Flames, Frames, & Murder

by Jenna St James

  Gramps drove us back to Gone with the Whiskey so I could pick up the Rubicon—a gift from Gramps after someone cut the brake lines on my Mini-Cooper. Knowing I had to tell Heidi and Bridget what had happened, I dialed Heidi’s number. I didn’t want her finding out about Sophia from someone else. By the time I got through the story with her, we were in the parking lot.

  “I’m assuming you’re going to be looking into this?” Heidi said.

  I snorted. “You have to ask?”

  “Bridget and I are at your disposal. We won’t open the gallery tomorrow, we’ll just help you.”

  I smiled. “Perfect. Meet at Gone with the Whiskey in the morning around eight.”

  I hung up and opened the door to get out of the Hummer.

  “Are you sticking your nose in this?” Gramps asked without turning around.

  I sucked in a breath. “You have to ask?”

  I could feel Jax looking anxiously at me. Trevor never said a word, just stared straight ahead out the windshield.

  “Don’t go getting lippy with me, girl,” Gramps said. “I’m just asking.”

  I scowled. “Fine. Yes, Gramps, I’m sticking my nose in this.”

  He snorted. “Your grandmother, God rest her soul, was a gentle woman. So is your mother and Jax. What happened to you? Where do you get this tough, smartass side from?”

  I refused to smile. Instead, I glared at the back of his head. “Gee. I wonder?”

  He snorted again. “So noted. Just remember your boyfriend—you know, the one we all like—is a police detective.”

  “Like I can forget. To both of those things.”

  “Just thought it needed saying,” Gramps said. “One of these times, Jaycee, he might not take kindly to you running over his investigation.”

  The truth was, Gramps was right. Mike was the most patient man when it came to me and my sleuthing. Rarely did he make a big show of how upset he was with me when I stuck my nose in where it didn’t belong. And when he did get upset, it was because he was afraid for my safety. Which made him even more endearing to me.

  “See you at home,” Gramps said. “Drive safe.”

  I nodded once and hopped out of the Hummer. The most important thing I took away from that lecture was the fact Gramps didn’t tell me not to investigate. He’d actually done that a few times. Flat out told me to stay away. I never listened, but he still said it. This time he didn’t.

  ***

  My phone rang as I pulled into the driveway of Mom’s house. It was an old Victorian she’d bought after my dad died. She fixed it up and moved Gramps in. When Jax and I left home, it was nice knowing the two of them still had each other. When Jax and I moved back home years later, mom renovated the massive attic for Jax and me. It had a large dressing room, living room, modern bathroom, and we used partitions to block off privacy for our beds.

  When Gramps moved out last month to go live three houses down with Tillie, it was one of the hardest things to get used to. Not only was Gramps gone, but so was Duke.

  I slid my finger over the green button. “Hey, Mike. What’s up?”

  “Just spoke with the Chief. I’m to finish my shift here, which ends around eleven tonight, then drive back to Traveler’s Bay, get some rest, then report to the station at eight to start working on Sophia’s case. The Chief is leaving right now to go process the scene for me at the Brockman house.”

  While one part of me was glad he was coming home, another part of me was worried about trying to move around and investigate without running into him. It would have been much easier had he stayed in Santa Rosa, and I just had to hide from Officer Landry.

  “So much has happened,” I said, “and I can’t remember if I told you Gramps is back.”

  “I inferred that. You said Gramps and Trevor were with you when you found Sophia, so I took it to mean he was back early from his honeymoon.”

  I mentally shook my head. “Oh, yeah. I forgot.”

  “It’s been a physically and emotionally exhausting day for all of us,” Mike said gently. “Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

  Tears filled my eyes, and I didn’t bother blinking them back. “I miss you.”

  “Same here.”

  “Stop by Gone with the Whiskey when you can tomorrow,” I said. “I’ll be around.”

  Maybe.

  We hung up, and I slowly made my way inside Mom’s house. I was all but dragging now. My adrenaline had been going non-stop, and I was crashing hard.

  “Jaycee?” Mom called out. “We’re back here.”

  Hoping I wouldn’t have to stay up much longer, I trudged into the kitchen. Gramps, Tillie, Mom, Andrew, Jax, and Trevor greeted me when I walked in.

  “Glad to see you made it finally.” I gave Andrew a hug. “I was beginning to worry.”

  I was thrilled Mom had decided to give her old high school sweetheart another chance. Especially after it came out that Andrew didn’t run away and abandon Mom like she originally thought. Andrew had been a troubled teen, bad home life, underaged drinking. Since Andrew was eighteen the last time he’d screwed up, Gramps had Andrew arrested and thrown in jail. From there, Gramps got him into the FBI on one condition…that he never contact Mom again. Not that Andrew really had a choice, but he agreed. And he’d kept that promise until I brought them back together by accident a couple months ago.

  “The Colonel was just filling us in on what happened,” Andrew said. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Just exhausted.”

  “Here.” Mom shoved a mug of hot chocolate in my hands. “Go on upstairs and get ready for bed.”

  “What about you, Jax?” I asked. “Don’t we need to stay up and help you bake?”

  Mom waved her hand. “Tillie and I closed Gone with the Whiskey after you left and came back here to start baking Jax’s most popular items. Go check out the dining room table. We have a good start for her already.”

  Jax kissed Tillie’s cheek. “Thank you guys. You have no idea how much this helps.”

  “Good thing you left us recipes in case of an emergency,” Tillie said. “Otherwise we’d have had to wing it.”

  I laughed. “Good thing. I’m meeting Heidi and Bridget at Gone with the Whiskey around eight tomorrow.”

  Mom exchanged a glance with Gramps.

  “I’ve already warned her,” Gramps said. “And like always, she didn’t listen.”

  Chapter 6

  “We’re here and ready to rumble,” Bridget said as she hurried through the front door of Gone with the Whiskey precisely at eight the next morning.

  I laughed when I got my first good look at her and Heidi. Both were dressed in black one-piece jumpsuits with black tennis shoes. The fact they each stood nearly six feet tall put them at an immediate disadvantage when it came to blending and hiding, but added to that was their unique fiery red hair. Or in Heidi’s case, fiery red and purple hair.

  They looked like fighting Irish-Amazon women.

  Gramps shook his head and stepped over a sleeping Duke.

  I motioned the girls over to an empty table. “Where did you find those outfits?”

  “Internet,” Bridget said. “We realized last week we needed better blending outfits when we go out to snoop, so we bought these.”

  I dropped an empty notepad onto the table. “Let’s get started with suspects and motives.”

  Gramps set three Turn of the Screwdrivers down on the table. “Thought you girls might need your vitamin C to get going this morning.”

  Heidi grinned. “You know it, Colonel.”

  “Before we get too far into things,” I said, “I have to tell you something else that happened last night. Not only did someone shoot Sophia, but it looks like they stole some of her paintings off the walls.”

  Heidi gasped. “Which ones did they take?”

  “I don’t know,” I said. “But at least four paintings are gone in the front of the house, and the painting she did over the fireplace is also gone. I didn’t look upstairs to see if her p
aintings were missing up there.”

  “Do you think more than one person is involved?” Bridget asked.

  I nodded. “Very well could be.”

  “How long did it take you to get to her house when she called?” Heidi asked.

  I looked over at Gramps. “I’d say no more than ten minutes. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  “Yes. Maybe twelve.”

  “This was planned,” Heidi said. “Whoever did this didn’t just randomly stumble upon her and shoot her, then decide to loot the house and do it all in ten minutes.”

  “Exactly.” I clicked my pen. “So let’s look at suspects and motive. I have Carl Baxton as our main suspect. We know they had a car accident earlier this week, and Carl has tried a couple times to intimidate Sophia. I personally witnessed one exchange.”

  “But why kill her?” Heidi asked. “That’s so extreme just because of a fender bender.”

  I shrugged. “Carl has been in and out of jail for years now. He’s not exactly stable. Plus we know one of those times was for theft. Maybe he decided to do a two-for-one job. Shoot her then take her paintings and sell them. I was standing in the parking lot when he spouted off he knew where she lived.”

  Heidi took a sip of Gramps’ ramped-up version of a screwdriver before nodding. “We need to find out where he was around seven-thirty last night.”

  “Who’s next?” Bridget asked.

  “I have Carmen Hollins.” I wrote down Carmen’s name. “She claims to be having an affair with Victor. She somehow got Sophia’s cell phone number and sent her pictures of a Victor look-alike having dinner with her. We never see the front of Victor, just the back.”

  “And obviously she has an accomplice,” Heidi said, “because someone had to take the picture.”

  “Exactly,” I agreed. “Which also makes sense how they were able to take what they did out of the house so quickly. We definitely need to find out where she lives and where she was around seven-thirty last night.”

  “Next?” Bridget asked.

  “What about Marco Manlo?” Heidi asked. “Ever since Sophia fired him, he’s been making threats and making her life miserable.”

  Marco had been Sophia’s agent until recently. I’d never been a Marco fan. Granted, I’d only met him a few times, but every time I was around him, he struck me as a weaselly little guy.

  “Plus, now that he’s not managing Sophia anymore,” Bridget added, “he stands to lose mega bucks. And it’s not like he has a ton of clients. He needed the money he made off of Sophia to sustain the lifestyle he suddenly acquired with her popularity.”

  “And if she’d have died or does die,” Heidi said soberly, “the paintings he has will shoot up in value with her death.”

  I added his name to the list then sighed. “I hate to say this, but we have to put down Victor. I never thought he’d do something like this, but until we hear his side, he has to be a suspect.”

  “But he’s not even in town,” Heidi argued. “What’s his motive?”

  “Let’s say he is having the affair,” I said. “If they divorce, he’s going to have to split a lot with Sophia. While she has her paintings, he also has a house, vineyard, and thriving dental business. He may think getting rid of her might be the cheapest option. And to throw off suspicion, he has the person take some of Sophia’s paintings so it looks like a robbery.”

  “So you’re thinking maybe Victor and Carmen are in cahoots with each other?” Heidi asked. “He goes away, has an airtight alibi, gets Carmen to do the dirty work, and then not only would Sophia die, but her artwork will be worth probably quadruple more than it is now.”

  “I guess that’s a pretty good motive,” I said.

  “I don’t like it,” Gramps said from the counter where he dried glasses. “I’ve known Victor more years than I can count. I don’t like him for this.”

  “I get it, Gramps. I honestly do. I don’t like to consider it, either. But we have to.”

  “You’re claiming his motive is money related,” he argued. “I don’t buy it. They have plenty of money.”

  I shrugged. “Yes, but if Victor is having an affair and wants a divorce, that means half of his money will be gone.”

  Gramps grunted but didn’t say anything more.

  I took a sip of my drink. “Lastly, I think we have to look at the new landscaper, Wyatt Davidson.”

  “Why him?” Bridget asked. “I thought you said he came to Sophia’s defense when Carl and Carmen accosted her.”

  “He did,” I said. “But he also has access to Sophia’s place right now, and we don’t know a lot about him. I just want to find out more before I rule him out. I’m not sure if he’ll work today on a Saturday or not, but we might as well head out to Sophia’s to see if he’s there. If he didn’t shoot her, he honestly may not know what’s going on.”

  “What if he’s not there?” Heidi asked.

  I shrugged. “I guess we wait until Monday to ask him questions.”

  “You do realize if he is the shooter,” Gramps said, “chances are pretty good he’s left town already.”

  I scowled. “Of course I thought of that.”

  No, I hadn’t.

  Gramps snorted. “Of course you did.”

  The front door opened and Mike strolled in. Jumping up from the table, I ran and threw my arms around him. He hugged me back then dropped his head and kissed me. Duke let out an excited bark.

  “I missed you,” I said. “How bad is it there?”

  Mike shook his head and led me over to the bar where Heidi and Bridget were getting refills from Gramps. I was glad to see they’d shut the notebook and left it on the table. No sense getting him riled.

  “It’s devastating,” Mike said. “Some areas are completely destroyed.”

  “Can I get you some coffee?” Gramps asked.

  Mike nodded. “Thanks, Colonel. I’d love a cup.” He bent down and gave Duke a couple vigorous pats and then slipped a dog bone out of his pocket. Duke gobbled it up then lumbered back to his bed. “I can’t stay long. I came by to give you an update on Sophia. They were able to remove the two bullets, but she’s lost a lot of blood. She’s currently in ICU in a coma, and they don’t expect her to wake up for a few more days.” He looked pointedly at me. “If she does wake up.”

  I nodded. “I understand. Are you going to have someone stand guard at her door?”

  “Already taken care of. Plus, the bandana you found at the house is being tested. We should know something soon.” He took in Heidi and Bridget and one corner of his mouth lifted in a slight smile. “Nice stakeout outfits. I’m heading to question Carl Baxton right now.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” I asked.

  He chuckled and kissed my forehead. “Because I know you Jaycee Sullivan. I’ll tell you to stay out of this and let me handle it. You’ll swear you will. Then I’ll turn around and trip over you.”

  I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or scowl.

  “So I’m going to lay my day out for you.” He looked at Heidi and Bridget again. “I’m assuming they’re your muscle. But I’d still appreciate it if you brought a weapon of some kind with you.”

  Heidi and Bridget gave each other a fist bump.

  “Thanks to Gramps and Tillie, I actually have the weapon part covered,” I said.

  Mike quirked one brow. “How’s that?”

  “We had just enough time to get in some shopping on our honeymoon,” Gramps said. “We brought back pepper spray for Jaycee, and a Damascus knife for Jax.”

  “Jax got the better deal,” Mike said, “but I’ll take it.”

  “So questioning Carl,” I said. “What about Carmen Hollins and Marco Manlo?”

  Mike sighed. “Usually I’d tell you I can do my own job, but since you guys know Sophia so well, I’ll take any help you can throw me. You think I need to put both Carmen Hollins and Marco Manlo on the suspect list? Who are they and why suspects?”

  “I tried to tell you last night about Sophia’s week but yo
u had to call the Chief,” I said. “Earlier in the week Sophia started getting text messages and pictures sent to her phone from this Carmen Hollins lady. She claims to be having an affair with Victor.”

  Mike started. “Seriously? And Sophia had pretty solid evidence?”

  I shook my hand back and forth. “Kinda. Carmen did drive to the Brockman house and make threats to Sophia.”

  Mike got out his much smaller notebook he kept in his suit jacket. “Carmen Hollins. You have an address or anything?”

  I shook my head. “We haven’t—I mean…”

  Mike snorted. “What? You haven’t gotten that far yet?”

  “Then there’s Marco Manlo,” I said, ignoring his taunt. “He’s been very vocal about his anger toward Sophia ever since she fired him as her agent.”

  “Anyone else?” Mike asked.

  “I’m assuming you’ll look at Victor?” I asked.

  “Of course,” Mike said. “Standard practice.”

  “Don’t forget to question the landscaper,” I said. “He’s had to chase both Carl and Carmen off the Brockman property this week. Maybe he saw or heard something important.”

  “And what’s this landscaper’s name?” Mike asked.

  “Wyatt Davidson.” I looked at Heidi then Bridget. “I think that’s everyone we thought of, right?”

  They both nodded.

  “So now it looks like I’ll be questioning Carl, then finding out where this Carmen lives and questioning her, then go by Marco’s house, and finally track down a landscaper on a weekend.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “He doesn’t live around here, either. He lives in Marin county.”

  Mike finished off his coffee, said goodbye, and gave me one more kiss and admonishment to be careful and not get killed before heading out the door to start his day.

  “That was nice of him to tell you where he was going,” Heidi said. “That way he wouldn’t have to see you and arrest you.”

  Gramps sighed. “One of these days he just may have to. I assume I don’t have to tell you how much I like that boy, right Jaycee? He’s a good one.”

  “I know, Gramps.” Rolling my eyes, I picked up the notepad off the table. “I think we have a good starting point, especially since we know where Mike is going to be. Let’s go to the Brockman home first and see what we can discover. Mike told me last night Chief Miller was on his way to process the scene, so everything pertinent should be marked, tagged, and taken out of the house.”