by Kathi Daley
“I feel like the house is holding onto all kinds of secrets, and the clues that will lead to the revelation of the secrets are there, just waiting for someone to find them.”
“I don’t disagree,” Lacy answered. “All those rooms connected with a web of hallways that would be easy to get lost in adds to the feeling of mystery. Throw in the old furniture and all those old books, and I’m sure the house has stories to tell. But Lonnie reminded me that he’s there to refurbish the house, not to dig into its history.”
“I guess he has a point, but maybe the owner won’t mind if we continue to poke around a bit. If we’re careful, that is. It seems like, as a member of the Chadwick family and the current owner of the house, he’d be as curious as we are.”
“Perhaps. Lonnie still wants our help boxing up all the books in the library. I suppose that could provide us with an opportunity to poke around a bit. We’ll need to slow down and take things as they come so we don’t get in Lonnie’s way, but I’m curious if this extra room does exist.”
“When Lonnie’s ready to start boxing, count me in. The handwritten journal I found wasn’t the juicy piece of gossip I’d hoped for, but there are thousands of volumes in that room. Somewhere, hidden amongst the literature, there must be something scandalous that someone left behind.”
“I will definitely call you when I have plans to go back to the house.” Lacy handed Maddie a plastic pony, which had her squealing with happiness. “By the way, I ran into Noah and Christy at the market yesterday.”
“How are they doing?” Noah Daniels and Christy Baldwin were prior guests who both moved to Holiday Bay after their visit with us. Noah was the new pastor at the community church who I’d first met in November when he’d been here to interview for the position, and Christy was a young widow with a young daughter named Haley who’d been staying at the inn at the same time as Noah to spend time with Haley’s grandparents. The parents of Christy’s deceased husband had been lobbying for Christy to move to the area so they could be closer to Haley since the death of their son. I got the feeling that Christy was resistant to the idea until she met Noah, and the two of them hit it off.
“They both seem to be doing well,” Lacy said. “Noah helped Christy and Haley get an apartment near the church, where Christy has a new job as church secretary after the woman who’d had that job for the past thirty years decided to retire.”
I smiled. “That’s wonderful. I’m so happy things seem to be working out for both of them.”
“I’ve been thinking about organizing a cookout now that the weather has improved. Christy gave me her cell number, and I promised to call and set up a date and time. Now that they’re living in the community full time, it will be nice to start integrating them into our extended family.”
“I couldn’t agree more. The number of people on the must invite list seems to be growing. I guess it’s a good thing we both have large yards and patio areas.” I glanced at my watch. “As much as I’ve enjoyed sitting here chatting with you, I should get back. I want to be there before the guests return from sailing.”
“Don’t you think it’s odd that these folks are just going about their day when one of the members of their group was murdered?”
“Yes and no. Georgia, Jeremy, and I have discussed the fact that no one seems to be overly upset that the guy is dead. After speaking to everyone and getting feedback from Colt, it seems as if no one really liked the guy.”
“So why was he invited?”
“Politics.” I then gave Lacy a brief description of the situation, including the fact that Alvin was putting pressure on Lisa to be included, so she put pressure on Carson.
“I guess it takes all kinds, although I don’t get it. The guy was a successful businessman with his own fortune, so why did he care so much about a membership at a stuffy old club or being invited to parties thrown by people he didn’t even know?”
“I have no idea,” I admitted. “I guess some folks are after riches, others fame, and others prestige.”
“I guess.”
Lacy picked Maddie up out of her swing, and the two of them walked me out to my car. We said our goodbyes and I headed home. I knew that Colt planned to return well before the guests were due to arrive, but he hadn’t said when. I supposed that at the time he left the inn, he hadn’t known.
When I arrived at the inn, Georgia was in the library, looking at the hundreds of photos that had been taken and printed by the group. One thing was for certain, Fiona wasn’t going to be short of photos for her memory book, although, when all was said and done, I really wasn’t sure she’d want to remember this particular weekend.
“I have to say the gang really came through with the photos,” I commented, picking one up that featured Carson carrying Fiona over his shoulder, caveman style.
“There are a lot, and while some of them are out of focus or feature cut off heads, most of them are really good,” Georgia said. “There are photos of everything, and everyone seems to be included.”
Someone had posted some of the better photos on the boards we’d set up, while others were simply piled on the table. “There are some nice ones of the formal dinner party,” I said, sifting through the pile. I picked one up. “I love this one.” I handed Georgia a photo of Carson watching Fiona with a look of total absorption and adoration while she spoke to Frederick on the night of the dinner party. There was no doubt in my mind that the man was smitten.
“You know,” Georgia said, “based on the clothing worn by the various guests, I bet we can go through and pick out all the photos taken on Thursday. Once we have them separated out, maybe we can use them to start to put together a picture of everyone’s movements that evening.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
Georgia picked out a photo I’d taken of the group during the cocktail hour. It was a good photo to use as a means of identifying what each person had been wearing. There were a lot of photos to go through, but at this point, we were looking for specific photos. Once we had all the images captured that first night separated out, we could begin to build a timeline. Most of the photos were taken after dinner, which is when Fiona instructed everyone to begin capturing images, but there were a few taken by folks beginning with the moment the limo picked the group up at the airport. It seemed, in general, the group got along well together. The earlier photos even showed a seemingly happy and smiling Alvin.
“Check this out.” Georgia held up a photo. It was a photo of Fiona, Ambrosia, Jennifer, and Naomi, sitting on the front porch. It was close to dark, but the exterior lights were just coming on, so you could see quite well. I remembered the group gathering on the porch, and had mentioned it to Colt. Of course, not all of the women were present. In addition to the four in the photo, there was the photographer, but there didn’t seem to be any way to know who had taken the photo. There was an empty fifth chair and a half-full glass of wine, so I assumed the photographer had been sitting with the group. In the background, barely discernible in the dark were two people, who, based on size and clothing worn, looked to be men, one tall, one short. The women weren’t paying any attention to them, and I didn’t see any empty chairs where they might have been sitting. It looked like one of the men had a dinner jacket on while the other wore slacks and a sweater.
I looked at the photo of the entire group. Two men wore slacks and a sweater: Alvin and Jordan. Carson and Mike both wore polo shirts with colored denims. No one was wearing a jacket.
“Who do you think this is in the background?” I showed the photo to Georgia, pointing out the two figures in the background.
“It’s pretty dark, and they are awfully far away, so it’s hard to say for sure.” She took the photo and looked at it more closely. “I think this one is Alvin, but I don’t recognize the other guy. Like I said, it’s dark and hard to make out, but none of the men wore a jacket that evening.”
“Could it be Carson?” I asked. “Fiona is with the group sitting on the porch.”
; “No.” Georgia shook her head. “Carson is a lot taller than Alvin, and the man in the photo with Alvin looks to be shorter and slightly heavier than he is. Of course, I suppose the image could be distorted due to the distance and terrain. Still, I don’t think it’s Carson. Not Mike either. He’s even taller than Carson.”
“Jordan is slightly taller than Alvin, so I suppose it could be him, but somehow I just don’t think so.” Georgia picked up another photo. This one featured Carson, Mike, and Jordan, standing in a circle on the back porch. “This photo was taken at the back of the house at about the same time of day.” She pointed out. “See, the exterior lights are just coming on.”
“I do remember the women gathering on the front porch and the men on the back. Based on these photos, Carson, Mike, Jordan, Fiona, Ambrosia, Jennifer, and Naomi are accounted for. There’s also an unknown photographer who must have been Lisa, Willa, or Stephanie. That leaves Alvin and two of the three aforementioned women as unaccounted for. If that is Alvin in the background, could the person he’s talking to be one of the women?”
“No. The person with Alvin is definitely male. Look how short the hair is. Plus, all the women had dresses on that evening, and this person has slacks and a jacket.”
“I suppose we can ask Fiona about the photo when the group returns. She most likely remembers who the photographer was and where the other two women might have been at the time. Let’s set these photos aside.”
Georgia and I continued to sift through the photos, picking out those we found the most interesting. I figured once the group arrived, I’d pull Carson and Fiona aside and see what they thought about the story it appeared was beginning to unfold.
Chapter 14
I showed Fiona the photo Georgia and I had been looking at, and she confirmed that the man speaking to Alvin was Caspar. “I had no idea Caspar was here on Thursday. I certainly never saw him, and no one else mentioned seeing him. He must have shown up, chatted with Alvin for whatever reason, and then left.”
“Do you have any idea why Caspar would have wanted to chat face to face with Alvin?” I asked.
“None,” Fiona insisted. “I didn’t know they even knew each other, although Lisa has been taking Alvin to the club, and Caspar is a member, so I suppose they might have met there.”
“Or at one of the parties Alvin had Lisa get them invites to,” Carson added.
She nodded. “Yes, that’s a possibility as well. Alvin and Lisa have been making the rounds since they got together.”
“And how is Caspar related to you?” I asked.
“He’s not related. At least not by blood. My grandfather and Caspar’s grandfather were best friends who got their families together often. My father was and is good friends with Caspar’s older brother, Cedrick, so Cedrick and his family were always around when I was growing up. Cedrick is like an uncle to my sisters and me. In many ways, he was around more than my actual uncle, Frederick, was. Being so much younger than my father, I can’t say that the two have always gotten along.”
“I remember hearing that Frederick was fifteen years younger than your father.”
She nodded. “Yes. That is correct. My dad went off to college when Frederick was just three. He was a grown man when Frederick was still a child. The two really didn’t share a childhood as most brothers do.”
“And Caspar?” I asked.
She shrugged. “He’s close in age to Frederick. I think he’s a few years older, but he is much closer to Frederick in age than my father is. As I said before, Cedrick was around a lot when I was a child, and I remember that Caspar was around for big events. I always thought of him as the weird uncle the family had inherited due to his shared history with my father’s best friend. I didn’t invite either Caspar or Frederick to come this weekend, they simply made their own reservations in town and announced that they planned to attend the formal dinner. It almost seems as if they came up with the idea together, although I’d be surprised if they did. They are close in age, but they never really got along all that well.”
“Do you think Caspar meeting with Alvin on Thursday night had anything to do with his death?” Carson asked.
“I don’t know. Can you think of a reason that Caspar might have wanted to kill Alvin?” I asked.
“Caspar didn’t kill Alvin,” Fiona said. “He’s a weak squeamish man. Not that he couldn’t have hired someone to do the deed if he wanted Alvin dead, but I don’t see him as the actual killer.” She looked at the photo in her hand. “Still, it is odd that he was here that night. I wonder what he and Alvin were talking about.”
“Maybe they had a professional relationship,” Georgia spoke for the first time. “Alvin did work on Wall Street, and Caspar does have money.”
Fiona wrinkled her nose. “I guess that might be it. Alvin could be very persuasive. He tried really hard to get me to agree to let him invest my money, but I told him no. Caspar, however, is a glutton for attention, and if you compliment him on his shoes, he’ll give you anything you ask for. I can see that it might be possible that Alvin was able to flatter Caspar into investing with him.”
“Do you know who took this photo?” Georgia asked.
“Stephanie. Lisa said she had a phone call to make and headed up to her room, so she didn’t join us on the porch. I’m not sure where Willa was. I guess she might have been in her suite as well.”
“Actually, she was in the back with the guys,” Carson said. “I’m not sure she’s totally comfortable with all the new people in my life.”
“I get it,” Fiona said. “She’s comfortable with you and Mike. I get why she would want to hang out with you.”
Fiona picked up a stack of photos and began looking through them. I could see her frown deepen as she shuffled through the stack. “I just can’t believe Caspar was actually here on Thursday, and I had no idea.” She looked at me. “It seems he must have been here for only a few minutes. I suppose he could have had a car up on the road. If he does have something to do with Alvin’s death, how do we prove that?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll talk to Colt about it when he arrives. It seems clear the killer is trying to set Naomi up. How do Caspar and Naomi get along?”
Fiona laughed. “Naomi gets along with him okay. Caspar seems drawn to her and she is kind to him in return. To be honest, he isn’t my favorite person, but I do tolerate him. He can be pushy and opinionated, and he really does tell the worst jokes, but like it or not, he’s bonded to us in much the same way as the ugly chandelier in the ballroom mother wants to get rid of, but dad insists must stay.”
“I guess there are just some things and some people you inherit simply because you are a member of the family you were born into,” Georgia said.
“Exactly,” Fiona agreed. “Especially if you’re a member of a family like mine, where tradition is such a huge part of who we are and how we get through the day.”
Carson picked up a photo and looked at it closely. It was a photo of him and Fiona, Mike, and Ambrosia at the dining table. “I remember this. Naomi took this photo just a few minutes before we decided to go up to our suites. Since she used her phone to take the photo, I know she had it in her possession at the time. You said that someone used Naomi’s phone to call Alvin at two-fifteen. This is around one. I guess if you want the exact time, you can look at the date and time stamp on her phone.”
“So if she was taking photos late into the evening, we might be able to narrow the timeline down a bit in determining when she lost it, or someone stole it,” I realized.
“We just need to ask her for her phone and then look at the photos and see what time she stopped taking them,” Fiona said. “I’ll go and get her phone.”
“Maybe we should wait for Colt. He’ll be here at any moment, and I’ve probably already overstepped by talking to the two of you without him being here.”
“We were willing to speak to you. You didn’t strong-arm us. I think we’re fine,” Carson said.
“Someone killed one of my guests
and is trying to frame my baby sister, I want to find out who that someone is,” Fiona jumped in.
I had to admit that was the first time she’d demonstrated any real anger about the situation. Maybe everyone wasn’t as cold and unfeeling as it initially seemed.
Fiona went upstairs to look for Naomi, so I headed into the kitchen to check in with Georgia. She looked to have everything handled, but I liked to help when I could.
“I seem to be out of thyme,” Georgia said. “I have some in the cottage. Would you mind running over and grabbing it?”
“No problem.”
I headed out the kitchen door and toward the cottage. As I walked along the path connecting the two structures, I noticed Willa sitting alone on the patio. She looked to be deep in thought, and I hated to disturb her, but my instinct told me it might be a good idea to find out what was on her mind. I ran and got the thyme for Georgia and then took it back to the kitchen in the inn before heading outside once again to speak to Carson’s sister.
“Beautiful evening.”
She looked up, lifting just one corner of her mouth. “It is beautiful. You’re lucky to live here. It is so peaceful and serene.”
“I enjoy it quite a lot. If you come out here late in the evening, all you can hear is the sound of the waves hitting the rocks at the bottom of the bluff. No traffic, no sirens in the distance, no arguing from the neighbors, just waves.”
“Sounds nice.” She smiled. “Of course, the quiet would probably make me nuts. I guess having lived in a big city all my life, I’m used to the sounds of the city and would feel lost without them.”
“I understand that. I was that way at first as well, but once you get used to the quiet, there is nothing like it.”
“Where did you live before here?” Willa asked.
“San Francisco.”
Her eyes grew wide. “Wow. You moved clear across the country. That must have been quite the decision.”
I let out a long slow breath. “My husband and infant son were killed in an auto accident. I felt as if I needed a change. A big change. I needed to reinvent who I was and how I fit in the world. Don’t get me wrong, I was terrified, but I knew in my heart that leaving my old life behind was the best thing for me, so I bought this estate and built a new life.”