by Lyndsey Cole
Jason smiled. “Going now or waiting for an hour or so won’t matter.” He poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Annie.
“I like that idea.” She sat on the couch while Jason heated water for the linguine. “Thelma and I made a new friend today.”
“At Golden Living?”
“Yup. Actually, it turns out that Sean, who I told you about last night?”
Jason nodded.
“Well, he’s a good guy after all.”
“Wasn’t he in on buying that artwork from Sylvia through the murder victim?”
“Yes, but he’s planning to return it to Sylvia. He is trying to figure out what’s going on at Golden Living and who is stealing money from some of the residents.”
“About that,” Jason said. “I looked over the papers you took from Dawn’s office and they appear to be balance amounts for different accounts. And the paper you took from Sean,” Jason looked up from draining the linguine. “Does he know you stole something from him?”
“Ah, no. I’m not touching that issue for now.”
“Anyway, that paper from his apartment matches one of the papers from Dawn’s office. I think he might be copying her papers.”
“Why?”
“If there is something illegal going on, he can compare the numbers over time and see when someone’s account drops too quickly. That’s my guess.” Jason carried a big bowl of pasta with pesto to the table and set it alongside his salad. “Ready to eat?”
“Definitely.” Annie hoped the meal would revive her diminishing energy level so she could be focused when she went to the hospital.
Jason stood behind Annie’s chair and slid it in after she was settled. He topped off her glass of wine and served her a scoop of pesto pasta. “Help yourself to the salad.” He walked around the table, sat, and filled his own plate. He raised his glass. “Cheers. Enjoy this break in your search for answers.”
Annie clinked her glass against Jason’s. “To a break, so my mind can come back stronger than before.”
The candle glow and soft tinkle of forks on plates had a calming effect that surprised Annie. With her last mouthful of pasta and final sip of wine, she leaned back and sighed with contentment. “Do you think I should trust Sean Woodman? Or do you think he could be playing me for a fool?”
“That’s a tough question, Annie. What does your gut tell you?”
“To trust him. Everything he said made sense except when we talked about Forrest. Sean didn’t mince words when he told us that Forrest got exactly what he deserved. I can’t rule out that Sean could be trying to uncover the money problems and also be the killer.”
Jason wiped his mouth and lined up his fork and knife on the edge of his plate. “Let’s walk through how he might have had the opportunity. He made it clear he didn’t like Forrest, but let’s start with how he could have gotten Sylvia’s gun.”
“Okay. Here’s my theory on that. Forrest conned a lot of the residents with his charm and Sylvia definitely liked him. She needed money and sold her Norman Rockwell lithograph so maybe she approached Forrest about selling her gun, too. Sean ended up with the lithograph, is it much of a stretch that he bought the gun also?”
“That does make sense. So, Sean had a motive, means, but what about opportunity?”
Annie leaned forward. The food gave her a new burst of energy. “This was interesting. When Thelma and I were about to leave, Sean’s dinner was delivered.”
Jason raised his eyebrows but didn’t make a comment.
“He told us that whenever this employee, Sally, was working, she would bring his dinner since he doesn’t eat in the cafeteria. When I catered the Easter dinner, Gloria took Sean’s meal and said she’d leave it on her desk for him to pick up.”
Jason nodded. “I see where you’re going with this. Sean had to go to her office to pick up his own meal that night and he could have shot Forrest at the same time. But wouldn’t someone have seen him?”
“If Sean went into Gloria’s office, he could have gone through the common door between her office and Dawn’s. Sylvia said she heard someone coming down the hall so she hid in the closet. What if Sean happened to be following Forrest but went into Gloria’s office for his dinner then checked to see what Forrest was doing?”
“I’m with you so far.”
“He saw Forrest getting ready to rob the safe, shot him, took the money himself, went back through Gloria’s office and into the bathroom next to her office where he dumped the gun.”
“You never saw him?”
“No, but once I went into Dawn’s office and found Sylvia, Sean could have left the bathroom and gotten back to his apartment.”
“So, where’s the money?”
“Dawn said she made a deposit that day at the Catfish Credit Union. Somehow, we have to find out if that happened or not.” Annie leaned back in her chair. She was tired but satisfied with her theory.
“I have to give you credit, Annie, it sounds plausible.”
“But, I have no evidence. I have to ask Marvin if he saw Sean that night.”
“Don’t forget, Sean had a reason to be in Gloria’s office to pick up his dinner. He might have gotten his tray and left. Without more concrete evidence, the police won’t act on your theory.”
“I know. There’s something else, though. Detective Crank told me Sean thinks someone broke into his apartment and took something. She wouldn’t tell me what. Maybe Dawn was looking to get her money back.”
While those thoughts settled between them, Jason cleared the plates while Annie covered the leftovers and stored them in the refrigerator. “Any dessert?”
Jason smiled. “I saved the best for last. Go sit down and close your eyes.”
Annie heard plates sliding across the table. She smelled chocolate. Her mouth watered.
“Okay. You can look now.”
A fudgy brownie covered with a dollop of cream, sliced strawberries, and a drizzle of hot fudge sauce teased her eyes. “Oh my,” she moaned.
“Take a bite,” Jason said with a big smile on his face.
“You aren’t having one?”
He held up a second fork. “I’m hoping you’ll share with me.”
Annie laughed. “Only if you come sit next to me on the couch.”
“Deal.” Jason carried the plate. Annie tucked her legs under herself and leaned against Jason’s side. “Here. You have the first bite.” She held a forkful of deliciousness and Jason happily obeyed her.
It didn’t take long for the brownie to disappear. “What a wonderful dinner you surprised me with, Jason Hunter. Thank you.”
Jason took the plate away from Annie and set it on the coffee table. He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “You’re welcome, Mrs. Hunter.” He kissed the top of her head. “Are you still going to the hospital to check on Sylvia?”
“I can think of something I’d rather do, but I should go.” Annie felt relaxed and comfortable, but letting Sylvia’s problems return front and center in her mind made her anxious to get going.
“Right. I’ll clean up the dishes, take Roxy out, and wait here for you.”
Annie put several of Jason’s fudge brownies in a bag in case Marvin was still at the hospital. They weren’t the cream cheese brownies he requested and he would probably complain. Marvin managed to complain about anything and everything that he could think of, but he would gladly devour the sweets anyway.
When Annie arrived at the hospital parking lot, she texted Martha to find out where to meet up with her.
Annie heard back immediately, Marvin and I are in the cafeteria. That was easy. She followed the signs and found Martha and Marvin sitting at a table at the far side of the room.
“Did you bring anything for us? The food here is inedible,” Marvin said as he poked at a sandwich of questionable ingredients sitting on a plate in front of him. “This is supposed to be turkey but it has no flavor at all. The bread is stale and the lettuce is rotten. Geesh.” He spied the bag Annie
held. “What’s in the bag?”
“First, tell me how Sylvia is doing.”
Martha’s face was drawn and pale. “Not well. She had a seizure and hasn’t been able to communicate. I’m really worried about her, Annie. And Detective Crank is hanging around.”
“What’s Christy here for?” Annie’s relaxing hour and a half at home was suddenly a distant memory.
“I don’t know, but she keeps checking with the doctor to find out when she can go in and ask Sylvia some questions.”
Annie stood. She handed the bag to Marvin. “I brought brownies.”
“Are you leaving already?” Martha’s voice was panicked.
“I’m leaving the cafeteria to find Christy. She must know something about Forrest’s murder that points to Sylvia but I think she’s heading in the completely wrong direction.”
“Sylvia’s in room two-twenty-three. Good luck. I’m taking Marvin back to Golden Living soon and heading home to get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Annie barely heard Martha’s words because her eyes were focused on the detective waiting at the coffee machine.
Here goes nothing, she told herself. Somehow, she had to convince Christy to expand her investigation into Golden Living’s finances. At least, get her to follow the money to see if the trail led to Forrest’s murder.
23
“Fancy meeting you here,” Annie said as Detective Christy Crank turned around with her coffee.
“Annie Hunter, I could say the same thing. You always pop up like an unwanted nightmare during my investigations. What brings you to this unlikely hangout?” Christy sipped her coffee. “Nothing like delicious, watered-down dishwater that comes out of these machines. Aren’t you having any?”
“No thanks. How is Sylvia?” Annie didn’t know the best way to get Christy talking, but obviously, they both were at the hospital because of the same person.
“I still haven’t been able to question her yet, to clear up a couple of points.” Christy started walking toward the exit. “I’m going back up now to check on her one last time before I leave.”
“Good, I’ll come with you.” Annie stayed even with Christy. They had to wait for an elevator and Annie broke the uncomfortable silence. “Did you find more clues?” Annie asked. Christy wasn’t making the conversation easy for her.
“Yes. As a matter of fact we did. I had a search warrant when I arrived at her apartment. Don’t you think it’s odd that it caused her to faint? A guilty conscience maybe?”
“Or lack of food. I know she hadn’t been feeling well and didn’t eat much, if anything, all day.”
“Say what you want to, Annie, but the facts don’t lie. You were in her apartment after the body was discovered. Did you notice part of the Easter bunny’s costume on the floor?”
Annie shook her head. “How did it get there?”
“Well, that’s what I’d like Sylvia to answer. See, I think she wrapped the gun in part of the costume when she shot Forrest, dumped the gun in the toilet tank, but still had the costume piece when you found her in the closet, maybe hidden in her pocket or under her shirt or something. Did you notice all the white fuzzy stuff floating in the tank when you found the gun?”
Annie thought back to that moment. Her eyes opened wide.
“Ah ha! You do remember. Good. I was hoping you could verify that piece of information. Those fibers match the bunny costume. Once Sylvia can communicate, she’d better have a fantastic explanation or, well, you probably don’t want to hear what she’s in for.”
The elevator stopped on the second floor. Christy and Annie were the only ones inside. “You’ve got it all wrong, Christy. Why wouldn’t Sylvia just dump that piece of the costume in the tank with the gun? Get rid of both things at the same time rather than leave it in her apartment? You have to dig deeper on that point.”
The elevator door opened. “Okay. Tell me your scenario. I’m ready for a good laugh to hear one of your theories.”
Annie ignored Christy’s jab. She had to try to get the police to look in a different direction before Sylvia was arrested. “Have you looked into the financial statements for Golden Living? Someone is skimming money from the residents and Sylvia is one of those getting robbed. I can show you her bank statements with big withdrawals just in the past couple of weeks. It doesn’t make sense. And from what I learned about how Golden Living gets paid, they get potential new residents to sign over their homes and Golden Living oversees the money. Doesn’t that sound suspicious?”
Christy walked out of the elevator. “Why would anyone agree to that?”
“Pressure. Fear. Trusting the wrong person. I don’t know, but I heard the pitch and I’m positive they have a scam going on.”
“You think Dawn Cross is involved in this?”
“Yes. And I think Forrest was helping her target people, or else he found out and wanted a cut.”
“Well, thanks for that tidbit. You just gave Sylvia a strong motive for being in Dawn’s office and killing the Easter bunny.”
Annie couldn’t believe her ears. Christy took her information and twisted it to fit her theory like usual. “What I’m telling you is you need to look behind the scene at how the money at Golden Living is being handled. Money that rightly belongs to the residents.” Annie was shaking she was so upset. She pointed her finger at Christy. “Before you pin anything on Sylvia, you should do your job thoroughly and follow the money.”
Christy’s lip twisted up in a snicker. “Wow. Have you slept at all since this murder? You’re throwing out some crazy accusations.” Christy patted Annie’s arm. “I’ll ignore that finger you just shoved in my face…this time. But, here’s some advice for you, Annie Hunter—go home and get a good night sleep. Let me do my job. You never allow yourself to even consider the possibility that a friend of yours might actually be capable of the unthinkable.”
Annie clenched her jaw. This was so typical of Christy’s dismissive attitude but she couldn’t stop Annie from digging a little bit more. She got the latest update about Sylvia from the nurse on duty but nothing had changed. With a policeman guarding the door, she realized she wouldn’t be getting access to Sylvia anyway.
She hurried back to the elevator and made a beeline to the cafeteria, hoping to find Martha and Marvin still sitting at their table.
For once, something went right. Marvin was carefully cutting a brownie into small pieces with a fork and knife when she pulled out a chair and joined them.
“You look completely exhausted, Martha. If you want to go home, I’ll bring Marvin back to Golden Living.”
“Are you sure? I know you’ve had a busy day, too.”
Annie patted Martha’s hand. “I’m fine. You go home and get some rest.”
Martha pushed her chair back. “I’ll see you at the café tomorrow morning.”
Marvin’s head lifted. “Will you pick up more of those hot cross buns for me?”
“Yeah, sure,” Martha said, but Annie wasn’t sure she’d was paying attention.
“Martha?” Annie said before she was more than a couple steps away. “Do you still have the keys to Sylvia’s apartment?”
“I guess I do. Do you want them?” Martha fished around in her purse and pulled out a set of keys. “Here they are. You can give them back to me in the morning.”
Annie safely tucked the keys in her pocket. She didn’t know what she thought she’d find in Sylvia’s apartment, especially after the police probably tore it apart, but it was worth a look now that she knew Christy was ready to pounce all over Sylvia for murdering Forrest.
“What’s your plan with Sylvia’s keys?” Marvin eyed Annie suspiciously. “Do you make a habit of trespassing?”
“That’s an interesting question, coming from someone who is always snooping around in other people’s business,” Annie snapped back at Marvin. Who did he think he was, lecturing her when all she was trying to do was help Sylvia?
“I watch and I listen but I don’t go into someone’s apar
tment without their permission.”
“For your information, Marvin, I do have Sylvia’s permission.” Sort of. “What do you think I did when I was upstairs?” Annie didn’t like lying to Marvin but she didn’t want him to mess up her plan. Besides, if Sylvia was innocent, Annie couldn’t imagine that she would mind. And if she was guilty, well, then it wouldn’t really matter in the long run anyway.
“Oh. In that case, I’ll help you.” Marvin carefully wiped his lips. “Let’s go.”
Annie had not anticipated this announcement from Marvin. She only signed on to give Marvin a ride back to Golden Living. Maybe he wouldn’t get in the way too much. And, she wouldn’t look out of place if she was with someone who lived at Golden Living. She smiled. “Yes, let’s go.”
Golden Living was well lit up. “Are there a lot of activities going on?” Annie asked Marvin as they approached the main entrance.
“Saturday night Bingo. It’s the highlight for plenty of people who live here. That and the organized bus trips to those gambling places.”
“Don’t you want to play?” Maybe she could get rid of him to the allure of a rousing Bingo game.
“Nope. I never gamble.”
So much for that idea. They walked together into Golden Living.
“Is that you, Annie? Where’s your four-legged companion?”
Annie squinted to see who was talking to her from one of the doorways. “Gloria? You’re working late.”
Gloria sighed. “Yes. I had some paperwork to get caught up with. That part of my responsibility got behind with all the uproar and investigations with Forrest’s murder. Dawn’s around somewhere, too. Plus, we like to make sure the Bingo game doesn’t get out of hand.”
“Seriously?”
Gloria laughed. “You’d be surprised how competitive some folks are. Even when it’s only pennies at stake. Can I help you with something tonight?”
“She’s with me,” Marvin said and pulled Annie’s arm to get her moving again.
Gloria frowned. “Okay then. I hope to see Roxy again soon.” She ducked back into her office.
“Does she work late often?” Annie asked Marvin.
“She’s here a lot. I don’t know if she’s always working or just keeping her eyes on things. Come on, the hallway’s empty. Where is Sylvia’s key? We should get inside without anyone seeing us go in.”