“I think when we do get all the pieces together; the picture is going to go way beyond that gunshot you heard along the river. John Jr. was having second thoughts and knew he was in danger. From the sounds of that conversation, this was trouble coming into Citrus Beach, not something generating from here.”
Getting up from the table, Megan grabbed the coffee pot and refilled their cups. It was going to be a long evening.
Chapter Sixteen
Thursday
By morning, the two of them had a clearer idea in their heads about what might be going on. Megan had transcribed the conversation from the recorder and printed out a copy for their use and made a copy of JT’s letter to Brandon. Aiden had run over to her office and grabbed a trifold presentation board that Megan used for demonstrations when she gave talks to the Garden Club. He had then set it up where they were working in her kitchen and turned it into a storyboard for them to chronologically list the events of the last few days. Posted across the top were copies of the information they had so far.
He had also received the information he had requested on Leslie Black and some interesting breakdowns on the ledger he had found in JT’s desk.
Leslie Black had started with the company within a week of JT’s coming on board with his uncle. It seemed to be an assumed thought that John had brought her with him; especially once it was found out that she was also from the same area. But Aiden’s information told them that Leslie had already been in the area even before JT. She had apparently met him at one of the local county art shows and developed a friendship from there. Aiden personally thought that her actions read more as she targeted JT and played up to his interests and desires to fit into his new community. The two of them had been “friends” for about three weeks before Leslie had been hired as his assistant. They later found out that this was a position that had essentially been created for Leslie.
Aiden’s informational contact had taken the ledger and files from JT’s computer and ran comparisons. He also ran a complete check into JT’s personal accounts. What he found was not good for JT.
On the ledger, they found many of the same names and dollar amounts that had been on the files from the company. There were also dates and a column with city names. In addition, they also found that there had been a new checking account opened at the bank where JT’s personal account and Travels Investment’s account where held. Upon looking further, they were able to track that most of the dollar amounts on the ledger matched the deposits made to this account. Generally, these deposits were made two to three days after the dates listed on the ledger.
“Oh, Aiden, this really makes it look like he’s up to something, doesn’t it? We have to figure out what that money is for. And who he was working with as well. I have a feeling that not all of those deposits were from investors who were on the wrong side of the law either. More than JT are getting set-up.”
“I think you’re right. Leslie Black is our most solid lead. After we meet with Sheriff Green, Paul, and Lucy for breakfast, I want to look into her activities deeper. I’m thinking we might even do a little tailing of our own.”
Megan nodded in agreement as she pushed back her chair and paced in front of the storyboard propped up on the counter of her breakfast bar. She kept looking at the ledger while Aiden continued talking. There was something there nagging at the back of her mind, trying to come to her attention, but she just could not pin it down.
“According to the conversation we listened to, Neptune’s Trident is a big part of this … somehow these men think they are going to either use the land, or the name and create a playground for rich tourists. I think we need to look closer into any activity regarding this too. I’ll get my contacts looking at any internet traces, and we can look into it from this end. What are you staring at, Megan?”
Aiden had been thinking out loud as he watched Megan pace in front of the story board. She would stop and look closely and then pace a little more. He could almost see the wheels turning in her head as she came up with a thought and then discarded it. She looked over at Aiden when he asked his question, and gave a shake of her head.
“There is something about these dates. It’s nagging at me like they are important, but I just can’t grab hold of it. It’s right there below the surface, and when it breaks, I just know it’s going to be important.”
“Okay, that’s good. Let’s let my analyst work with them and see if he can come up with anything.”
Megan slowly agreed; she was still trying to figure out what was bothering her about those dates. It was the appearance of two attention-seeking dogs that helped them decide to wrap things up for a while. They gathered together the materials that would need to be turned over to the sheriff and got ready to meet the others at the riverside diner for breakfast.
Chapter Seventeen
Paul and Lucy had been the first to arrive at the diner, a favorite among both islanders and mainlanders alike. They had wisely taken a booth in the back of the busy room, talking to other patrons as they made their way to their table. From what they could tell, there were only two main topics of conversation that everyone was focusing on: The murder of John Travels II and the possible arrival of tropical storm Arlene. At this point of the day, the storm was generating more interest than the murder. But it was early yet, and most of the diners were getting ready to head off to work and most of them would find their day involved storm preparations of some kind. Later in the morning, when the clientele turned over, the diner would fill up with retirees, islanders, parents of school age children, and white collar workers. The talk would turn to the murder, for these are the people who would have been more apt to know John or his family.
When the waitress came by to welcome them, Lucy ordered a pot of coffee and five cups, since Megan had texted to let her know the sheriff would be joining them. Promising to come back when the whole party was there to take their breakfast order, the waitress had left the hot coffee and moved on to her next table.
Paul was just finishing his first cup when Megan and Aiden walked through the front doors. Waving them back, he watched the two of them make the same trek through the diners he and Lucy had. It took Megan a bit longer, as she took the time to introduce Aiden to those she stopped to talk to. He looked carefully at his cousin to see if she looked frightened or upset, but instead she seemed excited. She was more animated than he had seen in a while, and it made him realize that maybe she had become so busy with her business and day-to-day life that she had lost a little of her spark. As Paul watched her talking to old friends and joking with them and Aiden, he smiled … maybe it was the challenge of finding John’s killer, or maybe it was the attention she was getting from Aiden, who was being drawn into her chatter. Yet Aiden seemed to also be holding back, looking over at Megan, seemingly charmed by her obvious love for the people around her.
Paul nodded to himself and turning to Lucy nudged her to look in Megan’s direction.
“Oh, I’m way ahead of you on that one, Sweetie. I’m not sure if the two of them know it yet, but they are defiantly attracted to each other. This should be fun to watch it play out, don’t you think?”
“Lucy, we only watch, no interfering, please. If it backfires, I’m the one she’ll blame. You women forgive each other much quicker than any man standing on the sidelines looking in.”
“Silly man. But you’re right. This needs to play out on its own. They both have too strong of personalities to be influenced by anyone else. Quiet now, they’re almost here. Good morning, you two! Shall I pour your coffee, Aiden?” Smiling at the new arrivals to their table, Lucy picked up the coffee pot and held it over a cup.
“That would be wonderful, Lucy. Friendly town you live in. People seem to go out of their way to make you feel welcome. It’s a nice change from what I’m used to.” Aiden pulled out Megan’s chair for her before he sat down and gratefully took the coffee Lucy held out to him.
“Right back at ‘ya, Lucy!” smiled Megan to her friend. “You may
as well pour for Sheriff Green too. He was pulling in right behind us.” Gesturing to the front of the building she continued....
“That poor man has a lot on his shoulders right now; let’s make sure he gets some breakfast too. Did you two have a nice evening? Paul, are you on track with the storm preps for your end of the business?”
“Yes, we’ve pretty much put a hold on all work except cleaning up the site of any loose materials and debris. I’ve notified all my subcontractors to wait on any work until after the storm. I think we are going to get some of the effects … wind and rain at the least. How much will depend on Arlene’s strength and where she makes landfall. I’ve got a couple of guys on standby to close up the buildings on our property if we need to. I know Janice has got things under control for you as well.”
“She’s great, isn’t she? I’ve already talked with her this morning, and she has everything going smoothly. I’m so glad that she and I have everything laid out step by step. I’m not worried about us; we’re far enough inland, and it won’t take long to lock up the plantation shutters.” Megan blew on her coffee before she took a sip and noticed the sheriff was almost to their table. Not even waiting for him to sit down, she waved the waitress over to take their orders.
“Good morning, everyone. Any more problems out your way last night, Megan?”
The sheriff greeted everyone, and then looked over at Megan and Aiden.
“More! What do you mean more?” Lucy asked.
“Don’t panic, it was nothing major, and Aiden was right on the ball. We simply picked up a tail, called in the sheriff for reinforcements and the problem went away. Thank you for the extra patrols last night, Sheriff. It was reassuring to know they were out there.” Megan dismissed Lucy’s concerns and instructed Aiden to update everyone on what they had been able to discern from John’s office and home.
Pushing the files and recorder that he had brought with them to the sheriff, Aiden waited until their orders had been taken, and a fresh pot of coffee put on the table before he proceeded to tell the others what he and Megan had put together from the clues and evidence they had found.
“What in the world was that boy thinking? There is no way that the council would approve any changes to Neptune’s Trident. Money makes people do crazy things!” Lucy gasped as Aiden paraphrased what was on the tape, rather than play it in a public place.
“You’re right, Lucy. But someone played on his desire to help Citrus Beach and convinced him that their plans would benefit the town as a whole. Thank goodness he began to have second thoughts and left us what he could to help rectify his actions. Now we need to make sure his loss of life wasn’t in vain.” Megan nodded in agreement to Aiden’s comment before turning to the sheriff to continue with Aiden’s explanation with her plea for action.
“Sheriff Green, Aiden has explained to me that we can’t do much without a positive ID on the voices in that meeting with JT. But I’m sure that one of them was Leslie Black. Let us follow her and ask questions about her while you follow the concrete evidence you have. I have the feeling that we don’t have very much time to get to the bottom of this before something drastic happens in our town or someone else is hurt.”
“Megan, I cannot tell you yes or no. If you are doing something legal and above board (which I assume is what you mean to do) then I will advise you to use caution and discretion. You have someone helping you that has even better sources than I do. Some I rather think Aiden would prefer that I don’t know about. So the decision is yours. I can tell you that we will be looking into what you have just given me, but it may not be at the top of my list. I have to try and track this murder based on the information and descriptions that I have officially at my hands. We lost track of that sedan last night, so that’s a dead end. And now I also have to worry about getting our town’s Natural Disaster Plan ready to implement. Arlene may have to be our main focus for the next forty-eight hours. Or until she makes landfall.”
“We have to do this, Sheriff. But, I know that with Aiden’s guidance, we can be both safe and smart about it. And I understand about the storm taking precedence; many of our staff are volunteers for the town’s emergency relief program. Paul is actually the town’s relief coordinator. And now that we know they are still trying to eliminate me, we can watch our backs for ambushes.” Megan spoke up, making the decision to continue looking into John’s murder for all of them.
“As you said, Sheriff, I have contacts to use for backup and I am armed for protection. Plus I have a personal interest in bringing the killers to justice. Rest assured, I have already told Megan if it gets too dangerous, she is out of it; even if I have to lock her in your jail to keep her out of the way. But I think we are working well together, and she is getting me to look at my investigation from a different view point than I usually would. I think if we keep going in this direction, we’ll get to the bottom of this quickly and discreetly.”
The sheriff looked at Megan and Aiden intently before nodding his head. He had made up his mind to let them continue, and knew once he put out the word to his force and Paul’s staff that there would be plenty of eyes watching their backs, even without them knowing it. The arrival of their breakfast halted any further talk of murder and clues. Putting the information he had been given on the chair next to him, he pulled his plate closer and dug in.
The five of them set aside any talk of murder while they ate and enjoyed filling Aiden in on life in Citrus Beach. Some of Paul and Megan’s finer moments were discussed, and Lucy was quick to point out a few of the other patrons in the diner that also had interesting backgrounds. It was obvious to Aiden that there was a special fondness felt for each other and that each citizen of Citrus Beach had their own place in the makeup of the small town dynamics. It was something Aiden had not been exposed to before, and he found that he was intrigued.
All too quickly they found themselves pushing their plates aside, full and satisfied. Knowing they all had a busy day ahead of them; Paul put money on the table to pay for their ticket and stood up with Lucy to leave.
“Let’s use the back door; I want to let the cook know about our meeting to prepare for the arrival of Arlene.”
Agreeing, they all headed in the direction of the kitchen and the back entrance. Aiden followed Paul and Lucy, talking as they walked. The sheriff stood aside to let Megan go ahead of him, placing a guiding hand on the small of her back. As he turned to walk behind her, he heard the waitress’s stage whisper a warning.
“Trouble’s coming in the front door, Sheriff! You’d better move quickly if you want to avoid this menace.”
Before he could look to see who she was talking about, he heard the all too familiar voice of reporter Kim Heart.
“Sheriff, I have a few questions for you! Is that Megan Cassidy with you? Are you taking her in for questioning? Is she a witness or suspect in the Travels’ murder? Sheriff, wait, I need answers!”
Turning the sheriff blocked the reporters view and access to Megan, letting Aiden hustle her out the back door. Sighing, he prepared to wait for her and to answer as few of her questions as possible. He watched her work her way towards him and a ghost of a smile passed his lips as he watched the actions of a small town work in his favor. It seemed that all of a sudden many of the diner’s patrons needed to push their chairs out to get up, or the waitress decided to stop at the tables directly in Kim’s path to see if meals were okay. By the time Kim was able to stand in front of him, the four friends he had just had breakfast with were long gone.
“Good morning, Ms. Heart. I know that you have questions about the Travels’ murder, but I cannot comment on an ongoing investigation.”
“But that was Megan Cassidy you were escorting out the back door wasn’t it?”
“Ms. Heart, when I have a comment for the media, you will be the first one I will call. However, since I have you here, and you are anxious for a news story, I would like to take a moment of your time and talk to you about how the Citizens of Citrus Beach can begin
their hurricane preparedness for Arlene and any future storms we have this season.”
Holding the same chair that Megan had just left, the sheriff indicated for Kim Heart to take a seat. Motioning for two clean cups of coffee, he winked at the same waitress who had issued a warning to him of Kim’s approach. Pleased with himself for turning the tables on the reporter and using her position at the paper to his advantage, Sheriff Green sat back down at the table and gave Megan and her friends time to get some distance between themselves and the reporter.
Chapter Eighteen
Once the other four had reached their cars, there was some discussion on how they were going to proceed. Aiden understood and shared Megan’s desire to keep Lucy and Paul as far away from danger as possible. Yet, unlike Megan he realized that they could not just be shooed away, they were going to want to have an active part in the investigation. Thinking quickly, he decided to put their skills and community connections to work on the background of the clues they had so far.
“Okay, we are going to have to separate to accomplish anything today. If all four of us are seen hanging around Leslie Black, she is going to be more than suspicious, she’s going to think she’s being stalked! I know that I have my sources looking into things as well, but I think that with your connections right here in Citrus Beach, we might get further on our own. Paul, can you ask around and find out if there have been any inquiries about permits for new construction in the vicinity of Neptune’s Trident? I’m not sure what they are up to, but nothing gets done without permitting.”
Paul nodded his head in agreement, thinking about who he could reach out to and find out some inside information. While he was thinking, Aiden turned to Lucy with a question.
“Lucy, you said that you and Megan had been at the Travels’ home for a fundraiser. Do you think you could contact some of those people you know who were there and just find out what the local gossip is? More information is passed around at a social gathering than any other place I can think of. If you are at home, you can just make calls and compose a list for us of what and who people remember from that party.”
Murder For Neptune's Trident...A Citrus Beach Mystery (Citrus Beach Mysteries Book 1) Page 14
