“Thanks, we built a lot of it ourselves. Most of the logs came from this property.”
“How much property do you have?” Maggie asked.
“Forty acres,” Jazzy said, motioning to the sofa. “Please, sit down.”
Maggie and Liza took a seat next to each other on the oversized leather sofa covered in homemade crochet blankets. Maggie looked around at the place. It was one big space with a spiral staircase that led to a loft. The interior looked a lot like the exterior. The walls were simply the other side of the logs.
“Can I get you some coffee or tea?” Jazzy asked.
“I would love some coffee?” Maggie said, almost too anxiously.
“Me too,” Liza said.
“Can I use your restroom?” Maggie asked.
“Sure, it's right over there,” Jazzy pointed to the back of the room.
“I’ll come to help you with the coffee,” Liza said and followed Jazzy into the kitchen.
Maggie waited for the two women to disappear before digging in her backpack. She took Lila’s print and went to the other side of the room, where there was a desk pushed against one wall and some bookshelves situated next to the window. Maggie quickly took inventory of the clutter on the desk and examined all the shelves until she spotted the exact thing she was looking for.
It was the Bigfoot casting sitting on the top shelf. She listened and the two ladies were still chatting in the kitchen. She found a stool but could barely reach it, so she took a thick book and placed it on the stool. She finally made the swap and climbed down from the stool just as she heard the women returning to the living room. Maggie didn’t have time to put the book back, so she slid it with her foot under the desk and got the swapped print into her backpack just as the women saw her.
Jazzy looked at Maggie, whose hand was still in her backpack. Maggie quickly pulled out her hand, holding a pack of gum.
“Anyone want gum?” Maggie held out the pack towards Jazzy, who shook her head.
Liza held out the coffee to Maggie, who dropped the gum back into the backpack and zipped it shut.
“Are you getting excited about the baby?” Jazzy asked.
“I can’t wait even a minute longer. It seems like it has been years instead of months,” Liza said.
“Are you guys going to have kids?” Liza asked.
“I don’t know,” Jazzy sat back. “We aren’t trying, but we are also not-not trying, if you know what I mean.”
“Well, we tried everything,” Liza said, “and finally we decided on the surrogate thing.”
“We are going to give it a few more years before we see a doctor or anything. Darrel is taking a job on the East Coast, so we would like to be settled before we have a child.”
“Isn’t Darrel taking over Chase’s position?” Maggie’s interest now peaked.
“No, he is pretty disappointed. I guess they are not filling the position. Sue and Darrel were supposed to be splitting Chase’s responsibilities. It’s was a slight salary increase, but he has been offered a different position in Norfolk, Virginia.”
“Interesting,” Maggie said aloud.
“What is interesting?” Jazzy asked, shaking Maggie out of her thoughts.
“Oh, I…” Maggie’s phone rang, she pulled it out and looked at the screen, “It’s Mike. I’ve got to get this,” she said, standing and walked out the front door. She came back and remained standing. “I’m sorry, but Liza, but we have to go.” She turned to Jazzy, “It was so nice to see you again.”
“You too,” Jazzy said, following Maggie and Liza out the door. Maggie got to the car first and she motioned her sister to hurry.
“Why such a rush?” Liza asked as she pulled out of the driveway.
“That was Mike, he has some information for me, but I need to get this to Bernice.”
“What kind of information?” Liza asked.
“I don’t know, but Mike is waiting for me at the hotel.”
Chapter 21
Mike was waiting for Maggie in his car. He was not going to let Maggie see Bernice alone. She had called him when she was five minutes away, so he was already parked in front with the car running. Maggie parked next to him and quickly joined him. She barely had the door shut when he took off.
“I know we are in a hurry, but let me get my seat belt on,” Maggie said, smiling wide.
“You said we were already late,” Mike said.
“I need to get this to Bernice tonight before she closes,” Maggie said, holding up her backpack, where the footprint was wrapped in her t-shirt. “I called her and told her we were on our way.”
“You told her I was coming?” Mike asked as he drove out of the parking lot onto Bay street.
“No, but what can she say?”
“She might not give you the information.”
“She will if she wants this back.”
“Maggie, I don’t want you to disappear or not answer your phone. If you do, I’m going to assume you are in trouble. Do you understand?”
“I promise,” Maggie smiled at Mike’s stern warning. She knew he did care about her.
“So, what did you have to tell me?” Maggie asked, now leaning back in her seat, trusting Mike to get her to the museum on time.
“I was at the federal offices in Bremerton. They are the ones that picked up Kevin. I gave them my statement that he did offer the vaccine. He never showed us the vaccine and is claiming to bring professionals from the local hospital to administer them. He said that we misunderstood. I identified the envelope as one very similar to the one Sharron gave Kevin the day we were there. You will have to give your statement too.”
“What was in it?”
“They wouldn’t tell me everything, but I understand it contains some names of people, dates and payments made. Not sure why Sharron had it, but she is now being investigated as a possible co-conspirator. They are asking a federal judge for a warrant to tap her phone. As soon as they do, they are releasing Kevin.”
“What?” Maggie sat up straight. “Why? What if he murdered Chase?”
“I don’t know, but they said his prints were not the one’s on the gun, so they aren’t going down that road quite yet. I’m afraid that Liza is still their primary suspect.”
“Well, hopefully, Bernice gives us enough information that will show that Darrel had a motive to kill Chase.”
“I thought the motive was that he stopped him from a big promotion on the East Coast?” Mike asked.
“That’s not it. Jazzy told us he got the job, and they were moving to Virginia.”
“What if that decision was made after Chase’s death?”
“I don’t think so, but hopefully, we are going to find out soon.”
“So, how was your meeting in Seattle?” Maggie asked, changing the subject.
“It was a little disappointing, but I will have to tell you about that later.”
“Okay.”
They rode the rest of the trip in silence until they were finally parked in front of the Bigfoot Museum. The only other vehicle in the parking lot was Bernice’s Humvee.
“We made it in time,” Maggie said, looking at the car’s clock. It was five minutes before closing. It was dark as they approached the entrance guarded by two large wood Sasquatch carvings standing sentry. They were a bit scary as the spotlights seemed to cause their eyes to glow and their wide-open mouths look hungry.
“I thought Bigfoot was friendly?” Maggie asked.
“Apparently, not these two,” Mike said, opening the door for Maggie.
The store/museum was empty. The background music had already been turned off and the fluorescents flickered. It was too quiet.
“Back here,” Bernice called from the back of the building. Her voice had a friendly tone.
They wove through the racks of shirts.
“Good evening, Bernice,” Mike said, smiling.
“How are you doing this evening, Mr. Marker?” Bernice asked Mike but didn’t let him answer, “and you, Ms. Mc
Farlin?” She didn’t seem surprised or upset at Mike’s presence.
“It’s been a crazy day for sure,” Maggie said, placing her backpack on the thick glass countertop but didn’t open it.
“I’m good too,” Mike said, noticing Bernice’s focus on the backpack.
“Do you have something for me?” she asked, looking between the two.
“Do you have some information for me, first?” Maggie asked, keeping both hands on the backpack.
“That’s not how this is going to work,” Bernice said, now holding out her hand.
Maggie looked at Mike and he was shaking his head. Bernice was now shaking her head.
“I told you not to tell anyone about this, but yet here he is.”
“Technically, you only said not to tell anyone about the meeting where you didn’t show up,” Maggie said.
“Well, you knew what my intentions were, but I don’t care if your boyfriend is here or not. Do you have the print? Yes or no?”
“He’s not my…never mind. Yes, I have it right here.” Maggie slowly unzipped her backpack and pulled out the shirt. She laid it on the counter and carefully unwrapped it, finally exposing the plaster casting.
Bernice reached over and picked it up. She turned and held it up to the light.
“It’s quite perfect if you ask me,” Bernice said, obviously convinced that the print was the one she gave Maggie. She then turned and set it on the counter behind her ignoring Mike and Maggie. She then opened up a large metal drawer reaching in and pulling out a large hammer.
“What the…” Mike said as Bernice took the hammer to the plaster, pounding it repeatedly until it was almost dust. Maggie and Mike stood with their mouths wide open.
“Why did you do that?” Maggie asked as Bernice moved the garbage can so that she could brush the tiny pieces into it.
“I shouldn’t have given it to you in the first place, but I thought it would be a nice little memento for you. Something to remind you of your ex-husband,” Bernice said, now wiping the dust off her hands on her pants.
“My ex-husband? How did you…?”
“I thought I mentioned to you before that Chase and I were once very good friends. He told me everything, Maggie. Everything. Of course, until he tried to ruin me.”
“Are you going to at least give us the evidence against Darrel?” Mike said, placing his arm around Maggie’s shoulder in support.
“You haven’t figured that out yet? Some investigator you are.” Bernice laughed. “I don’t have any information on Darrel. I just needed that print back. I still can’t believe you gave it to him. I figured since you were the one that gave it to him, you were the one to do the heavy lifting and get it back and the only way I could convince you to do that was to use information that could help Liza.”
“Why did you have me meet Bill at the Kitsap Museum? Why didn’t you just tell me to get the print over the phone?”
“My dear, Maggie, life is an adventure and sending you on the quest was my way of convincing you I had something. You wouldn’t have thought it through.”
“Chase is dead,” Maggie started to tear up.
“And I am still in business,” Bernice said, “Honestly, I am glad Chase is dead. He was becoming a royal pain in my rump,”
“That is harsh,” Maggie said.
“If you are or were such good friends with Chase, do you know anyone that wanted him dead?” Mike said, trying to keep Bernice engaged, “Besides you, of course.”
“I could give you a list ten pages long,” Bernice said, spraying down the counter with Windex and wiping it down paper towels.
“Okay, but who would be at the top of your list?” Mike asked, picking up Maggie’s shirt and backpack from the counter where Bernice was wiping down. A card fell out of the pocket of the front pocket and Mike picked it up putting it into his front pocket.
“Liza, obviously, the girlfriend- the pregnant one, Darrel, of course, most of the members here and all of his coworkers. I mean…”
“Are you sure you are not the one that killed him?” Maggie said, interrupting Bernice, losing her composure even more. Mike handed the shirt and backpack to Maggie.
“I said I wish I had, but, honestly, he wasn’t worth it, and he was on self-destruct anyway. It was just a matter of time,” Bernice said, smiling, “now, if you don’t mind, I need to close up.”
“What if I expose you for the fake you are?” Maggie’s face was now turning red.
“Good luck,” Bernice smiled as she took the big black plastic back out of the garbage can. “Where is your proof?”
“Let’s go,” Mike whispered to Maggie now with his hand around her arm, gently coaxing her out of her solid stance.
“She is going to be so sorry,” Maggie said loud enough for Bernice to hear as she let Mike pull her out the door.
“We have to proof that she…” Maggie started, but the rest lost when Mike closed the passenger door.
“It doesn’t matter right now, Maggie. Our focus needs to be on your sister’s case. The fake Bigfoot isn’t helping. It’s a distraction,” Mike said, turning the car on to the main highway.
“What if she was the one that killed Chase?”
“We would need to find proof,” he said.
“We just gave her the proof and she smashed it,” Maggie said, hanging her head.
“I will tell you what,” Mike said. “I will have the guys at the IG take custody of the box of Sasquatch stuff. I already told them about it, but they weren’t interested, or better yet, I could make a call to a buddy in the IRS Special Investigative Unit. He could investigate Bernice’s organization, which she is running as a non-profit organization. If anyone can find fraud, it’s the IRS.”
“Yes, please do it. Call the IRS,” Maggie finally smiled, thinking about Bernice in tax trouble, possibly behind bars for fraud.
“Who do you think Bernice was talking about when she said, ‘Her girlfriend, the pregnant one’?” Mike asked.
“I assumed she was talking about Angel, the surrogate,” Maggie said, now remembering the spilled wine and the heated argument between Liza and Angel. She opened her mouth to tell Mike about it, but he spoke first.
“I have something to tell you,” Mike glanced over briefly and then focused on the dark road ahead, “I’m not sure this is even the right time, but I owe you an explanation.”
“Okay, go ahead,” Maggie said tentatively.
“I met Kyleigh.”
“You what? When? Why?” Maggie’s ears were now ringing.
“That’s why I went to Seattle. She lives on Capitol hill and she agreed to meet with me alone. I made a promise not to bring you. I’m sorry.”
Maggie felt the hot tears run down both cheeks. “Does she want to see me?”
“She is not ready quite yet, but she does want to see you. She is just not sure when. I gave her your phone number and explained that…”
“Why did you do that, Mike?”
“I did it for you. I wanted to know how she felt about Liza and if she knew anyone that wanted to kill her father. She had some important information for the case.”
“Did she?”
“She didn’t like Liza and didn’t understand why you are trying to help her. As Sharron said, she had just started speaking with her father and she knew about the baby and that it was not her father’s child.”
“How does she look? Is she happy?”
“She has a great job in a Fortune 500 company but wouldn’t say which one for some reason. She is in their junior executive program and it sounds like it’s going well. She looks the part too. She was wearing a Brooks Brother suit and sensible heels. To tell you the truth, she looked like a younger version of you.”
Maggie stayed silent and let Mike’s words sink in. Her daughter was fine. She was successful and happy, and she did it without support from Maggie. Kyleigh was okay without her.
“I think she will reach out soon,” Mike said, reaching over and placing a hand on her leg.
Maggie didn’t say anything. Instead, she took her phone out and looked at the screen. She had three missed calls from Liza. She probably wanted to know what Maggie found out from Bernice, but Maggie didn’t have the heart to call her and tell her the bad news: there was no news.
As soon as they reached the hotel and were parked, Maggie got out of the car and headed for her room. Mike caught up before she disappeared behind the door.
“I’m sorry, Maggie. I should have told you.”
“It’s okay, Mike. I would have just stressed out about it all night.” She didn’t let him respond and just closed the door leaving him standing there.
She collapsed on the bed, tired and disappointed. The morning seemed so hopeful. What was she going to do now?
She closed her eyes and again remembered the spilled wine and the argument. Bernice said the girlfriend. Did she mean Chase’s girlfriend, Liza’s girlfriend, or was there another pregnant girl somewhere?
Maggie knew her next step was a conversation with Angel.
Chapter 22
Maggie could hear the television as she reached the front door. She knocked with purpose and loud enough Angel could hear her over the noise inside.
“Hello?” Angel said, opening the door only a few inches. The look of recognition absent from what Maggie could see of her face.
“Hi Angel, I’m Maggie, Liza’s sister.”
Silence.
“Do you remember me? I was here the other day.”
“Just a second.” Angel closed the door to unlatch the chain and opened the door wide. “Can I help you with something?” Angel asked, blocking the door.
“I was hoping to ask you a few questions,” Maggie said, “Can I come in?” Angel stood solid for a silent minute, hand on her baby bump.
“Please,” Maggie put her hands together as if she were praying.
“Yeah, sure.” Angel looked behind her as if someone else was there before finally standing aside. “Come in.”
“Am I interrupting something?” Maggie asked, looking around.
“No, I was just resting,” Angel said, again touching her belly. “Please sit. Would you like some coffee?”
Deception Trail: A Maggie McFarlin Mystery Page 16