and rubbed behind her ears. “I told her we’d go walking after dinner. I guess I took too long to get back to the car.”

  * * * *

  Emma and I were sitting in Greg’s office, waiting for him to finish up so we could go home. He didn’t want me alone after what had just happened. He’d promised me that we’d be on the road in less than fifteen minutes and had me call in an order to Diamond Lille’
s that he’d stop to pick up and then meet me at home. With all that had happened, I didn’t mind waiting for him to follow me there.

  Harrold and my aunt had decided to go to dinner anyway, which proved how much they really wanted some time together. I wasn’t going to complain. The fact that they were finally talking again made me smile. I was deep into the book I’d had tucked into my tote. It was a historical mystery by one of the top women in the mystery world. I had loved all her books, and this new one was even better than the last.

  “Miss Gardner. I’m so glad you’re all right.” Mayor Baylor stood in the doorway.

  Emma growled, and he took a step back.

  “Thank you, but I’m not speaking to you right now.” I grabbed Emma’s collar. “You and your manager’s cheap trick didn’t work. And Greg’s told you several times, he’s not running.”

  “I don’t understand. What cheap trick?”

  I set down the book and studied his face. Marvin looked truly confused. “You didn’t send Fred to talk to me?”

  “Fred said he needed to work on the survey metrics. I haven’t seen him since Wednesday.” He stepped closer, but Emma’s low growl made him pause. “Seriously, what is going on? I know you were at your aunt’s apartment when Greg apprehended the killer. That’s all I know.”

  “Fred came to see me today to tell me that Greg was having an affair with Sherry.”

  Marvin shook his head. “His ex-wife Sherry? Like that would happen.”

  “Well, Fred planted Sherry’s number on Greg and told me it was all over the City Hall gossip chain.” I watched his face as it turned from confusion to anger.

  “Believe me, if your boyfriend was stepping out on you here in the building, your friend would have put a stop to it before anyone could have told you.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe Fred did that. I mean, I’ve had to pull him back before, but he never did anything this underhanded.”

  “Well, Deek witnessed the entire conversation if you don’t believe me.” I stroked Emma’s head, trying to calm her down. “And please don’t bring him to my coffee shop; he’s been banned for life.”

  “I don’t need a witness. You misunderstood me. I’m sorry this happened and I’ll deal with Fred. He won’t bother you again.” He turned his attention to Greg, who had walked in at the end of the conversation. “Again, let me express my apologies for his actions.”

  “He’s lucky I was too busy finding a killer today because if I’d seen him, I would have had to arrest myself for assault because I was going to beat the crap out of him.” Greg moved around the mayor, sat next to me, and took my hand.

  “Fred will not be in the building again.” Mayor Baylor nodded. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen with our relationship, but he won’t be here again.”

  Greg and Marvin locked gazes, and after a few minutes, Greg nodded. “We need to go. Our dinner’s waiting for us.”

  As I walked out of the office to my Jeep, I leaned closer. “What was that last stare down about?”

  “It’s a guy thing. But Marvin knows if his guard dog ever does anything like this again, I’ll take care of it.” He opened my door and motioned Emma into my Jeep. Then he held it for me. “Go home. I’ll be right behind you.”

  As I climbed into the car, I kissed him. “Don’t forget my milkshake.”

  Chapter 23

  We’d finished dinner and were sitting outside on the front porch watching the sun set. The show seemed brighter and more beautiful, probably because of what we’d gone through. I took a sip of my beer. “So, you never told me about Earl. Denyse said he was part of her crew, but did he explain why she’d tied him up in that garage? It seems like she had to know someone would find the guy.”

  “She didn’t think the house was on the market until next Wednesday. I guess the Realtor jumped the gun and wanted to show it to a prospective buyer.” He rubbed his thumb over my hand.

  “Wait, she owned the house? Why was she selling?”

  “Her owning the house is a little iffy. Toby called and talked to the woman in the nursing home who actually owned it, and she thought Denyse was helping her sell it. She was a client of the Senior Project and said she signed a power of attorney last week. The Realtor told Tim that Denyse had a quitclaim deed, not a power of attorney.”

  “So she was stealing a house from an elderly woman in a nursing home? That’s unbelievable.”

  “I think it gets worse. I’m going to try to track down where this group was living before to see if we can get them on multiple fraud charges. Of course, there’s the actual murder charge, which Denyse says Earl did.”

  I interrupted. “And Earl’s blaming Denyse.”

  “Yep, you got it.” He finished his beer. “The bad thing is, the Senior Project may not come back from this kind of bad press. I hope Paula’s ready to be the executive director, because she and this Tessa seem to be the only two who weren’t involved.”

  I thought about all the people like my aunt who had their life savings stolen by people who should have been helping them. “I hope they are able to keep the place going. Any way to measure how much data got leaked?”

  “According to Earl, Denyse was building her group. He thought it was just the three of them. But I think the guy is trying to make it seem like less of an issue. Like they were just a little guilty.”

  Harrold’s little Smart car turned into the driveway. Greg stood to greet them. “Looks like we have visitors.”

  “I’m just glad they’re talking again.” I finished my beer.

  As Harrold and Aunt Jackie walked up the pathway, Emma’s tail beat on the wood floor of the porch.

  “Good evening, children.” Harrold handed Greg a box. “We thought we’d bring you two dessert.”

  Even though I’d finished my milkshake, I wasn’t going to say no to a dessert. “Great. Can I get you coffee?”

  “No, we’re on our way back to Jackie’s to pack an overnight bag. With the door broken, I’d feel more comfortable if she stayed with me for a few days.” He grinned. “But that’s not what we came to tell you. Jackie, do you want to say it?”

  My aunt came over and sat by me on the swing. “I’ve asked Harrold to marry me and he’s said yes. I figured because I was the one who messed up the last engagement, I needed to be the one to start the new one.”

  “I was totally blindsided.” Harrold grinned. “And flummoxed when she asked. The only thing that ruined the moment was she didn’t buy me a ring.”

  My aunt patted my hand. “Don’t you believe him. He jumped at the chance to marry me.”

  “Congratulations. Again.” I kissed her on the cheek, and Greg shook Harrold’s hand. Then Harrold gave me a hug, and I whispered in his ear, “Welcome back to the family.”

  As the men talked about the events of the day, I saw Jackie take off the silver heart necklace she’d been wearing for weeks. She dropped it in my hand and closed my fingers around it. “What are you doing?”

  “Your Uncle Ted gave that to me on our first-month anniversary. I’ve held tight to it and his memory for a long time. But now, I want to see where my life with Harrold will go. I want you to have this. I don’t have a lot of jewelry to pass on to you, but this necklace has my heart as well as your uncle’s. I hope you treasure it as I did.”

  I looked at the silver heart and tears filled my eyes. “Thank you, Aunt Jackie. I love it already.”

  My phone buzzed with an incoming message. I was going to ignore it, but my aunt picked it up from the swing where I’d set it when we came outside. “You’d better check this. It might be Deek trying to call off tomorrow. I swear, that kid doesn’t have an ounce of responsibility in him.”

  “You know that’s not true, and tomorrow is his book club. There is no way he’d call it off.” But after she gave me another glare, I opened the message and read it. “It’s from Amy. She’s decided
to have a joint bachelor and bachelorette party in Vegas. Do we want to come?”

  Greg grinned. “Justin must have learned from the conference snafu.”

  “What does that mean?” My aunt pulled her phone out of her purse as it was buzzing as well. “I got the same message.”

  “It means, we’re going to Vegas, baby!” Greg slapped Harrold on the back and my aunt and I shared a look.

  It didn’t really matter what we thought. Amy was the bride, and we were there to support her. So we were going to Vegas.

  “We may have to shut down the store,” Jackie said. “Especially if both of us will be out of state.”

  “I think the store can manage without us for a weekend.” I started to put away my phone, but another text came through.

  How are the table decorations going?

  This time, I turned off my phone and set it down. I could answer her tomorrow. Then I watched the end of the sunset surrounded by the people I loved. All was back to normal and good with the world. As it should be on a late fall evening in South Cove.

  Dear readers—If you follow me on Facebook (at LynnCahoon, Author), you know I love trying new recipes. I got this one during a cooking class held at a local grocery store. Several of my friends tried it, but reported so-so results. Definitely not the way the cookies tasted during the class. As I reviewed the recipe, I found the original recipe had too much flour listed. Changing it up, I got the perfect cookie.

  I hope the recipe works for you as well. Jill would love these cookies.

  Lynn

  Easy Almond Cookies

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  Cream the following:

  3 tbsp butter, softened

  1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

  Add in: