by Kathi Daley
“Compromising situation?” I asked.
“I woke up naked next to one of my father’s good friends. One of his married friends. I was mortified. He was mortified. Neither of us remembered how we’d ended up there, and we both agreed never to speak about what happened. To be honest, I’m not even sure what did happen. It’s all kind of a blur. What I do know is that if my father found out what I’d done, he would cut me off for sure.”
“But somehow, Alvin knew?”
She nodded.
“How?”
She frowned. “I’m not really sure. Maybe he set the whole thing up in the first place. What I do know is that he had photos. He told me that if I didn’t want to have the photos sent to my father and the wife of the man I was with, I would do what he told me to do.”
“So, what did he ask you to do?”
“He wanted me to get my hands on the designs Fiona planned to feature during fashion week. Once I had the drawings and photos, I was to give them to him. At first, I resisted. Fiona had worked so hard on her lineup, and it was awesome. But then he reminded me about the photos he had, and eventually, I did as he asked. Of course, he then gave the photos and drawings of Fiona’s designs to Fiona’s biggest rival, who stole her ideas and presented them as his own. Fiona was devastated. And oh so angry. She swore revenge on whoever leaked the designs, and I knew if she found out it was me, she’d never speak to me again, so I didn’t say anything.”
“I assume that wasn’t the end of it.”
“No. That was only the beginning. Once I betrayed my sister, Alvin knew he really had me. He knew I would do anything to keep Fiona from finding out that I was the mole, and he used that knowledge to get other things. I’m the one who introduced Lisa to Alvin after he asked me to. I’m the one who convinced Caspar to not only invest with him but to get him into a high stakes poker game he attends every week. In the end, Alvin turned his attention away from me and began using Lisa to get what he wanted, but it all started with him using me.”
Wow. I had to admit I hadn’t seen that coming. “So, what happened on Thursday?”
“Caspar came and spoke to me on Thursday night. He told me that Alvin wanted something specific from him that he was unwilling to provide, and while he didn’t say exactly what Alvin wanted, he did say that he was done being used and planned to tell Lisa exactly what sort of a man she was dating. I knew that Alvin would rat me out if Caspar didn’t play his game and tried to talk him into going along with the guy for a little while longer, but he was adamant. The phone call Willa overheard was me letting Alvin know I’d done what I could, but Caspar wasn’t budging, and there was nothing more I could do. Of course, the first thing out of his mouth was a threat to tell Fiona my secret. My reply was to threaten to kill him if he followed through. That’s what Willa overheard.”
“Willa said you left the room at that point.”
She nodded. “I headed downstairs. I’d decided that I needed to confront Alvin face to face, but when I got downstairs, he was nowhere to be found. I peeked in his room, but Lisa was alone, so I went back to bed. The next morning, everyone said he was missing, and I just went along with the group. I was afraid to bring up my part in the whole thing. I really was terrified of Fiona finding out that it had been me who’d stolen her designs. I knew she’d never speak to me again.” Tears began to stream down her face. “I guess she knows now.”
“Yes, I imagine she does.” I took Naomi’s hand in mine. “Do you remember anything from your night with the married man Alvin used to blackmail you?”
“No. Not a thing. I remember being at the party and drinking heavily, and the next thing I know, it’s morning, and I’m naked in bed with one of my father’s very best friends. I didn’t remember anything, nor did I have any idea how we’d gotten there, and he said he didn’t either.”
“It does sound like the whole thing was a setup. Maybe you were both drugged and posed, so Alvin would have something to use against you. How did you meet Alvin in the first place?”
“I met him at a club a few weeks before this happened. He was sweet and charming at the time, and we spent a good amount of time talking.”
“So, he knew exactly who you were?”
She nodded.
“I’m not saying that Fiona won’t be livid when she finds out what happened. Lisa too. But it does sound like you were set up.”
She bit her lower lip. “I guess it might have happened that way. Not that it matters. I still did what I did, and Fiona will never forgive me.”
I wasn’t so sure that Fiona would never forgive her, but I was pretty sure the sisters were in for a rough ride. I remember how devastated I’d been when my sister, Annie, wasn’t speaking to me. I had to admit I felt sorry for Naomi.
A short time later, Jennifer knocked on the door. Naomi answered. I could see that Jennifer was surprised to find me in the room.
“What on earth is going on?” she asked Naomi. “First, you’re called in to talk to the police chief, and then Fiona went in. When she came out, she was hysterical.”
Naomi stepped aside. “Come in. I need to tell you something.”
I figured that was my cue to leave. Jennifer, as Fiona’s partner, was most likely to be as upset about what Naomi had done as Fiona was.
A short time later, a limo pulled up, and Carson and Fiona left. I asked Georgia if Fiona had said anything to her, and she replied that Fiona had simply made arrangements to settle the bill, but that was all she’d said. Based on everyone’s look of confusion, it didn’t appear that she’d even bothered to explain her abrupt departure to her guests. I was afraid that it would be up to us until Mike took the floor.
“Can I have everyone’s attention,” he called out.
Lisa was in with Colt, but everyone else, other than Naomi and Jennifer, who were still upstairs, were in the room where the bar was located.
“As you have all observed, Fiona and Carson had to leave. They want to assure you that everything is fine, they just had a personal matter to attend to. The rooms are paid up through tomorrow morning, so Fiona and Carson hope you will all stay and enjoy what is left of the trip.”
Of course, the announcement was met with what happened, and what’s going on, but Mike either didn’t know, or he pretended not to.
Not long after that, Colt came out and announced that he needed to speak to everyone he hadn’t just spoken to one more time, after which time, they would be free to go or stay if they preferred. Jennifer came down and pulled Lisa aside. The two of them went upstairs, and a short time later, a car pulled up, and the two of them left. Not long after that, a car came for Naomi. In the end, it was only Mike, Ambrosia, Willa, Jordan, and Stephanie who decided to stay and catch the flight they’d already booked for the following day.
Georgia set out food, but it appeared that the remaining guests were more interested in booze and gossip than food. Georgia, Jeremy, and I each made a plate and ate in the kitchen. I offered Colt a plate, but he asked for a rain check. He was heading into town, hoping to catch Caspar before he left the area as well. We both remembered someone saying that Caspar planned to stay in Holiday Bay until the following day, but Colt was concerned he might have changed his plans. I really wanted to ask Colt if he’d figured out who the killer was, but he was in a hurry, so I decided it could wait. I figured that at this point, he didn’t strongly suspect any of the guests staying at the inn since he’d allowed them all to leave. But if not one of them, then who?
Chapter 15
The remainder of the guests headed out early on Monday morning. Lacy called to let Georgia and me know that she planned to go back to the Chadwick house for additional measurements and asked if we’d like to come with her. Georgia wanted to stay behind and help Jeremy and Nikki with the cleaning since we had guests checking in on Wednesday and Thursday for a long weekend, but I decided to tag along and arranged for her to pick me up.
“So how goes the drama playing out at the inn?” Lacy asked once we were on
the road.
“Everyone is gone now, but I have to say it has been an eventful twenty-four hours leading up to the early morning departure of the stragglers.”
“Stragglers? Did some of the guests leave early?”
“Half the guests left early,” I informed her. “The condensed version of what occurred is as follows: Willa admitted to me that she’d heard Naomi on the phone with Alvin in the wee hours Friday morning. Willa had been passed out cold, so I am assuming that Naomi assumed she was still unconscious when she made the call, but she wasn’t. She told me that Naomi threatened to kill Alvin if he told ‘her’ something. Willa didn’t know at the time that the ‘her’ was Fiona, but Naomi later filled me in on everything. It seems that Naomi was at a party a while back and got pretty wasted. She woke up naked, next to a very married friend of her father.”
Lacy gasped. “Oh, no. I think this story is about to get bad.”
“Very bad. Naomi swears she has no idea how she ended up in bed with the guy and doesn’t remember a thing about the evening, but Alvin somehow ended up with photos of the couple and used them to blackmail Naomi into doing certain things.”
“Sounds like he drugged her and set her up,” Lacy said.
“My thoughts exactly.”
“So what did he blackmail her into doing?” she asked.
“Various things, but the two biggies were to steal unreleased designs from Fiona, which Alvin then sold to a competitor, and to introduce Alvin to Lisa.”
“Oh, no. She didn’t.”
I nodded. “She did. I can see why Naomi was desperate to protect her secret and would even understand if she’d killed Alvin, but Colt talked to her, and while she admitted to calling Alvin, which is why a call from her phone ended up on Alvin’s phone records, she swears she didn’t kill him. Colt believes her.”
“And Fiona and Lisa?”
“Once Colt spoke to them, they left without saying a word to Naomi or anyone else. Fiona and Carson left first. Lisa and Jennifer left next. And not long after that, Naomi left. I know she messed up big time, but I sort of feel sorry for her. Especially if she was set up and hadn’t actually slept with her father’s married friend.”
“Yeah. She was in a tough spot. But to steal Fiona’s designs. I’m not sure she’s coming back from that.”
I blew out a breath. “Maybe not, but Fiona might realize once she cools down that Naomi wasn’t just protecting herself but the married man, his wife, and her father as well. I’m not really sure what I would have done in that situation. I’m sure Alvin used his gift of persuasion to convince her that if the photos got out, the marriage of this friend of the family would be destroyed.”
“I feel so bad for everyone involved,” Lacy said as she exited the highway. “If Colt doesn’t think Naomi killed Alvin, who does he suspect?”
“Caspar, actually. Caspar came to see Alvin on Thursday night, but no one other than Alvin and Naomi seemed to know he was there. Naomi told me that Caspar is the one who let her know that he was done being pushed around by Alvin and had decided not to play his game any longer. During her interview, Fiona told Colt that Caspar and Alvin appeared to have been friends for a while and that Caspar had even introduced him around much as Lisa had, but based on her observation and the tension between the two men, it appeared the honeymoon was over. The one problem with the theory of Caspar as the killer is that he is very slight in build, and Colt doesn’t think he could have killed and moved Alvin, who was much taller and heavier.”
“So, he had help. Who?”
“When I spoke to Colt last night, he wasn’t sure, but he did say he was going to dig into Stephanie’s background. When Colt questioned Jordan yesterday, he informed Colt that he’d only met Stephanie at a club a few weeks ago and that she’d been the one to ask him to score her an invite as his plus one to the party this past weekend. He wasn’t going out with anyone else at the time, Stephanie was fun to be around, and he didn’t really want to come alone, so he agreed to bring her along.”
“So, I assume Colt suspects that she may have approached Jordan intending to score an invite all along.”
“That’s what he’s beginning to suspect. Caspar left before Colt could talk to him, and Stephanie left early this morning, but Colt plans to continue digging into both their backgrounds. If he finds anything, I’m sure he’ll call his FBI buddy to assist or possibly the local PD. Caspar lives in Manhattan, and Stephanie lives in Boston, but has clients in New York and is often in the city.”
“Did Colt mention why he thinks Caspar and Stephanie might be involved?”
“I don’t think he knows. I just think he has reason to suspect both and is determined to keep digging. I realize the others in attendance knew Alvin better, but Colt spoke to all of them on multiple occasions. He came away from the interviews with the idea that Fiona, Carson, Mike, Ambrosia, Jennifer, Willa, and Jordan were innocent of wrongdoing and Lisa and Naomi were probably innocent of killing the guy, although they both had a motive, so if neither Caspar or Stephanie pan out, he may take another look at Lisa and Naomi.”
Lacy pulled into the drive and parked. Lonnie’s truck was out front as were five other trucks. It looked like the renovation crew was here today.
“How long does Lonnie think this project is going to take?” I asked Lacy as we climbed out of her car.
“He isn’t sure. At least a year. It really depends on what they find once they begin opening walls and how available the subcontractors are. Baron also has some custom carpentry he wants to be done, so tracking down the right people to do the work will take some time as well. It’s a big house. It’s going to be a big project.”
“Yeah. I can see that. I guess it’s nice to have job security for a while.”
“So nice.” Lacy smiled. “I’m hoping we can pay off all our debts and get some money in the bank with the money Baron is paying Lonnie and me for this project.”
“And once you have that accomplished, you can start opening college funds for your six children.”
Lacy groaned. “Don’t even say that. It’s going to take a big winning lottery ticket to send six kids to college. At least they’re still young, so we have time to figure it out.”
Lonnie just happened to be in the front of the house, talking to one of his men when we arrived. Lacy kissed her husband hello, and they took a minute to catch up before he went his way, and Lacy and I headed toward the library. I could see that while Lacy was determined to tackle the desk, due to its size and state of disrepair, it was going to be a complicated job that would require all her talent to complete.
While Lacy measured and re-measured the desk, I headed toward the bookshelves and started thumbing through the thousands and thousands of volumes. In a way, I felt like a kid in a candy store. There was so much to explore and so little time. I knew I’d have other opportunities to return and look around, so today, I focused my energy on one shelf that seemed to house other handwritten volumes. It would be just my luck that I’d stumbled onto someone’s grocery list, but at least one book was written in English and seemed to be more of a diary.
“‘Sebastian came by today. What an arrogant cuss. As if I’d ever be interested in someone so self-involved.’” I read aloud.
“I take it the author was not a fan of Sebastian,” Lacy said. “Any idea who wrote the diary or when it was written?”
I thumbed through it. “There isn’t a date anywhere or a name I can find. I suppose there might be something in the text that will provide a clue as to who might have penned it. Maybe we can take it with us.”
Lacy hesitated.
“Baron did give us permission to take the other journal, which ended up being a to-do list. I’m sure as long as we stick to the same rules, he won’t mind if we take this volume as well.”
Lacy looked like she was going to deny my request so I jumped into my spiel about how understanding the residents of the house would give her a feel for the furniture she planned to lovingly restore, and she a
greed to take the diary as long as we were careful with it and brought it back within the week. That seemed agreeable to me since I planned to read the darn thing as soon as I got home.
“So, is there anything interesting in there?” Lacy asked as we drove back toward Holiday Bay.
“Well, that depends. What I’ve read is interesting because I know that someone who lived decades before me wrote it. But so far, the entries are about everyday life: the rabbits in the garden, the Crocus that won’t bloom as expected, an upcoming party being held for someone named Amberlee.” I looked up from the book. “Again, it is interesting to read about the life of the person who wrote the diary, but so far, not a single scandalous event or thought has been included.”
“So you’re hoping to find a journal detailing an illicit affair, brutal murder, secret child, or underground smuggling ring.”
I smiled. “I see you get me. I know the diary was written by a real person living what probably amounted to a mundane life, but a little spice in the story would be nice. At least I haven’t come across any entries dealing with household repairs.” I looked back down at the book in my hand. “I stand corrected. The page I am currently reading includes the following passage: ‘Robert came by to mend the fence around the garden. I’m not convinced it will keep the rabbits out since the little rodents are both smart and determined, but he does try, and I do appreciate the view from my window as he works.’” I glanced at Lacy. “View out her window. Might I perhaps make the assumption that Robert was a babe?”
Lacy laughed. “It sounds that way. What else does it say?”
“‘Mama says I shouldn’t stare the way I do, but if you ask me, Mama has done her share of staring when she thinks no one is watching.’”
“Well, there you go. Lust and longing all wrapped up in a story about pesky rabbits.” Lacy chuckled as she pulled onto the drive leading out to the inn.
“I guess I’ll have to keep reading. Maybe one of the females living in the house acts on their feelings for Robert before the end.”