Murder at Jade Cove (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Book 2)

by Dianne Harman

  When she pulled into Doc’s driveway she saw the grizzled older man in a flannel shirt and jeans standing near the side of his house, watering his fruit trees. “Doc, I need you to come to my house and take care of my fruit trees. Those are some of the healthiest trees I’ve ever seen. What’s your secret?”

  “Afternoon, Kelly, Rebel. If I had a secret it would be loving neglect. I think too many people overwater and fuss over them too much. These trees just like some sun, a little water, and maybe they know how much I like to eat their fruit. I was just finishing up. Come on in.” He held the door open for them. “So, what brings you out this way? And I don’t see any coffee shop treats for me, so I guess there’s no ulterior motive in your visit this time.”

  They both were quiet for a moment, thinking back to the last time she’d paid Doc a visit. Kelly had gone to his home under the pretext of wanting to give him some food from the coffee shop, but the real reason had been to find out more about the relationship between Doc and Amber, the young woman who had been murdered and whose body had been dumped in the ocean. Madison’s father thought he had a large fish on his line when he was shore fishing, but it turned out to be Amber. When Kelly went to the marina to confront the suspected killer, she and Rebel had almost gotten killed after she’d promised Doc she wouldn’t go there without Mike. She well remembered internally crossing her fingers when she told Doc she wouldn’t go alone, even though she knew she was telling him a lie. She and Rebel probably owed Doc their lives. If Doc hadn’t called Mike and the two of them hadn’t gone immediately to the marina, who knows how it might have ended, but probably not well for Kelly and Rebel.

  “No ulterior motive, Doc. I just wanted to see how you were getting along at the clinic. Are you enjoying counseling people? I talked to Liz the other day and she’s thrilled you’re working there. Says it makes her job as the town shrink a lot easier.”

  “She’s really easy to be around. Since I’m volunteering my time and not giving medical advice, per se, I don’t need to have a medical license. I tell people I’m just a retired doctor who wants to give something back to the community and that seems to be good enough for them. No need for them to know the California State Medical Board pulled my license. Seems that no matter where you go, people have problems, so I’m glad I’m able to help in some small way.”

  “I’m sure you do, Doc.”

  “The patients Liz refers to me generally have a problem with some type of substance abuse, like alcohol or drugs. I’ve even counseled people on the best ways to stop smoking. Next week we’re starting a group therapy class for people who are interested in talking about their problems with other people. Been my experience that being accountable and having people care about whether or not you’re able to quit something that’s not good for you can make the difference between being a success or a failure.”

  “I’m so glad you’re doing this. I thought you’d be perfect for it. Liz also told me she’s really become dependent on your advice.”

  “Glad to hear that. I’m there just a couple of days a week and then only for a few hours. Oh, by the way, I don’t know if Madison told you, but her father has quit drinking. He came to the clinic one day and asked for me. I was surprised because I’d never met him. Evidently Madison asked him to go see me because she was afraid of him when he drank too much. I guess he’d hit her a couple of times. I assumed you and she had talked and that’s where he’d gotten my name. Anyway, he came to my office at the clinic and we had a long talk. He told me he wanted to stop drinking, that it was hurting his relationship with his daughter, Madison, and she was all he had. He said he didn’t know how to stop. I gave him a lot of information about it and told him I’d like to see him once a week. From what he’s told me, he stopped drinking that day and hasn’t had one drop of alcohol since then. It’s been several weeks now and according to him, his relationship with Madison has really improved. I’m glad. They’re both good people.”

  “Thanks, Doc. I know one of the reasons you agreed to donate your time was because I asked you to do it. I’m so glad you’re getting some benefit from it, and I’m sure you’re really helping people.”

  “Yeah, well not always. Since Jeff Black is dead, I believe I can talk to you about him. I think the old saying of lawyers, ‘that the attorney-client privilege dies with the death of the deceased client,’ works here as well.”

  “I don’t understand. What do you mean? Do you know something about Jeff Black? Why would he go to see you?”

  “The answer to your first question is yes, I do know a little about Jeff. I don’t think it’s common knowledge in town, at least I never heard anyone talk about it, but Jeff was pretty sure his wife was having an affair with some guy named Gabe Lewis. Guess he’s a big lumber honcho up in Sunset Bay.”

  “You’re kidding! Marcy and Gabe? Wow! I’ve never met him, but I hear he’s probably the richest guy around in these parts. He owns thousands of acres of cedar trees and also the big lumber mill where every cedar tree you see on a logging truck around here goes to be processed. His family started in the lumber business well over a hundred years ago and he runs it now. Marcy likes the good life and has expensive tastes, but I can’t figure out why she’d risk Jeff finding out about it. He gave her whatever she wanted and next to Gabe, he’s probably, or was, the second richest man in the county.”

  “Well, Jeff was thinking about divorcing her. When I saw him, a couple of days before he was killed, he told me he was on his way to his attorney’s office to start divorce proceedings against her. And in answer to your second question, he came to see me because he wanted to know if I could help him with a problem he was having. He said he couldn’t sleep at night because of the stress he’d been under trying to get approval to build the hotel and spa and then making the decision to divorce Marcy. He wanted to know if there was something he could do, like meditate or drink warm milk, or whatever.”

  “Do you think Marcy knew he was going to divorce her?”

  “I have no idea. I don’t even know if he went to his lawyer’s office. Why?”

  “Well, if she found out he was going to divorce her that might be a motive for the murder. Wonder when she left to go see her sister in Portland.”

  “Kelly, seems to me I remember you made a promise to Mike that you’d let him solve the crimes that occur around here and you wouldn’t get involved in his cases.”

  “Yeah, Doc, you’re right. I did promise him I’d stay out of his cases. Okay, I won’t,” she said, mentally crossing her fingers and wondering when Marcy and Brandon would return to Cedar Bay so she could talk to Marcy. “Speaking of which, it’s time for us to go. Mike wanted to tell Brandon about the death of his father in person, so he drove over to Corvallis and didn’t get any sleep last night. Rather imagine he’ll want dinner as soon as I get home and then he’ll crash. Thanks Doc, and I’m so glad your volunteering is working out for you.

  “I need to start dinner, too. Liz asked me if I would give her some advice on a few of her clients and I asked her to come out here for dinner. Thought it would be easier to talk here rather than in the office, plus it saves me from having to drive back to town.”

  “Doc, you asked Liz out here for dinner? That’s a first. At least I think that’s a first. Is there more I should know about this relationship?”

  “Kelly, you’re starting to wear too darn many hats. Coffee shop owner, unlicensed crime solver, and now matchmaker. Stick to wearing the first hat and let go of the other two. If there’s anything you need to know, I’ll be sure and tell you, but only if and when I feel like it.”

  “I’m counting on it, Doc,” she said, grinning. She opened the door and started to walk out. “Come on, Rebel. Time to go home.”

  Rebel stood where he was and looked up at Doc expectantly, at least that’s the way it looked to Doc and Kelly who exchanged amused looks. Neither one was sure if a dog could look expectantly, but if it could, that was the expression Rebel wore.

  “All right
, Rebel. I almost forgot your treat. Come on.”

  Rebel pranced into the kitchen and stood next to Doc. Kelly waited while Doc cut several pieces of filet mignon into bite size pieces and fed them to Rebel. When Rebel was finished eating he walked over to where Kelly was waiting and followed her out to her minivan. Doc walked along with them and opened the door on the minivan for her.

  “Kelly, I’d swear that dog wasn’t going to leave until he got his treat and he knows I always give him filet mignon pieces. That big guy is almost human.”

  “I know. He even scares me at times. See you tomorrow.”

  CHAPTER 6

  “Hey, Mike. I’m home,” Kelly said as she walked into the great room that overlooked the bay. Mike rose from the chair he’d been sitting in and strode over to her, enveloping her in a big hug and giving her a kiss.

  “Where have you been? I’ve been expecting you for the last couple of hours. Either you’ve been cooking a lot at the coffee shop or you’ve been running errands.”

  “Don’t know if it would qualify as running errands, but first of all I went out to the reservation. Chief Many Trees asked me to bring him some cookies and leftover caramel rolls, if there were any, for a tribal council meeting they’re holding tonight. I had a long talk with him and it was quite interesting. Don’t worry, Mike, I’m not getting involved in this case, although what he told me might have some bearing on your investigation.” She related to him the conversation she had with Chief Many Trees.

  “Kelly, that’s very interesting, but it still doesn’t mean that someone from the reservation wasn’t the killer. He or she could have easily gotten a gun and killed Jeff. The fact that guns aren’t allowed on the reservation only means just that. Someone could hide a gun anywhere, on or off the reservation.”

  “I know, Mike, but I would think that alone would keep a lot of people from buying one and using it.”

  “If threatening to kick someone out of the tribe is a deterrent to having easy access to guns, I’m all for it. The hard truth of the matter is that it’s very easy for anyone to get a gun and keep it hidden. Look at all the people you read about carrying concealed weapons that don’t have a permit. Anyway, I want to tell you about my conversation with Lem Bates. He’s the lawyer in town.”

  “Mike, I know who Lem is. I’ve known him forever. We went to school together. He’s the only lawyer in town, so he knows everybody and pretty much everything about everybody. Anyway, go on.”

  “Yeah, I forget sometimes that your roots run a lot deeper here in Cedar Bay than mine. I’ve been sitting here for an hour or so trying to figure out what to do with this information. Evidently Jeff was pretty sure Marcy was having an affair with Gabe Lewis, you know, the lumber baron who lives up in Sunset Bay.”

  “Mike, I can’t believe you learned today that Marcy was having an affair, because, believe it or not, I found out the same thing just an hour or so ago. I’ll tell you how I found out when you finish.”

  “Kelly, what Lem told me was essentially attorney-client privileged information, but Lem said that since Jeff was dead, it really didn’t matter anymore, so he was free to tell me why Jeff had come to see him.”

  “Yep. That’s exactly what I was told.”

  “Look, we’re getting nowhere really fast. How about you be quiet and listen to me and then I’ll be quiet and listen to you. Fair enough?”

  “Deal.”

  “Okay. Jeff was so sure Marcy was having an affair with Gabe that he started divorce proceedings against her. In the court papers Lem prepared and filed with the court, it specified that the ranch was Jeff’s sole and separate property. He’d inherited part of the property from his parents and the rest of the acreage he bought at a BLM auction. He used his inheritance from his parents to buy the BLM property. If you remember, when I did a background search on him when he was a suspect in Amber’s murder, I found out that the ranch was solely in his name. Here’s the interesting part. Jeff took out a life insurance policy on himself in the amount of three million dollars several years ago. He wanted to make sure that if something ever happened to him, Brandon would have enough money to go to both college and graduate school. He told Lem he wasn’t going to change anything on the insurance policy. He wanted Marcy to stay on as the primary beneficiary so she would have money to pay for Brandon’s education. He said that although Marcy was almost assuredly having an affair with Gabe, she was still a very good mother.”

  “Wow! Between the divorce and the life insurance policy, she certainly had a motive, actually a couple, for killing him.”

  “Well, there’s more. She didn’t know that the ranch and everything in it was in Jeff’s name alone and would be awarded exclusively to him if there was a divorce. From what Lem said, she was never interested in the business side of things. She thought the ranch was in both of their names. Lem personally served her with the divorce papers and according to him, when she read them she went nuts. She couldn’t believe that she would be almost penniless after the divorce. He said she was shocked Jeff was divorcing her. She kept saying that if something happened to Jeff she wouldn’t have any money to keep Brandon in school. Lem told her that even though Jeff was divorcing her, he had insisted on keeping her on as the primary beneficiary on his life insurance policy in order to provide a fund to pay for Brandon’s education. He also told her the policy amount was three million dollars and with that amount, she would have more than enough money to keep Brandon in school. He told her she would be entitled to spousal support because of the longevity of the marriage, but if she remarried, it would end.”

  “Mike, when did Lem serve her with the divorce papers?”

  “From your question, you’re probably thinking the same thing I am. She was served in the afternoon on the day Jeff was murdered.”

  Kelly was quiet for several minutes while she began to prepare dinner. “Mike, after I took the things out to the chief at the reservation, I went to see Doc. I was curious how he was doing at the clinic and his ranch was on the way home. Interestingly enough, Jeff had talked to Doc at the clinic about divorcing Marcy for the same reason Lem told you, namely, she was having an affair with Gabe Lewis. He knew Doc wasn’t a psychologist, but he was hoping Doc could give him some advice about problems he was having with sleeping. He said between getting approval for the hotel and spa and making the difficult decision to divorce Marcy, he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in months. He told Doc he didn’t want to meet with Liz because they’d known each other a long time. He didn’t feel she could be objective about his situation.”

  “Well, whether she was having an affair with him or not, Jeff was sure enough about it to make the decision to divorce her. You’ve got a good sense of things and people. Think Marcy did it?”

  “I don’t know. If she was found guilty of killing Jeff, it would mean both of Brandon’s parents would be gone. His mother would be in prison for life for the murder of his father. That, on top of the recent murder of his girlfriend, Amber, might be too much for him. Whatever else people say about Marcy, she’s a very good mother and I’m not sure she would do anything to hurt Brandon. For that reason alone, I have a hard time thinking it’s her, but I could be wrong.”

  “Kelly, my brain is too tired from lack of sleep for me to even think clearly right now. How about we finish dinner and then I can go to bed? Hopefully, the answer will come to me when I wake up tomorrow, but I have a feeling that’s not going to happen.”

  “Well, I’ll give you something lighter to think about. Liz, the psychologist in town who owns the clinic where Doc is donating his time, is going out to Doc’s home for dinner tonight. I think that’s a little unusual, don’t you?”

  “You know him a lot better than I do, but from what you’ve told me, he’s kind of a loner. I’ve never heard of anyone being asked to his ranch. You’ve been out there a couple of times, but I don’t think you were invited. Are you inferring that maybe there’s a possibility of some romance in the air?”

  “Well
, I don’t know. He was rather evasive when I asked him, but I hope there is something going on between the two of them. Both of them are nice people who deserve some happiness. You know Doc’s situation and that certainly hasn’t been a happy one. Liz is kind of a Mother Earth figure. You just feel better when you’re around her. No wonder she’s such a successful psychologist. I don’t think her life has been all that happy either, although she clearly enjoys being a psychologist. I remember Liz telling me she was briefly married when she was in her early twenties, but I’ve never heard of her seeing anyone else and she’s got to be in her mid-40’s now. She lived in Portland for several years, and then came back here to be with her parents before they passed away.”

  “Sounds to me like she’d be perfect for him,” Mike said. They’re both in the medical field and she’s a little younger than he is. She doesn’t have any children, does she?”

  “No. One time we were talking about children because she counsels several at the clinic and that’s when she made the statement that although she’d been married briefly, she’d never had children. I think I told you that Doc has two sons, but when he was tried for manslaughter in Southern California and his wife left him, she took the children and he’s never seen them since. I wonder if Doc has told Liz about his past. Don’t you think she’d be curious why he wasn’t practicing medicine? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Liz and Doc got together and his sons reconciled with him? I think he said they were teenagers when the marriage broke up, so they might even be in college by now.”

  “Well, sweetheart, knowing you, I’m sure you’ll have the answers to all of those question in a few days. I like your rationale for what you do. I think you told me once that you’re not prying, you’re simply gathering information.”

  Kelly wadded up the dishtowel she had in her hand and threw it at him. “Careful, Sheriff Mike, next time it could be a knife and even though you weren’t very pleased with me, you know I helped you solve Amber’s murder.”