He looked at Kelly over his glass and said, “Pretty pathetic, huh?”
“I don’t know what to say.” Just then the waiter brought their soup and they stopped talking while they enjoyed it. Finally, Kelly spoke. “This is delicious. It really is the best clam chowder I’ve ever had.”
“Wait until you try the scallops. Ahh, perfect timing. Here comes the waiter with our order right now.”
After several bites, Kelly said, “Clint, these are every bit as good as the chowder. Thanks for the recommendations.”
“Kelly, there’s something else you should know,” he said putting down his fork. “Mother also told me about the ten million dollars she gave Julie.”
Kelly was quiet for a moment and then said, “Forgive me for asking, but did you know anything about it before your mother told you?”
“Of course not. How could I? I haven’t seen Julie in a year or so. I didn’t want her to see me in the intoxicated condition I was usually in, so I avoided her on her monthly visits to Mother, and she and I haven’t talked on the telephone during that time. No, I knew nothing about it.”
“How did you feel when you found out?”
He looked at her with eyes that conveyed belief when he said, “The old me would have been furious. The new me understands. I know I’ll still inherit a lot from Mother, simply because she has a lot. Actually, I’m fine with it. Julie was a far better daughter than I was a son.”
“Did your mother tell you anything else?”
“No, was there more?” he asked, picking up his fork and taking a bite of a scallop.
“Yes. Evidently the daughter Julie gave up for adoption just after she’d graduated from high school found her and they were reunited.”
Clint started to stand up and then he sat back down, clearly agitated. “How can that be? I was told the adoption records were sealed.”
Kelly explained to him what had happened, then she said, “Your niece has red hair.” She waited to see what his reaction would be. He sat slack-jawed for a moment evidently connecting the dots that Kelly had already connected.
“Are you thinking that the red-haired person I saw near Julie’s room was her daughter, my niece?” Clint asked as he twisted his napkin tight and laid it on the table.
“Quite honestly, I don’t know what to think,” she said.
“What do you know about her?” he asked after a few moments had gone by.
“Not much. Her name is Megan Simmons, and she’s an attorney specializing in adoption law.”
“Do you know where she lives?”
“From what your mother told me, she lives in San Francisco. I plan on going to your sister’s home in Portland to see if Julie had any records indicating Megan’s address. I’m hoping there will be some information in the house that will be helpful.”
“Kelly, I’d like to help. I feel I need to do something, if for no other reason than for my mother. Would you do me a favor?”
“I’ll try.”
“If I can help in any way, would you please call me? Here’s my card with my phone number on it. Feel free to call me at any time. This whole thing is unbelievable. I think I need to go home and process it.”
“I’m going to drive to Maine tomorrow to speak with Julie’s husband, Mark. It’s probably going to be a long day for me, so if you don’t mind, I think I’ll have to excuse myself. Thank you very much for dinner,” Kelly said as she stood up. “I promised my husband I’d call him tonight. I know he was going to bed early since he has a full schedule tomorrow, and I need to get back to my room, so I can make the call. I enjoyed dinner and meeting with you, and I definitely will call you if something comes up. Take care of your mother. She’s a very special person.”
As she walked to the elevator, a million thoughts tumbled through Kelly’s mind. I wonder if he did know about the ten million dollars, and also isn’t seeing a redhead near where his sister was murdered convenient? Maybe the whole thing is too convenient? If he found out Julie’s daughter had located her and learned how wealthy her grandmother was it might seriously affect Clint’s plans for his future. Megan could possibly lay claim to Julie’s estate as well as her grandmother’s. If she was successful, it could effectively cut his inheritance even further. I need to find out if Megan was at the graduation. Maybe Mike could call a couple of airlines and see if she was a passenger on a flight to Norfolk, Virginia. And so her mind started spinning more and more with each new item of information.
*****
Clint watched Kelly as she walked down the hall towards the elevator. When the doors closed behind her he smiled at the waiter and beckoned him over to his table.
“Yes sir, may I get you something?” the waiter asked.
“I’d like a double martini on the rocks.”
CHAPTER 15
When Kelly walked into her room, she immediately saw the blinking red light on the telephone indicating she had two messages. The first one was from Stephanie asking her to call. The second message was from Julie’s attorney in Portland, Ryan Murphy.
She called Stephanie first. “Kelly, what’s going on? I’ve been thinking about you for the last two days. Have you found out anything? What did Mrs. Logan have to say?”
Kelly recounted the events of the last two days to Stephanie ending with a review of her dinner with Clint.
“I know this is going to sound really off the wall, and I know you don’t believe in this stuff as much as I do, but is there any way you could get the birth dates for Megan, Clint, and Mark? It might shed some light on the murder.”
“Are you kidding, Stephanie? Do you really think you can find out who murdered someone by what you find out from an astrology chart? Seriously?”
“Kelly, I’m not saying it will tell us who did it, but it sure might show that someone had a tendency for violence.”
“Okay, just for the record, I’m a non-believer, but I can give you Megan’s birth date and Clint’s. According to Mrs. Logan, Megan was born on October 20, 1986. Clint was born on May 23rd. Today’s his birthday.”
“Wow, Kelly, that’s great. Do you know the year he was born?”
“I think I can figure it out. He’s seven years younger than Julie, and she was forty-six when she died, so he must have been born in 1977. Does that help?”
“Tremendously. Let me do a little research. I’ll email you what I find out, since it will probably be a couple of hours before I can get to it. One more thing. When you go to York to see Mark tomorrow, see if you can get his birthdate information.”
Kelly let out a big sigh. “I’ll try, but I can’t promise anything.”
“Okay. By the way, I may have another suspect for you.”
“What?” Kelly practically screamed through the phone. “Who?”
“I told you how I hired Julie to work for me after I’d met her during the doctoral program and seen how smart she was and the type of work she did.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Well, I’d been mentoring a woman, Sophie Marx, for several years and she worked directly under me, actually she’s the one who would have probably been chosen as my replacement when I retire if it hadn’t of been for Julie. Her credentials were stronger and she became the second in command. Sophie worked for her. I guess you could say she was demoted. She has a master’s degree, and made a lot of snide comments to people about Julie getting her doctorate.
“One of the secretaries told me today that Sophie mentioned to her that it was a good thing Julie wasn’t around anymore because now things could get back to normal. The secretary also told me that last week Sophie had commented to her that Julie should have a bad accident. Sounded kind of ominous to me.”
“Well, I can understand someone being concerned about their job in that instance, but I hardly see where that qualifies her to be a candidate for being a murder suspect.”
“Kelly, here’s the thing. I looked at her astrology chart today and it showed a transiting Mars and a transiting Pluto conjunct in natal
Sun/Saturn opposition in the 8th house at the same time that an eclipse was happening in the 8th house. That’s really malefic.”
“Stephanie, I don’t have a clue about what you just said, and I have no idea what malefic means. You know I don’t have a doctorate. Matter of fact, as you may remember, high school was as good as it got for me.”
“You don’t need a doctorate, Kelly. What it means is that when those two planets are in that alignment it can cause an unfavorable influence.”
“Again, I find it hard to believe that the date when someone was born could contribute to their tendency to be a murderer.”
“You might not think that, Kelly, but a lot of people do, and take it from me, it bears looking into. I checked with Human Resources, and Sophie was out last Friday, supposedly sick.”
“So you think there’s a chance she flew to Virginia on Friday and murdered Julie? Is that what you’re saying?” Kelly asked incredulously. “I suppose the stars are also telling you she was wearing a red wig.”
“Because we’re friends, I’m going to ignore that snide comment. I’m not accusing anyone of anything, but you have to agree, that’s quite a coincidence,” Stephanie said.
“I would agree it’s quite a coincidence. I’m going to call Mike in a couple of minutes after I make another call. It seems to me he has a contact at the Portland airport, and maybe he can find out if a particular person took a flight out of Portland on a certain date. I’ll ask him about Sophie.”
“If she did fly there, it still doesn’t mean she murdered Julie, but if she didn’t fly there, we can eliminate her,” Stephanie said.
“I agree. I’ll look forward to your email and thanks. Although I don’t understand your astrology, that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth taking a look at. I’ll talk to you in a day or so,” Kelly said.
“Drive safely tomorrow. I’ve never met Mark, but even though he and Julie were going through a divorce, I never heard her say anything bad about him, which is pretty unusual.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting him, and I’m looking forward to Maine. I’ve never been there before.”
“From what I hear,” Stephanie said, “the lobster rolls at the hole in the wall eateries is the way to go. Have one for me.”
“Will do!”
*****
Kelly pressed in the number that Ryan Murphy had left in his message and a moment later she heard him say, “Thanks for calling me back, Mrs. Reynolds. I found out something I think you’ll find interesting.”
“I’m a bit overwhelmed at this point because there’s so much about Julie’s murder that’s interesting, but please, tell me what you’ve found out.”
“I called several of my friends who are adoption law attorneys. Two of them were no help, but the third one had just returned from a court appearance in a bitter adoption case. Evidently an Indian tribe in south Oregon was claiming that a six-year old child who was a member of the tribe and had been adopted by Anglo parents should be returned to the tribe so she could be raised by them. The adoptive parents would have to give her up. He’s representing the adoptive parents. His opposing counsel was a red-haired woman by the name of Megan Simmons. He told me even though she’s only thirty, she’s already a legend in legal circles.”
“Well, five will get you ten that’s Julie’s daughter. The age is right and the red hair definitely makes it sound like it’s her. Did you find out where she lives or works?”
“She lives in San Francisco, but she’s licensed to practice law in several western states, and because of her reputation, she’s very much in demand. I called her law office and found out she will be in Portland the rest of this week and next week, representing clients, and meeting with potential clients. At least that’s what her secretary said.”
“I know this is a long shot, but did you find out where she’s staying while she’s in Portland?”
“Yes. She’s at the Heathman Hotel in downtown Portland.”
“Thank you so much, Ryan. I still want to go to Julie’s house, but you certainly confirmed what Julie’s mother said about Megan living in San Francisco. I really appreciate your call.”
“Happy to help. Julie was my client, so I feel I have an obligation to do what I can in this case. Don’t forget to call me, so I can give you the key to Julie’s house.”
“I won’t. I’m leaving for Maine in the morning, but if it goes as planned, I should be returning to Portland Wednesday afternoon. Again, thanks.”
CHAPTER 16
Kelly looked at the clock on the nightstand, and although it was nine at night on the East Coast, it was only six o’clock in Cedar Bay. She planned on getting an early start in the morning, but she’d promised Mike she’d give him a call after her dinner with Clint. Hoping he was at home, she pressed his number into her cell phone.
“Kelly, I was just thinking about you while I was feeding the dogs. I think they all miss you, although Skyy does seem to be a dog that’s loyal to whoever is feeding her at the moment.”
“I’m not surprised. Think she’s still a little too young to have developed a strong sense of loyalty to either one of us. I’m hoping that will come. I’m always afraid if someone offers her a treat, she’d be gone in a minute. I’m even hesitant to take her with me and leave her in the car when I run errands. The vet told me to be careful because with her show dog looks, he was afraid someone might try to steal her. If they had a dog treat, she’d probably go willingly.”
“Enough about the dogs, love. I miss you. Are you still planning on coming home Wednesday?”
“I am, barring anything unforeseen happening. If you have a minute, I’d like to bring you up to date on everything that’s going on with this case.”
“Sweetheart, now that the dogs have been fed, I can listen to you uninterrupted. Otherwise, I might have had a riot on my hands. It was a brutal day at work, so if you hear strange gurgling sounds, it’s just me pouring myself a glass of wine. I want to hear about everything, and since you’re calling I assume your dinner worked out.”
“Well, yes, but I have some doubts. Okay here goes.” She spent the next twenty minutes telling him about her dinner with Clint and the conversations she’d had with Stephanie and Ryan. “What do you think, Mike? You know how much I value your input.”
“Thanks for the compliment, but sweet talk isn’t going to take away the feeling I’m getting that you’re putting yourself in danger. I have some real reservations about this guy Clint. Everything is a little too smooth. I mean the guy’s life has been a mess in every respect, and suddenly he has a flash from above or somewhere, and he decides to completely change? Then his sister is mysteriously murdered, and that happens just a few days after she’s been given ten million dollars.
“Need I remind you if Mrs. Logan hadn’t given that amount to Julie, it would probably have been split between Julie and him at the time of her death. And he just happens to see someone with red hair not too far from where Julie was murdered? And he says he knew nothing about having a red-haired niece? Kelly, his whole story seems too coincidental and too pat for me. What was your impression of him? Not based on what he told you, your gut reaction.”
She was quiet for a few moments as she thought about it. “Mike, I can’t really answer your question one way or the other. I have a feeling something is off, but I don’t know what it could be. Certainly he said all the right things, and if he is trying to get his life together, I applaud him for that, but on the other hand, I have to agree with you. His story does seem pretty convenient. I’m not sure how to go about finding out whether or not it’s true. I certainly can’t just show up at the insurance company and ask if he’s working there or peek in a window to see if he really isn’t drinking.”
“You’re resourceful. You’ll think of something. Kelly, I don’t mean to cut you off, but I’ve got some work I need to do on the computer. Are you set for Maine tomorrow?”
“Yes, I’ve reserved a car and made a reservation at the Harbor House Bed and Br
eakfast. That’s the one Julie’s husband owns. I looked it up on the Internet, and I reserved a cottage. It looks charming, and it’s right on the water. Anyway, I plan on eating breakfast here at the hotel and then I’ll drive up there.
“When I made my reservation, the clerk told me if I took I-95 it would take me close to an hour and a half, but she suggested I take Route 1A to Beverly and then take Route 127 north. It will take me longer, but she said it was really a scenic drive along the coast, and I could also see the marshes and some of the other cities I’ve read about. Matter of fact, I read a book by Nelson DeMille years ago called Plum Island, and the actual island is on the route I’ll be taking. As long as I’m going there, I might as well see everything I can.”
“I couldn’t agree more. I read that book, too, and as I remember it was pretty good. I’ll be curious what you think about that part of the country. Anything else before I sign off?”
“Yes, one more thing. I seem to recall you have a contact at the Portland Airport. I’d like to know if Megan or Sophie flew to Norfolk, Virginia last Friday? Any chance you can find that out for me?” Kelly asked.
“I do have a contact there who has been very helpful in the past. Since the murdered woman lived in Portland, I can probably get him to search the airline manifests of the different airlines and see what he can come up with. Give me the names.”
“Sophie Marx and Megan Simmons, and please thank him for me.”
“Nope, don’t think he’d do it for someone else, even as charming and beautiful as you are. I’ll couch it in such a way he’ll think he’s doing me a huge favor and one he can collect back from me when it’s needed. What I’ve done in the past is send him a case of wine. He’s quite the connoisseur.”
Murder on the East Coast: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Page 7
