This Old Homicide (10 page)

“You were dating my uncle?” Jane’s eyes widened and she glanced at me.

Althea smiled at Jane’s reaction. “Yes. I can see he never told you about me. It figures. He really guarded his privacy. But he told me so much about you, Jane. He was so proud of you.” She pressed the white linen to her cheeks where tears were starting to stream down. “I’m sorry to make a scene. I’d better go.”

Jane looked completely stunned, but she recovered quickly. “No. Don’t go. Please. Let’s sit and talk.”

I was pretty darn shocked myself. My father and Uncle Pete had claimed that Jesse had a “hottie” girlfriend he was keeping all to himself, but I’d brushed it off, thinking the girlfriend was yet another one of Jesse’s tall tales.

So this was the hottie?

I followed, studying the woman more closely as Jane led her over to a small circle of lyre-back chairs near a corner table where we could talk more privately. Althea didn’t look that
hot
—at least, not in the way most men would define the word. But she was lovely and refined and seemed sweet and intelligent and was apparently in mourning for her deceased boyfriend.

Boyfriend
. That was about the most bizarre term I’d ever used to describe Jesse. Even more bizarre was that they’d met in an aerobics class. I couldn’t believe it. Jesse? Aerobics? The two words didn’t belong in the same universe. Sure, he stayed in shape, but he was more of a push-ups and calisthenics kind of guy. But that just showed what I knew about my neighbor.

I felt a little invisible and that was probably a good thing as I listened to the woman open up to Jane, explaining that she had rarely had a chance to visit Jesse here in Lighthouse Cove because he usually drove over to see her in her hometown of Blue Point, a quaint village about fifteen miles down the coast.

“He preferred to visit me rather than the other way around, and that was fine with me,” she said. “He was always saying that he liked to keep his private life private. You know, because of all the gossip it would’ve created if I had come to see him. He really hated gossip, but I guess you probably knew that.”

He hated gossip?
I almost laughed out loud. Jesse Hennessey was the king of the gossip mill! But it would probably be rude to mention it out loud at that moment. Besides, now that I thought about it, even though Jesse did like to dish the gossip, he probably would’ve hated to be the center of it.

It was a little surreal to realize that just last week, Jane and I had had a good laugh about Jesse claiming to have a hottie for a girlfriend. Jane had called it yet another figment of Jesse’s overactive imagination. But now that figment was here, in person. The girlfriend we hadn’t believed existed.

Althea was talking about the last time she saw Jesse. “He came over and I cooked dinner. I’m not the world’s best cook, but I can stuff pork chops like a real pro.” She chuckled at the memory and Jane smiled. Seconds later, Althea dissolved into tears.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, soaking her handkerchief with all the additional tears. “The memories are catching up to me. I can’t seem to stop sobbing.”

“Please don’t worry,” Jane whispered. “You have every right to be upset.”

“Oh, but you must be so tired of all this crying by now. Let’s please talk about something happier.” She blew her nose. “Jesse told me about your new bed-and-breakfast and I hope I’ll have a chance to see it one of these days. He claimed it was simply beautiful and I’ll bet he was right.”

“Thank you. We’re having the grand opening soon. I hope you’ll come and stay there sometime once we’re up and running.”

More waterworks threatened and Althea pressed her hand to her lips. “That’s so sweet. I would love to. And will these damn tears ever stop?”

Jane laughed softly. “I know how you feel. It’s just rotten that we had to meet on such a miserable occasion.”

“It really is.” Althea took a deep breath. “I know you need to mingle and talk to your other guests, but I would love to keep in touch with you. Maybe we can have lunch sometime.”

“I would like that, too.” Jane reached over and squeezed her hand.

“You’re as sweet and generous as Jesse said you were.”

It was true. Jane had such a generous soul, and that was what concerned me. She was so open and giving anyone could come along and take advantage of her.

Was I wrong to be suspicious of Althea Tannis? What did she want from Jane? She seemed so genuine and it was obvious that Jane really liked her, but I wanted to find out more about her before I would be willing to accept her at her word.

“Oh, Shannon,” Jane said, turning my way. “Can you believe we’re just meeting Althea for the first time?”

“I’m in complete shock.” I hesitated, then plunged ahead. “Do you mind if I ask you a question, Althea?”

“Not at all.” She looked slightly mystified.

“Did you two really meet in an aerobics class? Because I can’t picture Jesse walking into one, ever.”

She laughed. “We really did. He confessed a few weeks after we started dating that he’d set the whole thing up. He happened to be visiting an auto shop in Blue Point and he saw me walking into the gym. He pulled his car over and followed me inside. When he saw which class I was in, he enrolled.”

“That devil,” Jane said.

I grinned. “You’ve got to give him points for determination.”

“Oh, I do,” Althea said with a laugh. “Later he confessed he’d never been to an aerobics class before.”

“Then he must’ve been very impressed by you,” I said.

“You’re being kind,” she said, touching my arm. “Thank you.”

We chatted for another minute; then Althea handed Jane a card. “This is the number for my shop in Blue Point. It’s also got my personal cell phone number on the back. I hope you’ll call me soon. Or come down and go shopping. It’s a fun shop. If I don’t hear from you in a few days, I’ll call you and we’ll set up a lunch.”

“Wonderful,” Jane said, and gave her a warm hug. “I’m so glad you came today.”

As Althea walked through the crowd to the door, I realized I was going to have to shift my opinions around. I hadn’t believed that Jesse had a girlfriend, and yet here she was. I’d just met her, talked to her. And much to my surprise, I liked her. I could tell Jane really liked her, too.

A few minutes later, on a trip to the bar for a glass of water, I glanced out the front window of the inn and saw Bob, Jesse’s navy buddy, standing out on the sidewalk, talking to Althea. Did they know each other? Of course they did. It made sense that if she was Jesse’s girlfriend, he would’ve introduced her to his oldest friends. Even if none of us had met her.

Bob looked dazzled by her and I couldn’t blame him. She was very pretty and she wore a kind smile as she listened to him. A few moments later, she laughed, patted his cheek fondly, and walked away.

Bob stood transfixed, staring as she walked down the block and turned the corner, disappearing from his view.

“Having fun?”

I whipped around, instantly guilt-ridden for spying on the private interaction. My stomach did a little dip when I saw who was standing inches away from me. “Oh. Hi, Mac. Yes, I’m having a good time, considering the circumstances. How about you?”

“This is a great send-off. The old man would’ve loved it. He’d have been right over there, spinning tales.”

I smiled. “He told some good ones.”

“I’ll say.” He gazed at me. “Why’d you look so guilty just now?”

Darn it, the man read me too easily. “Me? Nothing. No reason.”

He laughed. “Irish, you’re a terrible liar. I saw that couple talking outside. And I saw you observing them closely. I’m just wondering why you seem so mortified about it.”

“Because,” I whispered, annoyed to be pinned down, “I didn’t believe my dad when he told me Jesse had a girlfriend, but he was right. And now I’m wondering why we never met her before today. She said that Jesse didn’t want to bring her around, that he was guarded about his privacy. And I know that’s true, but I’m not sure it makes sense when it comes to a woman like Althea. If she was interested in him, I think he would’ve risked stirring up gossip just to show her off to the people in town. But he never did, even after six months of dating. I mean, she’s very pleasant and I don’t have any reason to disbelieve her, but…”

“But you’re suspicious. Is she lying? What’s her story? And more important, what does she want from Jane?”

I pouted. Nothing got past him. “Maybe.”

“Relax,” he said with an easy grin. “Suspicion is a good thing. It can keep you alive.”

I thought about that for a moment and decided he was right. Morbid, but right. “I guess that’s true. But I still feel bad about spying on her just now.”

“It’s human nature. Let it go.”

“You probably spy on people all the time.”

“Of course I do. It’s fun. And people-watching helps me develop the characters in my books.” Gazing around, he lowered his voice. “Just look at the plethora of peculiar people in this room alone.”

I smiled at him. “Are you plotting a murder?”

“Always,” he murmured, and continued to scan the room as he sipped his beer.

I followed his gaze. “I see plenty of suspects.”

“It’s an embarrassment of riches.” He grinned. “I love this town.”

I had to admit we did have a few eccentric types, and to my dismay, I saw one of them heading straight for Jane, who stood alone by the French doors that opened onto the Inn’s small terrace and pool area. I looked back at Mac. “Excuse me for just a minute.”

I rushed across the room in time to hear the man wheeze Jane’s name and see her turn.

“Oh. Hello, Mr. Clemens,” Jane said. Her smile was forced, for good reason.

“Cuckoo” Clemens, the owner of the Treasure Chest antique shop on Main Street, was about to corral Jane. Clemens was a local fixture but not particularly well loved. He advertised nationally on late-night cable TV and had admittedly brought a lot of business to Lighthouse Cove. He always dressed in bird feathers on TV and made a big deal about his prices being “so low they’re cuckoo.”

Not to put too fine a spin on it, but the man was an abrasive blowhard. On television he appeared to be tall, but in reality, he was about my height, maybe five foot eight, and sort of skinny, although he came across as bulkier on-screen. Maybe the feathers added ten pounds. These days he considered himself the main reason Lighthouse Cove was a successful resort town. Some of us wondered how many potential visitors he was scaring away each year.

“Hi, Cuckoo,” I said, gently shoving my way into the space between him and Jane. “How’s it going?”

“Good day, Miss Shannon,” he said. “Just paying my regards to the lady of the hour.”

“That’s so nice, but she’s had a long day and was just about to go take a nap. Weren’t you, Jane?”

Jane gave me a fulminating look that I interpreted loosely as
A nap? Are you insane? Buzz off. I’m perfectly capable of handling this clown.

So I gave her a look back that said,
You sound a little cranky. Maybe you really do need a nap.

Before she could silently flip me off, I turned to Cuckoo. “How’s the junk business, Cuckoo?”

“I sell
antiques
and business is booming,” he said with his teeth clenched. “Look, I’ve got something to discuss with Jane here, so you ought to mosey along and—”

Jane cut him off. “Shannon’s my best friend, Mr. Clemens. Anything you have to say to me can be said in front of her.”

I grinned at Jane, knowing she’d give me hell later.

“Fine.” He ignored me and said to Jane, “I want to know what your plans are for liquidating the necklace.”

I almost laughed. I couldn’t believe Cuckoo had bought in to Jesse’s old fib about finding a necklace. I had to hand it to Jane, though. She didn’t bat an eyelash. “Necklace?”

“Don’t play dumb, now,” he said, before Jane could play dumb. “I deserve the right to bid on it first. After all, your uncle came to see me two days after he found it on the sunken ship. I saw it before he showed it to anyone else.”

Jane swallowed and I could tell she was speechless.

“Jesse claimed that the story about the necklace was untrue,” I said. “So you must realize we’re having a hard time believing you. Can you prove that you’ve seen it?”

He leaned over and looked me in the eye. “You’re playing a dangerous game here, missy.”

“No, I’m not.” I backed away a few inches. He really was a little cuckoo.

Jane recovered quickly. “Mr. Clemens, Shannon’s just trying to make sure you’re not trying to trick me. Can you describe the necklace?”

He expelled an angry breath. “Gold, three-tiered, with a couple dozen of the biggest rubies, emeralds, and diamonds I’ve ever seen. Man, that thing sparkled enough to blind your eyes.”

Jane didn’t dare glance at me. “So Uncle Jesse came to see you in hopes of selling the necklace to you?”

“That’s right.”

“And when was this, exactly?”

His forehead furled tightly as he calculated. “Almost two years to the day.”

“But you didn’t buy it.”

He coughed and blustered. “Well, no. I was having a little cash flow problem at the time, but things are different now.”

“I’m happy for you.”

“Look, the piece is too garish to be worth much in this market. I’d be doing you a big favor by taking it off your hands for five thousand dollars.”

“Five thousand dollars.” Jane seemed to be considering the offer, but then gave him a smile of regret. “That’s an interesting offer, but since I can’t verify that the necklace exists, I can’t possibly sell it to you.”

“Don’t pull that crap on me,” he said with a hiss. “I’ve seen it with my own eyes.”

“I don’t believe you,” Jane said quietly.

His teeth clenched and he fumed silently for a moment. “All right, all right, damn it. Ten thousand, but that’s my final offer.”

“I doubt it,” I muttered. If the gems were as big as he claimed, the necklace had to be worth many thousands more than he was offering. If there really was a necklace at all, which was a big “if.” But since Cuckoo was making such a fuss, I figured it had to exist. And there went another one of Jesse’s so-called myths blown wide-open.

“You know, Mr. Clemens, Shannon was right.” Jane touched her forehead dramatically. “I’m really very tired.”