by J A Whiting
“Hi again.” Angie stuck out her hand and introduced herself. “This is Jenna. Our sister, Ellie, runs the guest inn.”
The blonde seemed slightly wary, but she shook hands. “Nice to meet you.” She went into the dining room to check out the afternoon snacks.
Jenna made eye contact with her sister and Angie shrugged. Ellie came into the room carrying a small tray of cookies. “Oh, you’re back. What did you find out?”
“We’re going to the kitchen to get something to eat.” Angie forced a smile and nodded towards the back of the house. “Come see us when you’re free.”
A few minutes later, Ellie met her sisters in the kitchen. “Why are you acting so weird?”
“Who’s the blonde?” Jenna questioned.
“A new guest.” Ellie put her hands on her hips.
“What’s her name?” Angie was growing impatient.
“Kimberley Hutchins.”
Jenna and Angie high-fived each another while Ellie made a face.
“She made it easy for us.” Jenna grinned.
“What do you mean?” Ellie wanted to know what was going on.
“We ran into Bethany.” Angie kept her voice soft. “She told us that our new guest, Miss Hutchins, was having an affair with Nelson.” She paused for effect. “And that Nelson recently broke it off with her, probably to move on to someone else.”
Ellie’s eyebrows shot up. “Nelson Rider was having an affair right before he was getting married?” She gave a grave shake of her head. “Bah. That’s shameful. What was wrong with him?” She went to the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of juice.
“We heard a bunch of other stuff about Nelson.” Jenna took a sip from Ellie’s glass while her sister was returning the juice bottle to the fridge. “We’ll fill you in later. We need to talk to the new guest.”
Ellie had moved to the sink and was glancing out the window into the backyard as she ran water over some plates to rinse them. She pointed towards the back of the house. “Kimberley’s outside, sitting in the garden.”
Jenna and Angie went out the back door. They thought it might be helpful to go sit in the fresh air for a little while. Angie looked around for the cats, but they were nowhere to be seen. Stepping into the yard, the girls spotted the young woman sitting under the pergola surrounded by flowers and shrubs.
“Oh, hi there.” Angie approached. “Mind if we sit with you?” She sat down in the chaise opposite Kimberley Hutchins.
Jenna sat next to Angie. She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. “What a beautiful day.”
“It’s perfect.” Kimberley agreed.
“What brings you to Sweet Cove?” Angie hoped to start a conversation.
“Well, it started out as a mini-vacation. A friend and I planned to meet, but she had to cancel. I decided to come up anyway.”
“Where are you from?”
“Boston.”
Angie continued the conversation with the young woman, telling her that she and her sisters had grown up in Boston and had moved to Sweet Cove only recently to start businesses. Kimberley said that she was raised in central Massachusetts and moved to Boston for a job. That bit of information gave Angie an opening to ask what she did for work.
“I’m an assistant to a vice president at a large financial institution.” Kimberley’s long dark lashes flitted over her eyes. She had two dimples in her rosy cheeks. The young woman was sweetly beautiful, not heavily made-up or self-conscious about her good looks.
Angie thought that Kimberley was someone who should be in a shampoo or a skin care commercial and that whatever it was she advertised, Angie was sure she would be convinced to buy the products. “What’s the name of the firm?”
Kimberley said, “Rider Financial.”
Angie feigned surprise. “The man who was murdered in Sweet Cove the other day … isn’t that the company he worked for? His name was Nelson Rider. Did you know him?”
Kimberley fidgeted in her seat. Her eyes flashed for a second as she pushed her hair behind her ear. “Yes, I did.”
Jenna and Angie offered condolences.
“That’s awful.” Jenna’s face was lined with concern. “Did you know him well?”
“Well enough.” Kimberley looked out over the garden. For a moment, the muscles of her face seemed to tremble and her eyes looked moist. “I’ll be attending his memorial. It’s being held here in town. That’s why I’ve extended my stay.”
“I wonder what happened. Why would someone kill him?” Angie eyed the young woman hoping she might go on with the discussion. “Who would want him dead?”
Kimberley swallowed hard and then gave a little snort. “Probably a whole lot of people.” She picked at her fingernail. “He was a wealthy man in a cut-throat business, but members of his family were the brains behind the organization. Nelson wasn’t your typical high-achieving financier. He liked to play. A lot.”
“Did his family resent his behavior?” Jenna asked.
“People have different opinions on that.” Kimberley pushed her long blonde hair over her shoulder.
Angie leaned forward. “What do you think?”
“I think Nelson did things that made people angry. He wasn’t serious about his work.” Kimberley looked around the yard. “He messed up pretty badly on something important not long ago.”
“A business deal?” Jenna looked intrigued.
The blonde woman nodded. “It was worth millions. His brother, Geoffrey, is a president at the family firm. He was livid. I thought he would fire Nelson, but he let him off the hook again. When I first heard that Nelson was dead, you know what my first reaction was? That maybe he did himself in because of his mess-up.” She gave a little chuckle. “But then I realized that he would never do such a thing. Nelson loved his life.”
“Who do you think killed him? Do you have any thoughts?” Angie made eye contact with Kimberley. “Since you work in the office, you must hear a lot of stuff that’s going on.”
Kimberley blew out a long breath. “I hear plenty. More than I want to know. In fact, I’ve given my notice. I’ve had enough of that family’s antics.” She stood up. “I’m going up to my room to take a nap. Nice talking with you.” She walked through the backyard, up the stairs to the wraparound porch, and headed to the front door of the Victorian.
Jenna shifted to look at her sister. “She showed some emotion when we talked about Nelson’s murder, but she didn’t seem to be in love with him. I didn’t see the depth of emotion you would expect in a lover, no deep look of sorrow or loss.”
“It’s more like she’s angry with him. Maybe her love and affection changed to disgust or fury when he broke it off with her.”
“Do you get the sense that she really did have an affair with Nelson? Do you get the feeling that she might have killed him?”
Angie looked at the flower garden, her mind working. “I don’t know. I’m not sure what to think. There are a number of people we could suspect. Kimberley might not have had an affair at all. That could just be Bethany either trying to throw us off or maybe not really knowing who Nelson had affairs with.”
Ellie came out of the back door of the house carrying a tray with three glasses of lemonade and a plate of cookies. She placed the tray on the outdoor side table next to where her sisters were sitting. “I brought cold drinks and a snack.”
“I love you,” Jenna teased.
Ellie ignored the comment and passed Jenna one of the glasses of ice cold lemonade. She settled in the chair that Kimberley had vacated. “So, how did it go? What did you learn?”
“Not a whole lot.” Angie sipped her drink and then proceeded to share with Ellie what they found out from the B and B guest. “Have the cats met Kimberley?”
“They did.” Ellie stretched out on the chaise. “Gee, it feels good to sit for a minute. The cats were not friendly when they met Kimberley, but they didn’t hiss or arch their backs when they saw her. They kept their distance though.” She ran her finger along the cond
ensation on her glass. “You know, I think they are becoming wary of people. Remember how they didn’t seem to like Charlie Cook or Brian Hudson, but it was never completely clear if they suspected either of them of wrongdoing.” Cook and Hudson were both involved in the most recent crime that the Roseland sisters investigated.
“Why do you think that happened?” Jenna had her eyes closed again.
Angie spoke up. “I was thinking about that recently. I wonder if the cats got confused because Charlie had a difficult life, his parents ignored him, sent him away to school. He didn’t seem to be loved. And Brian, well, his father abused him and Cook threatened him. Maybe the cats had a hard time sorting out the negative stuff that the two men had suffered from the bad that one of them inflicted on others.”
“That makes a lot of sense.” Ellie nodded. “Like there’s too much static to hear what’s really going on.”
“Could this be the same thing this time?” Jenna sat up and reached for a cookie. “The cats sense something is off, but there is some competing influence that blocks the clarity of the signal.”
“I think that happens with us too.” Angie shielded her eyes from the sun. “Sometimes, it’s hard to cut through to what I’m really sensing. I feel the thrumming, but I’m not sure what it’s trying to tell me. I feel a lot of static involved in this case.”
“We need to be careful. Listen and watch, but question everything we hear and see. Try to sift through the static that’s blocking what we sense.” Jenna’s face was serious. “We need to protect ourselves. We’ve had some close calls in the past month.”
Ellie went quiet. Just as the girls turned to see why she’d stopped commenting, they saw her eyes darken. “Someone’s coming.” Her voice was ominous.
Chapter 11
Angie and Jenna sat up in their seats, alarmed. They flicked their eyes towards the house and then turned back to Ellie, their faces questioning.
“What is it?” Angie whispered. “Who’s coming?”
A slow smile played over Ellie’s lips. “It’s just Mr. Finch.” She tilted her head to the property line. The older man emerged from the trees that grew between their two back yards. “Did you think I’d had a premonition?” Ellie joked with her sisters.
Jenna gave Ellie a gentle bop on the arm. “You tricked us.”
Angie scowled. “I thought something bad was about to happen.” She waved at Mr. Finch who was leaning on his cane and making his way to the pergola. When he reached the patio, Angie said, “Ellie played a trick on us. She said someone was coming, like she’d had a vision of something bad.”
Finch grinned. “How amusing.” He lowered himself onto one of the Adirondack chairs. “Where are the cats?” He glanced around.
Angie narrowed her eyes. “Why?”
“I enjoy their company, is all, Miss Angie. No need to be concerned.” Finch gestured to the trees at the back of the property. “I’m going to get some estimates from two stonemasons about putting in that walkway between our houses. I get caught on the branches and roots and nearly fall every time I come through the brush.”
“Call us when you’re on your way over here and one of us will meet you,” Ellie suggested.
“We can’t have you hurt.” Angie gave him a wink. “We need you to help us solve crimes.”
The girls told Finch that Kimberley Hutchins had just checked in at the B and B. They relayed what she’d said about Nelson Rider and his recent costly mistake at the firm.
“Could someone from the firm be responsible for Nelson’s death?” Finch placed his cane on the ground next to his chair. “Someone who was tired of his mistakes? Nelson’s error cost the firm a great deal of money. Money is a common reason for murder.”
“Have you been watching murder mysteries with Courtney?” Angie grinned.
“No. Well, sometimes I do, but I read this information in a newspaper article not long ago. It makes a good deal of sense.” Finch stroked his chin. “Money is a powerful motivator. For good and evil.”
“What should we do next?” Jenna asked. “Who should we talk to? Is there anything else we can do besides interview people?”
Angie’s expression turned serious. “Josh told me that the bungalow where Nelson was killed is going to be closed all summer and then in the fall they’re going to knock it down.”
“That’s probably wise.” Finch considered.
“Police Chief Martin would like us to go through the place again.” Angie paused and looked at Mr. Finch. “I was thinking that maybe you should come and visit the bungalow with us. Walk around, touch things. Maybe you’ll pick up on something in the rooms.”
Finch nodded. “I’d be happy to accompany you to the cottage if you think it might be useful.”
“Also, we should bring the cats along,” Ellie said. “It might help them clarify their feelings about people and then that would help us know who we can trust.”
“And who not to trust, which might be even more helpful.” Jenna shrugged a shoulder. “When can we go?”
“Courtney should come too.” Angie thought that with all of them working on finding clues and trying to sense something, they would be more successful with everyone together. “At dinner, let’s figure out when we’re all free to make a visit to the resort. And we should talk about the upcoming memorial service too.”
Ellie eyed Mr. Finch. “You said you had an idea for bringing the cats to the remembrance service?”
Finch had a gleam in his eye. “The cats could attend as therapy animals. They would be present to help calm and comfort people. I saw this very thing when I was living in Chicago.”
“Euclid would hate that.” Jenna thought about the big orange cat being pawed by strangers.
“We could explain the mission to him and appeal to his better nature.” Mr. Finch looked at one of the windows at the back of the Victorian and spotted Euclid sitting on the windowsill staring out at them. “Oh, look. There he is now. He probably heard us talking about him.” Finch waved.
“And at this very minute, Euclid is sitting there coming up with excuses to avoid the memorial event.” Jenna leaned back against the sun-warmed wood of the chair.
Mr. Finch smiled. “He is a very clever boy.”
***
At dinner the group discussed arranging a time to re-visit the crime scene bungalow at the resort. After everyone had confirmed when they were free, and Police Chief Martin was consulted, they decided to meet at the bungalow at the end of the week.
When everything was settled, Jenna suggested that the four of them head to the beach for a quick swim in the ocean before Courtney needed to return to the candy shop for the evening shift. Mr. Finch was invited to the beach as well, but he had a date with Betty, the Sweet Cove Realtor and his girlfriend of two months.
The sisters headed down Beach Street to the white sand beach. The crowds of the day had left for dinner, but there were still plenty of people lingering by the sea. The girls loved to be on the beach at this time of day as the setting sun painted rosy streaks of pink and violet across the sky.
They brought boogie boards with them to ride the waves. Once they pulled off their T-shirts and shorts and tossed them on the sand alongside their beach towels, the four girls raced each other into the water. The sisters jumped the waves and dove under them as they crested. The tide was going out and as it slowly retreated, the beach grew wider.
The sea swung around the back of the beach and created a saltwater river where people kayaked and floated in inner tubes. The girls headed to the river with their boards and walked upstream where they stepped into the water and floated along with the current until it carried them back to the main beach. The girls stood up out of the water with their boards and headed back to where they started so they could float down a second time.
“It’s great this evening.” Courtney said to her sisters. “The water is warmer than usual and the air temperature is perfect.” Stepping into the water and leaning on her board, she started kicking vigor
ously. “Race you to the end of the river.” She took off downstream.
Jenna kicked and floated along in hot pursuit of her youngest sister. Angie and Ellie’s boards crashed into each other causing Ellie to capsize. Laughter rose into the air as Ellie surfaced and maneuvered back onto her board. Despite the furious fluttering of her legs, she couldn’t catch up to the other three.
At the river’s end, the four girls beached themselves and sat on the sand for a few minutes.
Courtney leaned back and stretched out on the soft, white sand. “That was so much fun. I don’t want to go back to the candy store tonight. I want to stay and do another river run.”
“Me, too, but we should head home.” Jenna brushed sand from her legs. “I need to get busy on some jewelry. I’ve been so distracted by things lately and I really have to finish some product to ship out.”
Ellie blew out a breath. “No wonder you’ve been distracted. First, we get hired for a wedding by those crazy Winstons, then the groom is murdered, and now the Winstons contract with all of you to cater desserts and sweets for the memorial reception. Not to mention all of us being asked to investigate Nelson Rider’s murder. It’s been a nutty few days with a nutty group of people.”
Angie sighed. “And we don’t have any strong leads on the killer either.”
The girls stood up, gathered their things and walked towards Beach Street. They started to discuss the surprise house-warming gathering that they were planning for Mr. Finch when Jenna pulled on Angie’s arm and whispered. “Look up there. On the second floor terrace. Isn’t that Kimberley Hutchins talking to Todd Moore?” She steered her sisters into a crowd of people standing in line on the sidewalk waiting for entry into a popular restaurant.
Ellie squinted and craned her neck to see.
“Don’t be so obvious,” Jenna scolded. “It’s Bethany’s friend.” She emphasized the word. “That’s Todd Moore up there.”
“Well, that’s definitely Kimberley with him.” Ellie stood peering over the shoulder of a tall man who was standing in the line. She was hidden from view, but could clearly see the two people engrossed in conversation on the restaurant’s second floor balcony.