Pumpkins in Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Book 1) (7 page)

Sunday afternoons were always busy at Maggie’s Hideaway as weekend guests checked out and new arrivals for the week checked in
. By the time everything had been squared away, dinner prepared and eaten, baths given, and sisters tucked into bed, Tj was exhausted. She turned off the lights and locked the exterior doors as she made her way through the house and up the stairs to her second-story bedroom. The light was still on in her grandpa’s bedroom, so she knocked and poked her head in.

Ben sat on the side of his bed, looking at an old black-and-white picture of himself, his wife Maggie, for whom the resort had been named, and his son Mike when he was an infant.

“Seems like only yesterday. Time really gets away from you,” he said without looking up. “Today would have been Grandma’s sixty-fifth birthday.”

Tj suddenly remembered the pancakes
. Ben made them every year on Maggie’s birthday, but Tj had been too self-absorbed that morning to notice. “Oh, Grandpa, I’m so sorry. I totally forgot.”

Ben put his arm around Tj’s shoulders
. “It’s okay, pumpkin. You’ve had a difficult couple of days and Grandma has been gone for quite some time.”

“Still, I should have remembered.
” Tj put her head on Ben’s shoulder and looked at the photo. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so bad. “You look really young.”

“Never was one for the noise and congestion of the big city
. After my dad died I took the money he left me and bought the biggest piece of property I could afford. Figured I’d build a little cabin and live out my life in peaceful solitude.”

“And then you met Grandma.
” Tj had heard this story many times, but it was nice to focus on pleasant memories after the stressful day she’d had.

“Yeah, she was a feisty little thing
. Came to Paradise Lake to summer with her parents, who owned one of the big houses on the East Shore. At first we didn’t really get along, since all I wanted was to be left alone and she was a five-foot-tall spitfire who insisted on hanging around and giving me advice I didn’t want or need.”

“By the end of summer you were hopelessly in love,” Tj filled in
. “And when you told her you weren’t ready to return to civilization, she agreed to stay at the lake with you.”

“Not many women would have done that
. Had a one-room cabin, outdoor plumbing, and a woodstove for heat and cooking.”

“You were married in the little church in Serenity, built another room onto the cabin, and a year later my dad was born.”

“Best time of my life.”

Tj loved the story of how her grandparents had met and started the resort
. In her mind it rivaled any fairy tale she’d been told as a child. They seemed the perfect couple. Her grandfather was tall and strong with a deep voice and quiet authority that everyone in the community respected. But at home it was her grandmother, with her petite frame and fiery disposition, who ran the show.

“After Dad was born you used the money Grandma’s mother left her and built the resort
. First the campground and a little-one room restaurant, and then the cabins, the marina, and the Lakeside Bar and Grill. And later, the larger house and general store.”

“Figured your grandma gave everything up to live with an ornery recluse like me, least I could do was
build her a nice home.”

“You built her more than a home.
” Tj kissed her grandpa’s cheek. “You built her a legacy. One that you’ve passed down to Dad, and someday he’ll pass it down to me.”

“She was quite a woman.
” Ben looked sad.

“That she was.
” Tj thought about her grandmother, how much she’d loved her and how empty her life had seemed after she passed. “I really miss her.”

“Yeah, me too.
” Ben hugged Tj. “She’s been gone a long time, but there are moments still when I feel like I can hear her laugh or smell the scent of that fancy perfume she loved so much. Guess there are memories that live on, no matter how many years pass.”

Ben and Tj sat together for several minutes, remembering the woman they both loved, before Ben eventually asked, “Haven’t really had a chance to talk to you about your friend Zachary’s death
. Are you okay?”

Tj sighed
. “I’m okay. It’s just that everything seemed so sudden. In some ways the whole thing doesn’t seem real. It’s like my mind hasn’t accepted the fact that he’s gone. I keep thinking, ‘I have to tell Zachary about that,’ and then I remember.”

“It’s like that at first
. I remember when your grandma passed. For weeks afterward, for those first few seconds after I woke up in the morning, I’d forget she was gone. I’d expect to see her lying next to me. And then I’d remember, and the grief would be almost unbearable. I know it’s hard now, but it gets better.”

“I hope so
. Did you know Zachary before?” she asked.

“Before he locked himself away in that big old house?” Ben clarified.

“Yeah, before the accident.”

“No,” Ben answered
. “By the time I moved to the lake he had already settled into a life of seclusion. Most folks don’t really understand why a man would cut himself off like that. They figured it had something to do with the scars on his face. Heard a man died in that accident. Still, to cut yourself off like that seems a bit extreme. Although I guess if you’re going to live a life of isolation, Heavenly Bay is the place to do it.”

Tj thought about the isolated bay and the huge mansion surrounded by old-growth pines
. Just to the left of the mansion there was an unobstructed view of the cascading waterfall, where Paradise River emptied into the lake. The scenery within the spectacular private estate was awe inspiring, but to spend sixty years in isolation?

“Bookman once told me he’d thought of basing one of his characters on Zachary,” Ben informed her
. “Said he was fascinated by the idea of a man living within the confines of a self-constructed prison when there was so much beauty just outside his door. Personally, I find the whole thing a bit less fascinating and a bit more tragic.”

“I agree with you
. By the way, we have a guest who wants to meet Bookman.”

“Chap by the name of Kyle?”

“You’ve met him?”

“At the bar the other night
. Nice young man. Was sitting alone eating a bucket of chicken wings, so I stopped to say hi. Chatted for a bit, then he offered to help me decorate for the party. Mentioned he met you and Echo.”

“Echo decided to introduce himself
. We talked for a few minutes. He’s in town for a job interview.”

“Be a welcome addition.”

“I guess. He said he was interviewing with a company called the Repository. Have you ever heard of them?”

Ben thought about it
. “Can’t say that I have. Thinking about a hot chocolate. Care to join me?”

“Love to.”

Serenity High School and Serenity Elementary School had been built on the same plot of land, with a common library, administration office, and cafeteria
. Large beige buildings with multiple wings and indoor walkways had been laid out in a pattern Tj likened to a giant spider caught in a web. The school district had implemented a late-start schedule due to the inclement weather, but even with that Tj found it hard to focus. After walking the girls to their classrooms on the elementary side, she’d headed through the maze of hallways toward the teacher’s lounge in the high school. She poured herself a cup of coffee, then sat down next to Nikki Weston, a history teacher. Nikki wore her dark brown hair chin length, with thick bangs that almost covered her eyes. Fair skin, a tendency toward pudginess, and studious glasses made her look a lot like Velma in the
Scooby-Doo
cartoons Tj had watched as a child.

“New hobby?
” Tj referred to the application for an after-school bowling league Nikki was filling out.

“New club,” Nikki corrected
. “It looks like I’ve been appointed teacher rep, even though I don’t know the first thing about bowling.”

Tj cringed
. “I heard there were a bunch of new clubs on campus.”

“That consultant Greg hired to help us qualify for more grant money recommended the school expand its extracurricular activities as a way to demonstrate a broader diversification
. The only two choices left by the time he called me into his office for this year’s adjunct assignments were bowling and choir. I’m not a big fan of bowling, but I feel sorry for the poor sap who ends up with choir.”

Tj had a sick feeling she knew exactly who that sap was going to be
. She’d blown off the first meeting Greg had set to discuss her adjunct assignment in favor of attending an out-of-area football game. Had she known choir was going to be the only choice left by the time she got around to rescheduling that meeting, she might have decided otherwise. Oh, well. It had been a good game, and the Serenity Black Bears had won in overtime. How bad could choir really be?

With today’s late start, the normal fifty-minute periods had been reduced to thirty minutes
. It was doubtful Greg would get to her today. Maybe by the time they had their meeting, all the adjunct assignments would be taken and she could get off with providing refreshments for the annual open house, as she had the year before.

Nikki frowned as a streak of lightning lit up the dark sky
. “I was planning to take this application over to the bowling alley during my prep, but with this weather I may just wait.”

“It’s really coming down out there
. They closed Highway 28 due to flooding. I’m willing to bet there will be a lot of absent students. I don’t think I’m even going to have my girls dress. It looks like another hangman tournament in the making.”

“I’d already decided to do a study hall today
. Mock trials are next week, so I had planned to have Glen Keller come in to discuss courtroom etiquette and procedure,” she said, referring to the town’s only resident attorney, “but I ran into him at Fuze on Saturday night and he said he had to reschedule.” Nikki taught junior and senior history and was known for her penchant to teach through role-playing. “I didn’t have time to come up with another lesson plan so I figured I’d let the kids study for next week’s exam.”

“You went to
Fuze?”

Nikki blushed
. “You know how Carl has been bugging me to go out with him for months?”

Carl Osgood, the incredibly handsome varsity football coach, had decided, for some reason, that Nikki was a perfect match for him and had been campaigning to take her out since school started in September
. Nikki had made it clear from the beginning that since they had nothing in common, he might be best served by moving on to someone else. Her continued refusal to date him, however, seemed only to make him more determined to win her over.

“You didn’t?”

“I did,” Nikki admitted. “Mostly just to get him off my back. I figured one disastrous date and he’d leave me alone.”

“And did he?”

“Not exactly. We had a fantastic time. We’re going out again on Saturday.”

Nikki was a wonderful person, but much more of a curl-up-on-the-sofa-with-a-good-book type than a dance-the-night-away-at-a-loud-club girl
. In fact, Tj had never known her to do much of anything on a Friday or Saturday night, unless the opera was in Reno or she and Jenna invited her to movie night at the resort.

“Yeah, but
Fuze?” Tj knew she was repeating herself, but she couldn’t seem to help it.

“I know
. I thought I’d hate it, but it was fun. I wouldn’t want to do it every night, but maybe once in a while. I mean, if someone as stodgy as Glen Keller can party the night away, I certainly can.”

Nikki had a point
. While Glen was well known in the community as a competent attorney, he was a timid mouse of a man. And his wife, Marjorie, was the last person she’d expect to see in a club with half-naked women dancing in cages. Tj wasn’t sure how Glen had wound up with a wife who was built like a linebacker and had a personality to match, but she suspected it had something to do with money: Marjorie had it and Glen liked to spend it.

“Was Marjorie with him?” Tj wondered.

“No, he appeared to be alone. Guess he’s a regular at the casino. Carl said he once saw him drop ten grand in one night.”

“Ten grand
? Where would he get that kind of money?” Tj knew Marjorie had come into quite a bit of money when her father died, and Glen was the town’s only attorney and seemed to do okay for himself. They lived in a large house on the lake and drove the newest imports. But still…ten grand in one night?

Nikki shrugged
. “No idea. Maybe he has a money tree in his backyard.”

“I hope you’re right, because if he’s gambling away Marjorie’s inheritance, she’s going to kill him.”

“By the way—” Nikki paused, on her way out of the lounge. “Speaking of men you’d like to kill, Angie told me that Tyler updated his Facebook status to ‘in a relationship.’ I figured you’d want to know.”

“Really?
” Tj frowned. She supposed Tyler had the right to move on, but it hurt that he’d been so successful so quickly. In the thirteen months they’d dated, he’d never updated his Facebook status from “single” to “in a relationship” for her. “Any idea who the lucky girl is?”

“Whitney Westlake,” Nikki informed her
. “Guess they hooked up at Lisa Franklin’s wedding. I haven’t had a chance to check it out yet, but Angie said Whitney tweeted that she and Tyler were all but engaged.”

Later that morning, Tj sat in her office looking at the pile of paperwork she’d been pushing around for the last hour
. She knew she’d regret it later if she let herself get behind, but the more she tried to concentrate on soccer lineups and ski-meet schedules, the more she found her mind drifting to thoughts of Zachary and his unexplained death. If she was going to convince Dylan to look into it more closely, she was going to have to come up with a concrete reason for him to do so. Should she tell him about the missing scotch and her suspicion that the glass on the table next to where Zachary was sitting contained alcohol? In and of itself, not a compelling reason to suspect foul play, but an oddity nonetheless.

She knew she should focus on her job, but she found herself dialing Jenna’s cell phone instead
. She figured she’d follow up on the only lead she had, the empty takeout containers. There had been two in Zachary’s kitchen; maybe whomever Zachary had dined with could provide insight as to what had happened on the night he died.

“Hey, Jen.”

“Can you hang on just a sec?” Tj could hear the sound of people talking in the background.

“Sure, no prob.
” Tj twisted one of her auburn curls around her finger as she waited for Jenna to come back on the line. She wondered if Jenna had heard about Tyler and Whitney. Jenna never had liked Tyler all that much. It wasn’t that they didn’t get along, it was more that Jenna felt Tj deserved someone a little more focused, a little less flighty.

“Sorry,” Jenna said “Olivia was here to pick up the order for her dinner party.
” Olivia Wallaby, the mayor’s wife, loved to talk.

“I called to ask if you happen to remember who y
ou sold takeout containers of clam chowder to on Friday.”

“Clam chowder?”

“When I arrived at Zachary’s house, I noticed two half-eaten takeout containers in the kitchen. I thought I’d track down Zachary’s guest and see if he or she could provide any insight into what might have gone on that night.”

“You think something went on?”

“Actually, yeah. I’ll fill you in later.”

“If I remember correctly, Melanie Jacobs was the only one to pick up a takeout order of clam chowder on Friday.”

Tj frowned. “Okay, thanks. I’ll stop by later this afternoon if I get a chance.”

Tj set down the phone and drummed her fingers on the table
. Something was off. The takeout containers at Zachary’s had definitely been from The Antiquery, but in her wildest imagination, she couldn’t come up with a single reason for Melanie Jacobs to be at Zachary’s that night. As far as she knew, the two had never even met. So if Melanie hadn’t been Zachary’s visitor, where did he get the chowder?

“Something wrong?
” Greg Remington poked his head into the door of her tiny office.

Tj shifted her gaze and forced a smile
. “Why do you ask?”

“For one thing, you were staring at the phone with sort of a scowl on your face; for another, you’re late for our meeting.”

Tj glanced at the clock on the wall. The grant-writing meeting was supposed to start ten minutes ago. “I’m really sorry,” she said, beginning to gather her notes. “I guess I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Understandable,” the principal sympathized
. “It’s hard to lose a friend. Anything I can help with?”

“Not really.” She followed Greg through the door and into the hallway that led to the conference room, where the meeting was being held
.

“I never met Mr. Collins, but my neighbor Jeff Warren spoke highly of him.”

Tj frowned. “Jeff knew Zachary?” Tj didn’t know Jeff well, but she’d chatted with him a time or two while having work done on her Four Runner.

“Zachary hired Jeff to do some handyman work for him a few years back
. Jeff didn’t go into detail, but he said the two of them had something in common and hit it off. Seems Zachary gave him the money to open his auto repair shop.”

“Really?
” Tj was beginning to suspect she hadn’t known Zachary very well at all. In all the time she had known him, he’d never once mentioned knowing Jeff. This whole thing kept getting weirder and weirder.

“You seem surprised,” Greg noticed.

“I’m having a hard time imagining what the two might have in common. What’s Jeff, like twenty five?”

“Twenty-eight, actually
. Seems age isn’t a big issue with Mr. Collins. You’re only twenty-six and the two of you were friends,” Greg reminded her.

“Yeah, I guess.
”

“By the way, we need to talk about your adjunct assignment for this year
. There’s only one option left, but it’s an exciting one, full of opportunity.”

“Serving refreshments at the annual open house is pretty exciting.”

“What do you know about choir? Show choir, to be exact.”

“I’m afraid I can’t sing,” Tj argued.

“I’m guessing the recruits Sheila helped Marley Davis strong arm into joining can’t sing either so you’ll be in good company.” Greg turned the corner and headed toward the conference room. “When Marley first approached me with the idea I was against it but her father is making a sizeable donation to the school and Marley wants to sing ----.” Greg let the rest of the sentence finish itself.

“But I already have soccer after school.”

“I thought of that. I’ve asked Carl to cover your fifth period weight training class on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s. Your first class with your new choir will be tomorrow in room A5.”

“Terrific.”