Murder on the East Coast: A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery

by Dianne Harman

“Well, in that case, weren’t you still her husband in the eyes of the law on the date of her death?”

  He was quiet for a moment, then said, “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but the answer must be yes. When I spoke with Celia, she indicated Mrs. Logan wanted to have Julie cremated and her ashes placed in the family crypt under the church they attended. I guess she realized we were still married and wanted my permission which I gave. At the time I was so shocked I never thought about why she was asking for my permission. As a strong Catholic, she was very opposed to us getting divorced. It’s kind of a sick way to look at it, but at least Julie went to her death as a married woman, so the stigma of having both of her children divorced won’t be an issue for Mrs. Logan.”

  “From what I saw, that’s the least of her problems. Mark, I hate to bring this up, but did Julie ever mention to you she had a child out of wedlock right after she graduated from high school that she gave up for adoption?”

  Mark stared at her, slack-jawed. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “No, I’m not.” She told him how Megan had found Julie and about their having become reunited.

  “I honestly don’t know what to say. This is a complete shock to me. I’d like to meet her. Maybe there’s a little of Julie in her.”

  “I hear she has Julie’s red hair, and Julie told her mother Megan reminded her of what she was like at that age. I’m hoping to meet her when I return to Portland. I can certainly talk to her about you meeting with her. Let me ask you something else. Did you and Julie have wills?”

  “Yes, after we were married we went to an attorney and had them drawn up. They were reciprocal wills. I left all of my estate to her, and she left everything to me. We talked about changing them if and when her mother died, because I didn’t think it was fair for me to get that huge inheritance if Julie died first, although maybe it would have been better if I got it, rather than Clint. That would be a waste.”

  “Did you change your will after you and Julie separated?”

  “Yes, I changed it and willed everything I own to my sister. She lives nearby, and even though she has three children, she’s helped me out here at the bed and breakfast when I’ve been understaffed. Our parents are deceased, so she was my logical choice.”

  “Do you know if Julie changed her will?” Kelly asked.

  “I have no idea. I’ve never thought about it. I assume she would have, but I can’t say for sure.”

  “Mark, thank you for preventing whatever the intruder had planned. I enjoyed meeting you, and I hope you can find a way to keep this bed and breakfast open. It’s charming, and the food at the restaurant was excellent.”

  He smiled for the first time that night. “I love this place. Believe me, if there’s any way I can keep it open I will.” He stood up and said, “I think you’ll be fine for the rest of the night. I’m going to turn all of the cottage porchlights on. Here’s my cell number. I’ll keep my phone next to me, and if you hear anything tonight, just call me. See you in the morning. Come on, Max.”

  Kelly got down on one knee and petted the friendly yellow lab. “Nice meeting you, Max. Thanks.” Max stood there for a moment, accepting the petting and wagging his tail.

  Kelly got in bed and texted Stephanie. “Mark Jensen was born on June 22nd. He’s forty-eight. You do the math. I’m brain dead. Don’t bother to tell me the significance of any of their births. I’m on information overload. See you Thursday afternoon. Nite.”

  CHAPTER 21

  Kelly woke up surprisingly rested and refreshed given the scare she’d had during the night. She called the airline and made a reservation on a flight departing from Boston at one that afternoon. That would get her into Portland at about four, given the time change. She decided to wait and call Ryan and text Liz when she got to the airport, as it was too early on the West Coast for phone calls. She packed and then walked over to the main house for breakfast, promising herself she’d eat very little after last night.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Reynolds, I trust you slept well.”

  “Very, Mark, thanks, and this looks delicious. What a spread!”

  “People’s breakfast eating habits vary, so I like them to have several options, although I can never pass up the banana bread. You might want to give it a try.”

  “Thanks, I will after I have a cup of coffee and just soak up the sights.”

  An hour later she put her suitcase in her rental car and walked back to the main house to check out. Mark was at the reception counter with Max next to him. “Checking out, Mrs. Reynolds?”

  “Yes, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in York, even with the excitement last night. It’s simply beautiful here. Thanks again for helping me last night.”

  “I wouldn’t be a very good host if I didn’t do everything I could to make sure my guest’s stays are both safe and enjoyable, and getting rid of an intruder certainly falls into the safe category. Mrs. Reynolds, I’ve been thinking about our conversation last night. I’d really like to meet Julie’s daughter. Do you think I could?”

  “I don’t know why there would be a problem, but let me call you after I meet with her.”

  “Thanks. I’d appreciate anything you could do. Drive safely, and I hope to see you back here one of these days.”

  “Stranger things have happened in my life, Mark. You very well might!”

  Kelly took the Interstate back to Boston and easily returned the rental car. She sat down on one of the benches across from the ticketing counter in the airport terminal and called Ryan.

  “Hello, Kelly. How’s the East Coast?” the male voice with the distinctive Irish lilt asked.

  “Beautiful. I’ve had a lobster dinner and a lobster roll, so I guess it’s time to return home. I’m getting into Portland about four this afternoon. I’m flying on American. Is there any chance you could pick me up and take me over to Julie’s house? I’m sorry to ask you, but it would save me driving over to Cedar Bay tonight and then driving back to Portland tomorrow.”

  “Not a problem. By the way, I checked out your Facebook page, so I know what you look like. I’ll be driving a grey SUV. I’ll pick you up on the sidewalk outside the arrival level, next to the baggage claim.”

  “Thanks, Ryan, I really appreciate this. I’ll text the person who was going to meet me that I’ll be delayed. After we go to Julie’s I’d like to go to the Heathman Hotel and see if I can meet Megan. Would you like to go with me? Might be appropriate, since you were her mother’s attorney.”

  “Certainly, I have no plans this evening.”

  “Great, I’ll see you about four on the sidewalk on the arrival level.”

  Next, she texted Liz and told her about the change of plans, asking her to confirm they were okay with her. A moment later her text notification buzzed. Liz told her to text her when she was ready to go to Cedar Bay and that she’d be waiting at a friend’s home in Portland. Kelly looked at her watch and realized she had three hours to kill before her plane left. She picked up her cell phone and pressed in Mrs. Logan’s number.

  “This is Celia, Mrs. Reynolds. How can I help you?”

  “Celia, you’re just the one I wanted to talk to. How is Mrs. Logan doing today?”

  “She’s actually having a very good day. Would you like to talk to her?”

  “Not really. I’m at the airport, and my flight doesn’t leave for three hours. If it’s not inconvenient, I thought I might visit her for a little while.”

  “That would be fine. I’m sure she would like to see you. I’ll have Jasper pick you up. Where specifically are you?” she asked.

  “I’ll be outside in front of the American terminal on the departure level. Are you sure that’s not an inconvenience for him?”

  “Not at all. He’s a driver and that’s what drivers do, drive. We’ll see you soon.”

  Twenty minutes later Kelly spotted the limousine and waved to Jasper. He pulled up to the curb, and she quickly got in. “Thanks, Jasper, I really appreciate this. It’s kind of spur of the moment.
”

  After the short drive from the airport, Jasper pulled to a stop in front of the Logan mansion and walked around the car to open Kelly’s door. “Mrs. Logan is having a good day. We’re all keeping our fingers crossed hoping this new experimental drug is working. None of us want to see her in pain.”

  “Nor do I. Maybe it is a miracle drug. I’d like to believe it is, and with everything that’s happened to her, I think she could use one.”

  The front door opened and Celia said, “Good morning, Mrs. Reynolds. Mrs. Logan is in the drawing room. She’s looking forward to seeing you.” She escorted Kelly into the room where she’d met Marcy Logan two days earlier.

  “Hello, Marcy. I understand you’re having a good day. I’m so glad,” Kelly said as she put her hand on Mrs. Logan’s frail shoulder.

  “Yes, I’m beginning to hope this new drug is working, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing or a bad thing.”

  “I think hope is always a good thing,” Kelly answered. “I had some time before my flight back to Portland, and I wanted to stop by and bring you up to date.” She proceeded to fill her in on Stephanie’s suspicions about Sophie, her flying to Norfolk, and also told Mrs. Logan about her trip to York to meet Mark.

  “You’ve been very busy, it seems,” Mrs. Logan said in a faint and raspy voice. “Do you think someone other than the transient killed Julie?”

  “I haven’t found out anything definitive. When I return to Portland I’m meeting with Julie’s attorney, and then we’re going to her house to see if there’s anything there that might shed some light on the mystery. After that I’d like to meet her daughter. Thursday afternoon I’m meeting with Sophie Marx and Stephanie.”

  “What did you think of Mark?” Mrs. Logan asked.

  “I liked him a lot. He seemed devoted to Julie and is clearly shaken up by her sudden death. We talked about him being Julie’s husband in the eyes of the law, since the divorce wouldn’t have been final until next month. I don’t think he’d really thought about it in that manner. Mark has made a new will and left everything he owns to his sister. He assumed Julie had also made a new will. Naturally, I never mentioned the fact that you’d given her ten million dollars, and that if she hadn’t changed her will, then in that event, he would probably be the sole beneficiary of her estate which would include the ten million dollars.”

  “He was always special to me,” Marcy said. “Even now he still stops by occasionally. I was heartsick when Julie decided to divorce him. I tried to tell her that marriage isn’t quite like it’s often portrayed in the movies, but I didn’t have much luck. She was determined to begin a new life on the West Coast, and so she did. I do have a question. Do you think Megan could make a claim to Julie’s estate, since she’s Julie’s biological daughter?”

  “I don’t know. That’s definitely a question for a lawyer. I can ask Julie’s lawyer when I meet with him this afternoon, if you’d like.”

  “Yes, I’m curious. This could get messy if that happens.”

  “I agree. Mrs. Logan, I need to ask you a couple of questions, and I’m concerned they might be painful for you.”

  “If it can help find out who murdered Julie, yes, please ask.”

  “Marcy, are you sure this is a good idea?” Celia asked standing next to her.

  “Celia, maybe too many things went unsaid in this house, and it’s time to right those wrongs.” Her blue eyes looked steadily at Kelly. “Ask me what you will.”

  “Marcy, I had dinner with Clint the night before last night. He told me that he no longer drinks, that he got a job at your insurance company, and that he had gone to Julie’s graduation intending to speak with her and attempt to make amends with her. Did you know about any of this?”

  Mrs. Logan looked down at her hands for a long time and then looked up at Kelly, her eyes bright with unshed tears. “Kelly, I don’t know about the graduation and the drinking, but I do know he’s not employed by the insurance company.”

  Celia audibly gasped and exclaimed in a shrill voice, “Why Marcy, how can that be? He sat right here in this room and told you he’d taken a job there. Did you call the company?”

  “It’s not an easy thing to admit you raised a son who is a bald-faced liar, especially a son who would lie to his own mother. I knew he thought I was too old and too ill to check it out, but I called my husband’s old secretary. She’s about ready to retire, and we talk from time to time. I told her what Clint had said about working for the company, and she told me she was wasn’t aware of him working there, but she said she’d call Human Resources and find out for sure. She called me back yesterday afternoon and told me there was no record of him currently working for the company.”

  “Marcy, I’m so sorry. I’m afraid I have some other bad news for you.” She told Marcy about her conversation with the hostess at the restaurant. “Since he seems to have lied about working for the insurance company, and a reliable source told me he hasn’t stopped drinking, I’m wondering what to believe about him claiming he attended Julie’s graduation.”

  “I have no idea what to tell you.”

  “Did you tell him that Julie had been reunited with her daughter, and that she has red hair?”

  “No. I knew it would only make him angry, and he would be concerned that it might cut into his inheritance.”

  “Do you have any idea how he would know, if he did?”

  The three of them were quiet for a few moments and then Celia spoke. “Marcy, I hate to say this, and I don’t want to accuse Clint of anything, but one time when he was here at the house I happened to come down from your room unexpectedly. He was standing over there where the phone jack is located. The only reason I bring it up is I was watching a show on television the other night after you’d gone to bed, and a person in the show had installed a bug on the phone jack that allowed him to hear conversations between people. I wonder if Clint might have done something like that.”

  Mrs. Logan was quiet for a moment and then she said with steely determination, “Call Jonathan and have him come over and see if he can find anything.” She turned to Kelly and said, “He’s the electrician we’ve used for years when we’ve had telephone or electrical problems here at the hose. He knows everything about this house, because he upgraded everything several years ago. Celia, I want you to call him right now.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Celia said. She returned a few minutes later. “Jonathan will be here as soon as he finishes the job he’s on. He says it should be within the next two hours.”

  “I’m so sorry to bring all of this up. I know it has to be painful for you,” Kelly said.

  “It’s terribly painful, but I want to get to the bottom of this. If, in fact, Clint had something to do with Julie’s murder, I don’t know if I can ever forgive myself for allowing it to happen.”

  “Mrs. Logan, I’m not a psychologist, but it seems to me Clint had the same opportunities and the same parents that Julie did. Some people turn out differently for whatever reason. You can’t blame yourself for Clint’s actions.”

  “Thank you, but I can’t help blaming myself for the way he’s turned out. If anyone is responsible, I suppose it would be me. It sure doesn’t look like he’s going to claim any responsibility.”

  “That may be true, but I really think we all do the best we can do at any given time. If we could do something else, we probably would. We still don’t know if any of our thoughts regarding Clint are true. I need to get to the airport. Celia, could you call Jasper for me?”

  “Of course.” She walked over to the house phone, made a call, and said, “He’ll be in front of the house in five minutes.”

  Kelly walked over to where Mrs. Logan was seated and said, “Marcy, no matter what we find out, you can’t blame yourself. I think anyone would be honored to have you for a mother or a grandmother. Maybe getting to know the granddaughter you became separated from all those years ago would be a good idea. I’ll call you when I know something. I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know w
hat Jonathan finds out about your phone possibly being bugged. I feel honored to have met you. Thank you, and I’m praying for a miracle for you.”

  She walked to the front door and turned to Celia who had accompanied her. “I assume you’re going to take her up to her room, so she can rest for a while.”

  “Yes, she likes to think she’s strong, but this is definitely taking its toll on her.”

  “Celia, may I have your cell phone number? If I find out anything disturbing, maybe the two of us should be in agreement about how much I should tell her.”

  “That would be a good idea, and thanks for being so sensitive to this difficult situation.”

  “Goodbye, Celia. Take care of her.”

  “Trust me, Mrs. Reynolds, that’s one thing you definitely don’t need to worry about.”

  Less than a half hour later Jasper pulled up to the American departure level and said, “Have a safe flight, Mrs. Reynolds. I look forward to seeing you again.”

  Kelly stepped out of the limousine, waved goodbye to him, and walked into the busy terminal, pulling her roller bag behind her.

  CHAPTER 22

  The plane trip back to Portland was uneventful. Kelly spent the time alternating between looking out the window, trying to solve in her mind the mystery surrounding the murder of Julie Jensen, and reading the novel she’d brought with her. After they landed she retrieved her bag from the baggage carousel and walked out to the curb. Within minutes a grey SUV pulled up, and the driver waved to her. He opened the passenger window and said, “Hi Kelly. I’m Ryan. I’d get out and open the door for you, but in this traffic that probably isn’t a very good idea.”

  She quickly got in his SUV and said, “Thanks so much for meeting me. It’s been an eventful couple of days. Excuse me for a moment. I need to check my messages after that long flight. Looks like I’ve got two of them. I’ll just be a minute.”

  Both voicemail messages were from numbers she didn’t recognize. Kelly listened to the first one and gasped. Ryan turned towards her, an inquisitive look on his face. She held her hand up in a gesture indicating she was still listening. After she listened to the second message, she sat back against the seat and closed her eyes, clearly stunned at what she’d just heard.