Yarn Over Murder

by Maggie Sefton

  “You know, Burt, I don’t have a very good feeling. It sounds like Detective Dan may be looking at this death in a new light. And, he may have moved Connie into another category. What do they call that . . . a person of interest?”

  “Well, they use that term when there’s definitely been a murder or crime committed. That’s not the case here. Police still consider this an accidental death. But, I agree. Connie has gotten herself on their radar screen. And with the police, that’s never good.”

  “Now that you’ve spoken with Dan, I’m curious. Did you ask about Jim Carson? What did Dan say about Jim’s story of arguing with Andrea?”

  “You know, I did ask him about that, and he didn’t say much. Jim’s story totally matched Officer Warren’s notes. Sounded like they had a fight and Jim Carson stormed off. Left Andrea’s ranch and didn’t come back. He hitched a ride into Landport. Of course, he didn’t get the guy’s name.”

  “So, you can’t tell what Dan thinks of Jim’s story?”

  Burt cocked his head to the side. “It sounds like Dan’s inclined to believe him. He thought it made sense. Jim sees his girlfriend kissing her ex-husband. Most guys would get mad. Plus with that wildfire going on and everybody tense, it’s no wonder things blew up. Happens easily, especially between men and women. I’ve seen enough over the years to testify to that. Plus, Jim’s been really open and honest and forthcoming with both these interviews. He’s even admitted he felt guilty about not being there with Andrea. He thinks their argument is the reason she fell.”

  “Yeah, I imagine he does. I wonder if that’s part of Connie’s guilt? Knowing that she upset Andrea with all of those explosive visits.”

  Burt gave a rueful smile. “The other possibility is that Connie really does have something to feel guilty about. That’s the big question.”

  “I wonder if Connie has an attorney. It looks like she will surely need one,” Kelly said sadly.

  “Don’t worry. Mimi and I will make sure she’s got a good lawyer, if it comes to that.” Burt took a sip of coffee. “Dan did say they’re taking another look at Dennis Holt. A harder look. Apparently some information has come to light. He didn’t give any details.”

  Kelly leaned forward over her coffee cup. “Oh, brother. I bet police are mad because Dennis has been staying up at Andrea’s ranch in Poudre Canyon against police orders to evacuate.”

  Burt peered at her. “How did you know that, Kelly?”

  She grimaced. “Jayleen told me but swore me to secrecy. She said Dennis made it look like he left, then he stayed to take care of the animals. Feed them, chase away mountain lions and stuff. He said he’d lay low during the day and moved around at dusk and at dark. He even slept with them in the barn. He walked into town at night in order to meet up with him.”

  “Did Jayleen tell you all this?”

  “Most of it. But I was also with her at a diner in town and had lunch with Dennis. I wanted to meet him. My first encounter with Dennis had been up in Poudre Canyon when I spotted him lurking in the bushes beside the cabin Jen had listed for sale. He was eavesdropping on Jennifer and me. We’d just discovered Fred Turner’s body. Dennis was a neighbor.”

  Burt nodded with a little smile. “And you never mentioned that.”

  Kelly shrugged good naturedly. “Hey, I wasn’t about to squeal on a good guy like Dennis who’s making sure all those alpacas were all right. He wasn’t doing anything illegal, actually. Besides, he admitted that he’d told Officer Warren when she interviewed him.”

  “True, he can refuse to evacuate, but it’s not a good decision. What if all those Bellevue Canyon residents decided to stay behind in their homes? Some of those homes went on to burn.”

  “I know, I know.” Kelly held up her hand. “But still, my sympathies are with Dennis. Besides, Jayleen said most of those local firefighters and the sheriff know Dennis. They probably knew he was up there all the time. But they cut him some slack because he was doing a good deed.”

  “Well, now the cops all know what Dennis has been doing. Apparently good Officer Warren suspected something and put that in her notes. So Dan drove up into the canyon on official business and found Dennis at Andrea’s ranch.”

  “I was wondering when they’d have that second interview with Dennis. I hadn’t heard anything from Jayleen.”

  “I think they kept it quiet. They knew Dennis has a lot of friends on the force.”

  “They’re not going to charge him with anything, are they?” Kelly didn’t bother to hide her displeasure.

  “No, they won’t. But it wasn’t a good beginning for the interview. Dan had several questions about Dennis Holt’s financial situation. Some new information had come to their attention, Dan said.”

  Uh-oh. That didn’t sound good for Dennis, Kelly worried. “Has Dennis done something wrong? Cheated on his taxes or something?”

  Burt chuckled. “I don’t know, Kelly. Dan didn’t go into detail. Apparently he’s just starting that harder look at Dennis.”

  “That doesn’t sound good, Burt.”

  “Well, it all depends, Kelly, on what turns up. If Dennis has got something to hide, I’m sure Dan will find it. If not, then Dennis has nothing to worry about.”

  Kelly didn’t reply. But her experience in the financial world had taught her that when it came to money, lots of people made mistakes. Good people and not-so-good people could succumb to cheating. Or lying. But like most mistakes in life, sooner or later they would come to light.

  • • •

  Kelly walked back into the knitting shop just as Jayleen stepped into the foyer. “Hey, Jayleen! Good to see you.” She hurried over to her friend and gave her a one-armed hug, since she was holding her coffee mug in the other.

  “Hey, Kelly-girl. I was hoping I’d find you here.” Jayleen gave her a squeeze.

  Kelly noticed even Cowgirl Jayleen had given in to the awful summer heat and abandoned her normal cotton or denim shirts with rolled up sleeves. While she still wore her trademark jeans, Jayleen had switched to a short-sleeved cotton tee shirt, like Kelly and her friends. Of course, they usually opted for sleeveless.

  “Errands bring you into town?”

  “Sure thing. That plus some business here with Mimi. She mailed an invoice showing I was due payment for some of my bags of fleece I’d put on consignment here. Then I figured I’d pick up some more groceries and swing by the hardware store and get some supplies. Curt’s been helping neighbors repair fences where they had to cut through so firefighters could get to some of those fires close to the western edges of their ranches.”

  “Boy, I’ll have to drive out and say hi to Curt. He’s not even driving into town, he’s so busy.”

  “You’ve got that right.” Jayleen nodded. “The only place Curt has gone has been into Landport every day to talk to people who supply the fire crews. Of course, we both have to drag ourselves over to the Ranch for those landowner briefings. Lord, have mercy! They still haven’t told us yet which properties were damaged. All of us are getting restless. We’ve been hauling ourselves over there for briefings that don’t give us any real information. They’ve finally got the fire under control in the canyon. The only places where it’s burning now are west of us in the forested lands with no people.”

  “Would you step outside for a couple minutes, Jayleen? I wanted to ask you a question.” Kelly pushed open the shop front door.

  “Sure, Kelly. What’s up?” she said as she followed Kelly onto the Lambspun shaded front porch outside.

  “It’s about Dennis Holt. Burt talked to his old partner Dan at the department and Dan’s investigating Andrea’s death. Burt and all of us were concerned because Connie is still not acting like herself and it seems like she’s hiding something. Then we learned she made a third trip to see Andrea, and of course, now we’re all worrying about what happened.”

  “Did Dan tell Burt anythin
g? Did Connie admit to something?” Jayleen peered at her.

  Kelly shook her head. “All Connie said was she went up to talk to Andrea once she’d calmed down. She asked Andrea to break off her relationship with Jim because Connie said she loved him.”

  “Oh, Lord . . .” Jayleen rolled her eyes. “What’d Andrea do? What did Connie say?”

  “According to her, Andrea told Connie to leave and refused to talk with her. Connie told the detective she did just that. Which, of course, the rest of us find hard to believe. Hot-tempered Connie turning tail and leaving, not standing for another fight? I don’t know.”

  “Ah, who knows, Kelly? People do the strangest things when they’re in love with someone. I can testify to that.”

  “You sound like Burt.” Kelly smiled.

  “The voices of experience. Believe us.”

  “Burt also said that the department is taking a harder look at Dennis. That’s the word Burt used. Apparently some new information has come to light. Some sort of financial information.”

  “Oh, yes. I was just about to tell you. I heard from Dennis this morning. That other detective paid Dennis a visit yesterday up in the canyon. Found Dennis at Andrea’s ranch. Apparently he wasn’t too happy that Dennis disobeyed the evacuation orders. But he did say that he understood why Dennis did it.”

  “That must have been Burt’s former partner, Dan. Did Dennis say what kind of questions Dan asked him? What kind of financial information was he talking about?”

  “That’s what’s got Dennis kind of spooked. This detective asked about loans that Dennis took out and his payment history. And he found out that Dennis was behind on the mortgage on his own property in the canyon. Dennis said from the way he talked, it sounded like he’d already gotten a look at Dennis’s tax payment records from last year and the year before and his property tax record. All sorts of stuff. I tell you, Dennis sounded worried over the phone.”

  That worried feeling flared again in Kelly’s gut. Property taxes. Income taxes. State and federal. There were all sorts of ways people could slip into financial trouble by not paying their taxes. Unfortunately, it was easy for people to forget about the taxman when they were behind on their mortgage.

  “Did Dennis fall behind on his taxes, too? That’s bad, if he did. Both state and federal tax men will jump on him. And they charge interest and penalties. That makes it even harder to catch up.”

  “You know, I think I recall his saying he’d paid his taxes, property and income. I think all of us are afraid of the tax man, so we don’t want to risk getting into trouble.”

  “Well, that’s good. I wonder how far behind Dennis is in his mortgage payments by now?”

  Jayleen’s expression saddened. “That I don’t know. But I have a feeling it’s a couple of months. That’s enough to get the bank’s attention for sure.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Kelly frowned. “Had he ever asked you for money . . . a loan, maybe? To help him get back on the straight path?”

  She shook her head. “Nope. I wish he had, because I would have lent it to him gladly. But Dennis not only looks like a rugged mountain man, he is one. And he’s fiercely independent. There’s no way he would take a loan, even from a friend.”

  “Darn. People like Dennis confuse a loan with charity if it comes from someone they know. Loans are business arrangements. The lender earns interest. There are a lot of private lenders out there, willing to lend money to qualified people. And those loans can earn good interest for the lenders, too. No middleman. No corporation or bank taking the profits. I remember telling some of my self-employed clients that private lenders might be their best choice for small and medium-sized loans. With the banks’ new rules, even customers who have W-2s and good credit scores sometimes get denied loans. Self-employed people don’t have those W-2s to vouch for their incomes. They have revenues and expenses and profits, and only their tax forms can show what kind of incomes they earn. Nowadays, most banks aren’t even granting those ‘Stated income’ loans.”

  Jayleen grinned. “I love to hear you talk about taxes, Kelly-girl. It reminds me of how it used to be and how far I’ve come. Years ago, I used to scrimp and save to come up with my tax payments. Now . . . thanks to your budgets, you’ve got me putting away money every month so I can pay those quarterly estimated payments without breaking into a cold sweat.”

  Kelly laughed softly. “Music to my ears, Jayleen.” Then her grin faded. “Now, if only there was a way to get Dennis back on the straight and narrow budget path. Unfortunately, he’s got some problems to solve first.”

  “Big problems,” Jayleen agreed with a nod.

  No more smiles. Money problems had a way of sobering everyone’s conversation when they reared their ugly heads.

  Seventeen

  Tuesday, June 26

  Kelly cradled her cell phone between her cheek and her shoulder as she placed file folders into her briefcase. “What did you hear at the fire authority’s update briefing over at the Ranch last night?”

  “Actually, we got a little bit of good news,” Jayleen replied over the phone. “We may be allowed to go back up into Bellevue Canyon later this week, if conditions permit. Lord have mercy, I surely hope so.”

  “I’ll keep my fingers crossed, Jayleen.” Kelly picked up the last of the Arthur Housemann folders and shoved that inside her briefcase to join the others.

  “You and all of us. No matter how many rumors said the ranch house is still standing, I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes.”

  “I understand, Jayleen. But I’ve got a good feeling about your ranch. Have you been practicing what Curt said to do last week? You know . . . picture the ranch house intact? I never knew Curt had a metaphysical streak to him.” She laughed lightly.

  Jayleen hooted in reply. “I swear, that man is amazing. All sorts of things come out of his mouth. And, yes, I have been following Curt’s advice. So this will be a good test, I guess.”

  “The power of positive thinking. Well, if anyone can make it work, it’s you, Jayleen. You created that ranch out of your dreams and hard work. I’d say that was pretty powerful stuff.”

  “Why, thank you for saying that, Kelly-girl. That means a lot.”

  “Has Dennis had any more visits from Detective Dan? I have to admit, I’ve been worried over what you told me yesterday.”

  “Ah, me, I’m afraid he has. He called me earlier this morning right before you did. That detective called him first thing this morning and said that they’d gotten authorization to check Andrea’s bank records. They found some cash withdrawals that were . . . what was that word they used? Questionable, that was it. I tell you, Kelly, I had a sinking feeling when Dennis told me that. I asked him if he had any idea what the detective was talking about, and Dennis admitted that he had taken some money out to pay for Andrea’s expenses at the funeral home. He’d gotten a bill in the mail from the hospital for the ambulance and other charges. And he didn’t want to risk having another unpaid bill on his record. His credit rating was sinking already, he said. Lordy, Lordy.”

  “Poor Dennis. I bet he didn’t have enough savings to cover Andrea’s expenses. Arthur Housemann lives next door to Dennis and mentioned that he was having financial problems.” Kelly stopped what she was doing and stared outside into her backyard. Carl was lying in his sunny spot. Midmorning naptime. Brazen was balanced on the top rail of the fence, checking if it was safe to explore for seeds and tasty buds. Big Dog’s territory was unguarded. She continued in a quiet voice, the better to not wake Big Dog. “I was trying to ease Arthur’s worry about his Poudre Canyon property near Poudre Park, so I got a little creative and told him that I’d heard from a friend of a friend that those homes were still okay.”

  “Creative, huh?” Jayleen laughed softly. “Friend of a friend. That about covers it. Nobody can work around the truth like you, Kelly-girl.”

  Kelly
wasn’t sure if bending the truth creatively was a good thing or not. She did know that it was useful, especially whenever she was sleuthing around a murder investigation. “I’ll take that as a compliment, sort of. It’s kind of a dubious ability, but useful.”

  “Well, Arthur Housemann is a good man, and he’s put a lot of work into his new house up the canyon. I imagine he’s been worrying as much as I have.”

  “He sure has.” Kelly poured the last of her coffeepot’s contents into her mug.

  “Gotta talk to you later, Kelly. There’s another call coming in.”

  Kelly heard the sound of beeping on Jayleen’s line. “Later, Jayleen. I’ll keep my fingers crossed about your ranch house.”

  “Bless your heart,” Jayleen said before clicking off.

  Kelly drained the last of the coffee in her mug and checked her watch. She had an hour before she needed to drive over to Arthur Housemann’s office. That was just enough time to see if she could grab a few minutes of Burt’s time. He was teaching a spinning class this afternoon, so maybe she could catch him.

  Checking Carl’s water dish to make sure it was still full, Kelly refrained from disturbing Big Dog as she gathered up her briefcase. Brazen Squirrel was having a grand old time checking for tasty morsels in her flower bed of sun-loving yellow zinnias, purple petunias, and red geraniums. Kelly pocketed her cell phone and stealthily left the cottage. She’d seen the drama many times before when Big Dog suddenly awoke and Brazen froze, unseen, amidst the greenery. It always amazed her how crafty the little squirrel was in managing to evade Big Dog. She figured Nature endowed the smaller creatures with an extra helping of cunning so they could survive.