Sweetness and Light (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 5) (15 page)

Angie raced into the inn’s parking lot and ducked into the corner where a huge Maple tree grew in the lawn at the edge of the hardtop.  She was breathing hard.  She removed her phone from her pocket and texted Jenna to ask if Todd had emerged from his cottage.  When Jenna replied in the negative, Angie asked her to go and knock on his door, and if he didn’t answer, see if she could peek in his front window.

After a few minutes, the phone rang.

“No one answers and I can’t see in the window.  The shade is drawn.”

Movement on the other side of the parking lot caught Angie’s eye.  A woman wearing a big, floppy hat and sunglasses was walking towards some parked cars.  Angie turned her attention back to her phone call with Jenna, but before she could say anything, she spun back to take another look at the woman.  Something about the posture and the way she moved convinced Angie.  She spoke into the phone.  “Come to the parking lot.  Hurry.”

Angie started across the lot.  The woman spotted her and broke into a jog, heading for a dark blue Toyota SUV.

“Bethany.” Angie called to her.  The woman ignored Angie’s shout and picked up her pace.

Angie bolted to the SUV and got there just before the woman.

Bethany pulled off her sunglasses, her eyes flashing.  “Can’t you just leave us alone?”

Angie’s anger matched Bethany’s.  “You want me to forget that a man was murdered?  Your fiancé?  What are you doing?  Running from the crime?”  The thought that Bethany could be armed with a weapon jumped in Angie’s brain cells, but it didn’t deter her.  She was outraged that a criminal was about to escape.

Todd jumped from the SUV.  “What do you want?  Why can’t you just leave us alone?”

Jenna ran into the parking lot and headed to where the three people stood near the vehicle.

“Stop, Jenna.  Don’t come closer.”  Angie held her palm up towards her sister to warn her to stay back in case Todd or Bethany had a gun.  “Call Police Chief Martin.”

“No!”  Bethany shouted.  “We’ll talk to you.  Don’t tell anyone where I am.”

Jenna took a look at Angie to see if she should place the call or not.

Angie was torn, but Bethany’s desperation caused her to hesitate.  She lifted her index finger to have Jenna hold off for a moment.

She looked at Bethany and Todd.  “Stand apart from each other.  I need to be sure that neither one of you has a weapon.”

“What?  A weapon?”  Bethany scowled and placed her hands on her hips.  Her eyes were like saucers.  “You think
we
killed Nelson?”  She threw her head back and put her hand to her forehead.  “We did not.  I swear to you.”

“Why are you running away then?” Angie demanded.

Todd stepped close to Bethany and took her hand.  “Beth and I are done with the way things have been.  We’re leaving to make a life together.  Nelson’s murder … I know it’s a stupid cliché, but life is short.”

Bethany rested her head on Todd’s shoulder.  “We want to spend our lives with each other.”  She gazed into Todd’s eyes.  “We’re going to be together.  I don’t care if my father disowns me.  I’m not playing by his rules anymore.”

“You can’t just take off,” Angie warned.  “Hasn’t Police Chief Martin asked you to stay in town for a few more days?  Aren’t you supposed to tell him if you leave the area?”

Jenna had come up to stand next to her sister.  “If you two run away, it will make you look guilty.  You’ll be prime suspects.  The police will be sure you killed Nelson.”

All the joy was sucked from Bethany’s face.  “But….”  She couldn’t finish her sentence because she knew that Jenna was right.  “We can’t stay here.  I can’t be around my father right now.  I can’t tell him in person that I’m marrying Todd.  He will need time to cool off before I can face him.”

Angie had an idea.  “There’s a carriage house behind our Victorian.  There’s an apartment you can use.  Stay there for a day or two.  Take the time to think things through and if you decide to leave, then tell Chief Martin.  We can take you to the apartment right now.”  She narrowed her eyes.  “But you need to talk to us once we get there.”

Bethany and Todd exchanged glances and nodded.

They all piled into Todd’s vehicle and made the short drive to the Victorian.

Chapter 20

Angie and Jenna informed their two sisters what had gone on in the parking lot of the inn near the beach and that Bethany and Todd were now guests in one of the carriage house apartments.

“I’m inclined to believe them when they say they had nothing to do with Nelson’s murder.”  Angie hoped she didn’t regret that statement.

“Bethany’s taking a big risk to run away with Todd.  Her father will probably go ballistic.”  Ellie set the table with cups and saucers and dessert plates.

“Wow, two people in love, running away from adversity.”  Courtney’s eyes looked dreamy. “It’s very romantic.”

“Running from trouble usually doesn’t solve things, it just postpones it, or makes it worse.”  Jenna sat at the table with her chin in her hand.  “Speaking of romance, where’s Rufus?”

“He’s having dinner with Jack Ford.”  Courtney smiled.  “Then he’s coming back here and we’re going out.  Mr. Finch went home to meet Betty.  Rufus and I walked him home to be sure he got there safely.”

A knock sounded at the front door.  Courtney walked through the foyer and opened the door to Bethany and Todd who entered hand in hand.  Everyone sat down around the dining table where tea, coffee, and wine were available, along with several plates of appetizers and dessert squares.

“I hear you’re going to be married.”  Courtney smiled at the couple.

Bethany beamed at Todd.  “This time it’s a
real
marriage.  This time it’s for love.”

Angie hated to spoil the mood, but she had to ask some questions.  “What do you know about Nelson’s death?”

Bethany’s facial muscles drooped.  “Just what you know.  I didn’t find out he was dead until we all left your house and returned to the resort that night.”

Todd squeezed her hand.  “It was a shock.  I hate to say it, but one night, in desperation, we talked about how things would be if Nelson was dead.”

Bethany looked at Angie and Jenna.  “When you told Todd that Nelson had been killed, for a little while, he feared I might have done something terrible so that we could be together.” She touched her hand to Todd’s cheek.  “And when I first heard about Nelson’s murder, I had the same fear that Todd might have taken matters into his own hands and done something horrible.”

Courtney addressed Todd.  “We saw you and Kimberley Hutchins in a heated discussion on the restaurant terrace down near the beach.  Can you tell us what you were talking about?  How did you end up meeting?”

Todd turned his eyes to Bethany.  “I contacted Kim and asked her to meet me to find out what she knew about Nelson’s death.  I demanded to know if she knew who killed him.”  He turned back to the girls.  “I was terrified that Beth had done it so that we could be together.”

“What was Kim’s response?” Angie asked.  “Did she reveal anything to you?  Does she know anything?”

“She denied knowing anything about what happened.  I pressed her.  I know she was Nelson’s assistant.  I thought she might have some inside information, but she claimed ignorance, so we went back and forth at each other.  She seemed nervous.  I was sure she was hiding something.  She just kept saying she didn’t know anything, so I stormed out.”

Angie turned to Bethany.  “Kim traveled with Nelson, right?  Someone I spoke with implied that Kim was sort of Nelson’s handler.”

Bethany nodded and looked down at the table.  “Nelson couldn’t stay on task, so the firm assigned Kim to be sure he showed up at meetings when he was supposed to.  I think Kim was actually the one who did all of Nelson’s work for him.  She’d brief him on matters and give him all the details, wrote the reports.  Nelson was a quick study.  He could absorb material fast, as long as it was handed to him to memorize.”  She gave a little shrug, and frowned.

Ellie asked, “Why was Nelson so incapable of doing any work?  From what people have said, he seemed bright enough.  He couldn’t have been partying all day and all night.”

A shadow of sadness covered Bethany’s face.

“Nelson used pain killers?” Angie asked gently.  “His issue with pain killers interfered with his work?”

Bethany’s shoulders sagged.  “He used pain killers heavily.  He used other drugs as well.  Try as we might, we couldn’t get Nelson clean.  His brother put Nelson in a facility, a very private facility for the wealthy, to try to help him, but nothing stopped him from using.  It took over his life.”

“Wouldn’t his problems with pain killers have hurt his Senate race?”  Courtney asked, thinking about the plans to have Nelson run for office.

Bethany shook her head.  “Nelson hid it well.  Only the people in his close circle knew and no one would ever find out he was treated at that facility.  They are very discreet there because their clientele demands ultimate privacy.”

Courtney turned to Todd.  “Did Kim say where she was the night Nelson was killed?”

“Kim told me that Nelson’s brother, Geoffrey, gave her the key to Nelson’s room so she could check on him if necessary.  Geoffrey put Kim up at a hotel near the resort.  Kim said she was in her room when Nelson was killed.”

A feeling of unease flashed in Angie’s chest.  She glanced at her sisters to see if any of them were experiencing a similar feeling, but everyone’s attention was on Todd.  She hated to ask the next questions and braced herself for possible reactions.  She cleared her throat and made eye contact with Todd.  “Can you tell us where you were at the time Nelson was killed?”

Todd’s face went blank.  “You don’t think I killed him?”  He seemed to suck in a breath.

Angie turned her hands palm-side up.  “We’ve only just met all of you.  We don’t have past history with any of you on which to base our ideas.  In order to be thorough, we have to suspect everyone.”

“I was in my room at the inn on the beach.”

Angie watched Todd carefully.  “Do you know what time Nelson was killed?”

The young man opened his mouth and then shut it.  He thought for a moment.  “Um.  It happened in the evening.  I guess I don’t really know the exact time.”

Jenna leaned forward.  “When did you arrive in Sweet Cove?”

“The day Nelson was killed.  That morning.”

“Why did you come to Sweet Cove?”  Ellie asked.

“To meet up with Beth.  We were going to leave together.  Get away from all this nonsense.”

All eyes turned to Bethany.

Angie’s brow furrowed.  “You had it all planned?  To take off before your wedding to Nelson?”

Bethany bit her lower lip.  “I know it sounds awful.  The whole circus started up and I couldn’t think how to stop it.  There was no way I was going to marry Nelson, but I couldn’t tell my father that.  Things were set in motion, like a huge truck barreling down a hillside without brakes.  The only thing I could think of was to run away.”

“You were going to leave a man at the altar?  In front of family and friends?”  Courtney couldn’t believe her ears.

Bethany shook her head vigorously.  “I was going to tell him before the wedding day dawned, to give everyone a couple of days to notify the guests.  I would never humiliate Nelson.  I
did
care for him.”  Her eyes looked wet.  She blinked hard.

Angie gave Bethany her full attention.  “Can you tell us where you were the night Nelson was killed?”

The young woman’s eyes widened.  “I was here with all of you.”

Jenna’s voice was soft.  “Nelson was killed before you got here.”

Bethany shot Jenna a look.  “How do you know that for sure?”

Ellie frowned.  She didn’t care for Bethany’s tone. “Because of forensic evidence.”

“The police gave you that information?”  The platinum blonde appeared miffed.

“They did.”  Ellie confirmed.  “So please tell us where you were.”

“In my room.  Until I left to come and see you.”  The wind seemed to have been knocked out of her sails.

“Can anyone confirm that?” Angie asked.

“I was alone.”  Bethany’s cheeks flushed pink.  “So, what?  Now you think I’m the killer?”

Jenna sighed.  “We need to consider the possibility that anyone might be guilty.”

Bethany rolled her eyes and her facial features hardened.  “That’s not how it’s supposed to work.”  She stood up abruptly and headed for the door.  Todd scurried to his feet and followed Bethany out of the Victorian, a look of embarrassment on his face.

The girls sat around the table in uncomfortable silence, each one going over the things that had been said. After a few minutes, the front door opened.  The sisters looked up expecting to see Bethany and Todd returning, but it was Kimberley Hutchins who walked into the foyer.
 

Chapter 21

Kim’s face was pale.  She nodded to the group as she hurried to the stairs.

Angie stood up.  “Kim.  Are you okay?  Where were you?”

Kim held the banister and paused.  Her face was pinched with tension.  “I’m fine.”  She turned to climb the stairs.

Angie walked over to her.  “Where did you go?  I saw the chair in your room overturned.  I was worried that something happened.”

A sour expression washed over Kim’s face.  “I have a mother.  I don’t need another one.  You don’t need to worry about me.”  She took two steps up the staircase.  “And you shouldn’t be in my room.”

Angie felt a surge of annoyance and anger.  “Hold on. Did you go to the meeting with the Rider human resource manager?  You were so worried about seeing him.  What happened?”

“I told you, everything is fine.”  She stormed up the staircase.

Angie called after her.  “Hold on.  We need to talk to you.”

“I don’t have to talk to you.”  Kim’s footsteps pounded across the second floor landing and a loud bang of her door emphasized her refusal to engage in conversation.

Angie’s mouth was hanging open.  She turned back to her sisters and blinked.  “What on earth?”  She went back to the dining table and sat down with a sigh.  “Am I hallucinating?  Was Kim a nervous wreck earlier today?  Was she afraid to go to that meeting?  Did she rush out of the house so quickly that she knocked over the desk chair?  Or did I imagine the whole thing?”  She shook her head slowly and waved her hand towards the foyer staircase.  “Because Kim sure makes it seem like I made it all up.”