Arson at the Art Gallery

by Grace York

  "That's good news," said Addison, giving the dog a scratch on the head. He was happily lapping up Olivia's cuddles.

  "I can take him home with me until we find a new home for him," said Juliet, "But I have to admit I have a rather full house. If you have the room and don't mind…"

  Now Juliet was giving her the hopeful eye, too. Addison didn't stand a chance.

  "All right. We'll take Charlie for the time being. I've got a lot on my mind right now, and this little fella doesn't deserve a rushed decision. We'll figure out what to do with him later." She gave Olivia her best stern face. "You're responsible for looking after him," she said. "Feeding, washing, cleaning up after him. All of it. Deal?"

  "Deal!" Olivia beamed with the brightest smile Addison had seen in a long time. It looked like they'd just added to the beach house's growing list of residents.

  "Is there a groomer in town?" Addison asked. "We'd better get him cleaned up."

  "There's one right behind my surgery," said Juliet. "Just go down the driveway, and you'll come to a glass door. Josie will sort him out. She'll be delighted to see him."

  "Great, thanks. What do I owe you?"

  Juliet held up her hands. "No, nothing for today. There's nothing wrong with him, and I'm just glad he's been found. Thank you for bringing him in."

  After purchasing a collar and lead and a few other supplies to keep Charlie going, they said goodbye and followed the driveway down to the glass door. Addison slid it open and did a double take. Juliet must have gone another way to meet them here, because there she was standing behind the counter.

  "You've just met my sister, haven't you?" said the woman, who Addison now realised wasn't Juliet at all.

  "You're identical twins," said Olivia. "Cool."

  "Charlie!" Josie reacted to the dog just like her sister had, and Addison and Olivia waited until the second reunion of the day was over.

  "Do you normally groom Charlie?" Addison asked once they'd introduced themselves.

  "Yes. We were so worried when Jerry passed away and Charlie went missing." She leaned over and swooped Charlie up in her arms. "I'll get him all cleaned up. Are you going to take him?"

  "Yes," said Olivia, that beaming smile gracing her face again.

  "For now," Addison clarified. "Until we can decide what's best for him."

  "Well the first cut's on the house," said Josie. "Everyone's going to be so thrilled Charlie's back. Oh, hey, are you the new people out at the beach house?"

  "That's right."

  "You must be Layla's cousin. I'm so sorry about what's happened. You know, to her sister. And the gallery. It's such a tragedy."

  "Thanks. Did you know Jenna?" Addison asked.

  Josie shook her head. "Not really. I heard a lot about her, though. She certainly caused more than her fair share of drama. Oh, I'm sorry. That was rude. Me and my big mouth. She was your cousin. I shouldn't speak ill of the dead."

  "No, that's okay. Layla told us what's been going on."

  "So you know about Jason?"

  "Jason Sadler? Yes. Layla mentioned they'd been dating, although I struggled to see it. Jenna was old enough to be his mother."

  Josie's eyebrows raised as she nodded. "That's what everyone tried to tell him. It was no use. The boy was smitten. He's a good guy, Jason, but he has a tendency to let his heart rule his head."

  "So he was really in love with her?" asked Olivia.

  "Oh yes. That's why he was devastated when she told him she was leaving." Josie continued to pat Charlie as she talked, who sat there on the counter as if he was listening to every word.

  "She told him that?" asked Addison. Layla hadn't mentioned Jason knew Jenna was leaving town.

  "A couple of days ago, apparently. Jason was really angry. Rumour has it he put his fist through a wall at his mother's place. Lucky he knows how to fix holes in walls. Anyway, I'd better get on with cleaning up this little one. Can you come back for him in an hour or so?"

  "Sure," said Addison, not paying much attention. Her mind was already starting to wander. What if Jason had been angry enough to try and stop Jenna from leaving? What if it didn't work and he killed her?

  She might have just found her first suspect.

  12

  "You're going to investigate, aren't you," said Olivia once they'd left Charlie behind with Josie.

  Addison shrugged. "Someone has to."

  "Mum. That's what the police are for."

  "And if the police were doing a decent job, I'd be able to leave them to it. But they're focusing on Layla, and we know she's innocent. Here, you drive. I have to make a phone call."

  Olivia took the keys out of her mother's hand and approached the driver's side of the Rav 4. "Where to?"

  "Home. I don't want to leave Layla on her own for too long."

  Olivia started the car and pulled out into traffic, what little of it there was in Getaway Bay. "Do you remember what Dad used to say about people who tried to do his job for him?"

  "He didn't speak too favourably about them," said Addison, pulling her phone out of her handbag.

  "That's right. So what makes you different?"

  "I was a homicide detective's wife for twenty years, Liv. That's got to count for something."

  Olivia shook her head. "I doubt Detective Wilcox will see it that way."

  "Well if Detective Wilcox would stop hounding Layla and get on with finding the real killer, I wouldn't have to." Addison located the number she needed on her phone and then held a hand up to stop Olivia protesting further. She pressed send to make the call.

  "Hello?" His voice was small and croaky, as if he'd just got out of bed.

  "Jason? Hi, It's Addison."

  "Oh, hi. I'm sorry I didn't come around to the beach house today. I thought… with what's happened… the fire…"

  "Yes, thank you. I understand. But I wonder if you wouldn't mind coming over for an hour or so? It's just…" Addison struggled to come up with a decent excuse. "Layla is staying with us for the time being, and I really want to crack on and get at least one room looking nice for her. You know, to help her feel at home."

  Olivia raised her eyebrows at her mother, but Addison pointed to the road.

  "Oh, okay," said Jason. "I'll be right there." He sounded like he'd rather be anywhere but the beach house.

  "Just for an hour. Two at the most. Thank you, Jason." Addison ended the call.

  "What are you going to do? Ask him if he killed Jenna?"

  "No. Well, maybe. I don't know. But I'm sure we could find out something just by talking to him."

  "Woah, what's this we? I never agreed to participate in your investigation," said Olivia. They were almost back at the beach house.

  "And why not? You're just about to embark on a career in forensic science. Your life is going to be all about catching bad guys. I thought you'd be all over this." It felt a little like playing dirty to bring Olivia's chosen field of study into the debate, but Addison meant what she said. Why wouldn't Olivia want to get involved and help prove their cousin's innocence?

  Olivia sighed. She pulled the Rav into the beach house driveway and engaged the parking brake before switching off the engine. She undid her seatbelt and turned to face her mother.

  "I'm worried about you, Mum. Moving up here was a big change after losing Dad. You bought a huge rundown house that you're insisting on doing up yourself. You want to run a bed and breakfast without having a clue how much hard work that involves. And now you're going off on another tangent, investigating a murder of all things. What is going on?"

  Addison was shocked. Everything Olivia said was true, but she'd never looked at it that way herself. She was getting on with her life. Was that so bad? Did it matter how she chose to do it?

  "Do you think I should have stayed in Sydney?"

  "No, that's not what I'm saying. We all felt the need to leave Sydney. I get that. But I worry you're taking on too much. You're retired, you know. You're supposed to be taking it easy."

  "I'm
retired from teaching. I'm not retired from life, sweetheart." Addison could see where this was going now. Both her kids worried she took on too much, especially after losing Rob. But sometimes they treated her like she was an old woman already. "I can handle the beach house, and the bed and breakfast. And I can handle this, too. It's not like I'm launching a full-scale investigation. I'm just going to ask Jason a few questions, that's all. Relax."

  Addison opened her door and climbed out of the Rav before Olivia could object further. Jason was already pulling into the driveway in his truck. She left her daughter and went over to greet him.

  "Thank you so much for coming, Jason. I know it must be hard for you. You were close to Jenna too, I heard."

  "Hi Mrs Lake. I mean, Addison. Yes, Jenna and I were… actually, I don't know what we were. How's Layla doing?"

  "She's holding up. Come inside, I'll get you a cold drink before we start work."

  Addison decided to tread carefully. She hadn't a clue what to ask Jason, besides where he was when the fire started. He walked with slumped shoulders into the house, and she recognised how fragile he was. She wanted to get to the bottom of his relationship with Jenna, but she didn't want to push him away. Assuming he was innocent, she still needed his help on the beach house.

  "Hi, Layla," Jason said as they entered the house. Layla was in her usual position on the couch, staring out the window. She stood when she saw Jason.

  "Come here," she said, wrapping him in a hug. They both teared up, and Addison felt a little guilty standing there watching. Olivia had already fled to her room.

  "I'm so sorry," Jason said to Layla. "She was your sister. And the gallery…"

  Was Jason sorry for Layla's loss, or sorry that he caused it?

  Addison left them alone and went into the kitchen to fix cold drinks. She came out a few minutes later carrying a tray with three glasses of her favourite pink grapefruit cordial.

  "Here we go," she said, setting the tray on the coffee table. "How are you holding up?" she asked Layla.

  "I'm okay. I think I might go for a walk. Clear my head."

  "That's a good idea," said Addison. "Jason's going to help me with the room on the other side of mine. We should have it finished in a day or two, then you can get yourself properly settled."

  "You shouldn't be making Jason work right now," said Layla. "He's grieving too."

  "It's okay," said Jason. "I think it will be better if I keep busy." He polished off a glass of cordial in one go. "Can we get started?"

  Layla headed off for her walk, taking a hat from the hatstand on her way out.

  Addison sat staring at Jason. "You want to know why, don't you?" he finally asked.

  "Why what?"

  "Why I loved her when she was so much older than me."

  "Well, I have to admit I am a little curious. You're a good-looking young man. With lovely manners. I'm sure there are plenty of young women around here chasing you."

  Jason sighed. "You sound like my mother. And I get it, I do. But no-one else made me feel like Jenna did. She didn't care what other people thought of her. She was a strong woman. I loved her. I thought she loved me, too."

  "I knew Jenna her whole life, Jason. The only person she ever loved was herself."

  He stood. "Let's get going on that room. I'll go and get the paint from the shed."

  They spent the next hour discussing what needed to be done to make the room inhabitable. Jason gave her instructions, and Addison came up with some styling ideas while her mind worked overtime trying to decide how to ask him where he was last night. Eventually she just came out with it.

  "Jason, I'm sorry to bring it up again, but I'm curious. Where were you last night when the fire started?"

  "You think I killed Jenna?"

  "No, I didn't say that…"

  "It's all right. I know what people are saying. Nothing is secret in this town. But I didn't kill her. I loved her."

  "So where were you?"

  "I was at home. And before you ask, no, no-one can verify that."

  Addison started work on removing the wallpaper. She always found it helpful to have something to do with her hands when she was part of an important conversation.

  "You knew Jenna was planning to leave for Sydney as soon as her father died, right?"

  "Yeah." Jason helped with the wallpaper stripping. "We talked about it a couple of days ago. But I thought I could change her mind. I still think I could have, if I had time. Now we'll never know."

  Addison decided to change the subject. She'd grilled the poor boy enough. "I heard Jenna had been creating waves amongst some of the people here in Getaway Bay."

  Jason half-smiled. "She gave old Ed a bit of trouble."

  "Edward Mathieson? The owner of the bakery?"

  "Yeah. He didn't like her at all. If there was anyone who might have killed Jenna, I reckon it'd be him."

  13

  Addison asked Jason why Edward didn't like Jenna, expecting to get the same story of cafe rivalry and cockroaches in croissants that she'd already heard from Layla. She didn't expect what Jason said next.

  "She told me she didn't like him because he was a bully."

  "A bully? Is that true? Do you think he's a bully?"

  Jason shrugged and pulled down a large sheet of wallpaper. "He can be pushy sometimes. He likes to think he runs Getaway Bay. He's our representative on the council, and he's always saying how we need to do this and that for the town, for progress, that sort of thing. I don't really listen much."

  "But Jenna did."

  "Oh yeah. She said people like that back in Sydney were known as bullies, and when she called him on it he couldn't handle it. So he started saying stuff about Hazel's cafe, which Jenna said was to divert attention. Because he couldn't find anything bad to say about Jenna."

  Now Addison was confused. "Edward didn't like Jenna calling him a bully, and he couldn't find anything bad to say about her, so he badmouthed Hazel's cafe instead?"

  "Yeah. That's what Jenna said."

  "That doesn't make a whole lot of sense, Jason."

  "Tell me about it. I told her to let it go, Edward is who he is and no-one else around here really cares. I wanted her to forget about all that stuff and spend time with me. I don't get much time off as it is."

  Addison was going to need to dig into Edward Mathieson further.

  They continued working on the bedroom until all the wallpaper was stripped. Then Jason showed Addison how to sand the walls and get them ready for painting.

  "You already know how to paint, right?" he asked.

  Addison nodded, having never painted anything in her life. "Sure. How hard can it be?"

  Jason smiled, the first one today she'd seen that had genuine mirth. "This one's the primer," he said, pointing to one of the cans he'd brought in from his truck. "It goes on first. Let that dry, then do your colour."

  "Then what?"

  "I'll be back before you get that far." He checked his watch. "I really need to get home now."

  Addison nodded and walked him down to the front door. "Thanks for coming. I really appreciate it."

  "No problem. I agree you need to let Layla get settled in here. The gallery is a mess."

  "We haven't been back there yet. I'm not sure how Layla will handle it."

  "Maybe give it a few days," said Jason. "Bye."

  Layla still wasn't back from her walk, and Olivia had gone to pick up Charlie after his grooming session, so Addison made herself a cup of tea and pulled her notebook out of the drawer. She wrote down as much as she could remember from what Jason had said, realising that he had no alibi for the time of the fire.

  What if he went to confront Jenna about her leaving, and they got into an argument? Wilcox said Jenna had been murdered, but he didn't say how. It could have been an accident. A bit of pushing and shoving, someone falls onto something hard and hits their head, next thing you know they're dead. It happened. Rob had seen it enough times.

  Layla said she locked the do
or to the gallery. So whoever went inside either broke in, or Jenna let them in. Who would she let in? Jason, definitely.

  If that was what happened, if Jason accidentally killed her, would he have panicked and set the fire? Or would he have called an ambulance? Addison didn't know him well enough to answer that. He seemed like a nice guy, but you never could tell. That was something else Rob had taught her.

  Jason certainly hadn't acted like a killer today, though. He'd come over when she'd asked, and helped her with the room for Layla. He'd been upset, naturally, but he hadn't seemed like he'd just committed murder and arson. Maybe she had it wrong with him. Or maybe he'd been trying to act normal and cover his tracks.

  Who else was there? Ed Mathieson? It sounded like he'd become Jenna's latest plaything. Addison had witnessed her younger cousin's games back when they were teenagers, and by all accounts she'd never grown out of it. She liked to pick on people who would bite back, and Ed sounded like just the right fit.

  Jenna rubbed people up the wrong way, and she never knew when to quit. It was very helpful in her career as a lawyer, but not so helpful when it came to making friends. No wonder Layla didn't know if she had any.

  Just then the door opened, and Layla returned from her walk. She hung her hat on the hatstand, and ran a hand through her hair. As she came into the kitchen Addison could see she'd been crying.

  "Hey, what is it?" Addison asked. She pulled out a chair at the dining table for her cousin.

  "It's nothing. Just… oh, Addison, I feel so guilty."

  "Why do you feel guilty? You haven't done anything wrong." Addison's stomach tightened as she thought again of Detective Wilcox zeroing in on Layla for Jenna's murder.

  "I went to the gallery," said Layla, bursting into tears again.

  Addison put an arm around her for a minute, then when Layla calmed a little she got up to put the kettle on.

  Olivia and Charlie burst into the kitchen. "When's dinner? Oh, sorry," she added when she saw the state of Layla. "What's happened?"

  "Layla went to the art gallery."