Marriage and Murder (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Book 4)

by Dianne Harman

  “Next time I go to Seattle I’ll check it out. I know Kelly loves things like that. We didn’t take a honeymoon, and the stay at-home and relax honeymoon we were planning only lasted about half a day, until we found Jesse Allen’s body. When this case is solved, might be time for a belated honeymoon.”

  “That’s why I’m calling. I have some information for you about Jesse. My poor secretary says that Jesse’s ex-wife Sydney is driving her nuts. She says Sydney must have called twenty times a day for the last two days, to see if I’d checked in with my secretary while I was gone.”

  “What was she calling about?”

  “This is kind of a dicey situation. Jesse had a large life insurance policy he took out when he was married to Sydney. They agreed he wouldn’t have to pay her alimony since she was a school principal and had a fairly nice income, but instead he would keep her on as the primary beneficiary on his life insurance policy in case something happened to him.”

  “Can’t blame her for calling. She probably wants to get that money sooner rather than later.”

  “That’s the dicey part. She’s not going to get the money.”

  Mike interrupted him. “What are you talking about? When I was going through Jesse’s files, I found his life insurance policy, and Sydney was named as the primary beneficiary.”

  “Correction, Mike. You saw the old insurance policy. Early last week Jesse made an appointment with me. He told me he was deeply in debt and couldn’t remember when I handled the divorce for him if he’d signed anything that meant he had to keep Sydney on as the primary beneficiary of the one million dollar policy. I told him no, that it was a gentleman’s agreement between the two of them and not legally enforceable. Bottom line is he decided he didn’t want to play nice and be a gentleman any longer.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that Jesse changed the person named as the primary beneficiary of the policy from Sydney to me with the stipulation the proceeds from the policy were to only be used to pay off his creditors. In other words, Sydney is no longer a beneficiary, and she gets nothing.”

  “Have you told her?”

  “No. I wanted to talk to you first. I know she’s going to be furious when I tell her, and quite frankly, she can be a hothead at times. The reason I called is to ask you if you could possibly come to my office at 4:30 today. She has an appointment with me then, and I’m going to have to tell her about the change in the life insurance policy.”

  “Sounds like what you want me to do is sit there and keep my gun in my hand in case she pulls one out.”

  “Yeah, and you might also remember she won the pistol shooting competition at the county fair a few years ago. I’ve never known her to be violent, but I don’t want to find out the hard way.”

  “I’ll be there to make sure she doesn’t do anything she might regret.”

  “I’m the one who might regret it if she does anything,” Lem chuckled.

  “One more question, Lem. Do you know if Sydney knows that Jesse changed the beneficiary designation on the insurance policy?”

  “No, I don’t. I’d have a hard time believing he would have told her knowing their stormy past and her temper, but maybe she found out. Maybe that’s why she’s been calling so much, to see if what she heard is true. I have a hunch you’re thinking that if she found out about it, it might have provided a pretty good motive for her to kill him.”

  “Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Well, we should know more this afternoon. See you then.”

  Mike buzzed Angie. “I’m going to have to leave early today. I have a meeting over at Lem’s office at 4:30. I’ll go home after that.”

  “No problem. By the way, the state police DNA lab called. Want me to get them on the line for you?”

  “Give me about five minutes. I need to call Kelly and tell her I might be a little late for dinner.”

  He called Kelly on her cell phone. “Hi, sweetheart, how is Mrs. Reynolds doing this afternoon?”

  “Mrs. Reynolds is fine, thank you. I’m just pulling out of the market. Plan on pork chops stuffed with blue cheese and artichoke hearts along with a killer sauce when you get home.”

  “I wish I was on the way right now. There’s a meeting I have to attend, so I may be a little late tonight. Hope that doesn’t ruin your menu.”

  “No, I won’t even start until you get here. Take your time. Anything happen of interest today?”

  “Yeah, a lot. I’ll tell you all about it when I get home. Loves!”

  He looked down at the phone and saw that line two was blinking. He buzzed Angie. “Angie, I see there’s a call on line two. Is that the state police lab?”

  “Yes, they’re on hold for you.”

  “Thanks,” he said, punching line two on his phone. “This is Sheriff Reynolds, may I help you?”

  A few minutes later he hung up, wondering how the information he’d received from the state police lab was going to affect his and Kelly’s lives.

  CHAPTER 20

  At 4:25 Mike walked into Lem’s law office and saw Sydney sitting in the waiting room. “Good afternoon, Sydney, how are you?”

  “I’ve been better. I’m glad Lem’s back in town, because I really need to talk to him. What are you doing here?”

  Before Mike could respond, the door to Lem’s office opened, and he walked out into the reception room. “Sydney, Mike, it’s good to see both of you. Please come into my office. Would you like some coffee or water?”

  “No thanks,” they both said simultaneously. Sydney sat down in one of the two client chairs located on the opposite side of the oak desk from where Lem was seated. Mike sat on the brown leather couch behind Lem’s desk.

  “Lem, why is Mike here? I asked to meet with you, not him. I expected to have a private and personal meeting with you. What we talk about is none of the sheriff’s business.”

  “This meeting regards a person who is now deceased. Since Mike is investigating his murder, I thought it was appropriate for him to be here. You aren’t my client, your ex-husband was, so there’s no violation of an attorney-client relationship.”

  “Well, if you want him here, it’s your law office,” she said scowling at Mike. She turned back to Lem. “I want to know when I’ll get the proceeds from the life insurance policy Jesse had naming me as his primary beneficiary. I don’t know who the executor of Jesse’s will is, but since you’re his attorney, and neither his mother nor sister ever said anything to me about it, I’m assuming it’s you.”

  “That’s right, Sydney, I’m the executor of his estate, and as such, I have to tell you that you won’t be getting any proceeds from the insurance policy.”

  “What are you talking about? Jesse and I had an agreement,” she said, jumping up from her chair and raising her voice. “That was part of our divorce settlement. He was to name me as the primary beneficiary on his life insurance policy. You know that.”

  “Sit down. What you’re saying is true. At the time you were divorced, Jesse named you as the primary beneficiary on his life insurance policy, but you may remember that there was no written agreement about it. It was only an unenforceable oral agreement. Early last week Jesse changed his mind. He was deeply in debt, and named me as the primary beneficiary of the policy with the caveat being that if he died, I was to distribute the proceeds from the insurance policy to his creditors. The balance of the proceeds are to be given to The Wine Institute of Oregon to be used for educational purposes.”

  “He can’t do that! We had an agreement. So what if he was in debt? That doesn’t have anything to do with me!” she screamed as her face turned red with anger.

  “Please lower your voice, Sydney. You’re absolutely right. If you had been the recipient of the policy proceeds, you would not be legally bound to distribute any of that money to his creditors, however, that’s not the case. I will be the recipient of the policy proceeds. Here’s a copy of the legal document Jesse signed, instructing me how to distribute the proceeds. This
copy is for you. The original will be part of the documents I’ll be filing with the probate court tomorrow.”

  Sydney stared at Lem in disbelief as her shaking hand snatched the piece of paper he handed her, her gold bracelets jangling. She quickly read it and stood up.

  “You’re just as slippery as he was. I’ll have my attorney look at this, and the next time I see you will be in court when I sue you for the proceeds from that policy.” She flounced out the door, slamming it behind her.

  Lem sat back down in his chair. “I thought that went well, didn’t you?” he asked Mike sarcastically.

  “Well, the good news is that she didn’t pull a gun on you. Can she sue you over that document Jesse signed?”

  “You’re right about the gun and yes, she could sue me. You can sue anybody for anything, but the question is ‘does she have a case?’ Any honest lawyer knows she’d lose in a court of law, however there are a lot of unethical lawyers around who might tell her she could possibly win while they make her pay a fat retainer and bill her at an outrageous hourly rate. It could end up costing her a lot of money, and she’d still lose her case.”

  “She’s a big girl. That’s a decision she’ll have to make. What I find interesting is that she certainly seemed shocked by what you just told her. If she knew about the change in beneficiaries before she came in here, she’s one heck of an actress.”

  Lem took off his tortoiseshell rimmed glasses and rubbed his eyes. “I agree. You said you saw an insurance policy in his files naming her as the beneficiary. Where did you find it?”

  “It was in his desk in the small office he had at The Crush. Why?”

  “Pretty far out thought, but what if she’d seen that policy recently and knew he was getting farther and farther into debt? He may have even told her he was sinking financially and about to go broke. If someone needed to cut their expenses, what’s one of the first things they’d do? They’d cancel their life insurance policy. I’m not saying she’s the one who shot poor Jesse, but it certainly is food for thought. Perhaps she was afraid he’d cancel the policy and she’d never get any money from him, so she figures it’s better to kill him while he still has the policy in full force and effect.”

  “Next time you’re looking for work, Lem, let me know. Think I could use you over at my office. That’s a pretty interesting theory. I need to mull it over.”

  They both stood up. “Mike, thanks for coming on such short notice. Fortunately you didn’t have to do any lawman stuff or pull out your gun, but I felt better knowing you had my back covered, literally, from where you were sitting.”

  “You’ve got a permit to carry a gun, don’t you, Lem?”

  “Yes, but I’ve never found it necessary to carry a concealed weapon. My wife made me get a permit to carry one several years ago when I was representing a wife in a messy divorce case, and the husband threatened to kill me. Why do you ask?”

  “I kind of remember issuing the permit to you. Given that you’re the bad guy in Sydney’s eyes, might be a good thing for you to keep a gun near you, like in your desk, in your car, or by your nightstand. I’m sure you won’t have to use it, but I’d feel better if you had it handy.”

  “Thanks. That’s enough to make anybody’s day – have the sheriff tell you he thinks you need to keep a gun near you. Okay, I will, but I’m not particularly happy about it.”

  “I’m sure you won’t need it, but it’s been my experience when people are prepared for things, they don’t get caught off guard and get themselves hurt or worse yet, get themselves killed.”

  “Consider it done. Tell Kelly hi and that she was a beautiful bride. We thought it was a nice touch to have Cash and Julia in the wedding. Gotta tell you, from where I was sitting, I could see a lot of handkerchiefs brushing away tears. Again, congratulations.”

  “Well, Lem, you have a good evening,” Mike said, as he put on his signature white Stetson hat and gave him a mock salute. He walked out the door to the patrol car where Rebel was patiently waiting for him, standing up in the front seat and making sure the car was just as Mike had left it when he went into Lem’s office.

  CHAPTER 21

  “We’re home,” Mike said, as he walked into the house, Rebel faithfully following at his heels. He saw Kelly in the kitchen getting things out of the refrigerator.

  “Hey beautiful, I am so glad to see you after the day I’ve had.” He walked over to her, put his arms around her, and kissed the back of her neck.

  “Sheriff Mike, you keep that up, and dinner will be delayed,” she said laughingly. “Actually, keep the thought, but I’ve got a lot to tell you, and I imagine you have a lot to tell me, according to Angie.”

  “Angie? When did you talk to her?”

  “When I couldn’t reach you on your cell phone. I had a weird visit from Celia today at the coffee shop, and I was calling to tell you about it. When we’d talked earlier, you sounded frazzled, so I didn’t go into it. Angie said you’d been busy from the time you got to the office, and you’d already left for an appointment you had with Lem. What’s up with that?”

  “Let me feed the dogs and change out of my uniform. I’m getting the evil eye from both of them. You could pour me a glass of wine, and I’ll tell you in a minute. Can you hold dinner for a little while?”

  “Absolutely. Actually, I think I’ll make a fire in the fireplace. Perfect night for one.”

  “Here you go, sheriff. Enjoy,” she said, handing him a glass of wine a few minutes later.

  “It’s good, Kelly,” he said, taking a sip, “but I have to tell you the White Cloud Pinot Noir that Scott produced was better. That’s somewhat related to one of the things that happened today. I got a call from someone who’s working at the Pellino Brothers Vineyard.” He told her about the conversation he’d had with John Baker, but true to his promise to John, never mentioned his name. He also mentioned he’d called Luke, and expressed his concern about his safety.

  “Like they say in the television ads, but wait, that’s not all, there’s more. Remember the guy you followed, the one from the AA meeting?”

  “Yes, of course. I could hardly forget him. Actually, I’ve been thinking a lot about him.”

  “I had a long conversation with his employer this morning, and I went out to his house. Here are a couple of photos I took while I was there. It was really bizarre. I’ve never seen anything quite like it before,” he said reaching for his phone.

  “Good grief, Mike. On one hand he seems to be a raging alcoholic, and on the other, a man desperate to get sober. Talk about a split personality. What did his employer have to say about him?”

  He told her the gist of his conversation with Derek. “And that’s not all. I met with Lem and Jesse’s ex-wife, Sydney.”

  “Sounds like you really did get around a lot today. How is Sydney doing and why the meeting with Lem? I thought he’d been Jesse’s lawyer when the two of them got divorced.”

  “He was, but seems like things aren’t quite what they appear to be.”

  “That sounds rather cryptic. What do you mean?”

  He told her about the meeting and how he’d become concerned about Lem’s personal safety, because Sydney had a reputation as a hothead and was a crack shot. He went on to tell her how shocked Sydney seemed to be when Lem said she was no longer the primary beneficiary on Jesse’s insurance policy.

  “Wow, I bet she wasn’t expecting that. So now you have the Pellino brothers, who have always been on your radar, a hit man from Chicago, a disgruntled ex-wife who’s a crack shot and just found out that she’s not the beneficiary of a large insurance policy, and a sometimes recovering alcoholic who hates liquor store owners. Those are all people who definitely might qualify as suspects. Let me give you another one, Celia Parsons, Jesse’s sister.”

  “What made you think of her?”

  “I mentioned to you she came to the coffee shop today. I knew she was the president of the Historical Society, and I knew she didn’t like Sophie Marchant, but I’m not
so sure she couldn’t be the one who killed Jesse. She’s absolutely rabid on the subject of keeping foreigners out of Cedar Bay. Remember her mother told me that Jesse said he was going to marry Sophie. As hard as it is to believe, she may have killed her brother to keep Cedar Bay pure. If that’s not downright twisted thinking, I don’t know what is. After I met with her today, I had the sense she could almost qualify as being deranged.” She related the details of Celia’s visit to the coffee shop and how she looked and acted.

  “All right. I’ve heard enough. That was definitely a threat, and from what you told me, Lady sure sensed it, too. Remember your promise to me. From now on, you and the gun I got you are going to be inseparable. You don’t go anywhere without it, and while we’re on the subject, I want you to take Lady with you everywhere you go until this thing is solved. You’re the third person today I’ve had to tell to keep a gun near them. This case is definitely heating up. We’ve got some people involved in this case who are having a difficult time dealing with reality, and I don’t want you mistaken for being the cause of their troubles if they spin out of control and sink into one of their unreal worlds.

  Mike’s phone started buzzing and he looked at the monitor. “It’s the fire marshal. I need to take his call.” He listened for a few minutes and ended the call. “As if things couldn’t get any worse, Sophie’s house is on fire. The county fire marshal just issued a call for all volunteer firemen from the surrounding area to respond to the scene of the fire. He wants me out there ASAP to provide security and crowd control. I don’t like what I’m thinking, and I imagine you’re thinking the same thing. This is a little too coincidental. I have to go out to Sophie’s house right now, but I was saving the best news for last,” he said smiling as he stood up.

  “I told you I wasn’t going to get involved in the DNA test Julia called you about, but I had second thoughts about it and had the samples couriered to the state police DNA lab. Julia’s fiancé, Brad, is definitely the father of the two girls. That should make all of them happy. I was going to tell you all about it, and I’d planned on the two of us calling her with the good news tonight, but given this turn of events, I’d appreciate it if you’d call her. Tell her she can call me at the office tomorrow if she needs particulars, but it was a definite match with no room for error.”