Daphne saw the man frown, but she ignored him and closed her eyes to bring back Ramona’s thoughts on the book. “Local crime stories. Do any of them cover local crime?”
“I doubt there’s been enough crime in Dunning’s Landing to produce a book,” Mr. Jeffries commented, “but there are a few books on crime in California and Nevada, Northern California and then ones specific to the Bay Area.”
“I would suggest we start with the ones in the Bay Area and Northern California,” Eric suggested.
Mr. Jeffries helped them locate the books, and soon they had the books checked out and spread out over Nicole’s dining room table.
Since Daphne was the only one who had seen the photos, she was carefully going through each book while Becky and Eric ate the snacks Nicole had prepared for them. As she scanned the photos in each book, she half-listened to Eric and Becky update Nicole on what they learned from her interaction with Becky’s mom.
“I can’t see Kevin as a killer,” Nicole stated, “but I agree that it is likely there is only one killer. Whoever it is is a sociopath. I’m just not sure I see Kevin in that role.”
“He had the most to gain from the murder of his father and brother, if his brother was murdered,” Becky said.
“But why kill Stephanie and Russ?”
Eric explained what Daphne had said about Kevin being afraid that Stephanie would keep Chris from going to college.
“As for Russ, I don’t know, unless Russ saw something that day and he had to keep him quiet,” Eric continued.
“Or Russ had something that belonged to Kevin,” Daphne suggested, turning the book around. “This is the story that Ramona was thinking about when she remembered calling Kevin to warn him.”
“The Kidnapping of Carmella Romano,” Eric read out loud. “Doesn’t sound familiar.”
“Yes, it does,” Nicole said pulling the book toward herself. “I remember this case. Your dad worked on it soon after he joined the police force in San Francisco.”
“What?” Becky and Eric asked together.
“It was several years before we moved here, it was when he was still a rookie. A young girl was kidnapped while out shopping. She was living with her grandfather, a fairly wealthy man who had a mansion on Nob Hill.” She paused. “I can’t remember his name, but he had several servants working for him, your father interviewed them to see if it was an inside job.”
“What happened?” Becky asked.
“It was odd. They rescued the girl and reclaimed the money, but they didn’t find the kidnappers. At least I don’t think they did.”
Daphne kept reading the story. “It looks like they didn’t. It says here the girl was recovered with the money because the kidnappers sent her to get it.”
“Right,” Nicole said. “She was hysterical when they reached her. Carmella kept telling the other cops that the kidnappers would kill her and her grandfather if she didn’t return with the money. They went to where she was supposed to meet them, but they never found anyone. The girl went home to her grandfather along with the money.”
“And that’s it?” Eric asked.
“No, it says that that same night, the house burned to the ground with Carmella, her grandfather, and a policewoman inside.” Daphne said, still reading. “They have sketches of the kidnappers from Carmella’s description.” She turned the book back to the others and showed them the pictures. There were also photos, one of the kidnapped girl, and the policewoman who had died. “These were the photos Ramona was thinking about before she was murdered. Do either of the kidnappers look like how Kevin would have looked back then?”
“You think Kevin kidnapped the girl?” Nicole asked in surprise.
“It’s possible.” Daphne said, “If Ramona saw a resemblance between Kevin and one of these men, she might have called to warn him about the book and the photo.”
“You think my mom would have covered for Kevin?” Becky asked.
“I didn’t hear all of her thoughts.” Daphne said. “She may have recognized the photo and only warned Kevin only because she didn’t believe he was involved.”
While Becky pondered this, Daphne continued to read the story.
“It says that is believed that the ransom money was burnt in the fire, but what if it wasn’t? The total amount had been one million dollars, and it was in a black duffle bag. Just like the one Russ found in Pamela’s shed. What if the kidnappers went into the house, killed everyone, and then took the money before setting the place on fire?”
Nicole studied the sketches of the two men. “I guess one of them could be Kevin. This was in the eighties and these men look to be in their twenties. The age would be about right, but I didn’t meet Kevin until several years after this.”
“I wonder if Dad would have recognized him, he was trained to observe.” Eric added.
“Oh my god, your father did recognize someone! He told me that he had contacted a Detective he worked with in San Francisco because he saw someone related to one of the crimes they worked. He didn’t say who. Two days after he died, he received a box containing case notes for one of his old cases, I think it was this one.”
“I wonder,” Eric started but paused.
“You wonder what?” Daphne asked.
“I wonder if Kevin killed my father too. He was shot, just like Becky’s mom. If Kevin thought my dad recognized him, wouldn’t he have decided to kill him too? He would have been a bigger threat. He was shot in the woods, on Kevin’s property. It would have been easy for him to call the station and report a poacher. Where’s the box?” Eric asked, standing up.
“I think it’s in the garage.”
As Eric headed to the garage, Becky stood up too. “I’m going to head back to the station and see if I can dig up any information on this case,” she said. “I’m also going to see if they were able to find out anything more about the duffle bag that Russ mentioned at the party, the one you saw when you were connected to Stephanie.”
Becky left, leaving Nicole and Daphne alone.
“Do you want anything more to eat or drink?” Nicole asked, gently reminding Daphne that she needed to fuel up. After watching Daphne take a bite out of her sandwich, she continued, “I want to thank you for finding my baby. You have an amazing gift.”
“It doesn’t always feel like a gift.” Daphne realized that if they managed to prove Kevin had been involved in the kidnapping and murders that she would once again be part of the story. Ariana would kill her. She had wanted to come to Dunning’s Landing to get away from all the publicity around Miguel’s murder, but now she found herself in another one. She sighed.
“No, I imagine it doesn’t.” Nicole said. “But it is a gift. One that has made a tremendous impact on my life.”
“Really?”
Nicole grasped Daphne’s hands with both of hers. “Very much so. Before you came to town, I was lost. Ever since the day Stephanie was murdered, I’ve gone through endless cycles of hope and despair because I didn’t know the truth. I thought she had run away and I blamed myself for it. Then I believed she was dead, and I would mourn. There were days I would be angry at her for not getting in touch with me, then days where I was angry at myself for not doing enough to find her. I don’t want my daughter to be dead, but at least now I know the truth. Because of you.”
“That’s true,” Eric said, coming in carrying a box. “The difference you’ve made is something neither of us can ever repay. Mom was living in the past, unable and unwilling to live in the present. The trauma of losing Stephanie and not knowing her fate was too much. I felt like a failure. I was supposed to be the man of the house after Dad died, but I failed and couldn’t protect my sister. This is the first time since she disappeared that I feel like I’m doing something right.”
Nicole brushed her hand over his arm after he set the box down. “You didn’t fail, you should never have felt that p
rotecting us was your responsibility. I always felt guilty about making us move here. I was afraid that I’d lose your father when we lived in San Francisco, I believed moving to a small town would be safer.” She sighed. “I guess fate had other ideas.”
“Fate brought us Daphne,” Eric said, placing his hand over his mother’s. “You know I asked Deanna to setup the interview with you because I wanted to meet you. I wanted to see if I could have you come here to Dunning’s Landing. When I saw you show up with Chris, I couldn’t believe it. I’m not one who ever believed in fate before, but I started to as soon as we covered the Miguel story.”
“There are many more out there who could use your help.” Nicole said. “You could make a career out of your gift.”
Eric sat and looked at Daphne. “You know, you should. I think there are plenty of people out there who would hire you to see if you can find or talk to those they’ve lost.”
“Like seances?” Daphne asked with a laugh. “I don’t think so.”
Nicole shook her head. “No, not seances, maybe a private investigator. People hire private investigators to find missing loved ones. You have an advantage. If their loved ones are dead, you can see them and talk to them.”
“I’ll think about it,” Daphne said. She watched as Eric removed the lid and started taking out file folders and placing them on the table. She could admit to herself that everything she had done to this point to help uncover the truth about these murders had given her great satisfaction and a sense of pride. She wasn’t so self-deprecating that she didn’t acknowledge that without her, they might not ever know the truth. Could she make it as a private investigator? The idea was intriguing.
She tore her eyes from his face to look at the folders. “What’s in the box?”
Before Eric could answer, Russ came flying into the room. Daphne screamed, while Eric jumped to defend the women from something he couldn’t see. “What?”
“Sorry, its Russ,” Daphne said holding her hand to chest as if to stop the rapid pounding. “What do you think you’re doing?” She shouted at him.
“It’s my aunt. Come quick—something is going on at her house. Debbie came out of the house screaming. Craig just went inside. I think she’s dead!”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Daphne turned to Eric and Nicole. “Russ is upset. He wants us to go to Pamela’s house. He said something is going on with his aunt. That Debbie came out of the house screaming. He thinks she might be dead.”
They heard the sirens as soon as they stepped outside. A crowd had already started to form when they passed the nursery. As they neared he crowd, they could see Debbie. She was sobbing with Sheila trying to comfort her. Nicole went to Debbie to wrap her arms around the woman. Daphne and Eric approached Sheila. “What’s going on?” Eric asked.
“I don’t know, I just got here.” Sheila said. “Craig is inside. He was working in the Christmas tree lot when he shouted at me to call my dad and then he shot over here. I followed and found Debbie out here, crying about Pamela being dead. She said it was a suicide.”
The sheriff car screamed to a halt in the streets before he jumped up and went running inside, followed closely by the EMTs.
Daphne looked around for Russ and saw him hovering at the corner of the house. She went over to him and, careful to keep her face averted from the growing crowd, said, “What are you doing out here? Go inside and see what’s going on,. Then come back and tell me.”
He cast a dirty look in her direction before disappearing through the wall.
Eric made his way to her, “What are you doing?”
“I told Russ to go inside and report back.”
“Good thinking.” He paused for a few minutes, staring at the blank wall in front of him. “Why do you think she tried to kill herself? Do you think she’s involved in all this?”
“I don’t know. I can’t really see how.” Craig came back out of the house to join the group huddled around Debbie. He stroked her back while she continued to sob on Nicole’s shoulder. “Maybe Kevin set her up as a patsy, or to make sure she doesn’t tell anyone where the bag of money came from, in case she figured it out.”
Eric looked down at her, “You don’t think she committed suicide?”
Daphne shook her head, just as Russ came back outside. “Russ is back.” She whispered to Eric. She positioned herself so that if anyone was looking their way, they would think she was talking to Eric. “What did you find out?”
She studied his face before he answered, he no longer looked like the arrogant and unlikable man she saw at the party or the one standing over his body. He looked like a sad, lost little boy. She had to grasp her hands together to keep from reaching out to comfort him. She couldn’t afford another connection, especially one in such a public place.
“They’re trying to resuscitate her, they’ve pumped her stomach. I heard the EMTs say something about an overdose of pills. They’ve stabilized her and are ready to take her to the hospital. There’s evidence that she threw up most of the pills, which is why she’s still alive.”
“She’s alive,” Daphne whispered to Eric and filled him in on the details.
Eric nodded his head, still watching the door..
“There was a suicide note,” Russ said, his voice cracking. “She admits to shooting me because she believed that I killed Stephanie. How could she think that?”
Daphne almost reminded him that he had attacked Stephanie, but he looked upset enough without her adding to his pain. “Look Russ, do you really think she would have killed you even if she did believe that you had killed Stephanie?”
He shook his head, “I don’t know, I wouldn’t think so. I think she would have made me give myself over to the police. Like she did with my Dad. But they found the shotgun in her shed, just like she said in the note. Sheriff Blaine said its been shot recently.”
Daphne relayed the discovery of the gun to Eric. “So she did do it?” He asked.
Daphne shook her head. “I don’t think so. Russ said that his aunt would have insisted he turn himself in if she really believed he had killed Stephanie. If she didn’t kill Russ, then this whole thing is a setup by the real killer.” She paused, remembering her first time entering Chris’s home. “When I arrived at Chris’s on Friday, I saw three guns in their gun safe. There are only two there now. Chris said there were only two when he borrowed one of the guns to convince Russ to turn himself in. I think someone took one of the guns from the safe, killed Russ with it and then hid in the Pamela’s shed.”
“How are we going to prove all of this?” Eric asked. “If the sheriff believes the suicide note, then he’s going to stop looking for the real killer.”
“We need to get back to looking at what your Dad had on the kidnapping. I still think that’s key.”
The EMTs came out of the house with Pamela on a stretcher between them. After they loaded her into the ambulance, they drove off, lights and sirens piercing the air.
The sheriff came out and spoke to Debbie. Everyone around them quieted down to listen. Eric, Daphne and Russ moved closer to hear.
“Pamela’s alive, but barely. She had a close call. They’re taking her to the hospital and will keep me updated.”
“What happened?” Nicole asked. “Was it an accident?”
The sheriff summarized what Russ had told Daphne about the suicide attempt, but nothing about the note or the shotgun.
“Suicide?” Nicole asked stunned, she glanced and Eric and Daphne before turning back to the sheriff. “Why?”
“Hopefully we will be able to ask her once she wakes up. Everyone needs to leave now. Debbie, can I talk to you first?”
Debbie nodded as the crowd dispersed, leaving Craig, Debbie, Nicole, Eric, Daphne and Sheila. Russ was there too, but of course only Daphne could see him.
“Why did you come here today?” The sheriff asked Debbie.
“Was the door locked?” The sheriff asked.
Debbie thought for a moment. “No, it was unlocked. I knocked but she didn’t answer, then I tried the door and found it unlocked. I have a key to her place, but she also keeps a spare under that rock over there, the dark brown stone.” She pointed to a row of stones that were used as edging in the garden. The third stone over was a pretty, dark brown one.
“Do you have any idea why she would take an overdose of sleeping pills?”
“Russ’s death made her sad, but she didn’t say anything to me about wanting to kill herself. I just don’t understand.”
“Ok, thank you.” He looked at Craig. “Your dad is still at the station, busy with Chris and his lawyer. Can you take your mother home?”
“I’ll mind the store, Craig,” Sheila offered. “You just take care of your mother.”
Before leading his still weeping mother to his truck, Craig locked eyes with Daphne. “Daphne, would you mind coming with us? I’d like some help…”, His voice trailed off as he looked at Daphne with pleading eyes.
Daphne didn’t want to go, but felt she should help; plus she had an idea. “Of course, I’ll be right there.”
She turned to Eric, who had grabbed her arm. “I don’t think its a good idea going back there alone. Maybe I should go with you.”
“I’ll be fine. You heard the sheriff, Kevin is busy. Besides, I need you to do me a favor.”
“What?”
“You need to go through your dad’s papers, but before you do, scan the photos from the book and send them to me, before I get out of cell range. Up at the house there are photos of Keith and Kevin when they were younger hanging on the walls. I can compare them to the photos in the book.”
The Ghost Maker Page 18