Halloween in Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 6) (6 page)

“Maybe you should tell her that,” Tj scolded. “Do you know she decided not to come to the reunion after your interview with her?”

“If she’s the person we both think she is, she didn’t cancel because of something I said. If I were you, I would look more closely at her real motive.”

Tj frowned. Real motive? What real motive? Tj had to wonder if Colton had a lot more information than she was sharing.

She closed her notebook just as a bell rang in the distance.

“I know you interviewed Jada Jenkins. She also canceled her plans to attend the reunion after speaking to you. Do you also think she’s innocent?” Tj asked.

“Not at all. We’re out of time. I’ll be in touch.”

With that she was gone.

Chapter 7

Thankfully, Tj’s dad had gotten her 4Runner running and had left it for her in the school parking lot so that she would be able to drop her sisters off at dance that afternoon. After that she headed toward the modest house where Chantel and Lexi Michaels lived. Although the house was small, the yard was well kept and the porch was seasonally decorated, giving the property a welcoming feel. Lexi opened the door several seconds after Tj knocked.

“Coach Jensen. What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to speak to your mom, actually. I called ahead; she’s expecting me.”

Lexi opened the door to allow Tj to come inside. “I’m not going back to school. Ever.”

“Yes, I’ve heard that’s your stance. We really missed you at soccer practice today. You know the left side totally falls apart when you aren’t there.”

Lexi frowned but didn’t say anything.

“Coach Jensen,” Chantel greeted as she glided into the room. “I thought we’d chat on the back patio if that’s okay with you.”

“Patio? It’s pouring rain.”

“It’s an enclosed patio.”

“Oh, then that would be great.” Tj smiled at Lexi, who appeared to be at loose ends, and then followed Chantel down the hall to the back of the house.

The patio, like the rest of the home, was compact but well-tended. Tj took a seat at the glass table that was positioned on the center of the brick entertainment area, which was covered and completely walled in with glass.

“Thank you for meeting with me,” Tj said.

Chantel really was beautiful. Her dark hair, blue eyes, flawless skin, and perfect smile topped a figure that even fashion models would envy. Tj felt the current
it
girls at Serenity High were plastic in appearance. They seemed to have to work to look the way Tj bet Chantel looked naturally.

“I guess you know I’m concerned about Lexi,” Tj began. “She’s such a great kid. One of my very favorite students, in fact. She’s kind and hardworking. And she has a bright future ahead of her. I hate to see it ruined by some random bully.”

Chantel smiled a sad little smile. “I agree with you. I’ve thought about the situation a lot since I found out what happened. I’ll admit to being at a loss as to how to proceed. I want what’s best for Lexi. I love her more than life itself, but I just don’t see how I can ask her to go back to that school. Kids can be so cruel.”

“They really can.”

“It’s funny. Not ha-ha funny but ironic. Lexi comes from a long line of women who bullied other people, and now she’s the one being bullied.”

Tj exhibited a look of surprise that Chantel would speak so openly.

“It’s true. My grandmother was a bully, and she brought my mother up to be one too. My mother was absolutely stunning. The world stood in line to do her bidding and she knew it. By the time I was in the fourth grade she’d passed on all her secrets to me. I knew how to demand respect and to own any environment in which I found myself. I cringe now, when I look back at the way I treated others. Popularity isn’t something you’re handed; it’s something you earn every day of your life. You have to know how to work it, and then you have to fight to stay on top.”

“But why would anyone want to go through all that?” Tj asked.

Chantel shrugged. “It becomes a way of life. Once you’ve tasted the power that comes with living in the number-one spot, you realize you’ll never settle for less. You’ll do whatever it takes to maintain your position.”

“Even knocking others down by bullying them?”

“Even that,” Chantel admitted.

“So why hasn’t Lexi followed in the tradition of the other women in your family? She’s stunning. She’s bright and athletic and could easily be Serenity High’s
it
girl, but she’s managed to stay grounded.”

Chantel took a deep breath. “I got pregnant with Lexi when I was just seventeen. The boy I’d been dating dumped me when he found out I was going to have a baby, so I became a single mom at eighteen. My own mother was mortified and disowned me. I vowed not only to turn over a new leaf but to make sure the cycle was broken and Lexi didn’t grow up with unrealistic social expectations. It seems, however, that all I’ve managed to accomplish is to turn her into a victim.”

“So how do we find out who did this to her?” Tj asked.

Chantel frowned. “I’m not sure. I’d definitely look at the girls at the top of the social hierarchy. The girls who have the most to lose. Being number one is exhausting. It’s like juggling cats. You don’t dare stop for fear the other girls will scratch your eyes out. The level of stress that comes with the position can make you do horrible things. I’d also look at anyone who seems to be on the way up. Someone who wants to gain acceptance from the most popular girls. There are social climbers who will do anything to earn a place in the spotlight.”

“Anyone else?” Tj asked.

“The girls at the bottom of the social hierarchy who might be jealous that Lexi is naturally smart and beautiful. The girls who would knock her down to feel better about themselves.”

“You’ve basically just described every girl at Serenity High,” Tj pointed out.

Chantel laughed. “Yes, I guess I have.”

“So we’ve now identified the fact that virtually anyone has the potential to be a bully. How do we stop this from happening again and again?”

Chantel appeared to be thinking about it. “I guess if you can’t stop the bullying you stop the effect of the bullying.”

Tj frowned.

“People who bully do so to get a reaction. They want the person who has been targeted to be mortified. They want to put them in their place, so to speak; by doing so, they earn prestige. They feed on the fear. They feed on causing anguish to another person. The true byproduct of bullying comes from the person being bullied, not the person doing the bullying.”

“Huh?”

Chantel leaned forward and looked Tj in the eye. “What if I filmed you doing something embarrassing and then uploaded it to all of my social networks with the intention of causing you distress? Maybe, like Lexi, you were singing in the shower.”

Tj cringed at the thought.

“But what if when you saw the video you laughed and shrugged it off? What if you responded to the video by jumping around the room with your hands in the air in a victory dance, yelling, ‘Dig me. Aren’t I awesome? I bet none of you can pull off that tune the way I can.’ I bet everyone would laugh
with
you rather than
at
you, and the bully would have been robbed of her power.”

A light went on for Tj. “Oh, I get it. In order to be a bully, the person doing the bullying needs the cooperation of the intended victim.”

“Exactly.”

Tj smiled. “I have an idea. Will you help me?”

“If it will help Lexi, I’m in.”

After Tj left Chantal and Lexi’s she headed to the dance studio to pick up her sisters as well as Kristi and Kari. She’d arranged to meet Jenna at the Antiquery prior to their evening out. After checking the movie lineup they’d determined that the first movie to be shown that night was family friendly, so they’d agreed to let Ashley and Kristi see it alone while they took the two younger girls into town to look at the decorations.

“They’re running a few minutes late,” one of the moms informed Tj when she hurried in through the front door of the studio. She shook out her umbrella and then hung it on one of the pegs provided for that purpose.

“Did Miss Marcia say anything about the costumes for the Christmas recital?” Tj asked as she peeled off her wet coat.

“Only that each student would need to bring in ninety dollars by November first. She’s going to order them for everyone from the same supplier she used for the spring recital.”

Between Halloween and dance recitals, Tj figured she’d need to get a second job to pay for costumes. Not that it wasn’t worth it. Watching her sisters excel at something they loved was totally worth the effort and expense required. Last spring the group had performed a dance version of
The Wizard of Oz
and Gracie had been the Cowardly Lion. She’d been adorable. Tj had a photo of Gracie alongside Ashley, who had been a flying monkey, hanging on the wall in her bedroom.

“Did Miss Marcia mention the theme?” Tj asked.

“She’s planning to do
The Nutcracker
again. Personally, I think she should mix it up a bit more. It seems like this is the third time in the past five years she’s done the same ballet.”

“A lot of the parents enjoy that ballet, and it’s fun to see your child progress to bigger parts as she gets older,” another mother joined in.

Tj was about to add her opinion to the conversation but was interrupted when the front door was opened, allowing rain and cold air to blow into the warm room.

“Oh, good, I’m not late.” Marianne Fowler hurried in through the front door. “Some woman from TV came by to talk to Dalton at the site he was working at this afternoon. I’m not sure what she wanted, but he seemed really upset when he got home from work. I tried to get him to talk about it, but he wasn’t sharing and I wasn’t paying attention to the clock and was almost late picking up the girls. I kept picturing them waiting out in the rain during my entire drive over here.”

Tj found it hard to look Marianne in the eye after she’d basically turned the she wolf on to Dalton’s scent. She hadn’t meant to offer Dalton up as a possible suspect in Holly’s murder, but Samantha Colton had a way of getting information out of you whether you wanted to provide it or not.

“Miss Marcia is running late,” one of the other moms responded. “It’s a good thing too, because it really is coming down. I bet we’re going to have major flooding by tomorrow. There’s even talk the schools might close.”

“What TV woman?” another mom asked. “Is Dalton going to be on TV?”

“I’m not sure,” Marianne answered. “He really didn’t want to talk about it.”

“I bet he’s going to get some sort of service award for all the labor he’s donated to rebuild the part of the library that was damaged in the last storm,” one of the moms said. “I just hope we don’t have a repeat of the damage from this storm.”

“Why would he be upset about getting an award?” Marianne asked.

“I guess that’s true. Maybe someone is in town to report about the storm and they interviewed Dalton on account of him being a lifelong resident.”

“Again, why would he be upset by that? Besides, it sounds like this woman sought him out specifically. Talking about the storm seems like more of a man-on-the-street feature.”

“Maybe someone found his long-lost father and wants to reunite them on television,” someone suggested.

“Dalton’s father lives in Baltimore. We just visited him last summer,” Marianne said. “His gout was acting up and he was in a lot of pain, so it wasn’t a very pleasant visit. I never met anyone who can complain the way that man can.”

“Maybe Dalton won the lottery,” another bored mom suggested. “A big one, where they notify you in person.”

“They don’t notify you in person, no matter how much you win,” someone else said.

Tj rolled her eyes. This was exactly how rumors got started. Someone would speculate about what was going on and then someone else would report that speculation as fact. Poor Dalton was in for a week filled with well-wishers congratulating him on winning the lottery, receiving an award, and finding his long-lost father. Still, Tj supposed it was better than everyone knowing the truth, so she kept her mouth shut. Only a few more minutes and she could collect the girls and head to the Antiquery.

The Antiquery was a unique venture owned by Jenna and her mother, Helen. It was both a café that served breakfast and lunch and an antique store that sold treasures collected by Helen. One of the things Tj liked the most about visiting the Antiquery was that it always smelled amazing. Today the scent of cinnamon and pumpkin lingered in the air.

“Oh, good, perfect timing,” Jenna said as Tj walked in through the back door. “I’m just finishing up.”

“What smells so wonderful in here?” Tj asked.

“I just finished baking the cookies the senior center ordered for their bingo night tonight.”

“Do I smell pumpkin?” Tj asked.

“I have both pumpkin snickerdoodles and apple delight,” Jenna confirmed. “Would you like to try one?”

“I would.”

“Girls?” Jenna asked Ashley, Gracie, Kristi, and Kari. All four girls held out their hands for a cookie.

“I’ll box them up and then we’ll need to get going. I hoped Mom would be here to deliver the cookies, but she got tied up at the auction she attended today, so we’ll need to drop them off on our way.”

“We don’t have time to stop at the senior center,” Ashley complained. “We need to hurry if we’re going to stop for dinner before we go to the movie.”

“I’ll hurry at the senior center, and I thought we’d stop to pick up some tacos,” Jenna said. “They’re having a special and they’re fast, so we should have plenty of time to eat and get you to the movie on time.”

“Can we get ice cream?” Kari asked.

“Once we drop off the older girls we can do whatever you and Gracie want,” Jenna promised. “Kristi, can you run around to the loading door and make sure it’s locked?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Ashley followed Kristi as she trotted off toward the antique side of the store. When they’d converted the space, they’d added a large garage-style door off the alley to use for loading and unloading the antique furniture Helen purchased to refinish and sell. What had started as a hobby had turned into a lucrative career. Helen had a good eye and seemed to know right off which pieces would bring a big profit and which were best to pass on. In Tj’s opinion it was the way she artfully displayed the finished pieces in period arrangements that set her antique business above the rest.

“I noticed you finished redecorating your front window,” Tj commented as Jenna packaged the baked goods she’d prepared. “It looks really good. Spooky yet friendly.”

“Thanks. I spent most of the morning working on it. I wanted to do something special because most of our graduating class is going to be in town to see it. I’m sure it doesn’t compare to the big city windows many of our former classmates are used to, but I think it turned out nice.”

“Well, I love it. I find I’m really in the Halloween spirit despite the fact that I’ve been crazy busy this week.”

“Things crazy at work?”

“They are, and in addition to Halloween, we have the reunion, homecoming, and tons of people in town.”

“I imagine the resort is booked for the weekend thanks to the reunion,” Jenna speculated.

“We’ve been booked for this weekend for at least two months. Still, with everything that’s going on, I won’t be a bit surprised if we have some cancelations.”

“What do you mean?” Jenna asked.

“I’m referring to the investigation into Holly’s murder that
Second Look
is doing.”

Jenna set the boxes she’d finished filling to the side. “Did you meet with Samantha Colton today?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“It was interesting. Very interesting. I’ll tell you about it later, when there aren’t little ears to overhear.”

“I don’t have little ears,” Gracie complained. “They’re the right size for my body.”

Tj laughed. “That’s not what I meant.”

“I guess I’m ready,” Jenna announced. “It appears we lost Kristi and Ashley, however.”

“I’ll load the younger two into your car while you fetch the older ones,” Tj offered.

“There’s an extra booster seat in the cargo area if you want to use it for Gracie rather than moving the one from your car into mine.”

“Okay, awesome.”

“Oh, and grab those two boxes. I’m going to donate some day-old pastries to the senior center as long as I have to stop there anyway.”

They dropped off the cookies, grabbed a quick meal, and left the two older girls at the movie theater, and Gracie and Kari decided they wanted to go to the video arcade at Rob’s Pizza rather than walk around town because it was still raining. That gave Tj and Jenna the opportunity to catch up, sharing adult conversation over a glass of wine on the sidelines.

“So how did the meeting with Samantha Colton go?” Jenna asked. “I’ve been even more anxious to hear after your cryptic comment earlier.”

“She’s really good at what she does. In just thirty minutes she had me half-believing that practically everyone at the party that night could have killed Holly.”

“What?” Jenna frowned. “Why would any of us kill Holly?”

Tj filled her friend in on the interview that afternoon while Jenna sipped her wine and listened intently. Based on the changing emotions mirrored on Jenna’s face, it seemed obvious she was as shocked by Samantha’s suggestions as Tj had been. The thought that someone at the party could actually be a killer was disconcerting at the least. Tj had known most of the partygoers since they were all in kindergarten together. She couldn’t imagine any of them doing such a horrendous thing, but one thing was certain: someone had.

“I guess it
was
sort of odd that Brett invited over everyone who just happened to be standing around in the parking lot, and I never really stopped to wonder about the punch,” Jenna admitted. “And I do remember that Brett really didn’t care for Holly, but I don’t think he’d kill her. And the stuff about Jessie and Holly being lovers is ridiculous.”

“Is it?”

“Surely you aren’t buying that theory.”

Tj shrugged. “At first I thought it was nuts, and maybe it is, but there was something different about their relationship. You and I were best friends then—more like sisters—and we still are, but we each have our own lives. Holly and Jessie definitely seemed to share a connection that was more possessive. I’m not saying they were lovers. In fact, I’d be surprised if that suggestion turns out to have any merit. But Samantha Colton’s comment did cause me to look back at what things were like. Don’t you remember how Jessie was always making decisions based on Holly’s opinion? I mean, I guess high school girls tend to lean on their best friends a lot more than adult women do, and they do tend to ask the opinions of others, but it did seem like there was more to it than that.”

Jenna picked up a pretzel and rolled it between her fingers. “Yeah, I guess you have a point. If you ask me, though, there was something other than sex going on.”

“I agree, although it was pretty odd how Holly was just standing there staring at Jessie and Nathan when I found them making out.”

“Yeah, that was odd. Even more odd than Jessie and Nathan hooking up in the first place. I wonder if Jessie ever told Brett what she’d done.”

“You think she would?” Tj asked.

“She might. I know Dennis and I decided to come clean about all the little white lies we’d told each other during our dating years before we got married. It led to a huge fight, but it did give us a clean slate on which to build our marriage. I know other couples who do the same kind of thing.”

Tj nibbled on the end of a carrot she’d snagged from the salad bar. The tacos were good, but they hadn’t really stuck with her. Maybe she’d order a slice of Rob’s pizza if the girls were going to be content to play video games until it was time to pick up Ashley and Kristi.

“The fact that Samantha is in town digging around is certainly going to make for an interesting reunion,” Tj added. “If we even have one. Roy told me Mia and Jada both decided not to come after their interviews.”

“Really? That’s too bad. I was looking forward to catching up with them.”

“Yeah, me too. They both live such interesting lives. I heard Mia’s going to have a starring role in the next J. R. Morgan film.”

“That’s huge.”

“Everyone is already talking about an Academy Award. I guess I can see why she wants to distance herself from this whole murder investigation. It seems like publicity like that can only hurt her career, even if she’s totally innocent.”

“Yeah, if I were her I probably would avoid Serenity too, at least while the
Second Look
people are here. Did Colton have a cameraman with her when she interviewed you?”

“No, but I’m betting there’s one on the way. They usually do film the interviews.”

“The real problem I have with that is that the series is known for solving cold cases, and they often do, but they even air the ones they don’t close,” Jenna pointed out. “I find that when they leave things open everyone seems to come off looking like a possible killer, when the reality is, every person they talk to could very well be innocent. I know why Mia decided to stay away. I certainly wouldn’t want Colton to cast suspicion on me and then fail to identify the killer, leaving everyone wondering. Plus, who knows what other dirty laundry she might come across in the process of her investigation.”

“I feel the same way. I didn’t do anything wrong, and I don’t remember having any big secrets at the time of Holly’s death, but I still have a knot in my stomach when I think about her turning her sights on my possible motive for killing Holly.”

“I really wouldn’t worry about it,” Jenna said, trying to console Tj. “Colton is just fishing. She probably doesn’t have anything on anyone. She’s just good at using what she does know to create a plausible story. Based on what you’ve told me, her strongest suspect is Brett, but if you think about it, why would Brett invite a bunch of people over to his house and then drug them if he was planning to kill Holly? The whole thing makes no sense.”

“Yeah, I guess it doesn’t. But I can’t imagine how the others are going to react to the news that
Second Look
is in town investigating the murder after all these years.”

“It’s certainly going to be an interesting week,” Jenna commented. “I for one am going to try not to let the investigation mar the only vacation Dennis and I have been able to take for over a year.”

“I booked the two of you our best cabin, right on the water, for Thursday through Sunday,” Tj confirmed.

“I can’t wait. It’s been so long since we’ve had any time alone. Did Hunter get the whole weekend off?”

“We both have to work Thursday, but we have Friday through Sunday off. I booked us the cabin next to yours for Thursday through Saturday night. I know it seems silly because I live in a big house that sits on the same plot of land as the cabin I reserved, but somehow living with your father, grandfather, and sisters cuts into the romance of the whole thing.”

“We’re going to have so much fun,” Jenna said with excitement. “It’ll be like the old days.”

“I hope so.” Tj tried to smile, but she was having a hard time shaking the sense of dread that felt more like a premonition.

“I’m going to go check on the girls,” Jenna informed Tj.

Tj looked down at her phone to check her messages after Jenna walked away. The thing about cell phones is that they made you feel like you were
on
twenty-four hours a day. She knew she could ignore her messages, texts, and e-mails, and at times she did, but when she did choose to ignore her phone for extended periods of time, she’d inevitably miss something important, which would make her vow to check in more often.

“Tj,” a voice said from behind her.

Tj turned around. “Jessie.” She stood up and hugged her. “I didn’t know you were in town.”

“We decided to come a few days early to make more of a vacation of it. While that seemed like a good idea at the time, now I wish we hadn’t come at all.”

“Please sit down,” Tj offered. “I take it you spoke to Samantha Colton?”

“Yeah. I have no idea how she even knew we were in town early; we hadn’t told anyone, but somehow she managed to track us down. She’s talking to Brett right now and he isn’t happy about it.”

“She spoke to me earlier today,” Tj told Jessie. “And I know she spoke to Dalton and a few of the others. It seems she’s making a point of tracking down everyone who was at the party. I’m afraid speaking to her isn’t a pleasant experience; she’s pretty aggressive about getting to the heart of the matter. I’d heard she’d already spoken to you.”

“Me?” Jessie looked surprised. “I’d never met or spoken to the woman prior to her showing up at the cabin we rented an hour ago.”

“You rented a cabin? I thought you were staying at the resort.”

“We were, but then we decided that everyone from our class was going to be staying at the resort and we wanted a bit more privacy.” Jessie lowered her voice. “Between you and me, Brett and I have been going through a bit of a rough patch. We thought a little privacy was in order while we tried to work through things. I’m afraid this whole reopening of the murder investigation is going to put Brett over the top. In fact, I’m sure once he manages get rid of the woman he’ll want to leave and skip the reunion altogether. I barely managed to talk him into coming in the first place.”