Prime Crime Holiday Bundle

by Cleo Coyle; Emily Brightwell; Kenneth Blanchard

  Kelly spotted Burt in the next room heading for the foyer. “There he is now. Hey, Burt, can I talk with you for a minute?” She ran to intercept him before he could disappear.

  “That’s about all I’ve got, Kelly. What’s up?”

  “Burt, I know you and Mimi are swamped right now with stuff for the shop, but I really need to talk with you. Could you come over to the café for a few minutes, please? I promise it won’t take long.”

  Burt peered at her. “Well, I’ll be damned. You’ve got that old look in your eye. I haven’t seen it for months. What’re you up to, Kelly?”

  Kelly had to smile. Burt could always tell when she was sleuthing. “I’m not sure, Burt. That’s why I need to talk with you. You can tell me if I’m crazy or if I’m on to something.”

  “Well, you’ve got my curiosity going—”

  Just then, Claudia swooshed into the foyer, followed by a gust of wind. Her holiday green and red scarf dangling, coat open, she rushed up to Kelly and Burt. Her face was flushed, eyes bright and dancing. She looked like her old self. The Claudia before police charges.

  “We’ve just had the most wonderful news!” she gushed. “Marty called and said the motel’s phone records came in, and my daughter’s phone call is there! Right there in black and white! Proof that I was in my motel room that night. We talked for over two hours!” She paused to suck in wind. “Isn’t it wonderful! That proves my innocence!”

  Kelly stared into Claudia’s blue eyes and forced a big smile. “That’s wonderful news, Claudia.”

  “It sure is, Claudia,” Burt said in a voice Kelly recognized. His kind voice. The voice Burt used when he wanted to spare someone the whole truth. “Mimi will be delighted with the news. I saw her up front a few minutes ago. Why don’t you go tell her?”

  “Oh, yes, oh, yes! I can’t wait to tell everyone,” Claudia said, almost dancing with excitement.

  Kelly watched Claudia hurry toward the front room, then glanced to Burt. “I get the feeling that you don’t think those phone records are going to help Claudia as much as she thinks they are.”

  Burt smiled ruefully. “Yeah, I didn’t want to say anything. She was so happy. All those records will prove is that the phone in her room was busy for over two hours. It could have been off the hook.”

  “You think Claudia’s daughter is lying about the call?”

  Burt shrugged. “No, I think she probably did call Claudia a second time, but perhaps they only talked a little while. It wouldn’t take Claudia long to drive over to Juliet’s neighborhood from the motel.”

  Kelly paused, glancing over her shoulder at browsing customers in the next room. She lowered her voice. “Maybe Claudia isn’t lying, Burt. Maybe she didn’t kill Juliet.”

  Burt eyed her again. “What are you saying, Kelly?”

  “Let’s go find some coffee and privacy first,” she said, leading the way toward the café.

  Kelly chose a table in the corner of the alcove and signaled a waitress. Burt settled across from her and folded his hands together on the table between them. Kelly recognized his thinking pose.

  “I can tell something’s bothering you, Kelly. What’s on your mind?”

  Kelly paused, choosing her words. “I’m wondering if someone else killed Juliet Renfrow.”

  “Accidentally, you mean?”

  “No. I think someone else killed Juliet and deliberately made it look like Claudia did it.”

  Burt screwed up his face. “What? Who on earth would do that?”

  “Someone who hated Claudia enough to commit murder so Claudia would spend the rest of her life in jail.”

  Recognition flashed across Burt’s face. “You’re talking about Sheila, aren’t you?”

  Kelly nodded. “Yes, I am. I think she deliberately killed Juliet so she could frame Claudia.”

  “I hate to tell you, Kelly, but that sounds crazy.”

  “I know it does, Burt, but hear me out, okay? Let me tell you everything I’ve learned, and if you still think it sounds crazy, then I’ll leave it alone.”

  The waitress appeared then and poured a dark stream of coffee into their empty mugs, then hustled away to other customers.

  “Okay, then,” Burt said, leaning back into the chair and folding his arms. Listening pose. “You’ve got my full attention and a cup of coffee. What’ve you got, Kelly?”

  She took a deep breath and jumped in. “You remember when you called the Sarasota cop, Detective Watson, last Monday? He told you that Sheila was obsessed with Claudia. He also said that Sheila had called him on Monday of the week before and asked what kind of sentence Claudia would get on those auto theft charges. And she was incensed to learn that Claudia might not go to jail at all. She might get work release. It all depended on the judge. Apparently Sheila lost it on the phone then and started yelling and swearing at him.”

  “I remember.”

  Kelly leaned over the table, clasping her hands in her own pose. “Rosa sold a Christmas cape to Sheila that day, Monday. She’s got the sales receipt. That Monday was also the same day we all sat around the knitting table and learned that Claudia was hysterical at her motel, following Jeremy’s rejection. Juliet and Jeremy, however, were planning to meet that evening for a romantic engagement dinner. Juliet was killed later that night. Monday night.”

  She took a quick sip of coffee. “According to Lizzie, Sheila had met Juliet at Saint Mark’s, where she’d been volunteering every night. And Sheila heard all about Juliet and Jeremy’s romance around the table. Sheila knew Juliet, knew Juliet’s habits and her schedule.”

  “You’re forgetting the car, Kelly. Claudia’s car had Juliet’s blood on it as well as fibers from her clothing.”

  Kelly smiled. “I’m getting to that, Burt. Connie told me yesterday that she’d spotted Sheila stealing from Claudia’s knitting bag the day after she arrived here. Connie saw Sheila take Claudia’s car keys.”

  Burt’s bushy gray eyebrows shot up. “Is Connie sure?”

  “She’s positive. She watched Sheila take the keys, leave the shop, and drive away. But get this. She returns in a few minutes and returns the car keys to Claudia’s purse. Connie made it a point to let Sheila know she was watching. Sheila said she’d ‘found them on the floor.’ ”

  “And Connie is sure she saw car keys?” Burt asked again, eyes narrowing.

  Kelly took a deep drink of coffee this time then nodded. “Connie recognized them from the red pom-pom on the key chain. I’m thinking a few minutes is all anyone would need to drive across the street to Big Box, have duplicate keys made, and drive back. What do you think?”

  “That sounds about right, but that’s still just supposition, Kelly. You know that.”

  “I know. Just hear me out. Sheila learns that Claudia might not go to jail on the car theft charges. She’s furious. Then she hears that Claudia’s locked herself in her motel, emotionally distraught at Jeremy’s rejection. And Sheila gets an idea. Thanks to gossip around the knitting table, Sheila knows that Juliet will once again be at Jeremy’s for dinner, then walking home later that night. She’s already got Claudia’s keys. So Sheila buys a cape exactly like Claudia’s to conceal her identity and steals Claudia’s car, then sits and waits in the dark for unsuspecting Juliet to come into view.”

  Burt stared at the table, clearly considering what she said. “I admit it’s a thought-provoking theory, Kelly, but it’s still just supposition. There’s no way to prove Sheila drove Claudia’s car, let alone killed Juliet.”

  “There would be if the crime lab could test Sheila’s cape.”

  Burt’s eyebrows shot up again, but he didn’t say a word.

  “The same cape that concealed Sheila’s identity from the passing motorist could be the very thing that incriminates her. The guy saw Sheila kneeling beside the road. That’s a big cape, Burt. Sheila had to be kneeling close to Juliet in order to obscure the man’s sight. And when she knelt beside Juliet’s body, the cape would have gotten blood on it. The police said Jul
iet’s blood was on the hood of the car, so she was probably bleeding even more when her body hit the pavement. I’m guessing there was blood on the ground.”

  “Most probably,” Burt said, nodding slowly.

  “Is there any way the police could check Sheila’s cape, Burt?”

  “Not without a search warrant.”

  “Darn. It’s right here in the shop, too. I told Connie to lock it up in Mimi’s drawer—”

  “Sheila hasn’t brought it in yet.”

  Kelly frowned in frustration. “Is there any way Dan might want to check into Sheila? What with her past history of stalking and harassing Claudia—”

  “No charges were filed against Sheila in Florida, remember?” Burt took a sip of coffee. “Dan might be tempted to take a look if we had more to give him. But he’s not going to do it because Sheila hates Claudia and bought a Christmas cape and stole Claudia’s car keys. That’s not enough. I admit, you’ve got me halfway believing Sheila could be involved, but you need something more before I could go to Dan with this.”

  “Well, I’m still working on it, Burt—”

  “What?” Burt started laughing. “I can’t believe it. You’ve got more?”

  “Yesterday afternoon, I went to the hotel where Sheila is staying. It’s one of those fancy residence hotels on the south side. I put on one of my CPA suits and went to speak to the manager. Told him I was the auditor for a tech company out of state and wanted to know what sort of security was in place in the parking garage. We were thinking of having a business conference there. Did they have cameras? Keyed entry only?”

  “CPA suit, huh? I would have loved to see that.”

  “Trust me, I’m a force to be reckoned with when I’m suited up.” Kelly grinned. “Anyway, the manager said the garage had both cameras and keyed entry that allowed only the residents access. And it recorded the date and time whenever they entered the garage and returned. Plus, all photo and data records are stored digitally for ninety days. So, I’m betting they’d have a record of exactly when Sheila returned to the garage the night of Juliet’s murder, and I’m betting it was late.”

  “Still not enough, Kelly. You gotta give me more.”

  Kelly leaned her arms on the table. “I think there is more, but I’m going to need your help to get it.”

  Only one eyebrow shot up this time. “Exactly what do you need my help for?”

  “Before I went to the hotel, I took a quick trip to the low-rent side of town to Claudia’s motel. I was hoping maybe they had cameras in their parking lot or something that might have spotted Sheila switching cars that night. Face it, she’d have to leave her car in the motel parking lot in order to drive off in Claudia’s car.”

  “I’m following you. Keep going.”

  “Well, they don’t have cameras, but the manager said they do employ a security firm to patrol the parking lot regularly during the night. Since they’re so close to the interstate, they’ve had some problems in the past. I told the guy I was an antique dealer and often carried expensive loads in my van. So I needed a secure parking lot.”

  “I take it you weren’t in your power suit.”

  Kelly just grinned. “The guy gave me the name and number of the security firm they use. Now I’m wondering how I should approach them. I mean, I need to ask some pretty specific questions, and—”

  “What’s the name of the firm? I know several of them in town because lots of cops start working security after they retire.”

  Kelly retrieved a piece of paper from her back jeans pocket. “Sunrise Security. He said a Manny Ramirez is the owner. Here’s his number.”

  “Oh, yeah. Manny’s hired lots of the guys when they leave the force. Sure, I’ll help you on this, Kelly. Let me give him a call. See if we can pay him a visit.” He reached for the paper.

  “That’ll be great, Burt. Do you think you could call him now? Maybe we could go over there this afternoon.”

  Burt chuckled. “I suppose we could, provided we could lasso one of the gang to take over these errands Mimi needs done. Why don’t you see if you can find a volunteer?”

  “I’m on it, Burt,” Kelly said, digging out her cell phone.

  “You know, Kelly, we still won’t have anything definitive to give Dan. It’s all just circumstantial. He may not buy it.”

  Kelly paused as she scanned her phone directory, searching for Megan’s number. “Just like the evidence they have against Claudia. It’s all circumstantial, right? I mean, Claudia’s got phone records showing she may have been in her motel room that night. All the police really have is the evidence on Claudia’s car. And what if Claudia wasn’t driving the car that night? Think about it. Claudia’s motivation to murder Juliet is pretty flimsy. Supposedly she went over the deep end and decided to win back Jeremy’s affections by eliminating Juliet. That’s quite a stretch. Meanwhile, Sheila’s motivation to implicate Claudia in a serious crime can be shown by her actions in Florida and here. Hate is a powerful emotion.” She fixed Burt with a direct stare.

  “Not bad, Kelly.”

  Kelly acknowledged his praise with a modest nod as she punched in Megan’s number.

  “We really appreciate your taking time to visit with us, Manny,” Burt said, as they shook hands.

  “Hey, good to see you, Detective,” Manny Ramirez said, beckoning Kelly and Burt into his office. “Please, have a seat, miss.”

  “Just call me Kelly,” she said, shaking Manny’s hand.

  “Boy, it’s been a while, Detective. You left the force a couple of years ago, right?” Manny asked as he sat in a green upholstered chair behind his desk.

  Sunshine through the window behind him warmed the room. Winter sunshine was deceptive in Colorado. Warm inside, cold outside. Winter winds still held sway.

  Burt pulled a chair up beside Kelly’s. “Yeah, that’s right. I left after my wife died. Heart attack, you know . . .”

  Manny’s face registered sadness. “Oh, yeah, I remember. Damn shame. Judy was a great gal. I’m sorry.”

  Burt nodded. “Well, it was rough for a while. But lots of good friends have helped me through. Like Kelly here. She’s kind of like another daughter.”

  Kelly was surprised how good that felt to hear Burt say it. She already knew he thought of her as a daughter even though Burt had a daughter of his own. Burt had adopted all of her friends at the shop. But it still felt good to hear him say it, especially since her own father was gone.

  “So, what can I do for you, Detective?”

  “Please, Manny, call me Burt.”

  Manny shook his head, chuckling. “I’ll try . . . so, what can I do for you, Burt?”

  “Well, Kelly and I have been keeping track of some people who’s staying at the Happy Traveler Inn over by the interstate. The manager there told us you were in charge of night security for the motel and parking lot.”

  “Yeah, they’re one of our clients. Was there a problem with a guest? I don’t recall Hank reporting any disturbances lately. The Happy Traveler is his beat.”

  “Nope, no disturbances,” Burt said. “No problems at all, in fact. We were simply checking to see if your security guard noticed a car with a Florida license plate show up on the lot earlier this month. Would he keep records?”

  “Yeah, our guards do make notes if they see anything suspicious or out of order. Let me check his files. We should still have the records for those weeks.” Manny went over to the tall metal filing cabinets alongside the opposite wall. “Do you have a particular date you’re looking at?”

  “Matter of fact, we do,” Burt said. “The night of Monday, December the eighth.”

  Manny pulled out a drawer and began thumbing through the folders. “Let’s see, here’s the Happy Traveler file. It looks like Hank was on duty that night. That would be the week of December seventh through thirteenth. Okay, here we go.” He pulled out a folder, flipped it open, and returned to his desk as he read.

  Kelly held her breath, hoping that the night guard had noticed a wo
man in a cape or switched cars or license plates or something. Something that would raise enough questions in Detective Dan’s mind to make him investigate.

  “Here we go . . . ‘Monday, December eighth.’ ” Manny read out loud. “ ‘Checked lot at eight thirty-five p.m. and found motel guest’s 1999 Taurus, Florida license 233234, gone from regular spot. Replaced by a 2005 Pontiac, Florida license 456457.’ ” Manny glanced up. “Is that what you’re looking for?”

  Kelly’s heart was beating so loud, she was sure Manny could hear it. Meanwhile, Burt pulled out a small notepad from his shirt pocket and paged through it.

  “Sure is. Sheila has a 2005 Pontiac, and that’s her license plate. I checked it in the parking lot before we came.” Burt glanced to Kelly with a twinkle in his eye. “You’ve still got it, Sherlock.”

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Manny continued, reading the file. “Hank made another entry three hours later. ‘Checked lot at eleven twenty-nine p.m., 1999 Taurus returned to regular parking slot, and 2005 Pontiac gone.’ ”

  Kelly could barely keep her elation from showing. “Is that enough for Dan? What do you think, Burt?”

  Burt smiled and flipped the notepad closed. “Oh, yeah, Kelly. I definitely think Dan will be interested in what we’ve found. And in your conclusions. In fact, I’ll go over there right now to tell him. Manny, can you make a copy of that file for me, please?”

  “You betcha, Detective . . . uh, Burt.”

  Nineteen

  Watching Carl gobble down his doggie-kibble breakfast, Kelly closed the glass patio door. The wind was picking up, blowing in over the mountains. That meant a storm front was heading their way.

  “You going over to your folks’ now?” Kelly asked as she watched Steve zip up his winter jacket.

  “Yeah, I promised my dad I’d check out the stables with him, see what would be involved if he wanted to expand the stalls.” He tossed his new alpaca scarf around his neck. “Should I tell my folks we’ll be joining them for Christmas brunch?”

  “Absolutely,” Kelly said before draining her mug. “Are you sure it’s all right to bring Carl? I know he’s trained now, but no telling what he’ll do when he sees livestock again.”