Saints & Sinners Ball

by Stacy M Jones

  The sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day. Harper clicked the button to put the window down and turned the radio up. She sang as she drove. She was pulling up in front of Hattie’s shop before she knew it. Humming to herself as she opened the door, she stopped cold when she saw Lizzie sitting at a table with Jackson, the two lost in conversation.

  Harper waved to both of them and made a beeline to Hattie behind the counter. “What’s going on there?”

  Hattie was putting away coffee and tea cups. They clanked as she added another in the row. “Jackson and I were talking in back and when we came out, Lizzie said she wanted to talk to Jackson. They have been sitting there for the last hour.”

  Harper kept one eye on Jackson while she filled Hattie in on what happened with Dan. She told Hattie Dan’s suspicions about Fr. McNally, some of the notes in the file and the jewelry she found. Harper admitted, “I feel bad for calling the police, but I’m not sure who to trust. And Dan did have stolen jewelry hidden in his office.”

  Hattie frowned, clearly dismayed by the information. She countered, “Couldn’t someone have hidden the jewelry there? Do you really think Dan would hide it out in the open like that?”

  Harper worried, “I really don’t know. I just hope I didn’t cause trouble for an innocent man. He seemed readily willing to share the information about Fr. McNally with me. But that was only after Granger was taking him to the station.”

  “Dan’s always been such a nice guy,” Hattie fretted, moving around the cups on the shelf to add more. “Maybe Det. Granger will just talk to him and release him quickly. That still leaves the question of how the jewelry got in this office if he didn’t put it there.”

  “We seem to have far more questions than answers,” Harper muttered to herself while still watching Jackson’s animated conversation with Lizzie.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Nearly thirty minutes later when Harper was so antsy she could barely stand still, Lizzie finally got up from the table, shook Jackson’s hand and left. She gave a quick wave to Harper and Hattie as she opened the door and stepped out into the sunshine.

  “New girlfriend,” Harper said with a smirk as Jackson approached the counter. Her tone came off more annoyed than teasing, which wasn’t how she intended.

  Jackson looked at her, a curious expression on his face, and set his cup down on the counter. “Jealous?”

  Harper laughed at herself. “No I just really wanted to catch you up and you were taking forever. What did Lizzie want?”

  Jackson looked around the shop. It was empty at this point so he explained, “She said she felt bad after we had spoken the other day because she knew she threw her brother under the bus. Lizzie said that she didn’t really believe that her brother could kill Tucker, but that Drew had become a financial drain, and she was frustrated. She said that frustration spilled over into our conversation when she accused him. She asked me what I thought.”

  “That’s odd. Lizzie didn’t really accuse Drew, just said he wasn’t home and that he was up to no good,” Harper said, walking out from behind the counter and taking a seat at a nearby table. “Why come tell us now that she changed her mind? We aren’t the police. It’s not like we can arrest him.”

  “Maybe she wonders who we might have told.”

  Harper shrugged. “Still seems strange.”

  Taking a pause, Jackson added thoughtfully, “I think Lizzie feels conflicted. I think she wanted to make it clear that she didn’t think Drew could have murdered her husband, but she’s clearly tired of dealing with him.”

  “I can understand that,” Harper mumbled.

  “But that’s not the weirdest part,” Jackson stated. “While Lizzie wanted to make sure we didn’t think he was a suspect in the murder, she did hint around that Drew might not be so innocent when it came to the jewelry heists.”

  Surprised, Harper questioned, “What do you mean? Lizzie thinks her brother robbed those houses?”

  “I think she might,” Jackson began. “Lizzie reiterated that Drew didn’t have an alibi that she knew of for the night of the Saints & Sinners Ball. That Drew was out for most of the evening, and when he got back to the house, he seemed flustered. Lizzie said his pant leg was torn, and he would barely make eye contact with her. When Lizzie read about the crimes in the newspaper, she started thinking back to the dates of the other burglaries. She told me she’s concerned that Drew was out those nights, too.”

  “Does Lizzie have any proof of anything?” Harper asked skeptically.

  “No, she didn’t offer anything like that. Lizzie just said it and left it at that.”

  “So, Lizzie comes here to tell you that her brother probably didn’t kill her husband, but that he might be a jewelry thief, robbing their rich friends?” Harper clarified.

  “You just hit the nail on the head,” Jackson affirmed. “Lizzie said she knew several of the couples whose houses had been burglarized. She told me that Drew had been at a few of the houses prior.”

  “That’s completely bizarre that Lizzie would come here to tell you that, but she may not be that far off the mark. I have my own information about the jewelry case.” Harper pulled out the note that she had taken from Dan’s desk and handed it to Jackson. “What do you make of that?”

  Jackson studied the note. “I think it means we are starting our surveillance at Murray Park tonight. Where did you get this?”

  Harper went over in detail everything that had happened with Dan that morning. Jackson sat there watching her carefully, his eyes growing wide when she told him about finding some of the stolen jewelry and calling the police.

  Jackson was even more shocked when Harper got up and walked back behind Hattie’s counter and brought back the thick file folder. Harper plopped it down on the table in front of him. “Dan told me where to find it. He pretended that’s where the key to his office was not to alert Det. Granger. Dan had a false bottom in the drawer, and it was tucked in there. Dan’s been investigating the priest longer than we were even suspicious.”

  Jackson flipped through the file. When he got to the section that held the photos, he lifted up several to get a closer look. Then Jackson grabbed two and slapped them down on the table facing Harper. Jackson tapped his index finger on the more recent photo of Fr. McNally, one that had obviously been taken by surveillance. The priest had not posed for the photo. “Dan’s got it right here. I don’t know how he got these, but looking at this side by side with older photos of Fr. McNally, there is no way they are the same man.”

  Harper agreed. “That doesn’t tell us who the guy is though masquerading as Fr. McNally. And more importantly, it doesn’t tell us where the real Fr. McNally is.”

  Jackson thumbed through some more of Dan’s notes. “Let’s start with the placement before Brazil, when he was here in the states. Last place says Dallas. Let’s make some calls there and find out what we can. It’s close enough we can always drive down if we need to. We can find out family and friends, too. We can go back even farther if needed. Then we can check out Brazil. Clearly, the man who came back from Brazil is not the same man that went. But I want to be armed with more information first.”

  “I think that’s a good plan.” Harper thought about Det. Granger’s warning. Then she thought about the people working at the parish not knowing who they were really working with. Harper asked, “Do you think we should tell anyone yet? Granger gave me another lecture about staying away from his investigation.”

  Jackson sat the file down. He said thoughtfully, “Normally, I’d say go to the police with your concerns and let them handle it, but you’ve expressed your concerns a few times and no one is taking you seriously. I say we run with this on our own and when we have definitive proof, we hand it over.”

  Harper agreed, but she knew she still looked worried, which she was. Inslee’s words about being in over their heads rang in her ears.

  Jackson got quiet. He leaned into Harper and said quietly, “Besides, no one knows about this. Granger is
n’t looking into this. Dan clearly had a reason to keep this hidden and wanted us to have it. He’s gained some of my trust with that. We tip off the police, everyone will know. I have a feeling whoever that guy is, pretending to be Fr. McNally, will just slip away.”

  Jackson and Harper spent the next hour going through Dan’s file. They pulled out important pages and took some notes. Jackson grabbed Hattie’s laptop and started a search for some phone numbers of potential witnesses listed in the file.

  Harper found both a name and a phone number for a teacher. Dan’s note indicated she had once worked with Fr. McNally when he was in charge of a small Catholic school in Vermont. It had been early in his career. It was one of the only phone numbers Dan had listed in the file so she tried it first. She reached the woman on the first try. The woman, who said she had retired from teaching more than ten years ago, was willing to talk. Harper gathered all the information she could.

  After the lengthy conversation, Harper ended the call and turned to Jackson. Punching him in the arm in excitement, Harper exclaimed, “You are not going to believe this!”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  Jackson rubbed his arm, feigning pain. He looked to Harper eagerly. She detailed, “According to the teacher I spoke to, Fr. McNally had been placed in an orphanage as a young boy. His mother had died when he was small, and there was no father that had claimed him. This teacher told me Fr. McNally spoke about it often because some of the students in the school were in foster care or didn’t have families. The teacher said he used to tell stories about his own childhood to connect with the kids.”

  “Well that certainly makes him an easier target for identity theft than most. My mother would know it wasn’t me showing up for Sunday dinner. If you have no dinner to show up to and no real family that’s keeping an eye on you, you’ve got a bit of a bigger target on your back,” Jackson detailed.

  Harper read through some of the notes she had taken. “There’s something else,” Harper added, getting Jackson’s attention. “Granted this was more than twenty years ago, early in his career, but the kind, gregarious man the teacher described does not in any way seem like the grumpy, secretive man living at the parish.”

  “When was the last time she had contact with him?”

  “She said it’s been years. But that’s still a big detail into the priest’s life for a first call.”

  They both went back to their searches. An hour later, Hattie was just bringing them each coffee and a pastry when Det. Granger walked into the shop. Harper looked up to Hattie and then closed the file in front of her. Jackson, who was sitting right next to Harper, clicked out his internet search.

  With a worried expression on her face, Hattie greeted him, “Detective, I hope nothing is wrong this time. Each time I see you, there’s been another incident.”

  “No, nothing like that,” Det, Granger assured. “Just wanted to talk to Harper about this morning.” Det. Granger went to the table where Harper and Jackson were sitting. Jackson moved his things to make room.

  “Can I get you some coffee or something to eat?” Hattie offered.

  “Sure,” Granger said. “I haven’t had much of a break today. Well really in the last few days as you can imagine. Coffee would be nice.”

  “Anything in particular you want to eat?” Hattie asked from behind the counter.

  “Everything looks and smells great so whatever you decide is fine.” Turning to Harper, he asked seriously, “Do you think Dan knew that jewelry was there? How did he react when you found it?”

  “I don’t even think Dan noticed at first,” Harper said, reflecting back to that morning. “Dan was more surprised to see me in the room. He didn’t really give any bad reaction to me being there. He just seemed startled to see me at all.”

  “And when he saw the jewelry?” Granger pressed.

  Harper thought for a few moments. She emphasized, “Same. Now that I really think about it, Dan really gave no acknowledgment at all until I asked him why he had jewelry from the burglaries.”

  Hattie dropped off Det. Granger’s coffee and a blueberry muffin. He thanked her and then rephrased his question to Harper. “If I’m hearing you correctly, Dan didn’t give any hint that he cared you were near the vase or that he was hiding something?”

  “Not at all,” Harper confirmed. “Actually, Dan’s first reaction after I told him that it was some of the stolen jewelry was to accuse me of planting evidence.”

  “How did you know it was the stolen jewelry?” Granger asked, curiosity apparent in his voice.

  Harper got up and went behind Hattie’s counter. She dug through the bin of newspapers she knew Hattie kept there. Harper found the article she was searching for. Bringing the paper over, Harper put the paper in front of Det. Granger. Pointing to the emerald ring, she explained, “I had just read this article. It has several photos of the missing jewelry. I thought this ring was pretty so it stood out to me. When I found the jewelry, it was obvious it was the stolen pieces.”

  Jackson interjected, “Do you not think Dan is involved?”

  Finishing a sip of coffee, Det. Granger said, “No. There’s nothing to tie him to the case. Dan has been an upstanding member of our news community for years. No prior arrests, not even so much as a traffic ticket. We had just completed a thorough search of his house and office the day before, and nothing. Dan has an alibi for all but one of the burglaries. That night Dan said he was home alone. I tend to believe him. But I still think he’s hiding something. I just don’t know what.”

  “I don’t believe he stole any jewelry,” Harper offered. “I probably shouldn’t have made such a quick assumption, but I had just heard him arguing with Matthew Inslee. I was being cautious.”

  Det. Granger looked at her sharply. “Why was Inslee there?”

  “I’m not really sure,” Harper said, knowing she wasn’t giving him the full story. “They were arguing when I came in, which is why I was in that back room. As you know, I don’t like Inslee so I ducked in that room to avoid him. I saw the sculptures and the vase. It really was just dumb luck I found the jewelry at all.”

  Det. Granger seemed to consider this. Before he could say anything else, Jackson asked, “I’m curious, Detective, many people saw Inslee at the Saints & Sinners Ball early in the evening, and then he showed up after the murder like he’d never been there. Did he get called out to the burglaries?”

  “Not that I’m aware of,” Granger said, finishing the last of his muffin. He seemed a bit thrown off by what Jackson said. He asked, “What do you mean Inslee was there and then no one saw him?”

  “That’s exactly it,” Jackson reiterated. “Inslee was at the event for maybe the first hour. Then he showed up to Hattie’s house after the murder in completely different clothing and acted like he hadn’t been at the party at all.”

  “Why wouldn’t Inslee have made mention that he was there?” Granger asked. “He never once told me he had been at the event. I would think he’d know that people could confirm he was there.”

  “That’s what I was thinking,” Jackson said. “Unless Inslee didn’t think we’d have reason to be asking. He does act like he’s beyond reproach so maybe Inslee believes nobody would ever look into it or question his actions.”

  Det. Granger seemed really thrown off by the whole conversation. He wondered, “Was Inslee there during the murder?”

  From behind the counter, Hattie offered, “Don’t you think if he was there and heard his boss was killed, Inslee would have run right over? He didn’t come to the house until nearly forty minutes later.”

  Harper interrupted, “And in different clothing than he had been wearing earlier.”

  “I have no idea what to make of that,” Granger said perplexed. “This case gets weirder and weirder by the second.” He finished his coffee. After forcing Hattie to take his money, Granger got up to leave.

  Before heading out the door, Granger turned back to Harper and said, “I nearly forgot. Dan wanted me to tell you to kee
p the file he gave you. He said to work on the project yourself right now. That after what happened he wants to lay low for a while. Hopefully, you know what that means. If not, you can probably call him.”

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Hattie spent close to twenty minutes shoving Harper and Jackson out the door, assuring them she was fine being alone in the house. They were concerned now that they strongly suspected Fr. McNally was not who he said he was. Hattie finally convinced them she was fine. After all, she had been living next to the man for several months.

  Hattie thought back over that time to see if anything had sparked her intuition about him. There was nothing, but really, she hadn’t paid much attention to the priest at all.

  After Jackson and Harper left, Hattie went around the house and triple checked the doors and windows to make sure all were locked after they left. Then she made herself a simple dinner and relaxed until Beatrix came over to perform the protection spell on the house. Neither felt like their energy was very strong, but Hattie thought that it would have to do for now.

  Once they were done, Hattie and Beatrix ate some apple pie Hattie had made earlier that day, and talked about spells and Voodoo and the inner workings of trying to balance a normal life with their gifts.

  Beatrix admitted she didn’t date much and felt out of place among her peers. Hattie assured the girl she had the same experience in her youth, but eventually found her husband and her community. Hattie was sure that Beatrix would, too. But it was a good reminder for Hattie to reach out to her more and include her. Hattie was hoping that Harper and Beatrix would take some time to get to know each other as well.

  After Beatrix left, Hattie was resting comfortably in the living room when her cellphone rang. She looked at the screen and debated whether to answer. It was her brother, Harper’s father. She took a deep breath. “Hello, Maxwell.”