Sweetness and Light (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 5) (13 page)

“I’m sure it was her savings account.  All but ten thousand dollars of it came in one lump sum, just days ago.  How can she explain that?”

Angie thought.  “Well, what about an inheritance?”

“It’s quite a coincidence that a lot of money went into her account right after Nelson Rider got killed.”  With his left hand, Tom lifted a forkful of waffle into his mouth.  His right hand rubbed Jenna’s shoulders and she leaned into him.

“It’s very suspicious.”  Ellie dried her hands on a dish towel.

Angie said, “I’ll tell Chief Martin.  Maybe he can look into the origin of the money.  Find out who it was transferred from.”

“I’ll bet you that the money will be basically untraceable.”  Tom took a swallow from his coffee mug.  “Big wigs, corporations, drug money can get passed around through so many channels that it becomes impossible to determine the origin.  If this young woman received a bundle of cash recently, I doubt anyone will be able to tell you where it came from.  Not without a ton of research, and that costs time and money.”

“That can’t be legal.”  Ellie scowled.

“Probably not,” Tom said.  “But it works.”

Angie put her tray of cookies into the oven and set the timer.  She went to the kitchen island, crossed her arms, and leaned on it.  “So, let’s assume that Kimberley got paid off for something.  It had to be something important since she got a boat-load of money for whatever it was she did.  So what are some ideas of what she might have done?”

“Killed Nelson,” Jenna said.

Tom offered, “Sold drugs.”

“Inheritance?” Angie shrugged.

Ellie rolled her eyes at the suggestion.  “That isn’t valid,” she insisted.  “We’re coming up with things someone could get paid off for.”

Jenna thought of something else.  “Kidnapping.”

Ellie shook her head.  “Let’s keep it to things relevant to this particular case.”

A few moments passed, and then Angie came up with an idea.  “Kim helped someone eliminate Nelson.  Maybe
she
didn’t kill him, but she assisted in the planning, or the execution of the plan.”

“Execution?”  Jenna’s expression was serious.  “Again, Angie comes up with a poor choice of word.”

“But the idea has merit.”  Tom rubbed the back of Jenna’s neck to help remove the tension in her muscles.

“Can I be next for a neck rub?”  Angie kidded.

“Get your own man.”  Jenna chided her sister.

“Neck rubs are over.  It’s time for me to get to work if you’re ever going to open that bake shop of yours.” Tom smiled at Angie as he reached for his tool belt, and then looked around the kitchen.  “Where are the cats?”  Euclid and Circe rarely missed the opportunity to supervise Tom’s renovation work in the new café.

Ellie piled waffles on a platter to carry to the dining room.  “The cats are in Mr. Finch’s room watching over him.  I’m sure once he gets up, those two taskmasters will be down to keep an eye on you.”

Tom headed off to work.  “I’m going to be lonely without them,” he half-joked.

***

Ellie promised to watch the jewelry shop while Angie and Jenna met with Chief Martin at the police station.  The girls and the chief talked in one of the conference rooms away from listening ears.

The chief drummed his fingers on the tabletop.  “This is an interesting development.  Someone paid Ms. Kimberley Hutchins handsomely.  For something, and probably not something good.  As Tom told you, it will likely be difficult to figure out where the money came from.  But Ms. Hutchins and I will have a chat.”  The chief nodded to Jenna.  “Good work.”

“Any leads on what happened to Mr. Finch at the memorial service?”  Angie asked.

“Nothing yet on who might have attacked him, but the preliminary ballistics report suggests the gun found in the closet of the Winston’s rental house is the murder weapon.”

Jenna said, “Now we need to figure out who put it there.”

Angie gave a sigh.  “Easier said than done, but I feel like we’re getting closer.”

“There’s something else I want to share with you.”  Chief Martin pushed a folder on the table with his finger.  “The “tox” report indicates that Nelson Rider had drugs in his system when he was murdered.”

“What kind?” A skitter of unease ran over Angie’s skin.

“Opioids.  Pain killers.  It’s one more thing that needs looking into.”

“How do you mean?” Jenna’s head tilted slightly in a questioning position.

“The report shows a high amount of the pain killers present in his body.  It opens up another avenue of investigation.  Was Nelson using the drugs for legitimate pain relief or was he abusing drugs?  If he was using, maybe it was a drug-buy gone wrong that got him killed.”

Angie considered this news.  “I don’t think the Winstons or Nelson’s siblings will be very forthcoming about whether or not Nelson was using drugs.  It’s not something they would want known.”

“That would sully the family’s reputation.”  Jenna observed.  “It would also cast a shadow on the family firm.  Clients might not be thrilled with the idea of trusting their money to someone whose judgment could be clouded by drugs.”

“I wanted you to know about this before you go back to the bungalow.  It might help when you … well, when you investigate the premises again.”  The chief never knew how to verbalize what the Roseland sisters could do.

“Josh Williams still doesn’t know about our skills.”  Angie didn’t want anything about their “abilities” to slip out when they returned to check out the crime scene at the resort.  When the time was right, she would have that difficult discussion with Josh and she hoped he would be accepting.  Just thinking about bringing the subject up with Josh made Angie break into a sweat.  “I’ll tell him one day.”

The chief’s expression was serious.  “I’m always careful not to say anything when we’re in public.  I would never mention your family’s skills in front of others.”

Angie gave a nod.  “We’ll share the information about the drugs with Courtney, Ellie, and Mr. Finch.  We’ll keep it in mind when we go to the bungalow to investigate.”

Jenna brought up the subject of alibis.  “Is there anyone who doesn’t have a valid alibi for the night of the murder?”

The chief rubbed the side of his face.  “Senator Winston claims to have been in his bungalow, but he was alone, so who knows if he was there or not.  Bethany Winston reported that she was in her suite and then went out for a drive. We know she went to your house to talk to you that night, but we don’t know for sure if she was in her bungalow when Mr. Rider was murdered.”

They discussed the time line and determined that Bethany was unaccounted for during the time of Nelson’s attack.  “We considered the possibility that Bethany showing up at our door might have been a way for her to have an alibi.”

The chief agreed.  “Is there anything else you’ve discovered that I might not know about?”

The girls thought for a moment and shook their heads.

“I’ve requested that the interested parties remain in town for a few more days, and if they need to leave Sweet Cove, that they keep me informed of their whereabouts.”

Angie said, “We’ll keep investigating.  We’ll see if we can find out anything about Nelson and the drugs and we’ll try to find out more about Kimberley and the hefty deposit to her account.”

“I’ll see you in a couple of days when we meet at the bungalow.”  They stood up and left the conference room.

On the walk back to the Victorian, Angie experienced such a moment of dread about returning to Nelson’s bungalow that she felt light-headed.  She didn’t understand her deep sense of unease.  She tried to shake off the frightening feelings by thinking about Josh and their upcoming bike ride, but she knew the sensation of anxiety would surge up again and she would have to face it.
 

Chapter 17

Angie sat at the dining room table going over her plans to re-open the bake shop.  Jenna was working in her jewelry room and Ellie had gone out for lunch with Attorney Jack Ford.  Courtney was at the candy shop and Mr. Finch had slept late, ate breakfast at the Victorian while Ellie questioned him about the injury to his head, and read the news on the porch with the cats watching over him.  Tiring easily, he was now upstairs resting in his room.

The girls didn’t want him alone the first day after getting knocked on the head so he was spending the day at their house.  Later he would head to his new home behind the Victorian, to meet his girlfriend, Betty Hayes, to tell her about his adventures of the previous evening.

Angie was making a list of tasks she needed to complete.  Fixtures had to be ordered, boxes had to be unpacked, appliances moved in, and food orders needed to be placed.

She was punching numbers into a calculator when Kimberley Hutchins burst through the front door of the Victorian and rushed toward the stairs.  Her eyes looked wild.  When she spotted Angie, she hurried to the dining room and stood there beside the table. Beads of sweat covered the young woman’s forehead and she was out of breath.

Angie put down her pencil, alarmed by Kim’s distress.  “What’s wrong?”

“I….”  A tear escaped from the corner of her eye and she brushed it away.  She put her purse on the table and used both hands to push her hair back from her face.  Kim took a quick, nervous glance at the front door.

Angie’s inner alarm bells were sounding.  “The front door locks when it closes.  No one can get in without the code or without having the door opened for them.”  She gestured to the chair next to her.  “Why don’t you sit?  Tell me what’s wrong.”

Kim slid into the seat.  Her face was pale.  Angie wondered if, and how much, she was going to share about what was bothering her.  The young woman’s distress hit Angie like waves on the shore and caused the thrumming to start in her veins.  Whenever there was danger, Angie could feel the pulsing beat in her blood that warned her to be on guard.

“I was supposed to meet with the human resource manager of Rider Financial today.  He attended the memorial service and he’s staying at the Winston’s rental house for a few days, so we made an appointment to meet there to have my exit interview.  You know, since I gave my notice.”

“What’s worrying you about the meeting?”

Kim’s eyes flicked about the room.  “I’m uncomfortable about leaving the firm.  I’d prefer to just do the meeting by phone, but the manager said that I need to sign some forms for things like my 401k, and that the exit interview is always done in person.”

“Tell him you’re leaving town.  Have him send you the forms.  You don’t have to meet with him.”  Angie knew there was more to Kim’s worry than just being nervous about facing former colleagues.

“I
do
have to.  They insist.”

“Or what?”  Angie narrowed her eyes.  The young woman didn’t say anything.  “They can’t make you go there. You’re done working for them. You quit.  They can’t fire you or anything.  You no longer have to follow the firms’ rules and regulations.”

Kim’s hands shook and tears gathered in her eyes.  “I’m afraid of them.”

“Why are you afraid?”

“I can’t say.”

Angie watched the girl’s face.  “Do you need to talk to the police?  I know Chief Martin and….”

Kim cut Angie off.  “No.”  She practically shouted the word.  “No police.”

Angie let a few moments pass. “Tell me what’s going on, then I can help.”

“No.”  The word came out as a whisper.  “This is a mess that can’t be helped.”

Angie had a million questions that she wanted to fire at the woman sitting beside her, but she knew an interrogation would only result in Kim clamming up or bolting from the room.  “Is there something you want me to do?”

“Will you come with me to the meeting?”  Kim’s pale face was covered with blotchy spots and the rims of her eyes were red.  “I don’t have family.  My good friends are in Europe.  I’m alone right now.  No one will know if I’m in trouble.”

Angie’s eyes went wide.  “What kind of trouble are you expecting?”

“I just don’t want to go alone.  I want someone with me.”  Kim’s voice cracked.

“Should you bring a lawyer with you?”  Angie was about to tell the nervous young woman about her friend, Attorney Ford.

“I just want you to come.  Just another set of ears.  That’s all.  That’s all I need.”

Angie wasn’t sure what to say.  She thought that attending the meeting with Kim might reveal some important information, but she also had no desire to put herself in danger.  For a minute, she wondered if Kim was trying to set her up, pretending to be afraid just to get her into a worrisome situation.  Angie cleared her mind trying to pick up on Kim’s true intention.  All she could feel was the girl’s distress.  “What time is the manager expecting you?”

“In an hour.”  Kim wrung her hands.

“Let me check my schedule for the day.  Why don’t you head up to your room and try to relax and I’ll let you know in fifteen minutes if I can join you.”  Angie forced a comforting smile.

Kim exhaled loudly.  She nodded, gathered up her purse with a shaky hand, and went up to her room.  Angie darted down the hall and into Jenna’s jewelry shop to talk over what just happened.

“I don’t know.”  Jenna’s face was lined with worry.  “Is it a trap?  Is Kim really afraid of the Rider Firm? Is she in danger?  Why does she have to go to the mansion?”

Angie shrugged.  “I didn’t pick up any sensations that she’s lying to me or that she’s trying to trick me.”  She gave her sister a grave look.  “But I wouldn’t stake my life on it.”

“I don’t think you should go to the Winston house.  It’s too isolated.”  Jenna rolled a pencil over her desk top.  “Have Kim tell the human resource manager to meet her at the resort.  There are plenty of people around there.  It would be much safer.”

“Good idea, but will the manager go for it?”

“If not, then don’t go with her.”

“I’ll go talk to Kim.” Angie went to the foyer and up the stairs to the second floor.  She walked down the hall to Kim’s door and called her name.  No one answered.

“Kim?”  Angie called again and knocked on the doorframe.  When there was no answer, she leaned her ear close to the door.  She couldn’t hear any sounds in the room.