Murder Beach

by Rena Leith

  “Having that key makes you a suspect,” Mia said. “In case you hadn’t noticed.”

  Brendan sat down heavily. “I’m doomed. No wonder they’re searching my house. I need a lawyer.”

  Jack said, “That can wait until morning. Right now I want another piece of cheesecake.”

  “Delighted,” Brendan said, brightening again, and cut him a second piece.

  Mia took a last bite of cheesecake. “That was delicious.” She hesitated. “Do you still want to view your new web site tonight?”

  “I’m sorry,” Brendan said. “Much as I’ve enjoyed having you here, I’m afraid that being searched and knowing that there are videos of me breaking and entering has put a damper on my high spirits. Can I have a rain check? You all need to come back for a real tour of the house. We can view the web site then.”

  Mia caught my gaze, and I knew she was thinking that we couldn’t go live without his okay. We would have to wait for the big launch. We needed his web site to sell our work to others. No. It would be too easy to put this off and leave Brendan to stew in his fears.

  “No, Brendan. I know I’ve only known you, Mia, and Ricardo a very short time, but you’re my friends. We are not about to abandon you when you need us, but we also need you. You’re our marquee customer. We want to launch based on your web site as the cornerstone for our Las Lunas business sites.” I put my napkin on the table. “Let’s finish that tour and then take a few moments with the web site. Nothing heavy, but if we can get your feedback, we can move ahead. I know you want to help us be successful.”

  He set his napkin next to mine and sighed. “I do.”

  Mia stepped in. “We don’t want to pressure you, and we do want you to be happy. But we do need to launch soon.”

  “We can also do your author web site when you’re ready,” Ricardo added.

  Brendan laughed, a genuine belly laugh. “You drive a hard bargain. Okay, let me show you the rest of my home.” He stood.

  Jack and Gillian exchanged a relieved look and rose, followed by the rest of us as we chatted over each other and trooped out of the dining room behind Brendan.

  ****

  I got up early the next day to get started on Brendan’s suggestions. I even planned to put in some time on a proposed mystery book author site for Brendan.

  The house was dead still. No people. No ghost. No cat. I took a quick shower and pulled on jeans and a black Henley.

  I was running a comb through my hair when there was a knock at the door. Cautiously, I looked out the window before opening the door.

  George stood on the stoop.

  Chapter 18

  I had a moment of panic before I opened the door. “George, you’ll have to stop dropping by so often.”

  “Sarcasm. Some things never change.” He stepped into the living room and looked around. “I never figured you for antiques.”

  “And I never figured you as hypercritical.” I put my hands on my hips.

  “Some things do change.” He turned to face me. “Look, I’m sorry we interrupted your dinner last night, and…” He broke eye contact. “I wanted to see if you were okay.”

  “And why wouldn’t I be?” I walked into the kitchen. “Follow me. I need caffeine to wake up.” I started making coffee. “Jack, Gillian, and Thor either aren’t up or aren’t here. I’m assuming that he got out, and they’re looking for him, but everyone could be asleep for all I know.”

  George stopped in the kitchen doorway. “I can tell you where they are.”

  “Where? Do you want eggs? I’m famished. I’ve got some dill and cream cheese left for scrambled.” I opened the fridge and took out the ingredients.

  “They called me to come and watch over you while you slept. I’m a bit surprised to find you up. They took the cat to the vet.”

  I got out the mixing bowl but hesitated. “Now why would they do that?”

  “I don’t want to alarm you. Why don’t you call them before you start cooking?”

  I wiped my hands on a red towel and frowned. “I will, given that you’re being so helpful.” I tried to keep the annoyance out of my voice and went into the bedroom to get my phone off the charger and called as I walked slowly back to the kitchen.

  I hung up and tucked the phone into my pocket as I walked into the kitchen. “Went straight to voicemail.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll be back soon. I have some information. Want me to wait for them to return before I share it?”

  “No.” I poured two cups of coffee and handed him one. “I don’t remember; do you take milk and sugar?”

  “That hurts.”

  Was there a trace of humor there?

  “Keep cooking. I’m hungry.”

  Definitely humor.

  He sat on a chair at the trestle table. “This is one convoluted case. We picked up two out-of-town gamers for questioning, and one gave Brendan up for trying to sell a rare book he’d stolen from Alan’s shop. Samantha’s video from her computer places Brendan there, and his fingerprints are all over Alan’s store. We got a warrant, and sure enough, there it was. He hadn’t even hidden it. That brings him up a notch on the suspect list. You may want to steer clear until the situation is resolved.”

  “He didn’t do it. I’m guessing he’s being set up and probably by those two. Are you seriously taking their word over his?” I set a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of George. “Can you be telling me this?”

  He made a face. “Mostly. I’m just saying that on purely evidentiary grounds, he looks guilty. I’m telling you a bit more because of what happened here while you slept.”

  I put my plate on the table and sat down. “While I slept? What are you talking about?”

  “Cass, there was an incident here. You slept right through it.”

  A thrill of ice ran through me. “What? What happened?” I heard noise at the front door.

  Jack and Gillian came in, carrying Thor in his carrier.

  “Would you guys like to tell me what’s going on? George seems strangely reluctant.”

  Jack said, “Sorry. We needed to get Thor to Marcy. He tried to take out the vandal.”

  “Vandal?”

  Gillian nodded and turned to George. “You haven’t shown her yet?”

  “Shown me what?”

  George made a quiet down motion. “I haven’t had a chance.”

  I turned on Jack. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

  “We figured whoever did it was long gone, and we weren’t planning to be gone long,” Jack said.

  “Whoever did what?”

  Gillian put a hand on my arm. “We’ll show you. I’m sorry we didn’t wake you. That was clearly a mistake.”

  Jack added, “We had a visitor last night. Thor got hurt defending house and home.”

  “Oh, poor baby!” I took the carrier from Jack and set it on the couch. I opened the door of the carrier.

  The way Thor stalked out and surveyed his domain told me that he wasn’t alone in that furry body. I looked up at George and back at Thor. I swear Thoris raised an eyebrow at me.

  I whispered, “I’ll get George out of here as fast as I can, Doris.”

  Thoris seemed satisfied and rubbed against me before running off.

  “He’ll be fine. More scared than anything,” Jack said. “Come round to the back. We want to show you something.”

  I stood up and slipped my boots and jacket on. The four of us went out the back door. Someone had painted graffiti on the back side of my cottage nearest the woods, and my screens had been slashed. I read the graffiti.

  U wanna keep ur nose on ur face, bak off

  Chills went down the backs of my thighs. “Were they in my house?” While I slept upstairs?

  “No, but you can thank Thor for that. He got kicked for his trouble.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked.

  “Marcy, your vet, felt that was the most likely scenario based on his injuries,” Gillian said. “Thor hissed at her, so she knock
ed him out and X-rayed him to be sure.”

  “I’m surprised he’s as alert as he is,” Jack said.

  “How did I sleep through this?” I asked.

  Gillian said, “You were exhausted, and your bedroom is at the top of the house. Whoever it was slit the screen in our room. We’d opened the window for some fresh air. Thor went flying across the room and out the window.”

  “He must’ve gone for the guy’s face,” Jack added. “We heard Thor howl, some swearing, a hollow sound, and Thor wailed.”

  “We turned on our light,” Gillian said.

  “I went out with a flashlight,” Jack continued. “Thor was lying on the ground wheezing, and there was no one in sight. I swung the flashlight around and saw this lettering.”

  “I went to the window,” Gillian said. “Jack told me to get dressed. He called George to come over to watch you and the place. We tried Dave first because he was closest, but he wasn’t home, so we left a note on his door, warning him that someone might be prowling around but also letting him know that he should come over to check on you if he got the note before George arrived. Then Jack carried Thor in and made a call to your vet’s cell phone. We met her at her office.”

  “Sorry, but we didn’t want to wake you. You were sleeping so peacefully, and George said he could be here in half an hour.”

  Interesting that George would come. “Don’t worry about it. You did the right thing. Is Thor all right?”

  “Bruised ribs. He’ll be fine.”

  Someone rapped out shave-and-a-haircut on the back door.

  “I’ll get it,” Gillian said and went to the door, opening it wide.

  “Gillian.” There was consternation in Jack’s voice.

  But she stepped away from the door, revealing the visitor. “It’s Dave.”

  “C’mon in, Dave,” I called.

  “Hey, guys. I got your note. Is everything okay? I didn’t see anybody prowling around.”

  “Whoever it was took off after slashing our screens and leaving a nasty message scrawled on the side of the house.”

  “Sorry I wasn’t around to help. I just got in.” Dave grinned. “Do I smell coffee?”

  “Have a seat. I’ll pour you a cup,” I said. I handed him a mug of coffee and looked at the remnants of breakfast. “I can make more eggs.”

  “Yeah!” Dave said.

  “I will. You sit,” Jack said. “We’ve been up a while.”

  “I’ll help,” Gillian said, coming over to the counter and pulling out a clean mixing bowl.

  Dave leaned back in his chair, balancing on the two rear legs. “Part of why I dropped by was to see if there was any more news. Like, did they catch the murderer?”

  “Dave, you’re going to break my chair legs.”

  He brought all four legs to the floor. “Did you know that the Shakers invented a swivel for the bottoms of the two back legs that lets you lean back without torquing them?”

  “No, I didn’t. If you come over a lot, I’ll check it out. By the way, this is an old friend of mine and a Las Lunas police detective, George Ho. George, this is my neighbor Dave.”

  “I gathered as much. Pleased to meet you, Dave.”

  “Likewise.”

  “Murderers,” Jack said, steering the conversation back. “Two of the vampire gamers are under suspicion and…” At a hand signal from George, Jack changed direction. “Except they’re outsiders, not our coastal gamers. Not originally from this area.”

  “Whoa! No shit! I guess I missed all the excitement again.”

  “You’ve really got to quit partying and stay home once in a while,” Jack said, tightening his mouth to suppress a smile.

  Dave looked stricken.

  “He’s joking, Dave,” Gillian said over her shoulder as she stirred the eggs.

  I looked around. “Dave, have you noticed anything unusual lately? Anyone hanging around who shouldn’t be?”

  Gillian passed plates of dilled eggs and toast.

  George had been quiet until now. “You should know that I called the station and an officer will be out to handle the vandalism. I expect he’ll be by pretty soon. Don’t worry.”

  The fear hit me again. Whoever it was had been right outside while I slept, and I’d be alone soon. I had nearly been alone last night, but I didn’t have time to dwell on it because there was a knock on the front door.

  “Timing is everything,” George said, getting up and heading for the door.

  I heard a woman’s voice, and a moment later she followed George into the kitchen. “You seem to be a target for almost everyone these days, Ms. Peake.” But she said it sympathetically.

  I recognized the friend of George’s who’d taken the pictures of Alan’s body on the beach. “I have no idea what the vandals think I know, but this was obviously designed to scare me. And so far, it’s succeeding admirably. Would you like to have a look?”

  She nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Jack and George walked out with me as we showed her the cut screens and the graffiti. She had a small digital camera with her and took pictures of everything, including the ground around the windows and the wall containing the graffiti.

  She finally finished. “I’d like to look at your doors and around the perimeter to see if there’s any evidence that your house was entered. The threat is another matter. Given the murder of Alan Howland and the attempted murder of Samantha Ross, we’re taking this very seriously. I’ll be checking back from time to time.” She handed me a card. “Please do not hesitate to call if anything happens or you think of anything. And I mean anything.” She left to walk around the house.

  I was getting tired of starting my days off with crises.

  When we re-entered the kitchen, a heavy discussion was underway.

  “Ah, the vamp chick,” Dave said through a last mouthful of eggs.

  “That’s the one,” Gillian said.

  “She wasn’t the type, anyway.”

  Gillian stared at him. “There’s a type?”

  “Not so much a type to commit murder, but there’s definitely a type to not commit murder and she’s it.” Dave finished the last of his toast. “There’s a vibe.” He waved his hands in the air.

  “Elaborate.”

  His boyish grin lit up his face. “Okay. Let’s see. Wild chick. Out on her own. She’s probably got a record, right? Juvie?”

  “Possibly,” George said.

  Dave waggled a finger. “But no violent crimes. Property stuff, right?”

  George sat down. “I have no knowledge of anything else.”

  “I rest my case.” Dave reached for the toast.

  “That was a bit slim,” Jack said.

  “No, no,” Gillian said. “Dave might be onto something. There are people who are willing to hurt other people and those who will take what they want—property crimes—but draw the line at violence. Unarmed burglars, for instance.”

  “So we’re all safe now?” Dave pushed his plate away.

  “Yes, Dave,” I said.

  “Then I can run up to the City for a party tonight.”

  I frowned. “Haven’t you been up to the City every night?”

  “Sure have,” he said, digging in. “There’re so many parties, I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by not showing up.”

  “Silly me.”

  “Well, I’m outta here! Thanks for breakfast,” Dave said as though he didn’t have a care in the world and got up, pushing his chair back under the table. “I’ll check back on you later.” He bent over and kissed my cheek. “Now you take care of yourself. No more chasing murderers. Promise? And you call me if you need anything.”

  “I promise.”

  The screen door banged behind him.

  “Okay, guys, can you help me fix the screens before you leave?” I gathered up the breakfast plates and put them in the sink.

  Jack and Gillian shared a look.

  “Ever practical,” Jack said. “Where’s your local hardware store? Gillian and I can
go. I’ll just take some measurements.”

  I gave him a tape measure, directions, and money, and they both went out the back door. Several minutes later, a car motor started up and slowly faded into the distance.

  “George, will you come with me while I check the lights? I want the place well lit tonight.”

  “Sure thing.” He took a last sip of coffee and stood up.

  We went outside. Several bulbs had been unscrewed enough to turn them off. I tightened them while George flipped the switches, checking and double-checking.

  “You’re good to go for now, but I think you should consider hanging safety lights that are caged. Makes it harder to unscrew them. Also, a safety light on a pole would be good. You might also consider investing in an alarm. Maybe some cameras.”

  “I’d have to check with the neighbors about the safety light.”

  “I’d better go.” He reached out and held my upper arms. “Take care of yourself. Someone will be back to check on you. Be prepared for a team to show up to ask questions and collect potential evidence.”

  It wasn’t exactly a hug, but I’d take what I could get. “Jack and Gillian are going home.”

  “Ask them to stay for a few more days.”

  “I hate to impose on them, but even if I ask, they may have to say no. Work. Lack of vacation. Exigencies of modern life.” I half-smiled.

  He returned my smile. “Ask anyway.”

  I closed the door behind him and looked for Thoris.

  Doris appeared. “Thor is tired and very sore. I left him on your bed to sleep.”

  “Thank you, Doris. Do you know who the intruder is?”

  “Not sure. The scent was familiar to Thor, but I don’t share his memories, at least not in any useable form.” She shivered. “I hope he’ll be all right. I had no other way to chase the guy off.”

  “Only one guy?”

  Doris nodded. “Slim and muscular, but remember my recollections are from a cat’s perspective. Black pants, black sweatshirt, black balaclava, dark eyes, gloves. Seems Haile Selassie if ya ask me.”

  “Stop, Doris. Wasn’t he an Ethiopian Emperor? What are you talking about? Your slang is driving me crazy.” I rolled my eyes.

  Doris pursed her lips. “Hello? See you later, alligator. Are you actually an alligator? No. It’s a rhyme. Word play. Y’know. Fun. You know what fun is, right? Haile Selassie. Highly suspicious. Police car. Policy car when you pronounce the silent e.” She held her hands out and moved her shoulders up and down. “Work with me here!”