by Lynn Cahoon
“Good man.” Greg slapped him on the back and met me on the stairs. “Has Esmeralda found anything?”
“I think so. But she’s still reading. She keeps shooing us away when we ask questions.” I held him back before he went inside. “You don’t think Jake is Maryanne’s grandson, do you?”
“Weirder things have happened. Right now, I’m just concerned about keeping that guy in lockup long enough for us to find something to charge him with.” He ran a hand through his hair as we watched Toby pull out of the driveway and inch the car up the road. “The kid knows how to put on the brakes. I’ve never seen him drive that slow.”
I pointed to the now turning car. “And didn’t he just turn away from town? If he goes that way, it will take over an hour to get back to the station.”
“He’s helping.” Greg put his arm around me. “Let’s go figure this out.”
Esmeralda was drinking a beer when we got back into the house. “Okay. So, what we thought happened, did. She moved in here. He came by with a welcome basket and forced himself on her. Then he watched her. When she found out she was pregnant, he left her a note. It’s in the diary. Marry me or die.”
Justin shook his head. “So when she gave birth, she went away and gave the baby up?”
“Kind of. She told everyone she was going to San Diego for supplies. Instead, she went back home to”—Esmeralda paused and watched Jake before she continued—“Alabama to see family.”
“But she went to Louisiana,” Jake said, translating the look.
“To her mother. She had the baby and left her with her mother. Then Maryanne came back here and told everyone she’d lost the baby.” Esmeralda eyed another beer. “Some of the women from the church came by and told her it was for the best. I guess David didn’t buy the story as Maryanne mentions him stalking her for years. The last entry was frightening. She’d been hearing sounds at night, like someone was in the house. She’d called the police, but they hadn’t seen anything. She said she was packing up in the morning to leave and go home, but that was the last note.”
“Which the investigating officer probably read and said she’d left voluntarily.” Greg shook his head. “But what would he have done with the body?”
The stairwell flashed into my mind’s eye. “What if he pushed her off the stairs? Would the ocean tide have come up this far?”
“Show me.” Greg followed as I moved toward the back of the house.
I pointed to the repaired railing. “Look. He could have pushed her through and she would have fallen down on those rocks.”
“Then came back and fixed the stairs so no one would suspect. Besides, the police had already decided she had left on her own.” Greg studied the area where Maryanne might have fallen. “It works. And I might be able to get a warrant to search his house. Maybe he likes mementos.”
Esmeralda met us at the door. She held up the picture Jake had found in the attic. “Mementos like this necklace?”
“That’s the hawk David was wearing.” Greg leaned closer. “I noticed it because it was in silver. Jim, my brother, likes hawks and I’m always looking for something different to give him for his birthday. The chain’s different, but that’s Maryanne’s necklace.”
* * * *
Greg and I were sitting on my back porch recapping the events of the weekend while we watched Emma play ball by herself. She’d throw it in the air, then go running after it, over and over.
Turns out, by the time Greg got David into interrogation, the guy was ready to talk. Especially when Greg showed him the picture and the locket.
“He confessed?” That surprised me. “He’d gotten away with it for so many years. Why confess now?”
“He wants to make amends so he can talk to his grandchild. He overheard us talking about it earlier. He wanted us to follow up so he can have a relationship with the child.” Greg rubbed the back of his neck. “Although, I would think that the fact Jake was holding a gun on him while we took him into custody is a clue that his grandson wasn’t interested in a relationship.”
“He doesn’t know it’s Jake, right? I wouldn’t talk to him, would you?” I took a sip of my iced tea. “Besides, the jury is still out on Jake’s heritage. Did Jake find his birth certificate yet?”
“He already had it. He knew Maryanne was his grandmother from the moment he agreed to the weekend. But he’s found out so much more now. Ariel died giving birth to the boy. Worse, his father was killed in combat overseas and didn’t know about the baby. However, there is some good news. His father’s side of the family still has members out in the Baton Rouge area. Jake’s flying out tomorrow to meet them.” Greg threw the ball Emma had decided to drop at his feet out into the yard, then grabbed a towel and wiped off his hands. “I convinced him to leave his gun in his checked luggage. At least I hope I did. I don’t want to see him on the news getting arrested at the airport.”
“Well, it was a good thing he didn’t listen to you last weekend.” I waited for a reaction, but Greg only shrugged.
“I’m still not convinced that citizens should be carrying but Jake felt like he needed that level of protection. Of course, even with his permit, he was supposed to only carry it unloaded. I guess I forgot to check it for ammo.” He threw the ball again. “What are we doing for dinner?”
“I thought maybe you’d like to take me over to that new restaurant that just opened on Pacific Highway.” I watched my dog. “We could call a few friends and see if they want to double date?”
He pulled me to my feet. “I’ll buy you dinner anywhere as long as we don’t double date for a while. I’m ready for some couple time, just the two of us. Besides, after last weekend, the restaurant would probably burn down and we’d be trapped together in the basement or something crazy like that.”
“So did David admit to doing all those things to scare us, like move the books?” I thought he should be arrested for that alone, but according to Greg, it wasn’t a crime.
“He says Maryanne did it. That Maryanne was doing things to keep him away. He’s been searching the house for years to find a clue on the location of the baby.” Greg rubbed his neck. “The guy is crazy as a bedbug.”
“Crazy things do tend to happen here in South Cove.” I thought about the years I’d lived here. “Maybe it’s the tidal effect from the ocean.”
“Or maybe it’s just your getting involved in things that aren’t your business.” Greg turned me around and headed me to the door. “Hold your response back. Let’s go eat. I’m starving and I can’t get the energy up for a proper fight without some fuel.”
“Greg King, sometimes you’re such a pain in the butt.” I leaned up and kissed him. “But I guess we both have our faults.”
I went inside and ran upstairs to change into a sundress and my flowered flip-flops. Date night required a bit more flash than my jean shorts and tanks. As I washed my face and put a bit of lip gloss on, I smiled into the mirror. I was glad that Maryanne’s grandson had found family. And Maryanne had found peace.
The house would be demolished next month but not before the items in her library and potions rooms were with people who cared about them. And from what Darla had said, Josh Thomas, the local antique dealer, was giving her a substantial amount for the other items. Maryanne’s life hadn’t been what she’d dreamed, but at least she was making a positive impact on others’ lives now that she was gone.
And that’s all anyone could hope for.
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Lynn Cahoon is an Idaho expat. She grew up living the small-town life she now loves to write about. Currently, she’s living with her husband and two fur babies in a small historic town on the banks of the Mississippi river where her imagination tends to wander. Guidebook to Murder, Book 1 of the Tourist Trap series, won the 2015 Reader’s Crown award for Mystery Fiction.
Visit her at
www.lynncahoon.com
Love Lynn Cahoon?
There’s lots more where this came from!
Be sure to check out all her series.
The Tourist Trap Mysteries
The Cat Latimer Mysteries
and
The Farm-to-Fork Mysteries
WHO MOVED MY GOAT CHEESE?
A Farm-to-Fork Mystery
Angie Turner hopes her new farm-to-table restaurant can be a fresh start in her old hometown in rural Idaho. But when a goat dairy farmer is murdered, Angie must turn the tables on a bleating black sheep…
With three weeks until opening night for their restaurant, The County Seat, Angie and her best friend and business partner Felicia are scrambling to line up local vendors—from the farmers market to the goat dairy farm of Old Man Moss. Fortunately, the cantankerous Moss takes a shine to Angie, as does his kid goat Precious. So when Angie hears the bloodcurdling news of foul play at the dairy farm, she jumps in to mind the man’s livestock and help solve the murder. One thing’s for sure, there’s no way Angie’s going to let some killer get her goat…
A STORY TO KILL
A Cat Latimer Mystery
Former English professor Cat Latimer is back in Colorado, hosting writers’ retreats in the big blue Victorian she’s inherited, much to her surprise, from none other than her carousing ex-husband! Now it’s an authors’ getaway—but Cat won’t let anyone get away with murder…
The bed-and-breakfast is open for business, and bestselling author Tom Cook is among its first guests. Cat doesn’t know why he came all the way from New York, but she’s glad to have him along with the quirkier—and far less famous—attendees.
Cat’s high school sweetheart, Seth, who’s fixing up the weathered home, brings on mixed emotions for Cat…some of them a little overpowering. But it’s her uncle, the local police chief, whom she’ll call for help when there’s a surprise ending for Tom Cook in his cozy guest room. Will a killer have the last word on the new life Cat has barely begun?
GUIDEBOOK TO MURDER
A Tourist Trap Mystery
In the gentle coastal town of South Cove, California, all Jill Gardner wants is to keep her store—Coffee, Books, and More—open and running. So why is she caught up in the business of murder?
When Jill’s elderly friend, Miss Emily, calls in a fit of pique, Jill already knows the city council is trying to force Emily to sell her dilapidated old house. But Emily’s gumption goes for naught when she dies unexpectedly and leaves the house to Jill—along with all of her problems…and her enemies. Convinced her friend was murdered, Jill is finding the list of suspects longer than the list of repairs needed on the house. But Jill is determined to uncover the culprit—especially if it gets her closer to South Cove’s finest, Detective Greg King. Problem is, the killer knows she’s on the case—and is determined to close the book on Jill permanently…
