“Oh, hello, Brigid,” he said. “Please, come in.”
“Thanks, Henri. I just want to tell you how sorry I am for your loss. Do you have a minute to talk to me, if that isn’t too much trouble? Lucy was my best friend, and I know there were a few things bothering her lately. I thought you might be able to help me.” Brigid didn’t want to be too direct, but she knew if she wasn’t direct, she didn’t think Henri would answer honestly.
“Of course. I just made some tea. Would you like a cup?” Henri asked as he turned and began busying himself getting cups from the kitchen cabinet after Brigid nodded affirmatively. She pulled a chair out from the kitchen table and sat down.
“Thank you,” she said as he handed her a warm cup of tea. She took a sip. She didn’t know any other way to say it, so she decided to come out with it. “I really don’t know how to say this Henri, so I might as well just say what I’m thinking. Lucy had suspected you were having an affair. Is it true?”
“Ah well, you see…” he began before pausing. “Yes, it’s true. Our marriage wasn’t the best. I will admit that. We’d drifted so far apart, I was certain there was no going back. It felt more like we were roommates, or that she was my boss rather than my wife. We barely even shared a bed. There was a woman in France I’d been seeing when I met Lucy, all those years ago. She found me on Facebook, and we started having conversations. One thing led to another.
“A year ago she came to the United States, and we reconnected,” he said with a shrug. “You know how those things go. In France it is very common to have a mistress, but I don’t think Lucy would have accepted such an arrangement. I’m not sure what would have happened to our marriage if Lucy hadn’t been murdered. I didn’t know what my future held while she was alive, and I don’t know any more now that she is dead.” He looked away from Brigid, as if he couldn’t directly meet the eyes of Lucy’s friend.
“Yes, I’m sure this is a confusing time for you,” Brigid said softly. “What do you think you’re going to do?” She couldn’t imagine being in Henri’s shoes. While she didn’t approve of his actions, she really didn’t think he’d meant for Lucy to get hurt, much less murdered.
“I think I may eventually return to France. Even after all these years, I still consider it my home. My heart is there. America is not where I want to spend the rest of my life. I will keep the B & B going for a while, for Lucy’s sake. Beyond that, I doubt I will stick around.” He held his hands up, looking around the kitchen. “Really, there is no reason for me to stay.”
“I hate to ask you this, Henri, but where were you when Lucy was murdered?” Brigid already knew from the telephone call she’d overheard, but she wanted to see if he kept his story straight.
He looked embarrassed and said, “I was with my lover, Joelle. Her cat escaped out the door when we were coming back from dinner. We were out in front of her house looking for him when her neighbor arrived home. He helped us find the cat. It had made its way over into his yard and was sleeping in one of the flower pots on his patio. I made sure I wrote the neighbor’s name and phone number down after what happened to Lucy. He can verify that we were both there.”
“Good. I may need to talk to Joelle, though. You see, Deputy Davis has asked me to help him with the murder investigation, and I want to do it for Lucy,” Brigid said. Joelle would probably say the same thing Henri had, but she felt that she’d be remiss if she didn’t check it out. After all, wasn’t that what the private investigators did in the murder mysteries she edited?
“Please don’t, Brigid. I’d really prefer to keep our affair quiet. It would not reflect well on Lucy. She wouldn’t have wanted people to know that sort of thing. I’ll be happy to give you the information about the witness. Please, for Lucy’s sake.” Henri looked at her with pleading eyes.
Brigid was quiet for a moment as she debated whether she should talk to Joelle. She took another drink of tea to buy herself some time before she answered. “All right, Henri. I agree. Lucy would probably not want this made public. Let me have the information about the witness, so I can pass it along to the sheriff's deputy. Maybe we can keep Lucy’s memory from being tainted by your actions,” she said in a disapproving tone of voice. Brigid planned on telling Deputy Davis everything. If he felt Joelle needed to be interviewed, he would have to be the one to call her.
“Thank you. Here, let me give you the contact information I have for the neighbor.” He took his phone out of his pocked and opened it. He wrote down the name, address, and phone number on a piece of paper and passed it across the table to Brigid. “I truly hope the killer is caught quickly. According to the deputy I talked to, Lucy didn’t suffer for very long, and for that I’m grateful, if one can be grateful to a murderer. He said her death was relatively quick. She probably didn’t even have time to understand what was happening to her.”
“I sincerely hope so,” Brigid said softly. “I’m still having trouble believing something like this could happen in Cottonwood Springs.”
“I know, I’ll be wondering about everyone I see until they find out who did it.” Henri looked down into his cup, and Brigid noticed he looked exhausted. Most likely he didn’t sleep much last night, because he felt guilty for not being here when the killer attacked and smothered Lucy. Brigid thought. He was with his lover, how ironic.
“I’ll be going now. Thanks for the tea,” Brigid said as she stood up and smiled at him. He stood up as well, looking like he might fall asleep on his feet. “Henri, let me give you a little advice. Try and get some sleep, you look like you could use it.” She turned and started to walk out the door.
He nodded. “I think I will. All the guests are gone, and I have nothing else to do right now.” Henri blamed himself for Lucy’s murder. If he’d been home, she’d still be alive. He’d known that the affair he was having was wrong, but it never occurred to him anything would happen to Lucy while she was in the safety of their home. Even though he’d fallen out of love with her, that didn’t mean he wanted to see her hurt. In his own way, he still cared for her, even if it wasn’t outwardly evident.
Brigid stepped into the afternoon sunlight, but she still felt chilled. Henri and his lover were off the short list of suspects, which was a good thing. Although it meant her friend hadn’t been murdered by her unfaithful husband or his lover, it still meant the murderer was at large in the community of Cottonwood Springs.
The thought that it could be anyone struck Brigid as she got back in her car. Driving down the road, she paid special attention to everyone she saw, people out walking, people driving in their cars, everyone. Was Lucy’s killer someone she’d grown up with? Or maybe it had been someone passing through Cottonwood Springs. Brigid couldn’t understand what the motive might have been. She couldn’t think of any situation where killing someone would seem like the only option, and especially someone like Lucy who was always ready to help anyone who needed it. Who would want to murder someone like Lucy?
CHAPTER 16
As she was driving away from the B & B, Brigid felt conflicted. On one hand she was glad her friend hadn’t been murdered by her husband or his lover. That would have been entirely too heartbreaking. But on the other hand, knowing that her friend’s husband had been having an affair that would have hurt her friend deeply didn’t make her feel very good. Now that she could pretty much cross Henri and Joelle off the suspect list, it was time to visit another possible suspect.
Jett woke up just as they were pulling into Linc’s driveway. When Linc stepped out of the front door, Jett began to get excited, jumping and barking in the back seat. The dog was so big, the car rocked with the weight of his body moving around.
“Jett, calm down,” Brigid said with a laugh as she climbed out of the car and opened the back door for Jett. He launched himself, whining and barking, off the seat and rushed towards Linc, who had to be careful not to get bowled over by the big, excited dog.
“Hey, boy, I’m happy to see you too,” he said as he greeted the dog, making sure his fe
et were firmly planted. He looked over at Brigid. “How did everything go?” he asked as he tried to calm Jett down.
“Not too bad,” she said, watching the two play for a moment before they turned towards her car. “I think we can safely mark two possible suspects off the list.”
Linc opened the back door for Jett, and then he got in the front seat. “Who’s that?” he asked after Brigid got behind the wheel and they were in the process of fastening their seatbelts.
As she started the car, she said, “Henri and his girlfriend. Apparently, he’s been having an affair with some woman named Joelle that he knew from years ago when he lived in France. Both of them have a solid alibi. They were returning to her home after dinner when her cat ran out the front door. While they were searching for it, a neighbor pulled up and helped them find the cat. Henri told me the neighbor can verify they were there at the time Lucy was murdered. What do you think?”
“I think it’s a pretty good sign they aren’t the killers, but it doesn’t make him look very good. What he was doing is pretty sleazy. Nobody likes a cheat, particularly a man who was cheating on his wife at the very time she was murdered.” Linc sighed. “That’s really sad. So where did you tell me we are headed out to and why?”
Brigid looked over at him and smiled. “We’re going to see Ouray Smith. He’s the Native American guy you told me you saw at the B & B when you were staying there. We’re going to try and find out where he was when Lucy was murdered.”
“Brigid, let me ask you something,” Linc said as he turned in his seat to face her. “You’ve had a little time to think about it now. Who do you think did it?”
“I’m not really sure,” Brigid mused. “I probably would have thought it was Henri or Joelle. That would make the most sense. Either one of them could have felt that the only way for them to be together was for something bad to happen to Lucy. Besides, isn’t that usually the case?” Brigid paused, thinking of the books she’d edited. It was often the spouse or a lover who committed the crime.
“Deputy Davis said the handyman at the B & B was a suspect, but that doesn’t feel right to me. Just because he’s into drugs doesn’t necessarily make him a killer, and since he was working for Lucy, why would he want to kill her?”
Linc thought about it for a moment, “Maybe she threatened to turn him in or fire him?” He shrugged his shoulders. “What kind of drugs does he supposedly do?”
“I guess he sells meth and most likely does it, too.” Brigid leaned on the door as she thought more about the possibility of him being a suspect.
“Well if it’s true that he’s doing meth, you never know what he could be capable of. From what I understand, some people on that stuff go days without sleeping. They almost lose their minds. If he was strung out, and she said the wrong thing one time…” Linc let his sentence trail off.
“I suppose that’s true. I just don’t know much about drugs,” she said.
“I watch a lot of true crime shows,” Linc said as he looked at the passing scenery. “The way people mess up their lives just fascinates me.” They lapsed into silence for a few minutes before he started talking again. “Anyone else on your list of possible suspects?”
“Let’s see,” Brigid said as she thought about the possible suspects. “We have the husband, his lover, the handyman, Ouray, who we’re going to check out now…” she paused for a moment. “Oh yeah, and a woman that Lucy testified against in a criminal case years ago.”
“Lucy testified against someone?” Linc asked. “What was that all about?”
“The way I understand it,” Brigid began, “is this woman was embezzling money from the ski resort. Fiona’s husband, Brandon, who is the manager of the ski resort, asked Lucy if she could help them figure out what was up with their books. They’d found some discrepancies, and she was always really good with figures. Once she went through them, Lucy figured out where the money was going and told her brother, the sheriff. The woman was arrested for embezzlement, found guilty, and sent to prison.”
“Whoa,” Linc said, “but if she’s in prison, how could she be the killer?”
“Here’s the thing. A couple of years ago, Lucy had a couple who were staying at her B & B, and they became good friends. The husband happened to be a guard at the prison where this woman was serving her prison term. They had a conversation one night about crimes that had happened in Cottonwood Springs. It’s a small world. The guard knew the woman Lucy had testified against. Lucy had been worried she might try to get even with her when she got out of prison, and the guard said he’d let her know if she was released on parole. He called not too long ago and told Lucy that the woman had been released from prison.”
“I can understand why Lucy was worried. I would have been too,” Linc said.
“I sure would think so, and it seems with good reason.” Brigid rolled her shoulders, feeling the tension there. “That’s the list of possible suspects for now, Linc. I really don’t see Ouray as being the murderer, but he still needs to be checked out.”
“I agree.” said Linc. “Some ancient Native American artifacts don’t seem like a reason to commit murder, but just read the papers or listen to the news. People have sure killed over less.”
A little later they pulled up outside a tiny unkempt house that looked as if it was abandoned. White paint had long since faded and begun to chip. One window was boarded up while another had the shutter dangling from it at an odd angle. The yard was overgrown with weeds and large dead rose bushes lined the front of the house. Brigid double-checked the address to make sure they were at the right place.
She put the car in park and leaned back. “According to the address Fiona gave me, this should be the place.” Brigid leaned over and they both looked out the passenger side window, neither one of them too anxious to walk up to the house. It was depressing to look at, and there was nothing welcoming about it.
“Well, as long as we’re here, we might as well see if he’s home,” Linc said. When they were out of the car, Linc looked back at Jett and said, “Think Jett better get out too. At the very least, he can stretch his legs. Hopefully, he’ll get the hint that we’d like him to commune with nature, too.”
When Jett was finished, the three of them walked up the uneven walkway to the front door. Weeds were growing through the cracks, and Brigid and Linc had to be careful not to trip. The closer they got to the house, the worse it looked. The windows were so dirty Brigid doubted that any light could get in. The other houses along the street were just as small but looked well taken care of. The lawns were freshly mowed and children were playing outside.
While Linc was knocking on the door an older brown sedan pulled into the driveway next door. A man got out of the car and said in a loud voice, “He’s not home.” He began to take grocery bags from the back seat.
“Excuse me?” Brigid said. She stepped away from the house and took a few steps towards where the man was standing.
“You lookin’ for Ouray?” the man asked. When Brigid nodded, he continued, “He’s not home. Left early this mornin’ for a tribal meetin’ in Ignacio. He goes every month, although he almost didn’t go today. He was pretty worried about it last night.”
“Why’s that?” Linc asked as he joined Brigid.
The man set his bags on the trunk of his car and walked to the side of his driveway. “Well, his truck’s been givin’ him trouble lately. Just not runnin’ right. He’s no mechanic, I can tell you that, so I came over to help him out a bit. Took a while, but we finally got it runnin’ right. He just needed to re-set his lifters. Took most of the night, but she was purring like a kitten by the time we were done.” The man smiled and crossed his arms, obviously proud of the work he’d done.
“So he was here last night?” Brigid asked. She and Linc walked back down the walkway and up the man’s driveway, not wanting to walk through the dead grass and weeds in Ouray’s front yard. Jett followed them, staying close to Brigid.
“Sure was. I got home about 4:00 yes
terday afternoon, and I saw him messin’ with his truck in the driveway. I could tell he was having problems, ‘cuz he was cussing a blue streak.” The man chuckled. “He told me what the truck was doin’, so I went in and changed my clothes before I started helpin’ him. We worked on that old truck until about 10:00 last night. I know it was that late because when I finally got inside, the 10 o’clock news was just comin’ on the TV. Watch it every night.”
“What’s Ouray like?” Brigid asked. She was trying to get a picture of the man who had been harassing her friend. Was he just temperamental or was he capable of murder?
“Guy’s intense, I’ll tell you that. He’s a member of the Ute tribe and says he’s a descendant of Chief Ouray himself. I guess that’s who he’s named after. Anyway, he’s got a real hot button for folks who collect Native American artifacts, more specifically Ute artifacts. Thinks every Native American item is sacred and should be returned to its tribe.” The man sighed, “Well I better get goin’. Wish I could talk more, but today’s my day off and I promised my wife I’d cook supper. Been a pleasure talkin’ to you,” he said as he picked up the grocery bags. “Want me to give Ouray a message?”
Linc looked over at Brigid, but she shook her head, “No, thanks. I think you answered our questions. Good luck with supper.” She smiled at the man. He began to whistle as he headed toward his front door, and the three of them walked back to Brigid’s car.
CHAPTER 17
“It looks like Ouray has an alibi, don’t you agree?” Linc asked as Brigid pulled away from the rundown house that he called home.
“Sure seems to. If he was here working on a broken-down truck until 10:00 last night, there’s no way he could have been in Cottonwood Springs to murder Lucy. It’s pretty cut and dried. So he’s another person who can be crossed off the suspect list,” Brigid sighed. “My suspect list is getting short fairly quickly.”
Debut Cozy Mystery Box Set 2 Page 35
