Murder Befalls Us

by Patti Benning

  “Odd.” Jason rolled his shoulders and drained the last of his coffee. “Well, we’re going to take off. I want to drive Lydia down the coast and show her some more of Alaska’s natural beauty. We’ll make a northerner of her yet.”

  He waved a quick goodbye to the two of them, then he and Lydia stood up, stuffing her notebook back in her purse, having taken it out to scratch a few items off of another list, and grabbing her coffee. Angie watched them go, her mind stuck on the conversation about Oliver. I may have been wrong about no one having a reason to want Percy dead, she thought. If he found out that Percy offered Jason the job that he wanted, it may have been enough to send him over the edge.

  11

  She didn’t voice her concerns to Maggie. It was hard to forget how upset her friend had been the night of the party, and she didn’t want to bring up bad memories if she could help it. The two of them sat in the coffee house for a while longer, sipping their drinks and talking about in consequential things. After Angie’s cup was empty and her head was buzzing with caffeine, she decided that they could probably find a better way to pass the time than just sitting there.

  “Any news about your car?” she asked.

  “No.” Maggie looked sadly at her phone. “They were pretty busy. It will probably be a while yet.”

  “Is there anything you had to do today? I don’t mind driving you.”

  “Well, I was going to stop at the police station to grab my laptop, which I left there. I want to work on my resume this evening. I’m grateful to my dad for getting me that job, but I don’t want to work as a glorified secretary for the rest of my life. I didn’t go to college for nothing.”

  “We can swing by there,” she said. “Anything else? Is Josh at a sitter?”

  Maggie chuckled as she stood up to throw away her cup. “He’s at school, Ange. You know, that place where kids spend a third of their life?”

  “Right. I really need to get better at remembering kid stuff if I’m going to get involved with Malcolm.” Angie sighed and followed her friend out of the restaurant. “So, the police station. Anywhere else?”

  “We could stop at the library, I guess. I’ve been wanting to pick up a few more books. One nice thing about being divorced is I can stay up as late as I want reading without worrying about my light disturbing anyone. That’s about the only nice thing, really. I should have done what you did, and focused on my career instead of getting married right out of college. Not that I regret having Josh — he’s my entire reason for living.”

  “You’re still young, you’ve got plenty of time to find work that you love. What are you thinking of doing?”

  They got into the car and Angie started the engine. Maggie waited until they were both buckled in to respond.

  “Well, my degree is in psychology. I think I might qualify for a position as a school counselor. I don’t know if the local school has any open positions, though. I suppose we could move if I find the right job elsewhere, but Josh has only recently settled in to the school here and I don’t want to make him start all over elsewhere. If I have to, I’ll just keep working at the police station. At least it’s secure and reliable.”

  “I’m sure your dad likes having you there,” Angie said. She guided the car down the street, careful to watch the speed limit. It would be just a bit too ironic if they got pulled over on their way to the police station.

  “He’s another reason I don’t want to move again. He’d be all alone here if it wasn’t for me and Josh, and I know he loves having his grandson around.”

  Angie didn’t doubt that for an instant. She wondered how her parents would feel about having grandchildren. She didn’t see wedding bells on her horizon anytime soon, but for all she knew, Jason and Lydia were planning on having kids as soon as they got married. She could be an aunt by this time next year. The thought made her smile.

  The police station’s parking lot was empty except for two squad cars and a silver sedan. She parked close to the door and shut the engine off, unbuckling herself to go in with her friend. She wished she could ask Maggie how the investigation into Percy’s death was going, but she doubted her friend would know anything even if she did want to talk about it. Her father wasn’t the sort of person who would share information about an ongoing investigation, not even with his daughter.

  There was an older woman inside, behind the front desk. She smiled brightly when she saw Maggie, and Angie stepped forward when her friend introduced her.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Brown,” she said, shaking the older woman’s hand.

  “It’s nice to meet you too, dear. Would either of you like anything? Officer Jace’s wife brought in cookies this morning, and I think we still have a few left over.”

  “Thanks, but I’m all right,” Maggie said. “I’m just here to grab my computer.”

  “Your father brought it into the back when he saw you left it here,” Mrs. Brown said. “He didn’t want to risk it getting stolen, though I don’t know who would be silly enough to try to steal something from here.”

  “I’ll go get it from him. Are you okay to wait out here, Angie?”

  “Yep. Go ahead, I’m not in a hurry.”

  Angie turned to the row of chairs against the far wall, but stopped mid-stride when she saw the woman who was already sitting in one of them. It took her a moment to realize why she looked so familiar.

  “Esme?” she said. The other woman looked up. Angie had been right; it was Percy’s wife.

  “Do I know you?” she asked.

  “I’m Angie,” Angie said, walking over to sit next to her. “The party was at my parents’ house.”

  Esme did not need clarification about which party she was speaking of. “I remember you now. What are you doing here?”

  “My friend works here, I’m just waiting for her to pick up something she left.” She bit her lip to keep from asking the same question in return. Obviously, Esme was here about her husband’s death, but Angie was itching to know the details. It turned out that she didn’t have to ask.

  “I’m waiting to talk to the detective in charge of my husband’s case,” she said. “I need to know if he’s made any progress.”

  Angie didn’t know what to say to that that wouldn’t sound like false comfort or a press for more information. “I hope he has,” she said at last. “I’m friends with his daughter so I’ve known him for a long time. He’ll do his best to figure out what happened.”

  “Thank you,” the other woman said. “These past few days feel like a nightmare I can’t get myself to wake up from. I’m staying at a hotel because I don’t know Percy’s parents that well, and even though we’ve been married for five years, I’d feel like I was intruding on their grief. I have no one to talk to, and I just feel so guilty because we had an argument the night he left to come visit here. I almost didn’t agree to fly up when he asked me to, but I’m so glad I did because I got to have a last few hours with him that I wouldn’t have otherwise.”

  “I’m sorry,” Angie said. “I… don’t really know what to say because I know that nothing I can say will make you feel better. But what happened to your husband is wrong and I wish I could help you in some way.”

  “What happened to him?” The other woman focused on her more intently. “That doesn’t sound like you think it was an accident.”

  Angie winced internally. She hadn’t meant for it to come out like that. No matter how curious she was about what had happened, the last thing she wanted was to talk to the man’s grieving wife about it.

  “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”

  “Do you know something about what happened to him?” the other woman asked, leaning forward. “Do you know who did it?”

  “I have no idea,” she said. A moment later, Oliver’s face flashed across her mind, but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to set Esme off in the wrong direction, and she was pretty sure falsely accusing someone of murder was a crime. Oliver’s behavior might be suspicious, b
ut that didn’t mean he was guilty. “I really don’t know anything, I just don’t understand how he could have fallen off the balcony on his own. The railing is pretty high, that’s all.”

  “I heard him arguing with someone out there,” Esme said, lowering her voice. “I told the detective that. I went to go look for him to let him know the food was ready, and I heard him arguing with someone and decided to wait for a while. His business is his business, and with how rocky our relationship has been lately, I didn’t think he’d appreciate me intervening.”

  “Do you know who he was arguing with?”

  The other woman shook her head. “His voice was the only one raised. I just know whoever it was is the one who killed him. I didn’t see him again after that. I probably should have been concerned, but I didn’t even realize how long it had been.”

  “I’m sure Detective O’Brien will figure it out,” Angie said. The door that led to the back opened and she saw Maggie come through. She stood up, relieved to have an excuse to go. She didn’t want to say the wrong thing to Esme, and didn’t know how to handle this sort of discussion with someone who had been so close to the deceased. “There’s my friend, I’ve got to get going. Good luck. Just hang in there.”

  She almost gave the other woman a smile, but decided that would be odd given the circumstances, and settled for an awkward half wave as she hurried over to Maggie. She looked over her shoulder as they left the building and saw Esme sitting with her head in her hands. Her heart twisted. I could have handled that better, she thought. She knew she should be better at talking to people who had lost a loved one — she had lost someone herself, after all — but somehow no matter how sincere she was, her words ended up sounding fake. The best she could do was hope that Esme would get her closure, and would at some point find peace.

  12

  When Angie got home, her father’s truck was still gone which meant that Jason and Lydia were still out. She wanted to talk to her brother, but it would have to wait. After saying a quick hello to her parents, she grabbed a tennis ball from the closet and took Petunia outside with her. The old dog might not have as much energy as she did when she was younger, but she still needed exercise, and the fresh — if cold — air would do Angie good as well.

  She spent a while tossing the ball for the husky, who was enthusiastic about chasing it, but not so enthusiastic about bringing it back. After she had had enough of chasing an amused dog through the snow to try to grab the slobbery ball, she decided to change gears and go on a walk. Her parents property was expansive, with groomed trails for the sleds that made it tough to get lost. It really is beautiful out here, she thought as she watched Petunia run through the snow ahead of her. She could understand why her parents had never wanted to leave.

  On her way back from the walk, she stopped by the dog yard and slipped through the gate to check on Oracle, who seemed happy to be back out in the snow with his teammates. The other dogs yipped and howled for her attention, and she found herself going around to each to greet them and give them belly rubs. Even though nothing had changed, something about being around the dogs made her feel better. Talking to Esme had put her in a melancholy mood, but it was hard to stay sad around such joyful animals.

  By the time she made it back to the house, her brother and Lydia were home. She brushed the snow off of Petunia and went inside, immediately finding herself surrounded by warmth and the promising smell of food. She followed the voices into the kitchen, where she found her family sitting around the table, to-go boxes from the diner spread out in front of them.

  “Hey, Ange,” her brother said. “Grab a seat. None of us felt like cooking, so we decided to pick something up for dinner. We got you a BLT and fries.”

  “Sounds great,” she said, sitting down next to Lydia and grabbing her food.

  “It’s so nice to have you both here,” her mother said. “You need to visit more often, Jason.”

  “Yeah.” Her brother wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned back in his chair. “About that. You know the job that Percy offered me? Well, assuming nothing changes at the research center once they get reorganized, I might consider applying. If I can convince Lydia to move up here, anyway. We were talking about moving after our wedding — neither of us want to raise our kids in Miami — and this job is something I’ve always wanted to do. It pays well, too.”

  “Jason, that would be wonderful,” their mother said.

  “We’d live in Anchorage, so we wouldn’t be super close, but I could visit more often and help Dad out with some of the projects he mentioned he wanted to do. And that way you two could get to know your grandkids, and Angie would be able to be an aunt.” He glanced at his wife. “It’s not certain yet, of course. I don’t want to get your hopes up. There are other things to consider, even if the job is still available.”

  Lydia’s smile looked like it was frozen on her face. “I’m not sure I’d be happy up here, dear. Your family is lovely, but I like my beaches sunny, not icy. There are perfectly good jobs in Florida for you to take.”

  “I know.” He patted her hand. “We can talk about it later.”

  The conversation was stilted after that. Lydia didn’t have much to say to anyone, and Angie’s mother kept glancing hopefully at Jason. Her father finished his burger, then got up to get ice cream out of the fridge. Angie rose when he did and started clearing the table. Just as her father started serving the ice cream, someone’s phone started ringing in the other room.

  “That’s mine,” Lydia said, jumping up. “I think I left it in my coat pocket.”

  She hurried out of the room. A moment later, she let out a shriek that had all of them jumping out of their seats and hurrying toward the front door.

  “What happened?” Jason asked his fiancée. She was staring at a piece of paper, her eyes wide.

  “L-look,” she stammered, holding it out to him. He took it and read it. Angie saw his face go white.

  “What is it?” she asked. He handed it over to her silently.

  LEAVE OR YOU’RE NEXT was scribbled on it in messy writing. Angie gulped and handed it over to her parents, glancing between her brother and his fiancée in concern.

  “You just found that in your pocket?”

  Lydia nodded, still looking shaken. “I felt it in there earlier today, but I thought it was just a receipt. I felt it again when I went to grab my phone and took it out, meaning to throw it away. Then I saw what was written on it…” She trailed off. Jason stepped closer to her and pulled her into his arms.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “We’ll figure out who left it there.”

  “Do you think this has something to do with what happened to Percy?” their mother asked.

  “I’m sure it does,” their father said gruffly. “Did you see something someone wouldn’t want you to see?”

  Lydia shook her head tearfully. “I don’t know why anyone would want me gone. Maybe… maybe they meant the note to apply to Jason more than me. If I leave, he leaves.”

  “I don’t know why anyone would want me gone, either,” Jason said, looking puzzled.

  “Oliver,” Angie said, her eyes widening. When they looked at her questioningly, she clarified. “The way he described his friendship with Percy was different from the way Jason said Percy described it. We all know he really wanted that job. Maybe he thinks if he chases Jason out of town, the job will be his — even though that doesn’t really make sense now that Percy is gone. You guys saw him at the diner earlier today, didn’t you? He could have slipped the note into Lydia’s pocket then.”

  “If that’s true, then he doesn’t know what he’s dealing with,” Jason said, tightening his arms around his fiancée. “I’m not letting anyone scare us away.”

  13

  True to his word, Jason refused to cut his trip short, even though Lydia begged him to find tickets for an earlier flight home. Personally, Angie thought that he should at least send Lydia back to Florida early, even if he didn’t want to go. If whoever had left th
at note was responsible for Percy’s death, then there was no telling what they might do when they found out Jason and Lydia hadn’t listened. His fiancée would be safer out of state. Though she couldn’t blame Lydia for not wanting to leave Jason, especially if his life was in danger as well.

  The next few days were fraught with concern for all of them, but when no further threats were made, they began to relax again. On Thursday morning, Angie went into the diner like usual, spending the morning making breakfast for their customers. Betty came in around mid-afternoon, and gave Angie a bright smile when she saw her.

  “I bet you were relieved to hear the news,” she said.

  “What news?” Angie asked, confused. She hadn’t had time to do anything more than stumble from her bed to the shower to the car that morning, and had left the radio in the kitchen playing on a music station, so if something new had happened, she was unaware.

  “The police ruled that poor young man’s death an accident this morning,” she said. “It must be such a relief to your family, and to his. It’s still heartbreaking, of course, but foul play would be so much harder to deal with.”

  Angie blinked, not sure what to say or how she should be feeling. She had spent the past few days assuming that Percy had been murdered, which tied in perfectly to the note Lydia had found in her pocket. If what the police had ruled was accurate… then why had someone left her brother and his fiancée a threatening note?

  “That’s… good,” she said. “I had no idea they closed the case already. Thanks for letting me know.”

  Betty tsked. “You really should start watching the news. It’s very enlightening. The local station might not be glamorous, but it’s the only way to stay on top of things. You know, I’ve been telling your father for ages that we should put a television in here. A nice screen, right over the counter in the dining area. We’d get people in to watch sports on the weekends, and we could keep the news on the rest of the time.”