After dressing in a pair of nice, black jeans and a loose-fitting tee shirt, and making the drive to the Langleys’ house, Kate parked along the curb and walked up to the front door. She knocked and glanced over her shoulder. Scott’s truck was parked up the street. She saw Jared’s vehicle, as well, but Jason’s car was nowhere in sight. She hoped Jared had driven Jason. It was important for everyone to be here tonight.
Amelia looked gaunt when she opened the door. She had only spent the better part of the day in jail, but clearly she hadn’t touched the meals that were offered.
“My attorney is here,” she stated, and Kate sank into her hip, disappointed.
“Amelia, that’s not going to help us talk as a family.”
“Well, I have to be smart about this,” she said. “Scott doesn’t get to take off the chief hat for a night and then go back to playing bad cop the next day. This is my freedom we’re talking about.”
What could Kate say? She sighed and told Amelia “fine,” which seemed to be the prerequisite of being invited inside. She followed the woman into the living room where a prudish-looking man in his forties occupied the better portion of the couch. The attorney was wearing a starched white shirt and tailored suit, and by the looks of it, had been enjoying more than a few cocktails, courtesy of Scott York, who sat in the adjacent sofa couch, refilling the man’s glass with more whiskey.
Seeing Kate, Scott set down the glass and approached. The kiss he gave her was on the cheek and brief, and came with a word of caution. “I’m going to get him drunk, and then we’ll really have a talk.”
“Oh boy,” she said, smiling at the attorney from across the room. The man was already glassy-eyed.
Jared entered from the kitchen with a plate of olives and cheese, and gave Kate a nod before setting down the hors d’oeuvres. When he straightened up and met her gaze again, she knew he hadn’t been able to get in touch with Jason.
“Now that everyone’s here,” said Amelia, clapping her hands. “I’ll go get Lance and we can get started.”
“I’m not an invalid!” he called out from down the hallway. In a few moments he entered the room, making slow work of balancing each step with the cane in his right hand. “I’m feeling quite all right, in fact. These painkillers are a Godsend.”
Amelia assisted Lance as he settled into another sofa chair, and Jared squeezed down onto the couch beside the attorney who hadn’t left him much room. Kate was about to take a seat on the piano bench at the far side of the room, but she heard a knock at the front door.
Immediately, she looked at Jared. They were thinking the same thing, so she let everyone know she would get it and padded off to the foyer where she saw Jason through the glass window in the door.
“You made it,” she said with a smile as soon as she opened the door. “I was worried you didn’t get my messages.”
“I’m here,” he said dryly, following her through the house.
Seating was limited, but Scott was already on it, carrying a kitchen chair into the living room.
Amelia glanced from one face to the next, as everyone waited awkwardly for someone to speak. Finally, she did. “I already told Kate everything Lance and I know.”
Without warning, the attorney’s head fell back onto the couch and he began snoring.
“William,” hissed Amelia. “William! Wake up!”
Scott made a weak effort of rousting the man, gently tapping his shoulder. “Looks like he’s out. Some people just can’t handle their whiskey,” he said with a chuckle that Amelia scowled at.
Jason still hadn’t taken a seat, and when Kate indicated he could fit on the other side of the attorney, he declined and folded his arms.
“Let’s start with the facts,” Scott said, taking the floor. “Amelia, your prints were on the mallard—”
“If I’m going to be accused all over again—”
“You’re not,” he interrupted. “I’m sure Kate told you this meeting is in the spirit of us finding a way through this as a family.”
“We’re not a family, yet,” Lance grumbled.
Jason spoke up in an exasperated tone. “Have we all forgotten about Becky? It seems like every day that passes, another crime is committed and it distracts us more from the real issue at hand. She’s gone. And we aren’t going to get her back if we spend our time discussing Tommy Barkow’s murder or the explosion at the amusement park or God knows what else.”
“But we are,” said Kate, “because they’re all connected.”
Jumping back to the original question, Amelia stated, “I work at the inn. I own it, for Christ’s sake. I touch everything, and that’s why my prints were on that bookend. Lance and I are victims in more ways than one.”
Kate drew in a deep breath and prepared herself for the fallout that would surely come with opening a giant can of worms. “I think we need to talk about Dean Wentworth.”
As soon as she declared it, she studied Jason. His face went slack, and unless her eyes were playing tricks on her, he looked suddenly pale, as well.
“The mayor?” asked Amelia. “Why?”
“Kate?” Scott said, prodding her when she hesitated to elaborate, immediately regretting launching into what could very well amount to wild, teenaged speculation.
“I don’t know if he’s another victim or if he’s playing a calculated role, but your warehouse and inn aren’t the only places in this town where those drugs are being stashed. I heard they’re also at the construction site.”
Scott snapped his eyes to Jason. “Have you heard anything? Seen anything? Have either of you?”
Jason was mum, and all Kate could say was what Bradley had told her. Soon the entire room went into an uproar of shock, skepticism, and hysterics, until Scott yelled in a booming tone to end the chaos.
“The police are removing the drugs from the warehouse and the inn, and in terms of those offenses, the Langleys are not going to be charged or even questioned.” He made a point to make eye contact with both Amelia and Lance. “I’ll get a search warrant for the amusement park and we’ll bring Dean in for questioning. What we need to figure out here is who killed Tommy.”
“Dean or Donna Kramer,” Kate stated frankly.
“Who the hell is Donna Kramer?” he asked.
Jason was the one to answer, and what he said was both shocking and completely logical. “She’s the executive overseeing the construction of the park.”
“Jesus,” said Kate before turning to Scott. “Tommy was having an affair with her. Tommy was making the drugs. He’s a chemist.”
“How do you know?”
“A woman named Gillian O’Reilly told me. She was at the amusement park that night. She was supposed to get the bag of money. She didn’t know there would be a bomb. When I looked into it, I learned from Drake at the Firing Line that Dean was the one to buy the gunpowder.”
Scott jumped to his feet. “I’ve got to talk to Dean right now.”
Jason sidestepped, blocking his path. “You don’t want to do that.”
Scott’s eyes widened with astonishment, as he said, “Why’s that?”
“Because!” Jason protested. “Because it detracts from Amelia’s predicament! It distracts us from finding Becky! Why is it so hard for everyone in this family to focus on what matters?”
Jared rose to his feet. “Jason, you got to let him go, man.”
“What about Becky?” he countered.
Amelia cut right in with, “What about your disappearances, hmmm?” She glared at Jason from her chair. “You think I don’t know about that? I’ve got my ear to the ground!”
“Meaning what?” he challenged.
Kate jumped to her feet. “Everybody calm down. This isn’t getting us anywhere.”
Two seconds after she stated as much, everyone started yelling and pointing their fingers at each other.
This was a complete disaster. Amidst the chaos, Jason shoved Scott then bolted from the fray, tearing out of the living room, throwing the front d
oor open, and running.
Kate took off after him, but when she reached the front walk, his car was already peeling out, burning rubber, as it veered off down the street.
Chapter Ten
After the night she’d had at the Langleys’ with the fights and accusations that ensued, Kate felt overdue for some quality Carly time. She didn’t want to discuss Tommy Barkow, Donna Kramer, the drugs, or the mayor’s supposed involvement. All she needed was to get lost in the trials and tribulations of Carly’s life for a little while, which was why she arranged to meet her best friend at Bean There for breakfast.
Eager for the escape, Kate was five minutes early to the little coffee shop in the heart of Rock Ridge. She ordered a large coffee, and Clara, the barista, smiled with surprise when Kate requested a mug.
“Wow, not rushing off?” Clara asked over her shoulder as she filled a Bean There mug to the brim with piping hot dark roast.
“Rare moment of quietude,” she supplied, handing Clara a bill and dropping the change she received into the tip jar.
The coffee shop had plenty of vacant tables, though a number of customers were scattered throughout. Kate drank in the sight of a cuddling couple, who looked young enough to be in college, and remembered when Jason and Jared were that age. She was certain things were better now that they were home. Instead of missing them because they were off at school, she saw them regularly, but each encounter had become strained and tense. Jason seemed to have more and more secrets, none of which she’d been able to unearth. And Jared was crumbling from the inside out each day, trying to be strong and supportive and give his brother the benefit of the doubt, and yet by doing so, he’d grown exhausted.
Kate chose a table by the windows in the back and saw Carly bounding down the sidewalk outside. She waved, catching her friend’s eye, and settled into a chair.
A moment later, Carly burst through the entrance, met Kate’s gaze from across the room, and shot one finger in the air as if to indicate she’d only be a second.
Kate blew on her coffee and gazed out at the quaint street. At first glance, Rock Ridge passed for the perfect town, picturesque and homey. You would never know just by looking at it that there was a world of corruption just beneath the surface.
Hadn’t she fought this battle already, and won for that matter?
Why was history repeating itself?
It seemed that Rock Ridge had never had a trustworthy mayor. Each had conducted questionable, if not illegal business transactions. Power came at a high cost, she thought, but did it have to? Dean had been doing so well for so many years. She never saw this coming. Scott was making arrangements with his detectives to bring Dean in for questioning. He would have to be delicate yet firm if he wanted to make headway without offending the mayor, who was in a position to end Scott’s career. How crazy was that?
Carly kept her eyes on the coffee in her hands as she walked slowly through the coffee shop, careful not to spill her hot drink. When she reached the table, she set her mug down first and then eased into her chair.
“I can’t tell you how good it is to see you,” Kate said.
“You make it sound like it’s been ages.” She laughed. “So, tell me...how’s it going?”
“No, no,” said Kate, wagging her finger at her friend. “I need to hear about you. Keep it light. No drama. I’m all ears.”
“Well,” said Carly, leaning over the table as though all she was about to divulge would be quite juicy. “Larry and I have been talking about renewing our vows and going on a second honeymoon.”
“Really?” Kate was envious, but her happiness for Carly didn’t last.
Gillian O’Reilly burst through the coffee shop entrance and locked eyes with Kate.
“Oh no,” she said, breaking eye contact and prompting Carly to ask her what was wrong. She didn’t respond so much as begin mumbling, “Please don’t be here for me.”
But Gillian was. She barreled towards Kate’s table and blurted out, “Where the heck is your husband?”
Carly was taken aback on Kate’s behalf.
“At the precinct, I would imagine.”
“I can’t do this anymore,” said Gillian, distressed. “I want out and I need witness protection or something.”
Kate hoped that the young woman who looked so much like Becky that it made her head spin was overreacting, but she couldn’t take that chance. Turning to Carly, she apologized. “Can we reschedule?”
Bewildered, Carly agreed and Kate wasted no time ushering Gillian out of the coffee shop. When they reached the sidewalk, she asked, “What’s going on?”
“I got another note, more instructions. I can’t take this anymore,” she cried.
“Okay,” said Kate, thinking on her feet. “What do they want you to do?”
Rather than answer, Gillian drew a folded piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Kate.
In handwriting that looked identical to the note that had been slipped under the Langleys’ door, the note read: Get the instructions from the inn.
“What does this mean?” Kate asked.
“I means...” Gillian looked pained to continue. “Now that Tommy’s dead, someone has to take over his position. Tommy had a formula with steps. And they're in room 5 at Over the Moon.” After a moment of fretting, she added, “I can’t go. I have a really bad feeling about this. I’m terrified if I get the instructions and they come to my place for them, they’ll kill me.”
Her concern was justified.
“I’ll go,” said Kate.
Gillian looked stunned. “Shouldn’t we tell the police chief?”
Scott was likely in the midst of a tumultuous interview with Dean Wentworth, and the sense she got from the note was that time was of the essence.
“I’ll tell him,” Kate assured her. “Thank you for telling me about this.”
Kate drove in a panic to Over the Moon. She checked her rearview mirror constantly. She felt eyes on her. Approaching the inn only caused her paranoia to increase. When she parked in front of the entrance, she left Scott a brief voice message with virtually no detail, only that he needed to call her back.
As she popped her door open, she spied Chucky near the fountain in the yard. He looked jumpy. Without the stash in the shed to dip into, she figured he was probably going through something fierce. Rather than using the gardening hoe in his hands, he only held it and stared vacantly at the grass as he shifted and jolted like a nervous wreck.
Best to avoid him entirely, she thought, as she jumped out of her truck and quickly padded to the door, which a butler opened for her. She smirked but avoided eye contact. And when she rounded through, hoping to slip past the receptionist, the young woman called out to her.
“Police chief’s wife,” Kate stated as though the title itself would give her full access to any room in the inn. Miraculously, it worked, and the young woman smiled apologetically.
On the second floor, Kate discovered the crime-scene tape had been removed from room 5 and she let herself in.
But the room wasn’t empty.
Donna Kramer was seated at the desk in front of the open window. She turned around the second Kate barreled through. On the desk beneath her elbow were several sheets of paper, which appeared to have chemical compound drawings all over them. But that wasn’t what took Kate’s breath away.
Donna was aiming a gun at her.
“Shut the door,” Donna instructed in a calm tone. Once Kate had eased the door closed, she continued, “Kate Flaherty. You know, I’ve heard a lot about you. About your snooping around, your sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong, but I have to say, as irritating as it made you sound, experiencing it firsthand amuses me.”
“Looking to purify some cocaine with those instructions?” she countered, holding what little ground she had. “Why would you kill your chemist?”
Donna laughed. “Is this the part where you think I’m going to confide every last diabolical step I’ve made in my master plan to overtake Rock R
idge? Amusing, indeed...”
“He was your lover, as well,” she pressed. “I don’t see how having him dead benefits you.”
“In some ways, it doesn’t,” she admitted without actually confessing. “But Tommy overstepped his bounds, and in the grand scheme of things, I have to be pleased he’s dead.”
“Overstepped his bounds?”
“You might be glad he’s dead, as well,” she said in a sly tone. “After what he did to your family...”
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, that’s right. Excuse me. They’re not your family yet. Not until Jason marries Becky.” She frowned in mock sympathy. “But who knows if that day will ever come.”
Locking on to her insinuations, she asked, “Tommy threw the bomb?”
“Throw is such a literal word. Tommy was a smart man and rigged a catapult of sorts. All he had to do was tap a key on his computer, and kaboom.”
“So he wanted out,” she concluded.
“Ah, don’t we all?”
“You killed him because he went against you,” she insisted.
Donna rose to her feet. When she spoke, her words were sharp and biting. “I killed him because he went against us. Which is a fate you’re doomed to suffer, I might add.”
“You know where Becky is!” Kate blurted out, momentarily forgetting the gun trained on her chest.
Donna’s expression hardened, and Kate knew she was milliseconds from pulling the trigger.
POW!
Kate flinched, startling and then quaking as she glanced down at herself, puzzled that she felt no pain.
Registering she hadn’t been hit, her gaze snapped up to Donna. The woman looked shocked, her mouth wide open, her eyes equally so. Astonished, Donna lowered her gaze to her stomach, where blood was oozing out of a fresh bullet wound. Then she collapsed dead on the floor.
Kate ran to the window, understanding that the shooter had to be outside.
Standing on the grassy yard was Jason. They locked eyes. He tucked his gun down the back of his pants. As he walked off towards the parking lot, Kate knew that if he drove away, he would never come back.
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