by J A Whiting
“Dr. Littleton arrived out of the blue about an hour ago,” William said. “She’s a friend of Pepper Forrest. She asked me a bunch of questions, most of which I couldn’t answer. She has an appointment at the police department later today to speak with the investigators. I don’t think she’ll get much information from them. She’s not a relative of Dr. Forrest so they won’t share much of anything with her.”
Nell nodded. “I think you’re right. Did you learn anything about Dr. Littleton?”
“Not much. She lives in Boston, has been friends with Dr. Forrest for two years, works in the same department at the university in Boston. That’s all she told me. Since you and your sister are trying to find out some things about the deceased woman, I thought I’d have you come down and have a chat with Dr. Littleton.”
“I appreciate it,” Nell said and as they turned into the backyard, she saw a woman sitting in a chair under the tall Maple tree.
William introduced Nell, and then headed inside to see to his guests.
Nell took the chair next to Dr. Littleton. “I’m very sorry about your friend.”
Janis Littleton was in her late-thirties, had chin-length blond hair and big blue eyes, and looked athletic and fit. She seemed nervous and upset, touching her hair and passing her hand over her eyes, but was clearly trying to hide her feelings of distress. “I work in the same department that Pepper does … did. I couldn’t believe it when I heard the news. It’s a terrible, terrible loss for the college community, but also for me personally. We were friends. I enjoyed her friendship immensely.” The words caught in the woman’s throat and she shook her head slowly.
“You came to Bluewater to speak with the police?” Nell asked.
“I hoped they could shed some light on what happened to Pepper.”
“I’m sure they’ll be eager to talk to you,” Nell said even though she doubted the police would be keen to speak with Dr. Littleton.
“The innkeeper told me you were with Pepper right before she died,” Janis said.
Nell corrected her. “I was working in the backroom of our shop. I only saw your friend from the back and only for a moment. My sister waited on her. Pepper purchased a necklace and then she left. I went into the front room to talk with my sister and I noticed a car speed away from the curb.” She paused and swallowed. “The car hit your friend. We ran out to see if there was anything we could do, but it was too late. It happened very fast. Your friend didn’t suffer.” Nell tried to offer a bit of comfort.
Janis touched at her eyes with a tissue. “So it was definitely a hit and run?”
“It was. The car has been found. The driver hasn’t been identified yet.”
“How did Pepper seem when she was at your store?” Janis asked.
A shot of adrenaline raced through Nell. “She didn’t shop for very long. She chose the necklace quickly, and as I said, I didn’t interact with her at all. My sister didn’t notice anything unusual. Pepper bought a necklace and left the shop. It was a brief interaction.” Nell looked at Janis. “Why do you ask how Pepper seemed? Was anything wrong? Was anything going on with her?”
“No, at least I don’t think so,” Janis said. “I only wondered if she was in a hurry. Was she late for something? Did she rush into the street in her haste? I don’t understand how someone could hit her in a town like this. People drive slowly in these little towns. There are tourists around. No one speeds down a street like that.”
Except in this case, Nell thought, but didn’t say the words out loud.
“I remember one odd thing.” Janis squeezed her hands together. “When Pepper and I went out for a few drinks one night not long ago, she mentioned she felt she was being watched. Sometimes she had the impression she was being followed. I was worried and asked her some questions, but then she brushed it off saying she had an active imagination, that it was all foolishness. I didn’t want to let it go, but she wouldn’t say anymore.”
Nell looked alarmed. “Do you think someone was following her?”
“I have no idea. I don’t know why Pepper would think such a thing.”
“What was Pepper like?” Nell asked.
Janis blinked in surprise, not expecting someone to ask her to describe her friend. “She was a nice person, great to be around, helpful, upbeat. She was quiet in a large group, but with a few friends, she was talkative and friendly. She easily put anyone at ease, you opened up to her, she was an excellent listener.”
“You knew her for about two years?” Nell asked.
“That’s right. She was very welcoming when I joined the department.”
“Had anything been bothering her lately? Did she ever bring up being followed again?”
“No, she didn’t.” Janis tilted her head to the side in thought. “I don’t think anything was bothering her. She gave no indication she was concerned about anything, but I can’t say for sure.”
“Was she married?”
A cloud settled over Janis’s face. “She was married years ago. Her husband was killed in a car accident.” The woman’s shoulders slumped. “It happened about six months or so after they were married. What happened to Pepper is so unbelievable. About a year before her husband died, he and Pepper were in a serious car accident together. They were engaged at the time. It took months for them to recover from it. Then they got married, and her husband was killed in a crash. Now Pepper is dead from a car hitting her. It’s like fate wouldn’t stop until it took both of their lives.”
A chill slipped over Nell’s skin. It all seemed an impossible series of events.
“Did this all happen in Massachusetts?”
“No. Pepper and her husband lived in California. After he died, she moved to the Boston area.”
“For a job?” Nell asked.
“No. She told me she moved here because it was as far away from her life in California as she could get without leaving the country. She was born in New Hampshire and her family moved to the West Coast when she was little.”
“Was Pepper teaching at a university when she was married?”
“She was a high school chemistry teacher back then. She left the state because she was heartbroken over the loss of her husband and needed a huge change. Her first year in Massachusetts, she did odd jobs. She applied to do a Ph.D. and was accepted. When she finished the degree, she got a professorship at the university in Boston. That’s where I met her.”
“Are her parents still alive?” Nell asked.
“They passed away. Pepper was an only child. She told me she had no living relatives.”
“Was she dating anyone recently?”
“No. She dated off and on, but could never find someone who was a good match,” Janis said. “I always wondered if she wouldn’t allow herself to get close to another man because of the loss she suffered. I really think she was trying to protect herself from being hurt again.”
“Was there anyone she dated who maybe didn’t like the fact that Pepper wouldn’t commit to a relationship? Was there anyone she broke off with who was angry about being dropped?” Nell asked.
“I’m not really sure,” Janis said, and then her eyes widened with a look of alarm. “Are you asking because ... do you think someone hurt Pepper deliberately?”
“I don’t know anything,” Nell said. “It crossed my mind that maybe someone had a grudge against Pepper, but from how you describe her, she sounds like a very caring person.”
Janis didn’t respond, she just looked across the yard, seemingly deep in thought. “I … I’ll have to think about this. I can’t imagine someone being angry with Pepper. Everyone liked her. She was nice to everyone.” Janis shook her head. “No, this had to be an accident.”
Nell asked, “I understand Pepper came to Bluewater for a symposium. Did she also want a few days on her own?”
“It seemed to be a very spur of the moment thing.” Janis held her hands tightly together in her lap. “Pepper texted me. She said she’d decided to take off for a couple of days to att
end a symposium at the medical school in Bluewater. She said she’d see me on Monday.”
“Did she do that from time to time?” Nell asked. “Did she go off for a couple of days on her own every now and then?”
“No. She never did. This was the first time. Honestly? I was very surprised she didn’t ask me to go with her. We’re in the same field. At first, I felt a little bad about it, but then I told myself that Pepper had been working hard and probably needed a change of scenery.” Janis’s face fell and her eyes teared up. “If I only she’d asked me to go along. Maybe she’d still be alive.”
9
Nell and Dr. Rob decided to go for a run early in the morning when the air was cooler and the humidity was lower. When they returned to the university medical campus, they decided to sit on the outside patio to enjoy the glasses of lemonade they purchased in the cafeteria.
Rob asked Nell if there was any news related to the hit-and-run accident and she reported talking with William, the innkeeper at The Sandy Rose, about Pepper staying there. She also told him about seeing orange flashes in the windows of her house and on the street when returning home from town the other evening, and reported what she’d learned from, Pepper’s friend, Dr. Janis Littleton.
“You’ve sure been busy,” Rob said. “The neighbor saw someone lurking in your yard?”
“He thinks so. Iris and I thought we spotted someone in the shadows when we were getting closer to the house. I wouldn’t have given it much thought if John and Ida hadn’t seen something, too.”
“You saw flashes of orange in the house?” Rob gave Nell a serious look.
With a nod, Nell said, “I didn’t share that with John and Ida. The flashes were quick. At first, I worried the house was on fire, but when I looked again, they were gone. I saw a flash in the street. It shot into the air like a sparkler and the color disappeared. Was it a warning of some kind? Was someone looking around our house?”
“It’s possible that you’re picking up on energy like you did when you saw Pepper Forrest in the shop,” Rob said. “If someone was in your yard checking out the house, the person could have left behind traces of his intention. You picked up on it and saw it as orange flashes.”
Nell had a skeptical expression on her face. “Really? Do you really think it’s possible for people to see energy that’s given off by others?”
“If you asked the average person if it was possible for someone to see millions more colors in the world than they were able to see, they’d most likely say no,” Rob said.
Nell cocked her head to the side. “But I’m asking this question of an expert who studies vision and energy and the structure of the eye. I’m not asking an average person, so I don’t expect an average answer. Do you think it’s possible?”
“That was my point.” When Rob lifted the tall glass of lemonade, the ice cubes clinked against the sides. “Because something is unusual, it is often distrusted or dismissed. I do think it’s possible that people’s emotions can become energy and that it might be possible to see that energy. By some people.”
Dr. Atkins Murray approached the table and sat down before Nell could ask Rob another question. “I was looking for you.”
“Hello to you, too,” Rob kidded the man for his abrupt appearance at their table.
“Oh, hello,” Atkins said and then glanced at Nell, nodded, and said a quick hello to her. “I have some articles I want to discuss,” he told Rob.
Rob said, “Nell and I just finished a run. Why don’t you get a cold drink and sit with us for a while? We can go over the articles once I’m back in my office.”
Atkins face showed impatience. “I don’t want a drink.”
“Well, you can sit and chat with us while we finish up. We won’t be long.”
Nell felt a little surge of annoyance. She’d wanted to talk privately with Rob about what she’d been experiencing, and now that Atkins had taken a seat, she wouldn’t be able to pick Rob’s brain.
Rob tried to make small talk that included Atkins. “Nell and I were discussing the hit-and-run accident that happened a few days ago.”
Atkins grunted. “She should have watched out for cars on the street.”
Nell’s face flushed with a jolt of anger. “I saw the speeding car. If you’d started to walk across the street, it would have hit you. There wasn’t anything Dr. Forrest could have done to avoid it. There wasn’t any time for her to react. That’s how fast the vehicle was going.”
Atkins stared at Nell. “You were there?”
“Yes.”
“You saw it?”
“I saw the car speed by. I was inside my store. I didn’t see the actual impact, but I heard it.”
“I knew her,” Atkins said.
Nell’s eyes widened with surprise. “Who? Pepper Forrest?”
“I met her in Boston when we were both working at the same university.”
“Did you know her well?” Nell asked, amazed that Atkins knew the woman, but didn’t show any shock or concern that she’d been killed.
“Not that well.”
“You only met her once?” Rob asked.
“More than once. We dated.”
Nell almost fell out of her chair. “You dated? For how long?”
“A handful of times.” Atkins looked off across the campus lawn.
“What does a handful mean?” Nell asked. “Five times? Twenty times?”
The new researcher turned to Nell. “I didn’t keep track of the exact number of times we went out.”
Nell took a breath and when she spoke again, she made sure her tone sounded interested instead of accusatory. “Why did you stop seeing Pepper after only a handful of dates?”
“She didn’t wish to continue the relationship,” Atkins said.
“Did she say why?” Rob asked.
“I don’t recall.” Atkins sounded grumpy.
“What do you know about Dr. Forrest?” Nell questioned, hoping to learn more about the woman.
Atkins straightened in his seat. “I don’t engage in gossip.”
“It’s only conversation about the woman,” Rob explained. “No one wishes to gossip about her. We’d only like to know what she was like.”
Nell didn’t want the conversation to change direction that fast. “Is there something to gossip about? Did something happen that made people talk?”
“I don’t wish to speak ill of the woman,” Atkins said.
“Did she do something wrong?” Nell asked, wishing the researcher would be more forthcoming.
“She broke off with me.” Atkins looked at Nell like she was thick-headed.
“Can you tell us about Pepper?” Rob asked. “What was she like?”
“She was smart, attractive, well-spoken. She was interesting to talk with, she knew a lot about varied subjects.” Atkins’s face looked stony.
“Do you know anything about her background?” Rob asked.
“She lived in California. Her husband died suddenly. She didn’t have any family. I believe she worked briefly as a high school teacher. She left the West Coast to study in the Boston area and after she finished, she worked at a university in the city.”
“How long ago did you date?” Nell asked the man.
“A year.”
Nell continued with her questions. “Did Pepper ever mention being worried or frightened about anything? Or anyone?”
Atkins’s blue eyes bored into Nell’s. “No. What in the world could she have been frightened of?”
Nell made some suggestions. “An ex-boyfriend who was bothering her. A student who didn’t like his grade. Someone on the university campus who had a run-in with her. Someone who lived nearby. Did Pepper ever confide in you about anything odd or unusual that might have happened to her?”
“No, she didn’t. I don’t remember anything like that,” Atkins said.
“I heard Pepper had been in a serious car accident when she lived in California,” Nell said. “Did she tell you anything about that?”
&nb
sp; “No.” Atkins appeared to become more unsettled as the conversation went on.
“Had you been in contact with Pepper since you and she stopped dating?” Rob asked.
“Not at all. Our offices were on different sides of the campus. We didn’t run into each other. I left Boston to take this position.”
Something picked at Nell. “Did Pepper know you were working in Bluewater?”
“I have no idea. I certainly didn’t tell her.”
Nell leaned forward. “Did you happen to see her in town while she was visiting here?”
“I did not.” Atkins’s voice was stern.
“I’m sorry if speaking about Pepper is upsetting to you,” Nell said. “We only wondered what she was like. I apologize for bringing it up.”
Atkins shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I don’t have any desire to talk about Pepper. I wasn’t pleased when she wouldn’t see me anymore. I don’t mean to sound cruel, but I really don’t have any interest in what happened. Pepper became a stranger to me.” The researcher stood. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.” He looked at Rob. “Let me know when you’re back in your office.” Atkins strode away from the patio.
“He sure got annoyed talking about Dr. Forrest.” Rob watched his co-worker hurry away.
When Nell didn’t say anything, Rob turned his attention to her. “What’s wrong?”
Nell swallowed hard. “At the end of the conversation, Atkins started to take on a color.”
“What did you see?” Rob asked quietly.
Nell’s voice was almost inaudible. “Red. Atkins was covered in red. Just like Pepper was.”
Rob’s eyebrows shot up. “Do you sense that Atkins is in danger?”
“No.” Nell shook her head. “I feel anger from him. It feels like rage.”
Rob looked to be sure the researcher was in the distance and out of earshot. “He was very bothered that Dr. Forrest wouldn’t go out with him after the first dates they had together. He seems to be harboring resentment about it.”
