Pumpkins in Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Book 1) (16 page)

“I guess you know I wasn’t practicing medicine at the time,” Jake started.

Tj knew Jake Hanson was the chief surgeon at a large hospital in the Bay Area before giving up his job and moving to Serenity in the 1940s. Hunter once told her that he’d decided to stop practicing medicine following his inability to save his wife’s life after she’d sustained serious injuries in a car accident. For some reason unknown to Hunter, he had changed his mind and opened Serenity Community Hospital in 1950.

“I know.
” Tj decided not to say any more about it, since she wasn’t sure if Hunter was supposed to have told her what he had.

“Isabelle called me on the day Zachary’s Mary went into labor. The child was coming breach, and the umbilical cord had become wrapped around the little guy
. Mary had lost a lot of blood and didn’t have the energy to deliver the baby on her own. Without a C-section, they both would have died.”

Tj frowned
. “C-section? You operated on her?”

“I did what I had to do
. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the proper equipment or drugs to safely perform the surgery. Mary begged me to do what I had to do to save the child. She endured a lot so the boy could live.”

“You operated without anesthesia?” Tj realized.

“I didn’t have time to get her down the mountain to the hospital. The baby was in a great deal of distress by the time I arrived. I made a split-second decision to save the baby, as the mother asked. After he was delivered I tried unsuccessfully to save the mother.”

“Oh, God.
” Tj paled.

“The very next day I decided to use my own money to open the hospital
. If I had had the resources that a hospital could provide, I could have saved them both. When that girl died, I realized how selfish I had been to lock myself away in my grief rather than using the gift God had given me.”

“And the baby?”

“A healthy baby boy. Zachary was about as distraught as I’ve ever seen a man. He asked Isabelle to find the baby a good home.”

“Do you know who adopted him?”

“No. I never asked. I’m guessing Isabelle kept records, though. Might ask Emma.” Jake looked over toward the table where Hunter was stirring ingredients into the chili. “I should get back before the boy destroys our entry. Don’t tell him, but I seasoned the ground turkey with beef lard.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell.
” Tj laughed. “And thanks.”

She watched the old man walk away,
then looked at the final entry card in her hand. Nick and Emma Grainger. Tj walked toward their table.

“I found what you were looking for,” Emma offered before Tj had the opportunity to ask.

“Dylan in?
” Tj asked the receptionist at the sheriff’s office, whose name she couldn’t seem to remember.

“Deputy Caine is on duty at the Pumpkin Festival.”

Darn.
Tj realized she could have saved herself a trip if she’d called first. With all the running around she was doing today, she should have worn her Nikes.

The park where the event was taking place was nestled cozily between the highway and the lake
. Fast-food stands, along with rows of picnic tables, were lined up along the grassy lakeshore. Beyond the food court were rows of craft vendors and local service booths. The hayride, pumpkin patch, carnival rides, and hay bale maze had been set up on the high school playing fields. The town had hired a crossing guard to ensure that everyone made if from one section of the festival to the other in a safe and orderly fashion.

After circulating among the craft tables as well as the midway section without a single sighting of Deputy Caine, Tj decided to head back to the food court and grab a bite to eat
. The thought of her upcoming roller-coaster ride with Doc made her pause, but in the end hunger won out and she headed for the BBQ Shack, where she found Dylan chowing down on his own beefy sandwich.

“Inspector Jensen,” Dylan teased
. “What brings you here today?”

“A new suspect
. Actually, one new suspect and a new motive for one of the old suspects,” she clarified.

“Let’s start with the new suspect.”

“Jeff Warren.”

“That nice guy who fixed my turn signal for no charge the other day?”

“He’s a nice enough guy, but he’s also related to Zachary Collins.”

“Related?”

“According to his book, Zachary’s grandfather, Jeremiah Collins, had a brother named Charles. Charles had a dalliance in his youth that resulted in the birth of a bastard child, Jordan. Jordan was Jeff’s great-grandfather. Based on the letter I found, Charles disowned the boy in order to appease his aristocratic wife, so Jeremiah brought him to America and gave him a place to live and, eventually, an education. At some point Jordan moved to San Francisco, where the family has lived ever since. The letter indicated that Zachary was the one responsible for bringing Jeff to Serenity in the first place. I found a series of letters between Zachary and Jeff’s grandfather Ian. It looked like Ian wrote to Zachary and asked if he could help Jeff out. I guess the family was going through some hard times financially. Zachary agreed to do it, and Jeff’s grandfather sent him to Serenity to do some repair work for an old friend. At some point Zachary offered Jeff the money to start his business, and he accepted it.”

“Do you think Jeff knows they’re related?
”

“If he does, he’s not admitting it.”

“So why would he kill him?” Dylan wondered.

“I have no idea, but in my book everyone’s a suspect until proven otherwise.”

Dylan frowned. “It seems like a longshot, but I’ll look into it. You said you had a new motive for an old suspect?”

“Kyle.”

“The guest at the resort? What did this Kyle do to earn him another X mark on your suspect list?”

“He’s Zachary’s grandson.”

“Grandson?”

Tj explained everything she’d learned from Trent, Prudence, Isabelle’s journals, and Emma Grainger
. “According to Emma, the couple her mother found to adopt Zachary’s infant son had a last name of Donovan. Kyle’s last name is Donovan. I figure he’s too young to be Zachary’s son, so he must be his grandson.”

“Or some random guy with the last name Donovan,” Dylan pointed out.

“Really?” Tj asked sarcastically.

“Yeah, you’re right.
” Dylan wiped BBQ sauce from his chin as he thought about what Tj was telling him. “Too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence. You seem to have dug up a lot of information since we last spoke. And I agree it’s a huge coincidence that not only is Kyle most likely Zachary’s long-lost grandson but he also happens to be in town at the exact time Mr. Collins dies. Still, I’m not sure I’m buying the spurned grandson scenario.”

“Why?
” Tj couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “He seems like an obvious choice.”

“I had a chat with Kyle after we spoke yesterday
. He said he checked into Maggie’s Hideaway around three. After getting settled in his cabin, he headed over to the lodge, where he met and talked to you. After that he went to the resort bar, where he enjoyed a basket of buffalo wings and a couple of beers before going back to his cabin for an early night.”

Tj nibbled on the end of one of her garlic fries
. “So?”

“So how did he kill Zachary if he never left the resort?”

“And you’re just going to take his word for it?”

“Actually, no
. I was planning to come by later and talk to you about it, but here you are, conveniently saving me a trip.”

Tj thought about what Dylan had told her
. “I can verify Kyle was in the lodge reading during the afternoon. He was an instant hit with my dog Echo, who normally doesn’t approach guests, so we chatted for a while and then he left. I guess that was around five.” Tj dipped her fry in a puddle of ketchup, swirling it around before plopping it in her mouth. “It seems like I remember my grandfather saying that Kyle helped him decorate the bar that evening, so I guess it sounds like he has an alibi, but still, the whole premise that he’s in town for a job interview with a company no one has ever heard of seems suspicious. And let’s not forget about the bottle.”

“I looked into the job interview thing,” Dylan confirmed
. “He has a letter from a company called The Repository, offering him the job. There was a phone number on the letter that simply rang into an answering service. The woman who answered confirmed that the service was being paid to take phone messages for the firm in question. I’m having the service contract sent over.”

Tj waved at a group of her students who had gotten in line at the frozen candy bar stand
. “Did the people at the answering service say what the person who ordered the service looked like? It could just be Kyle, covering his butt.”

“They said the service was hired via phone.
” Dylan took a sip of his soda. “They were paid in advance with a wire transfer authorized by a Mr. Henry. I’ve been doing this for a long time and over the years I’ve developed an instinct as to who’s lying and who’s telling the truth. Kyle didn’t say anything that would lead me to believe he knew of his connection to Zachary Collins. He seemed relaxed and forthright during the entire interview. If you want my gut instinct on this, I think he’s exactly what he says he is, a guy in town looking for a job. If what you say about Kyle being Zachary’s grandson is correct, my guess is that Zachary used the job interview to get Kyle into town for some reason known only to him. Maybe to finally meet him after all these years.”

“But he dies before he can schedule the meeting,” Tj realized
. She sat back and listened to the sounds of the carnival in the background. So many people going about their lives, as if nothing had happened. Zachary was an old man who had lived a long life. She knew she shouldn’t feel so bad, but somehow the fact that Zachary had died without knowing either his son or his grandson made her want to cry.

“Are you okay?” Dylan asked.

“Yeah.” Tj sighed. “Zachary and I had been friends for a long time. I’m going to miss him.”

“Don’t worry.
” Dylan placed his hand over hers. “If someone killed him, we’ll get him.”

“Thanks, I appreciate that.
” Tj picked up her soda and took a sip. “Any news on the other suspects?”

“I attempted to track down Kurt Brown, but it seems he’s out of town interviewing subcontractors from off the mountain and won’t be back until tomorrow
. I asked his wife if she knew where Kurt had been on Friday night, and she said she had been out of town visiting her sister so she didn’t know for certain, but she’d bet her prize Sheltie that he’d been at Murphy’s Bar same as every other Friday night.”

“Did you check with Murphy?” Tj asked.

“He said Kurt came in late, around ten thirty.”

“So he could have killed Zachary and then gone to the bar,” Tj realized.

“Seems he had time,” Dylan agreed.

“So we’re back to square one with the suspect list?
”

“Appears so.”

“I know this is a long shot, but Pastor Dan said something today that you probably should know.”

The next day was Friday and things were busier than ever at the resort
. Tj hoped to have the time to sort out everything she’d learned in the past few days, but Leiani called before she’d even had her first cup of coffee and asked if she could help cover the registration counter. She promised to call someone in to relieve her, but it was midafternoon and no one had shown up so far. Luckily Dennis stopped by and picked up the pumpkins she and the girls had carved the previous evening, so at least she didn’t have to worry about making it into town by three.

Normally Tj didn’t mind helping out at the resort, but today she felt like she should be doing something else
. She was sure someone had killed Zachary, but who? Mild-mannered Kyle? On the surface it didn’t seem like he had a violent bone in his body, and Dylan didn’t seem to think he’d done it. He claimed he didn’t know Zachary; was he lying? Tj talked to the bar tender who confirmed that Kyle had been in the bar last Friday night, but it had been busy and he couldn’t say exactly what time he’d left. Could he have left the bar, killed Zachary, then returned to the resort with no one the wiser?

And then there was Lloyd Benson
. A large, formidable man who had a moose head hanging in his living room. He
seemed
the type who could be a killer. He’d wanted Zachary’s land for years. Could killing him have been the only way to get it?

Tj thought about Kurt Brown
. She’d known him her whole life and he didn’t seem the type to hurt a flea. Could someone as nice as Kurt be driven to violence in order to save his home and business from bankruptcy?

And although Jeff Warren seemed the least likely of the bunch, Tj couldn’t quite bring herself to cross his name off the list.

There had to be a way to narrow down the suspect field. And then she remembered the seemingly unrelated bit of news the pastor had shared with her the previous day. According to Dan, Zachary’s final instructions stipulated that he planned to give her a gift on October 31 of that year and in the event that he passed prior to that date, the gift was to be delivered to her and opened immediately. Tj hadn’t thought the riddle of the box and Zachary’s death were in any way related, but now she wasn’t so sure. Had he known his life was in danger? Or had he simply wanted to be certain she received whatever small trinket was hidden at the end of the clue trail? It was a long shot, but at the moment it was the only lead she had. She retrieved the most recent note from her purse and reread the clue.

The end of past

I’m the first of my kind

And am frozen in time

Of which I am the beginning

8-18-49

“The end of past” would be the present, and “first of my kind” could refer to an individual. “Frozen in time” could be a photograph. Tj frowned. She studied the numbers. Could they belong to a safe of some type? Although Tj didn’t have any direct knowledge of a safe, the Collins family had been extremely wealthy. It made sense they’d have a safe somewhere.

Tj thought about the house
. The mansion was filled with original artwork Tj suspected was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Could there be a safe behind one of those paintings? Maybe once someone showed up to relieve her at reception she’d head to the house and see what she could find. If there was a safe hidden somewhere in the mansion, she intended to find it.

Tj drove to the house, letting herself in with the spare key. She slowly opened the door and walked through the house to the living room, looking around as she traveled. In the movies the safe was always behind a picture in the office. Did Zachary even have an office? The house was huge, but as far at Tj knew Zachary only used a few of the rooms, leaving the others closed off. It would take hours to search the entire property. If the numbers were a combination to a safe, the riddle must be a clue to point to its location.

The end of past

I’m the first of my kind

And am frozen in time

Of which I am the beginning

Tj stared at the riddle again
. Something about it looked familiar. Zachary had given her a riddle once before with words like “beginning” and “end.” In that instance the answer had been a letter. “End of past” was T, as was the beginning of “time.” “The first of my kind”? “Oh, my god, it’s the car,” Tj said out loud.

Tj turned and headed toward the cellar
. “First of my kind” had to refer to the picture of the model T in the basement. Zachary had told her it was the first of its kind, fresh off the assembly line in 1908. It was the car he was driving when the accident occurred. “Frozen in time,” the next clue, must be associated with the photo.

Turning on the light, she crossed the room to the photo
. She lifted it from the wall and found the safe. Using the numbers at the bottom of the clue, she opened it. Inside the safe was a box with her name on it, and inside the box was a beautiful sapphire-and-diamond necklace Zachary had once told her had belonged to his mother. Beside the necklace was a keno ticket, with a phone number written on the back, a gold key, and a small bundle of hundred-dollar bills.

Tj slid the necklace, the phone number, and the key inside her purse
. She left the money where it was, locked the safe, and put the picture back in its place.
Now what?
She was supposed to meet Jenna, Dennis, and the girls at the Pumpkin Festival in a half hour ago. She supposed she should go. Normally she loved the festival, but this year she was too distracted to enjoy it. One way or the other, she needed to wrap things up and get on with her life, such that it was. Deciding to stop by and talk to Dylan on the way, she called Jenna and told her she’d be late, then headed to the car. She was pulling onto the highway when her phone rang. It was Doc, and he had news.