Pasta Mortem

by Ellery Adams

  “How?”

  “I’m going to a jewelry store in Harrisonburg to buy Jane a Valentine’s present later today,” James said, unwilling to reveal that Bennett was buying an engagement ring for Gillian.

  “Nothing like waiting until the last minute.”

  “Milla is making up a special box of chocolates too. I thought if you could sneak Kitty’s ring out of the evidence room, I could take it with me and ask the jeweler if it’s a real diamond.”

  “Whoa. I could get in a lot of trouble if Sheriff Huckabee finds out.”

  “You can bend the rules one time. How’s Murphy this morning?” James asked.

  Lucy sighed. “Bad. Not the same woman we know. Depressed and hopeless. All right, I’ll get the ring.”

  “The sheriff hasn’t charged her with Kitty’s murder, has he?”

  “No. He’ll have to do something today, though, because Murphy’s lawyer will be in here demanding her release. James, Murphy told me that since she’s now the major shareholder in the Honeybee Heaven Farms Corporation, she can decide whether to sell Buford Lydell his land back. She only asked Joel if he wanted to sell as a courtesy. Joel has no real say. Murphy also said that as far as she knows, she is the beneficiary of Edwards’s life insurance policy, not Kitty.”

  “Why didn’t she say so before?”

  “Think, James. The policy is for one million dollars. Some people would kill for that amount of money. She’d only look more guilty.”

  James whistled. “Murphy didn’t want to give Sheriff Huckabee more ammunition against her.”

  “No, but it’s all going to come out. You be ready to leave in about fifteen minutes, okay? I’m on my way.”

  “Don’t forget the ring.”

  “It’s in my pocket. I snatched it while we were talking.”

  • • •

  When Lucy pulled up in her patrol car, James walked down the library steps and got in.

  Lucy stretched and reached into her pants pocket. She handed him a small, clear plastic ziplock bag containing Kitty’s ring. “Don’t lose it, James,” Lucy cautioned.

  “I won’t.”

  “What are you getting Jane at the jewelry store?” Lucy asked as they got on the road to Cardinal’s Rest.

  “I’m waiting until I get there to be inspired.”

  “What about Jane’s push present?”

  “Her what?” James asked, turning in his seat to stare at Lucy.

  “A lot of women ask for a specific present to mark giving birth. That’s why it’s called a ‘push’ present. You can give her the present before or after the baby’s born, or even in the delivery room. It’s usually diamonds. Hasn’t Jane asked for something?”

  James sat with his mouth open. Then he said, “You have got to be kidding me. Diamonds? We don’t have the money for that. Jane hasn’t said a word about a special gift. When did this ‘push’ present custom start?”

  “Been a while now, years. Mariah Carey allegedly got a diamond and sapphire necklace from Nick Cannon when she gave birth to their twins. If Jane hasn’t asked for anything, then maybe she feels the baby is present enough. Almost half of women feel that way.”

  “And probably a large portion of the men! This sounds like an idea the jewelry companies cooked up to increase business.”

  “Probably. You’ve got a couple of weeks left to ask Jane about it. Here we are at the Red Bird. Let me zip up my parka. I’m tired of this freezing cold weather, I can tell you that.”

  But James’s head was reeling from the whole “push present” idea and it took the blast of cold air for him to concentrate on the investigation.

  When they walked inside the inn, Mrs. Anderson had her foot on the first step to the bedrooms while holding a basket of what looked like clean laundry. “They’re in the dining room. That woman, Joy Carmichael, brought food. My cooking isn’t good enough today.”

  James and Lucy exchanged looks, then followed the voices coming from the dining room. Brandon, Joel, Doug, and Valerie sat at the table, the remains of another lunch of sushi in front of them. The actors glanced their way, but only Joel nodded a greeting. James thought the mood in the room could only be described as sullen.

  Joy gave them a sour look. “I suppose you’ll want to bother these good people with your questions, Deputy Hanover. You too, Mr. Henry. There’s nothing I can do about it, but you’ll have to wait a few minutes. Sit down,” she commanded.

  James and Lucy did as they were told.

  Joy bustled around like a mother chick, a clipboard and pen in her hands. She wore a gray tracksuit today with her “Home and Hearth Always in Our Hearts” button prominently displayed over her heart. “Now, don’t worry, dears. I know you all want to go home so you can rest up before filming starts, but while you’re being made to stay here, I’m going to take care of all your needs. Brandon, your Egyptian cotton sheets will be here via Fed Ex tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, sweetheart,” Brandon said and gave Joy one of his blinding smiles.

  Joy tittered. “I’m expecting another delivery today, and then I can make up baskets for each of you. I have Asian pears, fresh strawberries, crates of baby pineapples, coconuts, satsuma tangerines, all your favorites on the way.”

  “Organic, of course,” Brandon said.

  “Naturally! Only the best for all of you. The Kobe beef should be here today for your dinner. Where is Amber? I have the dragon fruit she likes in her morning smoothie ordered.”

  “She’s in her room trying out a new eyeshadow palette for her YouTube subscribers,” Joel said.

  “Always working so hard! Valerie, your cashmere blanket won’t be here until tomorrow morning. I gave the woman a piece of my mind, but she insisted that, because this place is so isolated, they can’t get it here any sooner. I’m sorry. I won’t use that vendor again.”

  Valerie flicked a piece of rice across the table. “I’ll die in this dreadful cold weather. To think, I could be on the beach in Malibu working on my tan and writing my next book. I have to finish it before we begin filming.” She rose. “Unless I’m needed, Deputy Hanover, I’m going to see about obtaining extra blankets from that innkeeper woman.”

  Lucy shot Valerie a fake smile. “Please go right ahead. We don’t want any deaths from hypothermia. The paperwork is unreal.”

  Valerie arched a brow, but swept from the room.

  “I do think she’s upset!” Joy cried, looking after Valerie. She glared at Lucy, then said, “How could you be so catty to such a wonderful woman? I’d better go help her unless anyone can think of something else they’d like?”

  “I’d like to get out of here,” Doug said. “I want to meet with Lenny Matthews from the TV network. I’ve thought of some important points the writers need to include in my new storyline.”

  “I’ll make sure there’s gas in the rental car,” Joy said, making notes on her clipboard and then going after Valerie.

  Lucy sat forward, opened her tablet, then looked Doug in the eye. “Mr. Moore, with two people dead, I’m not in the mood to play games. I have it on good authority that you left this inn on the night Ray Edwards was murdered. You were seen at the White Horse bar. Now, I’d like you to tell me the truth about exactly where you were that night.”

  Go, Lucy! James thought.

  “The trouble with women,” Doug said to the room in general, “is that they can’t keep their mouths shut. I suppose that little groupie told you that we met at the bar and she took me home with her.”

  “Her name?” Lucy asked.

  Doug snorted. “Who knows? Cute little redhead. Drove me back here in a truck, though. Not sexy.”

  “What time did you return to the Red Bird?” Lucy asked through gritted teeth.

  “Maybe an hour before that Murphy Alistair started shrieking about her man being dead. I’d just gotten to sleep.”

  “What time did you leave the night before?”

  “I don’t know. I was bored at the reception. Only beer to drink. I cut out before it
was over.”

  Lucy said, “I’ll have a statement prepared for you to sign. Maybe you won’t be charged with giving false information to a law enforcement officer. You can go.”

  Doug’s eyes bulged. He wasted no time getting out of the room.

  Brandon smiled at Lucy. “You are a naughty girl, tricking Doug like that.”

  Color came into Lucy’s cheeks. “He needed to tell me the truth, Brandon. And so do you.”

  “I didn’t go anywhere,” Brandon said, still smiling at Lucy. “I was watching you.”

  “You didn’t tell us that you’re a Realtor in partnership with Kitty Walters either,” James said. “Did you know that her real name is Kathy Richardson?”

  Brandon’s smile faded. “No, I didn’t know that. To be honest, I haven’t done much with that Realtor business. I agreed to help Kitty out, so I told her she could use my name.”

  “Are you saying that you’re not a licensed Realtor in the state of Kentucky?” James persisted.

  “Well, sure I am. It would be wrong of me to present myself to the public as a Realtor if I didn’t have a license. I have my reputation to protect.”

  “How did you know Kitty?” James asked.

  Joel said, “Louisville is much bigger than Quincy’s Gap, of course, but within the world of real estate and property development, we all know one another.”

  “That’s right, Joel,” James said. “You were the one who introduced Murphy to Ray Edwards, weren’t you?”

  “Sure. Ray had a great business model, Murphy had money to invest. Why not? As a thank-you, they gave me a few shares once the corporation was formed. You’ll find it’s all aboveboard.”

  Lucy tapped notes into her tablet. “What about Kitty’s relationship with Edwards. Was he engaged to her while he was here in Quincy’s Gap romancing Murphy?”

  Joel held up his hands. “I don’t know anything about that and don’t want to get involved.”

  “Two people have been murdered,” James reminded him. “I think you should tell us what you know.”

  “Okay, okay, Edwards was a bit of a dog. He might have been seeing them both, but I don’t know that for a fact,” Joel stressed, ever the peacemaker.

  “I wouldn’t put it past him,” Brandon said.

  “Why do you say that, Brandon?” Lucy asked.

  “Just a feeling. I didn’t know the guy except for the few times I saw him at real estate functions. He flirted with every woman he met,” Brandon said.

  “If you were all in real estate, Brandon, why didn’t Edwards cut you in on the development corporation?” James asked.

  “I couldn’t be bothered,” Brandon told them. “And I don’t need the money. I’m only doing the show again because I like to act.”

  Lucy glanced at James with an “I told you so” expression.

  James changed tactics. “Murphy plans to sell Buford Lydell back his land. How do you feel about that, Joel?”

  “She’s the majority shareholder and can do what she likes.”

  “As long as she’s not convicted of murder,” Lucy said. “Then you’d get all the shares, wouldn’t you, Joel? Didn’t you and Kitty plan to run the corporation if Murphy was out of the picture?”

  “As I’ve told you, I only have a few shares. Kitty might have thought that Edwards left her everything and had hopes based on that, but I’ve never believed Murphy would be tried, much less convicted, of murder,” Joel said with a placating expression on his little-boy features. “Actually, it’s not just Doug who will be meeting with Lenny Matthews. I have some ideas for the new Hearth and Home show that I want to go over with him. With my years as a writer and editor for Southern Style, I think he’ll listen to a creative person. I’m an actor and writer first, a businessman second.”

  Frustration threatened to overcome James. Both men were too smooth, too polished, he thought. He didn’t believe Joel wasn’t interested in grabbing as much as he could of the Honeybee Heaven Farms Corporation. The magazine editor had an excellent motive for murder.

  As for Brandon, James didn’t think a word out of the man’s mouth was the truth. “Brandon, getting back to Kitty, was her real estate business a success?”

  “Yes, it was. Kitty didn’t want for anything,” he said.

  “Did you know she’d been an actress at one time?” James asked.

  Brandon tilted his head. “She was? Really?”

  Joy came into the room then, a large parcel in her arms. “Are you two still here wearing out my dear ones?” she asked, banging the box on the table.

  James looked at Lucy. She said, “We’re leaving, for the time being.”

  • • •

  In the patrol car, on the drive back to Quincy’s Gap, James said, “I was waiting for you to ask about the secret passage.”

  Lucy snorted. “What good would it have done? Brandon and Joel were both lying. If only I knew about what. I feel as though I’m missing something. I should be doing better.”

  “Look at it this way: we’re down to two suspects, Brandon and Joel. That’s further ahead than we were last night. I wish I’d been able to see the secret passage. I wonder if Mrs. Anderson told the actors about it.”

  “The sheriff instructed her not to tell anyone while we’re investigating. And the passage is a set of stairs, nothing exciting.”

  “Let me find out about Kitty’s diamond ring. Maybe you’ll hear about the handwritten will today. Does the sheriff have any forensic evidence in Kitty’s murder?”

  “No. She had faint bruising around her neck, but nobody would be able to get fingerprints from that. The killer shoved her into the brick fireplace. The medical examiner said that blow to her head is what killed her.”

  Lucy pulled into the library parking lot. “Call me later and we’ll exchange notes.”

  “And I need to give you back Kitty’s diamond.”

  “If it is a diamond,” Lucy said.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  No sooner had Lucy driven away than Bennett walked out the door of the library and greeted him. “You ready to go, man?”

  “Yes, let’s take the Bronco.”

  “Uh, I don’t think so. I need to get to the jewelry store today,” Bennett said. “We’ll go in my car.”

  James didn’t want to argue about the Bronco’s abilities, so he got into Bennett’s car. It wasn’t long before they pulled up in front of Noble’s Jewelers. When they got to the door, Bennett said, “I think I’m having a panic attack.”

  “You haven’t changed you mind about marrying Gillian, have you?” James asked.

  “No. But look how fancy this place is. I wonder if I can afford anything in here.”

  “One way to find out,” James said and opened the door.

  The store’s walls had been painted a light gray. The plush carpet was steel-toned, and a large crystal chandelier overhead threw prismed light across the room. Other, more discreet lighting showed the cases full of sparkling rings, necklaces, and earrings to their best advantage.

  A tall middle-aged woman in a black pantsuit and royal blue blouse approached them. Diamonds shone from her earlobes under her close-cropped dark hair, from her wrists, and from her fingers. She looked down her nose and said, “Good afternoon, gentlemen. Welcome to Noble’s. I’m Priscilla Mortmaigne. How can I assist you?”

  James looked at Bennett expectantly. “Go ahead.”

  Bennett cleared his throat and said nervously, “Engagement ring.”

  “For the two of you?” Ms. Mortmaigne asked.

  Bennett gaped at the woman.

  “No!” James blurted and held up his left hand, which sported a gold wedding band. “My friend is getting engaged. I’m here for moral support and maybe a Valentine’s gift for my wife.”

  A crocodile smile spread across the woman’s face. “Step this way.” She led them over to a case of dazzling diamond rings. “And your name is?”

  “Bennett.”

  “Bennett, what type of ring do you think your lady
would like? A traditional solitaire? Something new, but vintage-inspired? Or would you prefer to have a ring made especially for her?”

  “Uh, she’s not traditional, right, James?”

  “Definitely not.”

  “I wanted to give her the ring tomorrow, on Valentine’s Day, so there’s no time to have something made.”

  “Would you appreciate seeing our sale items first?” she asked.

  Bennett furrowed his brows. “All right, but I want something Gillian will love and want to wear for the rest of her life.”

  Priscilla Mortmaigne selected a wedding set from the case. “This is a one-and-a-half-carat princess-cut stone set in fourteen-karat white gold and surrounded by diamonds. As you can see, the matching wedding band is comprised of diamonds, bringing the total carat weight to three. It’s regularly seventeen thousand dollars but it’s on sale for only thirteen thousand. I’m sure Gillian would love it.”

  “And I’m sure the only way that Gillian would end up with that ring on her finger is if I robbed a bank!” Bennett said, his eyes wide.

  Ms. Mortmaigne placed the rings back in the case. She straightened and said, “Perhaps you’d like to share with me what your budget is for the most important piece of jewelry you’ll ever give Gillian.”

  “Nowhere near the prices you quoted me,” Bennett said.

  “Very well.” She looked at the rings in the case and selected another wedding set. “This is on sale for sixty-six hundred dollars and—”

  “Look, Prisc, I’m a working man. I don’t have that kind of money in my piggy bank, know what I mean?”

  Ms. Mortmaigne stiffened. “We have budget-friendly payments, if that’s what you require.”

  James saw that Bennett was about to lose his temper. He said, “Why don’t you let us look around. If we need help, we’ll find you.”

  “Fine,” she said. She returned the ring to the case and locked it. “Did you want me to show you something for your wife’s Valentine’s gift, er, James, is it?”