by Kathi Daley
“So, to me, that sounds as if they knew each other casually, probably as business acquaintances, but something happened a couple of weeks before Star died that launched them into each other’s orbit. I’m going to guess that was their partnership on the desk.”
“That’s the way it looks.”
I squinted my eyes and stared at the screen. “Do these records tell you anything else?”
“Not really. I hoped they would have more calls in common, but other than the ones to each other, I’m not seeing many links.” Tony paused. “Except this one.” He pointed to a number. “This is Celia Bronson’s. It looks like she was calling Star on a regular basis, and then she began calling Colton after Star’s murder.”
“Did you ever speak to her?” I asked.
“I asked her about her calls to Star. She told me that she desperately wanted to buy the desk Star purchased at the estate sale, but Star wouldn’t sell. She told me that she called her many times to try to talk her into it. It appears she must have found out that Colton was Star’s partner and began working on him to sell her the desk after the shooting. I’ll verify that with her tomorrow.”
“So if Colton and Star went in on this valuable desk together, where is it?”
“I assume in Colton’s possession. Or at least it was before he was shot. I’ll ask Mike about it.”
Once again, I began to pace. I felt at times that if I wasn’t walking, I couldn’t think. “You don’t think this valuable desk that everyone seems to want is what is really behind both Star and Colton’s deaths, do you?”
“I suppose it might be, but it seems unlikely. The desk might be unique and even valuable, but I’m having a hard time believing that anyone would kill two people over a piece of furniture.”
“What about the hidden compartment Star was looking for?” I asked. “What if there is something in that compartment that someone either desperately wants or desperately wants not to be found?”
“Like what?”
I shrugged. “In terms of something someone might want, a deed to a piece of land whose ownership is under scrutiny, old bonds that were never cashed, or perhaps a secret recipe that will put a restaurant on the map. In terms of items someone might want not to be found, a diary in which someone confesses to a murder, incriminating photos, a birth certificate that might prove a person is not who they claim to be.”
“You read too many novels.”
I laughed. “Maybe. But all of that is possible. All of that and a lot more.”
Tony nodded. “Okay. I’m sold. It may very well be that it is what is in the desk that someone was willing to kill for, rather than the desk itself.”
Chapter 9
Monday, December 16
“Morning, Hap,” I called to Hap Hollister, owner of the local home and hardware store, as Tilly and I began our mail route on Monday morning. His store was warm and cozy, and all decked out for the holiday.
“Tess, Tilly. I heard you had some excitement this weekend.”
I set a stack of mail on the counter. “Unfortunately, it was not the sort of excitement I welcome. To be honest, my emotions have been all over the map lately. I thought I was okay with everything, but then, about midday yesterday, I realized I wasn’t okay at all.”
Hap’s pale blue eyes crinkled in the corners as he offered me a look of encouragement. “It seems to me that is understandable. Finding the bodies of two people you know within a week of each other seems likely to be the sort of thing that would cause a delayed reaction. Do you have any news about a suspect?”
“No,” I said. “Not yet. You know me, though. I’m itching to dig in and get involved, but Tony thinks I should give Mike space to do his job.”
“Mike is a good cop.” He tilted his head of white hair. “Tony might not be wrong on this one.”
I exhaled slowly. “I know. And I know I tend to want to take over, even though solving crimes is not my job. But I find it hard to sit on the sidelines. I have to admit it took all my willpower not to start my route at Mike’s office this morning so I could casually ask how things were going, but it will seem less suspicious if I do my route in the usual order.” I took a piece of hard candy from Hap’s jar. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard anything?”
“Probably nothing that you don’t already know. Folks are slim on facts, but there has been a lot of speculation.”
“What sort of speculation?” I asked.
“A few folks figure that Star and Colton had a thing going on. A romantic thing,” Hap emphasized. “And then there are a few folks who figure that there must be an ex involved who wasn’t happy about them hooking up.”
I raised a brow as I slipped my bag off my shoulder and set it on the floor next to Tilly. “A thing? Do you know for a fact that they were seeing each other?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know it for a fact myself. I guess the two had been seen together a couple of times in the past few weeks. You know how rumors get started. You share a meal, and the next thing you know, everyone is saying you are having a thing.”
Chances were, they were just discussing their business deal, but I didn’t say as much to Hap because I wasn’t sure what was public knowledge and what was not. “It might have just been a meal between friends,” I finally said.
“I don’t know. They were seen sharing a platter of wings and a pitcher of beer. Seems like a date to me.”
“Did they look intimate?” I asked.
Hap shrugged. “How would I know? They were seen eating and talking. It’s not like they were going at it right there in the bar. Still, I heard there was a vibe if you know what I mean.”
I supposed it was possible the pair were both dating and business partners. In fact, it seemed entirely possible that one thing led to the other. “Any other theories?”
“Lots of talk going around, but nothing I would bank on. I’d be willing to bet that with your cop brother and genius boyfriend, if anyone knows the real scoop, it is probably you.”
I slipped my bag back onto my shoulder. “Normally, that would be true, but Tony and I agreed to stay out of Mike’s way. If you hear anything, text me. You have my number.”
After I left, I found myself wondering what sort of conclusions investigators might come to if they pulled my phone records with the intent of analyzing them. I was something of a busybody, and I did tend to talk to a lot of random people about a lot of different things every day. Still, there probably weren’t any red flags in my phone records. At least I didn’t think there were unless you added in the fact that the location of cell phone calls could be estimated, and I’d spent a lot of time talking to Tony while I sat in front of Star’s house. If I were a suspect in her murder, the fact that I’d spent so much time watching her would definitely come into play.
I felt my anxiety rise as I neared Mike’s office. I’d intentionally made myself wait until as close to the time of my usual mail drop-off time as possible, but the longer I waited, the more nervous I became. I hoped that our interaction at Colton’s place on Saturday had served as an icebreaker that would allow us to repair our relationship. Of course, there was no way to know if his willingness to speak to me then would extend into our day-to-day lives. I wouldn’t know that until I tested the water.
By the time I arrived at the police station, my palms were sweaty despite the cold, but I took a deep breath and forged ahead.
“Tess, Tilly,” Frank greeted us with genuine enthusiasm.
“Hey, Frank,” I returned while at the same time bracing myself as the sound of a hundred-pound dog running at full speed came from the hallway. “And hello, Leonard,” I said to Mike’s dog, who jumped up to say hi. He licked me across the face, and then trotted over to say hi to Tilly. “It looks like you got cards today.” I set the pile of mail on Frank’s desk.
“I decided to start a board because your mom and aunt have had so much fun with their cards-from-across-the-world thing.”
Mom and Ruthie had begun asking the customer
s who stopped in throughout the year to send them Christmas cards for their wall, and the effort had grown to include some from around the globe.
“Your board looks nice,” I said.
“I’m just getting started, but so far, I’ve gotten cards from twenty states. By the way, Mike wanted me to ask you to pop your head in his office while you were here if you had a minute.”
Okay, Tess, stay cool, I reminded myself. “Yeah, I have a few minutes. I’ll just leave Tilly here to visit with you and Leonard.”
Prior to the disagreement with Mike that had affected our relationship so much, we’d actually gotten along really well. I was determined to do whatever I could to fix things, no matter how hard it might be to remain in the shadows.
“Hey, Mike,” I greeted him. “Frank said you needed to talk to me.”
“Yeah. Come on in and have a seat.”
I did as he indicated.
“I spoke to Tony this morning,” he continued. “He had some interesting things to say about the phone records of Star and Colton, and it got me to thinking about the fact that you had been stalking Star for weeks before her death.”
“Following her,” I corrected him.
“Whatever. The point is that you were watching her. Maybe you saw something.”
I furrowed my brow. “Like what?”
Mike tapped the end of his pen rhythmically on the desk. “Maybe you noticed someone Star spoke to or somewhere she went. Maybe you overheard a conversation while you were in her shop. I’m not sure what I am looking for exactly, but it sounds like you were paying as much attention to her comings and goings as anyone during her last weeks on earth.”
He had a point. I had been following her for quite a while by the time she died. Even longer than Mike seemed to realize. Maybe I did know something. I tried to think back.
“There were people in and out of her shop while I was there,” I started. “Some I knew, most I didn’t. I don’t remember anyone acting odd, and I don’t remember anyone being around more than once while I was there.” I bit my lower lip as I processed the information I’d stored away. “There was this one lady who was looking for a specific sort of desk. I know that Star spoke to her on several occasions because she mentioned previous conversations. But I didn’t notice any tension between the two of them, or anything that would explain Star being shot down in her doorway. I have heard that Star purchased an expensive desk shortly before her death, but I’m not sure that the woman I saw in Star’s store was looking for that particular desk. I imagine she sold a lot of desks.”
“What about people coming and going from her house or strange cars parked in front?”
I paused and thought about it. “Star went out from time to time. I’d see her arrive at home and then leave again a short time later. I never followed her, though.”
“I guess that’s something.”
I wanted to remind Mike that I was simply trying to protect the woman, but even I was no longer sure that was the real motive behind my actions.
“There was a neighbor who lived behind Star. Short woman. Short blond hair. Looked to be in her sixties, if I had to guess. I’d see her walk around the corner and stop in and say hi to Star from time to time. They seemed to be friends of sorts. I don’t know her name, but I suppose it would be easy to find that out. It seems to me that she was around often enough that if something significant was going on in Star’s life, they might have discussed it.”
“Anyone else?” Mike asked.
“No. I don’t think so. Hap mentioned that he heard that Star and Colton were together a while back. They were in the bar, sharing a pitcher of beer and a plate of chicken wings.”
Mike tossed his pen onto the desk. “I heard that, as well. It looks like they did partner on the desk Star had been trying to get a loan to buy. Star and Colton most likely met to talk about that.”
“Maybe. But Hap said there was a rumor going around that their meeting had a vibe that felt more date-like.”
“When did Hap tell you that?”
“Just a little while ago. When I stopped in to deliver his mail. He said that folks are talking, which I suppose is natural given the situation. Still, you might want to stop by to chat with him.”
“I will. Anything else?”
I slowly moved my head from left to right. “Not that I can think of. I can call you if I do think of anything. If you want me to, that is.”
Mike nodded. “I do want you to call if you think of anything. I’m still not sure how this is all going to play out, but it does look as if Star and Colton were shot by the same person. The bullet size and type match. I’m waiting for a detailed ballistics report to confirm whether the same gun was used.”
“So Star’s death most likely had nothing to do with our dad or her past?”
Mike shook his head. “Probably not.”
“I guess I’m glad to hear that, but I’m also surprised.”
Mike blew out a breath. I noticed for the first time how tired he looked. “Yeah, me too. Tony is working on some stuff for me. At this point, I’m just hoping that something he finds helps us to make sense of things because right now, I’m lost.”
“You’ll figure it out; you always do.” I stood up. “Call me if you need me.”
With that, I left. I wanted to say more. I wanted to launch into a whole new round of apologies, but I figured the door had been opened a crack, and it seemed like a good idea to get out of there before I said something that would cause it to slam closed again.
Chapter 10
By the time I’d made it to Sisters’ Diner, they’d closed for the day, so the only people inside the restaurant, other than Mom and Ruthie were the busboy and the soda delivery guy.
“Your wall looks really nice.” I paused to admire the cards, which already covered most of the wall. Mom and Ruthie had been doing the wall for three years, and in that time, they had gained quite a following. “I have more cards today.” I held up the stack of mail.
“Oh good,” Ruthie said. “We have this one bare spot that has been bothering me all day.”
I turned to Mom. “So, how are you doing now that the parade is behind you?”
“I felt better for about two minutes, and then I remembered that it is only five days until Christmas on Main, and I began to panic again.”
“How did you end up as chairperson for both the parade and Christmas on Main?” asked the busboy.
Mom let out a sigh. “I don’t know. I really don’t. I specifically remember that I was the one who stood up at the meeting we had way back in the fall and said that adding the traveling carnival to Christmas on Main would be just too much. I have no idea how I ended up letting the others talk me into hiring the event planner, and I really don’t have a clue how the group manipulated me into overseeing the aforementioned woman. Never again, I tell you. Never again.”
“It’ll be fine,” I said in my most comforting voice. “The carnival will begin Friday evening, and then the main craft portion of the event will run alongside the carnival on Saturday and Sunday, and by Monday, you will be all done.”
“Sounds easy when you say it, but you aren’t the one who is short two food vendors and several volunteers to run the ticket booth.”
“I can’t cook, but I can help with the tickets,” I offered. “And Bree can cook. I’m sure if you ask her, she’ll help as well. And you can always count on Tony to cook or sell tickets or handle pretty much anything.”
“I know. And I appreciate that.”
“If you ask me, all this planning is a waste of time,” the man refilling the soda machine said.
“And why is that?” I asked.
“You did hear about the big storm that is supposed to come through this weekend, didn’t you?”
“Storm?” Mom screeched. “Did you say storm?”
“I hear it’s going to be a full-on blizzard,” the man confirmed.
“But it has been so nice,” Ruthie said.
The man shrugg
ed. “You know what they say about the calm before the storm?” He wiped his hands and then passed a clipboard to Ruthie. “If you’ll just sign here, I’ll be on my way.”
I pulled out my phone and pulled up my weather app. Egad—it was supposed to snow this weekend. And not fluffy snow for effect, but a full-on blizzard, just as the man had said. There was no way the carnival would be able to operate in a snowstorm. In fact, there was no way anyone would be out and about if it did wind up snowing as hard as the app indicated.
I glanced at Mom, who looked white as a sheet.
“What are we going to do?” she asked, panic evident in her voice.
“I’m sure the committee has a plan in place in case of snow,” I said.
“Sure. We did. Last year, when the event consisted of some craft booths and a few food vendors,” Mom answered. “The old plan was to move everything inside to the community center, but I don’t think the tilt-a-whirl or merry-go-round are going to fit in the community center. Why on earth did we let that woman talk us into something that was so much larger than we could manage?”
What I really wanted to ask was why on earth the committee would sign a contract with an out clause for the coordinator, but I decided to hold my tongue. I was just getting Mike to talk to me again; I didn’t want to make my mother mad at me as well.
“Maybe it’s not too late to cancel the carnival,” I said. “You could put a notice in the newspaper and maybe post flyers around town to let folks know the event will consist of those activities that can be held indoors.”
“If we cancel the carnival, we still have to pay the company the minimum we promised them. It’s in the contract.”
“Okay, then maybe you should just proceed as planned and hope the storm veers to the north or the south or anywhere other than here,” I suggested.