A Dodgy Death

by Jacqueline M Green

  Franklin hit into me with enough force that I tumbled along the damp grass several feet down the outcropping, stopping only when my hip smacked into a large boulder, knocking away my breath.

  “Kat! Kat! Are you all right?”

  Franklin gingerly stepped down the rocky hill, making sure he had his footing, so he didn’t slide himself. When he got close enough, he reached out and I grabbed his forearm, letting him pull me to my feet. We climbed slowly back up the hill and clambered over the stone wall.

  I took a deep breath and brushed off the bits of grass and leaves that stuck to my trousers before turning to Franklin.

  “What happened, Franklin? Why did you push me off the wall?”

  Franklin’s face, already red from the exertion, turned even brighter as his eyes peered into mine as if imploring me to believe him.

  “I’m terribly sorry. It was all my fault but a total mistake. When I went to swing my legs over, I misjudged how close to you I was. I’m so glad you’re not terribly hurt. Please forgive me.”

  I nodded grimly. “Let’s just go home, if you don’t mind.”

  We didn’t talk much on the way down the trail to the Jeep or on the ride home. As he let me out at the B&B, Franklin again reminded me to come to the upcoming family gathering. I nodded in what I considered a noncommittal way and turned onto the porch.

  I made my way quickly to the spare room to change out of my now-damp clothes, the result of rolling on wet grass.

  As I started the kettle to make a cup of tea, I heard a window slam upstairs. I turned off the stove and raced up the staircase and down the hallway. The door of the back bedroom, the one that had been Corbyn’s, stood open. I flung myself through the doorway with a yell.

  “Hah!”

  No one was in the room, but one window was swinging open. I strode across the room to close it, sticking my head out. The window faced a tall tree that hid the upstairs from neighbors’ prying eyes. As I tried to lock the window closed, the broken latch came off in my hand. I stared out the window as my heart sank. Once more, someone had broken into Aunt Selma’s house.

  I felt the sobs coming from somewhere deep inside before they started running down my cheeks. I cried as I called the 9-9-9 dispatcher, and I was still crying when Constable Allen showed up at my door.

  Chapter 16

  “Katherine, are you hurt?” Jaime’s face was filled with concern. “The dispatcher didn’t say anyone was hurt.”

  I shook my head, my hand covering my face. He set down some wire and tools on the entryway table and gingerly put his arms around me as my whole body shook.

  “There, there,” he said as he awkwardly patted my back.

  After a few moments, I sniffed loudly and gently pushed away, reaching over to grab a few tissues from the box on the welcome table, no doubt set out for B&B guests.

  Jaime released me, then motioned me down the hallway toward the kitchen. “Let me go check out the scene while you make us a cup.”

  “A cup?” My eyes ping-ponged around their sockets in bewilderment.

  “Of tea, Kat. Make some tea.”

  He turned me toward the kitchen as I informed him which room had the broken window. Taking a few deep breaths to calm myself, I started into the kitchen.

  Several minutes later, Jaime’s boots stomped on the stairs and he clomped into the kitchen. “Looks like he got in through the only window in the house that can’t be seen from somewhere else.”

  Jaime accepted the mug of tea I handed him, looking at it curiously. “Were there no proper cups?”

  I glared at him over the top of my mug. “Don’t start with me.”

  He grimaced, then promptly doctored his tea the way he liked it before he leaned against the counter and watched me, his arms crossed and a look of consternation on his face.

  “Now then, what’s all the tears about?”

  I held up my hands, palms up. “I just had a meltdown, I guess. The idea that someone keeps breaking into this house scares me. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to stay here to get everything squared away. Sleeping here now seems ridiculous.”

  Jaime pursed his lips. “All right then. I have an idea about that, but first let’s solve the immediate problem.”

  We went back upstairs to the guest room.

  He stuck his head out the window and looked around. “At least we know a couple more things about our burglar.”

  I crossed my arms and waited. “And that would be?”

  “We’ve got a right agile burglar on our hands. That narrows the field somewhat.”

  “What’s the second thing?”

  “They haven’t found what they’re looking for or they wouldn’t still be looking. Who knew you wouldn’t be in this afternoon?”

  I shrugged. “Who pays attention to where I am? I’m new here.”

  Jaime laughed, shaking his head slightly. “All the more reason. Everyone is keeping an eye on the ‘new kid’.”

  “I don’t think I mentioned it to anyone. Cousin Franklin knew, of course, since he is the one who took me hiking.”

  “Franklin McCoy?” Jaime threw an odd look my way.

  “Yeah, what? You don’t like him?”

  “No, it’s not that. He’s … been in a bit of trouble from time to time, that’s all.”

  “You don’t think he set me up, do you? Did he get someone to break in here while I was gone?”

  My mind reeled. Maybe Cousin Franklin really had tried to push me down the hill over Lake Windermere. Maybe he was trying to get rid of me.

  I told Jaime what happened on the wall. The little lines above his eyes deepened as he listened.

  “I wouldn’t have said Franklin is that kind of a criminal,” he said, hesitantly. “But I’ll check it out.”

  He closed the window and pulled out the wire he had brought. Cutting off a chunk of it, he wound it around the latches to hold the window closed. “That will hold it until you can get someone in to fix it.”

  He turned back toward where I hovered in the doorway and checked his watch. “Now I’m off the clock and I’m going to get some supplies. I’ll be back with reinforcements.”

  Promptly at six, a knock came at the locked and bolted front door. I peered out to see Clarissa and her brother-in-law, Hugh, on the front porch, their hands full.

  Clarissa barely let me get the door open before bustling through.

  “C’mon, Hugh, let’s put these in the kitchen. You can tuck those right into the oven to warm. Hello, luv!” That last bit was said to me, almost as an afterthought.

  I turned to close and lock the front door again, only to have Jaime appear on the porch, Alex trailing behind him.

  “I’m back.”

  “Hello, Kat.”

  The pair pushed through the door and followed Clarissa and Hugh to the kitchen. I started to close the door, but on second thought stuck my head out to see if anyone else was coming.

  Satisfied that the coast looked clear, I closed the door and clicked on the deadbolt, then followed my apparent guests to the kitchen.

  Standing in the doorway, I watched the bustling action in my – Aunt Selma’s – kitchen. Clarissa pulled a large pot from the cupboard while Hugh slid aluminum foil-covered bread into the oven.

  Jaime and Alex pulled items from the bags they had carried in.

  “What is all this?” I asked, approaching the table. “Is that a camera?”

  “It is indeed.” Jaime held up a small video camera in one hand and a large light in the other. “We have motion sensors for your back yard and video cameras for the front and back of the house.”

  “You’ll need video for upstairs as well, don’t forget,” Hugh chimed in.

  “Why? What happened upstairs?” Clarissa turned and looked at me.

  “Didn’t you hear?” Hugh asked. “That’s where they got in today, at least, that’s what I heard.”

  He turned with a questioning eye toward Jaime, who made a face. “That’s right. I forget sometimes
how fast news travels in the village.”

  “It’s like trying to keep out mice,” I muttered, reaching for a bottle of soda left over from the earlier gathering. “Or whack a mole. Where did this all come from?”

  Jaime pointed to Alex, who bowed.

  “I bought some for the store last year and was a touch over-eager in my purchases, so this has been sitting in a storeroom. You’re actually doing me a favor to take it off my hands.”

  I very much doubted that, but I thanked him graciously, then turned to Clarissa with a grin. “This is getting to be a habit. What’s for dinner tonight?”

  “Simple spaghetti and salad,” Clarissa replied as she checked the pot of water. “It’s the best I could do on short notice.”

  She threw Jaime a look. He grinned and shrugged, then he, Alex and Hugh took the lights out to the back porch.

  Clarissa sat with me at the table while she ripped up romaine lettuce for a salad. She watched me closely. “Are you all right, luv?”

  I cradled my soda as I returned her gaze. “I don’t know. I’m embarrassed that I had such a meltdown that Jaime felt the need to call all of you. But I’m also really glad you’re here. I’m not sure I can sleep here tonight.”

  Clarissa smiled sadly. “I’d ask you to come to our house, but we are full. The couch is available.”

  I smiled back. “If it comes to it, I can always find a hotel in Bowness.”

  Clarissa pushed the salad and a bottle of Caesar dresser toward me. “Toss that while I finish the spaghetti.”

  I made myself useful until dinner was ready. Clarissa and I set the table just as the others came back in, their job finished quickly.

  We sat down to dinner and once again I marveled that these people, these friends of Aunt Selma, had taken me in and taken care of me. My eyes misted up as I swirled spaghetti onto my fork. I quickly wiped them with my napkin and peeked up to see if anyone had noticed.

  Alex ducked down his head just as I looked up, so I know he must have seen my emotion and didn’t want to embarrass me further.

  “Thank you all for taking such good care of me and Aunt Selma’s business,” I said, my voice quiet in the din of conversation.

  They all stopped and looked at me with smiles.

  “It’s what we do,” Alex shrugged.

  “You’re Selma’s niece, so you’re our family, too,” Clarissa added.

  Hugh and Jaime just grinned and tucked back into their spaghetti.

  Once we had cleared away the dishes, the group broke up fairly quickly. Clarissa had to get back to her guests and Alex to check on his mother. Hugh apparently planned to meet someone at the pub. The three of them left quickly, leaving the house quiet in their wake.

  Jaime and I stood by the front door. He hemmed and hawed for a moment, then looked me in the eye. “I thought, if it’s all right with you, that I might sleep in the front sitting room tonight.”

  I stared at him blankly. “My front sitting room?”

  He nodded. “I know you haven’t been able to get much sleep lately with the break-ins and all, so if it would make you feel safer, I could do that.”

  I started to brush off his offer when the realization struck that I would indeed feel safer if someone else was in the house. “You wouldn’t mind sleeping on that couch?”

  He grinned. ‘I’ve slept on worse, I’m sure.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Actually, I would appreciate you staying. Won’t the neighbors talk?” I teased him.

  “I certainly hope so,” Jaime laughed. “I’m never the topic of interesting conversations here.” He made his voice high-pitched and shaky as he mimicked the gossips in town. “Oh, there’s Constable Allen getting the cat out of the tree. Oh, Constable Allen, help me find my glasses.”

  Jaime went to his car and returned with a small backpack and a sleeping bag. He shrugged in response to my raised eyebrows. “I like to be prepared.”

  We stowed his gear beside the couch, then sat down to watch “the telly,” as he called it. Within a short time, my eyes began to droop, so I excused myself and headed off to bed.

  Tucked away in my room behind the kitchen, I sent a quick “good night” text to Jared, then crawled into bed, my body aching with lack of sleep. Much as I hated to admit it, I felt safer knowing the constable was nearby.

  Chapter 17

  When I awoke, light was streaming through the blinds along with a glimpse of blue sky. I stretched one of those delicious whole-body stretches after a good night’s sleep. Then I remembered that Jaime was sleeping in my front room and hopped out of bed, pulling on clothes and slipping out the bedroom door.

  Hot coffee was in the coffeemaker along with a note taped to the top of it letting me know that Jaime had left about an hour earlier to go to work and to call him if I needed anything.

  I smiled as I poured myself a cup, then sat at the table, pulling over the pad of paper with the list of suspects. We had talked a bit more last night about the illustrations Aunt Selma had found, but no one had a brilliant idea about where to look.

  If only to thwart whoever kept breaking in, I would have to find them myself. What had happened to all those so-called clues she had promised to leave behind? Was she killed before she had left them or was I too dense to see them right in front of me?

  “Aunt Selma, where did you put the illustrations?” I said out loud in frustration, my eyes drifting around the room. They stopped at the pantry.

  Aunt Selma had just redone the pantry as one of her renovation projects. I tried to remember the video chat where she showed me what she was doing.

  “Thank you, Aunt Selma!”

  I jumped up and flung open the doors of the pantry. I took out the bags of rice and pasta, setting them on the table and counter alongside multiple boxes of cereal.

  A knock at the front door finally drew me out of the pantry closet and down the narrow hallway.

  Cousin Franklin peered through the glass window of the door. He used one hand to cover his eyes. Startled, he stepped back as I flung open the door.

  “Cousin Franklin, what are you doing here?”

  Holding his hat in his hand, Franklin shuffled from foot to foot, glancing around me but only briefly catching my eyes.

  “I just wanted to check in on you, to make sure you were doing all right, that the tumble down the hill yesterday didn’t do you any lasting harm.”

  Saying what he had come to say, his eyes finally landed on my face.

  I shrugged, one hand holding the open door, effectively blocking his entry. No way was I going to tell him about the bruised hip that ached every time I moved.

  “As you can see, I’m fine, not even a sore muscle from it.”

  “That’s good, that’s good. Is there anything that you need help with today? I used to come around and check in with Selma from time to time, help her out.”

  His eyes seemed earnest, but I couldn’t let myself forget that this man, even though he was my own relative, could possibly be a killer as well as a burglar.

  I quickly made the decision to let him in, then gestured for him to go ahead of me down the hallway to the kitchen. No way was I letting a possible killer walk behind me down that narrow hallway. As Franklin settled himself in a chair at the table, I reached into a low cupboard and pulled out Aunt Selma’s heavy iron skillet, placing it nonchalantly on the counter near me.

  He peered curiously at the empty pantry. “Cleaning a bit, are you?” he asked in an awkward attempt at conversation. “Selma just had that rebuilt a few months ago. Isn’t that where she found the illustrations?”

  I leaned forward eagerly. “Are you sure she didn’t tell you more about them?”

  Franklin paused and looked away in thought. “No, just that they were worth a lot of money. Do you know what happened to them?”

  “No, I thought maybe she might have told you, what with you being here a lot and all.”

  Franklin blew out a breath. “Selma always talked in cryptic messages. It was ha
rd to tell what was truth and what wasn’t.”

  He leaned forward and set both hands on the table as if weighing something. “I did the best I could to try to help her out. I’m not sure she really appreciated it, but I did try. And I will do the same for you, Kat, should you decide to stay.”

  I got a little flustered over that, standing up and moving away toward the counter.

  “I’m sure I’m not staying, Franklin. I’m still not sure why Aunt Selma left me the business in the first place.”

  He smiled. “She spoke of you often, Kat. I think you reminded her of her younger self.”

  Franklin’s cell phone rang just then. He apologized as he stood up to take the call in the hallway. I stood too, mostly so I could hear better. I busied myself at the cabinets near the door. I don’t know why I bothered. Apparently, he was discussing an upcoming job. He didn’t speak in a low voice or even try to hide anything.

  Once off the call, Franklin excused himself and said goodbye, reminding me that I had said I would make the next family get-together.

  I didn’t get a killer vibe from him, but after all, I was new at this.

  Chapter 18

  Once the pantry was completely empty, I stood in the center studying every line. I stepped onto a stepstool to see on the top shelves and crouched down to check underneath the bottom shelves. I pressed into the sides of the walls and felt under the shelves for buttons to hidden doors. If anyone had a button for a hidden room or some kind of hidey hole, it would be Aunt Selma. She loved solving puzzles and watching British and American mysteries on television.

  Finally, I reached under the lowest shelf clear to the back, my hand brushing the edge of something. Excited, I got down on my hands and knees and peered underneath. A long narrow box was taped to the bottom shelf behind where the boxes of cereal had stood.

  My fingers shaking, I carefully peeled off the tape that was holding the box in place. After several minutes of scraping, I was able to release the box from the shelf. I sat on the floor of the pantry and opened it.