Northwest Cozy Mysteries #1

by Dianne Harman

  “We haven’t opened it yet,” Roz said, rubbing Clark’s back. “Jake gave me a stack of envelopes, and I put them in the hotel safe that’s in the closet of our bedroom. DeeDee, could you take a look please? Vinny’s envelope is on the top.”

  DeeDee walked into the vast bedroom of the honeymoon suite and found the safe inside the closet. She didn’t need to get the code from Roz, since she knew it would be the first four digits of their mother’s date of birth. Sure enough, the door of the safe clicked open when she pressed the final number. Removing a large white envelope from the top of the thick pile of wedding cards inside, she returned to the lounge and solemnly handed it to Clark.

  Clark made a rip in the side of the envelope and put his finger inside, tearing it across the top. When he removed the contents, he and Roz both read the words on the grant deed, their faces registering shock as the magnitude of Vinny’s generosity sunk in. A speechless Clark, unable to stop tears escaping, roughly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

  “It’s the deed for a house on Queen Anne Hill,” Roz gasped, looking up at DeeDee. “This is crazy. We can’t possibly accept it.” Roz turned to Al for verification. “Did you know anything about this?”

  Al’s face broke into a wide grin, his gold teeth glinting in the morning sun. “Mighta heard him say somethin’ about it on the way to the church. He wanted ya’ to have someplace nice to live, somewhere special, for when ya’ got back from yer honeymoon and Whistler. Big enough for a family. Ya’ gotta take it, ain’t no one else gonna get it now that Vinny’s gone.”

  “Sorry folks, I just need a moment,” Clark said, bowing his head and standing up.

  DeeDee watched a worried Roz follow her distraught husband into the bedroom. The strain of Roz’s voice trying to soothe Clark was audible until the adjoining door clicked shut.

  Jake eased himself into an armchair close to Al. “Can you deal with the Larkin woman, Al? Not sure DeeDee or I can help you with that one, since we don’t know her.”

  “Ya’ got it,” Al said, nodding at Jake before glancing back at the sheet of paper in his hand. “Next up’s a rogue cop by the name of John Denton.”

  “You mean the police officer on the radio?” DeeDee said, confused. “But you drove Vinny everywhere. What’s the connection?”

  “Probably best I don’t go into too much detail on that one,” Al said after thinking for a moment. “All I can say is, there’s history with John’s father and some of Vinny’s previous associates. I reckon John had a beef with Vinny, that’s all. It’s been goin’ on for a while, based on what I been hearin.’ Ima gonna deal with him too.”

  The bedroom door opened, and Clark and Roz reappeared, hand in hand. They sat back down on the sofa.

  “Sorry about that,” Clark said, with a tight smile. “This might sound stupid, but there’s someone who I think may have it in for me. It’s a co-worker of mine by the name of Sean Meade.”

  “I was just gonna ask you about him,” Al said. “Vinny tol’ me somethin’ about that Sean guy causin’ you a bit of trouble. What was that all about?”

  “A few people at work mentioned to me that Sean’s been bad-mouthing me. Apparently it’s because I was made partner when he thought it should have been him. Sean thinks I only got the job at the firm and the promotion because Vinny was my uncle. You see, there’s always been rumors flying around that Vinny had ties to the company.”

  “Vinny invested in that company when it was started, but that’s the only part that’s true,” Al said. “Vinny was real proud of how well ya’ always done at work and that ya’ made it on yer’ own merit. Apart from the original introduction, after that ya’ was on yer’ own. Haters gonna hate, that’s all I can say.”

  “Sounds like this Meade fellow is definitely worth looking into,” Jake said. “Al, you’ll have your plate full with the first two. How about I see what I can find on Sean Meade?”

  “He’s all yours,” Al replied. “Ya’ got any friends at the Seattle Police Department, Jake? It’d probably help if we could keep tabs on what their take is on Vinny’s murder.”

  “I sure do,” Jake said with a nod. “In fact, my connections there are pretty strong. DeeDee and I were involved with helping them recently on a case when DeeDee’s former neighbor was murdered in Whistler. It was a tricky one, but we helped them sew it up. I think our relationship with them is pretty good based on that.”

  “Rather you guys than me,” Al said, folding the piece of paper and putting it back in his pocket. “My feelin’ is the cops are gonna concentrate on Vinny’s business connections first, rather than personal ones like we’re lookin’ at. The police are more likely to write it off as an underworld killin’ and get back to bookin’ DUIs.”

  Clark spoke up. “Don’t forget I’m a prime suspect as far as the police are concerned. They kept going on about me being the last person Vinny spoke to before he left, and that John and I were the only ones who knew he was leaving by the garden exit.”

  “Were there security cameras?” DeeDee asked Jake. “Surely the CCTV footage will show Vinny and the murderer in the garden.”

  “That’s something I can try and find out from the police,” Jake said. “Chances are, the cameras are trained on the building and not the whole garden area. Also, there were plenty of people in and out of those doors the whole evening. Someone could have been lying in wait for him.”

  “Yeah,” Al agreed. He turned to Clark. “When we find out who the murderer is, yer’ name’ll be cleared. That’s the reason we need to act quickly. If the cops can’t find out exactly who from Vinny’s past killed him, they’ll turn their full attention to ya’ since yer’ his heir. The one thing goin’ for ya’ right now is that there ain’t a solid shred of evidence that I know of connecting ya’ to the murder. Everything is circumstantial. But Clark,” Al leaned in towards him, “is there anythin’ else you wanna tell us? Any skeletons in yer’ closet we oughta know about? Because we’re all goin’ to be somewhat in danger while we investigate this, so best get all the cards on the table now.”

  Clark shook his head. “Al, there is absolutely nothing. My uncle and I were as close as any uncle and nephew could be. He paid for my college, he was my mentor, and he helped get me my job with the Brownsdale-Evans Engineering Company. He and I talked almost every day, and we met at least once a week for lunch, if not more. Many a time Roz, Uncle Vinny, and I would meet for dinner. As you know, he even came up to Whistler several times to visit us there. He often told me since he’d never been married or had children, that I was like a son to him. He and I were certainly closer than my father and I were, especially after dad died.”

  Al gave Clark a menacing stare. “What about the money, Clark? Is that why you were so nice to Uncle Vinny, all these years?”

  Clark shrunk back in the sofa, and DeeDee gave Jake an awkward look, but Jake was smiling.

  “He’s just asking you the question the police are going to ask, Clark,” Jake said. “It’s a reasonable question.”

  “I know,” Clark said, scratching his head. “They already touched on it. The police are going to focus on the fact that I was named as Vinny’s beneficiary, but I don’t need his money. I’m doing pretty well financially. It never crossed my mind that I’d inherit his estate, although I don’t know who I thought it would go to. It just wasn’t important to me. First I knew about it was when he announced it during his wedding toast, same as everyone else.”

  “Nice thought, Clark,” Al said, “but not one the cops will pay any attention to. Lemme give ya’ some advice. Until this is solved, don’t give the police any reason to arrest ya’. I’m serious. Don’t even think about speedin’ or jaywalkin’. From this moment on, every move ya’ make has to be squeaky clean. Got it?”

  Clark gave a solemn nod. “Yes, Al. I agree.”

  Roz tried to lighten up the situation. “I’ll try and keep him out of trouble, Al,” she said. “I just hope the murderer is found as soon as possible.”

&nb
sp; “Great,” Al said, slapping his hands on his knees. Balto took that as a signal to come over to where Al was sitting. He sniffed Al’s legs before nuzzling into him and settling down at his feet. DeeDee smiled to herself. Balto was a good judge of character, of that she was certain. “I reckon that about wraps it up,” Al continued. “We need to get started. Is there anyone else ya’ can think of who might wanna see Clark, and I should add, Roz, suffer from either Vinny bein’ murdered or Clark bein’ charged with murder?” He looked around the room. Jake, Roz, and Clark shook their heads indicating no.

  Al’s eyes rested on DeeDee. “DeeDee, what are ya’ thinkin’? Is there someone else we’ve overlooked?”

  DeeDee chewed her lip. “You’re very astute, Al. I can see why Vinny thought so highly of you. It’s probably nothing, and Roz, I know you’re not going to like what I’m going to say, but I think the wedding planner needs to be looked at.”

  “Are you kidding me?” Roz asked. “I’ve known Francesca for years. She’s not my BFF, but after all she’s done for me the past few months, I do think of her as a friend.”

  DeeDee gave Roz a wry smile. “Sister dear, there’s an old saying that I think is apt in these circumstances. It goes something like ‘With friends like these, who needs enemies?’ Or some such thing. Anyway, I have a completely different take on Francesca.” She turned to Al. “I think Francesca’s terribly jealous of Roz, and although I’ll grant you that this is a stretch, she could be resentful enough to commit murder.”

  “DeeDee, that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. Why would you even say something like that?” Roz asked, her voice raised.

  “I think,” DeeDee said, “you were so excited when the two of you were planning your wedding that day I met her that you didn’t notice several things. Remember how she made a nasty comment that it must be nice to have a rich uncle, and how she and her boyfriend were getting married, but they were paying for it themselves?”

  Roz shrugged. “Are you sure you didn’t take a dislike to her because she wasn’t very friendly towards you? I told you, she can come across as aloof, but it’s because she’s shy.”

  “Hmm,” DeeDee said raising an eyebrow. “That’s an understatement. Okay, let’s look at it another way. You’ve told me she didn’t make it on her own as a CPA, and she became a wedding planner after that failed. You, on the other hand, have a very successful husband, and more business of your own than you can handle. Francesca had to hear that at some point your husband was going to inherit a lot of money, plus she was already aware Vinny was paying for all the wedding and honeymoon expenses. Don’t you think that could have grated on her?”

  “She knew about the house as well,” Al interjected. “I was with Vinny when he mentioned it to her the day of the wedding. From what I saw, she had a gripe about somethin’ fer sure.”

  “It’s probably worth checking her out,” Jake said. “It sounds like not only did this woman have a motive, jealousy, but she was well positioned to move in and out of rooms and could easily have left the restaurant for a while.”’

  “Yer’ sayin’ ya’ think this woman murdered Vinny?” Al asked.

  “No,” Roz said. “No way. If it makes you happy, check her out if only to eliminate her, but I’m not going to have anything to do with it. She would never forgive me.”

  DeeDee had always admired Roz’s fierce loyalty to her friends. However, she thought in this case Francesca didn’t deserve it, but there was no point arguing about it any further. “Tell you what,” DeeDee said. “I’ve met her, and I’ll see what I can find out about her. Roz, I know she’s too close to you. I promise I’ll be nice. Okay?”

  “DeeDee, we’ve had this conversation before. I’m not real crazy about you talking to someone who could be a murderer,” Jake pointed out.

  “Well, I’ll tell her that Tink caught the bridal bouquet, which she did, and she’s thinking about getting married. I can say that I’d like to talk to her about possibly being the wedding planner, since she did such a good job on Roz’s wedding. I’ll ask her about fees, and all that stuff. I’ll be nothing more than a potential client. That make you feel better, Jake?”

  Jake grunted. “A little. As long as I know where you are when you meet her.”

  “Reckon we should all find out what we can as soon as possible,” Al said, “then meet up again to see what we got. Vinny’s place is under surveillance already. Any ideas?”

  “How about the Starbucks on Pioneer Square?” DeeDee suggested. “Jake and I live on Bainbridge Island, and I’m sure you don’t want to spend the time taking the ferry over there. Since Clark can’t leave town, the police may also be watching his house. Let’s meet late tomorrow afternoon, say at 4:00? That will give us today and tomorrow to see what we can come up with.”

  “Sounds good,” Al said as he stood up and walked over to the door. His new best friend, Balto, followed him. Al turned to Clark and said, “Vinny woulda wanted ya’ to be cleared of any wrongdoin’. More than anythin’. I’m kinda lookin’ at this as the last thing I can do for him. You’ll be exonerated, kid. That I promise.” He raised his eyes to the heavens. “I made a vow to Vinny, and we keep our vows.” With a nod, he crouched down and petted Balto before walking out the door.

  The others looked at each other, and Jake was the first to speak. “I feel like I’ve just gotten in bed with the devil, but a nicer devil, you couldn’t hope to meet.” He laughed and winked at DeeDee. “This goes against everything I’ve done since I got out of the Marines, partnering with a Mafioso. Clark, my man, I hope you’re worth it.”

  For the second time that day, DeeDee’s heart soared. She knew the reason the very ethical man she was in love with was doing all of this was because of her. Relaxing for the first time in several hours, she sensed Jake watching her. She had a feeling he also knew what she was thinking.

  CHAPTER 12

  “I feel better than I did on the way up,” DeeDee said on the ride back down in the elevator. “This whole situation is awful, but now at least I know we’re doing something about it. Vinny was lucky to have a friend like Al on his team.” She moved closer to Jake and kissed him lightly on the lips. “And I’m lucky to have you on mine.”

  “You’d do the same for me,” Jake said simply. “I know you were reluctant to leave Roz, but there’s really nothing we can achieve by sitting in the hotel all day. Since it’s Sunday, I’m afraid that Sean Meade may go back up to Whistler tomorrow, or even this afternoon, and I’d like to talk to him before he goes. Would it be okay with you if I leave you and Balto off at the ferry, and you can get a taxi at the other end?”

  “Sure,” DeeDee said. “In fact, I could do with a long walk anyway, to try and clear my head and make sense of all of this. I’m sure there will be no complaints from Balto, right?”

  Balto raised his head and started to pant.

  “I guess there’s your answer,” Jake said, grinning. “I also want to talk to my contact at the Seattle Police Department and see what I can find out about Sean Meade. My contact can also probably tell me if the police are trying to build a case against Clark, or if they’re following a different line of investigation. How about if I invite myself for dinner tonight, and we can share notes and decide what we’re going to do. Sound okay to you?”

  “Sure. I’ll come up with something for dinner for us.”

  “Somehow, I never doubted you would,” Jake said.

  They walked out through the lobby in silence. DeeDee thought she saw a few of the staff whispering as they passed, but she ignored them. She guessed the police raiding the honeymoon suite in the middle of the night, followed by an early morning visit from the scary looking Al, had started the rumor mill.

  In the car she returned to the conversation they’d started in the elevator. “I know how crucial timing is on something like this, so I think it’s important for you to you try and talk to Sean, if you can. I imagine Francesca, the wedding planner, is taking today off, but I thought I’d call her and
see if I can set up an appointment for tomorrow. What do you think?”

  “Sounds good,” Jake said, weaving the car through the quiet Sunday streets. “I also need to call Vinny’s contact at the engineering firm where Clark and Sean work. Maybe he can tell me something about Sean, although that will have to wait until tomorrow.”

  When they arrived at the ferry terminal, there was a long line for the next crossing. Jake jumped out and opened the doors for DeeDee and Balto. “You’ll be able to get on since you’re foot passengers,” he said, watching DeeDee clip Balto’s leash to his collar. “I’ll be over about seven tonight. I also want to spend some time this afternoon with my assistant, Rob, and see what he can come up with by searching the Internet.”

  “Great. See you later,” DeeDee said, kissing him goodbye.

  Jake bent down and held both sides of Balto’s head with his hands. “Balto, watch DeeDee for me.”

  The big dog looked at Jake as if he knew exactly what he had been told, and had every intention of doing Jake’s bidding.

  *****

  Jake had called Rob after dropping DeeDee and Balto off, and asked him to get an address for Sean Meade. He got a cup of coffee to go and took a walk on the waterfront while he was waiting for Rob to get back to him. Rob had been working with him for several years, ever since Jake had opened his private investigator business, and Jake felt very fortunate to have found him. Nothing that Jake asked was too much trouble for Rob, even on a weekend.

  “He lives in Kirkland,” Rob said when he phoned back, and read the details to Jake. “He’s a bit younger than Clark, and he’s been working with the Brownsdale-Evans Engineering Company for ten years or so. From what I could find out, he’s generally highly regarded by his co-workers and the company. He’s a senior project manager and next in line to be a partner in the firm.”