“It’s okay, Big Eyes,” Bonnie said.” No one will ever find you. You know you’ll always be safe with me because I love you more than anything in the world.” She stroked the stuffed spotted owl and then put her arms around it’s nearly one and a half foot tall body. “That mean old Jeff Black is dead and I’m glad. He was the only one who could hurt us. I told you about how he found me out at the old shack next to his property. He saw me shoot you several years ago and he threatened to tell everyone that I killed a spotted owl. He even took a photograph of me with you. He wanted to know why I’d done it. I told him how I loved spotted owls and I had to have one just for myself. He was going to tell everyone about how I killed you, but they would never be able to understand why I did it. I don’t want to share you with anyone. I just wanted my own spotted owl. Don’t worry, Big Eyes, our secret is safe now that Jeff’s dead. I love you.”
CHAPTER 9
Kelly walked into the house and looked out the great room window where the light from the setting sun was spreading fingers of fading sunlight onto the smooth surface of the bay. No matter how many evenings she watched the sun set across Cedar Bay, it never failed to thrill her. The ringing of her cell phone broke her moment of reverie.
She looked at the monitor and answered it. “Hi, Mike. I kind of expected to see you when I got home. Something come up?”
“Yeah, a bunch of things. I’ve got a meeting with the coroner in a few minutes regarding Jeff’s death. Marcy’s back in town and I made an appointment to see her later on tonight. I was hoping to talk to Brandon, but she told me he’s gone back to school. He and Marcy decided not to have a funeral for Jeff. He was cremated and Brandon said he’d prefer to remember his father the way he was the last time he saw Jeff. It’s kind of a grey area because although Marcy had been served with the divorce papers, they weren’t divorced, so according to the law, she still has the right to make the decision as what to do with Jeff’s remains. Think it was gracious of her to bow to Brandon’s wishes.”
“Well, if she hadn’t been served with the papers, I think she would have loved to have played the part of the grieving widow, but given the fact that Jeff cut her out of his will and was in the process of divorcing her, I think she made the right decision. When people find out about those two things, she’d look pretty ridiculous…”
Mike interrupted her. “Wait a minute. What are you talking about? What will?”
She told him what Patti, the teller at the bank, had told her. “Kelly, why would she tell you that? That’s pretty confidential information.”
“Mike, she and I grew up together. I’ve known her all my life, plus I think she still resents Marcy. Patti and Jeff were seeing each other before he met Marcy while he was in Portland on a business trip. I remember it was quite the talk of the town. Wealthy man goes to Portland and comes back with a prospective bride. Patti told me he broke it to her over the phone. It happened really fast and no one in town could believe it. Looks like Marcy knew a good thing when she saw it.”
“Kelly, you promised me you wouldn’t do anything on this case. You’re skating on very thin ice here.”
“Mike, I didn’t ask her about the will. She volunteered the information. You know I’d never break a promise to you,” she said, mentally crossing her fingers.
“Well, remember what you just said the next time you’re tempted to ‘help me’ and believe me, I use the term loosely. I suppose that explains why Lem called earlier. When I saw him yesterday, he mentioned that Jeff’s will was in his safe deposit box. He probably read the file copy of Jeff’s will that he kept in his office and after he read it, called me. That gives Marcy an even stronger motive to kill Jeff. Anger over him divorcing her, leaving her out of his will, and finding out she was the beneficiary of a three million dollar life insurance policy.”
“I agree, Mike, but don’t forget Marcy just found out today that Jeff left her out of his will. If you consider her a prime suspect, you have to remember that she didn’t know she had been cut out of his will when he was murdered. I would think she’d want to get a good divorce attorney instead and hope she could get some of the ranch property. That would be worth far more than the three million dollars in insurance money she’d get if he was dead.”
“That’s true, but maybe it was a question of the old saying, ‘a bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush,’ in other words, she could always kill him if she didn’t get part of the ranch property in the divorce. She’s not dumb. Marcy would probably figure that Jeff would keep her on as the primary beneficiary of the policy until Brandon finished college, so she knew she had some time. Yes, she had a motive, but I think she might have even had more of a motive to see that he lived. Plus, I’m sure she would have gotten some alimony from Jeff, and if he died, she’d lose it.”
“Mike, a thought just occurred to me. Do you think Brandon knew that according to the terms of Jeff’s will, he was going to inherit everything? If he did, that certainly provides a motive for Brandon to be the killer. You know, kill Jeff and he gets the ranch now rather than years from now when Jeff dies from natural causes.”
There was quiet on the other end of the phone while Mike thought about what Kelly had just said. Finally, he answered her, “Yes, that would provide a motive and no, I don’t know if Brandon knew about the will. With Jeff dead, I’m not sure we’ll ever know. I’m reluctant to consider that Brandon could have done it because I remember how close and supportive Brandon was to Jeff when the fire destroyed his property. Remember, after I arrested Jeff for growing marijuana on his property, and he was in the county jail for a couple of days trying to make bail, Brandon was the one who stuck by his dad. Marcy abandoned him and left for Portland to be with her sister and threatened to divorce him. She made Brandon go to Portland with her, but when he came back to Cedar Bay to deliver the valedictorian speech at his high school graduation, he stayed at the ranch house with Jeff. It was a few more weeks before Marcy returned. No, I would have a real hard time thinking that Brandon killed his father.”
“Well, Sheriff Mike, I have another person in mind for you. Does the name Bonnie Davis ring a bell with you?”
“No, it doesn’t just sound like a ringing bell when her name is mentioned, it’s more like a loud abrasive gong. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to her speak at various events, usually about the spotted owls. Why do you ask?”
“I had a long talk with her today. A tourist was at the coffee shop a few weeks ago and asked where he could find spotted owls. He said he wanted to take a picture of one and show it to his Audubon Society group back in Kansas. I didn’t know a thing about them, so I stopped by her house and asked if she would tell me about the spotted owls,” Kelly said as she walked into the nearby bathroom and looked in the mirror to see if her nose had grown as long as Pinocchio’s had grown for lying.
“Here’s the thing,” she continued, “Bonnie fought long and hard to try and stop the construction of the hotel and spa on Jeff’s property. She told me she was glad Jeff was dead because maybe it meant that now the hotel and spa wouldn’t be built. She said she considered herself to be a voice for the spotted owls. I think she meant it. She may be a nut case, but she also had a motive for killing Jeff.”
“Well, that may be so, but I’d have a tough time believing Bonnie’s a killer,” Mike said.
“Here’s one more tidbit of information about Bonnie that you might find interesting. When I was at her house, her husband Jack was there when I arrived and he said he had to leave to go to the rifle range. Seems he was having trouble with the telescopic sight on one of his hunting rifles and was going to the range and test it. In passing he mentioned that he owns five rifles. That means Bonnie would have easy access to Jack’s rifles if she wanted to kill Jeff. Jack also said that with the telescopic sight on his rifle, it was easy to hit a target anywhere from one hundred to two hundred yards. Yeah, I know Bonnie is outspoken in her opposition to guns and supports a ban on the sale of guns, but nev
ertheless, the old saying, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way’ might apply to Bonnie. Jack’s rifle could have very easily provided the ‘way’ for Bonnie to kill Jeff,” Kelly said.
“I’d forgotten how opposed Bonnie was to that project, probably because she’s been opposed to so many projects over the years. Yes, she would have a motive. I’ll put her on my list of possible suspects. So, let’s see, at the moment we have Marcy, someone from the tribe, Brandon, and now Bonnie. They’re all as different as night and day, and yet, I would have to say that each one of them definitely had a motive for murdering Jeff. Gotta go, babe, don’t want to be late for my meeting. Go to bed. I’ll probably get home past your bedtime. See you in the morning and sleep well. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
I really don’t know much about Gabe Lewis other than he’s from old lumber money and there’s plenty of it. Think I’ll spend a few minutes and see what Google turns up about him. An hour and a half later she pushed her chair back from the computer and rubbed her eyes.
Well, this is interesting. He’s a lumber baron who also owns the largest lumber mill on the west coast and although he used to be quite wealthy, lately he’s been having some serious financial problems. According to what I read, he’s quite an outdoor sportsman and belongs to several exclusive hunting clubs.
His wife owns a business called Lewis Kennels. She breeds and sells hunting dogs. Evidently people pay a lot of money for the dogs and her clients are located all over the country. She specializes in chocolate labs, but also breeds yellow labs. One article mentioned that although he had once been engaged to a woman named Marcy Jordan from Portland, he broke the engagement and married a woman whose family founded Sunset Bay during the last century.
I wonder if Marcy’s maiden name was Jordan. Might fit. Her sister lives in Portland and I think that’s where she grew up. I remember Jeff going there on business and coming back with his prospective bride, Marcy. Don’t know what any of this means, but it might come in handy. What if Marcy and Gabe were an item at one time and then recently reconnected? Maybe they wanted to get married and Gabe killed Jeff. Other than that, I can’t figure out any other reason Gabe would have for killing Jeff. Think Jeff had more of a reason to kill Gabe than the other way around. This is too much information for me to process. I’m on overload. Time for bed.
“Come on, Rebel, let’s wind it up for tonight,” she said, opening the back door for him. “I need to eat something and then I’m going to fall into bed. Tomorrow will come way too soon and my brain is so tired from absorbing everything that’s happened today, I need to shut it off for awhile.”
CHAPTER 10
The next morning when Kelly woke up she looked over at Mike who was sleeping peacefully next to her and thought, I really love this man. I’m so glad he asked me to marry him. She quietly reached for the alarm and turned it off, not wanting it to wake him.
I wonder what time he made it home last night. I never even heard him get into bed. I’m really curious what the coroner and Marcy had to say. Well, from the looks of him, it will have to wait. He’s out like a light.
She motioned for Rebel to follow her. She opened the back door for him, fed him, made a quick cup of coffee, and got dressed. Fifteen minutes later she and Rebel were in the van on the way to the coffee shop.
I am so looking forward to this weekend. I could use a break. Whenever something happens in Cedar Bay, it seems everyone has to come to the coffee shop to talk about it. I’m not complaining because the more people that come in, the better the coffee shop does financially, but I really get tired of having to talk all the time. I know Mike would never believe that, but it’s true. I’d like to sleep in and do nothing. Maybe I’ll even go out to Scott’s retreat center and take a yoga and meditation class. That always seems to relax me and I haven’t been there in quite awhile.
Just like they had the previous day, the townspeople congregated at Kelly’s Koffee Shop, hoping that someone had something new to share about Jeff Black’s murder. Kelly and Roxie were busy from the moment the first customer arrived.
Slightly before noon, Kelly heard a welcoming woof coming from Rebel and looked up as Mike came through the door. He put his Stetson hat on the hat rack and reached down to scratch Rebel’s ears. “Morning, sweetheart,” he said, looking up at Kelly. “What’s the special today? I slept like a baby and I’m starving.”
“Well since it’s almost noon, how about some of those special baked beans with hamburger you’ve always liked, you know the ones called Calico Bean Bake? I can fix you a great chicken salad sandwich that would go well with them.”
“You don’t need to go any farther. I’d like an extra-large serving if you don’t mind. You can arrange for that, can’t you? Seems to me I should get a perk for being engaged to the owner, don’t you think?” he asked, winking at her. “I’d also like an iced tea.”
“No problem, since you’re absolutely my favorite sheriff. By the way, have you been giving Rebel special treats when I’m not around?”
“Nope. You asked me not to, so I haven’t. Why do you ask?”
“Well, look where he is, under the table at your feet. He doesn’t do that for anyone else who comes in here. He’s always on his bed by the cash register or back in the kitchen with me, not under a table, which makes me think you’re slipping him things when I’m not looking.”
“Kelly, Kelly, I’m shocked that you’d think that. Why, since you never tell fibs to me, how can you even suggest that I might be telling you a fib?” Mike asked with a wide-eyed innocent looking expression on his face.
She rolled her eyes at him and went into the kitchen to get his order and waited for Rebel to follow her into the kitchen. He didn’t.
Now I’m sure of it. Mike’s got to be feeding him when I’m not looking. I’m probably going to lose him to Mike. Just might have to get a puppy for me. That’ll show Mike. A wedding present from me to me.
She set the iced tea and a heaping plate of the Calico Bean Bake along with a large chicken salad sandwich in front of him and sat down at the table. “Mike, when you come up for air, I’d like to hear what happened last night.”
He was silent for a few minutes, enjoying the beans and sandwich. “Okay, my stomach has stopped screaming, so I guess I can take a break. It was an interesting evening. The coroner placed Jeff’s death at about 4:30 p.m. He told me Jeff died from a gunshot wound which we already knew. What we didn’t know was that he was shot with a 30-30 hunting rifle. There was no gunpowder residue on his body, so the shot must have been taken from quite a distance. That was the first interesting thing.”
“Wow! I would think that would help you narrow down the list of suspects. Not many people around here own a high-powered hunting rifle.”
“It doesn’t really help me. It could have been someone who was hunting where they shouldn’t have been, thought they saw a deer, and shot Jeff instead. I’ll probably never find them if that’s the case.”
“Yeah, that’s true. What was the other interesting thing?”
“Well, I had a long talk with Marcy. She’s not happy that everything was in Jeff’s name, but since their divorce wasn’t finalized and she was on a couple of his bank accounts, she still has access to some of his funds. Brandon told her she could live in the house as long as she wanted to and since he was named as the executor of Jeff’s will, he also told her he wouldn’t close the accounts or take away her credit cards. Even though she won’t inherit anything from Jeff, she still has access to most of what she had while he was alive. She was actually quite calm, at least not angry like you’d described her when you saw her at the bank a few hours earlier.”
“So she’s going to stay in the house for now. Any talk about whether the hotel and spa are going to be built?”
“We didn’t talk about it specifically, but if she’s going to stay in the house that would mean it isn’t going to be razed for the construction project any time soon. I’m assuming that it’s not goin
g to be built right now. I did get a call from Lem last night. He told me he agreed to help Brandon. Kid just can’t do everything that needs to be done and try and stay in school. Lem’s got a lot of business sense and Jeff trusted him. I think he’ll be a big help to Brandon. You may remember that even though Jeff was going to build the hotel and spa on his property, Lem was opposed to it. He thought a project of that size would result in too great a change to our sleepy little town. I imagine he would advise Brandon not to build the hotel and spa on the property. If Brandon needs money, he can always sell off part of the property or subdivide it. With its great location, it would be very desirable in the real estate market.”
He looked around to see if anyone was listening to them and then leaned close across the table and quietly said, “She did tell me something quite interesting and also a little disturbing. It looks like there’s another possible suspect.”
“Get out! You’ve got to be kidding! Who?”
“A drug dealer from Mexico…”
Kelly interrupted him in a loud voice. “What are you talking about?”
“Kelly, keep your voice down.” He looked around again to make sure no one was trying to overhear what he was saying. “Well, according to Marcy, she got a call yesterday from a man named Carlos Delgado. He said he had something to tell her about Jeff. She asked him what it was, but he said he could only tell her in person. He told her he was on his way to the ranch and would be there within the hour. Sure enough, he and another man arrived at the ranch about forty-five minutes after she got the call. She described Carlos as having a drooping mustache and a swarthy, scarred face with long greasy black hair. He had a large diamond stud earring in his left ear. Anyway, he told her he and Jeff were partners in the marijuana business. He said he had supplied Jeff with all of the money for the marijuana plants, the irrigation, and provided the workers for the marijuana farm Jeff was secretly operating on the back part of his property.”
Murder at Jade Cove (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Book 2) Page 5