The Begonia Bribe (17 page)

“She doesn’t want it public.”

“But I already know. She told my sister.”

“Your sister?”

“She was catering Monday—they threw up together behind the bushes.”

He looked pained and patted his forehead with a handkerchief. The waitress delivered drinks and so laid down an extra napkin and looked at him in concern. He waved her away and took a large swallow of Scotch.

“I won’t mention it to her, but I think it’s relevant for the murder investigation. I’m not going to keep it from the police.”

Clancy pursed his mouth and then rushed out. Cam hoped he didn’t plan on a heart attack. She’d feel very guilty if she thought she’d caused one.

Jessica found her before Clancy returned.

“Where did Clancy go?”

“I’m not sure. He didn’t look well.”

“Oh, dear. But in any case, it’s nice to have a chance to talk to you more formally, Cam. What business do you have with Clancy?”

Cam swallowed, steeling herself. “With Clancy? He’s a judge in the pageant I’m coordinating. But it turns out I might have some business with you.”

“Me?”

“How long have you been friends with Olivia Quinn?”

“Olivia? Years, why?”

“She’s trying to frame a friend of mine for murder . . . and she seems to be stalking a man. She just . . . doesn’t seem very stable.”

“Frame? Stalking? That doesn’t sound like Olivia at all.”

“Yet the man she’s stalking has met you with her.”

“Barry? That’s mutual. He wouldn’t accuse her . . .”

“It seems a relationship that was sort of normal until this week got strange when Barry’s wife and children showed up in town. Olivia appears to want something with Barry that she can’t have, so she tried to frame his wife, I think because she had that relationship at one point.”

“What do you mean, ‘sort of normal’?”

“I mean Barry Blankenship is a jerk who has never been faithful, even when he was married with a family. I suggest you let Olivia know what a dog he is and that she’s much better off without him. But if Olivia makes another move against his wife, the ax will fall. Tell her that her job is on the line.”

“Oh!” Jessica looked surprised. “Well, I only know Olivia casually, but this doesn’t sound like her.”

“You just said you were friends.”

“We’ve known each other for years, but only recently began spending time together—maybe a year ago.”

“And why was that?”

“We ran into each other. I hadn’t known she’d moved to the area before that—she used to live in Lexington.”

Cam stood and set some money down for her tea; Jessica looked relieved. Clancy returned then, eyes searching. Cam shook her head and left the two of them to each other.

W
hen Cam left, she tracked down Rob so they could pool their information.

“You get Mindy settled?” she asked.

He nodded. “You know Jake still thinks the murderer is Dylan?”

“And as usual, Jake is wrong.”

“Why do you have to defend this guy? Do you realize what this looks like?”

Cam rounded on Rob. “Like I’m defending a wrongly accused man?”

“Cam.” Rob’s tried patience stopped her. “The man has . . . feelings for you.” He paused and Cam thought continuing was painful. “And unless I’m deluded, you have feelings for him.”

“They aren’t feelings!”

“Then what are they?”

“He pushes buttons. Flusters me. That’s all.”

“So you’re attracted to him?”

“No! I mean . . . not rationally. Not if I step back. But he sort of . . . pushes the right spots.”

“And you still want to defend him?”

“Rob, the . . . so-called feelings have nothing to do with his guilt or innocence. He’s Telly Stevens’s son.”

“He’s what?” Rob asked.

“Jake didn’t tell you that?”

“No. You didn’t, either.” His glare accused Cam, and she had to look away.

“Oh, geez. It looks to me like he’s being framed because he has the most to gain.”

“And does he?”

“There’s some money in the will. But he didn’t know about it until after the death.”

“I mean you.”

Cam stared at Rob. This was the last thing she expected. Rob wasn’t a jealous guy.

“Of course not.”

“Are you sure?”

“What are you implying?”

“The two of you are obviously attracted to each other.”

“Rob, I’m only interested in
you
, no matter who I happen to encounter and how much they tweak whatever random attraction thing there is.”

“So you admit it?”

Cam growled. “There’s chemistry, yes. Am I tempted? No! That’s a compliment, moron—that I choose you, even when I find another guy hot!”

Finally Rob seemed appeased. “So you’re not tempted.” It sounded like he just needed to hear it again.

Cam rolled her eyes.

“He is
not
you. Couldn’t hold a candle to you. So no. I’m not interested!” she said.

Men and their insecurities could be so ridiculous. She let it go, though. It was not worth fighting over.

“Say, when do you see Jake next?”

“Soon, I hope. Want to come?” Rob asked.

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

Rob texted Jake to see when he’d be free. Cam was relieved it was soon, as she only had about ninety minutes until she had to be back on location coordinating the final night of the pageant.

“Let’s meet him at Horizon,” Rob said.

Cam nodded. Horizon was a bar not too far from Elmwood Park, so it was located conveniently for her. She was still a little offended Rob seemed to blame her for Dylan’s attraction, but despite her general disgruntled mood, she was glad to see Jake. She hoped he’d resolve several pertinent questions.

Cam and Rob both tiptoed carefully over conversation as they waited for Jake. They didn’t want to fight, but the Dylan topic was like a scab, with edges itching to pick, and if they didn’t resist, they might both end up raw and bleeding.

Jake was more than twenty minutes later than he said he’d be. Cam wished they’d invited Annie, as she could always keep things light. Finally, Jake pushed through the door in full uniform.

He turned a chair around and faced them, leaning on it. “Man, I’ve had a day.”

“It’s done?” Rob asked.

“Yup. Perp’s in questioning now. Just need to break him.”

“It isn’t solved,” Cam said.

Jake pointed a thumb at Cam and looked to Rob for explanation.

“Hey, this is her deal. Though I suppose I recorded supporting evidence at that meeting with Barry you skipped.” He set the recorder on the table.

“It’s not Dylan. Jessica Benchly is pregnant with Telly Stevens’s baby,” Cam blurted. “She has the most to gain with both Telly and Judith dead. And since she found out that Dylan is Telly’s son, with Dylan framed for the murders, that leaves just her to claim what’s left.”

“You tried to claim Mindy was framed for it, will you make up your mind?”

“Mindy was framed by Officer Olivia Quinn because she is trying to play family with Barry Blankenship. He wanted to tell you himself earlier. As it turns out, Jessica and Olivia are friends, so maybe she was also covering for her friend. But when Jessica learned about Dylan, Dylan became someone to get out of the way.”

“Cam, Dylan’s a lifetime con man. He is a much more likely suspect. Besides, his hair—a lot of it—was found at Judith Towers-Stevens’s death scene.”

“What?”

“All over the periphery.”

“Okay, does that make sense to you? One hair, two, maybe. But how would a lot of hair ever happen by delivering poisoned coffee?”

“Doesn’t matter—it’s proof he was there.”

Cam narrowed her eyes. “He is event staff—doing the lighting—so there is every possibility he was there helping one of the television people with something while they were setting up. But there is also this: He spent the night with the most likely real murderer the night before and may have left hair on the pillow, so she decided to use it to frame him.”

“What are you talking about?” Rob asked. He was loud enough that the couple at the next table looked over in alarm.

“This morning, Dylan brought me pictures of Clancy Huggins in women’s clothing—he’d spent the night with Jessica and saw them on her camera.”

“Clancy Huggins?” Jake said.

“It was some charity thing, or so Clancy thought,” Cam said.

“Dylan came to your house early this morning?” Rob said.

“Someone threatened to sell the photos to Telly. Jessica panicked and arranged for pictures of Telly that were even worse,” Cam said, ignoring Rob’s question. “And you’re saying none of this matters?”

“Doesn’t appear to.”

“Unbelievable! Can’t you just look at this?”

“Of course we’ll
look
. I just don’t see it going anywhere.”

“I know . . . and Annie’s a murderer and so is my brother-in-law, Nick.” The pair of them had each been police favorites in the last murder investigation Cam and Jake had locked horns in.

Jake looked to Rob for help, but Rob just shrugged. Cam could see he was annoyed at the new evidence, but was also swayed by it. She suspected it was because she’d been right the last time and he’d also been ignored regarding Annie—the police had not dug deep enough and both Jake and Rob had stubbornly stuck to wrong candidates for much of the investigation.

Cam looked at her watch.

“Look, I have to be at Elmwood Park to start the double-check for tonight. Just promise not to drop this.”

Jake wouldn’t meet her eye, but his expression was resigned. Rob left with her, claiming Cam needed a ride, though he knew she didn’t.

“Guess you showed him,” Rob said as they walked to his Jeep.

Cam sighed. Now that they were away from Jake, his attitude about Dylan resurfaced.

“Can we not do this now? I have a thousand things to keep straight over the next five hours.”

He raised an eyebrow, but gave a nod.

“Shoot!”

“What?”

“We’ll need a lighting person if Dylan is being questioned.”

Rob grimaced as Cam called Evangeline to give her a heads-up.

“Are you sure? I just saw him,” Evangeline said when Cam explained.

“What?”

“I watched him walk across the park with Jessica not ten minutes ago.”

Cam wasn’t sure what to make of that—Dylan being there,
or
his being there with Jessica. “I guess that’s good, then,” she said, and clicked her phone shut.

“Emergency resolved?” Rob asked.

“Apparently. Either Dylan wasn’t formally arrested or he’s out on bail already.”

Cam thought Rob’s frown was less confusion and more irritation than hers had been.

* * *

C
am checked in with Evangeline again when she reached the park, looking around quickly with satisfaction at how nice they’d made things look—at least the setting was right. Then she made a beeline for the shell to find Dylan. Her curiosity had gotten the best of her.

“How are you here? I thought . . . Jake said you were stuck at the police station, but then Evangeline saw you here. Were you . . .”

“Questioned for murder, yes . . . but my reason for my hair in that booth was verified by that Sweeny woman. Not enough evidence otherwise. Besides, they could tell I don’t have the resources to leave town,” Dylan said.

“Why were you in the booth?”

“Ms. Sweeny needed help with all the wiring. Remember?”

She did, now that she thought about it.

“You don’t seem that upset.” It was true. He was fiddling with a trio of lights and hadn’t even looked at her.

“I thought there were other suspects anyway,” a voice said.

Cam started and realized Jessica Benchly was sitting on a chair at the edge of the shell. She was in shadow.

Cam jumped. “What are you doing here?”

Dylan let out a stream of air to show irritation but Jessica answered.

“If you must know, I overheard a hissy fit from Judith on Tuesday that Dylan was Telly’s love child. I happen to be carrying Telly’s baby, who is therefore Dylan’s brother or sister. Family . . . And frankly, Dylan has been a lot nicer about this family thing than Telly was, though I guess the fact that Telly rejected them both might be a bonding point, too. Dylan and I have become friends.”

Cam looked to Dylan, who nodded. Cam wasn’t sure why Jessica had just confessed this love child to her—maybe she knew the news would soon be public? She doubted Dylan had confessed to stealing pictures. Though he also hadn’t confessed to Cam that Jessica was pregnant, so maybe he was just a secretive guy. Whatever the case, Cam wasn’t sure how to assimilate it at the moment, and she had way too much to do to try.

“Well, I’m glad—for both of you. Dylan, you set for tonight?”

“Aren’t I always?”

Cam rolled her eyes and left him to it.

* * *

T
he pageant began with an announcement of finalists, which promptly led to minor chaos.

Lizzie Blankenship was announced as the first finalist and took her place as expected, accepting her bouquet of daylilies, as begonias were far too short for a pageant bouquet. But when, by the end, Lauren had not been announced, Lizzie began to cry and kept trying to explain something. Evangeline gave a pleading look, and Cam came forward and took Lizzie to the side.

“What is it, Lizzie?”

“It should have been Lauren. Not me!” She sniffed.

“But honey, that’s not what the judges thought.”

“But it was my fault! I ruined her dress!”

“What?”

“I just wanted to go home. I didn’t want to be here. I thought maybe if Lauren’s dress was ruined, she’d want to go home, too.”

“Oh, Lizzie, does that sound like your sister?”

Lizzie looked down and sniffed again. “No.”

The poor thing was devastated.

“Lizzie, the judges wouldn’t count Lauren’s dress against her. She got a new pretty dress. And she was only judged on the talent anyway, and Lauren did really well on the talent part. You need to tell your mom, though. Can I have your mom come talk to you?”

Lizzie wouldn’t look up, but she gave a sad, dejected nod. Cam took her to sit with the other contestants and then went to find Mindy.

Mindy was sitting with Barry, who had a hand on Mindy’s leg.

Cam grimaced. She couldn’t imagine a scenario where this was good news. Barry pressuring Mindy was bad. Mindy forgiving Barry was bad. Barry was bad.

She tried to ignore it and snuck in behind Mindy. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

Mindy jumped at the touch, but when she saw Cam, she nodded. Barry started to rise, too, but Cam said, “It’s a mom thing.”

Barry nodded and sat again.

“What happened?” Mindy asked as they worked their way to the finalists.

“I think Lizzie should tell you,” Cam said. She was heartbroken for Lizzie, but felt some glimmer of hope that Mindy might finally understand this wasn’t Lizzie’s thing.

* * *

C
am left Mindy and Lizzie to talk everything through and made a round to check the other places where things might go wrong. The television crew seemed fine and on target. Her volunteers knew the agenda and where they had to have girls and when. And Kyle Lance was waiting in the wings to be introduced by Evangeline. Everything was set.

Cam could see Annie near the stage, shooting pictures of everything from the activity on it to the people in the audience picking their noses, if Cam knew Annie.

Kyle made his way on stage and sang two songs, accompanied by masses of little-girl swoons. For the second song, all the contestants went on stage, an inner half circle of the finalists, Lizzie finally back with them, and a much larger half circle around them.

Kyle hoisted Lizzie onto his shoulders, which finally brought her out of her funk, and when he finished the song, he kissed her hand when he put her down.

As the last girl came off the stage in one direction and Kyle Lance in the other, there was a huge commotion.

A familiar voice screamed, “Look out!”

It was followed by a loud crash and several explosions and flashes. One of the lighting tracks had fallen, and the bulbs exploded as they hit the stage.

Cam dashed up the stairs and saw Dylan lying on the floor, breathing heavily. The warning had come in time to save him, but the falling structure had caught his ankle as he dove to the side.

Dylan’s face, even in the dim lighting, shone slightly green and sweat beaded on his forehead. His eyes were terrified. Jessica was nowhere to be seen.

“What happened?” Cam asked.

Dylan swallowed. “I guess Evangeline just saved my life.”

Cam turned to see Evangeline, also apparently in shock. She stood to the side, positioned to take the podium again as the girls left, but was too stunned to move.

“Did you see who did this?”

Evangeline shook her head, and finally approached the podium.

“We’ve had a small accident back here. If everyone could just stay calm until we get this cleared up—it should only be about ten minutes.”