by Cindy Bell
“Are you talking about Ginger?” Mary looked at the door as well, then turned back to Suzie. “Do you really think she did this?”
“Maybe? We don’t know much about her or Sam.” Suzie rocked slowly back and forth in the chair. “I just think that it’s rather convenient that she’s here, a chemist, at the same time that Jerome is poisoned with a chemical she probably had access to.”
“I can’t deny that.” Mary slid her hands into the wide pockets in her skirt. “But why would she come all the way here to do it? She had to have known that Jerome would be here at the same time. And the same problem exists with her. What is the motive?”
“I’m not sure. But she did insist on coming here, her husband was not so eager.” Suzie sighed, then lifted her eyes to Mary’s. “And they were at the restaurant. Maybe there’s some kind of connection between Jerome and Ginger that we don’t know about.”
“Maybe. I’ll see what I can find out.” Mary stood up. “She might open up to me. Wes, could we postpone our walk?” She met his eyes.
“Sure, we can. Let me know how it goes.” Wes shifted his gaze to Suzie. “I guess you’ll be going to see Jason?”
“I will be.” Suzie nodded to him, then pulled out her phone.
Mary glanced back at the two of them briefly before she headed into the house. She spotted Ginger right away, perched on the couch in the living room with a cup of tea and a book.
“Here you are.” Mary smiled as she stepped into the living room. “I was wondering where you two might have disappeared to. Is Sam resting comfortably?”
“For the moment. Poor fool didn’t wear an ounce of sunscreen. I warned him.” Ginger laughed and shook her head.
“You two are so sweet together.” Mary watched as Ginger took a sip of her tea. “It’s always inspiring to me when I see true romance.”
“I have to admit, I didn’t think it was ever going to happen for me.” Ginger swirled the tea in her cup. “I had pretty much given up after my first marriage ended in disaster. I thought I just wasn’t destined to be in love.”
“I know that feeling.” Mary heard the distant sound of Wes’ car pulling out of the parking lot. “My first marriage didn’t go well, either.”
“But you have a new romance, too, don’t you?” Ginger glanced up at her with a warm glow in her eyes. “I saw you out there with that guy. Wes, right?”
“Oh Wes?” Mary shrugged and sat back. “He’s certainly something I didn’t expect.”
“They always show up just when you think it’s impossible.” Ginger sighed. She lifted her cup of tea to her mouth and took a big swallow.
“Yes, I would agree with that. When things ended with my husband, I thought, that’s it, Mary. You’re alone for the rest of your life.” She drew a deep breath.
“That must have been heartbreaking.” Ginger placed her hand over Mary’s.
“It actually wasn’t.” Mary smiled as her attention focused back on the woman across from her. “I’d been unhappy for a long time, and the idea of not having to pretend anymore, it gave me a sense of freedom. Sure, I was scared, but I was also relieved.”
“I felt that way, too, to some degree. But also very guilty.” Ginger tightened her grasp on the cup of tea.
“It’s easy to feel guilty, but I’m sure it wasn’t your fault. Sometimes we just don’t meet the right person the first time, or the second, or the third.” Mary smiled some. “No guarantees, right?”
“Yes, you’re right. But I did have reason to feel guilty.” Ginger took a sip of her tea. Her expression darkened. “I still do sometimes.”
Sam walked into the dining room. “Ladies, where can I get some of that tea?”
“Let me get it for you.” Mary stood up and hurried towards the kitchen. Ginger’s words rolled through her mind. What did she carry guilt about?
Chapter 15
“Let’s go, Pilot, you and me.” Suzie called Pilot over to her side as she started down the front steps. She knew that Jason would be at the police station. He always worked late when he had a case. The first step would be to get to the station. Whether she could go through with telling Jason about Sean or not, she didn’t know just yet. But she was sure that Jason could use a walk as much as she could. As she approached the police station, she sent Jason a text.
At the police station. Would you like to join Pilot and me for a walk?
Suzie slowed her strides as she expected that he might not respond for a few minutes, if at all. Instead, he responded almost immediately.
Sure, be right out.
Suzie tucked her phone into her pocket, then guided Pilot towards the front of the police station. She thought about the possibility that Sean could have committed the crime. Perhaps he had something against Jerome, or maybe he planned to kill someone else and put the poison in Jerome’s food by accident. Whatever the reason he might have had, it was clear that he had the opportunity, and probably the poison to carry out the crime. Just because he seemed like a nice enough kid and had the sense of responsibility and care to look after his mother, that didn’t make him innocent.
“Hey Suzie.” Jason stepped out of the police station and crouched down to greet Pilot. “Hey buddy, good to see a friendly face.” He ran his fingers through the dog’s fur on the top of his head. Pilot’s tail wagged eagerly.
“I bet you’re exhausted.” Suzie met his eyes as he stood back up.
“Running on adrenaline I think.” Jason gestured to the sidewalk ahead of him. “Shall we?”
“Yes.” Suzie began to walk beside him. She decided to wait just a little bit to reveal her suspicions. “How is the case going?”
“In too many directions at once.” Jason frowned.
“Did you get the name of the man who was sitting right beside Jerome?” Suzie guided Pilot beside her as they continued down the sidewalk.
“I did. He left before Jerome died, but he was seated next to him.” Jason glanced over at her. “It’s Freddy Manchester.”
“Freddy Manchester. That doesn’t sound familiar to me.” Suzie paused as Pilot investigated a patch of grass. “Do you know him?”
“No, he’s not a local. I looked him up, but I couldn’t find much about him. I’m still working on it.” Jason squinted into the sky, then looked back at Suzie. “As for your guests. It has been confirmed that Ginger definitely had access to the substance that killed him, but I couldn’t find a single bit of criminal history in either of their pasts.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” Suzie allowed Pilot to take the lead as they continued down the street. “They seem like good people. But they were both at the restaurant the night that Jerome was killed, and like you said Ginger had access to the substance that killed him.” She paused again as Pilot found a lamppost to sniff.
“That’s true, and why they are still on my radar.” Jason winced. “So is Travis, but I can’t get anything to stick to him. Plus, there is no evidence that he was at the restaurant that night. I am still waiting to get my hands on Jerome’s computer, but I have his paper files. I have most of my officers combing through all of the files from Jerome’s past clients and making calls and investigating leads, but they haven’t come up with much.”
“Do you have a picture of this Freddy?” Suzie glanced over at him. “Maybe I’ve seen him somewhere?”
“Maybe. He said he’s been in town for about a week.” Jason pulled out his phone, tapped the screen, then handed it to her. “That’s him.”
“Oh.” Suzie’s eyes widened as she saw the shock of blond hair. “I can’t be certain, Jason, but this might be the same person that’s been hanging around the docks. Paul had a bad feeling about him. You should send the picture to him, he can probably identify him for sure.”
“Thanks, I’ll do that.” Jason took his phone back and typed out a text.
“If it is the same person, it makes me wonder, what is Freddy doing in town? He is alone, right? Paul says he’s been hanging around the docks for a few days. He was ask
ing the guys questions about the dock. He said it seemed a little strange.”
“He claims that he’s here to look into chartering a fishing boat.” Jason reached down to stroke Pilot’s fur. “He wants a break from the city life, but he’s not ready to bite the bullet and buy a boat.”
“It still seems odd to me that he would come out here to do that.” Suzie narrowed her eyes as she looked farther down the street. A few people walked their dogs. Others sat on their porches. Everything was almost back to normal. But she knew the people of Garber wouldn’t be content until the murder was solved.
“Maybe so. I checked into the records for boat sales and charters, there’s actually been an uptick since last year. He claims a friend referred him to Garber. I haven’t been able to get in touch with that friend, though.” Jason matched Suzie’s pace as she began to walk again. “I’m still digging into him. If you notice anything strange about Ginger and Sam, I’d like to hear about it. I couldn’t get much out of them during their interview.”
“I will see what I can find out.” Suzie nodded. “How about the chef?” She tilted her head to the side so that she could meet his eyes.
“He’s the main suspect at the moment. There’s no way we can rule out the possibility that he put the poison in the mashed potatoes. But at this point we also have no way to prove that he did. The fact that he was there, and he had the opportunity makes him more likely to be our culprit. But I haven’t been able to find any connection between him and Jerome, so that leaves me with no motive. Then there’s Travis, who has plenty of motive, but I can’t find anyone who puts him anywhere near the restaurant that day. He also doesn’t have an alibi. He claims he was alone at home. I can’t rule him in, and I can’t rule him out.” He held out his hands in front of him. “A lot of ideas, but not much evidence to go on.”
“Well, I may have a little more to add.” Suzie gritted her teeth as she turned to face him.
“What do you mean?” Jason met her eyes.
“Sean, the waiter from the restaurant. I don’t believe that he was involved, but there is evidence to support the possibility.” As Suzie filled him in on what she had observed, he pulled out his notebook to write down the information.
“I’ll get on this right away.”
“Jason, please, just make sure you have something solid before you think of making an arrest. Sean is a good kid from what I can tell, and his mother depends on him to take care of her.” Suzie looked into his eyes. “I know you can’t bend the rules, but please consider all options before you take that step.”
“You’re right, Suzie, I can’t bend the rules. I appreciate you coming to me with this information, even if you don’t believe he is the killer. I will look into it, and I can promise you that I will follow all of the steps I need to before I make an arrest. Okay?” Jason gazed back at her. “You can trust me on this.”
“Thank you, Jason.” Suzie patted Pilot’s head. “Let’s go home, buddy.”
Pilot changed direction and ran towards Dune House, eager to go back.
Chapter 16
Mary stood on the porch and watched as Suzie and Pilot approached. She could tell from the slump of Suzie’s shoulders that she had a lot on her mind.
“Hey Suzie.” Mary climbed down the front steps to greet her at the end of the walkway. “Had a nice walk, Pilot?” She scratched behind his ear.
“We had a talk with Jason.” Suzie looked up at her with a frown. “I told him about Sean.”
“That’s good, Suzie, I know it feels awful, but I’m sure it was the right thing to do. I actually think there’s more we need to find out about Ginger. Our conversation left me thinking she might be hiding something.” Mary straightened up and glanced back at the house. “I think we need to look into her previous marriage.”
“Do you think it will lead to something?” Suzie raised an eyebrow.
“I think it might.” Mary shrugged. “I could be wrong, though.”
“I think we need to find out more about Travis.” Suzie set Pilot free from his leash. “Jason can’t find any evidence that he was anywhere near the restaurant. But it occurred to me that perhaps he paid someone else to be there. Maybe, he didn’t need to be there to commit the crime.”
“Someone else? Like the chef?” Mary met her eyes.
“Or the waiter.” Suzie crossed her arms. “Sean certainly doesn’t have a steady income. Maybe Travis figured out that Sean’s mother was on a medicine that could be used as poison and offered Sean a deal that he couldn’t refuse. It’s a bit of a stretch, but I do think it’s a possibility.”
“You’re right, it is possible.” Mary pursed her lips, then shook her head. “But we’d have to be able to prove a connection between Travis and Sean.”
“It’s the last thing I want to do. But if there is a connection there, I want to find it before Jason does. I don’t want it to be a surprise.” Suzie started up the steps towards the house. “Do you want to see what you can find out about Ginger’s past? I’m going to try to set up a meeting with Travis in the morning. Then I’m going to see what I can find out about this man that has popped up in town. Freddy. He was at the restaurant and seated right next to Jerome. Jason can find no connection between him and Jerome, but it might take a little more digging to get to it.”
“Sure, I’ll handle Ginger. Let me know what you come up with about Freddy.” Mary followed her into the house. “Make sure you eat something too, Suzie.”
“I will, if you will.” Suzie winked at her.
After she made both herself and Suzie a sandwich, Mary headed to her room. She wasn’t sure what she could find out about Ginger, but she knew she had to find it fast. Suzie had taught her a lot about searching for information about people. Ginger and Sam would be checking out the next day, and even if Jason tried to convince them to stay, they wouldn’t have to. If there was some kind of connection between them and Jerome’s death, it had to be found, quickly. She settled in with her computer and began to search Ginger’s name. She managed to find her maiden name and began a search with that. Finding some information linked to her maiden name, led her to information linked to her previously married name. That opened a long stream of social media posts that detailed a tumultuous relationship. As she dug a little deeper, she came across a post from someone else in Ginger’s circle of friends that accused her of cheating on her then husband.
The sight of that post gave Mary chills. Was that why Ginger felt guilty, because she was the one who had violated her marriage vows? According to his own admission, Travis had cheated on his wife and Jerome had been the one to prove it. If that was the case, was it possible that Jerome was somehow involved in ruining Ginger’s previous marriage? Mary’s heart pounded at the thought. She knew that there was only one way she could find out. She looked up the information for Jerome’s business. She assumed if he was always on the road, on a case, then he must have been on a case in Garber, too, and he must have had someone to answer his phones back home. As she dialed the number, she knew it was too late for someone to be in the office, but she still hoped someone might answer. After a few rings she was about to hang up, when someone answered.
“This is Phyllis. Are you trying to reach Jerome?”
“Actually, I was trying to reach you, Phyllis, my name is Mary, and I am hoping that you can help me with something. Were you Jerome’s receptionist?”
“Yes.” Phyllis’ voice trembled some. “Are you one of his clients?”
“No, I’m not. I live in Garber, where Jerome was visiting. I’m very sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” Phyllis took a deep breath. “It’s all very shocking.”
“I know it must be. I am consulting with the police, and if you wouldn’t mind, I had hoped you might be able to help me with something.” Mary held her breath, she hated bending the truth, but she doubted that Phyllis would be willing to reveal the details of Jerome’s cases with a stranger.
“Okay, what is it?” Phyllis sighed into the
phone.
“I’ve been trying to find out a little bit more about Jerome Poole, his history, and any family connections that I might be able to reach out to.” Mary held her breath as she wasn’t sure how the woman would react.
“The police have already contacted me for information. Jerome didn’t have any family, at least no one close.” Phyllis’ voice trembled.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. I know this has to be a very difficult time for you.” Mary frowned. Clearly, the receptionist was close with Jerome.
“We were each other’s family,” Phyllis murmured. “I don’t know why I’m still answering the phones. I guess, a part of me keeps hoping that I will pick up the phone one of these times and it will be him calling.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, I know you didn’t call to talk to me about all of this.”
“I don’t mind at all. I know sometimes you just need someone to talk to. I’d just like to know more about Jerome, about who he really was, and the people that were in his life. So, I’m glad I’ve had the chance to talk to you about him.” Mary bit into her bottom lip.
“It’s nice to talk about him, to be honest. He loved his work. Most people would judge him for what he did, always getting into the business of other people. But it wasn’t just about cheating spouses and insurance fraud. He also did extra work on the side, things to prevent crime, or help out police on investigations. He was a very curious man, and he always liked to get to the truth.”
“He sounds like a wonderful person to know. Phyllis, do you know why he was here in Garber? Was he working on a case?” Mary picked up a pen to jot down any notes she might need.
“I have no idea. Like I told the police, he was working a case and then he called me to tell me he was just taking a couple of days off. I thought it was suspicious because he never takes days off. I pressed him, but he said that it was something he didn’t want me involved in. He said it was too dangerous.” Phyllis took a sharp breath. “I should have asked more questions. I should have made him tell me the truth.”