by Lynn Cahoon
“That must have made her feel special.” Cat hated this guy. She had hoped he had killed Danielle because he deserved to be in jail just because he was a jerk. But she was losing that hope. All she saw was a spoiled little rich boy who didn’t want to be alone when his girlfriend wanted some time.
“I know. I’m a jerk. I’ve always been a jerk.” He rubbed his neck. “Frankly, I was shocked when Jessi said yes to our first date. I should have changed my ways then, but hindsight, you know.”
Cat decided to be direct. “Did you kill Danielle? Or should I say, arrange for her death?”
Shock and grief filled his face. “No. You can’t believe that. Tell me Jessi doesn’t think that. I know Danielle was a horrible friend to her, but Jessi, she loved her like a sister.”
“Do you know who would want Danielle dead?”
Max shrugged and a touch of pink covered his cheeks. “Honestly? I didn’t really listen when she talked, and, man, the girl loved to talk. When I finally realized she was planning us a future, I decided to break it off early. I hadn’t seen her in two weeks.”
Cat decided to turn the tables a bit. “Do you know who would want Jessi dead?”
Fear filled his eyes and he jumped up. “Jessi’s in danger? Where is she? I’ll get her a room at my parents’ house. No one will find her there.”
Cat was shocked at the quick protection reflex she’d just witnessed. She stood staring at him. “You really care about her.”
“I do. Is she safe?” He stood, ready to take off to save his ex-girlfriend.
“For now.” Cat knew she wasn’t going to get any more from the guy. He loved Jessi. He’d screwed up their relationship, but that hadn’t kept him from wanting to save her. “I don’t know if she can ever forgive you for what you did, but you might want to try to be friends. She doesn’t have a lot of real friends who care about her.”
Max stared at her. “You seem to know her well.”
“Take care, Max.” Cat left the room and made her way out of the gym, waving at Cindy as she passed by her desk.
She didn’t know who had killed Danielle, or who was after Jessi and why, but she knew one thing. Even if she didn’t like him one bit. Max Trandor, wasn’t the one who was trying to kill Jessi. And Cat didn’t believe he had it in him to kill Danielle just to protect his relationship with Jessi. One more possible suspect off her list.
Her detective skills were totally off base with this murder. Maybe she should stick to writing books where she could control the characters and what they did and said.
Like that ever happened.
CHAPTER 16
When she got back to the house, Tammy Jones, owner of the Written Word, Aspen Hills’s only bookstore, was setting up a table in the living room. Cat picked up one of the books she had unpacked. “I appreciate you bringing in craft books to sell. I always tell them to go visit your store, but the week goes by fast.”
“I always bring books to these things. Mostly they are from local authors or focused on local history. Of course, for your groups I’m always looking for the next big craft books. I sell enough to make it worthwhile.” Tammy set down the box and moved closer, her arms outstretched. “How have you been? I haven’t seen you since last month. I hope that means you’ve been writing.”
Cat laughed and gave her a quick hug. “I have been writing. I’m close to deadline, so the next week or so, I’ll be locked in my office, but it’s nice to have the retreat to force me to take a break now and then.”
“I’d bet that you’ve gotten words down, even this week.” Tammy eyed her carefully. Then she lowered her voice. “I have a message from Dante for you.”
“You what?”
She passed a white note folded in two to Cat. “He emailed me and asked me to print this and give it to you. I didn’t read it. He asked me not to and, well, he’s a really good customer.”
“I’m sorry he imposed on you this way.” Cat wanted to kill Dante. What was he thinking with all the cat-and-mouse games?
“Oh, it’s not an imposition. I guess he knew I was coming here today anyway.” Tammy went back to setting up her display. She emptied out the last of the boxes and tucked them under the table. Then she sat her prepared notes on the lectern and glanced around. “I think that does it. Do you mind if I help myself to some coffee and a cookie?”
“Go ahead. In fact, some of the group is probably in there getting refueled before your talk.” Cat hesitated. “Do you know Jessi Ball? She’s our Covington student this session.”
“Of course. That girl is a reader. She comes in probably once a week to get one or two books. I don’t know how she has time to read so much. She works and takes classes. I would think someone that pretty would be going out and finding the one.”
“You’re a romantic.” Cat smiled as Tammy made her way out of the living room.
Tammy paused at the door. “Some of us have to be romantics and dreamers. The real world is too hard and negative sometimes. Having dreamers keeps it sane.”
She waited for Tammy to leave the room before she opened the note and started reading.
DEAR CATHERINE,
FORGIVE ME FOR THE SUBTERFUGE. I DIDN’T WANT THIS INFORMATION TO FALL INTO THE WRONG HANDS, AND I KNOW I CAN TRUST MISS JONES. IF YOU EVER NEED TO REACH ME, JUST LET HER KNOW, SHE CAN REACH ME AT ANYTIME. BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT I NEEDED TO TELL YOU. IT DOESN’T SEEM THAT JESSI IS BEING TARGETED BY THE FAMILY, OR ANY OTHER FAMILY, AT LEAST THAT’S WHAT I’M HEARING. I’M STILL NOT SURE SHE’S SAFE, BUT I SHOULD KNOW MORE BY THE END OF THE WEEK. I’LL COME AND GET HER MYSELF ON SUNDAY. I DON’T KNOW IF I’LL BRING HER HERE TO BOSTON OR JUST INVITE HER TO STAY AT MY HOUSE ON WARM SPRINGS. I’M NOT SURE I’M READY TO SHARE MY HOME WITH SUCH A VIBRANT YOUNG WOMAN, BUT THE SACRIFICES WE TAKE FOR THOSE WE CONSIDER FAMILY. OF COURSE, YOU KNOW ALL ABOUT SACRIFICE. ANYWAY, JUST KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR JESSI, AND I’LL BE THERE ON SUNDAY TO TAKE HER OFF YOUR HANDS. THANK YOU FOR THIS, CATHERINE. I AM IN YOUR DEBT.
ALWAYS, DANTE
Cat folded the note and tucked it in the back pocket of her jeans. She wasn’t sure what to do with the information. At least Jessi wasn’t being targeted by the family. It had been a long shot, but in Aspen Hills, it was something you needed to scratch off the list. Glancing around the living room, she decided to go join Tammy in grabbing some coffee.
As Cat crossed through the lobby, Jessi burst through the front door. “You won’t believe what happened.”
“We’re just getting ready for Tammy’s program. I’m glad you’re back.” She crossed over to where Jessi stood and lowered her voice so she wouldn’t be heard in the dining room. “Is this about the visit to the bank?”
Jessi looked around, then led Cat to the bench in the foyer by the window. “Someone transferred all my money out of my accounts. It’s been happening slowly over the last year. The manager says he doesn’t know how it even happened. Apparently, it’s not from the debit card I have, so they know it’s not me.”
“Did someone get another card for your account?” All Cat could think of was this was probably one more betrayal from Danielle. “Do they know where?”
“The bank is doing a full audit. They had me set up a new account, and I called Mom to give me enough to get me by until they figure this out.” Jessi wiped at her eyes.
“It’s only money.” Cat put a hand on the girl’s shoulder to comfort her. But when Jessi looked at her, she was smiling.
“You don’t understand. She believed me. For months it’s been like I’m this debutante girl who only wants to spend money. I told her I wasn’t being reckless, but she didn’t believe me. Now she does.” She wiped away her tears. “She believes me.”
Cat wondered if Dante’s unexpected visit home had something to do with Jessi’s mother’s change of heart around her daughter’s actions, but she didn’t want to ruin the girl’s good mood. “I’m happy for you. Well, it’s too bad it had to go to this extreme, but I’m glad she is supporting you now.”
&nbs
p; “I know. Isn’t it great?” She glanced up and saw the other guests moving to the living room. Jumping up, she spun around in a circle. “I better go join them. I’m so glad I can talk to you.”
As Jessi joined the group heading toward the living room, Cat leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. Poor little rich girl, she mused. Jessi was a lovely young woman who deserved to be treated with respect and dignity. Her boyfriend and her best friend had betrayed her. But at least now her family was stepping up and being there for her. She thought about Danielle’s death. If it wasn’t Max, maybe someone was playing with the ghosts of the past. Only one person was that vested in the killings at Outlaw.
The new owner of the town. She needed to do more research. And there was one woman who had her pulse on the gossip trail in Aspen Hills. Lucky, or unlucky, for Cat, she lived next door. She poked her head into the kitchen and saw Shauna stirring what appeared to be another soup creation for lunch. From the smell in the kitchen, it had something to do with chicken. “Hey, do you have some cookies I can snag?”
“Sure. Why are we out in the dining room?” Shauna set down the spoon and headed to the cabinet to grab a plate.
“No plate. I need a Tupper ware container.” She crossed the room and grabbed one out of the cabinet and handed it to Shauna. “Maybe six? Or a dozen if they’re small?”
“When have you ever known me to make a small cookie? Except of course during the holidays. I do so many gift baskets, if I didn’t make them small we’d be broke.” She layered twelve pecan shortbread cookies in the container. “Who are you trying to bribe?”
“Mrs. Rice. I need some gossip.” Cat shrugged off Shauna’s laughter. “What? You know if anything happened in this town, she’d know about it.”
Shauna handed her the container. “Just don’t trade off my job for your information. I kind of like working here.”
Cat went out the back door and headed to the sidewalk. Mrs. Rice would probably be inside, cleaning the house that no one but her got dirty. Cat wondered what she would do all day without Seth, Shauna, and Uncle Pete to talk to, not to mention the retreat. She might be as starving for conversation as her neighbor seemed to be every time she caught Cat walking by. Her mother would have told her to be generous with her older neighbor. Cat tried, really. She put on a smile and was about to knock on the door when it swung open.
“I thought that was you walking up my path. I told Mr. Peeps that our neighbor Catherine was coming for tea, and he took off and hid upstairs. I don’t think Mr. Peeps cares for you, my dear.” Mrs. Rice stood in a cotton shirt dress and fuzzy slippers. “I’ve got bridge tonight with the girls, so come in quick and let’s get this over with.”
“Get what over with?” Cat didn’t know who Mr. Peeps was and really didn’t want to ask. She followed Mrs. Rice into the dark hallway. All of the blinds were closed. How she’d known she was coming, Cat couldn’t guess. Unless she had cameras set up. Paul Quinn had been selling camera security systems up until a few months ago. Mrs. Rice could have been one of his victims. Or customers. It all depended on how you looked at it.
Mrs. Rice turned into an open doorway where light filtered out into the hallway. “Your monthly visit. I’m sure your mother must have talked you into coming and visiting. She was always so friendly.”
“My mother speaks highly of you, but no, she’s not why I’m here.” Although—Cat kicked herself—now that Mrs. Rice had it in her head that Cat should be visiting, she would probably get a guilt call in the next week or so.
Mrs. Rice sat on a sofa covered with plastic. It squeaked when she sat. “Oh, well, then, tell me what’s going on. Do you need help?”
Cat opened the container of cookies and held it out to Mrs. Rice. “Shauna sent these over. She thought you might enjoy them. It’s a new recipe she’s trying out.”
She lifted her eyebrows and sniffed at the container. Then she lifted a cookie out and held it under her nose. “They look attractive and smell good.”
“I’ve had one, they taste even better.” Cat smiled and perched on the edge of the sofa. It crackled under her weight. She held back a grin as Mrs. Rice bit into the cookie and the joy filled her eyes. It was time to ask. “So I was wondering what you knew about Joseph John Robertson? He grew up here, didn’t he?”
Now those eyes gleamed. “Yes, he did. The boy was a joy to his parents, but honestly, I thought he was a little shit.”
“You knew the family?” Cat kept her questions short, to give Mrs. Rice room to reminisce.
“Of course. They lived just down the street. In the house your friend owns.” Mrs. Rice smiled deviously when she saw Cat’s confusion. “You know, Dante Cornelio? He’s always over at your house, visiting. I was sure you were all friends.”
“Oh, yes, I didn’t realize.” Cat let the sentence fall. Obviously, Mrs. Rice had been keeping a closer eye on the house and their comings and goings than she’d known. “They owned Dante’s house? Why did they sell?”
Mrs. Rice picked up a second cookie and frowned. “I believe Joseph John sold it as soon as his mother went into a facility. His dad had passed the year before, and poor Penelope just wilted. She didn’t last much longer, especially not in that place.”
He sold the family home but bought a ghost town? The guy had a weird way of holding on to history. Cat decided to be polite. “Maybe the memories were too close in the house.”
“He wanted the money. The man has always been about the money. Even when he was a kid.” Mrs. Rice shook her head. “It was disgraceful. Of course, he didn’t have time to change his mind. As soon as it went up for sale, the Cornelio family bought it to use when they came into town for their college visits. Then Dante took it over when he graduated.”
Cat took one of the cookies and took a bite. She almost choked when she saw the glare she got from her neighbor. “I guess I didn’t realize he was from Aspen Hills.”
“If you read his official bio, he’s not. He claims to be from Denver. And yes, the boy was born there, but he spent his first eighteen years here in Aspen Hills. Sometimes children don’t realize what they have until it’s gone. He bought that old town right after he sold the house. Everyone thought he was crazy, but he’s turned even that money pit into a profitable business. I hear he has three more in different states in various stages of development. I guess he realized the value of history, finally. But he still only sees it in terms of money, not emotion.”
Cat wasn’t sure how to ask, so she just blurted it out. “You don’t think he had anything to do with the other murders there, do you?”
“Of course not. He would have been maybe twenty and off to college when the last girl was killed. Well, the last girl before this one last week. You can’t tell me your uncle is really looking at Joseph John for this murder? He’s probably the most non-physical man I’ve ever met. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him with a woman. He tends to enjoy one-night stands, from what I hear. Killing someone would be such a commitment for him. Besides, it would interfere with business. Nothing interferes with his business.”
Cat said her goodbyes and then walked back to the house. Shauna was still on her laptop when she came into the kitchen. “You find out what you needed to know?”
“Not really. More questions than I had, I guess. Did you know that Joseph John’s family lived down the street in what’s now Dante’s house?” Cat grabbed a water from the fridge and sat at the table.
“Really? I thought he was from Denver. Kevin took me to a party he gave last Christmas. It was a huge house in the old part of Denver. I’m sure he said his family had owned it for generations.” Shauna hit some keys on her laptop. Then she turned the computer toward Cat. “Here, he did an article for Denver Homes and Gardens. He opens with a statement that the house has been held in his family for years.”
“Mrs. Rice said he was born there. Maybe they had two houses?” Cat scanned the article. The picture showed Joseph John in front of what looked like an old plantation-st
yle house, his arms crossed. The title of the article was “Family History Is Big Business.” She passed the laptop back to Shauna. “Why didn’t the journalist research where he grew up? The article reads like it was all from the real estate mogul’s interview.”
“Good question.” Shauna started looking for something on her computer, then frowned. “The writer resigned and moved a month after the piece was published. It doesn’t say why.”
Cat picked up the notebook in the middle of the table and ripped off a sheet of paper. “What’s the reporter’s name? Does it say where she was going?”
“Nothing. Just a thank you for her years of service.” Shauna closed the laptop. “Maybe she retired?”
“Maybe. I wonder if Miss Applebome knows her. She seems to know a lot of writers in the area.” Cat folded the paper and put it in her back pocket. She felt the note from Dante and thought about sharing it with Shauna.
“I have to tell you something.” She squirmed under Shauna’s gaze. “Tammy brought me a note from Dante.”
“What? Doesn’t he know how to use a phone?” Shauna shook her head. “First the guy just appears in Michael’s study waiting for you, then he’s sending secret missives to the bookseller? You know with all this undercover stuff, he’s making it look like there’s more going on with the two of you than just friendship.”
“Tell me about it. Now Tammy thinks we’re in collusion together on this whole thing. The only thing holding her back from telling everyone in town is how good a customer Dante is to her store.” Cat put the paper on the table. “According to this, Jessi wasn’t being targeted by the Mob. So that’s one suspect off the list. Well, maybe not for Danielle’s murder.”
Shauna read the letter, twice. Then she pushed it back to Cat. “I’d put that away. Seth’s uncomfortable enough with your relationship with Dante. Now he’s sending you secret messages? It would be hard to swallow.”
“I know, but I’m going to tell Uncle Pete what he said and then burn this in the fireplace. I hate keeping secrets.”
