Last Pen Standing

by Vivian Conroy

  “And your other brother?”

  Delta had been dreading that question. “I haven’t spoken to Zach in years.”

  Jonas picked up the thermos and screwed off the cap. He poured two cups. That he didn’t pounce right away and ask why made Delta feel a bit better.

  Jonas handed her the cup of coffee. “Family can be a tough thing,” he observed.

  “I guess it was self-protection,” Delta said. She stared into the coffee, trying to put into words what she had concluded about the family situation over the years. “Zach never liked Greg being the great athlete and my parents traveling the world with him. He also wanted attention from them, but he didn’t get it. Not like Greg. You know, they were on the road with Greg, and they had put me up with Gran…and Zach just had to fend for himself. He was in college and…I guess we all supposed he would be fine. He got a degree in finance and started working at a bank. He met this girl and they decided to get married. The wedding took place on a day when Greg had to compete for a title. I guess that…it was Zach’s way of testing if Mom and Dad would come to his wedding or if Greg’s sport meant more. Like it always had.”

  Delta’s throat went tight. She clenched the coffee cup, feeling the heat sear into her fingers. “Mom wanted to go to the wedding. Dad said that Zach had done it on purpose and he could have chosen another date. They argued about it for weeks. In the end…Dad stayed with Greg to support him in the competition. Mom came over for the wedding. Dad blamed her for it, but she went against him, for Zach’s sake. Zach was disappointed anyway, because he had wanted Dad to come. It was always about Dad, you know.”

  She took a deep breath, feeling the old frustration wash over her. “I was angry at Zach for turning Mom and Dad against each other like that. For forcing them into making choices that would only hurt people’s feelings. I didn’t say anything at the wedding, because I didn’t want to ruin it for him or for his bride, but…afterward he called me and tried to turn me against Dad as well. Or at least it felt that way. I told him I didn’t want him to call me if he was going to be like that. And that was it. He never called me again.”

  Delta looked at Jonas’s profile. “Do you think I did the wrong thing?”

  “What did you do? You told him you didn’t want to be caught in the middle. When he realized you weren’t going to choose his side, he didn’t want to be in touch anymore. That was his decision, not yours.”

  “I know. But still…I don’t know how much Mom and Dad’s choices for Greg’s career hurt Zach. We just never talked about it as a family. We could have sat down, and he could have told us his side of it, and…”

  “Maybe that wouldn’t have solved anything.” Jonas sipped his coffee. “My father never liked me wanting to be a police officer. He tried to set me up in the businesses of friends. I did try that world for a summer, but it wasn’t for me. While I was with the police, it was hard to meet Dad at birthday parties and over Christmas. He’d never ask how I was doing, to show he didn’t approve of my choice.”

  “And when you quit the force?” Delta glanced at him. “Did things change then?”

  Jonas hesitated before saying, “He doesn’t know I quit the force. I know he won’t ask about my work, so I don’t have to lie about it. And I just can’t bring myself to fess up to him that it didn’t work out. Like somehow it would be admitting he was right all along. But he wasn’t. Because I will never work in his friends’ businesses. You know?”

  “I think I understand.” Delta wanted to know why Jonas had left the police, but she didn’t think asking directly was the best way to go about it. “You were right. Family is a tough thing.”

  They sat in silence, sipping coffee and staring ahead into the darkness.

  Outside, a car engine hummed by, then died down in the distance. Overhead, the ceiling creaked. Spud moved about in his place, grunting before he went back to sleep. King lay with his legs stretched out, just a shadow in the darkness. The ding of an incoming email sounded loudly, and Delta jumped. Jonas reached for the tablet. “My PI friend,” he reported. “About Amanda White.”

  He read in silence for a few minutes, then whistled softly. “Seems like she picked up substantial debts a few years ago. Buying luxury stuff like shoes, designer bags, home decor. All on credit cards away from her husband’s scrutiny. She was on the edge of having process servers turn up at her door when her debts were paid off over a short span of time.”

  “Did her husband find out and step in before it became public?” Delta ventured.

  “No. Seems she took care of it herself. But it’s unclear where the money came from. And now this is interesting. The payment of the debts happened shortly before her birthday. Before the party where she introduced Vera to her brother-in-law Herb.”

  Delta sat up. “You think…Vera found out about Amanda’s problems and paid off the debts for her in exchange for an introduction to Herb?”

  “Finn told us Vera had found out about his gambling debts, right? But what she said to Finn was only that she knew why he had left LA in such a rush and would tell on him. She suggested she knew a lot more than she might have. So Vera could also have found out about Amanda White’s credit cards being overdrawn, maybe because she was a customer at the same boutique and overheard when Amanda’s card was refused or something like that. Then she followed her and suggested a solution: the introduction to Herb in exchange for clearance of the debts.” Jonas nodded in satisfaction. “That could also explain why Amanda said to Vera that if Vera didn’t stop flirting with Ralph, she’d tell the truth. About the introduction at the time.”

  “And then Vera retorted that the truth would hurt Amanda as well, because it would mean confessing to her excessive shopping and the debts, which had led her to agree to Vera’s scheme.” Delta nodded. “That could all fit.”

  “Question is,” Jonas said, “whether this can constitute a motive for murder. Amanda was worried Vera would talk. Her husband would be livid, not just about the money wasted but also about her using his brother. He would blame her for having brought Vera into their lives—Vera, who was about to get a divorce and walk away with half of Herb’s fortune. Endangering the future of the business Ralph and Herb had built with a lot of hard work and sacrifice.”

  “Yes, but did Ralph know about Vera’s divorce plans? Did Amanda know about them?”

  “If they knew, it would have made it all worse. Imagine being Amanda.” Jonas held Delta’s gaze. “You take a woman into your family who turned out to be flirty, manipulative, showy, drinking too much, embarrassing you. Then you find out she’s also going to walk away with a fortune, leaving your family in financial trouble. And, with the truth about the introduction out, exposing you as the cause of it all. You’d do anything to prevent that from happening. By killing Vera, Amanda would have made sure that Vera wouldn’t get a dime and the blackmail that brought her into their lives would never become known.”

  “Clever,” Delta said. “I hope the police can still do something with her dress.”

  “Yes.” Jonas stared ahead with a frown. “But can we really assume Amanda knew about the impending divorce? It seems like Vera was careful to keep it quiet. She had the paperwork sent to the local post office here in Tundish and picked it up herself. She hid it in her box in the hotel safe. She even hid the notebooks with the blackmail money in that same box, to ensure nobody found out she was hoarding money to support herself during divorce proceedings. How can Amanda have found out about it?”

  “We don’t know, and maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe the fight I overheard in the garden triggered it all. Maybe Amanda was so worried that Vera would tell the truth about the past that she killed her for that alone. Maybe they kept fighting in the bar and Amanda grabbed the ice pick and stabbed her on impulse, in a flash of anger. It may not have been well thought out or logical.”

  “Of course not. I’ve worked on cases where someone did something e
xtreme merely because a lot of small incidents had been stacking up, and they couldn’t take the pressure anymore. Amanda and Vera never got along, so maybe the tension between them on the night of the party was just the final straw.” Jonas held up the thermos. “More coffee?”

  “Definitely. I have to stay awake.”

  “No, you don’t. You can leave the watch to me.” Jonas poured the steaming coffee into Delta’s cup. “Assuming Amanda killed Vera leaves a few points unclear. Why did Ralph get into Ray’s car in town? Why did Ray lie about knowing Vera earlier? If he’s not involved in her murder, he could have been upfront about having met her before she came to the Lodge.”

  “There’s something I’ve been wondering… Did Ray break up Rosalyn and her fiancé?” Delta mused. “If so, why? Does it prove he has a mean streak? That his kindness is just an act to delude us all?” She closed her eyes a moment. “Maybe I should ask Ray about it and see how he responds. And what about Fred Halliday? He seems so close with Amanda. If Amanda is the killer, might she have killed for Fred’s sake? To keep their…relationship a secret?”

  “Well, they’re not exactly secretive about seeing each other. Or enjoying each other’s company.”

  “Right. That doesn’t make sense. But it could make sense to assume Fred killed for Amanda. He claims to have been boating during the party, but at some point, he came back to the hotel. He said it was when the police were already there, but what if he’s lying and it was earlier? What if he found out about the fight between Amanda and Vera, maybe because he ran into Amanda, being all upset? What if Fred confronted Vera in the bar and told her to leave Amanda alone? But she wouldn’t. I heard her responses in the garden. She could be really cold and callous when she wanted to.”

  “And to defend the honor of the lady he loves, Halliday picked up the ice pick and killed her? I can’t see him being so gallant. He is charming to all the ladies, but I believe he mostly loves himself.”

  “Hmm.” Having just seen Halliday with a female hotel guest at the antique fair, Delta could hardly deny he seemed like a ladies’ man. She opened her eyes again and picked up her phone. “I’m going to have a look at the digital newspaper our Mr. LeDuc Jr. put together for the day.” She looked for the site and scanned the headlines. “His leaf-peeping photo competition continues to deliver stunning pics. This one…” She held out the phone to Jonas to show him a forest lane where the yellow trees formed a huge gold arch across the path. A little boy was kicking up leaves. “Are you participating?”

  “I’m on the fence about it. Maybe it’s more a thing for the tourists. I mean, the grand prize is a balloon ride. I’ve taken those in other places, so I’d rather have someone else win it.”

  “How altruistic.” Delta clicked through to another page. “Oh, listen to this. Local hotel takeover? Serious rumors have surfaced that the Lodge Hotel is up for a takeover. An offer has been made, for an unknown amount of money. The attorney who presented the deal to the Taylor family is said to work for an undisclosed party in—”

  Jonas waved a hand. “Bad reporting. He doesn’t know the amount of money or the party…”

  “In Miami!” Delta finished her sentence anyway. “Remember the Whites are from Miami?”

  Jonas stared at her. “But the Whites are into dolphin-spotting. Why would they want to take over a hotel in Montana? There are no dolphins in the lake.”

  “No, but the lake offers other boating options. And our boating man is Fred Halliday, who happens to be an old friend of Amanda White. Maybe he pointed out the business opportunity to her and she passed it on to Ralph and Herb? They might have traveled here to check out the premises in person and then make their offer through the lawyer mentioned in this piece.”

  Jonas shook his head. “The hotel has been in the hands of the Taylor family ever since it was built. Why would they sell it?”

  “A takeover doesn’t always mean big changes. The new owner might want to keep things as they were. Suppose Rosalyn could stay on as manager and everyone could keep their jobs. The only thing that would change in that scenario would be the ownership, the name on the papers. And the financial risk would transfer to someone else. Would a takeover like that be such a bad deal?”

  Jonas shrugged. “I don’t see the Taylors working for someone else.”

  Delta narrowed her eyes. “Ralph claimed that Ray borrowed money from Vera White. What if she wanted her money back but he couldn’t give it to her, and he told her that he had a share in a hotel coming, and her husband and his brother might buy into this hotel?”

  “Which is not his to negotiate about,” Jonas objected.

  “We don’t know what Mr. Taylor’s will says. If he splits the hotel equally between his three children, Ray may argue he will own one third of the hotel. What if he promised Vera to put pressure on his father and the other family members to agree to the takeover? Rosalyn doesn’t like Ray, but his father seems to listen to him, and Isabel adores him. That could explain why Rosalyn didn’t want him in the family portrait. She’s livid because he’s splitting the family over this hotel takeover.” Delta pursed her lips. “I think that first thing in the morning we should find out if there is any truth in the rumors about a takeover and the undisclosed party from Miami possibly being the White brothers.”

  * * *

  Delta awoke with a shock, immediately aware that she wasn’t in her bed. Her neck was twisted, and her forehead seemed to touch something hard. She opened her eyes, but it was too dark to make out anything. Feeling around her, she realized her head must have slipped off the air mattress she had sagged onto as she had fallen asleep. A sound from the shop jerked her to full alertness. Was someone there?

  She felt beside her for Jonas. He was gone.

  Her heart pounded hard as she pushed herself up. Had the perpetrator who had broken their window returned? Armed with a new threat?

  She had nothing to defend herself with, so she picked up the empty coffee thermos. Clutching it, she tiptoed to the doorway from the cell into the shop.

  In the light that came in from the street she saw Jonas standing in the shop, hiding behind the wooden boards that closed up the broken window.

  “What’s wrong?” she whispered.

  “Go back in there,” he hissed to her.

  She retreated. Her heartbeat sped up even more as she waited for something to happen. Was last night’s assailant outside, intending to throw another brick, this time through the pane in the door? Would Jonas be quick enough to go out after him or her and catch the culprit?

  The silence seemed to stretch on endlessly. Even the slightest tick in the wooden floorboards made Delta jump.

  Then Jonas appeared in the doorway. “False alarm. Someone was in the street, stopping at the door. But it was just a man with his dog. I caught sight of them as they crossed the street.”

  “A man with his dog?” Delta checked her watch. It was nearly 2:30. “Odd time to be walking your dog.”

  “Some people watch TV until well into the night. Especially if they’re elderly and don’t have to work anymore.” Jonas rolled back his shoulders. “I guess you can go back to sleep.”

  Delta hid her face in her hands. “I hadn’t meant to fall asleep in the first place. I’m stiff as a board.”

  “I told you to go home to the cottage.”

  “Well, I’m here now, and I’m not leaving in the middle of the night.” Delta yawned. “I think a turkey sandwich would be great.”

  “Midnight snacker, huh?” Jonas asked with a half grin.

  “Want one too?”

  They divided the sandwiches between them. The turkey meat was soft and tasty; the sauce Hazel had whipped up, smooth and rich.

  Delta hmmed. “She should ask Mine Forever’s owner to put this on the menu. It would attract fans.”

  “Since we’re wide awake,” Jonas said, reaching for his tablet, “I mig
ht as well show you a little photo gallery.” He pulled up a series of photographs.

  Delta said, “People in party dress. Are those…? But I thought your memory card was with the police.”

  “Sure. But one of the deputies returned it to me last night. They copied off the contents, so there was no reason for them to hold onto the memory card. Now let’s see if we can find something meaningful in here. It’s a ton of shots, some out of focus or overexposed.”

  “I’m not judging a photo contest but looking for clues.” Delta chewed the last bite of her sandwich and studied the photos closely. Most involved people talking, dancing, accepting drinks from passing waiters. A few captured Vera White’s demonstration dance with Ralph. Even in these stills, it was clear the couple had been light on their feet. Glamorous.

  Delta went back and decided she should look at specific people. Ray for instance. He was in a couple of shots. She looked at his face, his hands, his clothes, looking for anything amiss. Nothing special struck her.

  Isabel, then? Nothing either. Just that the bracelet she had worn earlier, in the family portrait, was gone later that night. It fit with Finn having found it in the dead woman’s hand. But how had it gotten there?

  Finn… Yes, she also had to look at him with an open mind. Assess if he had been behaving oddly. But there were no pictures of him talking to Vera White, other than the one the sheriff had pointed out to them, and nothing else he was doing seemed out of character or unusual.

  Rosalyn…

  Jonas yawned and drew his knees up to his chest.

  “You can go to sleep if you want to,” Delta said. “I can wake you if I hear something.”

  “I wouldn’t be much of a guard if I fell asleep.”

  “Here.” Delta showed him a picture of Rosalyn talking to an elderly couple. “Do you think that’s a bracelet on her arm?”

  Jonas looked. “Hard to tell. She’s half turned away. Could be a flash of something gold there. But it could also be reflection of something else.”