Murder at the Lakeside Library

by Holly Danvers

  Rain threw her hands up in the air. “Great. I still can’t locate the jacket to prove that it’s ripped. But if I could, you’re saying your nylon sample could potentially be a match.” Rain bit at her thumbnail and looked to the sky seeking answers. “Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Again, Rain, not helping. If anything, you’re sealing your father’s fate.” He turned to face her squarely.

  “No, no, no. Hear me out.” Rain waved her hand erratically. “Someone stole it.”

  “Let me get this straight. You think someone used the outhouse key to go inside your cabin and steal your fathers’ jacket to impersonate him? Why?” Jace set his beer aside the chair, leaned forward, and rested his chin on a cuffed fist. “Why would anyone do that?”

  Rain could feel a lump forming in her throat. “Because up until today, I’m not gonna lie, the thought had crossed my mind. I mean, the thought that my own father could’ve had a serious beef with Thornton. If my father believed everyone else in Lofty Pines, and thought my mother was indeed having an affair with the guy! I get it, that’s … well … the potential for … well it gives strong motive for murder. I understand that. I’m not stupid. I watch TV, I’ve read it in books …” her voice trailed off when she buried her face in her hands. “But I know my father, he wouldn’t …” she finally said when her courage returned.

  Jace seemingly took the information in like a sponge, reached for his beer, and then took a sip, considering. He wiped his hand across a weary face. “Yes, it does give him strong motive. I hadn’t heard about the sightings of your father in town—until now. If you say that the nylon could match, it doesn’t look good for Stuart at all. Is that what you want me to say? You want me to tell it to you straight—”

  Rain interrupted him by holding up her palm. “Wait, Jace. Let me explain why I think someone is trying to frame my dad for this.”

  Jace took another sip of beer and said evenly, “I hope you have something really concrete here, Rain. ’Cause again, not helping your father here.”

  “I do.”

  “Then tell me.”

  “I know my mother wasn’t having an affair with Thornton Hughes.”

  “And how exactly would you know this since you haven’t been up north. When was the last time you spent any amount of time in the Northwoods? You have no clue what Willow—”

  “Because he’s my uncle,” Rain blurted.

  Jace shook his head, stunned, as if he’d just been hit upside the head with a football and feigned a concussion. “Excuse me? You must be joking.” He removed his police hat and dropped it by the foot of the chair. He then raked one hand through his short hair, and barley shifted the blunt cut away from his head. If his hair was any longer, he really would look like Brad Pitt.

  “I’m not. I have proof of it in the library if you want me to verify. Thornton was my mother’s half-brother. I have the birth certificate to prove it. My grandfather fathered an illegitimate child in his younger years, and that child is Thornton Hughes.”

  Jace rubbed hard on his jaw. He gazed out at the lapping shore and then turned to Rain when she pressed. “Well?”

  “No, that’s okay, I’m just trying to take this new information in. I believe what you’re saying, Rain, no need to verify by bringing out the paperwork just yet. And Willow? She knows this? She’s aware that the deceased was her half-brother?”

  “That I can neither confirm nor deny. As you know, my mother’s out digging wells in Africa and was supposed to call me to share the best way to get hold of her this summer. I’ve yet to connect with her, but I’m not surprised. I’ve only been up here a few days and I’m sure she’s just giving me time to get settled. I know my mother, and I’m sure she didn’t want to call me right off the bat, because she knows I wouldn’t initially be happy about reopening the library without her. She also knows I’d warm up to the idea over time. So no, as far as I know, she doesn’t know about Thornton’s murder. How could she? I can’t even get hold of her, and I’m her daughter. I sent her a quick email to get in touch with me as soon as possible, but she’s yet to respond. I didn’t want to send this kind of news via the World Wide Web, so I kept it vague. I’m guessing she doesn’t have service yet.”

  Jace scratched along his hairline and said, “the police station is only told to notify the next of kin. But we had no idea that the two were related so it’s safe to assume none of the other officers or the chief attempted to phone your mom.”

  Rain held back from disclosing the part about Marge’s sister. She didn’t find that information pertinent to the case. Besides, she’d promised to hold the secret close to her heart. Jace was not a reader, so he probably wouldn’t even make a connection from reading her grandfather’s book anyway. It wasn’t her place to disclose Maggie, she’d allow Marge to do that in her own time.

  “Did you confirm that the blue necktie left inside my grandfather’s book belonged to the victim?”

  “Yeah, DNA results confirmed that the tie belonged to Thornton. I guess it’s safe to assume that your mother lent him that book since he’d used his necktie as a bookmark, and it was found close to his body. It doesn’t really prove anything; it only links him to the library or in this case—your mother.”

  “So, he’d come back to return the book to the library and wham-o! He gets bludgeoned to death. How awful. Clearly, my mother trusted him because no one, I mean, no one, outside our family has ever been told that the key was kept in the outhouse.”

  Jace tilted his head to one side to consider. “Huh? I wonder why Willow and Thornton didn’t put a halt to the gossip then? Why would they allow it to continue? I mean, why would they let everyone around Lofty Pines think they were having an affair, if they weren’t? They must’ve heard the talk themselves. You’d have to be a hermit not to.”

  “I’m not sure if it was because one of them wasn’t ready to share the truth with the rest of the extended family? That part is still a bit unclear.” Rain chewed at her nail. “That’s the one thing I’m unsure of … why they would let the gossip fester. Honestly, maybe they just flat out didn’t care what people thought. I’ll certainly ask my mother the first chance I get.”

  Jace sat back in the chair and nursed his beer.

  Rain looked to the sky, wishing for answers and not knowing yet quite where to find them. The sounds of cicadas and slow rolling waves along the shoreline filled the silence between them.

  Jace broke the quiet when he said, “There are things at play here that you don’t understand, and I can’t share with you yet. Let’s just leave it at that. Please understand, when the time is right, and I have substantial proof, and the case is wrapped up, I’ll share it all with you. But again, please understand, I can’t tell you everything right now. It would put the case in jeopardy.”

  “Yeah, I’d be lying if I said I was okay with it, I’m not—but I have to respect your work.” Rain massaged her forehead and then decided to push forward with more questions anyway. Why not? What could she lose? “Can I ask about the money? The money that Julia found inside the milk carton. You haven’t shared a word about that yet. I understand this is an ongoing investigation and you can’t divulge much, but was Thornton rich? What else did you dig up from his background?”

  “Rain. Don’t. You know I can’t share details of an ongoing investigation with you.” Jace shook his head and Rain knew by the tone of his voice that there were things going on in the investigation that she was not yet privy to. She slumped back in the chair and returned her eyes to the sky.

  “So, you still think my father did this? You think my father killed Thornton under the impression that my mother was having an affair with him? Is my father still on your suspect list after what I told you, Jace? Give it to me straight.”

  Jace paused longer than Rain liked before he answered.

  “I don’t think so. But I promise you this, I’ll follow the traces of evidence wherever they lead.”

  That wasn’t exactly the answer Rain was hoping
for.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The wail of a loon call sang out from the far side of the lake. Some found this echo haunting— as if the bird sounded desperate and foreboding. Rain had always found the sound hauntingly beautiful. The loon call reminded her of the Northwoods and the childhood memories back at her family’s summer log cabin. The call typically happened at dusk, or early in the morning, as was the case that day. The lake was flat, as if she could step right onto it, and it would hold her bodyweight. And a slight haze hung over the water like a hovering ghost.

  The sound of oncoming footsteps interrupted the loons and prompted Rain to raise her eyes from her grandfather’s book. Julia’s pink head shot up from the staircase, leading up to the wraparound deck. Her hair shimmered in the sunlight. Rain bookmarked the novel, and then set it beside the chair.

  “You’re certainly up early after a late night out. How was the bonfire after I left?”

  “No kidding, a little too early for my liking, if you ask me. It was great fun! Kim says hello again, she felt bad you had to leave us last night, as did the rest of us. And after what I heard through the grapevine, I wish you would’ve stayed with us, too.”

  “Jace?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Doughnuts again? You keep this up and I’m gonna need to join Weight Watchers by fall.” Rain chuckled. She tented her eyes and watched Julia step onto the deck, balancing the bag of doughnut holes in one hand and The Brewin’ Time cups in a disposable tray in the other. Her friend dropped the bag of doughnuts into her lap upon arrival, and then set the coffee down on the wide arm of her Adirondack chair.

  “Yes, I found my brother camped out on my couch when we arrived home late last night.” You’re lucky I didn’t come over and camp out here on this deck overnight and plunk the perp myself with one of Nick’s hunting rifles.” She reached into the bag of doughnut holes on Rain’s lap, plucked one out, and popped the entire thing in her mouth. With a mouthful of powdered sugar, she added, “One evening I leave your side and all Havana breaks loose!”

  “Yeah, pretty much.” Rain reached into the bag and pulled out a powdered doughnut and took a nibble and then a sip of the coffee. “Oh Mylanta, these are sooo good. What do I owe you?”

  “Oh Mylanta? I like it. I may have to use it. Hey, I guess, I’m really starting to rub off on you, aren’t I?” Julia grinned.

  Rain handed back the bag of doughnuts so not to be further tempted. She could already see that by summer’s end she’d need to buy brand new jeans to fit her growing waistline. “Come on Julia, how much?” she pressed as she wiped away powder that had fallen from the doughnut bag and landed on her Harley Davidson T-shirt.

  “You bought lunch at Portside, I think we’re even. Let it go, will ya,” Julia said in a teasing voice. “No worries, we’ll do it again soon.”

  “Oh, we really should do that again soon, that was nice, I really like the ambiance over there. Or better yet, we should head over to Portside some Friday night for fish fry. That actually sounds better,” Rain said smacking her lips. “Add that to our list of must-haves this summer.” She grinned.

  “Seriously, I’m starting to feel like a broken record asking, but are you okay?” Julia wiped powdered sugar from the side of her mouth and then licked her fingers clean.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. The strange thing is that despite all this chaos in my life, it’s actually starting to feel normal. Chaos seems to equal normal life for me. Am I making any sense? It’s like I’m living in some weird twisted novel.” Rain sighed and then turned her attention away from Julia to the waterfront when a soft breeze brushed across her skin. The morning sun danced atop the now rippling water. And calming laps serenaded, bringing serenity with each collapse onto shore. She felt the need to take a cleansing dip in the lake as soon as time permitted. The lake looked inviting.

  “You wanna talk about it?”

  “What? You mean the craziness called my life? Or the murder investigation?” Rain’s eyes turned from the water back to her friend. “There are some missing pieces to our mystery that your brother won’t fill me in on. Which is making this a little hard to solve.”

  “Like what?” Julia asked, shoving another doughnut hole into her mouth.

  “Like the money you found in the milk carton. When I asked Jace about Thornton’s finances, your brother clammed up. I still can’t figure out why my uncle would be hiding gobs of money inside his refrigerator, it’s very odd. A milk carton? Really? What do you make of that?”

  “I don’t make anything of that really, except that your uncle may have been dirty, stinkin’ rich.” Julia brushed the powdered sugar off her hands and onto her legs. “Jace is just doing his job and can’t reveal too much, for fear it might compromise the case. You gotta give him a little leeway, Rain. He’s not holding back to be difficult, I’m sure once this is all said and done, he’ll open up like a flower.”

  “Oh? So, you’re siding with your brother now?” Rain teased with a wry smile. “That’s a 180-degree shift from the other night.”

  “Yes, agreed. The other night at the barbeque I pushed his buttons a little hard. But I was only trying to dig for intel, not unlike yourself. Truth is, my big brother loves me. Deep down he knows the barrage of questions come from good intentions—Jace knows we’re just trying to make sense of all this.”

  “I think he’s getting pretty sick of running to my aid. I’m starting to feel like a damsel in distress, and I don’t like it.” Rain smirked. “He must think I’m a weenie.”

  “On the contrary, my brother has mentioned on more than one occasion that he’s glad to reconnect with you. He likes you, and he’s happy you’re back with us up here in the Northwoods. Along with the rest of the Lakers.” She winked.

  Rain wasn’t sure how to take that comment. She had enjoyed reconnecting with Jace, too, but she wasn’t sure if Julia was insinuating that there was more to it than that. Or that she inwardly hoped for more than that. She smoothed her teeth with her tongue, removing any residue of sugar and then shifted in the chair, tucking her legs beneath her. “One piece of the puzzle I toyed over well into the night and can’t seem to let go of, is who might have been over here and attempted a break-in last night. And I think I may have an answer.”

  Julia sat up straighter in the chair, “Really? You think you know who tried to break in? How? Jace said the perpetrator was wearing dark clothing and that you said you couldn’t see anything.” Her head cocked to one side in confusion. “Did you hold something back?”

  “No, not at all, at least not intentionally. I didn’t think about this until long after Jace left. Truthfully, it crossed my mind while I tossed and turned in bed. Remember when we went over to Thornton’s rental house to clean?”

  Julia took a sip of her drink and then set it down on the arm of the Adirondack. She then made a sour face. “How could I forget cleaning? Best day of my life,” she added sarcastically. “I’m never starting that kind of side business, by the way. I’m officially done.” She rolled her eyes and clucked her tongue. “I hate cleaning. No, I take that back, I loathe it,” she drawled.

  “Maybe not?” Rain uttered while chewing the inside of her cheek.

  “Oh, trust me.” Julia shook her head. “I’m done, done! You can’t pay me enough.”

  “Wait. Hang on a second … hear me out.” Rain reached to console her friend, and Julia misinterpreted and stuck the bag of doughnuts back in her hand, which made Rain smile.

  “No, I appreciate you bringing them, but I’m good on the doughnuts for now.” Rain rejected the bag with an upheld palm. “No, I mean, when we were over there, Frankie mentioned that Thornton’s friend had a foreign accent. Last night, Jace discovered the word that I heard the intruder yell might have been German. I think our guy that was here last night was a friend of Thornton’s.”

  “Well, now that makes zero sense.” Julia’s face turned puzzled. “Why would a friend of Thornton’s want to break into your house? Jace told me that he pu
t the key back inside the outhouse? Why would he do that? That makes no sense at all.”

  “Yeah.” Rain sat back in the chair and contemplated. “That’s the part that I’m hung up on, too. So … I was thinking … maybe if we pretend we’re going back to clean the house because we didn’t get a chance to finish … Because we were interrupted by the police … We could approach Frankie and see if we can find out more about this foreign guy. We could pump him for more intel. Whatddaya say?”

  “I say I have a better idea,” Julia said intently as she drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair. She then turned to face the lake. “Where do guys go early in the morning when they own a Lund?” A smile formed on her lips and one eyebrow raised.

  “They go fishing!” Rain exclaimed.

  “Exactly. Let’s go catch a big one.” Julia grinned. “And by big one, obviously, I mean a big lead in this case. Let’s find out more about our little German friend through Frankie. Maybe he’ll know what kind of trouble Thornton was in that might have led to his demise. Who would know more than a friend, right?”

  “Julia, you’re brilliant!”

  “Nah, don’t give me that much credit, I’m just trying to get outta cleaning again. I’d much rather go fishing than cleaning.” Julia looked at her nails. “I repeat. If you ask me to clean a McMansion again for scoop—it’s not happening.” She chuckled.

  “No worries, I promise I won’t use cleaning as our ruse in the future since you have such an aversion to it.” Rain laughed and then switched gears. “Do you think we can borrow some of Nick’s tackle to make it look legit? All my dad’s stuff is buried in the boathouse, and I have no idea what kind of condition it’s in. I haven’t gone fishing in years. To be honest, I’m not even sure I ever put my own worm on a line.” She grimaced. “My grandfather always did that for me.”