by Lee Hollis
“I never said you were in any way connected to what happened to Ivy and Nykki. The police are focused on Nigel, not you. But there is a missing piece here and I am betting it has something to do with Vanda Spears. You can tell me, Sabrina. What is it? What’s the big secret?”
For a moment, Hayley thought she was finally getting through to Sabrina.
Her hands were shaking slightly.
Her lips quivered.
She opened her mouth to speak as if a confession was imminent.
But then the light in her eyes dimmed.
It was as if she was snapping into survival mode.
Choosing to go all in on the cover up.
Whatever that might be.
“I have nothing further to say to you,” Sabrina said. “I’d like you to leave now.”
Hayley debated holding her ground, refusing to leave until Sabrina talked.
But that would only aggravate the already tense situation.
Hayley turned around and walked out the door to her car.
She was going to have to find out what secret Sabrina was hiding some other way.
Chapter 27
When Hayley walked into the office of the Island Times after driving back to town from Seal Harbor, Bruce was there waiting for her, an excited look on his face.
“Chief Alvares just arrested the husband for Ivy Foster’s murder,” he said giddily.
“Nigel?”
“Yes. He found a golf club in his bag with specks of blood and it also had Nigel’s fingerprints all over it.”
Hayley stood there, shocked.
She knew Nigel was a suspect, but deep down she never really believed he had it in him to brutally murder his wife.
Bruce stared at her, a smug look on his face, overjoyed that for once he was able to show up Hayley with information on an investigation.
Especially given the fact he was the one at the paper officially being paid to write about crimes.
Hayley spun around and dashed out the door.
“Where are you going? We’re out of coffee!” Bruce yelled.
Hayley didn’t bother responding.
Why encourage the chauvinist pig?
Okay, it was her responsibility as office manager to keep the coffee pot brewing throughout the day for the reporters and photographers and especially her bear of a boss Sal, but it just rankled her that Bruce kept insisting on reminding her of it.
Hayley jumped in her car and drove straight over to the police station.
Sergio was out when she arrived at the reception desk that Officer Donnie, the tall, lanky perpetually in training young cop, was manning.
She asked to see Nigel in his jail cell.
“Sorry, Hayley, the Brit gets no visitors and that’s final,” Donnie said with a self-satisfied smile, already drunk with power after being left in charge for twenty minutes while Sergio went to get his hair cut.
Hayley anticipated this on the drive over and casually handed Donnie her phone.
He squinted as he read the text message on the screen.
It was from Sergio.
Tell Donnie I said it was okay for you to speak with the suspect.
Donnie cleared his throat and handed the phone back to Hayley. “Okay, fine, go on back.”
Hayley brushed past Donnie, who stood up from the desk to open the door that led to the row of cells in the back of the station. “Thank you, Donnie.”
She neglected to mention that she had Dustin text her that message and just changed the contact information so the number was identified as Sergio’s.
She knew Sergio had a running appointment at the barbershop during the lunch hour the second Tuesday of every month to get his locks trimmed.
Hayley found Nigel sitting on a bench in the first cell.
He was crouched over, his head buried in his hands, and he was still wearing his golf attire, a bright green Polo shirt with tan pants and white golf shoes.
All that was missing was the matching Bucket Hat.
“Nigel?”
He looked up, his eyes red from crying.
He leapt to his feet and ran to her, gripping the gray bars of the cell. “Hayley, please, you have to do something to get me out of here! The chief is married to your brother, right? Can’t you talk to him? I didn’t do this! I didn’t kill Ivy . . . or Nykki!”
“I believe you, Nigel, at least I think I do, but the golf club . . .”
“I know it looks bad . . .”
“The club was in your golf bag. There were specks of blood on it.”
“I know! Someone must have stolen the club, killed Ivy with it and then planted it back in my bag! Please! You have to believe me!”
“It’s a little far-fetched. If someone was trying to frame you, how would they even know what your golf clubs looked like?”
“I’ve only played once since I arrived in Bar Harbor. I did nine holes with a nice gentleman I met at the club. I was there drinking to forget Ivy’s constant nagging. I mean, scratch that. I don’t want to incriminate myself any more than I already have!”
“I saw firsthand Ivy’s treatment of you, Nigel. It’s okay. That’s not evidence you killed her.”
“But it’s a motive and I’m afraid that might be enough to convict me!”
“Okay, so this man you met at the club, what was his name?”
“Nice chap. McNally, I think. Yes, Charles McNally!”
Hayley gasped, floored.
Charles McNally.
The classmate who was still harboring a giant crush on Ivy at the reunion.
Still lovestruck after twenty years.
What if he approached Ivy before the reunion and confided that his feelings were unabated after all this time and she rebuffed him?
What if her rejection just caused him to snap?
Perhaps in his mind he thought if he couldn’t have her, then no one would.
He must have found out Nigel was a golfer and just happened to run into him at the bar where the two became chums.
Once Charles made it clear he was an avid golfer, it would be natural for Nigel to suggest they play a round.
He saw Nigel’s clubs, maybe pilfered one while Nigel wasn’t looking once they were heading back to the club for a drink.
Then, at the reunion, after making a big show in front of Hayley about how he was still in love with Ivy and hadn’t seen her yet, he snuck into the kitchen and bludgeoned her to death before slipping out, hiding the murder weapon, and then making sure everyone saw him go back into the kitchen to discover the body.
Later, he could have put the golf club back into Nigel’s bag at the summer rental.
Yes.
This made complete sense.
And what if Nykki saw him leaving the summer rental after putting back the golf club?
That would leave a witness.
Maybe he had to take her out too.
Chapter 28
The tears streamed down Hayley’s cheeks.
She swore to herself that she wouldn’t cry.
In fact, Gemma made her promise.
But she just couldn’t help herself as her daughter descended the stairs in her Princess Sweetheart floor-length tulle dress. It was gorgeous.
But it was Gemma who made the dress truly beautiful.
Her hair was styled in a classic up do with decorative bobby pins, her makeup flawless thanks to detailed instructions from her Aunt Liddy.
Her smile was radiant.
She was like one of those Disney princesses she worshipped as a child.
At the foot of the stairs, her date Oliver was dashing in a black peak lapel tuxedo jacket right out of The Great Gatsby.
If Hayley ever thought Oliver was slightly goofy, that myth was instantly dispelled by his miraculous transformation into a male model with his slicked back hair, confident posture, and handsome face, which glowed at the sight of his date taking his hand as she landed next to him.
Dustin, in far more casual attire, a Family Guy t-shirt
and ratty shorts, circled the couple with his GoPro camer. His original plan was to follow the couple around all night and edit together a short film he could submit to film festivals, but his sister quickly nixed dhis lofty plans, not wanting her porm night judged by a committee.
Leroy, unimpressed, lifted his head long enough to inspect the dress, before going back to sleep in the corner of the couch where he was not ever supposed to be, but there was too much going on for anyone to notice.
Gemma grimaced at the sight of her mother’s embarrassing waterworks, so Hayley fished a Kleenx® out of her pants pocket and blew her nose, honking so loud Dustin felt hte need to swing the camer around and get the action on camera.
Hayley, wiping the tears away, motioned for him to stop recording her breakdown, but he didn’t listen, keeping the GoPro trained on her to capture every dramatic sniffle. The budding director instinctively knew the heightened emotion was gold.
After Gemma patiently waited for Hayley to regain her composure, she gently asked in a soft, feminine voice, “How do I look?”
Hayley lost it all over again.
And a gleeful Dustin recorded every mortifying second.
“You know what, we should probably just go, ” Gemma said, giving her sobbing mother a quick hug before walking out the door which was held open by Oliver.
Dustin followed close behind nearly tripping over the welcome mat to make sure he got Gemma’s reaction because he knew what was coming next.
Gemma stopped suddenly on the top step, her eyes wide with surprise at the sight of a silver stretch limousine waiting in front of the house. Standing next to the limo, in a gray chauffeur’s uniform and black gloves, waiting to usher the young couple into the back of the limo that was stocked with snacks and non-alcoholic beverages was Aaron, beaming from ear to ear.
Aaron asked Hayley if he could treat the kids to a first-class ride to the prom as a graduation present for Gemma.
Hayley of course agreed, touched by the gesture.
This guy certainly was a keeper.
“Wow, this is so much cooler than going in my beat up Ford Focus!” Oliver said, squeezing Gemma’s hand.
She smiled and gave Aaron a tight hug before joining Oliver in the back. Aaron shut the door and winked at Hayley before jumping behind the wheel and driving off with Dustin running out in the middle of the street to get the action shot of the limo disappearing down the street.
Hayley walked back inside for more Kleenex®, happy her daughter was going to the prom with a real gentleman and not that now notorious player, Nate Forte.
Before she had a chance to wipe the last tear from her face, her cell phone rang and she picked it up off the kitchen table where she left it to see who was calling.
“Sis, it’s me,” Randy said.
“You will not believe how beautiful Gemma looked, Randy. I was overcome. She’s all grown up.”
“I’ll see for myself at the premiere party your son JJ Abrams is planning. Now you wanted me to call you if I ran into this Charles McNally guy you want to talk to, right?”
“Yes, did you see him?”
“I’m looking at him right now. He’s sitting here at my bar.”
“Keep him there! I’m on my way.”
“Oh, honey, I don’t think he’s going anywhere. He just ordered his third bourbon on the rocks.”
With the phone still clamped to her ear, Hayley grabbed her bag and raced out the back kitchen door to her car parked in the driveway.
When she arrived at Drinks Like a Fish, a quick five-minute drive from her house, she instantly spied Charles McNally planted on a stool, hunched over the bar. He was bleary-eyed and swayed a bit as he swallowed the last of his now fourth or fifth bourbon.
Hayley sidled up to him and slid on top of the stool next to him. “I certainly hope you’re not driving, Charles.”
He jerked his head in her direction and squinted at her trying to focus before frowning. “Oh, hello, Hayley. Thank you for your concern, but I am perfectly fine. Life’s many disappointments have trained me to be very good at holding my liquor.”
“Well, I’d be happy to drive you back to your hotel if you want.”
“Have you forgotten? I designed the Designated Driver app. Only problem is we have no drivers all the way out in this backward town. But I’m staying with my parents. I can call my Dad to come pick me up. So I don’t need a babysitter.”
“How long will you be in town?”
“I’ll be getting out of Dodge just as soon as I can change my flight. I thought coming back for this reunion would be just what I needed to turn things around, make a fresh start, but it’s just made things worse.”
“Sounds like you’re taking Ivy’s rejection pretty hard,” Hayley said, signaling to Randy who stood behind the bar to bring her a bottled water.
Charles stared at her. “What are you talking about? Ivy didn’t reject me. I never even got the chance to talk to her. I went into the kitchen to tell her how I felt and found her dead on the floor. My whole life crashed after that. I can’t believe she’s gone.”
Charles’ eyes welled up with tears.
He stared into the bottom of his empty glass.
“So you never professed your love to her?” Hayley asked.
“No. Now I’ll never know if she felt the same way.”
Hayley studied him closely.
He could be lying.
He told Hayley at the reunion he hadn’t seen his beloved Ivy yet and lit up when he saw the altercation between her and Nigel. He could have then gone into the kitchen and spilled his guts to Ivy. After she rejected him, he may have walked outside in despair. He could have seen Nigel’s golf clubs in his rental car and stolen one while Nigel was distracted by the dogs. He had plenty of time to whack Ivy over the head several times, return the club to where he found it, and slip back inside the main room with his former classmates before going into the kitchen to discover the body.
This could all be a ruse to deflect suspicion off him.
But Hayley had known Charles McNally since they were kids.
In fourth grade when he wrote a dirty word on the chalkboard it only took Mrs. Olsen four minutes to squeeze a confession out of him.
He couldn’t live with the guilt.
People don’t change that much.
“Charles, the police found a bloody golf club in Nigel’s bag. He’s been arrested for Ivy’s murder.”
“I hope they fry him!”
Lucky for Nigel, Maine didn’t have the death penalty.
“It’s just that he swears he didn’t do it and I’m inclined to believe him. And if that’s the case, then that means someone used his golf club to kill Ivy and then planted it in his bag to frame him . . . and you did play golf with him right before the murder.”
Charles slammed his glass down on the bar, startling a few nearby patrons as well as Randy who had just dropped off Hayley’s water and was walking back to the kitchen.
He spun around ready to kick Charles out.
Hayley waved him off.
“How could you possibly think I would touch a hair on Ivy’s pretty little head? I worshipped her! And I didn’t know Nigel was even her husband until I saw them at the reunion together. He never mentioned his wife when we played golf.”
“Well, I know how deeply you cared for Ivy and if she rejected you . . .”
“I just told you I never spoke to her about anything that was going on with me, the feelings that came rushing back when I heard she was coming to the reunion, how my heart sang when I learned her marriage was in trouble . . . I never even got a chance to see her before . . .”
Charles burst into tears, tapping his empty glass on the bar, desperate for another bourbon.
Randy chose to ignore him by pretending not to hear.
“I was so hoping we might be able to resolve the nasty business that happened on the last night I saw her all those years ago . . . when she broke my heart . . . perhaps start anew . . . but then I wa
lked in and saw her lying there in a pool of blood . . . it was so awful . . .”
“Wait. What nasty business are you talking about?” Hayley asked.
“It was a long time ago, Hayley. I’d rather not relive it.”
“Charles, it’s only a matter of time before the police zero in on the fact that you had an opportunity to pilfer one of Nigel’s golf clubs and you wind up on the official suspect list.”
“But I didn’t do it!”
“Then let me help you. Tell me everything. The more we know the easier it will be to put all the pieces together and clear you.”
Charles raised an eyebrow. “Are you working with the police?”
“Let’s just say I’m an unofficial consultant,” Hayley lied.
Charles nodded, softening. He stared at his empty glass again. “I remember it as if it were yesterday . . .”
Hayley leaned in closer, and put a comforting hand on his arm, encouraging him to open up.
Charles sighed. “It was the summer after graduation. I was college-bound in the fall. Ivy had ended things right after prom. She said she didn’t think a long-distance relationship would work since she was going to college in New York and I was going to be at Wesleyan in Connecticut. But I couldn’t leave without trying one more time to convince her we could make it work. I showed up at her door with a bouquet of flowers and I told her how I was convinced our relationship was worth fighting for and she just laughed in my face. She had no intention of staying with me once she got to college. She wanted to keep her options open. A light shut off inside me at that moment. It was such a turning point. I had been student council president. Big man on campus. And she just crushed my heart and obliterated my confidence. I became hopelessly insecure and that’s what led to the cheating scandal at college. There was so much pressure to succeed and make the Dean’s List and I just couldn’t hack it. Ivy did such a number on me. Of course it wasn’t her fault. I let her get to me. I should’ve been stronger. And to think after twenty years, I was ready to let all that go, try again with her . . . God, I’m pathetic.”
Hayley squeezed his arm. “You are not pathetic, Charles.”
“I sure was that night. After she dumped me, I gave her a ride to Sabrina’s house. Can you believe that? After all the drama on her doorstep, I still acted like her lap dog. I just did what she told me. I was in a trance like it wasn’t even happening. She was going to a party and didn’t want her parents to know. So two minutes after she laughed in my face over the idea of us staying a couple, I was dutifully driving her across town like her own personal sad sack chauffeur.”