Lonesome Lake

by Lesley Appleton-Jones

  Po gave her a moment to recover her composure before suggesting, “You may want to mention it to Cal.”

  “But I didn’t know her well.”

  “Any information about her could help them build a picture of her life,” he said.

  A waitress came out of the kitchen and placed Po’s burger and fries down in front of him. Frannie reached under the counter and pulled out a bottle of Dave’s Gourmet Insanity Hot Sauce. He’d told her about his penchant for Tabasco. “I saw this and thought you might enjoy it.”

  “That’s great,” Po said, examining the label. “You bought this for me?”

  “I have to keep my best customers happy.”

  “Thanks.”

  “You bet.” She watched him shake hot sauce over his burger and fries, pat the bun down and take a huge bite. He chewed a couple of times and swallowed. “Now that’s what I call a burger, and the sauce is fantastic.”

  She chuckled. “That should set you up for the day. I hate to think how much it cost to feed you as a kid.”

  Leaving him to take another order, Frannie greeted a couple who’d come in to share their shock about what had happened in their safe town. He didn’t have another opportunity to ask more questions.

  After rounding off his meal with a piece of Frannie’s homemade cherry cobbler and ice cream, he picked up his helmet and called out goodbye to her. Closing the restaurant door, he smiled and hoped, with a level of desperation he’d be too embarrassed to admit, that she didn’t buy special bottles of hot sauce for all of her regulars.

  Zipping up his leather jacket, he noticed a man checking out his bike. “She’s a beauty, isn’t she?” Po called out as he walked toward him. The man turned, and Po realized he was a teenager. He looked sixteen, maybe seventeen. His height made him appear older. So did his piercing blue eyes, which were tight with mistrust and the unmistakable calculation of someone forced to grow up way too fast.

  The kid looked back at the bike. “Sweet ride. Is it yours?”

  “No. I’ve just finished restoring it for a client. I’m test riding it.”

  The teen gazed lovingly at the Triumph. “British, right?”

  “Yes. A 1955 TR5 Trophy.”

  “Was that blue the original color?”

  “Yes, but my client asked me to restore it with the same modifications as James Dean’s ‘55. The seat, straight pipes and handlebars are custom.”

  “You did all that?”

  “Yup.”

  “Cool.”

  Po liked the way the kid’s eyes softened as they talked about the motorcycle. “If you think this is cool, you should see the shipment I just received from England.”

  “What is it?” The kid couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice. It made him seem younger, more vulnerable.

  “A 1912 Triumph TT Roadster. An elderly widow found it stored in her garden shed.”

  “Really?”

  Po nodded. “It’s in pretty good condition. Her husband purchased it over fifty years ago as an investment, covered it up and left it there.”

  “Wow. That’s some investment.”

  “It sure is.” Po slid a leg over the bike and put on his helmet.

  The kid grinned with delight when the engine snarled to life.

  “Feel free to stop over later and check out the Roadster. I’ll be in for the rest of the day.”

  The kid tensed.

  “I’m Munroe Podell. Po for short.” He extended his hand. “I live at the white farm near the corner of East Ridge Road and Pinehill.”

  The kid looked down at Po’s hand for a moment before deciding to shake it. “I know exactly where that is. My name’s Jesse Keegan.”

  Po slipped the bike into gear. “You can usually find me down in the garages or up in the apartment above them. Honk if I’m not around.”

  “I’ll do that,” Jesse said as Po pulled away from the curb.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Holly watched as Jimmy Turner mounted a brand new Redline BMX bike that must have cost hundreds of dollars. Nicky’s wasn’t cheap either, but Skeeter’s was chipped and rusting and at least two sizes too small for him.

  Skeeter and Nicky peddled off as fast as they could with their heads down, and their eyes averted. Jimmy, on the other hand, took his time and smirked at them as if to say he’d just outfoxed an unworthy opponent.

  “That’s an interesting trio,” Raines observed as he watched Jimmy jump his bike off the curb.

  “It sure is. I didn’t know the Parrish kid hung around with Turner and Logan.”

  “How old are they?”

  Holly turned to her car. “Fourteen or fifteen.”

  “Melody’s age,” Raines noted. “Have they been in trouble before?”

  “Jimmy Turner has. He didn’t want to wait until Christmas for his presents last year. We busted him for stealing a pair of sunglasses and a camera from a ski shop. Lucky for him, his parents hired a hotshot lawyer from Manchester. He didn’t get so much as a slap on the wrist.”

  “What about the other two?”

  “I’ve caught Nicky Logan a few times hanging around town late at night with Jimmy. I know Skeeter because he used to come with his mom to bail his dad out. I’ve also questioned him when I’ve been out to Parrish’s place on domestic violence calls. The calls were anonymous. I think it was the neighbors, but Skeeter and his mom protect Parrish, and we couldn’t see anything wrong.”

  “Do you think the boys would be up for a B&E?”

  “If Jimmy was doing the convincing, I bet they’d go along with it. Worth checking out. Jimmy’s the kind of kid I’ve been looking for. I can see him breaking into the vacation homes to steal booze.” Opening the car door, a lingering smell of smoke from the fire hit her. She’d have to remember to leave the windows open overnight.

  ◆◆◆

  Back at the station half an hour later, they found Olivia May in the Chief’s office. Holly couldn’t remember a time when the Chief used an outside consultant before. Yet this wasn’t like any other case they’d had.

  Holly sat in one of the chairs to the side of the Chief’s desk. Raines took the one next to Olivia. Holly noted that there was something mesmerizing and charismatic about them that had nothing to do with their attractiveness. Successful and talented, Raines and Olivia had an air of quiet confidence. No hint of arrogance, she noted. They were at ease in mind and body like they’d just meditated for a month, and they looked good together.

  As Chief Finch loaded the video footage from Denton’s, Holly told them about the boys and her suspicion that they may be responsible for some of the break-ins, as well as where Skeeter said they could find his dad. Listening, Finch rocked back and forth in his chair like he was riding the high seas. Much more of his incessant rocking and Holly thought she just might get sick. Beaupré’s pumpkin-flavored coffee had caused the spicy burrito she’d wolfed down for breakfast to go nuclear in her stomach and detonate a ton of acid. In hindsight, Mexican food hadn’t been the smartest choice to start her day, but that was all she’d had in the freezer.

  Once she’d finished, he said he’d have patrol keep an eye on the kids for suspicious activity and relayed his news. He didn’t have much. Gasoline was the accelerant, and Mimi’s cause of death was a fatal stab wound to the heart. There were no signs of rape.

  After that, he played the footage. They watched as Mimi Milbourne left the parking lot at three minutes past five on Friday afternoon. Seconds later, Gavin Parrish peeled out of the gas station after her. Finch paused the footage on the clear shot of Parrish’s face. “No Charles Milbourne, but Parrish will do.”

  Raines asked, “Did Gustafson interview Parrish?”

  Finch shook his head. “He hasn’t been able to find him, but the focus has been on Milbourne. I’ll have Gus put out an APB and coordinate the search for Parrish. To tell the truth, Gus and I didn’t like Parrish for it. We’re dealing with a real sick bastard. We couldn’t see being fired over mowing down some damn flowe
rs as a motive, but I sure as hell don’t like the way he took off after Mimi.” He stared at the frozen image of Parrish hunched over his steering wheel with a mean glare on his face. “Did Beaupré give you anything on Parrish?”

  “Nothing different from what Milbourne told us.” She summarized the rest of the conversation they’d had with Beaupré. She concluded by pointing out that both Beaupré and Parrish were connected to Mimi Milbourne and Nancy Taggart, but Beaupré had benefitted financially from Nancy Taggart’s death.

  Chief Finch settled his girth forward in his chair and blew out a loud puff of air. “What do you think, Livy?”

  Olivia sat with the grace of a prima ballerina—upright posture, chin lifted to lengthen her neck, and hands soft in her lap. “Do we know anything about Robert Beaupré’s relationship with Nancy Taggart?” she asked.

  Finch responded, “He was interviewed at the time of the hit and run, which was back in February, as were all the people who worked for her. I’ll confirm with Gus, but I believe they all said that Beaupré and Nancy got along great.”

  Holly interjected, “Parrish should have been interviewed at that time. According to Milbourne, he snowplowed for them and probably worked for Nancy Taggart before Beaupré took over.”

  The Chief nodded. “At the time, Nancy’s assistant gave us a list of contractors who worked for her. I’ll check if they questioned him.”

  Olivia asked, “What about Beaupré’s relationship with Mimi Milbourne?”

  Raines said, “Her husband didn’t mention any problems, but there’s the possible drug angle.” He turned to Olivia and told her about Gabby’s suspicions that Beaupré was dealing drugs out of properties he managed and the possibility that Mimi had caught him in the act.

  Olivia considered it for a moment. “Your theory that Beaupré was dealing out of the Milbourne property is not without merit. However, if Mimi caught him in the act, wouldn’t he have killed her at the house and left her body there? It was too complicated and risky to be a spur-of-the-moment cover-up. It was a crime of anger, and it feels planned.”

  The Chief’s phone rang. He picked it up, listened for a moment before bellowing, “Hell’s bells! This isn’t social hour.” Then he fell silent, and they watched his eyes widen in surprise. After a minute, he said, “Put her in Interview One.” He hung up, rocked back in his chair and scratched his round belly. “Frannie Lacroix is here to see Raines.”

  Raines shrugged with such Gallic nonchalance that Holly expected him to say “C’est la vie.”

  The Chief continued. “Your friend, Monroe Podell, just had lunch over at The Muddy Paw. When Frannie mentioned that she was in a women’s business group that included Mimi Milbourne, he suggested she come talk to you.” He pointed a finger at Raines. “We’ll need the names of all the group members. We can’t rule out that they’re all targets. Take Holly with you.

  “Meanwhile, Livy and I will review the Nancy Taggart hit and run. See if we can come up with a new angle, and I’ll ask Gabby to bring in everything she has on the Beaupré case. She may know how much he paid for the business. I also need to follow up with the DEA. They were making calls to their Canadian contacts.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Frannie was texting when Holly and Raines entered the interview room. She looked up at them and said, “I think this is a waste of your time, but Po was pretty insistent I talk to you.”

  Raines sat down opposite her. “It was good advice, Frannie. Nobody knows what’s important at this point of the investigation. Tell us about Mimi.”

  Frannie tucked her phone into her coat pocket. “Mimi acted as an advisor to a group of women who own businesses in the Caxton area. We met at my restaurant once a month to discuss any issues we were having.”

  “Who was in your group?” Raines asked.

  “Mindy Barber, who owns Mountain Peak Books; Jen Fischer, who owns Sweet Cakes, and Nancy Taggart. That was another horrific thing that happened this year. Poor Nancy.”

  Holly felt a tingle of excitement. This could be the connection they needed.

  Raines asked, “Were there any problems in the group, any conflicts?”

  Frannie shook her head. “It was a friendly group. We talked, drank wine, ate dinner. That was it. Turned out to be more social than business.”

  “Did you purchase insurance from Mimi?” Raines asked.

  “I think we all did.” She sighed. “There’s not much else to tell. I wish I could be more helpful. She was a good person.”

  “This was useful,” Holly told her. “Besides, I had a couple of questions I needed to ask you anyway.”

  “Okay,” Frannie said slowly, as if unsure of what was coming.

  “Was Robert Beaupré at the restaurant on Friday?”

  “Bob? Yes. He’s usually there on Wednesdays and Fridays. Wednesdays are all-you-can-eat meatloaf. Fridays are prime rib night. Bob sure loves his red meat, but now that you ask, I’m not sure if he was in on Friday. It could have been Thursday. He always pays by credit card, so I could check the receipts when I get home tonight.”

  “That would be great,” Holly said.

  Raines changed the subject. “I heard Scotty worked for Mimi?”

  “That’s right. I introduced them. Mimi had complained about a fraudulent disability claim that had taken a long time to resolve because she couldn’t find anyone up here to do surveillance. Her investigator in Boston charged an arm and a leg. I suggested she try Scotty. He’d just come home from the war and wanted to start up his own business.” A touch of wariness crept into her voice. “Why the interest in Scotty?”

  Raines didn’t answer her question. “Do you know if they were friends?”

  Frannie frowned. “Friends? You mean as in up close and personal friends?”

  Raines nodded.

  Her response was curt. “You know Scotty’s my cousin, right?”

  He nodded again and explained, “An affair would provide her husband with a motive.”

  Frannie leaned closer to him. “I wasn’t born yesterday. It would also be motive for Scotty. Anyway, it doesn’t matter because I couldn’t tell you who Scotty’s seeing right now. He doesn’t confide in me. And, even if I knew something, which I don’t, the last thing I’m going to do is run my mouth off and get Scotty into trouble. He’s a hero. He joined the Army to protect Americans, not kill them.” She picked up her purse from the table as if getting ready to leave but added, “Anyway, Mimi wasn’t his type.”

  “How come?”

  “You know his type.”

  “Back in high school,” Raines said. “But people change.”

  “Not Scotty. She wasn’t exactly the fun and flirty type. Mimi was a lot older. She was a serious businesswoman and really in love with her husband in a cute, gushy sort of way. He would hold the chair out for her and place a hand on her shoulder after she sat down. She would pat his hand affectionately and smile up at him. You could tell they were still in love.”

  Raines nodded. “Apart from your group, do you know if Mimi had any problems with anyone?”

  Frannie pursed her lips. “No. She was always willing to help out. If you had a question about anything, she was the person to ask. Everyone liked her.” She frowned. “Except for Tim, that is.”

  “Tim?”

  “It was nothing. I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Just a little misunderstanding is all.”

  “What happened?”

  “One of my waitresses, Edith Smith, got sick. Very sick.” Frannie lowered her voice, even though no one could overhear them. “She’s dying of cancer. It’s so sad. Anyway, she didn’t have much money and no health insurance. She was about to lose her house. It was awful. Her nephew Tim lives with her. He’s dependent on her. She’s taken care of him for years, even got him the job at the restaurant as a dishwasher.

  “I did what I could for her, but it wasn’t enough to keep her afloat. I happened to mention it to Mimi, hoping she knew of some type of emergency funds or a loan. She visited Edith a
t the hospital. Don’t ask me how, but Mimi managed to cash in Edith’s life insurance policy early. It saved her home. She was grateful, but Tim wasn’t happy. He accused Mimi of stealing from his aunt.

  “As far as I could tell, he was upset because Edith didn’t receive the full amount of the policy. I told him that wasn’t unreasonable. People are in business to make money, but he was madder than a fisher cat at me for introducing them. He told me I was meddling and quit his job.” Worry creased her brow. “But Tim wouldn’t do anything to Mimi. He’s a loner, but he’s a good person, a caring person. I’ve known him a long time, and he dotes on his aunt. Take my word for it. He wouldn’t hurt anyone. I’d trust him with my life.”

  Holly mused over the comment. Frannie would probably be shocked to learn how many crimes were actually committed by someone the victim trusted with their life. “We need to talk to Tim. Do you know where we can find him?”

  “I’ve overstated his reaction. He didn’t make any threats, and in the end, I’m sure he realized that it was for the best.”

  Holly responded, “He might know something that would help.”

  Frannie considered this for a moment before saying, “Promise no tough cop routine with him?”

  “Scout’s honor,” Holly said while making the peace sign.

  Frannie looked peevish. “That’s not the Scout’s official salute.”

  “That’s the best I can do.”

  Frannie turned to Raines.

  Who reassured her by saying, “We just need to talk to him. That’s it.”

  She slipped her purse over her shoulder. “Tim hasn’t found another job yet, so he’ll either be at his aunt’s house or at the hospital. He’s not taking her illness well and doesn’t leave her for long, so my best guess is the hospital.” Frannie stood up. “Now I need to get back to the restaurant. We’re busy because of all the reporters in town.”

  As Frannie left, Holly’s phone vibrated.

  “Anything?” Raines asked.