“Why would he agree?”
“They threatened to expose how he had covered up Victoria and Albert’s murder for Almer.”
“Wow. There wasn’t much that Captain Stone wouldn’t cover up, was there?
Juniper nodded her head in agreement. “He’s related to Bruce Stone, right? The one who mishandled Belinda’s case?”
“As a matter of fact, yes. Captain Stone is Bruce Stone’s grandfather.”
“Hmm. Corruption runs in the family, I guess. Well, I shouldn’t say that. Oliver is a good guy.”
Chapter Twenty Six
T uesday morning, Juniper was mooning around the kitchen, thinking about Albert and Victoria. She couldn’t help feeling like there was a connection somewhere between them and what happened to Belinda? Not to mention the fact that a Stone was Captain in both incidents. Too bad, she couldn’t hazard what the connection was.
Juniper drove over to the jobsite. On the way, she thought about Belinda and the sad fact that she was pregnant when she died. She must’ve been so frightened and alone. Or was she? What if she was happy to be pregnant, but her own father was furious to find out? Could Chase Battams have tracked her down and killed her for being promiscuous?
Maybe Frank didn’t want a baby—or what if someone else was the father of Belinda’s baby and Frank was jealous? Her head was spinning as she parked. Juniper had to think about her attitude toward Frank. She really didn’t like the man and wanted him to be guilty of all sorts of transgressions. But wishing didn’t make it so.
Juniper climbed down from her truck cab and spotted Bear and two other men. Bear turned and saw her and waved as Juniper approached. He introduced the other two men as energy auditors, and they all shook hands.
For the next hour and a half, they walked the anticipated perimeter of the mill, pointing out ways to save on energy costs and make their renovations green.
“Hey, boss,” Jason said shutting down the sander. “Check out these floors. They look almost brand new.”
Juniper was thrilled to see Jason’s good mood returning although there was a glassy look in his eyes, and she wondered if he was simply putting up a front.
“They look great, Jason? But more importantly how’re you doing? You can talk to me, you know.”
He kicked at the floor with his steel-toed work boot. “As well as can be expected. I talked to Detective Bones a little while ago. He called me. Said he was checking my dad’s arrest file and was disappointed to find no DNA on record. Without my dad’s DNA, he’s hit a wall.” Jason shrugged helplessly. “I’ve tried to think of anything of his I might’ve held on to, but I don’t have a thing.” He shoved his hands into his pockets.
“I get it.” Juniper squeezed his arm in sympathy. “You’ve already submitted to DNA testing, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, you’ve done all you can.”
As Juniper turned, she saw Queenie, coming toward her with purposeful strides.
“Hey, Junie. Can I talk to you in private for a minute?”
“Sure. Let’s go outside. I need to head out to my truck anyway.”
Queenie pressed her lips together as soon as they got out onto the porch, looking like she was thinking about something, then blurted, “Frank Patone has offered a few of the crew members a raise to go work for him… including me.”
Juniper almost choked on her own breath. All she could do was nod distractedly. “I see. Thanks for telling me. I’ve gotta go. Let’s discuss later.”
“But you just got here.”
“I just remembered I have an appointment.”
Before Queenie could say anything else, Juniper jumped in her truck. She didn’t want to hear who was propositioned or how much more money they were promised. Every single employee on her crew was like family.
Her eyes were hot with unshed tears. She slammed the door and shoved the truck into gear, spinning her tires and kicking up dust as she went. She pulled over just out of sight and laid her head on the steering wheel to release the emotion. After a minute, she pounded the steering wheel really hard. “Ow!” She had to shake her hand and flex her fingers to make the pain go away. She didn’t need to break her hand on top of everything else. She didn’t know if they could match what Frank was offering, but she’d sure as hell try. The problem was, Frank would never stop. He’d just keep going higher or further to burn them. The man was unethical.
Juniper shoved the truck back into gear and continued home. Her head was pounding from the stress, she needed Advil and maybe a shot of whisky.
She was halfway up the front steps of the Gothic Inn steps when she realized whose luxury automobile she’d just parked next to. As Juniper stomped closer, she had a vague thought that it would probably be a good idea to calm down first, but that was impossible. She was incensed. This confrontation had been too long in coming, and now she was a runaway train, ready to collide with her worst enemy.
She pushed open the front door, making eye contact with Finn behind the bar. He shook his head, clearly understanding just how upset she was. Her eyes perused the bar and then she locked in on her target. How dare he! Sit at the bar of her own taproom—the nerve of him. He was having a pint with Mick Spirit. Wasn’t that just dandy?
“Patone,” Juniper said crisply, and marveled that her tone was relatively modulated.
“Why, Ms. Palmer.” He actually looked surprised to see her, and that just infuriated her more. “You know Mick, don’t you?”
“Of course, I know Mick. I’ve known Mick for years.” Juniper turned to Mick. “Hello, Mick. Swimming with the sharks today, huh?”
Mick had the good grace to recognize her wrath and avoided direct eye contact.
Frank gave her a smarmy smile. “Please join us. . .” He glanced around.
“I wouldn’t join you if you were the last man on earth.” Juniper edged closer, so he could hear every word she said. “I am sick of you bad-mouthing me to my clients, stealing my workers behind my back, and trying to undermine our business. If you don’t back off immediately, I will make you sorry you ever showed up in this town again.”
He chuckled and tried to appear blasé, but Juniper could see his neck turning red. “Is that a threat?”
“No, that’s a promise.”
“Oh yeah?” he said cockily. “Good luck with that.”
Juniper jabbed him in the chest for emphasis. “And good luck surviving a slander lawsuit, you creep.”
And then she turned and walked out of the place.
Chapter Twenty Seven
J uniper climbed the hill behind the Inn and walked through the graveyard until she finally came to the wrought-iron bench overlooking the gardens. She covered her face with her hands. It had been stupid to verbally attack Frank Patone in public like that. But what else could she do? The whole town knew what he was up to, so there was no point in pretending otherwise.
So, really, what had she done that was so bad? She’d stood up for herself, her crew, her business. She’d showed everyone that she wouldn’t roll over and play dead.
Juniper could hire a lawyer and sue Frank. If she chose to go the way of a lawsuit, Juniper wondered how much damage she might’ve just done to her case by confronting him. She pulled her phone out of her purse and made a note on her cell. The thought made her cry. She desperately blinked back the waterworks. Today had already been overly emotional for her and Juniper really hated to cry.
“She said you would come,” a female voice called out. Juniper turned toward the caller. Not six feet away a young woman sat atop a massive headstone, her legs crossed at the ankles, the fringed hem of her dress falling just above. Juniper instantly knew who it was—Victoria Downey.
Walking toward the woman, Juniper glanced down at the headstone and read the inscription. It was Victoria’s.
Turning back to the ghost she asked, “Who said I would come?”
“Mallory Vianu, of course!” Victoria laughed.
“Mallory is here?” Juniper lo
oked around.
“She was. She visited me earlier. She knew there was something I wanted to tell you.”
“You’re able to speak now? Did Mallory help you with that?”
In reply Victoria smiled.
“What did you want to tell me?” Juniper asked.
“I’m ready to move on!” Victoria jumped down off the headstone, landing on her feet. She faced Juniper.
“Are you stuck here like Albert?”
“Isn’t that obvious?”
“Is it because you don’t know what happened to you?”
She shook her head, “I’m afraid I’m stuck here because of the role I played in Albert’s death.”
“You? But you were already dead, weren’t you?”
Victoria didn’t answer immediately. Finally, she let out a deep sigh and sat on the grass, leaning against her headstone. “I didn’t know it would be this difficult.”
“What do you mean?” Juniper sat on the grass next to her.
“I’m not particularly proud of my past behavior. But alas, lying to myself isn’t helping so here goes nothing.”
“I’m listening,” Juniper said, waiting for Victoria to tell her whatever she needed to say.
“Almer was supposed to marry me! Only, Marjorie was the eldest and at risk of entering spinsterhood. So, my father in all his wisdom married her off instead. I was very upset at first but Almer and Marjorie convinced me that it would all work out. Almer introduced me to Albert and encouraged me to marry for money. Not only was he the sole heir to the Downey fortune, it was a well-known fact that he was sweet on me.”
“What are you saying?”
“Just listen. Almer and Marjorie were happy raising the girls. We all wanted to be happy, but when Albert and I couldn’t have children, we both grew intolerant of each other. Eventually, he threatened to write me out of his will. He suspected something was happening between Almer and me—which it wasn’t. I would never have betrayed my sister. Anyway, he actually threatened to divorce me.”
“So, are you telling me that you conspired with your brother-in-law to kill Albert?”
“No, not really, and I must admit, it doesn’t sound very nice when you say it like that,” Victoria said with a pout.
“No, no it doesn’t.”
“I tried to stop Almer, honestly! The plan was simple. I was to go spend some time with my sister in the city to establish an alibi. I stopped by the mill and the general store, told as many people as I could that I was going away for a few days with my sister and her husband.”
“You also told everyone that Albert was depressed over the war, intolerant of your suffrage movement, maybe even suicidal.”
“Yes, Almer wanted me to establish that Albert was drinking excessively, to make the suicide more believable. He was a very well-respected man in town and no doubt there would have been questions.” She fidgeted, “Please don’t look at me like that. I know what we planned was horrible, but it didn’t seem real when Almer planned it all out, and the moment it did seem real, I told you I tried to stop him!”
“So, what happened…” Juniper shook her head. “Obviously something went wrong. You wound up dead too.”
“I told Albert the truth over a freshly made crumb cake—his favorite. It was my attempt at a peace offering.”
Well, that explained why he was always eating it. Juniper thought to herself. “And…”
“He was hurt. He took the cake and stormed off to the mill which is where he usually went when we were fighting. He liked to think the river, the water, calmed him.”
“Then what happened?”
“Almer happened. He was furious with me when I told him what I’d done. He said he was going to go through with the plan anyway, and the next thing I know I’m folded up in the dark.”
“You mean in the trunk?”
“Is that what it was,” Victoria said impatiently. “Almer must have thought he killed me when he knocked me down the stairs and he stuffed my body in the trunk or maybe he just wanted to subdue me and he didn’t realize I would…”
“Suffocate?” Juniper offered.
“Yes, I guess that’s what happened. I don’t know how but suddenly I knew in that instant my soul would be damned for eternity if I didn’t do something to stop Almer. So, I called out to take me to them. And it worked. I was whisked away to the mill. I had no idea how to make my presence known. I was just standing there helpless, watching my brother-in-law as he’s about to shoot my husband. So, I dove at him, hoping to scare him.”
“What happened?”
“It didn’t work. I went right through him. He didn’t even know I was there, and the gun went off.”
“And hit Albert,” Juniper murmured. “After he killed him, what happened?”
“I blinked and I was back here at home. Things became very… unsettled for me… it was all very confusing… like a dream. Looking back, I guess not being able to save Albert sealed my fate. After that I couldn’t leave the property. Almer was setting things up to make it look like a murder-suicide.”
“So he must have brought Albert’s body back to the house and shot the gun again when the neighbor was close by so that it would look like it just happened?” Juniper asked. “But how did he get out?”
“He ran through the secret passage and emerged from the carriage house pretending to be concerned. I have been here at the house or wandering the property ever since. I should never have listened to Almer.”
“Did you see Almer again?”
“At my funeral, but he couldn’t hear me. Couldn’t see me. I shouted at him anyway and it felt good. My sister came often to visit me. I tried to warn her that she was living with our killer and either she heard me or she always knew because this one day after she visited with our housekeeper Trephinia McNitt, she swore on my gravesite that she would take revenge. After that, I over heard someone say Almer hanged himself?” Victoria laughed sardonically. “Well, that is something he would never do. He was much too egotistical. No, I would stake everything on the fact that my sister took her revenge.”
“You talking to yourself?”
Juniper flinched at the sound and looked behind her. “Hey. Hi, Michèle. What are you doing here?”
Michèle was in her forties and petite, with thick, wavy brown hair that settled on her shoulders. Her features weren’t perfect, but the slanting brown eyes were lively and she exuded self-confidence.
“Coming to check on you. You okay?”
Juniper looked back to Victoria, but she’d already disappeared.
“Oh, sure… were you inside when I went off on Frank?”
She smiled. “No, but I saw you fly out of the Inn and up the hill like a bat out of hell. You know, if you’ve got something on your mind, Junie, feel free to vent. I’m Eve’s sister, so I got broad shoulders and then some.”
Juniper laughed lightly. “I guess it might help to talk it through.”
“Go right ahead. Pretend I’m not here if it helps any.”
Juniper smiled. “Okay. So my foreman, Queenie told me some of my favorite crew members—well, they’re all my favorites, really; I’ve been working with the same people for years now and they feel like my siblings, you know? Anyway, Frank Patone offered a few of them a lot of money to quit and work for him.”
“I’m so sorry. That’s not right.”
“He only did it to harass me. I probably need to stop talking,” Juniper said. “You grew up with Frank, right? I shouldn’t put you in the middle.”
“Hah, you couldn’t if you tried,” Michèle snorted. “Frank Patone is a scumbag.” Her eyes narrowed as if she were searching back to a certain moment in the past. “He was always a troublemaker. Always pushing people’s buttons. He pushed Belinda’s plenty of times, and I hated him for it.”
“He’s sure been pushing mine,” Juniper muttered.
“And, frankly, don’t you wonder why he came back to town?” Michèle squinted up into the sun from beneath her oversized shades. �
��I mean, he got here, and within a month you’d all found Belinda. It makes me wonder.”
Juniper nodded. She’d thought the very same thing.
“But now I can see that I’m feeding your anger,” Michèle said, “and I don’t like to do that.”
Juniper smiled. “Then let’s change the subject. How are you and Oliver doing? How’s the kitchen working out?”
“You know, we love it.” She talked about how Oliver loved cooking now that they had a wonderful, state-of-the-art kitchen. “Before, he would never even boil water, but now he’s always experimenting with new, amazing recipes. I’m getting fat and it’s all because of that beautiful kitchen you put in. So, thank you. You did a fabulous job.”
Laughing, Juniper said, “Well, I fished for that compliment, but thank you. I’m glad it makes you happy.”
“It does.” She took a deep breath. “Oliver’s actually thinking about buying that old bar, Guitars & Cadillacs. He wants to bring good music back to Bohemian Lake. Maybe see if Dani Vianu and her mother will play there. I told him we should name it after the old band in honor of Belinda. I guess we’ll see how it goes.” She shook her head as if to shake away the melancholy and changed the subject.
Chapter Twenty Eight
I t was early evening by the time everyone but Juniper left the Mill—the electrician, plumber, delivery men and even Jack. Juniper found Albert in front of the kitchen’s French doors, rotating confused glances between Pike’s new island and her gas range stove. He walked to the front of the stainless-steel appliance and clicked the gas igniter on and off like a kid with a new toy.
“Would you stop that?” Juniper scolded after the tenth click. “How are you even doing that, anyway? Victoria passes through things. Are you some sort of poltergeist?”
Albert turned around, “My apologies. I don’t mean to annoy you. I’ve worked very hard to be able to touch the physical world. Passing through things drives me crazy… you look exhausted by the way.”
Crumb Cake, Corpses and the Run of the Mill Page 11