THANKSGIVING IN PARADISE

by Daley, Kathi

  Chapter 27

  “Okay, so we now know who called the emergency meeting and why,” I started off. “We know who the body in the foundation belongs to and we know how he got there. We don’t know who placed the bomb in the town hall, or why they wanted to blow it up. We don’t know if the bomber intended to blow up the council, or if they assumed the place would be empty when the building went kaboom.”

  “We also don’t know why Edmonton was taking a bag of cash from his bank’s vault at the time DuPont shot him if that is even what happened,” Roy added. “Maybe the midlife starting over elsewhere theory wasn’t all that far off. Maybe that is exactly what he would have done if DuPont hadn’t shot him.”

  “Speaking of DuPont, do you have enough to arrest him before he has a chance to take off?” I asked.

  “Based on the official statement provided by Wallaby, DuPont is currently in custody,” Roy confirmed. “We are going to need to find hard evidence if we want to keep him there.”

  “I doubt it will be easy to find anything to prove what Wallaby told us if he doesn’t have any proof of what occurred,” Jenna said.

  “Maybe Harriet did have proof,” Kyle said. “Maybe the proof she had was the reason someone, probably DuPont, blew up the town hall.”

  I tilted my head just a bit. “So you think the bomber believed that proof of what went down that night was located somewhere within the town offices, so he blew the whole thing up to destroy the proof he believed might exist?”

  “It’s a theory,” Kyle said.

  “Okay, so I assume that if DuPont blew up the building to destroy the evidence that he believed Harriet had about the night he’d killed Edmonson, then he must have been successful in doing what he intended, and the proof most likely no longer exists.”

  “Maybe not,” Kyle said. “Wallaby had a floor safe in his office when he was mayor. I don’t think there are many people who even knew of its existence. I found out after Judge Harper died, and I was looking for clues relating to his death. I know Harriet knew about the safe, but other than that, I don’t know of a single soul who knew of its existence.”

  “I wonder if anyone has accessed the floor safe since the building was destroyed.” Jenna wondered.

  “It would be buried beneath the rubble at this point, but I do know that it was made of reinforced steel. I’m sure it survived the explosion,” Kyle answered.

  “Maybe we should check it out,” Roy suggested, before offering to drive. Jenna, Kyle, and I piled into his cruiser, although of the three cars available to us, his was the least comfortable.

  Shortly after we arrived at what remained of the town hall and were able to access the hidden safe beneath the rubble, we realized we’d found the rest of the story.

  “Well, I’ll be dammed,” Roy exclaimed, as he thumbed through a file stuffed with the evidence that Harriet had somehow managed to dig up.

  “James Kingston has been blackmailing people?” I gasped.

  “Based on the items found in this file, it looks like he has been blackmailing people in order to obtain the land he desired, but the owners had been unwilling to sell for a long time,” Roy said.

  “How on earth did Harriet get ahold of this file?” I asked. I picked up one of the documents. I had to hand it to Kingston; he knew how to get what he wanted. The document I found was a purchase agreement between himself and Byron Boatman for the land where he was planning to build his condominium development along with Lloyd Benson. The land had been in the Boatman family for generations, and I’d wondered how Kingston had gotten ahold of it, but apparently, Byron had cheated on his taxes, Kingston had found proof that would probably have landed Byron in prison, so Byron had agreed to sell him the land in exchange for his silence.

  “Here is a contract between Kingston and Lloyd,” Kyle said. “I would say we know why Lloyd was helping Kingston with his vacation rental issue. Did you know that Lloyd illegally obtained a piece of beachfront property when he had the land surveyed and the property lines redrawn to benefit himself?”

  “I’m not surprised,” I said. “If you remember, he tried to maneuver things so he would end up with Zachary’s property after his death even though Zachary had made it clear he had no intention of selling.”

  “And it looks as if the dirt on Kingston is not the only file Harriet had in the safe,” Roy jumped in. “Here are the original documents relating to Kate’s arrest and the subsequent scrubbing of her file.”

  “Where on earth did Harriet get all of this?” Jenna asked.

  No one knew, but the documents in the safe were probably enough to give any number of people motive to blow up the town offices if they suspected Harriet had the documents hidden somewhere inside, but they didn’t know where.

  Kyle narrowed his gaze. “Harriet must have known she was playing with fire. I’m still not sure how she got ahold of these files, but given what we’ve found, I would say another conversation with Kingston is warranted.”

  “I agree. I’ll track him down and see what he has to say for himself,” Roy said.

  Chapter 28

  Wednesday, November 22

  As it turned out, Kingston had an answer for every question Roy threw at him. So, in the end, all Roy was able to deliver to the guy was a stern warning that he was onto him and was going to continue to dig. He also left him with the promise that he would be back and send him to prison if he was able to find the proof he needed to prove his theory. After Roy had talked to Kingston, and the two of us had discussed the situation in depth, we both agreed that, while James Kingston was bad news, he probably hadn’t been the one to blow up the town hall and the town offices.

  Which left us back to square one as far as I was concerned.

  I decided to go back and look at everything we had uncovered to date. This included all the files Harriet had in the cloud, all the files we found in her home office, and all the files we’d found in the floor safe. After hours and hours of considering numerous suspects and numerous theories, I found that I’d settled on the simplest theory of all.

  “Can I help you?” The tall, distinguished woman asked after I’d rung her bell.

  “My name is Tj Jensen. I hoped I might speak to you about a story Harriet Kramer was working on before she died.”

  The woman pursed her lips but stepped aside. She led me down a long hallway to an elaborately decorated room. “I only have a few minutes. I have a book club meeting in just under an hour. We are having our monthly luncheon.”

  “I’ll be brief,” I promised.

  The woman sat down across from me.

  “I understand that before she died, Harriet found proof of what really happened to your husband.”

  Mrs. Edmonton nodded. “So she told me. I wasn’t sure I believed her at the time, but in light of recent events, I can see that she knew what she was talking about.”

  “I understand that she informed you that your husband had not taken off as everyone seemed to think, but had, in fact, been murdered and buried in the foundation of the town hall.”

  “Yes, that is what she told me.”

  “When exactly did she tell you this?”

  The woman glared at me. “I don’t remember the exact date.”

  “Would you say it was a week or more prior to the explosion that eventually exposed your husband’s remains?”

  The woman leaned forward slightly. “What exactly is it that you are trying to ask me?”

  “Did you blow up the town hall in order to prove that Harriet was right, and your husband was indeed buried there?”

  The woman didn’t answer, but I knew it was true.

  “Innocent people died.”

  The woman’s expression began to crumble. “I know. It wasn’t supposed to happen that way. The man I hired to purchase and plant the bomb told me it would go off in the middle of the night. No one was suppose
d to get hurt.” The woman looked me directly in the eye. “I swear to you. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I only wanted the money.”

  “Money?” I was expecting her to say she wanted justice or closure or something, but money?

  “The insurance money,” The woman explained as she nervously pleated her skirt with her hands. “Before he died, my husband had been stealing from the bank in order to pay off a blackmailer who knew about the affair he’d been having. At the time, I didn’t know this of course, but after he passed and I took over at the bank, I found the missing money and then was eventually able to track down the blackmailer, who’d fled the country by that point. While I was furious about what my husband had done, I was the most upset about the fact that the money was missing, and I had no way to replace it. I hoped that I would be able to use the twenty-million-dollar life insurance policy my husband had to make things right at the bank, but since there was no body or any proof at all that my husband was dead, the insurance company refused to pay. I can’t tell you how hard it has been to keep the missing money a secret. I borrowed the money I needed to keep the bank running, and I’ve sold off most of our property other than this house, as well as most of my antiques and jewelry, just to make the payments. I am to the point where I have little else to sell and have been feeling desperate, and then Harriet came to me with the answers I needed. The insurance company told me in no uncertain terms that they needed a body in order for a payout to be possible, so I decided to provide them with a body.” The woman swiped angrily at her tears. “I really didn’t want anyone to die or to get hurt. I’ve done what I can to make it right, but I guess I can never make it right, can I?”

  “No, I don’t think you can. Are you the one who sent me the box of cash?”

  The woman nodded. “I knew that the medical bills would provide a hardship for you and Mr. Warren. The others wouldn’t be affected by the expense, but I wanted to do what I could for the two of you.”

  “I want to thank you for that, but I do need to call Deputy Fisher and tell him what I know.”

  The woman bowed her head. “I know. It’s how it should be.”

  “Between you and me, I understand why you did what you did. I’m sorry about what happened to your husband. It should never have gone down that way, and hopefully, Deputy DuPont will spend a whole lot of years in prison for doing what he did.”

  The woman spoke in a tired voice. “I suppose bringing Robert’s killer to justice is the silver lining in this whole mess.”

  Chapter 29

  Thursday, November 23

  A house filled with people I loved made for just about a perfect day. The sun was high in the sky, the blue, blue lake shimmered outside the windows, the food was made to perfection, and everyone who showed up seemed to be relaxed and happy. As usual, Jenna was in the kitchen seeing to the last-minute details before the meal was served, and as usual, I could be found standing around watching her make the gravy.

  “You always seem to be able to avoid lumps,” I said, as I watched in amazement. “Every time I make gravy, there are lumps. A lot of them.”

  “That is because you just dump the flour in. You need to blend it slowly. Can you grab the pepper?”

  “So did you talk to Dennis last night?” I asked after handing Jenna the pepper.

  “I did.”

  “And?”

  Jenna paused and looked at me. She hesitated, and then she turned back toward the gravy. “He was less than thrilled at first. I really wasn’t surprised. He pointed out that we had new roads to travel and plans for the future that would be much harder with a child. I shared with him that I didn’t disagree, but I also shared that it really didn’t matter. I reminded him that I was already pregnant. Debating whether or not it was a good idea to have another baby was moot at that point. We talked some more, and both agreed that what was done was done and we needed to find a way to deal with what existed rather than discussing the pros and cons of the situation. Dennis wanted me to take a second pregnancy test, just to be sure. I agreed that a second test might be a good idea. As we waited for the test to process, I found myself praying for another positive result. It was at that moment that I knew that in spite of my initial feeling of denial, I actually wanted this baby very much. When the test came out positive, I felt this intense joy, and I knew everything would be okay.”

  “And Dennis?”

  “He is still working through things. I think he will be fine after he has a chance to get used to the idea. He loves the girls, and he loves being a father. He always wanted a son.” Jenna put a hand on her stomach. “Maybe he’ll finally get one.”

  “I hope so. I’m sure whether a boy or a girl, this baby is going to be awesome.”

  Jenna held her stirring spoon off to the side and hugged me with one arm. “I think so too.”

  Jenna returned to her gravy and Rosalie came in to check on the rolls. I had to admit she had done a fabulous job with them. They were light and airy and perfectly browned.

  “The rolls turned out really good,” I said, as I helped transfer them from cookie sheets to serving baskets. “And you made plenty for sandwiches.”

  “That was the plan. I’d love to have leftovers out at the resort tomorrow. Grandpa and I talked about inviting Doc and, of course, we would love it if you, Kyle, and the girls were there. Jenna and her family too if they want.”

  “I think that is a wonderful idea. I’ll check with Kyle and invite Jenna. As long as we are talking food, I thought we’d provide dinner for everyone who comes to the tree cutting on Saturday. Grandpa usually makes a huge pot of his famous spaghetti, but I realized that this year I should probably run our plans past you. You are, after all, the lady of the house now.”

  Rosalie smiled. “I appreciate that, but one of the reasons I love being part of your big wonderful family is because of all the traditions. I really wouldn’t want to change a thing.”

  I reached out and hugged Rosalie. “And we are happy to have you as a part of the chaos.”

  Grandpa came up from behind and gave me a hug after Rosalie went in search of butter. “Great turn out,” he said.

  “It seems if as everyone made it just fine. I’m sorry about those who are not with us this year, but I’m glad to see that Bookman was feeling well enough to come.” I glanced through the open space between the kitchen and dining room. “Helen seems to be doing better, as well.”

  “It feels odd to be having a big Thanksgiving dinner without Harriet. I just hope she is happy wherever she ended up and able to rest in peace. I felt like she never really did recover from Judge Harper’s death.”

  “It hit all of us hard, but I have to agree that it seemed to hit her the hardest of all.”

  “The road back from what has happened is going to be a difficult one.”

  “It is. But Kyle and Jeff are working hard to get the town back in business, and Roy has assured me that he is doing everything he can to make sure that everyone involved in what happened will get exactly what they deserve.”

  “That’s good, although I do feel bad about Mrs. Edmonton. I know what she did led to the death of two people, but I really don’t think she meant to hurt anyone.”

  “I’m sure the court will take that into consideration. Personally, I’m just happy that we were able to wrap things up before the holiday.”

  “Me too, pumpkin.”

  “So are you up to making your famous spaghetti this year for the tree cutting crowd?”

  “I already bought the ingredients. I’ll make the sauce tomorrow, so all we have to do on Saturday when we get back with the trees is make the noodles and the bread and salad.”

  “Just so you know, I’m going to invite Jenna and her family.”

  “I already spoke to Bookman, and he felt they would want to come to dinner, although he didn’t feel up to the tree cutting part of the day. I figured we’d need some ex
tra muscle this year, so I invited Jeff as well.”

  “That’s a great idea. He has really stepped up to help Kyle since the explosion.”

  Kyle’s mom called everyone into the dining room and instructed them to take their seats. Grandpa joined them, while Jenna poured the gravy into the gravy boats. Kyle came in to help with the last-minute chores, while the rest of the guests picked out seats and poured their beverage of choice.

  “It looks like everything is ready,” Jenna said, heading into the dining room with the gravy.

  “So do we make our announcement or do we wait?” Kyle asked once we were alone.

  I had to admit I was torn. “I don’t know. Part of me wants to share our news with everyone, but I’m still not sure the girls are ready, and I did tell them I would wait until we had time to work out the details. What do you think?”

  “Maybe we should wait. I want everyone to know how much I love you, but if there is a chance that the girls will be upset, I think we should wait. I really want them to be okay with this.”

  “I agree. We told our families and have plenty of time to tell everyone else.”

  Kyle took my hand in his. “Okay. Let’s join our guests.”

  Kyle sat at the head of the table. I sat on one side, and Gracie sat on his other side. Ashley sat next to Kristi. Once everyone was seated, I thanked everyone for coming and suggested we go around the table and say what we were thankful for. I made a general statement about being thankful for friends and family. My dad said he was grateful for Rosalie, who had brought so much meaning into his life. Grandpa was grateful for Ashley and Gracie and the smile they brought him each morning. Ashley was grateful for Rosalie, who was teaching her to sew, and Frannie was grateful for friends that felt like family. Helen was grateful that Bookman was on the road to recovery, Doc was grateful for the same thing, Jenna was grateful for her family and the joy they brought to her life, and Dennis shared that he was grateful for wife and daughters, and the shared blessings he looked forward to in the following year. I glanced at Jenna, who seemed to only have eyes for the man sitting next to her and knew deep in my soul that they’d be okay. I smiled as each of our guests spoke until we finally made it around to Gracie, who was sitting next to Kyle. She didn’t speak at first, which I had to admit had me worried, but eventually, she started in a soft voice.