by Ginny Gold
Vern finally parks on Main Street in front of The Coffee Bean, not where Maggie expected him to go. She could use some coffee herself and offers to get Drew a cup, which he readily accepts. Maggie isn’t sure if Ginger Rae, Erline and Winona meet for coffee on Sunday mornings, like they do during the week, so she isn’t going to wait around for them.
As soon as Maggie walks into The Coffee Bean, the air is sucked from her lungs. The same redhead from last night is sitting on the tan couch Maggie enjoyed coffee on in May with Erline and her friends. Maggie keeps an eye on Vern but he never looks in the redhead’s direction.
Vern orders a coffee of the day and Maggie does the same. He’s out the door as soon as he has the hot beverage in his hands, not giving Maggie a chance to talk to him. She makes a quick decision and stays in The Coffee Bean instead of following him. She pulls out her phone from her handbag and sends Drew a quick text, Last night’s redhead is here. I’m going to stay. Keep your eye on Vern.
Maggie doesn’t wait for a response. She turns her phone on vibrate and sits on the opposite side of the couch. The redhead glances up from her phone in Maggie’s direction but makes no move to greet her. Maggie smiles what she hopes is a friendly gesture and takes her book from her bag. She opens to where she left off but only half pays attention to the words. The other half of her brain is trying to decide what to say to the redhead.
A few moments later she’s given her opening. The other woman pulls out the same book from her purse. Maggie can feel her gaze on her so she turns to look.
“Good book, isn’t it?” the redhead asks.
Maggie nods. “I just started it a few days ago and I can’t put it down.” Maggie extends her hand. “Maggie, by the way.”
“April,” the redhead says, shaking Maggie’s hand. “You must have good taste in books. Enjoy.”
April tucks the book back into her purse, stands and walks out the front door. Maggie gives her only a few seconds of a head start before she does the same, glad that she had the foresight to order her coffee to go.
Maggie steps outside onto the sidewalk and checks both directions. Drew’s car is gone but she sees April less than a block away heading west. Maggie follows her, getting her cover story in place in her head—she could either be going to The Last Page to get another book or to Two Sisters to see Clem, and both would be believable stories.
The sidewalk is nearly deserted so Maggie stays far enough behind April that she is unlikely to be spotted. She follows April to the end of the second block—to 2nd Street—where April turns left. Maggie stays at the corner and watches her, unable to come up with a reason to turn, other than to follow April.
And she doesn’t have to come up with an excuse because she watches April get into a black convertible. The car is facing Maggie’s direction so she checks for cars and then crosses Main Street. She backtracks less than a block to Two Sisters, which isn’t open yet. But she can see Clem’s office light on so she bangs on the door and it is soon opened.
“What are you doing up so early?” Clem asks.
“Working.” Maggie stifles a yawn with the back of her hand. “You find my note?”
“I did. But I didn’t need it. Erline and Jeff were up before me. They helped themselves to breakfast.” Clem smiles. “I forgot what it was like to have housemates.” Clem has been living alone since April when their parents were killed over some secret they were keeping that Maggie hasn’t yet uncovered.
“Are they still at your house?” Maggie asks, following Clem back to her office. They sit on opposite sides of Clem’s desk, in the same seats they occupied yesterday, leaving the third one empty.
“They said they were going to head out now that I was up and going to work. They felt funny spending the day in my house without me.”
Maggie nods. She would rather be in her own space, back in Denver, too. “I’ll go check on them. But I don’t have my car.”
“Where is it?”
“Long story. Can I borrow yours?” Clem hands Maggie her keys. “When do you need it back?”
“Not until this afternoon. I can walk somewhere for lunch.”
“Thanks.” Maggie gets up and leaves the office. She heads out the back door that leads into the parking lot for the town offices and finds Clem’s Toyota. She starts it up and it sounds too loud to Maggie’s ears that are used to the almost silent hum of her own Prius.
Without calling ahead, Maggie pulls into Erline and Jeff’s driveway. At the front door, she raises her fist to knock before she realizes that the front door is already open so she walks straight in.
“Hello?” she calls, taking a cautious step toward the living room. She hopes to find them sitting, relaxing on a Sunday morning, but it’s completely empty.
At the bottom of the stairs, Maggie pauses. She doesn’t want to go upstairs and intrude but she doesn’t want to leave without talking to them to make sure they’re okay. “Hello?” she calls again.
This time she hears a loud crash from upstairs, what she thinks is the bedroom, and she runs up the steps, two at a time. She slows when she reaches the landing and listens again. It’s silent.
Maggie walks toward the bedroom where she heard the crash and opens the door to find a masked man holding a gun in Maggie’s direction.
CHAPTER 11
Maggie doesn’t think before she reacts. She sprints down the stairs, taking them three at a time on the way back down, hoping the gun wielding man is slow to get to the door of the bedroom. The bed was in his way so Maggie has a decent head start.
She doesn’t slow when she reaches the bottom of the stairs, but continues her mad dash back through the front door and into Clem’s car. She left the keys in the ignition and she peels out of the driveway just as the masked man reaches the front door. She has enough of her wits to look around for his getaway vehicle but she doesn’t see anything that stands out as his car. The driveway is empty and the only car she passes parked on the street is four blocks away.
Maggie drives aimlessly through the streets of the neighborhood and is soon lost. Her breathing has slowed and her heart is no longer threatening to jump out of her chest, but her brain is telling her she should have stayed and taken her chances. She goes over every detail in her head and something about his eyes—the only facial feature that was visible—gives her shivers down her spine. They hold nothing but contempt.
She knows in her heart that staying could have meant her death, but what was that man doing? Was he looking for Erline and Jeff? Did Maggie interrupt a burglary? Is it all connected to Felicity Myers’ death on Friday?
It’s too much of a coincidence not to be connected and Maggie drives straight to the police department to talk to Detective Daniel Stevens once she finds her way out of the neighborhood she’s lost in. She has to tell him about Vern’s affair with April anyway. And Jean Spellman’s connection to Felicity. Her suspect list is growing and having the police’s help could mean finding the killer before the end of the long weekend.
Maggie pulls into the nearly deserted parking lot of the police station and looks at her phone. It’s now almost nine, but on a Sunday morning. Daniel must have asked only his most indispensible officers and detectives to remain on duty today.
Before getting out of the car, Maggie calls Drew. She feels a little bad for abandoning him and then getting to see all the action herself. If she’s going to trust anyone here to help her solve this case, Drew and Daniel are her best options and she needs to keep them both in the loop.
Maggie has to call twice before Drew answers.
“I thought maybe you went home and were sleeping in a proper bed,” he says without a greeting.
Maggie smiles. She can’t wait for that to be true. The coffee has kicked in, and the adrenaline of having a gun pointed at her is making her blood shake, but she knows she’ll need another boost of caffeine later in the day.
Maggie jumps right into the new developments. “I found out who the redhead is. Her name’s April. She drives a b
lack convertible, top down. I didn’t get the license plate and I don’t know her last name. But at least it’s something. Anything with Vern?” Maggie asks.
“Nope. He went back home. Haven’t seen any action in his house since he sat down with his coffee. No friends or family have come. I think that’s strange. His wife is dead and he’s completely alone?”
Maggie considers this. She would expect someone to be there—other than April—to help Vern pick up the pieces. Unless there are no pieces to pick up because he’s not torn apart.
“Where did you go after the coffee shop?” Drew asks when Maggie doesn’t say anything.
“I stopped by Two Sisters to borrow Clem’s car and check on Erline and Jeff. They left Clem’s early so I went by their house. Get this, I walked in on either a burglary or someone looking for them to finish the job they botched on Friday. Someone was in their bedroom with a gun.”
“Whoa. Have you called Detective Stevens?” Drew’s voice grows even more serious. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. I’m at the police now, still in the parking lot. I’ve gotta go talk to him. I’m going to tell him about Vern, April, Jean and the guy who pointed a gun at me.”
“Good. Be safe.” Maggie hears genuine concern.
“You too.”
Maggie hangs up and walks quickly inside. Daniel is nowhere to be seen in the front room but the woman staffing the desk recognizes her. She tells Maggie, “Detective Stevens is expecting you. Go on back. He’s in his office.” She smiles invitingly at Maggie and Maggie does her best to return the greeting.
“Thanks,” she utters as she passes the desk.
Maggie walks the bare halls of the station to Daniel’s office. He’s engrossed with something on his computer so Maggie knocks on the doorjamb. He looks up and smiles warmly. “Come in. I was hoping you’d stop by this morning.” He stands and motions for Maggie to make herself comfortable in the chair across from him.
Maggie sits and launches into all the information she’s acquired in the last twelve hours. Daniel makes notes as she spews out details of April’s appearance, Vern’s lack of mourners at his house and apparent affair, Jean Spellman’s past with Felicity and the masked man with the gun in Erline and Jeff’s bedroom.
When she finishes and sighs in relief at having it all on someone else’s shoulders, Daniel asks, “Where are Erline and Jeff now? How long ago did you leave their house?” There is a little anger detectible in Daniel’s voice when he asks about their house.
Maggie shakes her head. “I don’t know where they are. I came straight here after wandering aimlessly while I recovered from having a gun pointed at me,” she answers defensively. “Even in my line of work, that doesn’t happen very often.”
“How long ago was someone in their house?” he asks more calmly.
Maggie takes a deep breath. She knows he didn’t mean to verbally attack her. “Not more than twenty minutes.” She holds up her hands in defense. “I know, I should have called you right away. I’m sorry.”
Daniel nods. “I think our next step should be to track down Erline and Jeff and make sure they’re safe. I’ll send a team to their house. If the man you saw is still there, that could be the turn this case needs. But I suspect he’s long gone. So we’ll need Erline and Jeff to tell us if anything was stolen.”
Maggie nods her agreement. “Let me call Erline and her friends Ginger Rae and Winona to see if I can find her.”
Daniel extends his hand toward an adjoining office and Maggie lets herself in. From the nameplate on the desk she sees that the office belongs to Officer Joan Malin who she met yesterday morning.
Maggie dials Erline’s number, thankful that each of these women, despite their age, have cell phones. To her surprise, Erline’s voice comes over the phone almost before the first ring even finishes.
“Maggie. Good morning,” Erline says calmly. Maggie suspects she doesn’t have a clue about the break in at her house.
“Hi Erline. Where are you?” Maggie asks, getting straight to the point.
“Jeff and I went to Winona’s for coffee since we don’t go to The Coffee Bean on Sundays. Especially not Sundays of holiday weekends. And we weren’t quite ready to go home yet.” Maggie hears some embarrassment in Erline’s voice.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to either after everything that’s happened,” Maggie says, reassuring Erline that she’s not being judged. “I’m coming over to see you now.”
“No need. We’re fine. Mitch Cable, I mentioned him yesterday, just showed up and the four of us are going to take the dogs out,” Erline tells Maggie.
Maggie hesitates, not sure how to tell her about the intruder at her house this morning. “There’s something I really need to talk to you about. In person,” she adds when she hears Erline take a breath to protest.
“Is everything okay?” Erline asks. The good night’s sleep away from home must have done wonders to Erline’s sanity if she’s able to think about Maggie’s well being. “Did you discover anything about Vern?” Her voice becomes a whisper and Maggie can hear the other voices fade into the background like Erline just walked into a different room.
“I did. I can tell you about that. But there’s something else, too.”
“Okay.” Erline’s voice has traces of worry appearing again. “Come over to Winona’s like you wanted. I’m still not ready to go home yet.”
“See you in a few minutes.”
Maggie walks back into Daniel’s office and tells him she’s going to Winona’s to talk to Erline. “I already have a team on their way to Erline and Jeff’s house. Are you going to bring them there?” he asks.
“That’s my plan.” Maggie isn’t so sure her plan will work. From the sound of Erline’s voice, she doesn’t want anything to do with this nightmare anymore. And Maggie can’t blame her.
“Great. I’ll be there within a half hour. If I’m not there when you arrive, have Erline and Jeff talk to Officer Malin. I’ve briefed her on everything that’s happened this morning.” Daniel glances at his computer. “And it’s not even ten o’clock. This could be a long day.”
“What about Vern, April and Jean?” Maggie asks before she leaves the office.
“We’ll look into Vern and April. Can you take on Jean for now until we can get someone to her house?” Maggie nods. “Thanks for bringing them all to my attention. I want to be discrete about it. For now at least. But first on the priority list is whoever was in Erline’s house this morning.”
Maggie nods again and turns to leave. She walks quickly back through the empty hall of the police station and straight to her car. She considers calling Drew on her drive to Winona’s to let him know the new plan but figures he can keep tabs on Vern for a little while longer.
Maggie doesn’t even have to knock on Winona’s front door. Erline opens it before Maggie reaches it and ushers her inside.
“What did you find out about Vern?” Erline asks, anticipation glowing in her eyes.
Maggie glances around at the other faces in the kitchen where Maggie’s been led—Jeff, Winona and another man she suspects is Mitch are sitting around a table. Mitch is much younger than the others, even younger than Maggie. He almost immediately excuses himself from the kitchen and Maggie hears the backdoor open and dogs bark in excitement.
“Are you sure you want to talk about it here?” Maggie asks Erline, her eyes darting back and forth between all the faces.
“Anything I learn I’ll share with Winona anyway, so fire away.”
Maggie winces internally at Erline’s choice of words. “Well, you were right. Vern was up to something. He still is. A woman spent at least part of the night with him at his house last night. They were . . . getting close.”
Erline’s mouth drops open. “I knew it! I was right! He was having an affair! Felicity didn’t want to admit what was going on, or maybe she didn’t even know. But I knew he was cheating on her.”
Maggie nods. “Did you know who he was having an affair with?
”
Erline’s head whips around to look at Maggie’s face. “You don’t know who she was?”
“All I know is her first name—April.”
The smile that turns up the corners of Erline’s mouth is anything but friendly. “April Newcomb. Felicity’s sister.”
CHAPTER 12
Maggie wishes she was sitting down. The only empty seat is across the table where Mitch vacated it moments ago. Instead of risking walking in shock, she places her hands on the back of Jeff’s chair right in front of her and asks in disbelief, “Felicity’s sister?”
Erline nods. Everyone is silent for a few moments and then Erline reminds Maggie, “You had something else to tell me.”
Maggie snaps out of her trance and looks at Erline’s face again. Erline is calm and collected, a stark contrast to Maggie’s frazzled emotions. “Yes. Um . . . I . . . Can you and Jeff come with me?” Maggie looks around and her eyes land on the living room. She wants privacy for Erline’s sake.
“Like I said before, anything you tell me will be shared with Winona anyway, so go ahead and tell us all at the same time.”
Maggie takes a deep breath. “I was at your house this morning, looking for you since Clem told me you’d left early. And when I got there, the front door was open so I let myself in. I called for you a couple times but no one responded. And then I heard noises upstairs so I went to your bedroom and there was a masked man there with a gun pointed in my direction.”
Erline gasps and her hand flies to her mouth. Jeff places a hand on her shoulder, though his eyes betray the calmness of his gesture. “Are you okay, Maggie?” Jeff asks, unable to take his eyes off his wife. Erline seems unable to speak.
Maggie nods. “I am. I went to the police. They have a team there now. Detective Stevens asked that I bring you both there so you can determine if anything is missing,” Maggie says, businesslike.
Jeff nods and gently rubs Erline’s shoulder. Erline slowly comes out of her shock and nods as well.