Dead Man's Hand

by Lorraine Bartlett

  “That’s just it. I have no idea.”

  “With all due respect,” Brad said, “it doesn’t matter anymore. Whatever Jamie meant, whatever secret he wanted you to keep, it’s irrelevant. The man is dead, and we need to find out what happened to him.”

  “Of course, you’re right. Would you please make me a copy of this receipt so I can show it to Seth tomorrow?”

  He nodded. “May I ride over with you?”

  “Sure. But—” She bit her lip. “—what should we do about Tealicious?”

  “I think we should close. A man died here today. We don’t want to act as though it’s business as usual,” he said. “Since Monday is our normal day off, closing tomorrow gives us two days to do some damage control.”

  Katie dropped her head into her hands. “This is terrible. Our friend—Seth’s partner—is dead, and we’re trying to avoid a PR nightmare.”

  Brad patted her shoulder. “We can’t ignore it, Katie. Especially not after the fallout caused by Erikka Wiley’s death.”

  “You don’t have to remind me.” She slid her hands down the sides of her face. “At the rate we’re going, Victoria Square is going to get the reputation for being a murder capital, and people will avoid all the merchants.”

  Brad nodded. “Especially us.”

  Chapter 4

  Despite a restless night filled with unsettling dreams, Katie awoke on Sunday morning to sunshine and smiled. And then she remembered the terrible events of the previous day. After feeding her cats and herself, she headed over to Artisans Alley to check out the new vendor’s setup. Rose was in the vendors’ lounge getting coffee when she arrived.

  Setting down her cup, Rose came over to give Katie a quick hug. “I feel so bad for poor Seth.” Of course, she felt bad for him. She was, after all, his biological mother. Although she’d given him up at birth, she had never stopped loving her only child. “Have you seen him?” Rose added.

  “Not since yesterday,” Katie said. “Brad and I are going over there in a little while.”

  “I’d never seen the dear boy happier, and now…this.” Rose blinked back tears. “I want to go see him, but I don’t want to crowd him either. What do you think I should do?”

  “I’ll see how he’s doing and let you know.” Not quite knowing how to navigate these choppy waters with Rose where her biological son was concerned, Katie changed the subject. “Have you seen the new vendor setup?”

  Rose blinked. “I didn’t even realize we had a new vendor.”

  “She makes metal sculptures. I haven’t met her yet. Vance brokered the deal.” Katie sighed. “I had nightmares last night that all the metal would be too heavy for that floor upstairs, so I’m going up to take a look.”

  “I’ll walk with you.” Rose retrieved her coffee cup.

  “I know I’m probably being silly, but after the floor got weak earlier this month in front of Chad’s Pad, I don’t want to take any chances,” Katie said.

  “You can’t be too careful, dear. After all, you’re the one who’s liable if anything bad happens.”

  Katie didn’t need Rose to remind her of that. That fact became even more apparent when she saw the heavy metal already making an indentation on the wooden floor.

  “Oh, no.” She groaned and stepped closer to get a better look. “This stuff is going to crash through the floor and into the lobby!”

  “Don’t be so dramatic.”

  Katie whirled around in the direction of the voice to see Ray standing behind her. “I’m not being dramatic! Do you see this? Do. You. See. This?”

  “I see it,” he said. “And I agree that this vendor needs to be moved to a downstairs space immediately. But nothing is going to crash through the floor within seconds.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. This place isn’t your responsibility.”

  Ray gently placed his hands on her shoulders. “Take a deep breath. Get some oxygen into those little gray cells, as Poirot would say.”

  “Since when did you become a Christie fan?” Katie asked, scowling.

  “And how did you know where to find us?” Rose asked.

  “For years and Ida in that order. You still haven’t taken that deep breath, Katie.”

  To pacify him, she took a breath. “Happy?”

  He grinned. “Delighted.”

  Frowning, Rose asked, “How did Ida know where we were?”

  “She was doing tags or whatever she does and saw the two of you coming up here,” Ray said. “I was looking for Katie to ask about Jamie.”

  Lowering her eyes, Katie felt guilty about her reaction to the new vendor’s setup in light of what Seth was going through. Still, this situation had the potential to be dangerous.

  “Is it bad?” he asked, worry creeping into his voice.

  She nodded. “He died at the hospital yesterday.”

  He muttered an expletive. “What happened? He seemed as healthy as a horse.”

  Horses were much more delicate than most cared to believe.

  “We don’t know what happened yet,” Katie said. “They’re doing an autopsy.”

  His eyes widened in what could only be seen as panic. “No one else at—”

  “No,” she quickly interrupted. “No one else at Tealicious got sick. And Jamie wasn’t feeling well at Sassy Sally’s the night before.”

  He sighed, shaking his head. “I hate this. I liked him. He was such a good kid.”

  “Did you interact with him during your time at the Sheriff’s Office?”

  “Yeah,” Ray said succinctly.

  “Brad and I are going over to Seth’s house to check on him and Jamie’s mom. Would you like to go with us?”

  “No. I don’t know Seth all that well. Right now, he should stick close to friends,” he said.

  “I agree,” Rose said, her voice strained. “I want to do something. I just don’t know what.”

  “None of us do,” Katie said. Waving her arm in the direction of the new vendor setup, Katie turned to Ray, “Would you please speak with Vance about this? This vendor needs to be moved to a downstairs space—which means someone will have to agree to be moved. That indicates I’ve got to give concessions—like a much cheaper rent and lose money—as appeasement. And those floorboards need to be shored up.”

  “I’ll talk with him,” Ray said soberly.

  Katie gave a low growl of frustration. “Vance knows better than this. I’ll call John Healy and see when he can come by and quote me a price on repairing the floor. Man, that’s going to cost me.”

  “Never mind that.” Ray gave her shoulders a quick squeeze before dropping his hands. “Vance and I can do the repairs.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive.” He winked. “You need to let Vance redeem himself.”

  She nodded and took in the area around them before heading back downstairs. Ray was a good man. She knew all she’d have to do was give him some encouragement, and he’d be right by her side. Just weeks ago, he’d been more than ready to take on a more important role in her life. But she wasn’t ready for another romantic entanglement. Sadly, she might never be. Experiencing one doomed relationship after another was beginning to make her feel she was cursed.

  It was a little after ten when Brad arrived at Artisans Alley to pick Katie up so they could visit Seth. “I called the credit card company and got an address for Calexia Industries.”

  “Fantastic. Maybe we can go there after we leave Seth’s house and find the woman Jamie was having lunch with.”

  “Let’s hope so. We desperately need some answers.” He fiddled with the visor above the windshield. “I dread this. I never know what to say or do when someone I care about has suffered a loss. All the platitudes people throw at you at a time like this seem so pointless.”

  “I understand what you’re saying, but everyone realizes it’s a difficult situation and that people express themselves the best way they can,” Katie said. “When my husband Chad died, people I didn’t even know came to me at the
funeral home and said, ‘I understand exactly what you’re going through.’ At first, I thought, how could they? They didn’t know me, and they had no clue about my relationship with Chad or the complicated problems we’d been facing. But I soon realized they were simply expressing their sympathy. It’s all any of us can do. Hopefully, just letting Seth know we’re here to support him will mean a lot.”

  “Yeah. I hope so, too. I really hate this.”

  “I know,” she said. “I do, too.” Katie thought about the note Brad had posted in the window this morning: Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience, but Tealicious will be closed today to observe the passing of a dear friend. “Your message was very nice and appropriate…without implying any responsibility on behalf of Tealicious.”

  “Well, that’s what I was going for. I struggled with the wording. It was probably my fifth draft.”

  “You chose wisely,” she said. “I hope the majority of the partners in the Victoria Square real estate venture will agree to meet tomorrow, and we can host them at Tealicious.”

  “Shall I make Nona Fiske the official taste-tester, just in case?” Brad asked wryly.

  “That’s not funny.” Katie giggled. “All right, it’s a little funny. But you and I both know nothing served at Tealicious was responsible for Jamie’s illness.” At least, she prayed it wasn’t.

  Her cell phone rang. She recognized the number: It was her former mother-in-law/partner in Tealicious, Margo. She answered the call.

  “Hello, Katie. I’m sorry I missed your call earlier. How are things?”

  “Not so great,” Katie said. “I’m in my car with Brad—” She wanted Margo to know someone else could hear their conversation. “—and we’re on our way to see Seth.”

  “Oh, no. Has something happened to Seth?”

  “His partner died yesterday.” Katie hadn’t meant to merely blurt it out, but she didn’t know how else to couch it.

  Margo gasped. “That’s terrible! Was it an accident? Had he been ill?”

  “We aren’t sure what happened.” Katie glanced at Brad. “He was having lunch at Tealicious, and then he…he stepped outside the tea shop and collapsed on the asphalt.”

  “Brad, darling, I’m Margo Bonner. I know we’ve never met, but I’ve heard wonderful things about you.”

  “Thank you.” Brad sounded hesitant.

  “I’m sure Katie has asked you this already, but please reassure a mature lady, nothing he could have eaten at Tealicious made the man ill, right?”

  “Absolutely not, Ms. Bonner. No one else at the restaurant experienced any sickness yesterday, and no one has reported anything to us today.”

  “And there’s unfortunately always one in every crowd who’d jump on a potential lawsuit if possible,” Margo said. “Still, given the fact that young woman was killed in Victoria Square only a few weeks ago, I believe we need to do some damage control, Katie. I’ll be there tomorrow.”

  “But—”

  Margo interrupted Katie’s protest. “I know you’re staying in a much smaller apartment now. I’ll see if I can get a room at Sassy Sally’s. If not, I’m sure there’s a hotel close enough. Brad, darling, I’m looking forward to meeting you. Ta-ta.”

  With that, she hung up.

  Raising his brows and blowing out a breath, Brad said, “Wow. So that was Hurricane Margo?”

  Katie’s spirits plummeted. “Wait until you meet her in person.”

  Chapter 5

  Sunken-eyed and unshaven, with shoulders drooping, Seth looked awful. He was still wearing the now-disheveled clothes he’d worn at the hospital the day before. Katie kissed him on the cheek and hugged him, holding on for long seconds. “Good morning. How are you doing?”

  Seth merely shook his head, his gaze downcast.

  Moving closer to Don, who stood in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, Katie whispered, “Has he slept?”

  Don shook his head, his eyes shadowed with concern.

  “I thought the doctor gave him something,” Katie muttered.

  “He gave him a couple of pills, but Seth must not have taken them.” Don took Katie’s elbow and walked her over to an armchair where a gaunt woman with brown hair streaked with gray sat. “Katie, this is Suzanne, Jamie’s mother. Suzanne, this is Katie Bonner.”

  “I’m terribly sorry for your loss,” Katie said.

  Suzanne nodded. She didn’t seem to be in any better shape than Seth, although she appeared to be heavily medicated. Katie wondered which would be better in this circumstance—to feel too much or not enough.

  Nick brought out a tray with a fresh pot of tea and apple-crumble muffins that he’d brought from Sassy Sally’s. “You need to stay hydrated.” He placed Suzanne’s mug on the table beside her chair and carried Seth’s mug to the coffee table. Nick placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Maybe after you finish your tea, you’ll feel like taking a nice long shower. I always feel better after I’ve been pummeled with hot water.”

  Seth turned his face away. “What’s the point?”

  Nick straightened and, with a jerk of his head, indicated that Katie and Brad should follow him to the kitchen.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Nick said, sounding frustrated.

  “I’m sure your being here means more than you realize,” Katie said. “Have you and Don been here all night?”

  “I have. Don went back to Sassy Sally’s to see to our guests. He came back this morning after breakfast but will need to leave again soon.”

  “Why don’t I take over for you guys for a little while?” She looked at Brad. “If you’d like, you can go back with Don and Nick.”

  “No, I’d like to stay, too,” Brad said. “I agree with Katie, Nick. You should go home and get some rest.”

  Nick nodded, resigned. “All right. Thanks. I’ll—”

  A guttural howl came from the living room. Katie, Brad, and Nick hurried into the room to see Don kneeling by the couch trying to comfort a tearful Seth.

  “Why?” Seth cried. “Why? Why? Why?”

  Nick and Brad stood by awkwardly, and Katie turned to Suzanne. Tears trickled down the woman’s cheeks, and she lifted her misery-filled face to Katie’s. Katie bent and hugged her, and Suzanne clung to her as though she was a life raft.

  Poor Jamie would never know how huge a hole his loss had left for those who cared for him most.

  For the next few hours, Katie found herself puttering around Seth’s home, dusting furniture that didn’t need it, making a batch of rice pudding with ingredients she found in the cupboard, and mostly feeling a terrible sadness at her inability to do anything to comfort her pseudo big brother. It was with relief that she greeted Nick when he returned later that afternoon.

  “Where is he?”

  “Seth got up and took a shower,” Katie told him, “and Brad and I convinced him and Suzanne to eat some of the quiche Brad made. Now they’re both lying down in their rooms.”

  “Thanks for taking over earlier.” He slumped onto the couch, letting the backpack he carried slide onto the floor.

  “We have a lead on the woman who was lunching with Jamie yesterday,” Brad said. “The credit card company gave me the address of the corporation whose card was used to pay the bill. Now we’ve got to see if it pans out. Seth needs answers.”

  “I’ll go home, feed my cats, and come back to stay with Seth and Suzanne tonight,” Katie said.

  Shaking his head, Nick said, “I appreciate your offer, but I came prepared to stay tonight. Just let me know if you guys find this woman.”

  “We will.” Katie dropped a kiss on his forehead. “Call if you need anything.”

  “I will. Oh, by the way, we heard from Margo. She’ll be staying at Sassy Sally’s for a few days starting tomorrow.”

  She gave him a wry smile. “Thanks for taking her in…I think.”

  For the most part, Katie had a good relationship with her former mother-in-law, but the woman could be persnickety and judgmental at times.
Still, Margo would have never forgiven her had she not told her about Seth’s partner; and if she could help with the PR nightmare created by yet another death on the Square, then more power to her.

  Katie drove east toward the next town over. The address Brad had been given was twenty minutes outside of McKinlay Mill. When the GPS announced they’d reached their destination, she pulled to the curb, put the car in park, and then looked at Brad.

  “Are you sure we have the right building?” she asked.

  Fishing a slip of paper from his pocket, he read the address and checked it against the one written on the building. “This is the place.”

  She frowned. “But this is an apartment building.”

  “Maybe the person works from home?” He opened the passenger’s side door. “I’ll go see.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  They entered the building and found the apartment number—listed as a suite number—of the corporation’s address.

  Katie knocked on the door.

  “Who is it?” The voice sounded as though it belonged to an elderly woman. Although Katie hadn’t seen her face, she didn’t believe the woman Jamie had lunch with had been old.

  “My name is Katie Bonner, and I’m with Brad Andrews. We’re looking for Calexia Industries.”

  “Who?” the woman called from behind the door. “This is my home. I don’t know anything about any industries.”

  “Thank you,” Katie said. “We’re sorry to have bothered you.”

  As they ambled back toward the building’s entrance, a jogger walked in, wiping his face on his sleeve.

  “Excuse me,” Brad said. “We’re looking for Calexia Industries. We were told it was headquartered here.”

  Shrugging the jogger said, “Sorry, man. This is a residential building, and everyone pretty much keeps to themselves. If anyone has a business here, it’s news to me.”

  Before she and Brad could investigate further, Katie’s cell phone rang. It was Vance.

  “Hi, Vance.” She hoped he wasn’t upset over her decision to move the new vendor to a spot on the Alley’s lower level. She hadn’t meant to second guess him, but he should have realized the weight of the steel sculptures would be far too heavy at the outset.