by K P Stafford
“Oh? Insurance sales must be hectic.”
“We're not here to talk about work.”
“I know, but this was a senseless crime.” I watched his face. “You being an insurance guy and refusing to talk doesn't look good.”
“I've told the cops what I can.” He reached for the champagne to fill our glasses again. I sat there quietly. It was clear I wasn't going to get anything out of him.
“You’re thinking again,” Jake said as he slid closer to me.
“I know. I can’t help it.”
He smiled. “Maybe I can help with that.”
Something was tickling my nose as I slept. I assumed it was Baxter, although he usually didn’t tickle, he did more of a pecking thing. “Crap,” I gasped as I remembered the date night. I did not remember going home. I opened my eyes to find Jake sitting on the edge of the couch beside me.
“Good morning.” He said as he kissed my nose.
I peeked under the blanket that covered me. “I’m naked!” I managed to sputter out.
“Yes. It happens when you take your clothes off.” The smile lit up his face.
“I’m glad you find it so amusing.”
“You were pretty amused last night.”
“That was last night.” I squirmed pulling the blanket up over me to make sure I was completely covered.
“Hmm, Are you trying to start something?”
“No!” I gasped. “I’m trying to cover up.”
He kissed my forehead before getting up, grabbing my dress from the floor and tossing it to me. “I hate to run you off, but I have a meeting I’m going to be late for if I don’t get you home.” He said as he turned and went into the bathroom. I had to admit he had a nice butt inside his tight jeans.
The ride back to Grams’ house was awkward. He was the perfect gentleman and escorted me to the door, but it felt like something was wrong. I’d never been run off at 5 o’clock in the morning, but considering my embarrassment over waking up naked on his couch, I decided not to pry.
I headed upstairs, grabbed some clothes and hopped in the shower. I had too much to do today to keep reliving last night over and over in my head. My first stop would be the B&B. I probably needed a shrink at this point, but my best friend would have to suffice.
CHAPTER 13
Peyton squealed when I told her about the date last night and waking up naked on Jake’s couch.
“It sounds like things took off for you two.”
“Well, not really. We kissed a lot, but nothing happened, as far as I remember. It’s all fuzzy. I don’t remember getting undressed, but I do remember it got hot in there after he turned on the fireplace.”
“Well, it’s still good. Maybe something will happen between you two.”
“This is not good news, Peyton. I’m not even sure I trust the guy and now the whole town is going to think I slept with him.”
“Stop being so hard on yourself. You deserved the date, and who cares what people think? You’ve been way too uptight over everything.”
“I know, but this could complicate things. I mean, what if he turns out to be the killer?”
“You don’t believe that do you?”
“I don’t know, but I know my track record with men and something is always hinky about the ones I pick.”
“It’ll be okay. Stop worrying about it.”
“You’re right, though. I did have a great time. It was nice to be treated special, but now it’s time to get back to business. John needs help figuring out who killed that couple and I intend to help him.”
“Did you learn anything last night?”
I tried to hide the grin on my face, but couldn’t. “He knows which buttons to push.”
Peyton threw a towel at me, “I mean about the case.”
“No. He refused to talk about work or the case at all. I think he knew I was fishing for information.”
“And he managed to dissuade you from your mission. I’d say he has some mad button pushing skills.”
“Oh hush!” I said as I grabbed a croissant.
“Are you two going out again tonight?”
I could feel the puzzled look creeping up my face. “I don’t know. He kinda rushed me out at five this morning and wasn’t talking much. Maybe he was upset because nothing really happened last night. Just my luck a guy wants nothing except a one night stand and if he doesn’t get that, he’s done with you.”
“You think that’s all it was to him? A chance to score?”
“After the way he acted this morning, that’d be my guess.”
I heard a buzzing sound and looked down towards the street from the balcony. A guy on a dirt bike zipped by. I looked over at Peyton, “I see that guy everywhere. Who is it?”
“Oh, that’s Charlie. He’s really sweet. People say he’s slow, but I can’t tell it. I think he was just homeschooled, so the town thinks he isn’t educated.”
“Well, he sure likes to ride around on that bike.”
We both laughed.
“So, what’s on your agenda for the day?” Peyton asked.
“I need to drop some files off at the office. Since it’s Saturday, I don’t officially plan to work, but I also need to go see the mortician and see what he’s found out.”
“He works on Saturday?” Peyton asked.
“He does this week. John said he was behind on some natural deaths from the county, so he hadn’t finished up with the Swanson’s autopsies.”
“That man has always creeped me out. I swear he hasn’t changed in twenty years.”
“I don’t remember him from childhood, but it’s hard to mistake that hair of his from anyone else.” I finished up by telling Peyton what I’d seen from the woods the day before. She agreed it sounded like something I should try to find out more about.
It was close to nine before I left the Bed and Breakfast and headed towards the center of town where the mortuary stood. It was a plain white building that looked more like a mansion. It occurred to me that most funeral homes had that same mansion look to them. It was sandwiched between an old three story hotel and the floral shop. Convenient.
CHAPTER 14
I walked in and looked around. No one was in sight, but this wasn’t actually a busy office with people running all over the place. I noticed movement in a side door and turned to see Mr. Finche, the Assistant Medical Examiner coming out. His skin was pale and he had a pained look on his face. “Miss Danforth, how can I help you? Is your grandmother okay?”
“Yes, she’s fine. I was,” I stumbled on my words hating to ask the man for inside information, “I stopped by to find out what you’ve discovered about the Swansons.”
He scrunched up his face, “I can’t tell you anything at this point. This isn’t a good time to be here.” He headed towards the door to escort me out. “I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave.” I looked up to see the constable and county boys standing in the doorway. Were they here for information or was something else going on?
“John,” Mr. Finche addressed the constable by his first name, “That was fast. Miss Danforth was just leaving.”
A county boy spoke up, “I don’t think that’s a good idea?”
I looked at him confused, “Why’s that, sir?”
“You seem to have a habit of showing up around dead bodies. We’ll need you to stay here until we can question you.”
“You questioned me already.”
“This is a different matter. Please be seated and don’t leave.” He turned to Mr. Finche, “Where’s it at?”
“This way,” Mr. Finch replied. He glanced back at me as he escorted them all to the back.
John stopped and asked the county sheriff if I could go into the office instead of waiting here. He agreed and had deputy Will Hunter escort me to work. What the heck was going on?
About an hour later, John walked in with the county sheriff. Both had stern looks on their faces. John motioned for me to follow him into his office.
As I entere
d the door I asked, “What's going on, John?”
The sheriff was right behind me. “That’s a good question, Miss Danforth.” He said as he closed the door. “Have a seat.”
I sat down in one of the chairs in front of the desk. John sat down beside me.
The sheriff walked around and sat behind John’s desk and pulled out his notepad and pen. “Now, Miss Danforth, where were you this morning between five and eight thirty?”
I looked at John. He nodded his head, meaning I should answer the question. I skipped to the part where I’d taken a shower around six and headed to the B&B around seven. Peyton could vouch for me.
The sheriff took notes. “Okay, but where were you earlier than that?”
I shifted in my seat. I didn’t want to tell him where I was but knew I had to, eventually. “What’s this about? If you don’t mind my asking.”
The sheriff looked at John. “You haven’t told her?”
John frowned. “I’ve been with you all morning. When did I get a chance to tell her.”
“Okay,” the sheriff said before looking at me again. “Orvel Haynes is dead.”
“What?” I gasped out. “How? When?”
“This morning. That’s why we need to know your whereabouts, Miss Danforth.”
“You think I killed him? I’m working with John trying to find out who killed the Swansons.”
“I’m aware of that, but you were seen in the woods behind the mortuary yesterday. Maybe you were spying on him, waiting for your chance to kill him.”
“That’s insane!”
“Do you deny being behind the mortuary?”
I couldn’t believe this was happening. And I couldn’t imagine anyone saw me or who it was. “No, I’m not denying being behind the place, but I didn’t kill him.”
“Then why were you spying on him?”
“I went back to where the Swansons were found and looked around, to see if we’d missed any clues.”
“And?”
I looked at John, “Is this necessary?”
“I’m afraid so, dear. Just tell him what you were doing.”
I turned back to the sheriff. “I saw a unique footprint. A piece of tread was missing. It was all over the crime scene. I kept walking around, even went past the spot where they were buried and noticed the same footprint, so I followed it and ended up behind the mortuary.”
“So, you’re an expert tracker?”
“No.” I was starting to feel defeated and lowered my voice. “I think it was just luck.”
“Luck? Miss Danforth, crimes aren’t solved with luck. And what made you think my boys had missed something?”
I didn’t have an answer. Not one I wanted to give him anyway. I couldn’t tell him I thought maybe they were incompetent.
“I know crimes aren’t solved by luck. But this case needed a break and I was trying to backtrack and cover all the bases.”
He sat forward and stared at me. “This isn’t looking good for you.”
“How’s that?” I asked, the heat rising in my voice.
“It’s convenient that you’re the one who found the bodies. Then when they get taken to the coroner’s office, he mysteriously ends up in the incinerator before he can conduct the autopsy. What are you trying to hide?”
“Oh my god. Someone burned him?” I put my head in my hands. I couldn’t believe this was happening.
“Now, where were you prior to your morning shower and going to see Miss Lewis?”
I looked at him. My head was spinning. “I was with Jake Donovan.”
“At five in the morning? What were the two of you doing?”
I wanted to crawl under the desk or slither backwards out the door. This was one of my most embarrassing moments to date. “I, well, I spent the night with him. He can confirm that.”
“Hmmm.” That was all the sheriff managed to say.
“What? You think he’ll lie about it?”
“Anything’s possible. Maybe you two were in it together.”
“What the hell do you mean “in it” together? The only thing we were into was having a date. A first date, by the way, and probably our last date.”
“Look, everyone knows he’s been digging into old insurance policies. Maybe you two joined forces to cover your tracks.”
“That’s absurd!” I yelled it at him. I was through with being nice and cooperative. “Am I under arrest then?”
“No, but you know the drill—stay in town.” He stood up and walked around the desk to the door. “We’ll be in touch if we have more questions.”
Silence and tension crept over the room after he left.
Tears were starting to form in my eyes. John stood up and patted my shoulder, “Don’t you worry child, we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
“How could they think I did this? I don’t even know these people.”
I left John’s office and sat at my desk. I pulled out my phone and called Jake. It went straight to voice mail. I tried three more times before deciding he’d turned his phone off. He probably didn’t want to be disturbed during his meeting.
CHAPTER 15
At lunch, I told John I was going home. I couldn’t focus on work and it was Saturday. Not many contacts we could reach on the weekend.
Instead of going home, I headed straight to Peyton’s. I had to let her know what was going on.
Peyton poured me a glass of wine. “I know it’s early, but I think you need this.”
I sucked it down in one gulp. It wasn’t very lady-like, but I didn’t care. She poured me a second glass and I started telling her about the day. “I can’t get through to Jake. His phone is turned off.” My words trailed off.
“What?” Peyton asked.
“The sheriff said Jake was looking into a lot of old insurance claims.”
“So? He’s new. Probably just going through what old man Barnes had lined out and found some outdated.”
“Yeah, but he rushed me out at five this morning and said he had a meeting.”
“I know, you came by here this morning.”
“What if he’s the killer and he rushed me out so he could go, you know, do the deed?”
“You can’t think that?”
“Well, the cops must suspect him or they wouldn’t say that. I wasn’t considered his accomplice until I told them I’d spent the night with him.”
Peyton tapped her nails on the table. “You may be on to something. What are we going to do?”
“I’m going to go break into his office and snoop around.”
“Really?” Peyton grabbed her jacket, “Let’s go.”
“I can’t ask you to do this with me.”
She handed me my jacket, “You didn’t. I’m volunteering, so let’s go.”
“Don’t you think we should wait til dark?”
“No, people would see flashlights on. Town is practically dead on Saturday afternoon. This is the perfect time.”
We drove through town, and just as Peyton had said, it was practically dead. We drove around to the alley in the back. The insurance office’s door was three doors from the end. I parked several stores down so it wasn’t obvious if anyone saw us. As we approached Jake’s door, it was open. “That’s strange,” I told Peyton.
She looked around and noticed the janitorial van. “Mr. Spidey.” She said as she pointed to the van and the little old man gathering supplies.
“Who?”
“The janitor. That’s Charlie's dad, Mr. Spidey. He’s like the town janitor. He’s nice enough, but a bit odd if you ask me.”
“Is that his real name?”
Peyton giggled. “I don’t know, everyone calls him that.”
I thought for a moment. “Can you keep him occupied while I sneak into the office.”
“Of course. I have the perfect distraction too. I’ll discuss a mold issue with him.” She winked before heading towards his van.
As soon as she had him distracted, I headed into the back of the office. This was my first brea
king and entering, although technically I didn’t break in. I just used a ready-made convenience, but I was still terrified of getting caught. My heart was pounding in my chest.
I inched my way up the hallway to the main office and reception area. I checked the plate glass windows to make sure no one was walking by before I slipped into Jake’s office. Thank god it wasn’t locked.
Inside was a different story, though. Most of his file cabinets were locked. I checked his desk drawers and found one full of files. Hopefully, there’d be something in them and I wouldn’t have to break into a cabinet.
I flipped through several of the files before I heard the voices of Peyton and the old man. Crap! I said under my breath. I need more time. But more than that, I needed a way out of here without being seen by the janitor. I replaced the files and crept over to the door to peek out. They were headed into a restroom. Peyton looked around for me. I could tell she was nervous.
I made my move and headed out the door. I’d just made it to the hallway when I heard the man’s voice. “What the hell’s going on here? Who the hell are you?”
I rushed down the hall as I heard him telling Peyton her mold problem was just a rouse.
She was right behind me when we reached the car. I was shaking and trying to catch my breath. Peyton was giggling, obviously, she found it amusing.
“What if he reports us to the cops, Peyton?”
“Ah, don’t worry about it. Man hates cops. We used to climb his fence all the time and he never turned us in.”
“But this is an office, not his fence.”
It’s a well-known fact that he has no use for cops and laws. Don’t worry about it.”
I started the car and we headed back to her place.
“Did you discover anything?”
“I didn’t have much time, but I did notice that several people have left their money to Hayden’s Ridge.”
“The retirement village?”
“Yep.”