by Vikki Walton
Anne could see the conflict on Taylor’s face.
Taylor shook her head. “No. No way. I’m won’t believe it. Beth wanted him and fought to get him. No way she killed him.”
Carson rose. “Okay, thank you Ms. Taylor. Again, this is just an interview. If we need to clarify anything, we’ll let you know.” He shook her hand. “We’ll be out in a bit.”
He closed the door behind her. Anne popped up. “That’s some story. I think it’s clear Beth did it. She stood to inherit millions and ditch the cheating scum.”
Carson laughed. “Hey Nancy, you still have some learning to do to understand the way these interviews work. We need to get everyone’s story and then the dissection begins.”
She hated when he referred to her as Nancy Drew but at the same time she realized he appreciated her insights, so she let it pass.
“Okay, who next?” Anne asked.
“If I’m right, and I am, Taylor will be sharing a bit about the questions we’ve asked, so this will do one of two things. First, it will make the others more aware of the questions we’ll be asking, and second, they will wonder what Taylor said. That’s why I think we need to go with the widow next.”
“Oh my gosh. I forgot. How could I be so stupid?” Anne rushed to the door.
“What?”
“We all had to label our cordial bottles. Everyone had to write down their names, the date, you know. We need to check the note against the bottles.”
Carson followed Anne over to the cabinet where the bottles were stored.
Someone had removed all the labels.
Chapter Fifteen
“Nothing we can do about it now,” Carson said. “Let’s continue the questioning with the widow.”
Beth Nelson sat down. She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms across her chest. Carson pulled the stool over closer to the desk where Anne sat.
“Missus Nelson, again, I’m very sorry about your loss.”
Beth gulped, and tears pricked at her eyes. She tightened her arms. Anne handed her tissues. At this rate, they’d need another box.
“We just want to ask some basic questions about your friends. Did any of them hold a grudge toward you, your husband, or Liz?”
Beth sucked in a breath. “What do you mean?”
Carson had been right. Taylor had been the right person to start the conversation.
“Let me rephrase that. You all met in school, but you later went your separate ways. Was this due to anything specific, or just everyone going on different paths?”
“First, I don’t know if I want to say anything without a lawyer present.”
“Do you feel you need a lawyer?” Anne interjected and, if looks could kill, Carson would have knocked her to the ground with his stare.
Beth faced Anne. “I know how this works. Who do you think is the first person they always suspect? The spouse!”
Anne quickly shot a glance over to Carson who had moved a bit away from Beth’s peripheral vision.
“Beth, this isn’t about anything like that. We’re just trying to see if any of you could think about anything that might help figure out what happened with Marie. Sometimes it’s the little things that you don’t think are important that are very important. That’s why we’re just asking about your friendship. It’s got nothing to do with what’s happened here.”
Beth relaxed a bit. She turned to Carson. “Is that true?”
“Yes. This is a simple conversation. However, if you don’t want to answer anything you don’t have to respond. We’re just conducting an interview with everyone to get your thoughts on the other ladies staying here.”
“Yep. Just some background. Are you okay with that?”
Beth uncrossed her arms and folded her hands in her lap. She sat quietly as no one spoke. “I guess that’s okay.” She sighed. “But I can’t see anyone doing anything—”
“Let’s just stick with how you all met,” Carson interrupted.
Beth looked at him, then spoke to Anne, “In college we all hung out together. We had so much fun together. We really were like sisters.” She paused. “Then Ed—Edward came into the picture.”
“I bet he was very handsome as a young man,” Anne replied, trying to draw Beth back into the past.
“Oh, he was. Is . . . was.” She stopped.
Anne and Carson waited for her to compose herself and continue.
“Every girl on campus wanted him. Of course, all four of us would talk about him. Taylor didn’t really want much to do with him. Liz was dating someone at the time, so she was also not in the game. Basically, it was Lil and me.
“There was a competition between you two for Dr. Nelson?”
“No. Not really. I did want to date him, but I wasn’t one to go chasing after a man. Never have been.” She crossed her legs, tucked her hair behind her ear and wiped her nose with a tissue.
That’s a different impression than Taylor had given of Beth’s infatuation with Edward.
Beth continued, “It was obvious Lil was head over heels in love with him. They dated for quite a while, but Ed later told me how she’d become too clingy, so he dumped her. She ended up going to college somewhere overseas and we would see each other occasionally over the years, but it pretty much tapered off.”
Anne nudged her forward. “But you stayed in contact with Liz?”
“Yes. Liz has always been around. We’ve gone through a lot together.”
“Liz never married?”
“She was in a bunch of relationships over the years, but she said she hadn’t found ‘the one.’ She often joked she didn’t want to end up with someone like Edward.”
“No love lost there then?”
Beth laughed. “They were like fire and ice. Constantly bickering to the point that I had to ask them to stay away from one another. Then they’d be better for a while and it would start up again. Liz would get so angry with me about some of the things he would say to me. She tried to get me to think he was cheating on me.” She uncrossed her legs.
“Now I know that he was a big-time ladies’ man in college, but that all stopped when he married me. He always says I’m his rock.”
Anne wished she could see Carson’s expression. It sounded like Beth was going to deny Edward’s womanizing ways to them. But it was interesting that she was still talking about him in the present tense. Was she still refusing to believe he was dead?
“Thank you, Missus Nelson. Now can you tell us about your coming here and all you can remember up until today.”
Beth rocked her legs a bit back and forth. Anne quickly recognized the sign of stress.
“I got a call from Liz about a girls’ getaway with Taylor in the Colorado mountains. We would come up here and do the workshop, then head on over and do some skiing before going to the hot springs. Jake, that’s my son, had just gone back to college and I thought it sounded good, so I said yes. Taylor’s always been fun, so I looked forward to seeing her again after all these years. I needed a break too.”
“You said a girls’ getaway. Why did Dr. Nelson come along?” Anne inquired.
“Um, well, I had said something to Ed and he was okay with me going. But then the next thing I knew, he wanted to come too.”
Carson intoned, “Do you know why he invited himself?”
“He was going to go skiing while we had the workshop. I didn’t want him to come but Liz said I should have him around to keep an eye on him. She was still on this kick that he was cheating on me.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“Okay, so you got here and discovered that your two friends from college were also here.”
“Yes, I laid into Liz on that one. I knew that Taylor was going to be here. But I don’t like surprises. Especially with Lil being here. I wanted to leave right then and there, but Edward told me to stop acting so immature. That it had been twenty years ago.” She sighed. “Of course, he was right. But I really want to leave now. I want to go home. How much longer will we have to stay
here?”
They all glanced over to the window that bore a white covering of snow. The howling wind had continued unabated and the snow had been unrelenting as well. No one would be leaving until the blizzard stopped. Carson had already informed Anne that his deputies and the local police were all scattered around the area, sheltering in place from the storm.
“As soon as the roads are clear, you should be able to leave,” Carson responded. “Now to the day of Dr. Nelson’s death. Can you share with me what happened?”
“Taylor said Edward was still out in the gazebo. He had said he was going to head out after breakfast, so he’d been down there for quite some time. Liz walked with me to the gazebo.”
She stopped. Her hands tightened.
“At first I thought he was sleeping but then, I could tell something was wrong. Liz took off running to call for help.”
“Just as a reminder, you were with Dr. Nelson alone during that time?”
Beth stiffened. “Yes.”
Anne jumped in. “We’re just trying to get a sense of where everyone was during that time.”
“Oh, okay.” Beth eased forward on her chair, repositioning her body.
“Continue.” Carson motioned.
“I bent down and touched his hand. I couldn’t believe—he . . . that’s when I realized that he was really gone. I just stood there. I knew Edward had heart issues, but you can never really prepare—”
“Again, I’m so sorry, Beth.” Anne reached across the desk toward her. “I know this is difficult for you.”
Beth swallowed and pursed her lips. Tears spilled from her eyes.
Anne shot a look at Carson who nodded for her to continue.
“I know it had to have been a shock. I think that’s when we all arrived, is that right?”
“Liz came back, and she pushed me—”
“She pushed you?” Anne asked.
“Not like a push. You know, kind of like a grab to move you. I think she was trying to give me a hug, but I didn’t want that. I didn’t want anyone to touch me.”
Carson spoke, “Okay, what happened then?”
“I don’t recall much around then. I think the ambulance came.”
“What about the vape pen?”
“What?” Beth turned to Anne.
“The vape pen.”
“Oh, yes. I’ve been trying to get Ed to quit smoking, so he’d switched over to this vape pen thing.”
“I believe you stepped on it. I heard the pop when we got down to the gazebo,” Anne noted.
“Yes, I stepped back, and it must have been on the ground. I broke it when I stepped on it.” She looked puzzled. “Why? What does that matter?”
Anne continued the story. “Then Liz picked it up and handed it to you.”
“That’s right. I just stuck it in my pocket.” She turned to Carson. “One of your deputies has it now, I believe.”
He nodded.
Anne wondered if they were doing any testing on the vape pen. Certainly, anyone could have put another ingredient into the cylinder. Even a higher dose of nicotine could affect someone with a heart condition. That didn’t rule out Beth or Liz who had easy access to the device. As for Lil, who was telling the truth on who dumped who—Taylor or Beth? Lil could have been waiting for revenge all this time and with her pharmaceutical background, it would be easy to incorporate a deadly cocktail into a vape pen’s cylinder. It also didn’t preclude Taylor who was rooming across from the Nelsons and could have easily switched out cylinders. But what would be her motive?
Anne realized Carson was speaking. “Can you tell me a little about the time leading up to Marie’s death?”
“That was horrible.” Beth rubbed her hands together. “After Edward had his heart attack, we all went up to our rooms. I told Liz I wanted to leave as soon as possible. She’d booked our flights. I asked her to see about moving our flights up. I haven’t told Jake yet. I want to tell him in person about his father.”
Anne nodded.
Beth continued, “I wanted to stay in my room for the night, but Liz wouldn’t give up. She said I shouldn’t be alone, that I needed to eat something. I finally just gave in, so she’d quit pestering me. Later, we went downstairs, and Liz sat down next to me. Marie was talking about the cordial and then . . . I don’t know, something happened, and Liz knocked over Marie’s drink. She told Marie to sit in her place and next thing I know the woman was convulsing and—” She grimaced.
“That’s okay. Thank you, Missus Nelson.”
Anne jumped in. “Beth, I know this is putting you on the spot, but do you think that drink was meant for Liz?”
“I’ve been thinking about that. I think it was meant for me. and the sides got switched. That’s why I want to leave. Someone wants me dead!”
Anne hadn’t thought of that. But Liz had been sitting in the middle and Beth and Liz always sat together. Could the poison have been meant for Beth? When could Lil or Taylor have put the poison in the cordial? Certainly, Taylor had gone to the kitchen multiple times to visit with Kandi. Lil also went through the kitchen when she took a walk earlier in the day. Lil could have plotted revenge against Beth. But what was Taylor’s motive? It didn’t sound like Taylor held any ill feelings toward Beth. Was there something neither of them were sharing?
Beth was still talking, “Of course, as soon as Marie collapsed, Hope told everyone to not drink any of the cordial.”
A shiver passed over Anne as she realized that any of them could have been killed if the cordial was poisoned. But how would the murderer have abstained? No, the poison had to be in the glass, not the actual cordial.
Carson reached over and retrieved the crumpled note in the sealed bag. “Missus Nelson, can you take a look at this for me?”
“Oh, that’s horrible. Where did you find that?”
“This note isn’t familiar?”
“No, I’ve never seen it before.”
“Thank you. I think that’s all for now. If you think of anything, no matter how insignificant, please let me know.”
She nodded her head and left the room.
Chapter Sixteen
After Beth returned to the living area, Carson decided they should take a break before questioning Lil and Liz.
“We need to search their rooms,” Anne insisted. “Maybe there’s another note. Someone could have written a different one and not given it to Beth or Dr. Nelson. Or if Beth wrote it, then there could be a similar note in one of the other rooms.”
“No,” Carson said. “I have to wait for the search warrant.”
Anne huffed. They were wasting time. She walked with Carson into the living area and told everyone that they could take a short bathroom break and then a late supper would be served in the kitchen. Kandi had left a pot of stew on the stove and there were two loaves of crusty French bread on the counter. Inside the refrigerator was a lemon walnut salad and two pies—a rich dark chocolate and a coconut cream pie.
As everyone sat around the table, Anne excused herself to head to the bathroom off the office. As she passed down the hallway, she realized she could go up and search at least one of the rooms closest to the back stairs. She tried her best to quietly make her way up the back stairs. At the top of the stairs she unlocked the door and made her way into the hallway. Hope had come up earlier with the guests and had turned on every light available to remove the darkness and gloom that had settled over the house. The falling snow caused a hush over the landscape outside and silence had settled on the house.
Anne pulled her keys from her pocket and opened the door to her left. Inside the room was brightly lit with clothes piled into a suitcase. She bent over the luggage and peered inside.
A hand pulled at her arm. She yelped and twisted away only to be looking back at the stern face of Sheriff Carson. He pulled the door shut.
“I knew you’d go and do something foolish like this. I told you that we must do things by protocol. You could destroy any evidence or mess up the investigation by your sno
oping. Now come on before someone—”
They could hear someone coming down the hall.
“Great. You may have cost us a conviction.”
The door opened.
Without hesitation, Anne threw her arms up around Carson’s neck and bent him over into a passionate kiss.
Liz stood in the door. “Oh, sorry!” She grinned. “I see I’ve interrupted.”
Carson cleared his throat while Anne responded, “My bad. I didn’t want anyone to see us, so I pulled him in here from the hall. I got sidetracked and thought this was the vacant room. I’m so sorry. I hope you’ll forgive us. And please, don’t say anything to the ladies.” She piled on the innocence, hoping it didn’t come across phony.
Carson said nothing, but his face was flushed red.
Liz responded, “No worries. Beth wanted her sweater and I wanted to grab my shawl, too.” She went over to the desk and as she picked up the scarf, she glanced at her computer. She smiled at them again. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.” She left the room.
Carson looked down at Anne, his face red. Anne couldn’t tell if the color came from anger or some other emotion. “What the—?”
“Hey, I just saved your bacon. We weren’t snooping. We were making out.” She crossed over to the computer. “Did you notice that she glanced over at her computer?”
Before he could say stop, Anne turned on the screen to reveal an email account. It was a message from Dr. Nelson’s phone to Liz. It said simply, “I think Beth suspects us.”
Anne turned to Carson who seemed a little too close now. “I think we found the person we need to speak to next.”
Chapter Seventeen
Downstairs Carson and Anne entered the kitchen where everyone’s attention was focused on a weather broadcast. Anne fixed Carson a bowl of potato soup adding a heaping amount of cheese and bacon bits on top. She had a hard time avoiding the pointed looks from Liz who smirked at her from across the table. At one point, Hope leaned over and whispered, “What’s the private joke?”