by Diane Moody
“Yes. I was with Jeff when Cameron called it to his attention. He’d put it in one of those Ziploc bags.”
“Right. So I asked Matt what it looked like and he showed me a picture of the button he had on his cell phone. I didn’t think anything of it, other than the fact that it sure wasn’t much to go on. Matt said it was a fairly common design that’s used by a handful of clothing manufacturers. But like I said, I didn’t think anything of it. Not until I was enlarging some of these photographs for the memorial room.”
He paused to pull one of the enlargements toward him then slid it slowly over to Peyton.
The photograph showed several people gathered at some kind of reception or party. “What am I looking for?”
Gevin tapped on the photograph. Peyton leaned closer for a better look. As he did, Gevin slid another photograph—a cropped and zoomed section from the same photograph.
Peyton felt his heart stop as something like a gasp burst from his lips. He snapped up straight, his eyes meeting Gevin’s and the reality of the discovery he’d made. Peyton didn’t trust his voice to speak as he leaned over for another look. There was no mistaking what he saw.
“Call Jeff. Get him over here.”
Chapter 37
Aubrey disconnected her headset after ending the call. She dropped her head in her hands and held her breath, hesitant to react, as if the call might still be live and her actions seen on the other end. She could still hear his voice, its tone the final confirmation of her decision.
A moment passed. Then another. Until the long cleansing breath drew her upward and raised her head. She held the breath one second more, then—
“YESSSSS! YES! YES! YES!”
“Aubrey?” Her mother’s voice drifted up the stairs from the kitchen below. “Honey, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing! I’m fine,” she answered, marveling at the blessed truth of those two words.
“I’m fine! I’m fine! I’m fine!”
She danced a jig in place, scrunching her face with unrestrained joy.
“For the first time in years, I’m completely and utterly FINE!”
“Sweetheart?”
Aubrey leaped at the sound of her mother’s voice directly behind her. “Mom! You scared me!” she cried, whipping around to face her.
“Well, you scared me with all that hollering. What in the world is going on?”
She couldn’t hide the smile as she hugged her mother tight. “I’m free at last. I’m really free, Mom!”
Faye stepped back. “Free from what?”
She cupped her mother’s face lovingly. “I did it. I actually did it. I quit my job!”
Faye’s brows rose to meet the crease between them. “And that’s a good thing?”
“That’s a fantastic thing!” She planted a noisy kiss on her mother’s cheek then hugged her again. “I only wish I’d done it years ago.”
“But I thought you were going to think about it a while. That’s what you said after Peyton brought you home. Wait …” She paused as her brows arched higher. “Does this have something to do with Peyton?”
“No. Well … yes, but no. Not really. But … maybe?”
“Good heavens, you’re making no sense whatsoever.” She sat on the side of Aubrey’s bed. “It either does or doesn’t.”
Aubrey sat beside her. “I think the most honest answer is that Peyton has given me a reason to take a long hard look at my life in New York. To see all the limitations I’ve put on myself. I work a job that devours every ounce of my energy. I have no social life because I’m married to my job. And ever since I’ve been home, I’ve realized just how much I don’t miss it. Any of it. And I realized that if I’m married to a job I don’t like, then I’m wasting the best years of my life. And that’s something I’m willing to change. So I did. I did it! Without second-guessing myself or trying to be the constant people-pleaser to a boss like Dustin Mathison, who’s nothing but a grown man acting like a baby in diapers instead of his Brooks Brothers suits.”
“So what will you do? Find another job?”
“Yes. In fact, I already have an interview lined up.”
“You do? Goodness, that was fast. Who are you interviewing with?”
Aubrey turned, folding her legs beneath her, then held out her hand. “Mrs. Evans, I’m Aubrey. Thank you for accepting this interview on such short notice.”
“What? I don’t understand.”
With her hand still extended, Aubrey continued. “I would like to apply for the job opening at A Little Bit of Everything.”
Half a beat passed before Faye connected the dots and with a huge smile, grabbed her hand. “Oh Aubrey, really?”
“If you’ll have me, then yes.”
“Oh, sweetie!” Faye buried her face against Aubrey’s shoulder. “Oh, my dear, precious daughter, I can’t believe it! I’m so happy you’re staying!”
Aubrey cradled her mother’s head against her. “Then I’m hired?”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, of course you’re hired.”
Her mother’s tears began to dampen Aubrey’s shirt. “Please don’t cry, Mom.”
“Honey, these are happy tears, and I make no apology for them. Oh, how Jed would have loved this. He would be so happy to have you home again.”
“I know, Mom. But I think he probably knows.”
Faye sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Yes, I’d like to think he does. My, but doesn’t this seem like icing on the cake? After everything that’s happened?”
“Speaking of which,” she said, pushing Faye’s renegade curls back from her face. “I think your hiatus from baking has come to an end, don’t you?”
“Oh? I haven’t given it much thought.”
“Well, you should. I think your customers would love to see your fresh-baked cookies and lemon squares and brownies again. What do you say?”
“Well, I have to admit I’ve missed it. Maybe I’ll whip up some red velvet cupcakes after dinner. What do you think?”
“I think that sounds wonderfully decadent.” Aubrey looked at her watch. “I know it’s kind of late, but do you think I’d have time for a run before dinner?”
“Sure, honey. You go ahead, and I’ll find us something to eat. I think I saw some of Sheila’s pork loin and homemade cinnamon apples in the fridge.”
Aubrey stood. “We may never eat all the food your friends brought over, but we can sure give it a try.”
“Yes, we will. You go run, and I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Thanks, Mom,” she said, kissing her cheek again.
After leaving the house, she set a course for a shorter run due to the late hour. As she hit her stride, her thoughts immediately turned toward her father. Oh, how thrilled he would have been with her decision to move home and help her mother run the shop. She let the thoughts run away with her, imagining the conversation they’d have and how eager he’d be to hear all her plans.
But twenty minutes into her run, thunder rumbled in the distance and the wind picked up. Aubrey started back toward town and picked up her pace.
As dark clouds eclipsed the last rays of dusk a few minutes later, the sky opened up, drenching her from head to sneakered toe. Just as she approached the city limits of Braxton, car lights flashed twice behind her. She hopped onto the sidewalk as the vehicle slowed. The passenger window slid down a few inches, and Kathleen leaned over from the driver’s seat and waved her in.
“Aubrey! Let me give you a ride home. Climb in!”
She didn’t hesitate until she opened the door. “Are you sure? I’ll soak your car seat.”
“Don’t be silly! Jump in.”
Just then, lightning cracked not half a mile away, jolting Aubrey abruptly into the vehicle. Inside, the car reeked of alcohol accompanied by a heavy dose of Kathleen’s signature perfume.
“What on earth are you doing running in weather like this?” Kathleen said, pulling away from the curb. “You’ll catch your death of cold.”
“
It wasn’t raining when I left the house, and I didn’t think to check the forecast before I took off. Kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. You’d think I’d know better.”
“Well, never you mind. We can stop at my house and you can dry off. Better yet, why don’t you stay and have a glass of wine with me. We’ll have our very own happy hour.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
“Nonsense. It would give us a chance to get better acquainted. I hear your mother is doing so much better. What a scare that must have been for you.”
“She’s great. In fact, she’s at home making dinner, so why don’t you come join us?”
“Well, aren’t you sweet? I would love that. Let’s stop by my house, and I’ll bring a bottle of chardonnay. It won’t take but a—”
Kathleen hit the brakes just as she started to turn onto her street. The flashing lights of two police vehicles competed with the car’s frantic wipers for a dizzying blur of rhythmic colors halfway down the block.
“What’s going on?” Aubrey said.
Kathleen clenched the wheel. “I don’t have any idea.”
“Is that your house?”
“Yes, but I can’t imagine what’s happened. Can’t be a fire since there are no fire trucks … I tell you what. Let me run you home, then I’ll come back to see what this is all about.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I can just run home. It’s only a couple of blocks away.”
Kathleen backed up. “Nonsense. I’m not coming this far only to leave you stranded again. It’s no trouble. Won’t take but a minute.”
“Are you sure? If you’d rather, I can go with you to see what’s going on?”
“No, honey, your mom’s waiting for you. We don’t want her to worry.”
As she dropped Aubrey off at her house a minute later she said, “Tell Faye I said hello, all right?”
“Okay. And thanks, Kathleen. I hope everything is okay.”
“Me too. Goodnight.”
Aubrey hurried up the porch steps and into the house. “Mom, I’m home!”
“Are you okay?” she hollered from the kitchen. “That’s such a nasty storm out there.”
“I’m good. Let me take a quick shower, then I’ll be down for dinner.”
“Okay, sweetie. No rush.”
As she reached the second-floor landing, she heard her cell phone ring. Assuming it was probably her boss—her ex-boss—she ignored it and pulled off her wet clothes as she padded toward the bathroom. Then, wondering if it might be Peyton, she grabbed a towel to dry her dripping hair as she tiptoed back into her room.
She smiled when she saw his number. “Hi Peyton, I was hoping it was you.”
“Aubrey, I’m glad I caught you.”
The seriousness of his voice stopped her. “What’s wrong?”
“You won’t believe this. I’m at Kathleen’s house—”
“What? I was just with her. Why are you—”
“You were with Kathleen? When? Just now?”
“Yes, I was out on a run and got caught in the rain. She happened to drive by and offered me a ride home.”
“Are you at home? Is she there?”
“No, she just dropped me off a couple of minutes ago. We drove by her street and saw a bunch of police—”
“Wait—you mean Kathleen saw what was happening at her house but didn’t stop?”
“No, because she insisted on taking me home first. She should be there by now. Peyton, what’s going on?”
“I can’t talk right now, but I’ll fill you in as soon as I can. Gotta go.”
Chapter 38
“You’re not going to believe this,” Peyton said as joined Jeff and Gevin in Kathleen’s living room. He relayed exactly what Aubrey had told him.
“Kathleen told Aubrey she was coming here?” Jeff immediately rushed toward the front door as Peyton and Gevin followed him onto the porch.
“Yes, but Aubrey’s house is only a couple of blocks over. She should have been here by now.”
They looked both ways down the street but saw no headlights or other vehicles apart from theirs.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Jeff groaned.
Earlier, the sheriff had quickly secured a search warrant for Kathleen’s home based on Gevin’s discovery of the matching button. When they first arrived at her house, no porch lights were on, no interior lights could be seen through the windows, nor did she answer the door after repeated knocking. Peyton had suggested checking the back door, and like many in Braxton, found it unlocked. Jeff and Cameron entered first, calling out to warn Kathleen of their presence, but she was not home.
Jeff and Cameron had slipped on latex gloves, turned on the lights, and warned Gevin and Peyton not to touch anything while they searched the closets for the jacket. While Gevin continued trying to reach Kathleen by phone, Peyton had placed the call to Aubrey.
Standing on the wide front porch, Jeff shook his head and rested his hands on his hips. “She must have freaked and took off.”
“I FOUND IT!”
At the sound of Cameron’s voice, Jeff hurried back inside and down the hall to Kathleen’s bedroom with Gevin and Peyton at his heels. The deputy stood in the doorway of Kathleen’s oversized walk-in closet holding a hanger sporting a navy jacket wrapped in a clear dry-cleaner’s bag. He laid the jacket on her bed and lifted the right sleeve.
“Unless I’m mistaken,” Cameron said, “these are the same buttons as the one I found on the baptistry steps.”
“Gevin, do you have that photograph on you?” Jeff asked.
“Right here.” He pulled the folded picture from his pocket then held it beside the jacket sleeve.
All three stared at the enlarged photograph showing the three buttons on the cuff of Kathleen’s jacket.
Cameron spoke barely above a whisper. “A perfect match.”
Jeff reached for the other sleeve. Same exact buttons, with one missing.
They glanced up at each other, the unspoken realization finally confirmed.
Peyton sighed, rubbing his face. “Oh Kathleen, what have you done?”
“We’ve got to find her,” Jeff said as he headed back to the living room. “I’ll call in an APB. Cameron, don’t let that jacket out of your sight.”
“Copy that.”
“Want me to take a drive around town and see if I can find her?” Gevin asked.
Jeff scratched the back of his neck as he turned to leave the room. “I guess it can’t hurt. Just stay in touch. If you happen to find her, call me before you approach her. We don’t know what we’re dealing with, if you catch my meaning.”
Gevin’s brows spiked. “Jeff, this is Kathleen we’re talking about. It’s not like she’s—”
“A murderer?” Jeff asked bluntly. “Do you know that for a fact?”
“You honestly think she killed her brother?”
Jeff stepped out on the front porch again. “Doesn’t matter what I think, Gevin. Let’s just find her.”
“Want me to help look for her too?” Peyton asked.
“No, someone needs to stay here, and it might as well be you. In fact, why don’t you call Aubrey and ask her to come over. See what else she can tell us since she was just with Kathleen.”
“Got it.”
“Chief, I’ll drop this off at the station, then cruise around town myself,” Cameron added. “Remind me what she drives?”
“It’s a late-model, black Mercedes. Right, Peyton?”
“Yes, but that’s about all I know.”
“I’ll look up the registration for the model and tag number,” Jeff added. “All right, stay in touch, guys. Whatever you do, do not approach her without notifying me first. More than likely, she’s panicked after seeing us here. And Peyton, let me know what you learn from Aubrey.”
“I will,” he answered as the three departed, hustling to their vehicles in the heavy rain.
He plopped down on one of the wicker chairs on the front porch, immediately
uttering a prayer for their safety in this bizarre turn of events. He still wasn’t convinced Kathleen was responsible for Harley’s death, but he prayed for her protection and whatever had transpired.
Afterward, he called Aubrey and asked her to drive over and join him. She’d just stepped out of the shower, but said she’d be there as soon as possible. When she showed up twenty minutes later, he borrowed Kathleen’s umbrella from the stand just inside the door, then hurried to help Aubrey make the dash from her car to the house.
Once back on the porch, he closed the umbrella and motioned toward one of the wicker chairs. “You must have read my mind,” he said, noticing the thermos in her hands.
She set it on the table between the chairs. “Actually, the coffee was Mom’s idea.”
She took a seat and poured the hot brew into the lid that served as a cup and handed it to him. “Peyton, what is going on?”
“Good question, but where to start. Did I ever tell you about the button that was found the day Harley’s body was discovered in the baptistry?”
“A button?”
He told her about the mysterious gold button, and how Gevin discovered the same ones on the sleeve of Kathleen’s jacket in one of the photographs he had enlarged.
“Wait. Are you telling me you think Kathleen had something to do with—”
“Yes.”
She studied him, her face awash with disbelief. “This is a joke, right? There’s no way Kathleen would have killed her brother!”
“I know. It sounds insane, but—”
“Do you mean to tell me that Jeff and Cameron and Gevin—that all of you honestly think she’s the one who killed Harley?”
“I’m only telling you that the sole piece of key evidence that’s been found tied to Harley’s death is that button. Which happens to be the exact match of the buttons on Kathleen’s jacket. Which, as it turns out, has a missing button. How can you not draw the conclusion that she must have been there? At least in some capacity?”
Aubrey folded her arms over her chest. “If nothing else, I’d like to think her friends would at least give her the benefit of the doubt instead of instantly jumping to conclusions.”
“I totally agree. And I would like nothing more than to sit down with her and talk through this. There has to be some plausible explanation.”