Memories and Murder

by Lynn Cahoon

  I closed my laptop and started making a shopping list. But then I turned the page and started making a Ben list. I could stop by the funeral home to see if Doc Ames had anything from the autopsy. I mean, I could stop by to give Doc some treats because I hadn’t seen him in quite a while. And maybe I could talk to him about what was happening with Aunt Jackie and see if he’d heard any gossip about that kind of scam. As he mentioned to me often, people told their funeral director a whole lot of things they should probably be telling a therapist.

  I still had three hours to go before I got to go home. While Deek would be in at two, I worked the first hour and Aunt Jackie came down to cover Deek’s second hour. I could call Mary and convince her to talk my aunt into a girls’ trip next week. I went over to the coffee bar to grab some coffee and Aunt Jackie pushed through the door, talking on her newly returned cell.

  “Of course I’m not implying you stood me up, but I was there and you weren’t. What else would you call it?” My aunt pointed to the phone, mouthing the words, trace this.

  I grabbed my cell and called 911. It was Sunday, so only the deputy on shift would be answering the emergency line.

  “South Cove Police, how may I help you?” Toby’s voice came over the speaker and I stepped away from my aunt.

  “Toby,” I whispered, “can you track a call coming into my aunt’s cell?”

  “Jill? Why on earth do you want me to do that? Is Jackie finally calling Harrold?”

  “Listen, Greg already knows about this, and there’s some sort of program on Jackie’s cell. He gave it back to her yesterday. Can you figure out how to track it?”

  I heard voices on the other side of the line, and then Greg came on. “Toby’s running the trace now. I forgot to tell him about it. I told Tim, but, well, it’s been busy. Can she keep the guy on the line?”

  I made a rolling motion with my hand at my aunt and she shrugged. “She says she’ll try. I thought maybe this was all over.”

  “Why, because the guy didn’t show up yesterday? Yes, your aunt told me all about your little excursion into Bakerstown when I dropped off the phone. I guess she didn’t mention that when she called you.”

  “I didn’t take her to see him. I just followed her.” I could hear the ice in Greg’s voice. Fighting with my boyfriend had not been one of the things on my to-do list today, but you had to make room for impromptu items. “You don’t expect me to just stay out of this, do you?”

  “Darn it.” My aunt had set down the phone. She looked over at me with tired eyes. “He hung up.”

  “Don’t answer my last question. Aunt Jackie says the guy ended the call. Was that long enough for the trace to work?” I motioned my aunt to sit at one of the tables. Then I went to the coffee bar and poured her a cup while I waited for Greg to respond.

  “I’ll be over in a couple of minutes.” Then Greg hung up on me.

  I supposed I wasn’t totally out of the doghouse, but like I’d told him, I hadn’t gone off trying to find the guy, just my aunt. Deek walked toward the coffee bar. He stopped about halfway.

  “Whoa; the energy in here is totally chaotic. Is this a bad time? I finished my report.” His gaze moved from Jackie to me, then back to Jackie. “You’re having issues again, right?”

  “I don’t know what you mean.” My aunt threw me a look that told me she knew exactly what Deek meant and blamed me for the fact that he knew about her gentleman caller who wasn’t a gentleman at all.

  “Sorry, I had to ask him for a favor. He doesn’t know much, just that you are having issues.” I shrugged. “It’s not my fault that in order to figure out this situation, I needed help. Deek’s the one who had the friend who got us Uncle Ted’s death certificate.”

  Deek nodded and set his backpack on a table near a wall socket. “And she called me this morning and told me more.”

  We watched as he went to pour a cup of coffee and then sit down and started unpacking his computer.

  “Do you want to tell us the new information?” Or should I beat it out of you? I figured saying the second part in my head was positive human resource protocol. Besides, I wouldn’t have a chance; my aunt was surprisingly quick when she wanted something.

  Deek looked up, confused. “Oh, yeah, I didn’t finish that statement, did I?”

  “No, you didn’t.” I saw my aunt move around the counter and figured I could grab her before she reached Deek’s table. Or at least I hoped I could. “You might want to hurry up.”

  He glanced over at Aunt Jackie, and something he saw in her face must have alerted him. “Okay, then. Trina called earlier and said it wasn’t just your uncle’s file that got mislabeled. It was a bunch of them. Trina said they think a computer hacker got into their systems, made copies, and then messed with the files to throw the IT geeks off the trail. A guy from the FBI came by and talked to the big bosses on Friday.”

  “They opened an investigation on this?” Greg would know if that was true. I didn’t think county death certificates were that big a deal. But maybe I wasn’t seeing the whole picture.

  “No investigation. They just wanted to let the county guys know that their security systems were way out of date and needed to be upgraded. The bosses weren’t very happy because of the cost. At least that’s what Trina says. She’s looking for another job, just in case she gets canned in a budget-cut process.” Deek shook his head. “I’d been thinking about applying at the county for the job security, but I guess there’s no such thing nowadays.”

  “Do a good job, you’ll have job security.” Greg pushed open the door. “Are you thinking about finally firing this pain in the butt?”

  Deek’s eyes widened and he stared at me.

  “No, I’m not firing Deek. Besides, that’s not what we’re talking about. Did you know that the county records department had a security breech?” I walked around the coffee bar. “Can I get you something to drink?”

  “Sure. Coffee would be great. And yeah, I talked to the agent in charge on Friday. He thinks it’s probably a prank, but he drove down from the city to talk with us anyway.” Greg sat at the counter and held out his hand to my aunt. “Can I see your phone?”

  She nodded toward the cash register, where she’d left it. “If this doesn’t stop soon, I’m going to take the battery out and throw it away in the ocean. That way, no one can find me.”

  “And that’s the rub. No one can find you if you do that. Not me, or Mary, or Harrold.” I almost grinned at the baleful look my aunt gave me at my mention of Harrold’s name. “Look, maybe you should take a day off next week. Like Saturday? Deek and I can handle the shop. You take Mary and go have a girls’ day. Stop at the spa, visit some art galleries, maybe stay over a night and take in a show. That should relax you.”

  My aunt moved toward the back door and the stairs leading to her apartment. “That’s a surprisingly good idea coming from you. Thoughtful. But if you think you can handle the shop, I guess I’ll give Mary a call.”

  I started laughing as Greg looked surprised. My aunt was nothing if not direct. “So glad you finally see how valuable I can be.”

  “Now, Jill…” My aunt started, but Greg interrupted her.

  “I’m switching out the card on this phone. Don’t give anyone the number, okay? Have your friends reach you through the shop.” Greg put the cover back on the phone and handed it to her. “And don’t make an arrangement to meet this guy without talking to me first.”

  She reached for the phone, but Greg didn’t release it. She held up her hands. “Fine, I’ll be a good girl. You know I took care of myself for more years than you’ve been alive, Greg King.”

  She was pulling out the full-name trick. I bet if she’d known his middle name, that would have been tucked into the warning as well. My aunt didn’t like it when people tried to take care of her. The problem was, since she and I had moved to South Cove, we had a lot of friends who trie
d to do just that. Like family would. I smiled as Greg released the phone.

  “Miss Jackie, I’m just trying to keep you around for when Jill realizes the error in her ways and begs me to marry her and sire a boatload of children.”

  Deek snorted, which earned him a glare from all of us.

  “Well, I’m going to have to take better care of myself so I can live long enough to see that happen.” My aunt tapped her hand over Greg’s. “Thank you.”

  And then she left the shop and headed up to the apartment. Greg slipped the extra SIM card into his pocket. “I gave her one of the phone numbers we use for undercover work. I don’t want this guy reaching out and getting her again. You need to make sure you screen the shop phone.”

  “I’ll send shop calls to my cell during her shifts.” I glanced at Deek. “You just need to make sure she doesn’t beat you to the phone when you’re working together. Can you let Toby know too?”

  Greg nodded and stood. “I’ve got to get back to the station. I’m going to set up this number in a cell I’ll have monitored twenty-four seven. Hopefully, the guy will be stupid enough to call back and talk long enough to get the trace. All we got today was he’s in Bakerstown.”

  “Do you think he was watching her yesterday?”

  He kissed the top of my head as he passed by on his way out the door. “I’d bet money on it.”

  Deek whistled as he watched Greg leave. “Man, you have him really angry. What did you do?”

  The usual. That was the real answer. Greg was mad because I was investigating. But instead, I nodded to Deek’s computer. “You better get busy. You have a book club to run in a couple of hours.”

  Chapter 11

  Instead of spending Sunday night with Greg, I ate alone at the house. I heard him come in and Emma run down to greet him, but I fell asleep before he came upstairs. I know going to bed angry was against the couple rules, but I wasn’t going to apologize for trying to find my aunt. He hadn’t even asked for my side of the story before he got all preachy on me. So he could apologize first.

  Toby had my early morning shift, so I was off all of Monday. When I awoke, Emma was staring at me and Greg’s side of the bed was empty. So much for his apology. I went downstairs to let Emma out and get a cup of coffee. I had my laptop on the kitchen table where I’d left it, so I booted it up to check my email.

  Surprisingly, I had an email from the Senior Project. I quickly opened it and realized it was a marketing letter aimed at people caring for their elderly loved ones. Aunt Jackie would flip if she knew I was getting mail like this. I read through the list of services and realized they had just given me my opening to go talk to them. The email said I should call Denyse Lindt to set up an appointment. I glanced at the clock. They should be open by eight. Which gave Emma and me just enough time to get our run in before the beach got crowded.

  I quickly made a short list of what I needed to do for the day, including hitting the grocery store and the pet store for dog food. I’d brought home a dozen cookies for Doc Ames, so I wrote his name on the list. Then I ran upstairs to change into my running gear. The day was looking up.

  By the time we’d finished our run, it was close to eight. Emma and I went into the house through the back door, and as I hung up Emma’s leash, I saw a note on the table next to a Diamond Lille’s box. I picked up the note and read it aloud.

  “Sorry about being grumpy yesterday. I brought you a peace offering. I thought I might catch you before you left to run, but I couldn’t wait. See you tonight for dinner? I’ll grill if you pick up steaks at the market.”

  I set down the note and opened the box. Greg knew my weaknesses. Six maple bars and five blueberry cake doughnuts were inside. There was an empty spot that had probably held an apple fritter, but my boyfriend had left me all the rest. I programmed another cup of coffee and went upstairs to shower and change.

  Back in the kitchen a few minutes later, I texted Greg a thank-you note. Then I took out a plate and set one of both types of doughnuts on the plate. I booted up the laptop again and studied the book order Deek had put together yesterday at the end of his shift. The guy was a natural at running a bookstore. He could spot a trend faster than either Jackie or I, and he knew what the kids were reading.

  If I didn’t own the store, I’d peg him for the town’s book geek. I was starting to put the puzzle pieces together. I’d put a bug in Aunt Jackie’s ear about getting out of town next Saturday. I’d call Mary in a few days to confirm the date and time. Operation Harrold Wins Jackie Back was on track. Today, I’d figure out if that guy who stole my aunt’s money a few years ago had also sold her information to a new scammer. Or at least that was the plan. I might be optimistic, thinking that this Denyse from the Senior Project would be up on this type of thing, but Paula had spoken about it just last week. You’d think most of the counselors would be savvy to the problem.

  The first time I tried to call, I got an answering machine telling me the office didn’t open until eight thirty. The second time, I actually got Denyse on the line, and we set an appointment for eleven. Which meant I had to leave by ten thirty to get to Bakerstown on time. I had two hours to kill.

  Which meant laundry was back on today’s list, as well as cleaning bathrooms. I put the first load into the washing machine and headed upstairs to clean the two upstairs bathrooms first. Always do the worst job first had been my mom’s motto when it came to housecleaning and I agreed with her logic. The downstairs bath was just a half bath, so it would be quick. And I could start another load in the washer before leaving for Bakerstown and my appointments there.

  By the time I left for Bakerstown, the house looked pretty good. I still needed to vacuum, but with a big dog in the house, that chore should have been on my daily to-do list. Humming along to the song playing on the radio, I made a list of all the things I was grateful for. My house. My dog. My car, which was the first brand-new, off-the-showroom-floor vehicle I’d ever owned.

  I was grateful for my business and those who worked for me. And I was grateful for the people in my life. My aunt had been there for me when I was a kid, and now she’d stepped in to help me run my business. Although I’d only invited her for a few days, she wound up staying and loving South Cove as much as I did. I wouldn’t let this scammer taint her feelings about this special seaside town.

  I pulled up and parked in the Senior Project parking lot with fifteen minutes to spare. I sat back and looked at my notebook, writing out leading questions that might get me the information I needed without being blunt. I called it direct, but others were intimidated by my questioning style.

  A knock on my window startled me, and I looked up to see Paula standing outside my car. I grabbed my tote and stuffed the notebook inside. Then I climbed out, locking the car as I greeted her. “How are you? I’ve been thinking about you.”

  “I’m as good as could be expected. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing, but the director called me in today to get an update on all my files. I’m on administrative leave until this all shakes out.” She pulled a tissue out of her purse. “I’ve lost Ben and I can’t work. Good thing I don’t have a dog, because with my luck, he’d be in danger right now.”

  She had her sense of humor still. I put my hand on her arm. “I’m sure everything will be okay. I’ve got a meeting with someone named Denyse. Do you know her?”

  “She’s technically my boss, so she’s good. Just not as good as me.” Now the smile on Paula’s face looked real, not painted on. “But she’ll be able to help you with your problems. Is this about your aunt?”

  No secrets in a small town, but I wondered how much Paula really knew. “Actually, yes, I’m looking into things we need to get handled now. I hate to think about it, but since she’s not getting married, I’m going to be the one to handle her affairs when the time comes. I just want to be aware of what I’m getting in to.”

  “You’d be sur
prised at how many people just stick their heads in the sand and don’t deal with any of this.” Paula nodded to the door, and we made our way to the lobby. “You’re a good niece to educate yourself.”

  “Well, your presentation kind of scared me. I want to make sure there isn’t any way for someone to just come in and walk away with all my aunt’s money.” Aunt Jackie really didn’t have much anymore, but I was playing a role here.

  “There are a lot of scams out there. We just have to be aware of what could happen to keep the wolves at bay.” Paula studied me as we paused at the empty reception desk. “My talk really helped motivate you?”

  “Darn right.” The woman had been a horrible speaker, but her topic was interesting, and if I hadn’t been investigating, I might have considered checking out my aunt’s situation with these people. Or maybe not. Either way, Paula didn’t need to know.

  “Oh, I didn’t know anyone was out here.” A younger woman stepped out of an office. “Hi, Paula. Earl is waiting for you.”

  “Thanks.” Paula smiled at me. “Good luck in your researching.”

  Apparently, investigating wasn’t a bad habit in this world. I turned to the receptionist, who was watching me. “I’ve got an appointment with Denyse?”

  “I thought you were with Paula.” She glanced down at her clipboard. “I don’t see anything on today’s schedule.”

  A woman dressed in a coral dress with a matching jacket and stiletto heels came out of another office. “Sorry, that was my fault. I just made the appointment today.”

  Earl Hess stood outside his door. “Denyse? Do you have a moment? I’d like you to be here when Paula updates me on her caseload.”

  “I made an appointment this morning. I’ll be doing an intake.” She nodded toward me.

  As we walked down the hall, I took in her professionally highlighted hair, which gave a touch of blond beach babe to the look. And if the woman didn’t tan weekly, I’d eat my sun hat. Unlike Paula, who looked a little rumpled and off-kilter, this woman was well dressed and professional. The type you’d find in a law office, not in a small, community action agency. Glancing down at her left hand, I saw the rock. Yep, Denyse was a bored trophy wife who didn’t need the money but wanted to get out of the house.