Marriage and Murder (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Book 4) (7 page)

After leaving the clinic, Kelly drove
her minivan the short distance to Ginger’s book store, appropriately named The
Book Nook. It was located in a quaint little early 20
^th
century
brick building with two large bay windows on either side of the front door. Inside
the store Ginger had installed cozy window seats next to the bay windows with
comfortable red and white checkered cushions. Customers often took several
books from the shelves and sat in the window seats while they leafed through
the books, deciding which ones to buy. The smell of potpourri and freshly made
ginger tea also gave the little shop a warm, inviting ambience along with a
fire which was always burning in the fireplace.

It would really be a shame
if Ginger had to close this little shop. It’s one of the most charming shops in
Cedar Bay, plus it’s been Ginger’s salvation since Amber died. I’m not sure she
could have survived the overwhelming grief and despair she felt after Amber’s
murder if she hadn’t had the Book Nook.

“Kelly, Lady, how
wonderful to see you. I understand your blushing bride role didn’t last too
long,” Ginger said, giving Kelly a hug and reaching into a jar she kept handy to
get a treat for Lady. The Book Nook welcomed dogs, and Ginger kept a large bowl
of water just outside the front door for the ones that were thirsty as well as
the jar of treats she kept next to the cash register.

“I want to thank you again
for overseeing the guest book at the wedding. It was a huge help, and as I told
you when I asked you to do it, you certainly would have been my maid of honor
if Julia couldn’t do it.”

“No problem. I’m glad she
was able to be your maid of honor. With Cash giving you away and Julia there,
it was perfect for the circumstances. It really was a lovely wedding, but I was
so sorry to hear about Jesse. He loved to read and came in here a lot over the
years. I used to call him whenever I got any new books in about wine. I think
he singlehandedly bought every book I ever stocked on the subject. We’re all
going to miss him. I’m glad you stopped by because I heard something today that
Mike should probably be aware of. Why don’t you have a seat over by the window,
and I’ll get us some tea.”

A few minutes later when
they were seated and had their tea, Kelly asked, “What did you hear and from
whom?”

“You know there are a
couple of Alcoholics Anonymous groups that hold their meetings at different
locations here in town. A few months ago I was asked by one of the members if I
would mind opening up the Book Nook on Monday mornings so a meeting could be
held here. Evidently they couldn’t meet any longer at one of the other places they’d
been using. I told them I’d be happy to do it. Actually, between you and me, I’d
do about anything to bring more people into the store. Anyway, they started
meeting here about three months ago. I open up an hour before my regular
opening time and spend their meeting time restocking the shelves and doing
bookkeeping. They bring the chairs in from around the store and make a circle.
There aren’t very many people in the group, perhaps no more than six or eight.”

“I don’t see how this
might be something that would be of interest to Mike.”

“I’m getting to that. On
several occasions I’ve overheard one particular man say really bad things about
The Crush.”

“You’re kidding. What did
he say?”

“I heard him say it was
stores like The Crush that caused people to become alcoholics. I’ve also heard
him say that all liquor stores should be put out of business, and their owners
should be run out of town. A couple of times I even heard him say that the
liquor store owners were doing the devil’s work, and God or someone else should
take them out, so the stores would permanently close. I really didn’t pay much
attention to it. I considered it kind of idle rambling from someone who must be
having a difficult time giving up alcohol, however this morning it was
different. He was here as usual, but instead of feeling bad about Jesse’s
death, I overheard him say he was really happy Jesse had been killed, and how
he hoped The Crush would close permanently. I think his exact words were
‘Aren’t you all glad that someone had the courage to kill Jesse Allen? That’s
one less man to do the devil’s work.’ It kind of frightened me.”

“It frightens me as well.
Do you have any idea who this man is?”

“None, and since one of
the cornerstones of the Alcoholics Anonymous organization is anonymity, I don’t
think anyone would tell me, even if they knew.”

“Unfortunately, you’re
probably right. I’ll tell Mike about it, but I’m not sure how he could find out
either. Thanks, Ginger. By the way, I was talking to Luke Monroe earlier today,
and he said he was going to talk to Bob about doing some handyman repairs out at
the Center.”

“Thank you. Bob called me
earlier and told me Luke had called him. He’s meeting with Luke tomorrow. I
didn’t know it was because of you that Luke called Bob, but we really
appreciate it, and Bob can sure use the work. We’re going through some tough
times, and I don’t know how much longer we can hold on financially.”

“Glad I could help. You’re
good people,” Kelly said as she stood up and gave Ginger a hug. “Time for me to
get home and see what I can come up with for dinner tonight. Sometimes I think
that might be the only reason why Mike married me. I can almost guarantee you
that if I wasn’t a good cook, I wouldn’t be Mrs. Reynolds.”

“Somehow I doubt that.”

“I don’t,” Kelly said
walking out. “See you soon! Lady, come.”

Kelly pulled into the driveway just
as Mike and Rebel were getting out of his patrol car. Mike walked over to her
van and opened the door for Kelly and Lady, kissing her on the cheek and giving
Lady a pat on the head.

            “We’ve got to stop
meeting this way,” he said, grinning. “Kind of nice to come home to my wife.
You’re the best thing that’s happened to me all day!”

            “Keep talking like that
and you might qualify for one of my famous dinners. Actually I think we’ll have
Reuben sandwiches tonight. It’s been a stressful couple of days for both of us.
A glass of wine, a fire, a Reuben sandwich, and then a piece of that raspberry
tart from the wedding reception. Doesn’t that sound divine?”

            “I thought everything got
eaten at the reception,” Mike said. “Have you been holding out on me?”

            “Well, I know how much
you love that tart, so before the first guest even arrived, I asked Roxie if
she’d put two pieces in the refrigerator in the garage.”

            “Smart thinking, but then
again, I’ve never heard anyone accuse you of being stupid, but I have to admit,
that may be in the realm of downright brilliant thinking.”

            “Thank you, Sheriff Mike.
Go change clothes and I’ll open the wine.”

            “Will do. I’ll be back
shortly.”

            A few minutes later Kelly
handed him a glass of wine and said, “I’ve had quite an afternoon. I’ve got a
lot to tell you, but you probably do too. You want to go first?”

            “No. I spent the
afternoon looking through Jesse’s files. Not much to tell there. Anyway, my
mother raised me to be a gentleman, and ladies are always supposed to go first.
You’re up.”

            She started by relating
her conversation with Luke about the Pellino brothers and their interest in
buying the White Cloud Retreat Center. Mike interrupted her, “Was a dollar
amount mentioned? That’s some pretty valuable acreage, and I don’t see the Pellino
brothers having that kind of money. They sell the bulk of the wines they
produce to discount chains. A Mafia connection would make a lot of sense, and
there have been rumors that they just might be Family.”

            “If there was a dollar
amount, Luke didn’t mention it to me, but that’s not all Luke told me. I haven’t
even told you about the veiled threat.” She explained what Luke had heard Dante
say to Luca when they were outside the Center and walked past Luke’s slightly
broken window.

            “I definitely would consider
that a threat if I was Luke. I’d also think with all the people around the
Center, it’s probably a pretty safe place, but that hasn’t always been true in
the past. Dante and Luca both have very distinctive looking appearances. If
they were anywhere near The Crush around the time of the murder, someone would
remember them. It probably wouldn’t hurt for me to put something in the
newspaper and on TV asking people to call my office if they saw or heard any unusual
activity around The Crush in the hours before the murder. I’ll do it tomorrow.”

            “I think that’s an
excellent idea, but I have a couple of other things to tell you and…”

            “What do you mean you
have a couple of other things to tell me?” Mike said, raising his eyebrows. “I
told you it was all right for you to call Luke. I never suggested that you do anything
else concerning my investigation.”

            “Doc called and wanted to
talk to me. He didn’t think what he had to tell me was important enough to bother
you with, then he changed his mind, but I told him I’d tell you and save him
the trouble. Evidently Mrs. Allen didn’t tell you everything when you
questioned her.”

            “What are you talking
about? I had a long conversation with her this morning.”

            “You may have, but she
felt guilty that she hadn’t told you about the gun she found in Celia’s
nightstand. It was a .38 Smith & Wesson, and it was taped to the underneath
side of her nightstand drawer.”

            “What! A gun in the
nightstand! No, she definitely did not tell me about it.”

            “That’s what she told
Doc. Celia took her in today to see Doc, and Mrs. Allen felt bad she hadn’t
told you about finding the gun. She told Doc about it and asked him if he would
tell you.”

            “Okay, Kelly, tell me the
whole story.”

            When she was finished, he
went over to the counter and poured himself another glass of wine. “Want a
refill?”

            “No thanks. Mike, why can’t
you just go to the Allen home, get the gun, and have a ballistics test run on
it to see if it matches the bullet that killed Jesse?”

            “Wish I could, sweetheart,
but I’d need a search warrant, and I don’t have enough facts to present to the
court to get a search warrant issued. I mean, she had a gun in her bedroom. So
what? A lot of people have guns in their bedrooms. No, there’s no way a court
would grant a search warrant without a greater showing of probable cause, and
there’s not enough here for probable cause.”

            “Too bad. I need to start
dinner in a few minutes, but there’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

            “How do these things always
seem to happen to you, when I’m the county sheriff, and this is my case? Never
mind, even if you knew you probably wouldn’t tell me. I’m beginning to think you’re
one of those people who just walks easy on the earth. Is what you’re about to
tell me the last thing you found out today? Had a rather busy day, didn’t you,
love?”

            “Mike, stop it. I can’t
help it, honest, these things just somehow seem to happen to me.”

            When she finished telling
him about what Ginger had overheard during the Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, he
sat back in his chair, turning the wine glass in his hands, deep in thought.

            “So from what you heard
today, there could possibly be three suspects, is that right?” he asked.

            “You’re the sheriff, I’m
not, but yes, I think Celia would qualify as a suspect since she had a gun hidden
in her nightstand. Other than being brother and sister, I have no idea what the
relationship was between Jesse and Celia, or what possible motive she might
have for wanting to kill Jesse, but maybe I should talk to her.”

            “No Kelly, if anyone is
going to talk to her, I should be the one to do it.”

            “Right, you’re absolutely
right, Sheriff Mike. That was simply a slip of the tongue on my part.”

            “Uh-huh.”

            “Anyway, back to the
suspects,” she said. “So we have, sorry, I meant to say you have Celia, the
Pellino brothers, and I’m kind of wondering about the guy at the Book Nook. He
might qualify as a suspect.”

            “True, but the problem is
the members of the group are anonymous and we don’t know who he is. I don’t
think they even use their last names. I doubt if there’s a sign-in sheet or
anything with their names on it. Kelly, I can see something going on in your
mind. What are you thinking?”

            “Just wondering what I
should serve with the Reubens, Mike, nothing all that important,” she said
innocently, glad he didn’t have access to her mind.
I think I know how I can
find out the identity of the man at the Book Nook.

           
Later, as they were
finishing dinner, Mike said, “I don’t know how you can make a simple sandwich
taste so good, but that was a perfect way to end the day. Now for that
raspberry tart.”

            “I’ll be back in a
minute. I never brought the pieces in from the refrigerator in the garage,” she
said, carrying their dinner plates over to the sink. When she walked back into
the room with the two tart pieces she saw Mike talking on his cell phone. She
set a piece of the tart in front of him. He mouthed the words “Thank you,” and
continued to listen as someone talked.

            “Thanks Leo, at least
that gives us something solid to go on. I appreciate your calling after hours.
Enjoy your evening.”

            “Who was that, the
coroner?”

            “Yes. This is starting to
get interesting,” Mike said, putting a piece of the tart on his fork. “This has
to be the prettiest and best non-chocolate dish ever.” He continued, “Leo said he
was pretty sure that the bullet he took from Jesse’s body was fired from a .38
caliber pistol. He’s sending it to the state police and they’ll give it to
their ballistics expert for confirmation. Considering how long Leo’s been at
this, I think I can take it to the bank that Jesse was killed by a .38 caliber pistol.”

            “If he’s right, that’s
the same caliber gun that was in Celia’s nightstand.”

            “Believe me, sweetheart, I’m
well aware of that, but the question remains, is that the gun that killed
Jesse? Even if it is, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Celia did it. I know
it’s quite a coincidence, but it still wouldn’t hold up in a court of law or
before a jury. They want facts, and the fact they would demand to know is who
used that gun to kill Jesse.”

            “I see what you mean.
Don’t forget about Sydney, his ex-wife. If she knows about the life insurance
policy, that’s a pretty good motive, and she and Celia are good friends. She
might have even known that Celia had hidden the gun in her nightstand. She
could have removed the gun from under the nightstand drawer, shot poor Jesse with
it and then returned the gun back to its hiding place in the nightstand. Once
Jesse is dead, she gets the life insurance money.”

            “Well, I see that I have
my work cut out for me for the next couple of days. Should be interesting.”

           
That it should be,
Kelly
thought
. Now I need to see if I can find out some more about the Book Nook
guy. I have a feeling about him.