MURDER AT THE PIER (A Sister Sleuths Mystery Book 1) (9 page)

"Unless the meeting at the
pier erupted into a spontaneous confrontation," Lea suggested.

Tom rubbed the back of his neck, twisting
his head in both directions. "The time of death tells us Neal was already
dead by the time the brothers got to the meet. The most likely scenario is they
found his body under the Pier, panicked, and fled the scene, abandoning the
truck."

Lea's eyes narrowed. "Which
leads you back to the extra set of prints where the body was found . . . the
fourth person."

Paul dropped a credit card on
top of the bill tray and handed the tray to Sue. "The fourth person being
someone who knew Neal would be at the Pier waiting for the van?"

"Exactly," Tom agreed. "Killing Neal at the
Pier would provide a perfect trail to place the blame on the brothers. It would
look like what we originally suspected: a meet gone wrong, maybe an argument
over the amount Neal paid them. It gave the killer the opportunity to create
evidence directly linking the brothers."

Maddy raised a finger. "But you said the brothers'
footprints were only in the sand next to the parking lot, not where the body
was found under the Pier."

"That's the catch. We figure the killer's timing went
wrong. He, or she, planned to kill Neal after the brothers left so there would
be plenty of footprints and evidence of their meeting. But the murderer ended
up killing Neal before the van arrived. Maybe Neal recognized the person and
confronted him. Maybe the murderer panicked when the van didn't arrive on time
and decided to go ahead and carry out his plan to get rid of Neal. It’s one of
those mistakes which occur in every murder. Something happens the murderer doesn’t
anticipate. Something that later provides us with the clues we need to recreate
actual events. In this case, it helped us decipher there were different
perpetrators in two separate crimes instead of the same perpetrators for both
crimes."

"So the killer is still at large."

"Yep. He, or she, is still out there, thinking they
got away with it." Standing, Tom stretched his legs and grabbed his
baseball cap. "It's time for me to get back to work to see if I can flush
them out. Talk to you guys later. Good to see you, Maddy."

"You, too, Tom," Maddy smiled. "Be careful
and stay safe."

After Tom's departure, Paul turned to the women. "Why
am I feeling you two are more involved in these crimes than you should be? You
haven't been putting your noses in places they don't belong, have you?"

"Paul, you give us no credit," Maddy objected,
winking at Lea. "We may like the occasional bout of harmless sleuthing,
but we'd never be foolish enough to put ourselves in real danger by
interjecting ourselves into crimes as serious as these. Gotta run. Call you
tomorrow, Sis." She grabbed her posters and made a hasty exit before Paul
could ask more questions.

It would be less than a matter of hours before Maddy would
be wishing the denial she proffered her brother-in-law had been true.

* * *

Paul and Lea pulled
into their driveway as Lea's cell phone buzzed, indicating her sister was
calling. "Locked yourself out again?"

"No, but if Paul's listening, you can use that as an
excuse for why I'm calling. When Tom mentioned his interview with Neal's
father, a bell went off. Tom said the mother-in-law didn't offer him much
information, but I know the woman. She loves to gossip. She'd be more than
happy to tell us everything she knows about Neal."

Lea hesitated, thinking of a response which wouldn't alarm
Paul. "You wouldn't have taken your house key out of your purse at the
restaurant so it's either still in your purse or in your car."

Maddy understood Lea's response. "I'll call Liz
tomorrow and tell her I have new dining room pieces I think she'd be interested
in. After I've shown her the display on the floor room, I'll invite her for a
latte at the Starbucks next door. You can run into us and say you were shopping
at the fabric store in the center."

Paul glanced suspiciously in Lea's direction as he pressed
the garage door opener. She knew she needed to end the conversation. "Just
use your spare key under the flower pot and look for your house key tomorrow
when you can see what you're doing."

"We'll be sitting at a table in front of Starbucks at one-thirty.
Meet us there."

"Oh, good, I'm glad you found it."

She shook her head for Paul’s benefit. "Maddy would
lose her head if it weren't permanently attached."

Later the same night, Lea took Gracie to the back yard to
do her business before settling in. "I don't like being elusive with Paul,
girl, but I think sometimes he's overly protective. What Maddy and I do is
perfectly harmless and you never know when we might discover useful
information. I agree with Maddy. Liz is more likely to open up to us in private
than to anyone representing the heavy hand of the law. Besides, I think she'll
be more candid about her son-in-law when Neal's father isn't around to hear her
remarks."

Gracie looked at Lea, listening intently to every word. She
wagged her tail in anticipation of the coming day's events.

Maddy sang along with
her favorite Country Western radio station as she drove the sisters to her
dentist appointment.

"How can you be so chipper when you're going to the
dentist?" Lea asked.

"You're the one afraid of dentists, not me."

Lea shrugged her shoulders. "I'll be the first to
admit to being a dental coward. I'm also not crazy about flying. You, like Mom,
are fearless when it comes to almost everything."

Maddy shook her hair smiling broadly as she pulled into the
underground parking at the medical building which housed her dentist. "I
only hope you can get enough information to eliminate Beth as a suspect. I
haven't heard any reports of her being interviewed by the police. But anyone
who knows about her being rebuffed at the altar can't help but wonder if the
emotional pain of that mortifying situation caught up with her and made her do
something irrational."

"If Neal Henderson would have come out at the time
with a reason for calling off the wedding, it could have made the situation a
whole lot more bearable. But from the rumors circulating, Beth was as much in
the dark as everyone else as to why Neal changed his mind. It left room for a
lot of speculation, most of which was unfavorable to Beth."

Maddy scoffed. "I thought she was well rid of the
jerk. At least now, he'll never be in a position to cause her further
embarrassment."

"Hmmm," Lea mused, opening the door to the
dentist's office. "Are we talking about motive now?"

Stepping into the reception area, she was glad to see there
was no one else in the room so talking with Beth would be easier. After
greetings were exchanged, Beth signaled Maddy to go through to the hygienist's
room.

Lea couldn't help but notice Beth's red eyes as the
distressed woman folded a tissue and dabbed her nose. Obviously, Beth hadn't
had enough time to recover from what she was feeling.

"I'm so sorry for what you must be going through, Beth,"
Lea commiserated. "It must have been a terrible shock."

Lea could see Beth was struggling to maintain her composure
but her tone came off callous and unsympathetic. "For someone to be
murdered at his age; of course, it's unfathomable. Those things just don't
happen in this small town. I can't imagine why anyone would have done such a
deplorable thing." Busying herself with paperwork in front of her, she
seemed anxious to close the conversation.

"Had you or Neal's other friends seen much of him
lately?" Lea asked, trying to keep the tone casual.

"Neal hadn't been in touch with any of our old group
for months. Apparently, his job was demanding all his time and attention."

Lea wondered if there were other distractions besides his
work which had alienated Neal. She tried to give Beth an opening to denigrate
her former fiancé: "Neal's fast rise up the ranks in Don Carson's company
was probably quite a game changer for him. It was hard not to notice the flashy
red sports cars he was driving around town."

At that moment, Maddy returned to the reception area in
time to hear the vitriolic comment which took both her and her sister by
surprise.

"Neal got all the goodies he was after. Too bad, he
won't be able to enjoy them."

* * *

Tom arranged to meet Neal's
sister, Joan Mannix, at a coffee shop close to the hospital where she was an
RN. She had made it clear she could give him only thirty minutes of her time
since they were short handed on her shift.

He had no problem recognizing her when he walked into Mel's
Diner. The woman sitting alone at a table next to the front window was
remarkably similar in looks to her late brother. The same blond hair pulled
back from a wide forehead, the high cheekbones, and the piercing hazel eyes
which met his greeting.

Sliding into the booth across from her, he signaled the
waitress for coffee. "I appreciate your taking the time to see me here. I
know what hospitals are like. I was afraid we wouldn't be able to have much of
a conversation there without you getting a lot of interruptions."

"You're right." She shook her head, pouring cream
into her coffee. "It's typically pretty chaotic but I'm used to it. It's
actually nice for me to get a breather like this. It's rare I'm able to take a
break during my shift."

"Do you work twelve-hour shifts?"

"No. I'm in the minority at Buena General, working an eight-hour
shift. I worked twelve-hour shifts before we started a family. When our son was
born, I took a year off to be at home. I requested eight-hour shifts when I
went back to work. Then our daughter came along two years later so I made the
switch to shorter shifts permanent.

I almost went back to twelve-hour shifts when the kids were
in elementary school. There was a high demand and a shortage of nurses at the
hospital. But I made our family my priority and I've never regretted my
decision. Both kids are in middle school now, and believe me; they need quite a
bit of supervision. I can't imagine what high school will be like. They're both
good kids but high school can be a trying time for any young person."

Tom sympathized. "Not having kids of my own, I lack
your experience with that side of adolescence. But in my line of work, I see
quite a bit of what happens when parents aren't there for their kids. I think
you made the right decision."

A smile crossed Joan's face. "Thank you for saying
that. I'm lucky to have a husband who helps with the children, but he's an
attorney so he works longer hours than I do."

"Mannix. Is your husband the Mannix of Johnston,
Mannix, and Watkins?"

"Yes, that's Bob. I'm just grateful his firm practices
corporate law. At least he's not typically tied up in litigation involving a
lot of court appearances."

Tom smiled. "Regrettably, I probably spend more time
in court than your husband does."

"Which begs the question of why you're taking the time
to see me. What is it I can help you with? I imagine you're here to ask about
my brother."

"I'm sorry for your family's loss. I know these are
difficult days for you."

"Losing someone at a young age is hard for any family.
My mother would have taken Neal's death the hardest,
but
she passed when Neal and I were young.
Her battle with cancer was one of
the things which led me into the nursing profession."

“Where you close to your brother?”

“Not very. I’m six years older than my brother so we were
never together in school.”

“What about Neal and your father?”

She paused, choosing her words carefully. "My father
and Neal have never been terribly close. I'd have to say I've always been Dad's
favorite.

Those two never saw eye-to-eye. Growing up, arguments
between the two of them were common in our house. My mother was the
peacekeeper. I went to my room to study any time the shouting started. It may
have been a factor leading to my high grades in school." Her remarks were self-effacing
but to the point.

"How was it when your father remarried?"

She stared into her coffee cup. "It was great by me. I
was glad to see him happy again. But my stepmother never got along particularly
well with Neal. She felt he took advantage of Dad."

"In what way?"

"Neal has always been careless with money. Even as a
kid, he spent all of his allowance as soon as he got it. Never saved a nickel.
Ever since he graduated college, he's had grandiose delusions about himself and
how he's meant to live. As far back as I can remember, he's maintained a lavish
lifestyle. Usually beyond his salary level. Anytime there was a shortfall, he
had no qualms about asking Dad for money to tide him over. Money never repaid,
to my knowledge."

From her clipped tone, it was obvious to Tom there was no
love lost between the siblings.

"Did you see a lot of your brother?"

"On special occasions but otherwise infrequently. We
always had the family to our house for holiday dinners. Last year, he brought
his fiancé for Thanksgiving and Christmas. As almost everyone in town knows, he
broke the relationship off in an ignominious fashion. To be honest, the way he
basically jilted Beth Owens at the altar didn't surprise me. I'm actually glad,
for Beth's sake. She probably didn't feel that way at the time but she was
better off without him."

"Do you think Beth harbored resentment against your
brother for the way he embarrassed her?"

"She would have had every right to, but no. Beth isn't
that kind of person. She was more likely to blame herself. I'm sure it was a
matter of my brother being enticed to what he perceived as bigger and better
things."

"Can you be more specific?"

"Not really. But after Christmas dinner, Neal was in
the kitchen fixing himself a drink while I got the desserts ready. I asked him
how he felt about his upcoming nuptials. He seemed even more cavalier than
usual. Threw off a sarcastic comment about his not being cut out for monogamy.
I asked what he meant. He laughed, picked up his drink, and walked out to the back
yard to join the others. We never discussed it again."

"I'm not implying anything in particular, but I have
to ask. Do you know if Neal had any enemies?"

"Don't worry about hurting my feelings. I've never
been protective of my brother's reputation like our father has. I believe
everyone earns their reputation through their actions."

Joan lowered her head, folding her hands in her lap.
"The way Neal acted, I'm sure there were plenty of people who didn't like
him. There were undoubtedly people besides Beth whom he treated unfairly or
badly."

She raised her head and looked directly at Tom. "But
we weren't involved in each other's lives enough so I can shed any light on
anyone who hated my brother enough to kill him."

The candor of the statement caught in her throat. For the
first time, Tom saw pain reflected in her eyes.

He extended his hand across the table to drop a business
card beside her cup. "You've been very helpful. Again, I appreciate your
seeing me at this difficult time. If anything else comes to mind, or if I can
be of assistance to you or your family, please don't hesitate to call me."

He picked up the bill, walking Joan to the front door of
the diner before returning to the cash register to pay. Pulling money from his
wallet,
he saw her talking on her cell phone even
before she crossed the street to return to the hospital.

* * *

Lea arrived early at
the shopping center where Maddy's furniture store was located, giving herself
time to park and go into the fabric store well before Maddy and Liz would
arrive at Starbucks. "At least I won't be deceitful telling them where
I've been," she told herself.

After buying a skein of yarn, Sherlock's favorite thing to
play with, she walked in the direction of Starbucks. Being careful not to slow
down as she walked by the coffee store, she listened for her name to be called.

"Lea, hey, Lea."

Turning, the smiled at the two women sitting at the front
table.

"Hi, Maddy. I was at the fabric store. Decided to pop by
to see if you could take a coffee break with me."

"Perfect timing. I'm on my break now." Turning to
the woman sitting across from her, she made introductions. Liz Henderson was a
middle-aged, petite woman with short gray layered hair and tastefully applied
makeup.

"Please join us." Liz indicated an empty chair at
their table.

"Thank you. I'd love to. Missed my morning coffee
before my day got started. An iced latte will hit the spot."

When Lea returned to the table after receiving her drink,
Maddy was deep in conversation with Liz. "How is Harold doing? It must
have been a terrible shock for him."

"He's getting better. Our doctor gave him a prescription
which has helped him sleep the last several nights. Of course, the funeral was
terrible but things are getting back to normal if there can ever be such a
thing as normal again. Frankly, I'm glad you called. I needed to get away from
the house and away from Harold's brooding for a couple of hours."

"Were Neal and Harold close?"

"Not really. Joan is the one who takes after Harold.
They've always had a close relationship. Harold would never admit he wasn't
close to his son, but it's the truth. Neal was a hard person for anyone to get
close to. I don't mean to discredit Neal but he was an extremely self-centered
individual." Her eyebrows formed a crease as her lips pursed. "I'm
not sure he cared for anyone except himself."

"Someone else gave nearly the same description of Neal
when they described the way he broke off with his fiancé."

Liz made no effort to hide her feelings. "The way he
handled the whole despicable affair was unforgivable. I'm not saying he should
have gone through with a marriage he had reason to believe wouldn't last, but
the manner in which he humiliated that girl was reprehensible."

Lea could see Liz Henderson was quite an outspoken force
and could easily imagine how she and Neal may have butted heads.

"Did Neal ever discuss his business affairs with his
father and you?"

"Never. That was one of his biggest problems. He felt
he didn't need anyone's help or advice. From the first time I met the young
man, he struck me as the type who thought he was smarter than everybody else.
He was the expert. A know-it-all. I think he viewed asking for guidance as a
sign of weakness.

Harold told me in his middle and high school years, Neal
never asked his parents for help with his homework. He never had study buddies
over to work on projects together. Neal wanted to do things on his own so when
he got a good grade, he could take full credit. It was the reason he chose
track and tennis. Because those weren't team sports."

"Was he good in sports?"

"He excelled. And when he won, he took all the glory.
He didn't have to share it with teammates."