by Jill Sanders
He glanced out the large windows and sighed. “I heard we’re supposed to get a foot of the stuff. Our first major snowfall this season, and it’s going to be a doozy.”
She smiled. “I love it.” She frowned as he sat down and sipped his coffee. “I am going to have to do something about Tsuna, though.”
“What’s wrong with her?” he asked, glancing over at the small dog curled beside Ozzy by the heater.
“She won’t go outside in the snow. Ozzy even tried to get her to go with him, but it appears she doesn’t like to get her feet wet.”
He chuckled. “When she has to go, she’ll go.” He took another sip. “Ozzy was the same way when he was younger.”
“Really?” She walked over when the buzzer on the oven went off.
“Yeah, Tsuna will get used to it.”
Wonderful smells flooded the room when she opened the oven door, and his stomach growled loudly again. She glanced back and chuckled.
“Do you always cook like this?” he asked when she set what he thought of as a piece of artwork in front of him.
It was like a beautiful pie, the top decorated with squash, tomatoes, and bacon. The crust was twisted and there was even a flower-shaped piece of flaky crust on the top.
“No.” She frowned down at him and he could see sadness fill her eyes. She took two plates from the cabinet and set them on the table, along with silverware and napkins.
She sat down and started cutting into the quiche.
“I used to cook a lot, for Isaac, but after… It took me a while to get back at it. Even then, it wasn’t like before.” She shook her head. “I guess I enjoy cooking for someone else instead of just cooking for myself.” She set a slice of the quiche on a plate and handed it to him.
He waited until she had her own plate in front of herself before digging in. The first bite was like heaven. He’d imagined it would taste a lot like other quiches he’d had—a whole lot of egg and not a lot of seasoning—but this one had a bite to it.
“This is amazing.” He took another bite. “Is that… jalapeno and green peppers?”
She nodded. “I hope you like spicy.” She took a bite and smiled.
“I love it.” He took more. “You could probably toss in a dozen jalapenos and I’d still be happy.”
She was silent, and he could tell she was thinking about something he’d said. Wondering if he’d offended her, he jumped in.
“Did I say something to upset you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “It’s just… Isaac couldn’t stand spicy foods. I once made chicken enchiladas and he didn’t even take a bite.”
“His loss. I bet they were amazing. Just like this.” To make his point, he reached for another piece but grunted when pain shot up his ribs.
“Let me.” She scooped him another slice of the quiche.
“This is going to drive me crazy,” he said as he sipped his coffee.
“What? Being waited on?” She smiled slightly.
“No, not being able to move.”
“You’ll just have to fill your time with other things. We have a lot of books in the library.”
He thought of spending the next few days lying around and sighed. “I guess I was due a vacation. I had hoped to spend it someplace tropical. You know, scantily clad women in bathing suits and a tropical drink in hand.” He smiled at her as she chuckled.
“We can crank up the heat and I can make us some margaritas,” she suggested.
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Got any sexy swimsuits?”
She laughed this time and he enjoyed the sound and the sight of her relaxing. His phone rang and when he saw the chief’s number, he sighed and stood up. “I’ll take this in the other room.”
Her smile and the laughter behind her eyes were gone as he left the room. He knew that all the memories of last night and the body they’d found rushed into her mind, just as it had his own.
“Morning,” he answered once he was out of earshot. “What’s the news?”
“Positive ID on Nat Willis. ID confirmed by a tattoo he had. The coroner has ruled out suicide, even though the gun was found in his hands.”
“How did he do that?” he asked.
“Willis was left handed, the gun was in his right hand,” Deter explained.
Sawyer sighed. “Murder.” He turned back towards the kitchen. He could hear Rose cleaning up after their breakfast. “Any clue who wanted him dead and why they were on Rose’s land?”
“None. You’re sure you were with Mrs. Clayton at the time of the shot?” Deter asked.
“Yes.” He knew Rose was still on the suspect list in her husband’s murder, but the chief had too many unanswered problems with her involvement.
Even Deter thought Rose should be cleared of Isaac’s murder. After all, his plane had taken off from the small airport on the morning of the seventh, and the workers confirmed that Rose had been at the house that morning, watching them pour the cement for the wall that would enclose her husband’s body for over a year.
The other questions weren’t so simple. The plane was reported going down over the Atlantic on the eighth. If Rose was the one flying it, she had plenty of time to jump from the plane during the storm, but unless she had a boat waiting for her, there was no way she would have gotten back home in time for her to be home when Carson and Sawyer had shown up at her door to inform her of Isaac’s death.
Unless Rose was working with someone else, the chief and the detective had already ruled out her direct involvement with Isaac’s death. Still, more questions flooded his mind with the new death. From the sound of the questions, Sawyer wondered if Deter was checking his whereabouts. After all, they were pretty sure it was Willis who had attacked him.
“Then we’ll have to assume Willis was on her land to meet someone else and that meeting turned deadly.” The chief was silent for a moment. “You said the guy that jumped you was big?’
Instantly, Sawyer’s mind jumped to the same place. “Yeah. I’d like to see another picture of Willis if you can send me…” His phone beeped.
“Just shot one to you.” Deter said.
“You’re quick.” He flipped his phone out and looked at the man. The height and weight matched Sawyer’s general impression of his attacker. Even though he hadn’t seen his face, the man in the mug shot could have easily been the man who’d jumped him. “I can’t be certain, but yeah, he fits the description.”
“I’ll have the guy’s check for steel-toed boots, see if we can swab them for your blood. I’ll get back to you soon.” The chief hung up.
“Was it Willis?” Rose asked from the doorway.
He turned, then nodded. “Yes, and we’re pretty sure he was the one who jumped me.”
“Why?” She shook her head. “Why attack you then…” She frowned. “It was suicide, right?”
For a moment, he thought about keeping the new information from her but then decided against it.
“No.” He sat down in front of the fire she’d built earlier that morning. “The gun was placed in his right hand. Willis was left handed.”
She sat down next to him. “Who would want him dead?”
“Maybe someone who was pulling the strings? How much did you know about Willis?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t even remember his name until you mentioned it last night.” Tsuna jumped on her lap, and she pet the small dog absently. “There were about six workers that used to help around here. The only one I ever talked to was RJ. Mostly, before the wall was built, Isaac dealt with them. After… I only talked to RJ. Who would murder someone on my land?” she asked, looking over at him.
“That is the question of the day.” He hated to say the next part but knew that it needed to be spoken. “My guess is the same person who murdered your husband.”
Fifteen
A visitor…
Sawyer’s statement kept playing over in Rose’s head as she got ready for Julie’s visit. She freshened the sheets on the bed and made sure the
re were fresh towels and plenty of soap in the bathroom.
When she was done with that, she climbed the stairs and double-checked the artwork she wanted to show her. After almost an hour of fretting over it, she gave up and went downstairs to make a quick lunch for her and Sawyer.
For his part, Sawyer had been resting in the library. He’d built a fire there, curled up on the sofa with the dogs, and had fallen asleep reading a book. When she woke him for lunch and to take his pills, he told her he was contemplating taking a walk with the dogs after lunch.
Deciding to go with him, she pulled on a jacket and her snow boots. Two steps out of the back door, Tsuna whined and she bent to pick up the small dog.
“You baby her too much.” Sawyer chuckled. Ozzy ran around the backyard, playing in the new snow. At one point, the top of his head disappeared under the fresh powder.
“See, Ozzy’s having fun,” she told Tsuna, who only shivered in her arms and tried to bury her head in her scarf. “Maybe I should buy her a sweater,” she wondered when Tsuna’s shaking continued as they walked away from the house. Sawyer picked the path that led towards the cliffs that overlooked the beach area and the boathouse she hardly ever used. Isaac had purchased a sailboat only weeks after moving in. He’d paid the men extra to get the boathouse fixed up for it and, since Isaac’s death, the sailboat had sat, dry docked and forgotten.
Willis’ body had been found in the opposite direction of the path they were on and she was thankful that Sawyer had picked the path to avoid the area. It had been hard to get the image of Willis’ dead body out of her mind last night. She’d spent a few hours trying to flush it from of her memory.
“How are you feeling?” she asked when they stood over the hillside looking out over Lake Erie. The snow was still falling, but not as hard as it had been earlier that morning. The grey sky caused the waters to darken. She could see that another storm was coming towards them and would probably hit later that evening.
“Tired. Like a child ready for another nap.” He sighed and turned back to the house. “I hope your friend makes it here okay,” he said as they began to head back. “It looks like we’re in for another storm.”
“Julie left early this morning.” She glanced down at her watch, shifting the small dog, who was now tucked inside her heavy winter jacket. Ozzy was still racing around like he was having the time of his life. “She texted me about an hour ago and told me she was two hours out. She said that she had rented a large SUV with four-wheel-drive, so she should be okay. She lived in Alaska for a few years in high school. Her dad was stationed at a military base up there.” She smiled, remembering the pictures Julie had shown her from the small town near Anchorage. “I always wanted to go up there to visit.”
“What stopped you?” he asked as they approached the house.
She shrugged. “Isaac was too busy, and he didn’t think it was wise for me to take the trip up there by myself.”
He was silent, and she could tell he wanted to say more. Before he had a chance, they saw the patrol car parked in the front of the house.
“The chief wanted to fill me in on a few things,” he assured her.
She could tell he was slightly out of breath and the short walk in the deep snow had probably exerted him too much. “I’ll start a pot of coffee.” She stomped the snow from her boots on the patio and greeted the chief.
Setting the tiny dog down inside, she removed her boots, scarf, and coat, placing them all in their designated locations. Then she disappeared into the kitchen to start some coffee. She placed some cookies and crackers on a tray and carried them out to the great room. When she noticed the men standing by the fireplace, she was reminded she needed to put all her furniture back in place. Sawyer had built another fire and the men were warming themselves against it.
Setting the tray down, she poured them each a cup of coffee and motioned towards the sofa. “Do you have time to sit?”
“No,” the chief said with a sigh. “I have just enough time for a cup and maybe a few of those cookies.”
“Well?” she asked. Both men turned towards her. “Any news?”
The chief looked at Sawyer. “I’ll let him fill you in on what we found out about Willis. As far as your husband’s case…” He took up a cookie she offered and bit into it. She waited as he swallowed and took another drink of the coffee. “We’re looking into a few leads.”
“Such as?”
“There are five people who knew or worked with your husband who have their pilot license,” he answered.
“Five?” She shook her head.
“Your father-in-law, your stepbrother, your neighbor Boone Schneller, a coworker of your husband’s at the office by the name of Ray Gardezi, and…”—the chief glanced between them—“Kristy Owens.” Rose stiffened.
Isaac’s mistress hadn’t had anything new to say lately. All the interviews she was taking had the same questions and answers as if she’d run out of new angles or stories to tell. Rose knew she was still in town, which is why she was having her groceries delivered. Still, the woman’s face was all over the news. So much so that Rose hadn’t turned on the television in days.
“She… can fly?” Rose asked.
The chief nodded. “She learned for a part in a movie called Bleached, where she was an undercover pilot in Hawaii.”
“Wasn’t that for helicopters?” Sawyer asked.
“Yes, but she underwent both small engine and helicopter training, not to mention parachuting,” the chief answered. “We’re looking into all five of the suspects deeper, looking for proof of where they were the morning of your husband’s disappearance.”
“What about RJ?” she asked.
The chief shook his head. “He was cleared; the man had shown up the morning the cement was poured half an hour late. Plus, he can’t fly.”
“So, does that mean I’m off the list of suspects?” Rose asked. Her mind was still whirling slightly from the list of names.
“Not officially, but you’re off my list, if that counts for anything.” The chief smiled at her.
She smiled back. “It does, thank you.” She handed him the plate of cookies and he took a few more.
Then he surprised them by saying. “Now, I’ve got to get back out there. Miss Owens is leaving town today.”
Rose felt a huge relief wash over her. “She is?”
He nodded. “The media has died down since the storm hit and a new Hollywood scandal broke last night, so she’s flying back to New York and we get to babysit her trip to the airport. I miss the old days when the biggest call we had was for an illegally parked car.”
“Or the Goldstein and Tibbs feud,” Sawyer added. The chief chuckled and pointed at him with his half-eaten cookie. “How did that one turn out by the way?”
“Tibbs doesn’t remember a thing other than walking into his house and getting stabbed. The Goldsteins are denying any part in it and claim it was probably a drug deal gone bad.” The chief sighed. Then he glanced at Sawyer again. “How are you feeling? Is she taking care of you?”
“I’m getting there. If Rose keeps feeding me like she is, I’ll be coming back to work ten pounds heavier than before.”
The chief chuckled. “Enjoy it while you can. You won’t get cookies like this at the station.”
“I can pack you up some. I made two dozen the other night and have a bag of them in the freezer.”
“I won’t say no to free cookies.” He set his mug down. “You two stay warm. We’re supposed to get more snow tonight, possibly even another foot.”
As the chief left, she thought about everything he’d said. Turning away from the door, she took the empty plate and coffee mugs back to the kitchen.
“I hate to say it, but I think I’m going to head upstairs and rest,” Sawyer said. She noticed that he was still out of breath, his eyes were a little red, and he was looking pale again.
“Go, and take Tsuna and Ozzy with you.” She nodded to the two sleeping dogs. “I’m going to start pre
pping for dinner.”
Sawyer nodded and then snapped his fingers and both dogs followed him out of the room.
She waited until he was gone before walking back into the living room. Glancing around, she imagined a new way to decorate the room with some of the furniture she already had.
Instead of the sofa sitting in front of the fireplace, she pulled it a few feet away and turned it. Then she rolled out a cream and burgundy hand-knotted rug from Finland in the space in front of the sofa, directly in front of the fireplace. She carried two cream-colored wing-back chairs from the office and faced them towards the sofa. She set one of the two end tables between the chairs. The other one went on the right of the sofa, away from the fireplace. She had to drag in the heavy matching coffee table and set it over the rug, between the chairs and the sofa.
Then she tossed two throw blankets over the arms of the chairs and a larger one over the end of the sofa.
Standing back, she smiled at the functionality of the room. Now several people could sit in front of the fireplace and enjoy its warmth while they all could see one another.
Glancing at her watch, she pulled out her phone and checked for messages from Julie. Seeing none, she texted quickly.
-Hope you are safe, take your time, it’s supposed to snow more.
She was surprised when she got an instant reply.
-I’m an hour out. Stopped for gas. Driving is going well, I’ll see you soon.
-Okay, don’t eat, I’m cooking.
-Duh! I can’t wait to have another Rose Clayton homemade meal. Getting back on the road, adios.
One hour, Rose thought. She’d already planned a meal for tonight but hadn’t pulled out the wine yet.
She glanced at the basement door as she passed by. Nope, not ready yet. She veered into the kitchen and started meal preparation.
Tonight’s dinner was a caprese chicken breast. She took her time cutting the vegetables and making the basil pesto sauce. Once the chicken was in the oven and the wild rice and steamed vegetables were ready to cook, she turned her attention to the avocado salad, making the dressing and adding in the fresh ingredients.
