by Sonia Parin
Eve cleared her throat. When the call was answered, she cringed. “Hi, Nelson. I spoke with you yesterday. I’d heard something happened to Miriam. Is she back at the yacht now?” Eve gave Jill a vigorous nod and a thumbs up. “She said she had someone looking after her... Oh, that’s good. No... No need to tell her I called. I’ll catch up with her later. Thanks.”
Eve slumped back on her chair and smiled brightly.
“You’re going to make me beg.”
“No, I wouldn’t do that to you. If not for your bright idea, I would’ve been kicking myself all day.” She pumped the air in triumph. “It’s Mrs. Stewart. Yes, that’s right. The woman with the oversized sunglasses is Gabe Stewart’s wife. Now his widow.”
“Interesting. So, what’s the significance?”
“Hang on a sec. I need to check something first.” She dialed Jack’s number. “Hello, Jack.”
“You sound cheerful,” Jack said.
“I have a question for you.”
“Is it something I’ll be able to answer with a clear conscience?”
“Did the police withhold the victim’s name because they were trying to track down his wife?” She listened to the silence.
“How do you know about the wife?”
Again, she pumped the air. “Intuition and brain smarts.”
“Otherwise referred to as a close encounter with the wife?” Jack asked.
“I’d seen her around and she came into the bakery. She spent some time looking at me. It tickled my curiosity.” And now she wondered if she needed to add Mrs. Stewart to her list of people to be wary of.
“Did you go snooping around the marina again?”
“I’d never do that. Anyway, thanks. That’s all I wanted to know.”
“I feel used,” Jack said.
“You’ll live.” She disconnected the call and tackled her breakfast with renewed enthusiasm. “The woman with the oversized sunglasses is Gabe Stewart’s wife. I wonder how she feels about her husband’s death? She didn’t seem to be in mourning. In fact, she looked quite lively.”
“Way to go Eve. You’re back and raring to go,” Jill laughed.
“You can’t expect me to sit on this sort of information without doing something about it. Besides, Mrs. Stewart... now I’m kicking myself for not asking what her first name is... came into the bakery and I’m sure she was looking at me.”
“Either that or you’ve become quite paranoid. I hope that’s not a symptom of worse things to come. I’d hate to lose you to madness.”
“Please try to be consistent, Jill. You were quite helpful before. You’re either with me or against me.”
“You can’t blame me for trying to lighten the moment.”
“I suppose.” Eve finished her breakfast. “So, do we have Jonathan McNeil’s address?”
“We sure do. We’re lucky he’s listed in the phone directory.”
“Would you like to come with me?” Eve asked tentatively.
“I can’t imagine what you hope to find there, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Say it with less sarcasm and I might believe you.” She gathered the breakfast dishes and washed up. “By the way, when are your parents coming back?”
“At this rate? Probably never. I always joke they’ll go on one of their road trips and forget to come back.” Jill stretched. “They called a few days ago to say they were extending their trip. Apparently, they met some really nice people and decided to head down to Florida. Mischief and Mr. Magoo seem quite happy here. I think they prefer your gourmet food to the kibble I feed them.”
Hearing their names, they both lifted their heads and licked their lips.
“I’ll have to cook them a treat for tonight.”
“You don’t want to spoil them too much. I might fall out of favor with them.”
At work, Eve made an effort to engage Timothy in conversation but he kept his answers short. His weekend had been uneventful and the new baker seemed to be working out well enough for him to start looking for a place on the island.
“So, he’s not just filling in for Jonathan?”
Timothy shrugged. “I don’t know what Barbara plans to do. But she said we could do with the extra help.”
At first, Eve didn’t think too much about it, but then she remembered Barbara was first and foremost an accountant. She ran a tight ship and wouldn’t squander money on an extra wage when she already had two bakers on the payroll.
“When’s Jonathan due back?”
Timothy looked over her shoulder then lowered his voice. “He should have been back by now. He might be taking an extended vacation.”
“So, you haven’t seen him?”
Timothy shook his head. “He doesn’t usually come into town. So, I’m not surprised.”
As she finished up the day’s baking, Barbara approached her. Her manner didn’t seem as friendly as when Eve had first started working at the bakery.
“The new baker is happy to take over pastries and cookies. Just as well our agreement was on a day to day basis.”
“So you don’t want me to come in tomorrow?” Eve couldn’t hide her surprise.
Barbara seemed to hesitate. “I hope you don’t think I’m ungrateful. Your cookies were a big hit. Don’t be surprised to hear from me in a couple of days begging you to come back.”
It all seemed like short notice to Eve. Sure, they had been playing it by ear and Eve had been happy to take it one day at a time, but considering the success of her cookies, she’d expected to stay on longer. At least until Jonathan returned.
“I guess Jonathan is coming back then.”
Barbara looked away and Eve wasn’t sure, but she thought Barbara paled slightly.
“I can’t say for sure. He was only having a short vacation and was supposed to have come back to work yesterday, but I haven’t heard from him. It goes to show how unreliable he really is. Anyway, it’s not a big problem. The new baker is working out really well.”
Sounded like Jonathan McNeil was out of a job.
Strange that he should suddenly be labeled unreliable. Remembering Jill’s suggestion that she was becoming paranoid, Eve shook the thought away.
“Well, it’s been fun. Thanks for the opportunity, Barbara.” She wasn’t overly concerned about losing the job. Now she had no excuse to keep putting off her own business plans.
Although... Barbara’s decision had seemed to come from out of nowhere. Had she done or said something to put her off?
Eve knew she should have let it go, but she needed to know.
“Was it something I said? I mean... you seemed to be happy with how everything was working out.”
Barbara appeared impatient now. She’d probably hoped Eve would simply nod in acceptance and move on.
“The arrangement was only temporary. Besides, I think... I think you’re more suited to running your own business. I know I couldn’t possibly go to work for someone else now. Once you get a taste of running things your way, it’s hard to adjust to taking orders from someone else.”
Eve frowned. That hadn’t been an issue. “Was there something I should have checked with you first?”
Barbara didn’t answer straight away. Eve suspected she was fishing around for an excuse.
“Now that you mention it. Some of the ingredients you used were expensive. I work with tight margins. As it is, I had to put the prices up and customers don’t like that.”
She hadn’t heard her complain before. Hadn’t Barbara said the cookies were selling like hotcakes and she was taking orders for them?
“Okay, I was only curious.” She didn’t really want to make a fuss but it didn’t stop her rising suspicions. Barbara had another reason for letting her go now. She had to. “I’ll clean everything up and be on my way—”
“Don’t worry about that. Timothy will take care of it.”
Wow. Now she really was worried. She was being pushed out the door.
She tried to catch Timothy’s attention but
he made a point of looking away.
Coincidence?
On the way to her car, one of the customers stopped her.
“I hope I’m not too late to grab some of your cookies.”
Savor them, Eve thought.
“You might just be on time.”
The woman hurried off.
Eve thought about Mira’s kitchen. It wouldn’t be large enough for a commercial venture. On the other hand, the kitchen at Abby’s place would be ideal...
She could have her own brand of cookies and sell them.
Eve looked up and down the main street. She didn’t think Barbara would be open to stocking her goods and she knew the Chin Wag Café baked their own cakes and cookies.
“Shove it into the back-burner and get on with it, Eve.” She had a house to look for. A business plan to work out. A man to track down.
“Jonathan McNeil, where are you?” She wished Jack would be more open about his investigation. Or... more absent minded, letting a few pertinent facts slip into their conversation. But he was always so guarded around her Eve thought he put in an extra effort.
Barbara had said she hadn’t heard from Jonathan so she’d gone ahead and had employed another baker. It seemed rather rushed. What if Jonathan came back? He must have a contract. Barbara wouldn’t be able to break it. She’d be out of pocket if she did and Eve didn’t think the accountant would want to lose out.
“Expensive ingredients.” Eve huffed out a breath. She’d been caught by surprise. Now reality began to sink in. She’d been fired. She’d never been fired in her life.
She’d been unceremoniously pushed out.
Something didn’t feel right about it.
Eve would bet anything if she hadn’t asked questions about Jonathan, she’d still be working at the bakery.
When she arrived home, Eve went straight upstairs to change out of her work clothes and into a pair of jeans and cable sweater.
“I thought I heard you come in,” Jill said from the doorway.
Eve did the zipper up on her boots and looked up. “I got fired.”
“What?”
“Barbara Lynch told me she no longer needed my services. She fired me.”
“Oh.”
“Is she on our suspects list?”
Jill visibly swallowed. “If she wasn’t before she is now.”
Eve nodded.
“Remind me never to cross you.”
Chapter Twelve
“What are you doing?” Eve asked glancing at Jill who appeared to be counting with her fingers.
“Keep your eyes on the road, Eve. I’m doing a mental headcount of our suspects. I’m running out of fingers.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“Miriam Holloway. Why does she want you to stop meddling? The first thought that comes to mind is that she’s concerned about you getting in the way and messing with police work. But that’s just me.”
“What other reason would she have? Don’t forget, she accused me of trying to kill her.”
“That does raise a few questions. We know it wasn’t you. Someone wants her out of the way too. We know she’s connected to the murder victim. Maybe that’s enough reason to hurt her. Miriam comes across as desperate to have you out of the way. Or... she might be so scared, she actually thought it was you. Someone hit her from the back and she has no reason to suspect anyone else. Or she could be colluding with the killer. They both planned the attack and pointed the finger at you. We always assume there’s only one person involved. What if there are more? A conspiracy to kill Gabe Stewart. Think about it. Two people who could benefit by his death.”
Miriam Holloway and Mrs. Stewart. “Our next suspect would have to be the person who actually ambushed Miriam,” Eve reasoned. “Who could that be?” Mrs. Stewart.
“The real killer but that does away with my pet theory of there being two people in cahoots, Miriam and someone else. A theory I’m rather proud of. Unless I was right and it was nothing but a make believe attack. Then there’s Mrs. Stewart. She was so helpful taking a change of clothes to the hospital for Miriam, but what do we know about her? Would she have solid motives for killing her husband? I’m thinking she’s our wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
“We need to find out more about Mrs. Stewart,” Eve said, “Do you think it’s possible she and Miriam are in it together?”
“Possibly. You did say she didn’t look like a recent widow. Maybe because she knew all along her husband was dead.”
“You’re getting very good at this,” Eve said.
“I’ve been reading a few mystery novels. Mira has a huge collection.”
“I’d like to know what Miriam is to Gabe Stewart. Traveling companion? Girlfriend? Cook? The Sea Fairy is quite large. Gabe must have been wealthy enough to employ an onboard cook. And maybe Mrs. Stewart is one of those wives happy to look the other way.”
“I’m curious. Why wasn’t his wife with him?” Jill asked.
“Because... because this is his boy’s only adventure so he sets off and leaves the wife behind. Or... she doesn’t like yachting around the place. Some couples have separate interests and don’t always do things together.”
“Is that how it was with you and Alex?”
Eve nodded and tried not to think too much about him. They’d been married for several years and his embezzlement still came as a surprise.
“What else do we have?” Eve asked.
“Jonathan McNeil is now missing in action. According to you, he was expected back at work and hasn’t shown up. Other than that, we have nothing else to go on with. And I’m surprised at you, Eve. I expected better. You should have been able to squeeze more information out of the other baker, Timothy.”
“Sorry. I seem to be taking warnings to keep my nose out of people’s business to heart.”
“Jack obviously hasn’t let anything slip, so we don’t know if he’s managed to discover anything more about Jonathan’s sexual preferences... or whereabouts.”
“Let’s pretend Jonathan is gay, and... Let’s assume he had a standing appointment with Gabe Stewart every year. Why would that be? Why only once a year?”
“They both have private lives. Or they’re in the closet or so kinky, they only indulge in their sexcapades once a year,” Jill laughed.
“That’s not so far-fetched. They could have been each other’s first lovers and even after all these years, they still keep in touch. Come to think of it, they might just be friends catching up once a year. Like a high school reunion. But then we have the murder victim and how he was found. I doubt Gabe Stewart was killing two birds with one stone, coming to the island to catch up with Jonathan and also meeting a lover.” Eve knew they were going around in circles and pointing the finger of suspicion at everyone. But she couldn’t stop scratching around.
“Do you think Jonathan could be the killer?” Jill asked, “Gabe Stewart might have said this was the last time and they could never meet again. Jonathan wouldn’t accept it or even think he could live without ever seeing Gabe again, he decided to kill him and... himself, turning this into a crime of passion.”
Eve gave a slow shake of her head. “If the police thought Jonathan had anything to do with the murder they would have put out... what do you call it? An APB.”
Jill grinned. “That’s an all points bulletin sent out to police officers. I looked it up. I think you’re actually thinking about the police making a public statement.”
“Yes, that’s it. So why haven’t they made it public?”
“Because unlike you, they don’t like to make false accusations. They don’t have enough evidence to pin the murder on Jonathan McNeil. Or maybe because they’re trying to lure him out of hiding.”
Eve nibbled on the tip of her thumb. “What about Lauren Wright, the realtor? We haven’t even spoken about her. Or even seen her around town.”
“She had a key so I think the police would have been quick to look into her. Obviously, they didn’t find anything.”
&nbs
p; “There had to have been a third key,” Eve insisted. “Do we have something to pin on Barbara Lynch? I’m still annoyed with her for firing me. And yes, I know how that sounds, but her being guilty would somehow make me feel better about being fired.”
“Poor Eve. Okay, let’s point the finger at Barbara. We know she took over the bakery from her father. Do we know anything about her private life? She’s not married and I haven’t ever seen her with someone.”
“Here’s something. What if, like Abby, Barbara Lynch is desperate to land herself a husband? She sets her heart on Jonathan and starts an affair with him. He goes along with it because... he’s trying to pretend he’s straight. This is a small community and he’s afraid of what people will say about him. I know it sounds dated, but let’s run with it. Then, suspicious of what he’s getting up to when he says he’s going on vacation, Barbara finds out about his... Help me out, my mind’s drawn a blank.”
“She follows him to Abby’s house,” Jill suggested. “And when she realizes what’s going on, she flies into a fit of rage and... I’m not sure she’d be capable of overpowering Jonathan. He’s a solid looking man. Tall. Strong. What if Barbara had a gun and shot him? She disposed of the body and then she... she killed Gabe. He was already tied up. We don’t know how he died. This is something else the police haven’t released. Did you see any visible wounds, Eve?”
“No.” She gave a fierce shake of her head and tried to think of something else before the image of the dead body filled her mind.
“No stab wounds. Gunshot wounds.”
“No.”
“He was tied up so she could have put a pillow over his face.”
“Possibly.”
Jill pulled out her cell. “Here’s something. According to this article, the skin around the nose and mouth of someone who’s been asphyxiated may appear pale or white due to pressure. Does that ring a bell?”
“I looked but I didn’t see. Meaning, I couldn’t tear my eyes away, but I tried to avoid noticing details. It was gruesome. The dead body alone was too much information for me.”
“So you didn’t notice if the lips, gums and tongue showed bruising or lacerations.”