by Kathi Daley
“Yeah, I guess it doesn’t. But I can’t imagine how the others are going to react to the news that Second Look is in town investigating the murder after all these years.”
“It’s certainly going to be an interesting week,” Jenna commented. “I, for one, refuse to let the investigation mar the only vacation Dennis and I have been able to take in over a year.”
“I booked the two of you our best cabin, right on the water, for Thursday through Sunday,” Tj confirmed.
“I can’t wait. It’s been so long since we’ve had any time alone. Did Hunter get the whole weekend off?”
“We both have to work Thursday, but we have Friday through Sunday off. I booked us the cabin next to yours for Thursday through Saturday night. I know it seems silly because I live in a big house that sits on the same plot of land as the cabin I reserved, but somehow living with your father, grandfather, and sisters cuts into the romance of the whole thing.”
“We’re going to have so much fun,” Jenna said with excitement. “It’ll be like the old days.”
“I hope so.” Tj tried to smile, but she was having a hard time shaking the sense of dread that felt more like a premonition. “Do you remember Rebecca Heins?”
“Yeah. She was a year behind us. She works over at Tiz the Season now.”
“Roy told me that she came into the sheriff’s office and gave some sort of a statement which has not been made public. I went by to ask her about it and she said that she’d get in touch with me at a better time but she is totally ignoring my calls and texts.”
“I suppose you can go back by Tiz the Season and talk to her,” Jenna suggested.
“I might. I was trying to let her set the pace. I mean she doesn’t have to talk to me, and if I push too hard she might decide not to, but I have to say I am curious. She said she saw something that no one knows she saw. I don’t suppose it is something that directly leads to the killer or the deputies would have used the information to make and arrest ten years ago, but I am curious.”
“Me too. Let me know if she eventually fills you in. Right now I’m going to go check on the girls,” Jenna informed Tj.
Tj looked down at her phone to check her messages after Jenna walked away. The thing about cell phones is that they made you feel like you were on twenty-four hours a day. She knew she could ignore her messages, texts, and emails, and at times she did, but when she did choose to ignore her phone for extended periods of time, she inevitably missed something important, which would make her vow to check in more often.
“Tj,” a voice said from behind her.
Tj turned around. “Jessie.” She stood up and hugged her. “I didn’t know you were in town.”
“We decided to come a few days early to make it more of a vacation. While that seemed like a good idea at the time, now I wish we hadn’t come at all.”
“Please sit down,” Tj said. “I take it you’ve spoken to Samantha Colton?”
“Yes, I’ve had a chat with the she-wolf. I have no idea how she even knew we were in town early. We hadn’t told anyone, but somehow she managed to track us down. She’s talking to Brett right now and he isn’t happy about it.”
“She spoke to me today,” Tj told Jessie. “And I know she spoke to Dalton and a few of the others. It seems she’s making a point of tracking down everyone who was at the party. I’m afraid speaking to her isn’t a pleasant experience; she’s pretty aggressive about getting to the heart of the matter. I had the impression she’d already spoken to you.”
“Me?” Jessie asked, surprised. “I’d never met or spoken to the woman prior to her showing up at the cabin we rented an hour ago.”
“You rented a cabin? I thought you were staying at the resort.”
“We were, but then we decided that everyone from our class was going to be staying at the resort and we wanted more privacy.” Jessie lowered her voice. “Between you and me, Brett and I have been going through a rough patch. We thought a little privacy was in order while we tried to work through things. I’m afraid this whole reopening of the murder investigation is going to put Brett over the top. In fact, I’m sure once he manages to get rid of that woman he’ll want to leave and skip the reunion altogether. I barely managed to talk him into coming in the first place.”
Tj was sorry to hear Brett and Jessie were having problems. They’d seemed like the perfect couple when they were all in high school.
“I have to wonder who might have brought Holly’s murder to the attention of Second Look in the first place,” Tj said. “I’ve seen the show, and usually they do an investigation based on new evidence provided by someone familiar with the case who requests that they take a second look. Don’t be mad, but I know you were Holly’s best friend. I thought you might’ve been the one who got the ball rolling which is why I speculated that you’d already spoken to Samantha.”
“Me?” Jessie looked shocked. “No way. I’ve spent the past ten years trying to forget that horrible night. Why would I want to dredge it up again?”
“I hadn’t thought about it that way. I don’t suppose you have any theories as to who might have been responsible for Holly’s death?” Tj asked.
A strange look came over Jessie’s face. “Holly wasn’t the sweet, innocent thing everyone thought she was. She had secrets. Big ones. In my opinion, there are at least a half dozen people who would have been much better off with her dead. I don’t have proof that any of the people who come to mind are responsible for her death, but I’ll admit I wasn’t entirely shocked when they found her body.”
Tj frowned. “What do you mean? What secrets?”
“I really shouldn’t say. Given the circumstances, I wouldn’t want to cast suspicion on anyone. What’s done is done and it’s best to move on.” Jessie looked toward the bar. “Is that Jenna Henderson?”
“Jenna Elston now, but yes.”
“I’m really too tired to make small talk, so I think I’ll split before she comes back. Tell her I said hi. If we don’t end up leaving when Brett finishes with his interview, we can catch up later.”
Tj watched Jessie hurry away. If Jessie hadn’t instigated the investigation and hadn’t provided Samantha with the information she had, who did? The only other person who would have known what had gone on was Nathan. Perhaps it was time to track him down. She didn’t have Nathan’s cell phone number but she had Bookman’s home number and she knew Nathan was staying with his fellow novelist. Unfortunately, Bookman didn’t answer his phone and Tj didn’t think that the questions she had for Nathan were the sort of thing one would leave in a message, so she simply hung up. Chances are he’d be at the decorating party the next day and she could talk to him then.
Chapter 7
When Tj finally got the girls home, it was time to get them ready for bed. Hunter had mentioned stopping by that evening, so she built a fire in the living room and put soft jazz on the stereo. Her grandpa was in his room watching television and her dad was out for the evening with Rosalie. It was nice to spend a few minutes with just the animals for company while she waited for Hunter to arrive. Her life had been so hectic lately that she hadn’t had any time to simply unwind and sit with her own thoughts.
The sound of the rain hitting the side of the house could be heard over the soft music. It had rained steadily for most of the day and Tj knew that if the amount of precipitation they’d already seen continued into the following day there would be flooding along the streams and rivers in the area. Although the resort was nestled on the lakeshore, the only flooding they usually had to deal with was from the smaller seasonal streams that tended to dry up over the summer.
Tj pulled an afghan over her legs, one her grandmother had crocheted right before she died. Maggie had loved to nurture her home and her family, and she’d added personal touches to every room of the house. There was still a quilt on Tj’s bed that her grandmother had hand sewn, and the hand-painted p
lanter boxes on the back deck had been her projects one summer.
Maggie had loved to cook as well as sew, and she’d maintained a garden so she could prepare her delicious meals using the freshest produce. Ben had tried to maintain the garden for a number of years, but eventually his back and his enthusiasm had given out and he’d replaced the plants with a lawn.
Tj pulled out her phone and began checking messages. She wanted to be sure Hunter hadn’t left a message saying he’d be late while she was getting the girls to bed. Nothing from Hunter, but there was a text from Jenna saying that Samantha Colton had left a message on their home phone saying she wanted to meet with both her and Dennis the following day. From Jenna’s text, she seemed pretty freaked out about the whole thing.
Tj didn’t blame her. Neither Dennis nor Jenna had even a slight motive to want Holly dead, but the woman was brutal. Tj worried she’d say something upsetting to Jenna, who could be sensitive at times. Tj supposed if she were the one investigating the murder she’d be doing exactly what Colton was doing and speak to everyone who had been at the party that night, but most of them really had no connection to Holly, nor would they have motives for wanting her dead.
Tj thought back to what Jessie had said. At least a half dozen people were better off with her dead. A bold statement coming from Holly’s best friend. Was it possible their strange relationship was based on something other than affection and friendship? Could Jessie have been one of the people she’d referred to?
The more Tj thought about everything she’d learned that day, the more certain she was that lives could very well be destroyed by Colton’s digging into Holly’s murder. Yes, there was a killer responsible for a young girl’s death, and yes, that person should be brought to justice, but what of the innocent bystanders who would have their secrets revealed and dirty laundry aired in the process of tracking down that truth?
Tj texted Jenna back instead of calling, figuring if Jenna was still awake she’d appreciate the sympathy, and if she’d gone to bed Tj wouldn’t wake her. Jenna immediately responded thanking her for the encouragement. Tj knew her best friend would most likely lay awake the entire night trying to anticipate what the reporter might ask her.
Tj yawned as the stress from the day began to leave her body and the relaxing effect of the fire and the soft music lulled her toward sleep. If Hunter didn’t show up soon, he’d find her asleep on the sofa. Chances were he’d gotten held up at the hospital and she was forcing herself to stay awake for nothing. She was about to call him to see if he was on his way when her phone rang. The fact that he was calling her indicated she’d be spending the remainder of the evening with only Echo and Cuervo as she’d predicted.
“Hey,” she answered.
“I’m still at the hospital.”
“I figured.”
“We’ve had a rash of auto accidents today with all the rain. The last one was bad. She didn’t make it.”
“Oh, no. Was it anyone I know?”
“It was Samantha Colton.”
Tj’s heart stopped. “Samantha Colton, the woman I spoke to just this afternoon?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“What happened?” Tj asked.
“She was on Old Sawmill Road, which, as you know, is very windy and has steep drop-offs. It appears she swerved to avoid something and ended up rolling down a hill and hitting a tree. There’s also the possibility that she simply misread the road. It happens on nights like this, when the weather is bad and visitors to our area don’t know the roads.”
Tj stared into the fire. It crackled and snapped merrily as jazz played in the background. Somehow the setting seemed all wrong for the conversation.
“When did the accident occur?”
“She was brought in an hour ago. I think emergency personnel showed up pretty quickly because she had one of those alert systems in her vehicle. If I had to guess, the accident occurred no more than two hours ago. Probably less.”
“You don’t think—” Tj stopped herself, thinking rapidly. She had been home for maybe ninety minutes. It had been at least three hours since she’d spoken to Jessie at Rob’s. She’d mentioned Brett was upset. The question was, how upset?
“That she dug too deep and someone intentionally ran her off the road? The thought crossed my mind. I spoke to one of the guys who brought her in and he said there were no obvious signs of there being a second vehicle involved in the accident. It was dark and raining, so it would’ve been hard to tell exactly what occurred. I imagine we’ll know more after the vehicle is recovered.”
Tj tucked her legs up under her body as she tried to make sense of everything. If the accident was intentional, the person who caused it must’ve been following Samantha. But from where? And where was she heading on that road during a storm? The more Tj thought about it, the more convinced she became that this was no accident. It didn’t make sense for her to be on that road in the first place. Other than providing access to the handful of houses out there, it was rarely used now that they’d built the new highway.
“Have you spoken to Roy?” Tj asked.
“Briefly. He was as stumped as I was as to why she’d even be out there, but he was going to see what he could dig up. I’m sure we’ll know more tomorrow.”
Tj stared into the fire. Hunter sounded tired.
“I know we planned to get together, but I really should go home. It’s late and I’m exhausted. Besides, Grandpa was in one of his moods when I left for work. I want to be sure he took his meds and ate the food I left for him rather than the crap he tends to eat when he thinks I’m too busy to notice.”
“He still fighting doctor’s orders?” Tj asked.
Hunter sighed. “He’s doing better than he was, but it seems like it’s always a struggle. I know he wants to feel better, but he seems unwilling to do what he needs to do in order to really get past this. He’s supposed to be on a very restricted diet, and I make sure he has all the healthy food he wants, but I still find him sneaking around behind my back.”
“It sounds like you’re talking about a child rather than a grandparent,” Tj pointed out.
“There are times I definitely feel like he’s the child and I’m the parent. I had to work late the other night, so I left everything he would need to have a healthy meal in the refrigerator. When I came home I found a pizza box in the trash and the food I had made for him was exactly where I’d left it.”
“I’m sorry. I know the situation frustrates you. Maybe I can talk to him.”
Hunter sighed. “Yeah, he seems to listen to you. He certainly isn’t listening to me. I’m being paged. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Okay. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Tj felt bad for Hunter and for Jake. She knew the doctor in Hunter made him want Jake to stick to his diet all the time, but she also understood Jake’s need to cheat and do things his own way every now and then. Hunter really did tend to treat Jake like a child since his stroke, but the reality was that Jake was not only an adult who was used to making his own decisions but a retired doctor capable of understanding the effects of his behavior. It would be hard for him to have someone decide that he was no longer capable of making decisions for himself after doing just that for eighty years.
But Hunter loved Jake, and he wasn’t ready to let him go. Tj knew in Hunter’s mind, a slice of pizza equated to less time with the man who meant so much to him.
Tj would do what she could. She’d worked out an agreement with Jake over his physical therapy sessions. She agreed to seriously consider making her arms-length relationship with Hunter a bit more official if he agreed to go to his therapy sessions and do as his therapist ordered. At that time, she’d thought the purpose of the agreement was to help Jake, but the reality was that Jake’s stubbornness had really helped her to admit her feelings for Hunter. On the surface, agreeing to make a commitm
ent to someone’s grandson in exchange for them agreeing to the medical treatment they needed had seemed ridiculous, but in retrospect Jake had simply provided a means for Tj to do what she was pretty sure she already wanted to do.
Tj sent a text to Jenna. There was no use her worrying all night about an interview that was never going to happen.
No need to stress over your interview tomorrow. There isn’t going to be one.
Why not?
Colton was in an accident. She’s dead.
What? When?
A few hours ago. I just got off the phone with Hunter.
Tj’s phone rang as she waited for Jenna to text back. She supposed she should have just called her friend in the first place.
“What happened?” Jenna asked.
Tj shared what she knew, which wasn’t a lot. She also gave her opinion that the accident might not have been an accident at all.
“Dennis and I were talking about Samantha Colton earlier, after we learned she wanted to speak with both of us. He told me he’d spoken to Dalton, who warned him that she was going to ruin lives and needed to be dealt with.”
“You don’t think that Dalton?”
Jenna let out a long breath. “No. I don’t know. Maybe.”
“After my own interview with the barracuda I can confirm that the woman had a way of pushing buttons but I can’t believe Dalton would actually follow through with his threat.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right. It’s just that when you told me the woman was dead my initial reaction was relief and that isn’t me at all. Add to that the fact that I don’t really have any big dark secrets and I was being interviewed as a witness and not a suspect. I can’t imagine how stressed out the actual suspects might be.”
“The woman certainly has stirred up some strong emotions in the community. I won’t be a bit surprised to find out that her accident wasn’t an accident after all.”
Chapter 8