by Valerie Tate
She hated to admit it, but her mother had been right about the Smart Board. Besides being too expensive, by the time she figured out how to use it, the real killer would have gotten away and she would be in the dock. The whiteboard worked just fine.
Meanwhile, Alice had been busy probing the rumor and gossip mills. It wasn’t difficult. The tea shop on the main street was the central drag for the silver-haired brigade. Each afternoon a small but faithful group met to have tea and pastries, and discuss the news of the day. Not world news, town news. Alice happened in that afternoon and was greeted enthusiastically. It was no problem to steer the conversation to the most exciting news around town, the Abbot murder, and then to slip sideways into a discussion of his wife. The poor widow. So brave. Carrying on despite her grief. Did you see the black dress she was wearing in the newspaper picture? So appropriate. So expensive! And the new haircut. So stylish! Took years off her. Ah well, of course, she was much younger than her husband. Still, you couldn’t get a haircut like that in town. Jennifer always went to Hair Affair in Walkerton. It cost more but then the Abbots never seemed to have any money worries, not like poor pensioners like themselves who had to watch every penny. And then the conversation shifted to Maggie McEwen whose daughter and son-in-law were taking her on a cruise to celebrate her eightieth birthday.
Alice finished her tea and excused herself, saying that she had to make a hair appointment. And they all privately thought that it was time she had a new look.
She went home sporting this new look. It had been expensive but she had been thrilled with the results. And the information she’d pried out of the stylist was good too.
When everyone had finished exclaiming over the new, shorter cut that swept back from her face and tapered into her neck at the back, she settled into a chair by the fire and told her story.
“I called the shop and said that my friend, Jennifer Abbot, had recommended her stylist but I couldn’t remember the name she’d given me. Hair salons are always happy to have referrals and they told me that Jennifer always had Tia. She’s their best hair-cutter. She moved home after training and working in Toronto and is up-to-date on all the latest styles and techniques.” She ran a casual hand back from her brow through the soft curls. “I was lucky they’d had a cancellation and I was able to get in without delay. Tia was pleased to hear what a sensation Jennifer’s new cut had caused, and so it was easy to get her talking about the Abbots. Jennifer hasn’t been very discreet in her conversations with Tia. She frequently made disparaging remarks about her husband and Tia had the impression that the marriage wasn’t going to last much longer. Jennifer hates country life and only agreed to the move here because she thought that Bill would be making a lot more money as the Director. Even with the big house and the expensive clothes and the flashy car, she wasn’t satisfied.” Alice finished her story and sat back feeling quite pleased with herself.
“Well that fits with what I’ve learned,” Shae said, nodding at the older woman appreciatively. “I phoned a few of the stores in Toronto that I know carry the designers I’ve seen her wear. They all know me.” She caught Alicia’s amused smile and grinned. “All right, it’s not my shopping addiction that we’re discussing right now. Since they know me,” she continued, “they were willing to give me information on what she buys and how often. From what I have learned, she seems to go to Toronto at least once a month and spends several thousand dollars each trip in the various stores I called. ‘Addiction’ is probably a fair description of her shopping habits.”
They sat silently for a minute, digesting what they’d heard. Alicia was recording it all under the ‘Motive’ heading.
“It all seems to make sense,” she said when she’d finished.
Shae nodded. “With her spending habits and what they owed on the properties and the cars, there’s no way they could live on his salary. She must have known what he was doing. No one could be that dense.”
“And with his theft exposed and the cash flow gone, he was definitely worth more dead than alive,” Chris agreed.
Alicia added that - ‘Worth more dead than alive’ “He would be to me,” she muttered.
“I’ll make note of that for future reference,” Chris said wryly.
Alicia just grinned.
Chapter 51
It had been a relief for James to get into the office and work. Thankfully, Pete and the others had kept things going through the weeks of the lawsuit and he was pleased to find a number of substantial orders waiting for him. But try as he might, he couldn’t put thoughts of the murder out of his mind. He believed Dave when he said the police didn’t have any real evidence against them, but even so, the sooner the case was solved and the real murderer named, the better. They’d been living under a cloud of suspicion for too long. It was time to get their lives back to normal.
On his way home that afternoon, he pulled into the gas station to fill up. At the next pump he could see an expensive-looking sports car and a scowling woman fighting the blustery November wind as she tried to pump her own gas. Realizing that the woman was Jennifer Abbot, he saw his chance to make a contribution to the investigation.
Making the gallant gesture, he went over and offered to pump the gas for her. She smiled briefly, until she realized who he was.
“We’ve never actually been introduced, Mrs. Abbot. I’m James Dunbar.”
“I know who you are,” was her surly reply.
Ignoring the animosity in her tone, he continued. “I want you to know how sorry my family and I are for your loss.”
“I’ll bet you’re sorry!”
“Of course we are. There’s no denying that your husband caused us a great deal of grief, but none of us would have wished to see him killed.”
She thawed a little at his obvious sincerity. Pressing his advantage, James went on. “It must be dreadful for you. I hope that you have the support of friends and family at this time.”
She clutched her coat closer. “I don’t have any family in this area but our friends have been kind,” she admitted grudgingly.
“Was the last time you saw him in the courtroom that day?” he asked, knowing full well it wasn’t.
“No, I had to go to the police station to bail him out.” She sounded annoyed. “They didn’t release him until evening. Then he wanted to stop by his office on the way home to get a few personal belongings. But when we got there, the police had been and searched it, looking for evidence I guess. Anyway, he decided to stay a while and clean up. He said I should go home. He’d use the Society van to drive home later. He could return it the next morning before anyone needed it.” She was choosing her words carefully, afraid perhaps of giving the wrong impression. However, he couldn’t tell if it was her husband’s reputation she was trying to protect or her own.
“But when he didn’t come home,” he said gently, “what did you do?”
She looked up, “Oh, I didn’t know he hadn’t come home. When I got home I was exhausted but also really upset, so I just took a sleeping pill and went to bed. It wasn’t until I woke up the next morning that I discovered he hadn’t come home. And even then I wasn’t worried. I just thought he’d spent the night at the office. There’s a cot in case they have a dog or cat that needs round-the-clock care. I phoned him, but there was no answer, so I thought he was on his way home. He didn’t answer his cell, either, but I just thought he’d turned it off. I was having breakfast when the police arrived to tell me what happened. I still can’t believe it.”
* * *
“She sounded completely believable,” James reported later. “I don’t know, we may be on the wrong track.”
Even Alicia seemed depressed by his news. “I was so sure ...” She flopped back disconsolately in her chair and ran her hands through her hair as she thought about the information her father had relayed. How could they have been so wrong?
“Wait a minute.” She sat up quickly. “We are so gullible. Just because she sounds believable doesn’t mean she is telling
the truth. We assume because we are transparent and truthful that everyone else is too. She may just be a very good liar. Can anyone back up her story? Did anyone see her leave, call her at home?”
“Well I couldn’t exactly ask her that,” James remarked, looking at the others for affirmation. “I’m sure the police will have asked her those questions.”
“I wish we knew what she told them,” she replied as she resolutely added her father’s information under the ‘Suspects’ heading.
“I somehow doubt they’d be willing to share that information with us,” her mother said waspishly.
“I know. It’s really annoying that they can ask those questions and we can’t,” she went on, knowing she was being unreasonable.
“That’s because they’re the POLICE,” Alice snipped with an echo of the acidic tone they used to know so well. She wanted to add ‘duh’, but refrained.
Alicia, ignoring the sarcasm, said, “You’re right. Anyway, it’s good to know what story she’s telling. Now we know what we have to disprove. Good work, Dad!”
Shae read over the notes on the ‘Murder Board’, as Alicia liked to call it. “Well, I’d say she has motive and opportunity. She was unhappy in her marriage and he carried a large insurance policy. They were going to lose a lot, if not everything, if he was convicted of fraud and embezzlement. That’s motive. She was the one who picked him up from the police station and drove him to the shelter. That’s opportunity. She says she just dropped him off but she could have killed him, and then gone home and taken the sleeping pill. She has no one to verify her alibi, at least not that we know of.”
“Neither do the rest of us, “Alicia pointed out.
“Yes, well, we can use it for reasonable doubt if they end up charging you,” Shae replied, only half-joking.
Alicia wrote it on the whiteboard under ‘Opportunity’.
“There’s no physical evidence,” she pointed out. “You always need physical evidence. The only fingerprints are Abbots’ and mine. And there’s no DNA.”
“The police may have physical evidence that we don’t know about.”
Alicia put a question mark under ‘Physical Evidence’.
She hadn’t mentioned the conversation she’d had with Hugh that morning. She’d reached him on his cell and asked him if the police had talked to him too.
“Yes, the police have been to see me. I can’t believe they really suspect us. I guess it doesn’t help that our fingerprints are all over the office,” he added ruefully.
“I know. The next time I search a place, I’ll be sure to wear gloves.”
“How often do you think that will happen?” he asked, thinking she was joking.
“You never know when the need might arise. I’m going to buy a box of latex gloves, just in case. What did you tell the police?” she continued, trying to sound casual.
“I told them the truth. When I left your place I went straight home to bed. Alone. I had to get up early the next morning to help with the horses we’d brought in. Not much of an alibi. I’m hoping that one of my neighbors might remember seeing my truck in the driveway.”
It didn’t sound good, but then she remembered that her alibi was the same as his, and so was Chris’s and Shae’s, and probably that of 90% of the population of the town for that matter. And surely, if he had something to hide, he would have come up with a better story than that.”
Chapter 52
Alicia planned to visit the APS shelter the next morning. She really did want to find out if there was any news of Horace. She felt badly that he’d been turned back out on the street when Abbot had substituted Marmalade for him, but mostly she was hoping that the staff out there would be in a mood to talk about the former director and his wife.
While she was getting ready, the doorbell rang. Mrs. Stuart opened the door ready to do battle with the nosy reporter who had been pestering them for an interview. Instead she saw a woman in her mid-twenties with the slim, muscular build of a dancer or an athlete. Her chestnut hair was close-cropped, hugging her well-shaped head and the perfect oval of her face. Her smile revealed straight white teeth and dimples.
“Hi! Sorry to bother you so early. Is Ali home?”
“Ali?”
“Alicia,” she amended.
There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs. “Who is it, Mrs. Stuart? If it’s that reporter again, I’m getting my gun.”
“You have a gun?” the girl on the doorstep said with a grin.
“Alex!” Alicia ran down the rest of the stairs, dragged her friend into the house and hugged her madly. “Oh, why are you here? I’ve missed you so much! Did you bring your horse?”
Alex laughed in delight. “Oh, I’ve missed you too. And no, she’s back home on the farm. And as to why I’m here, I came to find out just what is going on in this little town of yours. First we read about you in all the papers because your very wealthy cat has disappeared, and then we learn that the kidnapper has been murdered and that you have been questioned by the police. I couldn’t stand it anymore. As soon as I got back from Germany, I had to come and see you and hear the details first-hand. So spill it.”
And Alicia did, not just the details, but all the fears and frustrations that she hadn’t liked to burden her family with because she knew how hard it was for them too. But this was Alex and she could tell her anything. They sat together, curled up on the couch in the library, drinking coffee and eating fresh-baked cranberry muffins. By the time she was done, the tears that she’d kept bottled up were flowing freely. “And it’s almost Christmas and we’ve been so busy with the investigation that I haven’t bought a single present or put up a single decoration.”
Alex let her talk herself out before saying, “Well it’s a good thing I’m here to help.”
“With the decorating?” Alicia asked, blowing her nose.
“No, silly, with the investigation. I can only stay a few days because we’re getting ready to go to West Palm Beach for the winter Florida circuit in January. I’d put it off if I could, but I need the scores for the Olympic qualifiers.”
“Don’t apologize. It’s wonderful you’re here now. And you’ll stay with us. We have plenty of room. Shae’s staying with us too. You’ll meet her this evening. And of course, you’ll meet Chris.”
“I absolutely have to meet Chris,” her friend agreed wholeheartedly.
“And you’ll absolutely have to be my maid-of-honor.”
“You’re getting married?”
Alicia nodded.
“Whoopee! At least some good has come out of all of this.” And she hugged her once more. “So tell me what I can do to help,” Alex said, suddenly all business.
“Well, to start with, you can come with me to the animal shelter. You’ll give me the perfect excuse for going. I’ll tell them that you want to see where it all happened and, hopefully, we can get them to talk about Abbot and his wife.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll just bring my case in and freshen up, and then we can go.”
Half an hour later they drove off together in Alex’s SUV. Alicia was pleased to see that there were no other cars in the visitors’ car park at the shelter when they arrived. It was much more likely that someone would open up and speak freely if there was no one else around to hear.
Once inside, they walked up to the reception desk. A young woman with ‘Dani’ on her name tag was working busily on her computer. She looked up at their approach and immediately recognized Alicia.
“Hi, Miss Dunbar,” she said in a friendly manner.
Alicia smiled back. “Hi, Dani. Is Hugh here by any chance?”
“No, he’s off on a raid. We had a report of a suspected puppy mill being operated on a farm a few miles out of town. It’s a place we’ve removed dogs from before but the laws are so lax that they just start up again. I don’t know how long he’ll be. You could leave a message.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary. I just thought I’d introduce him to Alex if he was around. Actually I�
��m here for two reasons. First, has Horace been found?”
“Sorry, Miss Dunbar, no sign of him yet. We’ll be sure and call you the minute there is any news of him.”
“I know. I’m just worried about him. And please call me Alicia. This is my friend, Alex. She’s visiting for a few days. She’s the other reason I’m here. She’d like to see where all the excitement took place.”
Dani looked a little shocked and Alicia hurried to correct her mistaken assumption. “Oh, I didn’t mean about Mr. Abbot. I meant where we found Marmalade.”
“Oh, well that’s all right then. Sure you can show her around the back. Maybe she’d like to adopt a dog or cat. We’re going to be really pressed to find room if they come back with a lot of rescued puppies.”
“I just might do that,” Alex agreed. “My mother has been wanting a new puppy.”
Dani, looking hopeful, opened the door for them to go through to the kennels.
Alicia made a big deal of showing Alex where they were when they heard the howling and scratching, and then took her back to the corner cage where Marmalade had been found. His room-mates were still not adopted. Alicia commented on that to Dani when they had returned to the reception area.
“Yes, it can take a long time to find homes for older cats.” she admitted sadly.
“Actually, though, it was lucky for us because otherwise we might never have gotten Marmalade back,” Alicia said, wanting to steer the conversation around to a discussion of Bill Abbot.
“You’re right there. Fancy Mr. Abbot doing anything like that! It was such a shock for us and then of course, his being murdered was even worse.”
“Were you the one who found him?” Alex asked, taking her cue from Alicia.
“Yes,” the girl said quietly, still shaken at the memory.
Alicia felt guilty about reminding her but pressed on. “You poor thing! It must have been dreadful seeing him like that. Do you have any idea who might have done it? Did he have any enemies? Had anyone ever threatened him? Had he had any loud arguments with anyone?”