Turkey, Pies and Alibis (Sweetfern Harbor Mystery Book 5)

by Wendy Meadows

  On her way back to the bed and breakfast, Brenda did a double take when she passed her father in his car for the second time. He drove past as if he didn’t recognize his own daughter. Brenda watched in her rearview mirror. Instead of turning to leave town, Tim Sheffield swerved in the opposite direction. She hesitated. Brenda started to turn around and follow him but decided not to. The police had all but required him not to stay in town, and there were only so many places he could go. It would take only a few questions to her shop owner friends later to discover where he had gone.

  Brenda parked her car and went into the bed and breakfast. She vowed to appear normal. Though she had to tell Phyllis she had broken off her December wedding plans with Mac, she was in no mood to do so yet. Allie smiled at her and showed her the latest reservations.

  “I think we will be filled through New Year’s,” she said.

  “That’s always a good thing to hear,” Brenda said, relieved for the distraction. “We can figure out some down time for you in between your classes at school. I know you’ll want to go Christmas shopping with your mother at some point.”

  Allie smiled. “That is our annual tradition around Christmas. I love shopping with her. She knows exactly what to buy for everyone on our list. My dad groans when we come home with all the packages. Every year he tells us we spend too much.” She laughed knowing it would all be the same this year.

  Brenda felt a surge of nostalgia. She and her mother used to do their Christmas shopping together in the past, shopping together until it was time to buy one another’s gift. Then everything became secretive. She missed her mother and wished she could talk things over with her more than ever. Her mother would be saddened about the way she and her father were acting. If Brenda could only figure out why her father became so cold toward her, maybe they could work things out. She knew she only widened the gulf between them when she told him to leave. She recoiled again at the memory of their awful argument that night, and especially at her own words. The way to make up for everything was to prove her father’s innocence. At least that would be a very good start.

  “I’m going to freshen up and then head to the police station,” Brenda told Allie. “I shouldn’t be longer than an hour or so.”

  “Chef Morgan has a lobster dinner prepared for tonight. I know you won’t want to miss that,” Allie teased. Everyone at Sheffield House knew how much Brenda had fallen for fresh seafood. Her chef was schooled in how to cook every kind, but lobster was Brenda’s favorite.

  She promised Allie she would make it back for dinner and went upstairs to freshen up. When she came back downstairs, she had the folder in her hand that contained the photos of the crime scene and a copy of the fingerprints. She hoped she wouldn’t run into Mac again. It was too soon after her earlier declaration about the wedding. She knew the young tech guy back in the database office and decided to slip in the back way.

  “Hi, Tom,” she said when she entered.

  He grinned at her and waved from across the room. Brenda always called him Tom, knowing he hated his childhood nickname, Tommy. Most of those in the police station had known him all his life in Sweetfern Harbor and continued to call him by his nickname. It was her way of keeping in his good graces by using his preferred name. She was glad he was alone in the back office and that she had not seen Mac on her way in.

  “What do you have for me?” he asked.

  “I have some fingerprints that I want run through the database. I need a positive identification on someone.”

  “Is this about that dead body you found on your float?”

  “Yes, but let’s keep this between us for now. How soon do you think you can get results?”

  “Hang around a little while and I’ll have the results back for you.” He pushed aside a few files that awaited results and quickly scanned her copy into the system. “Technology allows this to go nationally. If necessary, we can even go internationally in some cases.” Tom loved his work. Crystal blue eyes framed by a shock of red hair danced in her direction.

  “You are the best,” she said.

  Brenda walked around the small area while she waited. A million thoughts raced through her mind. She thought about the Bernards. For the first time since she came to own Sheffield Bed and Breakfast, she had made enemies of guests. Without a doubt, Nick Bernard held a grudge against her. She figured Rachel Bernard must have held a grudge as well. Connecting the dots had to start with why someone wanted the woman dead. The mystery only deepened when no one could find any identification at all for Rachel. Was the woman even Rachel Bernard, or an imposter? Where had she come from? She stopped pacing. This could be the key to the whole investigation.

  She glanced at Tom’s desk and saw a stray five-dollar bill next to an empty to-go coffee cup. Her missing money came to mind for the first time since her father’s arrival and then the dead body in her float took over her focus. The money had gone missing after the Bernards’ first night at the bed and breakfast. Phyllis and Allie had continued to look for it even after Brenda replaced it. It had simply vanished. The more she thought about the Bernards, the more mysterious they became. Did they have an underlying motive to check into her bed and breakfast? Perhaps they were thieves masquerading as tourists. It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibilities. She jerked her head toward Tom when he called to her.

  “I have the results for you, Brenda. Take a look.” She took the printout from him and had to read the words twice. Tom had no idea who the person was when he got the outcome. If he had, he would have had plenty of questions for Brenda.

  “Thank you, Tom. This is exactly what I wanted. I do appreciate that you put everything aside to run the fingerprints through for me. Remember, don’t tell anyone I was in here.”

  “Anyone who uses my real name can count on me,” he said. Twinkling crystal blues met her amber eyes again. “I’ll do anything you ask, Brenda.”

  She knew he wasn’t flirting with her. He was much younger than she was, but he liked to tease and they did enjoy a mutual admiration of one another. She thanked him again and slipped out the way she came in.

  Brenda drove down Main Street on her way home. She idly scanned the streets for her father’s car but didn’t see it anywhere. He was probably checked into a motel somewhere not too far away by now, abiding by the chief’s instructions to stay nearby, but still cherishing his privacy. That was his way. She tucked thoughts about his whereabouts in the back of her head for the moment. It was almost time for her lobster dinner. She doubted she would enjoy it as usual. She preferred time alone to further investigate the fingerprint results, but she knew that if she skipped lobster, it would be a red flag and gossip would shoot through the bed and breakfast like wildfire.

  Her senses quickened at the aroma from the kitchen when she came through the back door. She greeted Chef Morgan and hurried upstairs to her apartment. She had ten minutes before dinner. One look at her appearance told her she needed to change clothes and try to look more presentable to her guests. There were dark circles under her eyes and she realized that the day’s events and her conversation with Mac had truly taken a toll on her. In the meantime, she secured the folder in the back of the third drawer of her bureau. As Brenda freshened up, she was determined to focus on the evening and play the role of the hostess perfectly.

  Brenda greeted her guests and everyone sat down at the elongated table. Bowls of homemade chips were set in the middle of the table, steaming fresh from the fryer and crackling with sea salt. Two servers worked at the sidebar filling plates with lobster tails on skewers. Lemon wedges and little ramekins of melted butter were positioned in front of each guest for their seafood. Coleslaw was passed as a side dish and the servers added baskets of fresh, hot rolls and pats of butter next to the chips.

  “This all looks so delicious,” said one guest in amazement.

  Others murmured with delight and anticipation and Brenda’s attention was finally drawn to the feast laid out in front of her and she dug in with relish. She ch
atted amiably with the guests around her about the history and attractions of Sweetfern Harbor, keeping conversation light and simple. After dinner, she escorted her guests into the sitting room where Phyllis and the servers poured drinks for everyone. Brenda found she was fatigued by the small talk swirling around the room, and hoped that her guests would not notice if she excused herself and went back upstairs.

  Grateful for the quiet in her own cozy apartment, she settled in her easy chair and turned on the lamp to read over the fingerprint results again. She felt sure neither Mac nor the chief had seen them yet or they would have called to let her know.

  Brenda compared the copy of the fingerprints from the coroner again and again with the results Tom handed her. Tom’s database search had matched the prints with a woman named Meredith Waters. Whoever Rachel Bernard was, Meredith Waters was more important. Brenda wracked her brain trying to recall the name. She went to her computer and started searching. Sure enough, Meredith Waters was listed as a missing woman in New York. Brenda found an article that said she was originally from New Jersey. Brenda knew better than anyone that police stations were open 24/7, so she dialed the headquarters in New Jersey. Brenda identified herself to the officer on the line and told him her purpose for calling. She first asked them if they had any information on a Nick Bernard.

  “He may be listed as Nicholas. I’m not sure about that.”

  “Hey, aren’t you the lady who solved the murder of Ellen Teague up there in Sweetfern Harbor?”

  Brenda breathed a tiny sigh of relief. That well-known case would give her a foot in the door. She told the cop she was the same. He told her he would check if they had anything on a Nick or Nicholas Bernard if she could hang on the line. She assured him she would wait. Not a minute later, the officer came back on the line, and she could hear him tapping at his keyboard as he read her the information.

  “The man comes up as Nick Bernard. Single white male, no identifying tattoos or scars. We have him in our database because he was brought in more than once on suspicion of theft. We couldn’t prove anything so he was set free each time. Is he up your way?”

  “If we are talking about the same Nick Bernard, he is here. But we understood he is married. Do you have anything on a Rachel Bernard?”

  She heard his fingers clicking on the computer keyboard and waited.

  “This is interesting. There is no Rachel Bernard but I have a Rachel Meadows who was brought in once with this Nick Bernard. Both of them were released for lack of evidence.”

  Brenda made notes as he talked. She thanked him, but not before asking his name. “I may want to talk with you again,” she said.

  He provided his name. “Call me any time. It’s always good to help out a crime solver celebrity.”

  Brenda thanked him with a smile and hung up. She quickly made notes before moving forward.

  She next called the precinct in New York where the missing persons case had been filed for Meredith Waters. This time she didn’t get the same welcome she had from New Jersey. The cop stated wearily that he couldn’t just hand out information to strangers. She decided not to remind him she only wanted public information.

  “I have information about an open missing persons case. Is a lead detective available?” That got his interest and the phone clicked as he transferred her call. Brenda knew ten o’clock was a normal time for detectives to be in the office, so she crossed her fingers that she would get an answer. She waited until a low masculine voice answered. Brenda explained she worked with the Sweetfern Harbor Police Department and needed to talk about a case they were working on. When she told him her name, the detective knew right away who she was. He told her he would try to help her out.

  “You were the one who solved Ellen Teague’s murder. I can’t forget that one. It was in all the papers here. The theatre world still misses her,” he said with a sigh.

  Brenda thanked him warmly for the praise and after some short chitchat, she knew she had to get down to business. Her heart beat fast. She knew in her gut that this would be the turning point in the case. She needed to release her father from suspicion of murder, and this detective could help her. It was all she could do to hold fast to hope.

  Chapter Nine

  Unfolding Facts

  “Are you still there, Miss Sheffield?”

  “I’m sorry. Yes, I’m here. I have some good news for you. We matched fingerprints with someone named Meredith Waters. I know you have a missing person by that name. It looks like we have found her.”

  Brenda heard the man’s short gasp and sensed him shift forward in his chair.

  “I can’t believe it. We’ve been searching everywhere for a notorious con man and thief. We know he is connected with the missing woman Meredith Waters. She goes by several names. This con man was brought in more than once in New Jersey, but no charges could be brought against him due to lack of evidence. However, we now have the evidence we need here in New York to charge him as he should be…if we can just find him. His partner in crime is Meredith Waters.”

  Brenda held off telling him where the thieves were at the moment, or that one of them was currently in a refrigerated storage room at the county morgue. “What kind of cons did they pull? Like wire fraud? Or are they the kind of thieves who target jewelry stores or banks?”

  “Oh, no, they make a good living stealing from small businesses. Mainly mom and pop places. You know, the little motels and small boutiques and places like that in tourist towns. They seem to look for places that don’t have top-notch security in place. Since you’re calling from Sweetfern Harbor, I take it they have moved up to your scenic and peaceful village?”

  “It was peaceful until the other night.” Brenda felt sick to her stomach, thinking about her own guests casing her bed and breakfast for thievery. She told him about the parade and how she threw candy to onlookers. “When I reached into the hidden bin, I didn’t find candy. I grasped the hand of a dead body instead.”

  He blew out a loud breath. “That must have been a shock.”

  “It was. But I have a shock for you, too. One of your long sought-after cons is dead and the other one is probably frantically packing up and ready to abscond from our town. But I can tell you right where he is, and we can have him apprehended immediately.”

  The detective quickly agreed and thanked her for her quick investigative skills. He told her to make sure Nick Bernard didn’t go anywhere. “We’ll be up there before daylight.”

  Brenda ended the call and dialed Mac. She knew he would not be expecting her call, and she wondered what he would think, seeing her number on the caller ID. But she kept her mind on the business at hand. “I ran those fingerprints and Rachel Bernard was not Rachel Bernard, nor was she married to Nick Bernard. Her real identity is Meredith Waters and she and Nick were partners in crime. They are wanted in New York and New Jersey. We need to get an officer at the hotel to arrest Nick Bernard right away.” She went on to tell Mac the police from New York were on their way up.

  “Unfortunately, my man at the hotel called me just before you did to let me know that Nick is nowhere to be found. He’s not in his room, they’re not sure when he left.”

  Brenda and Mac jumped into the mode of police work.

  “I’ll send out cops to search for Nick Bernard and bring him back in.” Mac paused. He seemed to be fighting an inward battle. “Brenda, I’ll call you right back. I need to get the searchers out there right away. We don’t want him getting away.”

  Mac Rivers immediately ordered the search for Nick Bernard. He alerted the bus station, railroad depots and airports that Nick Bernard was a wanted man. Road blocks were set up. He was glad that nearby towns had sent their own police forces in to help with crowds during Sweetfern Harbor’s Thanksgiving celebrations. He knew a skeleton crew from those towns remained in town until Sunday morning. He needed everyone right away.

  Next, he met with Chief Bob Ingram to update him on the latest.

  “I wish we had the money in our departmen
t to hire Brenda Sheffield full-time,” the chief said, shaking his head in admiration. “We could use her. She sure knows how to move on things and her instinct in these matters can’t be beat.”

  Mac looked down at his feet. He knew her expertise as well as her stubbornness when it came to focusing on an impending crisis, especially in her personal life. He knew he had contributed to her distress when he insinuated her father had something to do with the murder of Meredith Waters, a.k.a. Rachel Bernard. How could he have been so thoughtless and obtuse? Would she trust him again? Above all, would she still want to marry him?

  Nick Bernard heard the sirens. He had discretely packed the few belongings allowed him from the hotel in a shopping bag and slipped out through the hotel’s service entrance. He was headed to his car and ready to make his getaway. If Meredith had only cooperated with him, they would both be in the clear. They had easily stiffed several unknowing businesses in Sweetfern Harbor and stolen from the rooms of several affluent guests at the swank downtown hotel without raising suspicion. As it turned out, Brenda Sheffield had done them a favor. Surprisingly, several guests failed to secure their valuable jewelry in a safe. These quaint towns were like shooting fish in a barrel, Nick reflected, cracking a smirk. The easiest rip-off had been the laughably flimsy cash register at the Sheffield Bed and Breakfast, although Morning Sun Coffee had been a close second.

  The owner of the coffee shop was so interested in talking with her boyfriend the mailman that she had no idea he reached around the counter and took the bank deposit bag. Meredith – as Rachel – was expert at distracting the few customers in the shop. She was a good conversationalist and her looks helped make sure all eyes were on her and not him. The swarm of tourists had distracted the coffee shop owner not a moment too soon. It was late on a weekend night, too, meaning the bank would not open to process deposits for at least twenty-four hours. Nick knew the ridiculous woman would think she had lost the bag, but would not be able to check with the bank until he and Meredith left town. Of course, that was before his plans with Meredith had changed…