Sweetness and Light (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 5) (6 page)

Angie rolled her eyes.  “Yeah.  Even longer if he’s left town.”

The girls entered the small lobby of the Seagull Inn and walked up to the desk clerk. Jenna smiled at the man.  “We were wondering if you could ring a room for us?  We’re looking for Todd Moore.  A mutual friend told us that he’s in town.”

The elderly desk clerk smiled at the girls.  “Mr. Moore just checked in yesterday.”  He looked over the girls’ heads.  “In fact, there he is.  He’s on the porch.”  The clerk pointed out the back window to a large covered porch area just off the back door.

The girls thanked the desk clerk and made their way to the porch, thankful that there was only one man sitting outside since they had no idea what Todd looked like.

Angie gave a sigh of relief.  “It must be our lucky day.”

They stepped out onto the shaded deck.  There were café tables and comfortable chairs and lounges to relax on.  Several potted palms were placed in the corners of the space.  The man sitting at a table with a cold drink glanced up as the girls came out from the lobby.

Jenna smiled.  “Todd?”

The man seemed surprised by Jenna’s recognition and he looked to be struggling to remember her from somewhere, not realizing that he really didn’t know her at all.

Jenna extended her hand.  “Jenna Roseland.  This is my sister, Angie.  We’re friends of Bethany.”

Angie gestured to the empty chairs around Todd’s table.  “May we join you?”

Todd nodded.  Confusion creased his brow.

The girls sat.

Angie said, “Bethany told us you were in town.”

“How do you know Beth?”

“We’ve just met her recently.  We’ve been helping her arrange her wedding here in Sweet Cove.”  Angie gave him a friendly look.  “She told us you were staying here.”

Todd’s face clouded, but he didn’t say anything.  His eyes darted around the deck and garden.

Angie got the feeling he might bolt so she quickly engaged him in conversation.  “Bethany speaks highly of you.  She told us you’ve been friends since you were little children.”

Jenna leaned slightly forward.  “When did you get into town?”

Todd shifted in his chair.  “Just recently.”

Here we go with evasive answers, Angie thought.  She decided that the best thing to do was to stop beating around the bush.  “Terrible about Bethany’s fiancé.”

Todd narrowed his eyes.  “What do you mean?”

Jenna’s brows furrowed.  “Have you seen Bethany since you arrived?”  Her tone was careful.  “Have you talked to her?”

Todd shook his head.  “Not yet.”  He looked at each girl.  “What’s wrong with Nelson?”

Angie thought either Todd had no idea what happened to Nelson Rider or that he should be nominated for an Academy Award.  “You haven’t heard?”

“Heard what?”  Todd sat up straighter, clearly becoming alarmed.

Jenna and Angie made eye contact with one another.  Jenna kept her voice quiet.  “I’m surprised you haven’t heard people talking.  It’s in the newspaper today, on the news.  We really shouldn’t be the ones to tell you.”

Todd’s face flushed.  His breathing quickened.  “Has something happened to Nelson?”

“He …I’m sorry … Mr. Rider has passed away.”  Jenna spoke solemnly.

“What!”  Todd jumped up from his chair.  “When?  What happened?”

“You should talk to Bethany,” Angie suggested.  “We’ve only heard bits and pieces.”  She didn’t think they should share all the nasty details with Todd.

“Where is Beth?”

“Um.  She was staying at the Sweet Cove Resort down on Robin’s Point.”  Jenna shrugged.  “But we’re not sure if she’s still there.”

Todd headed for the door to the inn.  “I need to talk to her.  Sorry.”  He fled into the hotel lobby.

“Well.”  Angie turned to Jenna.  “I’m not sure what I expected, but that wasn’t it.”

“He sure seemed surprised by the news.  It seemed genuine.  Why wouldn’t Bethany have told him?”

Angie’s face was pensive.  “Maybe she didn’t tell him to keep their contact non-existent.  So law enforcement couldn’t say they were in on the murder together?  Don’t call or text each other.  Then suspicion isn’t raised.”

They sat for a few minutes thinking, and then Jenna broke the silence.  “Maybe we should find out where Bethany is?  I would really like to talk to her, but we probably can’t get near her.”

Angie pulled out her phone.  “I’ll text Chief Martin and ask where she is.”

“And I’ll call Mr. Finch to see if he’s talked to Betty yet about whether or not the Winstons are going ahead with their plans to rent the mansion in Coveside.”

The girls left the inn’s porch deck and headed home.  Jenna talked on her phone with Mr. Finch as she walked and Angie waited for a reply text from the chief.  She decided to call Josh when she got home to find out how he was faring.

Jenna ended her call.  “Mr. Finch says Betty told him that Senator Winston’s assistant picked up the Coveside house key this morning.”

“The chief just replied to my text.  He confirms that the Winstons have moved to the rental house.”  Angie looked up from her phone.  “There’s more privacy at the rental house than at the resort and maybe they don’t want to head back to their homes until this mess cools down somewhat.  Being in Sweet Cove helps them hide-out from the media.”

“That makes sense.  I bet the press is dying to swarm them with questions.”  Jenna made a face.  “I wouldn’t want the loss of privacy that such a public life would require.”

“Having them in Sweet Cove for a while longer will benefit us.”  Angie pushed her hair back over her ears.  “Maybe we can talk to Bethany.  Want to take a detour and go to the candy store?  I’d like to talk things over with Courtney and Mr. Finch.”

The girls passed the Victorian and kept walking up to Main Street where they turned right and headed the couple of blocks past stores and restaurants to the candy shop.  The little bell tinkled when they opened the door.

Rufus Fudge stood inside chatting with Courtney.  Their eyes were sparkling as the two young people stared at each other.

The girls greeted him.  Jenna teased the young Englishman who was interning for the summer at Attorney Jack Ford’s office.  “Do you actually do any legal work for Attorney Ford?  You seem to be more interested in candy.”

Fudge’s cheeks blushed.  “It’s my lunch break.  I thought I’d come by and get some candy to take back to the office.”

Angie leaned closer.  “It’s okay, Rufus.  We know the real reason you like candy so much.”

“Leave him alone.”  Courtney came to the rescue.  She gave her sisters gentle nudges.  “You two go in the back room.  I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

The twin sisters reluctantly followed Courtney’s orders and they shuffled away into the back of the store where Mr. Finch was in the process of making some wonderfully smelling delight.

Angie closed her eyes and inhaled.  “What is it?”

“A new flavor of fudge.  Miss Courtney and I have been discussing this new flavor and we’re giving it a try today.”  Mr. Finch smiled.  “You may be among the first to try it, should things go well.”

“I’m happy to just stand here and sniff.”  Angie chuckled.

Courtney hurried into the work room.  Her eyes flashed.  “You two need to stop teasing Rufus.  It’s rude.”

Jenna tilted her head.  “Really?  After all the grief you’ve given me about Tom?”

“This is different.”  Courtney put a tray into the sink to wash it out.

“Yes.”  Jenna crossed her arms.  “It’s different because now it’s
you
getting razzed.”

Angie didn’t want things to escalate between the sisters so she changed the subject.  “We want to talk over the case with you and Mr. Finch.” She brought her youngest sister and Finch up to speed with what they’d discovered about Todd.

“So it seems Todd Moore is in the dark about Nelson’s murder?”  Courtney sat down in the desk chair.  “You thought he was sincere in his shock?”

“It sure seemed like it.”  Jenna nodded.

“There are a number of things to consider.  Perhaps it would be helpful to recap what we know.”  Mr. Finch poured fudge into a pan.  “Nelson Rider has been murdered.  Miss Bethany and Todd Moore are in love.  Todd has received threats against his life for being in love with Miss Bethany.  Senator Winston would not be pleased if he knew the depth of feeling that his daughter has for Todd.  Miss Bethany can be considered a suspect in Nelson’s murder.  Todd appeared not to know what happened, so that probably eliminates him as a suspect.  Anything else?”  He scraped the pan with a spatula.

“Can I lick the pan?”  Angie giggled and stuck a finger into the bottom of the pan Finch was holding.  She licked her finger.  “Yum.  Delicious.”

One of the candy store employees stuck her head around the corner to peer into the work room.  “Courtney?  There’s a woman out here who says she needs to see the Roseland sisters.  Should I send her back?”

Courtney’s face was blank.  She looked at her sisters who appeared to be just as surprised.  They shrugged.

Courtney said, “I guess so.  Sure.  Send her in.”

A young woman rushed into the back room.  She pulled off her sunglasses and floppy hat.  Bethany Winston stood there with wide eyes.

Angie whispered to Mr. Finch.  “You know when you asked a few minutes ago if there was anything else to add to the information about the murder case?”  She leaned closer.  “The answer is ‘probably yes.’”
 

Chapter 9

“I had to sneak here.”  Bethany was breathing hard and she looked back over her shoulder.  She stepped further into the room.  Her platinum hair was flat and sweaty from being squished under the hat. “I had to slip past the media.  They’re hanging out near the house we rented.”  She glanced at the four people staring at her.  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Jenna went over to the woman. “We’re just surprised to see you.  I’m sorry about Nelson.”

The others expressed their condolences.  Mr. Finch introduced himself and offered to make Bethany a latte.  She accepted and he went to his machine to prepare it.

Courtney gestured to the desk chair and the young woman sat down with a great sigh.  “How is this my life?”  She plopped her hat and sunglasses on the desk.  “Poor, stupid Nelson.”

Angie carried two folding chairs over and placed them near the desk.  There were two stools next to the wall.  Courtney pulled them over.  The sisters sat, and Mr. Finch handed the latte to Bethany and then took a chair.

“Why do you say that Nelson was stupid?”  Jenna asked.

Bethany ran her hand through her hair and pushed her droopy bangs back off her forehead.  “Nelson was the perfect stereotype of a blue-blooded rich boy.  He played the part well.”

“How do you mean?” Courtney’s expression was serious.

“Nelson went to boarding school.  He went to Yale.  He got into Harvard Business School because his daddy made a call.  He was a party boy.  His family was always covering for him.”  She let out a loud sigh.  “He only did enough at work to get by.  Nelson was always having affairs.  Deep down he was a good person, but he just thought life was one big party and he was going to suck up everything he could.  Honestly, he was just like a little boy.  He never thought his actions would get him into trouble.”  She shook her head sadly.  “It seems he was wrong about that.”

“He had affairs while you were engaged?” Jenna made a face.

Bethany waved her hand dismissively.  “Of course.  He would never stop.  There’s always a willing Miss, especially if the guy is loaded.”

“Why put up with it?” Angie questioned.

“It is what it is.”  Bethany sipped her latte.  “Well, it was what it was.”  She placed her small white cup on the desk.  “I knew what I was getting into by marrying Nelson.”

“Why marry someone like that?”  Courtney’s eyes clouded over.  “And when you love someone else?”

Bethany didn’t say anything.

Mr. Finch spoke.  “Perhaps it was expected of you?”

The platinum blonde gave a sad, little nod.  She looked like she’d added ten years to her age since the previous night.  “Money, position, power.  It’s all sooo important,” she said wearily.

Angie’s heart felt heavy and sorry for Bethany, but then she shook herself, afraid that this might be a performance to throw people off from considering her a suspect.  Angie tried tuning in to her senses to pick up on anything the young woman might be giving off, but her thoughts and feelings were muddled.  She wished the cats were here.

Courtney asked, “Why did you come to see us?”

“I’m afraid the police will try to pin this on Todd.  You know, the love triangle.  It’s like something out of a terrible movie.  I’m worried.”

Angie didn’t mention that Bethany herself might end up being suspected.

Bethany rubbed her eyes. “I want all of you to look into it.  See if you can figure out who killed Nelson.”

Courtney leaned over and pulled a pad of paper from the desk drawer.  “What can you tell us?  Can you think of anyone who might be guilty of the murder?”

“Well, you can start with a few of his recent affairs.”

Courtney’s eyebrows shot up.  “There’s more than one right now?”

“Nelson was a busy man.  There’s one person in particular you should look at though.  Nelson had recently broken off with her.  Her name is Kim Hutchins.  She works at Nelson’s family investment firm.  She’s been Nelson’s assistant.  I understand that Kim was not very happy to be dumped by Mr. Money Bags.”

“She lives in New York?”  Jenna asked.

“She works at the Boston office.  She lives there in the city.”

“What does she look like?” Angie asked even though she had a pretty good idea of what she might look like.

Bethany scowled.  “Exactly what you’d expect.  Young, blonde, blue eyes, big chest, long legs.  Look at the company website, at the staff profiles.  She’s on there in all her glory.”

Jenna stood up and stretched her back muscles.  Lack of sleep and too much sitting of late had put a kink in her back.  “Is she a financial advisor?”

“She was the office manager until she became Nelson’s assistant.”

“Can you give us an address for the firm or for Kim’s apartment in Boston?”  Courtney’s pen was poised over the pad of paper.