Raisin the Dead (26 page)

“Did he say anything about me being gone?”

“Why no. He did appreciate you bringing the dogs downstairs.”

“Thanks, Dottie.”

As soon as we'd disconnected I got a text from the detective himself.

Hi, babe. Dottie dropped off some soup. I saved a little for you. Hope you'll be home soon. Are you busy at Bread and Batter?

I'm not there yet. I had some stuff to do. How are you feeling?

Ok, but groggy. The medicine, probably. Hard to stay awake.

Just rest. See you soon. I love you.

Love you, too.

I reached over for my notebook and reviewed all the notes I'd taken so far. By the time I got to the bakery to execute my next idea, my brain was exhausted.

“Kendra, hi. Is Liv here?”

“Hi, stranger,” Kendra smiled brightly at me, which boosted my mental state. “Nice to see you. She's in the back. I think she's Skyping with Anthony about the cupcakes for his restaurant.”

“Can you do me a favor?”

“Sure. What?”

“I need you to bring me over to Philip's house in the boat. Before it gets dark. That leaves about three hours.”

“What for? Don't tell me you want another séance.”

“God, no. I need to check something out. Remember I thought I saw lights on his property the night of the séance?”

“Vaguely.”

“I want to investigate where it came from. It looked like it may have come from below his house.”

“You want to investigate a light, which may or may not have been coming from his house, or his property?”

I nodded. “I drove over there the other day. There's a sharp drop-off at the back of his property. I thought I saw a shed or something back there, but I didn't want to take a chance on falling and getting hurt. If we approach it from the lake, I'll maybe have a better chance.”

“I thought I heard your voice, Moll,” said Olivia as she returned from the office. “What's up?”

“I need Kendra to take me on her family's boat to Philip's property. Do you mind?”

She frowned. “Not liking the sound of that. What for?”

“I saw lights from the boat when we did the Ouija board thing.”

“She wants to investigate,” added Kendra.

“Wait a minute. Why would you want to investigate that? What do you think you're going to find? How do you know the light was even on his property?” she asked in one breath.

“It's a hunch.”

“You're going to snoop around a dead man's property because of a hunch about a light? Honestly, sometimes I don't know what to make of you. Shouldn't you leave it to the police? Can't you be happy baking cupcakes and bagels, and being gracious to our customers?”

“I'm very happy doing that. But I need to check this out. Maybe it was nothing. If so, then I don't want to bother the police.”

“Bother the police? Isn't that what they're for?” She threw her hands up in the air. “Kendra, she's all yours.”

“You don't mind if Kendra leaves?” I asked.

“I'll muddle through. It's going to be harder worrying about the two of you then running Bread and Batter alone for a couple of hours. I'll give you an hour and a half to get back here. If you aren't back by then, I'm calling the police to find you.”

Kendra pulled the boat up to the dock at the bottom of Phillip's property. It looked as if it hadn't been used for years. “I'll try not to be long.”

“I'm coming, too!” said Kendra.

“No!” I squealed, more sharply than I intended. “I don't want to put you in any danger.”

She frowned at me. “Molly, I don't like this. What if you fall and get hurt? I won't have any way of knowing.” She reached for my arm. “Maybe we should just forget about this. Something is bothering me about it.” She looked up towards where Phillip's house was, except it wasn't visible because of all the brush, trees, and plant growth. “I don't think you should go. Seriously.”

I squeezed her arm. “I'll be fine. I promise.”

She reached in her pocket and took out her cell phone. “I'm getting really bad vibes. It's not a good place for you to be. If you aren't back in five minutes, I'm calling the police.”

“Kendra, at least give it a half an hour. Don't worry. You won't have to call the police.”

I jumped up on the dock before she could object further, hoping the wooden slats weren't rotted and I wouldn't end up in the lake. Once I reached land I waved at Kendra, then began pushing branches and brush out of the way, praying that I wouldn't disturb any snakes. I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I trekked on in what I thought was the right direction. After about five minutes, I found an old wooden garage at the bottom of a steep hill. I assumed Philip's cottage was at the top of the steep rising ledge in front of me. At one time, this garage must have been storage for horse buggies. Yes, it definitely looked that old.

A light burned through the small square windows at the top of the closed door. It had to be the light I saw the night of the séance! Was someone in there?

I made my way to it, wishing I'd brought Kendra along after all. Company would've been nice. Too late, I realized I'd left my cell phone on the front seat of my car after I'd texted Sean earlier.

The ancient garage door groaned open with surprisingly little difficulty. A 1950s station wagon sat inside. I also saw clear, definitely fresh footprints in the years of dust and dirt that had accumulated on the cement floor, making their way around the station wagon to the right hand side of the garage. I drew in a sharp breath as I recognized the weird wavy sole tread that came from Birkenstocks, the only shoes Jill wears. The liftgate on the wagon was up, which I found a little odd.

I peered into the back end. I reached for a piece of paper lying there, then stopped. I didn't want my fingerprints to compromise it any more than necessary. I found a branch and used it to drag the receipt closer. It was a receipt for antifreeze. The partial numbers from a credit card were clearly visible. My heart thumped. On the off chance it was Jill's, it could help prove that she killed Philip Baldelli. I folded it and carefully placed it in the pocket of my jeans.

If Jill was the murderer, she was stupid to have left footprints, I mused. She must have hidden the antifreeze she was using to poison Philip in this old car. It probably belonged to him, or someone in his family, way back when. The car, I mean. She obviously wouldn't have wanted to run the risk of him seeing antifreeze in the house, and I guess she didn't want to leave it in her car. Somehow, she'd discovered this hiding place. Why leave the receipt behind? I asked myself. She must not have noticed it. Not too clever of her, I thought.

The police would have had a hard time getting here from Philip's house, so I didn't blame them for not finding the garage. I thought again of the light I saw that night from the boat. I had mentioned it to Sean, but then he was in the accident. I had no idea how Jill managed to get down here, or how she found this garage, unless Philip told her for some reason. I heard branches crackling and brush rustling. Kendra had evidently decided to follow me. At least she'd had the sense to bring her phone. I turned around. “Kendra? I'm over here!”

“No, not Kendra.”

Jill appeared from behind a thick growth of tangled branches. A gun was trained on me.

“Jill.” That's all I could manage. My mouth went dry. I wished I'd listened to Kendra when she'd talked about bad vibes. She'd been so right. Jill and I stared at each other.

“I was afraid you'd figured it out. I was just coming back to clean up,” she said. “Serendipitous that we'd meet here. Throw your phone over here.”

“I . . . I don't have my phone, Jill. But the police are on their way.”

Her lips curled into a cunning smile. “You're lying. No matter. Getting rid of you won't take long. And they'll never find this place even if they are on their way.” Her smile morphed into a frown. “I don't know how you managed to.”

I didn't say anything.
Kendra, call the police, now! You were right. This isn't a good place.
Yes, I felt a little idiotic trying to communicate telepathically with Kendra, but in an emergency, you'll try anything. Next time, God forbid there be a next time, I'll listen to her.

Jill pointed to the corner of the garage behind me with her gun. “In the corner. Sit. Don't try anything funny.”

I moved slowly to the corner, then watched her move a tattered braided rug and tug hard on a handle, opening a door. “Get in there.”

“What?” I hoped to God Kendra had called the police by now. Even though I'd only been gone a few minutes. “So you did kill him.”

“Obviously, you suspected me already.”

“That's why you tried to convince me he didn't have a cell phone, and that he committed suicide,” I countered, trying desperately to stall. “You were trying to throw me off track.”

“If you think I'm going to stop and discuss my killing Philip, you're mistaken. Now move it,” she hissed. “No one will find you here, and I'm sure your boyfriend has no idea that you're snooping around. The idiot police never even looked here. It was a great hiding place until you came along.”

I barely managed to stand. The trembling in my legs matched the chattering of my teeth. Surely she wouldn't actually kill me. Where would she put my body? A bubble of hysterical laughter escaped my lips and echoed in the garage. If she killed Philip, why wouldn't she kill me as well?

I took a tentative step towards the gaping dark hole that led to who knows where, but she shoved me from behind, so that I half-stumbled, half-fell down hard wooden stairs. I screamed, but Jill slammed the door shut. I was in total darkness.

My heart was pounding in my ears. I made my way back up the steps after a few seconds. I heard scraping above my head. Was she covering the trap door with something? The stuffy, damp, earthy smell of the room filled my nostrils. I have a problem being confined. It makes it hard for me to breathe. And that's with lights on. I pushed and pounded on the door over my head. It didn't budge and I ended up with bruised fists. My breathing was growing shallow and waves of dizziness poured over me. I fought it and tried to think rationally.

I sat on one of the steps. Of course Kendra had called the police by now. And they weren't going to leave without me. Unless they would think I'd been kidnapped once again and would only give this place a cursory glance. I didn't want to think about that scenario. No, they would see my footprints, along with Jill's, in the dust. I assumed Jill was gone now.
Kendra, help me! Call the police.
I hugged my knees and fought the suffocating panic.

It seemed like hours before I heard muffled voices. I felt light-headed and dizzy. “I'm down here,” I called out with all my might as I stood, then turned around and pummeled the door, ignoring the pain. “Can anyone hear me?” For one awful second I was afraid it was Jill.

“Molly? It's Sergeant Jacoby.”

“Here! I'm in here! It's a basement of some sort. Move the rug. And I think there's a something sitting on the door. Can you hear me?” I was almost hoarse.

“Sure can. We'll have you free in a jiffy.” The footsteps came closer. I felt giddy with relief. I couldn't wait to get out. I heard scraping, then someone was tugging on the door, and seconds later, I saw blessed daylight.

***

“Well hello there.” Sean said when I got home two hours later. I'd begged Jacoby, Chief Carly, and various officers not to call Sean. I promised I'd tell him everything. They didn't like the idea at all, but eventually acquiesced. “Are you okay? What on Earth happened to you? You look like you've been in a wreck. Where have you been? I was starting to worry.”

“I'm fine, now.” I sat next to him, Beau and Noelle each taking turns lavishing attention on me. Then I took a deep breath, and starting with Kendra calling the police when I didn't come back, left nothing out.

He didn't say anything for a minute after I'd finished. I braced myself for a reprimand of major proportions. Instead, he grabbed me in a hug that almost crushed me, then cradled my face in his hands. “Do you need to go the ER?”

“No, I'm fine. Now.”

He looked into my eyes. “What am I going to do with you?”

I had some ideas, but I wasn't sure he was up to any of
those
types of ideas yet. Besides, I don't think that's what he meant. “I had to help. You've been out, part of your department was ill, and Jacoby has his own department to worry about, too. I didn't think he was moving fast enough, not that I blame him at all. I really do like the man. However, based on all my notes, everything started to point to Jill. I couldn't stop thinking about the light I saw on Philip's property.”

He ran a hand through his hair and growled. “Stop doing this to me. Do you know how much you mean to me? And please don't tell me you want to join the Destiny P.D.”

“Never. I love the bakery. Hopefully murder won't come calling again.” I nestled closer to him, trying not to injure anything, glad he hadn't been more upset with me.

Two days later, I arrived at the bakery and found Olivia selling sourdough and salt bagels (the day's specials), and doughnuts to a large crowd. Kendra and a few of our customers were huddled around the newspaper Kendra was holding out in front of her.

“There she is! Our favorite baker and crime fighter!” exclaimed one of our regulars.

“Good morning, Betty,” I replied and smiled. “Ugh. Just what I need, to be on the front of the paper, again.”

“But you're a hero,” exclaimed another regular.

“I'm not a hero,” I protested.

“Don't you want to read about it?” asked Kendra

“I don't need to. I was there.” I glanced at the paper anyway and read a few sentences here and there.

The police have arrested Destiny librarian Jill McGinley in the murder of Destiny resident Philip Baldelli. In addition, she may be responsible for the death of another man in Shepherdsville three decades ago.

Olivia finished handing a bag of warm bagels to the last customer and rushed over. “I'm so proud of you, but please, stop getting involved in murder. I can't take it.”

“Me neither,” agreed Kendra. “Didn't I tell you it was a bad place?”

“Yes, yes you did. Next time, I'll listen. Thank you for saving me.”

“You've already thanked me. I guess I'll add bodyguard to my job description.” She grinned at me.

“I'm glad it's over,” I said. “I just want to make a batch of banana bread cupcakes and resume my life.”

“I can't believe it's Jill,” said Olivia. “That's so weird. How awful for your mother, discovering she's been working alongside a killer all these years.”

“All I know is that better be it for murders around here,” said Kendra. “She seemed like such a nice lady. I used to go to her kids programs at the library when I was little. She was so awesome.”

“Believe me, all I plan to do is concentrate on Bread and Batter from now on,” I assured them. “I have an idea, Liv and Kendra.”

“Do we want to know? It doesn't involve solving a murder, does it?” Olivia asked, frowning at me. With good reason, I suppose.

“No, not at all. Since Anthony wants to use our cupcakes in his restaurant, maybe we should reach out to other upscale restaurants and pitch them. What do you think? I'll draw up a list and a plan. Maybe Anthony will know of other restaurants in New York that would be interested as well.”

“I think it's a great idea,” clapped Kendra.

“I do, too,” said Olivia, wrapping me in a hug. “Hey. It's nice to have my partner back.”

The rest of the day was filled with customers, so I didn't have a chance to think about Jill's arrest anymore. I made Olivia leave early, hoping to assuage some of my guilt for being so absent lately.

***

“Hi, handsome.” I closed Sean's apartment door behind me. “You're looking pretty good.”

“Hi, yourself. I feel a lot better. How was work? How do you feel?”

“Good on both counts. I made the paper again.” I bent down to give some love to Noelle and Beau.

“I saw. You're doing more crime fighting than I am. I'm going to ask the chief if I can come back early. This sitting around doing nothing is killing me. Even Noelle and Beau are sick of me.”

I laughed. “Aw, no they aren't. Don't push it. You were hurt badly. Healing takes time. You're lucky your concussion healed so quickly, and that Doctor Tryon assured you there'd be no lingering effects from it.”

“I'm bored out of my mind.”

I plopped down next to him. “I know. Are you up to eating out tonight?”

“That sounds great. Even fast-food burgers would be more exciting than sitting around here.”

“Blech,” I responded. “Have you talked to Sergeant Jacoby?”

“He came by this afternoon. He spent an hour updating me on everything.”

“Well that kept you a little busy then. Can you fill me in on Jill's arrest? Where did they find her? Did the footprints in that old garage match her shoes? Is she Julia Melrose? Did she kill her husband? Why did she kill Philip?”

He laughed. “Hold on. One question at a time.”

“Sorry. Go ahead. Don't leave anything out.”

“They arrested her in Baldelli's house. She confessed to locking you in a secret basement in the old garage. And yes, the footprints in the garage were a match for a pair of her shoes.”

“That's what nailed it, isn't it?”

“Yep. That and the credit card receipt. By the way, Sergeant Jacoby wants me to relay his thanks for your hard work. The receipt that you found in back of the old Chevy wagon was in the name of Julia Melrose, aka Jill McGinley.”

I bounced up and down. “I knew it. I knew it. So Jill is Julia, or vice versa. How did she walk away and start a new identity here?”

“Jacoby talked to Alice Burrell, too. Apparently, Jill had no family or close friends, like Alice told you. When she left the library, no one really cared. Sad, isn't it? And that was way before email, Facebook, and Twitter, so if someone wanted to trace her, they'd have a hard time unless they were in law enforcement.”

“But how did she get a new identity so easily? And who is she, Julia Melrose or Jill McGinley?”

“She's Julia Melrose. She admitted to Jacoby and Chief Carly that she looked in a small cemetery in a couple of towns over from Shepherdsville. She found a woman near her age named Jill McGinley who had died in 1985. She called the county and told them she used to live in New York State and had been living as a Christian missionary in New Guinea for the last twenty years; could they send her a copy of her birth certificate. Her ruse was successful. From that she got a new driver's license and social security card.”

“Wow. What else did they get out of her?”

“She confessed to killing her husband when Jacoby informed her they'd be exhuming his body and doing an autopsy.”

“Oh my God.”

“She also confessed to getting the disposable phone in your mom's name to try to frame Anne for the murder. She had to break in to Baldelli's house in order to plant the smartphone there because she forgot to leave it initially. The only things on that phone were texts from Annie, aka Jill, from the disposable phone, threatening Philip.”

“Is the smartphone in Philip's name?” I asked.

He shook his head. “It's in her name. I assume Philip never knew about it.”

My head spun. “She's one crazy lady. Was she the one who sent the anonymous letters to Philip, too?”

“Yep. The DNA on the envelopes used to send Philip those threatening letters matched the DNA on Jill's lipstick, which matched the DNA on Baldelli's bedroom mirror, which we were lucky to get.”

“I wonder how she reacted when Jacoby showed up. Did she ever give a reason for killing Philip?”

“She rambled about men always letting her down and that we're all a bunch of users.”

I exhaled a pent-up breath. “Wow. So, his murder is solved. It's all over.”

“Not for Jill. But for Destiny, yes, it's over.”

***

“I cannot believe Jill McGinley, or whatever her name is, killed Philip Baldelli. And her first husband. Maybe more, who knows?” My mother paced in her office, pulling her sweater tightly around her shoulders. “It floors me. How could she have carried on as if nothing happened, knowing she killed another human being? Maybe two? It gives me the creeps.”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” I replied. I had dropped in on the way to the bakery to see how she was doing. “It makes me totally ill.”

“I'm so proud of you. I read Bobby Crandall's interview with you in this morning's paper. I'm glad he asked you what made you hone in on Jill. I wondered the same thing.”

I shrugged. “After interviewing the main suspects, she seemed the most likely. The more I learned about her, the more I leaned towards her being the killer. It didn't make sense that you would kill him, obviously. Philip gave Serafina the formula to the Il Mio Destino perfume she was looking for, so she had no motive. I thought maybe Daniel did it, but something bothered me about him being the suspect. Especially in view of Jill's father issues. Her answers to my questions seemed forced.”

“At least this time you weren't kidnapped. You deserve so much credit.”

“Sergeant Jacoby was putting it all together, I just helped move things along. At least that's what I like to think. So what will happen with the expansion? Will it move forward? You still have to deal with the Destiny Trust for Historic Preservation and Oleandra County Preservation Society, so basically you're still in the same situation.”

My mother broke into a smile, clasping her hands together. “Ah. Maybe, maybe not. Things are looking up. I have some great news. Serafina asked me not to reveal it until she left, but I can't hold it in. She donated the money for the expansion. You cannot tell anyone. She doesn't want it popping up in the newspaper. I promised her I'd wait till after she left.”

I was astounded. “You're kidding! I won't tell anyone, but I can't believe it. She donated the money for the expansion? No strings attached?”

She shook her head. “I'm not kidding. No strings involved. I had a hard time believing it myself. I'd never even met the woman before. She came into my office two days ago and told me that's what she wanted to do. Not only that, she donated her uncle's house to the library.”

I think my mouth may have fallen open. “She donated her uncle's house to the library?” I was beginning to sound like a parrot.

“Yes. Turns out, he left it to Serafina's mother. She didn't want it, so Serafina asked if she could have it. Her mother gladly handed it over, from what Serafina told me. That's why she's still in town. She had paperwork to sign.”

“You're lucky Bobby Crandall didn't find out. It would be in the paper and the whole town would know. Why would she give Philip's house to the library?”

“She said she'd heard about the issues the library expansion was having and thought the house might be of use to us. My first reaction was to say “no, thank you,” but then I thought, well why not? I'm going to meet with the library board and the advisory board and suggest we move our offices to his home, meaning my office, our assistant director's, and the human resources department. That will open up some space in this building.

“I'm still going ahead with the expansion, but hopefully we can work around the Westley House and the frogs. It may be my imagination, but I think Daniel may be mellowing the tiniest bit. That may have to do with the fact that you were helpful in getting him off the hook for Philip's murder.

“Maybe with the money Serafina gave us, the Westley House can be restored and we can integrate it into the expansion. I'm going to talk to Daniel about it. I figure he'll be even more amenable if I include him in my plans.”

“I hope so. I'm so happy for you. Do you have any idea where Philip's money went? I mean, who he left it to?”

“That, according to Serafina, he apparently left to his alma mater.”