Kari Lee Townsend - Sunny Meadows 04 - Perish in the Palm

by Kari Lee Townsend

  “Well, that explains a lot. How bad is the damage?”

  “Don says it won’t take more than a week to fix.”

  “Good Lord, I don’t even want to know what this will cost me.”

  “Not a penny. You know Granny. She’s got more money hidden than probably the whole treasure everyone’s seeking. She said not to worry about a thing. Speaking of treasures, you’re not going to like something else I have to tell you.”

  “There’s more?” I groaned.

  “The thief wasn’t after money or jewelry or electronics. It’s apparent the culprit came here for something very specific. And with all the cars gone, they obviously thought no one was home. You’re very lucky you were knocked unconscious and not killed. Money can make the sanest person do insane things they normally never would.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your treasure map’s gone.”

  Chapter 20

  Wednesday morning I was housebound without a car, ordered to rest. Not to mention I was in no mood to socialize since my treasure map had been stolen. A lot of good it would do the guilty culprit since a crucial piece of the map had been cut off. Besides, my head still ached horrendously. Doc Wilcox said I had a mild concussion.

  Mitch took a sick day, but he was driving me nuts with watching my every move, so I sent him out to his workshop to tinker. It was bad enough I had to deal with Granny Gert and Morty both hovering over me, refusing to leave my sight. So when the doorbell rang, I eagerly answered it.

  Baldy.

  I blinked, but didn’t panic. He was mysterious, yes, but alarm bells weren’t going off in my head, which was a good thing, and Morty—aka my lethal guard cat—paid no attention to him, which put my mind somewhat at ease. My brain couldn’t handle any more trauma at the moment.

  I stepped back and said, “Please, come in, Mr….?”

  “Ronald Winters, Miss Meadows. I’m new in town. Nice to meet you.” He stepped through the door, pulled off his driving gloves, and held out his hand.

  I shook his hand, studying him closely. “Welcome to Divinity. Are you here for the treasure hunting like everyone else?”

  “Oh, no, no. That’s not my sort of thing.” He dusted off his overcoat. “I’m passing through on a bit of business, is all, and I heard about your establishment. I must say it intrigued me.”

  “Intrigue is good,” I said, thinking, You’re pretty intriguing yourself. “What can I do for you, Mr. Winters?”

  “I heard about your accident. Small town.” His expression looked grim. “That must have been terrifying. I hope you’re okay.”

  “I’m stronger than I look,” I said by way of an answer, lest my reading of him be off, which wouldn’t be shocking given the present state of my brain.

  “Do you take walk-ins?” He peeked past me, glancing around my house, making me realize whoever broke in last night could have been anyone. “I was hoping you might have room for me in your schedule.”

  “I’ve never had a walk-in, but yes, I suppose I could fit you in. I actually had a few cancellations today because of the attack.” I leveled him with my own version of an intimidating stare, just in case he was formulating any funny ideas. Not to mention Mitch was out in his shop. One scream and this guy would be toast. “Let’s just say the people of Divinity are very protective of me.”

  “Oh, well, if you think it might be too much for you, I can come back.” He turned and started to open the door.

  “Honestly, no.” I gave up all pretenses because they took too much energy. “At this point, I could use the distraction.”

  “Wonderful.” He let go of the doorknob and turned back around, looking as if he’d known I would say that all along. “Where would you like me?”

  There was more to Baldy than what first met the eye. I could tell he was used to manipulating people and getting his way. He also didn’t seem like the type to have his fortune read. He wanted something. I just had to figure out what.

  “Normally I do all my readings in my sanctuary,” I replied, “but since that was trashed last night, let’s move out into the living room.”

  “After you.” He gestured for me to lead the way.

  I headed into my living room and sat on the couch, motioning for him to sit beside me. Once he did so, I took his hands. He raised a brow at me but didn’t object. He looked to be in his forties, clean shaven with no hair, but his eyebrows were salt and pepper. I couldn’t get a vibe off of him as to whether or not he was a believer or a skeptic.

  “Normally I can tell by holding your hands what type of fortune-telling tool will work best on you, but since my other tools were damaged during the break-in, I will stick with palm reading. Is that okay?”

  He shrugged. “Fine with me.”

  I turned his palms over and began to study them.

  “Did the police catch the person who broke in?” he asked with a casual tone.

  “No, they must have worn gloves and whoever it was knew how to cover their tracks. So far no DNA has been found.” I chose his right palm which looked to be his dominant hand.

  “I never would have known you had a break-in.” I could feel him examine the room. “Everything looks untouched.”

  I stared up at him. “The thief only seemed interested in my office.”

  “That’s terrible.” He looked at me innocently, but there was nothing innocent about his eyes. “I hope you didn’t have too much stolen.”

  “I’ll be fine.” I sat up and really looked at him. After a moment, I asked, “Why so interested, Mr. Winters?”

  “Just curious and concerned, of course.” He tried for a reassuring smile, but it wasn’t working for him.

  “Why?” I narrowed my eyes. “You don’t even know me.”

  “I would be concerned about anyone who lives in Divinity having someone break in and attack them, Miss Meadows.”

  “How come? You don’t live here.”

  “Who says I won’t someday? One never knows what the future might bring.” His eyes took on a sparkle. “Unless they’re psychic like you, I suppose.” Did he believe I could predict his future, or was he afraid I would discover something and try to shut me up?

  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I thought, and plunged ahead. “And I suppose you’ll live here when you buy the inn.”

  His eyes widened for a moment, and he looked like he was going to act as if he didn’t know what I was talking about. But he seemed shrewd enough to know when someone was bluffing or telling the truth. I was onto him, and he knew it.

  “That information was supposed to be confidential,” he finally responded. “Who told you?”

  Realizing I was treading on thin ice, I explained, “Like you said, I am psychic, after all, but this really was just an educated guess. I saw you in the café with Brice Benedict and Drew Cummings. I know Mrs. Theodore was thinking about selling the inn because of her financial dilemma and Mr. Benedict was trying to make up for wronging her husband, so I put two and two together. Mr. Benedict said Mr. Cummings was helping him, though I’m really not exactly sure why.”

  “Lucky guess then,” was apparently all Mr. Winters was going to offer. He glanced at his watch. “On second thought, Miss Meadows, I’m going to reschedule. I just remembered there’s something I have to do.”

  “I’ll walk you to the door,” I said.

  “No need. You just rest. I can see myself out.” He stood and left with purpose in his every stride.

  I sat there confused, wondering what had just happened. Was it something I said? Then I realized he’d left his gloves on the couch. Morty appeared at my feet, jumped on my lap and put his paw on my chest. Mitch had said when Morty had shown up to warn him I was hurt, he was covered in blood. But the next time I saw Morty, there wasn’t a speck on his pristine white fur as usual.

  I rubbed him behind the ears, and he let me. “I never said thank you, did I, buddy?” I kissed his brow, and he rubbed his head under my chin for a moment. Then he hopped off my lap, stared
at the gloves and scratched them, leaving deep grooves along the leather. “Morty!” I set him on the floor. “That was very naughty.”

  He just blinked at me and walked away.

  I sighed, and then frowned. Scratches. The thief who had broken into my house had worn gloves, and Morty had lunged at him. Maybe he was trying to tell me with the scratch marks that Winters was the thief? He had been awful curious about what happened, and he hadn’t liked the fact that I knew he was the anonymous buyer. Good thing I hadn’t told him everything I’d found out. Like I knew Linda was afraid of him and he knew about something that had gone down. I wished now more than ever that I’d had a chance to read Ronald.

  Glancing at the gloves one more time, it dawned on me that maybe it wasn’t too late. Taking a few deep breaths to relax, focus, and ground myself, I picked up Ronald Winters’ gloves and slipped them on. Closing my eyes, I concentrated. Everything grew dark in my mind’s eye, and my world spiraled into tunnel vision.

  I saw Ronald Winters years ago as a boy. He was throwing a baseball to a boy about his own age. I could feel the bond between them. They were best friends. They went everywhere together. I saw them on the baseball field at school, at the playground in Mini Central Park, swimming in the river in the woods that led to the lake.

  Suddenly they were older in high school. I saw them on the varsity baseball team. It was clear Ronald was the athlete of the two. Then I saw he was the smarter of the two and had even won Student Council President. Ronald was also popular with the girls, but through it all, he remained true to his best friend. Always there for him. Always looking out for him.

  Always loyal.

  They even went to the same college in New York City. Still best friends. Still doing everything together. And when they graduated, Ron introduced his friend to the woman the friend would eventually marry. Ron was in the wedding and never lost touch even though he moved away for a time, climbing up the ladder of various businesses, honing his skills and becoming ruthless. While his friend never moved away, never accomplished much, and finally took over his family business.

  When the time was right, Ron moved back to Divinity. He hooked up with his friend again, the man he had spent his life looking out for and helping. He partnered up with his friend, helping him to turn his family business into a big success. But the friend had changed. He didn’t want to share the glory since he finally had something better than Ron. It didn’t matter that Ronald was responsible for taking the business to the next level. The friend had found a loophole in the contract and forced Ron out of the company.

  Rage.

  That one word described how I was feeling at the moment. My body shook with vibration and hatred that Ronald had felt over the betrayal of someone he had loved. He had loved him as a friend, then as a brother, then as a romantic soul mate, even though he knew the feelings weren’t reciprocated. Ronald Winters was devastated because the love of his life had broken his heart and stabbed him in the back, ruining everything beyond repair.

  And that person was Peirce Theodore.

  ***

  “Sunny, are you okay?” Mitch came running into the house, barreling into the living room and jarring me from my reading.

  “Put that thing away,” I said, gesturing to his drawn gun.

  He holstered his weapon. “I just saw Baldy,” he grimaced over starting to sound like me, “or whatever his name’s car taking off out of the driveway in a hurry.” Mitch shoved a hand through his hair, looking frazzled. “My mind has been so preoccupied with solving this case, I didn’t even know he was here. He didn’t hurt you, did he?” He frowned when he noticed my hands. “Why do you have those gloves on?”

  I pulled the gloves off and set them down. “First of all, I’m fine. Second, Ronald Winters is intimidating, I’ll give you that, but I’m not sure he’s our killer.”

  “Who?”

  “Baldy’s name is Ronald Winters. He showed up and asked for a reading, but I could tell he didn’t really take my abilities seriously. He was simply probing me to see what happened in my office. I think he wanted to know what the thief took. Or maybe he’s the thief. I’m not really sure.”

  “You should have called me in here.” Mitch started inspecting me all over. “What if he attacked you again?”

  “He didn’t.” I stilled Mitch’s hands and made him sit beside me. “I’m fine, really. I knew you were right outside, and Granny was upstairs, and Morty would have let me know if I was in danger.”

  Mitch blew out a breath and scrubbed his hands over his face. “Okay. So back to the gloves. Why were you wearing them?”

  “To see if I could get a reading.”

  “And did you?” he asked without missing a beat, no sarcasm in sight, just pure honest interest in what I had to say.

  It was times like these that made me smile on the inside. We had been through enough things together that Mitch couldn’t explain and stopped trying to. He might not outwardly admit he believed in my abilities, yet he always wanted to hear what they were and always followed up on them. A true non-believer wouldn’t do that, and that was enough for me.

  “Yes, actually. That’s what you interrupted when you came running in. I saw Ron as a child all the way through adulthood. I was hoping to see right up to the present, but I doubt I would be able to recreate the reading and keep going now.”

  “What did you find out?”

  “That Ronald Winters was Peirce Theodore’s best friend since childhood and all through college. He even fixed him up with Linda. And he was the one who took Divine Inspiration to a whole new level. They were partners for a while. Ronald loved Peirce in all ways possible, that’s why he’s so angry now.”

  “What happened?”

  “Peirce betrayed him. He fired him, tried to ruin him, and ran him out of town. While Ron had always loved Peirce in a romantic way, Peirce didn’t return his affection. He only liked him as a friend, but even that faded over time. I think Peirce resented Ron. He was jealous of him and vowed to one day be the one on top. What I don’t get is why Linda Theodore would agree to sell the inn to Ronald Winters, knowing all that.”

  “That was exactly my question. Maybe it’s time we find out.”

  “We,” I said with a smile. “I like the sound of that.”

  “Did I say we?” Mitch blinked.

  “You sure did, and I’m holding you to it.”

  “I was afraid you were going to say that.” He groaned.

  Chapter 21

  On Thursday morning, Mitch and I went to talk to Linda Theodore. He’d agreed to let me tag along, as promised, but not until the next day. Doc had said one full day of rest, Doctor’s orders, and Detective Stone was all about following orders, most of the time. When it came to my well-being…

  All of the time.

  Divine Inspiration Inn was still crawling with people looking for the treasure like ants swarming a picnic basket, searching for a crumb. Leaves were falling in droves now, the grass growing dormant, and the water on the lake rippling. The rapids in the river down a ways in the woods must be churning something fierce with the way the wind had picked up.

  I tightened my sweater coat and was glad I’d chosen leather riding boots and leggings instead of a long flowy skirt and strappy sandals. I sighed. Summer was officially over. Mitch locked the car, looking all business in his jeans, sport coat, and tie. He grabbed my hand and led the way inside.

  We passed Frank Lalone who was walking with a limp as he worked on the lights of an outdoor pavilion. He looked like he’d been put through the ringer. Jack Shepard didn’t look like he’d fared much better. His hand was bandaged but that didn’t stop him from sharpening his garden tools. At least it looked like they had won the battle with the vultures since the guests seem to be giving them a wide berth.

  When we stepped inside, things were just as busy. Everywhere you looked, people were having excited conversations while making animated gestures. Sally Clark did her duty and scurried about, keeping the place ti
p top and watching over the knickknacks like a hawk. I was impressed. Not a single person knocked anything over this time. Probably because of her feather duster ever at the ready.

  We headed down the hall to Linda’s office and passed by the kitchen on the way. Glancing inside, my gaze locked with Pierre’s. His eye was swollen with purple and yellow bruises in various states of fading. For a moment, I saw a flash of resentment and anger directed at me, but when he spotted Detective Stone, he averted his gaze and started chopping celery at a furious pace.

  “Those must have been some set of stairs.” I looked up at Mitch and saw everything I needed to. He would do anything to protect me. I didn’t particularly like fighting, but that hadn’t been why I was angry. I understood he needed to make sure Pierre Desjardins never tried to hurt me again. What had frustrated me was the fact that in doing so, he’d put his career in jeopardy. What if Pierre lodged a complaint with Captain Walker? I knew how much being a police officer meant to Mitch, and I would do anything to protect that for him.

  As if reading my mind, he responded, “They were.” He flexed his fist. “Barely hurts anymore, but don’t worry. I’ll be more careful next time I go exploring.”

  “Next time?”

  “Exploring can be fun but dangerous. I like exploring. It’s a good workout. But have no fear. I only explore when I’m off duty, and what I do in my free time is my business.” His gaze locked on Pierre’s, but the chef refused to look at him even though Mitch had been speaking loud enough for him to hear.

  This time I took Mitch’s hand in mine and pulled him after me, far away from trouble. “I don’t think you’ll be having any more free time so long as I’m around. We have a murder to solve, Detective Stone.”

  “That we do, Miss Meadows.”

  Linda Theodore’s office was closed. Mitch was about to knock when the door opened. Wendy Statham and Jason Shank walked out.

  “You two sure do get around,” Mitch said.

  “Gotta make a living, Detective.” Jason shrugged with a grin. “Do you know how many gigs I’ve lost out on, Dude? Not to mention my girlfriend misses me.”