by Mary Maxwell
Before I could answer, our favorite server approached with menus and a wine list.
“Hey, guys!” Rita greeted us with her customary cheerful tone. “I was so excited when I saw you on the reservation list.”
“How’s it going?” I said. “Long time no see!”
She laughed. “Yeah, long time since…when? Last week, wasn’t it?”
Zack shot me a quizzical smile. “Last week?”
“I popped in for lunch with my sister,” I said with a little shrug.
“Was that the day I went to Vail?”
“Yep. Olivia surprised me by driving up for the afternoon. When the lunch rush calmed down at Sky High, I invited her to come here and try the Gorgonzola and Porcini Mushroom Risotto.”
“How’d she like it?”
I looked at Rita. “You’ve probably got better things to do than listen to us discuss my sister,” I said, glancing at Zack. “How about a bottle of the soave that’s so good?”
He nodded. “Whatever you want, my love!”
Rita swooned, pressing the back of one hand against her forehead. “You guys are so cute together. I’m really glad Blanche Speltzer worked her magic and introduced you two.”
I winked at Zack. He responded with a smile. Our running joke was that Blanche claimed to have introduced us through her matchmaking service although we’d actually met when he took my picture for the Crescent Creek Gazette article.
“That makes three of us, Rita.” Zack smiled at her while nudging my leg under the table. “We’re so lucky that Blanche waved her magic wand.”
When Rita realized he was joking, she giggled again and headed for the bar.
“She’s great,” Zack said. “Luigi’s got one of the best groups in town. Don’t you think?”
“Other than the gang at Sky High?”
“Well, yeah! Other than you, Julia and Harper.”
“I know what you meant,” I said. “And I agree; Luigi’s got the knack for the business.”
“And the place is packed tonight,” Zack said. “A bachelorette party come through the door about ten minutes before you got here. From the way they were carrying on, I’d say the cocktails started flowing long before they climbed out of their stretch limo.”
“They were supposed to be at Crescent Creek Lodge,” I said. “But Connie quickly found alternate venues for each of the three special events she had on the books for tonight.”
Zack nodded somberly. “Do you know what happened?” he asked. “With the guy in the gazebo?”
I shook my head. “Dina’s on the case,” I said. “So far it’s a deceased John Doe, a big headache for Connie and a bunch of unanswered questions.”
“I hope they find whoever’s responsible soon.”
“Can’t argue with that,” I agreed.
“You know, I saw a couple of guys that work for Connie get into a pretty intense scuffle the other night,” Zack said, lowering his voice. “I don’t know their names, but it involved somebody from Boulder. They really went at it until Eli bounced ’em out the door.”
“Who’s Eli?”
“Bartender,” Zack said, smiling. “The guy’s a beast! Two hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle.”
“And where did this happen?”
“At Bier Haus,” Zack answered. “That new place on Overlook.”
“The one with the giant sourdough pretzels and ten kinds of mustard?”
He smiled. “Somebody’s hungry, huh?”
“Starving!” I admitted. “I was going to grab a smoothie or something earlier, but my plans got derailed once Jasper—”
“Can I interrupt?” Rita asked, returning with our bottle of wine and two sparkling glasses. While she opened the soave and poured for us, we listened to her describe the specials for the night.
“Do you need a few minutes to decide?” she asked after reciting the two featured desserts, a Strawberry Pistachio Semifreddo and Hazelnut-Honey Struffoli.
Zack smiled at the mention of the sweet treats. “I don’t know what either of those things are,” he said, “but I think the answer is yes!”
Rita snickered. “The Semifreddo is kind of like frozen mousse,” she explained. “And the Struffoli is a scrumptious mound of little fried doughy nuggets drizzled with honey and chopped hazelnuts.”
Zack’s eyebrows shot upward. “Well, then the answer is absolutely yes!” he cheered. “We’ll have one of each.”
“And what would you like for dinner?” Rita shifted her gaze between the two of us like a ping pong ball. “Or do you need a few more minutes?”
Zack reached across the table and took my hand. “A few more minutes would be perfect,” he said. “We’re in no hurry tonight.”
CHAPTER 10
Three hours later, following a leisurely dinner at Luigi’s, a moonlit stroll through downtown Crescent Creek and an unhurried goodnight kiss that seemed to last forever, I pulled into my usual parking spot in the back of Sky High Pies.
“How is it possible?” I said to my reflection in the rearview mirror. “A great man, a thriving business and a—”
The jarring clatter of my phone crushed the reverie. Since it was a few minutes after eleven, I figured it was my sister. She was usually in bed by nine-thirty, but called me to chat whenever Mr. Sandman ignored her pleas for a long and restful beauty sleep.
“Liv?” I said, pressing the phone to my ear.
“No, it’s Connie Larson,” a soft voice answered.
“Are you okay?”
She sighed. “I’m sorry it’s so late, Katie. But I need to talk to you about something.”
I pulled the keys from the ignition, heaved myself out of the car and headed for the steps leading to my second-floor apartment. Living above Sky High Pies was both convenient and affordable. Since my parents had paid off the mortgage years before turning the business over to me, I could essentially live scot-free in the comfortable suite of rooms tucked under the eaves of the old Victorian.
“What’s on your mind?” I asked as I climbed the stairs.
“It’s Jasper,” she said.
An image of the ruddy-faced chef popped into my mind.
“What about him?” I felt a chill along the back of my neck; a premonition that something dire was in the works.
“Well, he was once…” Connie’s whisper was so faint I didn’t hear the rest. I waited until I was inside my apartment to ask if she could repeat what she’d just told me.
“Sure, of course,” she said. “Almost no one in town is aware of this, but Jasper was in prison once for felony assault on a police officer. It was a horrible mistake he made a few days after he turned twenty-one. He got drunk, got arrested, tried to steal the patrol car while handcuffed and accidentally ran over a deputy’s foot.”
“Was it his first offense?”
“Yes.”
“And they charged him with felony assault?”
“The judge was trying to make a point,” Connie said.
“Sounds like he accomplished that goal.”
Connie moaned quietly. “No kidding,” she said. “And I’m not trying to argue that Jasper didn’t do something truly idiotic, okay? Because he pleaded guilty and did his time. But he’s completely turned his life around. He went to junior college and then on to culinary school. Since he’s my cousin and all, I wanted to help by hiring him as the chef at the Lodge. But now that this horrible thing happened today, I’m afraid the police might try to implicate him for the murder.”
“Jasper’s your cousin?” I kicked off my shoes and flopped into the overstuffed easy chair across from the sofa. “Which makes Eloise your cousin, too?”
“That’s right.”
“Why didn’t you mention that earlier?”
She mumbled something indecipherable. Then she apologized and said it hadn’t crossed her mind after Jasper announced that Eloise had found a body in the gazebo.
“I maybe wasn’t thinking straight this afternoon with all the fuss,” she said finally
. “But I am now, Katie. Jasper and Eloise are cousins on my mother’s side. And I’m worried that the police might try and railroad Jasper once they find out about his past.”
“First of all,” I said, leaning my head back and closing my eyes, “Dina Kincaid is one of the most principled detectives you’ll ever meet. And Trent Walsh…” I still found it hard to believe sometimes that my ex-boyfriend from high school was the Deputy Chief of Police in our little hometown. “…he’ll make sure the investigation is both thorough and fair.”
Connie sighed on the other end. “I know,” she said. “But you have to admit that things can sometimes get messy, Katie. People often overlook principles and morals if there’s a crime to solve and they’re already busy enough as it is.”
“Not in Crescent Creek,” I said. “Dina, Trent and everyone else with the department are good and fair and honest.”
She didn’t say anything for a few seconds, so I waited. I was surprised by both the disclosure that her cousin was a convicted felon and her fear about a rush to judgment by the local police. When it seemed like the silence might linger, I asked Connie if she could tell me more about her apprehension.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Why do you think Dina would incriminate Jasper?”
“Because he wasn’t entirely honest with her.”
The chill on my neck returned. “What are you talking about?” I sat up in the chair. “Did your cousin have something to do with the man’s death?”
I heard another weighty sigh. Then Connie said, “No, but Dina asked if he’d ever met the man and…”
“And Jasper lied?” I said. “Because he had met the deceased?”
“Yes, Katie. I don’t know all the facts yet, but there was some kind of disagreement at a bar.” She paused, gathering her thoughts. “Jasper and one of the front desk guys went out to shoot a few games of pool. They were doing fine until some hothead’s girlfriend started flirting with Shane.”
“Shane’s the guy that works the front desk?”
“Yes,” Connie said. “Shane Scott. He’s been with the Lodge for the past three years, and he’s a levelheaded, smart guy. I talked to both of them the next morning because Shane had a black eye and Jasper’s knuckles were pretty banged up.”
“What can you tell me about the fight?”
Connie sighed. “Not much. They both said the other guy started it after the woman he was with began hanging all over Shane.”
“Sounds like a wild night out,” I said.
“I suppose. You know how boys will be boys.”
“But Jasper’s—what? Late thirties?”
“He’s thirty-six. And he knows better. But they’d been drinking and…” Connie paused and I listened while she took a few deep breaths. “Anyway,” she continued, “I was wondering if I could maybe…hire you to help prove that Jasper isn’t involved in the murder.”
“Hire me?”
“Yes,” she said. “I know that you once worked as a private investigator. I was hoping that I could hire you to look into the situation and prove that Jasper is not responsible for what happened today.”
“I’m sorry, Connie,” I said. “But I don’t do that anymore. Sky High keeps me plenty busy. And I decided that ten years as a PI was enough.”
“I know, Katie. I wouldn’t ask you if I wasn’t sick with worry, and…well, I’m feeling pretty desperate.”
“What if Jasper called Dina tomorrow?” I suggested. “He could arrange to go in, sit down with her and be completely honest.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” she said. “Except for one minor detail.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“It’s too late for a little chat,” Connie said in a faltering voice mixed with shame and culpability. “Jasper was arrested about thirty minutes ago.”
CHAPTER 11
For a brief moment, I imagined she’d said something else; between the late hour and long day—not to mention two glasses of wine and a full meal, I was feeling pretty drowsy. It was entirely possible that I’d misunderstood what she’d told me.
So I asked her to repeat it, listening intently to every word. Then I rolled the information around in my mind for a few seconds. And then I asked her if she had any other bombshells to drop.
“No,” she said, sounding defensive. “And I don’t appreciate the insinuation, Katie. I wasn’t trying to be deceptive or anything. I’m kind of going crazy with worry about all of this.”
I winced at the hurt in her voice. “I wasn’t trying to imply anything, Connie. And I’m sorry if…well, if my direct approach gave you that impression. But if you call me and ask for help with something this sensitive, the first thing you need to be is candid.”
She muttered under her breath. “It’s my fault,” she said. “I’ve always tried to protect Jasper, even when we were little kids. He was overweight and shy. Everyone picked on him. That’s how he got into trouble in the first place.”
“Hold on,” I said. “Your cousin ended up in prison because he was shy?”
“I mean that he felt like there was something to prove,” she explained. “That’s why he went drinking with the other boys the night he got arrested. He’s not a bad person, Katie. He just made one really bad mistake when he was younger.”
I glanced at the clock in the kitchen. It was almost midnight; less than five hours until my alarm would scream the arrival of another Sky High day. I felt guilty even thinking about postponing more of my conversation with Connie, but I also had responsibilities of my own to manage. I knew that the whiteboard in the kitchen downstairs was filled with prep lists, an overflow of special orders and notes for an upcoming catering job.
“I hate to cut this short,” I said, “but I need to get some sleep. Could you possibly stop by tomorrow for a few minutes?”
“For what?” she asked.
“To tell me everything you know.”
“There isn’t much more really. I mean, there was the fight between Jasper and the dead guy, but—”
“Connie!” I interrupted. “That’s exactly the kind of thing I need to know. And something you’ll have to tell Dina.”
“I guess so,” she murmured. “I’m going to explain everything to her first thing in the morning.”
“I think you should do it now,” I said. “If you call the station and tell them it’s urgent, they’ll relay the message to her tonight.”
“I already did,” she told me. “I called them. They called Dina. And I just got off the phone with her. She’s coming to the Lodge tomorrow morning at eight.”
“Okay,” I said, feeling a wave of relief. “That’s definitely the right thing to do.”
“But I still want your help, Katie!” Her voice was coiled and tight, the result of an astonishing amount of stress and worry and fear. “I need it, okay?”
“I’m here for you, Connie. And for your cousin. But I don’t know how much I can do, especially if Jasper has been arrested.”
She scoffed. “Well, it wasn’t for murder,” she said. “The stupid lughead was so worried about withholding information from Dina that he went out, got drunk as a skunk and ended up behind bars for public intoxication.”
“Lughead is putting it mildly,” I said. “Two wrongs do not make anything but two wrongs.”
“I know.” Connie sighed again, a defeated groan that rumbled through the line. “But he’s family. And I’m going to stand by his side.”
“That’s admirable,” I said. “But he is an adult.”
“Most days. There are definitely times, like this stupid stunt tonight, when I wonder how far he’ll backslide.”
“Meaning?”
“Jasper’s been in AA for the past few years,” she said quietly. “He got sober when he went to prison. And he did his time, fair and square. But this situation today…” She paused and cleared her throat. “No, let me start again,” she continued. “This lie today…when he wasn’t forthcoming with Dina…is the last thing
he needs.”
“I don’t disagree,” I said. “It doesn’t look very good.”
“Well, Jasper knows that he completely messed up by not telling Dina that he’d met the man before. But he was scared and worried.”
“You can start setting that right in the morning,” I said. “Tell Dina what you know. Then Jasper can tell her the rest.”
“And you’ll…help prove his innocence?” she asked in a halting voice.
“I’ll do what I can,” I promised. “But you need to tell Dina before I can get involved.”
“Definitely,” Connie said. “I’ll share everything I know when she stops by in the morning. And then I’ll tell you a bit later in the day.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“I’ll also want to discuss hiring you to do a little checking around. I didn’t know who else to turn to about Jasper’s situation. And I certainly don’t expect you to do it for free.”
“Well, I appreciate the offer, Connie. But I’ll be happy to help Jasper at no charge. After all, that’s what friends do, right?”
She made one final attempt to change my mind, but dropped the subject when it was obvious I wasn’t going to budge. In the end, we agreed to meet in the morning at Sky High.
“Maybe I’ll even break my diet,” Connie joked, “and have a slice of your grandmother’s Pecan Caramel Crumble Cake.” She giggled. “That’s one of the best goodies I’ve ever tasted, Katie. I actually think your Nana Reed was a culinary wizard!”
I thanked her for the kind words. Then I promised to make a fresh Crumble Cake first thing in the morning. “In the meantime,” I added, “try to get some sleep, okay? Maybe a glass of warm milk and some of those deep breathing exercises you told me about last week.”
She actually managed a faint laugh. “I don’t think I can even close my eyes,” she said softly. “But I’ll do my best, Katie.”
“See you tomorrow, okay?”
But she hung up without another word, leaving me to juggle dozens of perplexing questions as I got ready for bed and turned out the light.