An hour away from her might give me some perspective. I started the engine and took off toward the little town of North Destiny Bay where my friend’s shop was—but I couldn’t help looking back to see if anyone was in the bay window as I left.
Nope. Ghost free. That made things better from the start.
Chapter Five
Driving into town was like going back in time, into a small village from the Fifties. It was the first week of December and Christmas decorations were hanging on every light pole. Parking was easy and Jill’s little hole-in-the-wall coffee bar was adorable, just like she was herself. We both squealed when we saw each other and acted like fools, jumping and hugging and laughing--but it was worth it. It had been awhile.
She brewed up one heck of a latte and we sat and talked between customers, harkening back to college days, remembering the time we got locked out of our dorm room and had to climb the side of the building to get in, and the time we switched dates and ended up dating those guys instead of who we thought we were dating. Mixing it up can work sometimes.
She asked about Nolan. He was from the time after college, but she’d met him a few times and been impressed. I shook my head. “That’s over.”
“What? Why?”
“It just didn’t work out.”
“I thought he was perfect for you.”
“So did I. Then I got to know him better.”
“Oh.”
I didn’t want to get into it, not yet. I hadn’t had time to sort it out for myself, much less for other people. Someday, maybe.
“How about you? Anybody special?”
She shrugged and shook her head. “Nope. I’ve decided I don’t need a man to make me whole. Too much pain, too much drama. I like my life like it is, slow and easy, with lots of work and lots of progress toward my goals. Men just get in the way.”
She had a point there, but I knew my Jill-girl. She wouldn’t last long in this love-less mode. Still, there was no point belaboring it.
I sat and smiled, watching her. She still looked about eighteen, with her mass of blond curls and her huge blue eyes, always dancing with some sort of mischief. We’d always been like ying and yang, as least in the way we looked together, she like a blond fairy queen, me like a mixed-race island princess. At least, that was the way we thought of ourselves. A little romantic—but hey, what was wrong with that?
She wore a t-shirt that said, “Late for your latte?” and a skirt cut short and made of denim. That seemed to be the uniform of her shop, as I saw a couple of college age kids wearing the same shirt and working behind the counter.
“How’s business?” I asked, really wondering.
She set her teeth on edge with a look of trepidation. “Truth or dare? I’m hanging by a thread here. If things don’t perk up, I may be bankrupt by Tuesday.”
“Oh no!”
She laughed and shook her head. “I’m exaggerating, but things are a little grim. Still, I’m having the time of my life. I love this. The danger, the excitement, the hard work, the hopes for the future. Really. I love it all.”
“Danger?” I asked, curious.
She nodded. “Sure. I may fail. You don’t think that’s danger enough to get the old heart pounding?”
“Oh. Sure.” Funny, I hadn’t ever thought of business that way, but I guess it does apply. “So you’re saying that the fact that we both majored in business management was an act of bravery. Is that it?”
“Of course. It just goes to show. We’re both women of uncommon valor. And not much imagination.”
We laughed. It was an old joke between us. We always said, if we could just figure out something fun to major in, we would dump our accounting and management classes in a heartbeat.
“So.” She leaned closer. “I hear you’ve had some things happening in your neck of the woods.”
I gave her a look. “You’ve heard about that, huh?”
She nodded, licking her lips. “I was hoping you’d come in and tell me all about it.”
I groaned. “Oh Jill. I never expected murder in a sweet little town like this.”
She put her head to the side, considering. “Did it ever occur to you that this sort of thing might be following you around? I mean, remember that murder in the dorm? You were the one who figured out who the perpetrator was. And quite quickly, too.”
“The fact that she had posters of serial killers on her walls was a pretty blatant clue.”
“True. But don’t forget, you were also the one who caught that guy raiding everybody’s panty drawers in the act.”
“The creep.”
Jill grinned. “And now? After all, you’re experienced at this.”
I sighed. “So you already know about Kyle Madronna?”
She laughed. “Honey, you’ll find out soon enough that everybody knows everything about everybody in a small town. But I still need the inside scoop.” She leaned closer, her eyes wide and bright. “Who do you think did it?”
I hesitated. “I don’t really feel like I know enough about the town and its people yet to make an educated guess, much less pass judgment,” I told her earnestly.
“That’s where you’re in luck,” Jill said with a happy grin. “I do know enough and I’ve got plenty of ideas.”
Jill always made me laugh. “Wow. I guess I’ve hit the jackpot having you as my best friend, huh?”
“Damn right. Now tell me who you think did it.”
I finally realized what she really wanted was to give me her own theory. “Okay, you go first,” I said.
She grinned. “Okay. Let’s go over the suspects.”
I made a face at her. “How many do you have?”
“Lots. Bear with me.”
“Go.”
She held up her left hand and started counting off the fingers. “First there’s Bebe. Sorry, but we’ve got to include her.”
I nodded my reluctant acceptance of that, even if privately I had my own Bebe-related doubts.
Jill looked concerned. “She was sick and tired of the way Kyle was always coming after her and she made no bones about it.”
“Yeah, but that’s not a reason you kill a man.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “You never know. He might have been getting rough with her.”
I made a face. “Did he have a rep for that sort of thing?”
She considered and had to shake her head. “I don’t think so. But you’ll get a better idea of that once you question her.”
I laughed aloud. “Question her? Jill! I have no right to question her.”
She threw her hands out in exasperation. “Do you want to solve this crime, or not?”
My mouth was open and nothing was coming out. Finally I got some words. “We don’t even know for sure it is a crime,” I reminded her.
She shrugged. “You know very well that you think it was. So why not go ahead and get a head start on the speculation?”
I gave up. “Shall we go on?”
“Sure.”
“Okay. After Bebe, I guess you’d have to throw in that son of his. What do you know about him?”
She frowned. “Adrian?”
“Yeah. What a piece of work he is.”
“Of course. Like father, like son. Only he doesn’t have a clue how to make himself into a billionaire like Daddy did, so he has to find a way to get part of Daddy’s stash.”
“Ah.” I looked at her. She did seem to be pretty good at this. “Does he stand to inherit?”
She gave me a look. “Not with Caroline in the way. The way I hear it, she’ll get it all. Community property, living trust and all that stuff.”
“Is he the only child?”
“Right. From Kyle’s first marriage. Caroline had nothing to do with it.”
“What about his first wife?”
She shook her head. “I don’t think she stands to benefit here, but you never know. I suppose we’ll know for sure once the will is read.”
“If there is a will. He wasn’t that old.”
“Old enough for murder.”
We were both quiet for a moment, thinking about that. Sometimes the depth of things that happen to people in real life just gets to you and you have to take a moment to consider it—and maybe mourn a little.
“And anyway, rich people always have lawyers and wills and all the proper things they need to make sure someone gets the money,” Jill said at last. “We peons have to make do with online services and we wait until the last minute to take care of business.”
I nodded, not totally sure what she was trying to say, but agreeing in principle—maybe. “Okay. Who’s next?”
“Caroline.”
“You think she might have killed him?”
“Who knows you better than your spouse? Who would have more reason to hate you, too?”
I shrugged. “Next?”
“Hank Pearson. He’s Bebe’s foreman at the flower farm and he spends most of his time making goo-goo eyes at Caroline.”
“Oh! Do the goo-goos go both ways?”
She shook her head. “Who knows? Not that I’ve heard. But you never know what goes on behind closed doors.”
I nodded, thinking again about Michael phoning Bebe from Caroline’s place. All roads seemed to lead to Caroline.
“Who else?” I asked Jill.
“Michael Archer.”
“Bebe’s mentioned him.”
“I’m sure she has.” Jill raised an eyebrow. “Handsome, hot, teen idol kind of guy, only he’s actually the biology teacher at the high school. And the 4-H club advisor. He and Bebe seem to hang out a lot lately.”
“Ah.”
“Well might you ‘ah’. He’s a honey.”
“Good. I’m glad she’s interested in someone new. She was devastated when Jimmy died.”
Jill nodded. “He was definitely a good one. That was really tragic.”
“Okay? Is that all?”
She hesitated. “Well, there’s Sherry Jones. I don’t think we ought to leave her out. She’s a young sex pot type. Bebe hired her to manage the flower bundlers who set up for the sales to the markets.”
I couldn’t let her get away with that unscathed. “Jill,” I said, pretending disapproval. “Such stereotyping.”
“Oh, just wait until you meet her. She deserves it.”
I grinned, but couldn’t leave it at that. “But just because she’s a hottie doesn’t mean she’s capable of murder.”
I saw Jill’s eyes widen, so I knew right away there was someone new behind my chair. I gave it a twist and there was Detective McKnight, looking like he was once again contemplating putting the cuffs on me and dragging me off to jail, though the huge blended frap-type drink in his hand might have handicapped any attempts along those lines.
“Miss Keahi,” he said sternly, “I have to remind you that you’re a suspect in a murder. You shouldn’t be discussing details with coffee shop baristas.”
Jill’s eyes flared at that, but I didn’t have time for it. I was too outraged on my own account. “A suspect? Me? I didn’t even know the man.”
“Do you think that most murder victims know the people who murder them?”
“I…I don’t know. What are the statistics on that?”
McKnight raised a significant eyebrow and tried to look important. “That’s not information you need to know.”
“Huh?” I wised up. “You mean it’s not information you have a clue about, don’t you?”
He ignored my rudeness with a pointed look of boredom.
“I assume you’ll be coming in with your aunt this afternoon to defend your statements.”
“Defend? Defend?” My outrage was growing by the moment.
He smiled and picked up a toothpick and jammed it into his mouth. “That’s what I said. See you there.”
He turned to go, then turned back. “By the way,” he said. “Do you happen to know if your aunt was alone while she was gardening out there in her back yard?”
“No, I don’t.”
“You don’t happen to know if there was someone there? Keeping her company, maybe? Helping out?”
“Someone like who?” I asked, glaring at him.
“Oh, I don’t know. Say…that guy Michael?”
“Michael who?” I shot back, pretending not to know. “How should I know? You’ll have to ask Bebe about that herself.”
“Oh, I will.” His crooked grin was infuriating. “You aunt’s alibi is that she was working in the yard all afternoon. But I have to treat that like I do any alibi. I have to bend, fold and mutilate it, looking for truth.”
“And what have you found that disputes it?”
He shrugged. “Right now I’m testing theories.”
“Such as?”
He leaned back and grinned. It seemed his passion for secrecy had faded. “Say your aunt was working in the back yard. Her cell phone rang and she answered it. Kyle Mardronna was driving down from the winery. He wanted to stop in and…visit with her.”
I gazed at him in horror. “You jerk,” I fumed. “She couldn’t stand the man. Why would she…?”
“Exactly. She tells him to stay away. He insists and—who knows? Maybe threatens her. She goes out to the front yard to ambush his direct approach, hiding behind the camellia bush beside the front steps.”
“Ambush him with what? It’s not like he was shot or something.”
“No. But he was hit in the back of the head with a very craggy rock from her walkway border. Maybe she waited there with that rock in her hands, and when he passed where she was hiding, she leaped out and crashed it into his skull.” He shrugged like a man helpless before the facts. “Could happen. Don’t you think?”
“No. I do not think. Bebe would never do something like that.” If looks could kill, he’d be ready for immediate burial services.
But he smiled. “You’d be amazed what people can do when their emotions get charged up.” He turned to go, then turned back. “And your alibi was…what again?”
“I was driving up the coast from LA.”
“Uh huh. Do you happen to have any receipts with time stamps that will document that claim?”
With my jaw clenched it was hard to answer him, but I managed. “I’ll try to find you some,” I said.
“You do that. I’ll let you know if we’re going to need to check your cell phone and GPS.” He smiled at both of us. “See you later, ladies,” he said as he turned to go. And this time he made good on his intent.
I was seething by the time he got out the door. Of all the arrogant jerks running loose in the world….!
“Hey,” Jill whispered soothingly, grabbing my hand. “Remember that scene in West Side Story where the crazy white-boy gang-cat is jumping with anger and the advice he gets is to ‘stay cool, man—real cool?’ I second that emotion. Don’t let him get to you. He gets you riled, he wins. Keep that in mind.”
I closed my eyes and nodded while I counted to ten. “Okay,” I said, taking a long sip of my delicious latte. “I’m cool.”
“Real cool?” she prodded.
“Yes,” I said tensely. “As a cucumber cool.”
“Good.”
We talked a little longer. Jill tried to bring up other subjects to lighten the day for me, and I appreciated the effort. But it didn’t do any good. I was wallowing in resentment that the police had decided that I was a suspect. It just didn’t seem fair and I was pouting.
Embarrassing—sure. But still….
Finally it was time to go. I gave Jill a hug and promised to come back soon and then walked out. But just as I got to the outer door, I stopped. Somehow, someway, I’d seen something as I was leaving. Now that I stopped to process it, I was sure. Out off to the side, in my peripheral vision, I’d seen…a man. The same man I’d seen in the window at Aunt Bebe’s when I’d first arrived. The man I always used to see when I was a teen and living in Hawaii. The man I needed to stop seeing ever…ever….
I turned back. I knew exactly where he was sitting. I’d seen him, even t
hough I hadn’t looked right at him. If he was still there, I was going to confront him. Tell him to go. Tell him to leave me alone. My heart jumped up into my throat and I put a hand over it. Would I have a heart attack just talking to him?
Maybe. Maybe.
But I turned back anyway, going back into the coffee shop, heading right for that table. And then I stopped dead. The table was empty. No crumpled napkin, no empty cup, nothing. I looked around quickly. He was gone.
Oh well. It was obvious he was going to be around. I’d get another chance at him. For sure. But deep down, I felt nothing but relief.
Chapter Six
The session at the police station was mostly pointless. They did have a report from the coroner and it looked like murder to the professionals. So that was that. The questions were just repeats of what we’d already gone over. It seemed they hoped to catch one or the other of us in a contradiction, but we were steady. We didn’t budge.
At least I didn’t and I assume the same for my aunt. She seemed to come out of her time with the chief of police looking fine.
I got Detective McKnight who was a PITA--again. He tried to flirt with me, which made me even madder. I’d brought in some receipts I found in my car and he kept going over my time line, trying to make me believe I had the times messed up and should have had plenty of opportunity to murder ten or twelve men from the time I arrived up to when the police were called in. I just laughed at him.
I did learn something new, though, something that chilled me a bit. It seems the police have some information about Bebe I didn’t know about. From some questioning I got I had to assume they thought that my aunt had dated Kyle at some point in time. How that could have happened I couldn’t see, but it worried me. I knew I was going to have to ask her some uncomfortable questions. Drat. It made me wish I’d waited a week to come for a visit.
It also made me want to call Nolan. But that was exactly what I had to stay away from.
Nolan. Just rolling his name around in my head made me want to cry. He was the one who got away. I just didn’t seem to have enough womanly appeal to keep him. I’d certainly tried hard enough.
A Ghost for Christmas (Destiny Bay Cozy Mysteries Book 1) Page 3
