by SUE FINEMAN
He’d been foolish to buy the inn under Mattie’s conditions, but how was he to know that the old woman was a killer? She was too weak to hurt anyone now, but if she killed her husband, he wouldn’t put it past her to try to kill Jenna.
It was after midnight, too late to get Katie from his mother. She always went to bed around ten. The kid would be all right there. Ma had his cell phone number, so if she had any problems, she’d call him. Tonight, he and Jenna had to talk about the inn. He didn’t want any surprises down the road. If she planned to fight him for ownership, he wanted to know now, before he put any more money into it.
This could kill their relationship.
Jenna was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn’t notice they were at the inn until Alessandro opened the car door. She felt drained and empty inside. Uncle Charlie had been pushed over the hill and left to die on the jagged rocks below. He deserved so much better. Why had he stayed with Aunt Mattie for so many years? He should have left her decades ago. If he had, he might still be alive.
“Come on inside, Jenna. We need to talk.”
Yes, they did, but she wasn’t sure she was up to it tonight.
She put the kettle on for tea and walked into the tiny office between the kitchen and laundry room. Uncle Charlie had always kept this room neat and tidy, but now the desk was a disaster, and there was a black and white cat sleeping in the middle of the mess. Jenna plucked Bandit off and set him on the floor.
The kettle sang and she made the tea. Alessandro sat at the kitchen bar looking pensive. She put a cup in front of him and sat beside him. “The office has been torn apart, so I assume she was looking for the money.”
He sipped his tea. “She committed a crime, and we should report it.”
She rubbed her temples. A headache was building. “Is it really necessary?”
He stared into his cup. “I’ll call Gerry in the morning. We’ll let him handle it.”
“Okay, fine. You do that. In the meantime, I need to look through the inn’s financial records.”
He stood and pushed his cup back. “I’ll be upstairs if you want to talk.”
Watching him walk toward the stairs, she asked, “Are you angry with me?”
“No, but if you’re looking for something to prove that you owned the inn when Mattie sold it, you’ll have a fight on your hands. I bought this place in good faith, and Mattie’s name was the only one on the deed. This is my home now, and I’m not giving it up. If you want money, you’ll have to go after Mattie, because I don’t have any left.”
“I don’t want your damn money,” she yelled at his back, and he walked on upstairs.
She felt like crawling into bed and crying herself to sleep, but she had work to do before she slept.
If she was looking for a few hundred, or even a few thousand dollars, she might quit searching, but the amount was closer to a million, and she couldn’t give that up without exhausting every possibility.
There had to be a clue around here somewhere.
Chapter Eight
Al rose early the next morning. He peeked in Jenna’s room, but her bedroom door stood open and her bed hadn’t been slept in. She must have spent the whole night in the inn’s tiny office. Knowing how Charlie really died had lent urgency to her search for the missing money.
He found her in the office, poring over ledgers. “Find anything?”
“A fifty-thousand-dollar deposit made the year before my parents died. Uncle Charlie used it to patch the roof, build the garage, and replace some of the bedding.” She stood and stretched. “If my parents gave Uncle Charlie more money for the inn, it isn’t shown in the ledgers.”
“What about after your parents died?”
She yawned and shook her head. After stacking the ledgers on the shelf and tidying up the desk, she said, “It must have hurt like hell for Mattie to sell this place. I don’t think she’s ever lived anywhere else.” She yawned again. “I need a nap.”
“Breakfast first, and then you can sleep. I’ll get Katie after lunch.”
Charlie probably knew Mattie better than anyone else, since they’d been married for so many years. Al wondered if Charlie hid the money from his wife to keep it safe for Jenna. He sure as hell didn’t invest it in the inn or this place would be in better shape.
He felt relieved that she hadn’t found other big deposits. If her parents didn’t make a significant investment in the inn, Jenna wouldn’t have a reason to fight him for it.
After they ate breakfast, Al sent Jenna up to bed, then he called his mother. “I’ll be over this morning to take the cat to the vet. Her cast comes off today. Can you keep Katie until this afternoon?”
“Of course. How is Mattie?”
“I don’t know,” he said on a sigh. “They put a pin in her arm last night and I know she made it through surgery. We didn’t get home until late, and then Jenna was up all night going over the inn’s financial records. I just sent her up to bed.”
“Then why don’t you leave Katie with me for another day? I’ll take her over to Nicky and Cara’s house to play with Sophie.”
“I’ll check with Jenna when she wakes up.” Katie wasn’t his kid, and he couldn’t make decisions for her.
This situation ate at him like mice chewing at his soul. He’d ruined things between them. He’d told her where he stood, and she backed away. She said the inn wasn’t worth killing for, and he agreed, but it was definitely worth fighting for. He had a lot of money invested in this old inn, and he wouldn’t give it up.
Before he left to take the cat to the vet, Al called Gerry. “Mattie confessed to killing her husband five years ago. Jenna and I both heard her. I doubt that anyone is going to charge a ninety-year-old woman with anything at this point, but I suppose we’ll have to report it.”
“Yes, you have knowledge of a crime, and you are obligated to report it. Do you want me to arrange a meeting with a deputy, say at four this afternoon at the inn? They’ll want to see where it happened.”
“Yes, okay.” He had to get that gate in before it hit the newspapers. He didn’t want every reporter in the county showing up at the inn to see where Charlie died, and he knew Jenna didn’t want Charlie to become part of the legend of Dead Man’s Point. The posts were set and the wiring was in. All he had to do was hang the gate, but he couldn’t do it alone. He made two other quick phone calls and then left to take Callie to the vet.
Ma had left a note on the cat’s kennel that she’d taken Katie over to play with Sophie. “Looks like it’s just you and me, Callie.”
Two hours later, he was back at the inn with Callie. She was still half asleep and would undoubtedly be groggy for awhile. Aside from some bruises, her leg was the only thing injured in the fall. Callie had her shots today, and the other cats were due for shots. Since Mattie was gone, he supposed he’d have to take care of them. He’d always been more of a dog person, but these little guys were growing on him. All he had to do was catch them and get them to the vet.
Jenna was still asleep when Blade and Nick arrived to help him hang the gate. Al told them about Mattie’s confession. “Gerry said we had to report it, which means it will end up in the newspaper. I hope the gate keeps nosy people out, but I can’t count on it.”
“And you still want to live here?” said Nick.
Blade guided the gate into the sleeve. “What about Jenna?”
“What about her?”
“Is she staying?”
“Until she finds what she’s looking for. Her family had money when they died, but it has disappeared. Gerry is helping her track it down.”
Money was no longer an issue for Blade and Nick, but it was for Al. He wasn’t wealthy, and he didn’t have a rich wife. What he had was a degree in architecture and a solid profession that would support him for the rest of his life. He’d scraped his savings account clean and stretched the budget to buy the inn, but it was a good investment. Or it would be a good investment if there wasn’t a black cloud hanging over it.
<>
Something brushed against her face and purred. Jenna opened her eyes and reached out to pet Callie. “Hey, your cast is off.” She hugged the little cat and she purred louder. If they had to leave here, they’d take Callie with them. Katie loved her, and she was a sweet little kitty.
She looked out the window to see three men working on the gate up by the road. It looked like Blade and Nick this time. It must be nice to have family you could call to help with these tasks. Seeing how close Al was to his family made Jenna miss her mother more.
After she showered and dressed, she called the hospital. “I’m calling about Mattie Worthington.” She was put on hold and then the nurse came on the line.
“Her vital signs are good, and the doctor anticipates a full recovery. Will you be in to see her today?”
“No, not today. I’ll try to get by tomorrow.” Maybe. She wasn’t sure she ever wanted to see the surly old woman again.
Jenna found a note on the kitchen counter. The police would be here at four. She wadded the note and glanced at the clock. Two o’clock already. She had time to go through Uncle Charlie’s wallet and search his bedroom more thoroughly before the cops arrived. They probably wouldn’t do anything but take the report. After this long, there was no evidence, and no proof that anything sinister had happened. All they had was a confession from an old woman who was under the influence of pain medication.
Uncle Charlie’s wallet still had money in it. Thirty-one dollars. There was an old black and white picture of him and Mattie and another one of Jenna when she was a little girl. The third was a school picture of a boy about six or seven. He was blond, and one front tooth was missing. Cute kid, but who was he? It wasn’t Charlie as a kid, because they didn’t have color pictures back then.
She opened the hidden compartment and found a scrap of paper with two phone numbers on it. One was scratched out, but she could see enough of it to know that it was her phone number before they moved to the inn. The second number had a 509 area code.
Alessandro tapped on the open door. “You’re awake. Mom said she’d keep Katie for another day, if that’s all right with you.”
“Yes, okay.” She showed him the picture of the boy. “Does he look familiar to you?”
“Actually, he looks a little like you and Katie. You don’t have a brother, do you?”
“Not that I know of, but right now I wouldn’t be surprised at anything.”
She studied the picture of the boy and put it beside the one of a young Charlie and Mattie. And she knew. Charlie didn’t father one child. He had two. She took the pictures out of the wallet and looked on the backs. There were dates, and according to the date on the back of the boy’s picture, he must be about eight years older than her.
Did Mattie know about this one, or did she think Jenna was Charlie’s only bastard?
<>
Gerry arrived a few minutes before four. Jenna gave him the financial records she’d found, and he promised to take care of the paperwork to get access to the information on those accounts.
Pierce County Sheriff Deputy Bob Coker arrived. Gerry let him in and introduced him around. Jenna glanced at Alessandro and knew how much he hated having this become public knowledge, and it would. They printed the police and sheriff’s reports in the local newspaper. She could see the headlines now. WOMAN MURDERS HUSBAND AT DEAD MAN’S POINT.
After they talked with the deputy for several minutes, he asked to see the spot where Jenna believed Charlie had been pushed over. She showed him while Alessandro retrieved his rope ladder. He and the deputy went down to look at the site. Deputy Coker took several pictures of the rocks and the hill from above and below, and then he left.
Jenna took a deep breath and blew it out. “How long do we have before this hits the newspapers?”
“Wednesday for Gig Harbor, but it could be anytime for the others,” said Gerry.
She looked up at Alessandro. “Is that gate working?”
“Yeah, it’s working. Unless someone has an opener or they walk around it, nobody can get in without being admitted. We’ll try it out tonight. We’ve been invited to Nick and Cara’s for dinner. Katie and Mom will be there, too.”
“But I was going to—”
“Not tonight, Jenna. Tonight we’re going to relax and enjoy ourselves.”
“Yes, all right.” She needed some down time, and she needed to retrieve her little girl from Alessandro’s family.
<>
Cara’s house was beautiful, with a lighthouse-shaped tower on the left front corner. It stepped down a gentle slope toward the water. Where the inn faced north, this house had southern exposure. “Al will show you around, Jenna,” said Cara. “He designed the house. We’re really quite proud of it, but we have one small problem.”
“What’s that?”
“We’re outgrowing it. I’m pregnant again, and this baby will fill every bedroom. If this keeps up, we’ll need to add on.”
Jenna smiled. What a nice woman, even if she was filthy rich. “Congratulations. That’s great news.”
“We told Sophia today, and she’s beside herself. You’d think with all her grandchildren, this would be old hat to her by now, but she’s thrilled all over again every time there’s an addition to the family.”
“Of course she is.”
“Bridget is bathing the girls. I hope you don’t mind. They played on the beach this afternoon and got pretty grubby.”
Alessandro showed her through the house. It was the first time she’d seen his work, and Jenna couldn’t help but be impressed. He was quite talented. Because of the way the house stepped down the hill, every level was a half-story lower than the one above it, so every room had a view of the water. The lower level had a big living room, dining room, and a kitchen with every modern convenience. A wrap-around sun porch had a bump out in the corner with a bubbling spa. Lush plants softened the corners and hung between the skylights. “I’d love to have a room like this someday. The house is really nice, but this room is wonderful. It’s… cheerful.”
“I know what you mean,” said Cara. “We spend a lot of time in there, especially in the winter, when it’s gloomy outside. The bulbs in the light fixtures simulate daylight.”
She saw the pride on Alessandro’s face, and she understood. What she wouldn’t give to be able to create something this special.
Two clean little girls ran down the stairs. Jenna hugged Katie and said hello to Sophie. Cute little girl, with reddish-brown curls and big brown eyes. She’d be a heart-breaker when she grew up.
They all ate together, with the kids, and as soon as they’d eaten, Bridget took little Johnny in to bathe him and get him ready for bed. They’d had spaghetti and meatballs, and he was wearing more of the sauce than he got in his mouth. Max told the same stupid knock-knock jokes she’d told when she was that age, and everyone laughed as if they’d never heard them before. Alessandro talked and laughed with his family, and they all made Jenna feel at home. It was a pleasant family dinner that she thoroughly enjoyed.
“I wish I could cook good Italian food, but my spaghetti has never tasted this good.”
“Sophia made the sauce,” said Cara. “Italian food is her specialty.”
“I’ll teach you,” said Sophia.
Nick brought everyone a dish of ice cream for dessert. These people could pay someone else to take care of their children and cook and serve their meals, but they did most of it themselves. The only servant she’d seen in this house was the one helping bathe the kids. Nick kept giving Cara little looks. They were expecting their fourth child, and they were obviously quite happy. Jenna hadn’t been happy, really happy, in so long she’d forgotten what it felt like.
Sophia went into the kitchen and returned with two washrags. She washed Sophie’s face and Katie’s. Nick excused himself and took Max in for his bath. Cara said, “I usually bathe the kids myself, but I’ve been feeling a little queasy the past few days. I was this way with Sophie, but not with th
e boys.”
“You don’t have a full-time nanny?”
“No. Bridget helps with the cooking, and she helps with the kids on occasion, but I try to be available when they need me. They’re only little once, and I don’t want to miss any of it. I hope to have Johnny potty trained before the next one gets here. One in diapers at a time is plenty.”
Al’s cell phone rang, and he excused himself to go into the living room to answer it. The nurse at the hospital said, “Mattie is awake, and she’s asking to see Jenna.”
“How is she doing?”
“Very well, although a sheriff’s deputy was here a few minutes ago, and she was crying when he left.”
Now he knew what this was about. The old woman was scared, and she should be. She’d killed her husband, pushed him onto the rocks to die.
Cara offered to keep Katie for the night, so Al could take Jenna to the hospital. Ma was staying there tonight, too. She’d help with the kids.
He felt like a lucky man to have a family like his.
<>
Mattie was sleeping when they arrived at the hospital, and Jenna hung back, wondering if she should wake her or just go home and forget it. She didn’t want to be here anyway.
Mattie’s eyes opened, and she pinned Jenna in an intense stare. “You told the police I killed Charlie.”
“I repeated what you said before your surgery. You said you pushed Charlie over onto the rocks. You killed him.”
“I put him out of his misery,” she snapped. “Don’t you dare go spreading any more stories about me. Do you hear me? I did what I had to do.”
“If he was sick, you should have called me. I would have taken care of him.”
Mattie laughed, a harsh sound in the quiet room. “Like you took care of me? Get out of my room. Do you hear me? Get out of here.”
Jenna felt Al’s hand on her shoulder. “Come on, Jenna. Time to go home.”
Staring at Mattie, Jenna said, “I won’t be back.”
“I don’t need a bastard hanging around my inn. Take your little brat and get out of my home. As soon as my arm heals, I’m going home, and I don’t want you there.”
