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

by Dianne Harman

  “I wondered if Brandon had heard about it. I’m not surprised that Jeff told him, considering how close they were.”

  “Anyway, Brandon was studying for a test he was going to take yesterday. He told me he got hungry and on his way to the kitchen, he overheard Gabe ask Marcy what she was going to do with the insurance money. She told him she was going to cash the check at the bank the next day, which would have been yesterday. Gabe told her he’d like to go to the bank with her, that he could probably help her invest it and make a far better return on it than she’d get at the bank. Evidently she didn’t want to, but in the end she agreed to do it. Brandon’s worried that she might have given Gabe some or all of the money.”

  Doc doesn’t know about Carlos. I wonder if Marcy cashed the check, hoping to pay him off.

  “From everything I’ve heard and read,” Kelly said, “Gabe is having some terrible financial problems. If he could convince Marcy to give him the money, that sure would take care of his financial problems. I’ve heard he needs a couple of million dollars, like right now.”

  He looked at her quizzically. “How could you possibly know that?” he asked.

  “Someone mentioned it to me, but for the life of me I don’t remember who it was,” she said, mentally crossing her fingers. “What did you tell Brandon?”

  “I told him I’d see what I could find out, although I don’t know how I’m going to do that. I’ve met Marcy maybe once and I sure couldn’t just go out to the ranch and ask her if she’d given Gabe the proceeds from the insurance policy.”

  “No, of course not. Let me think about it. Maybe there’s some other way we could find out. Doc, I’d love to stay and talk, but the coffee shop is filling up and I stranded Roxie yesterday. I can’t do it to her two days in a row. I want to keep her happy and making her work twice as hard is not going to keep her happy. I’ll talk to you later. You and your new little friend here have a good rest of the day.”

  “Kelly, have you been to the bank today?” Roxie asked. “We’re getting really low on change in the cash register. For some reason, almost everyone who’s come in today has paid with a credit card.”

  “No, it kind of slipped my mind. I’ll do it right now. Even though we have a crowd, it seems under control and I’ll just be a few minutes. Thanks for the reminder.”

  Kelly opened the door of the First Federal Bank and waved to Patti, her friend from high school. “Hi, Patti. What exciting things have happened at the bank this week?” she asked, walking over to her and pulling an empty money pouch out of her large tote bag. “I need to get some cash. Seems like everyone’s paying with credit cards and when we do have to make change, it’s getting to be a problem.”

  “The exciting thing was that we’re almost out of cash, too. One of our customers cashed a huge check yesterday. The bank manager called our parent company to see if we could cash it immediately or if we should put our usual hold on it, but since our parent company was the maker of the check, we didn’t have a choice. Left us really stranded. I mean three million dollars is a lot of money.”

  “Wow! That is a lot of money, particularly for a bank in a small town.” Kelly said, handing her a withdrawal slip for $200.00. “Any chance I can get that much cash out of my account?” she asked with a mischievous smile on her face. And I know who cashed it. Now I wonder who has the money. Maybe I should go out to Marcy’s and see what I can find out.

  “Here you are, Kelly. See you in a couple of days.”

  *****

  Kelly left the coffee shop a few minutes after Roxie, Madison, and Charlie had left for the day. “Come on, Rebel. I need to pay Marcy a visit. I have no idea what I’m going to say, but I have a hunch I need to go out there.”

  A few minutes later when she turned up the long driveway that led to the ranch house, she saw a large SUV in the driveway with the words “Lewis Kennels” on it. She quickly stopped, put the minivan in reverse, and drove back about two hundred feet. She parked the van in a small clearing off to the side of the driveway. “Rebel, watch the van. I have a feeling this isn’t going to take too long.”

  Kelly opened the van’s door and walked next to the gravel driveway in the grass, trying to make as little noise as possible. The back of the house was surrounded by trees which hid her from view. When she got close to the house she heard raised voices coming through an open window. She looked around and didn’t see anyone.

  That’s got to be Mrs. Lewis’ SUV. Gabe has a silver colored car and anyway, he wouldn’t be driving the Lewis Kennels car here. Angie said it was Mrs. Lewis’ business. I’m sure he wouldn’t normally even have access to her car.

  She crouched down under the window and could clearly hear two raised voices. She listened for several minutes.

  “I’m not stupid. Everyone knows you’ve been having an affair with my husband. I saw a lawyer yesterday and started divorce proceedings against him. I don’t want Gabe to get my kennel business. He’s in such bad financial trouble he’s been begging me to give him the money I’ve earned from it, but there’s no way I’m going to do that. He may have told you he loves you, but he just wants your money. Trust me, you’re not the first. Between bad investments he’s made and the slump in the lumber industry, he needs money just to meet payroll this week. Bet he didn’t tell you that because it’s not too romantic.”

  “Get out of my house, you jealous liar. You’re crazy. Gabe’s offered to help me if I have any financial needs and he wants to talk to Brandon about becoming his partner and building the hotel and spa my husband was going to build here at Jade Cove before he died.”

  “If you really believe that, you deserve him, but remember this, he’s a lying, cheating, conniving business failure who will suck you dry and leave you penniless and out on the street. Don’t bother to show me to the door. I can find my own way out.” She slammed the front door shut and ran to her car. Seconds later Kelly heard the sound of the engine roaring as the Lewis Kennels SUV sped down the driveway, scattering gravel behind it. Kelly quickly ran back to where her van was parked in the small clearing, her heart beating wildly.

  It looks for sure like Marcy is the one who got the money out of the bank, but it sounds like she may not have given it to Gabe yet. I wonder if she’s going to do it after what Mrs. Lewis just told her. And if Gabe needs the money to make payroll this week, something’s probably going to happen pretty soon. Mike needs to know about this.

  CHAPTER 20

  “Hi, Kelly. I just made a pot of coffee. It’s getting cold out and it sounded good. Care to join me?” Mike said, as she and Rebel came through the front door.

  “Sounds great, although I’m so wound up right now, I’m not sure I need any. I probably should go out to the retreat center and take a yoga class, but it’s too close to dinner. I’ve got so much to tell you, I don’t know where to start.”

  “Start at the beginning,” Mike said, handing her a cup of coffee. “That’s usually a good place.”

  Kelly told him about Doc’s conversation with Brandon and her visit to the Black’s ranch. When she finished, he sat silently, trying to make sense of what she had told him.

  “I had an interesting day as well. Brandon hasn’t been high on my list of suspects, but I wanted to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s, so I called the resident adviser at the dorm where he’s living at Oregon State University. He confirmed that he’d seen Brandon the afternoon and evening of Jeff’s death. He was studying in his room in the afternoon and was at dinner that evening. Brandon was definitely in Corvallis at the time of Jeff’s death. Based on that information, I’ve eliminated him as a suspect even though he profits from Jeff’s death more than anyone else. As close as Brandon and Jeff were, I never did see him killing his dad.”

  “I’m glad. I never really thought Brandon was the killer, but that still leaves us with several suspects. It’s almost as if we need to determine who the killer is by process of elimination.”

  “Kelly, I think I’ve mentioned this before. It�
��s not ‘we’ who need to do this, it’s ‘I’ who needs to do this. Am I making myself perfectly clear?”

  “Of course. I meant you, it’s just that we’re talking, so the ‘we’ came out.”

  “Uh-huh.” Mike raised his eyebrow and looked at her. “Let me continue,” he said, giving Kelly a dirty look. “I found out that Bonnie was attending a public hearing on endangered species at the capitol in Salem the afternoon and evening of Jeff’s death. Actually, she spoke at the hearing. The meeting lasted into the early evening hours. Several people confirmed she was there for all of it, so that eliminates her. Another thing that bothered me about her was that Jeff was killed with a bullet from a hunting rifle. I never could see Bonnie with a hunting rifle. It goes against everything she speaks out about. Someone told me she was a strong advocate for completely outlawing guns. She doesn’t think anyone except those connected with law enforcement should own one. She’s also against hunting. Sort of a strange position for her to take given the fact her husband is a hunter and gun owner, but then again, Bonnie has always been a bit strange. Anyway, for those reasons, I’ve pretty much eliminated her as a suspect. I know Brandon or Bonnie could have hired a third party to kill Jeff, but I don’t think so. ”

  “Okay, so we, whoops, sorry Mike, so you still have several suspects. Let’s see, there’s the Indian angle, Marcy, and Gabe. Is that everyone?”

  “You left out Carlos Delgado. We know he’s a shady drug cartel type of character, but I can’t see how he would profit from Jeff’s death. If anything, the money he was getting from Jeff dries up with Jeff’s death. I can’t think of anyone else. The Indian angle still interests me. I know they can’t have firearms on the reservation, but as I mentioned before, you can keep a firearm under a blanket in your car or anywhere else, for that matter. The tribe members are known for being excellent hunters and I imagine a number of them do have access to rifles. If one of the members of the tribe did it, I wouldn’t know where to even start trying to figure out which one it was.”

  “I’ve gotten to like Chief Many Trees,” Kelly said. “I really believe if he thought one of the members of his tribe had done it, he’d tell you. He cares so much about his tribe. Even though he hated Jeff for planning on building the hotel and spa on his property and in his words, ‘defiling the tribe’s ancient burial grounds,’ I think you should eliminate him based on his opposition to anyone having a gun on the reservation,” Kelly said.

  “Well, if I eliminate him and the members of his tribe, that leaves me with Marcy and Gabe. Marcy had a good reason to kill Jeff. He was divorcing her and she was going to lose her home. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of Marcy working or having an occupation to fall back on. I imagine she was terrified about what the future might hold for her and what her life was about to become. At her age, sponging off her sister in Portland wouldn’t seem like a pleasant prospect for a proud and pampered woman like Marcy. Don’t forget that I asked her if she had a gun and she said she did.”

  “Yes, and a three million dollar life insurance policy provides a very good motive. That would go a long way towards keeping the wolf from her door. We know she was having an affair with Gabe, but I keep coming back to her role as a mother. Remember, I mentioned early on that I think she’s a very good mother. When Amber was murdered, she was really there for Brandon. I was the one who told him Amber had been killed and she was as supportive as any mother could be. Also, she knew how close Brandon and Jeff were and how it would hurt Brandon if something happened to Jeff. And if she is the killer, she had to be thinking about what would happen to Brandon if she was convicted of being Jeff’s murderer. She would go to prison for life and Brandon would essentially become an orphan. I don’t think she would do that to Brandon, but I could be wrong,” Kelly said.

  Mike continued talking. “So that leaves us with Gabe as the prime suspect. We know he’s in real trouble with his business. It’s totally dependent on the lumber industry being healthy. He’s been hit twice with the slowdown in the lumber business. Once from getting less money for the trees he harvests from his acreage, and secondly, from diminishing business at his lumber mill. We also know he’s having an affair with Marcy. Maybe he didn’t have an ulterior motive for having an affair with Marcy, but given his desperate need for money, I doubt it.

  “We know that the two of them were engaged before he married the Sunset Bay woman, so it wouldn’t be that strange for them to resume their prior relationship. Happens a lot. The attraction is still there. Look how many high school lovers reconnect at a class reunion. What we don’t know is whether he’s seriously in love with Marcy. Maybe he was getting ready to divorce his wife and marry Marcy. Maybe he hoped Marcy would get half of the Jade Cove property if she and Jeff got divorced and he could sell it or subdivide it. It certainly is valuable land.”

  “Well, if that’s true, it all fell apart when Marcy was served with the divorce papers. I remember that she said she’d told Gabe everything Lem had told her when he served her with the papers and that would include the information about the life insurance settlement. Then, don’t forget, they were at the bank and found out she’d been left out of the will.”

  “I haven’t forgotten that,” Mike said, “but remember, they found out about the will after Jeff’s death.”

  “That’s true. So if Gabe killed Jeff to marry Marcy and get the property, thinking she would inherit it, that plan fell completely apart when Gabe found out Jeff had left everything to Brandon. The only thing left that would interest someone in dire financial straits would be the proceeds from the life insurance policy,” Kelly said.

  “Let’s face it, Gabe is definitely desperate, and from what you overheard, he’s probably going to do everything he can to get the insurance money from Marcy. I also keep thinking back to when she told me about Carlos. I wonder how he figures into this. He said he’d return and when he did, he wanted his money or else. Remember, he was serious enough about it to have one of his men draw blood from Marcy’s throat when he held a knife on her. Either way, Marcy could be in danger from Carlos or in danger from Gabe. I wonder if anyone is at the ranch with her.”

  “I don’t think so,” Kelly said. “When I went out to the ranch this afternoon, I only heard two voices. Now that I think about it, her sister wasn’t there when I took the cookies to Marcy Sunday afternoon. She must have just stayed a day or so. Somewhere I remember hearing that she’s much younger than Marcy and has small children. She probably had to go home and take care of them.

  “What do you say we call it a night? I need to fix dinner. I brought some chicken pot pies home from the coffee shop. I thought we’d have those and some cornbread I can reheat. It’s been a tiring day and I’d prefer to have some leftovers rather than cook a full meal, if you don’t mind.”

  “Kelly, what you call leftovers everyone else would call some of the best food they’d ever eaten. Sounds great!”

  “Almost forgot the best part, Mike. I made some caramel sauce today and served it to customers over a vanilla cake with ice cream. We can finish up with that.”

  “Well, woman, quit talking about it and just do it. This man is starving.”

  Forty-five minutes later Mike sat back and rubbed his stomach. “Kelly, that was fantastic. I’m stuffed and happy. Think I’ll watch a little TV and then head for bed. How about you?”

  “I’m whipped. I’ll clean up these dishes and join you in a few minutes.”

  Mike’s phone rang as he stood up from the table. “This is Sheriff Mike.” He listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. “What time did he say he’d be there?” He listened again and looked at his watch. “On my way, Marcy. See you in a few minutes. If he gets there before I do, try to stall him.”

  “What…” Kelly started to ask, but Mike held up his hand and punched in a couple of numbers on his phone.

  “Rich, need you out at the Black’s ranch ASAP. No siren. A man from Mexico by the name of Carlos Delgado is on his way to Marcy’s and he’s pro
bably armed and dangerous. There’s a turn-out next to the driveway, about two hundred feet back from the ranch house. Park there and walk up to the house. I’ll meet you there.”

  “I’m going with you, Mike,” Kelly said.

  “No, you’re not. I want you to stay here,” he said as he slammed the front door shut, jumped in his car, and took off at a high rate of speed.

  Oh, yes, I am too going to go. “Come on, Rebel.” She grabbed the pistol from the drawer where she kept it and she and Rebel were in her minivan in seconds. Mike, I know you think you don’t need my help, but you’re wrong.

  CHAPTER 21

  Kelly was driving so fast she was afraid she’d catch up to Mike and she knew he wouldn’t be happy if he saw her, so as soon as she could, she pulled off onto the service road that paralleled the highway north of town. By now it was after 8:30 at night and there was little or no traffic on the seldom used service road.

  Ranchers were the only ones who were usually on it and then only until they could get out on the highway. There were periodic entrances to the highway and she remembered there was one that was just a little south of the Black’s ranch. She came to the stop sign, looked to her left, and didn’t see Mike’s car. She doubted if Mike would pay much attention to a car driving on the service road.

  Good. Well, I either beat him here or he beat me. Either way, that’s fine with me. It’s just a few hundred yards to the driveway that leads to Black’s ranch.