The Heart of Murder

by Patti Benning

  Sunday morning, she called the police and told them the connection she had made between Jessie and the crime. They thanked her, but didn’t give her any other information, besides the fact that they still hadn’t tracked down any of the missing items. Frustrated, she said goodbye and called Frankie over to her. It was time to take a walk.

  With Valentine’s Day only a few days away, she found that things were increasingly awkward between her and Nick. Not because he was acting any differently, but because she didn’t know what to expect. Should she get him something? Should she mention the holiday? The only time they had spent together since the day after the burglary was time spent in his office discussing the new menu for the next month and designing surveys to hand out to the residents so they could have a hand in choosing the meals. Normally that was something that she would do with the other cook, but her baby had taken ill, and she had requested some extra time off.

  Wednesday morning came without any fanfare. Autumn went to work in the morning and made a special breakfast for the residents, painstakingly shaping the pancakes into hearts. The extra work was all worth it when she heard people exclaim over them. She smiled to herself. She may not be getting anything special on Valentine’s Day, but she was making sure that other people did.

  She didn’t bother going home between breakfast and lunch, since the meal would be bigger than usual due to the holiday and she would have to start in on it soon. Instead, she settled down in the common area with a book, reading while life went on around her. Nick found her after a while and took the seat next to her.

  “You know, we haven’t talked much lately. Is everything all right?”

  “I’ve just been busy,” she said. “With the burglary, and my mom coming to visit, I guess I haven’t really had much time to think about doing anything after work.”

  “I was wondering… Do you think you can stay late tonight? I’m sorry, I should have mentioned it sooner, it’s just a staff thing.”

  She looked at him, frowning. Stay late on Valentine’s Day? Not only was he not going to ask her out, but he had also assumed that she had no other plans. She was a bit stung, but she agreed. He was right; she didn’t have any other plans.

  She heard the office phone ring, and a moment later someone called his name. He excused himself to go and take care of it. She went back to her book for a few moments, then heard the buzzer at the front door and looked up. None of the staff was around to answer, so she got up and put in the code. When she opened the door, she was shocked to see Jessie standing there carrying flowers and a heart-shaped box of chocolates.

  “Jessie? What are you doing here?”

  “I was going to leave these for you,” he said. “The plan was to see if I could give them to one of the staff to give to you. I wasn’t expecting you to be the one to come to the door.” He gave her a nervous smile, then handed over the flowers and chocolates. “I was going to leave them anonymously, but I suppose that’s out now. I hope it’s not too much.”

  “No, it’s actually really nice,” she said. “Thank you.”

  “Well, I’m sure you’re working, so I will get going. Are we still on for this weekend?”

  She confirmed that they were, then said her goodbyes and watched him leave. She brought the flowers and chocolates into the kitchen and put them down on the counter. It really was a nice surprise, even if they’d only been on one date. He hardly knows me, and he brought me flowers and chocolates, she thought. I’ve been seeing Nick since Christmas, and he hasn’t done anything. She frowned down at the gifts for a second, then opened the box of chocolates and popped one into her mouth.

  “Where did you get those?” Nick asked, striding into the kitchen.

  “Secret admirer,” she said. “Want one?”

  He raised an eyebrow, but took a chocolate. “I came to tell you that we’ve got a few last-minute guests. I’ll send Emily to help you make dinner. While I love the fact that a lot of people are visiting their relatives today, I really do wish that they would call a day or two ahead. I don’t mind feeding extra people, but I know it’s hard for you when you have to make adjustments last-minute.”

  “It’s fine,” she said. “I haven’t started cooking yet, so as long as there are enough ingredients for everything, it will be a piece of cake to add a few extra servings on. How many people will be coming?”

  “I’d make maybe ten extra servings? Keep in mind that we might have some people show up when dinner starts without calling at all.”

  Someone else called his name, and he left the kitchen. Suddenly she felt less upset that he hadn’t done anything for Valentine’s Day. It was a holiday, and he had thirty people to care for. There were all sorts of activities planned for the residents throughout the day, including a short dance before dinner. He had a lot to do, and he wasn’t the sort of person who would focus on himself when there was something important to attend to that would help improve the lives of the people he was responsible for.

  Autumn had no time to rest after lunch; she was responsible for making the appetizers and the hors d’oeuvres for the dance. Emily found her, and together, the two of them began to work. They didn’t relax until they had filled platters with cubed cheese and fruits, heart-shaped cookies, and mini hot dogs.

  While the residents danced, she and Emily slaved away over dinner. They served it promptly at five-thirty. She made sure everything was perfect, then ran to go and find Nick. If he wanted her to stay late, she had to run home first. Poor Frankie had been all alone since before the sun rose that morning, and she would be bursting to go outside.

  After stopping by the kitchen to thank Emily profusely one more time for handling the dishes, she put on her coat and grabbed her purse and went outside. She was carrying the flowers and chocolates with her, and smiled when she put them on the passenger seat of her car. It was nice to get something on Valentine’s Day, even if it wasn’t from the man she wanted to be from.

  “Hey, sweetie,” she said as she walked in the front door. “Do you miss me? I’m sorry I didn’t come home earlier today.”

  She clicked the leash on Frankie’s collar and took her outside, wanting to get a short walk in before she headed back to work. She had never felt right about leaving Frankie home alone all day while she worked. She was the most interesting thing in her dog’s life, and it was her responsibility to make sure the terrier had a good life.

  It had snowed again the night before, and Frankie seemed to enjoy the fresh powder. As she sniffed at a particularly interesting spot, Autumn wondered if she was remembering her short adventure loose outside. Maybe her fears have been wrong, and Frankie hadn’t been afraid. Maybe she had enjoyed it. She would have been able to chase squirrels and cats to her heart’s content, and she hadn’t had to worry about the person at the other end of the leash.

  She reached the end of her block, crossed the street, and headed back toward her house. She had no idea what the staff meeting Nick wanted her there for was about, and was kicking herself for not asking Emily. She didn’t remember anything being on the schedule, but then she never really paid much attention to it since it didn’t have anything to do with her realm – the kitchen.

  “Hi,” she said as she passed by one of her neighbors, who was getting mail out of her mailbox. It was Dean’s wife, a woman she’d only seen a handful of times over the past few years.

  The woman turned and waved at her. “It’s a bit cold for a walk, isn’t it?”

  “If I let the cold keep me inside, I would hibernate all winter,” she said. She gave the other woman a friendly wave goodbye and turned down the driveway to start making her way across the street toward her house. A moment later, she froze mid-stride. She turned slowly to look at the woman, who was still standing by the mailbox. Around her neck was a string of pearls that looked strikingly familiar.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  * * *

  “Where did you get those?”

  “Pardon me?” the woman said

  “The
pearls.”

  “What, these?” She raised her hand to her neck. “My husband got them for me. He gave them to me today, as a Valentine’s Day gift. He didn’t want me to wear them around too much, but I figured that today was a special occasion if any day was.”

  “Oh.” Autumn stared at the strand of pearls around her neck. “They look just like my grandmother’s.”

  “He said that they were very old. It’s nice. He doesn’t get me gifts like this very often.”

  Autumn stared at them for a moment longer. Her mind was working quickly, but her mouth seemed to have stopped.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “It’s just…” She shook her head. “Never mind.”

  “No, what is it?”

  “Well, I lost my pearls in the burglary the other day. And they honestly do look just like mine. Do you know where he got them? The police have been looking for the stolen items in stores all over town. If they could track down where the burglar is selling stuff, then they might be able to catch him.”

  “You really think they’re yours?”

  “One of the pearls has a black spot on it. One of the ones in the back.”

  Frowning, she took off the necklace and examined it. “Oh dear. You’re right. I’m so sorry. I had no idea that they were stolen. We’ll have to speak to the shop where he got them from. Should we go to the police?”

  Autumn didn’t know what to say. She remembered Nick’s suspicion when they found Frankie in Dean’s house. Now, there was this. Could her neighbor be responsible for everything that had happened? If he was, and she walked away right now, would his wife go inside and tell him everything? What if he tried to flee town?

  “Well, maybe we should make sure. I wouldn’t want to take your pearls, and maybe the spot is just a coincidence. It’s possible that he got them from a family member or friend, isn’t it?

  “Let’s go and talk to him now,” the woman said. “I’ve never known Dean to shop at the sort of place that would sell stolen items. I really hope he didn’t get swindled. Come on in. You can come with me. You know the story of the burglary better than I do.”

  “I’ll just drop my dog off at home first,” she said.

  “Oh, no worries about that. She was such a doll when we had her for a few days last week. I’m so glad that my husband found her in the yard. I hate to think what might have happened otherwise.”

  Autumn felt as if her blood had turned to ice. Dean had lied about when he had found Frankie. Why would he do that? She couldn’t think of any innocent explanation for that.

  “Do you know why he didn’t give her back right away?” she asked, trying to keep her voice casual she followed her neighbor up the steps.

  “Oh, I thought he told you? He said that he stopped by your house a couple of times, but you weren’t there, and the number on her tag wasn’t working. We figured that you must be spending the night in a hotel somewhere, after everything that happened. Honestly, it was no big deal. I enjoyed having her. I was hoping to convince a Dean to get a puppy for Valentine’s Day, but he doesn’t want one. I know he’s right. We’re planning a trip later this year. I was so surprised when he got me the pearls. Both of us promised to put all of our extra money toward the trip. Of course, if the necklace was stolen, then I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a good price. I just wish that he had questioned it more. Of course, if he hadn’t bought them, then you wouldn’t have gotten your pearls back.”

  While she chatted happily, the woman opened the door and ushered Autumn inside. She kept Frankie’s leash short, making sure the dog stayed right next to her.

  “Dean?” the woman called out. “We have a visitor. Are you still in your office?”

  She heard him call out from the other room. His wife gave her an encouraging smile, then led the way through the house. Autumn looked around as she walked, half expecting to see stolen goods lining the shelves, but of course there was nothing out of place. From the way his wife was acting, she guessed that Dean kept his criminal activities hidden from her.

  “There you are,” she said when they found Dean in the room that Autumn guessed was his office. “I ran into – sorry, I didn’t catch your name.” She turned back to Autumn.

  “Autumn,” she said.

  “I’m Lainey,” the woman said. “I don’t know where my manners went. Anyway, Dean, did you know that these pearls were stolen? Where did you buy them? Autumn says that they’re hers. They were taken in the burglary.”

  Dean froze, his gaze darting between her and his wife. She knew as soon as she saw his expression that he was guilty, leaving her with only one question; what happened now?

  “That’s ludicrous,” he said. “I bought them from a very well-known jeweler. He wouldn’t have taken a chance on something that might be stolen. Are you sure she’s not just trying to get free pearls?”

  “Dean,” Lainey gasped. “What’s gotten into you? This is our neighbor, you can’t just make accusations like that. Besides, she described the pearls perfectly, including telling me about a unique mark on one of them that she couldn’t possibly have seen from where she was standing. How can you accuse her of lying? This isn’t like you.”

  Dean spluttered, but before he could come up with an explanation, Autumn chimed in. “I’m very confused, because when I picked Frankie up, you had told me that you just found her. But your wife told me that she had been with you for a couple of days. I was a wreck, wondering if I would ever see her again. Why wouldn’t you have called me? I know my cell phone was working, I use it every day.”

  “Are you calling me a liar? That number did not work when I tried it. Maybe you put the wrong number on the tag. You should be grateful we took care of the dog.”

  “You just called her a liar,” Lainey pointed out. “Dean, what’s going on? You’ve been acting so strangely lately. You seem to have all of this extra money, and you keep coming and going at odd hours. Now this lie about the dog and the stolen pearls?”

  “I’m sorry if I’ve been concerning you,” he said, rising from his seat. “It’s just, Lainey, I knew how much you’ve been wanting a dog. I figured our neighbor here would be busy cleaning up after the burglary, and she probably wouldn’t want the dog hanging around while she got the back door repaired anyway – if she has repair men coming and going, there’s a chance that the dog might have snuck out again. This way, the dog was out of her hair for a little while, and you got to spend some time with the furry thing.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Lainey said. She handed the pearls to Autumn, and began to pace back and forth in the small space between the door and her husband’s desk. “Autumn, I’m so sorry. I need to apologize for my husband. You must’ve been utterly terrified for your poor dog. If I had known that you were home, I would’ve brought her over right away. Dean, you and I are going to talk later. I cannot believe you, and I am not happy about this.”

  “The door,” Autumn muttered aloud, finally realizing what had bothered her about what Dean had said. She tightened her grip on Frankie’s leash. If only she had been recording with her phone. She would have had the evidence that she had needed to take to the police.

  “What?” Lainey asked, looking up at her and pausing in her tirade.

  “Sorry, nothing,” Autumn said quickly. “I think I should go. Thanks for returning the pearls. I’m sorry for all of the mess I caused.”

  “Wait, you said something about a door?”

  Autumn looked past Lainey and saw Dean’s face pale. “No, she didn’t,” he said quickly.

  “What in the world is going on with the two of you?” Lainey asked, her voice on the edge of hysteria. “I know you said something, and it sounded like door, and I want to know what this has to do with my husband lying to me and my life falling apart around me.”

  “She didn’t say anything. Lainey. I think she should go.”

  Dean stood up and grabbed his wife’s arm, his fingers digging into her flesh. Lainey bit back a cry of pain. All of a sudden,
Autumn knew that she couldn’t leave. Dean no longer looked angry; he looked terrified. There was a desperation in his eyes that frightened her. He had already killed one woman, and in his state, she didn’t know if he might do something to his wife as well.

  “The door,” she said again, deciding that she might as well forge ahead. “The window was shattered on my back door. How did you know it was broken?”

  “You told me, when you took your dog back.”

  “No, I didn’t,” she said. “I think I would have remembered if I had.”

  He let go of Lainey and moved toward her. “Out. Now.”

  She backed up, frightened, but still determined not to leave Lainey alone with him. Frankie jumped in front of her all of a sudden, barking with her hackles raised. Dean kicked out, and Autumn managed to yank her dog back just in time. “Hey!”