by Amber Crewes
Meghan smiled. “I was thinking about just going over there myself,” she told Carl. “Why don’t you come along? She’s so elegant and hospitable, and the nursing home is so fancy.”
Carl nodded. “Sure, I can do that.”
Carl and Meghan went to Carl’s car. As Meghan buckled in, she glanced over at Carl, who was eating another muffin. “Is it good?”
“The best,” Carl confirmed as he turned on the car. “Gosh, I know you said that the nursing home is nice, but can you imagine working with so many old people? That poor Valerie must have to work with funeral homes all of the time. How depressing.”
“That would be a challenge,” she agreed as they pulled away from the bakery. “I wouldn’t love that part of the job.”
Carl turned toward the nursing home. “Tell me more about this aunt of Mrs. Sheridan,” he said. “What was she like?”
Meghan bit her lip. “She was...interesting,” she answered, wanting to be diplomatic in the way she discussed the deceased. “I didn’t know her personally, but I hear she was a spitfire.”
“Sounds like Mrs. Sheridan,” he replied.
“I know that she was loved, but not always necessarily liked,” she told him.
“Again, sounds like Mrs. Sheridan,” he laughed as they checked in at the security booth.
The security guard directed them to the front entryway of the nursing home, and a uniformed attendant came to the window. “I can take your keys for valet parking, sir.”
“Valet parking?” Carl chuckled. “This is five-star treatment, huh? Look, buddy, I’m not allowed to let anyone else drive my squad car, so I will have to park it myself.”
“As you wish,” the attendant said. “The parking garage is underground. You can follow me to the entrance.”
After Carl parked, they exited the police car and walked into the airy foyer. “This is insane,” Carl remarked as he looked around the nursing home. “All of this for the old people? It looks like I need some gray hairs on my head to get the star treatment.”
Meghan smiled. “I think it’s nice,” she told him. “It’s nice that the elderly residents of Sandy Bay have a nice place to live out their days.”
Just as they approached the check-in desk, Valerie Hodge greeted them. “Meghan! What a pleasure,” she called out. “The guards let me know that you were here. To what do I owe this surprise?”
Meghan gestured at Carl. “This is my friend, Officer Rainy,” she explained. “He has a few questions for you, and I also wanted to chat.”
Valerie nodded politely. “Of course,” she said. “Right this way. My office is being painted, but we can chat in the conservatory.”
14
T he trio arrived in the conservatory, a large, elegant room with a grand piano in the corner. A fire roared in a marble fireplace adjacent to the piano, and Meghan marveled at the grandeur of the room. A lone figure was sitting in a white leather chair by the window, and Valerie waved casually as she led them inside. “Hi, dear. How are you doing today?”
Meghan’s palms grew sweaty as she realized the lone figure was Hilda. She bit her lip. “Who is that?” she quietly asked Valerie, not wanting to cause a scene.
“That’s Hilda,” Valerie explained with a smile as Hilda glared at Meghan and then left the room. “Her father used to live here, and her uncle currently is one of our darling residents. Hilda drops by every once and awhile. She says that being here helps her feel closer to her deceased father.”
Meghan’s heart pounded. “Who is her uncle?” she asked.
“I believe you’ve met him,” she said. “Wayne Rashford? His brother was Hilda’s father.”
Meghan felt her stomach churn. “Can I ask you a weird question?” she asked Valerie as they walked across the conservatory. “Did Hilda know Lucy Hudson?”
Valerie nodded. “She did. I used to see the pair of them chatting on occasion. In fact, I think Hilda was one of Mrs. Hudson’s last visitors before she died.”
Meghan’s face paled as Valerie led them to a sitting area comprised of two leather sofas and a tall gray armchair. She sat down and gestured for them to sit as well. “Now, what can I do for you today, Officer?”
Meghan noticed that Valerie looked weary. She herself had felt apprehensive at first when she was in the beginning of her relationship with Jack; it was strange to be around people in uniform all of the time, and she wondered if Valerie was intimidated by Carl’s tall stature and police attire.
Carl smiled. “Thank you for having us in this nice room. This whole place is so fancy.”
Valerie smiled and sat taller in her seat. “I pride myself on providing the highest quality care and experience for my clients,” she boasted. “I appreciate your kind words.”
Before Carl could continue the conversation, Wayne Rashford walked into the room. “I heard you were here,” he shouted as he pointed to Meghan.
“Hi, Wayne,” Meghan greeted. “How are you?”
Wayne shook his head. “I hope that Mrs. Sheridan isn’t with you today,” he announced. “Because I’m glad that her aunt, that old bat, is dead!”
At that moment, Mrs. Sheridan walked into the room. “That was so rude!” she screeched as Wayne’s face paled. “How dare you? Get out of here.”
Valerie leapt to her feet. “Mr. Rashford!” she chided. “That is impolite. We should not speak of the deceased in such a way.”
Meghan raised an eyebrow at Mrs. Sheridan. “What are you doing here?” she asked her as Mrs. Sheridan joined her on the couch.
Mrs. Sheridan licked her lips. “Valerie called me. She said I was free to pick up my Auntie’s things from her suite. I just arrived, and the front desk attendant told me that she was up here meeting with you.”
Valerie stood to shoo Wayne out of the room, and Meghan noticed Carl had taken out a pad of paper. “For some notes,” he whispered to her as Valerie rejoined them. “That encounter seemed suspicious.”
Valerie sat down and folded her hands over her lap. “I apologize for his outburst,” she said with sad eyes. “Wayne seems to be...not well.”
Carl shrugged. “It’s okay,” he told her. “Anyway, Valerie, let me be frank: I have some concerns regarding the death of Lucy Hudson, and I am interested in filing a report.”
Mrs. Sheridan’s eyes widened. “You were in the corner at the bakery when I stopped by.”
Carl nodded. “I was,” he confirmed. “And I overheard your concerns. I decided to stop by and talk with Mrs. Hodge here about your Auntie. What a perfect coincidence that you showed up.”
Mrs. Sheridan smiled. “I’m glad you are here. I want to get to the bottom of this, Valerie. The report from the coroner was disturbing, and I want more information.”
Valerie bobbed her head in agreement. “I understand that you are upset,” she said soothingly, reaching over to pat Mrs. Sheridan’s hand. “But with patients as old as your aunt, sometimes, these things just happen. Medications can affect them differently, or sometimes, their medications stop working.”
Mrs. Sheridan bit her lip. “But it all just seems odd,” she protested. “I want more information, and I think I have a right to it, don’t I?”
Carl agreed. “You do,” he said.
Valerie rose from her seat. “No problem, then. We can get you all of the information you would like.”
Valerie turned to leave the room, but then came back to the group. “Meghan? So sorry, but didn’t you want something as well? I am going to go pull all of Mrs. Hudson’s files, but before I go….?”
Meghan smiled. “I just wanted to clear up the emails,” she told Valerie. “You accidentally emailed the bakery about funeral services, and I wanted to let you know that you needed to touch base with the funeral parlor instead.”
Valerie’s face paled. “Oh,” she murmured. “I’m not sure what you are talking about.”
Meghan shook her head. “You called, too. Trudy said you were looking into some expensive funeral services? You wanted to expedite the
burial process?”
Mrs. Sheridan cocked her head to the side. “Whose? Whose burial process were you trying to expedite, Valerie?”
Suddenly, a maid appeared at Valerie’s side. “Mrs. Hodge? A special package has arrived for you.”
Valerie excused herself for a moment. “I’ll just go get those files and see about that package. I won’t be but a moment.”
“Wait!” Carl ordered, but it was too late; Valerie was long gone.
“She was acting shifty,” Mrs. Sheridan announced as Carl rose to his feet. “She’s hiding something. I can tell.”
Carl put away his notepad and pulled out his walkie-talkie. “I agree,” he said to the group. “Something is going on here, and I am calling for backup.”
A moment later, an alarm went off. Meghan, Carl, and Mrs. Sheridan hustled out of the conservatory. “It must be a fire,” Meghan yelled as they took the stairs to the first floor and left the building. Dozens of other patients were fleeing as well, with maids and butlers assisting them.
“It wasn’t a fire,” Mrs. Sheridan whispered as they exited the building. “Look!”
Everyone gasped. Near the security booth, they could see a lopsided red Maserati with smoke coming out of it. “That’s Valerie’s car!” Meghan exclaimed as more residents poured from every exit of the building.
“Help! Help!”
Everyone turned to find Wayne Rashford laying on the pavement. He was cradling his leg, a pained look in his eyes. “She hit me,” he gasped as blood poured from his wound. “Valerie Hodge hit me with that fancy car of hers!”
15
“S
he was responsible for how many murders?!”
Meghan and Jack walked arm and arm along the beach. It was the first time they had seen each other in two days; Jack had been consumed with the Valerie Hodge case, and this was his first break in forty-eight hours.
“Five in total,” he said as a cool gust of wind stung their faces, sending Meghan’s wavy hair flying. “Valerie Hodge is wanted in three states for the murder and abuse of the elderly.”
Meghan shook her head. “But she said she had lived in Sandy Bay for years,” she told Jack. “She worked her way up at Sevenoaks.”
“True,” Jack admitted. “She committed the other murders when she was a young woman. From what we’ve found, she was nearly caught in Indiana. She hightailed it out of the Midwest and ended up here, slowly working her way up at the nicest nursing home in the Pacific Northwest.”
Meghan gasped. “What a con artist!” she cried. “She seemed so elegant and put-together. I can’t believe she tricked us all.”
Jack shook his head. “We were stunned at the station when we pieced it all together,” he explained. “Valerie Hodge manipulated her elderly patients into making her the sole beneficiary of their wills. Mrs. Hudson was no exception; I’ve spoken with her attorney, and it looks like last month, she had her will changed to name Valerie as the beneficiary.”
“Right before she died,” Meghan murmured.
“Yep. Except it looks like the paperwork was forged,” Jack said. “Her attorney thought it was odd, but there was nothing she could do; she was sworn to a confidentiality agreement.”
Meghan bit her lip. “How sad,” she said. “So will Mrs. Sheridan and Mark receive anything from Mrs. Hudson’s estate?”
Jack shrugged. “We’re still working on that with her attorneys,” he sighed. “But I think we will be able to work it out.”
They walked along, both enjoying the feeling of the sand between their toes. It was a warm day, and Meghan loved the way the sun shone in the sky after the long winter.
“So how did you catch her?” she asked. “At the nursing home, when they checked out the smoking car, she was long gone.”
Jack laughed. “Somehow, that woman in her high heels made it to the border,” he told Meghan. “She was trying to buy a bus ticket at a stop near northern California, and one of our guys picked her up.”
Meghan stopped in her tracks. She turned to gaze at the dark, stormy waters of the Pacific Ocean. “I just can’t believe Valerie turned out to be such a monster.”
“She really was,” he confirmed. “The autopsy report stated that she died from a lethal injection. We found evidence of drugs and needles in Valerie’s office, so we have all of the evidence we need.”
Meghan wrinkled her nose. “I just can’t believe that Hilda had nothing to do with any of this mess,” she told Jack. “I feel embarrassed that I judged her so harshly. I was convinced that she had something to do with Mrs. Hudson’s death. You should have seen me at the nursing home, Jack! When we walked into the conservatory and I learned that Hilda was the daughter of Wayne’s brother, the one that Mrs. Hudson didn’t get along with, I nearly vomited. It just seemed to me like she was so entangled in Mrs. Hudson’s story that she had to be involved.”
Jack nodded. “It’s a strange feeling to find out that someone you thought was guilty is innocent,” he admitted as he waved a seagull away from his head. “It happens with cases I work on, and it is a disconcerting feeling. It just goes to show that it is so important to have evidence and not solely rely on feelings.”
Meghan frowned. “I think I want to do something nice for Hilda,” she told Jack. “I feel like the three of us got off on the wrong foot, and I want to make things right. I think I might invite her over for dinner next week. From what I know, she doesn’t have any family left in town; I’ve heard that her mother and sisters moved away when their father died, and I think it could be nice for her to know some friendly faces.”
Jack pulled Meghan close to him and gave her a squeeze. “How are you such a sweetheart?” he asked her as she smiled up at him.
“It’s the right thing to do,” she told her boyfriend. “Plenty of people supported me as I moved to Sandy Bay and opened my business, and she’s in the same boat—alone with a new business to run. Maybe we can even become friends.”
Jack laughed. “You manage to make friends with everyone,” he said proudly. “Speaking of your friends, how is Sally Sheridan doing these days?”
Meghan pursed her lips. “Poor Mrs. Sheridan,” she said. “First, she lost her aunt, and now, a murder scandal? It’s too much for an older woman to bear.”
Jack took Meghan’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “You are so worried about her,” he murmured. “You have the biggest heart, Meghan. That’s one of the things I love most about you.”
Meghan smiled up at Jack. “I just want the best for the people I love.”
“So you’re saying that you love grumpy old Mrs. Sheridan?” he teased.
Meghan giggled. “I don’t know about love, but I do care about her.”
Jack swept Meghan into a hug as another heavy gust of wind hit them. “So...if you don’t love Mrs. Sheridan, who do you love?”
Meghan cast her eyes up at her handsome boyfriend. “You know that I love you, babe,” she whispered into Jack’s ear as he ran a hand through her long, messy hair.
Jack leaned down toward Meghan. He pulled his hands from her waist and placed them on her red cheeks. Meghan tilted her head upward, closing her eyes sighing as they kissed. “I love you, Meghan,” Jack breathed as he went in for another slow, deep kiss.
They stood together on the shoreline for several minutes, both reveling in the peaceful moment away from town as the sun set over the horizon. The evening was brisk, but beautiful, and both Meghan and Jack were trying to take in the lovely moment.
Finally, Meghan looked down at her silver watch and sighed. “I have to go,” she told Jack. “I left Pamela and Roberto at the bakery, and Trudy’s shift ends soon.”
“Roberto?”
“He’s the son of the funeral parlor owner, Alfredo Cazale. Roberto is helping out at the bakery for a bit. He started with some baking, but now, I’m having him do a few things on our website. He’s not too bad at web design, and I’ve seen our internet traffic spike since he took control of our Facebook page. Pamela also has a hug
e crush on him, and the two of them make these big, flirty eyes at each other all of the time.”
“Like us?” Jack flirted as Meghan blushed.
“Yes, like us. I need to run, babe; Trudy is leaving, and I can’t trust those two alone together. I need to get back and chaperone the teenage love birds.”
Jack put a hand on Meghan’s shoulder. “Sounds good, but before you go, let’s take another minute here together. This night is perfect, just like you, and I want to soak it in.”