“No, you’re not getting me to lose my temper again.”
Angela crouched beside the body and felt its wrist for a pulse. Satisfied with the results, Angela stood up and made her way out the back door, wiping off the doorknob as she left.
Chapter 17
Early Monday morning, Adam called Sam Peterson to schedule an appointment for Sophie and him.
“This isn’t about Angela again, because I told you…” Sam began.
“No, this has nothing to do with Angela, I promise. It has to do with a cold case.”
“Cold case? What cold case?”
“Anthony Marino, he disappeared in 1960. They found his body up at Sutter’s Lake, back when my parents were in high school.”
“The hitman?”
“You’ve heard of him?”
“Sure, my grandfather was the chief back then. But what does your friend have to do with Marino?”
“She’s his granddaughter.”
“Really?”
“Yes. So, can you see us sometime today?”
“Hold on, let me check… Can you stop by around two?”
“Sure. We’ll be there. Thanks, Sam.”
Adam and Sophie didn’t leave Clement Falls until after lunch. Kim had left early that morning, heading to the offices at Coulson Enterprises, while Nick stayed at Clement Falls. On their way off the mountain, Adam took Sophie back to the diner for lunch.
“So, why are you doing this?” Sophie asked Adam. She sat in the passenger seat of his car while they drove down the highway, heading back to Coulson.
“Doing what?”
“Spending your free time helping a stranger.”
Adam smiled at her question, his eyes still on the highway and his hands firmly on the steering wheel. “You don’t feel like a stranger.”
“I’m serious, Adam. If you wanted to get away for a while—especially after Angela’s release—I would think you’d go somewhere a little farther away.”
“You were in Clement Falls.”
“But we just met.”
“Maybe I’m a stalker.” Adam chuckled.
“You don’t feel like a stalker. I’ve met your family, and they’ve all been super nice. You’ve been nothing but helpful and friendly. And you haven’t tried anything inappropriate.”
“Inappropriate?” Adam glanced over at Sophie for a moment and then looked back down the highway. “Such as?”
“Oh, you know… You haven’t hit on me or anything.”
“Hmm, I haven’t?”
“You’ve been a perfect gentlemen, and I appreciate that.”
“Is this a subtle way of telling me that while you’ve agreed to stay at my house tonight, I’m not to get any crazy notions about taking our relationship to the next level?”
“Well,” Sophie found herself blushing. “I hadn’t really considered that. I mean, when I accepted your offer to stay at your house tonight, I just assumed you would continue… you know… acting like a gentlemen. So, no, I was not giving you some subtle message. I hadn’t even considered otherwise… Should I have?”
“Not if it would make you uncomfortable.”
“I like you Adam. But we just met. I suppose it was naïve of me to accept your invitation and not consider you thought… Well, you know.”
“Don’t worry, Sophie. I promise to remain a gentleman. But I will be candid with you; I am interested.”
“I appreciate you being candid. I guess it’s only fair that I do the same.”
“The same?”
“I’m attracted to you. But I’ll be going back to Portland, and I’m a little too old for summer romances.”
“Summer romances?”
“When a girl is in high school, she goes away for the summer, meets some cute guy and falls madly in love. They kiss and hold hands. Then at the end of the summer, they go their separate ways. When you’re our age, romances tend to be… umm… more physical. And frankly, I’ve never been comfortable with casual sex.”
“So, you never had a passionate summer fling when you were in high school?”
“Goodness, no. My father would have killed me!” Sophie laughed.
“So, you’re pretty close to your father?”
“Yes. Although, since he got remarried, I don’t see him as much as I used to, outside of the restaurant. And with his new wife involved in the business… well… hard to explain…”
“Do you feel pushed out?”
“Pushed out? Not really… but… yeah… maybe a little. But it’s okay. I think she does truly adore my father. And he seems happier than I’ve seen him… since mom died.”
“But it is hard, isn’t it? Seeing our surviving parent start a new relationship with someone else?”
“Yes. You understand, don’t you?”
“Oh, yeah. I absolutely hated Garret when my mother started dating him. I was almost successful in breaking them up.”
“Really?”
“I was pretty immature back then, still in high school, dealing with the loss of my father and I felt… well, betrayed. If Mom could love someone else, it must mean she didn’t really love Dad, and our entire life up to that point was a lie.”
“So, how did you come to terms with him? I’m assuming you did, considering how you two seemed to get along fine the other day.”
“It wasn’t easy, and we had our challenges. Plus, there were some other things going on back them. But we did manage to get through it, and of course, Sarah helped.”
“Your sister?”
“Yes, she was a total surprise. When Mom and Garret married, they decided not to have any kids, and Garret got a vasectomy before the wedding.”
“Wow, that was pretty drastic, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, I don’t know, considering their ages. He’s ten years older than Mom, and she already had me. I was just starting college when they married.”
“So, what happened? Did they change their minds and have it reversed?”
“No. He never had the follow up tests to see if all the little swimmers were pulled from the pool. They went off on their honeymoon instead.”
“Oh my. It really was a surprise!”
“Yep. A biggie. Garret had just retired from Coulson Enterprises, and Mom turned over management of the restaurant to Steve.”
“Steve?”
“He’s my manager. Like I said, I had just started college back then. Mom and Garret planned to travel, but their trip was cut short when they discovered she was pregnant.”
“I imagine it was difficult for her.”
“Surprisingly, they both adapted quickly. Aunt Kate and Russell were married by then, and Aunt Kate was also expecting. Mom and Garret returned to Coulson to be close to family. I don’t think either one has any regrets. Garret dotes on Sarah, and Mom now has a daughter she’s very close to, and as for me, I’m glad I have a sister.”
“So, they never got to travel?”
“Oh, they traveled, but not as extensively as they initially imagined. They took Sarah along, and sometimes I’d join them during holidays or summer break. It’s an experience I wouldn’t have had with Mom and Dad.”
“Why do you say that?”
“I loved my father. He was a great dad. But his first love was the restaurant, and he was a bit of a workaholic. I really don’t remember many family vacations. It was my Uncle Jimmy who’d take me on fishing trips when I was growing up, not Dad.”
“That’s your dad’s brother, right? The one who was there when they found my grandfather’s body?”
“Yes. When Uncle Jimmy was in high school, he and my mother were close friends.”
“Are you pretty close to your sister?”
“Sarah? Yeah, considering our age difference, I think we are.”
“I wish I was closer to my sisters.”
“You aren’t?”
“Not really. Not sure if it’s the age difference or because they’re half sisters…”
“Just like Sarah and me.”
&
nbsp; “They also live so far away.”
“You mentioned they’re your mother’s children?”
“Yes. Mom’s first husband passed away when her kids were in elementary school. She met my dad about a year after her husband died. I was born about a year after they were married. Not sure if my parents wanted to try for any more kids, or if mother couldn’t have any more.”
“Were your sisters close to your dad?”
“Not especially. I don’t remember any major confrontations, but they never called him Dad. Mom and her husband were from Ohio; that’s where she was living when they met. She moved to Portland with my sisters to be with him. He really couldn’t leave his restaurant. But they left a lot of family behind—her first husband’s—back in Ohio. My sisters always kept in contact with them and would go back to spend the summers there.”
“And you never went?”
“No, but you have to remember, I was so much younger. I never really got to know their father’s family. I’ll admit it did make me feel a bit like an outsider. They decided to go to college in Ohio, and they both married men from that area; that’s where they settled. We’re friends on Facebook, but I haven’t seen them in person since my mother died.”
“Are they close?”
“Very.”
“Since your sisters don’t live in Portland and your dad has been remarried, I imagine it’s your friends that keep you tied to the area, since you’ve lived there all your life.”
“I think I cut that cord when I went off to culinary school. I don’t really see many of my old high school friends. They’ve either moved away or are married and raising kids.”
“You didn’t go in Portland?”
“No. I went to school in San Diego.”
“Nice. I love San Diego.”
“I enjoyed the school and living at the beach. When I graduated, I moved back to Portland. My grandmother wasn’t doing well, so I moved in with her instead of finding my own apartment.”
“You haven’t been out of culinary school that long, have you?”
“No. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do out of high school. I took some classes at the community college. It was my grandmother who encouraged me to enroll in culinary school.”
“You liked it?”
“Yes, I loved it. But it didn’t work out quite like she and my father imagined. I think they thought it would cement my future with the family restaurant, but it really just made me restless and want to try something new.”
Chapter 18
“Thanks for coming with me,” Molly Morgan told her friend, Sally, as the two women drove across town in Molly’s Honda Accord.
“No problem. But I’m sure your mother is fine. My mother’s constantly hanging her phone up wrong, and then I get the busy signal for hours.”
“But that’s the thing. I tried calling her all last night and this morning. No busy signal.”
“Maybe she went somewhere.”
“Mom doesn’t drive at night.”
“Okay, I’m sure we’ll find a reasonable explanation when we get there.”
“I bought her a Life Alert last Christmas, but she refuses to wear it. She can be so stubborn.” Molly made a left turn onto her mother’s street.
“Well, she’s home,” Molly said when she spotted her mother’s car along the side of the house. She pulled into the driveway and parked. The two women walked to the front door, and Molly tried ringing the bell before using her key.
“This doesn’t feel right,” Molly said under her breath as she hurriedly unlocked her mother’s door.
“Mom!” Molly called out when she entered the house. It didn’t take her long to find her mother sprawled on the floor at the bottom of the staircase.
“Oh my god, Mother!” Molly screeched, rushing to her mother’s side. Sally didn’t have to be told; she immediately called 911 on her cell phone.
“We didn’t touch anything,” Molly told the two officers who answered the call. She led them to her mother’s body as they identified themselves as Officers Barnes and Smith.
“The only thing we touched was the front doorknob.”
“It looks like she’s been here for some time.” Officer Barnes knelt by the body checking for vital signs. “She must have tripped or lost her balance when using the stairs.”
“This was no accident! Someone killed my mother!”
“I understand you’re upset, Mrs. Morgan, but your mother’s necklace—is this diamond real?” He fingered the large stone hanging from a gold chain around the dead woman’s neck.
“Yes. My father gave that to her.”
“Well, had there been a break in, I can’t believe they would leave this behind.”
“My mother would never go up those stairs. Never! You have to do something. Dust for prints! Dust the doorknobs!” she shouted excitedly.
“Ma’am, didn’t you say you already touched the front door?”
“Well, I didn’t touch the back door! Check that!” she cried hysterically.
Officer Barns stood and glanced at his partner.
“I tell you what, Mrs. Morgan, how about you come with me in the living room while we wait for the coroner to arrive, and Officer Smith here will go dust that doorknob while I get some information from you.” Gently he led them into the living room while he exchanged knowing glances with his partner.
The two women sat side by side on the couch, holding hands, while Molly dabbed her tears away with her free hand.
“Now, when did you last hear from your mother?” Officer Barnes asked.
“I saw her at church yesterday morning. She said she was going to stop at the grocery store on the way home.”
“Did you hear from her after that?”
“No. I didn’t think anything of it. But I called her last night, and I couldn’t get an answer. I figured she probably went to bed early. She wears a hearing aid and can’t hear the phone very well at night without it.”
“Why did you happen to come over here today? Was she expecting you?”
“No, but when she didn’t answer her phone, I got worried, so I decided to come over here and check on her.”
“Hey, Hal, you think you can come into the kitchen for a moment?” Officer Smith called from the hallway.
“Ladies, if you will excuse me for a moment, I’ll be right back.”
“I think we got a problem,” Smith told his partner when the two officers entered the kitchen.
“What do you mean?”
“There aren’t any prints on the back doorknob. It’s been wiped clean.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep. It’s clean, inside and out. Her car’s parked outside the door, and by the looks of those groceries, no way she carried them around the house and entered from the front door. That knob should at least have her fingerprints on it. And look here. She was obviously in the middle of putting her groceries away. She’s taken out all the items that go in the refrigerator and freezer and lined them on the counter—milk, eggs, ice cream, and frozen blueberries. But they never made it into the refrigerator. Something interrupted her.”
“Maybe she just decided to run upstairs for a moment. If someone broke in, why didn’t they take her necklace?”
“Why would she go upstairs and leave her ice cream and frozen fruit sitting on the counter? I don’t think so. And what about the clean doorknob?”
“Crap. Maybe she had some obsessive order and liked to wipe her knobs?”
“I don’t think so and neither do you.”
Chapter 19
Shafts of sunlight cut through the patchwork quilt of blue and white in the afternoon sky over Coulson, pushing aside any potential storm clouds. The temperatures were a good fifteen degrees higher than what it had been up at Clement Falls.
Adam drove directly to the police station, arriving just a few minutes before their scheduled meeting with Peterson.
“You timed that well,” Sophie said as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
�
��It would’ve been nice if he’d been able to see us a little sooner, but we should have plenty of time to make it over to the newspaper office before they close.”
Together, Adam and Sophie walked to the front entrance of the Coulson Police Station. Minutes later, they were being led to Peterson’s private office.
“Sam, I’d like you to meet Sophie Marino. Sophie, this is Sam Peterson, the police chief,” Adam said. The three were alone in the office with the door closed. After exchanging handshakes and pleasantries, Sam sat in a seat behind his desk while Sophie and Adam took the two chairs facing him.
“Adam tells me Anthony Marino was your grandfather.”
“Yes, he was my fathers’ father. But Dad never knew him. From what I’ve learned, my grandmother ran away from her husband when Dad was just a baby.”
“So, why the interest now?”
“Well, for one thing, I just found out about him. My grandmother died this past summer. I came across some old news clippings in her things. I’d like to see what I can find out about his death and maybe learn a little more about the kind of man he was.”
“Well, not sure how much I can help you. But my grandfather was the police chief back then.”
“Adam mentioned that. So, your family has been in this area for a long time like Adam’s?”
“I didn’t grow up in Coulson, like he did,” Sam explained. “When I was a kid, I used to spend the summers here with my grandparents. I always liked the area, so… well… here I am.”
“I suppose your grandfather has passed away?”
“Unfortunately, yes. But I think I might have something that will be of interest to you.” Sam opened his desk drawer and pulled out an old appointment calendar.
“My grandfather used to make notes on current cases and such on his daily calendar. He kept them all. After he passed away, my grandmother gave them to me. Of course, this was years after he retired. There are a few notes in here about your grandfather.”
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