by Jody Holford
“He mentioned it after you texted me, that he was glad I hadn’t gone alone,” Jill said.
Jill had been away at school for the last few years, but Sam had recommended her to Molly as a feature reporter when she’d moved home. She was a perfect fit for where Molly was trying to take the aging newspaper.
“I was glad of the same thing. So, he’s married to this woman, Amber Melner Harkaw. They’ve been married for eight months. She’s twenty-four to his sixty-eight.”
Jill raised her eyebrows and said nothing. Molly pointed to a picture of Candy that she’d found online. “This is Candice Harkaw. Still goes by that last name even though she and Jethro divorced fifteen months ago. They were married for over twenty-five years.”
“What a slap in the face that’d be. Being married for longer than his next wife has been alive.” Jill shook her head, then examined the photograph Molly had taken of Brad and Herman.
It took effort not to color her tone with her feelings, but she wanted Jill’s objective opinion. “This is Brad Templeton. He and his friend, Herman, talked to me a bit about the show. When Herman walked away, Brad made some references that suggested he wasn’t a fan of Jethro’s. He vaped almost the whole time we spoke, and a vape stick was found under Jethro’s car.”
Jill sat on the stool beside her, moving a picture closer. She pulled another photograph close, putting them side by side. “Who’s this?”
She pointed at both pictures, but it was the same person. “That’s Brian.”
Jill glanced at Molly, then pulled the picture of Brian down into line with the other three. “Why isn’t he with these guys? The police already rule him out?”
“No. They haven’t ruled anyone out yet. I’m pretty sure all three were questioned last night, though I’m not positive. But obviously there wasn’t enough to hold any of them. Brian is close to Jet, but I just can’t think of a reason, whereas these three,” she said, pointing to Candy, Amber, and Brad, “seem obvious.”
“But I guess,” Molly said, aligning Brian’s photo with the three she suspected, “wanting out might be a reason. He told me last night, off the record, that this was his last ride.”
Jill frowned, her fingers resting on the photos. “That’s a lot of players already. Officer Beatty give you anything?”
Shaking her head with a wry smile, she said, “No. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do your own digging.”
Jill smiled, then covered her mouth and coughed. When she finished, she looked wiped. “I do like to dig.”
“You don’t have to today. You still don’t sound great.” She meant it, but her attention was drawn back to the photographs.
“What are you thinking?” Jill leaned closer and examined the pictures with Molly.
“When we were getting ready to go, I ran into Brian. We talked, then Jethro showed up saying he didn’t want Candice and Amber to run into each other.”
“Of course. Who wants that kind of awkwardness?” Jill’s tone was dry, making Molly smile.
“So what happened between Candy and Brian leaving and Jet and Amber leaving? I saw Jet leave with his wife.”
“He could have doubled back. Here’s one of Jet dancing with Amber.” Jill pushed the other photos back into the time line. “Why doesn’t Clay time-stamp his pictures?”
“Why does Clay do or not do a lot of things?” Shaking off the negative thought, she glanced toward her office. “I didn’t print all of the photos. I just selected some I thought might give us a visual.”
“I’m not fit for the outside world yet. Why don’t I go through the rest of them, see if anything looks out of place? I’ll make notes of what I can look into, starting with Brad Templeton since your face scrunches all up when you say his name. You’re heading back to the fairgrounds, right?”
Molly stood up, smiling at Jill’s intuition, and gathered the photos into a pile. “I am. That’s perfect. You sure you feel okay?”
“I’ll be fine.” Jill stood up and went to her own desk, unloading her laptop. “How’s Sam? He must be sad. And probably a little worried?”
“He’s both. He was already feeling guilty about Jethro. And now this. He doesn’t want this to be how the event is remembered. He especially doesn’t want the last Crawl and the death to be synonymous with Britton Bay.”
“We can keep the media focus on facts rather than the setting. But I’m guessing we’ll get some more outside reporters in today.”
Molly frowned, remembering the last large-outlet reporter who had come through when the celebrity chef had been killed. He’d labeled the staff of the Bulletin small-town from the second he set foot in the door, and though he’d wanted information, he hadn’t been keen on sharing.
This was definitely not what Sam needed. They could control their own reporting, but once it hit beyond Britton Bay, Molly worried that Sam’s name would come up only in conjunction with the death—the absolute opposite of anything he could have wanted or imagined.
“I’m going to go. I’ll be there covering the closing of the event, but if I can learn anything from people who were there, maybe I can pass it on to Chris and they can close this case more quickly.”
Jill gave her a sympathetic look. “Try not to worry. Sam isn’t going to lose customers because someone who has no connection to our town died.”
She was right, but he wouldn’t necessarily gain them either.
“I’ll text you if I find anything new,” Molly said.
“Same goes here.” Jill pulled her chair in and leaned closer to her laptop, already scrolling through images that Molly and Clay had shared.
They weren’t stepping on toes, Molly reminded herself as she bundled up for the walk home. It was early enough in the day that tourists weren’t crowding the streets. If they were still enjoying summer, there’d be throngs of people picking their spots at the beach or out already touring the shops. The people who were in town for the car show were a different breed of tourist for this area. As she walked down Main Street, heading for the bed-and-breakfast, Molly thought about what Jill had said. No connection to our town. It definitely made sense that whoever killed Jet wasn’t from Britton Bay. No one in town had reason to want him dead. No one even knew him.
The most common motives for murder are love, money, and revenge. “I have a suspect for each,” Molly whispered to herself. The wind whipped her hair across her face as she neared the ocean.
If Candice still cared for Jet—and that kiss indicated she did, at least to some extent—she might have murdered for love. If Amber stood to gain what had to be a sizable inheritance from her husband’s death, she had the money motive. Molly’s thoughts wandered back to Brad Templeton. What if he’d somehow gotten hold of the winner’s list? When was that decided? If he wasn’t going to place in this year’s Crawl, would he be angry enough to murder for revenge? Don’t rule out Brian. She didn’t mean to keep dismissing him, but she couldn’t pin down a reason. What if he and Jet argued over him wanting out of the show? She thought of the black eye Jet had sported. Perhaps they’d argued before the show as well. The only thing that was vividly clear was that no one could be entirely dismissed. Which meant that she needed some more answers.
Molly turned down Wilmer Street, which would let her cut across to LaMonte. Gorgeous, thick trees lined both sides of the street. The cloud-filled, baby-blue sky filtered through little openings in the still-green leaves. It would be breathtaking to see the colors change to reds, oranges, and yellows. The weather in California was fairly consistent, but here, she’d get to witness and enjoy each of the seasons. She wanted that, more than she would have thought that she could.
Walking up to the bed-and-breakfast, she stopped short. First, because Tigger saw her and came barreling toward her, but also because Katherine was on the front lawn, helping a new arrival with luggage.
Molly crouched, ready to greet Tigger. She�
��d missed the little guy this weekend.
“Hey, buddy. How are you? Oh, I missed you, too,” she said around a laugh.
Katherine gave a wave, but even from a distance, Molly saw the tightness of her smile. The woman whose large bag Katherine was holding turned. Molly’s stomach cramped.
Apparently, Amber Melner Harkaw was checking into the bed-and-breakfast.
Chapter Ten
Calling Tigger, who easily fell in step beside her, Molly joined the two women.
“Hi, dear. How are you?” Katherine greeted her.
Molly gave her a brief hug, whispering that she was fine, before turning to Amber.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” she said. Those words changed absolutely nothing, but what could she say? There was nothing to say in moments like this.
Amber’s eyes were red, and even with the layer of makeup she wore, her skin was blotchy, her nose pink.
“Thank you. I met you yesterday, right?” She looked down at Tigger, who sniffed her high-heeled shoe as she shook her leg to warn him off.
Molly leaned down to pet Tigger. He lay over her right foot. “Yes. Jethro introduced us. My boyfriend, Sam, organized the event. Everyone feels just horrible about what’s happened. Are you…checking in?” Molly glanced at Katherine.
“I am. I can’t stay in our RV. Not with him not there. And not with Brian letting that, that…woman stay in his RV, right next to me. My sister is flying out from Oklahoma today to be with me. The police won’t say how long it’ll be before they’ll release Jet’s body. I kept asking, and they just focused on where I was and what was I doing, like I’d hurt my own husband. Why would I hurt him? I loved him. Now, I just have to wait around for them to find some small shred of fake evidence to accuse me. So, I can’t…I can’t make any arrangements until—”
Her voice broke off on a hard sob, and Amber lowered her chin to her chest, her shoulders shaking. Katherine’s eyes widened, and she put an arm around the young woman’s shoulders.
“Let’s get you in and settled. Molly, come in for some tea?”
Molly couldn’t get an accurate read on Amber. The sobs wracking her body were real. But the little speech she’d just given felt rehearsed, defensive, as if she’d been insulted by her questioning by the police rather than realizing that they were obligated to question everyone.
Molly only shook her head but realized Katherine wasn’t looking at her. “I can’t. I just came for my Jeep. I need to get back to the fairgrounds.”
Amber turned, dislodging Katherine’s arm. “You’re going back there?”
“Yes. I work for the Britton Bay Bulletin, the town’s newspaper. I’m going to cover the closing ceremony. They plan on honoring Jet. Would you like to come with me?”
Amber shook her head, swiping at her tears. “No. I don’t want to be there. I can’t face it. I was at the police station until three in the morning. I need some sleep.”
Molly took the woman’s bag from her, gave Katherine a glance, and walked with them, hoping neither would mind. “I saw you just after the band finished. Jet, too. He mentioned getting back to the RV as quickly as possible.”
This was the part that didn’t make sense. If Jet and Amber were on their way out, how’d he end up back in the gallery?
Walking up the stairs, looking between Molly and Katherine like she was grateful someone wanted to hear her story, she nodded. “Yes. We were on our way, but then Herman Besbrewer texted Jet. Insisted he meet him before he left. Jet asked one of the other drivers to drop me off at the RV. I figured he’d get back not long after me, but instead it was the police who showed up.” Amber’s breath hitched.
Katherine opened the door to the bed-and-breakfast, and Tigger raced in ahead of them. Molly set Amber’s bag down in the foyer.
“What did Herman want to meet him about?” At almost midnight.
Amber looked around, not focusing on any one thing as she answered. “Oh, he and Jet were always fighting. I’m not sure about what. I try to stay out of it, you know?”
Katherine put Amber’s suitcase down and folded her arms across her chest. Molly knew if she looked at Sam’s mom, she’d be on the receiving end of a very “mom” look. Katherine knew exactly what she was up to.
“You told the police about Herman?”
Amber stopped looking around and glared at Molly through red-rimmed eyes. “Of course. They said they’d speak with him, but they won’t tell me anything. They’re too busy asking me about my time when they should be finding my husband’s killer.”
“I’m really sorry, Amber.” Makeup and tight clothes could distract from a lot of things, and Molly was embarrassed to admit to herself that she’d let those things overshadow something glaringly obvious right now—Amber loved Jet. Whatever had brought them together, however strange their pairing seemed, she was truly mourning her husband. There might be more to the story, but she cared that he was gone.
“Thank you. Sorry, what was your name again?”
“Molly. I’ll check in with you later.” Amber had already started looking around, her heels tapping against the floor. Tigger followed at a distance. Smart dog. Even if the widow’s grief was real, her personality was definitely in flux.
* * * *
The fairgrounds were packed when Molly arrived just before ten o’clock. She parked a good distance away, grateful she’d taken the time to change into her sneakers. With her press badge visible over her jacket, she bypassed the crowd waiting to get in, keeping her head down. She wasn’t in the mood for conversation at the moment. Too many thoughts were bouncing around in her head, and she wanted to see Sam, check on him and make sure he was holding up okay.
The vendors had already set up for the day. Bella was adjusting the setting on a portable heater when Molly approached.
“Hey,” Molly said, her stomach growling just at the sight of Morning Muffins’s display of goods.
Bella turned, her high ponytail whipping back. “Hey. How are you? How’s Sam? I can’t believe all of this. What happened? Do you have any idea who would do this?” She came around the table she’d set up, so they were standing in each other’s space.
Her friendship with Bella had been a sort of mini roller coaster. When she’d first arrived in town and fallen head over tummy in love with Bella’s baking, she’d befriended the woman. Then Molly had mistakenly accused the baker’s ex-boyfriend of murdering Vernon. But when the celebrity chef had been killed a couple of months earlier and the police had suspected Bella for a half a second, she’d reached out to Molly. Since then, their friendship path had smoothed considerably. Since Bella and Jill were good friends, it made Molly happy to no longer have barriers in the way. For now, at least. She knew very well that her curious nature had a tendency to rub some people the wrong way.
“Have you seen Sam?” Molly asked, skipping over all of the other questions.
Bella looked around, waving at Mr. Elbury, who owned the pet store. “He gave us a brief overview of what happened when we got here. Said to expect the police coming around to interview some of us. Officer Beatty already interviewed me and most of the vendors in this row. You think Sheriff Saron is cutting back on cases because he’s retiring or because he wants time with Sam’s mom?”
Bella, who was typically sweet and kind, seemed like she was in overdrive this morning. As if she realized Molly’s surprise at her rapid-fire questioning, she gave a lopsided grin. “I’m sorry. I didn’t sleep well last night and made up for it with three espressos. Feel free to run away screaming.”
Molly laughed and picked up her camera. “I’m harder to scare off than that. I have no idea what’s happening with the sheriff, but I trust Chris. Do you mind if I get a picture of you and ask a couple of questions?”
“About the event?” Bella’s brows raised. The baker knew, like many of the people Molly had connected with since arriving, that she
had a tendency to dig into details even if her job was editing the stories others wrote.
“Sure. How is this event different than the others, such as the Summer Wrap Up, that happen in Britton Bay?”
Bella thought about the question a moment, and once she’d written her answer, Molly asked the same question of several of the other vendors. Each one asked her opinion about what had happened. It wasn’t until she made it to the end of one row that she saw Sam. He was chatting with Chris, and though she figured if it was anything that shouldn’t be overheard, they’d have moved somewhere more private, she still hesitated to join them.
Sam’s eyes landed on hers, and a smile lit up his face. He held out a hand to her, and she walked forward.
“Hey,” she said, coming to his side and wrapping her arm around his waist. She leaned into him, and he pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“Hey, yourself.” He sounded tired, and her heart twisted. Hopefully, Chris and his deputies were making headway.
“How’s it going, Officer Beatty?”
Chris sighed, glanced around the fairgrounds. “Slow.” His gaze returned to her, and he arched his brow as if waiting.
“Jethro’s wife checked into the bed-and-breakfast,” Molly said.
Sam leaned away and looked down at her, his eyes wide. “Seriously? Why would she do that?”
Molly looked at Chris, hoping that if she easily shared information, he might do the same.
“Said she couldn’t bear to be in Jethro’s RV, and I guess Brian has Jet’s ex-wife staying in his RV, so she didn’t want to be around her either.”
“Candice Harkaw is here. Has been all morning,” Sam said.
That seemed strange to Molly, but she directed her question to Chris. “Amber also said Herman Besbrewer was the reason Jethro sent her back to the RV with another driver. Apparently, he had something to talk about that couldn’t wait?”
Chris’s shoulders lifted and dropped in another deep sigh. “No comment.”