“You like?”
“I do. You should go into business.”
Jessica frowned then shook her head. “I don’t think that would work.” She didn’t say anything more on that subject. “So sad about Scott’s wife. Do you think he did it?”
“No, I don’t. Scott’s always been an honest person.”
Despite his bad-boy persona in high school, he never actually broke any rules that she knew of. He’d gone to class and graduated before going off to a state university.
“Of course you wouldn’t think that. You and Scott had a thing in high school.”
If Jessica knew about it, the town must have been talking about it since Scott had returned. Nice to know she’d been part of the gossip. Didn’t anyone realize that had been decades ago? Old news.
“I forget sometimes how small this town is, and that everyone remembers everything you’ve ever done.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was a sore subject. I’m not from here, remember?”
“It isn’t a sore subject. I just don’t understand everyone’s fascination with Scott and me. That was high school. We’ve both been married, so I would think people would know we’ve moved on.”
“Right. Still, Jackie did kind of bring trouble onto herself.”
Here was her opening. “Did you know her?”
Jessica blinked and then looked away. “Uh, yeah. I did.”
Despite her obvious discomfort, Kate couldn’t let it go. “How?”
Jessica looked down at her mug, a finger running along the rim. “I went to St. Pius at the same time she did.”
“I thought you weren’t from here?”
“I’m not. My parents sent me to St. Pius when I got pregnant. It was far enough away that no one would know.”
Kate reached out and put a hand on hers. “Everyone makes mistakes.”
She’d forgotten how easily people talked to her. Jessica might open up more if she prompted her.
“Thank you.” She glanced over her shoulder at the kitchen door. “Greg was helping me look for the son I gave up for adoption.”
“Greg? As in my Greg?”
What expertise did her husband, a professor at the local community college, have to help her find her son?
“Uh, yes. I guess he didn’t mention it. Never mind… I haven’t found him yet, but I’m afraid that Dudley doesn’t want me to look.”
“My husband was helping?”
Greg hadn’t mentioned it, but he might have been sparing Jessica’s feelings. She thought that they’d shared everything. Why would Greg have taken on that task? What did teaching Middle Eastern Studies have to do with finding children given up for adoption?
“Yes, Kate. I happened to run into him at the college’s library. He just pointed me in the right direction. He gave me pointers on doing research.”
Hmm. There was something that Jessica wasn’t telling her, but she chose not to press it. None of it would bring Greg back. Instead, she needed to focus on Jackie.
“So you knew Jackie from St. Pius. You stayed here after high school?” Kate asked.
“Yes, I liked this area and I attend the community college. I met Dudley not long after. We fell in love and the rest is history.”
She smiled then, but it didn’t reach her eyes. How sad it must be not to know where her child was. Kate had been having a hard enough time adjusting to her twins being away from home. She couldn’t imagine…
Back to Jackie. Stay focused.
“Did your husband know Jackie?”
“Yes, he did. Not well, I don’t think. Some business deal of his.”
“What did she do for a living?”
That might be key to her murder.
“She was a real estate developer, I think. She’d made a good living, and from what I heard, Scott didn’t pay her alimony. She refused it.”
How interesting. Yet another reason why Scott would not have killed her. Each time Kate talked to someone, she had more questions than answers.
“That rich?”
“Yes, that rich,” Jessica said. “She was pretty high-powered in the Philadelphia circles. We didn’t hear about her out in the sticks. I haven’t really kept in touch with her other than maybe a political gathering with Dudley. We crossed paths at those.”
Kate wondered if politics might have been involved. After all, this was Pennsylvania. The corruption and lawlessness in the state made the Sopranos of New Jersey look like a glee club. Or so she’d been led to believe.
“I didn’t know Dudley was that connected.”
“He’s trying to be, but I’m not sure why. He doesn’t always share everything with me.”
She put a hand over her mouth as if she said too much. Kate chose to ignore it and put her out of her discomfort.
If Dudley was connected to the state political machine, Kate reckoned, perhaps he had higher aspirations than being a small-town mayor. On the other hand, maybe those connections were just useful for his business. Not that she knew how those connections would benefit a trucking company.
“Was that how he met Jackie?”
“Yes. When he found out that I had known her, he had me introduce them at a party. I wasn’t privy to their conversation, but he had begun arranging deals with her lately. I guess real estate deals. I let Dudley handle the financials.”
Hopefully, for Jessica’s sake, Dudley wasn’t involved in anything shady. The wife was the last to know.
Kate thought that might explain Greg’s disappearance. And she’d be the last to know the truth about his life. She hadn’t thought anything sinister at the time, but the more years that passed the more she assumed he’d met a bad end at the hands of someone else.
“Several people in town have done deals with Jackie. Ken, from the police department, did also.” Jessica added.
Interesting, thought Kate.
Chapter Six
Kate had to stop by the Rock Ridge Municipal Complex to check on a permit to do some work. She didn’t expect it to be done, but she could hope. Rock Ridge was notoriously slow with issuing permits in a failed attempt to slow down growth of the town.
Maybe someone needed to rein in the planning and zoning boards. They kept approving developments and the building department did their best to stall the actual building of them. Several developers had brought lawsuits again the town.
Knowing what her tax bill was, Kate didn’t think that the town was spending its money wisely.
The building bustled with kids coming out of the library. They were all fresh-faced and eager to run around outside. The town had built a playground outside for that purpose.
Once past the library, Kate took a right down the hallway for the building department. She would get her permit, and then talk to Ken about Jackie. He wouldn’t be happy, but she wanted him to know that he wasn’t going to just accuse Scott and get away with it.
Kate waited for one customer in front of her who was trying to build a deck on her property. A job someone else had gotten. Oh well, I can’t fix the whole town. Besides, she had plenty of work to keep her busy without running herself ragged.
She began planning her lunch break to kill time. Finally, it was Kate’s turn.
She smiled because a little good will went a long way. Bobbie Hamden gave her a harried smile in return. Bobbie had been two grades ahead of her boys. She’d attended the community college then snagged a job working for the city. It was a coveted position with good benefits and paid holidays.
“Your permit still isn’t ready. Not sure what the holdup is,” Bobbie said.
“That’s not good. I’d like to get started on that project. It’ll bring in some good money.”
“I know. I promise I’ll put it at the top of the pile, today.”
“Thanks, Bobbie.”
Kate walked away, hoping the permit would be there tomorrow. She didn’t want to begin work until she had it in her hands. It was difficult to say what was causing the snag. Sometimes they wanted different
plans than she sketched up. Other times she’d planned on replacing a structure that was there with the same thing, but in the interval between when the item had first been installed and the upgrade, the code had changed.
Most of the services she performed didn’t require a permit, thankfully. It made her job easier.
The police station connected to the Municipal Building via a glass corridor. The sun was out now and the clouds had gone away. Coincidentally, Ken walked out of the police station into the hallway as she entered. She figured he had parked his car out this way, and she was thankful to run into him.
“Ken.”
“Kate.”
He eyed her suspiciously. Perhaps someone told him that she was asking around about the murder. He might be mad, but she hadn’t done anything illegal.
“Just the man I wanted to talk to.”
“I have no news. The coroner’s office is backed up and won’t get to the autopsy until tomorrow. Not that this is any of your business.”
He looked harried and his hair was out of place. He didn’t hold his usual casual posture. Maybe the investigation was a strain on him already. Or perhaps he was feeling guilty for arresting Scott.
Either way, he didn’t look good.
That wasn’t going to stop Kate from asking questions. She wasn’t going to let anything stand between her and the truth.
“I heard, Ken, that you knew the deceased.”
He flinched. If she hadn’t been watching him, she wouldn’t have noticed.
“I fail to see what that has to do with anything. I also fail to see what business it is of yours.”
He was angry now. For some reason, Jackie York was a sore spot. For not living in Rock Ridge, she’d known a lot of people here. Maybe her deals with the mayor had connected her to the rest of the town.
“I heard something about a deal gone bad?”
His eyes fell closed momentarily. He sighed. “It’s none of your business, Kate. I can arrest you for obstructing justice.”
“How am I obstructing justice? I’m asking you some questions.”
He frowned at her. “I don’t like your tone.”
“Tough. You may be following a path that will put the wrong person in jail. And I have to say, I don’t like that.”
He stood a little straighter. “First off, I’m following all of the leads. Secondly, I don’t have any reason to falsely accuse the chief.”
“No? Didn’t he get the job you wanted?”
Ken frowned. She’d held her breath thinking she might have pushed him too far.
His tone didn’t have any anger in it. “I’m acting chief and I’ll be glad to give it up. I should be retiring anyway.”
“Why aren’t you?”
“Because my 401K says I can’t yet.”
It made sense, but he should have a police pension. His financial matters were not her concern, it was true. Except if they impacted this case.
“How did you know Jackie?”
Ken frowned and crossed his arms. “You aren’t going to let this go?”
“Nope.”
“You were always that way. Sometimes Carly complained about it.”
Kate had no doubt that Carly had complained about her tenacity. She’d been jealous, and Carly didn’t like to be badgered any more than her father did. Kate could be like a Chihuahua that hung on to something out of pure stubbornness.
“So just tell me. You know I have other ways of finding out. I know your whole family.”
“If I tell you, will you leave me alone? Stop playing Nancy Drew?”
“I prefer to think of myself as Stephanie Plum, but no, I won’t stop.”
He sighed. “A couple of us invested in some property with Jackie. It turned out to be a bad investment as the economy tanked. I lost a lot of my retirement money.”
“That would make you want to kill her, wouldn’t it?”
“I was pissed, and so was Celia, but I wouldn’t kill anyone over it.”
“Who else was involved?”
“That is none of your business, Kate. I’ve told you enough already.”
She crossed her arms. “I’m not going to let this go.”
“You still have a thing for Scott? Didn’t he break your heart?”
“Holy moly. That was high school. We were kids. No, I don’t have a thing for Scott. I just don’t want to see anyone falsely accused.”
Ken snorted as if he didn’t believe her. Whatever. She wasn’t going to explain her relationship with Scott to anyone because there wasn’t one. She worked on his house, and that’s where it ended since he paid her today.
“The deal with Jackie was a few years ago. It didn’t set me back too many years. I’ll just have to work longer until retirement.”
“You aren’t upset about that?”
“No, and I have an alibi. None of which is your business. Now, I need to go, Kate. Is the interrogation done?”
“Done for now.”
He gave her a stern, fatherly look. Once upon a time she’d have been scared of that look. No longer. She was an adult now. Not a teenager who had done something wrong.
“Make it done for good. You need to keep out of this. It is a police investigation.”
“People talk to me, Ken. I’m like a bartender.”
“If they say something about the case, you need to tell me.”
She pondered that. “Yes, I guess I do. You are the lead investigating officer, correct?”
“Yes, I am. We’re overextended because there hasn’t been a murder in Rock Ridge in decades.”
“You calling in help?”
How ironic that the one person that could help them is the person that stands accused. Homicide had been Scott’s department in Philadelphia.
“None of your business. I’m going now, Kate. Goodbye.”
He left her standing in the hall. Still, Kate had a little more information, and now she wanted to know who had lost money because of Jackie’s deal. Maybe Scott knew. Was he married to her then?
The list of suspects just got longer. Too bad she didn’t know exactly who was on that list. She would ask Scott. She did need to put another coat on that wall. It hadn’t been dry when she left.
Even if he did know, would he tell her? She frowned. She drove to the bank pondering what Ken had said. If people had lost savings because of Jackie, they would be mad. But who would have access to Scott’s house that was on that list?
Ken might. Who else? Kate had to admit she was more puzzled than ever. If she got that list, she’d have some idea who to talk to. Maybe the mayor had invested, but he just put that addition on his house. He couldn’t be hurting for money.
It made sense to plant Jackie’s body in Scott’s house, but Kate didn’t know if Jackie had actually been killed where she’d been found. That was another question for Scott.
Once at the bank, she deposited the check Scott had given her earlier. She debated seeing Scott again so soon. He might try to talk her into dinner.
Maybe she should eat with him to pick his brain. That decided, she climbed into her truck.
***
Kate paused in front of Scott’s door. She heard the chords of an electric guitar. Guess he’s been jamming. For a moment, she was transported back to high school. Besides his souped-up car and black leather jacket, Kate had also been drawn to Scott because he had played guitar. His cool factor was high, and as an awkward high schooler, that had appealed to her. She’d always wondered what it was about her that had attracted him.
She listened for a moment. She wasn’t musical. She couldn’t sing or play an instrument, so Kate was always impressed when someone could do either or both. Putting a hand on his door, she took in the passion with which he played.
It came through even though she stood outside. She absorbed the notes even if she didn’t recognize the song. Some part of her had missed that sort of passion—that sort of connection to someone else.
Her husband hadn’t been musical, either. He could p
lay guitar, but not with the same mastery. Damn.
She had to stop waxing sentimental whenever Scott was around. She had a job to finish.
She rang the doorbell and the music cut off abruptly. A moment later, Scott opened the door. He wore cutoffs, a T-shirt and a broad grin. His feet were bare. How did he dress so casually and look so good? Damn him.
“Hey.”
“Hi, I just wanted to check on that spot to see if it needed a second coat.”
He stepped back, letting her in.
She eyed her handiwork. She couldn’t even tell where she’d done the patch. “No second coat needed.”
“You want to stay for dinner?”
She looked up at him, his soft brown eyes pleading with her. This was a gentler side of him. As a teen he’d been in command. Not that she’d let him roll over her, but if she didn’t care, then he would choose. He’d been in charge in bed, but he was good at it so she let him.
She sighed. “Only because I know my cupboard is bare will I agree.”
The twinkle returned to his eyes as another grin broke out on his face. “Not my sparkling personality?”
“Sorry, it’s your full refrigerator. And I have some questions.”
“I’ll take it. Follow me.”
He led her back to the kitchen where she’d found the body. For a moment, she hesitated on the threshold. She could still see the woman’s dead eyes staring up at her.
“Why don’t you go out on the deck? I’ll bring you a beer.”
She nodded. When she was settled into a lawn chair, Scott brought her a beer. He touched his bottle to hers. She sipped the amber liquid. It cut the dust in her throat.
Scott sat on a chair next to her. His yard was wild, with random shrubs growing and weeds in all of the beds.
“I haven’t figured out what I want to do with the yard. Didn’t think I’d have time once I started the job,” he said.
“It takes time to get a new house in order. I bet your office is in order, because that was more important,” she said.
He nodded, taking a swig of his beer. She watched him swallow then looked away. No mooning over Scott. This is business.
“How long were you and Jackie divorced?”
Mrs. Fix It Mysteries (5 Cozy Mystery Books Collection) Page 5
