by Lynn Cahoon
The clerk blanched but was able to spit out a shaky “No sir.”
Uncle Pete turned to Cat. “Would you go with Jessi to check out her jewelry? I hate to blame a dead girl, but it looks like she might have gotten the items out of the room and into this joker’s hands.” He turned back to the clerk. “I suppose it’s too much to hope that you have video covering the last time he sold something to you.”
George brightened. “Probably. Looks like the guy came in last week. We keep tapes two weeks before recycling. Do you want me to check?”
“Please.” He leaned on the counter. “Go with Jessi and I’ll wait for this. Keep your phone on you so if I get a decent still, I can send it to see if Jessi can identify the guy. I’ll probably be able to get a match from the college database. It’s usually about the college.”
There was an air of tiredness in his voice, and Cat glanced over before she went to gather Jessi off her phone call. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. It’s been a busy week since I got back from Alaska. I haven’t even had time to unpack my suitcase yet.” He made shooing signs with his hands. “Get on out of here. I think you scare George more than I do.”
“He should be scared.” Cat gave her uncle a quick peck on the cheek. “You make sure you come over for dinner soon. You need some downtime.”
“As soon as I get this murder and the college peeper behind me, I’ll be over.” He chuckled. “Okay, that’s a lie, I’ll probably be over sooner than that. I don’t have anything in the fridge since I haven’t stopped at the grocery store yet either.”
“Whenever. You know Shauna will be happy to see you.” And, Cat thought, maybe it might pull her out of her funk. She filed away the idea of buying the saddle and headed to the bench.
Jessi looked up at Cat and nodded. “Hey, Mom, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you on Sunday. Just make sure the insurance company sends pictures of the jewelry to the Aspen Hills police station.” She rolled her eyes. “I know, Mom. I should be more careful. Look, I really have to jet now.”
Cat watched as Jessi ended the call, cutting off a barrage of parental advice midstream. “Your mother must be happy that the items were found.”
“You would think so.” Jessi rubbed a hand over her face. “I think she was more content when I looked like a total loser for misplacing them.”
“I don’t think that’s true. You mother must love you.” Cat held the door open for the young woman and they stepped back out into the bright sunshine.
“That’s what she keeps saying.” Jessi hunched her shoulders and walked next to Cat, not speaking for a while. Finally, as they got closer to the college, she turned toward Cat. “So did your mom hate you for a while? I mean once you came of age, did the relationship turn a little bad?”
Cat thought about her relationship with her mom when she went off to college. They’d started to become friends instead of just mother and daughter. If anything, having Cat out of the house had strengthened their bond. “No, we got along fine.”
“Okay, so let’s change the subject before I get all depressed about family.” Jessi side-eyed Cat. “You’re doing that Seth guy, right?”
“Seth and I are dating.” Cat smiled at the inference.
“Come on, you can tell me. I need to know someone has a good relationship. It will help me get over this hump.” When Cat just shook her head, Jessi opened the door to the dorm room. “Fine, be all secretive. But you know that I know. Let’s get this done. It feels really creepy in here knowing that Danielle isn’t ever coming back.”
“Are you going to ask for a new roommate?”
Jessi shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’m actually going to look for a place off campus. I can afford my own place, and that way, I can get a dog. My dog, Whiskey, died last year. Mom was taking care of him for me. The only reason I stayed in the dorm room was it was cheaper for Danielle.”
While they’d been talking, Jessi had pulled out her two jewelry boxes and was going through each item. “I’m missing my diamond earrings too. I’m sure I’m missing a few more items, but it was costume and not worth anything.”
Cat made a note to have Uncle Pete ask the pawnbroker if he’d ever turned down an item. As she watched, Jessi got down on the floor and slid under the bed. “Son of a . . .”
“What?” Cat bent down to see if Jessi was stuck or something.
She slid back out, a small safe in her hands. She flipped it open and looked inside. It was empty. “I can’t believe she took my money. I mean, I never told anyone I had this stashed.”
“You had what stashed?” Cat wasn’t sure she really wanted to know the answer.
“My father taught me as a young girl to always have getaway money. He gave me five thousand dollars in cash when I left for college. He didn’t trust banks.” She closed the empty safe. “Why would Danielle steal from me?”
Cat wondered if the better question was who Danielle had told about the money and if that was why they killed her.
CHAPTER 10
When they got back to the house, the group was waiting for them in the lobby. Cora took one look at Jessi and put her arm around her, sensing her pain. “I’m so glad you got back in time. We’re going to eat bowls of pasta and drink wine.”
Kelly held up a hand. “Even me. I just finished a first draft, so before I start a new book tomorrow, I’m celebrating.”
“You’re starting a new book tomorrow?” Cat winced. Even with her hectic schedule she tried to take at least a few weeks in between books.
“What can I say? I have deadlines.” Kelly grinned. “But tonight, I’m not worrying about anything.”
“She’s a machine.” Connie glanced around the group. “I wrote two thousand words today. I’m happy with that.”
“You should be happy with that.” Cora smiled. “We all should be celebrating for getting words on the page.”
Jessi took a deep breath. “I got seven hundred fifty this morning. I would have gotten more . . .”
“The day’s not over yet.” Connie pointed to the clock. “We’ll go eat and then I’ll get into my writing pajamas and write until I fall asleep in bed. I do this at least a few times a week. I’m more creative at night.”
As the group made their way out the door to the restaurant, Cat watched them leave the house. She loved this part of the retreat, when they celebrated each other’s joys and accomplishments. Typically, it happened as they were reviewing the week, but this group had bonded quickly.
She went into the kitchen and found Shauna standing at the stove. Cat sank into a chair. “I’m beat.”
“Hey, I was wondering where you were.” Shauna turned off the oven and set the salad on the table.
“I took Jessi to the pawnshop, where we found most of her jewelry.” Cat held up a hand when Shauna started to ask a question. “Let me grab a beer and I’ll tell you everything. Can I help with dinner?”
“Nope, we’re all ready. I decided to put the soup away for another day so it’s chicken enchiladas and salad. That way, if Pete doesn’t have time to eat with us, he can at least take food back to the station.” She pointed to the table where her phone sat. “Oh, your uncle called about five minutes ago. He said he couldn’t reach you.”
Cat pulled out her phone to check for a missed call. It was dead. “I must not have charged it last night.”
“My spare plug is in the top drawer.” Shauna pointed to her kitchen desk, where she did her meal planning and retreat work.
While Cat got her phone charging, Shauna grabbed two bottles of beer. She set them on the table and sank into a chair. “What a crazy day.”
“You’re telling me.” Cat sat and took a long sip of her beer. Then she caught Shauna up. Halfway into the story, Uncle Pete and Seth came into the kitchen and she had to start over. Finally, she told them about the missing money.
Seth whistled. “Man, that’s a lot of mad money.”
“I tell the families time and time again not to send cash with their kids. But th
ey never listen. I had one kid lose twenty thousand dollars last semester when his date from another school found the money and ran. We got most of it back, but she had some fun at the mall before we tracked her down.” Uncle Pete passed plates around the table.
“Who is stupid enough to steal from these kids?” Seth shook his head. “I’d be worried about the consequences.”
“Kids don’t think of those things. They just think the kid was stupid to have so much cash.” Uncle Pete took the baking pan from Shauna. “Let me rephrase that. Kids don’t think.”
“Hey now, I used to be one of those kids.” The spicy, cheesy smell made Cat’s mouth water. Even with all the sadness that had surrounded them this week, she loved having her family together to eat a meal. It felt comforting and real, and this was where she got her real energy.
“Are you putting yourself up as an example?” Her uncle grinned at her. “Because I have a few stories maybe even Seth hasn’t heard . . .”
“Stop, I beg you.” Cat held her hands in front of her. “So how was your day, Seth?”
Seth layered some of the enchiladas on his plate, then passed the food on to Cat. “I don’t know, maybe I need to hear what Pete has to say. I thought I knew all your stories.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Laughing, Cat filled her plate and took a bite before she continued. “Let’s let the past stay in the past.”
“Now I’m even curious.” Shauna laughed when Cat threw her a look to kill. “But I’ll let it go. For now.”
“So what are you working on, Seth?” Uncle Pete didn’t look up from his plate as he asked.
“Not going to happen. It’s a surprise, and everyone can just wait until it’s done. Besides, you’ll all know on Saturday.”
“Seriously? What’s happening on Saturday?” Cat paused her fork midway to her mouth.
Seth shrugged. “You’ll see. Can you have the group meet up in the lobby around ten? I’d like all of you to see it.”
“I guess. We didn’t have anything scheduled except the dinner. You are going to be able to be our designated driver, right?” Cat ladled another enchilada onto her plate.
“I know you love your margaritas. Yes, I’m set as your driver.” He shoved the rest of the food into his mouth, wrapped up two brownies, and stood, taking his plate to the sink where he washed it off and set in in the dishwasher. “Sorry, I’ve got a game on tonight. I’ll be in my room if you need me, but don’t, okay?”
They watched him leave the room.
Uncle Pete cleared his throat. “So do you know what this surprise is yet? You typically knew all your Christmas presents before the first of December.”
“Not a clue. Every time I even think about heading out there, he’s there to stop me.” Cat took a sip of her water, considering the last few days. “It’s like he has a tracker on me. Of course, I’ve been unusually busy with this retreat group.”
“You can say that again.” Shauna put her plate in the sink and poured hot water for a cup of tea. “If I look out the window, he’s either coming or going back to the project. I’m betting on a gym. He wasn’t too happy with the way the basement was turning out.”
“Well, whatever it is, he’s kept the secret pretty close to his chest. And that’s not easy in this small a town. Seth’s always been an upstanding and loyal young man. If he says you’ll love it, you will.” Uncle Pete stood and took his empty plate to the sink and mimicked Seth’s movements of a few minutes before. “Well, I’ve got work to do anyway. Crimes don’t solve themselves, you know.”
After her uncle left, Cat helped Shauna clean the kitchen. “I can’t wait until Saturday. The suspense is killing me.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask you a question. How serious were you and Seth when you broke up? Sounds like your uncle was betting on Seth.”
Unsure of how to answer, Cat finished wiping down the table and then excused herself and went into Michael’s study. She’d put all her memorabilia in this room. Her scrapbooks and the yearbooks from her high school years. From their high school years. Every candid picture of her had Seth nearby. They had been a couple since he brought her a rose on Valentine’s Day from the booster club freshman year, but even before that, they’d been friends.
“I really messed this up, didn’t I?” She ran her hand over the picture of the two of them at senior prom. She’d loved that dress. But when her mom tried to give it to her when they’d sold the house, she’d told her to donate it. Old memories were better left in the past.
She’d been wrong. Wrong about the dress. Wrong about the memories. Wrong to assume one fight would end their relationship.
Danielle had been in love too. With the wrong guy, obviously, but still in love. Maybe that was the reason she’d been stealing from Jessi. Take her man, her jewelry, her life. Danielle had wanted to be a carbon copy of Jessi Ball, no matter what the cost.
She took out a notebook and started playing with theories. At least when she was looking into who killed Danielle, she wasn’t thinking about the way she’d messed up her first love. Having a second chance meant she couldn’t make that same mistake again. And she wouldn’t. Not this time. Now she just needed to convince Seth of that fact. Feeling like she was going nowhere except down memory lane, she set aside the notebook.
Instead, Cat opened her laptop and typed in Outlaw, Colorado and unsolved murders. She got a listing of several sites but as she scrolled through she found there had been four murders of young women before Danielle. Each ten years apart. Mrs. Rice had been a little off on her dates. Each strangled in one of the rooms above the saloon. Were they all unsolved? She reopened her notebook and started making notes.
By the time she was done she had a list of similarities and differences. Then she highlighted the ones that matched what she knew of Danielle’s death.
There were at least fifteen points that matched. She needed to talk to her uncle. Even if it wasn’t the same killer, someone was trying to make it look like it was. Danielle might have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Curious, she dug more into the history of Outlaw. Jessi had said a corporation owned all of the town. Could she find out who the man behind the curtain was? It didn’t take long to find that Joseph John Robertson was the man behind the big ideas. He had a lot of things going on in Colorado. Outlaw was only one of his many projects. He’d built high-end shopping malls on the outskirts of some of the largest ski resorts ever. Outlaw was only one of the “ghost towns” where he’d bought the entire town and turned it into a tourist draw. But Outlaw had been his first.
She did a web search on Joseph John and found he was teaching a summer class at Covington’s business school. She opened another tab and found out that his class ended at nine. She had fifteen minutes to get to the school and see if she could corner the guy after class. She wasn’t sure what he’d have to tell her, but maybe he had more information on the early murders.
Cat laced up her tennis shoes and headed downstairs. No one was in the kitchen, but Cora sat in the living room alone, reading. Cat leaned inside the doorway. “Hey, I’ve got to run an errand. You doing okay?”
Cora grinned. “Happy as a clam. I can’t remember the last time I curled up with a book on a Wednesday night. Typically, I’m writing my daily words at this time since I still have the dreaded day job.”
“Well, enjoy. I’ll try not to bother you when I come back in.” Cat didn’t wait for a response as Cora had already returned her attention to the book.
The June night air held a touch of a chill, so Cat zipped the jacket she’d grabbed out of the coat closet. Summers were short here, and from what the weather guys said, the winter was going to be icy and cold. She hoped this time the weatherman had it wrong, but she wasn’t counting on it. She power-walked past Mrs. Rice’s house and only paused a second as she crossed over the street where Dante lived. The house was dark with only a few lights on in one corner of the house and security lights around the driveway. The owner apparently
was still involved in meetings in Boston. She needed to talk to him about Jessi and the missing money, but she would wait until he got back into town.
As she opened the door to the business building, students poured out of the large first-floor lecture hall. Apparently, Joseph John couldn’t be bothered with a normal-size classroom. Cat had been assigned a classroom on the third floor when she had started teaching, and that was a full-time professor position. She guessed money talked in more ways than one on campus.
She slipped inside and the man was talking to a pretty blonde. He sat on the side of the stage and swung his leg as she chatted about some issue she was having in class. Before he could gather his papers and leave, Cat hurried down the stairs and blocked his exit.
“Thanks for the direction, Professor. I’m sure I’ll be able to finish the assignment now,” the woman gushed as she turned to leave. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at Cat as she made her way down the aisle between the now empty seats.
Joseph John smiled, and Cat realized the guy could sell ice water to people in a snowstorm. Then he turned his gaze on Cat, and she felt the full force of his gaze. “What can I do for you? I know you’re not in my class. I would have noticed you by now.”
“Guilty as charged.” Cat sat next to him on the stage. “Actually, I’m interested in the history of Outlaw. I’m a writer and the place just sounds so fascinating. What do you know about the murders?”
A look of shock covered his face and he raised a hand to his heart. “I don’t know what you are talking about. I don’t know anything about that poor girl who was murdered.”
“I actually was talking about the past murders. Before you bought the town.” Cat paused and watched his reaction go from shocked to what she might even call sly. “You must have done your research before you bought the place. You have a reputation of being a smart businessman.”
“Of course I did my research. Those murders were years ago. There is no way this current unfortunate business has anything to do with that mess.”
“Why are you so convinced of that?” Cat opened her notebook. “Weren’t they all killed in the same room?”