A Tale of Two Tabbies (11 page)

“Wow,” I said. And here I thought Maggie’s news would be the most disturbing I’d receive that night. “That’s so sad either way. If Joseph was responsible for the disappearance of his wife and child he should be brought to justice, but if he’s innocent I sort of feel sorry for the guy.”

“Okay, so how does this relate to VW and how was Theresa using this information to blackmail someone?” Siobhan asked.

“Good question,” I seconded.

“Do you think she somehow had proof that Joseph did kill his wife and child and was blackmailing him?” Siobhan asked.

“That’s doubtful,” Finn answered. “As far as I can tell, Joseph is still in New York and has never left. I don’t see how Theresa would have had the opportunity to make contact with the man. The articles must have been stashed for another reason.”

I pulled up the copy of the notebook page I kept on my computer and frowned. “The payments from VW, if we’re correct in our assumption that the dollar amounts below the code are a record of payments, don’t follow the same pattern as the others.”

“What do you mean?” Siobhan asked.

“In every other case once the payments begin they continued right up until this month, but in the case of VW there are only two payments. One was recorded five months ago and the other a month later, but nothing after that.”

“Maybe the victim refused to pay any more and Theresa decided to let it go rather than calling attention to what she was doing,” Siobhan speculated.

“Maybe. But if our assumption that the killer is one of Theresa’s five victims, VW must be the killer.”

“What about MH?” Siobhan asked.

“Well, yeah, I guess there’s that.” Geez, keeping Maggie’s secret while trying to solve the case wasn’t going to be easy.

“So what do we do now?” Siobhan looked at Finn.

“I’m not sure. The fact that Theresa had these particular news articles hidden away is interesting, but I’m not sure how any of this can lead us to VW or the reason behind the blackmail. I guess we keep looking.”

“Maybe we can figure out who MH is, and if he’s the killer this VW thing will be irrelevant,” Siobhan said.

“Maybe. Let’s focus on that tomorrow,” Finn replied before heading out.

I woke on Monday morning both excited to see Cody and fearful of what he might have to tell me. I didn’t know what I was going to do if he decided he needed to go to Florida for six months to a year. What would become of the newspaper? What would become of Mr. Parsons? What would become of us?

The uncertainty was making me angsty, so I decided to pull on some sweats and take Max for a walk. Perhaps I’d stop by to talk to Tansy while I was out. She’d indicated that Lucie was here to help me solve the murder, but so far she hadn’t done a single thing other than hiss at Sydney.

At least it was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a stroll along the beach. I tried to focus on the sound of my feet meeting the wet sand rather than the turmoil in my mind. I’d hoped Cody would call me yesterday after he found out what his immediate future was going to look like. The fact that he hadn’t indicated to me that it was his opinion that I wasn’t going to like what he had to tell me so he was waiting to do it in person. I wanted to be brave for him, but deep in my heart I just didn’t know how I was going to get through this. Cody had been the one who’d wanted to speed things up in our relationship, while I was the one holding back. Suddenly I wondered why.

Max picked up a large stick and brought it to me. I tossed it into the waves as hard as I could and waited for him to fetch it. I was so ready for summer. The island definitely had several distinct personalities, ebbing and flowing with the seasons. It wouldn’t be long before the whales returned and the tourist flow would expand from a trickle on the weekends to a steady flow almost every day of the week. Coffee Cat Books was only open Tuesday through Saturday during the winter, but I knew that as soon as business picked up Tara would want to open on Mondays as well.

When Max had tired himself out with our game of fetch we headed toward the dirt path that would lead us into town. It seemed I wasn’t the only one on the island out enjoying the sunny morning. Several of the merchants who owned shops near the ferry were out washing windows, watering planters, and setting up sidewalk displays to encourage foot traffic to stop and take a look at what they had to offer.

I waved to several of my neighbors. Most returned my greeting with one of their own. A few even had a treat for Max when he trotted over to say hi. I was just about to turn onto the residential street where Bella and Tansy lived when I noticed a lost pet poster taped to a lamppost.

“Well, I’ll be.”

The flyer featured the photo of a cat named Lucie who happened to look exactly like the one back home in my cabin. The flyer offered a small reward, and at the bottom there was a phone number, address, and the name of the owner: Victoria Wilson.

“How much do you want to bet Victoria Wilson is our VW?” I said aloud to Max.

Suddenly it seemed things were beginning to fall into place. I’d take the cat home and find out what VW had to do with a blackmail scheme and a dead church pianist. If I suspected she was the killer, I’d call Finn and let him handle it from there.

Once I returned to my cabin, I had a quick bite to eat, took a shower, and secured Lucie in a cat carrier. Then I loaded her into my ancient vehicle and made the short drive into town. Finn had taken the articles I’d found; hopefully I’d be able to figure out what was going on without them.

When we arrived at the small but nicely tended home, I took Lucie out of the carrier and headed up to the front door. I rang the bell and waited. I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped when a tall woman with dark hair opened the door.

“Lucie,” the woman exclaimed. She took a step toward me and gave me a huge hug as I transferred the cat into her arms. “Wherever have you been? Dillion has been worried sick.”

I still hadn’t said a word because, to be honest, I wasn’t sure what to say.

“Thank you so much for bringing Lucie home.” The woman smiled. “Please come in. Can I offer you a reward of some sort?”

I stepped into the nicely decorated home and the woman closed the door behind me.

“I don’t have a lot of money,” she continued, “but I do want to thank you for finding Lucie.”

“Actually, she found me.” I glanced around the room. My gaze settled on a photo of a boy who looked to be around ten or eleven. “You’re Melanie Littlewood.”

The woman paled. “No, I’m afraid you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

“I don’t think so. Your hair is different, but I’m pretty sure you’re the same woman I saw in the newspaper clippings Theresa Lively had in her locker.”

“You know Theresa?”

“Knew. She was murdered.”

“Yes, I heard that.” The woman began to pace around the room. I could see she wanted to be anywhere but there, and I didn’t blame her. Still, I did need to make sure she wasn’t the killer. She didn’t look like a murderer, but experience had shown that you didn’t need to look like one to be one. “What are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure,” I answered honestly. “Perhaps we should have a chat to see where we end up.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

The woman I supposed I should refer to as Victoria led me into the kitchen and indicated that I should take a seat at the table. “Does anyone else know about me?”

“No. Not yet. I didn’t know myself until you opened the door. Maybe I should back up a bit.” I took a few minutes to fill her in on the fact that I’d found Theresa’s notebook and was using the information in it to try to track down her killer. I explained that I’d found the newspaper clippings describing the kidnapping of Craig Littlewood and the disappearance of his mother a week later. I also informed her that I’d shared my findings with the resident deputy and he’d done some research and provided a more in-depth background of the situation. The entire time I was speaking Victoria looked like she was going to throw up or pass out or both.

“I promise you I didn’t kill Theresa,” Victoria assured me.

“Okay; why don’t you tell me what actually happened eight months ago.”

“It sounds like you have a lot of the history already. Joseph and I married more out of convenience than anything. We were both professionals with busy lives and really didn’t spend all that much time together. Everything was great until I became pregnant with Craig. After a lot of soul searching I decided I wanted to quit my job so I could stay home and raise my baby. Joseph wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but he didn’t fight me on it either. We did grow apart once I stopped working, but the real problems didn’t occur until he lost his job. When he couldn’t find another one right away he grew depressed and started drinking. The more he drank the meaner he got. At first it was just verbal abuse, but that led to him throwing things, and eventually he became physical with both Craig and me.”

“But you never pressed charges?”

“Not at first. Joseph seemed to be sincere in his apologies after he sobered up. He promised to get counseling and to attend AA meetings, and I believed him. As time went on and things grew worse, I began to think about leaving him. When I threatened to do so he said he’d kill both of us before he let us leave, and again I believed him.”

I was beginning to feel sorry for the woman sitting across from me. She’d been in a tough situation.

“Anyway, when I realized that Craig and I were in real danger, I decided I needed to take matters into my own hands. I picked Craig up on his way to school on the day he was supposedly kidnapped and left him in a safe place. I went home after I was notified he was missing and played the part of the distraught mother until I was sure Joseph believed he’d been kidnapped. I was afraid if we just disappeared together he’d know I’d left and come looking for us.”

I supposed that made sense. And yet … it made me see how she might have reacted when pressed and killed her blackmailer.

“After a week I faked my own abduction. I cut myself so there would be blood in the room and vandalized the house to make it look as if a struggle had occurred.”

“So how did you end up here?”

“Chance. Craig and I drove around for a few months, always heading away from New York but never really staying anywhere very long. Eventually we ended up in Seattle. I knew it was time for us to settle down somewhere. Living on an island that was isolated from the rest of the world in many ways seemed like a good idea, so we visited all the islands in the area, liked this one the best, and rented this house.”

“I’m going to assume that at some point you decided to confess what you had done to a priest?”

The woman looked more than just a little shocked. “Yes. How did you know?”

“Theresa bugged the confessional. That’s how she targeted her victims.”

“I should have known. I’d never told anyone who I really was, and I knew Craig wouldn’t either. I wanted a fresh start when we settled here, so I decided to tell the only person who I knew would keep my secret. I guess that was a mistake.”

“I’m curious about your payments to Theresa. There were only two and then they stopped.”

“I don’t have much money and I told her that. I managed to scrape up the first two payments, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get the third. Theresa said she’d once been a battered child and felt sorry for me. She gave me back the money I’d already paid and told me she would keep my secret.”

I supposed Theresa having been a battered child could explain quite a lot, actually.

“What are you going to do?” Victoria asked. “Are you going to turn me in?”

“No,” I decided. “I believe you didn’t kill Theresa, and as far as the fake kidnapping goes, I imagine I would have done the same thing in your place. The resident deputy is a smart guy; he might figure things out on his own, but I doubt he’ll do anything to disrupt the life you’re trying to build here.”

Victoria got up from her chair, came around the table, and hugged me. “Thank you. Dillon really likes it here. I’d hate to have to move again.”

I chatted with Victoria for a few more minutes and then returned to my cabin. Cody had promised to come by as soon as he arrived on the island and I wanted be sure I was there with welcoming arms and an open mind. Or at least as open a mind as I could muster.

By the time Cody arrived I was a nervous wreck. I really wanted to be cool, calm, and collected, but the more I considered the possibility that he might be leaving, the more freaked out I became. When Cody pulled up in front of the cabin I ran outside and threw myself into his arms. His lips met mine and he lifted me up and carried me inside. It was quite a while before we actually got a chance to talk.

“So how’d it go?” I really hated to ask, but I did need to know.

“Good.”

Good? What did that mean? Good as in they loved his ideas and he’d be heading to Florida, or good as in they hated them and he’d be staying here on Madrona Island?

Cody must have realized I was asking for more details because he continued without my prodding. “They loved my ideas and they agreed that, with a few alterations, they would improve the current training program.”

My heart sank. He was leaving.

“They also understood that I’m a civilian now and I’ve built a life here on Madrona Island, so leaving for an extended period of time was a lot to ask.”

Okay; this was sounding better. “So?”

“So we worked out a compromise. I’m going to write the new curriculum with input from key individuals they’ll put me in contact with, but I’ll do it from Madrona Island in my spare time.”

“You’re staying?”

“I’m staying. Well, mostly.”

“Mostly?”

“I did agree to a few short trips to Tampa as the program is created, but we’re looking at a week at a time at the most.”

A week sounded doable. I could live with that. “So tell me about the program.” Now that I knew Cody wasn’t leaving I was excited to hear what he’d planned.

When we’d exhausted the subject of Cody’s training program the conversation worked its way around to the murder I’d been investigating in his absence. “I was really sure one of the five people Theresa was blackmailing was the killer, but now that I’ve spoken to all of them I’m not so sure. Felicity was picked up by the police in Seattle after Finn forwarded her information to them. She admitted to her involvement in the accident that killed the old man but is insisting she didn’t kill Theresa. She even volunteered to take a polygraph. At the time of the murder Carissa was at a softball game on Orcas Island, Tom was at the bowling alley, and while I can’t discuss the identities of the other two because I promised not to, I’m certain neither is the killer.”

“Let’s take a look at the video of Felicity arguing with Theresa,” Cody suggested. “Maybe we can pick up a detail that was missed before.”

I pulled the video up on my computer. The first time I’d watched it I’d been focused on the conversation between the two, but now I noticed other details. For one thing, there was a clock in the background that said the time was one forty-two. I remembered Cliff saying that he’d discovered the note on his desk at around two-thirty, and that the women from the guild had shown up at around two. Theresa must have arrived at the church prior to the meeting to speak to Felicity. I guess that made sense. I had no idea why they’d chosen to meet in the church. There must have been other locations that would have provided more privacy.