Mistaken Identity Crisis: Death On The Cable Car (Braxton Campus Mysteries Book 4)

by James J Cudney

  “The truth always has a funny way of clawing its way to the surface. I trust you will handle it with proper caution and respect,” she counseled. Lydia was a strong woman who'd married into the Nutberry family and struggled to find her own place among a very stubborn crowd. She was direct but fair when listening to what other people had to tell her. “How can I help?”

  “Since you've asked, perhaps you could tell me what you know about the jewelry thefts. Your family lost two things, right?” When she nodded in slight confusion, I added, “Not that Quint's death is necessarily connected to them, but it's important for me to understand everything. There was a stolen ruby found near Quint's body. Tell me what happened to your mother-in-law's choker eight years ago.”

  “I'm not sure what that has to do with the price of beans, but I'll share anything I can remember.” Lydia removed her bifocals and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Agnes had taken it out of the safe that morning because she planned to wear it to Tiffany's concert. I know everyone thinks she bribed the director, but Tiffany was a wonderful musician. Maybe she wasn't the best flutist that season, but she was in the top three. What no one else ever admits is the girl who was the best had been suspected of a little powdered candy,” she said, tapping the side of her nose and smiling ruefully at me.

  Lydia finished sharing her story. Agnes had changed her outfit at the last minute and decided not to wear the choker. They were running late, prompting her not to take the time to lock it in the safe before leaving for the concert. When they'd returned home, it was missing. Agnes called the police, and the former sheriff personally visited the family the next morning. It had been the second theft at that point, but no one had made any connection to the first one until much later because of the confusion with where the Paddington brooch had been stolen and the revelation about the calla lilies consistently appearing at all the locations. Eventually, Agnes reported it to her insurance company and had been compensated for the loss. The choker was still missing to this day.

  “How did Tiffany feel about the whole event? Quint was her friend, and his uncle couldn't help much,” I said, wondering what Lydia might have surmised.

  “Tiffany was barely twenty years old. She was acting a little strange, but all kids do at that age.”

  “Was she living in the Braxton dorms?”

  “Yes, but she'd come home that weekend for a family party. I think she had friends over the day of the concert and was wrapped up in her social life. Come to think of it, Agnes showed everyone the choker that night while they were having dinner.” Lydia confirmed all eight kids from the group, including Quint and my brother, had been at that meal before they'd left for the concert. All of Tiffany's friends had attended the concert, but they'd returned to the dorms once it finished. Lydia and Agnes had gone out for drinks. When they'd arrived home, the house was empty, and Agnes had discovered the choker was stolen. Tiffany confirmed she hadn't gone back to the house after the concert, so she wasn't sure either. She couldn't remember anyone disappearing, but it could've been possible.

  “What about your earrings? Weren't they stolen a few weeks ago while you were at your sister-in-law's memorial service at the church?”

  “Yes, Tiffany had worn them to an engagement party the night before, and she dropped them off at Whispering Pines. I also had eight-thousand dollars in cash in our safe that day.” Lydia explained that she'd kept enough money in her office for incidentals and payments to vendors who offered discounts if she'd paid cash for certain services. She'd been the last one in the funeral parlor that evening and had thought she'd locked the safe but couldn't be certain. She was going directly to the church, so she left the earrings at the funeral parlor overnight. When she arrived the next morning, the safe had been emptied and a black calla lily left behind. She'd never needed cameras at the facility before, especially in her office, and there were no resultant fingerprints other than those of regular employees. “We've installed a new surveillance system already.”

  “Do you have any idea who might be responsible?” I asked, wondering if Tiffany had inadvertently revealed to anyone that she'd dropped the earrings off at the funeral home.

  “Sheriff Montague mentioned there'd been a string of burglaries happening again. I just assumed it was random, but then she asked me this morning if I'd seen your brother lately. Surely, she doesn't think he's involved somehow, does she?” Lydia pulled back and gasped a little as if she'd just remembered something important.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Gabriel was driving Tiffany the day she dropped off the earrings. I forgot about it until just now. It was very quick, but she said he was waiting in the car as he had to make a call before they went to lunch.” Lydia didn't know of other potential suspects who might've killed Quint, so I decided to hold off on any further questions. I needed to speak with Tiffany to find out what she was hiding from everyone.

  Once Lydia and I finished chatting, we returned to the main room. I said goodbye to Nana D and Bertha, promising to call her soon with some questions and any updates on what'd happened to Quint. The room was mostly empty, and there was no one else I could follow up with about the situation. I'd had a long enough day and needed to pick up Emma from my parents. We were overdue to take the puppy out for his evening walk and read a bedtime story before Emma went to sleep.

  * * *

  Once Gabriel texted he was on his way over on Saturday morning, Emma and I prepared breakfast. It was less than a ten-minute walk from Nana D's place to the guest cottage, so I scrambled a half-dozen eggs and popped several slices of whole wheat bread in the toaster. I didn't have time for a full spread like Nana D would've, but mine would suffice for this morning.

  Gabriel knocked twice and opened the front door. The bags under his eyes were heavy and as dark as mud. “Nana D sends her regards. She has an early meeting with Paul Dodd to prepare for their first year working together and sent over a coffee cake she made yesterday morning.”

  Emma and Gabriel set the table while I finished cooking. When everything was ready, we ate breakfast together, keeping the conversation civil and focused on lighthearted topics. Once we were done, Emma took Baxter outside to practice his tricks. I watched them through the window as they played in the small fenced-in area just outside the back door. I could hear Emma sternly warning the puppy that he wouldn't get any treats if he didn't properly listen to her. She was gonna turn into another Nana D if I wasn't careful!

  “We have a lot to discuss, and you better be truthful,” I firmly warned Gabriel, realizing my daughter was more like me than I'd previously acknowledged.

  “Yeah, your non-stop messages and cruddy attitude has made that clear.” He poured himself a glass of orange juice, kicked off his shoes as he sat across from me, and plunked his feet on the couch next to me. “There are two sides to every story. All I ask is that you don't judge me until I'm finished.”

  Gabriel and I had always been close as young kids, even though we were four years apart. I'd never shared that kind of relationship with our older brother, Hampton, who'd tortured me and treated me like his servant. By the time Hampton had moved out, I was tired of being the middle child in our family and went off to college to build a new life. I blamed myself for abandoning Gabriel when he'd needed me most. Accepting the truth about his homosexuality must have been difficult if he'd felt he had no one to talk to about his emotions and his fears.

  “I promise. It might be a little too late, but I'll do whatever I can to help fix what you've done,” I said, playfully slapping his thigh as a show of support. “Talk to me.”

  “That's just the thing. I already tried to fix it years ago and look what's happened.” Gabriel grunted, jumped up from the couch, and walked toward the front door. “I didn't steal the jewelry eight years ago. I know people suspect me, but I'm innocent.”

  “I'm glad to hear it. Why do you think they suspect you?”

  “Because I know who did. And that person forced me to get more involved than I needed
to be.” Brow furrowed and eyes focused, he paced the living-room floor.

  “I know what happened in San Francisco at the pawn shop.” I should have waited for my brother to share when he was ready, but I wanted answers.

  “What? You've got to be kidding me. No one was supposed to know about that. He promised me he'd keep it hidden.” Gabriel punched the front door to let out his frustrations.

  “Who promised you that? Connor?” My head felt too cloudy to interpret his explanation.

  “Connor? What does he have to do with the pawn shop? I'm talking about Dad. He took care of everything. That's part of why I left town.” Gabriel had thrown out a curveball with that reveal as he leaned against the opposite wall and groaned loudly enough for Emma to check on us.

  I ushered her back out the door and assured her everything was fine. “You've completely lost me, Gabriel. Connor and I found one of the Roarke rubies near Quint's body in the cable car. He realized it was from the original pieces of jewelry someone had stolen and that had eventually been hocked at a pawn shop in California.” I shook my head, trying to make sense of the situation. “Connor thinks whoever killed Quint is the person stealing all the jewelry and lost control—”

  “Are you saying the police suspect me of killing Quint? That's absurd; he was my friend. Quint might've done some stupid things and tried to take advantage of me, but I'd never physically hurt him.” Gabriel looked as wounded as he was shocked by the thought of someone accusing him of murder again. “I gotta get out of here. It was foolish of me to return to Braxton. Nothing's changed.”

  “Wait! You said something about Dad. What does he have to do with this mess?”

  “Ask him yourself. I need to talk to someone else before this gets out of hand again,” Gabriel shouted and raced out the front door toward the main house.

  Who was he going to speak with? I couldn't follow him since Emma was outside with Baxter and too young to be on her own. My discussion with Gabriel only confused the matter further. I called my mother and verified we were still on for lunch at Nana D's the following day once church finished. My father would try to avoid the conversation, but I intended to drag out of him whatever secret he and Gabriel had been keeping.

  * * *

  After Tiffany agreed to meet me for a drink at Kirklands, the rest of the early afternoon revolved around Emma. We straightened up her room, packed her overnight bag, and drove to the gymnastics facility near the Betscha mines. I watched her twist her body on the parallel bars and hang upside down on the rings. At one point, I had been fairly adept at it myself, but the thought of hanging upside down only made me nauseous these days. Emma hugged me goodbye and went back to her friends, worrying me that I only had a few more years left with her as my baby girl.

  Tiffany was sitting, and slightly swaying, at the bar when I arrived. Considered a dive by most, the usual patrons at Kirklands were more than satisfied with two-dollar beers and five-dollar cocktails during happy hour. Its most appealing feature, besides the dark and gloomy corners where drinkers could easily hide, was a flair for playing eclectic music and showcasing local talent on weekends.

  “Mom reveled over the chat you two had last night. I kind of expected you'd call soon.” Tiffany partially hugged me and slid over a pint of beer. The light hit her in just the right way to highlight her mousy-brown hair, freckles, and petite waist. Her hands were not at all petite, which meant she might be the person who'd killed Quint. When she spoke, a trail of Cosmo breath fluttered by.

  “First, let me say how sorry I am about Quint. I understand you two were very close.” I offered to pay for the beer, but she waved my arm away and sprayed a flowery perfume on her wrists.

  “What a pretty scent,” I said, lifting her hand to my nose. “I've been smelling sandalwood cologne lately but can't figure out the name.”

  “You should ask Nicky Endicott. He's a cologne fanatic. I'm quite sure the woodsy ones are his latest obsession too. Everything is woodsy right down to his boxers, and don't ask me how I know that! That lumberjack of a hottie even prefers to jog through the wood-chipped trails at Braxton all the time.” After sipping a mouthful from the mug and turning a little green, she seemed disinterested in her beer. “What can I do for you? It sounded urgent on the phone. I only showed up because I happened to be in need of an excuse to escape a brunch that wasn't going well.”

  That was a tip I hadn't expected to get today. Could Nicky have been the person I'd seen at the cable car the morning I'd found Quint's body? I'd have to track him down soon to find out as well as relay the news that Tiffany had a secret crush on him. “I've learned something I'd rather not share straightaway, but it's connected to the jewelry thefts that started up again. Can you share anything you know about them?” Was she drunk enough to tell me the truth, or would she be evasive on the topic?

  “What do they have to do with me?” She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth and gently bit it.

  “I'm hoping you'll reveal everything you know, starting with the sorority prank eight years ago and ending with what you and Gabriel talked about the day you returned the earrings to your mother at Whispering Pines.” I picked up my pint, clinked hers, and said, “Drink up. We've got a lot to cover.”

  Tiffany was not thrilled to learn I knew about the sorority's hazing practices. “It was supposed to be confidential. I don't know who told you, but she's definitely going to be in big trouble for it.”

  “Forget how I know. Just help me connect the dots. Do you know who stole the jewelry?”

  “It was just a harmless prank we played on Gwendolyn Paddington, but then the brooch really disappeared. When a second item was stolen, this time from my family, I wondered if it was a coincidence or connected in a warped way.”

  “Why didn't anyone say something to the cops? Or you could've told your parents. It might've stopped the thief from stealing more jewelry and cash from the Roarkes, Greys, and Stantons.”

  “We were scared. I couldn't tell my parents we'd stolen the original brooch. No one wanted to be accused of all the other burglaries or go to prison.” Tiffany began slurring more frequently.

  “Okay, I can buy that. Did you suspect one another of being the real thief?”

  “Not really. I mean, I thought only the four of us girls in the pledge class knew about the prank. One of them must have told someone else,” she snarled.

  “Don't get snippy with me. I'm just asking questions.” I wasn't the enemy, but it wouldn't help to push back. “Did you leave a calla lily at the Paddington estate after you stole the brooch?”

  “No, are you kidding me? We took the brooch from the Play House, locked it in the safe at the sorority house, and moved on. Someone must have decided to keep stealing items and tried to make it look like it was connected to Alpha Iota Omega, but the culprit was never caught.”

  “How do Quint, Paul, Nicholas, and Gabriel fit in? Did they know about the sorority prank?

  “I already answered that. No one was supposed to know what we did, but I can't tell you what anyone else was privy to.” She slapped a ten-dollar bill on the bar and waved to the bartender.

  “We're not done. Is there anything else you can tell me? I'm worried Quint confronted someone about the jewelry thefts in the cable car.” I paused to let the news sink in. “If you know something, you might be able to determine what really happened to the poor guy the day he died.”

  “I'm devastated my friend passed away, but it wasn't anything more than an accident. I don't see how his death has anything to do with the jewelry robberies.” Frustrated, Tiffany exhaled loudly.

  “Where were you the night Quint died? I'm just curious how and when you found out,” I said nonchalantly.

  “Um, I don't remember. Didn't he electrocute himself in the middle of the night? I guess I was sleeping probably. My mother told me the next morning. Ugh, I need to get out of here.” Tiffany jumped up from the barstool and faltered more than expected. She was partially drunk and couldn't look me in the face, yet s
he'd been reading something on her phone. It seemed like an act. Why?

  “You're hiding something from me. If you're worried about Gabriel, you're in good company.”

  Tiffany closed her eyes and breathed deeply. “Gabriel is the one who disappeared after all that cash was stolen from the Stantons during the first round of robberies. I also saw him shove something shiny in a duffel bag when I stopped by his dorm room to surprise him the night he left town.”

  “Are you certain it was Gabriel?” I asked, wondering if it had been a case of mistaken identity.

  “Unless I was confused about whom I saw through the crack in the door, your brother is involved. I guess I didn't see the guy's face, but it was your brother's room. I assumed based on a few coincidences and the timing that Gabriel might've been the thief, but I couldn't turn in a friend, so I kept quiet. Then, he mentioned leaving my concert early the night my mother's house had been robbed to—”

  “Wait! Your mother said you didn't remember anyone disappearing that night. Which is the truth?” I wasn't thrilled to hear that change of news, as it made my brother look guiltier.

  “I'd been too excited by the concert back then. When Gabriel told me recently that he'd left the concert to meet his secret boyfriend, it triggered my memory that he'd been missing.”

  “Do you believe he's guilty, or do you think he really met his boyfriend that night?”

  “I'm not sure. No one else had enough knowledge and access to details about everyone's comings and goings both in the past and now. If Gabriel isn't the thief, then I don't understand who's robbing people again.” Tiffany settled the bill with the bartender and stepped away from the bar.

  “What about when you dropped off the earrings with your mother at the funeral home a few weeks ago? Did anyone else know you were doing that?”

  “Gabriel and I had lunch with Quint, Krissy, and Nicky that day. I might've mentioned returning the earrings, I can't be sure.” She dropped a few singles on the bar and hastily rushed out of Kirklands toward a taxi. Thankfully, she wasn't planning to drive.