A Candidate For Murder (Old Maids of Mercer Island Mysteries Book 2)

by Lynn Bohart

  “Maybe that’s why she wanted a divorce,” I said.

  “That, and he was having an affair with his controller,” David interjected.

  Gasps all around.

  “Anyway, he wasn’t about to let her get away with all that money,” Detective Abrams continued. “So he had to act fast. And…he knew about her first husband, the abuse, and the pictures.”

  “He knew about the nude pictures?” Blair said in surprise. “And he never said anything?”

  “Apparently he figured he could use that information to his own advantage at some point. He even had copies made, just in case Dana got rid of them.”

  “Which she did,” I said.

  “Well, his opportunity came when he met Al Dente at the Emory Auto Shop. It turns out Dente served prison time with Dana’s ex-husband.”

  “Huh? No way,” Blair exclaimed. “What are the odds?”

  “Prison is a small world,” Detective Abrams said with a shrug. “That kind of thing happens more often than you’d think.”

  “Is that how Dente learned about the abuse?” Doe asked.

  “I doubt it,” Detective Abrams replied. “Believe it or not, child abusers aren’t tolerated well in prison. They often end up dead. Remember that Vince Fragel went to prison for embezzlement and under a different name. So that’s probably all that Al Dente knew about him, at least until Finkle came into the picture.”

  “But why would Clay Finkle ever become partners with Al Dente?” Rudy asked. “It’s not like the two could have much in common.”

  “Actually, they had something very much in common,” David said, speaking up. “Finkle isn’t talking, but his girlfriend is. Apparently, he and Dente knew each other in high school. They lost touch, but when Finkle took his car into the auto shop a few months ago, the two got reacquainted. It wasn’t until Big Al saw Dana, though, that he made the connection to Vince Fragel, and he realized his old buddy Clay Finkle was married to his cell mate’s ex-wife,” Detective Abrams said. “It was probably Finkle who told Dente about the child abuse back in Vancouver.”

  “But how did they find out about Roger?” I asked.

  “As it turns out, Roger was being honest,” David said. “He was one of Vince’s boys, and Clay figured it out from a picture on Roger’s company website. When Roger was young, he had a recognizable birthmark on his cheek.”

  “The swoop!” I said.

  “Right. But he was in a car accident a few years ago and after reconstructive surgery, the birthmark disappeared.”

  “And the picture on the website was before the accident?” Blair asked.

  “Yes. But the birthmark matched a picture of one of the boys in Dana’s possession. And when Clay realized it, he had Dente try to recruit him.”

  “So Big Al wasn’t one of Dana’s boys?” Doe asked.

  “Nope. He only posed as one to gain Roger’s trust. They needed Roger for a couple of reasons. First, he installed the alarm system at the library, where they planned the murder. They wanted to use it as a means of escape. That’s why no one saw Dente leaving the property. He had dismantled the alarm and snuck inside, only to go out the backdoor. And secondly, they hoped to set Roger up for the murder itself. Remember the note we found at the library?”

  We all nodded.

  “It said, ‘Ain’t karma a bitch?”

  “Meaning the child abuse,” I said.

  “Right. They hoped to wrap this all around the fact that at one time Roger had been one of Vince Fragel’s boys. But Roger resisted getting involved, so Dente threatened to expose him and eventually wore him down. By the way, we also found an employee at a hardware store in Renton that recognized Dente. That’s where he bought the hammer that killed Trudy Bascom.”

  “And for what it’s worth,” Detective Abrams said. “We not only found Dente’s fingerprints on one of those Smithwick’s bottles you found, we found the place where he bought them.” He suppressed a smile as he reported this.

  “So we helped,” Blair said, prodding him.

  He turned his dreamy blue eyes in her direction. “Yes. I have to admit that you did.”

  Blair’s grin lit up her face.

  “So what about Vince Fragel? Did he have anything to do with any of this?” I asked.

  David shook his head. “We don’t think so. He’s been living in Kent and saw Dana’s picture on the news when Trudy was killed. It’s the first time he even knew Dana lived in the area. But he hasn’t been back to his house, so we still haven’t found him. We learned all that we know about him from one of his neighbors.”

  “So Finkle recruited Dente, who recruited Roger, who never knew about Finkle?” Rudy said, trying to get it all clear.

  “Right,” David said. “Clay Finkle kept in the background and used Dente for everything.”

  “Where was Clay when Trudy was murdered?” I asked.

  “He had an air-tight alibi for that one. He was in a restaurant with clients. But after that, he decided to be out of town,” David said.

  “So he went to Bellingham,” I said.

  David nodded. “Yes. And his controller went with him. She was prepared to be his alibi.” David sat forward to continue the narrative. “He drove down after the failed attempt to kill Dana in your car. I guess by that time he figured Dente had become a liability, and so he killed him. Then he used his own cell phone to text Dana to get her out into the parking lot the night of your séance. She must have lost her phone in the scuffle, and he didn’t have time to retrieve it in the dark. How did you find it, anyway?”

  I laughed. “Mickey. He’s little, but he has a nose like a bloodhound when it comes to food. Dana took a call from Clay earlier in the evening when she had a greasy chicken wing in her hand. Anyway, who was it who climbed the trellis to Dana’s room at the Inn the other night?”

  “We think it was Clay. There’s a record of a phone call to Dana that night from his cell phone. It pinged off a local tower.”

  “I bet that’s how he figured out what room she was in,” Rudy said. “He just listened for the ringtone.”

  “Well, the Medical Examiner estimated Dente’s death at some time earlier that evening, so Finkle probably figured that if he was successful in killing Dana, we would suspect Roger anyway, since Roger was the only person who knew the upstairs windows didn’t have alarms. He had also installed the Finkle’s alarm system, which would have pointed the finger at him for the theft of their guns.”

  “Remember, one of their guns killed Dente,” Detective Abrams said.

  “And since Roger knew nothing about Finkle’s involvement, he’d be left holding the bag for both murders,” David finished.

  “Plus, if Dana had woken up and found Clay in her room that night,” Doe said, “it’s likely she would have been surprised, but not scared. He could easily have explained it away and gotten her into a position to strike her from behind and kill her. And then crawl out the window again and be gone.”

  My eyes grew wide. “I wonder if that’s why Elizabeth appeared downstairs when she did that night.” I looked at Angela. “Remember the night the kids screamed because they saw a ghost? Typically, people see Elizabeth downstairs when she’s randomly walking through rooms. But when she appeared that night, she was pointing at something. I thought it was the kids. But now that I think of it, her arm was raised. I think she was pointing to the upstairs bedrooms. She was warning us that Clay was there.”

  David and Detective Abrams shared a skeptical look.

  “If you guys are going to date the Applegate women, you’re going to have to accept the fact that the Inn is haunted,” I said, bristling. “Why do you think Jason Spears was here last week to promote his book on ghosts?”

  “You won’t win this one,” Angela said to both of them.

  They both smiled, and Detective Abrams put his hands up in surrender. “Hey, someone grabbed my ass when I was in your study getting your computer, and there was no one around.”

  “I told you it was Chloe,�
�� I said.

  “Humph,” Blair smirked. “Woman after my own heart.”

  “Will Roger be convicted?” I asked.

  Angela nodded. “Probably.”

  “But he was forced into it,” I argued.

  “I know, Mom. But it was his information that helped send Trudy to the library. And it was his information that allowed Dente to get away that night.”

  I sighed with disappointment. “So, Dana is safe, at least?”

  “For now,” David said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, let’s face it…she’s made a lot of enemies in her life. This just may be the tip of the iceberg.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  David and I were sitting on a love seat, sharing a piece of cheesecake after Angela and Detective Abrams left. The girls had gone back downstairs.

  “I have to leave soon, Julia,” he said. “Sean left the bulk of the paperwork for me. I’ll need to finish it tonight if I expect to have any time off this weekend.”

  “Why does he get to do that?”

  “He’s the lead detective,” David said with a shrug. “I don’t mind. He’s a good guy to work with. But I have big plans for Valentine’s Day, so I want to get the work done.”

  My heart fell. “I see, well, then you should get going,” I said without looking at him. I put the plate on a side table and stood up.

  “Walk me out to the car?” he said.

  “Um…sure,” I replied without enthusiasm.

  We went to a side bedroom and got our coats. He helped me on with mine and then we walked out to the street. The night was cold, but dry. The storms had moved on.

  “I’ve been thinking a lot about us lately,” he said, when we’d reached his car. “And I’m not sure it’s going to work with me being a cop if you continue to get involved in my crime investigations.”

  I flinched as if someone had slapped me, and I felt tears begin to form. “Uh…but…I don’t try to get involved,” I said.

  “I know,” he said. “But it could happen again.”

  I felt my throat tighten. “I understand,” I said, dropping my chin and taking a deep, shuddering breath. “Well, then…I guess I’ll see you the next time someone tries to implicate me in a murder.”

  I started to turn to go back inside, when he put a hand on my shoulder. “Whoa,” he said. “Where are you going?”

  I looked up into that handsome face and then looked away. “Back inside. You need to get going. You have a big weekend ahead.”

  “Julia, I’m hoping that big weekend includes you.”

  My head jerked up again. “What? But I thought you just said…”

  “I said I didn’t think this relationship would work if you kept getting involved in my murder investigations.”

  “But…”

  “And that’s why I’m going to put in for retirement.” I inhaled deeply and held it. He watched me a moment and then began to laugh. “Breathe, Julia. You can’t have dinner with me tomorrow night if you’re in a coma.”

  I exhaled and laughed with him. “Dinner?”

  “At my place. I make a mean pot roast. And afterwards I thought we’d go see that new play at the 5th Avenue.” He took my head in his hands, leaned over and brushed his lips against mine, sending me into orbit. “Now, get inside before you catch cold. I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” I said. I smiled stupidly and then floated back to the house.

  Doe, Rudy and Blair were standing to the right of the front door when I came in, pretending to put on their coats. But their smiles betrayed them.

  “You were watching,” I accused them. “Can’t I have one minute of privacy?”

  Blair whirled around as she buttoned her faux mink coat. “How could we miss it? You were standing right under a street lamp.” She put an arm around my shoulders and began to guide me through the living room toward the stairs. “Now, Julia, if you need any advice regarding your…uh…new relationship, I’m here for you.”

  The four of us said goodnight to Goldie and Ben downstairs and headed back to the Inn via the forest path that ran along the lake. Rudy had a small flashlight and took the lead. Doe followed right behind her, while Blair moved in front of me, explaining how I should approach the first date at David’s house.

  “Play it cool,” she was saying. “Don’t jump the gun.”

  “Not that again,” Doe said with a laugh.

  We were stepping carefully around rocks and over tree roots.

  “I just want Julia to take it slow,” Blair said.

  “Not like you, you mean,” Rudy called out.

  “This isn’t my first rodeo,” I said to Blair’s back. “I think I know what to do. I’m not a complete klutz in the bedroom.”

  Just then, my foot caught on a tree root and threw me to the ground with an “oof!” Doe and Rudy kept walking. Blair kept walking and talking.

  “You want to create ex-pec-ta-tion,” she said, drawing the word out. “Leave him wanting more.”

  I lay face down on the ground spitting out sand, as they disappeared into the dark. Blair’s voice drifted back to me. “So what do you plan on wearing tomorrow night, Julia? I’m thinking that nice velvet jacket.”

  Count to three.

  “Julia? JULIA??”

  THE END

  Author’s Notes

  Child abuse is a devastating problem in this country, affecting thousands of children every year. According to the Children’s Defense Fund’s Annual State of America’s Children Report 2014, almost 2,000 children are abused or neglected each day in the U.S.

  How can we allow this to happen?

  Many of those children die, or at the very least, grow up to face substance abuse, mental health issues, prostitution, incarceration, suicide, or becoming abusers themselves.

  If you know of an agency in your area that supports the children and families facing the heartbreak of child abuse in any of its forms, please reach out to that agency and ask how you can help. A child’s life may depend on it.

  Thank you so very much for reading A Candidate For Murder. If you enjoyed this book, I would encourage you to go back to Amazon.com and leave an honest review. We “indie” authors survive on reviews and word-of-mouth advertising. So tell a friend. This will help position the book so that more people might also enjoy it. Thank you!

  About the Author

  Ms. Bohart holds a master’s degree in theater, has published in Woman’s World, and has a story in Dead on Demand, an anthology of ghost stories that remained on the Library Journals best seller list for six months. As a thirty-year nonprofit professional, she has spent a lifetime writing brochures, newsletters, business letters, website copy, and more. She did a short stint writing for Patch.com, teaches writing through the Continuing Education Program at Green River Community College, and writes a monthly column for the Renton Reporter. A Candidate For Murder is her fifth full-length novel and the second in the Old Maids of Mercer Island mysteries. She is hard at work on the third book in the series.

  If you would like more information, please visit her website at: www.bohartink.com, where you can let the author know you’d like to be added to her email list to be notified of upcoming publications or events. You may also join her author page on Facebook.

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