Clint would be there soon, and Nessa didn’t want to do anything out of the ordinary. She was going to offer him something to drink, buy him lunch, and do her best to stay out of his way while he worked. The only thing she wanted to do that might be worrisome to her safety was leave the box she’d found the money in out in plain sight. She wanted him to have to walk by it repeatedly, and she wanted to see his reaction. As far as Nessa knew, no one knew about the money she’d found but her grandfather, Faye, and Bizzie. Since Bizzie had called the police that night, it looked as though they came over to Nessa’s to check on her. There was no way Clint knew anything about it unless Bizzie had said something, and Nessa was almost certain she hadn’t.
With the knowledge that Clint didn’t know Liam, Nessa was betting on that being accurate. She knew it made sense that the thief and killer were the same person, but her gut told her otherwise. Sure, Chloe was avoiding her even after asking to come visit. The girl could have stolen the money, hid it amongst Nessa’s things, knowing she’d be slow at unpacking, and then offered to come to visit at a future date. It would give her time to deal with whatever she had to on her end if someone came to her home looking for the money. If Nessa could just get Raff to tell her something, she’d feel better, but knew it wasn’t going to happen.
She heard Clint pull into her driveway. Making sure the box was in the perfect place, Nessa went outside to meet him.
“Hey, Clint!” She waved as he got out of his work truck. “Thanks for coming!”
“I’m glad you called. I have an easy week, so I’m thankful for the extra work,” Clint told her, grabbing his tool bag.
“Well, I’m sorry you aren’t piled high with work, but I’m happy to have you. I wrote down my work schedule, and maybe you can let me know when you’re available so we can get some stuff done around here.”
Clint nodded and followed her into the house. Nessa got him some iced tea and pointed to her work schedule. “Check it out and let me know what you think.”
Clint looked at the paper and pulled out his phone. “I’ve got a big job tomorrow at the Kingston house and then one other small job at the end of the week. I know I can’t be here tomorrow, but I should be able to the rest of the week. Next week is wide open, so I’m good there.”
Nessa knew the Kingston house well. The bakery had catered parties there in the past. She hadn’t thought about it in forever, but now that her mind had been focused on the money and the murder, she realized that she did know Levi and Martina from the radio station after all. Well, she knew Martina, Levi’s daughter and the woman married to the eldest Kingston son. The Kingston family had money, and quite a bit of it.
“Sounds great. I’ll get out of your way, and you can start on whatever project you think is best.” Nessa went around the table and paused. She exaggerated her movements, making a show out of stepping around the box she’d left out, before retreating to the living room. She turned back just before she got there. “I’m off from work today, so if you have any questions or need my opinion on anything, I’ll be around. I’m going to work on unpacking a few things.” She smiled, trying not to show any emotion as Clint passed by the box. He looked at her, then down at the box again, but Nessa didn’t recognize anything that made her think Clint was worried.
“Will do.” He picked up his tool bag, stepped around the box that was in the middle of the floor, and followed her into the living room, looking at the light fixtures.
Nessa was annoyed that either she’d missed something important or that Clint was a great liar. She wanted to believe it was him who did all of this, but also didn’t, because she was alone with him in her house. She was even more annoyed that somehow Levi and Martina were back in her thoughts. She wondered how well Clint knew the Kingston family or if they were maybe more related to things than she’d thought.
As Clint worked, Nessa had to admit that he was doing a great job. When he came to her to tell her that he needed to go to the hardware store to pick up a few things, she couldn’t have been happier. She suggested he pick up something to eat while he was out, so he’d be gone a bit longer, and handed him some extra cash. Nessa wanted to be able to talk freely and see if she could find out anything about Martina or the Kingston family.
Chapter Fourteen
Nessa called Bizzie, not happy she was one of the only people she could talk to about her situation. She could have called her grandfather or Faye, but they were both at work that day, and she didn’t want to bother them. Bizzie told her that Martina was still married to a Kingston and believed that there was nothing wrong with her marriage. Nessa confirmed that Martina was now working at the Wilawalo Weekly and not only loved her job but was very good at it. The only piece of interesting news that she received regarding Martina was that her in-laws had always believed she was a gold digger and only with their son for money and status. Bizzie told Nessa that when Martina worked at the radio station, the Kingston’s believed she only had the job for show and was able to use it as a ruse to make others think she was actually holding a job. Nessa didn’t know much about it but had been told that Martina worked hard and helped make the radio station a success with her father.
The Kingston’s saying that she was only around for money might have made sense if her job was with her father, but now that she was working at Wilawalo Weekly, it was different. Most gold diggers married to a rich family didn’t rush out and get a replacement job. The Kingston’s were a high profile family but worked hard to stay out of the media, so Nessa knew she’d have a hard time trying to find anything if she tried doing a search for them online. She had to go by what Bizzie said for now.
Nessa wanted to ask more questions but heard the familiar sound of a vehicle pulling into her driveway. She sighed, wondering why Clint had to be so fast. She wasn’t ready for him to come back yet. Nessa got up to let him in, having locked her door after he left. She normally wasn’t quite so paranoid, but lately, she felt as though she needed to be.
“Chloe?” Nessa said, running out the door and down the porch steps to the young girl.
“I’m so glad you’re home!” Chloe said through her open car window.
“I’ve been trying to call you,” Nessa said, giving her a quick hug. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“My phone isn’t working right now. I… uhhh… I wasn’t able to pay my bill on time, so it got shut off a few hours after I texted you last. I’m sorry I just showed up like this.”
Nessa led Chloe inside. “Are you hungry?” she asked, looking at the clock. If she hurried, she might catch Clint in time, and he could pick up something for her to eat as well.
Chloe nodded. “Sure.”
Nessa showed her the menu for The Shack and called Clint with her order. He told her it was perfect timing and that he was just pulling in to The Shack as they spoke.
“You didn’t need to order me food. I thought you were asking if I wanted some crackers or something.” Chloe followed Nessa into the kitchen, stopping abruptly when she saw the box on the floor.
Nessa’s voice hitched as she tried speaking. She saw Chloe’s reaction to the box, and it instantly made her feel uncomfortable. The girl had said she wasn’t able to pay her phone bill, and since there was missing money at her college, and Nessa had let the thought cross her mind that Chloe might have stolen and hidden the money in her things, she felt even worse.
She didn’t know enough yet to say anything. It could have been Chloe who stole the money, but there was no way she was the one to kill Liam. Nothing was solved.
“It’s no problem. I know I paid you for it, but I can’t explain to you how helpful you were in packing things for me. As you can see,” she gestured toward the box, “I’m kind of a mess.”
“Since I’m here, I can help you unpack,” Chloe offered, eying the box in the same way she had before.
“How long are you here for?” Nessa asked.
“That’s up to you. I can leave in an hour, or I can stay for a few days.
Truthfully, I just needed to get out of town.”
Nessa heard the mail truck go by, giving her an out. “I’ll be right back,” she said, going to her mailbox. She got up, and Chloe followed her.
“So, what do you think? Would it be weird if I stayed a while?” Chloe asked.
“Is everything okay?” Nessa asked. Even if Chloe had stolen the money, she was still acting weird.
“Not really.” Chloe sighed and spilled the beans. “I’m failing all my classes, and I’m on academic probation. My parents are mad and want to kick me out or make me pay rent if I’m not going to school. I don’t blame them or anything, but I really hate my classes. I came here because I thought maybe you could help me study or something. I’m taking a ton of accounting classes, and they are so hard.”
“I can try to help, but if you hate them, I’m not sure that’s going to change later on. Are you sure that’s what you want to go to school for?” Nessa asked.
“I don’t, but I don’t have any other options. I need to go to college, so my parents give me a place to live. I’m saving all my money from my side job in order to try to do better at it, but if I have to pay rent, then I’ll need a bigger job, and that will take away from what I really love doing.”
“Which is?”
“I’ve been doing a lot of design work. I love building websites and helping small businesses with graphics and advertisements. I told my parents I wanted to switch majors, but they think it’s dumb. I’m kind of stuck, and I guess I look up to you or whatever and thought maybe you had some advice for me.”
Nessa flipped through her mail as Chloe lifted the box she’d left out for Clint to see. She took out the contents, not batting an eye, and put the magazines on the coffee table. She went around the house, clearing out half-empty boxes that Nessa had left around, and made more progress in twenty-minutes than Nessa had all week.
Neither Clint nor Chloe had a single reaction. She’d been so proud of herself for that idea. Raff said she couldn’t use the original box since it was in evidence, but she’d found a similar one, wrote ‘stuff’ on it like the other one, and put the magazines back inside. Neither of them were fazed. Someone else stole that money.
As Clint pulled in, Nessa saw her first copy of the Wilawalo Weekly. She’d read every one she’d ever come across, but this was her first one as an official resident. The thin magazine boasted stories about the people and businesses in Lake Wilawalo, and on the front cover of this edition was a photo of the Kingston family with the headline Out For Blood? The Real Story Behind the Kingston Family Fortune.
The article went on to say that the only reason the Kingstons had money to begin with was because they lied and cheated their way there. Nessa kept reading as Clint brought their food inside. He introduced himself to Chloe since Nessa was too distracted. She got to the end of the article and scanned the page, looking for the author.
It was Martina.
She gasped, and things started to become clear. Nessa ran to her bedroom to call Raff and pour everything out to him. She told him her theory that Martina lost her job, and after being upset about the changes at the station on top of grief from the Kingston’s, she killed Liam. When the Kingston’s didn’t let up, she got the job at the Wilawalo Weekly and decided to air their dirty laundry. She could have stolen the money as well, but that would only mean that it had to be Chloe who stole from her school and hid it. She didn’t want to believe Chloe was lying or could have done something so terrible, but it was looking more and more likely by the minute.
She left out the part that Clint and Chloe were at her house and got back downstairs. The two were already eating. After they finished, Chloe started to unpack, and Clint got to work. Nessa knew she had to do something with herself, so she started helping Chloe, only stopping when she heard her phone ring.
Ending her call with Raff, Nessa felt torn up inside. She was surprised he called her at all but told her that Martina didn’t have access to the building any longer. There was no way she killed Liam or stole the money.
Finally, Nessa had had enough.
“Clint, do you know if Mavery is working right now?”
“I think so. I can call her if you want. Is everything okay? I can come back another day,” Clint answered. “I only have that small job at the radio station at the end of the week and…”
“You said at the radio station? What’s the job?” Nessa asked.
“I’ve just got to replace the lock on the basement door. You know the ones with handles that open up and…”
Nessa interrupted again. “Replace why? Are they broken?”
“I didn’t ask. I got a call to do the work, and I’m gonna do it. I’m not in the business of asking questions,” Clint replied, raising a brow.
“So, then she did have a way inside,” Nessa said, dashing back to her bedroom to call Raff again.
Chapter Fifteen
Nessa unlocked the door to the bakery, letting Raff inside.
“You’re here early,” she said.
He nodded and sat in the first chair he saw. “Martina was arrested last night for Liam’s murder.”
“I was right!” Nessa said, proud of herself.
“Partly. Martina knew the basement lock was broken, and that’s how she got inside. She admitted to killing Liam because she lost her job to him, and the Kingstons had said so many terrible things about her. She worked hard for her father and to earn money and was trying to prove that she could get her job back and do well. When they didn’t let up, she got mad and got the job at Wilawalo Weekly, putting their story out there, which she knew they didn’t want.”
“That sounds like everything I said. Why did you say partly?” Nessa asked.
“Because Robby added another lock to his office door. There is no way Martina got inside. We got the killer, but she wasn’t the thief,” Raff told her.
“It could have been Clint or Mavery or even Ranger,” she said.
Raff shook his head. “They didn’t have a key either.”
“Then who did?” Nessa asked.
“Only Robby and Liam,” Raff explained.
“Obviously, Robby didn’t steal his own money, so that leaves Liam. How tragic is this? He steals the money and then gets killed. Did you guys find the money?”
Raff shook his head and stared at her.
“What?” Nessa asked, confused.
“I contacted the police department in Granger and asked about the missing money you mentioned at that college.”
Nessa’s heart sank. “Chloe?”
“They found the money. The faculty in charge misplaced it and admitted her mistake. She found it in her garage after she cleaned out her car. I guess she left it in there by accident, and it was all just a misunderstanding.”
“I’m still confused. If Liam took the money, how did it get in my house?” Nessa asked.
“That’s what I’m wondering.”
Nessa got both her and Raff a cup of coffee, and she joined him at the table.
“I never even met Liam, so him doing it himself isn’t an option, and…
“And what?” Raff asked.
“It was Bizzie. She was dating Liam.” Nessa thought back to the night Bizzie was on her porch. She had a bag with her, and because of the situation, Nessa hadn’t thought much about it. The money must have been in the bag, and Bizzie hid it at Nessa’s house. She’d been exceptionally paranoid but Nessa had chalked it up to being aware there was someone outside of her home, not because she was attempting to hide thousands of dollars.
She told Raff everything and hung her head. “I know it sounds like I’m just blaming the girl I don’t like, but it makes sense, doesn’t it?”
“Sadly, it does,” Raff agreed. “She may have thought that whoever was around your homes was after the money and thought it was going to make her safer if it was at your house since no one had reason to suspect you.”
“Ranger did. Well, he didn’t have a reason, but he still did,” Nessa reminded
him.
“He was there both nights. He admitted it.” Raff sighed. “He wanted to prove that you were up to something.”
Nessa huffed. “Well, I hope he’ll be happy to find out that I didn’t do anything wrong.” She was so mad at Ranger but also thankful there wasn’t a stalker running around.
“Do you think Bizzie was trying to frame me or something? Do you think she knew Liam stole it, or maybe they had plans for it or something? Why didn’t she just come clean?”
“I don’t know, Nessa. People do things for the wrong reasons all of the time. Do you have a muffin or something for me? I’m going to need some sustenance here. Even if we’re right, it’s not going to be easy for me to talk to Bizzie about this. I’ve known that girl for her entire life.”
Nessa got him a box of muffins, enough to last him the day, and a cup of coffee to-go. She sent him on his way and wished him luck before asking him to tell her the results. Although she was sure she’d hear it through the grapevine soon enough.
Cheesecake and Chills Page 6