“But why would she lie about that? I don’t think she’s interested in dating anyone else right now. I think…”
“I’m not calling about Suzanne,” Leo said. “I’m calling in an official capacity.”
Lydia sat up even straighter. Sunny must have noticed the movement. She opened her eyes and crawled closer to her owner, sensing there might be trouble.
“What is it?”
“I’m trying to establish a timeline. I left early from the party last night. And Detective Grey followed me. You know the reason why. Anyway, since we left, we didn’t see what time some of the other guests left. What time did Gavin and Gwen Pierce leave the restaurant?”
“It must have been about twenty minutes after you did,” said Lydia.
“You’re sure?”
“I didn’t check my watch, but I believe that’s right. After you left, I spoke to Suzanne and Jeff quickly. Then, I sat down with Daniel. Gavin and Gwen made their excuses to leave.”
“When you say that you spoke to Suzanne – did you approach her? Or did she come up to you to say she wasn’t on a date?”
“I thought you said this wasn’t about Suzanne,” Lydia replied.
“It’s not.”
“Well, she waved, and I went over to talk to her,” said Lydia. “I saw notebooks on the table. I believe that it was a work meal.”
“Did they leave together?”
“No. Suzanne stopped by the party room to congratulate Trina because I asked her to. Her client, Mr. Bridge, left by himself.”
“I didn’t mean Suzanne. I meant the Pierces.”
“Well, with this back and forth, it’s getting a little hard to follow.”
“This call was never about Suzanne,” Leo said, getting agitated. “Did Gwen and Gavin Pierce leave together?”
“Yes. They left the restaurant together.”
“Did you see the car they were driving?”
“No. I didn’t leave the restaurant. I just saw them head to the exit. But I think they had a rental car. They mentioned how it was larger than their usual car at some point during the night.”
“All right. Thank you for your time,” Leo said.
“Wait! That’s it?” Lydia protested. “You’re not going to tell me what this is about?”
“As I constantly need to remind you, you are not a real investigator. You don’t need to know the details of my cases.”
“So, you have an official case? And Gavin and Gwen are involved? Something must have happened last night if you’re trying to note their movements. Was it a murder? They’re both okay, aren’t they? Are they missing?”
“The Pierces are alive and in Ocean Point,” Leo said. “I will tell you that much so you don’t worry.”
“I think I’m still worried. If they’re not victims in a case and you’re calling me so early in the morning about them, then they must be suspects.”
“Lydia, I didn’t call you for any insight. I simply wanted some facts. Think of yourself as a witness. Not a detective,” Leo said. “I wanted to know about their departure. That’s the only reason I called.”
“And to hear about Suzanne?”
“Yes, and – no!” Leo yelled as he realized what he had admitted. “Just tell me what they said as they left and I can let you go back to sleep.”
Lydia thought he was crazy if he believed that she would be able to go back to sleep after receiving a call like this. However, she tried to be the best witness she could and related what Gwen had said about getting a headache. She left out her insecurities that the Pierces hadn’t wanted to spend more time with her.
Leo thanked her and ended the call. Lydia rubbed Sunny’s back, wondering what could have happened while she was asleep. She was about to put her phone back on the nightstand when she saw that she had received a text from Daniel. It asked whether she was awake, and she replied with a “Yes.”
A moment later, there was a knock at the door. Sunny seemed to grumble as she got out of bed and plodded to the door. She must have thought it was rude to make her bark before she had eaten her breakfast.
Lydia threw on a robe. It wasn’t so much out of modesty as it was embarrassment over what she was wearing. She had been so tired when she finally came home after staying until the bitter end of the party with her best friend, and she had made a mess of her clothing searching for what to wear earlier, so she didn’t know where her pajamas had ended up. She had ended up throwing on the first lightweight clothes that she had found to wear to bed, which ended up being part of a Halloween costume and clothes she wore for painting.
Sunny stopped being grumpy when she saw who was there. She wagged her tail as Lydia greeted Daniel.
“I didn’t want to wake you on your morning off,” he said. “But I did need to see you.”
“It’s fine. Leo already woke me up.”
“He did? Then you already know?” asked Daniel. “Then, you know why I came right over after I heard. I believe Gavin. There’s no way he could have killed anyone. He’s my friend, but I’m not letting it bias my opinion. It’s what I know of his character that makes me certain that he’s not a murderer. And I also know he’s not an idiot. If he had killed someone, why would he drive the body over to the police station? It doesn’t make any sense.”
There was a lot that wasn’t making sense to Lydia at that moment. She held up a hand to stop him and then gestured that he should come inside.
“I’m going to need a cup of coffee,” she said. “And you’re going to need to start at the beginning.”
6
Some Explanations
Lydia took a big sip of her coffee. Daniel had accepted a cup from her, but seemed too preoccupied to actually drink it. They sat down together in the living room, so Daniel could try to explain what was going on. Sunny plopped next to Daniel on the couch and rubbed her muzzle against his arm to show her canine support.
“Leo really didn’t tell you anything?”
“He told me not to get involved the case, but carefully neglected to say what it was,” Lydia explained. “But I knew it had something to do with Gavin and Gwen because he wanted to know what time they left Trina’s party. Now, you’ve said something about a dead body. What’s going on?”
“Gavin called me late last night and told me that he was going to the police station. Apparently, someone had stuffed a dead body into his trunk. He wanted to get it to the authorities right away.”
“How did someone get into his car? Didn’t he lock it?” asked Lydia.
“He told me that he wasn’t sure. It’s a rental car from the Sunrise Rentals. He said that the buttons on the key are in the opposite spots of the one he normally drives. He admitted he might have hit unlock instead of lock, but he wasn’t overly worried at the time. He had already unpacked the car. All he had inside were his sunglasses and a few travel items. They weren’t things a thief would want. And he didn’t check for additional items in the car when he got back into it. It was by chance that he walked behind the car and saw what was in his trunk before he went into his hotel.”
Lydia tried to absorb all this information. Then something stuck out to her. “Why did he call you about this?”
“It was too strange and awful a situation to keep to yourself,” said Daniel. “And he didn’t want to worry Gwen.”
“She wasn’t with him?”
Daniel shook his head. “She had a headache and was in bed. He ran out to get a few things and saw that the body was in his trunk when he parked at the hotel.”
“Do we know who the victim is?” asked Lydia.
“Gavin didn’t know at the time. He didn’t want to open the trunk all the way and get a good look. But he could tell based on the angle of the body that he needed to visit the police and not the hospital,” Daniel explained. “But when I went to the police station this morning, I found out. The man’s name was Blaine Thompkins. He worked at a storage locker facility at the edge of town. Leo asked me if I knew him, but I didn’t.”
“If Gavin just arrived in town, I don’t think he could have known the victim either,” said Lydia. “Leo doesn’t believe Gavin’s story about the body being placed in his car?”
“It doesn’t seem like he does. I think he has more information that he wants to reveal. And I do know it’s part of his job not to tell me the whole case, but it’s very frustrating right now. I know Gavin couldn’t have killed anyone. Especially someone he’d never met before!”
“If he’d never met the man, I’m sure Leo won’t consider him a suspect for long. This is just a very strange situation. I don’t think many murder victims are chauffeured up to the police station by a tourist. Leo and Detective Grey will get to the bottom of this soon and find the real killer.”
“I hope so,” Daniel said, looking unsure. “Because they’re still holding Gavin. That makes it seem like they do think he’s guilty.”
“But they can’t think that for long. As soon as they get all the facts, they’ll see that they have to let him go.”
“Don’t you think we should get involved?” asked Daniel.
Before Lydia could answer, Daniel’s phone started to ring. He excused himself to answer it, and Lydia mulled over his question. She had gotten involved in cases before, and she did want to help Gavin if he really needed it. However, she didn’t want to irritate Leo when he was already frazzled after seeing Suzanne “on a date.” Her interference might slow the natural progress that the detectives would make. If there was no connection between Gavin and the victim, then there was no case. She considered whether she could just make a few little inquiries to help Gavin out when she remembered what she was supposed to be doing with her morning off. She needed to look at rentals and houses for sale again, or she was going to wind up without a home when the new owner arrived at her current house.
“That was Gwen,” Daniel said, returning to her. “Do you mind if she comes over?”
“I guess not,” she replied; though she was starting to think that she wasn’t going to wind up with much time for house hunting that morning.
Daniel was starting to pace, so Lydia put his nervous energy to work. They whipped up some biscuits quickly so Lydia could have some breakfast and so they could offer some to Gwen. If she had been worried about her husband being accused of murder all morning, there was a good chance that she hadn’t eaten any breakfast.
While they were cooking, Lydia dipped into her stash of macadamia nut taffy that she had on hand. She needed something sweet to take the edge off of what was already shaping up to be a frantic day.
Sunny began barking to announce Gwen’s arrival. Daniel went to let her in while Lydia set the warm biscuits on the table. Gwen looked pale and upset when she walked inside. Lydia gestured that she should sit down at the table.
“We were afraid that you hadn’t eaten anything,” Lydia said. “And you need to keep your strength up.”
“Thank you,” she said, sitting down and absentmindedly taking a bite of the biscuit. “Oh, this is good. I should have expected that after I enjoyed your taffy. I suppose I was nervous about it for a moment when I saw your taste in pajamas.”
Lydia noticed too late that her robe had slipped open while she was baking, revealing her strange ensemble beneath. She tightened up the belt to hide it again. She was glad that Trina had been there the night before to help her pick out her dress. Apparently, her clothing choices did matter to the Pierces.
“I’m sorry,” Gwen said. “I don’t know what I’m saying. I’m too frazzled by what I’ve heard this morning. Gavin is in police custody. And there was a body placed in the trunk. Maybe we shouldn’t have come to Jersey!”
“It’s not like this sort of thing happens all the time,” Lydia protested. She had always been very protective of her home state. “And there are a few bad people everywhere. This isn’t New Jersey’s fault.”
“I guess you’re right,” said Gwen. “But I still don’t understand how this could have happened to us. And to the poor man too, of course. But I don’t understand why we’re involved now.”
“Don’t worry,” Lydia said, sitting down next to the woman. “As soon as the detectives discover that there is no connection between Gavin and Blaine Thompkins, he’ll be set free.”
Gwen didn’t seem relieved. She looked away, and Lydia sensed that she was hiding something.
“There is no connection between them, right?”
“We only just arrived in town,” said Gwen. “And we never met him before we came here.”
Lydia thought that there was something being left out of this statement. However, Daniel spoke up before she could question her any further.
“You don’t have to worry about Gavin. I promise you,” Daniel said, sounding both solemn and earnest. “I know he didn’t kill anyone and we’ll prove that. Lydia has solved about a dozen cases now. She knows what she’s doing. And she’ll help. We won’t let anything happen to Gavin.”
Gwen looked back and forth between the two of them, seeking affirmation. Lydia decided to give it to her.
“I’ll make sure we find out the truth, and I know that will exonerate Gavin. I’ll talk to my brother first and see if we can find out any more about the case.”
“We’ll start right away,” said Daniel.
“Well,” Lydia amended. “I want to get changed first.”
7
Station Talk
“If this is punishment for waking you up this morning, it’s not fair,” Leo said when he saw Lydia and Daniel approaching his desk at the station.
Lydia held up a box of her macadamia nut taffy innocently. “You think that my salt water taffy is punishment?”
“No. But sometimes the pain in my neck that accompanies eating them is a problem. Whenever you come in here, you’re trying to get information on a case.”
“That’s a little unfair,” said Lydia. “Sometimes I do stop by to check on you or to get your opinion on a new candy. And I stop by for advice, like when it comes to house hunting.”
“But you’re not here to talk about houses, are you?” asked Leo. “Though if I were you, I’d get on that. Otherwise, you’ll have to find someone willing to take in you and a dog that snores.”
“I am going to get serious about that. Right after we make sure that Gavin Pierce is going to be released.”
“I knew you were here about a case,” said Leo, glaring at them.
“Well, of course, this time we are,” Lydia said, scoffing as she handed him the candy. “This time, you’ve arrested Daniel’s best friend.”
“Gavin is a good man,” Daniel said. “He saves lives with his work and protects our country. He’s not a killer.”
Leo threw the box of candy on his desk in exasperation. “Firstly, Gavin Pierce has not been arrested. He is being held on suspicion of murder. And we didn’t come to this decision willy-nilly. He brought us the body.”
“But why would he do that if he killed him?” Daniel challenged.
“Willy-nilly?” Lydia asked. She wasn’t sure she had ever heard her brother use that phrase before.
“Perhaps getting rid of the body was more difficult than he originally thought,” Leo suggested. “And the fact that the body was in his car isn’t the only evidence we have, but I am not going to share that information with civilians. Especially with my little sister who keeps putting herself in harm’s way, and a man who might have invited a murderer to come to stay at Ocean Point.”
“Gavin is not a murderer,” Daniel repeated.
“I’m not going to comment any further on an ongoing investigation,” Leo said. “And neither is Detective Grey.”
Detective Grey, who had not been a part of this conversation and who was quietly enjoying a sandwich at his desk (most likely prepared by Brie) looked at them surprised. However, he soon recovered and nodded in agreement with his partner.
Daniel looked like he was ready to storm away, but Lydia had another idea.
“Fine. We won’t bother the police for any informa
tion on their case,” she said. “But we do want to make sure our friend is okay. Is Gavin allowed visitors?”
Leo didn’t look like he liked the idea very much, but he said that Gavin was allowed to see people for short periods of time. Lydia thanked him and headed toward the prisoner area. Leo stayed at his desk and took his frustration out on a piece of taffy.
After Lydia and Daniel were checked in by a uniformed officer, they were allowed to speak to Gavin in the holding cell.
“I’m so glad to see you,” Gavin said. “This is all some horrible mistake.”
Macadamia and Mayhem Page 3