Death to the Highest Bidder: A Jill Andrews Cozy Mystery #2

by Nicole Ellis

  “So if she killed her husband, that would be the end of the cash cow.”

  “Something like that.” A thought occurred to me. “But Dorinda said the business wasn’t doing well because Louis had taken so much money out of it, trying to appease his wife.”

  “So he was single-handedly dragging the business down.” She peered into my face. “What would happen to his business partner’s investment if Ericksville Espresso failed?”

  I leaned back in my chair. I hadn’t thought too much about that—or maybe hadn’t wanted to consider it. “Dorinda invested her late husband’s life insurance proceeds into the business. It means everything to her and her son’s future.”

  “So that would be a huge motive to kill him. Get rid of the guy who was dragging the investment down the tubes and save yourself.”

  “That’s a stretch. Going from losing money to murder is a big leap.” Desi did have a point though. I’d become fond of Dorinda and I felt bad for her, but was that coloring my opinion of her? Besides, having a spouse or lover cheating on you was the motive I was hanging on the other women involved in this. Was that a better reason to kill someone?

  She laughed. “For what it’s worth, Brenda is lucky to call you a friend. With you in her corner, I’m sure everything will work out fine.”

  Ella stirred in her carrier and I stood. “I hope you’re right. I’d better get to work now, but I appreciate the coffee and chat.”

  “No problem. That’s what I’m here for,” she said. “Hey, are you going to Louis Mahoney’s funeral this afternoon?”

  “I hadn’t thought about it. Do you think we should? I didn’t know the guy well, but I feel like it might be nice since we found his body and all.”

  “That’s what I was thinking too. Do you want to meet me here at twelve thirty and we can go together? Tomàs is home, so I can have him pick up the boys and watch the babies while we’re gone.”

  I checked my work schedule on my phone. I had the last-minute wedding to deal with early in the evening, but the funeral shouldn’t interfere with preparations for that. “Sure. I’ll see you then.”

  We walked back into the café’s side door, and she returned to working behind the counter, seamlessly picking up a drink order that her assistant called out.

  The baby and I walked the few blocks to the Boathouse. Being out in the sun and fresh air had helped my mindset considerably, and even though the pool of possible suspects had opened up, I knew I couldn’t give up on my friend.

  12

  I met Desi at twelve thirty and drove to the Ericksville Cemetery. A large crowd had gathered around a tent-covered gravesite. For all his faults, as a local business owner, Louis had been well-known in the community. A woman who I presumed to be his wife sat with two college-aged kids in some folding chairs at the front. I couldn’t see the woman very well, but I hoped I’d catch a better glimpse of Sandy later.

  Desi and I stood at the back of the crowd, unsure of how we fit into the mix. The sky was a bright blue, and the temperature hovered in the low seventies. It was a beautiful day to be outside, and I was sorry to be spending it at a funeral, although I supposed it was better than being stuck in my office at the Boathouse. Beth had generously agreed to watch Ella and Lina in her office so we could attend the funeral.

  Desi elbowed me in the side. “Hey.”

  “Ow. What?” I rubbed the now sore spot on my rib cage.

  “Nancy’s here.”

  “Where?” I searched the crowd.

  She pointed. “Over there near the front.”

  I followed her finger and saw Nancy and her husband walking near the open tent. It made sense that she would be here as the deceased was her brother-in-law, but it still felt odd seeing her out of the school setting. It was like finding out your elementary school teacher had a real life other than teaching your class.

  Nancy approached Sandy and gave her a hug. Sandy hugged her back stiffly, like you would with a casual acquaintance. I didn’t hold it against Sandy—in fact, it made me feel a connection to her. Nancy was a hard person to like. After Nancy left, another woman took her place to comfort Sandy, her long jet-black hair a sharp contrast to Sandy’s blonde bob.

  The minister rested his hands on the podium and cleared his throat into the microphone. The attendees quieted and the mood became solemn. He read from the Bible and said a few words about Louis. Then he asked for Sandy to come to the front.

  She wiped at her tears with a white handkerchief and stood at the podium, staring out at the crowd. Her face was lined with grief as she spoke about her husband. Next, her children talked about their father. All spoke about Louis in glowing terms, as if he had been the best father and husband in the world. I wondered how much of that was true behind closed doors. I’d found people often put on a public front that was completely different than their private life. I assumed Sandy knew of Louis’s adultery because of Nancy’s nasty comments about Brenda, but did their children know? Or anyone else? As far as I knew, Brenda’s name had been kept out of the press thus far.

  After the casket had been lowered into the grave, the crowd dispersed. Most people walked back to their cars, but some stuck around to comfort the widow. The teenage children were escorted to a waiting black limousine while their mother stayed at the grave site. Desi started to walk away, but I hooked her arm with mine.

  “I’d like to talk with Sandy,” I said quietly.

  “Really?” She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know her, do you?”

  “No, but I’d like to give her my condolences. It seems like the right thing to do, given the circumstances.”

  She seemed unsure but shrugged. “Ok. Let’s go up there.”

  We waited for the widow to finish talking with everyone else and then walked up to her. She looked startled to see us but stuck out her hand.

  “I’m not sure we’ve met before. Did you know my husband through work?”

  “No. I’m Jill Andrews, and this is my sister-in-law, Desi Torres.” I wasn’t sure how to tell her that we’d been the ones to find her husband’s body, but Desi beat me to it.

  “We were the ones to discover your husband that day. We’re so sorry for your loss.”

  Her face filled with a mixture of hope and concern. “You found Louis? How did he look? Oh, I hope he wasn’t in pain when he died.”

  Desi and I exchanged glances. Probably not the best time to tell her about her husband’s swollen face.

  “I don’t think he suffered,” I said gently. The wind blew a sickly sweet floral odor toward us from a nearby flower arrangement, causing me to stifle a sneeze.

  Sandy didn’t notice and sobbed into her handkerchief. “I’m glad to hear you say that. I’ve wanted to speak with you, but I didn’t know how to get in touch. Thank you for coming to the service.”

  “Of course.” Desi patted her arm. “Is there something we can get for you? Maybe a cup of water? I think I saw a table with cups on it earlier.”

  “No, I’m fine, thank you.” Her eyes had a far-off look in them. “I told him to keep an EpiPen with him. His allergy was so severe that simply touching anything with peanuts on it could cause him to go into anaphylactic shock.”

  “I thought he kept an EpiPen in his desk drawer?” I blurted out.

  Desi elbowed me again. “Jill,” she hissed.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up. It’s just I’d heard he kept one in there. When we found him, it looked like he’d been searching for it.”

  Tears sprung to Sandy’s eyes. “He wasn’t great about keeping EpiPens with him. He used to keep one in his desk drawer, but after the last one expired a couple of months ago, he didn’t replace it.” She blew her nose on the white monogrammed cloth, which had Louis’s initials on it. “He always told me not to worry, that he wasn’t going to eat anything with peanuts in it. He refused to bring an EpiPen with him when we went out to dinner. I always carried one in my purse, just in case. I wish I’d been there for him. I can’t believe
he’s gone.” A fresh torrent of tears rained down on her cheeks.

  “We’re so sorry for your loss.” I felt helpless watching her cry.

  “If there’s anything we can do, please let us know,” Desi said. “We spoke with Dorinda and told her the same thing. We feel awful about this.”

  At the mention of Dorinda, Sandy scoffed. Desi honed in on that.

  “I take it things were a little rocky with Dorinda? It’s hard to get used to a new partner in a business.”

  Sandy grimaced. “Taking on a business partner was the worst decision Louis ever made. Ericksville Espresso was doing great until she came along. That woman will drive it into the ground.”

  I stared at her. Dorinda had said the same thing about her.

  “As soon as Louis’s estate is settled, I plan to buy out her share of the business.” She smiled weakly through her tears. “I’m going to keep Louis’s legacy running.”

  I was still at loss for words, but Desi recovered before me. “Do you plan—”

  The minister appeared behind Sandy and put his hand on her arm. “Sandy, we’re ready to leave.”

  She dabbed at her eyes and turned to us. “It was wonderful to meet you both. Thank you for coming.” She took his arm and walked away, toward the waiting black limousine.

  Desi and I watched her go.

  “That was weird.” My eyes were still on Sandy as she allowed the minister to help her into the long car.

  “Yeah, no kidding.”

  We turned toward each other. Her eyes were as confused as mine.

  “What were you going to ask her?”

  “Oh, I was going to ask if she planned to keep Terri on.” Her eyes danced mischievously.

  “I assume she knew about Brenda, but I wonder if she knew Louis was cheating on her with Terri too? She seems pretty broken up over his death.” I didn’t know what to believe anymore. Dorinda’s account of the finances of Ericksville Espresso contradicted Sandy’s. Who to believe—the murdered man’s wife, or his new business partner? Whatever the answer was, something was amiss and someone was lying.

  On the way home, I couldn’t stop tapping my fingers on the steering wheel. At a stoplight, Desi said, “You’re going to wear a hole in that thing.”

  I wrapped my fingers around the wheel to keep from moving them. The textured plastic grounded me with its familiarity. “I can’t help it. I don’t want to believe Dorinda had anything to do with Louis’s murder.”

  In the short time I’d known Dorinda, I’d come to like her. With her husband’s premature death, the lives of her and her son had been torn apart, and I was rooting for them to regain a sense of normalcy in Ericksville.

  “I don’t either, but Sandy seemed devoted to her husband. Something isn’t adding up.”

  I didn’t answer. When I dropped her off at the BeansTalk, she waved goodbye, and I headed in to work, lost in thought. Having one of my friends as a suspect had been bad, but now I had doubts about both Brenda and Dorinda. I was pretty sure that neither of them had it in them to murder someone, but I’d been surprised before, and I didn’t want to let my concerns about them and their children cloud my judgment. I barely knew Terri or Sandy, and it was easier to think ill of them, right or wrong. One thing I did know is that I wasn’t sure how I was going to get any work done that day.

  As I’d feared, work went slowly the rest of the day. I couldn’t focus on anything, and things kept going wrong with the last-minute wedding. By the time I needed to pick up Mikey from preschool, I still wasn’t finished with my priority tasks, so we returned to the Boathouse afterward. Lincoln had promised to watch the kids after he finished his work that day, so I would be free for the wedding, but until he was ready, I had both kids.

  Having a three-year-old bouncing in and out of my office didn’t make work easy, but I’d almost finished when Desi came into the Boathouse with Anthony in tow.

  Mikey’s eyes lit up when he saw his cousin. “Anthony!” he shouted. Anthony ran to him, and the two of them took off for parts unknown. The front doors were locked and they spent enough time in the Boathouse to know where they were allowed to be, so I didn’t worry.

  “Sheesh. You’d think it had been years since they saw each other and not hours,” Desi observed. She sat down in the uncomfortably padded metal chair I kept in my office for clients. I added buying a nice client chair to my list of office furniture requests.

  “No kidding.” I tapped out a final e-mail and then closed the lid on my laptop. “What’s up?”

  “So, I was thinking …”

  I groaned. Nothing good could come of that. I loved being friends with my sister-in-law, but the problem was that we were both too curious about things. We had to take turns bringing the other one down to reality.

  “What?” She gave me a wide-eyed look of innocence.

  “Ok, ok. What were you thinking?” I knew I’d probably regret asking, but I bit anyway.

  “I was thinking,” she continued, “we should bring Sandy something to eat, maybe a casserole. I’m sure she doesn’t feel up to cooking in this difficult time.”

  “That’s awfully nice of you, but we barely know her.” Desi was up to something, but I wasn’t sure what it was yet.

  “I know, but maybe if we have a chance to talk with her again, we could figure out whether she or Dorinda is telling the truth.” She stared directly into my face. “Don’t you want to know? I could tell how upset you were earlier.”

  My face crumpled as all the energy I’d put into keeping myself from thinking about the situation drained from my body. I slumped in my chair and stared at the ceiling.

  “I’m not sure I want to know,” I muttered. “Besides, didn’t Tomàs warn you to stay out of it? I don’t want to upset him. And the police will probably figure out what happened soon.”

  She waved her hand in the air. “Eh. We’re bringing her something to eat, not holding her at knifepoint to interrogate her. What harm can come of bringing a recent widow a nourishing meal?”

  She said all that with a straight face. Impressive.

  “Desi, you know that’s not the reason you want to go. You just want to snoop around.”

  “Well, we have to find out. For Brenda’s sake. I don’t want her to lose her kids because she was unknowingly caught up in something completely unrelated to her. We know something isn’t right between Sandy and Dorinda. Let’s figure out what’s going on, and maybe it will clear Brenda.”

  I sighed. “Fine, but you’re making the casserole.” I enjoyed cooking, but I knew with the auction items I still needed to clear off my to-do list that evening, I wouldn’t have time to make anything. My kids were probably getting microwaved Swedish meatball TV dinners to eat that night.

  “Of course.” Desi smiled brightly at me. “So you’ll come with me? We could go tomorrow afternoon before preschool pick-up. I can get my assistant to watch the café for me.”

  I scanned my desk. Things were mostly caught up, and I could probably afford to take off an hour or so the next day.

  “Fine. I’ll do it.”

  She beamed at me and took off down the hallway, calling Anthony’s name as she walked away.

  Lincoln showed up soon after she left to take the kids off my hands. I hadn’t anticipated the conversation with Desi, and it put me behind in my preparations for the wedding. I knew the catering order had come in, but I hadn’t heard anything about the doves yet.

  Someone knocked on my door.

  “Come in.”

  Joe, one of our regular waiters, appeared in my doorway. “Hi. There’s a man here with some birds.”

  “Thanks. I’ll come out to talk to him.” We hadn’t worked with this particular provider in the past, so I crossed my fingers that we weren’t getting gray carrier pigeons instead of doves.

  A man stood in the lobby, shifting his weight. He carried a beautiful gilded cage containing two snow-white doves.

  I approached him. “They’re gorgeous. Thank you so much for delivering
them.”

  He grinned at me and handed me the cage. “No problem. We’re happy to help with the last minute request. Please keep us in mind for future events.”

  I smiled back at him. “I will. Thanks again.”

  He turned and walked off, leaving me holding the birds in the cage. They twittered nervously, pacing around on the bar across the cage. I placed them securely in a room where no one would let them out.

  The ceremony went off without a hitch, and the bride was ecstatically happy with the venue. Before they left on a brief honeymoon, I handed them the bird cage to release the doves.

  The newly married couple gazed into each other’s eyes, looking so thrilled to be married that it renewed my hope for true love and marriage. Together, they opened the cage door and the pair of doves fluttered upward.

  Everyone followed their progress as they headed out toward Puget Sound. Then a door slammed shut behind someone carrying wedding gifts, and one of the doves was startled. It changed course abruptly, aiming straight for the large window in the Boathouse attic.

  The bride’s eyes grew wide, and I sucked in my breath. A smashed bird would be disastrous for the event, and a bad omen for the happy couple’s marriage. But there was nothing we could do.

  Just as suddenly, the bird changed direction, narrowly missing the glass window, and flew out to sea to join its mate. The wedding guests gave a collective sigh of relief, and the groom hugged his bride, pointing at the bird. They waved goodbye to everyone, and I ushered them out the front door to a vintage Ford decorated with tin cans and a large “Newly Married” sign.

  When everyone had left, I breathed my own sigh of relief. Although it had seemed like the wedding would end with a sour note, everything had turned out fine—almost to the point of being a textbook perfect wedding. Perhaps that would be a good omen for my future as well.

  13

  “Why do I feel like I’m in a spy movie?” I smashed my face closer to the glass, trying to see inside. Desi and I were peering into a front window at Sandy’s house after ringing the doorbell. “I don’t think she’s here.”