by Linda Wiken
“We.”
J.J. nodded.
“You’re thinking I should confront him.”
“Of course. Who better to do it?”
“I’m not disputing that. In fact, I would insist on doing it. I’m just surprised you’re caving so easily. Why are you caving so easily?”
She shrugged. “If I tried anything, he’d be alerted, and being a cop, he’d know how to divert suspicion. In fact, it’s probably because he’s a cop that his name hasn’t entered into this sooner, don’t you think?”
“Not many people have mentioned she was having an affair. She kept it well hidden. I think that’s the real reason. Everyone was focused on Connor Mac as being the main person in her life.”
“Hm. I wonder if he knew?”
“And did what, killed her because she was two-timing him?”
J.J. squeaked. “I didn’t mean that. Besides, I think Connor must be the reason she broke off her engagement to Zane Anderson. She never really forgot him. That’s why they were back together. So, what if Zane gets angry because he’s not used to rejection, and he starts following her, sees her with Connor at the casino night, and kills her in a jealous rage.”
“You’ve got it all figured out.”
“Well, it could have happened that way.”
“Did you see him at the event? And was there a fast flight to Turks and Caicos the next day?”
“We don’t even know when he left. It might have been after the event. And I don’t know what he looks like, so I wouldn’t be able to spot him. But, that reminds me, I was looking through the shots again last night, and I spotted Fletcher Kane there. He definitely said he wasn’t there.”
“No, as I recall, he talked about his candidate’s alibi.”
“But, he could have said, Gary Myers wasn’t there blah, blah, but I was.”
“If you’ll recall, he wasn’t too thrilled about having to keep talking to us at that point.” Devine sighed. “You’re all over the map. We’ll eliminate the males in this picture one at a time.”
“Okay. But I want to check through the photos and see if Sergeant Beau Watts was at the event. Do you think you can get me a picture of him so that I can compare it to the others?”
“Maybe your friend Alison has some group shot or something with him in it. If not, I’ll do my best. Let’s go back to Fletcher Kane. You’re thinking he could be the killer? But if so, what’s his motive?”
“I really don’t have a clue. And there are none that point to him. I wasn’t specifically looking for him, but there he was, and after just telling us he wasn’t, or so it seemed.” She sat staring at her empty mug. This was getting confusing.
Devine put his hand over hers. “You’re thinking about it too much. Go do your real work and let this simmer on a back burner for today. I’ll take care of the Sergeant Beau Watts angle and let you know when I’ve got something.”
“Fine,” she said, sighing.
“And by the way, I checked on Anderson’s movements, and he really had left on his holiday the week before the event.”
“Hm. He was a long shot anyway.”
• • •
J.J. knocked on Evan’s office door before going upstairs to her own office. He called out to her and she entered.
“Hope I’m not disturbing you,” she said, looking around at the empty office. Not with a client, anyway.
“Not at all. I’m just trying to narrow down the choice of kitchen sinks and faucets for my client. She has such a tough time making up her mind, so leaves it to me to narrow it down to a few that will absolutely work and then attempts to make the final choice.” He waved his hand over the worktable where he was sitting, placed in the far corner of the room next to the natural light coming in through the side window. “What’s on your mind?”
“Connor. I can’t believe we have nothing more to go on.”
Evan shook his head. “He should write a book on how not to be found. What if he’s moved on, as in out of the state? Maybe he realized he’d been spotted or something.”
“That’s possible. But where would he go next? We haven’t heard of any other friends. In fact, don’t you think that’s strange? I never realized before how little I know about his life, and it sounds like no one in Culinary Capers is any more tuned in, either. Why don’t we know more about his life? Has he been deliberately keeping it private?”
“That’s a pretty safe guess. He’s a good media person, able to get the information out of someone without giving much away. I hadn’t thought about it, either. I’ve known him for a couple of years, but I don’t know any of his other friends. I’m pretty sure his parents both passed a long time ago, though, and he never mentions any siblings.” Evan leaned back against the worktable, crossed his arms, and stared at the ceiling. “Do you think there’s a reason?”
“What? Like he’s hiding out in plain sight in Half Moon Bay?”
Evan grinned. “Maybe he’s in witness protection.”
“Not likely he’d have his own radio show in that case. That does sort of point out something else, though.”
“What’s that?”
“How easy it is to let our imaginations run away with us.” She grinned.
“Right. Connor is just … Connor.” Evan walked over to J.J. and placed a hand on each of her arms. “I don’t think there’s anything else we can do to help him until he wants us to. Are there any other leads on the killer’s identity?”
“Devine and I have come up with one more suspect. Don’t give me that look. Devine is turning out to be a big help.”
“All right. Teasing time is over. Who is this mystery person?”
“Well, Alison found out the name of the cop Miranda had an affair with, so Devine’s looking into him. And we also visited the campaign office of her brother, Gary Myers, and spoke to his campaign manager.”
“You don’t think the brother did it?” Evan sounded shocked.
J.J. shook her head. “No, but Fletcher Kane, his campaign manager, gave off some strange vibes. We want to talk to some of the other staff, too, so we’ll try to get to that in the next day or so.”
“When do you have time to work?” Evan asked with a wicked grin.
“Huh. I happen to be a very organized person and manage to fit it all in. And if you believe that,” J.J. added, opening the door, “I’d like to organize a party for you.”
CHAPTER 29
She was still thinking about Connor as she checked through her e-mails. A few minutes later, Skye walked in with a big smile on her face and two large lattes in her hands. “I took a chance you’d be still thirsty,” she said as she set one cup in front of J.J.
“Yum. Thanks. You look happy. Eventful lunch?”
“Yes, but not in that way. I had a delightful breakfast meeting with Nick and the president of the dental association, and we now have a contract to do their Christmas party.”
“As in three months.”
“That would be Christmas.”
“This may be Make It Happen, but it can’t happen. That’s only three months of planning. But you agreed, didn’t you?”
“Of course I did. We don’t have to come up with original ideas, just be original in how we combine them. And the group is about one hundred and fifty, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find a venue. It’s the smaller ones that get booked up first. It can be done, but I’m going to need your help. Are you in?”
“Of course. It will be over and done with before I hit any of my major deadlines. I’m assuming you’ve already chosen the place.”
“I have, but I do have to check if it’s available.” She sat at her desk and started her computer. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it. Do you want to start talking about it?”
“Give me a bit of time to formulate something and then we can bash it all around.”
“You got it.”
A couple of hours later, J.J. stood and stretched. She usually moved around more when spending long stretches at her co
mputer, but she’d been lost in expanding the bible about the VPTA conference. But she’d been vaguely aware of Skye working away at the whiteboard. When J.J. looked over, Skye was fleshing out the details for the dental association Christmas party, with bullet points of ideas listed.
“What do you think?” she asked J.J. “I’ve tossed out some ideas and welcome any comments and additional brain waves.” She walked back to her desk and leaned against it, arms folded across her chest.
J.J. walked over to take a closer look. Then she went back to her chair and sat, still looking at the board, keeping her face totally noncommittal. She sat forward and propped her chin on her hand, eyes scanning the board.
Finally Skye made an exasperated sound. “All right. You’re torturing me. Just tell me what you think.”
J.J. started laughing. “I wanted you to know that I take this all quite seriously.”
“Duly noted. And, your thoughts?”
“My first reaction is, thank God there’s no Santa, at this party, anyway. And I love the idea of most of the decorations being live plants that can be raffled off at the end of the evening. Thanks for thinking of People and Causes. The money will be appreciated.”
“I thought so.”
“It’s a brilliant idea to cross-pollinate our accounts, so to speak.”
“I can handle brilliant.” Skye beamed. “So, the rest looks like it will work? The cocktail stations, the food stations, the menu? Do you think they’d prefer a sit-down dinner?”
“I’ll bet they’re used to a sit-down dinner, so this will be a dynamite alternative. I never asked—have you been to one of these before?”
“A couple of times.”
“And, sit-down dinner?”
Skye nodded.
“Boring,” they said in unison.
Still laughing, J.J. nodded. “This sounds like it will be a wonderful evening. And you didn’t even need my help.”
“Oh, but you did help,” Skye objected. “You approved, and that’s what I needed to hear. I’m out of the office for the rest of the day. See you tomorrow.”
“Of course,” J.J. answered just as her phone rang.
“Meet me for dinner?” Devine asked without even saying hi. “I’ve had a visit with Sergeant Beau Watts.”
J.J. glanced at the clock. “All right. Where and when?”
“Do you know the Battered Boathouse?”
“I know it’s new and I know where it is, but I’ve never eaten there.”
“How about at six?”
“See you.”
She tried to analyze his tone. Was this an aha moment? Was the sergeant the killer? Was this a date?
She shook her head. Devine’s voice never gave away anything.
What a pity.
• • •
She studied the menu with more concentration than necessary. She didn’t want to look up at Devine. There was something about him tonight, maybe the sparkling blue eyes that challenged her equilibrium, more than usual. She’d rise above it with a little food in front of her.
“I’m impressed by their menu. I’ve never even heard of calamari fritti. Oh man, grilled octopus.” She made a face and looked at Devine. He grinned. “I love seafood but pictures would have been good,” she added with a small laugh. Nerves.
“I’ve heard that about you.” He joined in her laughter. “Well, I can highly recommend the steelhead trout with navy bean succotash.” He lowered his menu and closed it.
“You’ve decided already? I know, you have been here before. So are you going with what you’ve had before or are you trying something new? How about the braised goat? What’s that doing on the menu? I thought it was seafood.” What am I doing? Stop this inane chatter.
He laughed a bit louder, sounding seriously amused this time. “They have one non-fish special each day. Hm, braised goat. Might be an idea.”
She glanced at him to see how serious he was. She couldn’t tell. Still not able to read him.
By the time the server arrived with their drinks, a glass of merlot for her, scotch neat for him, they were ready to order.
She took a sip of her wine. “So, give.”
He looked at her over the rim of his glass. “So, I tracked Watts to where he was having lunch. Actually, it wasn’t that difficult. He ate at the diner a few blocks over from the police station. It’s usually the local lunch spot for cops, but he was alone so I grabbed a coffee, slid into the booth, and introduced myself. We talked shop a bit, and then I said we had someone in common. When I mentioned Miranda Myers, we weren’t best buddies any longer. He wouldn’t say anything about her, except that she’d interviewed him once, and he’d read she was dead, but that was it. He finished off his sandwich and left, hastily, if you ask me.”
“So you didn’t really get anything except maybe listed in his bad books.”
Devine grinned. “I got under his skin, and he knows that I know. I’ll let him stew overnight and then stop by the police station. He might want to keep me quiet in that setting and agree to tell me what he knows.”
“Great.” She let out a pent-up sigh. “I wish we had a major clue that had the killer’s name written all over it. I also wish this didn’t feel so much like that proverbial needle in a haystack.”
“I’ve learned over time that sometimes what you’re looking for is right in front of you, J.J.”
CHAPTER 30
J.J.’s stop on the way home from the office the next day was at Connor’s apartment. She’d been thinking about what Devine had said last night. Could Connor be right in front of them, perhaps? Back in his own apartment? She’d run out of other possibilities.
She started at the garage and peeked in as they’d done what seemed like a long time ago, but was really only a couple of weeks, she realized. No car. But that might not mean anything. Connor wouldn’t park it there and announce he was back if he was avoiding the police and everyone else, for that matter. Nor would he let anyone into the building, she realized.
She went to the front door and hung around, waiting for someone to go through it. To seem a little less sinister, she took out her phone and pretended to be talking on it, possibly waiting for a friend. She hoped that’s what she looked like.
Finally, a preppy guy in his midtwenties, possibly heading to the college, came out and gallantly held the door open for her. She smiled her thanks and kept on talking, wanting to avoid any questions or explanations. She paused outside of Connor’s condo. She knew that putting her ear to the door was unlikely to enlighten her. These units were usually soundproof. She did it anyway.
After a couple of minutes, she knocked on the door, standing in front of the peephole. She could only hope that if he were in there, he’d not feel threatened by seeing it was her. She tried again, debating how long she should stand there. One more try and then she turned to walk away. Where is he?
She made it to the elevator a couple of units over, when she heard a door open and looked back. Connor stood in the hallway outside his door. He didn’t make any motions, but J.J. took that to be a welcome of some form. She hurried back and stood looking at him, not sure what to say.
He opened the door wider and she walked in.
“You don’t know how relieved I am to find you here, and in one piece,” she said, trying to keep an even voice. She walked straight into the living room without an invitation and turned to watch him following her. “We’ve all been frantic. And the police have been furious.”
Connor looked embarrassed but determined. “I had some thinking to do.”
“And you didn’t think to let any of us know that you were just getting away for a few days? We wondered if you’d been in a car accident and injured. The police thought you’d run away, a sure sign of guilt.”
He motioned her to sit down. She plunked herself in the nearest chair and watched as he sat in the matching leather club chair on the other side of the ottoman. She was trying to read him but couldn’t. All of a sudden he wasn’t the Connor she knew. She w
aited for an answer.
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “I’m sorry, J.J. I just wasn’t thinking. I felt like my guts had been pulled out, and all I wanted to do was run away from it all. I don’t expect you or anyone to understand.”
J.J. took a deep breath. “I know this hit you hard. I do understand that. It’s just that we’re your friends and want to help in any way we can. Instead, you’ve shut us out.” She wondered if a little levity would help. “And, you’ve missed some good dinners with the gang.”
That earned a small smile. He sighed. “I’m sorry. I just wasn’t thinking, but I’m back and I’m staying.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that, but you’ve got to call Detective Hastings and set it straight with the police before they find you. That would make it much worse.”
“You’re right. But I don’t know what else I can tell them. I’ve been trying to puzzle it through. I still can’t think of anyone who would want to hurt Miranda.” He sighed. Such a lonely sound.
J.J. thought it best not to mention anything she’d learned. Instead, she said, “I’m pretty sure they’ve got other suspects on their list by now, but disappearing put you near the top. So, just call him. First thing tomorrow, please.”
Connor nodded.
“I hate to ask you anything that’s upsetting, but did Miranda talk about anything that was bothering her in particular lately?”
“I tried to go over all that had happened lately. She did mention something about her sister-in-law one time. It had something to do with her brother’s campaign manager.”
J.J. gasped. “Do you know what she meant by that?”
“I have no idea, but it wasn’t really any of my business. She didn’t volunteer anything more. We were out at dinner, and she said it just because I asked what was on her mind. I didn’t think anything more about it. Why, do you think it’s tied to her death?” He winced when he said the last word.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. You didn’t ask her anything more about it?”
“I didn’t know she’d soon be dead. Had I known that, there’re a lot of things I would have done differently. Believe me. I didn’t really pay attention. I guess I didn’t pay attention to a lot of things over the years.”
