by Kathi Daley
“Do they usually tell you what’s going on?” I asked.
Parker frowned. “If Deputy Todd knows I know enough about what’s going on to do a story, he’ll usually talk to me in an effort to control what I write. He won’t always tell me everything, nor am I operating under any illusion that even half of what he tells me is the truth, but he knows I’ll be getting my story out there one way or another, so I usually get a certain amount of cooperation.”
“Do you think Deputy Todd will have reason to want to cover things up like he did with Cammy’s death?” I asked. Cammy Collins was a young girl who was murdered the night I first arrived in town.
“I doubt there are any high-profile residents involved in this one,” Parker said. She looked at Adam. “Unless, of course, you’re somehow involved.”
Based on the expression on her face, I couldn’t tell if Parker was kidding or not, but I assumed she must be.
Adam smiled. “No, this isn’t one of my dastardly deeds. Colton thinks Durango did it. I guess Jessie and Bradford had been seeing each other socially, and Durango wasn’t happy about it.”
Parker’s brow puckered. “Durango? Really?” She paused. “Bradford is, or I guess I should say Bradford was single, and so is Jessie now that the divorce is final. But Bradford has always been a bit of a dog, and Jessie had already been burned by Durango. I just don’t see her getting involved with someone else who was known for having both a roving eye and major commitment issues.”
“We don’t know that Jessie was actually involved with Bradford, just that they’ve been spending time together,” I pointed out. “And even that’s hearsay.” I glanced to where Brenda was chatting with Colton, Tuck, and Trace. “Did Bradford have an ex-wife?”
“No,” Parker answered. “Bradford was a lifelong bachelor. He liked the ladies, and he liked variety. Before he retired, he worked in real estate and made good money. He was fairly sophisticated, dressed nicely, had a huge house on the bay, and enough money to not have to worry about money. He never had a problem finding plenty of women to spend time with.”
“And Jessie?” I asked.
“Jessie is also on the chamber of commerce board,” Parker answered. “She currently works for a title company, so she knew Bradford outside of the chamber connection. I guess you could say they were casual friends.”
“So Bradford wasn’t currently involved in real estate?” I clarified.
“No,” Parker answered. “Bradford retired a few years ago, and since then, he seems to have spent his time traveling and volunteering on different boards and committees around town, although I’ve heard that he’s been parked down at Walter’s Place more often than might be healthy since he came back from his last trip.”
“Do you know where he went?” I asked.
“Vietnam. I’m not sure why he’d want to go back there.”
“Back?” I asked. “Was he in the war?”
Parker nodded. “Yes, he was there late in the war. I think he said he enlisted when he was eighteen, and I think he’s in his early seventies now.” She looked toward the office where the murder had occurred. “Or at least he was in his early seventies. I still can’t believe the guy is gone.”
Adam put an arm around Parker and then pulled her in for a hug.
“Hey, guys,” Brenda walked over to where I was standing with Adam and Parker. She looked directly at Parker. “Are you going to do a story on this?”
“I’m sure I will when I find out more about what’s going on. I understand that you found the body.”
“I did,” Brenda confirmed. “I was so shocked when I opened the storeroom door and found Bradford lying there on the floor in a pool of blood.”
“Did you notice anything else?” Parker asked.
Brenda frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Like, did you notice if there had been a struggle?” Parker looked at me. “Did either of you notice anything out of place in the main part of the office?”
We both agreed that we hadn’t noticed anything out of place, but we hadn’t been looking for anything either. Since today had been my first day inside the room, I wouldn’t have noticed even if something had been disturbed.
“Did you notice blood anywhere other than near the body?” Parker asked. “Maybe in the bathroom or the hallway?”
I shared that I hadn’t gone into the bathroom, and Brenda shared that she hadn’t noticed any blood when she’d poked her head in looking for Bradford.
“What time were you all supposed to show up this morning?” Parker asked.
“Nine o’clock,” I answered. “I got here a few minutes early. The guy showed up with the Christmas trees just as I arrived and needed help backing in, so I didn’t make it inside to check in right away.”
“You helped him with the Christmas trees?” Parker asked.
I nodded. “He had a big truck and needed a spotter to back into the lot.”
“And once the Christmas tree guy made it inside the fence?”
“He just tossed the Christmas trees off the truck into a pile and then left. I went into the office to check in with Bradford, but it was empty, so I waited. Brenda showed up shortly after the Christmas tree delivery truck left. She knocked on the bathroom door and looked behind the two closed doors, which I hadn’t done, and she found the body. We called 911.”
“Did you see anyone other than the man delivering the Christmas trees between the time you arrived and the time Brenda found the body?” Parker asked.
I thought about the man I’d seen running. I glanced at Brenda. I really didn’t know her, so I wasn’t sure if I should say what I saw in front of her. Parker must have noticed my expression since she let me off the hook by asking Brenda how long it had taken Deputy Todd to get here once we’d called for help.
After Brenda wandered off to talk to three women who’d arrived while she was chatting with Parker, Parker looked at me. “What was that all about?” she whispered. It was just the two of us since Adam had wandered over to talk to Trace.
“I did see someone when I first arrived. A man was running from the office.”
“That has to be the killer,” Parker said. “Who was it?”
“Jackson.”
Her eyes flew open. “Jackson? Our Jackson?”
I nodded. “I can’t be one hundred percent certain it was him since I didn’t get a real good look at his face. I saw the side of his face for a split second, and then he turned and ran, so his back was to me. Still, it really did look like him.”
“Did you call out to him?” she asked.
“I did, but he didn’t answer. He just kept running. At the time, I didn’t know Bradford was dead. I hadn’t made it to the office yet. I was about to head in that direction when the man with the Christmas trees showed up.”
Parker’s lips tightened. “I don’t know who you saw, but it couldn’t have been Jackson. He’d never kill Bradford or anyone else for that matter.”
“I agree, which is why I haven’t told a soul other than you what I saw. I just don’t know what to make of the whole thing.”
She glanced toward the front of the building. Deputy Todd had just stepped out with the coroner. “I have to go and see what I can find out. Don’t tell anyone what you saw until we can figure this out.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “I won’t tell anyone. If we’re released to leave, and you’re still tied up with Todd, I’ll probably just head home, so call me, and we can get together and talk.”
“I will.” Parker hugged me. “I know what it looked like you saw, but I can assure you that however things may look, Jackson isn’t a killer. You were right not to say anything. Don’t worry. We’ll figure this out between us.”
Chapter 4
Deputy Todd allowed everyone to leave who hadn’t been on the premises when the body was found, which just left Brenda and me to be interviewed. Parker reminded him that she wasn’t leaving before she was able to speak to him about the murder. He reluctantly agreed to the intervi
ew and indicated to Parker that he would speak to her last. He then announced that he would interview Brenda and me separately. I supposed he wanted to compare our stories for discrepancies.
When it was my turn, I told him everything I’d seen with the exception of the man running from the building. I wasn’t sure how I was going to bring that into a conversation later once Parker and I’d had a chance to talk, but I supposed if it came up, I could say I was in shock and had forgotten about the man until I’d had a chance to think about things.
As promised, Parker called me later that afternoon to inform me that she planned to stop by Jemma and Josie’s cottage when she finished for the day, so we could talk things through and come up with a plan. She didn’t go into detail and seemed intentionally vague when we spoke, which caused me concern, although I supposed she might have been calling from a setting where there were others nearby, making it impossible to share any details. If, after we spoke, we decided as a group to temporarily keep Deputy Todd in the dark, I supposed I was okay with that, but it felt wrong not to be totally honest with Adam and the peninsula gang.
It was already close to four by the time Parker called, so I decided to just head over to Jemma and Josie’s place. Parker hadn’t mentioned a specific time to meet, but she was usually off by five, and Josie was more often than not home from the bar and grill by then. When I arrived at Jemma and Josie’s cottage, I found Jemma sitting on the deck. She was on the phone, but she motioned for me to have a seat on the lounger next to her, so I settled the dogs in the shade and sat down to wait.
“I understand what you’re saying, but I think there might be more to that particular story,” Jemma said to whoever was on the other end of the line.
I watched her frown deepen as she listened. I had no idea if she was speaking to a customer or colleague or if she was chatting with a friend, but in any event, it seemed rude of me to be listening in. I started to get up, but she motioned that she’d only be a minute. I supposed that if she wasn’t concerned about the fact that I could hear her side of the conversation, I shouldn’t be either.
“Yes, I guess that might be the case,” she said before rolling her eyes. “But I also think it’s important to keep an open mind about these things. Just because you don’t agree with the choices he’s making doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have the right to make them.”
She ran a hand through her hair as she continued to listen to whoever was on the other end of the line. “I understand what you’re saying. I do. But I think we need to take our time and not make things worse.”
She tucked her legs up under her body. “Please just let things sit until I can look into the situation.” She glanced at me. “Listen, there’s someone at the door. I really have to go.”
She motioned for me to knock on the wooden table next to where I was sitting. I did so.
“There it is again,” she said. “I really need to go. I’ll talk to you later.” With that, she hung up.
“Mother?” I asked, taking a stab at the identity of the person on the other end of the line. I’d never had a mother, at least not one I could remember, and would personally be thrilled to be able to speak to mine, but Jemma’s overall impatience reminded me of my friend, Keni, when her mother called for her weekly check-in.
“No. My mother passed away a while back, and trust me, if that had been her, I wouldn’t have been in a hurry to get off the phone.”
“I’m sorry. I guess that was a pretty wild guess coming from someone who never really had a mother. You just sounded a lot like my friend, Keni, when she speaks to hers.”
“I get it,” Jemma said. “Josie and her mom have the same sort of relationship. The person who caused me to invent a knock at the door was my sister, Jackie. She’s convinced that our father has lost his mind and needs to be put in a home.”
“I’m sorry. Is your father ill?”
“Worse. Apparently, he’s dating.”
I lifted a brow. “Dating?”
She nodded. “As far as I know, my dad hasn’t dated since my mom died. It’s been almost ten years since she passed, and personally, I think that Dad dating is a wonderful idea. I’ve thought for a while that he seems lonely and really should get out more often, but when I’ve brought the idea up of him getting back out there, he’s always insisted that he’s fine and isn’t interested in dating anyone who isn’t my mother. Then three months ago, he met a woman at church. I guess the woman, who I still haven’t met, was new to town at the time of their meeting and didn’t know anyone, so when she invited Dad over for dinner, he accepted. When I last spoke to him, he assured me that he and this woman were just friends, but according to Jackie, something has changed, and she isn’t at all happy about it.”
“Changed how?” I asked.
“According to my sister, Dad seems to be getting serious about this woman, and apparently, his association with her is causing him to make other changes in his life. Changes Jackie doesn’t approve of.”
“Like what?”
“For one thing, he bought a new car. Now, I realize that it’s not odd for someone to buy a new car and my dad’s sedan was a good fifteen years old, so he really needed one, but according to my sister, he traded in his dark blue four-door for a red convertible.”
“Yikes.”
“I know it sounds like a midlife crisis, which is what Jackie thinks is going on. I’m not as certain of that fact, but apparently, Dad not only traded in his car, but he joined a gym, lost twenty pounds, and took up skydiving. To Jackie, those things equate to him losing his mind, but in my opinion, I’m happy to see him take a step out of the shell he’s been living in since Mom died.”
“It does sound like the changes he’s made are all positive changes. Do you know why Jackie is so upset?”
Jemma nodded. “I think part of Jackie’s problem is that she is used to Dad being daddish. She isn’t used to seeing him as a man who might be interested in things such as skydiving, his appearance, or dating. And I suppose I get that to a degree. But Jackie also thinks the woman Dad has been seeing is a gold digger. I will admit that she is quite a bit younger than our father, and Dad did mention that she moved to the area shortly after a nasty divorce, so I suppose it is possible she’s on the prowl for a new man to take care of her. My dad has done well financially, and this woman appears to be broke, so Jackie thinks that the woman is more interested in what Dad can do for her than she is in him as a person. And she might be right. Jackie lives in the same town as our father, and she sees him every week, while I usually only get around to visiting him once every couple of months.”
“I guess I get why your sister might be concerned that your father will end up getting hurt, but why does Jackie think that your father should be committed?”
Jemma smiled. “I don’t think she really thinks that. I think she’s just upset and overreacting, but she does think it would be a good idea to look into things.”
“She wants you to do a background check,” I realized.
Jemma nodded. “She’s certain that this woman plans to bilk him out of his life savings and that it’s up to us to take control of the situation before it’s too late. She even went so far as to say that he must have had a stroke or some other medical condition that would cause such a huge personality change.”
“And what do you think?” I asked.
She shrugged. “The last time I visited Dad, he seemed fine. Of course, he hadn’t traded in his car, joined a gym, or taken up skydiving yet. If he does have a medical condition, which has caused him to suffer a mental break, I guess that might have come after I left. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I did finally agree to do a background check on the woman with whom Dad is spending time, and I told Jackie we could take it from there. I also told her that I’d find a few days to come home and check on things personally between now and Christmas. I usually go home for Christmas, but Jackie thinks I need to come sooner.”
“I suppose that might be a good idea, and given the situ
ation, a background check might be a good idea as well.”
“Yeah,” she blew out a breath. “Unless, of course, my dad finds out what we’re up to. I’m afraid he won’t understand or be cool with such a huge breach of his trust. And then there’s the fact that in the past, I promised him I’d only use my superpowers for good and never for evil.”
“Checking out your dad’s girlfriend doesn’t sound evil to me.”
“Trust me. If Dad finds out that I’m poking around in this woman’s life, he’s going to be mad. I really hate to go behind his back, but I know Jackie isn’t going to let this go unless I look into things.”
“If you do the background check and don’t find anything, Jackie will be relieved, but if you do find something, you and Jackie can figure out how to deal with it.”
“Yeah, I guess. I just hope I don’t end up destroying the pretty great relationship I’ve always had with our father.” She looked at the cottage behind where we were sitting. “It’s getting cold. Let’s head inside. Josie wanted to stop by the store to pick up a few things when she got off work, but she should be back any minute.”
“Okay.” I stood up, called the dogs, and followed Jemma inside.
“So fill me in on this murder Parker briefly mentioned when she called,” Jemma requested after we’d settled in.
I told Jemma as much as I knew, which wasn’t a lot. I was glad that I’d had the opportunity to tell her about seeing someone who looked exactly like Jackson before the others got here. Jemma was the smartest person I’d ever met, and I was interested in hearing what her take on the whole thing might be.
“Jackson?” She seemed genuinely surprised. “I feel certain that Jackson wouldn’t kill anyone, but I can’t imagine why he’d run away from you if he was at the Christmas tree lot for some reason and happened on the body.”
“Do you think that’s what happened? Do you think he was at the Christmas tree lot for some reason and found Bradford already dead in the storage room?”