by Grace York
"Do you want another piece of toast?" Addison asked.
"No, thanks. That's enough. What did you mean when you said it might matter? Jenna's special project?"
"Well, what if it had something to do with her murder?" said Addison.
Olivia's head swivelled around from where she was busy frothing milk for her morning latte. "What's got to do with Jenna's murder?"
"Some guy from her work just called Layla. Said he was working on a secret project for her," Addison explained.
"He didn't say it was secret. Just personal."
"Even so…"
"You could be right," said Layla. "I didn't think of it being related to her murder. I'm so stupid!"
"You're not stupid," said Addison. "You're tired. You've been through a lot, emotionally. It's okay. Did you get his name?"
"He did say it. Something interesting, like Flynn, Finn, something like that. I didn't catch his last name. Oh, but it was a mobile number he called from. I guess I could call him back?"
"Let's both do that after breakfast," said Addison.
"Good idea."
"Are we working on the house today?" Olivia asked. "I mean, before your meeting this afternoon?"
Painting was the last thing Addison felt like doing today. "Let's take a break," she said. "What would you like to do?"
"It's a beautiful day," said Olivia. "I thought I might spend a little time at the beach."
"Great idea," said Addison. "Layla? Do you want to go to the beach? Or are you going to visit Uncle Dennis?"
"I'll go and see Dad. I don't know how much time he has left."
Addison was torn. She should really go with Layla to the nursing home. Although she'd warned Angie about Rick, she didn't trust the guy one bit. She didn't want to leave Layla alone while he was in town. But she should be spending time with Olivia before she went off to uni, and a morning on the beach sounded great.
"Go with Layla," said Olivia, reading Addison's mind. "I don't trust that guy either."
Addison smiled and nodded her agreement.
After breakfast Olivia got changed and headed off to the beach, promising her mother she'd cover herself in sunscreen. Addison and Layla settled at the kitchen table to call Flynn or Finn back. Addison had her notebook ready. Layla put the phone on speaker and hit the last number on her recent calls list.
"Finlay Maguire," the voice answered.
"Hi Finn," said Layla. "This is Jenna's sister, we spoke earlier this morning."
"Yes, hello again. How can I help you?"
"I've been speaking with my cousin about what you said this morning. I've got her here with me, you're on speaker phone. Her name is Addison."
"Hello, Addison."
"Hi Finn," said Addison, leaning over the top of the phone. She'd always felt a bit weird using a phone on speaker.
"Would you be able to tell Addison what you told me this morning?" Layla asked.
"Of course," Finn replied. "Jenna had me looking into the legalities of a development project. It wasn't something to do with any of the cases the firm is currently working on, so I was just wondering whether I should continue or not. In light of your loss, I mean. I was very sorry to hear about what happened to Jenna."
"Thank you, Finn," said Addison. "What can you tell us about the development project?"
"Not a great deal, I'm afraid. I wasn't able to find out much, because the project is in Queensland and we're in New South Wales."
"It wouldn't happen to be an apartment building in Getaway Bay, would it?" asked Addison.
"Yes, it is." Addison heard the clicking of a keyboard. "It's owned by a Mr Edward Mathieson."
"What did Jenna want you to find out?"
"She was interested in the approval process. She wanted to know if there was anything, shall we say, dodgy about it."
"And was there?" asked Layla.
"Not that I could find. It was approved by the local council, five votes to four. There was some debate as to whether it was too close to the beach or not. Apparently it was submitted to council a couple of years ago, and at that stage it was rejected. But this time it was passed, so it went ahead."
"What had changed?" asked Addison.
"Well that's the thing," said Finn. "Nothing changed with the submission, from what I could see. The only thing that changed was one of the councillors. One must have retired and was replaced."
"Jerry," said Layla. "He retired last year."
More clicking on Finn's keyboard. "That's right. Jerard Nichols."
"So let me get this straight," said Addison. "When Jerry Nichols was on the council, the development was rejected five votes to four. Then he retired, and it was submitted again unchanged, and this time it passed."
"That's correct," said Finn.
"When was the development approved?" Addison asked, her pen now scribbling furiously in her notebook.
"Ah, hang on a minute. Yes, here it is. October last year. I'm sorry, I've got a meeting to get to. Is there anything else you need to know?"
Addison shook her head, then realised how silly that was. "No thanks, Finn. You've been very helpful."
They ended the call, and Addison and Layla sat silent for a moment. Addison's brain was working overtime. Jerry Nichols was Charlie's previous owner. He'd been a road block to Edward's development, until he'd retired from the council. He'd passed away only a few weeks ago.
"Do you remember Jerry retiring from council?" Addison asked Layla.
"I do, actually. The whole town was shocked. Jerry loved serving the community. He'd always said he'd do it until he died, or until he was voted off. Whichever came first. No-one expected him to retire."
"We should have asked Finn who replaced him."
"That's easy," said Layla. "Lisa Mathieson."
"Edward's niece?"
"Yes. She works at the bakery with him." Layla's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh, wow. You don't think…"
"That Ed somehow got Jerry to retire so his niece could take his place and vote in favour of his development? Yes. That's exactly what I think. And I'll bet Jenna thought so, too."
23
Dennis was sitting up in bed watching television when Addison and Layla arrived. At least his eyes were trained on the screen. Whether he was actually taking any of it in, Addison couldn't even guess.
"Hello, Dad," said Layla, giving him a kiss on the forehead.
Dennis frowned. "Angie," he said.
"No, I'm Layla. Your daughter."
"Jenna."
Layla glanced at Addison, who'd settled herself into the chair in the corner with her notebook. Addison shrugged. They'd already decided not to tell Dennis about Jenna's death, for his own sake.
Layla turned back to her father. "Jenna's in Sydney, Dad," she lied. "I don't know where Angie is. I think it's her day off."
Dennis stared at Layla then, and Addison held her breath, wondering whether Layla would be strong enough to keep up the lie. Addison wasn't totally sure it was the right thing to do, but it had made sense when Angie had explained it.
Dennis closed his eyes and settled down further in the bed. Layla sat with him for a long while, just holding his hand. It brought back painful memories for Addison of her last weeks with Rob.
She distracted herself by opening the notebook and reading everything Finn had told them about Ed Mathieson's development. Jenna had clearly been suspicious of Ed if she'd asked Finn to investigate. Had she got close to a secret Ed wanted to keep hidden? Did he kill her to keep her quiet?
Addison decided she needed to speak to Wilcox. The police station wasn't far from here.
"Do you mind if I leave you here for a while?" Addison asked Layla. "I'll come back in time to take you to Hazel's."
"Sure," said Layla.
Addison gave her cousin's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, then left her to it. On her way out she stopped at the front desk to make sure they were on the lookout for Rick. The nurse on duty assured her they were aware of the situation, and would call
the police immediately if he showed his face.
It was about a five-minute walk to the police station, and Addison used the time to think of a strategy for approaching Wilcox. It all went out the window when she literally ran into him outside the station.
"Oh, sorry!" she said as they collided. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
Wilcox looked exasperated, and she hadn't even started talking to him about Ed yet.
"Mrs Lake," he said with a frown. "Were you coming to the station? Do you have something new to report?"
"Well, yes and no. I'd like to talk to you about it, if you have time."
Wilcox made a point of looking at his watch. "I guess I have five minutes. I was just ducking out to get a sandwich, if you'd care to walk with me."
He sounded very formal for a laid-back Queensland town, but then Addison remembered he'd originally come from Sydney like her. She decided to break the ice a little instead of launching straight into the case.
"What part of Sydney are you from?" she asked as they headed towards the town centre.
"Originally I'm from the Western Suburbs, but I worked all over the city."
"Do you miss it?"
Wilcox shook his head. "I like the weather better up here. And it's quieter." He turned to face her. "Usually. What did you want to talk about?"
Enough small talk, then. "I wanted to know if you considered Ed Mathieson a suspect in Jenna's murder."
"You mean because of all the talk about a feud between them, also involving Hazel Henshaw?"
"Yes. But not just that." Addison explained their earlier discussion with Finn from Jenna's law firm.
"I see. So you think Mathieson was covering something up, perhaps some kind of underhanded means of getting his development approved, and Jenna found out so he killed her to keep it quiet?"
"Um, yes. But it sounds so wicked when you put it like that."
"Murder is wicked, Mrs Lake."
"I guess it is. So, are you investigating Ed?"
"We've looked into his possible involvement, yes."
Wilcox wasn't giving anything up easily.
"And?"
"And our investigation is ongoing. I can't tell you any more than that."
How frustrating. Addison shoved her hands in her pockets. "What about Jerry Nichols?"
"What about him?"
"Isn't it strange that he retired from council, even though he said he'd never do that? And he's replaced on the council by a relative of Ed Mathieson's, who subsequently approved Mathieson's development unchanged? And then within months Jerry is dead? Did he really die of natural causes?"
Wilcox stopped walking and stood in front of Addison with his arms folded. "Haven't I already asked you to stay out of this investigation? Making accusations like that could get you into trouble."
"I'm not making accusations. They're merely observations. Ones which you should have already made." Addison mirrored Wilcox's folded arms stance.
Wilcox let out an exaggerated sigh. He looked around, as if making sure he wasn't overheard, then he leaned closer to Addison.
"Look," he said, talking to her but watching the rest of the street, "It wasn't Mathieson. He has an alibi. He was in Riverwood at the time of Jenna's murder, giving a speech to some community group or other. There are at least fifty witnesses that can put him half an hour away at the time of the murder and the fire."
"Oh." Addison felt herself deflate.
"Yes, oh." Wilcox continued walking towards town, and Addison had to take a couple of quick steps to catch up with him.
"You might have led with that," she said.
"I'm not supposed to have told you that. It's a murder inquiry, Mrs Lake. I could lose my job for discussing it with you. You of all people should know that."
It was Addison's turn to sigh. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just – I want to help close this case, for Layla's sake."
"You know I haven't completely ruled her out as a suspect."
"Layla? You can't still be thinking she killed her own sister. I told you – she was with me when the fire started. In the pub. She's got her own fifty witnesses that will say so."
"And like I already told you, there are ways to delay the start of a fire so you're not there when it takes hold."
Addison gritted her teeth together. It wouldn't do her any good to argue with Wilcox on that point. She knew Layla wasn't the killer. That was good enough.
They reached the front of the bakery, and Addison looked inside to see Ed Mathieson grinning at a customer from behind the counter. She'd never formally met the man, but she didn't like him. For all Jenna's faults, she'd always been a good judge of character.
"Did you hear from Layla's ex-husband again?" Wilcox asked.
Addison turned her attention back to him and nodded. "Rick turned up at the beach house again last night. He convinced Layla to meet him this afternoon at Hazel's. He says he just wants to apologise to her."
"Do you believe him?"
"Not in the slightest. He's up to something." Addison nodded towards Ed. "If it wasn't him who killed Jenna, it has to have been Rick."
"Are you going to be with her when she meets him, then?"
"Of course. I'm not letting him anywhere near her alone."
Wilcox nodded. "Good. Look, I've got go now. But there's something I need to speak with Layla about. Can I come to the beach house later this afternoon?"
"That depends. Are you going to charge her with murder?"
"Not at this stage."
"Then okay. We should be back there by four o'clock."
24
Addison returned to the nursing home and sat with Layla and Dennis until it was time to go to Hazel's. Their plan was to get to the café around one o'clock so they could have lunch and settle their nerves before Rick arrived at two.
"How is he?" Addison asked as they walked to the car.
Layla sighed. "He seemed unsettled. Kept asking for Angie, although I told him she wasn't there. Eventually I had to go and ask in reception if she was around, but it's her day off. I think I finally got that through to Dad. Then he kept going on about Jenna. It was a struggle to keep her death from him, Addison."
"If he's that lucid, maybe you should tell him?" Addison suggested.
"Yes, maybe."
Addison parked outside Hazel's and they went in.
"Where did you go today?" Layla asked once they'd ordered sandwiches and taken a table right in the middle of the café.
"To see Wilcox about that phone call," Addison replied. She told Layla about her conversation with Wilcox, leaving out the part about Layla still being a suspect.
"So it definitely wasn't Ed, then."
"No. I wonder whether there was anything in it? What Jenna found out about his development, I mean."
Layla shrugged. "We might never know. I don't think there were any suspicions around Jerry's death. And from what I can remember, he just changed his mind about retiring. He said he got tired, and found it difficult to get to the meetings."
"I suppose that's fair enough," said Addison. Hazel brought their sandwiches and coffees to the table, and the two of them ate in silence. Addison guessed Layla was thinking about Rick, while she was lost in her own thoughts about the case.
It must have been Rick. There was no other reasonable explanation. He was a slimy one, Rick Ramirez. Addison had no doubt he was capable of murder and arson if it served his own purposes.
Hazel cleared their plates away at a quarter to two, and asked if they wanted more coffee. They both said yes, and Addison explained who they were waiting for. Hazel said she would keep an eye on their table, and call the police at the first sign of trouble.
"I'm sorry," said Layla when they were alone again.
"For what?"
"You shouldn't have to go through all this. You've only just arrived in town. You came here to get away from drama, and here I've landed you right back in it."
"Hey, don't be silly," said Addison. She reached across the t
able and squeezed her cousin's hand. "None of this is your fault. What happened to Jenna, Rick being here, none of it is your doing. I'm just glad I'm here to support you."
"You're a good friend, Addison."
Addison felt Layla's body stiffen before she pulled her hand away. She turned to see Rick in the doorway of the café. He strode over to the table.
"What are you doing here?" he asked Addison.
"She stays or I go," said Layla before Addison had the chance to speak.
Rick thought about it for a moment, then pulled out a chair and sat. Hazel came straight over with Addison and Layla's second coffees.
"Can I get you anything?" Hazel asked Rick.
"An English breakfast tea please," said Rick with a smile.
Addison couldn't help herself. "Tea? Really?"
"It was the only good thing to come out of prison," said Rick. "The coffee they served was disgusting, so I learned to like tea. It stuck."
The three of them sat staring at each other for a long while. Rick's bravado of the previous day was gone. He actually looked nervous. Eventually Layla broke the silence.
"What do you want, Rick?"
Rick sat up a little straighter and folded his hands together in front of him. He glanced nervously at Addison before focusing his attention on Layla.
"I want to apologise, Layla. For everything. Including scaring you both yesterday. That wasn't my intention."
Layla and Addison remained silent. Rick continued.
"I know I was a lousy husband. I said things… I did things… things you have no reason to forgive me for. I was a drunk. A rotten, mean, drunk. But I loved you, Layla. I still love you.
"I've changed. I haven't had a drink since I went to prison. When I got out I was tempted, but I decided it wasn't as important to me as you are. I want you back, Layla. And I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to win you back. I want us to be together again."
Addison's eye's widened, but she kept quiet. She was here for moral support. Physical support, if necessary. But she wasn't here to tell Layla what to do. She just had to hope her cousin wouldn't fall for Rick's 'I've changed' speech. A drunk like him would never change.