Sinner or Saint

by Brenda Donelan

  “And you never thought to tell me this when we were sitting around your table with each of us discussing what we knew about the case?”

  Marlee shrugged. “I intended to, but we were interrupted.” It was a lie, and they both knew it. She’d planned to keep the emeralds under wrap as long as possible, hoping they’d lead her to the whereabouts of Kelsey, Patrick, and Ian before Hector could locate them. It was stupid, and she couldn’t explain it, but Marlee and Hector were in a constant competition.

  Grabbing the emeralds, Hector turned them over to an officer to log into evidence. “We’ll talk about this later,” he said as he stalked off shooting a disgusted glare in Marlee’s direction.

  “Maybe we will and maybe we won’t,” Marlee muttered defiantly under her breath. She resented his tone and wished she’d never involved him in the matter in the first place.

  Hours later, Marlee and Bridget were back at Marlee’s house, courtesy of a ride from the police department. Conrad, Ian, and Patrick were at the police station, all under arrest for a multitude of offenses and refusing to speak until they had a lawyer. Hector refused to let Marlee and Bridget watch the interrogations through a two-way mirror, fearing it could jeopardize their investigation. Still huffy from failing to tell him about the emeralds, he insisted they go home, and he’d be by with updates soon.

  “What a day!” Bridget exclaimed, grabbing a bottle of cabernet and the wine opener with one hand and the stems of two wine glasses with the other.

  “Kelsey’s gone, my car’s gone, and we’re not much closer to figuring out what happened. The only good thing that happened is that Ian and Conrad are in custody. At least we know they can’t hurt Kelsey now.” Marlee grabbed the nearly full-to-the-brim glass of wine Bridget poured and took a mighty sip.

  “And Patrick’s in custody too,” Bridget added.

  Marlee made a face. “I’m conflicted about Patrick. I still don’t know if he’s in on the whole thing, or if he was just trying to save his B&B and his daughter. The person Hector spoke with in Ireland said the Raffertys were shady.”

  “And how does Della fit into this? Is she an active participant in the crimes, or is she trying to help us?”

  “Help us? How so?” Marlee asked.

  “She gave us the tip about Rita after she had her neighbor kid call the police. That’s what led to finding Ian, Patrick, and Kelsey at Conrad’s lake cabin. Without that bit of information, I don’t know if we would’ve located them before they fled town,” Bridget said.

  Marlee gazed out the dining room window onto her back yard. Most of the snow had melted or blown away in the past few days. It wouldn’t be long, and the signs of spring’s return would be evident. Buds would form on the tree branches, meadowlarks chirping in the distance. All signs of spring would be welcome after the brutal winter. It was still too early to think the cold weather was behind them, but the end was in sight. “So why were they holed up at the cabin? Why did they stay there instead of leaving right away?”

  “More questions than answers, that’s for sure.” Bridget sipped from her wine glass. “Let’s hope Hector can clear up some of this mystery for us when he gets here.”

  “Right,” Marlee snorted. “I’m sure he’ll tell us everything he knows.”

  “I told you we should’ve let him know about Kelsey leaving the emeralds here.”

  “I know, but it’s too late now. Maybe we can appeal to his good nature. In the meantime, let’s talk over the case to see if we can piece it together,” Marlee said.

  “We know Kelsey followed you back to Elmwood after her family and Ian used the information she gave them to line up an emerald connection here. And that connections is Conrad Thayer,” Bridget stated.

  “And we know Conrad had some shady dealings before when his sister, Rita, supposedly embezzled from their company. He made his fortune with Tech Solutions and got his sister’s share away from her. Rita’s in prison, and Conrad managed to slip away from prosecution even though he was in shit up to his eyeballs.”

  “We know that Conrad and Della have been dating for a few months. In a way they seem like a good fit for each other,” Bridget said, always the hopeless romantic.

  “They’re both odd, that’s for sure. But Conrad is a crook who hasn’t been caught yet. I’m afraid Della’s mixed up in something she can’t get out of, and she’s too proud to ask for help. As much as she irritates me, I don’t want anything bad to happen to her, especially if she’s innocent.”

  “So, Ian’s part in all this seems fairly straightforward,” Bridget commented. “He’s a loan shark, a strip club owner, and a procurer of antiques and collectibles that are most likely stolen. His involvement seems to be nothing other than monetary. Ian came to Elmwood either to bring Kelsey back to Dublin to do more smuggling for him or to exact his revenge against her. That part’s a little murky.”

  “Maybe Patrick was an unwilling participant. He came with Ian, or was forced to come along, to lure Kelsey back into working with Ian again. Either that or Patrick wanted to come with Ian to make sure no harm befell his daughter,” Marlee said.

  “Or he wanted to protect Kelsey but was also a thug who worked for Ian,” Bridget suggested.

  “Now Kelsey is the wild card. She’s addicted to OxyContin and needs a regular fix. That right there makes her unstable. Case in point, the theft of my car and money from your purse. She also has these flights of fancy where she believes she’ll be the next big makeup artist to the stars in Hollywood,” Marlee said, reaching for her landline phone to cancel her credit cards after remembering that her purse was in her stolen SUV.

  “Do you have any money for pizza?” Marlee asked after getting off the phone with her two credit card companies and her bank.

  The two continued discussing the case until their extra-large pizza and an order of bread sticks were delivered. Marlee didn’t recognize the new Domino’s delivery person. “Does Teo have the day off? He’s usually the one who delivers my pizza.” She sorted through the stack of bills Bridget handed her, counting out the payment and adding in a generous tip.

  “I picked up his shift. He was scheduled to work but called in last minute and said he had some kind of emergency,” said the greasy-faced high school kid as he grabbed for the cash.

  As Marlee and Bridget tore into their meal, a thought dawned on Marlee. “What if Teo’s emergency had to do with Kelsey? They liked each other and had been texting. Where did she think she was going to go when she stole my SUV? She might have contacted Teo for help.”

  Against her better judgment, Bridget called Domino’s asking to speak to the manager. “Yes, this is Teo’s grandmother, and I need to reach him right away. As you know, there’s been an emergency in our family and I’m afraid I’ve misplaced his phone number. I’m on the road and using my friend’s cell phone.” Bridget would’ve gone on and on, adding extraneous details to the story, but Marlee made a slashing gesture across her own throat to get her cousin to shut up. Bridget stopped talking, grabbed a pen, and jotted down the number.

  “Teo, this is Marlee McCabe,” she said moments later. “I know you’re not at work. Are you with Kelsey Rafferty?”

  “Um, no. My uncle needed a ride to his chemo appointment.” After assuring that he didn’t know of Kelsey’s whereabouts and that he’d alert the authorities if he heard from her, Teo ended the conversation.

  “Well, that was a dead end,” Bridget said. “Where would Kelsey go? She knows the cops are looking for her, and she wouldn’t get far using your credit cards and cash. How much money did you have in your purse?”

  “About a thousand dollars.”

  “That’s a lot of money! Why do you carry that much around with you? Somebody could steal it.”

  “Somebody did steal it,” Marlee said with a frown. “I took cash with me to Ireland for my research trip. The thousand is what I didn’t spend, and I never got around to putting it back in the bank.”

  “Why didn’t you use a credit card like a nor
mal person? People don’t carry around wads of cash for this very reason,” Bridget chided.

  “Lesson learned. The credit card companies said nobody had tried to make purchases on my cards, and the bank said no one tried to get money from my accounts. Not yet, anyway. I guess I’m lucky that all Kelsey got away with was a thousand dollars in cash.”

  “Guess I’ll be buying the pizza and wine for the foreseeable future, huh?” Bridget asked with a smile.

  They both jumped when the doorbell rang. Marlee opened the door and let Hector in, avoiding eye contact since she knew he was still pissed about the emeralds. He walked past Marlee and Bridget and into the kitchen where he grabbed a wine glass and helped himself to their opened bottle.

  “You’re never going to believe this,” Hector said as he took a swig of cabernet. “All of the emeralds are synthetic. They’re fakes! Ian and Patrick said they only came to Elmwood to persuade Kelsey to return to Dublin. Conrad told them he knew the emeralds weren’t real and admitted the so-called antique pipe was worthless. We’re having it checked over right now by our expert. Then they asked for attorneys.”

  “So why did Ian search Della’s house for emeralds if everybody knew they were imitations? And how did they end up back at my house?” Marlee asked, not revealing Pete Jackson’s faulty assessment of the emeralds. She knew that detail would only aggravate Hector further.

  “Their lawyers stepped in and advised them not to answer those questions.” Hector shook his head and furrowed his brow, his general dislike for attorneys written all over his face.

  Bridget and Marlee stood at the table, slack-jawed, as Hector pounded down the wine and helped himself to another glass. “Do you have anything stronger than wine?”

  Marlee returned with a half bottle of Limoncello and three shot glasses, pouring each of them a full-to-the-rim shot and then another. After his third shot, Hector began to speak again. “We had to let them all go. No charges were filed against any of them.”

  “What? How can Ian and Patrick get away with beating Della and knocking me out then stealing Della’s car?” Marlee asked.

  “Ian and Patrick deny all of it, and Della backed them up. She was finally interviewed and said she invited them inside her house. They were all there having a good ole time until you broke in, drunk, and then you tripped over a rug and hit your head. According to Della, when you came to, you were talking nonsense. She said she loaned her vehicle to Ian and Patrick, and they left with Kelsey willingly following them. They planned to do a little more sightseeing around the area and then return Della’s vehicle before flying back to Dublin.”

  “Sightseeing in Elmwood in March? That’s bullshit!” Marlee was beyond baffled; she was enraged. “Ian had a gun, and he hit me with it and knocked me out. He tied Della to a chair and hit her several times. Then they took Kelsey against her will.”

  “You were knocked out at that point, so you really don’t know if they forced Kelsey to leave with them or if she went of her own accord,” Hector corrected.

  Marlee hesitated. “Technically that’s true, but Kelsey was afraid Ian would harm her or force her back to Ireland. She wanted to stay here. She said so several times.”

  “What about Conrad? There’s no way he’s getting off scot-free!” Bridget’s face took on a grimace as she thought about the eccentric collector and his involvement in this mess.

  “Unless the pipe turns out to be stolen, then there’s nothing to charge him with either. Worst case scenario is that it’s valuable, and Conrad avoided paying import tax, but that won’t get him much more than a fine. And that’s if the pipe is valuable. At first glance, our expert didn’t think it was worth more than fifty dollars.” Hector was defeated.

  “So, where’s Kelsey, and why did she take off with my SUV? That doesn’t sound like the actions of somebody who was willingly going to leave with Ian and her father,” Marlee said.

  “They chalked it up to youthful mischief and insisted she’d turn up shortly, contrite about her actions.”

  “But she can be charged with auto theft and fleeing an interrogation, can’t she?” Bridget asked. “And what about her drug use and the money she admitted stealing from my purse?”

  “There will be legal ramifications when we find her. Ian and Patrick seemed to write her off during their interrogations, saying she would have to face her consequences like an adult. Since we had nothing to hold them on, Ian and Patrick left town in their rental and are flying back to Dublin. They left for Minneapolis about an hour ago.” Hector shook his head in disgust.

  “So that’s it? After all this, the only one accountable is Kelsey? And if she hadn’t acted impulsively and taken off with my car, she probably wouldn’t have any consequences either,” Marlee said.

  “What about Della? How can she get away with lying about the break-in and assault? We all saw her bruises, and Marlee even witnessed Ian assaulting her,” Bridget said.

  “Della says her bruises came from a fall down the stairs. An accident. She denies it all and claims Marlee was drunk. She actually made a case for Marlee being arrested for breaking into her house,” Hector replied. “And she has a point.”

  Marlee was incredulous. Now she was facing charges? “Wait a minute! I only entered Della’s house because her dogs were going crazy, and I was afraid they might have accidentally gotten locked in the basement.”

  “So?” Hector challenged. “People lock their dogs in basements and spare rooms all the time when they’re at work or run errands. It’s not a matter of life and death. How did you get into Della’s house anyway?”

  She knew a setup when she saw it. It was unlikely Hector would place her under arrest for breaking into Della’s house or for possessing lock picking tools, but she wasn’t going to give him that option. “The door was unlocked and slightly ajar. That’s why I was worried.”

  “Right, that’s exactly what I thought happened.” Sarcasm dripped from Hector’s voice as he rolled his eyes. “We don’t have anything to pin on anyone except Kelsey and maybe you. We’ll keep Conrad and Della in our sights, and when we find Kelsey, we’ll get some answers from her. But as far as Ian and Patrick are concerned, we’re done with them.”

  “Marlee contacted her bank and credit card companies, and there wasn’t any activity on her accounts or cards,” Bridget said.

  “And I had the cards cancelled and put a lock on my bank accounts, so all she’ll get away with is the cash in my purse. I hope she brings my car back in one piece. I love that car!”

  “It’s doubtful. Unless we find her right away, there’s not much chance of you getting your SUV back in good condition. Either she’ll wreck it or abandon it,” Hector said knowingly, having dealt with stolen cars multiple times every year during his long stint in law enforcement.

  “Any leads on Kelsey’s whereabouts?” Marlee asked.

  “We’re not aware of anyone else she knew in the United States, so she could be anywhere. Ian and her father didn’t know where she went. Or they weren’t saying. For right now, she’s in the wind.”

  “The only things we have of Kelsey’s are a few clothes she left in her suitcase,” Bridget said.

  “And her passport! I forgot all about it after we found the emeralds.” Marlee pulled the passport from her jacket pocket and flipped it open, once again staring at Kelsey’s familiar face. But this time she noticed something for the first time, and it was a game changer. Kelsey’s last name wasn’t listed as Rafferty. It was Sheehan!

  Surprise!

  Chapter 31

  Marlee shook her head, tired after relaying all that had happened up until now. She was still in shock after hearing of Kelsey’s death.

  Bettina Crawford looked up from her notetaking. “So that’s it? That’s everything?” asked the police detective as she sat in Marlee’s living room, listening to the details of the past week.

  Marlee nodded, wiping a tear away with the back of her hand. “You’re sure it’s Kelsey? I mean, she had a fair complexion and
a chubby build, just like a lot of young women around Elmwood. Maybe it’s somebody else?”

  “No, it’s Kelsey Sheehan. She had her Irish Passport Card on her. You know, the card that lets her travel throughout the European Union. And she was driving your vehicle, which you reported stolen. We’ll need someone to come in and identify her body, but we’re ninety-nine percent sure it’s her.”

  Hector pounded on the front door as Marlee finished recounting the whole story for Bettina. “Just wanted to let you know what was going on,” he said as he ran his hand through his hair. “I never thought it would end like this.”

  “None of us did.” Marlee looked at the floor, still unable to make sense of the horrific developments. “I thought we’d find Kelsey, and she’d have to answer for stealing my car, get a fine, and shipped back to Ireland, and that would be the end of it.”

  Hector nodded. “Or we never would’ve found her or heard from her again. Either scenario was entirely possible. I did some digging on Kelsey now that we know her last name isn’t Rafferty. Turns out Kelsey Sheehan was an out-of-work actress. I can’t find any connection between her and the Rafferty family at all.”

  “She was pretending to be their daughter? Why did the Raffertys go along with it?” Marlee asked, looking at Hector then at Bettina.

  Both shrugged. “Obviously, it was an acting gig. Somebody paid Kelsey and the Raffertys to carry out this elaborate charade,” Hector guessed. “The big question is: who would hire them? And why?”

  Marlee put on a pot of coffee and found an old piece of poster board left over from the last career fair on campus. “Let’s do a crime chart. It’s worked in the past.” She gathered up a handful of markers and wrote Kelsey (Rafferty) Sheehan in the center. “She’s the central part of this. Now we just need to figure out how everyone else is involved and who wanted her dead.”