by Vikki Walton
Anne drove over to Main Street. “Have you and Stewart ever talked about if you would want to have kids after you’re married?”
“Mainly we just talk about marriage, but I know we’ll most likely want kids. He’s great with his nieces and nephews. He’d make a great dad.” She pulled into a vacant spot in front of the diner. “Come on, my stomach’s rumbling.”
After enjoying a lunch of salmon spinach salads, they made their way back home.
“Let’s get on the computer and see what Kim has on it.” They made their way inside and had settled down in front of the computer when the front doorbell rang.
“Shoot. Let me see who this is.” Anne opened the door, surprised to find Brian standing there. “Oh, hello, Brian. Please, come in.”
He pulled off his glasses and wiped the lens with a soft cloth he pulled from his pocket. “Thanks. Am I intruding?”
“No. Please come in. How can I help you?”
“I heard Kim was arrested. Is that true?” He took a seat Anne offered.
“Yes. I spoke with her today as a matter of fact.” Anne crossed her legs and continued, “She seemed to be in good spirits, but she admitted that she had been taking money from the group.”
“That’s horrible. Did she say anything else?” His knee bounced as he spoke.
Ignoring his nervousness, Anne replied, “No. Was there something you were expecting or needed to know?”
The bouncing continued. “No, no. I just, well, I was wondering, um…she was taking pictures for the yearly calendar, I believe. I figured I’d take over that project since Mercy’s busy with her other duties.”
“Oh, yeah, the gardening pictures…” Kandi stopped when she got a subtle shake of her head from Anne, not to say more. “I’m sure we can figure it out. I can even see if I can find out where her camera is.”
He rose. “That’s nice, but I think I should probably do it. Plus, I’ve already spoken to Mercy about it. So, no sense muddying the water. Well, I better get going.” He strode to the door and left with a quick nod and goodbye.
“Weird, right?” Kandi gestured toward the door. “Why would he care about the calendar?”
“Maybe it’s not the calendar. Maybe it’s the pictures he wants to see.” Anne picked up her phone and texted Spencer. In a minute, he replied.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m going to call Mercy. I want to see if Brian really spoke to her or if he made it up. Plus, she flew off when you told her about Aly being Ben’s daughter. I think we should check in with her.”
“Then it makes more sense if I call her instead of you.”
Anne moved back into the dining room where she’d moved her computer, so they could sit side-by-side to view the pictures. “Why’s that?”
“Because if you call, she’s going to know something’s up. She just thinks I’m a ditsy airhead.”
Anne shook her head. “I’m sure that’s not true.” Kandi made a face at her as she continued, “Okay, maybe partly true. Give her a call to volunteer for it.”
Kandi pulled her phone from her pocket and texted Mercy.
“I thought you were going to call her.”
Kandi sighed. “No one calls. Especially young people. We text.”
“But how are you going to find out about Brian?” She pulled some latex gloves out of her gardening kit before picking up the flash drive and inserting it into the computer. As she’d finished, a notification sounded on Kandi’s phone.
“Bingo!” Kandi showed the message from Mercy to Anne.
Yes. We could use someone to work on the calendar. Thanks for offering.
“That means Brian was lying to us about having talked to Mercy. I can’t see why he would do that. Unless he thinks that the pictures show Jennifer and James. Maybe he doesn’t want the affair becoming known.” She opened the drive, which contained various folders.
“Could be. Or it could be something else. Maybe he isn’t so squeaky clean, either. He could have thought the same thing about Ben and Aly. He was mistaken about Ben and Jennifer. Or maybe he wants proof of Jennifer with James, so he can use it for divorce proceedings.”
“Possibly. I guess the only way we’re going to find out is by looking through these folders. Where do you think we should start?” Anne angled the computer toward Kandi. “Give me your thoughts.”
There were some pictures that hadn’t been sorted, along with primary folders. One folder was titled garden calendar, another Colorado shots, and another ring. There were a few more on gardening ideas and some miscellaneous folders relating to the group’s finances and meeting notes.
“I think the best place is the calendar ones. Seems as good as any place.” She pulled a hair tie off her arm and gathered her crimson red hair up into a bun on her head. Reaching over Anne, she clicked on the folder, which opened into a series of folders labeled by month. “Oh no, this is going to take us, like, forever to go through all these.”
“Well, let’s start with the most current as that should give us the most information.” After clicking on the folder, it opened to showcase a barrage of flowers in various locales—some in garden settings and some in more wild locations. She clicked on a picture of a columbine that reminded Anne of the day she’d seen Kim taking pictures. “That’s strange.”
“What is?” Kandi leaned forward and peered at the photo.
“Look here at what she’s named it. Columbine. The date. And MEO. What do you think she means by that?”
“Meo?” Kandi shrugged. “Not a clue.”
They went through the rest of the pictures, but they were primarily shots of flowers taken throughout the year. Nothing stood out.
Anne stretched. “Well, that was a waste of time. I wonder what Kim expects us to see from this. Maybe she’s just sent us off on a wild goose chase.”
“Let’s look at the financials. Maybe there’s something there.”
They opened up the spreadsheet folder that the group used for keeping track of members, dues, and other revenue, along with expenses. Nothing stood out.
“Look!” Kandi pointed at a file in one folder. MEO.
Anne clicked on it, but it opened up to a page of gardening items. “Another dead-end.” She sighed and had sat back in her chair when she heard the back door open. After a moment of hearing the fridge open, Spencer appeared in the dining room with a large electrolyte drink.
“Hey, what’s up?” He guzzled down a fourth of the bottle before wiping his mouth with his hand. “Ah, that’s better.” He plopped down in the seat next to them.
“We’re looking through some computer stuff but not having any luck. See?” She twisted the open spreadsheet to him.
He glanced at it before taking another long swig from the bottle. “Sorry. Wish I could help. Did you look at the hidden files?”
“Hidden files?” they chimed together.
Spencer sat his drink on the table as Anne moved back to give him room. He went down to the tabs and clicked a button. “Ah. Got it. My Eyes Only. There ya go.”
Anne and Kandi stared at the screen. Pictures had been added and notes to the side. It was the same day that Anne had been in the garden. One picture showed Aly and Ben having a tense conversation. Kim had made a note on it. Affair? Something else? The next picture was from an angle that meant she had tried to take it without being seen. Part of the picture was blocked by the park bathroom, but again it was Ben. But this time he was talking to Jennifer. Finally, a picture showed Jennifer sprinting across the street.
“Wait, let’s make that picture bigger.” Anne pointed toward it. The enhanced picture showed Jennifer sprinting, but now it was clearer: she wasn’t running away but running to someone. A car parked across the street showed that James had been waiting for her. Next to it, Kim had typed in, ‘possible $ for silence?’
Kandi said, “We need to enlarge all the others. Maybe we missed something else.” They scrolled back to the original pictures, and they showed more of Aly and Ben talking,
Aly leaving when she saw Jennifer, and Ben speaking to Jennifer.
“Stop! Look back by the trees.”
Anne squinted at the stand of trees. “I don’t see anything. Where?”
“Let me enlarge that part.” Kandi took over the computer and then said, “Look here.” She pointed to a spot on the computer.
“Brian.”
“Yes, that means Brian saw everything. Or at least part of it. And we don’t know if he could hear, so that’s why he went after Ben that day. He thought Jennifer was, like, having an affair with Ben.”
“Do you think that’s why he wants these pictures? But unless he saw Kim, he wouldn’t even know she’d been photographing anything.”
Anne stood and paced the floor. “I think we’re still missing something. Plus, what does this have to do with Billie?”
She walked to the kitchen to grab them some drinks and when she returned, Kandi said, “I think you better look at this.”
“What is it?” Anne took a seat next to Kandi.
“Watch. It’s from Kim’s front porch camera. Look at the date.”
It was the day Billie died.
The pair watched as Kim went outside and did some watering of hanging plants. She moved into the yard, and they saw Ben drive by in his car while she had her back to the street. A bit later, other vehicles passed down the street—a blue Subaru, a white van, an open-top Jeep with large tires. They watched as Kim waved.
“That must have been the time she was talking to Billie.”
The camera continued as Kim mounted the steps and went inside. A while later, it showed Mercy pulling up and ringing Kim’s doorbell. A while later, Mercy left, and the camera showed the lady across the street passing by as she walked her dog.
“Wait, go back,” Anne exclaimed.
Kandi replied, “It’s that lady with the dog who lives across the street.”
Anne pointed at the screen. “No. Freeze it. There! That car. Look who’s driving it. It’s Brian.”
“Oh, my gosh. But why would he do anything to Billie?”
“Maybe it was an accident, or something caused him to snap. What should we do?”
Anne rested her chin on her hand. “Him driving by doesn’t mean anything. We’d have to get more proof other than him driving down their street. We need to go through all of this again. We may have missed things the first time around. If we take it to the police, then we’ll never have time to look at it again. It doesn’t help Kim, and right now, it doesn’t prove anything to catch Billie’s killer, either. I’m going to keep looking at this. See if anything else clicks.”
“Okay, well, I need to go make myself pretty. Stewart’s taking me out for dinner and a movie.”
Anne swatted at Kandi playfully. “You’re already pretty but go. I’ll keep looking at this. Have fun.”
After Kandi left, Anne dug out a notebook and started making notes about each person and their whereabouts that morning. She needed to speak with Kim again and tell her what she’d discovered but when she tried to connect with her was told she couldn’t speak with her as she was out for a preliminary hearing.
“Shoot. Well, that will have to wait for now.”
She decided she needed to give her brain time to rest and think over all the information. Carson was back at work, so she didn’t want to bother him. Maybe she could text him about going out for breakfast or lunch tomorrow.
A thought kept returning to her mind but wouldn’t fully form. Why had someone taken Billie’s scarf and covered her face? Hadn’t she remembered seeing something that talked about it? Frustrated, she sat back at the computer and typed in her search. She found an article about a murder and the profiler’s insights on it. As she read, she thought about Billie’s case. The pot had been a weapon of opportunity; thus, the killer hadn’t planned on killing her beforehand or had chosen it to use. Second, the covering of the face was often related to someone who knew the victim. So, that had most likely been the same with Billie. She had known her murderer. The last sentence tugged at Anne’s heart. The covering also showed regret and remorse. The killer had struggled with their actions.
Anne jolted upright. She needed to speak with Kim as soon as possible.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Anne waited as the call connected. “Hello, Kim?”
“Hi, Anne. I only have a few minutes. Did you water my plant?”
“Yes, we found the drive. Why didn’t you just tell us instead of making us figure it out?”
“I feel like people are listening to everything I say, and they may have gotten to it before you did. Did you see what I mean? Is it enough proof? Hold on.”
Kim said something to another person before returning to the call.
Anne glanced toward her computer and the hard drive. “I’m not sure about the pictures being proof of anything—”
“Not the pictures. The video of the day. Oh, no, they’re making me hang up. Please, I’m begging you. I’ll figure out a way to pay you.” The angst in her voice came through the phone. “I didn’t kill—”
The line went dead.
Anne rose from the table and paced the floor. She’d seen the video. Yes, she’d seen Brian drive by, but it proved nothing. She laid the phone down next to the computer and was seated in front of the screen, deciding on her next move, when the phone rang.
Carson’s deep, masculine voice came through the line. “Hello, you. What time should I pick you up tonight?”
Anne had totally forgotten about their date this evening. They’d be attending a concert at Red Rocks. “What time do you think we should go?”
“Depends on if you want to eat a late lunch or early dinner. We could find something in Morrison if that works for you. I’d rather give us some extra time in case of any road issues.”
“Two or three?” Anne shut down the computer. Even though she had time, she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on it. Plus, she’d need to slow it down and make notes. Maybe she’d missed something that Kim referred to during their talk.
“Let’s do two. If we get there early, it’s better. Then we can park closer to the exit, and we could do a hike with the time left. What do you think?”
“I’m not sure about a big hike after a heavy meal.” Anne’s mind drifted to what to wear for the evening.
“How about this? Picnic lunch and either eat on the trail or tailgate?” he replied.
Anne smiled at the suggestion. “Yes, that sounds wonderful. Maybe like a charcuterie type meal and some wine.”
“I like how you’re thinking. We could do the overlook or the slide trail. Great views and not too far. Gotta go. The electrical contractor just showed up. Won’t be long now. Bye.”
“Bye.” Anne stared at the phone and the words ‘won’t be long now’ echoed in her mind. After Carson’s home had been destroyed in a fire, he’d been rebuilding it. Once they were married, that would be another decision of where to live. She loved her old Victorian and wasn’t sure if Carson would enjoy living in a community instead of out on some property. Why couldn’t things just be easy?
Since she’d have to wait to look at the footage again, she decided to give Hope a call. Hope picked up quickly.
“Hi, Anne. All well?”
She went to the kitchen and rummaged in the fridge for a cold sparkling lemon water. “Yes. Great. Any news on Autumn?”
“Oh, sorry. Time has gotten away from me again. Twins!” Hope’s excitement carried through the phone. “She’s going to have her hands full for a while, to be sure. Thankfully, I think Aly is going to be a great fit for the shop. She’s got a natural knack for speaking with customers and making them feel at ease. I’m glad she’s been able to work through her past issues. And even better, Ben stopped by. They’re going out for dinner tonight.”
“That’s wonderful news all around. I love when things work out. And I’m glad Ben is acknowledging Aly as his daughter. It’s sad about the circumstances they’re facing, but hopefully, Billie will receive justice.”
“What have you come up with? Kandi told me you were looking at some pictures and video.”
“Yes. We saw Brian go by in his car that day. What reason he would have had to be on that road is the key question. I believe all the guys were meeting for something else—I think building some raised beds because that’s when I believe Brian and Ben had an altercation.”
“Even if Brian thought Ben was having an affair with Jennifer, I can’t see how he would have any motive to harm Billie. Not buying it.”
“It’s what Kim believes. And sometimes it’s someone you don’t suspect. He could have wanted to hurt Ben by hurting Billie.”
“What do you mean?” Hope replied.
“What if he went over to tell Billie that Ben was having an affair? They had words, and maybe he struck out in anger. I’ve read that anyone who covers a body does it out of remorse, and Kim said Billie’s face was covered by the headscarf.”
Anne took a sip of her drink as she waited for Hope’s reply.
“It’s plausible, to be sure. But Brian seems like a good guy. I don’t know. I’d be careful pointing fingers until you had some real proof that you could give to the police. You don’t want to start rumors or ruin someone’s reputation.”
“You’re right. Well, I better go. Carson and I are going to a concert at Red Rocks tonight, and I’m getting a list together for a picnic.”
“That sounds nice. Enjoy your night out.” Hope called out, “Just a moment. Next patient is here. Bye!”
“Bye.”
Anne switched off her phone and thought about what Hope had said. Brian seemed like a nice guy, but Kim hadn’t seemed like an embezzler either. Maybe he hadn’t meant to hurt Billie, and it had just happened. What was that saying—means, motive, opportunity. Though why would he have used a pot to kill Billie? Anne needed to look at those videos again and see if she could understand what Kim was so adamant about. She sighed. Detecting would have to wait.
After conferring with Carson, Anne picked up items from the store and Carson would be picking up the wine. She pulled a cooler from the storage on the back porch and added ice and laid out the containers inside. She also made a smaller container that they could take up on their hike with them. Dressing in skorts and a tank top, she added a heavier top and vest for the night air. Even in the summer, nights could get cool, and she’d been at Red Rocks when a heavy storm had passed over. Carson would be bringing pop-up seats, an umbrella, and a blanket, so she felt she’d be okay with her current outfit. She was putting on her hiking sandals when Carson came in the kitchen door.