“I guess not. We’ve worked closely together for so long, I guess we almost are like an old married couple.”
“Without the fun part.”
“Grandma!”
“I’ve seen the way you look at each other sometimes. Like when you had that cheek-to-cheek dance last fall.”
“And you’ve heard my confession of how I feel about Smoke—outside of work—but I’m dating Eric now, and Marcella Fischer has been chasing Smoke for over a month. She just might catch him.”
“Oh, My Heart, My Heart.” Grandma kissed my cheek.
I heard car doors slamming outside in the driveway and went to open the front door. “Welcome everyone!” People piled into the house, ready to party. John Carl pulled the GTO into Smoke’s garage, and Smoke went back to the park to get the last few guests. We were still missing Marcella and some classmates.
My best friend Sara, a probation officer with Winnebago County was first in the door, followed by Mom’s shop friends. Sara gave me a hug and asked where to put the gift and wine she brought. “And give me a job,” she said.
“Put your stuff in the kitchen and you can offer drinks around.” I checked the time on Smoke’s wall clock. “We’ve got about twenty minutes until Mom gets here.”
“This is the coolest place. Back in the woods. And the detective has his own private little lake,” Candy said. She was always upbeat, a positive influence on my worrywart mother.
Smoke’s property was ideal for anyone seeking escape from the workaday world. The cares of the day disappeared sitting on Smoke’s dock watching birds fly by, squirrels scamper up the trees nearby, or an occasional fish jump from the surface of the lake.
“And you really lucked out with the weather,” Alice said.
Yes we had. Temperatures in the high seventies, low humidity. Only a whisper of a breeze gently moved the leaves of the trees and barely ruffled the surface of the water.
“Hello, Corinne.” Eric Stueman stepped in close, kissed my cheek then whispered, “You are radiant tonight.”
“Thank you, Eric. I’m probably just flushed from rushing around.”
“Ah, excuse me,” John Carl said behind us. Eric and I moved so he could get into the house.
“Eric, I’d like to formally introduce you to your chauffeur, my brother John Carl.”
“He is a good chauffeur. Not as wild a driver as you are, Corinne.” Although both Eric and John Carl were on the serious side, they smiled at that, shook hands, and exchanged the “nice to meet you” greeting.
The last of the guests arrived with Smoke, including Marcella Fischer who took my hands in hers. “Thank you for including me.”
“We’re glad you could come.”
My grandparents ambled, and the rest of us scrambled out to the back deck to assume our positions. Smoke remained behind as the look-out. When he saw the sheriff’s car pull into the driveway, he said in a stage whisper, “Okay everyone, quiet out there.”
Smoke opened his door and invited Mother and Denny in. They followed him to the deck where we all waited with glasses in hand, held up to toast. “Happy birthday, honey,” Gramps said, and the rest of us chimed in with our greetings.
Mother was rendered speechless, especially when she saw John Carl. She held him so long, he blushed being caught in the center of the group’s attention, and was visibly relieved when she let him go. Even I let out a cleansing sigh.
It was a fun evening. We ate. We told jokes. Some fished from the dock. Mother opened her gifts, some silly, some sentimental. But the gift that took all of our breaths away came from the sheriff.
He handed her a large box wrapped with floral paper and a giant bow. Mother carefully slid her fingers under the taped edges to open it without tearing the paper. She pulled out layers of stuffing then lifted out a small box.
She gasped when she opened it. Tears filled her eyes as we all crowded in for a closer look. She held it up so we had a better view. The largest diamond I had ever seen, surrounded by a circle of emeralds, sat proudly on a gold band. The sheriff moved from my mother’s side on the couch, kneeled on the floor in front of her, and reached for the box. She had eyes only for him as she handed it over.
“Kristen, you have made me happier than I ever thought possible. I love you more than I can express with words. Will you marry me, be my wife?”
I held my breath for what seemed like five minutes before Mother said, “Oh, Denny, of course I will.” Sheriff Dennis Twardy slipped the ring on her finger.
Mom stared at her hand for a long time. “I’ve never seen a more beautiful ring. What a lovely idea, including my birthstone. Oh my, that’s a lot of emeralds.” A few tears dropped from her eyes. Denny brushed them aside and kissed her.
John Carl and I automatically looked at each other to check our reactions. I had never been witness to a marriage proposal before, and from his expression, I doubted he had either. But there we were at our mother’s surprise birthday party getting a bigger surprise of our own.
For thirty years, Mom had not given her love or attention to another man besides our deceased father. The up side of that was John Carl and I did not have to share Mom’s affection with suitors. The down side was she was overly involved in our lives and activities. Twardy was more recently widowed—about four years. I would never have put Mother and Denny together, but I was no matchmaker. Denny’s eyes were bright and filling with tears of his own. He swiped them away. He was the Winnebago County Sheriff, after all. “There’s a cooler in my trunk with some champagne.” He squeezed Mother’s hand. “With the hope we’d be celebrating more than a birthday here tonight.”
“John Carl and I will get it.” I hugged Denny then Mom. She held on extra tight before snatching John Carl in a bear hug. He gladly left with me for our cooler errand.
I elbowed his arm. “How do you feel about this? I know we never thought it would happen.”
“Actually relieved. It will make moving back home easier.”
“Oh my god! Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“You and Emily—”
“It’s over. She filed for divorce.”
I threw my arms around his waist and squeezed. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to ask you how things were earlier.”
“And I wasn’t going to say anything until tomorrow. You know, let Mom have her night.”
“When is all this happening?”
“Soon.”
The party wound down within an hour of the engagement toasts. Smoke and I gave our guests rides back to their cars. Then Denny offered to take the grandparents and John Carl home. I stayed to help clean up, despite Smoke’s protests.
“Edberg called me in the middle of the festivities, when he was on his way back from Rochester,” Smoke said.
“What he’d find out?”
“That we can most likely eliminate Shane Coates as a suspect. He rolled over every stone he could down there. Talked to his boss, co-workers, Shane himself. He’s been at work all week, from eight to four-thirty. Then, responsible person that he now is, attended his AA meeting Sunday night. Which was verified by the coordinator of the program, and the janitor of the church where they have their meetings.”
“Did he say where he was the night before? Saturday night?”
“Home, with his wife. Bob visited them in their apartment after he followed Coates home from work. His wife verified his story.”
“Bob didn’t see any snowshoes propped up in the corner, or hanging on the wall as a decoration?”
“I didn’t think to ask him, but I have a feeling he would have mentioned if he did.”
We finished straightening up then sat down on the couch.
I punched a pillow. “It’s possible he drove up on Saturday or Sunday, lured Leder somewhere on some pretense, held him captive for whatever reason. He comes back up here after his AA meeting Sunday night, finds Leder dead, then he and his partner—whoever that might be—haul his body out to Noding’s field.”
/> “Possible, not very probable. What is the motive? But we’ll check his phone records, see if he’s been talking to anyone interesting. Now that I’m done with my hosting duties, I’m going to have a nightcap. Want anything?”
“No thanks, I’ll be leaving in a minute.”
I closed my eyes to review the day. After working seven long days in a row and getting ready for the party, I felt myself crashing. I didn’t remember a thing until I woke up to the sound of chirping birds and the aroma of coffee. There was a bed pillow under my head and a cotton blanket over my body. It took me a moment to place where I was.
I stretched my arm and sat up. Smoke was sitting in an armchair across from me. “I thought that might wake you up,” he said.
“What?”
“Coffee. That cup on the table in front of you.”
I swung my legs to the floor, sat up, and yawned. “Thanks. Sorry, I wasn’t planning on a sleepover.” I picked up the cup and took a sip. “But it’s nice to wake up to this.”
“What are your plans for today?”
“Spend time with John Carl. Pump him for more information. Emily filed and he says he’s moving back here. So we’ll see what he’s got planned.”
“Wow, that’s some news. Sorry for John Carl, but your mother will be in seventh heaven.”
“I think she already is.”
“No doubt. I’m happy for her. And for Denny.”
“As much as it freaked me out when I found out they were dating, I have to say they’ve been very good for each other.”
“They do complement each other remarkably well.”
I thought about the evening for a minute. “Marcella likes you. And she’s a darling.”
“She is that.”
“You like her?”
“Yeah, sure. But if you’re asking if I’m looking for romance, I don’t know. Marcella’s very committed—I’d say overly committed—to her job.”
“More than you are?”
“Hard to believe, isn’t it?”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to be. Maybe she needs a good man to help her find a better balance between her professional life and personal life.”
Smoke raised his eyebrows. “What about you and Mr. Stueman?”
“The better I know him, the more I like him. Our backgrounds are very different, so that’s a bit of a challenge, understanding how he grew up compared to how I grew up. He’s a rich city kid from a hard driving family. I’m more of a country kid—”
“Who is driven in her own right.”
“But, unlike Nick who couldn’t handle me being a cop, Eric actually likes that about me.”
“It takes a brave man to love a brave woman.”
Smoke often gave me things to ponder.
CHAPTER 15
Sunday morning Mother made breakfast for John Carl and me. For an hour, it seemed like the old days when we were children, then teenagers: the three of us sitting at Mom’s kitchen table for a good meal and some together time. I didn’t realize how much that meant until I moved out on my own.
Mother’s face was still glowing from Friday evening’s excitement. “Life is changing, but this will always be your second home, as long as I live here.”
“Have you and the sheriff talked about where you’re going to live after you’re married?” A butterfly fluttered in my stomach when I asked the question
“A little, but we haven’t even set a date yet, for goodness sakes.”
“And which way are you leaning?”
“I think he’s still trying to let go. You know, he was married for a long time before his wife died. Denny’s house is full of memories of his life with Judy. He loves this old house of mine, so we’ll see. It’s most likely going to be here, or a new house altogether. One we can grow old more gracefully in.”
“You mean like a one level rambler?” John Carl asked.
“Yes, that would be practical.”
“Stairs are good for you. Good exercise. Besides, when Gramps can’t live on his own, his place will be available, if you want to move there,” I said.
“Well, I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Nothing to worry about today.” She reached over and laid her hand on John Carl’s. “Dear, you haven’t said a word about Emily.”
John Carl’s face turned a dark shade of pink, and he studied Mother’s hand as he told her the latest, sad news.
Tears pooled in Mother’s eyes. She stood, moved in behind John Carl, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and squeezed tightly When she kissed his cheek, John Carl’s eyes teared up, also.
“I am so sorry, son. I’ve been praying for months she would change her mind and you’d be happy together again.”
John Carl nodded, but was too choked up to speak. After some moments of silence, mourning the broken marriage, Mother sat back down and changed the subject, maybe to distract John Carl, maybe to remind him other people had even worse problems. “Corinne, what about that awful case you are working with that man who was found dead and naked, tied up in that field. What is this world coming to, anyhow? And Denny says the list of suspects is a mile long.”
“Yes, it is. And as complicated as the case is, we’ll eventually get through interviewing the list of potential suspects. I hope. Which reminds me, I have a favor to ask you.”
“What is it, dear?”
I gave her the scoop on the Kentucky trip, and asked if she could take care of Queenie. Since Queenie was still a pup, it was better that she stay at Mom’s house, rather than having Mom stop by to make sure she had food and water. If Queenie had to stay alone in her kennel for that long, she’d probably wonder if I had been abandoned for good.
“Oh my, both of my children will be out of state at the same time. I don’t think that’s ever happened before.” Leave it to Mom to think of that first. “Your puppy. Of course I’ll watch her. Bring her over tonight so you don’t have to worry about that in the morning. She can sleep in that portable kennel I have stored in the garage. I’ll bring it into the house at night.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome.” She winked at me. “I thought I’d be babysitting your children by now, but I guess I’ll have to settle for puppy sitting instead.”
That was a new one. “Seriously, Mother.”
“Not to rush you, dear, but you know, since you’re turning thirty this year, I thought maybe you were feeling your biological clock ticking.”
Was there such a thing? I squirmed and glanced at John Carl for support, but he was busy studying the contents of his coffee cup.
“Mother.”
She patted my hand. “I shouldn’t have said anything about children. That’s not my decision to make. But if you and Eric get serious enough to get married, I think you’ll make darling babies.”
John Carl left for the airport late morning. His brief stay was a pleasant distraction from the frustration I felt with the Leder mystery. It seemed everyone who had been close to Gage Leder had motive to hurt him. Any of them could be guilty, but none of them, so far, seemed to be strong suspects. Good police work was not based on the way things seemed or appeared, however. We needed to build on the investigation and follow the evidence.
Smoke phoned shortly before noon. “You see your brother off?”
“Yeah, it always makes me sad when he leaves. But knowing he’ll be moving back makes it easier.”
“He told Kristen the news?”
“Oh yeah. She’s happy and sad, like we knew she would be.”
“What’d you guys do yesterday, anything special?”
“We hung out with Mom and Gramps during the day. Grandma and Grandpa came over for lunch—I don’t think they can get enough of John Carl. My grandpa slipped a few times and called him Carl.”
“Whoa. Well, he has become the spitting image of your father.”
“Denny came over in the late afternoon with pizza so Mom didn’t have to cook, and John Carl and I went to dinner with Eric and Sara.”
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br /> “Sara, huh? You’re not trying to set John Carl up with Sara?”
“No. It was just a casual dinner.” Although Sara did think John Carl was pretty cute.
“Is that why you’re calling, to keep up to date with my personal life?”
Smoke let out a ‘Hah!’ “No. Actually, I wanted to tell you about my discovery this morning, if you don’t mind hearing about work on your day off.”
I rarely minded hearing about work at any time. “What?”
“I followed up on what Chip Ashland said about where Gage Leder met Tonya. It’s Peace Lutheran, here in Oak Lea. I sat outside the church before services began this morning and saw the Ashland family and Tonya going in. And there were two others I saw, which was a little curious.” He stopped for effect.
“Who?”
“Bridget Regan and Nora Leder.”
“They were together?”
“No. But it seems like something one of them might have mentioned—the fact that they both went to the same church as Gage Leder’s widow, Tonya. Especially since that’s where Tonya met Gage.”
“We knew Gage was there with Morgan, at least for a while. Peace Lutheran is a pretty large congregation. Maybe they aren’t all members. Maybe it was a fluke.” I tried to think of different possibilities.
“I went in for a closer look-see. None of the parties in question were sitting near each other, except the Ashlands and Tonya, of course. I found copies of the church directory in the narthex and put in a little reading time, making myself scarce in a meeting area by the pastor’s office until after the service ended.
“And did you find Bridget and Nora in the directory?”
“Yup. Both are members. And so are their daughters.”
“Hmm.”
“Then I had a chat with the minister, the Reverend L.M. McCormick, who has been serving that congregation for a whole lotta years. Twenty-two. He told me something I think wife two or four should have mentioned. Leder did a little volunteer work with the youth for about a year, four or five years back. The Rev said Leder came in all charming and enthusiastic, excited to help out with his daughter’s youth group.”
The Noding Field Mystery Page 12