by Ritter Ames
Jeez. May as well wade into the deep end and get it over with. "If Gil learns something that may be detrimental to Sydney's case, would he have to print it?"
"Not if he ever wants sex again." Meg walked from the entry to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of flavored water. "Why? What did Collier tell you?"
The flame from the gas burner was beginning to make the area too warm. Or it could be my conscience. Regardless, she couldn't keep this to herself. Kate leaned backward against the countertop, propped on her elbows so she could face Meg as she related the confirming information.
"Well, at least we know for sure." Meg took another sip then stared at a space overhead. "You know, I've talked to people about Sydney, and I've seen her around town for the past few years. She's always comes across as a great kid. I can't believe the police would think otherwise, but I can understand Collier's concern."
"Unless he's right, and Lieutenant Johnson is focusing on Sydney to smoke out the real killer."
The kettle took that moment to begin a congested whistle. Kate moved it from the burner, then added tea bags to her travel mug. "Want one?"
Meg waggled her bottled water. "Getting kind of warm for hot tea."
"No. It's not." Kate knew her answer was pure wuss, but between Collier's conversation and her obviously thin blood, she didn't care. The tea's added scent of mingled citrus and spice filled the kitchen in an instant. She could feel her pulse slowing, and the aroma helped pull things out of the norm for a moment so she could think. "Do you know what the real problem is?"
"With the lists you spin constantly, I have no doubt you'll be able to tell me," Meg replied, raising an eyebrow as she grinned.
Kate returned the smile. "We need to find the missing link. There's something we don't know. Something someone is holding back."
"So what are you thinking? Do we need to pull out the list, make some more notes?"
"Maybe. But this isn't really a to-do list kind of thing. I'm thinking more thought process, more what-if. Almost like a word puzzle where we need to find the right term and fill in the correctly numbered boxes. But it's no game. This is murder. But why?"
It was surprising how calm Kate felt saying those words. Panic was not a foreign feeling, and she readily expected it. Instead, this felt…well, maybe not okay, but manageable. She rolled the rubber band around on her wrist but didn't feel the overwhelming urge to snap it for distraction. She felt cautious, sure—she would be crazy not to. However, she felt…thought…she was at least in some small way comfortable with the idea of moving forward. Nothing that happened and no information that had come out made her change her mind about Sydney's innocence. They simply needed to ramp up their awareness somehow and find the missing link. There had to be one. Or maybe even more.
"Someone wanted to get rid of Lila," Meg said. "My money is still on Erin. With one murder her twisted little mind could see the possibility of getting back at Blaine Collier for dumping her and making sure her daughter doesn't have Sydney around in high school to outshine Nikki."
Kate shook her head. "Maybe the second part, but not the first. Killing Lila would only get back at Collier if Erin could somehow pin the death on him."
"As good a plan as any. Hers just backfired when we showed up before Sydney and her dad so we could call the police right away." Meg tossed her bottle in the recycle bin. "If not Erin, then who did it?"
"My question is how?" Kate said, placing her cup back on the countertop as she spoke. "Even assuming Lila still had a key to get into the house, which we need to find out, would she leave the door unlocked and go stand alone on the balcony?"
"Truthfully? Yeah, probably." Meg shrugged. "I know we've had two murders in the last two months, but Lila's from here originally, remember. You've lived in a lot of big cities and are used to locking doors. It's more relaxed in Vermont."
Okay, she could concede the point. "But that doesn't answer how the killer knew where to find Lila anyway. Sydney and Collier knew she was going to come by the house to talk—"
"And so did we." Meg planted her fists on her hips and squinted, so Kate knew she was thinking.
"Right, we knew, too. But we didn't kill her. And, as you pointed out, we saw Sydney and Collier arrive after the murder—"
"But the police still think Sydney did it," Meg interrupted.
"Or they're using the possibility of her guilt as bait," Kate continued, citing Blaine Collier's supposition. "Either way, we didn't tell anyone, so unless Sydney or Lila or Collier did, how would the killer know?"
Meg ran a hand along the countertop as she paced. "If any of those three talked about the plans coming up in their evening, who would know?"
The lists were growing and cross-pollinating in Kate's head. She needed to write it all down, so she pulled a pad from her purse and flipped to a clean page.
Who would know Lila was in the house before the murder?
1) Since Sydney left the house angry on the morning of the murder, students and teachers at the high school might be aware after asking.
2) Collier may have mentioned it to Timothy.
3) Anyone in Lila's office, and by extension anyone who might have been following Lila to do more harm to her or her car.
That was it—she couldn't get more specific. Kate passed the notepad to Meg so she could read the list and asked, "You have any more ideas?"
"We probably need to add the idea we came up with at the bake sale that it might have been Nikki trying to lure her mother here to frame Sydney, or maybe coming to try to kill Sydney," Meg suggested. "After all, if Nikki had been watching the house and knew when Collier left for dinner with the two younger kids, she might have slipped in somehow to wait for Sydney. Maybe lifted Sydney's key from her purse at school and made a copy. If Collier hadn't left the kids with the other family, Sydney would have likely arrived home ahead of him, and Nikki could have also had the option of killing her instead. They're competitors. They'd know each others' schedule. It's complete supposition, but we may as well consider all variables."
"Good point." Kate took back the pad to add a couple of more lines to the list. Then a new thought occurred. "If we move past Nikki for a second and consider Erin as a victim instead of Lila, maybe the whole thing is a case of misidentification, and the killer acted before realizing the wrong victim stood on the dark balcony."
Meg moved closer to Kate and leaned on the countertop. "What are you thinking?"
Kate leaned sideways to set her cup in the sink, then put the notepad on the countertop so she and Meg could read and consider it together.
"I'm thinking we need to add Erin's enemies to this list. All the people who might dislike her enough to lure her here with a fake text message from Blaine Collier."
"I'm betting the list would be long," Meg said. "Starting with you and me after that crazy act she pulled outside the Book Nook."
"There's someone else we need to consider." Kate wrote Book Nook on the pad. "In fact, we first heard about this person the day Erin had her crazy spell here at the house, and later at the bookstore. I met her when we had our orientation for the library book sale. Erin's assistant."
Meg cocked her head to one side. "You mean the one she beat up on the phone?"
"Exactly. I expected a hesitant little mouse when she introduced herself to me on Friday, but she was very nice and not exactly the pushover I expected. Made a point of talking about the murder. And never came across as someone who would be happy to keep taking Erin's kind of verbal abuse. She didn't seem overly aggressive or anything, but she made it clear she didn't like her boss. Another funny thing, however, she reminded me of someone else. Something about her features or expression."
"She's a brunette, right? Medium height, maybe as tall as you, and a little older than us. Lee Ann something?"
"Lee Ann Miller. Maybe she's the missing link. She went to college with Lila, at least part of the time, and works for Erin."
"Is Erin's slave and scapegoat."
"Bu
t is she a suspect, too?"
"I've met her," Meg said. "Though I don't really know anything about her other than what Gil told me. I don't think she's been here very long. I'm going to have to ask mother, see if she knows anything about the family. What did you say her last name was again?"
"Miller. Lee Ann Miller."
Suddenly a voice piped up from behind and startled them. "What about my mother? Has something happened to her, too?"
Kate and Meg whirled. In the doorway from the garage stood Sydney Collier in a T-shirt and running shorts, her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail.
"Oh, you startled us, Sydney," Kate said, her hand pressed to her heart. "We didn't hear you come in."
"My feet were dirty." The teen held up a pair of muddy running shoes. "I skipped practice to go ahead and pack up my workroom, so when I saw it'd quit raining I jogged over here. Sorry if I scared you, but what were you saying about my mother?"
Meg spoke up. "No, we were talking about meeting Lee Ann Miller at the book sale."
"Yeah. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but she's my birth mother. The Colliers—who I consider my mom and dad—adopted me."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Newsletter Recipe Spotlight
One of the best tools for organized moms is a slow cooker (or electric Crock Pot). Many family favorites can be adapted for all day cooking, making dinner an easy option when everyone comes in from different activities. Play around with your own recipes or adapt ones taken off the Internet. Here's the preferred McKenzie house version of Ready When You Are Macaroni and Cheese.
First, spray your slow cooker with nonstick vegetable oil, like Pam, then cook and drain 8 ounces of elbow macaroni and add it to the cooker.
In a small bowl, mix together a 12-ounce can of evaporated milk, a cup-and-a-half of regular or almond milk, and two eggs, a teaspoon of salt, and about half a teaspoon of pepper. Then pour the mixture over the elbow mac.
Shred four cups of cheddar cheese, and add three cups to the cooker—saving the final cup of cheese for later.
Now stir the entire mixture so all the ingredients are well distributed, and finally sprinkle the last cup of cheese over the top of it all.
Do not stir again until the recipe is completely cooked. Just walk away and let the food cook while you and your family are busy with the day's activities.
Cover and cook on LOW for most of the day—about five or six hours—until the mac and cheese mixture is firm and the edges are golden.
* * *
Samantha and Keith spent Sunday after church at the indoor skating rink in Bennington. When Kate arrived back at the McKenzie house, father and daughter had just arrived home, and their skates were slung over their shoulders as Keith unlocked the front door.
"How did the first skating workshop go?" Kate asked, as she trekked across the lawn. Sam almost vibrated with excitement, despite having skated for hours. If only mothers had a fraction of the energy of their kids.
"It was great, Mom!" Sam met her halfway. "Daddy taught me strategies."
Her husband moved more slowly toward them. Last year's knee injury still gave him problems if he spent too much time on the ice. He looked like he was just tired, but Kate knew to keep a close watch so he didn't overdo.
"Yes, your dad is a great one for skating strategies."
"They're what give kids like me a better advantage when I have to race someone who's a lot bigger. Daddy is going to let me use weights, too. We're going to the gym."
Keith shrugged and gave her a sheepish grin. Kate put a hand on her daughter's blonde head and said, "Sounds good, Xena. Why don't you get those skates into their cubby and head off to the bathtub. I'll need you to help set the dinner table soon."
"Okay." Sam whipped around and disappeared into the house.
"Am I to presume it all went well?" she asked, after Keith gave her a kiss hello and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. They took a more leisurely pace to the front door than Samantha's mad dash. "You know you don't have to skate with her the entire time."
He shrugged again, this time so he could avoid responding to what he wanted to ignore. Instead, he answered her question. "She's always been good, but now she's found focus and seems totally committed. I don't want to raise her hopes too high or anything, but she could really do well at this. She'd still be at the rink right now if I hadn't dragged her away. No whining about being tired, no matter what kind of paces I put her through. She wanted to go out again tomorrow after school, but I told her we'd better wait a few days for her body to get used to the drills. I promised another outing by Thursday."
Like he would have done anything to overstrain his little girl. Kate smiled. She loved hearing him talk like this, seeing his pride in one of his kids loving the activity he loved the best. Nevertheless, she had to bring things into perspective. "Guess this is how Sydney started years ago. But probably not at the public rink. We'll see if Sam's commitment holds when she's in a program where the coach expects her to skate a couple of hours before school each morning. Neither of our girls have ever been early risers."
"And dawn comes really early," Keith said, laughing. "I remember those days. Not fondly, but I remember them. Still, it'll be a few years before we have to worry about anything along those lines. It will definitely be a way to prove how badly she wants this."
"Hear anything about Sydney?"
"A group of teen girls were talking, and I heard her name mentioned." He frowned. "But the volume fell when they realized I was close enough to hear them. I got the feeling they hoped she hadn't killed Lila but were keen to gossip about it anyway."
Kate brushed her bangs from her eyes. "At least someone in the community seems to be on the girl's side. Even half-heartedly."
Keith stepped back so Kate could enter first.
"Are your parents bringing Suze home? Or do I need to go pick her up?"
Chuckling as he closed the door, Keith headed for the kitchen and said, "Dad will bring her home. They went fishing."
"George and Suze went fishing." Kate cocked one eyebrow.
"Yep."
"Our girly girl is going to bait a hook?"
"That's what she said."
She shook her head as she walked. "And this was your dad's idea?"
"Nope." Keith put his hands on his hips and grinned down at her. "Suze requested they go. Couldn't get to their car fast enough when she asked him at church."
Kate squinted at him. This was unbelievable. "Are you kidding me? I'd better take her temperature when she comes home."
He pulled a beer from the fridge and twisted off the cap. "If I were a bettin' man, I'd say Jamie what's-his-name, who Suze pretty much has a permanent crush on, said something in school about liking to fish."
"Either that or aliens have taken over her body." Kate moved to the dishwasher and began unloading the racks. She'd started the machine running right before everyone left that morning.
"Unless we see evidence of extra arms, I'm going to stick with the crush hypothesis." Keith tipped back his beer and took a long swallow. "You get a lot done?"
Reaching high to place a pitcher, Kate felt her muscles twinge. "Yeah, we did. Both physically and mentally, and my body aches in all directions."
"We'll creak along together tonight." Then he grinned. "Want to tell me about your strategies?"
"Had a few surprises." Kate told him about the list they'd made and the revelation they'd learned when Sydney overheard them.
He dropped his bottle into the glass recycle bin. "Wow. Did not see that coming."
"You and me both."
"Does it change anything?"
"I don't think so. Meg and I discussed it at length on the drive home. From what Sydney told us, Lee Ann gave her up for adoption and relinquished all rights to the Colliers when the child was four. They took her back to Florida to grow up, and she never saw her mom again until Lee Ann moved here a year after they arrived in Hazelton. There's been some real friction between all of the adults, not to m
ention that Lila and Lee Ann were apparently cousins, too. So we have the additional family element."
"Would Sydney stay here and move in with Lee Ann?" Keith asked.
"We couldn't figure out how she could, unless she sought emancipation, and I'm sure Blaine Collier would fight it with every legal tool in his arsenal."
"Even if that's what she wanted?"
Kate pondered his question for a moment before answering. "I didn't get the feeling from Sydney she wanted to live with Lee Ann. Giving us the information was very matter of fact for her. There might be some hidden issues of abandonment coloring everything, but it was really just a quick 'she gave me up, Mom and Dad raised me, I'm grateful for my life,' and she disappeared upstairs to start packing up her workroom."
"I would say that's weird, but she's a teen, so who knows?" Keith replied, stepping closer.
She tackled the silverware, and Keith walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. "Speaking of surprises. While Sam's splashing around in the bath, and Suze is still with my dad, we have a surprise few minutes we could spend sharing a shower. Work those creaks out of our old muscles."
"That sounds very tempting—"
Just then the front door crashed open. "Mom! Dad! I caught a fish! Come see!"
"But everyone is home," Keith murmured.
"Rain check?" Kate asked, turning to face him.
"You're on."
"Good." She patted his chest. "Now go help your other daughter gut her fish."
