Framed For Murder (An Anna Nolan Mystery)

by Spencer, Cathy

  More likely, he didn’t want to be spotted around town in case word got back to me.

  “We had a couple of beers, and one thing led to another – you know. Later on, we had supper, and he left around 6:20 to take care of some business. I know that it was 6:20 because I had a 6:30 hair appointment and I was watching the time. And that was the last time I ever saw him.” A tear slid down Amy’s cheek, and she wiped it away with the back of her hand.

  “Did he say where he was going?” I prompted.

  “No, he didn’t tell me. To be truthful, I was a tiny bit jealous. I heard Jack tell a guy once that he had some ‘business’ to take care of when he meant that he was coming to see me. I thought it was pretty cute at the time, referring to me as “business.” So, when he told me last Thursday that he had some business to see to, I thought that he was leaving me to see another woman.”

  “Was Jack seeing anyone else from the movie, Amy?”

  “I don’t know, Anna. I’m not there all that much. They only need me for a few scenes now and then. But Jack was good-looking and funny and he flirted with the actresses and the female crew members all the time, so he might have been seeing someone else and not told me.”

  “Would that have hurt your feelings, Amy?”

  She shrugged and smiled. “Not so much, Anna. Jack and I both knew that we were just having some fun together. I did ask him once if he was serious about someone, though. He wore this diamond and ruby ring all the time, you know, and I wondered if a girlfriend had given it to him. He told me that it was from an old flame, but she had died, so he wore it in memory of her. That’s why he was so lonely – he couldn’t get over her, even though she died years ago.” Amy sighed. “Jack was so romantic.”

  I just about gagged when I heard about the ring. I had given it to him the night before we were married. It had been my grandfather’s ring, a handsome, square-cut diamond with a fat ruby set on each side. Pretty valuable, but my father wouldn’t wear it because he thought it was too gaudy. He gave it to me to give to Jack, however, saying that it would suit an actor just fine. Jack loved that ring and wore it all the time. I tried to picture his body lying on the ground on the night of the murder. I couldn’t remember seeing the ring, and I was sure that it would have caught my eye if he had been wearing it.

  “Amy, did Jack wear the ring over to your house on Thursday?” I asked.

  She screwed up her eyes to think. “I’m pretty sure he did, Anna. He always wore it when he wasn’t filming.”

  “Any chance he left it behind with you?”

  “Oh, no, I’m sure he didn’t. He hardly ever took it off.”

  I thought for a moment. I couldn’t believe that this simple-minded woman had killed Jack, but whoever had done so must have taken the ring. Now we had both the ring and the missing gun to incriminate the murderer, if he – or she – still had them in his or her possession.

  “Amy, I think that we can help each other out,” I said. Her eyes widened and she looked hopeful. “Inspector Tremaine suspects me of killing Jack because Jack left me some insurance money, but I didn’t do it, and I want to find out who did. You know the people over at the movie set – are they still filming, by the way?”

  “Yes. They flew someone in yesterday to replace Jack. They’ll have to reshoot the scenes that he was in.”

  “Okay, I want you to find out all the gossip you can about Jack. Talk to the crew, talk to the other extras, and try to find out if Jack was seeing someone else. I know that your feelings could get hurt, Amy, but Sergeant Tremaine suspects both of us, so if we find out who really killed Jack, we’ll be off the hook.

  Amy nodded her head eagerly. “That’s a really good idea, Anna. But what should I do with the rest of Jack’s clothes?”

  I paused. The clothes were pretty important evidence. I didn’t want to rat Amy out to the police, but I was afraid to hold back something as crucial as Jack’s whereabouts on the day of his murder.

  “Look, Amy, I think that it would be a good idea if you told Sergeant Tremaine about last Thursday,” I said. She looked frightened and shook her head no. “Now, wait a minute, Amy. Just hear me out. Tremaine has to find out where Jack was the day he died, right? He’s not going to rest until he’s got Jack’s whole day figured out. He’s bound to find out that Jack was here sooner or later, and if you hold out on him, it’s going to make you look guilty. You don’t want that, do you?”

  Amy shook her head, looking worried. “You’re probably right, Anna, I should tell him, but it’s just that the sergeant’s so scary. I’m afraid to talk to him. Please, can you be here when I tell him?”

  She stared imploringly into my face, and I did a mental eye roll. I’d never seen anyone look so helpless before. What the hell, I’d help Amy if she told Tremaine the truth. The closer the sergeant got to finding the killer, the better off I’d be.

  “Sure, Amy, I can do that for you,” I said. “I’m sure that he’ll appreciate your help, and it’ll look better if you volunteer the information.”

  “You’re right, Anna. Can we call him right now and get it over with?”

  And that’s how I ended up having a three-way conversation with the last woman to ever sleep with my ex-husband and the cop investigating his death. Actually, the conversation between Tremaine and Amy was pretty amazing to watch. When she had been alone with me, Amy had radiated a helpless, child-like quality. With Tremaine, that quality somehow amplified into full-blown, pheromone-rattling sex appeal. Amy was like a real-life Jessica Rabbit. When Tremaine arrived, she somehow managed to squeeze him onto the bench beside her. She was so close to him, he had to keep his elbows down while he was taking notes to avoid jabbing her in the ribs. It was amusing to watch him trying to maintain a professional demeanour with Amy being so openly seductive.

  “I guess I got confused as to which day you were talking about when you dropped by before, Sergeant Tremaine,” she was saying. “But then Anna came over for a manicure and we started talking about Jack. I told her that Jack was here with me on the afternoon he died. She thought it was really important to tell you. Jack was a sweet, dear man, and I would do anything to help you catch the person who killed him.” She stared up into his eyes like he was the woodsman come to save her from the big, bad wolf. Tremaine glanced down into her upturned face; at that angle, it would have been impossible for him to miss the magnificent cleavage so amply displayed by her low-cut t-shirt.

  “Very admirable, Ms. Bright,” he said, a little smile playing at his lips.

  “Please call me Amy, Sergeant Tremaine.”

  “Of course. Now you mentioned that you have some of Mr. Nolan’s clothing?”

  “Yes, sir, I put it in a bag for you.” She turned and picked up a plastic grocery bag containing the clothes that had escaped the fire. “Here it is.”

  “Ms. Nolan,” Tremaine said, turning to me, “Ms. Bright claims your ex-husband was wearing a diamond and ruby ring when he left here last Thursday. Are you certain that Mr. Nolan was not wearing that ring when you discovered his body?” He waited for my answer, the smile completely gone from his face now.

  “Yes, Sergeant, I’m sure that he wasn’t wearing the ring.”

  “And from Ms. Bright’s description, you believe that it was the same ring you gave Mr. Nolan on the night before your wedding?”

  “Yes, Sergeant.”

  “Very interesting. Ladies, thank you for your help. I’ll take the clothing with me and have it checked by forensics, although I doubt we’ll find anything since Ms. Bright laundered the clothes. By the way, would you mind dropping by the station tomorrow, Ms. Bright, to provide us with your fingerprints? It would help the investigation.”

  “I’d be happy to do that for you, Sergeant,” she said, practically crawling into his lap.

  “Thank you,” he said, scrambling to his feet and tucking the notebook into his jacket. Amy got up, too, and leaned in toward him.

  “Ms. Nolan, are you leaving now?”

  I glanced
at my watch. It was going on 9 PM. “Yes, Sergeant, it’s getting late.”

  “Let me give you and Wendy a lift home.”

  “That’s not necessary. It’s only a five-block walk.”

  “But it’s getting dark, Ms. Nolan. I wouldn’t feel comfortable letting you walk home alone in the dark.”

  “It’s very kind of you to be concerned, Sergeant, but Wendy and I could use the walk.”

  “Let me walk you home then, Ms. Nolan. I’d be glad of the exercise, too.”

  “Poor guy,” I thought, “maybe he’s afraid that he won’t be able to get away from Amy if I leave him alone with her.” I accepted his offer and rose to my feet. Tremaine turned back to Amy and extended his hand to her.

  “Thank you again for the information, Ms. Bright. I’ll look forward to seeing you at the station tomorrow. Shall we say at 9 AM?”

  “I will if you promise to call me Amy,” she said, holding onto his hand.

  “Amy it is, then,” he said with a smile. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Night-night, Sergeant,” she said, beaming. Obviously, she was over her fear of Tremaine. I could feel the heat she was generating from where I was standing. How on earth was she doing that? I shrugged. It was none of my business what went on between the two of them.

  “Coming?” Tremaine asked, glancing at me. I nodded, and Wendy and I followed him across the lawn to the gate. I turned to wave goodbye to Amy, and she smiled and gave me a “thumbs-up” gesture. I nodded before following Tremaine down the driveway and out onto the sidewalk.

  The evening air had cooled and I wanted to zip up my jacket. “Would you mind taking Wendy for a moment, Sergeant?” I asked. He nodded and I handed him the leash. When I straightened up from fastening my jacket, he began walking away before I could take it back. Wendy trotted contentedly beside him while I hurried to keep pace with his long legs.

  “How long have you known Ms. Bright, Anna?” he asked.

  “Amy was living here when I moved into town. We speak to each other on occasion.”

  “And why did you visit her tonight?”

  “To be frank, Sergeant, there was talk around town that she had been seeing Jack. I wanted to find out if it was true, and how well Amy knew him.” I thought that my honesty would disarm him, but he didn’t even blink.

  “Why?”

  “If I’m going to walk with you, Sergeant, you’re going to have to slow down,” I said, starting to puff a little.

  “Sorry,” he said, shortening his pace, “I do that to people. So, why did you want to find out how well Ms. Bright knew your husband?”

  I decided to try for a more even footing with Tremaine by appealing to his human side. “Come on, Sergeant. If it had been your ex-wife who was murdered and you were the prime suspect, wouldn’t you want to find out everything you could?”

  He stopped and turned to face me. “Anna, let me remind you that this is an official police investigation. Prying into the case could land you in serious trouble. Please, stay out of it. Have a little faith in my abilities. I’ll find out who did it. The Mounties always get their man – or woman – haven’t you heard that?”

  “That sounds promising. Do you have any other suspects?” I asked, staring into his eyes. He blinked first. I shook my head and took Wendy’s leash, setting off again.

  “I’m following various lines of inquiry.”

  “Amy Bright being one of them? You don’t seriously think Amy did it, do you?” I asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  I ignored his reticence. “I had my first real conversation with her today, and I don’t believe that Amy is a murderer. She’s too nice, for one thing, and besides, I don’t think she has the brains to do it. If Amy had killed Jack, the police would have found her standing over his body with a smoking gun.”

  “Instead of finding you,” he replied with a blank face.

  “Ah, but with no murder weapon, and I had an alibi, or most of one,” I countered.

  Tremaine said, “It doesn’t take much of a brain to shoot a man and dump his body beside the road, Anna. It could have been sheer coincidence that you and your dog found Mr. Nolan.”

  “What’s Amy’s motive?” I asked. He didn’t answer, and I glanced sideways at him. Tremaine’s expression was contemplative as he strode along beside me, his shoulders hunched and his hands in his pockets.

  “Are you cold, Sergeant?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “The temperature changes quickly here in the Foothills.”

  “With the amount of heat Amy was generating, I’d have thought that you would have stayed warm for a long time to come.”

  He grinned at me. It transformed his face, making him look younger and a whole lot more approachable.

  “You noticed that, did you?”

  “Are you kidding? How old are you, by the way?” The words were out of my mouth before I could think better of them. Holy smokes, would he think that I was flirting with him?

  “Old enough to know better,” he said. I snorted, relaxing a little. “Thirty-one. And you’re forty.”

  I nodded. “Forty with a grown son.”

  “Ben,” he said, his face turning serious again. He looked away, and suddenly I felt afraid.

  “Ben has an alibi,” I said.

  “A partial alibi. He and his girlfriend met at the theatre at 7:15. He doesn’t have an alibi from 6:00 to 7:00. Remember, the coroner set the time of death between 6:00 and 9:00.”

  I swallowed because my mouth had suddenly gone bone dry. “Ben didn’t tell me that he only has a partial alibi. Where does he say he was between 6:00 and 7:00?”

  “Running errands. He said he stopped at the chemist’s for some toothpaste and dropped off a book at the library. Tossed the book down the return chute and threw out the chemist’s receipt, so he doesn’t have any proof. He said he’ll try to find the clerk who waited on him at the store – when he has the time.”

  My breath came quicker. “Maybe if I talked to him, he’d be a little more cooperative, Sergeant.”

  “I don’t think that’s necessary, Anna. After he made that comment, I impressed upon him the importance of coming up with a complete alibi.”

  “I’m sure he will, Sergeant. I’m sorry if the two of you got off on the wrong foot.” It was obvious that Tremaine’s questions had alienated Ben, and that my son wasn’t going out of his way to be helpful. That kind of attitude would hurt Ben in the end.

  “I hope so,” Tremaine said. “He certainly didn’t hide the fact that he didn’t like his father very much.”

  We had reached the end of my driveway. I turned to face him, forcing Wendy to sit at my feet.

  “He didn’t do it, Tremaine,” I said. He didn’t respond, and his eyes were guarded. I took hold of the end of his sleeve and gave it a little shake. “He didn’t do it, Tremaine,” I repeated. “I’ll prove it.”

  I saw a flicker of concern in his eyes. “No, Anna,” he said. “No playing amateur detective. I don’t want the murderer to see you as any kind of a threat. Remember your son and stay out of this – please.” His hand twitched, and he shoved it into his pocket.

  My mouth stretched into a tight little smile. “You said that I’m your prime suspect, remember? What murderer are you talking about, Tremaine?”

  He frowned. “I can’t discount anyone at this stage, Anna, including you and your son. That doesn’t mean that I’m not concerned about your safety.”

  “Of course, Sergeant. You’re just doing your job. No problem. You don’t have to worry about us. But, it’s chilly and I’m going inside now. See you around, Tremaine.”

  I pulled Wendy to her feet, and we went inside the house and shut the door. I snapped the leash off her collar and thought about Ben as I headed into my bedroom. Why hadn’t he told me about the big hole in his alibi? I looked out the window and saw Tremaine still standing in the driveway. Our eyes met, and he turned and walked away.

  I had changed out of my clothes when there was a knock at the d
oor. I threw a robe over my pyjamas and hurried to answer it.

  “Steve, what are you doing here?” I asked, surprised to see him. He was in uniform, and I looked past him to see his cruiser in the driveway. “What’s wrong?”

  “I heard that Tremaine got called out to meet with you and Amy Bright tonight. I came over to see if everything went okay. Are you alright, Anna?” I looked into his worried eyes and saw something that I hadn’t seen in years.

  “Uh yes, I’m fine, Steve. Thanks. Why don’t we sit out on the porch?” I didn’t want him inside my house. I liked Steve, but he was still a kid and I didn’t have time for any of his delusions.

  “Sure, if it’s not too cold for you,” he said, taking a seat on the bench. I leaned against the wall and folded my arms over my chest.

  “Nope. I’m surprised that you didn’t pass Tremaine on the way over, by the way. He left here on foot about five minutes ago.”

  “I came in from out of town,” he replied. My porch light wasn’t on and his face was in shadow. “So, what’s going on with Amy Bright?”

  “I just found out tonight that she was with Jack on the afternoon he was killed.”

  “Huh,” was his only comment.

  “Yes, but I don’t think she had anything to do with his death. Do you know her, Steve?”

  “I know who she is, but I’ve never spoken to her. She has that hairdresser business – right?”

  “Yeah. She seems like a nice person.”

  “What did Tremaine have to say?”

  “I think he’s a little more sceptical than I am.” I thought about our conversation concerning Ben’s partial alibi. “He’s a little more sceptical than everybody, in fact.”

  “He should be. He has to be.”

  “Uh huh,” I said, taking a seat beside him. I crossed my arms again and my shoulder nudged up against his. It was a small bench. We sat together quietly in the dark, staring out across the lawn. The open front door let out a pool of warm light, and I could hear Wendy snuffling at the screen.