Rain reached out to touch his arm, “Actually, I was only trying to get you to see that my father had nothing to do with this. How would you feel if the tables were turned and people suspected your sister?” Her eyes traveled to Julia. “Wouldn’t you want to clear her name and protect her? Wouldn’t you do anything to protect your family?” Rain straightened her shoulders and stood tall with new resolve.
Julia piped up, “Hey, don’t put me in the middle of this!”
“I’m sorry,” Rain said to Julia. “I’m just trying to make him understand.” She lifted a palm in her brother’s direction.
Jace’s eyes softened, though, so she continued. “I’m only trying to get to the truth here. I’m sorry if I acted hastily and dragged Julia, too, into this. It’s just …”
Jace stopped her with a lift of his palm. “I get it. I do.” His tone softened. “I just wish you two had called me. Why didn’t you? You both put yourselves in grave danger, and that’s genuinely concerning to me. I should throw you both in jail just to teach you both a lesson.”
Rain and Julia looked at each other and said in unison, “He’d never do that.” Causing the three to lose tension between them as a smile crossed Jace’s lips, and he shook his head as if he knew he’d lost the battle.
“Seriously, what am I going to do with you two?” He smirked.
“Look, neither of us could’ve imagined it would get this far. We were honestly just attempting to dig for intel. That’s all.” Julia swiped her hands out like she was calling safe at a baseball game.
“Again. Not your job,” Jace said calmly.
“Despite all the danger we put ourselves in, did we solve the case?” Rain asked hesitantly. “Did we provide any help at all?”
Jace attempted to hold back a smile, “As much as I hate to admit this, if it hadn’t been for you two catching Paul in the act of burglary, we’d have nothing to hold him on. We’re still in the process of collecting evidence, but we didn’t have enough to present it to the District Attorney yet. So yeah, I guess you helped solved the crime. Let me wrap up this investigation, but then I think we’ll need to regroup.”
“Can I ask you something? Do you know anything about Brock and his interest in coins and currency? Does he have anything to do with all of this?”
Jace only acknowledged her comment with a smile.
“You know the motive behind this crime, don’t you, Jace?” Rain asked.
“Yes, Rain, I most certainly do.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
An entire week passed before Rain was able to reopen the Lakeside Library to the citizens of Lofty Pines. Both she and her new coworkers, Julia and Marge, had decided the three would come together to prepare for the pre-initial grand reopening a few hours before the first patrons were due to arrive. Julia was working diligently on cataloging the last of the new novels. Marge was meticulously dusting every inch of the library with a feather duster. And Rain was shelving books, when the door opened, and officer Jace Lowe appeared, filling the space with his commanding stance.
“Good morning, ladies.” He tipped his official police hat to the three. “How we all doin’ today?” he asked, rocking back and forth on his heels. A welcoming smile raised to his lips.
“Good morning, Officer Lowe,” the three women said in unison, and then collective laughter flooded the library, filling the room with new life.
“May I?” Jace said, removing his hat and stepping deeper into the room. “I’d like to have a word with you ladies if you can indulge me a few moments of your time. I have something important to discuss, and I think each one of you will want to hear what I have to say.” He cleared his throat. “It’s pretty important. And I’m guessing I owe it to you since you helped crack the case wide open.”
The sincerity in his voice instantly grabbed their full attention and they all dropped their collective duties to go and meet with the officer.
“I’m guessing this is about the case? Did you officially charge Paul? Rain clutched her heart, waiting.
Jace held up a palm to stop her. “I think we’re gonna need to back up a bit. There are some unconnected dots that I need to fill in for you so that you can completely understand the full picture.”
Rain felt confused. After not hearing from the police department, she’d imagined everything had been pretty cut and dry. Instead of barraging Jace with a million questions that were instantly forming in her mind, though, she waited patiently for him to continue.
“The man that was murdered, out by your outhouse, was not who you think he was,” Jace said.
“What?” Julia asked, her tone bewildered. Which Rain imagined, pretty much summed up the astonishment of all of them, including herself.
“Of course he was!” Rain said finally with conviction. “We have the proof!”
Jace shook his head. “I’m sorry, Rain, that’s where you’re mistaken.”
Marge clutched the sleeves of her blouse and raised her hands to her heart. “The man that died wasn’t my nephew then. Did I hear you correctly, Officer Lowe?” she asked. “But that doesn’t make sense, because Rain told me how my sister’s baby didn’t die. And she found the birth certificate of my nephew Thornton to prove it!” She tapped her foot impatiently on the floor, making a clicking sound.
The ladies shared another look of confusion before Marge added, “Wait! Luis wrote about the baby. It was written in the book.” Marge left the group and quickly returned with the copy of Always You in her hand. She handed it to Jace. It’s all right there,” she said, lifting her chin. “Here, read it for yourself. I’m not sure if Rain told you my secret yet, but I’m ninety-nine percent positive my sister Maggie was the muse in the novel. It’s all right there in plain ink.” She tapped the top of the book, clicking hard with her polished fingernail as the officer held the copy of Always You in his hand.
Jace held up a hand of defense. “I’m not saying that there wasn’t a baby, or that the baby didn’t survive. What I’m saying is, the man who was murdered out by the outhouse was not Thornton Hughes.” Jace handed Rain the copy of her grandfather’s book, and she held it protectively to her chest.
Julia and Rain shared another puzzled glance before he continued.
“The man who was bludgeoned to death was not your uncle. It was a man who had stolen your uncle’s identity. The murder victim was a thief and a conman. He’d been doing time in a federal prison, was released on good behavior, and was using Thornton Hughes’s identity to start over. The man that was killed was not any relation to either of you. The man who was murdered by the outhouse was Neil Abbotsford.”
“Neil Abbotsford? But how?” Rain asked, still stunned from the news. “How do you know this for sure?”
“After looking into his wonky financials, we put the man’s DNA in CODIS, which is the national criminal database, and we got a hit. I’m not going to explain the nuts and bolts of everything, but something about the way Neil handled his bank accounts and credit cards tipped us off. The guy was convicted of fraud in the early nineties and was released early for good behavior. But, apparently, for Neil, old habits die hard. So, in answer to your question, we found out by good ole’ fashioned policework.” He winked.
Rain shook her head, unable to comprehend what she was hearing. “What about my mother? Are you saying the man she was getting to know, was nothing but a fraud?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. We believe Neil was trying to get close to Willow to solidify the stolen identity. He was attempting in every aspect to become Thornton Hughes. Because he couldn’t very well use his own identity. The guy had priors!” Jace threw a hand in the air before resting his hands comfortably back on his hips. “Neil used the identity to reinvent himself in order to become an upstanding citizen in the community. Someone who was tight with your mother and the Lakers, who could then wheel and deal in the Real Estate market. By impersonating Thornton, Neil thought he could cash in the bills to a local collector with no chance of ever getting caught.
However, there were a few wrinkles in his plan. We discovered the real Thornton Hughes had already filed an Illinois police report of a burglary that had happened at his parents’ home located on the Wisconsin/Illinois state line. That’s when the unsealed adoption records were stolen. Neil took those records and decided to seek out Thornton’s biological ties and immerse himself into the family. We believe, once this was accomplished, his cohort, Paul, had plans to kill the real Thornton. It was only a matter of days, possibly hours. Thankfully though, that plan was stopped in its tracks.” Jace waved a finger between Rain and Julia. “And really, kudos to you two gals, because if it wasn’t for you catching Paul in the act of burglary, we might’ve lost him with nothing concrete to hold him on. It gave us the time we needed this week to get our evidence points in line for the DA and build a solid case.”
Rain and Julia exchanged a quick smile.
“And your actions may very well have saved Thornton Hughes’s life.” he added grimly.
“So, this was all for money.” Marge said with a sad shake of her head. “What a terrible shame.”
“Yes, the report suggested that the money found in the refrigerator, belonged to Thornton’s adoptive parents.” Jace nodded.
“So, the money was stolen? That’s why Neil hid the treasury bills in the refrigerator?” Julia asked.
“Yes, the money was stolen. We traced the serial numbers and that’s how we found the real Thornton and the report he’d filed out of Illinois. Neil hid the money inside the refrigerator because he didn’t want the owners of the rental to find it. They knew they needed to trade the bills in to a collector before the money was spent, otherwise it would trace back to them,” Jace answered.
“Wait.” Rain held up a hand to interrupt them. “I’m still a bit confused about the money …”
Jace continued, “Thornton’s adoptive parents owned the bills as part of their treasury collection. And Thornton had been willed them upon his adoptive father’s recent death. That’s how the thieves worked; they followed the obituaries in the newspapers to find their next victims. When they realized how rare some of the five-hundred-dollar bills were, they realized they wouldn’t be able to cash in without getting caught. One five-hundred-dollar bill from 1928 is worth over ten thousand dollars alone! The collection added up to well over $250,000. Anyhow, it was then they decided to completely steal his identity, right down to playing the part of a family member. When they studied Thornton’s past, they realized he’d been adopted through unsealed records, and continued the charade. The real Thornton shared with the police department that he never looked for his biological parents as he felt his adoptive parents were so good to him, he didn’t want to hurt their feelings. We believe Neil would’ve stopped at nothing to play the part of your uncle—Willow’s brother. Once everyone in town was spreading gossip about an affair between the two of them, it made it even easier for Neil and Paul to use your parents as a ruse. Paul perpetuated that idea of an affair and used it to his advantage as a perfect alibi, allowing your father to hopefully take the hit.”
Julia interrupted with an upturned palm. “Wait. You said them. And brought Paul into the mix.”
“Yes. Neil and Paul were in this together. The two met in the Illinois State Federal Penitentiary.”
“So, the German friend, Paul, wanted to frame my father for Neil’s death behind the outhouse? And create the perfect alibi for himself? Then why did he kill his partner? Why did this Neil character have to die if they were working this burglary plan together?”
“The motive comes down to plain ole’ greed. What Neil didn’t realize is that Paul was not only convicted of fraud back in the day, there were allegations he’d also committed murder, but the DA couldn’t get those charges to stick. The state lost out on a technicality. We also have a hunch that Neil wasn’t quite ready to add murder to his rap sheet. The two argued about whether or not the real Thornton should die. Unfortunately for Neil, he picked the wrong partner to collaborate with. Paul got greedy, it’s as simple as that. We don’t think that he ever had any intention of sharing those bills. Although, he, too, wasn’t the smartest tool in the shed because little did he know that Thornton’s adoptive parents had the serial numbers of those bills insured. So, he’d have been caught anyway if he spent even one five-hundred-dollar bill. They both thought if they found a collector to buy the bills and then hide the money in real estate dealings, such as the new condo complex, no one would catch on to their scheme.”
“So, is that where Brock fits in to all of this?” Rain asked.
“Yes, Neil had heard that Brock was a coin collector and gave him one of the rare five-hundred-dollar bills—a rare 1928 worth over ten grand, to see if he could find a buyer for the entire collection. He’d promised Brock if he found a buyer, he’d give him more than fair deal on one of the new condos he was planning to develop. Brock still had the rare bill in his possession after Neil’s death, but hung onto it for fear it would implicate him in the crime.”
“I could see how that would put him in a sticky situation.” Julia agreed. “I’m surprised Neil didn’t use Brock as the scapegoat instead of Rain’s father to take the hit for all of this.”
“Yeah, me too.” Jace said.
“So, Paul tried to frame my father by stealing the jacket? That was his plan? And he would’ve gotten away with it!” Rain said, her tone rising with each additional word.
“That’s right.” Jace nodded. “With all the gossip around town, it made it easy for them to go along with it. We found your father’s Chicago Cubs jacket at the location Paul was staying, a rental in the next town over. Thornton, aka Neil, was the one who tipped him off about the fact that no one would be caught DEAD wearing Chicago gear in Wisconsin—except your father.”
Rain interrupted. “Paul said he was renting a cottage about a mile from my house. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he lied about that, too.”
“I’m not surprised he lied to you. Most criminals return to the scene of the crime to cover their tracks. He probably wanted to prompt you to see if you’d seen the murder. He didn’t know Willow’s daughter was expected at the cabin,” Jace answered. “Or he was attempting to return the jacket, but you were home and thwarted that plan, too.”
Rain chewed on her lip, “It’s still unclear to me. How did he even know about the jacket?”
Jace continued, “Your mother was the one who gave the idea to Thornton’s imposter and shared how it was the joke around town that your father wears a billboard for the Cubs, so he stole it one night after spending time with your mother and then gave it to Paul. Neil was attempting to link your father to the case, making himself virtually invisible as a suspect. His main goal was to frame your father for the murder. Unfortunately, they fought over the money, and Neil took the blunt force trauma to the head, but Paul kept the alibi,” Jace added shifting his weight and then leaning against a bookcase for support. “He thought by implicating someone else, there would be no other suspects and the case would close.”
“So that’s why Paul was attempting to return the jacket and put the key back inside the outhouse,” Rain said allowing the thoughts to flow.
“The perfect crime,” Julia uttered.
“Not exactly perfect,” Jace said. “We would’ve easily been able to corroborate Rain’s father being in Japan. A simple plane ticket would’ve verified the truth if it had come to it.”
“Does my mother know?” Rain asked.
“That we’re not entirely sure of yet. We’re getting our information from Paul, which is spotty at best. We haven’t been able to get hold of Willow yet either. So, I’m pretty sure all of these new revelations will come as a surprise to her as well,” Jace said, slipping his hat back on his head and adjusting it.
“Back the train up. Tell me more about this guy you arrested for the crime. This cohort guy, Paul. Might I add, the guy Rain almost castrated?” Julia giggled. “Well actually, I kinda did the deed with my foot too. That had to hurt.” She g
rimaced. “Anyhow, who is he? Is his real name Paul?”
“His name is Everett Kahn.”
Julia giggled and shared what was on her mind, “Khan? Any relation to Chaka Khan?”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, sis.” Jace wagged a finger at Julia. “This isn’t funny business.” But he, too, couldn’t seem to contain his smile.
“I know, I know.” Julia waved her brother off with a fluttered hand. “I’m just trying to lighten the mood. We’ve had a bit of a crazy start for Rain’s inauguration back up here in the Northwoods. A little unfair for a reunion, don’t you think?” She grinned. “I’m just trying to help ease the tension, cut me some slack, will ya?”
“Speaking of reunions …” Jace let the comment linger while he lifted away from the bookcase and straightened his back, to seemingly ease a kink that needed readjusting.
“Then if Neil is not Thornton, where’s the real Thornton Hughes? Where is my nephew?” Marge prompted. “Apparently you’ve spoken with him and he has his money and his ID back?” she leaned in expectantly.
“That’s exactly what I was about to tell you. I have some even better news that will lighten the mood and make Rain feel a little more welcome to the Northwoods. At least I think so.” Jace nodded.
The three women leaned in closer to the officer with expectation.
“Yes, Marjorie it’s true your sister Maggie had a baby. And that baby survived. He’s out on the deck lakeside, waiting to meet his aunt.” His eyes then trailed to Rain. “And his niece.”
Rain gasped. “What? You’re kidding?”
“That’s right. The real Thornton Hughes is here. And he’s anxious to meet you both,” Jace said with a trickle of pride in his voice.
Murder at the Lakeside Library Page 24