“No. There’s a path from the road through those trees. I’ve used it before.” She pointed to a barely visible opening through some scrubby bushes in the general direction of the road that led to her beach house.
Cal stared at the opening. “I never noticed that before. That could explain how Vern came the night he was murdered. And others could have snuck in, too.”
Monica poked Cal’s leg. “Don’t be so dramatic. You’re sounding exactly like that annoying reporter that showed up at my house this morning. That’s what I want to talk to you about.”
“Missy Sharpe?”
“Yes. How did you know she’s in town? Has she been over here, too?”
“No. Not yet, but I have a bad feeling that it won’t be long.” Cal pushed the wheelchair closer to Hannah’s cottage. “What did she want from you?”
“She wanted to know where I was and if I heard a gunshot. She knew details that aren’t even in the paper yet. Officer Pam Larson shouldn’t be blabbing to reporters.”
Cal ignored that comment. Especially since Officer Larson had just parked next to his truck. Hannah left Cal to help his sister and she returned to see what Pam wanted.
Pam, with her hands on her hips, yelled at Hannah. “Did you tell that awful reporter that the murderer lost a gold chain and medallion in the sand?”
“Noah’s medallion?” Hannah asked, trying to buy some time to figure out how to answer the actual question.
“Who described it as the
murderer’s
medallion? Who made up
that
detail, Ms. Holiday?”
Hannah blinked. She felt her face flush. What had Ruby said about the gold chain Olivia found in the sand? No one mentioned that it could belong to the murderer, or did the reporter add in those details? Hannah’s stomach clenched in a knot. Ruby was desperate for this job and it was within every possibility that she embellished the story.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I haven’t talked to any reporter,” Hannah finally answered, trying to keep her voice from shaking.
Pam pointed her finger in Hannah’s face. “Believe me, I’ll get to the bottom of this. Are you trying to divert attention away from the murder weapon? With your fingerprints on it?” She looked at Cal and Monica, listening in the background. “What are you two staring at?” Pam approached Monica. “What about you? Where were
you
early Friday morning? Riding around in your wheelchair, up to no good?”
Cal stepped between Pam and Monica. “Now wait a minute. You can’t start accusing everyone of being the murderer. What facts do you have?”
Pam’s mouth curved into a smirk. “Seeing your sister here made me realize she could have made it through the woods unseen. Who would suspect
poor
Monica? Stuck in a wheelchair. How long have you had that beach wheelchair, Monica? Everyone knows you’d do anything to help your precious Cal get the money Vern owes him.”
“That’s ridiculous, and you know it,” Cal said. “How can Vern pay me if he’s dead?”
Pam laughed. “You must think I’m stupid. Kelley’s quite the rich widow now, isn’t she? As a matter of fact, she’s cleaning up all of Vern’s unpaid debts. And that means you’ll be getting a nice big chunk of money.” Pam started to turn toward her car, then stopped. “I’ll be watching all of you.” She finally got in her car and drove off, leaving a cloud of dust behind her.
“Pam always had a chip on her shoulders,” Monica said to the disappearing car. “Now, as a police officer, she has some power and she thinks she can intimidate all of us.”
Hannah brushed a few stray hairs away from her face. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach. “I think it’s more than that. Pam came here because she was upset about the information the reporter has about the gold chain. I suspect she’s afraid Noah is involved in the murder and she’s searching for any other possible explanation. Someone else to blame. I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes—suspecting your own son of murderer.”
Chapter 13
Cal helped Monica return to the path through the bushes, much to her annoyance.
“I’m not helpless,” she scolded Cal. “The whole reason you talked me into this new wheelchair was to give me some independence. Now, get back to work.”
Cal ignored her scolding. “Come on, Hannah. You should check out this path, too. If this is how people are sneaking onto your property, you should know what you’re up against.”
Monica mumbled between her clenched teeth, “If you weren’t working here, you wouldn’t be treating me like a baby.
Hannah and Olivia tagged along behind Cal on the well-worn path. Nellie darted every which way, checking out all the smells. She pushed through some thick undergrowth, returning with a crumpled bag.
“Give me that.” Hannah crouched down with her hand out. Nellie abandoned the bag to rush after the squeak of a chipmunk.
Smoothing out the bag, Hannah read
Simply Sweets
on it. She tucked it into her pocket and jogged to catch up to Cal. Anyone could have dropped it, she told herself. Would the murderer be that careless to leave such incriminating evidence behind? She walked slowly, looking for anything else out of place.
Monica’s wheelchair was on a track in the path that accommodated the wheels perfectly. “I’m all set,” she told Cal. “Get back to your work. You don’t want to disappoint your client.”
“I’ll stop by after work for a visit,” Cal said, choosing to ignore her rudeness.
Hannah was behind them, but not out of earshot. Monica didn’t like her, that much was more than clear. She whistled for Nellie and they turned around. When she got back to the spot where Nellie found the Simply Sweets bag, Hannah noticed from that angle, she could see her cottages. By tilting her head back and forth, she could see all the cottages to some degree, but the view was clear right into the window of cottage number four. And, the spot where she had left her gun was also clearly visible. A chill ran up her spine. Who was spying on the cottages? And why?
Cal caught up with her. “Sorry about my sister. She seems to have a bug up her butt lately.”
“Her new wheelchair gives her more freedom. She must like that.” Hannah hinted around the edges of what she was really thinking. Did Monica have a big enough hatred for Vern to spy on him? Or possibly murder him? She certainly had easy access to cottage number four.
“This path concerns me. You should think about some type of fence or barrier to stop that back door access. Especially in light of what happened to Vern. You never know who might be next.”
Hannah stopped dead in her tracks. “What do you mean? Are you trying to scare me off my property?”
Cal’s hand touched Hannah’s shoulder. “Of course not. But it can’t hurt to take extra precautions until this is resolved. If someone killed Vern to get him out of the way of buying this property, you could be in danger, too. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Or it could be something entirely different. Like a jealous wife or angry neighbor or blackmailing kids?”
His shoulders sagged. “It could be any of those things.”
They continued in silence. Hannah was surprised that Cal didn’t defend his sister. Was he thinking the same thing Hannah was thinking and what Pam voiced earlier? Who would suspect a wheelchair bound person?
Olivia broke free of Hannah’s protective grasp when she saw her mother waiting outside Hannah’s cottage. “Mommy!” she called.
Ruby crouched down to catch Olivia in her arms. The two twirled around and around, hair flying out behind them. Nellie joined in the excitement, jumping and barking.
“You look happy. Let me guess, you got the job?” Hannah asked.
“Yes. Yes. Yes. As soon as I get your permission for the broadcast to be filmed at the cottage where the guy was murdered.” Ruby avoided Hannah’s glare. “It’s the perfect job.” She set Olivia down. “Please, Hannah?” Ruby’s eyes pleaded.
“No! I won’t have that. This isn’t fun and games. Someone was
murdered
,” Hannah said with her voice lowered for Olivia’s benefit. “And what did you tell your new friend about the gold chain Olivia found in the sand?”
“That it probably belonged to the murderer. What’s wrong with that?”
Hannah moved right into Ruby’s face. “You can’t make up something like that. What if the person it belongs to hears that statement? And what if that person is innocent?”
Ruby’s eyes widened. “You don’t understand. I
need
this job.” She glanced at Olivia. “I have to find a place to live and that takes money. I have to get Olivia back in school. She needs security.”
“You should have thought about that before you got fired from your last job.”
Ruby tugged on Hannah’s arm, pulling her away from where Olivia was digging in the sand. “I didn’t get fired. I had to leave. Olivia’s father was getting closer to finding us.”
“Ruby, when are you going to stop running? He doesn’t even know Olivia is his daughter. At least that’s what you’ve always told me.”
“He doesn’t, but I’m sure he can do the math if he finds me and sees Olivia.” Ruby grabbed both of Hannah’s arms. “Please. You have to help me.”
“Listen. I can’t stop them from doing the segment on a public road, but I won’t let them on my property. That’s where I’m drawing the line. And, Ruby?” Hannah waited to be sure Ruby was listening.
“Yes?”
“Don’t make any more assumptions to get this reporter to like you. How do you know she’s not just using you for her own gain?”
Ruby’s head dropped down. “I thought of that, too, but I’m desperate.”
“You and Olivia can stay in one of the cottages until you have an income and find a place to live. That way, I can keep an eye on her, too. Get her in school. A routine will be good for her. She can’t just run wild on the beach with Nellie.” Hannah let her mouth curve into a grin. “Something will work out, don’t worry.” She hugged her sister.
“Thanks,” Ruby said as her lower lip quivered. “I’ll take her with me to give you a break.” She watched Cal pushing old appliances out of Hannah’s cottage. “And give you time to get your cottage back into shape. We’ll hang out at the Inn for a while and be back later.”
After Ruby and Olivia left for the afternoon, Hannah left Cal to his work and she walked to Jack’s house. Was Pam serious with all the accusations she made earlier? Sure, Hannah’s fingerprints were on the murder weapon but she was never in cottage number four where Vern was murdered. She had to be careful. Being new in town, made it harder for her to know who she could trust.
Jack was behind his house filling his birdfeeders. Hannah hadn’t noticed them before, but now she counted three hanging in various places around his yard. He had a big open wooden feeder filled with sunflower seeds, a tubular feeder with thistle seeds, and a wire basket with suet. As soon as he moved away, the birds flocked back to the filled feeders.
Nellie dashed toward the feeders, alerting Jack to Hannah’s presence but barely disturbing the birds. “That’s the main reason I wanted you to take her. She kept annoying the birds, almost as bad as a cat.” He patted his leg. “Nellie! Come away from my birds.”
Hannah laughed. “Nice try making yourself feel better about pawning Nellie off on me, but those birds couldn’t care less about her.”
His eyes twinkled. “Well, you are happy with her, and I knew that would be the case. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”
“Pam stopped by earlier.”
Jack pressed his lips together. “She’s dealing with a difficult situation at the moment.” He pulled two chairs into a sunny spot in his yard. “Want to sit for a few minutes? My legs have been giving me some trouble lately.”
“What kind of trouble?”
He waved his hand dismissively. “Just a muscle strain. I think I overdid it when I was cleaning my basement the other day.”
Hannah settled into her chair. The birds were back in business taking turns at the feeders. “And what about Pam? She more or less accused me of being the murderer.”
“She has to look at all the evidence, and the murder weapon is a logical place to start, even if, in this case, it’s seems completely ridiculous to connect the murder to you.”
“Yes, anyone could have taken the gun. I was stupid to leave it leaning against the cottage.” She leaned forward, studying Jack’s face closely. “What was Noah doing by the cottages the night before Vern was murdered?” She pulled the Simply Sweets chocolate shop bag from her pocket and showed it to Jack. “I found this not far from cottage number four.”
“That’s certainly not as bad as finding his gold chain in the sand.” Jack rested against his hands, his elbows on his knees. “I don’t know. I’ve been wracking my brain to come up with anything that makes sense. Sure, he and his buddies were using the cottages for parties. But murder? What would the motive be?”
“Could he have discovered what Vern was up to in the cottage and threatened to blackmail him?”
Jack shrugged. “I want to talk to him. Sometimes he opens up to me, and if he’s in trouble, I’ll see it in his actions. He’s an open book with his emotions.”
Jack stood up and walked toward his back door. “My phone’s ringing. I’ll be right back.”
Hannah found a stick and threw it for Nellie. She dashed off, searching for the stick until a squirrel distracted her. Nellie barked and jumped on the tree where the squirrel sat safely above her on a branch, scolding the puppy with a constant chatter. Watching this gave Hannah a needed distraction from thinking about who might have been spying on cottage number four.