Deadly Accusations (10 page)

THE MOMENT CASEY PARKED IN
the driveway of Noel Merryweather's single-story, sandstone home, the street became hidden behind a tall, evergreen hedge. The greenery stretched along the front of his property and down both sides. Privacy was a double-edged sword. No one knew your business, even when you needed them to. A wheelchair-bound person living alone, even one with Noel's upper body strength, could be vulnerable to danger. Judging by the intercom and the sign stating that this house was protected by a security system, Noel thought so too. The system hadn't kept him out of trouble, though.

Casey checked her makeup in the mirror, and then adjusted the pale blue chiffon scarf around her neck. She felt a little guilty for dressing up to see him, if one could call a scarf and a pair of silver earrings dressing up. At least she hadn't gone all out. Her navy pants and jacket were old.

She had to admit that part of her looked forward to this visit. Not in a swooning, Jello-legs way, but in a sexist, eye-candy way. If Noel wasn't a murder suspect, he'd qualify as one of life's guilty pleasures. She'd met great-looking, charismatic guys before and had even been attracted to some of them. Never in a million years, though, would she let herself fall for a man she didn't trust. Besides, she had a man, and Lou was the best.

Casey stepped out of her car and strolled along the cement walkway past a neatly trimmed lawn. She'd reached the ramp leading to the door when it opened and Noel appeared. Oh lord, he must have been watching her. Had he seen her check her makeup?

Her cheeks grew warm. “Hi.”

Thanks to the black T-shirt hugging his biceps, Noel looked even more appealing than he had at the funeral. Today, his hair was tied back in a ponytail. A white husky stood next to his wheelchair.

“Thanks for being on time.” He moved his chair back from the door. “Not many people even try these days.”

“It's a thing with me.” As the husky ambled up to her, Casey reached out her hand so the dog could sniff her. “Who's this?”

“This is Sam. Come on, buddy, let's give her some room.”

As they backed up, Casey stepped over the threshold, shutting the door behind her.

“I really appreciate you coming by.” He rolled toward the back of the house. “Marie said you're busy these days.”

“No problem.” Especially when she was with the poster boy for charming, ruggedly handsome studs. “You wouldn't be interested in owning one of Jasmine's pets, would you? The gerbils and hamsters are pretty cute, and the guinea pigs seem to have personalities.”

“I'm not sure how Sam would take to them, but I'll think about it.”

In the living room, floor-to-ceiling windows provided a wide view of a small lake and surrounding parkland.

“Wow,” Casey said. “Who knew you'd find waterfront property thirty minutes east of Vancouver?”

“Como Lake's man-made. I always wanted to live near water and this place was more affordable than Vancouver waterfront.”

Still, a property this size wouldn't be cheap. A pair of swans floated near tall reeds. Ample green space separated Noel's windows from a walking trail around the lake.

“Can I get you some coffee?”

“I've had my quota for the day, but you go ahead.”

She didn't want to trigger another migraine. Yesterday's pain hadn't been severe, but one migraine usually made her vulnerable to more if diet and stress weren't monitored.

“I'm pretty wired myself,” Noel said. “Make yourself at home.”

Casey sat on a black leather sofa against the wall while Noel stayed on the other side of a rectangular, smoked-glass coffee table. She noticed the notepad on the table. Someone had drawn a cute goggle-wearing dolphin leaping out of the water. A mug and nearly empty coffee pot stood beside the notepad. Noel was angling his chair, presumably so he could see her and the lake. Sam lay down beside him. When Noel stared at her, her cheeks heated up again.

“I'm sorry,” he said, glancing at Sam, “but you have the most gorgeous violet eyes I've ever seen.”

“Thanks.” His eyes were pretty great, too.

“Would you like to hear about my relationship with Jasmine first, or my alibi?”

“Let's start with your relationship.”

“Jasmine and I were great friends more than anything.”

“You knew each other well?”

“I guess that depends on what you mean by well.” He paused. “I knew she was adopted and that her family situation was tough.”

“In what way?”

He paused. “I'm not sure her family problems are relevant. Then again, how will you know unless I tell you?” Noel looked down. “Jasmine was molested by her grandfather when she was six. Jasmine's mother literally caught her father-in-law with his pants down in Jasmine's bedroom.”

Casey took a quick intake of breath. “Oh, god.”

“The father was afraid of scandal, so they sent the old man to live with a relative whose kids had grown and moved out.”

“Unbelievable.”

“Jasmine only talked about it once. We were watching the news and a story came on about the same type of thing. She got upset and, well . . .”

“Did she get any counseling?”

“No, and that's the other sick part. Some of the relatives decided Jasmine made it up. Said she wasn't real family and began questioning her gene pool. The rift in the family never healed and after her parents died, the relatives disowned her.”

“That's friggin' awful.”

“Yeah well, the twenty-first century hasn't banished ignorance.” Noel looked out the window.

The bitterness in his voice made Casey wonder if he was referring to more than Jasmine's abuse. How many times had his disability forced him to confront ignorance?

“Jasmine must have built up a lot of anger.”

“She tried not to let it get to her, but sometimes . . . Anyway, here's something relevant.” Noel shifted in his chair. “The night before Jasmine's murder, she and I had a fight.”

“Oh.”

Given the nastiness between Jasmine and herself the day before she died, plus Jasmine's altercation with the girl on the M10, a fight with Noel would have been Jasmine's third confrontation in one day. She remembered Lou telling Jasmine that he'd never seen her lose it like that.

“Earlier that day, I heard Jasmine say she had plans for the evening,” she said. “Were they with you?”

“Yeah, I brought over burgers and fries. After Jasmine put Jeremy to bed, we started talking.” Noel began stroking Sam. “It turned into arguing.”

“Sorry if this is too personal, but I have to ask, what was the argument about?”

Noel stopped stroking the dog and clasped his hands in his lap. “I told Jasmine that I thought she was compromising her values to get what she wanted, and what she wanted was money for veterinary school.”

“How was she compromising her values?” Based on Ursula Gallenski's theory about Jasmine's business card collection, she thought she knew. Still, she wanted to hear his response.

“Jasmine liked to go to clubs, meet people. She swore she only had dinner with men, nothing more. Said the free meals helped her save money.”

So, the man had asked his girlfriend if she was a whore? “Jasmine went ballistic, huh?”

Noel's mouth twisted the same way Marie's always did when a topic made her uneasy.

“Yep. But why accept free meals from strangers when she had to pay her landlord for babysitting? She wasn't gaining much and could have spent more time with Jeremy.”

“Maybe she wanted nights off from parenting.” Seeing the slight frown on Noel's face, Casey added, “I've been legal guardian to a friend's daughter for four months and I really miss my freedom. I mean, the job never ends. The best you can hope for is a break now and then.”

Noel rubbed his chin. “Jeremy's a sweet-natured kid who smiles far more than he cries. Jasmine just liked to go out a lot.”

“I'm sorry if this sounds cold, but do you think Jasmine told the truth about these celibate dates?”

“I don't know.” He watched an elderly couple meander along a trail next to the lake. “I stayed the night after one dinner together. She never asked me for money.”

That was more information than she had a right to know. “Have you ever taken pictures photos of Jasmine and Jeremy?”

“No, why?”

“Two snapshots were found in her locker. One was of Jasmine in her own bed, apparently asleep. The other was of Jeremy in a bathtub.” Given the way Noel's jaw tightened, he didn't like this. Was he was thinking Jasmine had slept with her dates after all? “My next question's also personal.”

“Go ahead.”

“Did the thought of Jasmine sleeping with other guys make you jealous?”

“Yeah, it did.”

“Even though you were just good friends?”

It took him a few moments to answer. “I had strong feelings for her.”

The longer Casey watched him, the tougher he was to read. She usually interpreted body language well, yet Noel's signals were muddled. Sorrow was there, yet something else. Regret? Guilt?

“Did anyone hear you two argue that night?”

“Probably not. We kept our voices low so Jeremy could sleep.”

“Marie said your van was stolen the night before the murder.”

He nodded. “I heard the engine start about three in the morning. The van was long gone by the time the cops showed up.” He shifted in his seat and glanced at his dog. “I knew I was digging a deep hole by telling them about the argument, but the truth seemed important. Naïve, huh?”

“The truth
is
important.” Casey spotted a couple of trophies on a shelf across the room. The engravings were too small to read from here. “Did you notice anything unusual about Jasmine's mood a couple of days before her death?”

“She'd been grumpy most of the week. In hindsight, I should have picked a better time to confront her, but I'd been stewing about it for weeks and finally worked up some courage.”

“Do you think Elliott Birch killed Jasmine?”

“Good question. All I know is that Birch threatened to hurt Jasmine if he didn't get more time with Jeremy. She was trying to obtain a restraining order because the jerk kept showing up outside her building.”

Interesting that he didn't mention the part where he'd told Birch to get lost. “Marie wants me to check out Birch's place to make sure Jeremy's okay.”

Surprise and worry flashed across his face. “She's probably hoping you'll find a murder confession taped to Birch's door.”

“I'll settle for a quick peek through the window.”

“Don't. Listen, Birch used to hit Jasmine. He's violent.”

Alarm made her sit forward. “Violent enough to hurt Jeremy?”

“I don't think so. But if he got wasted, he could forget about Jeremy, and who knows what would happen.”

“I've done surveillance work at dozens of bus stops. What if I used binoculars and took a quick peek at night?”

“Why would you do that when you're so busy?”

“Two reasons. A colleague's asked for help, and I'm worried about that little boy, too. I know how it feels to suddenly have an absentee mother, and I was much older than Jeremy when my mother left. A child feels the loss, regardless of age.” Casey turned to the window and watched three Canada geese nibble the grass in front of the trail. She thought of Summer.

“Sam brought Jasmine and me together, you know,” he said. “In early July, he got out and was hit by a car. After his surgery, Marie said she had a friend who wanted to be a vet. Jasmine helped me take care of him.”

A woman walked a chubby basset hound along the trail. The hound started after the geese, but the woman reined him in.

“We have a golden retriever at home,” Casey said.

“Marie mentioned that.”

“Did she?” What else had Marie had told him about her? “Noel, please don't take this the wrong way, but you don't seem overly upset that someone's trying to frame you.”

“I'm angry and scared; just don't show it much.”

“You're sure different than your sister.” She liked his smile. “Were you here when Jasmine died?”

“Yeah, I work at home; started my own company about six months ago, but it's been tough.” The smile faded. “I design flyers, brochures and other promo stuff for people.” He nodded toward the notepad on the table. “I'm working on a logo for a company that wants to sell snorkelling and scuba lessons to kids.”

“That explains the goggles on the happy dolphin.”

“It's all wrong. I'm supposed to target older kids. Off my game, I guess.”

Casey watched him. “Marie hasn't told me much about you.”

“I'm probably a depressing topic right now.”

He seemed so resigned. Maybe she could help a bit; talk to people on Birch's mail route. At least Marie couldn't accuse her of selfishness or apathy then. What if new information led her back to Noel?

“Maybe I can find out if Birch really does have an alibi,” she said.

“Casey, really; I'd steer clear of him.”

“I plan to.” The question was how?