“I get it.” Clearly frustrated and ready to wring someone's neck, April tossed out the garbage and hastily wiped the table with a napkin. “I'm not angry at you as much as I am at those who lied or hid information in the past. We could have prevented this second round of robberies and Quint's death.”
Once they left The Big Beanery, I realized April had inadvertently thrown my glasses away with the trash. Unwilling to rifle through nasty garbage containers, I grabbed a spare pair from my satchel and made a mental note to read her the Riot Act. When I put them on, I noticed how crowded the café had become and scanned the room in search of my interviewee. Ten minutes later, a tall African American woman in her late forties, the candidate for the fall semester's assistant professor role, showed up. Dr. Lawson would be a strong addition to the department, but in the end, she disclosed a potentially complex connection to Wharton County, setting off a few glaring warning signs. I'd mention it to Myriam, who'd make the final decision whether to hire the esteemed historian.
Knowing I had a bit more time to kill, I verified with Bertha I would visit her at seven thirty that evening, then thanked Nana D for setting up the meeting. I also called my mother to see if she'd checked her calendar about the ideal day to hang out each week. I wanted to catch her before she got stuck in meetings. “Great, so we'll do lunch on Fridays at noon in the campus cafeteria.”
“Perfect. While I have you on the phone, let me confirm that other thing you asked me,” my mother added, clicking a few keys in the background from her office in Admissions Hall.
I'd forgotten she was going to verify if Siobhan had been working on Tuesday morning the day after Quint had been killed. “I appreciate it. I doubt she did anything, but at least we'll know for sure.”
“I keep notes whenever my staff is late. I try to cut Siobhan a little slack because she has such tiny babies, but I want a record in case it ever gets out of hand.” My mother was very observant, despite the disconnected glare and relaxed composure she'd outwardly display. “Ah, yes, she was late that day. Siobhan told me she had taken the twins to the downtown clinic for some emergency care the night before. Turned out they just had croup, I believe.”
I thanked my mother for the information and considered how to prove Siobhan's alibi. With all the security around patient medical records, it wouldn't be easy. Then again, April was going to speak with Siobhan, so I should just let the sheriff do her job, right? As I stood to leave, I bumped into someone in my distracted state. “Pardon me,” I apologized and stepped aside, so he could walk past.
“I was just looking for a table and thought you might be leaving,” a familiar-looking man replied, glancing toward someone at the front counter. Then, the sandalwood scent filled the air around me.
“Nicholas Endicott?” I asked, noticing his father, Lindsey, was the person he'd been searching for in line. “I'm Kellan Ayrwick. I know your dad, and I think you might be friends with my brother, Gabriel.”
“Oh, yes, I've heard your name in the past. It's great to finally meet you,” he replied and thanked me when I offered him the table.
“No problem, I was just leaving. Listen, I'm sorry to hear about your friend, Quint.”
“Thanks, man. He was definitely taken too quickly. Call me Nicky, everyone does.” A firm handshake greeted me before he brushed a few crumbs from the table. They'd been in April's spot, not mine. Luckily, the interviewee had sat on the other side of me. April was such a hot mess! Nana D had always demanded that I clean up after myself. As he pulled away his hand, I saw a large scratch on his forearm and black paint on his chipped fingernails. Could he have gotten the scratch while attacking Imogene during the robbery? Were the black stains from spray-painting the calla lilies? Was Nicky the unknown accomplice? He noticed my stare and responded, “Construction work can be messy and painful. I was cutting and staining some beadboard at one of my sites.”
I thanked fate for dropping this opportunity in my lap but wasn't sure whether to believe him about the cuts and black paint. “Quint once told me he was eager to buy into your company. It's great to hear friends can go into business together without any worries,” I said, hoping to learn something of value during our exchange. I knew extraordinarily little about Nicky, but since he was Lindsey's son, I'd start with the benefit of the doubt by assuming he wasn't involved in any crimes.
“Yeah, that wasn't the exact plan. Quint wanted to be part of the company, and we were friends, but I didn't plan to share ownership with anyone else.” Nicky waved at his father to come over.
“Oh, I must have misunderstood. Was everything okay between you two?”
Nicky nodded. “I prefer not to mix business and pleasure. Endicott Construction is my baby.” He looked startled by my questions and finished speaking abruptly as his father reached the table.
“Nana D is preparing for tomorrow's inauguration. Thanks for your help all along,” I greeted.
“Good to see you, Kellan. Such a small town, eh? How's Seraphina?” Lindsey replied.
“Swell.” I decided to dive in. “I heard you're a runner, Nicky. Maybe we should hit the Braxton campus trails together one day. There are some great ones on the hills near the cable car station.”
Nicky looked as if I'd suggested we become best friends forever and was suddenly unnerved by my presence. “I like to go each morning before I head to my job sites. Sure, maybe I'll see you around.”
When the conversation hadn't led anywhere, nor could I come up with an approach to learn where he'd been the day Quint died, I said goodbye and drove to North Campus for a meeting with the team working on the college expansion plans to offer a graduate curriculum and convert Braxton into a university the following year. After an hour of reviewing the upcoming deliverables, we were released to finish the rest of our day. I had a few hours before class but needed to organize the pop quiz details. When I got back to my office on South Campus, I realized I'd left my satchel under the table at The Big Beanery. While walking past the cable car station to retrieve it, I visited Cheney who was applying the finishing touches. He indicated he planned to do a test run the following morning to verify the repairs had been completed and the car was ready for the grand reopening that week. He said that Nicky had also offered him a full-time job at the construction company, so things were finally looking positive.
I took the pathway to The Big Beanery and approached its front door, the handle fabricated to resemble the portafilter on a classic espresso machine. Through the glass, I saw the table was still empty, which would make it easy for me to dash inside to grab my satchel and hasten right back out. I collected my belongings, then heard my brother's voice booming through an open window. I left via the side door, walked around the corner of the coffee-bean shaped building, and peered into the parking lot. Standing in the outdoor seating area, Gabriel was chatting with Nicky. I stepped closer to listen to their conversation before interrupting them. Well there you go, call me an eavesdropper, after all!
“Listen, I owe you the money, take it,” Gabriel pleaded while handing an envelope to Nicky.
“If I needed it that desperately, I would've tracked you down.” Nicky pushed the envelope away.
“I'd feel a lot better if I repaid my debt. You did me a huge favor the night I left Braxton.”
I couldn't lose my chance to confront my brother before they finished conversing.
“Gabriel, just let it go. Use the money to buy yourself something and move on,” Nicky said as I approached them. When he saw me, his head retracted quickly, and he looked stunned. “Kellan?”
Gabriel said, “Are you following me? I was clear the other day. I don't want to talk to you.”
“I know about your four o'clock meeting this afternoon. What I don't know is why you're handing an envelope of cash to someone in the middle of a parking lot. Care to explain, brother?”
Nicky backed away. “Sounds like a family dispute. I hope you guys work it out. I'll call you later.”
My troublemaking siblin
g turned to me and shook his head. “You're a pain in my—”
“Just don't. I'm tired of the half-truths and partial stories about why you left town and what led you to return. Stop being an immature child, and do the right thing for a change,” I chastised.
“Fine,” he spit out and began walking away. “You wanna talk? We'll do it my way this time.”
“Where are you going?” I beckoned while running after him.
When he stopped, Gabriel stood in front of his motorcycle and unlocked two helmets. “Hop on. I want to have this discussion where no one else can interrupt us.” Gabriel fastened his helmet, knocked the kickstand up, and started the bike. Over its powerful roar, he yelled, “Let's do this.”
Chapter 14
A warm, gusty wind parted my lips and flushed my cheeks as Gabriel's motorcycle instinctively navigated the highway heading northbound through the Wharton Mountain range. When we were teenagers, he used to ride his two-speed bicycle to Crilly Lake to escape the monotony of family life. He always preferred to be alone when he needed to think, and I speculated that he was taking me to the place where he'd once made all the major decisions in his life. I wrapped my left arm around his chest to keep myself steady and let the other loosely grip the side of his waist. Somehow, it felt wrong for me to depend on my brother for support. It was supposed to be the other way around right now.
At the last exit in Wharton County, he slowed to take Dead Man's Curve at a reasonable speed. A kid I'd gone to high school with hadn't been so lucky the week we'd graduated and lost the future he deserved by racing around that curve too swiftly. The new Gabriel could be reckless, but he would never endanger our lives. I'd only been on a bike once before when some buddies of mine in Los Angeles had taken me to a rally for a race they'd entered. The thrill of driving down the California coast with them one afternoon had left quite an impression on me. No wonder April and Gabriel had purchased bikes of their own, not that I'd ever let Emma chance a ride while I was alive. I had my limits, as hypocritical as it might make me, and being a doting and semi-controlling father was the priority.
Gabriel stopped about twenty feet before reaching the lake and waited for me to disembark. By the time I removed my helmet, felt my heart slow its excessive pumping, and wiped a dead bug from my glasses, he'd tossed off his shoes, rolled up his pants legs to his knees, and sat on the edge of the dock.
I plopped down next to him and said, “Remember when the head cheerleader, Misty Donovan, told everyone you tried to steal her panties in gym class… and the captain of the football team tracked you down while we were playing Frisbee at the park?”
Gabriel nodded.
“You weren't afraid of anyone back then, and you're not afraid of anyone right now. Are you?” I shoved his head a few inches to the side in a playful older brother manner.
He smirked and ran his fingers through his hair to fix the mess I'd made. “Clearly, everyone must know by now that I was never interested in Misty's lace panties.”
“I guess, maybe, you desired the captain of the football team's lace panties?” I busted out laughing at my joke-slash-insult, cradling my head against my lap with my arms covering my neck to try to contain the potential damage. I never should've let my guard down because the next thing I knew, my brother shoved me off the dock, and I landed in the cool water fully clothed and highly embarrassed.
Gabriel crossed his arms. “Hey, you were right. I'm not afraid of anyone right now.” He stretched an arm in my direction and helped me climb back on the dock.
“I've got class to teach in a few hours, you jerk,” I said and handed him my glasses. “Dry those, if you don't mind.”
“We can swing by Danby Landing to get you a change of clothes. You're such a prima donna, Kellan. And people think I'm the one they need to worry about causing a scene in public.”
We sat in silence for ten minutes watching a couple of fish swim past. A large white bird soared close by and attempted to snatch one unsuccessfully. “If you're not more careful, Gabriel, someone's gonna swoop down and catch you when you least expect it. Why won't you let me help?”
“Because I screwed up and deserve to be punished.” Gabriel confessed the entire story to me, and I knew he wasn't leaving anything out. At one point, tears were even shed over the loss of a complicated friendship when Quint Crawford had been murdered in the cable car the previous week.
Within the group, Nicky and Paul had been best friends, and Gabriel and Quint had been best friends. Nicky was always after his next girl, yet Paul and Quint both had a thing for Imogene Grey. Imogene and Quint had dated for a few months, until Lara Bouvier confronted Quint and told him that he wasn't good enough for her daughter. She'd threatened to launch an investigation into his uncle's shady behavior. Although there'd been persistent rumors about his uncle, Sheriff Crawford, being shifty and on the take, nothing had ever been proven. Quint didn't want any bad press to hurt his mother, so he agreed to leave Imogene alone. It'd destroyed him because he'd always felt like the weakling in the group—everyone's family had money but his. Quint then began instigating trouble on campus which caused the group to break up. At the time, Gabriel had been dating his secret boyfriend and was trying to stay under the radar. Except one day, Quint had stumbled upon the truth.
“At first, he acted like everything was okay, and that it didn't bother him. But the more he pushed Imogene away to protect his mother, the more he became angry about anyone who'd fallen in love,” Gabriel explained as fine worry lines formed along the sides of his mouth.
“That must have been tough on your friendship,” I commiserated.
“Yep. It gradually got worse. One day, he told me he wanted to leave town, and he wanted me to go with him. I'd just broken up with that guy I told you about, and everything was falling apart for me. Dad wouldn't listen to me about not accepting the Braxton presidency, and I needed some space.”
“What does this have to do with the jewelry thefts? I'm not sure I understand.”
“Quint was the thief. He'd wanted to get back at everyone who'd angered him that semester. Krissy had asked him to steal something from the Paddington estate while he was visiting his mother. He helped her out, but then she ordered him to put it back. That was the last straw for him; he was tired of being treated like his mother—a maid or servant.” Gabriel explained that Quint needed money to leave town and had attempted to blackmail a few folks, but when it hadn't work, he'd turned to robbery.
“Quint would've been a good spy, based on what you're telling me.”
Quint had originally thought if he stole a few pieces of jewelry, he could sell it in another state and start a new life. But then he was compelled to get even with the girls in the Alpha Iota Omega sorority. Imogene had told him the story about a girl's mother leaving a white calla lily on a boy's doorstep for nine days to reveal her daughter's crush, and how he would choose whether to return a black flower or a white bouquet, depending on his feelings. Since Quint wasn't interested in his friends anymore, he decided to punish them. When he couldn't find a black calla lily, he chose to spray-paint several white ones and left them at each robbery. “It was his attempt at a screw you to those who'd wronged him. Quint didn't know a black calla lily was a dark-purple one, and I didn't want to make him feel stupid,” Gabriel replied with a contrite smile.
“I can see why it'd make the situation worse.” I shook my head at what I'd just learned, realizing that the person who'd killed Quint must not have known he'd been spray-painting white calla lilies. The killer used real ones because he or she didn't know any better.
Quint had hoped it would lead his uncle to investigate the sorority and their families, throwing the cops off any trail leading back to him as well as getting revenge on people like Lara Bouvier. It'd almost worked, but his uncle had discovered the truth. “Sheriff Crawford overheard Quint and me recounting what his nephew had done. He misunderstood, thinking Quint and I were in on it together.”
“But you never stole anything,
you just knew what he'd been up to.”
Gabriel nodded. “Everything got crazy that day. I told Dad the truth about the guy who dumped me and that I was gay. He wanted me to tell everyone in the family and work through it together. I begged him to withdraw from the Braxton presidency, and he asked for a day to think about it. A few hours later, he stopped by the dorm room while I was in class and convinced the cleaning staff to let him inside, so he could leave a note for me. That's when he found the missing jewelry in my room.”
“How is that possible if you weren't involved?”
“Quint had my spare key and planted the jewels. He'd set me up, even dressed like me to make it look like I was up to no good,” Gabriel said, the frustration and pain evident on his face. “He was afraid that I'd turn him and his uncle in, to the mayor. He wanted something to hold over my head. Quint had planned the whole thing to ensure he didn't get hung out to dry by himself. He wasn't just opportunistic. He was crafty and cunning about protecting himself.”
I pieced the rest of the story together. Tiffany had seen Quint in Gabriel's dorm room, not Gabriel, and thought my brother was responsible for the robberies. What a mess! “That's why Sheriff Crawford told Dad that you were involved and to check your dorm room. The sheriff had offered to cover it up as long as Dad pushed you to leave town. He was protecting his nephew.”
“Yes, only I'd already gone to Nicky Endicott and begged him to loan me enough money to leave Braxton. That's what you saw me doing just now, repaying the money I'd never returned to him.” Gabriel stood and unrolled his pants. “When Dad found me later that night, it was storming pretty badly. Quint was busy stealing from Marcus Stanton's alumni event during the power outage. I was fighting with Dad, who told me he knew what I'd done. He tried to give me money to leave, but I told him I never wanted to speak to him again. Our father thought I was the thief, and he never believed I could be innocent after I'd hidden everything else from him. When Quint finished his last robbery, he blackmailed me to leave town together that night and hock all the jewelry.” Quint had threatened to tell everyone Gabriel was the thief if he didn't let him come on the trip. Nicky's money was only half as helpful as Gabriel had originally planned. They went to the pawn shop with the Roarke earrings as a test run. “I had no money left, and I did a stupid thing. Quint forced me to put my name on the paperwork. Then, we waited a few days to verify nothing happened once we'd received the money for the earrings.”
Mistaken Identity Crisis: Death On The Cable Car (Braxton Campus Mysteries Book 4) Page 18