by Kathi Daley
“I’ve also added Howard Langley to the list.”
“Who is Howard Langley?” I asked.
“Howard Langley is the electrician who was called in to fix the overhead lights after they fell earlier in the evening. Lacy remembered him arriving and cutting off the power to that section of the overhead lighting that fell. He removed the broken panel and agreed to fix it the following day. Lacy assumed he left the theater at that point, but she didn’t actually see him leave. I reviewed the same security camera I accessed to clear George to watch Langley’s movements. The camera shows him coming into the theater but not leaving.”
“Did you ask him about it?”
“I did. He said he left via the back door. There’s no camera in the back of the building, so I can’t prove or disprove this, but it seems odd that he’d park in the front, enter through the front, and then leave through the back.”
I frowned. “Yeah, that is odd, especially if his truck was still in the parking area in the front of the building.” I paused and let the whole thing sink in a bit. “You don’t think that the overhead lights falling was part of a setup, do you?”
“Setup? What sort of setup?”
“Maybe the lights were rigged to fall, so Langley would have a reason to be wandering around the area while rehearsal was in progress.”
Colt shook his head. “No. I don’t think the lights were rigged. If Langley wanted to come by and watch, I doubt anyone would have stopped him from doing so. The front door was wide open for anyone to come in during rehearsal.”
“That’s true, but everything that happened that night feels somehow intentional.”
“I doubt anyone would intentionally rig the lights to fall. No one was hurt, but someone could have been. I know the series of events leading up to Hollander’s death seems just a bit too fantastic to not have been planned, but I really do think that what we have here is a series of unfortunate events.”
“I guess.” I still wasn’t as certain as Colt was, but the idea that there was some sort of elaborate plan at play didn’t really feel right either. “So what about the item Hollander took from his safe? Did you ever figure out what he took or what he wanted it for?”
“No. And I do think that figuring that out could be key. The man was already late for rehearsal, so the fact that he stopped before heading to the theater leads me to believe that whatever he took was something he needed that evening.”
“Maybe he retrieved something he needed to give to someone. Someone he arranged to meet in the rehearsal room. Maybe he actually passed this item off, only to have the person he passed it to kill him.”
“That theory actually makes a lot of sense.”
Georgia texted to let me know our food was ready, so Colt and I headed over to the inn to pick it up. She had everything packed in an insulated carrier, making the transfer easy. Colt and Georgia chatted for a few minutes, and then I thanked her again, and Colt and I headed back to the cottage. There were five containers, each with a different dish. All had been heated and smelled and looked delicious. Since I hadn’t eaten at the inn the past two nights, I hadn’t had any of the food the first time around, so I was looking forward to trying everything.
“The prime rib she was cooking for the guests tonight sure smelled good,” Colt said.
“It really did. I’m sure there will be leftovers. You can come by tomorrow for some.”
“I was thinking about staying tonight if that’s okay with you.”
I smiled. “That’s more than okay. I would have suggested it, but you don’t usually like to stay over on a work night.”
“It is true that I usually like to head home on evenings when I need to work the following day, but I worked all weekend, and we barely had any time together. I figured I’d just get up early. I’ll try not to wake you.”
“I planned to get up early, anyway. Georgia’s Thanksgiving special is being taped tomorrow, and even though Jeremy and Nikki have assured me they have it handled, I feel like I should be around just in case, so I was going to join everyone for breakfast. I’ll make you a sandwich to take with you if we have leftover meat.”
“That would be nice.”
I glanced around the cozy room. “Do you want to watch a movie?”
“If you’d like. Or…” He kissed my neck. “We could do other things.” He glanced toward the cottage door. “Is Georgia coming back to the cottage this evening?”
“She is. In fact, she should be back at any time.”
“Then, a movie it is.”
Chapter 11
When Georgia returned to the cottage the previous evening, she’d noticed Colt so had retired directly to her room after taking Ramos out. When I’d emerged from my room this morning, she’d already left for her taping. I’d pulled on some clothes, made a pot of coffee and a sandwich for Colt to take with him, took a quick shower after he left, and then headed to the inn. As promised, Jeremy and Nikki had everything handled, so I let them get breakfast on the table, and I joined our guests in the hope of getting an update. The sisters had requested breakfast at nine this morning, which was later than they had been eating. I supposed they might be staying closer to the inn today. Whatever it was they were doing must be wrapping up since they were due to check out Friday.
“So how has your scavenger hunt been going?” I asked the sisters once Jeremy had the food served, and I’d joined them at the dining table.
They all looked at each other, but no one spoke. I could sense an underlying tension, but they were all here at the table, so I supposed whatever was going on couldn’t be too serious. Eventually, Shelby spoke.
“The journey the three of us have taken this past week has been interesting, to say the least. I think we’ve all learned a lot about our father, his family, and even ourselves. But it’s been tough as well.”
“And really, really strange,” Sierra added. “I mean, how would you feel if you found out you had two half-sisters and an entire ancestry you’d never even heard of until a few days ago?”
“It would be an adjustment,” I acknowledged. “But I suppose, over time, you will learn to cherish this new side of your family.”
“Maybe over time, but we have all these decisions to make right now,” Shelby said. “The whole thing feels so rushed.”
“We have lives to get back to,” Sage reminded her. “We can’t take months and months to make these decisions.”
“What sort of decisions?” I asked, uncertain if I should even go there.
“The house for one,” Shelby said. “The attorney we’re working with wants to know if we want to sell it or keep it. If we sell it, we need to make a decision about what to do with the contents. Personally, I think we should keep it for now. We can always vote to sell it later if we decide that’s the right thing to do, but if we sell it now, then it’s gone.”
“The attorney has a buyer now,” Sage said. “A buyer who is willing to pay top dollar. If we sell now, we can get the cash, split it up, and be done with it. If we don’t sell now, we will lose the buyer, and, if the two of you eventually come to your senses and decide to sell, we’ll need to start from scratch, cleaning it, repairing it, listing it, and paying an agent to handle things.”
I was afraid the house might turn into a point of contention.
“Henri left us plenty of money to do what we want and need to do without having to sell the house,” Shelby pointed out. “If we keep the house, we can use it. We can take turns vacationing here in Holiday Bay. We might even want to gather for family holidays. If and when we marry and have children, we’ll have a place to bring them.”
“I don’t do family holidays,” Sage argued. “And, unlike you, who lives on this coast, I live in LA, so it’s unlikely I’ll want to pop over for the weekend. I know it seems like Henri left us a ton of cash even without selling the house, but I have big plans. Expensive plans. I say we sell and be done with it.”
I looked at Sierra, who hadn’t said a word. “So, what do you t
hink?”
The poor thing looked seriously disheartened.
“I’m not sure. I like the house. I’m not sure how I feel about Denver, but I find that I’ve grown rather fond of Henri, who seemed like a strong woman despite everything. On the one hand, I guess there’s a part of me that would love to maintain a link with Henri, and I have envisioned one day bringing my own children here. But the reality is that I’m headed for Belgium, and after that, who knows. I honestly can’t say with any certainty that I would visit the place even if we did keep it, and there will be maintenance and taxes, so maybe selling makes sense. On the other hand, my financial needs at this point are modest, so I really don’t need the money from the sale of the house. I guess, in a way, keeping it and deciding later makes sense as well.”
“It sounds like you’re the tiebreaker,” I said.
“No,” Sierra groaned. “Henri’s will is clear that when it comes to the division of the assets. The decision as to how to proceed via each asset must be unanimous, and if the decision isn’t unanimous, the asset in question will be removed from the inheritance packet and passed on to the next person on the list, which happens to be a distant relative whose name has not been disclosed to us.”
“We were easily able to agree on everything other than the Holiday Bay house,” Shelby said. “As for cash, bonds, and other liquid assets, we’re planning to divide everything equally between the three of us. The cars and antiques, as well as the artwork and the house in Boston and its furnishings, are to be inventoried and appraised and then sold. The proceeds will likewise be divided equally between the three of us. If any of us wants any item from those inventoried and listed, we can buy it from the other two for the appraised value with our share of the proceeds.”
“That sounds reasonable,” I said. I looked at Shelby. “I take it that buying the house in Maine from your siblings is not on the table.”
“No,” she said. “The cash assets Henri left for us are significant. More than enough for me to change my lifestyle completely, but the house here in Maine is a seaside mansion worth tens of millions of dollars. I can’t afford to buy the house and then maintain it on my own. If we all agreed to keep it, then none of us has to buy it, and we can share in the maintenance. Personally, I don’t need the money from the sale of the house and would rather just keep it. It’s been in the family for generations. It is part of our heritage.”
“Not my heritage,” Sage said. “I never even met these people. My future is not here in Maine. It’s in LA. The last thing I need is something like a century-old house tying me to this coast.”
I could see that this was a hot topic that wasn’t going to be settled today, so I decided to change the subject. “So, what else have you been doing this week?”
Sierra smiled. “The tasks Henri left for us have been really interesting. I can see that it was important to her that she not only pass her assets to us but the history of her family as well. She’s had us running all over the state, visiting museums and libraries, researching individuals and the contributions they made to the history of the area, and answering questions about our heritage.” She looked at Sage. “I understand what Sage is saying about the heritage of the Rosewood family not being our heritage. Our father was a mess. As far as I can tell, he never did a single worthy thing in his life. But there were others who came before him, others whose blood we also share who were significantly wonderful people who lived worthy lives and helped to shape the area as we know it.” She took a breath and then continued. “I know I’m more of a book geek than my sisters are, but the research part of this experience has been my favorite part.”
Sage laughed. “I’ll trade you my share of the research for your share of the money.”
Sierra tossed a piece of biscuit at her sister. I was happy to see the tension over the house hadn’t completely ruined their relationship. Of course, Shelby was still frowning, but once Sierra got started on a story about meeting some of Henri’s more colorful friends, she joined in, and by the end of the story, all three sisters were laughing. Maybe they would be able to work it out after all.
The car picking them up came soon after breakfast was over. They assured me they would be back at the inn for dinner and would see me then. As they hurried around, grabbing the items they’d need, it seemed like they were all getting along okay. At least on the surface. It really was too bad that their father wasn’t a good and honorable man. If he had been, it might have been easier for the sisters to feel bonded with their ancestral family. Of course, if he had been a good and honorable man, he wouldn’t have had three daughters from different women in just over nine months.
Chapter 12
It was a nice day, so I decided to work in the yard with Jeremy that afternoon. He’d been working hard to get all the beds tucked in for the winter. We also wanted to be sure the snow blowers were serviced, and the snow shovels made accessible before the first snow. It was quiet today with Georgia at her taping, and the sisters in town or wherever they’d gone off to. Nikki had left after breakfast, and Annabelle was still in school, so it was just Jeremy and me.
“I haven’t seen Mylie in a while,” I said, asking about Jeremy’s girlfriend.
“She’s been really busy with a project she’s working on for the Holiday Bay marketing committee, but I think she said she’d be wrapped up by the end of the week.”
“I didn’t know she was working on a marketing project.” I knew that Mylie dropped out of college to care for her grandmother and had devoted her life to doing just that until she passed away last year. I’m not sure if I’d ever asked her what she’d been studying when she dropped out, but with her enthusiasm and creativity, I could see that she might do really well working in marketing.
“The town wanted to update its marketing strategy in order to attract visitors from additional markets. Mylie worked up a proposal, which they loved. They ended up hiring her to update the webpage, rework the social media accounts, and create a comprehensive advertising campaign for both print and e-publications.”
“Wow. I had no idea. I’m anxious to see what she came up with.”
“It’s really pretty awesome. And the best part is that there is a monthly maintenance component that she was hired to oversee as well, so not only did she score the one-time fee for the creation of the campaign, but now she has a monthly income. Not a lot, but it’s a start.”
“Is she thinking about doing this sort of thing as a business?” I asked.
“I think she is. At first, she just had some ideas, which she presented to the town council, and then volunteered to put them in place, but they are so happy with her that I’m pretty sure if she decides to go into business, she’ll have an excellent reference. Financially, she’s fine for now, and even without income, would continue to be so for a while, but once Christy marries Noah and moves out, Mylie will have to take over the full rent for the apartment unless she wants to deal with getting a roommate. I think she’d prefer to be roommate free unless just the right person comes along. A little income each month will help her do that.”
“That’s wonderful.” I smiled. “Speaking of Christy and Noah, have your heard anything more about a date for their wedding?”
“Next summer, I think. They’ve discussed a lot of options, but I think they’ve finally settled on an outdoor wedding. I think they actually hope to have it here, although you didn’t hear that from me since they haven’t gotten around to asking you yet.”
“If they decide to have it here, we will welcome them with open arms. You know how fond I am of both Christy and Noah. Besides, their courtship began here, and I think it would be very fitting if they tied the knot here as well.”
“That’s what I figured. I told Christy you would be open to the idea, but when she brings it up, please don’t tell her I mentioned it. I probably shouldn’t have.”
“I’ll act honored and surprised.”
Jeremy grabbed a rake and started in on some leaves that had fallen onto
the lawn while I continued to distribute straw over the shrubbery.
“I notice Colt was here last night. Any updates on the murder?” Jeremy asked.
“A few, but nothing significant. I think he has whittled the list down to three suspects.”
“Oh, and who are they?”
“Scotty Crabtree, for one.” I filled Jeremy in on the timeline involving Scotty’s trip to the bathroom and the variables that might have been in play, which no one could prove one way or the other at this point.
Jeremy didn’t look convinced. “I know Scotty. I don’t see him being a killer, but it does seem like you can rework his time away from the stage area in a couple different ways. Who else is still on the list?”
“Doctor Dearborn and his wife.”
Jeremy raised a brow. “Annabelle’s pediatrician is on the suspect list?”
“It seems that Mrs. Dearborn was seen in a lip lock with Hollander just minutes before he must have died. One theory suggests that Paula Dearborn argued with Hollander at some point during their make-out session, which led to a struggle and the man’s death. Another theory is that Doctor Dearborn walked in on them, and when he saw the man with his wife, he went a little crazy and hit him with a heavy object.”
“While I can’t say that I actually hope that anyone is guilty, I really hope that my niece’s pediatrician isn’t a killer.”
“Yeah, me too. I’m not sure what went on, but the good doctor and his wife seem to have a complicated relationship.”
“I’ll say. Is anyone else on the list?”
“Howard Langley. Howard is the electrician who was called in to fix the overhead lights after they fell earlier in the evening. Colt reported seeing him go into the building on the security tape, but he never saw him leave. He could have left through the back door, but why would he do that when his truck was parked right out front?”
“Maybe he had blood on his clothes by the time he left and wanted to avoid people and the cameras,” Jeremy said.