Caught Dead Handed

by Lyndsey Cole

  Hannah found Ruby and Samantha in the backyard. She burst out laughing at the sight of their antics. Ruby held the hose while Samantha used a soft brush to loosen the mud off Petunia’s sides. Petunia held her snout in the air and Hannah was sure she heard a contented grunt and groan. Maisy danced around the whole affair, dashing in and out to lick water dripping off Petunia.

  “You should invite Harold over here to get shots of this scene. It might not win a beauty award, but I think it might get first place for comedy.”

  Samantha glared and used her shoulder to push some stray hairs out of her face as she kept on scrubbing.

  “I think Petunia rolls in the mud just so she gets this special spa treatment,” Hannah teased.

  “I want her to look her best for the photos; not like she belongs at some amusement event,” Samantha said as she huffed and puffed and worked off the mud. She straightened. “How does she look?”

  “Great, but you’d better have Ruby turn that hose on you, Samantha. You’ve got mud splattered from your cheeks to your toes.”

  Samantha rubbed her face and looked down. “Great. I was supposed to be back at the beach ten minutes ago. Can I hop in your shower, Ruby?”

  Ruby angled the hose up so a nice spray fell over Samantha. “Sure.”

  “Hey!” Samantha jumped away from the water. “A hot shower in your house, you ninny. Not this ice water.”

  As soon as Samantha leaped to the side, Petunia spooked and took off down the road.

  “This is all your fault, Hannah. Ruby and I were doing great until you showed up. What am I supposed to do now?” Samantha’s bottom lip puffed out. She even sniffled.

  “Go take your shower. I’ll head Petunia off at The Fishy Dish. I’m sure she’ll go there first looking for a treat from Meg.” Or a customer eating something tasty, she said to herself. She turned to Ruby. “Can you go to Jack’s house? He needs help finding something in the basement.”

  Ruby’s eyebrows jumped up under her bangs. “Were you going to help him?”

  Hannah nodded.

  “Did you have a panic attack?”

  “Yes. Can you help? I can’t believe that old fear snuck up on me again after all these years.”

  Ruby turned off the faucet and coiled the hose. “What is he looking for?”

  “Great Aunt Caroline’s guest sign-in books.”

  “Okay. You must be hoping to find the name of that other model. I asked Juliette but she was evasive. Something weird happened during that visit.”

  The two sisters walked together until Ruby turned into Jack’s driveway and Hannah continued alone to her snack bar. Even if they found the name of the model, how would Hannah track her down? Why was Juliette protecting her? Would she be able to tell them anything that might connect to Monique’s murder? Those questions had no answers. Yet.

  As she neared the outside picnic tables, she heard a screech. Great. Petunia must be after someone’s feet again.

  Hannah jogged through the parking lot. What met her eyes was even funnier than Samantha giving Petunia a bath. Both Gwen and Colin huddled together on top of one of the picnic tables while Petunia stood with her front feet on the bench seat and tried to reach Gwen’s toes. Actually, Colin crouched behind Gwen and continued to eat his ice cream cone. Really? And Gwen expected Colin to help her with an alibi for Monique’s murder?

  Hannah picked up the end of Petunia’s leash and pulled her back so she had to drop her front feet off the seat. “I hope you didn’t give her your ice cream,” she said to Gwen.

  “I didn’t have any.” Gwen lowered her voice and looked around. “Well, I had a couple of licks of Colin’s, but don’t tell Harold.”

  Hannah used her thumb and index finger to zip her lips closed. “Of course not. Petunia seems to have taken quite a liking to you, Gwen. Maybe Harold will want you in the photos with her.”

  Gwen’s carefully-plucked eyebrows lowered, causing a big wrinkle to form between them. “He can’t pay me enough.”

  Colin, regaining his courage as soon as Hannah had Petunia under control, jumped off the picnic table and extended his hand to help Gwen climb down. “So, it’s all set? I was with you at your break when everyone was looking for Monique?”

  “Oh, Colin. I’m glad you remembered. And you told that policewoman, right?” Gwen rubbed her hand up and down Colin’s arm.

  Hannah felt like throwing up as she watched Gwen manipulate the poor guy. Was he so desperate for a date that he’d lie for her to the police? “Gee, Colin, I remember seeing you talking to Ruby when everyone was looking for Monique. How could you be in two places at once?”

  Gwen’s eyes narrowed as she pulled her hand away from Colin. She took a step away not realizing she was moving closer to Petunia, but Petunia didn’t miss the opportunity to stick her moist nose on Gwen’s bare toes.

  Gwen’s mouth opened but nothing came out. For about six long seconds.

  Then an ear piercing scream almost broke Hannah’s ear drums.

  But it was worth it to see Gwen jump back up on the picnic table in one leap.

  And the look on her face when Deputy Pam Larson pulled into the parking lot was the icing on the cake.

  Colin mumbled something about needing to get back to work.

  “Are you still taking me to dinner tonight, Colin?” Gwen yelled as he headed toward his car.

  He glanced quickly back at Gwen. “I’ll pick you up at five.” Then he diverted his eyes and hustled past Pam as she headed straight toward the snack bar.

  It was impossible for Hannah to miss Colin’s nervous behavior, but what puzzled her the most was the cause.

  Chapter 20

  Pam greeted the teenager working for Hannah at the ice cream window of The Fishy Dish. Having summer help was priceless as far as Hannah was concerned, especially when she found such a motivated and hardworking teenager. “How’s it going, Chelsea? Are there any new flavors I might like?”

  “Hello, Pam,” Hannah said before Chelsea had a chance to respond. “You might like Udder Chocolate Chip Delight. It’s been my most popular flavor so far.”

  Pam licked her lips. “That sounds too good to pass up. I’d like a double on a waffle cone, please.” She turned facing the ocean and leaned against the counter. “Anything new with my father?”

  Hannah shook her head. “Nothing he has felt the need to share with me. Anything new with your investigation?” She didn’t expect any information but it couldn’t hurt to ask.

  Pam smiled. “I just stopped at Dad’s house. He and your sister were looking through some interesting books…of Caroline’s.”

  “Here you go, Deputy Larson.” Chelsea handed a mountain of ice cream to Pam and accepted her money. “I’ll get your change.”

  “No need. Add it to your college fund, Chelsea.” Pam moved away from the ice cream window, licking her cone before it had time to drip all over her hand.

  Hannah followed.

  “This is delicious. Good recommendation.” Pam stared at the ocean.

  “About the investigation?” Hannah prompted.

  “Oh yeah, that’s what we were talking about. How about we help each other out? You tell me if you discover the name of the model who was staying here with Juliette and Harold six years ago. Searching in Caroline’s old guest books was a brilliant idea, by the way. I’ll tell you that alibis are starting to pour in.” Pam licked her cone but kept her eyes squarely on Hannah’s face.

  “What alibis?”

  “What’s the name?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m happy to share it with you if we figure it out.”

  Pam enjoyed a bite of the waffle cone. “Do you really think it will help pull Juliette out of the deep hole she’s gotten herself into?”

  “I don’t know the answer to that either, but I do think it will help shed light on the current mystery. Only time will tell who it helps or hurts.”

  Pam nodded. “I’m glad you have an open mind because I’ll share this with you, Hannah, Ruby�
��s friend has a lot of explaining to do.”

  Hannah forced her voice to stay calm. Pam always knew just how to push her buttons. “What about Harold? He said Monique was driving him crazy. And what about Gwen? Now she doesn’t have any competition for the modeling jobs with Harold or for becoming his newest girlfriend. Or, even Colin who, I think, might be lying for Gwen.”

  Pam’s eyebrows shot up and she choked as she finished swallowing the last of the waffle cone. She pounded her chest. “That’s news,” she blurted out as soon as she could talk again. “What do you mean, he might be lying?”

  “Okay…I don’t know what the truth is, but Gwen told me she was going to ask Colin to say he was with her when she was on her break.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I was with Ruby when Colin was discussing Monique’s disappearance with her. He was in the hall outside the main door for the pool area, not where Gwen said she was taking her break which was near the opposite door.”

  Pam wiped her fingers on her khaki pants and pulled a notebook and pen out of her breast pocket. She jotted some notes. “I’m still waiting to get the security videos. That might clear up some of these conflicting stories of who was where when. In the meantime, don’t forget to get me that model’s name when you uncover it.”

  Pam walked to the picnic table where Gwen sat touching up the red on her fingernails. At the same time, Harold made a big detour around the picnic table toward Hannah.

  “You have the pig, but where’s Samantha?” He checked the time on his phone. “I told her to meet me here a half hour ago. What happened? Are you filling in instead?”

  “First, Mr. Chandler, this is Petunia, not the pig as you refer to her. Got it?”

  Harold opened his mouth but Hannah continued without giving him a chance to reply. “If you plan to photograph her, she needs a contract like any other model you hire.”

  He snorted. “You’re kidding. The only four-legged model that has a contract with me is Maisy, and I expect that will change once Juliette gets arrested for killing Monique.”

  “What makes you so sure of yourself about that?”

  “Oh, come on. Just because she gave you some sob story about how I mistreated a model before she and I got married doesn’t mean I killed Monique. Juliette is the one with a strong motive to kill her. After all, Monique is the reason our marriage fell apart. And, besides, Juliette walked right through the pool area.”

  Hannah’s ears pricked up at the mention of Harold’s past treatment of a model. “Your past might come back to haunt you when that model reveals herself and the sordid details of that harassment charge.” Hannah had no idea what she was talking about but if she pretended she had knowledge of some details, maybe she could force Harold’s hand.

  He leaned close to Hannah’s face. She smelled a combination of fish breath and suntan lotion. It was nearly as unpleasant as the sneer on his face and almost made her gag. “If she dares to come out of whatever rock she’s been hiding under, she’ll be subjecting herself to a lawsuit that she won’t win. I made sure of that.”

  “Yoo-hoo! Harold, sorry I’m a tad late. Oh good.” Samantha stopped next to Hannah and took a few seconds to catch her breath. “You have Petunia.” She took the leash. “Where do you want to do the photographs?”

  Samantha blinked her eyelashes that looked longer than usual, in Harold’s direction. Her red flowery skirt was tied at her waist with a short sleeve top of matching fabric flowing just even with the waistband. Her hand held a straw hat, and big sunglasses shielded her eyes. She smiled.

  Harold turned away from Hannah as if he was dismissing an unruly child. “Let’s have the two of you sit at the picnic table. Sharing an ice cream. I want this to be about food, fun, and frolicking.”

  “Ooooh,” Samantha squealed. “This is going to be so much fun.” She linked her arm through Harold’s and let him lead her as she led Petunia to a picnic table.

  “How about under a red umbrella instead? I think it matches my outfit better than this blue one.” Samantha moved to a different table.

  Harold approached the ice cream window and ordered a bowl of vanilla. By the time he returned, Samantha was settled on the picnic table bench. As soon as the ice cream appeared, Petunia eagerly jumped up with her front feet and tried to stick her nose in the bowl.

  “Hold on Petunia. I’ll give you a little taste. Too much will be bad for your figure.”

  Harold scooted around to the other side of the table with his camera. “Feed her with the spoon.”

  Samantha dug the spoon into the creamy deliciousness and held it for Petunia to lick.

  “Good.” He moved into different positions and angles with his camera clicking as Samantha shared the ice cream with Petunia. When a breeze threatened to blow her hat away, she held it on Petunia’s head. The sunglasses were next to complete Petunia’s casual beach look.

  “Perfect. You two are naturals.” He continued to click away.

  It was good that Ruby arrived with Jack, Olivia, and the three dogs before Hannah ruined Samantha’s fun with talk of a contract. That problem could wait for a bit she decided when she saw that Jack was carrying a book.

  “We found it.” He dropped the book on the counter in The Fishy Dish. “I’ll be right back.”

  Nellie and Patches made themselves comfortable in some shade.

  Jack went to the ice cream window with Olivia. “What flavor do you want today?”

  Ruby sat next to Hannah. “He spoils her rotten but I don’t want to say anything because…well, look at them.”

  Hannah watched as Jack lifted Olivia up so she could see all the ice cream flavors. She pointed to one. Jack nodded and gave the order to Chelsea. He crouched down to Olivia’s level and let her sit on his knee. Maisy made herself comfortable leaning against Olivia’s legs.

  “See what I mean?” Ruby said. “Those two are a sight for sore eyes. I’m never sure which one is taking care of the other—six year old Olivia, or eighty-one year old Jack.”

  The two sisters stared for several minutes until Ruby turned her attention to the book in front of Hannah. “We think we found the name.”

  Hannah flipped the book open where she saw a piece of paper marking a page. Her finger slid down the left page and she scanned the names, then her finger moved to the signatures on the right page. She stopped about halfway down on Harold Chandler III, of course he added the III, and his comment was pure advertising: the best photography forever. Below was a signature for Juliette Hale and the comment: the perfect place to fall in love. “Was Hale her maiden name?”

  Ruby nodded.

  Hannah’s finger moved down one more line. “Candace V. Jones? This beauty helps to offset everything that has gone wrong.” She looked at Ruby. “How do we know this isn’t just any old guest?”

  Ruby shrugged. “That’s why I said maybe we found the name.” She pulled the book in front of her and pointed to the names Hannah had just mentioned. “All three signed the book on the same date with black ink. Before and after, the signatures are in blue ink.”

  “Okay. That does sort of lump them together, but now what?”

  “That is the million-dollar question isn’t it?” Ruby slid the book back to Hannah.

  “I’m going to show this to Pam. She can use her resources to track down this person, and while she’s doing that, we’re going to ask Juliette who Candace is.”

  “I’ve tried to get her to open up about her stay here six years ago but she always changes the subject,” Ruby said, her tone filled with frustration.

  “Right, but now we have a name and if it’s the right name, she won’t be able to hide her emotions.”

  Hannah glanced at Olivia and Jack sitting outside with their ice cream. Theodore was propped up on the table as Olivia ate and chattered away. Maisy sat on the bench next to Olivia and after every few bites that went into Olivia’s mouth, Maisy got a taste too. “I hope you aren’t too concerned about dog germs.”

  “It’s a little
too late now, don’t you think?” Ruby chuckled.

  “Harold said something interesting to me just before you got here. He seemed to think Juliette did share her sob story with us about how the model allegedly accused Harold of mistreatment. I pretended to know what he was talking about and asked him what he’d do if she came out about the harassment.”

  “And?”

  “He said he’d sue her. My guess is that he paid her off to keep her quiet. Maybe he paid Juliette off, too. She’s hiding something and it’s about time she shares what she knows. Pam hinted that Juliette needs a miracle to dig herself out of the hole she’s in, and this name might not be a miracle but it could be a sliver of hope for her.”

  Juliette was outside with her laptop when Ruby and Hannah returned to Ruby’s house. She slammed it closed as soon as she realized they were next to her.

  “So, Juliette,” Hannah began, “who is Candace?” Hannah decided shock might be the only strategy that could get through to Juliette about the serious problem she faced.

  Juliette’s eyes popped open wide before she diverted her gaze away from Hannah. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.” She swung her legs off one side of the lounge chair and stood, tense and ready to flee.

  Hannah held her arm. “I think you do and it’s time you level with us unless you have some nice striped jail clothes picked out.”

  Ruby took Juliette’s other arm. “Let’s go inside and talk. Hannah already gave the name to the police and they’ll track her down one way or another.”

  Hannah felt Juliette’s arm relax. Her shoulders and head sagged. “I’ve been wanting to get this off my chest but I didn’t want to burden you with my problem, Ruby.”

  “It’s still your problem, but knowing more about what happened between Candace and Harold might help you,” Hannah said.

  Chapter 21