Sweetness and Light (A Sweet Cove Mystery Book 5) (7 page)

“You don’t have to go to Boston to talk to her.”

“Why not?”  Angie cocked her head.

“Because, the lovely, Miss Kim Hutchins is right here in Sweet Cove.”  Bethany’s lips turned down.  “I saw her in town the other day.”

“Well, isn’t that convenient.”  Mr. Finch looked over the top of his glasses, one gray eyebrow raised in suspicion.

Bethany’s phone tweeted in her purse and she pulled it out. She checked the screen, and shoved it back into the pocket of her bag without answering.  “It’s my father.  I’m surprised he doesn’t put one of those prison ankle GPS things on me so he can track me wherever I go.”  She stood up.  “I’d better get back before he puts out an all points bulletin.”  Bethany reached for her hat and glasses.  “Oh, I almost forgot to mention.  We’re having a remembrance gathering for Nelson at the house we’ve rented.  It will be more private there.  It will be easier to keep the media at bay.”  She pulled a piece of paper from her purse and handed it to Angie.  “Would you be able to provide the desserts?”  Without waiting for the answer, Bethany looked at Courtney and Mr. Finch.  “And would you be able to make some candy items for after the service?  It’s all listed there on the paper, the things we want.  The date and time are written at the top.”  She blew out a long sigh.  “I’d like you all to be present, as well.  Wander around, talk to the attendees, and see if you can flesh out some information.  I wouldn’t be surprised if any one of the guests is the killer.  Most of them are vipers in one way or another.”

Angie glanced at the list of treats that the Winstons were requesting.  “Okay.  We can provide the sweets.”  She made eye contact with Bethany.  “Jenna and I ran into Todd earlier today.”

Bethany’s eyes narrowed.  “Ran into…?”

“We sought him out.”  Jenna admitted.  “He claimed not to know anything about what happened to Nelson.  You should call him.”

“You told him?”  Bethany made a sour face.

“He was going to hear it anyway.  It’s all over town, it’s on the news.”  Angie stood up.  “I was surprised he hadn’t heard from you.”

“It was better that Todd didn’t know what happened.”

“Why?” Angie pressed.  If she was going to investigate the case, she wanted Bethany to be forthcoming.

“Todd gets upset easily.”  Bethany headed for the front room.  “I have to go.  I’ll be in touch.”  She walked briskly away and was gone.

The three sisters and Mr. Finch exchanged looks.

“What do you think?” Courtney asked.

Angie moved to the preparation counter.  “I think I need a piece of fudge.”

“Todd gets upset easily?”  Jenna frowned.  “That was a strange statement.  A murder is something to get upset over.  It would be within the boundaries of normal behavior for someone to get upset when a person is murdered.”

Mr. Finch cut some squares from one of the pans of fudge.  He placed a piece on a napkin and handed it to Angie.  She took a bite of the creamy square and closed her eyes in delight.  “Wonderful.”  She took another bite and gave a little grin.  “I needed that.  Bethany gives me low blood sugar.”

Mr. Finch’s eyes twinkled.  “Perhaps Miss Bethany gives her friend, Todd, low blood sugar as well, and then he becomes more vulnerable to upset.”

Courtney shook her head and smiled at Mr. Finch’s comment.  She headed to the sink to finish washing the trays.  “It’s a good thing we each have a sense of humor.  Otherwise….”

“So what’s next, besides the remembrance service?”  Jenna moved to the counter and made herself a latte.  “We hunt down Kim Hutchins and interview her about her affair with Nelson?”

“Yes.”  Angie nodded.  “But maybe we do it without just blurting out that we know about the affair.”

“A bit of finesse would be useful during the questioning.”  Mr. Finch checked the new batch of fudge.

“How do we find her?”  Courtney asked.

“I guess we’ll have to call around to the inns and hotels and ask for her.”  Angie did not relish the idea of calling all of the overnight establishments in Sweet Cove trying to find out where Ms. Hutchins was staying.

Courtney dried the candy trays.  “I wish there was some way to bring the cats to the memorial gathering.”

They all looked at each other.

“That will take some thought.”  Angie considered.

“But, it is certainly not out of the realm of possibility.”  Mr. Finch finished cutting the tray of fudge into squares, a sly smile on his lips.  “I might have an idea.”

It seemed that two fine felines just might end up paying their respects at the Winston’s planned remembrance service for Mr. Nelson Rider.

Chapter 10

After leaving Courtney and Finch at the candy store,
Angie and Jenna walked down Beach Street towards the Victorian and as they approached they noticed a young woman sitting in a rocker on the porch holding a mug.

Jenna squinted.  “Who’s that?”

“Must be a new B and B guest.”

Angie and Jenna turned onto the walkway that led to the porch.  The woman gave them a big smile.  “Afternoon.”

The girls returned the greeting.  As Angie opened the door to the house, her heart thudded and she stopped so suddenly on the threshold that her sister almost slammed into her back.  Jenna looked over Angie’s shoulder wondering why she had halted.  “What?  Why’d you stop?”

Angie wanted to return to the porch, but decided it would appear awkward, so she continued into the foyer.  Once Jenna was inside too, her sister whirled around and whispered.  “On the porch.  That girl is blonde.  She has a big chest.”

Jenna narrowed her eyes, trying to understand why Angie was making those observations when she suddenly knew the answer.  “Is it the girl who had an affair with Nelson Rider?”

The door opened and the attractive blonde entered.  Her face lost its smile when she saw the two sisters standing in the foyer whispering. The girls turned slowly with stupid grins on their faces hoping the blonde hadn’t heard their conversation.

“Hi again.”  Angie stuck out her hand and introduced herself.  “This is Jenna.  Our sister, Ellie, runs the guest inn.”

The blonde seemed slightly wary, but she shook hands.  “Nice to meet you.”  She went into the dining room to check out the afternoon snacks.

Jenna made eye contact with her sister and Angie shrugged.  Ellie came into the room carrying a small tray of cookies.  “Oh, you’re back.  What did you find out?”

“We’re going to the kitchen to get something to eat.”  Angie forced a smile and nodded towards the back of the house.  “Come see us when you’re free.”

A few minutes later, Ellie met her sisters in the kitchen.  “Why are you acting so weird?”

“Who’s the blonde?”  Jenna questioned.

“A new guest.”  Ellie put her hands on her hips.

“What’s her name?”  Angie was growing impatient.

“Kimberley Hutchins.”

Jenna and Angie high-fived each another while Ellie made a face.

“She made it easy for us.”  Jenna grinned.

“What do you mean?”  Ellie wanted to know what was going on.

“We ran into Bethany.” Angie kept her voice soft.  “She told us that our new guest, Miss Hutchins, was having an affair with Nelson.” She paused for effect.  “And that Nelson recently broke it off with her, probably to move on to someone else.”

Ellie’s eyebrows shot up.  “Nelson Rider was having an affair right before he was getting married?”  She gave a grave shake of her head.  “Bah.  That’s shameful.  What was wrong with him?”  She went to the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of juice.

“We heard a bunch of other stuff about Nelson.”  Jenna took a sip from Ellie’s glass while her sister was returning the juice bottle to the fridge.  “We’ll fill you in later.  We need to talk to the new guest.”

Ellie had moved to the sink and was glancing out the window into the backyard as she ran water over some plates to rinse them.  She pointed towards the back of the house.  “Kimberley’s outside, sitting in the garden.”

Jenna and Angie went out the back door.  They thought it might be helpful to go sit in the fresh air for a little while.  Angie looked around for the cats, but they were nowhere to be seen.  Stepping into the yard, the girls spotted the young woman sitting under the pergola surrounded by flowers and shrubs.

“Oh, hi there.”  Angie approached.  “Mind if we sit with you?”  She sat down in the chaise opposite Kimberley Hutchins.

Jenna sat next to Angie.  She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes.  “What a beautiful day.”

“It’s perfect.”  Kimberley agreed.

“What brings you to Sweet Cove?” Angie hoped to start a conversation.

“Well, it started out as a mini-vacation.  A friend and I planned to meet, but she had to cancel.  I decided to come up anyway.”

“Where are you from?”

“Boston.”

Angie continued the conversation with the young woman, telling her that she and her sisters had grown up in Boston and had moved to Sweet Cove only recently to start businesses.  Kimberley said that she was raised in central Massachusetts and moved to Boston for a job.  That bit of information gave Angie an opening to ask what she did for work.

“I’m an assistant to a vice president at a large financial institution.”  Kimberley’s long dark lashes flitted over her eyes.  She had two dimples in her rosy cheeks.  The young woman was sweetly beautiful, not heavily made-up or self-conscious about her good looks.

Angie thought that Kimberley was someone who should be in a shampoo or a skin care commercial and that whatever it was she advertised, Angie was sure she would be convinced to buy the products.  “What’s the name of the firm?”

Kimberley said, “Rider Financial.”

Angie feigned surprise.  “The man who was murdered in Sweet Cove the other day … isn’t that the company he worked for?  His name was Nelson Rider.  Did you know him?”

Kimberley fidgeted in her seat.  Her eyes flashed for a second as she pushed her hair behind her ear.  “Yes, I did.”

Jenna and Angie offered condolences.

“That’s awful.”  Jenna’s face was lined with concern.  “Did you know him well?”

“Well enough.”  Kimberley looked out over the garden.  For a moment, the muscles of her face seemed to tremble and her eyes looked moist.  “I’ll be attending his memorial.  It’s being held here in town.  That’s why I’ve extended my stay.”

“I wonder what happened.  Why would someone kill him?” Angie eyed the young woman hoping she might go on with the discussion.  “Who would want him dead?”

Kimberley swallowed hard and then gave a little snort.  “Probably a whole lot of people.” She picked at her fingernail.  “He was a wealthy man in a cut-throat business, but members of his family were the brains behind the organization.  Nelson wasn’t your typical high-achieving financier.  He liked to play.  A lot.”

“Did his family resent his behavior?”  Jenna asked.

“People have different opinions on that.”  Kimberley pushed her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

Angie leaned forward.  “What do
you
think?”

“I think Nelson did things that made people angry.  He wasn’t serious about his work.”  Kimberley looked around the yard.  “He messed up pretty badly on something important not long ago.”

“A business deal?”  Jenna looked intrigued.

The blonde woman nodded.  “It was worth millions.  His brother, Geoffrey, is a  president at the family firm.  He was livid.  I thought he would fire Nelson, but he let him off the hook again.  When I first heard that Nelson was dead, you know what my first reaction was?  That maybe he did himself in because of his mess-up.”  She gave a little chuckle.  “But then I realized that he would never do such a thing.  Nelson loved his life.”

“Who do you think killed him?  Do you have any thoughts?”  Angie made eye contact with Kimberley.  “Since you work in the office, you must hear a lot of stuff that’s going on.”

Kimberley blew out a long breath.  “I hear plenty.  More than I want to know.  In fact, I’ve given my notice.  I’ve had enough of that family’s antics.”  She stood up.  “I’m going up to my room to take a nap.  Nice talking with you.”  She walked through the backyard, up the stairs to the wraparound porch, and headed to the front door of the Victorian.

Jenna shifted to look at her sister.  “She showed some emotion when we talked about Nelson’s murder, but she didn’t seem to be in love with him. I didn’t see the depth of emotion you would expect in a lover, no deep look of sorrow or loss.”

“It’s more like she’s angry with him.  Maybe her love and affection changed to disgust or fury when he broke it off with her.”

“Do you get the sense that she really did have an affair with Nelson?  Do you get the feeling that she might have killed him?”

Angie looked at the flower garden, her mind working.  “I don’t know.  I’m not sure what to think.  There are a number of people we could suspect.  Kimberley might not have had an affair at all.  That could just be Bethany either trying to throw us off or maybe not really knowing who Nelson had affairs with.”

Ellie came out of the back door of the house carrying a tray with three glasses of lemonade and a plate of cookies.  She placed the tray on the outdoor side table next to where her sisters were sitting.  “I brought cold drinks and a snack.”

“I love you,” Jenna teased.

Ellie ignored the comment and passed Jenna one of the glasses of ice cold lemonade.  She settled in the chair that Kimberley had vacated.  “So, how did it go?  What did you learn?”

“Not a whole lot.”  Angie sipped her drink and then proceeded to share with Ellie what they found out from the B and B guest.  “Have the cats met Kimberley?”

“They did.”  Ellie stretched out on the chaise.  “Gee, it feels good to sit for a minute.  The cats were not friendly when they met Kimberley, but they didn’t hiss or arch their backs when they saw her.  They kept their distance though.”  She ran her finger along the condensation on her glass.  “You know, I think they are becoming wary of people.  Remember how they didn’t seem to like Charlie Cook or Brian Hudson, but it was never completely clear if they suspected either of them of wrongdoing.”  Cook and Hudson were both involved in the most recent crime that the Roseland sisters investigated.