Small Town Murder: Midwest Cozy Mystery Series

by Dianne Harman

  As Kat was getting ready to leave, she and Lennon hugged in the corridor backstage. Lennon whispered into her ear, “I don’t trust this detective guy. I don’t want to put any pressure on you, Kat, but can you just keep an eye out for who might have killed Jay? It happened on my watch, and I know you’re the one with experience. I feel like we have to do something. I can’t just hand it all over to the police. Not with this detective and his ‘I could care less attitude’.”

  “I understand,” Kat said. “Of course I’ll look into it.” The truth was, she was already thinking about it. After her and Jay’s long talk on the smoking balcony, Kat had come to have some empathy for her. And, she had a good idea who might have killed her.

  CHAPTER 10

  Early the next morning, just before breakfast, Kat got a phone call from Lennon. “Hi Lennon, how did the rest of your evening go after I left yesterday?” Kat asked after she picked up her phone and saw it was Lennon calling.

  “Not so good Kat. Unfortunately, my worst fears about Jay have been realized. After you left, the coroner came to the theater. During his preliminary inspection of Jay’s body, he discovered a puncture mark on Jay’s neck right at the spot where the jugular vein is located. He’s almost certain it was made by a hypodermic needle, which according to the coroner, means that Jay was murdered. He said he’ll know for sure if it was a murder after he does some toxicology tests to see if there was any form of a toxic substance or poison in her blood stream. But based on his preliminary findings, the police are treating Jay’s death as a

  murder.

  “This means more ever that I need your help in trying to find the person who committed this terrible crime. I hope you were serious when you told me yesterday that you were willing to help with the investigation. It really means a lot to me, not only to protect my reputation, but as a way to pay tribute to Jay.”

  “Not to worry Lennon,” Kat said. “I’ve already got several ideas about just who might be the perpetrator. I’ll start working on it today and get back to you if I come up with any good leads that point to one particular suspect.”

  It wasn’t hard to find Reiss Talbot, Kat soon found out.

  But it was hard to get a meeting with him.

  Kat punched his name into Google, and his LinkedIn profile came up as the first result. Kat clicked on it, and discovered he was an advertising executive at a company in Topeka. This was about a two-hour drive from where Kat lived, so she resigned herself to spending a few hours in her car if she was going to have a meeting with him. She wasn’t a huge fan of driving long distances, but she cared about Lennon, and she cared about Jay.

  She found the phone number for the business where Reiss Talbot worked and called. She couldn’t even get past the switchboard.

  “Good morning, you’ve reached YVR Marketing Associates. How can we help you today?”

  “Good morning,” Kat said. “I’d like to speak to Reiss Talbot, please.”

  “Certainly. May I ask who is calling? Is he expecting your call?”

  Kat didn’t quite know what to say. “My name is Kat Denham, and I wanted to talk to him about a conference.” That didn’t sound very good, and she winced.

  “Are you selling conference tickets?” the receptionist asked.

  “No, I just… I’m investigating something.”

  “Investigating…?”

  Kat felt really silly. She should have been better prepared for the phone call. She couldn’t exactly blurt out that she was investigating a murder, could she?

  “Oh, never mind. I’ll call back another time,” Kat said.

  “Okay. Have a great day.”

  Kat was annoyed with herself. She’d just come back from her morning walk with Jazz and Rudy and had been feeling wonderful, following her sweet tea and omelette breakfast. Now her irritation with her failure to plan was threatening to put a damper on things.

  How was she going to get through to Reiss? If they guarded him that closely on the phone, there was no way she could just turn up at his office and ask to see him. She thought about it for a moment, then had a brilliant idea. She smiled to herself. Surely it would work.

  But it would have to wait for a while. She set her laptop up at the kitchen table and started working on a couple of her books. She did some work on one of her Sexy Cissy books, and also made some progress on a Kat Denham book. Sometimes she liked to switch between the two. She felt it helped her to overcome her occasional episodes of writers’ block.

  She worked for several hours, managing to crank out a few thousand words. Then she got in her car and left to go meet Blaine for lunch. She loved the days when they did that. It felt somewhat rebellious to meet in the middle of his work day and grab a luxurious lunch. She wasn’t sure why it felt like a somehow illicit treat, but it did, and she loved it.

  She arrived a little early at their favorite Italian restaurant, so she took her seat and ordered a bottle of San Pellegrino and a small glass of red wine while she waited for him.

  He arrived five minutes later than their agreed time, looking apologetic. “Sorry, darling. I was on an important call and couldn’t tear myself away.”

  Kat grinned. “Well, I don’t forgive you, I’m afraid.”

  He smiled back and his eyes crinkled. She thought he looked so handsome like that. “No?” he said, slipping into his seat and placing his briefcase next to the table leg. “What will it take for me to get back into your good graces?”

  Kat poured him a glass of San Pellegrino. “Funny you should ask that,” she said with a crafty smile. “I have another important call for you to make.”

  “Is that so?”

  “It is,” she said. “I need you to call Reiss Talbot. When the switchboard receptionist asks who you are and if he knows you’re calling, say you’re the District Attorney, and you need to speak to him right away. They’ll never refuse to put that call through.”

  Blaine shook his head at her with mock disappointment. “Are you using me for my status, Kat Denham?”

  She gave him a sassy grin. “Indeed I am!”

  *****

  The next afternoon, Kat was in her car on the way to Topeka. Blaine’s call to Reiss had gone very well, and without giving too much away as to why the meeting was needed, Blaine had explained that Kat needed to come and see him. Reiss had agreed.

  Kat enjoyed the long drive to Topeka, even though initially she hadn’t been very enthusiastic about it. She opened the window and let the warm breeze gently blow through her hair. She wore sunglasses and listened to jazz music on the car’s radio, very much enjoying the change from her regular routine.

  She managed to park and find the YVR Marketing Associates building easily enough. She’d dug out a gray pantsuit she hadn’t worn for years and paired it with some black high heels and a black bag, so she’d blend in with the other professionals.

  She walked inside the building, which was relatively small, and stifled a gasp. The place was absolutely beautiful and every surface shined. She stepped up to the reception desk with confidence and said. “The District Attorney sent me to speak to Reiss Talbot. He knows I’m coming. We have an appointment.”

  As she’d hoped, no questions were asked. She was given a visitor’s ID and had to sign a book indicating the time she had entered the building. She was then directed to the elevator, a beautiful gold and glass structure. She got out at the right floor, repeated her spiel to the receptionist, and was led into Reiss Talbot’s office.

  His eyes lit up as soon as she entered. He looked her up and down in a way that made her feel uncomfortable, and held out his hand for her to shake. “Hi there. Good morning. Wonderful to make your acquaintance. I’m sorry, the DA didn’t tell me your name.”

  “I’m Kat Denham,” she said, struggling to keep eye contact with him. He was incredibly intense and tall and somewhat forceful. She didn’t feel all that safe being around him. She had an inner sensation that he was some kind of predator. She thought about Jay and how long she’d been
in the marriage. How sad that she hadn’t had time to heal and spread her wings before she died.

  Kat sat across from him, his large ornate mahogany desk separating them.

  “This is about the Gregory Fitch case, I take it?” he said, rooting around in his desk drawers and then taking out a huge file of paperwork. “I can’t believe how they…”

  “No,” Kat said quickly. “It’s about your late wife, Jay Talbot. Jacqueline Talbot.”

  His eyes hooded over suspiciously and he looked angry. “What about her?”

  “I came here to ask you if you have any idea who could have killed her, Mr. Talbot.”

  “How should I know?” he shot back defensively.

  “I’m not saying you should necessarily know,” she said. “Only if you had an idea, something that could possibly be helpful.”

  He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Probably one of her crazed ‘fans.’ That would be my best guess,” he said.

  The vitriol in his voice startled Kat. Did he really hate his wife that much, even now, after she was dead? She tried to speak evenly, though her dislike of the man was growing by the second. “You don’t sound all that supportive of her success.”

  He leaned forward and spoke in a low voice that was very intimidating. “Her ‘success’ came as a result of badmouthing me to the entire world. Do you think I should be supportive?”

  Kat remained quiet for a moment.

  “Thankfully my children are too young to fully understand what’s going on,” he said. “But one day they’ll be adults, and they’ll want to read her ‘tell all’ book. And then they will come to hate me because of the way Jay dishonestly portrayed me.”

  “Why is the portrayal dishonest?” Kat asked.

  With that question, Reiss seemed to lose his patience. “Look, who are you and what are you doing here? I’m okay with you coming in here and asking me proper questions, if that’s what you need to do, but I’m not going to sit here and have a long discussion with you about the ins and outs of my marriage.”

  Kat sighed. “Fine. Let me be blunt. Because of her book and everything that’s transpired between you and Jay, many people may think you’re the prime suspect for having committed the murder. Also, simply because when a woman is murdered, most often it is at the hands of her boyfriend or husband.”

  “I don’t live under a rock,” he said. “I’m aware of all of this. But that doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t murder her.”

  “Okay,” said Kat. “Where were you, the night it happened?”

  He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “I was… entertaining.”

  “A woman?”

  Yes,” he snapped.

  “Where?”

  “In my condo.”

  “Can you verify that in any way?” Kat asked.

  Reiss flushed a deep shade of purple. “Look,” he said tersely, getting to his feet. “Just get out. If the DA wants to speak to me, he can come here in person. I’m not sitting here answering any question you happen to want to ask me, so that’s the end of this conversation.” He pressed a button on the intercom. “Anna, come and let this woman out right now,” he said tersely. “Goodbye, sorry, but I don’t remember your name.” He stayed behind the desk and turned his attention to some paperwork, ignoring Kat.

  Kat realized a lost cause when she saw one. She left Reiss’ office and started the long drive back to Linsday.

  CHAPTER 11

  That evening, Kat felt extremely frustrated. On the drive to Topeka she’d felt optimistic and enthusiastic. She knew it was a long drive, but she was sure it would be worth it, but on the drive back home she felt more and more resentful. She tried to listen to the radio to distract herself, but that didn’t work. The radio drama got on her nerves, the music got under her skin, and the talk shows seemed boring and pointless. Normally, she would have liked any of them.

  She didn’t like it when she got in moods like this. Thankfully, they were few and far between. They usually started when she put a great deal of effort into something, which then turned out to be nothing.

  The last time she was in such a funk was when she’d written 30,000 words of a book in a week, was almost finished with it, and then accidentally deleted it all. It wasn’t a matter of it going in the recycle bin and simply regenerating it. She knew she could recover files from the recycle bin that had been deleted.

  But no, it was much worse. She’d been changing the font, so she’d selected the text in the whole document. But then she’d accidentally hit the ‘g’ key. She saved and quit quickly, before she’d realized what she’d done. Then when she logged back into the book, all she had to show for the whole book was the letter ‘g’.

  It had been soul destroying. At one point, she even considered quitting writing altogether. So much effort, gone with one little mistake. Absolutely everything got on her nerves for the next couple of days. But then she got over it, started again, and everything was eventually fine.

  Kat was determined not to let Reiss Talbot and his refusal to cooperate, plus her wasted drive, destroy the next few days. Anyway, she wasn’t sure why she was quite so angry. Sure, a long drive for nothing was very, very annoying, but should it have induced the absolute fury she felt?

  By the time she got home, she was mad at the whole world.

  “Hello, honey,” Blaine said as she walked into the kitchen. He was sitting at the kitchen table eating a sausage and kidney bean casserole with garlic bread, one of his go-to’s when it was his turn to cook, and sipping a glass of red wine. He’d been reading the newspaper, and looked quite content. Jazz and Rudy were curled up at his feet, having eaten plenty of their own dinner.

  Normally, Kat would have reveled in the coziness of the scene as soon as she walked through the front door. But right now? She couldn’t even think straight.

  She was ravenous, too. She couldn’t bring herself to go to a fast food drive-thru on the way back to Lindsay, since what she felt like having was a hearty, healthy, home-cooked meal. She could have stopped at a restaurant, but the thought of extending the time of her futile journey just angered her further. She just wanted to get home, home to Blaine, and home to her dogs, but at least Blaine had cooked. And it was one of her favorites.

  “Hello,” she said, not very enthusiastically. “I’m hungry.”

  He raised one eyebrow at her. “Your dinner’s in the oven staying warm.”

  “Thanks,” she said. She got it out, huffing and puffing with the oven mitt, and eventually sat down at the table with a fork and a scowl.

  Blaine watched her closely as she wolfed down her meal. “I take it things didn’t go that well for you today.”

  “Bingo.”

  “That sounded rude.”

  Kat paused, sighed, and looked up at him. “Sorry. I’m in a terrible funk. I want to snap out of it, but I’m not sure how. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this bad.”

  Blaine poured her a glass of wine. “Talk, my dear. Get it all out of your system.”

  So she did. She began talking about how annoyed she was about the drive over to see Reiss, when nothing worked out. But before she knew what she was saying, she blurted out, “And you know what? I’m so utterly furious because life is so darn unfair. Not for me. I can’t complain for one second about my life. I have a wonderful daughter who is happy and fulfilled, a gorgeous and loyal husband, great dogs, a beautiful home in a safe neighborhood, food to eat every single day, and a career I love. I really have so little to worry about.”

  Blaine looked at her, his deep blue eyes indicating he was sincerely interested in listening. How I love him, she thought.

  “But this isn’t about me, Blaine,” she said, her anger turning into bitter sadness. “It’s about Jay. About how she was trapped in an abusive relationship. Financially and emotionally abusive, we know. Also, her husband was a serial cheat. Who knows what else was going on? When I saw the guy, I instantly felt unsafe. He could have done much more to Ja
y than she let on in her book. So… she’s stuck with this guy….”

  Kat’s voice cracked with emotion. “With no means to get out. Then she embarks on the only little act of rebellion she can… writing about him. Betraying her obedience to him and the world he’s created for them. And finally she gets out, and she gets to be on Oprah, and she gets her ‘happily ever after’… Except she doesn’t, because someone comes along and kills her. And leaves her children without a mother. It’s just not fair,” Kat said as she broke down in tears.

  Blaine held her hands as she cried. When she quieted down to just a little sniffle, he asked, “Did you have a chance to see what Oprah had to say about Jay on the news?”

  “No,” Kat said. “What did she say?”

  Blaine grimaced. “The coroner has confirmed that Jay died from an injection of poison.”

  Blaine took out his phone, tapped his search into YouTube and showed her the video. It was of a news broadcast of ‘INSPIRATIONAL AUTHOR MURDERED WITH POISON’. The news anchor explained how Jay was poisoned, and a puncture wound was found on her neck which indicated she was injected with poison.

  There was no needle or syringe at the scene of the crime, though. Kat could do nothing but shake her head over and over. One thing was for sure, however – the murder was planned. To go to such lengths to get a syringe and poison, it had to be. No one just had those sitting around the house.

  Next on the video came inserts of guests talking about Jay. Oprah gave a message to say how touched she was by Jay’s work and that she hoped the police would find out who killed Jay soon, so she could rest in peace as soon as possible. “She deserves justice,” Oprah said.

  “Wow,” Kat said. All of a sudden, she had a different perspective. “You know, when Oprah said that she was touched by Jay’s work… that’s really amazing, isn’t it? Even though Jay only managed to live a relatively short life – about half the life she should have had – she managed to touch so many lives. And that’s just in the last few months.