by J A Whiting
“What a feast we’ll have.” Mr. Finch’s face was beaming.
Ellie walked in from the hall. “Mr. Abel and Orla have accepted the invitation to dinner and game night. The other guests have plans and Cora declined.” Ellie’s eyebrow went up. “She wants to read.” Gathering some linen napkins and some serving baskets, Ellie went to the dining room to set the table.
“To each, his own.” Courtney slid the chopped veggies from the cutting board into a frying pan. “The others will miss a restaurant-quality meal.”
“Not to mention the fine company.” Finch smiled as he and Tom placed the Mexican beers into the refrigerator.
Jenna rushed in and hurried over to kiss Tom. “I’ve been working like crazy trying to get some jewelry orders out.” She thanked Tom for bringing the enchiladas since she’d been too busy all day to contribute something to the meal. “I’ll handle the clean-up since you’ve all been cooking.” Sinking onto a stool, she made a face. “Those guests are driving me crazy.”
“Who?” Courtney chuckled. “You mean the ones who have formed their very own Jenna Roseland fan club?”
Jenna rolled her eyes. “They came into the jewelry shop today. After an hour, I had to shoo them out or I wouldn’t have gotten anything done.”
Finch cocked his head. “You mean Mr. Abel and Ms. Orla?”
“They wouldn’t stop asking me questions about the jewelry, where I went to school, how I come up with my designs, how Tom’s and my house is coming along, when we’re getting married, and on and on. It’s exhausting. Really, it’s mostly Orla who asks me all the questions. Mel just seems to tag along. Why doesn’t she question all of you? It’s just me.”
Courtney laughed. “All Jenna, all the time. Maybe we could get you your own reality TV show.”
“I find it unnerving.” Jenna rubbed her forehead. “Please, please at dinner and during games tonight, deflect Orla’s attention away from me.”
“I’m on it, Sis.” Courtney carried the frying pan to the stove.
Jenna shook her head. “And what about that other ID that Orla had in her wallet the night she checked in? Why does she have two IDs with two different names on them? What’s up with that woman?”
“I don’t think we’ll figure that out unless we sneak into her room and look through her wallet.” Courtney grinned. “And Ellie won’t allow us to do that.”
Angie was staring at her twin. “It is extremely odd that she is so interested in you.”
“See,” Jenna said to no one in particular. “Angie thinks it’s weird, too.”
Ellie came back into the kitchen. “Look who I found.” Chief Martin walked behind Ellie carrying a pan covered in tin foil. “Lucille made a creamy custard flan. She’ll be here as soon as she gets out of work.”
Tom handed the chief a beer just as Angie noted the look on the man’s face. “What is it? You have some news, don’t you?”
Chief Martin took a swallow from the bottle and then nodded his head. “I relayed the information to the Mill City police about the bill to Cora from the attorney.” He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Cora wasn’t about to enter the kitchen. “They looked into it. It seems that Cora visited the attorney to discuss divorce.”
“What?” Jenna eyes were wide.
Courtney turned from the stove with a look of surprise, as shock registered on the other’s faces.
“Divorce?” Angie’s brow furrowed. “But Cora is always telling us that everything was fine between her and Richard.”
“Mr. Abel was right.” Courtney nodded. “He said we shouldn’t trust Cora.”
“Did the attorney share why Ms. Cora wanted to divorce her husband?” Finch looked to the chief.
Chief Martin sighed. “The attorney said that when Cora came to the meeting, she seemed extremely nervous and couldn’t … or wouldn’t articulate her reasons for wanting a divorce. She only had that one meeting with the lawyer and never went back and never gave him the go-ahead to begin the proceedings.”
“Cora isn’t being up front with us.” Angie was steaming. “How does she think we’re going to find out anything helpful to this case if she holds back important information?”
“She claims to be upset that Richard disappeared.” Jenna frowned. “Maybe she isn’t so upset after all.”
“She might have reason to be upset.” The chief slid onto one of the kitchen island stools.
As all eyes focused on the chief, Euclid let out a low growl from his perch high up on top of the fridge.
Chief Martin glanced up at the cats. “Cora Connors may have reason to be upset about her husband. But the reason is not only because the man disappeared. The Mill City attorney told the police that he received a visit from a very angry man shortly after sending his bill to Cora.”
“Richard?” Angie asked.
“Yes, Richard.” The chief leaned forward, his elbows resting on the countertop. “Richard demanded to know why Cora had a meeting with the attorney. He wanted to know what they talked about. After the attorney explained client confidentiality, he was sure that Richard was going to strike him. Richard ranted about how he didn’t care about confidentiality rules. He wanted to know what his wife was up to. The attorney lifted his telephone and was about to call the police when Richard decided he’d better leave the lawyer’s office.”
“Wow. What was that all about?” Courtney shook her head. “Why did Cora think about filing for divorce?”
The chief continued. “The attorney said that as Richard was leaving the office, he was muttering things like what is she up to?, is she trying to find out about me?, things like that. The attorney was sure that Richard Connors was unbalanced.”
A voice was heard coming from the back of the kitchen. “I agree. Things about Mr. Connors are not adding up.”
Everyone turned to see Jack Ford standing just inside the rear hall removing his coat. “I need to tell all of you some things having to do with Richard Connors.”
The family and Chief Martin gathered around Jack to hear what he had to say.
“As you know, Mrs. Connors retained me to look into whether or not Richard’s credit card had been compromised. I, too, am bound by client confidentiality, but seeing that Chief Martin is here and is assisting the Mill City police, I will tell you that it does not seem to be the case that someone has stolen or found Mr. Connors’s credit card. There have been only the two charges made in New Hampshire for some clothing and the motel room. When a card is compromised, the guilty party usually makes quite a few charges in a very short period of time knowing that the card will be reported stolen. It’s usually a case of hit and run, buy and charge up a storm, sometimes within hours, in order to get as much purchased as possible before the credit card is cancelled.” Jack looked from one person to the other. “I think that the card was used by Richard Connors.”
“Have you told Cora what you think?” Angie asked.
“I have.” Jack nodded. “I thought she would be pleased that her husband is probably alive, but she didn’t react that way.”
“How did she react?” Ellie stood off to the side listening to Jack’s information.
“Visibly upset, nervous. She tried to explain her reaction as being shocked and happy, but I wasn’t buying it.” Jack adjusted his red and black bow tie. “My report to her about the credit card was not what she wanted to hear.”
“I wonder if Richard threatened Cora after he found out that she went to see the lawyer?” Ellie nervously twisted a lock of her long hair.
Courtney kept her voice low. “Maybe Cora wanted to get rid of Richard. Maybe divorce wasn’t enough. Did Cora hire someone to do something to Richard, to get rid of him permanently?” Her voice was tinged with the excitement of a possible answer to their questions. “Maybe whoever she hired messed up and Richard killed that guy.” She paused for a moment. “And now Richard is back to take revenge on Cora.”
“Yikes.” Ellie moved over to stand next to Jack.
Anxiety squeezed
Angie’s throat and she reached for Tom’s beer bottle to take a swallow from it. “Ugh. This is a mess.”
“What are we going to do?” Jenna squeezed Tom’s hand.
“We’d better have a talk with Cora.” Chief Martin pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and headed for the back hall. “I’m going to call the Mill City detective that I know. Would you go ask Cora to come down and speak with me?”
Angie nodded and headed for the foyer to go up to Cora’s room. She knocked several times, but no one came to the door. As she turned away from the woman’s room, Mel Abel stepped from his suite into the hall and spotted Angie.
“You looking for Cora?” Mel’s voice boomed even though he was only a few yards from Angie.
Angie nodded. “Have you seen her?”
“Yeah, she took off a few minutes ago. I saw her go out the front door. You just missed her.”
Angie groaned as little sparks of anxiety jumped down her spine.
23
The Mexican dinner night was a hit with fourteen people gathered around the table enjoying the delicious food and the pleasant chatter. Even Mel Abel’s voice didn’t seem quite so loud mixed in with the din of everyone else’s conversations. After the meal was finished, game night began with part of the group moving into the living room for several rounds of charades while the others sat around the dining table playing cards and board games. Rufus Fudge and Mel Abel had a friendly rivalry going over cards and the air was punctuated every few minutes with hoots and groans and laughter as Betty Hayes, Jack, and Tom tried their best to outdo the two card sharks.
Despite the fun and levity, a number of the players were distracted thinking about Cora Connors and the revelation that she had inquired about filing for divorce from her husband shortly before Richard went missing. They also wondered where Cora had gone off to and what she would have to say when the chief questioned her about considering a divorce from her husband. Angie kept glancing to the front door hoping the woman would return.
It was after 11pm when the boyfriends began to gather their things, Betty and Mr. Finch headed for her car so she could drive him home, and Orla and Mel climbed the staircase to their rooms.
“I’m thinking of moving in here permanently,” Mel joked when he was half-way up the stairs. “I’ve never met a finer group of people.”
The four Roseland sisters smiled, but shuddered slightly, imagining Mel Abel shouting all day every day in the Victorian.
As Chief Martin and his wife started for the front door, they thanked the sisters for a lovely evening. “I’ll be back tomorrow for a chat with Mrs. Connors,” the chief said. “Would you tell her I’m coming by?”
When quiet returned and everything had been put away, the girls headed for the family room with the two cats following behind.
“So where did Cora go off to?” Courtney sat in her usual seat with Euclid positioned on his stomach over her lap with his head hanging down one side and his legs and tail draped over the other.
“She’s gone off before,” Ellie noted. “She’s gone home to get clothes and pick up mail. I guess she doesn’t trust Karl to handle bringing in some envelopes from the mailbox.”
Jenna scratched Circe’s cheeks. “It seemed a coincidence that Cora left right before Chief Martin was about to talk to her. She couldn’t have heard us talking about her.” Jenna made a face. “Could she?”
“No.” Angie shook her head. “At least I don’t think she could have.”
“It doesn’t matter if she did or not.” Courtney wanted to get her sisters back on track. “A divorce, huh. Cora hasn’t given us any hint that she was considering divorce. I would call that withholding pertinent information from us.”
Jenna pulled a cashmere throw blanket over her legs. “Richard confronted the lawyer that Cora went to. The lawyer described Richard’s behavior as threatening. The lawyer must have mentioned this to Cora, yet she doesn’t think that would be something to share with us?”
Courtney grunted. “Mel Abel was right. We shouldn’t trust a thing she says to us.”
Ellie pulled her legs up under herself. “Let’s think about this. Why wouldn’t Cora tell us those things? Why would she want to hide it?”
Angie shrugged. “Maybe she’s trying to paint a picture for us of their perfect family life. Maybe she got fed up over something, went to the lawyer, and then decided she’d made more of it than she should have. Maybe she’s embarrassed that she flew off the handle over something minor.”
Ellie frowned. “Then Richard flies off the handle because Cora went to a lawyer? How have those two stayed married for over twenty years if they both overreact about things?”
The four sat thinking about the situation.
Jenna spoke up. “Trying to make their family seem perfect is a dumb thing to do. No one is perfect.”
Courtney smiled. “Except us.”
Euclid looked up at her and trilled.
Jenna ignored her youngest sister. “Not only is pretending that everything is wonderful not helpful, but telling us things like that can throw us off the path completely. Does Cora want this thing solved or not? Is it more important to her that everyone thinks the family is something that they’re not or that the case gets solved?”
Something pinged in Angie’s brain and she turned and looked at Jenna so suddenly that the others stared at her.
“What?” Jenna eyed Angie.
“What you said. Just now. Something they’re not.” Angie jumped to her feet. “It could explain it. Why didn’t I think of this before? Jenna, the laptop.”
The three sisters narrowed their eyes at Angie. Euclid slowly got to his feet and turned towards the young woman. He flicked his tail back and forth and let out a low growl.
Jenna stood up. “What is it?”
“Where was Richard Connors born?” Angie looked from sister to sister. “Does anyone remember?”
“Um. Massachusetts?” Courtney offered.
“No,” Ellie said. “He was mostly in foster homes in Massachusetts. He and his mother moved all around New England. I don’t recall where he was born, but it wasn’t Massachusetts.”
“I have the case notes right here on the desk.” Jenna sat down in the desk chair and opened the folder they had been keeping about the disappearance. “I should have remembered this. It says that Richard was born in South Carolina.”
“That’s it. Go online.” Angie’s eyes were wide and her heart was pounding. “Go to the South Carolina vital records database. Search for a copy of his birth certificate.” By using his age, Angie calculated the year that Richard was born and told Jenna what it was.
Jenna tapped away. “I didn’t know that just anyone could look up and request a copy of someone’s birth certificate.”
Excitement pulsed down Angie’s back as she leaned over Jenna’s shoulder. “What does it say? What are his parent’s names?”
“Hold on.” Jenna leaned closer to the screen and tapped at the keyboard.
“What’s going on? Why are you doing this?” Courtney walked over to the desk.
“I’m not going to say anything until I see what comes up.” Angie was holding her breath hoping that her idea would be correct.
Jenna leaned back. “I either need the exact date that Richard was born or I need the city or town where he was born.”
“Okay.” Angie looked at Ellie. “Will you call Jack? Ask him to come back here.”
“It’s almost midnight.” Ellie looked dumbfounded.
“Jack won’t mind.” Angie took a pen and a pad of paper off the desk and went to sit on the sofa. “He loves intrigue.”
Ellie frowned, but made the call to her boyfriend. When she clicked off, she said, “He’ll be here in five minutes.”
Courtney and Jenna sat down on either side of Angie.
“Now tell us what’s going on.” Courtney watched as Angie jotted some notes.
“I think it’s identity theft.” Angie didn’t look up from the paper.
&
nbsp; “But Jack told us that no one stole Richard’s credit card.” Jenna’s brows scrunched together. “He thinks that Richard used the card himself.”
“It’s not the credit card,” Angie said. “It’s Richard.”
Her three sisters stared at her blankly.
Angie looked up. “Richard. I don’t think that’s his real name. I think he’s assumed someone’s identity. I bet he did it in his late teens or early twenties. A long time ago, I read an article about someone doing that very thing. I can’t recall the particulars, but I remember thinking that it was amazingly simple to do. There were a number of steps, done in different states, but the person successfully changed her identity.”
Ellie narrowed her eyes. “It makes sense. It must be why I’ve been thinking that Richard isn’t who he says he is. I didn’t understand my feeling, but now it makes perfect sense.”
“Wow.” Courtney was amazed that changing identity could be done without getting caught. “I should know all this stuff from the crime shows we watch.” She smiled. “Wait until we tell Mr. Finch about this.”
Ellie’s phone buzzed with a text from Jack saying he was at the front door and didn’t want to ring the bell in case it woke the guests. She hurried to get him and returned to the family room with Jack in tow. Despite the late hour, Jack was still wearing his bow tie.
Courtney kidded him. “Do you wear a bow tie to bed at night?”
Jack looked at the youngest Roseland sister and deadpanned. “Yes.”
When they were settled on chairs and sofas, Angie explained her thoughts that Richard had assumed an identity.
Jack listened intently and nodded now and then. “Yes. It’s more common than you’d think. It’s certainly possible that Richard has done this.”
Jenna said, “I bet this is why Richard blew a gasket when he found out that Cora visited an attorney. I bet he was afraid that his cover would be blown and that Cora and the authorities would find out who he really is. Maybe he committed a crime and he’s afraid that he’ll be found out.”
Jack borrowed the pen and paper from Angie and wrote a few notes. “I’ll start looking into it in the morning. If Richard Connors has indeed assumed someone’s identity, then there must be a reason for doing so. And that reason probably isn’t a good one.”