by J A Whiting
There was a knock on the door. She turned to it. Another knock sounded. It wasn’t hard and harsh like a man’s fist hitting the wood. It was softer, the noise made by a woman’s knuckles. Angie tried to tell the person to come in, but her throat was tight and no words could escape. She heard the metallic scratching of a key fitting into the lock. The doorknob turned and the door opened. Kim Hutchins entered and called for Nelson. She was unaware of Angie’s presence.
Angie’s vision dimmed to only a pinhole. Voices could be heard. Then the voices grew angry. Euclid and Circe faced the bedroom and hissed. Kim Hutchins raced out of Nelson’s bedroom and hurried to leave the bungalow. The slam of the front door shook the cottage.
Angie’s eyesight slowly returned and with it, a pounding headache. Chief Martin had his arm around her shoulders. He led her to the sofa.
“What happened?” Angie squeaked out the words.
“You stood like a statue. You seemed to be in a trance.” Perspiration beaded on the chief’s forehead.
Just then, Jenna stumbled out of the bedroom and made her way to the chair across from Angie. Her face looked rubbery and white. “Did you see something?”
Angie nodded. “I thought it was real, but it was just a vision.”
Courtney, Mr. Finch, and the cats gathered around. Angie relayed what she’d seen.
“I had a vision too.” Jenna took a deep breath. “Nelson was on the bed. It seemed like he was sleeping. I heard two other people arguing. Then a shadow moved over Nelson. The shadow placed a pillow over his face. And then I heard the gunshot.”
“Could you see the killer’s face?” Chief Martin looked as pale as Jenna.
She shook her head.
Mr. Finch spoke next. “As I moved my hand over the dining table, I could feel energy there. I believe a bottle of pills spilled over and left a trace behind on the wood.”
“Drugs. Pain killers, no doubt.” Chief Martin’s eyebrows knitted together. “Courtney? Anything?”
“I felt the thrumming. I had a flash of a vision. I saw the image of a blonde woman enter Nelson’s bedroom. I could only see her from the back. She wore her hair up. I couldn’t get a sense of her age or see who it was, but she held a gun.” Courtney wrapped her arms around herself.
Euclid let out a hiss.
Chief Martin rubbed the side of his face. “We have some footage from the security camera in front of this bungalow. A woman is seen knocking on the door. Twice.”
All eyes shot to Angie. It was what she’d seen in her vision.
“The woman then opens her purse and removes a phone. She places a call on her cell phone, but it seems that no one answers. She takes out a key and unlocks the door. She isn’t inside for very long. After a bit, she’s seen hurrying from the bungalow. The images are terribly grainy and her features can’t be seen clearly.” The chief cleared his throat. “We obtained cell phone records for Kim Hutchins. As near as we can tell, which is pretty good, she placed a call to Nelson at the same time the woman outside Nelson’s bungalow placed a call.”
“It was Kim who knocked and then unlocked the door.” Angie shook herself and rubbed her temple. “Was there any luck tracing all that money that went into Kim’s account?”
“Not yet. It’s a process that is very time-consuming.”
“So it’s looking pretty good that Kim killed Nelson.” Courtney leaned back in the chair.
Circe was sitting on her lap. She let out a low guttural growl.
“Whoa, little one.” Courtney patted the black cat’s head. “Take it easy.”
Jenna pondered. “Piecing it together, it seems that Kim must have been furious that Nelson derailed her career by not running for Senate and because he let her go from her job as his assistant because he had a thing for her that she did not reciprocate.”
Courtney said, “Maybe Nelson gave Kim that huge amount of cash. Maybe he felt awful that he was damaging her career and wanted to help her by giving her money.”
Angie’s eyes narrowed. “The bartender said Nelson got a call when he was sitting at the bar. He took the call and then left in a hurry. That was shortly before he was killed.” She looked at the chief. “Can you find out who called him?”
“We know who called him. It was his Boston drug dealer arriving in Sweet Cove with a stash of pills for Nelson. Nelson had run out of his pain killers.” The chief stood up, a scowl on his face. “I’ll be talking with Kim Hutchins early in the morning.”
As the group filed out of the bungalow into the darkness, Angie felt a sense of dread running through her veins. Something was off, but she couldn’t quite put the puzzle pieces together.
Chapter 24
Angie borrowed Jenna’s station wagon to make her early morning bakery deliveries. She couldn’t wait to open her bake shop in the Victorian and be able to just walk down the stairs to work each morning. Backing out of the driveway, Angie saw the plainclothes police officer sitting in an unmarked car across from her house. He was there to keep an eye on Kim Hutchins until Chief Martin drove over to pick her up for questioning.
Zaps of electricity pulsed down Angie’s spine. Heading to the resort, anxiety pounded in her chest and she didn’t know why she couldn’t shake the unease. It seemed clear that Kim was Nelson’s killer. She had motive and opportunity and was seen entering and leaving the bungalow around the time that Nelson was killed. Then why did Angie feel something was wrong?
She blew out a long breath of air as she pulled into the resort and drove around to the delivery door. She parked and lifted the back hatch so that she could remove a long metal tray of baked treats. She headed for the kitchen entrance. The door opened and a young man took the tray. A woman signed the receipt.
Angie had wanted to do something nice for Josh, so she’d made him his favorite dessert, a pear frangipane tart. She drove around to the front of the resort and carried the treat inside. She knew Josh was away on a short business trip and was returning later in the day, so she asked the concierge to place the tart in Josh’s refrigerator.
Hurrying down the hallway to return to the parking lot, Angie passed the breakfast room and spotted Nelson’s sister, Georgia Rider, sitting alone at a table sipping tea. Angie paused, and then making a decision, entered the stylish café where she walked over to Georgia’s table and re-introduced herself. “May I join you?” When Georgia looked up, something like an icy cold finger skittered down Angie’s back.
Georgia was dressed in a cream-colored linen skirt and jacket. Her white shirt had a small, diamond dragonfly pinned to the collar. She was wearing tortoise-shell glass frames. Her nails were the palest shade of pearly pink and her white-blonde bob was blow-dried to perfection.
In her blue skirt, sandals, and sleeveless yellow shirt, Angie felt like a frump standing next to the refined, successful businesswoman. Georgia’s face showed recognition and she gestured to the chair opposite.
“I’m leaving right after breakfast. I’m flying back to New York.” Georgia buttered her slice of toast, and then waved the waiter over to take Angie’s order for tea.
“I had deliveries to make here.” Angie explained her baking business which also seemed frumpy in light of Georgia being the CEO of a multi-national financial firm. “Did you fly up from New York the night Nelson died?”
The woman nodded. “Though technically, it was the next morning.” Georgia seemed more elegant and restrained than she’d been at Nelson’s remembrance service. Angie could picture her running a large company and controlling a boardroom. Georgia’s phone buzzed and she checked the screen. “I must take this call. Excuse me.” She rose and walked into the resort lobby to speak to the person on the phone.
Angie looked out the window. Her arms and legs felt twitchy. She squirmed in her seat. Something was picking at her. Something wasn’t right. Her phone buzzed with a text message. It was Ellie. She and Jack Ford wanted to take the train up to Newburyport for some shopping and sightseeing in the historic district. They would return the followi
ng evening. Ellie wanted to know if Angie would be around to tend the B and B while she was gone. Angie replied that she’d be glad to help out and wished her sister a fun time. She placed her phone on the table just as Georgia returned and slid into her seat as easily as the last puzzle piece fits into its space and completes the picture.
The train.
Ellie’s text about taking the train triggered the memory in Angie’s mind of helping Georgia return items to her purse when she’d dropped it at the memorial service. There was a receipt for the train from New York to Boston. For the day before Nelson was killed.
Did Georgia Rider kill her brother?
An icy shudder ran down Angie’s spine. When she looked across the table at the woman, she had to suppress a gasp. “I’ve lost track of time,” Angie stammered. “I need to finish my deliveries.” She tossed a few dollars on the table for the tea and rushed from the room. Hurrying to the car, she called Chief Martin and informed him of her idea about Georgia. Then she told him where she was headed next.
***
Angie swerved into the Victorian’s driveway so fast that the tires squealed. The unmarked police car was parked at the curb so she knew Kim Hutchins was still inside. She jogged to the front porch, opened the door, and rushed into the foyer. Kim, sitting at the dining table, looked up in surprise when the young woman burst into the room.
Angie caught her breath. “You need to talk. Come into the sunroom with me.” Not waiting to see if Kim would follow, she turned on her heel and hurried away through the living room to the other room. When Angie reached the sunroom, she saw Mr. Finch sitting by the windows reading. He looked up just as Kim came in behind her.
Finch stood and extended his hand. “Although we’ve seen each other coming and going, I don’t believe we’ve formally met. Victor Finch.”
Kim accepted the man’s handshake. “Kim Hutchins.”
Holding the woman’s hand, Finch felt the jolt he was expecting. This was indeed the woman who had bashed him over the head at Nelson’s memorial service. He raised an eyebrow to Angie and nodded.
“You need to be straight with us.” Angie’s voice was urgent. “Police Chief Martin will be here any minute. There is security camera footage of you at Nelson’s bungalow shortly before he was killed.”
“What do you want to know?” Kim’s voice trembled.
“Perhaps you could start by explaining why you knocked me over the head.” Finch placed both hands over the top of his cane.
Kim shook her head. “I didn’t….”
“You may stop right there.” Finch looked over the top of his eyeglasses. “The truth, please.”
Kim sank onto the sofa just as Chief Martin entered the room, followed by Euclid and Circe. The cats leaped up onto the desk against the wall and turned their gaze on Kim. Angie was glad to see that neither feline hissed or growled as they watched the woman. Now she was sure that Kim Hutchins did not kill Nelson Rider.
The attractive blonde seemed so tiny sitting alone on the sofa. Her voice was but a whisper when she said, “I’d like to speak to the chief alone.”
Angie blinked. She, the cats, and Mr. Finch headed out of the sunroom. Before they disappeared from view, Kim called to Finch, “I’m sorry about hitting you.”
Finch turned back, gave a slight nod, and walked away.
***
The next afternoon, Ellie came in through the Victorian’s front door looking happy and calm from her trip to Newburyport with Jack Ford. She spotted her sisters, the cats, and Mr. Finch sitting together in the living room and her face drooped. “What’s happened now?”
“Plenty.” Courtney called Ellie in to take a seat. “The killer has been caught.”
“What?” Ellie sat in the side chair. “I leave for a day and everything is solved?”
Jenna smiled. “Angie figured it out.”
“But only with your help.” Angie nodded at Ellie.
“I wasn’t even here. How did I help?” Ellie’s forehead creased with confusion.
The group explained how Ellie’s train trip had triggered Angie’s memory of seeing Georgia’s train receipt.
“Georgia claimed to have flown to Boston from New York on the corporate jet the morning after Nelson was killed. The jet flew from New York, but Georgia wasn’t on it. She arranged for the company’s plane to fly to Boston so that she could say she was a passenger. In fact, she took the train to Boston and arrived in Sweet Cove the day before the murder. She planned to kill her brother that very night,” Jenna explained.
“But why?” Ellie’s voice went up an octave.
Angie sighed. “Nelson refused to do Georgia’s bidding any longer. He wasn’t going to marry Bethany. He wasn’t going to run for the Senate. He was done taking orders about his life. She was infuriated by his refusals and by his drug use since he wouldn’t kick his habit. Georgia wasn’t going to let him cause a scandal and embarrass the family or their company.”
Mr. Finch picked up the story. “Kim Hutchins arrived at the bungalow that night. She had a key to the suite, given to her by the brother, Geoffrey, so she could check on Nelson. When she went inside, Georgia was there. Georgia claimed that Nelson shot himself. She pretended to be distraught and asked Kim to move the gun from the bed to the dresser. When Kim touched the gun, Georgia sneered at her and told her that now Kim’s fingerprints were the only ones on the weapon. Georgia had broken into the bungalow through the back window. She’d worn gloves to conceal her fingerprints.”
Courtney continued the tale. “It was an added bonus that Nelson got high while Georgia was hiding in the bedroom waiting for him. Nelson made it easy for her. He took his drugs, lay down on the bed, fell asleep, and she shot him. Kim came in a few minutes later. Georgia threatened to bring the gun with Kim’s fingerprints to the police. She told Kim she’d be the only one on the security tape since Georgia came and went through the back window. Kim was terrified of being accused of Nelson’s murder. As an added incentive to make Kim seem guilty, Georgia had the large cash deposit credited to Kim’s bank account.”
“It made Kim look like she received a payoff for killing Nelson.” Angie scratched Circe’s cheek. “Georgia also sent those threatening letters to Todd Moore. She was trying to scare him away from Bethany.”
Jenna sipped from her water glass. “The day Kim ran out of her room so suddenly was because Georgia wanted to speak with her about keeping quiet. She told Kim to come to the rental mansion right away or she would tell the police Kim was the killer. Georgia was staying at the mansion as Senator Winston’s guest. She made the company’s human resource manager make all the calls to Kim so there was no trace of contact from Georgia.”
Angie sighed. “Chief Martin arrested Georgia for her brother’s murder. Charges will be filed against Kim, but they will probably be minor due to Georgia threatening her.”
Mr. Finch said, “Miss Hutchins admitted to hitting me in a panic. Ms. Georgia Rider had the murder weapon at the memorial. At an opportune moment, she placed the gun in Miss Kim’s purse, and then made the anonymous call to the police. When Kim opened her handbag and saw the gun, she panicked, and tried to find a place to hide it at the rental mansion. I interrupted her and she struck me with the fireplace poker.”
“Good grief.” Ellie shook her head slowly. “We got sucked into this whole mess because the Winston’s hired us for their wedding.” She exhaled. “No more wedding events for us. They’re too much trouble.”
The three sisters and Mr. Finch made eye contact with one another and smiled.
Courtney giggled. “It’s too late. We’re already involved in a new wedding.”
Ellie was dumbfounded and looked at the others wondering what was going on. “How? I was only away for a day.”
Everyone chuckled.
The cats trilled.
Chapter 25
The early evening sky mimicked the beauty and color of Ellie’s backyard flower gardens, with streaks of pink and lavender against the blue. White fluffy
clouds passed high overhead. The pergola had been decorated with garlands of flowers, flowing diaphanous fabric, and baby-blue and pink colored ribbons. White wooden folding chairs were placed in two groups in front of the patio trellises. The lawn had been freshly mowed and the gardens spilled over with fragrant blossoms.
Angie wore her apron over her pale pink dress. She bent to place white roses on each layer of the wedding cake making them seem like a flowing waterfall curving along the side of the confection. She pushed some strands of hair away from her face with the back of her hand and reached for the pastry bag to pipe some decorative bits of frosting around the flowers.
Courtney came into the kitchen for some silverware. “Whoa. That cake is gorgeous.” She wore her honey hair half up and half down and had on a soft yellow sleeveless dress that flowed around her ankles. Gold colored heels completed her outfit.
Tom and Rufus came in looking handsome in their suits. Angie gave them instructions on how to safely carry the cake out to the garden. She followed behind clucking suggestions as they inched their way down the back stairs carrying the masterpiece to the small cake table.
The four piece string quartet arrived and set up to the side on the lawn. Four people arrived that the Roselands didn’t know and introductions were made. One of the young women went inside the carriage house to the second floor apartment, just as Mr. Finch came over the property line from his house, arm and arm with Betty Hayes.
“You’re looking very dapper in your new suit, Mr. Finch.” Courtney beamed at the man. Finch had purchased a summer-weight light gray suit for the occasion.
Jack Ford and Josh Williams came down the driveway of the Victorian, both looking handsome as usual. Ellie gave Jack a hug while Josh hurried over to give Angie a sweet kiss.
