Summer Reading is Killing Me (Phee Jefferson Book 2) (15 page)

Chapter thirty one

I spent the morning with my parents and ended up with
another box of donations. Mom asked me if I would pick up a box from Mrs.
Willoughby before dropping everything at the church. Since Mrs. Willoughby was
ancient and shouldn’t be driving, I promised I would. I figured it was my civic
duty to protect the town from her bad driving.

I steered Velma towards Lakeshore Drive and Mrs.
Willoughby’s lakeside cottage. I passed a cluster of rental cabins and spotted
Jay putting a canvas into the back of an SUV and head back inside. I pulled in
to see if I could get more information. I hopped out of Velma and walked
nonchalantly to the back of his vehicle and glanced in the open rear. I was
shocked to see one of
Elody’s
paintings from Stone
Street Gallery. Maybe Kevin was wrong and Jay had purchased them, not the Senator.

“
Phee
, what are you
doing here?” Jay appeared by my side. He reached up and shut the back of the
SUV and leaned against the rear bumper. Although his expression was friendly,
his hands coiled into tight fists and he looked poised to fight. “Not that I’d
ever turn away the company of a pretty girl.”

“You’re good for my ego,” I twittered in my best
attempt at flirting. “I was on my way to pick up some things from a family
friend when I spotted you. Can I be honest with you? I don’t know anything at all
about art and everyone keeps raving about yours. Could you do me an itsy-bitsy
favor and show me some of your paintings?” I looked at him from under my
eyelashes. Juliet might think she ruled when it came to dancing with the enemy,
but I claimed my crown with this performance.

Jay relaxed and pushed off the bumper. “Sure. I’ve
got a piece I’m finishing up right now. Come on inside.”

I hesitated for a moment over my foolish impulse.
Did I really want to be alone with a possible killer? “Okay. Let me call and
let Mrs. Willoughby know I’ll be a few minutes late.”

“Come inside when you’re done then.” He walked
into the cabin.

I hit the speed dial for Juliet. “
Juls
, no time to talk. I’m at Jay’s cabin at 325 Lakeshore
Drive. He’s going to show me his paintings. If I don’t call you back in twenty
minutes, send help.”

“What? Are you crazy? Hold on!” Juliet sputtered,
but I hung up before she could say anything else. I gripped my keys in my hand
as a makeshift weapon and went inside.

“Over here,” Jay said and motioned me to come next
to him. He had a large painting on an easel. It looked finished to me, but he
had a palette and brushes on a stand next to it. I thought I spotted some
silver-handled paintbrushes in a clear jar on the windowsill, but couldn’t tell
for sure. “This piece is dedicated to
Elody
and our
love.”

I examined the painting. It was a painting of a
man and a woman entwined and incorporated into the boughs of an oak tree. I
peered closely and saw the same unique brush strokes of
Elody’s
other paintings. “This is amazing! You can definitely add me to your fan club,”
I gushed.

“Thank you. I need to add a little more detail and
I want to make the colors darker. I started this before
Elody
died. Back then, the world seemed bright and shiny. With her gone, it is gray
and dreary. I want this to portray the transition from light to dark.”

“That’s so sweet.
Elody
was lucky to have you in her life. Thank you for showing this painting to me.
Do you have any others here?” I looked around the room but didn’t see any.

“Not right now. I have another one I’m finishing,
but I’m not ready to show it to anyone. You’ll have to wait until it’s
displayed at Stone Street Gallery in a few weeks.” Jay slid closer to me. “I’m
glad you’ve joined my fan club. I’m flattered a beautiful woman likes my work.”

“Are those paintbrushes on the windowsill
antiques?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. A friend gave them to me as a gift
this week. I think she was trying to cheer me up after everything that’s
happened.” He moved closer and looked as if he planned to put his arm around
me.

I sidestepped him and looked at the watch on my
wrist. “You are so talented. Thank you again for showing me your work. I’d
better hurry if I’m going to make it to my friend’s house. I’ll be sure to come
to the show.”

I fled to my van and sped off. Jay probably
thought I was crazy, but his ability to turn his grief over
Elody
off and on so quickly disturbed me. I’d felt like a rabbit charmed by a cobra.
Unlike the doomed rabbit, I broke free. I picked up my cell phone and called
Juliet. “I’m safe.”

“Thank the goddess. If anything happened to you,
I’d have to go into witness protection to save my hide from Clint’s wrath.
Don’t ever pull a stunt like that again,” Juliet commanded.

“I saw an opportunity and took it. I was smart
enough to call you and let you know where I was. He isn’t dumb enough to hurt
me when he knows someone expected me. Hello? Didn’t just crawl out from under a
rock yesterday.”

“Hmm…that’s a matter of opinion. Did you find
anything?” Juliet asked.

“As a matter of fact, I did. Jay showed me one of
his paintings. If he hadn’t told me it was his, I would have sworn
Elody
painted it. He also had one of her paintings from the
gallery in the back of his car. Didn’t Kevin say the Senator bought them?”

“Yes, he did. That’s weird. Let me call Kevin and
see if maybe we misunderstood. I’ll call you right back.” Juliet disconnected.

I parked in Mrs. Willoughby’s driveway and got
out. She must have heard me pull in because she opened her front door and thumped
her way out leaning heavily on her cane. “Ophelia, come inside. I’ve got that
box of donations but come have a glass of lemonade with me before you go.”

I groaned. Mrs. Willoughby was sweet, but she was
deaf as a fencepost and rambled on for ages about the garden club. Now I knew
why Mom conned me into this errand. “I’d love to, Mrs. Willoughby. I can’t stay
long though.” I pasted on a bright smile and followed her into the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later I escaped from azalea hell
and carried a box of clothes to Velma. I checked my phone and saw three missed
calls from Juliet followed by a text message demanding I call her ASAP.

“It’s about time!” Juliet answered. “I’ve got news
and you’re not going to believe it.”

“What? Don’t keep me in suspense.”

“Someone broke into the gallery last night and
stole everything including
Elody
Campbell’s
paintings.”

“Holy frijoles! I need to see the sheriff and tell
him I saw Jay put one of the stolen paintings in his car. I’m leaving the lake now.
I’ll be back to town in fifteen minutes. Meet me for lunch after I talk to the
sheriff?”

“Sure. I’ll snag us a table at Odd Couple’s and
wait for you,” Juliet agreed and hung up.

Fifteen minutes later, I charged into the
sheriff’s office. Tina was on the phone but told whoever was on the other end
that she would call them back in a minute. “Another body?”

“No, but I know where some stolen paintings are.
Is the sheriff in his office?”

“He’s in a meeting at the Mayor’s office. Deputy
Gifford is here.”

“She’ll do. Can you let her know I need to speak
with her?”

Tina buzzed back and told Lu she was wanted up
front. A moment later, Lu appeared around the corner. “Hey, girl. What’s up?”

“I just left Jay Burns’ cabin a little while ago.
I spotted one of
Elody
Campbell’s paintings from the
gallery in the back of his SUV. I think he broke in and stole it last night!” I
said.

Lu arched an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

“Definitely. Juliet and I just looked at them
yesterday at the gallery. I’m positive it was one of
Elody’s
paintings. He may have more, but I only caught a glimpse. You need to head over
there and arrest him.”

“Whoa. Cool your engines there, Nancy Drew.” Lu
put both hands up to stop me. “I’ll head over there, but I can’t arrest him
until I have proof he actually has the paintings.”

“I told you that I’m positive it was
Elody’s
painting from the gallery. What more do you need?”
I couldn’t believe she was wasting time and not going after Jay.

“Maybe things happen differently in Miller’s Cove,
but in America, you can’t just slap cuffs on someone because you
think
he committed a crime. There’s this little thing we cops like to call evidence.
Let me cruise over to the lake and talk to him. Thanks for stopping by and
giving us the information.” Lu turned away in dismissal and walked back towards
her office.

I blinked my eyes and stared after her. “
Phee
, I think you just got dissed,” Tina said, chomping her
gum.

“I can’t believe she blew me off like that. How
does she expect to catch any criminals with an attitude like that? And here I
thought she and I were going to be friends.” I glared down the empty hallway.

“The sheriff was kind of a jerk to her this
morning at the gallery. Maybe she took her frustration out on you. I think
she’s actually a darn good cop,” Tina offered.

“I hope you’re right.” I opened the door and
stomped out into the muggy heat of the afternoon. In the distance, I heard the
rumble of thunder and saw thunderclouds off to the west. “Great. At least the
weather matches my mood.”

Chapter thirty two

I walked down the sidewalk to Odd Couple’s Diner
grumbling under my breath about rude people. Several people I passed gave me a
wide berth. The wind caught the door as I opened it and jerked it out of my
hand. The storm loomed closer and another crack of thunder sounded. Seth
hurried forward and grabbed the door to muscle it shut.

“Sorry, Seth. The wind is picking up. I think
we’re in for a major storm from the looks of the sky,” I said.

“I think you’re right,” Seth peered out the front
windows. “Juliet’s in the back booth. Want me to bring you a root beer?”

“Ah, you know me all too well,” I saw Juliet
hunkered down with her nose buried in the latest Laurie R. King mystery. I
plucked the book out of her hands and sat across from her. “What’s up, chicken
butt?”

“I was reading that!” Juliet pulled the book from
my grasp and closed it. “You know for a person who is supposed to want people
to read, you sure are a buzz kill.”

“I’m crabby, and I want to share my gloom and
doom,” I said. “I told Lu what I saw, and she blew me off.”

“Really? So she’s not going to investigate?”

“She said she would cruise by and talk to him. She
couldn’t arrest him based on my say-so,” I slumped down in my seat and stabbed
a straw into the root beer Seth set in front of me. “This is why people get
away with murder.”

“Settle down there, cowgirl. Lu said she would
check it out, so she will. She’s right. You can’t haul somebody to jail without
any evidence,” Juliet said. “If she can see the paintings in the back of the
car, then she has probable cause for a search warrant. Right now, all she can
do is go question Jay.”

“When did you get so smart?” I sucked the last of
the root beer up the straw with a loud slurp.

Juliet cringed and pulled the empty glass away from
me. “You might want to slow down on the root beer. I wouldn’t want you to get
sugar drunk this early in the day. For your information, I’m not kidding about
going into police work. It’s fascinating.”

“You would do a better job than Lu,” I said grumpily.

“Give her a chance. According to the grapevine,
Sheriff Dawes gave her hell in front of everybody this morning. Lu made an
offhand comment that most art galleries in New York had high tech security
systems and not having one was asking for trouble. The sheriff came unglued and
told her that Miller’s Cove didn’t need big city ideas and big city law
enforcement sticking their noses in where they don’t belong. I feel sorry for
her.”

“No wonder she snapped at me. The sheriff’s
feeling the pressure to solve this case or the state police are going to step
in. Even so, he shouldn’t have yelled at Lu. She’s probably already regretting
her move,” I said. The last of my anger drifted away and left me feeling like a
heel. “I’ll invite her to hang out with me this weekend and show her the hidden
treasures of Miller’s Cove. It’ll cheer her up.”

“Good idea. While you were chitchatting with Mrs.
Willoughby having a grand old time, I made a few phone calls. Turns out that
Tessa Brewer is in debt up to her eyeballs.”

“How did you find that out?” I asked. Seth walked
up and asked for our order. “I’ll have a Hammy David Junior with a side of
fries and another root beer, please.”

“Same here, but hold the root beer. I’ll take a
refill on my water.” Juliet waited until Seth walked away then continued, “I
called in a favor with a girl I went to college with. She is a reporter at one
of the papers where Tessa does a lot of freelance work. I asked Kami what she
knew about her. It might all be hearsay, but Kami said Tessa invested in some
real estate deal a year ago and lost a boatload of money. She’s been hustling
stories to every newspaper in the
tri-state
area
trying to recoup some of her cash.”

“Maybe she’s trying to con Jay out of some money.
Dad spotted Tessa and Jay in a love clinch down at the lake this morning.
There’s something fishy going down with those two, and I’m not talking about
the trout swimming in the water.”

“They are in cahoots on something, but we still
don’t have concrete proof that either one of them killed
Elody
,”
Juliet said.

“We know Tessa “discovered” Jay even though
they’ve known each other for years.
Elody
fought with
Jay over something and left him.” I ticked off the facts on my fingers. “
Elody
and Jay’s painting styles are so similar they are
almost indistinguishable. Tessa carries a gun.
Elody
was shot. Jay stole
Elody’s
paintings from the
gallery. I don’t know how much more evidence we need. Do I need to paint a
picture for the sheriff to get him to arrest one or both of them?”

 “You’re preaching to the choir, sis. It’s
all circumstantial evidence. We should lay the case out for Clint this evening
and see what he thinks,” Juliet suggested.

“Okay. Let me call him.” I rummaged in my bag and
pulled out my phone. Clint answered after a few rings. “Hi, sweetheart. Juliet
and I wanted to talk to you about the case tonight.”

He heaved a sigh of frustration. “
Phee
, I really wish you’d leave this case alone. I’m up to
my eyeballs with evidence, paperwork and frightened townspeople. Can this wait
until tomorrow?”

“I’m sorry I bothered you,” I said frostily. “I’ll
call you tomorrow.” I hung up before he had a chance to respond.

“Trouble in paradise?” Juliet asked. She shook
salt onto her fries and handed me the shaker.

“I don’t know, but we’re on our own for now. What
do you know about Clint’s parents?”

“They’re dead, aren’t they? They died when Clint
was a kid. That’s why he moved here. Why?” Juliet stuffed a fry into her mouth.

I salted my fries and set the shaker down. I
looked at Juliet across the table and said, “That’s just it. His dad is dead,
but his mom is still alive. Why didn’t I know that? I’m his girlfriend. I’ve
known him over half my life, and I’ve only scratched the surface of his life.
What else don’t I know about the man sleeping in my bed?”

“Whoa. That’s heavy stuff. Did you talk to Rick?”

“No. I haven’t had a chance. He’s got the big
project at work, so I didn’t want to bother him. Dad spilled the beans this
morning. He said he only knew gossip and told me to talk to Clint. I don’t even
know how to approach him with it. What do I say? ‘Hey Clint, I heard your mom’s
still alive when everyone thought she was dead. What’s up with that?’ I’m
floundering here. I guess your instincts were right about him. He’s not
invested in me or our relationship or he would have told me,” I stared glumly
at my sandwich.

“I wish I had some advice to give you. For the
first time in my life, I’m truly speechless,” Juliet admitted. She swirled
another French fry on her plate and bit it.

“Me, too,” I ripped my sandwich in two then
dropped it onto my plate. “I’m speechless and clueless.”