Close Knit Killer

by Maggie Sefton

  “Hey, Lisa, are you at the fields already?” Kelly asked, noticing her friend’s name.

  “I sure am, and it’s a good thing. The Cheyenne team has brought in a whole bunch of fans, and the bleachers on this side are nearly full. I’m saving a place for you and Megan.”

  “Good. Steve’s on his way. Hopefully traffic will cooperate.”

  “Let’s hope. Pete and Jennifer are coming, and bringing Cassie.”

  “That’s great! Cassie will enjoy it, I bet. She’s really doing well at my summer clinic. Most of the girls at that age haven’t had a chance to play before, and some are slow to get a feel for it. You know, throwing and catching and stuff.”

  “Have they started batting yet?”

  “They start next week,” Kelly said. “That should be fun. I may use the little kids T-ball holder for the first couple of times.”

  “That’s a good idea. Hey, my schedule is a little lighter next week. Why don’t I come over and help out and pitch a few times. Real slow.”

  “That would be great! Thanks, Lisa. You’re a sweetie.”

  “By the way, Greg and I went over to Pete and Jen’s last night. I’d had a chance to talk with Cassie yesterday afternoon, so I thought it would be a good time for Greg to come and meet her. He also brought that spare laptop for Cassie to use.”

  “Wow . . . I bet she was excited when she saw it.” Kelly chuckled. “Those big blue eyes must have popped out.”

  Lisa laughed softly. “I’ll say. She was mega excited. She got on it right away. She hadn’t had a chance to get on Pete’s old laptop, and Jennifer keeps hers at the real estate office. So Greg helped her get all set up and onto a faster e-mail program than her grandpa used. With Pete’s permission, of course. Apparently Grandpa Ben monitored Cassie’s computer time closely, so Pete said he’d continue that.”

  “Boy, will they have their hands full. I hear all sorts of horror stories from my Warner colleagues in Denver. Some of their kids spend all their spare time online.”

  “Oh, yeah, I hear the same at the sports center and at the university. It sounds like some kids never get away from the computer screen. They don’t play sports or anything. Call me old-fashioned, but I think kids need to be outside involved in some physical activities after school. Keeps them healthy.”

  “I agree,” Kelly said. “I was in every sport they offered after school whether I was good at it or not. All through junior and senior high school.”

  “So was I. Let’s hope Cassie will stay interested enough to keep playing. Plus, it’s a good way for her to make new friends. She’ll be starting seventh grade this fall. New school, new people.”

  That comment surprised Kelly. “Do you think Cassie will still be living with Jennifer and Pete this fall?”

  “Actually, I mentioned that to Pete and Jen when we were over there last night. Greg and Cassie were hunched over the laptop. So I asked about Ben and how he was doing. Judging from what the doctors have told Pete, Ben is in for a long recuperation just to be able to move into a wheelchair. Rehab is going to be excruciatingly slow for someone his age and in his weakened condition. I’ve had some patients like that over the years, and it is a laborious process. Sometimes you’ll get a patient who was active before surgery and who was in good physical shape beforehand. But from what I’ve heard, Ben was neither. So, I had to tell them my professional therapist’s opinion was that Ben will not be returning to his home for a year at least, if ever. Most probably, he will transfer from the hospital to a combo hospital–rehab center for the next several months. With luck, he may be able to move into an assisted living facility, but I doubt it. He’ll most likely need skilled nursing care.”

  “Wow . . .” was all Kelly could say, given the enormity of what Lisa told her. “I had no idea.”

  “Most people don’t, Kelly,” Lisa said with a sigh. “Only those of us who work in health and rehabilitation know what’s happening. How serious it is. So, I advised Pete and Jen to inquire into what was necessary to enroll Cassie in Fort Connor schools. It’s already June. Fall will be here before you know it.”

  “Bite your tongue,” Kelly chided. “Summer’s my favorite season, so I refuse to even think about its end.”

  “Okay, okay.” Lisa laughed. “Hey, here come Pete and Jen and Cassie. Listen, hurry up and get here.”

  “I’m on my way,” Kelly promised, and clicked off the phone. Tossing it into the adjoining seat, she revved her car’s engine and turned onto the street leading to the north part of Fort Connor.

  * * *

  “All right, Marteeee!” Megan yelled, jumping up from her bleacher seat to cheer her husband as he ran from home plate toward first base. The grounder he’d hit into left field gave the long-legged redhead time to reach base before the outfielder sent the ball in his direction.

  “Way to go, Marty!” Pete yelled. Marty turned and gave a wave to Kelly and friends bunched together on the bleachers.

  “He’s Megan’s husband?” Cassie asked, pointing to the wiry redhead.

  “Yes, poor Megan.” Pete made a sorrowful face, which caused Cassie to giggle.

  “It’s a messy job, but somebody has to do it,” Kelly added.

  “Who’s that?” Cassie pointed to home base, where Steve was at bat.

  “That’s Steve. He’s my boyfriend,” she added, sensing Cassie was trying to place people in her mind.

  “And he’s got the big bat,” Pete added.

  Cassie peered at the field. “His bat doesn’t look any bigger than the others,” she observed.

  Pete grinned. “That means he hits it out of the park a lot. Home runs.”

  “Ohhhh,” Cassie said, nodding.

  Kelly watched the opposing team’s pitcher send a low pitch over the plate. Steve let it pass. Ball one. The next pitch, however, fell right in the middle. Oh, boy, Kelly thought as Steve swung the bat, meeting the ball in the sweet spot. “Yessss!” She could tell as soon as she saw Steve’s smooth, powerful follow-through. Not surprisingly, the ball sailed up, up, and over the fence.

  “What’d I tell you?” Pete laughed. “Yay, Steve!”

  “Wow! He’s good!” Cassie cried, as they all jumped up and cheered.

  “I’d say it’s time for popcorn and soda,” Pete said, beckoning Cassie from the stands. “You guys want any?”

  “Naw, I’m good,” Kelly said.

  Jennifer moved over on the bleachers closer to Kelly. “While they’re gone at the snack stand, I wanted to tell you that those two detectives came into the café yesterday while you were in Denver. They questioned all of us again about the day of Rizzoli’s murder. I think they were hoping maybe we’d remember something else.”

  “Did you guys recall anything more?”

  “Heck, no. Eduardo, Julie, and I still don’t remember a thing. It was all we could do to keep up with the customers. Of course, the temp help wasn’t there yesterday, so the detectives will have to track them down at their other jobs and in between classes at the university. They asked for a copy of their schedules so I gave them the one you made.”

  “Did they ask anything else? Anything different from the last time?” Kelly probed.

  “Matter of fact, yeah. They took me aside and asked if I had any communication with Rizzoli the day he died. I told them I met Rizzoli at the real estate office right after lunch. I needed to give him his copy of the signed contract. He said he’d call me later that weekend and firm up closing details because he planned to leave town the next day. He’d return to Fort Connor for closing.

  She leaned closer. “Then the cops told me they found a text message on Rizzoli’s phone sent from my phone Friday afternoon of the day he died! The message said I wanted him to meet me in Lambspun parking lot at seven p.m. Can you believe that? That’s the day my phone went missing!”

  Kelly stared at Jennifer. “Good Lord! That can’t be an accident, Jen. That’s the day Rizzoli was killed. That means the murderer stole your phone and used it to set up Rizzoli!” />
  Immediately, images of Barbara and Malcolm started dancing through Kelly’s head. Both of them had been in Lambspun on the day of Rizzoli’s murder.

  Jennifer’s expression saddened. “I know what you’re thinking, because I’m thinking the same thing.”

  “Barbara and Malcolm. They were both in the shop that day. So, both of them would have had the opportunity to take your cell phone.”

  “Aside from you and the Lambspun and café staff, the only people who knew I was doing a real estate deal with Rizzoli were Barbara and Malcolm. They’d both seen me with Rizzoli outside.”

  “So it would be natural for you and Rizzoli to exchange phone calls and text messages,” Kelly continued, sorting through the images in her head.

  “That’s right,” Jennifer said, nodding.

  “And Barbara and Malcolm are the only ones who threatened Rizzoli in public.” Kelly released an exasperated sigh. “And to make matters even worse, neither Barbara nor Malcolm can explain their whereabouts the evening of Rizzoli’s murder.”

  “Oh, brother,” Jennifer said, shaking her head.

  Kelly stared off into the trees surrounding the ball fields. “After I found your phone Saturday, did you check the messages?”

  “Of course, but not right away. As you know, we were swamped Saturday even with Doreen and Bridget. So I never even had time to check for messages until it had slowed down a little after lunch. I didn’t know there was a message sent from my phone, so all I saw was Rizzoli’s message to me. By then, we all knew that it was Rizzoli who was dead in his car outside. So when I saw a message from Rizzoli confirming that he would meet me outside Lambspun at seven p.m., it freaked me out. You know, like he wanted me to find him in his car dead or something. Yuck!” She gave a dramatic shudder. “Naturally, I didn’t mention it to anyone.”

  “You told the cops all this, right?”

  “Of course. They looked really interested and wrote down every word I said. They showed me the message on Rizzoli’s phone and I found it in my ‘Sent’ file. It was real short. Meet me in Lambspun parking lot at seven p.m. That’s all.”

  “What else did the detectives ask you?”

  “They also wanted me to tell them exactly where I went that Friday after I left Lambspun. And they said they needed to confirm my whereabouts that evening. I told them I did errands at a couple of stores, then went to see you guys.” She sighed. “Thank goodness, that seemed to satisfy them.”

  “Don’t worry, Jen. We’ll vouch for you,” Kelly said with a smile, patting her friend on the back. “I’ll tell Burt you were questioned. Meanwhile, see if you still have any of those receipts from shopping Friday afternoon and early evening. They’ll have date and time and location on them. Proof positive that you were in another location entirely. And we can verify when you arrived at Megan and Marty’s.”

  “Proof positive, huh?” Jennifer said, her smile relaxing a bit. “I like the sound of that.”

  Twelve

  “Hey, Kelly,” Connie greeted her as she stepped into the foyer of Lambspun. “Where were you the last two days?”

  “Day before yesterday I was in Denver all day and overnight, and yesterday I was huddled with my other client, the real estate investor here in Fort Connor.” Kelly fingered some of the fuzzy balls of synthetic fiber Connie was stacking in a pile.

  “Well, you missed the excitement. Those police detectives came to question all of us again. They wanted to see if we remembered anything else about the day Rizzoli was killed.”

  Kelly kept from smiling at Connie’s dramatic description. “Yes, I saw Jennifer at the guys’ baseball game last night, and she told me the police questioned everyone in the café again. So, they came in here, too, huh?”

  “You bet they did!” Connie said emphatically. “That’s three times we’ve been questioned. I’ll bet it’s because we’ve got these big windows, and we can see everything that’s going on outside!”

  Kelly couldn’t keep her grin hidden. “Well, you’re right about that. When I stopped in the café that Saturday, I had to come over here to get a look at what the cops were doing outside. That’s when I spotted Rizzoli’s car being towed away, remember?”

  Connie’s index finger jabbed the air. “You’re right! That’s when I recognized it as Rizzoli’s, too.”

  “Did the cops question Hal Nelson and Malcolm again? Or did you notice?”

  Connie nodded vigorously. “Oh, yeah. You betcha! They questioned both of them again. And they also questioned Madge, too.” Connie’s expression changed. “Poor Madge. I felt sorry for her. Having to answer questions about her daughter like that.”

  Concerned about Barbara, Kelly picked up on Connie’s comment. “Has Barbara been in this week? I haven’t seen her since right before Rizzoli was killed. Have you?”

  Connie shook her head, her expression conveying her obvious concern. “No, Kelly. And I’m worried. I’ve asked Madge about her, and all she says is Barbara feels really guilty about how she acted with Rizzoli before he . . . uh, he was killed, you know. You know, she’s yelling at him and accusing him of all those terrible things, then someone goes out and kills him!” Connie’s voice dropped into conspiratorial range again.

  “Did Madge mention if police have questioned Barbara again or not?” Kelly asked, worried now.

  “Yes, they went to see Barbara that night. Madge told me when she came in yesterday to teach the spinning class.”

  “Did Madge give any idea how it went? Anything at all?”

  Connie’s expression saddened. “Madge is really worried. She said she could tell from the detectives’ tones of voice that they were suspicious of Barbara’s whereabouts the night Rizzoli was killed.”

  Kelly was about to ask Connie more, but a customer suddenly walked up with yarn skeins in hand. So Kelly retreated to the corner armchair. Clearly, the police had drawn the same conclusions that she and Jennifer had. And now they were zeroing in on Barbara and Malcolm.

  * * *

  Kelly looked up from her laptop screen and noticed Hal Nelson climbing the back steps into the café. She rose from the chair near the back and stepped over to open the door for him. “Hi, Hal. How’re you guys doing out there?”

  “Thanks, Kelly,” Hal said as he entered, well-worn coffee mug in hand. “We’re doing pretty well, considering we’ve had some interruptions.” He gave her a wry smile.

  “Yes, I heard the police returned to question you and Malcolm again,” she said, walking with him toward the waitress station.

  “I bet you want a refill,” Julie said, walking up to Hal. “You need any more, Kelly?”

  “No, thanks, I’m good.” Kelly held up her hand. She waited until Julie returned Hal’s full mug to him and they had stepped away before she continued her questions. “Tell me, Hal. How did Malcolm hold up under police questioning this time? They were bound to be more intensive than the first time.”

  Hal nodded. “Malcolm held up okay, I guess. They asked about that evening, and Malcolm admitted a few things, but not a lot. He remembered I dropped him off in Old Town, where he went to a liquor store and bought a bottle of whiskey. Then he walked down to the river trail and sat under a tree in one of his old hiding places near the bridge over the Poudre River. Then he said he sat there and drank. Unfortunately, he doesn’t remember anything after that.”

  Kelly met Hal’s sad gaze. “Oh, no. I remember Jayleen and Jerry telling me about a place where Malcolm and some others liked to roll up in their bedrolls and sleep in the leaves not far from the bridge crossing. That’s right down the street from Lambspun and the golf course.”

  “I know, Kelly. That puts Malcolm right over here in the vicinity of where Jared Rizzoli showed up in his car that evening.”

  Both Kelly and Hal stared at each other, and Kelly could read her own thoughts in Hal’s eyes. Not good. Not good at all.

  * * *

  “Hey, Kelly, good to see you,” Megan said as she walked toward Kelly’s table by the window. �
��I didn’t see you at the table working, so I thought you were still at the cottage.”

  “I was for morning phone calls, but I left to work outside. However, this heat is getting so bad, I had to escape into the air-conditioning.”

  Megan sipped from her coffee cup. “I know what you mean. I’ve switched over to iced coffee. You should, too. I don’t know how you take that hot, hot coffee in this weather.”

  “I’m thinking about it, believe me. It’s gotta be ninety-eight degrees outside, and it’s early June. This is crazy.” Kelly leaned back in her chair. “Aren’t you going to tennis with Cassie?”

  “Yeah, she was finishing up a project with Mimi, so I decided to get a refill.”

  “How’s she doing? She’s really learning a lot at my softball clinic.”

  Megan’s eyes went wide. “Oh, yeah. She’s picking up tennis quickly, too. She’s hitting the ball squarely, and her swing is nice and natural. I think we’ve got a budding athlete here.”

  Kelly grinned. “Excellent. Is she meeting kids over there? That’s what’s so good about the clinic. There are several girls her age.”

  “Oh, yeah. There are at least three other seventh-grade girls taking classes. All good. And tomorrow Cassie will get to meet all of Curt’s family. Lots of kids in that bunch. Marty and I will be over at the Stackhouse spread the entire day, helping ride herd over them. Jayleen told me she’s bringing Cassie with her. And the chili.” She winked at Kelly.

  “Is Marty gonna bring Spot the Wonder Dog along? To entertain the kids, I mean?”

  Megan rolled her eyes. “Please, don’t remind me. He probably will.” She drained the cup and tossed it into the trash. “Listen, you guys beat that team tomorrow, you hear? Or I’ll be all over you next week. Got it?”

  Kelly whipped out her version of a Star Trooper salute. “Heard and obeyed, Commander!”

  Megan gave a dismissive wave, ignoring Kelly’s laughter on her way out. Kelly settled back at her laptop once again, ready to return to her clients’ accounts, when Julie stepped over to her table.