Cranberry Crimes

by Jessica Beck

  It might just help me find the man’s killer.

  Chapter 9

  I gave Jake three more minutes, but that was as long as I could stand to wait. My husband could always call me when he got himself free, and in the meantime, I could start doing a little more preliminary investigation on my own.

  I found Phyllis first, sitting in the parlor with Henry by her side. Taking a seat across from them, I asked her, “Are you feeling any better?”

  “I just lost my grandfather,” she said as she stared at me dully. “How do you think I feel?”

  “I’m sorry for your loss,” I repeated, sharing the same sentiment with her that I had with her brother and nephew. “I lost my dad a long time ago, and I never really knew either of my grandfathers.”

  “This isn’t about you, Suzanne,” she said accusingly.

  “Of course it’s not. I just wanted to show you that I’m sympathetic to your situation. When was the last time you saw Jasper?”

  “This morning,” Phyllis said. “We had breakfast together.”

  “That’s not quite true, dear,” Henry said, much to the surprise of both of us.

  “Are you calling me a liar?” she asked him, her words bristling with anger.

  “Of course not,” he said meekly. “But we did see him when we were out in the garden just after lunch. Remember?”

  “Yes, but I hardly call that a meeting. We exchanged hellos, and then he went about his way. It was clear that something was on my grandfather’s mind, and he was in no mood to talk to us, or anyone else, for that matter.”

  So, Phyllis had just lied to me about when she’d last seen the murder victim. Had it just slipped her mind, or was she trying to disguise the fact that she’d seen him so recently? “What was on his mind?” I asked.

  “How should I know?” she snapped at me again. “I’m not a mind reader, and my grandfather could be quite cryptic when it suited him. He’s been so sullen lately.”

  “Funny, but he was at the donut shop yesterday, and he didn’t seem morose at all to me.”

  “That’s because you were feeding his sugar cravings,” Phyllis said. “Henry and I eat only healthy foods now, and we both feel so much better. Don’t we, Henry?”

  “Yes, dear,” he said, though I doubted the sincerity of his own commitment.

  “I understand you’ve had a few reversals lately,” I said, trying to get information from her about her financial status.

  “Merely ups and downs of the market,” she said, trying to flick me off as though I were some kind of gnat that was starting to annoy her. If she thought I was being a pain so far, she had no idea what was in store for her in the future. “It happens to us all, occasionally.”

  “Funny, but I heard that every last dime of your previous inheritance was already gone,” I said softly.

  “Whoever told you that was lying, plain and simple,” she said as she looked at me with a guarded gaze.

  “Still, a cash infusion won’t be unwelcome, if you’re going to be getting one, that is.”

  It was a callous thing for me to say if she was innocent, but if she’d killed her grandfather for her share of her inheritance, it was a well-deserved barb.

  Only time would tell which it was.

  “Why wouldn’t I receive a portion? After all, I’m family,” she said.

  “But you don’t know for sure one way or the other. Is that right?”

  “I refuse to sit here and have this conversation with a donut maker,” Phyllis snapped, as though using my chosen profession to refer to me was some kind of insult. I couldn’t have been more complimented by it than if she’d added that I was a pretty, pretty princess as well.

  Phyllis stood and stormed off, but to my surprise, Henry didn’t immediately join her. Instead, he sat right where he was and stared hard at me, showing a spine that I hadn’t been at all sure that he’d even had. “You need to watch your step, Mrs. Hart.”

  “Actually, it’s Ms.,” I corrected him. “These questions are bound to be asked by the police. She must realize that she’s a suspect, doesn’t she?”

  “What she does or does not know is none of your business, and you need to keep it that way,” he said. Where had the formerly mousy companion gone? I wasn’t sure, but Henry was showing me a completely different side of his personality. Was it possible that he might have killed Jasper himself to save Phyllis from financial ruin? I hadn’t thought so before, but now I was beginning to have my doubts.

  Evidently Phyllis finally noticed that her sycophant hadn’t joined her. She marched back into the room and looked down at her companion with an expression of disdain. “Why are you still here?” she asked him archly, doing her best to ignore me.

  “Coming, dearest,” he said as he quickly joined her, but not before shooting me one last warning look.

  “That was interesting,” Perry Kilroy said from the other room. I hadn’t even realized that he’d been eavesdropping on our conversation until he spoke up.

  “How much of that did you hear?” I asked him.

  “Enough,” he admitted. “I didn’t think the milquetoast had it in him.”

  “To be honest with you, neither did I.”

  “You raised a valid point, though,” Perry said. “I wouldn’t doubt if Jasper’s other progeny had equal financial motivations to get rid of him themselves.”

  “So then, you think he was murdered for his money?” I asked him.

  “Why else? When you get to be our age, there’s not much other reason to be killed for. It’s not like he was cheating with another man’s wife, is it?”

  “I wouldn’t rule it out because of his age,” I said. “But I can’t see Jasper doing something like that in any case. Can you?”

  “It’s honestly hard to say. The man had a habit of always surprising me when we were partners,” Perry said. “Why should his death be any different?”

  “There are other motives for murder besides greed, you know,” I said with a frown.

  “Is there something you’d like to say to me, young lady?” Kilroy asked pointedly.

  “You two had so much bad blood between you that it’s a wonder Jasper invited you here at all. What really puzzles me, though, is why you accepted the invitation.”

  “Does it really matter at this point?” Perry asked as he waved a hand in the air.

  “It does to me, and I’m pretty sure that it will to the police, as well,” I replied.

  “Well, I’ll tell you the same thing that I’ll tell them if I’m asked. Jasper and I were in the process of forgiving past sins and putting all of that behind us. It’s unfortunate that someone stole that opportunity from us, and personally, I’d like to see them punished for their actions.”

  “When was the last time you saw him?” I asked.

  He merely smiled. “That, too, is none of your business, and I believe that I’ve indulged you quite enough for one day.”

  “I just have one more question,” I said before he could get away.

  He turned to face me before leaving. “And what might that be? If you’re asking me if I killed him, the answer is no.”

  “Thanks, but that isn’t what I’m curious about. I know a lot of partners take out insurance on each other’s lives in case something happens to one of them.”

  “True, but don’t forget, we haven’t been in business together for a very long time,” Perry said.

  “Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean that you let your insurance policy lapse. What will the police find when they start digging into that?” I asked.

  Perry Kilroy didn’t even bother responding. Instead, he turned and left through the French doors to go outside.

  “What was that all about?” Jake asked me half a second later. Why were people constantly sneaking up on me? Wer
e they trying to give me a heart attack?

  “I just asked him a few innocent questions,” I said, trying my best to look blameless in any way.

  “I bet they were innocent,” Jake said with a smile. “Are you ready to get out of here?”

  “Have we been released already?” I asked him, surprised by the chief’s quick action. “I haven’t even been interviewed yet.”

  “I took care of that for you, since you never left my side the entire time we’ve been here,” he said.

  “Where do things stand right now?” I asked, not willing to leave the estate just yet.

  “The chief took everything I said under advisement, and he reserved the right to call on me later if he needs me, but for now, he’s handling things on his own.”

  “Did he say anything more about your theory on what happened?” I asked.

  “He’s still willing to consider it, and really, that’s all that I can expect him to do. After all, it’s his investigation, not mine. Now come on. I don’t want to hang around here any longer than I have to.”

  “Can we make one more stop before we leave the house?” I asked.

  Jake frowned. “Suzanne, there’s no way the chief is going to give you another peek at the crime scene, so do us all a favor and don’t even ask.”

  “That wasn’t my request. I’d like to stop by the kitchen and find out what’s going to happen to all of that food,” I answered. “I suggested it be donated to the soup kitchen, but I’m not at all sure that Bethesda took it seriously.”

  “I suppose that’s a legitimate line of inquiry,” he said. “Chief Grant shouldn’t have a problem with that.”

  “Does that mean that he has issues with us investigating Jasper’s murder?” I asked him.

  “The truth is, he’s not crazy about it,” Jake said with a shrug, “but he’s not exactly barring the behavior either, at least not yet.”

  “But he might at some point in the future. Is that what you’re saying?” I asked him.

  “I don’t know. Jasper Finney’s murder is a high-profile case. Ray Blake isn’t going to be the only newsman sniffing around here, and the chief understandably doesn’t want to deal with any outside interference that he doesn’t have to.” I grinned at my husband upon hearing that, and Jake asked me, “Did I just say something funny?”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been called an outside interference before.”

  “To your face, you mean?” Jake asked with a smile.

  “To my face,” I agreed. “Come on. Let’s stop by the kitchen, and then we’ll go home and get something good to eat. It’s a shame we can’t take some of the DeAngelis food with us.”

  “Maybe we should ask,” Jake said with a grin. “I just hate seeing anything go to waste.”

  “It won’t,” I answered. “If it’s going to the soup kitchen, we can’t very well lighten the load, now can we?”

  “Not even if we make a sizeable donation instead?” Jake asked, only half kidding unless I missed my guess.

  “Not even then. Don’t worry. I’ll feed you when we get home.”

  “Maybe we should go to the Boxcar instead,” Jake suggested.

  “Do you suddenly have a problem with my cooking?” I asked him as I stopped in my tracks.

  “What? No! Of course not! I’m just thinking that if Trish is shutting the place down soon, we should take advantage of her being there while we still can. Besides, aren’t you curious about where things stand with her?”

  “Yes, absolutely. Nice save, by the way,” I said with a smile as we headed for the kitchen.

  I happened to glance out the window on our way, and I caught sight of someone skulking in the bushes. It was Bobby Finney!

  What on earth was he up to?

  Chapter 10

  “What are you doing out there, Bobby?” I called out to him as I threw the window open.

  He looked startled to see Jake and me standing there watching him. “I dropped my wallet earlier,” he said lamely. It was clearly the first thing that had popped into his head, and I doubted there was the slightest chance that it was true.

  “Hang on. We’ll come right out and help you look,” I said.

  “Thanks, but that’s okay. I don’t need any help,” he offered lamely.

  “Nonsense. We’ll be out in a second.” I turned to Jake and said softly, “Watch him while I go out to see him.”

  “What am I supposed to be looking for?” Jake asked, clearly curious about what I had in mind.

  “I want to see if he ‘mysteriously’ finds his wallet after all,” I said as I headed for the nearest door.

  As I made my way toward Bobby, once I was outside, he waved something in the air. “You must be my good luck charm, Suzanne. The second you offered to help, I found it.”

  “What a happy coincidence,” I said as I glanced back at the house. I couldn’t see Jake from where we were standing, but I did see something else of interest.

  From Bobby Finney’s vantage point, I could see straight into Jasper’s study and the busy ongoing investigation still going on there.

  “I’ll walk you back in,” I offered, suspecting what he was going to say.

  “No, that’s okay. I need some air anyway. Thanks for offering, though.”

  “You’re most welcome,” I said as I returned inside and found Jake waiting for me at the door. “Well? What did you see?”

  “You were right. The second you vanished, he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and let it slip to the ground. After a moment, he reached down, retrieved it, and waved it in the air as you approached him. How did you know he was going to do that?”

  “I didn’t, at least not with any certainty, but I had a suspicion. Guess what I saw when I was outside?”

  “I don’t even know where to begin to start guessing,” my husband said, and then, before I could tell him, he held up a hand and grinned. “He was watching the ongoing investigation in Jasper’s study, wasn’t he?”

  “Excellent. That’s one gold star for you,” I told him.

  “What could he possibly have been hoping to see?” Jake asked me as we resumed our trek to the kitchen.

  “That’s the question, isn’t it?”

  “One of many,” my husband agreed.

  We arrived at the kitchen to find Bethesda packing up not only the DeAngelis food but my donuts as well. “A truck is just pulling up. The soup kitchen was thrilled with the donation. Thank you for the suggestion, Suzanne.”

  “Hey, it belonged to the estate after I got paid,” I said, “but for what it’s worth, I’m happy to know that it’s all going to a good cause.”

  “As am I. After my father died when I was a little girl, we didn’t have a great deal, so my mother depended on the soup kitchen to feed us all.”

  “How did your dad die?” I asked.

  “They said that it was an industrial accident, but my mother was never satisfied that she ever got the entire story,” Bethesda said, and from the troubled expression on her face, I knew that I shouldn’t push her any harder about it.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said. “I lost my father, too.” I looked around at the food, and I asked her, “Is there anything we can do to help?”

  “No, they promised to send a full crew to collect all of this, but thank you for asking.”

  I was about to follow up with a question about when she’d last seen Jasper Finney when Chief Grant came into the kitchen. “Is there any coffee left back here?” he asked, and then he spotted us. “What are you two still doing here?”

  “We’re seeing about the fate of the donuts and the other food provided,” I said, not wanting to admit that I had more motivation than that in mind for lingering at the crime scene.

  “I understood that it was already being take
n care of,” he said as he looked at Bethesda.

  “It has been,” she said simply.

  “Then there’s no reason for you to hang around,” the chief said.

  “Are you trying to get rid of us, Chief?” I asked him.

  “Not you specifically, but there are entirely too many people on this estate that don’t need to be here at the moment.”

  “Does that include Jasper’s family, and his former partner, too?” I asked.

  “No. They’re all staying here, at my request, for at least the next forty-eight hours. After that, I’m not sure what’s going to happen.”

  “Don’t worry. You’ll solve it in time,” Jake said as he patted the chief on the shoulder.

  “It remains to be seen whether that’s true or not,” he said. “I’ll talk to you both later,” he added.

  Jake and I had no choice at that point. Not only had we run out of opportunities to question my suspects, but we’d also been personally asked to leave the scene of the crime by the investigating officer. Things didn’t get more emphatic than that.

  I decided to smile and joke my way out. “Chief, I can take a hint. After all, I’ve been thrown out of nicer places than this before.”

  “And no doubt you will be again if history repeats itself,” he said with a smile.

  It proved that we were still on good terms with the chief, something that was extremely important to me. Not only was he romantically linked to my best friend, Grace, but we were also friends in our own right, not to mention the close relationship he had with Jake.

  I didn’t want to vex him with my investigation if I could help it.

  I just wasn’t entirely certain that I’d be able to prevent it moving forward.

  “We need to stop off at the donut shop on our way to the Boxcar Grill,” I told Jake as we approached my business.