“It’s not that crazy.”
Brenna didn’t elaborate, and Jane didn’t like the feeling Brenna’s silence left her with.
But it was too late to consider the implications of the silence—they were already at the office.
The receptionist phoned Hester for them and asked them to wait a moment.
They both stood to the side in the small but airy and modern waiting room; Jane filled with nervous energy, Brenna, perfectly still.
A surprisingly young woman with an expensive blow out came into the foyer. “How can I help you?” Her face was smooth though her neck and hands hinted that her face was the result of fancy creams.
“We would like a few minutes of your time,” Jane said. “I’m with Senior Corps of Retired Investigators. We handled your fraud case.”
“Ah.” Hester didn’t look worried, though she hesitated before she invited them back to her office.
Her office was less modern than the waiting area, but still bright and airy, with big windows facing a well landscaped courtyard. Hester indicated two chairs. “Have a seat.” She pulled her own chair out from behind her desk and sat facing them, her long legs crossed. “What can I help you with? I don’t work in the fraud department.”
“Thank you for your time.” Jane fumbled with her purse, but managed to pull out a notepad and pen without spilling anything else. “I just have a few simple questions. To start with, how did you know Kyle Fish?”
“He came via a word of mouth recommendation.” Her lips curled up, but her eyes were cold.
“And who was that?”
Her red lips parted, then closed again. She gave the cold smile. “Ah, now, I’d have to look that up.” She didn’t move to her files.
“That’s fine.” Jane forced her mouth into a smile like shape, but knew her eyes probably lacked the love light as well.
“Oh. Okay.” Hester got up slowly and moved to her computer. She typed at her keyboard, one eye on Jane. “There’s the file. Now, did I write down who their reference was?”
Jane gave her thirty long, quiet seconds to search. “Might I suggest a potential person?”
Hester looked up. “If you’d like.”
“Was their referral your nephew, Shane?”
Hester froze.
Then she scratched her chin. She let herself smile. “You know, I think you are right.”
Jane tilted her head, an almost friendly gesture.
Hester took her seat again. “Yes, I think it was Shane.”
Jane made a note. “And how long had Kyle Fish been writing insurance blog posts for you?” From the corner of her eye, Jane noted Brenna’s half smile.
“Pardon me?”
“Our writing expert has shown conclusively that the blog posts you have contributed to Cascadia Surety’s website were written by your client, Kyle Fish. I merely ask how long he has been doing that for you.”
Hester held perfectly still, the fake smile frozen in place. “My personal assistant handles all of my social media. I really don’t know where she gets the blog posts.” She attempted a casual shrug, but it didn’t look very relaxed.
“Is your personal assistant in today?”
Hester licked her lips.
Jane was pretty comfortable with this question. If the PA wasn’t in, she wasn’t in. But if she was, and Hester lied about it, it would be easy to find out, and very telling.
“Let me check.” She moved to her desk again, this time rolling the chair with her, and putting the desk between herself and the two women. She picked up her phone and pressed a button. “Rose? Is Amanda still here?” She paused. “Okay, send her in then, please.” She cradled the phone and rested her hands on her desk.
In just a moment the door opened. The woman that entered was about Jane’s age. She wore a short sleeved suit jacket and pants that looked professional, but sported a very large tattoo on her forearm. Wheels within wheels—rather, cogs. They were gold and brass colored, sort of, and steampunk looking. And they were tessellated.
Jane hadn’t yet seen any of the art Devon had created for Ayla, but she did remember Ayla saying it often involved tessellations.
“Amanda, this is Jane. She works with the private investigators who handle potential fraud cases.”
“Good afternoon.” Amanda offered Jane her hand.
Jane stood, shook hands, and got a better look at the tattoo. She’d want to describe it to Ayla, later. “Good to meet you as well. I just have a few quick questions, if you don’t mind.”
“Shoot.”
“How long has Kyle Fish been writing blog posts for you?”
Amanda blushed slightly. “About six months. I would send him the topic, and, um, our research, and he would put it together real quick.”
“Six months, huh?”
“Yes.” Amanda frowned.
“Could you look at the file and tell me again when it was Kyle bought insurance from you?” Jane asked.
“Amanda, do you remember if Shane was the one who told Kyle about us? Or is it that you already knew him? I can’t seem to remember.” Hester smiled apologetically at Jane.
Hester was good. She wasn’t going to get caught in a lie.
“Yes, Shane introduced me to Kyle,” Amanda said.
Jane made a note of it but didn’t let it discourage her. “Amanda, when was the last time you saw Devon Grosse?” Jane asked.
Amanda frowned. “Poor Devon. That just broke my heart.”
“And when had you seen him last?”
“At a party at Shane’s. It was about a month ago. Devon doesn’t—didn’t—really go out much.”
Jane glanced at Brenna, who had stiffened at the news that Amanda knew Devon.
“Devon was a sweet soul,” Amanda said.
“Had Devon purchased any insurance from Hester or Cascadia Surety?”
“That seems very much outside the purview of your fraud investigation.” Hester spoke before Amanda could answer. “I think we need to wrap this up now.”
Jane kept her eyes on Amanda who nodded, very slightly, at Jane.
Jane lifted her eyebrows, but Amanda looked away.
“One more question for you, Hester. How is your commission affected if the insurance is paid out?”
Hester stood. “You can contact corporate for information on our commission structure.”
Jane stood to go. At the door she stopped and turned around. “Just one more thing…were you blackmailing Kyle Fish so that he would buy overpriced insurance from you as well as provide you with his writing services for free?”
“I will call security if you are not off these premises in the next two minutes” Hester’s face, while still relatively immobile, was bright red.
Jane stood her ground. “I’m sorry for the less than subtle approach to the question, but your fraud department has rigorous standards.”
“It wasn’t blackmail.” Amanda’s voice quavered. “Kyle was my contact, my friend. Shane only knew of him online. He directed me to Kyle’s blog, but he didn’t know him. And Hester doesn’t know anything about anything. He just…he just helped us out. For the writing credits and for, and for…for the writing credits.” She finished up lamely.
“Amanda, you’re excused.” Hester’s voice was like steel.
“Yes, of course.” Amanda inched her way past Jane.
“What did you have on them?” Jane lifted one eyebrow.
Hester picked up her phone again. “Security.” She spit the word into the receiver.
Brenna yawned.
Jane stifled a laugh. She tried to make eye contact with Brenna, but it wasn’t happening. Brenna stared into the distance like this was the most boring thing she had ever done.
A small man, about one hundred years old ambled into Hester’s office. “What’s this I hear?” His soft voice had a lovely country accent.
Hester took a deep breath. “Please escort these young ladies off of the property.”
The elderly guard’s face crinkled into
a smile. “Aren’t I lucky to have a pretty girl on each arm? Come along now.”
Jane couldn’t argue with that. “Thank you very much for your time. We will be seeing more of each other soon, I think.” She took the guard’s arm and let him lead her out with shuffling steps.
Brenna was behind them. She stopped at the door and spoke to Hester. “If your assistant killed Devon Grosse we will find out. You can’t hide it from us.” She continued her steady pace behind Jane and the guard all the way to their car.
But after all of Hester’s curious and suspicious actions, how had Brenna decided it was Amanda’s crime?
While driving, Jane posed the question.
“Amanda pretended to be sad.”
“Devon designed her tattoo. I think she was being honest.”
“Ayla did that. Devon might have drawn it, but he didn’t draw it for the assistant.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he drew it for Ayla.” Brenna’s face was turned, staring out the window, but her chin quivered. “And then Ayla sold it to whoever wanted it on their arm.”
“Amanda wanted it, and she knew Devon, so surely she liked him at least as much as she claimed she did. Why would she kill someone she liked?” Jane asked.
“Why would Hester have killed him?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
Brenna straightened up a little. “It might have been Hester. Her face went completely white when you said Devon’s name.”
“You’re first thought was because she knew her assistant had killed him.”
“Yes,” Brenna said.
“My first thought was because Hester had killed him.” Jane scanned the road ahead for a good place to pull over. “And the key to Hester is the nephew, Shane. So how do we get to Shane?” Jane pulled into a Bean Me Up Scotty’s drive through. A little coffee while they made their plan wouldn’t hurt.
Brenna didn’t offer a magical answer, so Jane ordered them both drinks.
“The directory!” The thought occurred to her so fast that she almost spit out her coffee saying it. “I’ve got the church directory right here.” She dug it out of her purse and opened to Cora Paige’s contact. “And the good news is, they live on this side of the river.”
The Paige house was a largish craftsman in a charming little area of Portland called Ladd’s Addition. The house was just one block from the gilded Joan of Arc statue that anchored the neighborhood.
It didn’t take long to get there, but when they did, they were disappointed to find no one was home. Not just disappointed, but completely dampened. They had come to solve the murder once and for all, not to turn around and go home.
“It is only five,” Brenna said. “What did you expect?”
Jane grimaced. “I guess I hoped they both worked from home. Speaking of, I can take you back now.”
Jane had expected the Frances home to also be unoccupied at this hour, but it wasn’t.
There were four cars parked in front of it. One she recognized as Jake’s Jag.
“Why is your boyfriend here?” Brenna asked.
“How did you know?” Jane parked across the street from Jake’s car.
Brenna lifted an eyebrow but didn’t give away her secrets.
“You’re guess is as good as mine. I suppose we’ll both find out when we go in.”
Brenna hurried across the lawn to her front door, and some of her stiffness fell away as she opened it. She left it opened for Jane, but didn’t wait for her to enter before she took herself back to her room.
Low emotional response to others. A decrease in anxiety in her own home. Jane wished she had taken a few more psychology classes. She would have liked to understand what made Brenna tick.
Jake grinned at Jane from across the kitchen island. “Hello m’ love.”
“Hi.” Jane lifted one eyebrow.
Jake was holding court with Maggie, Maggie’s mom Margot, a man she hadn’t met, but guessed was Maggie’s dad, Ayla, and Flora and Rocky’s assistant Miranda. The group was crowded around the island where Jake had sample cups spread out. Jane guessed they were smoothies from Yo-Heaven, the family yogurt chain. The man who looked about the right age to be Maggie’s dad set one down, a pleased look on his face. “You say that has banana peel in it? I could never have guessed.”
“It sure does,” Jake said. “Ripe banana peel processed to within an inch of its life is full of probiotics and fiber. It’s like a super food that you throw away every day.”
Ayla snorted. “You sound like a late night infomercial.”
“Maybe in my next life.” He looked to Jane again. “I can’t tell you how glad we are to see you alive.”
“You’re welcome.” Jane tilted her head, her words sounded like a question, but that was because she was so confused.
“Between the texts you sent Flora and the call to Maggie and the showdown at the O. K. Tech Center, we weren’t sure if you and Brenna would ever make it home again.” He was joking, but his eyes registered sincere concern. “You know…next time you follow a suspected killer to the last spot a murdered man was seen alive, could you, you know, text me?”
“Definitely.” Jane sidled up to the island and helped herself to a sample cup. As she sipped, she let herself assess the state of mind of the gathered crowd.
Maggie’s dad looked shell shocked. Despite his apparent interest in the smoothie, his eyes had that deer-in-the-headlights look. His eyes were also shadowed, as though he hadn’t been sleeping.
Margot was put together—an impeccable blouse and jeans combo, hair styled, makeup in place, though it had just been a few days since Jane first saw her, she also looked tired, dark bags under her eyes, a sad cast to her expression. She looked older.
Maggie herself looked refreshed. Her eyes were no longer red from crying. Her shoulders were straight and her eye contact forth right. Jane guessed this was from learning that Kyle was alive and working with the FBI. Jane didn’t feel all that relieved for Kyle. Working for the FBI didn’t assure he was guilt free. But then again, if she had feared Jake was dead, and just learned he was in fact, alive she would probably look like she had just won the Super Bowl, too.
Ayla looked similarly relieved—after all, she had just learned her brother was still alive. She may have thought that her tattoos, wild hair, and piercings were a shield, projecting a tough image over whatever else she was actually feeling, but from the times Jane had had Ayla to herself, she knew the metal and ink were guarding a sensitive girl.
“Jane, I came here with Jake because I have specific instructions for you,” Miranda said.
“I told her she could text,” Jake said. “You’re a thoroughly modern girl. But she wouldn’t listen.”
“Unfortunately for the rest of the things I have to do, I am supposed to accompany you on this errand.” Miranda looked at her watch. “And we need to leave.”
“Before you go…” Margot’s voice was tentative, and her perfectly put together face looked shy. “Maggie has a few questions, I think.”
“Mom, not now.” Maggie’s face flushed and she shook her head vigorously.
“She’s here now. You should just ask about it. No one blames you for worrying about the insurance.”
“The insurance?” Jane turned to Maggie. “I guess from here you just wait to hear back from them.”
“That gets to the heart of what we need to do.” Miranda stepped out from behind the breakfast bar, a hand extended to Jane. “The insurance company is balking again and needs some more information. I’m not saying you didn’t do a good job, but they have some more questions.”
Maggie bit her lip. “I don’t want this to be about money, but things are piling up.”
“How?” Jake asked. “It’s only been two weeks. You can’t have gone into collections yet.”
Maggie’s red face brightened further. “It’s not collections, it’s…other stuff.”
Jane ignored Miranda’s invitation to leave. What “st
uff” was pressing on Maggie?
Miranda huffed a little bit and hovered in the door to the kitchen.
“But why banana peels?” Maggie’s dad asked. “Isn’t that just drinking waste?”
Jane glanced his direction. He had the look of a man who had no idea what was going on.
“Charles, this is not the time.” Margot hushed her husband.
Charles looked down at his paper cup. He took another sip and savored it thoughtfully.
“Kyle and I had a lot of plans. And those are the ones that are coming up, needing to be paid.” Maggie took a deep breath. “We could have paid it ourselves, with our income, but Kyle…” She wiped her eye. “Kyle isn’t here now and I can’t access his bank accounts, and I can’t do it alone.” She gritted her teeth.
“I see.” It made sense. If they had gotten an apartment or a house or a car or any other kind of thing and now she didn’t have enough money to pay for it… “But Miranda, how long does it usually take for these policies to pay out?”
“It depends. It could come in a couple of weeks. It could take longer. A fraud investigation always slows things down.” Miranda looked at her watch again and then angled her head toward the door.
Jane ignored the hint. “What are you on the hook for right now?”
“It was kind of hush-hush.”
“Do you think that matters anymore?” Ayla asked.
“Probably not.” Maggie squared her shoulders and looked around the room. “We were starting up a business, and payments on the loan are coming due.” She pressed her lips together.
Jane gave her a friendly half smile. “What kind of business?”
Maggie closed her eyes. She shook her head. When she opened them they held an appeal for understanding. “It’s to do with gaming.”
Jane nodded, hoping she’d continue without more prompting.
“Books…” Maggie said slowly.
“And devices?” Jane asked.
“Yeah.”
Jane’s mind whirled. Books. Like Shane Paige. Devices, like their now dead best friend. What were Kyle and Maggie getting themselves into? “Who knew about your business venture?”
“Devon did, of course. We were buying his device. But we hadn’t told anyone else about it.”
“But if you were buying his device, why give it a negative review?” Ayla looked surprised to hear her own voice.
Spoiled Rotten Murder: A Plain Jane Mystery (The Plain Jane Mysteries Book 5) Page 17
