Shunned and Dangerous (An Amish Mystery) (23 page)

S
omewhere between the police station and Harley’s farm, the certainty kicked into overdrive, spurred on, no doubt, by the balloon-laden signs that pointed the way like bread crumbs to the witch’s door. Yet now that she had the proverbial map in hand, she couldn’t believe she hadn’t seen it sooner.

It all fit. And it had all been right there in front of her eyes numerous times over the past week. In fact, not more than two days earlier, she’d stared into the handsome face and instantly recognized the qualities of success—vision, drive, desire, and hunger for recognition . . . all things that had been going to waste because of another man’s waning passion.

But no more.

With Harley’s death came a second lease on a dream as evidenced by Megan Reilly’s about-face and the line of cars Claire now spied lined up around the Serenity Falls sales office—cars that until that day had been noticeably absent.

She knew the reason, yet still she wanted to hear someone else say it, someone who would wrap her theory up with a neat little bow. Turning left into Harley’s driveway, she drove up to the farmhouse, shifted the car into park, and pulled her cell phone from her purse.

Two buttons later she was smiling at the voice in her ear. “Sleep Heavenly, this is Diane, how may I help you?”

“Aunt Diane, it’s me, Claire.” She recognized the breathless quality of her voice half a beat too late.

“Claire? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Aunt Diane. Really.” She winced at the white lie and hoped the reason for it would offset any guilt that remained after they broke the connection. It was for a good cause, after all . . . “But can you do me a favor? Can you let Megan know I need to talk to her?”

“She’s already left, dear. She and Kyle headed to the airport about twenty minutes ago.”

She dropped her head forward onto the steering wheel, holding back the groan that followed the best she could. “Oh. I guess I didn’t realize they were leaving so early.”

“Megan’s mother called to say one of the boys had a stomach bug, and they moved up their flight.”

“Okay, can you hang on just a minute?” Without waiting for a reply, Claire pulled the phone from her ear and quickly scrolled through her recent calls, the Illinois number that had saved her from revealing too much to Jakob the previous day near the top of the list. “Diane? I just realized I still have her number in my phone, so I’m going to hang up and give her a quick call, okay?”

“Is this anything I should know about?”

“In terms of the inn, no. But I promise I’ll fill you in on all the details over dinner tonight.”

“I thought maybe you and Jakob might go out for a bite to eat or something, this evening. It’s the McCormicks’ and the Claymores’ last night before they all check out in the morning, and the next round of guests doesn’t come in until tomorrow afternoon, so it’s the perfect time to do it.”

She tried not to grit her teeth, but it was hard. Diane was like a pit bull when it came to her desire for Claire and Jakob to become a couple. “Jakob and I don’t have any plans. I’ll be home at the usual time and I’ll tell you about my phone call with Megan then.” Before her aunt could raise a protest, she broke the connection, quickly replacing the call with one to Megan.

It was answered on the third ring. “Claire! I’m so glad you called. I hated leaving before I had a chance to say good-bye, but Johnny is sick and I’ve got to get home to him.”

“It’s okay, I understand.” She held the phone closer to her ear as she peeked through the trees that separated her car from the community in which Megan and her family would be living in a year. “I won’t keep you long. I know you’re on the way to the airport with Kyle right now, but I need to ask you a quick question if that’s okay.”

“Of course.” Megan’s laugh echoed in her ear. “I think you’re entitled to fire a question in my direction after all the house-hunting turmoil I subjected you to this past week. So go ahead, shoot.”

“Yesterday morning you were all set to put a deposit down on a lot in Roaring Brook, but you changed your mind at the last minute and went with Serenity Falls, instead. Why did you do that?”

She could almost hear Megan’s wheels turning just before her mouth engaged. “Um, you know why. I like the walking trails, the pond, the playground, the floor plans, and the location.”

“No, I get that. But you knew Serenity Falls had all those same things Thursday night when you made your decision to go with Roaring Brook.” She stopped long enough to phrase her final question in the clearest way possible. “What I want to know is why you changed your mind again on Friday.”

“Because that awful, rancid smell of spoiled milk was gone and the secretary in the sales office assured me it was gone for good.”

There was nothing about Megan’s answer that surprised her; in fact, it was exactly why she’d tracked the woman down in the first place. But still, having the bow tied by an actual person rather than the voices in her head was comforting somehow, maybe even a little validating.

“And since that was the only reason we had for building elsewhere, it was easy to rip up the check to Keller and Sons and make out a new one to Trey Sampson and his company.”

Trey Sampson.

The one man who stood to gain the most by Harley Zook’s murder . . .

Claire released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding and stepped from the car, the message on the side of Harley’s house and its timing in relation to the man’s murder the final piece of the puzzle that still needed to be placed. “Megan? Can I ask you one more question?”

“Sure.”

“When did you see Serenity Falls for the first time?”

A muffling of voices in the background let her know Kyle was being consulted on the answer before sharing it with Claire. “Our Realtor took us there on the Friday morning we arrived in Heavenly.”

“And did you share your reasons for not wanting to build there with your Realtor that same day?”

“You could say that. I tried to be a bit more diplomatic, but Kyle cut straight to the chase and let her know he wasn’t going to spend that kind of money on a lot that smelled like spoiled milk.”

She heard Kyle saying something but couldn’t make out his words over the car noises on Megan’s end.

“Did you hear what Kyle just said?”

“No.”

“He said the Realtor wasn’t surprised. She told us the only reason she’d even brought us out there at all was because of my interest in living as close to the Amish as possible. She said she quit making it one of her stops when it became apparent the smell was going to prevent her from making a sale.”

Claire came around the front corner of the house and stopped, the menacing words painted across the home’s foundation making all the sense in the world now.

One more and you’re dead
.

“Do you happen to know if your Realtor had any contact with Trey Sampson’s company that day? You know, to provide feedback on your visit or anything like that?”

She waited as Megan relayed the question on to Kyle; his instantaneous yes was all the confirmation she needed to hear.

It was official; the Reillys had been Harley’s “one more” . . .

\•\ \•\ \•

S
he waited in her car until the last family emerged from the sales office, the balloons tied to the children’s wrists and the starry-eyed faces of the adults a near carbon copy of the three previous families who’d emerged from the trailer over the past half hour. Several times she’d picked up the cell phone while she was waiting, the little voice that had kept her safe and sound throughout her life growing persistently louder with each passing minute.

There was more than enough suspicion and evidence to bring Jakob in to the mix, yet still she hesitated. It wasn’t that she thought she was wrong but, rather, because she needed to be sure.

That’s why, when the last family finally pulled onto the main road, she stepped from her car and headed across the makeshift parking lot toward the temporary sales office currently housed in a double-wide trailer. She knocked briefly on the glass door, then headed inside, the smiley redhead behind the front desk rising to her feet in short order.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t hear you drive up. Welcome to Serenity Falls—your one and only forever home.” The redhead looked past Claire briefly before turning her smile on full blast. “I take it you’re not here with a Realtor this afternoon?”

Claire returned the woman’s smile and took the familiar glossy folder from her outstretched hand, barely glancing at it as she did. “No. I’m here alone.”

“Well then, I’m Vanessa, your on-site sales associate. I’d be happy to show you around the grounds if you’d like. Makes it easier to envision where everything that’s shown in your folder will actually be when the community is complete.”

Claire nodded politely then got to the reason for her visit. “Is Trey Sampson available by any chance? I’d like to speak with him if I may.”

Vanessa’s overly tweezed right eyebrow inched upward. “Do you know Trey?”

“My friend, Megan Reilly, put a down payment on a lot in here yesterday and she—”

“Oh, Mrs. Reilly . . . our first official resident of Serenity Falls.” Vanessa clapped her hands together softly. “What a lovely, lovely woman. She’s going to be so thrilled to hear we signed her first neighbor not more than two hours ago . . .
and
they just so happen to have a pair of little boys, too!”

“That’s wonderful!” Claire let her gaze wander toward the office on the other side of the reception area, the open door and lack of any overhead light virtually eliminating all hope of confronting Trey herself. But Vanessa put her fears to rest with a warm arm squeeze and an invitation to sit and wait.

“Trey should be along any minute. He had to make a quick stop at the bank to sign some papers and pick up a check, and he said he’d be back before it was time to close. Which”—Vanessa ducked her head behind her desktop computer—“according to my little clock right here will be in about twenty minutes.”

“Thanks.” Claire took a seat in the black vinyl chair and lazily thumbed through the floor plans and marketing pieces inside the same folder that was sitting on the nightstand in her room at the inn. When she’d taken a second and third look at each item, she stood and wandered over to the glass case that housed the basic model of a completed Serenity Falls right down to the playground and walking trails that had helped win Megan’s heart.

The phone on Vanessa’s desk rang and was quickly answered in a voice that seemed incapable of speaking in anything less than full volume. “Welcome to Serenity Falls, this is Vanessa speaking.” Instantly, the cheerleader tone of the woman’s greeting took on a frosty edge. “Yes, I know who this is . . . Trey is at the bank now, putting his final signature on the papers . . . I’m quite sure he’s not going to make off with your money, Ms. Duggan . . .”

This time there was no coughing spell that could cover the gasp that left Claire’s lips and traveled around the room, no easy way to shake off the sudden attention from Vanessa the sound garnered.

“One minute, I have a customer here.” Pulling the phone’s mouthpiece to the side of her face, Vanessa lifted her brow in Claire’s direction once again. “Is everything okay, Miss—Miss . . . I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Claire. Claire Weatherly. And no, I’m fine. I guess I was just enthralled by the detail of this model.” The lie felt like acid on her tongue, but if it got Vanessa back on the phone and yacking away again, it would be worth it in the end.

“Oh. Okay.” The sales agent repositioned the phone closer to her mouth, lowering her voice half an octave. “Yes, Ms. Duggan . . . yes, I know you’ve been waiting for this first sale to go through, but, as you know, there were mitigating factors beyond our control and . . . yes, yes, we’re happy everything can be finalized now as well. Yes, I’ll let Trey know you called and that you’re at your house waiting for your check in the event your phone call last night and again this morning didn’t make that clear. Yes . . . yes, Ms. Duggan . . . Good-bye, Ms. Duggan.” Vanessa slapped the phone down on its base and groaned loudly. “Ugh!”

“Tough phone call?” Claire pried.

Vanessa’s face reddened just before it disappeared into her hands. “I am so sorry. I don’t usually handle calls like that, but that woman tries my patience in ways I can’t even begin to explain.” She lifted her head and glanced at the ceiling as if in prayer. “But that’s over now. She gets her cut of the first land acquisition the way she was promised and Trey is free of her and her former ties to the land once and for all.”