Debra Burroughs - Paradise Valley 06 - The Harbor of Lies

by Debra Burroughs

“I don’t either, but if you get detained, or worse, arres—”

  “It should be pretty clear I have no motive, so I’m not going to let myself be concerned about it, unless something changes and I have cause to be concerned.”

  “Yeah, a case against you would be pretty weak. It’s clear, though, that the chief has no experience solving this type of crime,” Colin said. “He could really use someone who knows their way around a murder investigation.”

  “You heard him,” she argued. “He doesn’t want our help, so we need to butt out.”

  “At the very least, Emily, we could give him some tips, point him in the right direction. We could—”

  “Ugh! It’s always something, isn’t it? Something trying to jump in the way of our getting married.” An anger rose up in her at the constant barriers, like the universe was trying to keep them apart. Three bad things had already happened to them, so from here on out it would be smooth sailing—that’s what Colin had said—but no, now there was a fourth thing and it was a doozy. “Murder or no murder, we’re going to get married this Saturday, come hell or high water—even if the ceremony has to take place in a jail cell. No more delays. No more bad things happening. This wedding is moving forward.”

  “All right now. Calm down.” Colin reached for her right hand, but then hesitated, examining it for signs of blood before he kissed it. “This Saturday, Babe, you and me, ’til death do us part.”

  ~*~

  Although the chief had ordered one of his men to keep an eye on Emily, he had mentioned nothing about Colin. So, with Chief Taylor off speaking to the staff, Colin wandered over to the body, still sprawled out on the white Adirondack chair. He slid his phone out of his pocket and took a couple of photos before anyone noticed. Then he went to find Alex in the crowd.

  As Colin walked past the well-lit entrance to the inn, he peeked inside, through the french doors and the surrounding wall of small-paned windows. There were several people in dark green blazers—which he assumed were management or desk clerks—milling around, and a few women in light blue dresses who appeared to be maids, seated on the sofas.

  A thirty-something man with sandy-brown hair, wearing a dark gray suit stalked up to the chief, waving his arms around. The expression on his face looked more like worry than anger, which made sense if he was the manager, afraid of losing guests.

  Colin watched as Chief Taylor said something to the man and then turned to speak to a younger man that appeared to be, perhaps, a maintenance worker or groundskeeper. It didn’t seem like Chief Taylor was getting anywhere with any of them.

  Soon, Colin moved on to find Alex to escort him to where Emily sat waiting. By the time Chief Taylor returned, Colin and Emily had brought Alex up to speed on the situation.

  “Any luck?” Colin asked as Chief Taylor approached.

  “I’m not sharing information with you, Detective. This is my crime scene and my case. Besides, I don’t know yet how your girlfriend figures into this.”

  “I don’t figure into this, Chief.” Emily bolted off the car seat. “The killer just happened to pick my deck to drop the body. I’m an innocent tourist.”

  “We’ll see.” The chief took a long gaze at her, then turned to Alex. “And who’s this?”

  “Alex Martínez, attorney-at-law,” Alex said, extending his hand.

  The chief shook it, eying him suspiciously.

  “I’m only here to advise Ms. Parker at this time.”

  “I see.” The chief’s gaze moved to Emily. “You don’t figure into this, huh? Then why the lawyer?”

  Emily was saved from answering by the medical examiner and his crime scene investigation team driving up, drawing the chief’s attention away from her for the moment. The police worked to disburse the crowd enough that they could get through and do their work.

  After an onsite examination of the Reverend’s body, the attractive female ME wandered over to where the chief was still standing talking to Emily, Colin, and Alex. She pulled off her latex gloves and tugged him aside to talk privately.

  They still had a keen eye on Emily, but Colin was able to inch close enough to hear most of what they were discussing. It might not be completely ethical to eavesdrop, but this was his fiancée, and besides, that boat had sailed when he took the photos with his cellphone.

  The ME said the blood pattern on the man’s shirt indicated he’d been stabbed, but told the chief that there had also been blunt-force trauma to the head. And until she got the body back to her lab and went over it thoroughly, she did not want to make a definitive declaration on the cause of death.

  “Based on the internal temperature, I’d say he’s been dead approximately two hours,” the ME said, which would have put Emily’s gruesome discovery within the window of his time of death.

  Although it would have been better if his death had occurred hours before she’d found him, Colin surmised, surely there was no way Chief Taylor could realistically pin this on her. She barely knew the man and had no motive whatsoever to kill him.

  Colin noticed Emily trying to edge closer and he glared at her until she froze to her spot near the car. Then he eased his way back to her so that he wouldn’t attract attention to the fact that he’d been listening in.

  He explained what he had overheard from the ME.

  “What was he hit in the head with?” Emily asked.

  “They won’t know that until she takes a closer look back at the lab.”

  The ME cleared her throat and walked toward them. “Are these folks the victim’s next of kin? Should I have a talk with them?”

  “No. Don’t go telling her anything, Doc,” Chief Taylor moaned. “She’s a suspect.”

  “Oh, sorry, Chief.” The shapely thirty-something medical examiner stopped walking.

  The chief gave Emily a defiant stare. “In the car, Miss Parker.”

  Emily complied and the chief strode up and closed the car door.

  “Okay, Doc, we’re headed to the police station for questioning. Get those results back to me as soon as possible.”

  “Will do.” The medical examiner spun around and headed back to the dead body.

  Chapter 7

  After Alex and Emily had agreed to let someone scrape under her fingernails where the Reverend’s blood was, the chief allowed her to be accompanied to the washroom to clean her hands better and bag her sweater to contain the transfer of the blood—whether or not it ended up being evidence was still to be decided.

  With Emily wearing Colin’s jacket zipped up after relinquishing her sweater, Chief Taylor took her and Alex into an interrogation room in the small police station, but made Colin wait outside while he questioned her.

  She looked at the video camera mounted in the corner just below the ceiling and tried not to fidget or appear nervous in any way.

  “Tell me again why you need an attorney, ma’am. You got something to hide?”

  “Of course not. He’s here for my wedding. His wife is my best friend.”

  “I see.” Chief Taylor eyed her suspiciously, leaning back in the chair. “So, let’s go over why you have the victim’s blood all over you.”

  After receiving Alex’s nod of approval, she again explained how she came upon the dead body. Chief Taylor asked more of the usual questions. Did she know the deceased? Were there any problems between the two of them? Did she kill the Reverend?

  “I already answered those questions at the scene, Chief Taylor, so no, no, and heck no. What else do you want to ask?”

  “Well…” He didn’t seem sure what else to say. Clearly he wasn’t used to questioning a murder suspect. “Give me a minute.”

  “How long have you been the Chief of Police here?” she questioned.

  “About a month. Why do you ask?”

  She glanced at Alex for a moment. No, she wouldn’t answer that. It was way too easy. She even felt a bit sorry for the young man, being thrown in the middle of his first murder case with no experience in solving one. “Have your men finished searchi
ng my room? I’d like to get some sleep.”

  He nodded. “They’re done. But I’m not done with you.”

  “Listen, Chief Taylor,” Alex said, “Colin and Emily, and their entire wedding party, are staying at the Rock Harbor Inn. I think it’s pretty obvious she’s not your killer, but if you have any more questions, we’re happy to come back and answer them for you.”

  He opened his mouth to say something, but a knock at the door drew his attention. It opened and the receptionist stuck her head in. “Susan Henderson is here to see her sister.” The woman nodded in Emily’s direction.

  “Susan’s your sister?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Well, why didn’t you say so? She and my wife are thick as thieves. If Susan will vouch for you, I guess I can let you go—for now.”

  They all walked out into the waiting area. Susan rushed to Emily and threw her arms around her. “You poor thing. How awful. I got a call from one of your friends. I came right over and Colin was just telling me what happened.”

  “I’m fine, Sis.” Emily flashed her a little smile and proceeded to introduce her to Alex.

  After the quick introduction, Susan turned to the chief. “Oh, Alvin, my sister is here to get married on Saturday and you really think she could have killed Pastor Ben?”

  “Now, Susan, don’t be like that,” Chief Taylor replied. “She claimed to have found the body, but she was covered in his blood. I couldn’t just let her go ’cause she claimed to be innocent. I had to at least make an attempt to discover if there was more to it.”

  “She just met the man this morning,” Susan explained. “I introduced them.”

  The chief ran a hand over his neck. “Eyah, that’s what she said.”

  “Are we done here, Chief?” Alex asked.

  “For now.”

  “While I was waiting,” Colin said, “I phoned one of my officers back at my station and asked him to run a background check on Ben Kinney. As you can imagine, there were a number of them across the country, so we narrowed it down to northeast Maine.”

  “You did what, now?” Chief Taylor asked, his voice rising. “You had no right to do that. I told you before, don’t go pushing your way into my investigation.”

  “I had to do something while I waited.”

  “Now, Chief,” Emily rested a friendly hand on his arm, “why don’t you let the detective help you?” She knew Colin would be happy to help, and it might keep him occupied while she dealt with all the wedding details.

  “And Emily’s a private eye,” Colin offered. “She and I could—”

  Susan stepped in. “Absolutely not. Emily and I have a wedding to get planned, and now we’ll have to search for someone else to perform the ceremony. Poor Pastor Ben, bless his heart. But Alvin, Colin would be a great asset to you. You’d be crazy not to let him help you.”

  Chief Taylor’s eyes narrowed as he rubbed a hand over his square jaw, pondering Colin’s offer. “What’d you find out?” As quickly as he asked, he waved a hand at him. “Nope. Never mind. I’d better check the man out for myself. You all go on and get outta here.”

  ~*~

  Standing in the parking lot of the police station, Emily thanked her sister for coming, and gave her a quick squeeze before Susan walked to her car.

  “I hope you all won’t regret coming to Rock Harbor for your wedding because of what’s happened tonight,” Susan muttered.

  “Don’t worry, Sis,” Emily said. “This isn’t our first brush with murder.”

  “I guess not, but I don’t know how you two do it.” Susan gave a wan smile, then opened her car door. “See you tomorrow.” She climbed in and drove away.

  “I’d better get back,” Alex said. “Isabel will want to hear every detail of what’s going on.”

  Emily chuckled. “The others will too, I’m sure.”

  Alex gave them a ride the few blocks back to the inn. “See you in the morning,” he said as he strolled off to his room. “Try to get some sleep, you guys.”

  Colin walked Emily to her room, pausing as she unlocked the door.

  “You want to come in?” She turned around to face him.

  “I’d better not. I’ve been up since four this morning and I’m beat.”

  She slipped her hands around his neck and drew his face down to hers. “Not even for a little while?”

  He closed the gap between them as he slid his hands around her waist, pulled her against him, and covered her lips with his. He reached behind her and pushed the door open, guiding her backwards into the room. “Maybe for a little while.”

  ~*~

  The next morning, after Emily, Colin, and their friends met for breakfast, they gathered in the comfortable lobby of the inn to decide what to do with their day. Camille and Maggie said they wanted to rent bicycles to ride around town and on the bike path down along the shore. Isabel and Alex decided they would go for a hike in the nearby Acadia National Park.

  Susan strolled in and joined the small crowd, clutching a thick binder against her chest, just as Colin’s phone began to ring. It was Chief Taylor.

  “Hello, Chief. What can I do for you?”

  “I tried to search for a Ben Kinney in this area and nothing came up before he moved here six months ago,” he blurted out, sounding exasperated, “which is what you probably found out last night, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but you were pretty adamant that you didn’t want my help.”

  “Eyah, about that. I was just being bullheaded and prideful, at least that’s what my wife said. After sleeping on it, I have to admit that I’m in over my head.” He paused for several beats and then continued. “I could use your help, if you’re still willing.”

  “Happy to help, Chief.” Colin eyed Emily as he replied. The arch of her brow told him she wasn’t pleased.

  “What would you do first?” Chief Taylor asked. “Fingerprints?”

  “Yes, run his prints, see who he really was. Such a short history screams alias to me.”

  Susan’s eyes widened. “Alias?”

  Colin held up a finger, hoping the shocking news would be held at bay by those listening to his side of the conversation.

  Chief Taylor continued. “Eyah, I can get those from the ME. What else?”

  “Check his phone records and his financials.” Colin moved a few steps away from Emily and the chatty group, since they’d all seemed to ignore his gesture for quiet. “I’ll come down there and we can talk it through.”

  “I’d appreciate that, Detective.”

  “Oh, and, Chief, see if you can get any security video from the inn.” Colin hung up and rejoined the group.

  “So,” Emily said, “he wants your help now?”

  Susan stepped closer. “What was that about an alias?”

  “Sorry, I’m not at liberty to discuss it at this point,” he replied.

  “No big deal,” Susan shrugged. “I’m just glad you agreed to help. Without it, poor Alvin wouldn’t have a prayer of solving this case. And it’s important to this whole community because Pastor Ben was becoming one of us. We all need you to find his killer.” She put a hand to her face and shook her head. “So scary to think it might be one of our own folk.”

  He didn’t dare tell her Pastor Ben was probably not who the town thought he was or that all those marriages where he had officiated wouldn’t be legal now.

  “You heard your sister, Emily.” Colin put an arm around her. “I don’t want to leave the chief hanging. Let’s help him button up this case, and then all’s clear to get married on Saturday.”

  “You think you can wrap this case up in two days?” Emily asked.

  “I’ll do my best.” He kissed her on the side of her head. “That’s all I can give.”

  She lifted her eyes to him. “Maybe I should go with you. We can solve this thing faster with more people on the case.”

  Susan waved her hand at Emily. “Not a chance, Sis. We have wedding details to nail down.” She patted her fat binder. “Now, we’v
e got to arrange the rehearsal dinner and find someone else to perform the ceremony.”

  “What about the senior pastor at the Community Church?” Emily asked.

  “Nope, he’s doing a memorial service in Bangor that day, an old friend, but I know a ship’s captain I can ask.”

  Colin and Emily glanced at each other. “No, Susan,” she said, “we want a minister.”

  Not wanting to get in the middle of the two sisters, Colin excused himself. “I’d better head over to the police station and leave you ladies to the planning.” He cupped Emily’s face in his hands and kissed her, her lips warm and soft on his. “I’ll call you later and we’ll reconnect.”

  “Don’t forget, Colin, we need to apply for our marriage license today.”

  “This afternoon.” He began backing toward the door. “I promise.”

  ~*~

  “What’d you find?” Colin asked as he walked into Chief Taylor’s office.

  “Dr. McHenry told me she’d get the prints and have them run in Bangor. She’ll phone me with the results.”

  “If he’s not, in fact, Reverend Ben Kinney, that could open up a ton of possibilities for who might have wanted him dead.” Colin took a chair across the desk from the chief.

  “Why would that be?” he asked. “You think he’s hiding from someone?” His eyes grew round at the thought. “You mean, like maybe he was in witness protection?”

  “That’s one scenario,” Colin said. “Or he was working undercover on a case.”

  The chief stood and moved to the window, looking out over Main Street. “Or he was pretending to be a minister but he was taking advantage of the good people of our town in some way.”

  “You stated you don’t have much crime around here, so that’s not likely, right?”

  “Well…”

  Colin’s interest piqued. “You have something going on around here that you’re trying to deal with?”

  The chief turned away from the window and nodded. “We’ve had a rash of break-ins.”

  “What do you think is causing a spike in that sort of thing?”

  “We don’t want it widely known, so it needs to be kept quiet,” the chief closed the door to his office, “’cause it would hamper the tourist industry we have around here.”