Green Living Can Be Deadly (A Blossom Valley Mystery)

by McLaughlin, Staci

  The pastor stepped back up and said a few final words. When he finished, a taped recording of organ music filled the air. Everyone stood and filed out, stopping on the front steps to chitchat. Several people must have snuck in after the service started, and I was glad to see the crowd amounted to a respectable turnout. I was surprised that Lily wasn’t among the group, since she was such a devoted Invisible Prints customer, but maybe she hadn’t heard about the service.

  Helen approached Preston and shook his hand, while I sidled closer. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

  Preston bowed his head. “Thank you. I still can’t believe she’s gone.”

  “I told her the festival might not be a good idea. We need large companies as customers, not individuals, but she insisted on participating.” Helen sighed. “To think that decision ultimately got her killed.”

  “You know how Wendy loved dealing with the public. She wanted to build that company one person at a time.”

  “Still, I saw a man selling dog poop there,” Helen said. “It’s not exactly the type of festival we need to be associated with.”

  I bristled at her comment but kept silent. Now was not the time to make a scene.

  “Anyway,” Helen said, “I hate to rush off after such a touching service, but I have to meet a repairman to replace the windows at Invisible Prints, then hurry to an appointment.”

  “What’s wrong with the windows?” Preston asked.

  “Someone broke all the ones facing the highway.”

  I stifled a gasp. Who could have been so destructive?

  Preston shook his head. “How horrible. My poor Wendy just died.”

  Helen pointed to Detective Palmer, who stood near the entrance. “I spoke with the police about it, and he chalked it up to vandals. No connection to Wendy’s death.”

  That answer sounded too pat. Had someone broken into the company? They could have smashed all the windows to give the appearance of vandalism and divert attention from a possible burglary.

  As Helen moved away, Kimmie took her place, clutching one of Preston’s hands with both of hers. “Thank you so much for letting me speak at Wendy’s service.” She raised her gaze toward the overcast sky. “I know she was up there watching.”

  “I’m sure you’re right,” Preston murmured.

  “Call me if you need anything. I’m always willing to help whoever needs it.” She dropped his hand. “Now, excuse me, I must be going.” She headed to her car, veil flapping in the breeze.

  Jason stepped next to me. Now that I could get a good look at him, I couldn’t help but admire his slim physique in his black suit and gray-and-black-striped tie. He looked pretty darn hot.

  “Did you hear what Helen said a minute ago?” I asked, trying not to drool openly while I spoke. “Someone busted all the windows at Invisible Prints. What do you think it means?”

  “Some parents aren’t watching their kids close enough.”

  I pulled him closer to the door and farther away from the others, noting how warm his body felt. “You don’t think it’s connected to Wendy’s death? Maybe someone was trying to break in and steal something related to her murder.”

  Jason pulled on his tie, looking relieved as the knot loosened. “Helen didn’t notice anything missing. There’s no evidence it was anything other than kids being destructive.”

  “If you say so,” I said.

  “He does,” Detective Palmer said behind me.

  Man, that guy is sneakier than the neighbor’s cat when it’s trying to catch the birds around Mom’s feeder.

  I turned slowly, giving myself a pep talk about how the detective was sure to appreciate my help. “Detective Palmer, so nice to see you again. Do you have any leads on Wendy’s murder?”

  He gave me a half smile. “Plenty, but none that I can share with you.”

  “I didn’t want to know anyway,” I lied. “I was simply looking for some assurance that Wendy’s killer would be arrested.”

  “The police department thanks you for your concern,” he said without a trace of sarcasm. He must practice that.

  Jason retrieved his notebook and pen from an inside jacket pocket. “Anything you want to share with Blossom Valley’s citizens?”

  The detective didn’t blink. “The residents have nothing to fear. This was a targeted crime, not a random killing.”

  Not exactly the breakthrough of the week. “Of course it wasn’t random.” I held up two fingers for emphasis. “I already know of at least two people who might want her dead.”

  I probably should have kept my voice down, because more than one head swiveled in my direction, including Preston’s. He broke away from the group he’d been talking to and made his way over to our little trio.

  “Who would want Wendy dead?” he asked, his eyes tearing up. He grabbed my arm in a firm grip, his tone pleading. “You have to tell me.”

  My gaze darted all around as I tried to think. One of my suspects was Preston. What was I supposed to say?

  18

  I waited for one of those California earthquakes to rattle the ground and distract Preston from our conversation, but those tremblers never happened when you wanted.

  Preston still held my arm. The pressure increased slightly as more tears leaked out.

  I patted his hand, but his grip didn’t ease. “Well, I shouldn’t mention names.” I jerked a thumb at Detective Palmer. “I mean, the police might need to keep the list of suspects quiet so they don’t tip anyone off.”

  “That’s correct,” Detective Palmer said.

  Do I detect a smirk?

  Preston released his hold on my arm, but then he took my hand, only increasing how flustered I felt. “If you know anything that can help the police, you’ve got to tell them.”

  I snuck a peek at Jason to see if he would step in, but he was busy writing in his notebook and didn’t seem to be paying any attention. I nodded at Preston. “Absolutely. In fact, I was about to speak with the detective, but first I want to tell you again how sorry I am about Wendy’s passing.” An awkward silence settled between us.

  Preston looked past me and let go of my hand. “Please excuse me. I need to speak with the other guests.”

  As he moved away, I smacked Jason on the arm.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Why didn’t you help me there? You could have said something.”

  Jason spread his hands. “What did you want me to say? The poor guy clearly wants to know who murdered his wife.”

  “And so do I.” I tapped Jason’s notebook. “Which reminds me, who is it that we can talk to?”

  “How about you leave the talking to me?” Detective Palmer said.

  Oops, I’d forgotten he was standing there. “Right, I meant who can you talk to?” Trying to act casual, I glanced around and saw that Drew was the only one left anyway. Even now, she was moving toward her car. I felt Detective Palmer’s gaze on me and said, “I wasn’t kidding when I told Preston I’d pass information on to you. I mean, I’m not investigating or anything, but I’ve heard a few things that I want to tell you.”

  Detective Palmer crossed his arms. “Let’s start with those motives you were talking about a few minutes ago.”

  Beside me, Jason raised his notebook, at the ready.

  “Well, her brother, who missed today’s memorial service, I might add, is upset that Wendy inherited their mom’s money.” Considering Jason had told me the information, I wasn’t surprised when he didn’t write anything down. Detective Palmer looked similarly unimpressed. I quickly went on. “Her brother seems to think Wendy was scamming people with her company. That fits in with the man I saw yelling at Wendy at the festival, the one I already told you about. He invested two million dollars in Invisible Prints and now believes the money wasn’t used for any green-living projects.”

  “No kidding,” Jason said as he started writing. I couldn’t help but feel a little smug that I’d found out information before him.

  “You’re sure it was the sam
e man?” Detective Palmer asked.

  “Yep, saw him at the festival, then a couple of days later at Invisible Prints. His name is Marvin Stevens.” I hoped he was making a note of how helpful I was being.

  The corners of Detective Palmer’s mouth almost moved upward. So close to a smile, yet not quite there. “This is confirmation he was at the festival around the time of the murder.”

  A woman standing nearby began coughing rather forcefully. After listening to her hack for a few seconds, I rooted around in my purse, shoving aside my lip gloss and phone. Detective Palmer and Jason started chatting while I searched for the elusive cough drop I knew was in the bottom somewhere. Just as I was about to give up, my fingers brushed the wrapper and I held it up as though it were the magic ring everyone longed for in The Lord of the Rings.

  I handed it to the woman, who nodded her thanks, and tuned back in as Detective Palmer told Jason, “Marvin’s suspicions might be correct that Wendy embezzled the money.”

  My breath caught. Even though Marvin was absolutely convinced Wendy had stolen the two million, I hadn’t really believed it. Well, really, I didn’t want to believe it. The Wendy I had known was honest and good, other than that little class president scandal. Still, there was a huge difference between tampering with a school election and stealing an enormous sum of money from your own company.

  I noticed a silence and looked up. Detective Palmer was studying me.

  “Forget you heard that.”

  “But Marvin had both opportunity and motive. He was at the festival at the time of the murder, and Wendy really did steal the money. Does this mean you’ll arrest him now?”

  “We need a little thing called evidence first.” I must have looked a little too excited because Detective Palmer practically growled, “Don’t get any ideas. I’m in charge of that part.”

  I batted my eyelashes, a technique I’d picked up from Ashlee. “I wouldn’t dream of interfering.” I could swear that Detective Palmer and Jason snorted at the same time.

  “I need to get back to work,” Detective Palmer said. “Don’t forget what I said about keeping out of my investigation.”

  I gave him a two-fingered salute. “Aye, aye, Captain.”

  He shook his head and walked away, leaving me alone with Jason.

  “Have time for a cup of coffee?” Jason asked.

  The service hadn’t lasted long, but I had one more stop—a stop I didn’t want Jason to know about. “Not this time, I’m afraid. I need to get back to work.” I watched Preston climb into his Lexus and pull out of the lot. “What do you think Preston’s going to do now?”

  Jason watched the car merge onto the highway. “What do you mean?”

  “I wonder if he’ll take over as president of Invisible Prints, or if he even has any interest in it.”

  “Hard to say. I’m not sure how the company is set up. But if he stands to inherit, he could probably sell it and make a tidy profit, although this possible embezzlement could mess up everything. Even so, he doesn’t need to worry about money right now.”

  His tone made the little hairs on my arms stand up. “Why’s that? I thought he was out of work.”

  “Palmer let it slip that Preston is the beneficiary of a hefty life insurance policy.”

  “How much?” I held my breath, visions of dollar signs floating through my mind.

  “Eight hundred thousand.”

  Eek! That was definitely enough for Preston to kill for, especially if he was already considering leaving the marriage. But if that was really true, where did the adoption fit in?

  I gave Jason a quick kiss. “I’d better get back to the farm.”

  I climbed into my car, feeling a tad guilty that I’d misled him about my plans, but I didn’t want another lecture about how I shouldn’t be poking around in Wendy’s murder. I wasn’t sure why he hadn’t said anything when I’d told the detective everything I’d found out, but I didn’t want to press my luck. Besides, it was a teensy-weensy lie, so small I shouldn’t even worry about it. I squashed my remaining guilt down into a ball and rolled it into the corner of my mind for later.

  I drove the few miles down the highway and turned in the driveway for Invisible Prints. Even from a distance, I could see the jagged edges of the broken windows. A man in coveralls stood near a truck loaded with glass panes in slots, talking on his cell phone. Drew and Helen were nowhere in sight, and only one car was parked in the small lot.

  Since I knew the window guy would be here awhile, I parked behind his truck and got out. I pulled my black blazer closed as a gust of wind blew in off the coast, sending my blond hair swirling around my head. I tried to brush it down as I made my way to the front door.

  Inside, the temperature didn’t increase much, thanks to the gaping holes in the windows. Drew stood behind the counter, typing on a keyboard. She’d placed coffee mugs and packages of multipurpose paper on top of any loose sheets of paper, but the edges still fluttered in the constant breeze.

  She glanced at me and hit a few keys on the keyboard. “Did you have an appointment with Helen? I don’t remember making one.”

  “No appointment. I was on my way home, but I had to stop and see the damage for myself. I can’t believe someone would break all these beautiful windows.”

  Drew threw up her hands. “Tell me about it. I was sweeping up glass all morning. I don’t know what’s wrong with kids these days.”

  “You don’t think someone was trying to rob the place?”

  “Why not break the window by the front door and leave the rest alone?”

  I looked around the room, but nothing had changed since my last visit. “To cover up the fact that it was a robbery. What’s more distracting than breaking half-a-dozen plate-glass windows? Did you at least look to see if anything was missing?”

  Drew sneered. “There’s nothing worth stealing. Have you seen how cheap our office equipment is? This computer is at least five years old. Wendy bought it refurbished.”

  “What about the computers in those cubes? They must be worth a few bucks.”

  “There are no computers.”

  I squinted at the cubes, although I knew my eyes were working fine. “I can see the tops of the monitors from here.”

  Drew spoke so low, I had to wonder if Helen was upstairs after all, even though I hadn’t seen her car. “Sure, we put monitors in there, used ones we picked up on the cheap, but they’re not attached to anything.”

  “Then why are they there?” I whispered back.

  “Like I told you last time, we want to give possible investors the idea that we’re a thriving company that will earn them money.”

  Maybe this company was a complete and total con job after all. “So you deceived potential investors with phony employees.”

  Drew held up a finger. “Not me. Wendy.”

  I didn’t belabor the point that Drew was basically an accomplice. That accusation wouldn’t get me anywhere. “What can you tell me about the day Wendy was killed?”

  Drew took a step back. “Nothing. What do you mean? I had nothing to do with her death.” She started twitching. For a second, I worried that she was having some sort of seizure.

  I moved back too so she wouldn’t think I was crowding her. “I’m not accusing you of anything. I remember you and Helen were at Wendy’s booth in the early morning, and I was wondering if you saw anything strange.”

  Drew smoothed down her hair several times, as if calming herself, but the tips just sprang back up. “Oh, right. I was there that morning for a little while. I had to get back here to handle the phones, and Helen had to see a customer.”

  I wondered if anyone could verify she’d returned to the office when she claimed. Who’s to say she didn’t stay in Blossom Valley and hide until she went back to the festival to kill Wendy? Had she gotten some inkling that Wendy had embezzled all the investor money? But why would she kill her over that? It might put her out of a job, but not much else.

  The man in the coveralls stepped insi
de. “I’ll need some insurance information before I get started,” he said.

  “Sure,” Drew said. She looked at me. “Is there anything else?”

  “No, I guess not.” As I walked out the door, I took another look at the gaping holes. Maybe the broken windows were a random act of vandalism after all. But so close to Wendy’s murder?

  I got back into my car and drove over the hill, taking the turns too fast as I rushed to get back to work. As I rounded a blind curve, I came up behind a slow-moving truck and slammed on my brakes. My purse slid off the passenger seat and hit the floor. I could hear the contents fall out and roll around.

  Shaking at the close encounter, I kept a more reasonable speed as I entered the valley and reached the edge of town. The truck lumbered down the freeway, but I took the first exit and eased to a stop at a stoplight. While I waited for the light to change, I reached down to grab my purse and placed it on the passenger seat. Then I retrieved everything that had fallen out and crammed it all back in. I picked up the program from Wendy’s memorial service last, and my thoughts turned to the attendees. Had Preston even notified Kurt about the service?

  When the light turned green, I pushed down on the gas pedal, one hand still on the program. I hadn’t known how long the memorial service would run, so I hadn’t told anyone at the farm when to expect me. I was all caught up at work, and Zennia could easily handle the current guest load for lunch service.

  Mind made up, I headed across town and reached Kurt’s place in minutes. I pulled in front of the main house and got out, holding the memorial service program to my chest as though it were a talisman.

  As I approached the garage at the end of the long driveway, I noticed the main door was lifted up a few inches. Loud voices reached me, and I slowed my steps to listen to what they were saying. Maybe the argument was related to Wendy’s murder.

  Clutching the program tighter, I crept toward the garage door.