by J A Whiting
“How resentful is he?” Nell asked.
Rob understood what his friend was getting at. “Not Atkins. He’s odd, sure, but he wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
“How long have you known him?” Nell asked.
Rob let out a sigh. “Not long.”
Nell shivered, not wanting to believe it was possible she’d been sitting with Pepper’s killer. “Where was Atkins on the day Pepper was killed? Was he in the office at the time she was hit? Do you remember if he was here?”
“I wasn’t here that afternoon,” Rob said. “I was in a meeting in Boston.”
“Oh. Can you find out from someone if Atkins was here?”
Rob gave a quick nod. “I’ll ask around. Discreetly.”
10
“See, right here. And here, too. These posts are rotting.” Violet had a screwdriver in her hand and was poking the tip into the soft wood of the deck and the posts that held it up. “It needs to be replaced or we’re going to step outside one of these days and fall through the floor.”
Iris sat in the grass listening to the two sisters discuss the needed reconstruction. She woofed when Violet mentioned falling through the deck floor.
“How much will it cost?” Nell asked while peering at the underside of the wide porch.
“Plenty,” Violet said. “We need to replace it with that recycled material, composite-type stuff so it won’t rot like this again.”
“Will it cost a lot?”
Violet shrugged. “Thousands.”
“Really?” Nell groaned. “Should we just knock it down and not have a deck?”
“But we use it all the time.” Violet stuck the screwdriver into the pocket of her shorts. “We can see the ocean from the deck. Wouldn’t you miss it?”
“I would, but I might miss the money that gets taken out of my savings account more.”
John Patrick, the neighbor, came into the yard and Iris trotted over to greet him.
“Hi, John,” Nell said.
“What’s going on? Why are you under the deck?” The older man patted the dog on the head and Iris was lapping it up.
“It’s rotting,” Nell explained. “It either has to be replaced or it has to be torn down.”
“What are you going to do?” John stroked his chin.
“We were discussing the cost. We’re not sure what to do.”
“A deck can be a nice selling point for a house,” John said as he checked the posts for the rot.
“But we aren’t going to sell it,” Violet told their neighbor.
“I’m glad to hear that. We’d miss you two. It’d be a shame to take it down. You’ve got such a nice view from the deck.” John adjusted his eyeglasses. “Have you met the handyman-gardener who works at The Sandy Rose? His name’s Bobby. He’s done some work for us. He does a good job and he’s very reasonable in what he charges. Why don’t you ask him for a quote?”
“I talked to Bobby the other day,” Nell said. “He seems like a nice guy. He offered to come over sometime and give us some advice on how to improve the gardens back here. Mom had a green thumb. I think it’s pretty clear that we don’t.”
“It looks fine,” John said.
“Fine was a word you could use to describe Mom’s gardens,” Violet smiled. “We’re not living up to it.”
“Take Bobby up on his offer to check out the gardens,” John suggested. “He can replace the deck and get the flowers back into shape.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Nell said.
“Ida sent me over to invite you to dinner. It’s our turn. How about Thursday?” John asked. Since Violet and Nell had moved into the Bluewater house, they’d been taking turns with John and Ida hosting dinners for each other at least once a month. After the meal, the four of them would play a board game together while Iris slept on a rug.
“Thursday’s great,” Violet said. “We’ll bring some wine.”
When John returned to his house, Violet said to her sister, “I have something to tell you. Peter was here this morning. They’re having trouble with Pepper Forrest’s case. There’s a lot of pressure on the department to get this thing solved, but every bit of information they follow turns into a dead end.”
Nell said, “I hope something works out soon and they can find the killer.”
Violet stared at Nell.
“What?” Nell began to feel uneasy. “Why are you looking at me that way?”
“Dani and Peter came by earlier to talk to you, but you weren’t here. Peter had a meeting with Chief Lambert. The chief told Peter he’d been talking with the Sweet Cove Chief of Police, Phillip Martin.”
“Does Chief Martin have a lead?” Nell’s face took on a hopeful expression.
“Not necessarily,” Violet said. “Not the way you think.”
Nell tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
“Chief Martin told Chief Lambert that he sometimes works with a psychic or an intuit who brings an important and invaluable viewpoint to difficult cases.”
Suddenly, Nell’s eyes darkened. “Wait a minute….”
“Chief Lambert knows you’re a tetrachromat.”
Nell’s voice was soft. “Did Peter tell him what I saw the day Pepper was in the store? Did he tell the chief that I saw red all over Pepper Forrest?”
Violet didn’t say anything.
“Did he?” Nell pressed.
“He might have mentioned something about what you saw.”
“Oh, no,” Nell groaned and began to pace around the yard, her auburn ponytail bobbing with every step. “The chief is going to think I’m a freak.”
“Peter thinks you can be of help,” Violet said. “You told me yourself you wanted to do something to help the case, to help Pepper. You said if this thing of yours is some new skill, then you want to use it to help others.”
Nell stopped pacing. “What if it won’t work when I need it to? What if I only see the colors on someone whenever the mood strikes? I’ll be good for nothing. I’ll be useless. I’ll let everyone down.”
Violet smiled. “No, you won’t. Peter told the chief that this is new. That you don’t understand it and that you’re talking to Dr. Rob about trying to figure it out.”
“What did the chief say?” Nell asked warily.
“Chief Lambert was friendly with Mom and Dad. He knows us. He was amazed that you saw the red. Peter said they could sure use some help on the case. The chief wants to talk to you.”
“Oh, gosh.” Nell’s voice shook and she ran her hand nervously over the top of her hair.
“Peter will be there with you. It will be just the three of you. No one else will sit in on the meeting,” Violet said. “I’ll go, too, if you want me to.”
“Oh, gosh,” Nell said again. She sank down onto the grass and Iris rushed over to lick her face.
Violet sat next to her sister. “You could go and talk to the chief. Listen to what he has to say. If you feel uncomfortable about it, then decline whatever it is he’s going to ask of you. Chief Lambert is a nice man. He won’t push you to do something you don’t want to do.”
“Okay.” Nell nodded. “I’ll talk to him, but I’m not making any promises.”
* * *
Violet, Nell, Chief Alan Lambert, and Peter sat around the wooden conference table in an office of the Bluewater Police Department. Chief Lambert was in his mid-sixties and had bright blue eyes and a bald head. He was still in shape, but remaining fit took him more work than it ever had in the past.
The chief cleared his throat and thanked the sisters for coming in. “Peter tells me you had quite an experience. Would you mind telling me about what happened the afternoon that Dr. Forrest suffered the accident?”
Nell sipped from the glass of water that sat on the table in front of her. Her heart pounded like a sledgehammer and a faint bit of perspiration showed on her forehead. After taking a look at her sister and receiving an encouraging nod from Violet, Nell told her story.
“Amazing.” Chief Lambert was intri
gued and fascinated by what Nell had experienced. “Have you ever had this happen to you prior to that day?”
“Never. Nothing like it had ever happened to me before.”
“Has it happened again since Dr. Forrest’s accident?” the chief asked.
A tightness gathered in Nell’s stomach as she thought of Atkins Murray and how she saw him covered in red when she and Rob talked to him about his relationship with Pepper. Not wanting to implicate the man, she didn’t mention what she saw. If Rob discovered Atkins wasn’t in the office or lab on the afternoon of the hit-and-run, then she would share that information with Chief Lambert.
“I was walking home the other night with Iris. I saw orange flashes in the windows of our house, and I thought I saw someone in the shadows in our yard. The neighbor saw someone in our yard, too, when he happened to look out his window. I also saw a flash of orange in the street when I was going into the house. I think it was a warning of some kind.” Nell told the chief Dr. Rob’s theory about emotions being expressed as visible energy that she was able to pick up on.
“It’s quite a theory. Incredible, really.” Chief Lambert picked up his pen and held it in his hand, rolling it between his fingers. “Peter must have told you I’ve been in contact with some other departments in the area. Several have good working relationships with a few people who have some unique abilities. The other chiefs aren’t willing to share those people’s names. Most of those psychics, if that’s what you call them, have requested anonymity and will only work with the chiefs they feel comfortable with.”
“We’re up a tree here,” Peter said to Nell. “We’re running into brick walls. Dr. Forrest had registered for a symposium at the medical school, but she never checked in. She didn’t attend the lectures. Why didn’t she?” He held Nell’s eyes. “We could use some help. I told Chief Lambert this ability is new to you, that you don’t know how to control it, or what to expect from it.”
The chief said, “I’m willing to take the opportunity. I’m willing to see if what you experienced could help us with this case. Of course, your work with us will be held in confidence. You’ll be anonymous. I’ll even have papers drawn up spelling all of this out.” Chief Lambert put his pen down and leaned slightly forward, his blue eyes focused on Nell. “Will you give this a try? Will you see if you can help the case? Will you trust us to keep your involvement in confidence?”
“What kinds of things would you want me to do?” Nell asked, her voice shaking a little.
Chief Lambert said, “I might ask you to talk to some people. I’d go over the questions I’d want you to ask beforehand. I’d probably ask you to visit a few places. Peter would go with you. I promise I will never put you in a dangerous situation. If you don’t want to do something, just say the word. You can back out any time you want. I’ve never worked with anyone with sensitive abilities.” The corners of the chief’s mouth turned up. “I guess we’ll be learning together.”
“What do you say, Nell?” Peter asked.
Nell made eye contact with Violet, and then she turned to the chief and said, “Okay. Let’s give it a try.”
11
Nell’s first assignment for the police department would be to accompany Peter to the car rental place where the vehicle that hit Pepper had been leased. Officers had already interviewed the employee who did the paperwork with the driver, but another visit wouldn’t hurt and Chief Lambert was hopeful Nell would be able to pick up on something they’d overlooked.
Walking into the center of town on her way to the police department to meet Peter, Nell received a text from him saying he was running late and would she mind passing some time at Dani’s coffee shop where he’d pick her up in thirty minutes.
Nell was happy to see an empty table by the window where she’d be able to see Peter pull up to the curb.
Dani stood behind the counter and when she saw Nell enter, she raised an empty coffee mug with a questioning look.
Nell smiled and nodded, and then took a seat at the table, and in less than three minutes, Dani had set down a hot cup of coffee for her friend.
“Why aren’t you at the shop?” Dani asked.
“I’m meeting Peter in a little while.” Nell made eye contact with the coffee shop owner.
“Ah.” Dani gave a knowing nod of her head. “Hopefully something useful will come out of the meeting.” After a little conversation, Dani had to return to handle the takeout customers.
As Nell poured some milk into her coffee, she noticed someone standing next to her and looked up to see Detective Michael Gregory, the law enforcement officer who had come up from Boston to assist on the case.
“May I?” The detective gestured to the empty seat at the table and Nell, feeling a flush of warmth in her cheeks, nodded.
The detective introduced himself. “I saw you on the deck at the restaurant a few days ago. You were with Dani and another woman.”
“That was my sister, Violet.” Nell’s heart pounded hard from her proximity to the detective and she mentally chided herself for acting like a schoolgirl fawning over a good-looking man.
“I saw you at the police station. You had a meeting with Chief Lambert.” The way the detective’s dark brown eyes searched Nell’s face made her uncomfortable.
“I did meet with him.” She lifted her mug to her lips as a way of defending her space.
“What did you talk about?” Detective Gregory asked after one of the employees delivered a black coffee to the man.
Nell steadied herself. She didn’t like the detective’s fishing for information so she gave him a pleasant smile. “Did you ask the chief what we talked about?”
“I haven’t had a chance.”
“Well, I bet you will soon. You must be at the station pretty often.”
The detective silently admired the way Nell was being evasive. “Since we’re sharing a table, you can save me some time by sharing what you discussed with the chief.”
“Why do you need to know?” Nell asked. “We just had a casual chat.”
“Casual? You mean about the weather?”
“A little about the weather.” Nell had no intention of explaining her visit to Chief Lambert.
The detective asked a different question. “You’d met Pepper Forrest?”
The sudden inquiry took Nell by surprise and she shifted around in her chair. “No, I hadn’t. She’d been in our store, but I was working in the studio in the backroom. I saw Pepper from the back, but I didn’t have any interaction with her. My sister waited on her.”
“She made a purchase from your shop?”
“She bought a necklace. My sister rang up the sale. Pepper left right after that.”
“Did you see her get hit by the car?” Detective Gregory asked.
Nell’s breath caught in her throat for a second. “I did not. I did see the car speed away from the curb and down the street. I’ve told two officers all of this when they interviewed me.”
“It doesn’t hurt to discuss it again,” the detective said.
“I suppose not.” Nell glanced out the window hoping to see Peter’s car pull up.
“What kind of a car did you see speeding down the street?”
“A small sedan.”
“What color was it?”
Nell saw a black car, but she knew the witnesses had reported a white vehicle hitting Pepper, so she decided to align her answer with what others had told police. “It was a light-colored car.”
“Are you sure?” The detective stared at Nell.
“It was light-colored, yes. White, cream, a white-gray, something like that. It sped past the store window very fast.”
“I see.” Detective Gregory took a swallow from his cup. “I understand you’re an artist.”
“That’s right. I sell my work online and at the store. I do private commissions, as well. I also do some graphic design work on a contract by contract basis.”
“You must be very busy.”
“Busy enough.”
&n
bsp; “Have you lived in Bluewater all of your life?”
“My sister and I grew up in central Massachusetts. My mother inherited a house here and we used it in summers and on weekends. When my parents passed away, my sister and I decided to move into the house here and make Bluewater our home.”
“How long ago did you move here permanently?”
“About seven or eight months ago. It’s not a big move for us. The family had the house since before we were born. It feels like home,” Nell said.
Although Nell was uncomfortable being interrogated by the detective, when he gave her a warm smile, it sent shivers down to her toes. Annoyed by the effect he had on her, she attempted to deflect it by picking up her phone to check for a message from Peter.
“I need to go outside. I’m meeting someone.” Nell gathered her things and stood up. “Have a good day,” she said as she left the coffee house.
As soon as she was on the sidewalk, Peter pulled up and she got in. She spotted the detective watching them as Peter maneuvered the car into the Main Street traffic and drove away.
* * *
On the way to the car rental company, Nell reviewed some photographs from the security camera located above the rental place’s customer counter. The pictures showed a man signing a form, handing over his license to be copied, and being given the keys to the car. The picture was grainy and snowy and didn’t give much of a picture of the man leasing the vehicle.
“Are these helpful to you?” Nell asked as she squinted and held the photos closer to her eyes. “I can’t even make out the man’s face.”
“It’s not much help, but we can see the general height and weight of the guy. We can see that he’s right-handed. He’s most likely wearing a wig, and he’s got those sunglasses on so that impairs our ability to see his facial characteristics and what his hair is really like. But it’s better than nothing.”
“It’s thought the man used a fake license and fake credit card to rent the car?” Nell asked.
