A Whisker of a Doubt

by Cate Conte

  “I was really hurt,” I said simply. “I thought you just took off. That you’d gotten sick of the island and, well, me, and just didn’t want to come back.”

  He stared at me and I swore I saw his eyes welling up. “Maddie. That is the furthest thing from the truth. All I could think about was you, and how I’d explain this to you once I got back, and how much I wanted you to meet Ollie…” He trailed off and focused on his bottle of water. “Anyway, I don’t expect this to change your mind or anything. I understand what I did was crappy. I’m just glad I got a chance to tell you the real story.”

  I stayed on the floor, still rubbing Ollie’s tummy. Val and Ethan had been right. I should have heard him out sooner. I would’ve done exactly the same thing for JJ or, honestly, for any animal.

  And the fact that he’d done it made me love him even more.

  “Lucas,” I said, getting to my feet.

  “Yeah.”

  I went over and hugged him. “I’m glad you and Ollie are home. I really missed you.”

  Chapter 46

  Sunday, January 3: twelve days after the murder

  5:30 p.m.

  When I left the grooming salon a little while later, I felt transformed. Like a giant weight had been lifted off my chest and I could breathe again. We’d spent a long time talking after he’d told me his story—about Ollie, about what happened, about us.

  Lucas hadn’t abandoned me. And even better, he’d been doing something really noble and sweet. I felt a thousand percent better as I drove to Sea Spray to check the traps. Adele had sent me a text reminding me that she’d set them and could I please go check on them. So I did, feeling like I was floating on air.

  When I got to the neighborhood, there were a bunch of cars parked out on the street, many of them in front of the Barneses’ house. There was also a U-Haul parked in front of the Prousts’. What was going on there? Lilah would know. I made a mental note to stop by on my way out.

  But when I got into the woods, I saw we’d hit the jackpot. Two of the three traps had cats in them. And even better, they weren’t cats we’d already trapped and fixed. “Score,” I said out loud. Although this meant I had to call Mick Ellory.

  I brought the first trap out to my car and loaded it inside, then went back to get the second one. As I stooped to pick it up, I caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of my eye. Something pink, moving up ahead. I stood up slowly, my hand going for my phone, and began moving slowly toward it.

  As I got closer, I realized it was a hat. And the person wearing it was dragging a giant tarp.

  The adrenaline in my body kicked up a notch. “Hey,” I called out.

  The person froze, then got up and started to run in the opposite direction. I couldn’t see her face, but it clearly was a woman. A woman in pretty-good shape, given how fast she took off. I didn’t give it much thought—and clearly not good thought—before taking off after her. I had to know what she was doing out here. Was this the person who’d vandalized the cat houses? Stolen the decorations? Killed Virgil?

  I wasn’t much of a runner, but snow still covered the paths in the woods and it wasn’t long before the chick in the pink hat tripped on roots or something and went down. She was up in a flash and almost took off again, but I took a dive and grabbed her by the leg. She went down again in a slippery, snowy pile of leaves and flailed around, delivering a kick to my jaw with her free leg that stunned me, but I was able to hold on. Finally she stopped fighting me and flipped over. We each tried to catch our breath.

  I immediately recognized the face glaring at me. “Avery?” Avery Evans. Our former volunteer. But what on earth?

  Avery shoved at her hat, which had slid down over her forehead. “Are you crazy? You could’ve broken my leg.”

  “Are you crazy? What are you even doing out here? You quit, remember?”

  “I know,” she responded, as if I were the idiot here. “I was just … taking care of some business.”

  “Business, huh? Let’s go see what kind of business.” I got up and dragged her up with me. She swiped furiously at her wet jeans, then let out a cry of dismay.

  “My nails! I just got them done.” She held up a hand with two broken fingernails. “Look what you did.”

  “Send me the bill. Let’s go.” I shoved her ahead of me. “So it was you who trashed the cat house? I know you were upset about what happened out here, but did you really need to take it out on the cats? Not cool, Avery.”

  Avery turned to give me another look of death. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I was taking it out on them, not the cats.”

  “Them? Who?”

  “The idiots who live around here.” She waved an impatient hand at the houses bordering the woods. “Bunch of jerks.”

  We’d reached the tarp. There could’ve been a dead body in it as big and full as it was. I sincerely hoped there was not. I’d had my fill of dead bodies. “What were you taking out on them? What’s in there?”

  She said nothing.

  I gave her a little shake. “Open it.”

  “I plead the fifth,” she said defiantly.

  I rolled my eyes. “We’re not in court, genius.” I bent down and unhooked the bungee cords holding the tarp closed. And there was no part of me that was surprised when Santas, kissing balls, candy canes, and other Christmas decorations tumbled out.

  “Avery.” I reached up and rubbed my temples, trying to ward off the headache building there. “Are you kidding me? You were stealing their stupid decorations? And I was out here saying our volunteers had nothing to do with any of it?”

  “What?” She crossed her arms defiantly over her chest. “Those people were jerks from the minute we came out here.”

  “That doesn’t mean you get to steal their stuff. It makes all of us look bad.” I unrolled the tarp even further and toed through the rest of the stuff.

  And recoiled when I recognized a gnome just like the one used to bash Virgil’s head in. I looked up at her. “What house did you get that from?”

  “You really think I remember which cheesy decoration was from which house?”

  I got up and went right in her face. “Drop the attitude. Someone’s dead, and a friend of ours—well, a friend of mine—is about to take the fall for it. So you better start remembering.”

  The reminder about Katrina seemed to sober her. “I got it from that house,” she said, pointing at the Barneses’.

  I frowned. “You’re sure?”

  She nodded. “It was in the back, so it was easy to snatch.”

  “What were you planning to do with this stuff?”

  Avery looked at the ground and toed at the snow. “I was going to dump it on their lawn. I parked over there”—she pointed behind her to the street that ran parallel to Sea Spray Lane on the other side of the woods—“and I dragged it through the woods. I was going to leave everything there in a pile once it got dark. I was tired of having the stuff in my trunk.”

  Great plan. “Where’s the sleigh?”

  “What sleigh?”

  “The fancy sleigh from the Barneses’ front lawn.” Edie Barnes’ handmade sleigh, the last thing to be stolen. Or at least the last reported thing.

  “I didn’t take a sleigh. Besides, it wasn’t stolen. I saw that crazy lady who owns it pulling it out to her garage.”

  I frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “I saw that woman. The one who lives there”—she pointed at Edie’s house—“putting the sleigh in her garage. Isn’t it hers?”

  “You saw Edie putting the sleigh in her own garage?”

  “Seriously, Maddie? I just said it twice. Yes.”

  “When?”

  “The night…” Her voice trailed off. “The night the cops were all out here because that guy died.”

  Chapter 47

  Sunday, January 3: twelve days after the murder

  6:30 p.m.

  I marched Avery back to get the poor cat still waiting in the trap, then brought them both
out to my car, which was parked in Whitney’s driveway. I put the cat in the backseat with the other one and Avery in the front and called Mick Ellory.

  Thankfully, he answered.

  “Sergeant, it’s Maddie James,” I said formally. “Sorry to bother you but I have a couple of cats that need a place to stay from Sea Spray. Can I bring them over?”

  “I’m a little tied up right now,” he said. “Can it be later on?”

  “I guess, but I also have another issue—”

  “Maddie, I have to go,” he said. “Bring them by later. Around six.” And he disconnected.

  I gave the silent phone in my hand a dirty look, then tried Craig. No answer.

  I turned to Avery. “Stay here. Do not leave this car or I’ll call the cops on you. Got it?”

  She crossed her arms sullenly across her chest. “Fine.”

  I slipped back into the woods through the Hacketts’ again, but I wasn’t going back to the cat area. I was curious now.

  Avery said the gnome belonged to the Barneses. She also said she’d seen Edie putting her sleigh in her garage. Had Avery been mistaken? Why would Edie hide her own sleigh and then go to the trouble of reporting it stolen? Maybe she’d gotten a new one and that’s what Avery saw? But that didn’t make sense either. Why wouldn’t she have put it back out with the other decorations?

  I slipped into the Barneses’ backyard. The house looked dark. Hopefully they were out. But Trey was already on my bad list, and my spidey sense about him had kicked up a few notches. I crept over to the garage. It was attached to the house, but hopefully not visible since the windows I was peeking in were farthest from the house. I wished I had a light, but I knew that would’ve called a lot more attention to myself.

  I couldn’t see much except a black Jaguar. But there was stuff piled up in there. And a tall object covered by a tarp, much like the one Avery had used. Frustrated, I jiggled the knob on the side door.

  It opened.

  Holding my breath, I paused and looked to see if anyone was around or if any lights had gone on inside. Nothing moved around me. Next door, the Prousts’ house was quiet. The U-Haul was gone and it didn’t look like anyone was home.

  I stepped into the garage, staying low, and looked around. It was dusty and smelled like gasoline, which wasn’t surprising. I saw a snowblower in the corner. I stepped past it and tugged at the tarp. It wasn’t tied down because it came right off.

  And then I just stared. Avery had been right. Edie’s sleigh was standing up in the corner of the garage, and had been covered by a tarp.

  Why had she pretended her own sleigh had been stolen?

  A noise behind me caused me to jump. As I started to turn around, something went around my neck. As I instinctively reached up to pull it away, it tightened. A cord of some sort, and it was biting into my neck. I tried to work my fingers under it and pull it loose, but it was too tight and my head was starting to spin. Gasping for air, I flailed and kicked at whoever was behind me, still trying to pull off the thing choking me.

  “I believe your grandfather would call this burglary,” a voice I vaguely recognized as belonging to Edie Barnes crowed triumphantly in my ear. “And of course I had to defend myself.”

  I felt like my whole body was starting to float away. My legs were shaking and I could barely stand up. I knew I wasn’t getting enough oxygen and it was really likely this crazy woman was going to kill me. Just when I’d gotten things fixed with Lucas too.

  That was the last thought floating through my mind before I felt myself sliding to the floor. Then, suddenly, blissfully, the pressure came off my neck. I heard a cry and a thud behind me but I couldn’t really process it. I was on the ground myself, choking and trying to shake the stars from my eyes. When my vision cleared, I saw Avery standing over Edie with a rake. On the floor, Edie moaned.

  Avery panicked and it looked like she was going to hit her again.

  “No!” I jumped up, my voice hoarse, seeing stars again. But I knew the last thing I needed was someone else bludgeoned to death.

  “She was trying to kill you! With Christmas lights!” Avery kicked at the abandoned string of lights on the ground.

  I rubbed at my throat. “She sure was. What are you doing here?” I croaked, but I was thankful she’d come. Edie had been a few seconds away from seriously snuffing my life out.

  “You were taking so long I figured you were over here poking around. I told you she hid her own sleigh.” She waved at it triumphantly, then pointed outside as sirens wailed. “I called the cops. But hey, one thing?”

  I looked at her expectantly.

  “You gonna tell them about the other decorations?”

  I smiled. “Your secret is safe with me.”

  Chapter 48

  Sunday, January 3: twelve days after the murder

  9 p.m.

  The next few hours after the cops arrived—and not just Turtle Point cops, but Daybreak Harbor cops including Mick Ellory and Craig—were a blur. Grandpa showed up too, of course, insisting I go to the hospital, but I fought him on that one. We settled on the EMTs checking me out completely. I just wanted this cleared up and to move on with our lives.

  Avery and I had no trouble getting the cops to believe our story. In fact, they were all way ahead of us. The reason Mick Ellory hadn’t been available when I’d called was because he and a few other cops—including Craig—were working with multiple agencies including the DEA to get Trey Barnes, who apparently was a big-time drug dealer. Unfortunately, his friends getting busted on New Year’s Eve had put him on alert and he’d snuck off the island soon after. Edie was staying shut on that one, although the cops didn’t believe she really knew the extent of what her husband was doing. But there was apparently a full-blown manhunt for this guy out on the mainland, Grandpa told me a while later, because they believed he was one of the major suppliers of meth on the East Coast.

  “Wow,” I said. It still hurt to talk, so I didn’t offer much more than that. I was still sitting on the stretcher in the ambulance, where they had the heat blasting for me. The EMTs proclaimed that I would live, although my throat would be pretty bruised for a while. They put ice packs on it and offered me pain meds, which I’d declined. My voice was starting to come back, though.

  “But there’s more, Maddie. She confessed.”

  “To the murder?” My eyes widened. “Edie? I thought Trey…”

  Grandpa shook his head slowly. “Seems Virgil witnessed one of Trey’s drug drops—he was using Edie’s handmade Christmas sleigh to hide his drugs, and his buyers would pick them up late at night—and confronted Trey about it. Edie heard them fighting, but they didn’t know it. Virgil told Trey to get off his street for good or he was calling the cops, and Trey agreed.” Grandpa looked grim. “Apparently Edie didn’t want him to leave. She snuck out after Virgil walked home. Followed him into his yard and killed him. Then she hid the sleigh so the cops wouldn’t find any traces of drugs accidentally if they came sniffing around. No pun intended.”

  I lay back and thought about that. How desperate did someone have to be to keep a marriage intact to go that far? The whole thing just seemed incredibly sad to me.

  Grandpa squeezed my hand. “What were you thinking, snooping around at their house alone? It’s a good thing that girl thought to come find you.”

  “Yeah. Where is Avery?” We still had a tarp full of decorations to get rid of.

  “Over there. Just finishing giving her statement.” He pointed.

  Avery’s dad had come to collect her. When she was done, they both came over to me. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she said.

  I smiled at her. “I’m glad you didn’t listen to me and stay in the car.”

  She laughed. “Thanks for … everything.”

  I nodded. “I’ll call you tomorrow about the other thing.”

  Her dad looked at her. “What other thing?”

  “Uh,” Avery said. “I think I’m going to help out with the cats again.” She looked at me
, pleading for cover.

  I nodded. “That’s right. Call me and we’ll get you back on the schedule,” I said.

  After they left, I looked at Grandpa. “Can we go now? I really just want to go to bed.”

  He looked at the EMT babysitting me. The guy shrugged. “She seems fine to me, and if she doesn’t want to go to the hospital there’s nothing else I can do.”

  “I’m not going to the hospital,” I confirmed.

  “Then you’re free to go.”

  I gave him back his ice pack and Grandpa helped me out of the ambulance. The police had taken Edie away, and there were only a few cop cars left as they finished sweeping the scene. As we were getting into his truck, a car careened onto the street, slamming to a stop right behind us. Katrina.

  She jumped out and raced over to us, throwing her arms around me. “Mick just called me. Oh my God. Are you okay, Maddie?”

  She was hugging me so tight I couldn’t breathe again. When I finally dislodged myself I nodded. “I’m fine. And Edie confessed to killing Virgil.”

  “I know. They dropped the charges. I’m free,” she said, but her smile still looked sad. I knew she was feeling the loss of Virgil. I was too, especially as I processed who he really was. “And it’s all thanks to you. I owe you.”

  “I’m just glad you’re speaking to me again. I’m so sorry, Katrina. I never meant to hurt you. I’m sorry I thought you and Virgil—”

  She waved it off. “It’s okay, Maddie. Really. I would’ve probably thought the same thing. And I should’ve told you about Virgil helping out, but I knew you’d get all excited and accidentally tell someone. It’s just as much my bad. Besides”—she glanced at Grandpa—“I’m seeing Mick.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Ellory?”

  She nodded. “I have been for a while. I just kept it quiet because, well, we work together. He’s really a good guy. He totally believed in me. And, he was doing a bunch of stuff for the animals while I was sidelined even though McAuliffe told him not to.”