The Inn at Holiday Bay Books 7 - 9

by Kathi Daley

  I filled her in.

  “I can’t believe someone was murdered during a poker game. You don’t think the game itself was the motive, do you?”

  I picked up a piece of turkey and nibbled on the end. “What do you mean that the game was the motive?”

  Georgia tucked a lock of her blond hair behind her ear. “Perhaps the victim was winning big, and the killer was losing big. Or the killer noticed the victim cheating and, having had too many beers, went just a bit crazy.”

  “I suppose the motive could have been something that occurred at the game, but with the exception of Dax, everyone who was there knew everyone else. All the men had played together before. It seems more likely that someone brought baggage with them.” I popped the last bite of turkey in my mouth. “I do think it is odd that with six individuals in the house, no one seems to be able to provide an alibi for anyone else.”

  “Yeah,” Georgia said, slicing the first of the sandwiches into pieces. “It does seem odd that no two of the six paused to chat. The fact that no one has an alibi for the time of death will make it harder for Colt, although it seems as if the time-of-death window has to be pretty narrow.”

  I nodded. “Colt said the players took their break about eleven and Hank suggested he’d call for pizza. Everyone went their own way until the pizza was delivered around eleven-thirty. Everyone except Train returned to the den at that time. A thirty-minute window does seem pretty narrow, yet the idea that the men were scattered around the house for the whole thirty minutes seems unlikely.”

  “So walk me through what everyone was doing after the players broke up,” Georgia suggested.

  “According to Colt, Hank claimed to have stayed in the den alone while he waited for the pizza delivery. I can buy that given the fact that he was the one to have called for the pizza in the first place, although it seems odd that no one stayed to chat with him.”

  “I agree.” Georgia began loading up a plate with the first sandwich she’d sliced before moving onto the next twelve-inch roll. “That does seem odd. You would think someone would have stayed behind to keep the guy company. What did the others say they were doing?”

  “Bob claimed to have gone into the office to make a call. I’m sure Colt will verify who he called and how long he spoke. Tank told Colt that he went into the detached garage for more beer, but I can’t see that as being more than a five-minute errand. Ten at the most. Where was he for the other twenty minutes?”

  “Good question.”

  “Dax told Colt that he went out to his car to retrieve his phone and ended up returning some texts while he was there, and Frank said that he headed for the bathroom upstairs. None of those errands sound like they would have taken anywhere near thirty minutes, so it really does seem as if these men should have met back in the den well before the pizza arrived.”

  Georgia paused and held her knife in the air. “It sounds like the house where the poker game was held is a large one.”

  I nodded. “It might be, but I didn’t ask Colt exactly how big it is. I can check with him about it the next time we speak. I suppose he also will have considered the timeline and asked the men all the same questions we just discussed. He is following up on some things today, but he said he’d call me when he can. In the meantime, what we need to do is make sure our guests are having a wonderful time. The pairs should be assembling in the dining area in about fifteen minutes. I’ll begin setting up the buffet.”

  I’d just set the bowl with the pasta salad on the buffet table when Jeremy and Hazel walked in.

  “How has your morning been?” I greeted them.

  “I’ve had the time of my life with young Jeremy.” Hazel chuckled. “I wasn’t sure I’d fit in with this group when Kate suggested it, but Jeremy has made everything so much fun and so interesting. This boy has talent. Real talent.”

  “Oh, I don’t know about that.” Jeremy blushed. “My inclusion was a last-minute thing, so I dusted off an old story I’d worked on in college. It’s nothing special.”

  “Oh, but it is,” Hazel countered. “I think you should ask your boss here to read it.”

  I glanced at Jeremy. “I’d be happy to read it. When you’re ready.”

  “We’ll see. Right now, I am going to head out and run the snowblower while everyone is having lunch.”

  “Aren’t you hungry?” I asked.

  “I’ll grab a sandwich on the way out.”

  I let Jeremy go. For one thing, I really did need him to keep up with the snow removal because it apparently wasn’t going to stop snowing anytime soon. For another, it was obvious he was uncomfortable with the high praise Hazel was piling on and probably needed a short break. The others in attendance had already defined themselves as writers and had come to hone their skills, but I wasn’t sure that writer was a label that Jeremy was ready to wear just yet.

  “I hear you wrote a fantasy story about a time-traveling nun,” I said to Hazel after Jeremy left.

  “That’s right. My protagonist, Sister Margaret, spends time both in the past and in the future.”

  “Kate told me you started off writing your memoir but ended up with this piece, which is pure fiction,” I added. “How’d you get from writing a memoir to writing about a time-traveling nun?”

  Hazel chuckled. “I guess on the surface that sounds like a leap, but in reality, it wasn’t. I was a nun for most of my life, so transitioning from memoir to fantasy wasn’t all that much of a stretch.”

  “Kate didn’t mention that you were a nun.”

  “I don’t really advertise that fact. I lived my life in the service of God, but I made the decision to leave the Church when I turned eighty. I didn’t want to die without having tried a few things I’d always wanted to do. My niece was happy to have me come to live with her, which gave me the opportunity to travel a bit and to try my hand at writing. I also wanted to spend more time with the rest of my family. I, of course, never married or had children, but I do have five sisters, all of whom married and had children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. I wanted to spend my final years surrounded by the people who shared my blood.”

  “Wow. That must have been a big change for you.” I couldn’t imagine living a very structured life and then striking out on your own at such an advanced age.

  She smiled. “It has been an adjustment, to say the least, but the choice is one I haven’t regretted. I probably should have made the move sooner, but you know how it is.”

  I did know what she meant. “I guess it is true that, more often than not, maybe someday never seems to circle back around. I love that you finally did take a chance and am really interested in your story. I get where you came up with the idea of telling your story through the eyes of a nun, but I still wonder where the time-traveling part came in.”

  “In my story, Sister Margaret is seeking answers that to this point in her life seem to have eluded her. Her faith is strong, and she wants to believe that which has been required of her by the Church, but there are obstacles that prevent her from giving her whole heart to God. She speaks to a wise old priest who tells her that to really understand the Bible, she must understand the past, and the only way to really understand the past is to experience it firsthand. The priest gives Sister Margaret a magical book that allows her to write her own story. It also allows her to travel to the times and places she writes about. It is a bit fantastic, but the nun has wonderful adventures, and along the way, she finally begins to find the answers she seeks.”

  “It sounds wonderful.”

  She grinned. “I really wrote it for myself as a way of reconciling things in my own heart, but then I showed it to my niece, who showed it to a friend who knew Kate, and she contacted me about publishing it. I wasn’t sure at first, but now I feel that the book and the answers contained within it are my legacy. Kate wants a book two, so I’ve decided to go for it.”

  Boy, did I hope I had this woman’s energy and enthusiasm for life when I was in my eighties.

  By
the time Hazel had finished telling me about her book, the others had begun to file in for lunch. I announced that Dax would be joining them in the afternoon but didn’t elaborate. The room was filled with so much laughter and enthusiasm that I wasn’t sure the others would have noticed Dax’s absence if I hadn’t brought it up. I was happy to see that all the pairs seemed to have hit it off and made connections.

  “I saw on my weather app that blizzardlike conditions are set to pound this area over the next several days,” Alfred said.

  “Yes, I’ve heard that as well,” I responded. “But I want to assure everyone that we have plenty of food and drink and most of the fireplaces, as well as the hot water heater, stove, and heaters run on gas. We also have a generator that will run a few lights and necessary appliances such as the refrigerator. I’m hoping the electricity won’t go out, but we’ll be fine even if it does.”

  “It would be sort of fun to have to live by candlelight for a day or two,” Connie said.

  “But your blow-dryer and hot rollers won’t work,” her sister, Silvia, reminded her.

  I almost laughed out loud at the look of panic that crossed Connie’s face. She was a beautiful woman who seemed to go out of her way with her appearance. I’d only just met her yesterday, but so far, every time I’d seen her, her makeup had been perfect, and her hair looked like she just walked out of the salon.

  “I was wondering about puzzles and board games,” Laverne said. “For the evenings, or just for those times when we need time to unwind.”

  “We have a good selection of both in the parlor. I can show you where they are. I have a trivia game based on literary characters that might be fun.”

  “Perhaps we can break into two teams and have a tournament,” Silvia suggested.

  I noticed Georgia waving at me out of the corner of my eye, so I slipped away while the others debated the idea of two large teams versus smaller teams of two.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Kate called the landline. She tried your cell, but you must have your ringer off.”

  “Okay. I’ll go to the cottage to call her back. I’ll bet she heard about Dax and is on the verge of a meltdown. Hopefully, he will be back here by the time lunch is over. If not, I’ll come back here and start the afternoon session.”

  Chapter 6

  I managed to assure Kate that things were being handled, and she had no need to worry and that Dax was back in time to join the writers after lunch. I was sure he was exhausted, but he didn’t show it. I got the group started while he showered, shaved, and changed his clothes. Once he was cleaned up, he greeted the writers with confidence and a smile. It appeared he had things under control, so after chatting with him very briefly, I headed back to the cottage to check on the animals. Jeremy was involved in a pairs exercise with Hazel, and Georgia and Nikki were cleaning the rooms while the retreat members met in the library, so I decided to take the dogs for a quick walk despite the snow and freezing temperature. So far, the wind wasn’t too bad, but if the weather forecast was correct, the wind was due to increase, bringing blizzard conditions to the coast during the overnight hours.

  Ramos, who had a whole lot of thick black fur, seemed to like the snow just fine, while my little rescue, Molly, would just as soon have skipped winter altogether. The walk we took was brief, but at least everyone had a chance to do what they needed to do. After we returned to the cottage, Ramos settled on the rug in front of the fire while Molly curled up in her favorite chair. I didn’t see Rufus—in fact, I hadn’t seen him much all day—so I went in search of the huge orange kitty. When I found him curled up on my bed, sound asleep, I headed back out into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee.

  I’d just poured a mugful when I heard a car pull up in the drive. I was pretty sure that everyone who was due to arrive was already here, so I wandered over to the window to take a peek outside. It was Colt. I was happy to see him, though I wasn’t expecting him.

  I opened the door to greet him. “This is a nice surprise. I didn’t know you were going to stop by.”

  “I’m actually here to speak to Dax Sherman again. I know he has a retreat to run this afternoon, and I don’t want to interrupt the flow, so I hoped maybe he could take a break and come over here to the cottage to answer a few more questions.”

  “They should be breaking into small groups in about twenty minutes. Georgia is over at the inn. I can text her to have Dax come over here when that happens.”

  “That should be fine.”

  “While you’re waiting, I just made coffee if you’d like some.”

  “Coffee sounds wonderful.” Colt took off his heavy parka and hung it on the rack.

  I poured two mugs, and we both settled onto the sofa. It was warm near the fire, and between the coffee and the fire, I felt myself wanting to drift off to sleep. I figured it must be worse for Colt, so I made an effort to keep him talking.

  “So how goes the investigation?” I asked.

  “So far, all I’ve managed to do is run into a bunch of dead ends. It seems that with only five suspects, it would be easy to figure out who had motive and opportunity to stab the guy, but it looks like almost everyone had both.”

  “All the men had motive? I thought they were friends.”

  “The men were all friends of Tank, not necessarily of Train,” Colt explained. “As far as I can tell, Tank and Train had different backgrounds. Their parents divorced when Tank was ten, and Train was eight. Tank left with their father, and Train stayed with their mother. Tank and their father left the family home and moved to Holiday Bay, while Train stayed with their mother and continued to live in Hartford, Connecticut. The brothers didn’t see a lot of each other until they both ended up attending the same university. Tank went to Boston College when he was eighteen, and then, two years later, Train followed. It seems the brothers moved into a house along with five other students, including your friend, Dax’s brother, Walter. After graduation, Tank moved to Atlanta, but eventually, he came back to Holiday Bay and opened a sporting goods store. Train initially moved to Denver, but he moved to Holiday Bay to work with Tank just under two years ago. Since he moved here, he has made a few enemies.”

  “Like whom?” I asked.

  “This is where things start to get tricky. While most of the men who were playing poker last night would not admit to having a problem with Train, they all seemed to be more than willing to spill the beans on the others.”

  “Okay. Who did you talk to, and what did they say?” I asked.

  “I spoke to Hank Hanover first. He told me that Train is a real pain in the backside, and they hadn’t gotten along ever since he moved to Holiday Bay, but he swears he didn’t hate him enough to kill him. When I asked about the others, he started off by telling me that Frank Fish had openly argued with Train last night and that a rather heated debate followed a long history of tension between the men.”

  “Did Hank say why Train and Frank didn’t get along?”

  Colt answered. “Hank said that Frank owed Train money. A lot of it. Hank claimed not to have all the details, but apparently, Frank refused to pay Train what was owed and, according to Hank, Train had threatened Frank with physical violence if he didn’t pay up. I spoke to Frank about it, and he admitted that he had owed Train money and that Train had been pressuring him. He also admitted he was happy to have him off his back. He said he didn’t kill him, but according to Hank, he overheard Frank and Train continuing with their argument after the poker players took their break.”

  “But Frank didn’t admit to this argument to you?”

  “No, he didn’t. I asked about the argument when I spoke to the others, and everyone confirmed that there had been a lot of tension between Train and Frank, but not everyone admitted to overhearing the argument. I don’t know for certain if Frank went so far as to stab Train to get him off his back, but if you ask me, he seems to have had the most reason to want the man dead.”

  “And he didn’t have an alibi?”
<
br />   “He didn’t. He swore that after the game broke up, he went upstairs to use the bathroom and didn’t see anyone else, including Train until they all regathered in the den when the pizza arrived.”

  “He was in the bathroom for thirty minutes?”

  Colt sighed. “He said he was. He told me that he had eaten a late lunch that hadn’t agreed with him and that he was not feeling well when he went upstairs. I don’t necessarily believe him, but I can’t prove he was lying at this point. If someone will admit to seeing Frank during those thirty minutes, that will help, but so far, no one remembers having seen the guy once the game broke up.”

  “Do we know how much money Frank owed Train or why Train had lent him the money in the first place?” It didn’t make sense to me that Train would have lent Frank money if the two didn’t get along.

  “Hank told me he didn’t know the answer to either question, but when I spoke to Tank about the situation, he made a comment that the money that was owed to Train had not been a loan per se but more of a business partnership. I asked for more information about that, but Tank clammed up. I’m going to do some digging to see what I can find out.”

  “Okay, wait,” I said. “How exactly did Hank overhear the argument between Frank and Train? I seem to remember that Hank stayed in the den after the group broke up, Train was in the backyard smoking, and Frank went upstairs.”

  “Like I said, a lot of what has been told to me so far doesn’t add up or make sense. I have a feeling there is more going on than anyone is willing to say yet.”

  “So, did Hank have anything else to tell you?”

  He nodded. “He mentioned that Bob and Tank had been good friends who used to go hunting and fishing together. According to Hank, after Train moved to Holiday Bay, his presence during those hunting and fishing trips changed the dynamic, and Bob was fairly vocal about his dislike of his friend’s younger brother. It put a real strain on his relationship with Tank. So much so that they stopped hanging out together.”