by J A Whiting
Courtney wrapped her arms around the older man to give him a big hug. “Well done, Mr. Finch, well done.”
“It’s very good information,” Angie nodded and squeezed his shoulder. “It will help us as we move forward.”
“I think my furry friend helped calm me so that I was able to feel the sensations.” Finch scratched the cat’s cheek. “Well done to you, too, little one.”
Circe trilled as Ellie and Jenna came to Finch’s side and gave him hugs.
Ellie asked the chief, “What about the suicide note that was found on this laptop? Can we see that now?”
With a nod, Chief Martin tapped on the keys and brought a document up on the screen. “Here it is.” He stepped away so the others could cluster around to see what was written.
When everyone finished reading the letter, the room was silent for almost a full minute.
“Well,” Jenna finally said, “it’s a very sad telling of Perry’s struggles.”
“It’s heartbreaking, really,” Angie said.
“The headaches took a terrible toll on him,” Ellie remarked with a long sigh.
Courtney’s eyes narrowed and a look of disgust showed on her face. “I get the feeling this is a piece of fiction.”
All eyes turned to the youngest Roseland sister.
“Do you?” the chief questioned.
“When Mr. Finch touched the keyboard, he didn’t pick up a sense of hopelessness from Perry,” Courtney said. “It seems to me that someone contemplating ending his life would feel hopeless.”
“So you’re implying that someone else wrote this letter?” Ellie asked.
“Yes, I am,” Courtney said.
“Good,” Ellie said, “because I feel the same way.”
“Mr. Finch felt someone’s anger and hostility when he was experiencing the keyboard,” Angie pointed out. “That person might have killed Perry, and wrote this note.”
“Do any of you think it’s probable that Perry took his life?” Chief Martin asked.
No one responded.
“Okay then, we’re all on the same page,” the chief said with a nod. “Now the question is … who did end Perry’s life?”
Angie looked up at the chief. “Could we go to the boarding house? Could we go and take a look at Perry’s room again?”
Chief Martin didn’t ask why. He simply nodded and said, “Let’s go.”
Perry’s living accommodations consisted of a two-room suite, a sitting room and a bedroom with a private bath. Maribeth was surprised to see the six people and two cats at her door and was even more surprised when Chief Martin told her they were there to take a look at Perry’s room.
“We’ll only be a short while,” the chief assured Maribeth. “We only want to have a quick look around.”
When they entered the living room of Perry’s suite, Chief Martin flipped the wall switch and light flooded the space. A small sofa and a chair took up the left side of the room and a long computer desk stood along the opposite wall. Framed photographs hung on the wall over the desk. The doorway led into the bedroom where a double bed sat in the middle of the room with a small side table next to it. A six-drawer dresser stood against the right side wall and a closet was positioned on the left side next to the door leading to the small bathroom.
“It’s quite a nice setup,” Ellie said glancing around.
With her heart racing, Angie stood quietly at the entrance to the bedroom staring at the bed where they’d found Perry. Circe and Euclid stepped into the room, sniffing here and there around the rug and the furniture.
“Do you want to go in?” Chief Martin came up beside Angie. “I’ll go in with you.”
Angie nodded and they walked slowly over to the bed. The image of Perry lying there cold and still flashed through Angie’s mind and sent a shudder through her muscles. Trying to slow her breathing, she closed her eyes to block everything out.
What went on in here?
Quick visions popped in her brain like fireworks going off. Perry at his desk. Someone at the doorway. A question. Resentment. Perry resting on his bed with the back of his hand over his forehead. A shadow entering the room. An odor.
Angie’s eyes flicked open and a short gasp escaped from her throat.
“Are you okay?” the chief asked.
“Do you smell something?”
The chief took a couple of seconds to answer. “Only a bit of a musty smell like the room’s been closed up. Is that what you mean?”
“No. I smell something else. Hair spray? Paint thinner? Something medicinal?” Angie ran her hand through her hair while trying to determine what the odor was.
“I don’t smell anything either, sis,” Courtney said as she and Ellie moved to the entrance to the room.
“Where’s Jenna?” Angie asked.
“I’m here. Do you need me?” Jenna walked past her two sisters and before Angie could say anything, the brunette scrunched up her nose. “What’s that smell?”
A look of relief washed over Angie and she let out a sigh. “What does it smell like to you?”
Jenna sniffed. “Nail polish remover? Medicine? Where is it coming from?”
“From the night Perry died,” Angie said.
“Oh.” Jenna moved closer to her twin.
A scratching noise caused Angie, Jenna, and the chief to look across the room to where Circe pawed furiously under the radiator near the window.
Euclid released a shrieking howl and Jenna reached for her sister’s hand. “What’s wrong with them?”
When Chief Martin hurried over to the animals, Circe stopped her pawing and looked up at the man. The chief knelt and looked under the heater, then he pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and poked at something until it slipped out from beneath the radiator.
He stood and held the object out for the others to see.
“What is it?” Jenna asked.
“Thanks, you two.” Chief Martin smiled down at the cats before answering Jenna’s question. “It looks to be the plastic top to a syringe … most likely the syringe used to inject Perry with. And hopefully, it has someone’s fingerprints on it.”
10
It was late afternoon when Angie joined Jenna in her jewelry studio in the room at the back of the Victorian. The studio had big windows that offered a pretty view of the flower gardens Ellie had planted and there was a fireplace on the far wall with a round wooden table in front of it where the sisters often sat and helped Jenna with the jewelry production.
Jenna sat at a desk near the window sketching new designs on her pad, and next to her on the windowsill were glass jars and bottles filled with colorful sea glass the sisters had gathered with their nana over the years. More than once, the sea glass had sparkled and shimmered and shafts of light from the multicolored pieces shot about the room. When the strange display would finish, the ghost of their nana would be in the room with them. It hadn’t happened since last Christmas, but they knew Nana would return one day.
Angie sat at the desk opposite Jenna’s putting together necklaces and bracelets following her sister’s designs. She glanced over to the sofa by the window where the two cats were snoozing. “I’d love to be able to take a nap any time I wanted to.”
Jenna took a quick look at Circe and Euclid stretched out over the couch. “No doubt about it, they have the life.”
Angie brought up what had been on her mind since visiting Perry’s suite of rooms in the boarding house. “Why can’t the others smell that odor in Perry’s bedroom?”
Jenna stopped drawing and fiddled with her pencil. “It must be a paranormal skill we’re developing. We’re twins. Maybe some of our skills will overlap.”
“Why do we smell it?” Angie asked. “What does it represent?”
Jenna absentmindedly tapped the eraser end of the pencil on her pad. “It’s sort of a medicinal smell. Could we be picking up on the substance that was injected into Perry? Is that what we’re smelling?”
“It might be.” Angie gave a no
d. “Could it be something else though? Could it be related somehow to the person who killed Perry?”
“Are we sure he was killed?” Jenna tilted her head in question thinking about the possibility. “Could he have injected himself with too much medicine accidentally?”
“If he did, where’s the syringe?”
“Like we’ve said before, someone might have come by Perry’s room and removed it for any number of reasons,” Jenna said. “There’s also the suicide note on the laptop, but Courtney is adamant that someone other than Perry wrote it.” Letting out a sigh, she said, “I guess he was killed.” Jenna pushed her long brown braid over her shoulder. “You think the odor was left behind by the killer?”
“I wonder. What would make the smell attach to the person?” Angie asked.
“What if he or she is a hairstylist?” Jenna asked. “The smells of shampoo and conditioners and hairspray might permeate the person’s clothes and hair and then traces of the smells get left behind in rooms the person was in?”
“That’s a good idea,” Angie said. “The killer might work in an art gallery or an art studio. The odor of paints, thinners, glue … they could all attach to the person while he or she is working.” Making eye contact with her sister, she said, “What about hospital smells like medicine, sanitizers, things like that? The person could work in a hospital or be an EMT or work as a dentist.”
“Yeah. All those things. It’s not exactly narrowing down a suspect, is it?” Jenna asked.
“Megan Milton is a pharmacy student,” Angie said with a pointed expression. “She has access to medication and she admits to wishing there was more to her relationship with Perry than only being friends.”
“But her admission shows us she’s not trying to hide anything,” Jenna pointed out as she watched her sister place the glass beads on the wire. “Do you think those colors go together? Is it too bold?”
“It’s perfect,” Angie said reaching across the mat for a tool. “Don’t second-guess yourself.”
Jenna returned to her sketching. “If I had something to do with Perry’s death, I wouldn’t spill my guts about how I wished he and I could’ve dated. It could make the police suspicious of me. If Megan had a hand in killing Perry, I think she would be more careful about relating her desires.”
“She does seem pretty open when she talks to us,” Angie twisted the end of the wire on the bracelet. “But sometimes, I feel like she’s holding back. Maybe she’s not telling us everything.”
“Did you tell Chief Martin your concerns about her?” Jenna asked. “He might want to chat with her again.”
The conversation moved to Angie’s bake shop and the satellite shop opening in the museum.
“The people at the museum seem very friendly and helpful and it seems like a great opportunity.” Angie laid out the beads and silver findings on the mat for the next bracelet.
“I hear a but in there,” Jenna noted.
“But is this the right time to expand?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? Seize the opportunity when it’s placed in your lap.”
Angie looked at her sister. “What if Josh and I have a child soon?”
Jenna lifted her eyes to her twin as a smile spread across her face. “Are you…?”
“No, I’m not pregnant, but we’d like to start a family soon. Will I be biting off more than I can handle if we have a baby and I have two shops to run?”
“You have Louisa. She’s a great worker. You can depend on her. The two of you can run the businesses.”
“What if Louisa marries Lance and she has a child?” Angie worried.
Jenna chuckled. “You can’t plan for every contingency. You have to live your life. Louisa probably will marry Lance and they probably will have a baby. You’ll hire more help. And we’re all around. Mr. Finch talks about cutting back his hours at the candy store and passing more responsibility to Courtney. That was his plan from the beginning. He’d love to help with a child and with the bake shop.”
A light breeze moved the branches of a tree in the yard causing the sunlight to come through the window and hit the sea glass jars at a different angle and, for a moment, Jenna and Angie thought Nana was about to make an appearance.
“It’s just the outside light,” Angie said with disappointment.
“I wondered if we were about to have a visitor.” Jenna kept her eyes on the sea glass just in case. “But I guess not.”
Angie’s face looked a little sad. “For a second, I thought our talk of babies might be drawing Nana to us.” Last winter, Angie, in grave danger from an unknown foe, received help from two unexpected sources … the ghost of her nana and the spirit of her future daughter.
Courtney entered the jewelry studio carrying a silver tray holding several different kinds of sweets, some cups and saucers, and a sugar and creamer. “What’s cookin’ in here?”
“We’re working.” Jenna grinned at the tray in her sister’s hands. “But it might be time for a break. What have you got there?”
Mr. Finch followed Courtney into the room holding his cane in one hand and a coffee pot in the other. “We have some new candy for you to taste test. We’ve left some in the dining room for the B and B guests to give their opinions as well, but of course, we value what you think the most, so here we are.”
Putting the tray on the desk, Courtney looked at Angie and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” Angie was surprised by the question. “Why?”
“Your face looks sad.” Courtney put the back of her hand on Angie’s cheeks and then checked her forehead. “You don’t have a temperature.”
“I’m fine.” Angie playfully batted away her sister’s hand. “We were talking about Nana.”
“Why?”
“No reason. We were just chatting.” Angie moved the cups from the tray to the top of the desk.
Finch poured coffee into the cups. “It has been a while since your nana has paid us a visit. Although she didn’t show herself, I believe she was present at your wedding,” he told Angie.
“I agree, Mr. Finch.” Angie’s face brightened. “I could feel her near me … and our mom, too.”
The cats trilled from the sofa.
Courtney moved the plate of sweets to the desk and explained what she and Mr. Finch had created. “And this one has several layers of fudge alternating with thin layers of vanilla cake. Then we covered it with chocolate ganache. It’s a modern twist on petit-fours.”
Jenna’s eyes widened. “I’ll try that one first.”
The foursome sipped coffee and nibbled on the sweets, and Angie and Jenna gave their opinions on the new creations … which were all favorable and full of praise for the candy makers.
“You two like everything.” Courtney shook her head. “You’re no help at all. I don’t know why we even ask you.”
“If something wasn’t good, we’d tell you,” Jenna mumbled as she chewed one of the caramel candies.
“I don’t think your taste is discriminating enough for our products,” Courtney teased causing Mr. Finch to chuckle.
Euclid and Circe stood up on the sofa and stared towards the threshold of the doorway, and two seconds later, Ellie walked into the room holding a phone. “You left your phone in the kitchen,” she told Angie. “There’s a text from Chief Martin. He wants you to come to the police station. Maura Norris, Perry’s former girlfriend, just showed up there.”
Adrenaline hurried through Angie’s veins as everyone shared worried looks with one another, and then she stood up to go to the police station.
11
When Jenna and Angie arrived at the station, a woman in her late-twenties with short, white blond hair that made her look like a pixie sat on the vinyl seat in the waiting room checking her phone. Angie looked to the desk clerk who nodded his head at the woman indicating that she was Maura Norris.
“Maura?” Angie stepped over to introduce herself and her sister.
The slim, average-height woman looked up
and stood. With a pleasant smile, she said, “I’m Maura. Chief Martin and I just finished talking and he told me you’d be along. He had another meeting so I waited out here.”
“There’s a small conference room we could use, but it’s so nice outside, would you like to take a walk with us. We can chat while we walk,” Angie said.
Maura’s face lit up at the suggestion. “I’d love that. I’m always cooped up inside. Walking around would be great.”
Jenna suggested a stroll to Coveside, a pretty area of Sweet Cove down by the harbor with shops and stores, brick sidewalks, and gardens.
“I haven’t been to Coveside in almost a year.” Maura checked the store windows as they walked past. “I’m in Boston now doing my residency. I don’t have time for a getaway or a weekend trip.”
“We’re sorry about Perry,” Angie told the woman. “We understand you and he had dated.”
“We did.” Maura ran her hand over the side of her hair. “We were together for a little over a year and a half. We were both working so hard all the time that we didn’t really have the time or energy to foster a relationship. Perry and I had an attraction to one another and even though I knew it would never last, I was drawn into seeing him. He was a great guy.” Maura shook her head and touched a finger to her eyes. “Who would ever imagine this would happen to him.”
“Did Chief Martin ask you to come up?” Jenna asked trying to clarify how Maura’s and the chief’s meeting came about.
“I came up on a whim. Several meetings I had got cancelled so I decided to drive up to speak with the chief,” Maura said. “He’s a very nice man. At least, he seems so. Do you have a different opinion of him?”