Sweet Time in Seconds (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 11)

by J A Whiting

  “That’s interesting,” the chief said. “Did you just have the one appointment with her?”

  Courtney nodded. “Just the one visit.”

  Chief Martin told the group, “We’ll be interviewing the receptionist at the office and the dental hygienists. We’ll talk to people in New Hampshire, try to find some of the couple’s friends. You know the drill. Talk to whoever you think would be helpful. If two of you would sit in on my meeting with Dr. Streeter tomorrow, I’d appreciate it.”

  “What about the husband? Dr. Chase?” Finch adjusted in his seat so the sleeping black cat wouldn’t slip off of his lap. “Have you found any information on him?”

  “A little bit. He grew up in central Massachusetts, went to dental school at Tufts. He was a nationally-ranked archer in high school and college. In his last year of college, he was in a car accident and broke both arms. Dr. Chase never regained his skill in archery. He set up a practice in Boston, met Carlie, and they moved to New Hampshire.”

  “Does he have any relatives?” Angie asked.

  Chief Martin gave a nod of his head. “Only his mother, she’s in her late sixties. She’s been informed and will be arriving in town tomorrow. She is still living in central Massachusetts. The father is dead. No siblings. We’ll be talking to the mother and with former patients, associates, friends, anyone who knew the man.” The chief rubbed his chin and the side of his jaw. “I’d like to share some details of what appeared to have happened in the manor house.”

  Ellie stood up so fast her chair almost tipped over. “I think I should go inside. I’ve heard enough for now. I don’t want to listen to any more of this.”

  “It’s okay,” Angie spoke gently to her sister. “Go on in. If there’s anything we think you need to know, we’ll give you the important parts and leave out the details.”

  Relief washed over Ellie’s face as she bolted into the house. “Thanks.”

  “Some things never change,” the chief said with a sympathetic smile. “So…. as far as we can tell, the morning started as usual for Drs. Streeter and Chase. From the conditions of the house, it seems the two got up, showered, dressed for work, ate breakfast. Dr. Streeter’s briefcase and lunchbox were in the kitchen. Dr. Chase’s briefcase was in the hall by the front door.”

  The chief sucked in a deep breath. “As I mentioned, when I went around the back of the house, I looked in the windows. Dr. Streeter was on her back in the mudroom just off the kitchen near the rear door. Her hands were bound. Her throat was cut.”

  Jenna, Courtney, Angie, and Mr. Finch made sounds of disgust and shock.

  The chief went on. “I broke the glass in the door and went inside. I checked for Dr. Streeter’s pulse. She was dead. I went into the kitchen. Dr. Chase was also on his back and was dead from the same circumstances that had befallen his wife.” The chief paused to collect himself. “I’ve seen my share of terrible things. It never gets easier. It appeared that Dr. Chase had been dragged into the kitchen. Probably, Dr. Streeter attempted to run and was caught and killed by the assailant. There was no sign of forced entry.”

  “So, the doorbell must have rung and Dr. Chase went to open the door.” Angie leaned forward in her seat as she tried to piece together the information.

  “Maybe he knew the person and let him in,” Jenna speculated. “If he didn’t know the person who rang the bell, he must have opened the door anyway. It was morning. He might have thought the person had car trouble and needed help or was there for some other legitimate reason.”

  “The attack must have been quick.” Courtney looked off across the dark yard. “The killer must have known who lived in the house and what their morning routine was like.”

  “Any indication if the killer arrived at the manor house on foot or by vehicle?” Finch asked.

  The chief shook his head. “We don’t have an answer for that. Yet.”

  “Was a weapon found at the scene?” Jenna’s mind was twirling from idea to idea.

  “No, and it seems the attacker might have worn gloves, but differentiating the fingerprints found in the house will take some time.”

  “It was planned then.” Angie sorted through what was known. “There’s no sign of forced entry, the person brought a weapon, he must have known who lived in the house and when they left for work, and he was careful not to leave fingerprints.” She looked to Chief Martin. “Was blood found anywhere else in the house?”

  “Only in the hallway from the foyer to the kitchen.”

  “Isn’t that odd?” Angie narrowed her eyes. “Killing someone like that … there would have been a lot of blood. If it was a robbery and he went upstairs to steal jewelry, wouldn’t he have tracked some blood through the house?”

  “Even if he didn’t go upstairs, if he killed them and fled …” Courtney surmised, “he would have left traces or drops of blood where he walked.”

  The chief asked, “How can that be explained?” The family knew the chief was quizzing them to get them thinking.

  “He cleaned up his footprints before leaving the kitchen?” Finch asked.

  Jenna’s eyes went wide. “He might have been wearing some protective clothing, probably booties, too. After he killed them, he removed the plastic raincoat or whatever he had on and left the house being careful where he walked.”

  “But,” Courtney said, “if the killer was wearing a plastic coat, wouldn’t Dr. Chase think that was odd and not let him in?”

  “Or….” A woman’s voice spoke from the shadows near the house. “The attacker killed the two people and then he, and he alone, traveled back in time five minutes prior to when he stood on the front porch about to knock on Carlie and Marty’s door.” Mari Streeter stepped over to the fire pit. “And by going back in time, instead of knocking on the door, he turned and made his escape.”

  Everyone stared at the physicist ... with their mouths dropped open.

  6

  “The killer traveled back in time?” Jenna cocked her head and her voice sounded doubtful as if Mari Streeter might be mocking them.

  Mari sat down next to the chief in the chair Ellie had vacated. “You don’t believe it’s possible?”

  “No, I don’t.” Jenna gave the woman a suspicious look.

  “People believe that time only runs in one direction.” Mari glanced at the people sitting around the fire pit. “Forward, into the future. But, physicists have studied this extensively using computer simulations and mathematical calculations, and new theories arise. In one theory, put simply, particles in the universe were tightly condensed before the Big Bang. After the Big Bang, the system expanded outwards, but in two different directions … with time moving forward and, in an alternate universe, time moving backwards. Time can run both forwards and backwards and events in the future can influence the past.”

  No one knew what to say, so Mari went on. “Another theory tells us that our universe cycles through four different phases which would also allow time to move in both directions.”

  “These theories suggest that people can move backwards in time?” Angie asked.

  “Possibly.” Mari folded her hands in her lap. “What an interesting ability that would offer up. Think of the possibilities.” The woman let out a long breath. “I could go back in time, take my sister and brother-in-law out of the house on the morning of the murders, and when the killer shows up, the house is empty.”

  “If only,” Mr. Finch said wistfully.

  “But time travel would open up a number of problematic issues.” Angie’s head was practically spinning from thinking of time moving in two directions. “The killer could go forward in time and find your sister. Multiple actions by multiple people would change the future, things would constantly be changing, it would be chaos.” Shaking her head, she said, “I don’t buy it … despite physicists’ theories and experiments. Theories are one thing, reality is another. Time moves in only one direction. It is what it is.”

  Mari said, “It takes time to wrap your head around new in
formation. Open your mind. You may be surprised at what you discover.”

  Courtney said quietly, “You’d be surprised at what we’ve opened our minds to over the past year since moving to Sweet Cove.”

  Angie gave her sister a withering look warning her not to say a word about their paranormal skills.

  Mr. Finch headed off any questions from Dr. Streeter as to what Courtney might have meant. “The topic is fascinating. I’d like to learn more about it if you could suggest some books that a lay person might understand.”

  “I certainly can.” Mari looked pleased by Finch’s interest. “I’ll write down some suggestions for you.”

  Chief Martin cleared his throat and addressed his question to the physicist. “Could I speak to you inside the house for a little while? I have some information to share.”

  Mari let out a sigh and stood. “No time like the present, I suppose.” Her voice held a tinge of sadness.

  The chief looked to Angie. “Can we use the sunroom?”

  When Angie nodded, the chief led the way into the Victorian and after they’d disappeared into the house, Jenna said, “That was mighty weird. Does Mari Streeter believe that stuff she was saying to us? I don’t mean the scientific aspect of it. Does she think people can actually travel back in time?”

  “Was she playing with us?” Courtney sounded indignant. “Was she trying to prove how smart she is? Was she trying to freak us out? If she was, then why would she do that? Why is she talking about particles and theories instead of being sad about her sister? She sure doesn’t seem too broken up over Carlie getting murdered.”

  The cats sat up and listened closely to the conversation.

  “As I said earlier, perhaps the women weren’t close,” Finch observed. “Perhaps Dr. Streeter sees the world logically, in only scientific terms. She might be ruled by reason. She may have no room in her life for emotion.”

  “That would be terribly sad.” Courtney frowned. “What do you think, Angie?”

  Angie blinked. The conversation had made her feel slightly ill. “I don’t know what to think. That whole interaction made me uneasy. I am willing to open my mind to unexpected possibilities. We’ve been doing that ever since we moved to Sweet Cove. But, I’m not going to just accept what some woman I’ve never met says to me about scientific theory. I’m careful and skeptical, I need some proof. I need to know more before I’d even consider anything like time travel.”

  “That’s very reasonable, Miss Angie.” Finch rubbed his hand over the top of his cane.

  “And why does she not show some emotion over her sister?” Angie went on. “It’s a life lost, a life that was taken, snuffed out too soon. Even if she wasn’t close to her sister, isn’t the loss of a life something to feel sorrow over?”

  “I think she’s weird,” Courtney confided softly. “Her sister died this morning and she comes out here and talks to us about time travel. Sheesh.”

  Finch said, “If you told people that someone like Miss Ellie had the ability to move objects in space without touching them, would they have the same reaction you had to Dr. Mari’s comments?”

  Jenna sighed. “Yes, but they’d be skeptical unless they saw it with their own eyes. At least our skills happen in this universe, not in some parallel thing.”

  “And anyway,” Courtney said, “the killer certainly isn’t some scientist who has mastered the ability to move through time. So the whole discussion is irrelevant to the crime.”

  A shiver of anxiety ran over Angie’s skin. It better be irrelevant. Accepting her family’s paranormal skills had been hard enough. She couldn’t wrap her mind around time travel and she wasn’t going to try. If Mari Streeter wanted to accept that possibility, she was free to do so. “Let’s concentrate on helping to solve this crime through normal means.”

  Courtney raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “You mean through our normal means.”

  The two cats lifted their chins and trilled.

  “What do you think about the young man in the trunk of the car?” Jenna put her feet up on the stonework surrounding the fire pit. “No obvious cause of death.”

  “And what’s his relationship to the dentists?” Angie asked.

  Courtney said, “Hopefully, the police will be able to identify him, and then we can talk to people who knew him.”

  Chief Martin came into the backyard. “I’ve given Dr. Streeter the new information about the young man in the car. She has no idea who it could be. I kept it short. Our morning meeting is still on. I hope some of you can sit in with me.”

  “Did Mari say any more about time travel?” Courtney frowned.

  “Thankfully, no. I have no idea how to respond to any of that. If she wants to believe time travel played a role in the deaths, she is free to do so, but I intend to go about the investigation leaving out an inquiry into traveling back in time.” Chief Martin gave a little smile. “I don’t have the manpower for that.”

  The people around the fire pit let out chuckles.

  “We agree with you,” Angie told the man. “We’re going to leave that possibility to Mari and focus our attention on other things.”

  “I need to get home before Lucille divorces me for never being around.” The chief lifted his jacket from the chair he’d been sitting in earlier. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  The family wished him goodnight and the conversation turned to other topics.

  “I need to get busy filling jewelry orders.” Jenna was a jewelry designer and she sold her wares out of a shop at the back of the Victorian, at stores in town, and on the internet. “With the wedding and then our short vacation, I’m way behind. I need to buckle down and get back on track.”

  “I can help you after the bake shop closes for the day,” Angie smiled. “I can start tomorrow.”

  “I can help tomorrow evening,” Courtney told her sister.

  “I can’t make jewelry, but I’d be glad to help package the items for shipment,” Mr. Finch nodded.

  “That would be great,” Jenna said. “I knew I could count on all of you … and there’s nothing like free, experienced help.”

  “Who said anything about working for free?” Courtney kidded.

  “We don’t come cheap, you know,” Angie warned.

  “You get what you pay for, Miss Jenna,” Finch chimed in.

  “Well, you can send me your bills and I’ll see what I can do.” Jenna finished off the tea in her mug.

  “It is time for me to go home.” Finch gently moved Circe from his lap and pushed himself up out of the chair. “Miss Betty is coming over for coffee and dessert.”

  “A late night visit?” Courtney winked at the older man. “Well, well.”

  They couldn’t see it in the darkness, but Finch’s cheeks turned pink. “Miss Betty often works late hours so we get together when she is free.” He lifted his cane.

  “I’ll walk you home, Mr. Finch.” Courtney took the man’s arm and the two strolled along the stone pathway that led from the Victorian’s backyard into Finch’s property. Finch had installed the walking path and some lights when he purchased the house behind the Roselands. The cats jumped down from the seats and followed along.

  “I’ll help carry in the mugs and then I’ll head home, too.” Jenna gathered some of the cups.

  “It’s odd not having you in the house with us,” Angie told her twin with a touch of sadness in her voice.

  “I’m only two houses away,” Jenna said, “but it is strange not to be living under the same roof with all of you. We’ll adjust though.”

  “Change is never easy.” Angie picked up the other cups and they headed for the back door.

  Jenna turned around to pick up her sweater from the back of her chair and when she straightened, something caught her eye under the pergola on the side of the yard by the flower beds. So surprised by what she saw, she lost her grip on one of the mugs and it hit the patio with a crash.

  Angie spun around to see the broken cup on the ground. When she shifted her
focus to Jenna, her eyes widened and she followed her sister’s gaze. “What’s wrong?”

  It took several seconds for Jenna to answer. “Over there, under the pergola.”

  “I don’t see anything.” Angie’s voice was soft.

  Jenna’s shoulders shook. “It’s gone now.”

  “What was it?” Angie squinted in the darkness.

  Jenna looked at her sister with a serious expression. “A young man. He was staring at me.”

  Angie stepped closer to Jenna.

  “He looked all shimmery.” Jenna touched her hand to her face. “He disappeared, like the light inside of him was fading.” She slipped her arm through Angie’s and pulled her close. “Angie, he was a ghost.”

  7

  After seeing the ghost, Angie and Jenna went inside and found Ellie in the kitchen. She took one look at them and alarm flashed over her face as she stepped across the room to their sides. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

  Jenna sat down at the island and put her head in her hands. “I saw a ghost.”

  Ellie stiffened, but she kept her voice calm. “Where?”

  “In the garden under the pergola.” Jenna’s breathing was quick.

  “Did you recognize him?” Ellie put her hand gently on Jenna’s shoulder.

  “No. I’ve never seen him before.”

  “Did he speak?” Ellie asked.

  Shaken, Angie sat at the center island on the bar stool next to her twin. She admired the calm and rational way Ellie was asking for information … like seeing a ghost in your yard was a normal thing.

  “No. He just looked at me.” Jenna pushed her hair back from her face.