The Reunion (8 page)

“Are you staying in the hotel?”

“Yes,” Ted answered. “Room five-twenty.”

“Thank you. You’re free to leave.”

Meghan watched Ted and Jill rise, then head for the lobby. Several people from other tables did the same as the deputies finished with them. At this rate, it would take hours to question everyone.

Sheriff Armstrong turned his attention to Tom and Glory. Meghan noted with relief that Glory appeared more in control.

“Tom, Glory, I’ll be as quick about this as I can. Then the two of you can get home.”

“Oh, we’re staying at the hotel,” Tom told him.

“Why? You live two miles away.”

Glory smiled and sipped some water. “I’m on the reunion committee and thought it would make better sense to stay overnight in case someone from out of town needed something. I suggested it to Eileen a couple of weeks ago. She thought it was a good idea.”

“What’s your room number?”

“Four-nineteen,” she replied.

“Tom, describe your view of the evening. Did you talk to Annabelle?” the sheriff asked.

“I spoke with her and Eric after we ate. It was just a quick ‘hello, how are you’ kind of thing. I don’t even remember what we talked about.”

“How was the party going?”

“Fine. I was having a lot of fun.”

Ray Armstrong’s eyes shifted to Glory. “How about you, Glory? Did you talk to Annabelle?”

“Some. I remember speaking to her just before the dancing started. I welcomed her and Eric back to Grandview. They live in Cincinnati, you know. We chatted for a few minutes about family and such, and then I moved on to another table.”

“Was Tom with you the whole time?”

“What do you mean, was I with her?” Tom demanded with an indignant expression.

The sheriff raised his hand. “Relax, Tom. If the two of you were separated, then you may have seen different things.”

“Well, you didn’t ask that of Ted and Jill.”

“Jill would have stayed close to her husband to introduce him to her classmates, whereas you and Glory already know most of the people present.”

Glory laid her hand on Tom’s arm. “Don’t worry, dear. I’m sure Ray doesn’t suspect us of anything. What else do you want to know?”

“Did you see Annabelle leave the room?”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“Did you leave the room at any time?”

“Yes, I went to the ladies’ room a couple of times, and stepped onto the terrace for a moment to catch a breath of air.” She frowned. “I’m afraid we didn’t think about how hot the room might become with the dancing and all.”

“Any idea who’d want to hurt Annabelle Peterson?”

Glory shot a nasty glance at Suzanne before smiling at the sheriff. “No. She was the sweetest person in the whole world. Are you sure she didn’t stumble and fall, or have a stroke or something?”

“I can’t say much right now, but we don’t think it was an accident. Glory, I understand you fainted when you discovered the body was that of Annabelle Peterson.”

“I’m afraid I did. It was all so shocking and I’d been so worried about everyone having a good time, I didn’t eat much dinner. And it was so hot in the room. I guess it all just got to me. I feel silly about it.”

“Are you all right?” the sheriff asked.

“Oh, I’m fine. Maybe when we go upstairs I can order a sandwich from room service.”

“Can we go now?” Tom challenged in a rough tone.

“Yes, of course. I’ll keep in touch.”

Tom shoved his chair back and helped Glory from hers. With his arm around his wife’s shoulders, he steered her out of the room.

Zach frowned. “Why don’t you think it was just an accident? It’s dark. The path is hard to walk on, especially for a woman in high heels. Why couldn’t she have stumbled, fallen, hit her head, and tumbled into the pond?”

The sheriff’s eyes bored into Zach. A chill raced up Meghan’s spine. Zach had been as quiet as she during the interrogation. Was he also taking mental notes?

“I agree with Zach,” Dave interjected. “This whole thing was a silly accident. And even if it wasn’t, I say someone who shouldn’t have been on the hotel grounds was lying in wait for a guest to stroll by, knock them on the head, and rob the poor sucker. I’m sorry Annabelle’s dead, but you’re just keeping us here to play policeman.”

Dave had a surly look on his face along with a fine sheen of sweat along his hairline. His hands trembled. Meghan wondered if it was the booze or nerves.

Why would Dave Coryell be nervous?

She tried to recall the last time she’d seen him. Hadn’t it been as the dancing started? He was across the room talking to some football buddies.

“Mr. Coryell, I assure you I’m not deliberately wasting either my time or anybody else’s with foolish questions just to look official.” Ray Armstrong’s voice had a frosty tone. He looked at Zach who stared back. “We found bruising and cuts on her upper torso from the rocks around the lip of the pond. Her legs are also scraped. That’s not consistent with a fall. A thief may have attacked, held her head underwater, and then heaved her in.”

“Oh, my God,” Meghan said with a gasp. This got worse by the minute.

She glanced at Suzanne who, pale as a ghost, stared at the sheriff with wide eyes. The woman’s silence was out of character. She cast her eyes down and traced an invisible pattern on the tablecloth with a coral-tipped fingernail, then slid a sidelong glance toward Dave who sweated as though in a sauna, but not before Meghan caught the fear in her eyes.

Suzanne knows this was no accident
.

Chapter Five

I killed
Annabelle Peterson
? How could I make such a stupid mistake? I was so focused on Suzanne, I hadn’t given anyone else another thought. Never noticed that their dresses were similar, if not the same. And in the dark, I totally missed the hair color, especially once it was in the water.

You goofed. Get a grip. Act horrified.
The last wouldn’t be a stretch. And while I didn’t really know Annabelle Peterson, I was sorry she died. C
ollateral damage occurs. It can’t be helped.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. As usual, no one paid any particular attention to me. All eyes were on Suzanne and that obnoxious Dave Coryell. They sat talking in the corner, heads close together.

And Eileen Raymond was the perfect person to discover the body. Her hysterical reaction on the terrace helped fuel the fire. Then, Suzanne’s appearance and Eric Peterson’s emergence onto the patio spoiled the entire outcome. A totally wasted effort on my part. I was angry with myself.

I studied the guests when they took their original seats as per the sheriff’s request.

Suzanne knows. She understands. So does Meghan. I can see it in her face. Zach’s probably clued in, too. They all know it was a case of mistaken identity. Suzanne will be on guard now.
I shook my head.
Never mind. Think about it later. You’ll get her eventually. But for now, just answer whatever questions the sheriff asks.

****

“Your turn,” the sheriff said to Zach. “Name, address, and what you do for a living.”

Trying to hide his disgust with Dave, Zach shot a quick glance at the man sitting next to him, seemingly impatient with the repetitive questions before answering.

“Zachary Dunbar. I live in Phoenix, and I’m the owner and CEO of Dunbar Electronics and Data Systems.”

“Phoenix, that’s a long way to come for a high school reunion.”

Zach shrugged. “It was a last minute decision. I didn’t e-mail my acceptance until a few weeks ago.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“You didn’t ask one,” Zach replied.

The sheriff raised an eyebrow. “So, I didn’t. Why did you suddenly decide to come back to Grandview?”

“Who knows? I’ve been working hard for ten years to build my company. When I came across the invitation in a stack of old mail, I thought why not.”

“Nothing like success to motivate a person.”

Zach gave the sheriff credit for being perceptive. Consciously, that was his reasoning, but Meghan had floated in his subconscious.
No need for the sheriff to know that.

“I’ve heard about Dunbar Electronics. Is the home office in Phoenix?

“Yes, but I also have branches in Silicon Valley, Dallas, and just closed a deal to buy a small electronics outfit in Southern California.”

The sheriff leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Do you know Paul Treadwell, the king of software?”

Zach nodded. “Yes. He’s a nice guy and ten times smarter than me, which explains why he’s worth billions and I’m not.”

Sheriff Armstrong laughed, and then got back to business. “Let’s see, according to my notes, you and Carl Davis found the body, is that right?”

“No. Carl’s wife Eileen found the body. She was hysterical, so Carl and I went into the garden to see for ourselves. We thought she might be imagining things or that someone was playing a practical joke.”

Sheriff Armstrong’s eyes cut to Dave and Suzanne. He raised an eyebrow again and made a notation in his notebook.

Zach also spared the two a glance. Both squirmed and refused to meet anybody’s eyes. If he remembered correctly, the two of them and Tami and Eddie accounted for a fair amount of mischief during their high school years.

“Obviously, it wasn’t a joke. Tell me about it.”

“Excuse me, Sheriff, but don’t you already have this information?” Dave demanded.

“I spoke very briefly to Mr. Dunbar and Mr. Davis outside. Now, I want more details. Is that all right with you, Mr. Coryell?”

Dave bit his lip, rose, and left for the bar.

“I’ll take another, too,” Suzanne called after him.

“Get your own. And put it on your tab for a change,” he snapped.

Suzanne mumbled something that sounded like ‘jackass’ under her breath and followed Dave.

“Give me the details, Mr. Dunbar.”

“Carl and I decided to check out the pond before calling the police. If it was a joke, we saw no need to involve you.”

“Did you know where the pond was located?”

“No, but Eileen had come running in from our left, so we followed the path until we saw a sign saying ‘Koi Pond’ with an arrow pointing down a smaller path.”

“Pretty dark out there. How did you see?”

“A couple of ladies had tiny flashlights in their purses. We used them. The light wasn’t strong, but combined with the tier lights in the garden and along the paths it was enough to see by.”

“What happened then?”

“We saw something in the pond. Carl thought it might be a mannequin. He touched it and discovered the real thing. We both thought it was Suzanne Wayland. It was too dark to distinguish much else. I said not to move anything, and we returned to the terrace.”

“Why did you think it was Miss Wayland?”

“The dress was blue, like the one she’s wearing, and the hair was similar.”

“I see. So, you returned to the terrace and called 9-1-1, correct?”

“I didn’t, but someone else did. We also notified the hotel.”

“Who else was on the terrace at that time?”

“A lot of people heard Eileen screaming and came out to investigate. I don’t remember who all was there. I made the announcement we’d found a body and that it looked like Suzanne Wayland. Then, Suzanne stepped out from the shadows on the far side of the terrace.”

“Can you tell me what you did this evening?” The sheriff wrote quickly, and then shot a piercing stare at Zach.

“The usual. I met Meghan at the sign-in desk. We renewed our acquaintance, had dinner, danced—that’s about it.”

Dave and Suzanne returned to the table with fresh drinks. Dave gulped. Suzanne sipped.

“If you want another drink you’d better get it now. This bar’s closing in a few minutes,” Suzanne informed them.

“I’ll get them for you,” Dave offered. “White wine for you, Meghan, right?”

Meghan nodded. “Yes, thank you, Dave.”

“Zach?”

“Scotch, rocks.” He pushed the remains of the amaretto away.

Dave left again while Suzanne watched him through narrowed eyes.

“Where were you when you heard Mrs. Davis screaming?”

“Out on the terrace.”

“Alone?”

Zach shot a glance at Meghan, who sipped the last of her wine. He didn’t want to tell the sheriff everything. It was none of his business. And Meghan might not appreciate him saying they’d been kissing like a couple of teenagers. But on the other hand, he couldn’t lie. Too many people saw them come out of the shadows.

“No, Meghan was with me.”

“Why were you on the terrace?”

“The ballroom was hot and Meghan wanted a breath of air. I got us a couple of drinks and joined her.”

“Did you talk to Mrs. Peterson tonight?”

“No.”

The sheriff smiled. “Thanks for your cooperation, Mr. Dunbar. It sounds like you did an excellent job of keeping things under control. A mob of people trampling over the path by the fish pond would have destroyed evidence. The first instinct is to move the body, get it out of the water, and turn it over for identification. That would have made our job a lot harder. Obviously, nobody attempted CPR.”

Zach bit his lip. God, he should have thought of that. “I don’t think either Carl or I even considered it. I mean, to us she looked beyond any help CPR could provide. Unfortunately, I don’t know the procedure. Could it have helped?”

The sheriff shrugged. “Hard to tell.”

“I feel awful.”

Meghan laid a hand on his arm. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. Doesn’t sound like it would have worked anyway.”

“The lady’s right. The paramedics performed brief CPR when they got here, but it was too late. Probably was when you found her. You did the best you could at the time.”

“Glad I could be of help.”

“What’s your room number?”

“Five-oh-six.”

The sheriff made the notation in the notepad and turned his attention toward Meghan.

Zach breathed a sigh of relief, glad the interrogation had ended, and not knowing why. It wasn’t like him to feel so unsettled, but then he’d never seen a dead person before either.

****