“Have his family been notified?” Lionel asked.
“We’re tracking down his parents and sister in Atlanta,” Holt answered. “His friends from BAS told us that he’s divorced with no children. No information on his ex-wife.”
“If anyone knows personal details about Christian, it will be Zack,” I told Holt. “They were the only ones from their BAS summer who kept in touch.”
“We’ll certainly ask Mr. Burwell for this information, as soon as he shows up,” Holt said. “Meanwhile we’re trying to contact his business associates in San Diego. Unfortunately, Mr. Naylor’s cell phone was destroyed in the crash, so we can’t use the information stored there.”
Lionel furrowed his brow. He was an imposing man with a distinctive profile and large dark eyes. At the moment, he seemed almost Lincolnesque. “If Mr. Burwell is missing, perhaps something untoward has happened to him.”
Piper sniffed. “Or he is behind the accident today. Marlee told me how Mr. Naylor’s car was sideswiped. Out of all the people who drank too much at the luau, Zack Burwell was the worst. And I’d bet he was drinking tonight. He probably went after Naylor in his car while drunk behind the wheel.”
“Why would he do that?” I asked Piper.
“I have no idea. I do know I don’t enjoy being hauled out of bed at midnight because something awful has again happened to a BAS student. Bad enough Marlee found a skeleton last week. Then one of my hula dancers went up in flames because of an untrained fire-eater. Now another person connected with the school is lying at death’s door. At this rate, there won’t be anyone left to compete in the road rally.”
“We may have to cancel it. If Christian dies, I don’t see how we can do anything else.”
Piper looked at me as if I had suggested we hold our annual Oktoberfest banquet at Burger King. “You can’t be serious. I’ve spent months coming up with clues for the event. And thirty-five cars will be competing Friday night. The rally has been promoted as far away as St. Louis. We cannot cancel it. Absolutely not. If I did, who do you imagine will come to Oriole Point to take part in next year’s rally? No one.”
“But if Mr. Naylor—” Lionel started to say.
“We are not canceling,” Piper interrupted in a steely voice. “Even if I fall off the bluff and die before Friday, the Blackberry Road Rally will go on.” Her blue eyes bored into mine. “Do you understand, Marlee? No matter what, one of us will see the rally proceeds as planned.”
“If you say so.” I gave her a warning look. “Although maybe neither of us should stand too close to the bluff before then.”
Holt grinned but stopped as soon as he glanced over Lionel’s shoulder. A man with a shaved head walked by the information desk. Although his hands were stuffed in his jeans pockets, he appeared to be shaking.
“Mr. Burwell,” Holt said in a loud voice.
Zack turned in our direction. The bright lights in the waiting room revealed how ill he looked. There was a yellowish cast to his face, and dark circles beneath his eyes. For a moment he froze at the sight of Holt’s uniform. Then he saw me and seemed to recoil even more.
Dawn cried out, “Zack, thank God you’re here. We’ve been worried sick.”
She jumped out of her chair and ran over to him. As she threw her arms around his shoulders, Gordon, Leah, and Joel hurried after her. By the time Holt and I reached Zack, he was surrounded by his BAS friends, all of them murmuring words of comfort. Taking up the rear was Trejo, who observed them with a taciturn expression.
“Mr. Burwell,” Holt repeated. “We need to ask you a few questions.”
“Can’t you leave the poor man alone,” Dawn said as she held Zack in a tight embrace. “He and Christian were close friends. How do you imagine he feels?”
Zack looked at his friends with dismay. “Is Christian dead?”
“No, no.” Leah took Zack’s hand. “He’s in surgery. Christian’s still alive. He’s alive, Zack.”
When Zack began to sob, Gordon cursed under his breath. He and Joel joined the two women as they made a protective circle around the distraught man. Zack appeared on the verge of completely breaking down. Could he really have tried to murder his friend? It didn’t seem possible.
Trejo pushed through the knot of people around Zack. “We need to know your whereabouts tonight, Mr. Burwell. If you won’t speak to us here, we’ll have to take you in for questioning.”
That set the four of them to protesting so loudly the receptionist at the information desk rushed over to quiet them. Watching them clustered together, I felt as if I were looking at a close-knit family. They were protective of each other and looked on everyone else as outsiders. But I wondered if what bonded them was their summer at BAS, or the secrets they shared.
“Why are you doing this right now?” Gordon asked Trejo after the irritated receptionist had walked away. “Our good friend is in critical condition. All we can think about is whether or not he’s going to survive. This isn’t the time for questions.”
Dawn threw him an approving look. “He’s right. It’s indecent to bother us now.”
“I don’t know what I’ll do if Christian doesn’t make it,” Joel said in a hoarse voice.
Leah blinked back tears. “Don’t say such a thing. He’s not going to die.”
With a loud moan, Zack held his head as if it weighed a hundred pounds. It seemed like an even heavier weight lay on his shoulders. Despite their emotional state, I felt uneasy by the events of tonight. Like it or not, I had been dragged into this by Zack. I’d never have been at the farm market tonight if not for his request to meet with me.
“Zack, did you tell Christian about our meeting tonight?” I said.
Everyone turned their attention to me now. “What are you talking about?” Dawn asked.
Leah looked confused. “Why would Zack meet with you? You’re nothing to us.” She made it sound as if I were no more than a troublesome insect they would all love to swat.
Joel glowered at me. “The last thing any of us wants is to spend more time with you.”
“Joel’s right,” Gordon added. “You’ve been worse than any police officer. You and all your questions.”
I had the feeling Holt and Trejo would be lecturing me again after this was over. “I do have one more question. Who do you think stuck the knife in your artwork at the exhibit?”
Leah gasped, while Joel turned to Gordon. “What is she talking about?” he asked.
Before he could answer, I explained what had occurred at the exhibit earlier today. With her hand covering her mouth, Leah ran off to the restroom. The others looked grim.
“You won’t be happy until something terrible happens to all of us.” Dawn shook her head at me.
“Again, you’re blaming the messenger. I had nothing to do with Sienna’s death. Nor did I have anything to do with Gordon’s vandalized artwork or Zack getting drunk at the luau. As for tonight, Zack is the one who came to me and asked for a meeting.”
“And why would he do that?” Joel asked.
“Ask him.” I waved at Zack.
Holt stepped closer. “Mr. Burwell, why did you want to meet with Ms. Jacob tonight?”
Zack stared at me for a tense moment. I was close enough to smell alcohol on him. He had been drinking again.
“I don’t know what she’s talking about,” he said. “I never asked to meet with Marlee. She’s lying.”
Chapter 20
My jaw dropped. “Are you actually going to stand there and deny you asked me to meet you tonight?”
Zack couldn’t look me in the eyes. “Why would I want to meet with you?”
“Exactly what I asked you earlier today. You said you needed to discuss something with me.” I gestured to the Bramble friends clustered about him. “And you didn’t want any of them to know about it.”
“You’re deluded.” He looked over at Dawn, who squeezed his shoulder in sympathy. “I did go to her store today with Christian, but only to apologize for knocking her down at the
luau. That’s all I said to her. But she’s as weird as Theo. Finding Sienna’s body must have pushed her over the deep end.”
When Gordon, Dawn, and Joel nodded in agreement, it was all I could do not to give every one of them a swift kick. “You’re a liar, Zack,” I said. “And a coward.”
“And a most disgusting drunk,” Piper added, only to be shushed by her husband.
“All of you are liars,” I went on. “You’re lying about Sienna, and now you’re lying about what happened to Christian tonight.”
As the Bramble group erupted into outraged cries and curses, Kit Holt pulled me to the side. “Marlee, please leave this to Trejo and me.”
“He’s lying, Kit,” I said. “I swear he is.”
“I believe you.”
Gordon broke from the group and approached us. “See here, Captain Holt. You too, Detective Trejo. My friends and I are sick of being treated like criminals. Neither of you can prove we’ve done a thing wrong, and you know it. Meanwhile you let this unstable woman make wild accusations. If this keeps up, I may bring charges of harassment against her.”
“Are you certain you want to bring up harassment charges, Mr. Sanderling?” Holt asked in a voice that held a hint of a threat.
“If so, any history of harassment in your background may also come to light,” Trejo said.
Gordon stiffened. Dawn now switched her support from Zack to Gordon. Taking his arm, she said, “Let them threaten and bluster, Gordon. It’s not our concern. All that matters right now is Christian’s welfare. Marlee and her police friends can go to hell.”
Before my police friends or I had a chance to respond, Lionel declared in his booming voice, “I believe we are about to have an update on Mr. Naylor’s condition.”
A tall doctor in surgical scrubs made his way over to us, accompanied by one of the state troopers. By the time he reached our tense group, everyone else associated with BAS in the waiting room had joined us. Only Ryan remained on the couch, snoring peacefully.
“I understand none of you are family members,” the surgeon began. “However, the police have informed us that many of you are friends of Mr. Naylor and would—”
“Doctor, please,” interrupted Leah, who had just returned from her tearful visit to the restroom. “Is Christian still alive?”
“Yes, Mr. Naylor survived the surgery.”
I felt a wave of relief. Tina Kapoor hugged her fellow BAS administrators.
“What is his condition?” Dawn clutched even tighter to Gordon’s arm.
“Critical. He’s in recovery, and will be transferred to the ICU.”
“What does that mean?” Joel asked.
“Mr. Naylor suffered trauma to the brain. To give the brain time to heal, he has been placed in a medically induced coma.”
Joel winced, while Leah burst into tears once more.
“How long will Mr. Naylor remain in a comatose state?” Holt asked.
“It depends on how quickly the swelling on his brain recedes. To take him out of the coma too soon could result in the brain shutting off function to the injured areas. Depending on his response to the medication that monitors his blood pressure, Mr. Naylor could be kept in a coma for days, even weeks. Some patients remain in a medically induced coma for months.”
A groan went up from all of us. Trejo and Holt exchanged somber glances. Christian would be unable to answer their questions anytime soon. Poor Christian. If Charlie and I hadn’t found the remains of Sienna Katsaros, Christian would not be fighting for his life right now. Even though I had nothing to do with Sienna’s death, I felt guilty for the unwanted role I had played.
“Doctor, can we see Christian?” Zack asked in a shaky voice.
“I recommend waiting until the morning. As I said, he’s still in recovery.”
“We may as well wait here,” Gordon suggested. “I won’t be able to sleep anyway.”
Detective Trejo cleared his throat. “Since no one is ready for sleep, this will be a good time to answer a few more questions.”
If looks could kill, Trejo would have died instantly from the glances thrown his way.
I turned to Holt. “Do you need to ask me more questions?”
He led me away so we wouldn’t be overheard. “You’ve already told us everything at least ten times. They’ve told us everything as well, only I think they’re omitting the truth. If we keep at them, it’s possible one of Sienna’s friends will say something they shouldn’t.” He smiled. “And thanks for calling me earlier tonight about the knife in Sanderling’s art piece.”
“Did you check it for fingerprints?”
“It’s at the lab. We’ve begun to question anyone who had access to the art exhibit. And I’m afraid we’ll have to speak with Theo again, too.”
“Theo is staying with me until the centenary is over.” I had informed Kit about the fake police badge and cap left on Theo’s doorstep, along with Theo’s description of the drunken midnight parties of Sienna and her friends. But I hadn’t mentioned he was now my houseguest. “Although I might have Theo stay with me for an extended period. Just to be sure he’s safe.”
“You need to stop worrying about him, Marlee. Theo’s a grown man. You also need to stop worrying about this case. We’ll handle it.”
I lowered my voice. “What about Gordon? I told you I’d heard a rumor about him stalking some woman years ago. And you and Trejo just implied the same thing.”
He looked heavenward. “I know I’m speaking English, but she’s not listening.”
“I am listening. What I’m hearing is there’s something suspicious about Gordon’s background. I know that he married a girl he met while attending Duluth College. And that her mother was in politics. The divorce must not have been pleasant if she filed charges of harassment against him.”
Holt shot me a disapproving look. “You’re fishing.”
“I am.” I lifted a questioning eyebrow. “Did I catch anything?”
“Let’s say you have a nibble. Gordon was married only a year. During that time, there were rumors of harassment and stalking. But it wasn’t Gordon who was guilty of the harassment. It was another person.”
“I don’t understand.”
“A woman appears to have been obsessed with Gordon back then. This individual stalked both him and his bride for months. Probably trying to frighten the wife enough so she’d leave him. Which she did. We spoke to Gordon’s ex-wife this past week. She’s remarried but still lives in Minnesota. Kept her maiden name to help her budding political career. Her mother is now a state senator, and Ms. Poe told us she plans to run for city council in the fall.”
This seemed like a clear break in the case. If a woman stalked Gordon back then and it had anything to do with BAS, there were only two possible candidates. “What was the name of the woman who harassed Gordon’s wife?”
“No one knows. The harassment consisted of anonymous threatening notes and messages. Both Gordon’s and his wife’s cars were vandalized numerous times. Along with their apartment.”
“This woman sounds crazy.”
“Well, I haven’t met a lot of emotionally stable stalkers.”
We exchanged rueful smiles. “If the stalking is connected to BAS,” I said, “that narrows the list to Dawn and Leah. Probably Dawn. After all, her company, Vance Designs, is based in Minneapolis. She’s been living there for the past twenty years. Dawn would have been in close proximity to Gordon and his wife. Did the couple ever move to Minneapolis?”
“No. And they were still living in Duluth when they divorced.”
“Doesn’t matter. It can’t be that far from Duluth to Minneapolis.” I bit my lip in frustration. “Although Leah told me at breakfast that her family is from St. Cloud, Minnesota. She was taking care of her mom at the time Gordon got married. It must be either Dawn or Leah. They both had a crush on Gordon. And I told you how I discovered Leah having sex with Gordon in one of the Bramble cabins.”
Holt shrugged. “It’s possible one of them be
came so fixated on Gordon she did harass the newlywed couple. But the harassment could have nothing to do with Sienna’s murder. From all accounts, Gordon Sanderling was quite a good-looking guy. Voted most popular and most handsome by his high school senior class. It wouldn’t be surprising if a girl at Duluth College became obsessed with him while he was there. Anyway, we have no idea who stalked Gordon and his bride eighteen years ago. We have a much better chance of figuring out who ran Christian off the road tonight. That may lead us to whoever buried Sienna’s body in the woods.”
I looked over at Sienna’s friends. They stood in a tight group, facing Detective Trejo with stubborn and resentful expressions. “Zack knows. It’s why he wanted to meet me.”
“You exposed him tonight in front of the others.” He shook his head at me. “If one of them is a killer, he’s in danger.”
“I’m sorry. But he took me by surprise when he lied to my face.” I sighed. “Maybe you can arrest Zack. I smelled alcohol on him, which means he was probably drinking and driving. If he’s in police custody, the killer won’t be able to get to him. Once he’s away from his Bramble, he might admit something.” I gave him a beseeching look. “It’s worth a try.”
“I can’t arrest someone because he walked into a hospital smelling of alcohol.”
I watched as Dawn led an unsteady Zack to a chair. He’d been sober as a judge this afternoon at my wine tasting. What had happened between now and then to cause him to drink again? I thought back to what his berry nickname had been at BAS: Wino. How terrible it must be to wrestle with addiction from such a young age. And then to become friends with a young man whose family had just closed down their winery. I wondered how much free wine Gordon had been able to supply to his Bramble friends that summer. Probably an inexhaustible amount. Again the list of berry nicknames repeated in my brain.
I turned my attention back to Holt. “I feel partly responsible for this. After all, I did find the body. I only wish I could figure out exactly how Sienna died. I want to help, Kit.”
Blackberry Burial Page 23
