“Of course. We were all there a few weeks ago for a fundraising party to raise money and awareness about the island reserves. Lucy, you were with me that night and I remember how much you loved the house. Mrs. Travels gave us a tour of the office and library so we could see the custom shelving she had just had installed. That’s where this picture was taken: in the library. You know, I do remember her saying that they were going to have a family member stay for an extended time. That led the discussion to how wonderful it was that they had a guest apartment over the garage. How tragic for them, he was a young man, probably Emma’s age.”
“You’re right, Megan. Paul, you were talking to the councilman and some others while we got to look around the house. Did he mention anything to you about his nephew coming up to live with them?” Lucy looked over at her husband, expecting him to remember the conversation that was almost three weeks old.
Paul shook his head; he just couldn’t think of what had been talked about that night. Obviously nothing of any importance, or he would remember. The sheriff finished his coffee and after asking again if they could remember any other connection or information about the victim, Paul pushed back his chair and prepared to leave.
“If you think of any details we may have missed, please let me know. I need to get back to the office and give my press conference. I just stopped by here on my way back from the Travels home. This will save you a trip into town tomorrow and give things a chance to calm down. Once the media finds out who this young man was related to, their attention is going to be focused away from you all. And as hard as that will be for the councilman, he has the staff to handle them. I want you kept out of this as long as possible, Megan. We don’t need to advertise that there was a witness. That is something we can hold back until an arrest is made.”
“Sheriff, what was the man’s name?”
“John Travels, II, they called him JT. He was named after his uncle. They are taking it pretty hard. With no children of their own, he was special to the councilman and his wife. Make sure you lock up after me. I’m sure I’ll have more questions for you later. Good night, everyone.” And with that, the man left them to head to his office to finish off one more of the tasks before him in the investigation.
After he had left and the gate securely closed behind him, Lucy and Paul cleaned up the coffee cups and Megan decided that she had had enough for one day. She told Lucy that she was going to take her shower and then turn in for the night. Paul agreed that she looked done in (not one of his more tactful moments) and said that he and Lucy would be staying up to watch the news before heading for bed. After wishing each other a good night, Megan left the two of them to finish in the kitchen and went to her room. Glancing at the mirror in the bathroom as she walked into the walk-in shower, she had to admit that her cousin was right: she did look done in. After a quick shower, she allowed herself no time to think, but got right in bed and was asleep almost instantly.
Chapter Six
Sunday
It wasn’t the bright rays of sunshine coming through the bedroom windows that woke Megan the next morning, but rather a cool, wet nose and purring of one of the cats letting her know that it was time for breakfast. Yawning and stretching, Megan opened her eyes and scratched the cat behind the ears. With her eyes now opened, she focused on a beautiful painting on the wall opposite the bed. The painting could be a sunrise or sunset at a secluded beach and had been placed on the wall so that it was the first thing Megan saw when she woke or the last thing at night. It always gave her a moment to pause and reflect on her day and fill her with a sense of peace. Sending a quick prayer heavenwards for a less eventful day, Megan got out of bed and went into her bathroom to get ready for the day.
By the time she came back into her room, she could hear the sounds of movement in other parts of her home. It sounded as if someone else was up and had just let the dogs out for their morning run. Pulling the handmade quilt into place, she made her bed and looked around to be sure everything else was in its proper place. Not that anyone else would be able to tell, but she did have some organization to the room, and although it wasn’t as eye stopping as Carol Bloomquest’s bedroom, Megan’s room was charming and comfortable. In one corner of the room, she had created a small reading spot complete with an antique platform rocker and a small roll top desk. Between the two pieces of furniture was a Tiffany floor lamp and a magazine rack that was overflowing with books, magazines, and the current needlepoint Megan was working on. Maybe it would be finished in the next year. Pictures of her daughter at different stages of her life were on the remaining wall space, and the third side of the bedroom opened up to the pool terrace. An old-fashioned Dutch door was across from the bath and opened onto the side wraparound porch. She had changed the standard doors in all the rooms that lead out onto the porch to Dutch doors when she bought the house, loving the idea of not having to have the whole door open up to the outside, but just the top half unless you wanted more. She had even had screens added to the doors, so that there would be no invasion of the many Florida insects into the house. Grabbing the dirty glass from yesterday off her desk, she left the room, cats trailing behind her, eager for their morning meal.
Walking into the kitchen, she wasn’t too surprised to see that it was her cousin who was the one up and moving around already on a Sunday morning. Putting the glass she had brought in with her into the dishwasher, Megan reached up for a mug for her coffee and a clean bowl to fill with cat food.
“Morning, Paul. Was that you I heard letting the dogs out?”
“Yeah, that was me, Lucy is still in bed. Did you get a decent sleep?”
“I slept like a rock. Now I’m ready to take on the world. What about you? Did you stay up much later?”
“Just to hear the news. They didn’t have much more to tell than what the sheriff told us when he was here last night. Plus, the weather system is still moving west, but steadily. I picked up the paper when I let the dogs out. Looks like the press is camped out at the councilman’s house waiting for statements from the family. Oh, your daughter called to check in. I let her know what’s going on and reassured her that we were all fine. She said she would call back tonight. It sounds like she’s got a full schedule with her summer classes. It was nice to touch base with her. I sure do miss having her around.”
“Darn, I’m sorry I missed her call. But I’m glad you got a chance to talk to her, she misses you too, Paul. If the storm is not changing and the press is otherwise occupied, then it sounds as if we could have a quiet day. That would be a nice change. Is there anything that you and Lucy want to do?”
Paul had looked over at Megan for a moment before he answered her. He knew that her Sundays were usually a time for church and then relaxing and getting ready for the upcoming week, but he was going to suggest a change in those plans.
“I actually have a few things I need to get ready for an order I’m placing tomorrow for a new contract we just acquired. Why don’t you and Lucy play tourist today? Now hear me out, going somewhere where there are a lot of people in one place, you will both be able to mingle in with the crowds. Since JT was from down south, heading up to the Orlando area will take you that much farther away from potential problems. Go to Sea World or Disney for the day. The parks are full of security and it will take your mind off of things here. You and Lucy always like to go and you haven’t been there in while: it really is the perfect solution.”
Megan looked at him as if he had suddenly grown two heads and then burst out laughing.
“You and Lucy planned this all out last night, didn’t you? She’s up and ready too, I bet. Well, there’s no fighting both of you, besides it actually makes sense. I think that Lucy and I will go to Disney today, what do you think, Paul?”
Paul had the grace to look a little embarrassed that she had caught on so quickly. But then she could see the look of relief pass over him at her easy agreement. It was a smart idea and there was no reason for her and Lucy to sit at home and worry all day.
Heck, if the storm stayed slow moving, maybe they would make it a couple of days and take in the huge outlet malls up in the Disney area, as well. There was nothing like a shopping spree to relieve stress.
“All right, I’ll go get ready for our road trip. You can tell Lucy the coast is clear. This puts you on pet duty too, you know.” Laughing at her cousin, Megan grabbed her coffee and went back to her room to get what she would need for a day of playing tourist.
It didn’t take the two women long to get ready and head out on the two-hour trip to the heart of the Florida tourist area. It was an uneventful trip, rather boring actually. Driving up the Florida turnpike did not give you a lot to look at: the land is mostly flat, full of cow pastures and Palmetto Palms. Their arrival time couldn’t have been better either. The main rush into the gates of the park was over, and they were too early for the lunchtime rush that often came. Paying for their tickets, Megan and Lucy entered “the happiest place on earth” and strolled around at a leisurely pace, watching the other people and smiling at the excited faces of children pulling their parents to the next attraction. They could both remember when it had been Emma pulling on their arms with zeal.
The day passed quickly and both women did feel more relaxed as they sat down to dinner at one of the nicer restaurants. While they waited for their meal to be served, Megan used her phone to check the weather report and her messages. Not much had changed, but she just had a feeling that she would be needed tomorrow back home. After talking it over with Lucy, the decision was made that they would stay and watch the firework show and then head home. Lucy picked up her phone to let Paul know what their plans were and then the two women sat back to enjoy their meal.
As always, the fireworks were a visual display of art and they “oohed and awed” right along with everyone else, breaking into an enthusiastic applause at the spectacular ending. They then joined the long lines of tired children and exhausted parents leading to the parking lot. Catching the tram that took them to the area of the lot where they had parked the car hours ago, Megan and Lucy were both glad that they would not have to face the task of putting a little one to bed after such an overwhelming day. It did not take them long to get back on the turnpike and head south, this time with Lucy behind the wheel. Stopping only once to get coffee and once to use the restrooms at the rest area, they made good time and were back at Megan’s home in a couple of hours. Megan talked briefly to Paul and then left the two of them so she could settle in for the night; it was late now and it would soon be morning.
Chapter Seven
Monday
Morning came quickly and Megan found herself busy for most of it overseeing her staff and implementing the plans that they had all formulated during their Saturday meeting. There were a few times that she almost forgot about the “partner rule” she and Paul had set up. But there were plenty of voices to remind her and she found herself starting to feel closed in by lunch time. Knowing that Lucy and Paul wanted some time to themselves, she sent them on their own to lunch, and she agreed to stay at the office with Janice.
It was while she munching on her apple that she answered the phone for Janice who was fixing her own lunch. It was a call that she later wished she had let the answering machine pick up.
“Concierge Services of Citrus Beach. This is Megan, how may I help you today?”
There was a slight pause on the other end of the line, as if the person had not expected Megan to answer, before there was a response.
“Why, Megan Cassidy, you’re just the person I wanted to speak to. I have so much to ask you and your input will be so important. This is Kim Heart. As the housekeeper for the Bloomquest residence—“
“Miss Heart, we have told you a number of times that we have no comment. And for the record, I am not the housekeeper. Please confirm your information before you jump to conclusions.” Megan cut the reporter off before she could start asking questions, and wasn’t her usual polite self as she did it.
“But, Megan, that’s why I’m calling: to confirm my facts about your involvement in the Travels’ murder. I’m sure that you would rather tell me in your own words how the Bloomquest family is reacting and how you feel about working in such a dangerous place.”
“Oh, please. Miss Heart, you will have to be like everyone else and wait to get your information from the official source: the police. I have no comment for you of all people. And I will speak for Carol Bloomquest as well: no comment.”
“Megan, you really should think about this. I can make my piece portray you as someone who is helpful, which could work out to be very profitable for you. Or you could be seen as someone with something to hide, either for your employer or you … and you have no idea what the cost of that could be.”
“That’s it, Kim, don’t bother me or my staff or my clients. Your ethics are not up to my standards and frankly, I hope you are not an example of you colleagues’ standards either.” And doing something she had never done to someone before, Megan slammed the phone back into its receiver.
“Wow, I leave the office for a minute and miss all the action. From this end, that sounded like an interesting conversation. Glad I’m on your side. Seriously Megan, if that was Kim Heart, I’m not so sure that she is someone you want to anger. She has a really horrible habit of rewriting the facts to make her stories more sensational than factual.” Janice walked into the room with her lunch and sat at her desk.
“Yea, I know, I should have been more diplomatic, but she just gets under my skin. Besides, how could she rewrite “No Comment” in a bad way? I’ve never met someone who I have instantly disliked before her and I’m not proud of my reaction to her questions. She almost made it sound like she would make it worth my while to talk to her. Ugh, what a nasty person.” Getting up from her seat, Megan walked over to Janice, shrugged her shoulders, and snitched a grape off the plate Janice had in her hands.
The two of them spent part of their lunch hour remembering some of the stories that Kim Heart had published in her move to get ahead. Some of them had actually been good-and those were the ones that she had stuck to the true story. The woman actually had talent, but her ambitions often clouded it. More times than not, her article would make great headlines, but once you read it, you were disappointed.
Deciding that they needed to stretch their legs, they locked the front door and went out the back to take the dogs for a walk along the road on the property that doubled as a small plane landing strip. Fred kept pace with their strides, falling behind when he decided he needed a break. Barney, on the other hand, ran circles around the women, darting off to the side if something caught his attention or running ahead of them when he thought they were moving too slowly. If he got too far away from them, Megan would call him back to her side. He would manage to stay for a few moments before he would catch the scent of something promising and off he would go again. The women enjoyed their walk and the puppy kept them entertained until they ended up back at the office. As they walked up the path to the back door, it was a surprise to see the sheriff sitting at an outside table waiting for them. At the last second before she asked how he got past the locked front gate, Megan remembered that they had given his department the code when they paid for their annual security fee.
“You haven’t had to wait for us long have you? We just took the dogs for a walk. Come on inside.”
“You know it feels nice to just sit out here for a few minutes and enjoy the quiet, Megan. So I guess I should thank you for not being right here when I arrived. But it’s only been five or ten minutes, so don’t worry about it. I just wanted to check in on you and make sure everything is okay and to make a request….”
“What can I do to help you?”
“Well, it’s Mr. and Mrs. Travels. They would like to talk to you about what you saw. It’s up to you if you want to, I have no problems with it from the investigation side of things. They are just trying to make sense of this for themselves.”
“Of course they are. I feel so bad for them
. If it will help, I’ll be happy to speak with them”
“I thought you would. I told them I’d give you their number. You can call and set up a time to meet them at their home. Have you thought of anything else, or has anything seemed unusual in your day-to-day activities?”
“No, not a thing. It’s been pretty much normal here. We are working with your off-duty officers and a security firm we have used in the past to provide the clients who are requesting extra security. And of course we are keeping our own staff on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary on all the jobs sites and here at the office.”
“That’s good, Megan. Things have settled down at the Bloomquest residence, so you can start doing your normal routine there tomorrow. We haven’t had any media there at all today; they are sticking close to the station and trying to get info from the Travels.”
“You may have a problem with Kim Heart; she just called here a while ago.” Megan told him about her call, but what she had to say did not seem to surprise the sheriff.
“That one can be a problem; we just never know what direction she is going to spin her story. You just keep telling her no comment, she’ll either get tired of you, or something new will pop into her head, and she’ll be off in another direction.” Sheriff Green had no respect for the reporter and it showed.
Getting to his feet, Sheriff Green reached into his ever-present notebook and pulled out Councilman Travels’ business card. Giving it to Megan, she flipped it over and found a handwritten phone number with “private line” written under it.
“Thank you for checking in on us, Sheriff Green. I’ll give Councilman and Mrs. Travels a call this afternoon. This must be so hard on them. I wanted to get a hold of them to give them my condolences too so this will work out just fine.”
Murder For Neptune's Trident...A Citrus Beach Mystery (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 1) Page 7
