Pumpkins in Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Book 1) (6 page)

She looked down at the box in her lap
. As unlikely as it seemed that the riddle of the puzzle box had anything to do with the mystery of Zachary’s death, opening the box was something she had at least a small amount of control over, so she decided to focus her energy there. Ashley’s guess that 73 was the perfect number was a good guess. Maybe Tj had mentioned it to her at some point. She remembered that Zachary had justified his choice with a long explanation of prime numbers and mirror numbers and star numbers, which she didn’t really remember. The problem was that 73 only had two digits and she needed four. She tried 7373, repeating the number, and then 7337, in case he was thinking about the whole thing with the mirror. Neither worked. “Maybe the answer is in the word itself.”

Tj took out a piece of paper and wrote down the alphabet from A to Z, then corresponding numbers from 1 to 26
. She added the numbers corresponding to the letters in the word PERFECT; P-16, E-5, R-18, F-6, E-5, C-3, T-20. The question was what to do with the numbers now that she had them. In a previous game the answer had had to do with finding the sum of the numbers. Tj got out her calculator and added them together: 16+5+18+6+5+3+20=73.

Tj stared at the notepad in front of her
. Seventy-three was really more of a favorite number than an actual perfect one. Maybe Zachary was playing on her knowledge of 73 being his favorite number in order to lead her to an actual perfect number, like 6. Tj got up and walked over to her bookshelf, where she kept a paperback of logic puzzles she sometimes tried to solve when she couldn’t sleep. At the back of the book was a list of certain types of numbers used to create logic puzzles, such as prime and perfect numbers.

“8128,” she said aloud
. “The only four-digit perfect number is 8128.”

She turned the sections of the box to the corresponding numbers and it popped open
. Inside the box was a piece of paper with a riddle on it: the next clue in the puzzle. The phrase written on the small piece of parchment read:

From the ashes of the past

springs
new Life as truths reveal

the
penance of A sinner

and
the Gift put forth to heal

Tj frowned. She doubted the game Zachary planned for her had anything to do with his death. Still, the theme of the riddle seemed oddly prophetic. The riddle held no meaning for her, but she noticed that one word from each sentence was capitalized: From Life A Gift. From life a gift? What in the heck could that mean?

What she needed, she realized, was a good night’s sleep and the fresh perspective each new day provides
. Taking the last sip of her wine, she checked the fire, turned off all the lights, picked up Cuervo, called to Echo, who had been napping by the fire, and crept up the stairs to the sanctuary of her own bed. Tomorrow would be another day. Perhaps she’d find her answers then.

Tj turned off her light and climbed under her heavy down comforter
. Cuervo curled into a ball next to her and rested his head on her pillow as she ran her hands through his long, thick fur. The cantankerous old cat started to purr, something he rarely ever did. Maybe, like Zachary, there was a warm heart beneath the rough exterior after all.

Tj woke the next morning to hot breath on her face and a heavy object across her feet. It wasn’t the first time she’d been awakened by Echo’s warm doggy breath as he rested his head on the pillow next to hers, but the soft but heavy weight across her feet was new. And then she remembered Cuervo. The cat yawned and then screeched when he noticed Echo’s head near hers. Hissing and burrowing even further under the safety of the covers, he curled up in a tight ball and growled his displeasure.

“Come on out and we’ll get some breakfast.
” Tj slid out of bed, pulled her old wool robe on over the thermals she wore, slipped her feet into a pair of knee-high slippers, picked up the grouchy cat, and headed down the stairs. By the smell of bacon wafting its way up the stairs, it appeared that someone, probably Grandpa, was making breakfast.

“Pancakes?
” Ben asked as she opened the back door to let Echo out, then settled Cuervo in the laundry room with his breakfast. His six-foot four-inch frame looked especially charming today in denim jeans and a dark brown cable knit sweater.

“Thanks, but I think I’ll stick with coffee
. Couldn’t sleep.” Adding cream to her coffee, she wrapped both her hands around the large mug, decorated with moose antlers, that her dad had brought back from his trip to Maine the previous year. Even with the fire crackling in the old brick fireplace located between the kitchen and the dining area, the room seemed unusually cold this morning.

“Body needs more than coffee in the morning,” Ben warned.

“I know. I’ll eat something later. Where are the girls?”

“In the den watching cartoons.
” Ben ran a dish rag over the deep green tiles of the ceramic countertop while he waited for the pancakes to turn a golden brown. “Helen called earlier. I guess she is going to take all the girls to a movie this afternoon. My truck is in the shop, so Doc is coming by to pick me up in an hour or so. I told Helen we’d drop the girls off at her place on our way out to Bookman’s. Oh, by the way, someone from the sheriff’s office called. He wondered if you could stop by later, at your convenience, of course.”

“Must have been Dylan.
” Tj finished her first cup of the rich blend her dad had specially prepared for the resort.

“Dylan?
” Ben asked as he grabbed the coffeepot and headed toward the table.

“Deputy Caine.” Tj held out her mug for Ben to
topoff. “Took Clark Leighton’s place after he retired.”

“I wrote down the name on the pad by the phone, but Caine sounds right.
” Ben walked across the room, picked up the pad, and handed it to Tj before returning to the stove, scooping the pancakes off the grill, and pouring a generous helping of syrup over the top.

An hour later Tj was heading out the door as a shiny red ʼ57 Chevrolet with white vinyl seats and chrome wheels pulled into the private drive next to the house. A man of average build with a few extra pounds around the middle, dressed in a red-and-white Hawaiian print sweatshirt and perfectly pressed khakis, waved as he opened the door and climbed out. Pulling up the hood of his sweatshirt to protect his full head of white hair from the rain that was still pelting the area, he made a mad dash to the covered deck.

Doc was portly, with a booming voice and a jolly disposition
. He tended to do things in a big way, whether it be the clothes he wore, the heartiness of his voice, or the boom of his laughter as he chuckled at his own dumb jokes. He was a friendly sort who more often than not was apt to strike up an in-depth conversation with total strangers in line at the grocery store or lounging on the beach. After moving to Serenity, he’d quickly earned a reputation as a flirt, albeit a debonair and charming one.

“Hey
darlin’.” Doc wrapped Tj in a wet hug and kissed her on the cheek. “Ben around?”

“He should be down in a minute.”

“I heard about Zachary. Anything I can do to put some sparkle back in your eye?”

“Actually there is.
” Tj took Doc’s arm and led him into the living room, where there was a blazing fire. “Roy and Tim are both out this week, so the new deputy, Dylan Caine, and a substitute, Deputy Long, responded yesterday. I spoke briefly to Deputy Caine this morning, and he informed me that Deputy Long is convinced we are looking at death by natural causes, so they don’t plan to open an investigation.”

“And you don’t agree?”

“I’m not sure. On one hand there didn’t appear to be any sign of foul play, but there was a glass on the table next to the chair where I found Zachary’s body. I believe it contained scotch. Zachary never drank. I mean, he religiously never drank. The whole thing seems odd to me. It might be nothing, but I want to be sure. I know that you sometimes do favors for Sheriff Boggs, so I was wondering if you’d call in one of those favors and see if you can take a look at the body?”

A retired Los Angeles County coroner, Doc worked on an on-call basis with the Paradise County coroner
. “Means a lot to you?”

“Yeah, it really does.”

Doc stopped to consider her request. “Guess it couldn’t hurt to have a conversation with our good sheriff.”

Tj hugged the sixty-two-year-old man
. “Thanks, Doc.”

Tj shook the rain from her umbrella as she walked into the lobby of the lodge. Maggie’s Hideaway was crowded as guests gathered around the pine tables or curled up on one of the sofas in front of the floor-to-ceiling fireplace to read a book, play cards, or work one of the jigsaw puzzles provided by the resort. Tj picked up the file she was looking for and started toward the front door when she heard her name. Looking around the room, she tried to identify the source of the voice. Maude waved and called to her again from a quad of chairs surrounding a table where she was playing cards with Millie, as well as Abe and Andy Farmer, the brothers who rented the cabin next to the sisters. If coy smiles and sly glances were any indication, it appeared Maude and Millie had done what they set out to do.

“How can I help you?
” Tj walked over to the group, a smile on her face.

“I was wondering if you could help settle a dispute”

“Sure, if I can.”

“Sister and I found a book with an old photo of several men and women ice skating on the lake, but the boys swear the photo must be a fake, since the lake is too deep to freeze over
. We were wondering if you could tell us which of us is correct.”

“Actually you both are,” Tj informed them
. “The lake is made up of both a large body of water and several isolated coves and fingers. The main body of water never freezes, but many of the bays do, providing both skating and ice fishing in the winter.”

“Sounds dangerous,” Abe said.

“Can be. The bay to the north of the resort is monitored and maintained, but I wouldn’t wander out onto ice that hasn’t been checked for depth. Every now and then we have someone fall through. I remember this one time,” Tj started, then paused when she noticed the necklace around Millie’s neck: a golden ring with a delicate cross in the center. “That necklace you’re wearing—a friend of mine has one just like it.”

Millie put her hand to her chest
. “It’s a fidelity necklace. It’s given to select female members of the religious group Sister and I were raised in when they reach their sixteenth birthday. It’s a symbol of fidelity to the church above all else. Those who are gifted with the necklace are encouraged to devote their lives to service to the church. Sister has one too.”

“Service to the church?
”

“The group believed they would become stronger through structured family units,” Maude explained
. “Young women who were gifted were chosen to join these family units, either to produce offspring or provide service through acts of labor such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children. Sister and I chose the latter.”

“It’s a lifetime commitment?”

“Ideally, yes,” Millie joined in. “It wasn’t until our papa died and the group disbanded that Sister and I were released from our commitment, thus allowing us to seek other relationships.”

“And other women also stayed?
” Tj couldn’t believe anyone would give up their life for something chosen for them when they were only sixteen.

“While most who were chosen stayed, there were a few women over the years
who chose to leave,” Maude said. “Maybe your friend was a member at one time. A member who chose to leave.”

“My friend was a man,” Tj clarified
. “Zachary Collins. Do you know him?”

Tj watched Maude’s face as she thought about it
. “Name doesn’t ring a bell. I guess if you’re really curious about the necklace, you can ask him where he got it.”

“I’m afraid he’s passed on,”
Tj informed them. “Just a few days ago, in fact.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” Millie seemed authentically sympathetic
.

Tj spoke to the group for a few minutes longer,
then headed out for her appointment with Deputy Caine.

The Serenity branch of the Paradise County sheriff’s department was no more than a small brick building tucked behind the county offices
. Being a satellite office, the building contained a single holding cell, which was utilized only until a suspect in custody could be transported to the larger jail in Indulgence for booking and lockup. The reception area was little more than a tiny square room with an ell-shaped counter, behind which was a desk with a handheld radio and a wall of file cabinets. Small windows placed high on the wall let a modest amount of light into the otherwise drab room.

“Can I help you?
” Karen Hall, the young receptionist, who had just moved to Serenity from Sacramento, asked.

“I’m here to see Deputy Caine
. He’s expecting me.”

“Have a seat and I’ll see if he’s available.
” The woman gestured toward a row of plastic chairs along one of the dingy gray walls, before getting up and heading down the narrow hallway.

Tj wandered over to the seating area but remained standing as she stared out the small window, which had become fogged from the warm air inside
. She traced a small heart in one corner, an impulse she’d often given into as a child, before quickly erasing it and taking a seat. The room was truly depressing. Grayish walls were cluttered with hastily taped wanted posters, many of which had yellowed with age.

“Deputy Caine will see you now.
” The receptionist reentered the room. “Last door on the left.”

Tj picked up the coat she had discarded when she’d entered the office and wandered down the hall past the holding cell, as well as offices she knew were used by Tim and Roy when they were on duty
.

“Ms. Jensen.
” Dylan stood up as she entered the room, causing Tj to focus not on his adorable smile but on the girth of his chest and shoulders. She’d forgotten how stunning he looked in his perfectly pressed uniform. She wondered if he had them sent out or ironed them himself. “Thank you for coming. Please have a seat.”

Tj crossed the room and sat down on one of the chairs across from his desk
. In direct contrast to the outer office, Dylan’s personal space appeared clean and comfortable. His desk was not only neat and organized, it had been personalized with a macaroni-decorated pencil holder that she imagined had been constructed in someone’s first-grade classroom. Alongside the pencil holder was a photo of a beautiful brunette with a smile in her eyes. Probably his wife, Tj thought sadly.

Beside his desk was a bookcase with a variety of manuals organized by size. Atop
the highest shelf sat variegated ivy—real by the look of it— and a photo of a Husky sitting on a large rock with a view of what looked like an Alaskan landscape in the background. On the second shelf down was a picture of Dylan with a young boy on his shoulders, both shirtless at the beach. Dylan was jogging toward whoever had taken the picture, arms raised in victory, as were those of the child he carried. Dylan looked so happy and carefree and gorgeous. Tj wondered about the boy. Jenna had indicated that he didn’t have children.

“Deputy Long has been called back to Indulgence, leaving the task of completing the paperwork regarding Zachary Collins’s death to me,” Dylan began
. “I’ll need you to sign your witness statement. If you could read through it first to make certain everything is accurate…”

Tj took the report the handsome deputy handed her and skimmed through the transcription of her interview with Deputy Long
. She barely remembered the interview. Tj had lost people she loved before, but the shock of seeing Zachary sitting lifeless in the chair had been more than her mind could initially process.

“Will you do an autopsy?
” Tj looked up from the report.

“No
. In cases of natural death of elderly individuals, we usually don’t bother.”

“What if the death wasn’t natural?
”

“You know something we don’t?
” Dylan asked.

“It’s really more of a feeling that things weren’t quite right
. I know that sounds insane given the circumstances, but there were just some oddities that keep nagging at me. I wish I had something more concrete to offer you, but all I really have at this point is a gut feeling.”

Dylan
smiled, an adorable, authentic, eye-crinkling smile. “I often find that gut feelings are the best gauge of the truth. Anything specific bothering you?”

“Not really,” she answered
. “Like I said, it’s just a feeling.”

“If you think of anything specific, please call me
. Otherwise, as I mentioned when we spoke this morning, I’m afraid the case will be closed.”

“I understand.
” Tj handed over the signed statement to the deputy and stood up. “It was nice talking to you. I understand that you’re new in town. If you need someone to show you around, just let me know.”

Dylan looked surprised by her offer
. “Thanks. I might just do that.”

After returning to her car Tj checked her messages. There were two texts: one from Ben, asking if she’d pick up his prescription from the drugstore, and the other from Doc, letting her know that Sheriff Boggs had agreed to let him take a look at the body. Initial tests had indicated that Zachary had sedatives in his system, but not a trace of alcohol. He said he was going to send a blood sample to a guy he knew, who promised to have a complete toxicology screen back to him within a couple of days.

Tj frowned
. Sedatives? Why would Zachary be taking sedatives, and why would he open a bottle of scotch he had been saving for over sixty years and not take a single drink? And if he hadn’t drunk from the glass on the table next to the chair, who had? Something didn’t add up.

Grabbing her umbrella, Tj darted out into the pouring rain and dashed into the brightly lit interior of the pharmacy
. After buying the pharmacy from Barry Holden, David had completely remodeled the place, turning a functional but drab store into an inviting shop with old fashioned appeal. Metal shelves had been replaced by large pine cabinets, neatly labeled but arranged to remind one of something that might be found in one’s home. The old black-and-white-speckled linoleum had been replaced with hardwood floors that made Tj think of a country store in a Norman Rockwell painting. The previously white walls had been papered with a mountainlike print in greens and browns, and swag curtains in similar colors were draped around the old white mini blinds, giving the place a warm, homey feel.

“Hey, Tj.
” David smiled at her from behind the counter. As usual his brilliant white and perfectly pressed lab coat covered slacks and a sharply pressed dress shirt. “Here to pick up your grandpa’s prescription?”

“He told me it was ready.”

“Just give me a minute and I’ll get it.”

David walked to the back, where the medicines he sold were kept
. Tj wandered around the cozy shop, pausing to smell one of the candles on display. Cinnamon. It made her think of the cinnamon toast Zachary used to make for her when she was younger. Setting the candle down, Tj walked to the counter as David came to meet him. Crossing her arms on the shiny surface, she said, “I guess you’ve heard about Zachary Collins?”

“I have
. It’s a damn shame.”

“Zachary and I were good friends
. It looks like he was taking some type of sedative. I was wondering if you could tell me if he’d bought anything from you.”

David stopped to think for a moment before answering
. “I sent blood-pressure medication up to his place once a month, but other than that he hasn’t filled any prescriptions in quite a while.”

“I know he had a hard time sleeping. Did he order any sleeping aids recently?”

“I don’t think so, unless he got them over the counter.”

Tj frowned. “Okay, thanks. Just put Grandpa’s medication on our account.” She picked up the small white pharmacy bag. Zachary never went out, so the odds of his buying anything over the counter were slim to none.