by Kathi Daley
I called Cody to let him know I wasn’t going in to work but still wanted to go to town to begin our investigation. He still thought it was a good idea for me to ride in with him because my car was so temperamental. I could drop him off at the newspaper and use his truck to make my stops.
“I hear we’re supposed to get another two to three inches of rain today,” Cody said as we carefully made our way along the partially flooded peninsula road.
“We should stop at the market to pick up whatever we need just in case the road floods and we can’t get out for a few days. Are Banjo and Summer planning to stay with Mr. Parsons again?”
“I spoke with them this morning and they agreed to stay with him until the storm passes. For one thing, his home is much safer than the hut they live in. If Tara plans to come back for the sleuthing meeting tonight she should plan to stay over. Based on the weather report, the worst of the storm is supposed to hit at around six o’clock this evening.”
“We should be sure to get back to the peninsula by then.”
“I have some things to do this morning, but I should be free by lunch.”
After dropping Cody at the newspaper I headed to Shells and Sunshine, the souvenir shop Pam Wilkins owned and operated. I wasn’t sure if she’d be open on a day like this, but it wouldn’t hurt to head to Harthaven in any case. My mom and Cassie lived in a condo there, and I wanted to check in with them to make sure they had everything they needed if they had to wait out the storm.
Pam had been singing in the adult choir at St. Patrick’s since I was a child. Thea had been a member of the church for at least as long but had only joined the choir about five years ago. When the woman who had been directing the choir for the past twenty years stepped down, it seemed no one was interested in taking her place, but after at least a month without a director, Pam had stepped up and said she would do it, which seemed to have prompted Thea to put her name in for it as well. Both women were interviewed, and in the end, Thea was chosen over Pam. I could see why the decision might have angered Pam, although I didn’t think she would go so far as to kill Thea over it. Still, she was on our list of people to interview, so I may as well talk to her.
“Afternoon, Pam,” I greeted her as I walked through the door to her shop. “I wasn’t sure you would be open today with all the rain.”
“I came in to do some paperwork I need to get to the accountant today, but I haven’t had a single customer all morning, so I’m thinking about going home and settling in with a cup of hot tea and the trashy romance novel I recently purchased.”
“It does seem like a good day to snuggle in by the fire. It’s just sprinkling now, but I hear the rain is supposed to pick up by noon, and then the storm is supposed to intensify by dinnertime.”
“I guess I will go ahead and close, then. There’s no use sitting here by myself all day. Can I get you anything before I turn off the cash register?”
“Actually, the reason I’m here is to talk to you about Thea Blane.”
“Thea and I are no longer friends, so I doubt I can provide any information you might be looking for regarding her.”
I hesitated, unsure how to break the news that Thea was dead. “It sounds as if you haven’t heard about Thea. I don’t suppose a lot of people have. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I’m afraid she’s dead.”
Pam’s mouth fell open. Based on the shocked expression on her face, I felt she hadn’t been the one to kill her.
“Dead? How did she die? And when?” Pam asked.
“I found her body yesterday. I don’t know exactly when she died, but it appeared to me that she’d been gone for at least a day or two.”
Pam’s eyes grew big as the news really hit her. “You know, she wasn’t at church on Sunday. I thought it was odd that she hadn’t even bothered to call to let anyone know she was unable to attend, given the fact that she had the choir to lead and a solo to sing.”
“Had Thea said anything to you that might explain her death?”
Pam shook her head. “Like I said, we aren’t friends anymore. I haven’t had a conversation with her since she basically stole the role of choir director right out from under me.”
“When was the last time you saw her?”
“She was at choir practice on Tuesday of last week. Normally, we practice on Tuesday and Thursday, but there was an evening activity at the elementary school that quite a few of the choir members wanted to attend, so the Thursday practice was canceled. And then, like I said, she didn’t show up for service on Sunday.”
“Do you happen to know where Thea has been temping?”
Pam shook her head. “Again, she and I were no longer friends. We don’t talk like we once did. I do know she’d been moving around quite a bit lately. She mentioned to the choir that she might miss the Thursday practice several weeks ago because she was working for an accounting firm that was open late on Thursdays during tax season. I don’t know if she was still with them or not. You might ask Kim Pemberton. They were friends. I know they had lunch a couple of times a week.”
“I planned to speak to Kim this afternoon. Can you think of anyone else Thea was close to?” I asked.
“I know she volunteered at the library, so you might talk to Gigi Smith. And I saw her at O’Malley’s with Jared Pitman last week. I don’t know for certain they were on a date, but they seemed chummy. Of course, Thea was the sort to be chummy with a lot of men, if you know what I mean.”
“I do and thank you. I’ll speak to both of them. If you hear anything or think of anything else, please call me.”
“I will. I’ve been furious with Thea ever since the choir fiasco, but I’m sorry to hear she passed. Do you suspect foul play?”
“While I haven’t had confirmation of cause of death, that’s what Finn suspects.”
“If someone hurt her, I hope you find out who it was and make them pay.”
I left Pam’s store and went to check on Mom and Cassie. Their condo was inland from the sea, so I wasn’t really worried about storm surge in their case, but I wanted to be sure they had all the supplies they’d need should the storm intensify. When I arrived I found Cassie home alone.
“Gabe came by and took Mom to the store,” Cassie said. Gabe Williams was my mom’s boyfriend, although it felt strange for me to refer to anyone as Mom’s boyfriend. My mom and Gabe, a widower, seemed to be moving toward a long-term arrangement and I wouldn’t be surprised to find them married after Cassie headed off to college in the fall.
“I’m glad. I know Mom doesn’t like to drive in the rain, so I wanted to be sure the two of you had what you needed before the storm got worse.” I glanced at the kitchen table. “It looks like you’ve been researching colleges again.”
Cassie sighed, then let out a long groan. I could sense her frustration. “I need to make a decision about where to go by the end of the month. Even though I’ve done a ton of research I can’t seem to commit. One college has a better academic program, while another has a better location. And then, when I factor in things like where my friends are going or how close to home I’ll be, the whole thing seems overwhelming. I wish there was a clear choice.”
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. If push comes to shove, you can always flip a coin,” I teased.
“It might come down to that. I’ve even considered staying here on the island and getting a job.”
“I think you’ll be happy to have a degree in the long run.”
Cassie lifted a brow. “Really? You didn’t go to college. Aiden didn’t go to college. And Danny didn’t go to college. In fact, only Siobhan has a degree.”
“That’s true. But these days a college degree can open doors that will be closed to you any other way.”
Cassie leaned a hip on the corner of the sofa. “Are you happy?”
I narrowed my gaze. “What do you mean?”
“Happy. Are you generally satisfied with your life and the direction it’s taken?”
“Yes, of course I’m h
appy.”
“Have you ever once found yourself wishing you’d left the island and gone to college?”
I took a deep breath. “No,” I admitted. “But I’m a homebody. It never occurred to me to leave after high school. I can’t imagine living anywhere else.” I paused. “Are you serious about not wanting to go to college?”
Cassie shrugged. “Maybe. I’d be a lot more serious about it if I didn’t feel like my not going would ruin Mom’s plans.”
I sat down on the edge of the sofa. “What do you mean, ruin her plans?”
Cassie sat down next to me. “When you graduated high school, Aunt Maggie remodeled the summer cabin so you could stay on the island and move out of the house. My problem is, I know Mom and Gabe are just waiting for me to head off to college so they can move in together. They haven’t said as much, but I can tell that’s what they’re thinking by reading between the lines of other things they’ve said. I know Mom’s been somewhat discontented since the house burned down and Aiden moved out. I want her to be happy, and it seems the only way for her to be that way is for me to go to college, freeing her from any obligation she might feel toward me.”
I took Cassie’s hand in mine. “I’m not going to tell you what to do. This is a decision you need to make yourself. But going to college so Mom can marry Gabe shouldn’t be your only reason to go. If you decide, after taking everything into account, that you don’t want to go away to school, we’ll figure something out. Tara has an extra room I suspect she’d be happy to rent to you temporarily, and when Cody and I get married I’ll be moving in with him and the cabin will be free. I can’t speak for Maggie, but I don’t see why she’d mind if you moved in after I moved out.”
Cassie smiled and hugged me. “Thanks, Cait. I have a lot more thinking to do, but it helps knowing I have options if I decide to stay.”
I hugged Cassie back hard, then pulled away slightly. “Do you have any idea what you might want to do if you did stay?”
“No, and that’s part of the problem. It’s not like I have a grand plan for my life. I’ll need to take some time to really figure it out.”
“It’s hard. I didn’t have a grand plan after high school either. In fact, I pretty much just floated around from one job to another until Tara and I came up with the idea for the bookstore.”
“Speaking of the bookstore, why aren’t you there? Is it closed today?”
“Leaky roof. Tara has someone coming out to fix it, but I wouldn’t want to be out fixing a roof on a day like today.”
Cassie glanced out the window. “It seems like the rain is tapering off.”
“It is, temporarily. It’s supposed to get bad later.” I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. “I should be going. I have quite a few errands to take care of before the next wave of the storm makes landfall. Tell Mom I stopped by, and if you want to talk, call me. I’m always here for you.”
“Thanks, Cait. If the bookstore is open tomorrow and school’s canceled again, let Tara know I’d be happy to come in. I could use a boost to my currently nonexistent income.”
“I’ll tell her. And I know you feel pressured to make a decision right now, but take the time you need to make one you can live with.”
I left the condo and headed to the library. Again, I wasn’t sure it would be open with the storm, but the rain had slowed to a drizzle and the wind had temporarily stopped, so I imagined it would try to stay open. Gigi Smith had started working at the library the previous fall, so I didn’t know her well. Given that Tara and I owned a bookstore, we usually had a lot of interaction with the staff and volunteers, but between the two of us, Tara tended to be the one to read a lot of different types of novels and so was the one more likely to interact with other readers in the community.
Luckily, when I arrived at the library I found it open. I went inside to find Gigi at the circulation desk.
“I wasn’t sure you’d be open with the storm and all,” I greeted the young blonde with huge curls trailing down her back.
“We plan to close by three o’clock so the staff can get home before the next wave of the storm hits. Is the bookstore open today?”
I shook my head. “Leaky roof over the cat lounge.”
“It’s a good thing the leak isn’t over the books and your other inventory.”
“It’s a really good thing. Listen, I don’t have a lot of time to chat, but I wanted to ask you about Thea Blane. I understand she volunteered here.”
“She does. Normally she’s here on Mondays and Wednesdays, but she didn’t show yesterday. I tried to get her on the phone but there was no answer and she never returned my message. Are you looking for her?”
“No. I’m afraid Thea has passed away.”
“She’s dead? When did that happen?”
“I don’t know exactly when she died, but I found her body yesterday. Do you happen to know what her plans were for this past weekend?”
“I know she had a job on Saturday. She didn’t say exactly what she was doing or where. She just said she’d see me in church on Sunday, but I didn’t see her, and one of our regulars confirmed she never showed. How did she die?”
“Honestly, I don’t know the specifics, but I suspect foul play. Did she say anything to you that might explain why someone would want her dead?”
Gigi hesitated. I waited for her to answer. “I don’t know who would want to kill Thea or why, but I did have a rather odd conversation with her last week. She asked me if we had any books about legal codes in this county. Our legal section is pretty thin, so I suggested she talk to Paul Gibson if she had a legal question. He’s a member of one of our book clubs, and I knew Thea and Paul had met.”
“And she didn’t give you any idea what information she needed?”
“No, she didn’t. I wondered that myself, but a customer walked up, interrupting our conversation, and we never got back to it. You could ask Paul if she ever followed up with him.”
“Yeah, I will. Before I go, can you think of anyone else who might have a grudge against Thea? Anyone at all with a motive to want her dead?”
Gigi crossed her arms over her chest. She tilted her head just a bit so that her long curls brushed the counter in front of her. I watched as several emotions crossed her face. Eventually, she began to speak. “I liked Thea. She was an interesting person and a hard worker who seemed to be willing to do anything. Having said that, I came to learn that not everyone felt the same way about her. She looked at the world as her oyster. If she saw something she wanted, she took it. Don’t get me wrong: She was willing to do what it took to get what she wanted, but she didn’t seem to notice the others who might be in her path. I guess you heard about the choir fiasco with Pam Wilkins?”
“I did.”
“And I know of at least three women who made it clear to me that they’d only attend events when Thea wouldn’t be present after getting into some sort of feud with her over one thing or another. The thing is, while the women Thea wronged held on to their grudges, it seemed to me that she forgot all about them and moved on within days of whatever disagreement had caused the rift in the first place. I’m honestly not even sure she understood she’d done irreparable damage to her relationships.”
“Thea did seem to have a way of thinking things weren’t a big deal when they very much were. Can you give me the names of anyone you can think of with a grudge, no matter how small? If I hit a dead end I may follow up with the people from the list.”
By the time I finished speaking to Gigi it was lunchtime, so I went to the newspaper to check in with Cody. He was just finishing up for the day, so he said he could go with me to talk with Thea’s friend, Kim Pemberton. She worked at a dentist’s office in Harthaven, so we decided to grab some lunch first at one of our favorite sandwich places on the pier.
We ordered our food and found a table near a window. It had started to rain harder, and from the dark, heavy clouds on the horizon, I had no doubt we were in for a lot more before the storm passed
entirely.
“So, I have some interesting news,” Cody said after our sandwiches had been delivered.
“Interesting good or interesting bad?” I asked.
“I’m not sure how you’ll feel about it, but I’d say interesting good. I got a call from the man who schedules guests on a local morning show produced by an independent television station in New Orleans. He wondered if I’d be willing to discuss my SEAL training program on the show sometime in the next few months. I told him that I’d only be able to discuss material approved by the oversight committee I’m working with, which he thought would be fine. He’s planning to do a segment every Wednesday in April and May on some aspect of the armed services and thought my work with the SEALs, combined with my background, would be of interest to their viewers.”
“Are you going to do it?”
“I need to call him back to let him know one way or the other by the end of the week. I spoke to my contact at the base in Orlando who said he’d run it by his superiors, but he felt it would be fine for me to be a guest as long as the topics that could and couldn’t be discuss were worked out ahead of time. We never did manage to take the trip we planned in January, so I thought maybe you could come with me and we could make a short vacation of it.”
I set my sandwich down and took a sip of my water. “I’ve always wanted to visit New Orleans; it’s on my list of top-ten places to see. As long as we make the trip before Memorial Day, Tara shouldn’t have a problem with my taking time off. Willow’s baby is due in April and Siobhan’s in June, so a trip in May would be perfect.”
“Okay, I’ll see what I can work out. The weather should be nice in that part of the country in May as well.”
We finished eating, then headed to the office where Kim Pemberton worked. She was alone in the reception area when we got there. She’d heard about Thea’s death and was heartbroken that her friend had died in what looked to have been a violent manner.
“The dentist and hygienist are both off, so I’m in the office alone today. I’m free to talk if I can help in any way,” Kim informed us. “Of course, if the phone rings, I’ll need to answer it.”
