by Louise Clark
Christy nodded. "I think so. That's why she was down at the police station this morning. She wasn't there because she was trying to free Aaron or keep him from being re-arrested. It was because she was the one being arrested. That's why Nathan was so lost when Quinn saw him. First his son is named as an accessory to a murder, and now his wife is charged with committing two other murders, each one cold-blooded and ruthless. It must have seemed like his world had exploded around him, poor man."
"But Natalie is my friend! Why would she choose my apartment to kill Brittany? If she did kill Brittany. I can't believe this is even possible."
From the baffled expression on her face, Ellen truly didn't understand why she had been so cruelly betrayed. A deep sense of compassion made Christy cautious as she tried to explain. "You've been friends with Natalie for a long time, haven't you?"
"Yes, years. We met at EBU when we were both coeds. I introduced her to Nathan."
"Natalie isn't from Vancouver, is she?"
Ellen was frowning now. "No, she's from the Cariboo. The Williams Lake area. Why?"
"So she didn't come from money."
"No. Her father worked on a ranch in the area and her mother was a librarian in town. What are you getting at, Christy?"
Christy sighed. "Your friendship was important to Natalie, so she showed you the best of herself. You were someone who moved in the right circles, you could introduce her to the right people. She wasn't going to jeopardize your friendship by showing you her ugly side."
Ellen drew herself up, becoming every inch a Jamieson. "I refuse to accept this!"
Christy sighed again and rubbed the back of her neck. She knew it would be difficult to convince Ellen that the friend she'd trusted all her adult life had turned on her. She was about to try again, when Quinn said, "There is only one person Natalie cares more for than herself. Aaron."
"It's true she doted on the boy, but—"
"I don't think she knew about Aaron's involvement in Frank's death," Quinn continued, ignoring Ellen's interruption. "At least, not initially. By the time Aaron needed someone to vouch for him, a few months had passed. Who would be surprised if Brittany or Cara LaLonde came forward? He was regularly seen with both women, and had been for months. He just had to set it up and he'd be a free man. Without an alibi for the night in question, though, the evidence against him was certain to bring a conviction when he was brought to trial."
With a sigh, Christy said, "I agree with Quinn. A few days before Brittany came forward, she and Natalie visited Aaron in jail. I think Natalie had already been pushing her to provide Aaron with the alibi and the visit that day cinched the deal."
Ellen was shaking her head. Christy could see she wasn't buying any of this. "Natalie would not participate in such a conspiracy."
She's not listening, Frank said with a yawn. The best way to deal with Aunt Ellen when she's like this is to give it up and move on.
Roy shifted in his seat and Trevor frowned. Christy opened her mouth to disagree, but at that moment Ellen held up her hand. The imperious interruption was probably a good thing, since Christy had been about to reply to a comment Ellen hadn't even heard.
"Perhaps if you tell me more of the story I will be able to understand your reasoning," Ellen said, very much on her dignity. "What about this girl, Brittany Day? Why would she agree to be involved in this reprehensible scheme?"
"She was an addict," Quinn said. "Aaron got her addicted to coke—"
"Or maybe she was already addicted before she met Aaron," Roy said, pouring soothing waters.
Quinn shot a look at his father, eyebrows raised. Then he said, "Could be. It doesn't really matter who got her hooked, but that she was. Aaron was her main supplier, but with Aaron in jail, she needed a new source."
Trevor leaned forward. "Natalie?"
Quinn nodded. "I think Aaron told his mother who he got his stuff from and she became the conduit who supplied Brittany. Natalie threatened to turn off the tap if Brittany didn't provide an alibi for Aaron. So she did."
"And then she got cold feet," Christy said, shaking her head.
"With the help of Lorne Cossi." A muscle jumped in Quinn's jaw.
Christy grimaced. Her risky interview with Lorne Cossi was still something of a sore spot for Quinn. "Yeah. Lorne Cossi is not a nice person."
"Lorne Cossi? One of Jacob Peiling's grad students?" Ellen demanded. "What has he to do with this?"
"Lorne likes to coerce women into having sex with him," Christy said. "Usually he sticks to vulnerable undergrads, but he and Brittany shared an office and I think she was a bit of a challenge for him. He went hunting around for her weakness and he found it."
"Drugs," Roy said, shaking his head. "So he supplied her too?"
"No, but he knew that she was addicted and that she was neglecting her EBU work in favor of partying with Aaron. He threatened to go to Peiling if she didn't have sex with him."
"Not only Peiling, but her parents too," Quinn added.
"Poor girl," Ellen said. There was compassion in her voice and expression.
Christy nodded. "Yeah. Her money didn't matter to Aaron or Natalie or Lorne Cossi. There was no easy way out for her."
"So how did Cossi influence Brittany's decision to change her testimony?" Roy asked.
"He knew the alibi she'd provided Aaron was false, because she was having sex with him when Aaron was in the alleyway pushing Frank into the trunk of a car. Brittany had a choice. She could let the alibi stand and be blackmailed by Lorne Cossi for the rest of her life. Or she could revoke it now and take her chances with the legal system." Quinn shrugged. "She decided on the law."
"I think she may have felt guilty about lying, too," Christy said. She looked at her wineglass. "From the way her father described her, she sounded like a decent person who had wandered off the path. I'd like to think that she wanted to come back to where she ought to be."
"So she tells Natalie she wants to retract, what then?" Roy asked.
"I don't think she did tell Natalie," Quinn said. "I think she told Aaron. She went to see him the afternoon before she died. The alibi was still being investigated then, and if she pulled it, he would never be released. I think he told his mother when she visited him later that day and she handled it."
"She may have already had concerns," Trevor remarked. "Wasn't it Natalie who insisted Brittany swear an affidavit? Once that was done it didn't matter if Brittany was dead. The alibi would stand."
"And she couldn't retract it," Roy said with enthusiasm. "This is fascinating. Natalie must have been obsessed with getting Aaron released."
"I often thought he was the love of her life," Ellen said. "Until Christy exposed his participation in Frank's death, I have to admit I was charmed by him. I never saw his nasty side." She looked around the table. "I knew Natalie and Nathan were having problems. She was always respectful when they were out together, but I sometimes thought that perhaps she saw him more as a meal ticket than a husband." She paused, then lifted her chin. "But none of this explains why you think she deliberately chose to implicate me by leaving Brittany's body on my terrace?"
"You were her cat's-paw," Quinn said. "She needed to pin the murder on somebody. Who better than a Jamieson?"
"But—" Ellen shook her head. "We were friends. Longtime friends. I trusted her."
"Which may have been one of the reasons she chose your apartment. She could gain access easily. The super and your housekeeper knew her and wouldn't remember if they saw her around. They'd just think that she had come to visit and you weren't home to receive her. I think at some point she must have made a copy of your door key. When she decided Brittany had to go, she made use of it."
Christy nodded at Quinn's statement, then added, "She knew the layout of your suite. Where the furniture was. Where your bedroom was. Where she could stash Brittany's body and get away successfully."
"Surely she didn't kill Brittany elsewhere and drag her body onto my terrace!"
"No," Christy sa
id. "She drugged her. Brittany was high when Natalie came to your apartment. That's why you heard the noise in your hallway. Brittany was so stoned that she couldn't walk straight. It wasn't yet dawn when Natalie let them in. Brittany didn't know there was a console table just inside the door and she stumbled into it in the dark. She hit the mirror above and it fell, causing the crash. Natalie hustled her out onto the terrace and whacked her with a plant pot to keep her quiet."
"Then Natalie hid behind the lounger and hoped you wouldn't come outside and inspect," Roy said. He shook his head. There was a look of admiration on his face. "Ballsy."
"It was November," Quinn pointed out. "The weather had turned. How many people go out onto their decks once summer is over?"
"True." A faraway look entered Roy's eyes. "Natalie must have freaked when Ellen got dressed and left. I bet she was hoping that she'd be able to do the deed and get out while Ellen was still asleep."
"Leaving me alone in my apartment with a body," Ellen said with a shudder.
"And no alibi for the time of the murder," Christy said. "Instead you were gone before she was and here in Burnaby long before Brittany was found."
"But the police found blood on my nightgown," Ellen said. She paled as spoke and her eyes darkened. "Detective Patterson hounded me about it when I was at the police station. I couldn't explain how it got there and she wouldn't believe me, because she said the blood spatter indicated I was near the Brittany when she was bludgeoned."
"I expect Natalie put your gown on once you were out of the apartment," Trevor said. "She finished Brittany off, then put the hairs on your pillow." He shrugged. "She realized she didn't have to rush, because she knew your housekeeper came in at noon. She had plenty of time to add artistic touches that would implicate you."
Ellen shook her head. "This is so very difficult to understand. Why did she kill Jacob Peiling? He knew nothing of Brittany's life with Aaron. How was he a danger to Natalie?"
"Lorne Cossi again," Quinn said. "Peiling knew about the student complaints against Cossi. He may even have known that Cossi was sexually interested in Brittany. He was aware that someone was blackmailing Brittany, and initially I think he figured it was Cossi, trying to convince her to sleep with him. Then he discovered Brittany and Cossi had already had sex. He put the date together with the alibi and realized that Brittany had lied."
"He told Brittany's father that he knew why she had died, and he thought he knew who had killed her," Christy said. "I suppose he did what we did, asked why someone would kill Brittany and then when he found out she'd lied about the alibi, he decided it had to be one of the DeBolts."
"But he was an academic to the end. He had to find proof before he could publish," Roy said, shaking his head.
"I'm pretty sure he thought Nathan was the killer," Quinn said. "But Nathan was a generous supporter of his program. He couldn't afford to lose that grant by accusing the man of murder then finding out he was innocent. He had to know for sure."
"Why meet with Natalie? Why not call Nathan outright and ask where he was the morning Brittany was killed?" Roy asked.
"Nathan would be furious," Ellen said quickly. "He would consider Jacob's question insulting. Jacob's funding would be gone immediately." She paused to consider, then added, "I expect he would talk to the president of the university and the Board chair about Jacob, too. He has a lot of influence when he cares to use it."
"So Jacob decided to pump Natalie for info instead," Roy said. He drank some wine. "Risky. What if they were both in on it?"
"I think Dr. Peiling felt guilty that he'd left Brittany pretty much on her own after she came to Vancouver. He'd promised Roger Day—one of his oldest friends—that he'd look after her, but he didn't." Christy stared at the wine in her glass. "It was too late to save Brittany, but at least he could put a name to her killer. Unfortunately, he underestimated Natalie." Christy glanced at Ellen, then away. "She is very good at making people like and accept her."
"So he didn't know Natalie was the murderer?" Ellen said. "That's why he ate the food she brought?"
Christy sipped some wine, then nodded. "He trusted her. He planned to ask her a few questions, enough to confirm his assumption that Nathan was the killer, but not to raise her suspicions. And if she did figure out where his questions were leading, he assumed that she would be horrified."
"So she shows up with food from one of his favorite restaurants and offers it to him. I still don't buy him eating it." Roy reached for the wine bottle and offered to refill Ellen's glass.
Ellen shook her head no, and sighed. "Good manners, Roy. Natalie would have presented it as a gift. Perhaps she told him it came from his favorite restaurant. If he protested, she may have said that the chef had made it especially for him. He would feel obliged to at least try it."
"Ellen is right. Natalie can be very charming when she wants," Christy said dryly. "She likes to give presents to people she wants to influence. She breezes up, hands the gift to the person, and says, 'Darling, I saw this whatever-it-is and thought of you. I knew you'd love it and I had to buy it for you.' Or words to that effect. The recipient is caught off guard and accepts the gift, because Natalie is standing there looking like an eager puppy who's just dropped a slobber-coated tennis ball at its master's feet. You think she means well and accept the gift, just like the puppy owner who doesn't want to touch the ball, but throws it anyway. It's only later, when Natalie asks for a favor and hints about what special friends you are, that you realize what's she's done."
Roy rubbed his chin. "Hmm. What about the EpiPen? Why didn't he use it?"
"When the first symptoms came on, she may have offered to help him, by giving him the injection. Once she had the pen all she had to do was make sure she kept it out of his reach," Quinn said. He accepted a top-up from his father.
"She disarmed him," Trevor murmured. His voice rose theatrically. "Then she struck!"
So did Roy, who emptied the bottle into Trevor's glass then stood up to open a second.
"What will happen to her?" Ellen asked.
"She'll be tried," Trevor said. "She—or her husband, Nathan—will hire a good lawyer." He grinned. "Probably my nephew, who's almost as capable as I was before I retired. His services cost the earth, but the DeBolts have the money."
"Will he get her off?"
Trevor shot Ellen a cautious glance. "That, dear lady, is up to twelve good people on a jury. But, no, given the evidence stacked against her, a very good motive for both murders and the deliberate, careful planning that went into the first one—no, I don't think she will get off."
"At least it's over and we can get back to living our lives," Christy said. She finished up the wine in her glass. "Now, I think we're probably all ready for dinner. It's one of Noelle's favorites. And Frank's." She smiled faintly. "My mom's chili." She scratched the belly of the cat snoozing in her lap. "You too, Stormy."
The cat yawned and stretched, then hopped off her lap to take up a station beside his food bowl.
"But first..." Christy hesitated, then said, "I know you don't want to go back to your condo, Ellen. You're welcome to make your home here, with Noelle and me." When Ellen opened her mouth, a polite refusal clear in her expression, Christy added hastily, "Despite what has happened before, we'd like to have you. You're family, after all." She stood up. "You don't have to answer right now. Think about it. The offer is open-ended."
"Thank you, Christy," Ellen said gravely. "I will consider it."
"All I can ask," Christy said. "Who's ready for supper? Quinn, would you call the kids?"
"I'll set the table," Roy said.
"What can I do?" Ellen asked.
Christy looked at her mischievously. She brought out the dish of meat and sauce she'd spooned out earlier and left to cool. After adding some of the hot mixture to warm it, she handed the bowl to Ellen. "You can feed the cat."
The End
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Want more from Louise Clark?
Here's an excerpt from
CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE
The 9 Lives Cozy Mystery Series
Book Three
~
"Out with it, Dad," Quinn said. "Why are you phoning so late?" It was nearly two in the morning. Too late for a social call, so it was likely his father was phoning to unload some bad news. Beside him, Christy began to frown as she listened to his half of the conversation.
"We're at the SledgeHammer party. All of us." Roy paused.
"Yeah." Quinn was trying to be encouraging without being demanding. He didn't want to say 'spill it!' to his father, but that's how he felt.
"Trevor, Ellen, Frank, and me."
"You took the cat to a party put on by a rock band?"
There was a little hesitation, then Roy said, "Frank wanted to come. He's a big fan of SledgeHammer." His tone was belligerent.
Quinn resisted the urge to sigh. "Did something happen to the cat?"
"What? Nothing! The thing is, he found the body. Saw the murder, that is." Roy broke off and Quinn could hear the sound of raised voices in the background. Then Roy said, "I'm just talking to my son. I'll be with you in a minute." The voice in the background spoke again, the tone more urgent now, an edge of demand in it. "He's got nothing to do with this," Roy said, sounding annoyed. "He's out of town. In L.A. No, he's not my lawyer. Do I need a lawyer?"
"What the hell?" Quinn said to no one in particular, because although Roy hadn't disconnected, he was no longer on his phone and talking to Quinn.
Christy sat up straight, her frown deepening. "What's happening?"
"I'm not sure." There was more background talk and Quinn thought, with some relief, that one of the voices belonged to Trevor McCullagh. "Dad said something about a murder, then he started talking to someone at his end. I just heard another voice join the conversation. It sounded like Trevor."
