Death by Association

by Paula Darnell

  Assuming that Luke was correct, the gun Victor was shot with was Bessie’s gun. Kenny admitted stealing Bessie’s gun, so it wasn’t a leap to think that there was a possibility that Kenny could be Victor’s murderer. It didn’t make much sense that he would have grabbed the gun and then disposed of it, especially because the price of admission to the gang he wanted so much to join was a gun. Maybe Kenny had lied about getting rid of the gun. After all, he’d confessed to the attack on Bessie to take her gun. It was only a step further to connect him to the murder itself.

  If he did it, why did he do it? Kenny worked part-time at the community center. Perhaps Victor had reprimanded him for shirking his on-the-job duties. Still, that seemed a bit far-fetched, especially given that Kenny was a known slacker, one whom both his immediate boss and Luke had warned to shape up. His mother had gotten him the job, probably in the hope that it would keep him out of trouble and that he’d learn some responsibility. Despite his less-than-competent job performance, he hadn’t been fired because his mother was a board member.

  Maybe it had nothing to do with Kenny’s job at the community center. Maybe it had everything to do with Rachel. Could Kenny have found out that Victor was blackmailing his mother? If so, he may have decided to solve Rachel’s dilemma by killing her tormentor. Protecting a loved one could be a powerful motive. I was having trouble believing that Kenny could be a murderer, though. It was difficult to picture the whiny teenager shooting Victor, but I reminded myself that he’d attacked Bessie, if only accidentally, since he claimed that he hadn’t intended to harm her.

  We waited for the police to arrive—Rachel dabbing at her eyes with a limp tissue, Kenny hanging his head, Luke maintaining a firm grip on the juvenile delinquent, Tracey and I standing silently next to Luke—as Bessie and her family moved away from Kenny to the far side of the room. Within a few minutes, two uniformed officers arrived and took Kenny into custody after they spoke briefly with Luke and Bessie, both of whom agreed to go the station to make a statement. Although Tracey and I had heard Kenny confess, too, the policemen took our names, addresses, and phone numbers, saying that we’d be contacted if necessary, although we all assumed it wouldn’t be necessary because Kenny had admitted attacking Bessie and stealing her gun.

  I was a little bit disappointed that Wes hadn’t responded to Luke’s call, but I knew he’d hear about the wayward teenager soon enough. Anyway, even if Wes had come to arrest Kenny, he would have been all business, and worse yet, his pugnacious partner might have accompanied him. Still, I wouldn’t have minded seeing Wes. He certainly wasn’t too hard on the eyes, I thought dreamily before I willed myself back to reality, and the reality was that even though I had a date with the handsome detective tomorrow night, that didn’t necessarily make him my Prince Charming. Since Tim’s tragic accident, my love life had been woefully short on princes, and there had been little charming about it, either.

  Chapter 14

  “Some party, huh?” Tracey said as we walked through the community center’s parking lot to our cars.

  “A lot more excitement than we anticipated, that’s for sure. I’m glad Bessie’s memory has come back, and so has her spunk. Can you believe that she recognized Kenny by that awful dragon tattoo of his?”

  “Now that we know he’s the culprit, I can understand why Kenny was acting so strangely.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “He seemed to be making an effort to stay away from the party, hiding out the way he did. Then when Luke made him come back to help take down the tables, he avoided looking at Bessie, and he had his cap pulled down over his face. Not only that, but who wears a sweatshirt on a hot day like today?”

  “You’re right. I didn’t think much of it at the time because I know from experience that Kenny tries to avoid work, but the baseball cap disguise was a new wrinkle, and it’s way too warm to be wearing a sweatshirt.”

  “That kid’s in for a rough time.”

  “He deserves it. He could have killed Bessie, even though he says he didn’t mean to hurt her.”

  “Well, I don’t envy him or his mother. I think they’ll throw the book at him, lawyer or no lawyer,” Tracey said.

  “Most likely. It was interesting to see Rachel in action. Obviously, she’s really upset with Kenny, but she’s still the protective mom.”

  “She’s done time herself, if the information on that list you found is real. I can’t imagine how she must feel, knowing that her son could be sentenced to prison, too.”

  “Yes, it would be awful. As far as I know, Kenny’s her only child.”

  As we were saying good-bye, Tracey’s phone rang, and she mouthed that she had to take the call. Since she’d turned her phone off during the party, it didn’t surprise me that she’d received a call as soon as she’d turned it back on. I’d be willing to bet that her voice mail had filled with several messages during the last few hours, too. With a wave to Tracey, I started my engine, and I waited until she pulled out of her parking space before I did the same.

  I knew I’d be late picking up Bear and that Fran and Brian must be wondering what was keeping me so long. As soon as I rang their doorbell, I could hear Bear and Goldie both barking, and as Brian opened the front door for me, they rushed past him to greet me. Goldie settled down quickly, but Bear bounced around for a while as I slowly inched my way into the house, patting my enthusiastic Lab at the same time.

  “Settle down, Bear,” I said. “We’re going home in a minute.”

  “How was the party, Laurel?” Fran asked, wandering into the living room from the den. She’d been watching television, I knew because I’d heard the unmistakable sound of a laugh track as I’d entered the house.

  “It was great, but we had a big surprise at the end.” I proceeded to fill Fran and Brian in on the latest news. The Hawkeye Haven grapevine was probably already humming with the story of Kenny’s confession.

  As it turned out, I wasn’t the only bearer of news. Fran told me that she’d received an email message earlier in the evening that Patty had sent to all of the residents of Hawkeye Haven, informing them that Victor’s funeral would be held on Friday morning at the Meadows Funeral Home. I figured that Patty had probably come to her office in the community center after hours to send the message, and then she’d decided to take the opportunity to object again to Bessie’s party. Strange that Patty really hadn’t seemed much affected by Victor’s passing, especially since Victor had hired her, they’d worked together at IFI, and they seemed to have some kind of a scheme planned at Hawkeye Haven. Still, Patty had insinuated that Luke might have been involved in the murder, so maybe she had been shaken by Victor’s murder, after all.

  “Are you going to the funeral?” I asked Fran and Brian.

  “No, can’t say that I thought much of the man,” Brian answered. “Victor substituted in our golf foursome a couple of times when one of the guys was in the hospital. That’s the only way I knew him, and I can’t say that I cared for his constant bragging about what a great golfer he was and how much money he had made. Last time our group needed a sub, we found someone else to fill in. When Victor ran for president of the HOA, we didn’t vote for him, either. In fact, I’m surprised he was elected.”

  “Are you planning to attend?” Fran asked me.

  “I’m not sure yet, but I may go. I know his daughter slightly because she’s attended a couple of my classes, and I have the feeling she may need the moral support. The only time I ever saw Victor myself was at the HOA’s meeting last week, and he was very rude to a couple of my friends, so if I go to the funeral, it won’t be because I held him in great regard.”

  “It’s a sad commentary on his life, but, from everything I’ve heard, he wasn’t much of a man,” Fran said as Goldie nuzzled her side, and she turned to talk to her dog. “Okay, Goldie, sweetie, we’ll go night-night in a few minutes.”

  “I can take a hint,” I joked. “Come on, Bear, let’s head for home. Thanks so much for taking care of him, and
let me know when I can dog-sit Goldie for you.”

  “Oh, we will! We’re planning on a short trip to Omaha in a couple of weeks, and it would be great if she could stay with you,” Fran said.

  “We’ll be happy to have her, won’t we, Bear? ‘Bye now, and thanks again.”

  Bear was tired after his day with Goldie, so as soon as we reached the house, he headed straight for the bedroom, where he flopped down on the cushy bed that I had made for him. The dog bed was a DIY project that I intended to include in my book because it was so easy to make, and it required no sewing at all. I’d made three beds for Bear so that he could have one in the bedroom, the den, and the office, and he takes full advantage of all of them, although when the weather is hot, he often likes to lie on the tile because it feels cooler.

  He fell asleep promptly, and he didn’t even wiggle as I brushed my teeth and prepared for bed. Even though it had been a busy day, I didn’t feel very tired, so I decided to read in bed for a while. My book club’s next meeting was two weeks away, and I knew I should probably be reading the book designated as September’s selection, but I hadn’t even made it through the first chapter the last time I’d attempted to read it. Instead, I settled on a historical romance that the club members had voted to read so that we could discuss it at our October meeting. The novel held my interest through the first several chapters, and the time slipped away. It was closer to one than midnight before I realized it. I knew Bear would be up before six the following morning, which meant that, with luck, I’d have only five hours of sleep. Actually I know several people who seem to function just fine on five hours of sleep, but, unfortunately, I’m not one of them. Groaning, I thought about how awful I was going to look for my date tomorrow night—no, make that tonight—with dark circles under my eyes. Before I turned out the light, I checked Bear and saw that he hadn’t even moved since he’d fallen asleep. Maybe he wouldn’t get up so early, after all.

  That hope turned out to have been in vain. Eager for his morning walk, Bear woke up at the usual time. Reluctantly, I tumbled out of bed, quickly dressed, took him for his walk, and returned home to make a big pot of coffee. Caffeine would have to carry me through the morning, and I’d depend on a rare afternoon nap to revive me before my date with Wes.

  Although it would be several hours before Wes came to pick me up for dinner, I was already feeling nervous at the thought of going out on a formal date. It had been more than a year since I’d even gone out with a man. I’d doubled with Tracey and Liam, who’d been her boyfriend at the time. Rick, my date, was a friend of Liam’s, and although Rick seemed like a nice guy, we didn’t hit it off, so it was a chore just to get through the evening. After that, I told Tracey absolutely, positively, no more blind dates for me. I had learned my lesson. I had to keep telling myself that tonight was no blind date. Wes already knew me—at least a little bit—and liked me—at least a little bit—or he’d never have asked me to dinner.

  To distract myself, I got busy with household chores, cleaning the kitchen and both bathrooms and washing some clothes. When I’m tired, I have trouble focusing, and I make a lot of mistakes, so it definitely wouldn’t have been a good time to work on my book proposal or a slide presentation for next week’s DIY class, Make Your Own Autumn Wreath.

  By early afternoon, I felt satisfied that I’d at least accomplished something. Slathering on sunscreen, I grabbed a floppy hat to wear and took Bear out to the backyard to play fetch with him. He chased his hard rubber ball again and again until we both grew tired. It seemed like the perfect time to take the nap I’d promised myself, so I unplugged my landline, turned off my smartphone, and lay down on the sofa in the den. Bear curled up on his bed next to the sofa, and we both slept soundly for over an hour. After catching up on sleep, I felt refreshed and ready to decide what to wear for my date with Wes.

  Turning my smartphone back on, I texted Tracey to ask her opinion, and she texted me back, inquiring whether or not I knew where we were going. In fact, Wes had never mentioned a specific place, and I hadn’t heard from him since he’d asked me out. Before I could answer Tracey, she called me.

  “Hey, I would have called you back right away, but a client was in my office when you texted. Mr. Super Picky just left. Thank goodness. I guess I must have looked really serious when I picked up my phone to read your text, so he took that as a cue. Boy, am I glad he’s out of here. He’s the biggest pain ever, trying to micromanage everything. I can’t imagine why he bothered to hire us in the first place. Uh, sorry for the rant, Lo-lo. The guy really gets to me sometimes.”

  “I don’t know how you do it, Tracey, having to put up with all the whims of your clients.”

  “We try to keep them happy, and most of them are reasonable people. But now that you mention it, I guess a few of them are a little hard to take at times. This guy, for instance. We’ve bent over backwards trying to accommodate him, but he wants to change everything we do. It’s like he’s got to have his own personal stamp on even the slightest detail, or he’s not happy. Ugh! He’s driving me crazy!”

  “He sounds awful.”

  “He’s the guy I mentioned the other day—the one with megamillions.”

  “And you want him to spend some of those millions with your company.”

  “That’s the general idea, but sometimes it doesn’t seem worth it, and this may be one of those times. Unfortunately, that’s not my call. But, anyway, enough about him. Where did you say you two are going tonight?”

  “Don’t know. Wes didn’t mention any place in particular.”

  “Okay, so dinner. That could mean anything from a hamburger at Burger Inn to gourmet cuisine at a five-star restaurant.”

  “I guess so, although Burger Inn is probably out,” I said, laughing at my own tiny joke. “That’s what he had just before he came over to my house the other night—a hamburger and fries from Burger Inn. It might be his go-to fast food place.”

  “Yeah, I was kidding about the fast food. I’ll bet he’s going to take you someplace nice. Why don’t you wear that cobalt blue silk dress you made? It really looks stunning on you.”

  “You don’t think it’s too dressy?”

  “No, it’s okay to be a little dressed up. Just don’t wear glitzy jewelry or carry an evening bag. Then you’ll be on safe middle ground—nice but not too dressy.”

  “Hmmm. I was thinking of wearing that sundress—the one I wore to the buffet Sunday.”

  “Too beachy, I think.”

  “Well, you’re probably right. I guess your pick makes more sense. I’ll wear the blue silk dress.”

  “Atta girl. The color’s perfect with your red hair and fair complexion. And don’t you dare put your hair in a bun. It makes you look too severe.”

  “Really? That’s exactly how I was planning to wear it.”

  “No way! Wear it down—loose and flowing. Guys like that. One more thing, Lo-lo. Past relationships almost always come up on a first date. If he dwells on his, run like the wind. The last thing you need is a boyfriend who’s still hung up on his ex, so make sure he’s really available.”

  “Yes, coach. I’ll bow to your expertise. You know how long it’s been since I’ve been on a date. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m an incompetent dater.”

  “Not for long, you’re not. Just go and have a good time. Don’t try to over-analyze the experience or the man. And remember, he isn’t Tim. No man can replace him. Wes is a different person. Appreciate him for who he is.”

  “Okay, okay, you make a good point.”

  “Don’t forget to call me and fill me in on all the details.”

  Assuring Tracey that I’d tell her all about it after my date, I wished her good luck with her client, Mr. Super Picky.

  Tracey was right, of course. I needed to stop thinking that Tim had been the only man I could ever love, and I should stop comparing every man I met to my late husband. I knew it wasn’t fair, and maybe it was my way of keeping love away. After all, in my experience, love hurt,
and I didn’t ever want to be hurt again. My self-imposed avoidance of the dating scene and men, in general, had served its purpose, and I kept asking myself if I wanted to be vulnerable again. On the other hand, I was already analyzing the situation—doing just exactly what Tracey had told me not to do. She knew me too well. I couldn’t seem to stop looking at all the angles and wondering whether this first date would lead to a second and a third.

  Enough! I forced myself to stop thinking about it and, instead, concentrated on what I needed to do to get ready. I spent a long time styling my hair, as Tracey had suggested, and playing with my make-up so that it would be just right. Honestly, I didn’t know how Liz could do such detailed make-up every single day, even when she never left the house. I’d never have the time to spend so long on my face each morning, but Liz had had plenty of practice, and she probably was much faster at it than I was.

  Although it seemed to take forever, I finally put the finishing touch of lip-colored gloss on, just as the doorbell rang.

  Bear beat me to the door, but I made him sit and stay back a ways so that I could greet Wes before my dog did. I opened the door and smiled at Wes, who looked handsome in a navy blazer, conservative striped tie, and gray trousers.

  “Wow, you look beautiful, Laurel.”

  “So do you,” I said and blushed furiously. “I mean handsome,” I murmured, but before Wes had a chance to respond, Bear rushed over to us, unable to contain his excitement at having a visitor.

  “Oh, Bear, you’re not minding very well. He was supposed to sit and stay,” I explained to Wes.

  “So he’s in the dog house?” Wes laughed.

  “Not too much, I guess. He has an over-indulgent pet parent; that’s for sure.”

  “How are you, boy?” Wes patted Bear, and the attention pacified the eager dog.

  “Wes, shall we go and leave him to his nap? We could be here all night, the way Bear soaks up attention. He’ll settle down as soon as we leave.”