Pillman pushed his hair back from his eyes. “I’m good, but if you want to talk to each of us alone, it’s fine with me.”

  “Let’s continue,” Jay said. “Did any of you attend the community meeting?”

  “I did, but I left when things began to devolve,” Jean reported.

  “That was the best part.” Pillman grinned. “I stayed to watch the fireworks going on between everyone.”

  “I went,” Benson said and then looked Jay in the eyes. “Is Mayor Daniels’s death related to Wilson Barrett’s?”

  “How could they not be?” Pillman asked.

  “I’m asking the officer,” Benson pointed out.

  “We’re still investigating,” Jay replied. “Nothing has yet been determined.”

  “Maybe you don’t have any evidence yet,” Pillman said, “but the two murders are linked. No question. What else could it be? A copycat? I don’t think so.”

  “Why don’t you think so?” Shelly asked.

  “Really? It’s not a huge city. How likely would it be to have two killers on the loose at the same time? No way. It’s the same guy.”

  “Why do you think the attacker went after Mayor Daniels?” Jay asked.

  “You were at the meeting.” Pillman tilted his head slightly to the side. “The mayor was challenging in the way he discussed the murder. Barrett didn’t take safety precautions? Really? He walked through a popular, busy park at dinner time. What precautions should he have taken? Carry a bazooka? The mayor was off-base. Lots of people thought so.”

  Benson’s eyebrows knitted together. “Then the killer was at the meeting or he heard about the mayor’s statements on the news.”

  “Possibly,” Jay said.

  Pillman turned back to Shelly and Juliet. “Did you think Barrett was dead when you found him?”

  Shelly stared at the young man. “Why would you ask us that?”

  “Curiosity.” Pillman shrugged one shoulder. “Did you think he might be a drunk sleeping off too much booze?”

  “No.” Shelly bristled at the man and ignored him for the rest of the interview. Why are there so many jerks in the world?

  14

  With Justice supervising from the steps, Shelly planted some spring flowers in the bed in front of the porch. Tulips and daffodils had put on a beautiful show last month and she thought the space in front of the house should have some more welcoming blooms.

  Shelly had been thinking about the previous day’s meeting with the three people who had gathered near Wilson Barrett after his body had been discovered in the park and she’d been chattering to the Calico about how it went.

  Justice watched the flowers being set into the soil and listened to the young woman’s complaints about someone who attended the meeting almost as if the cat would give some advice on how he should have been handled.

  “Some people are such jerks.” Shelly gently tamped down the soil around the base of the plant.

  “Who’s a jerk? I hope you’re not talking about me,” a man’s voice said.

  Looking up into her landlord’s face, Shelly blushed slightly hoping he hadn’t heard her talking out loud to the cat. “Mr. Ballard. Nice to see you.” She stood, wiped her hand on her jeans to remove some soil, and shook hands with the man.

  A lifelong resident of Paxton Park, Mr. Ballard was in his seventies, had thick white hair and was slim and tanned from spending a lot of time outside. “I had to come over this way to see someone renting one of my houses two streets over. I saw you out here so I stopped. The place looks great. You take good care of it. I appreciate it.”

  Shelly put her trowel down on the grass. “I love the house. It’s perfect for me.”

  “And how about the cat?” Mr. Ballard asked. “She like it okay?”

  From her position on the step, Justice trilled at the man causing him and Shelly to laugh.

  “I guess that means she does.” Mr. Ballard reached down to pat the fine animal and Justice turned her head slightly from side to side to be sure the man scratched all the right spots.

  Straightening up, Ballard said, “I wish the guy on the other street kept the house half as tended as you do.”

  “Is something going wrong with the house?” Shelly questioned.

  Ballard rubbed at the back of his neck. “I have a lawn service for that rental because the guy said he didn’t want to take care of it himself. I stopped over there because he told me the bathtub wasn’t draining. You should see inside. It’s like a tornado went through it. Stuff everywhere. It’s a dirty mess. The guy is a pig. I’m going to have to start eviction proceedings. I’m getting too darned old for this.”

  “What if you give him a warning? Tell him he has to have the place cleaned up in two weeks.”

  “I’ve given him two warnings already.” Ballard shook his head. “I’ve got twenty properties in town, some of them apartment buildings. Once in a while, I get a renter who trashes the house. It can take months and months to evict them, and then it takes a good amount of money to return the place to the way it was. I agree with what I heard you say when I walked over. Some people are jerks.”

  Shelly’s cheeks tinged pink. Mr. Ballard had heard her talking to the cat. She nodded her head and whether the landlord thought she’d been talking to herself or was having a conversation with the cat, either way, she was sure Mr. Ballard suspected she was odd.

  “I need to sell some of these places. They’re wearing me out.” Ballard took off his baseball hat, smoothed his hair, and put it back on his head. “You have any interest in buying this place?”

  Shelly’s eyes went wide. She’d never considered the bungalow would be put up for sale and now she worried she’d have to find a different place to live. “Are you going to sell it?”

  “The thought has crossed my mind to sell off some of the properties. I want to slow down. I’d like to spend the winters in Florida before I’m too feeble to get myself down there.”

  Shelly offered the man a lemonade and he accepted, and they sat on the porch step with Justice sitting right behind them.

  “This cat must be good company,” Ballard noted as he sipped his tall, cold, drink.

  “She sure is. I’m lucky she found me.” Shelly explained how Justice showed up one day and despite calling around to all the vets in the area and checking with the animal shelter and with the police, no one knew who owned the cat and no one had reported a Calico missing.

  “Where’d you come from, kitty?” Ballard patted the pretty feline. “Well, I guess it really doesn’t matter since the two of you found each other. It must have been meant to be.”

  Shelly gave Justice a warm smile.

  “So what do you think? You want to buy this house from me?”

  “I don’t have much money,” Shelly told him.

  “That’s a problem then.” Ballard took a swallow from his glass. “You got enough for a down payment?”

  “I don’t know. How much do you want for the house?”

  Ballard told her and then he said, “But I’ll knock twenty thousand off the price because you’ve been a good tenant, you take care of the place, and you never bother me.”

  “Really?” Shelly wasn’t sure what to say. “That’s awfully nice of you.”

  “Go talk to the mortgage loan officer at Pleasant Savings Bank. Her name’s Pam McFee. Tell her I sent you over to see her.”

  “I don’t have my accounts at that bank. Mine are at Family Savings.”

  “It doesn’t matter. If you have interest in buying the place, go talk to Pam. She’ll help you out.” Ballard drained the lemonade from his glass. “Think it over. Thanks for the cold drink. Shall I put the glass in the kitchen?”

  “I’ll take care of it.” Shelly took the mug from his hand.

  “Time for me to head to the next problem tenant.” Ballard stood and stretched. “Thanks for not being a pain.”

  Shelly smiled. “You’re welcome.”

  As the landlord headed to his truck, he said, “Talk over buying the house with the cat. She seems smart. I’ll see you later.”

  When the man had driven away, Shelly looked down at Justice. “What do you think?”

  The Calico let out a loud, happy, meow.

  * * *

  It was a welcomed quiet evening. After making her dinner and feeding the cat, Shelly showered and changed into comfortable pajamas, and sat on the sofa to watch a movie with Justice snoozing in her lap. When the film was over, she snuggled in her bed under the covers and read for thirty minutes before her eyelids began to droop and her head bobbed.

  The cat was sound asleep next to the young woman, stretched out to her full length resting on her back. Shelly decided to follow Justice’s example so she put the book on her side table, turned off the lamp, and lay her head on the soft pillow.

  In the middle of the dark night, she began to dream.

  Standing in a wide, green field under a bright blue sky, Shelly felt relaxed and at ease as the sun’s warmth flowed over her. When she looked to the side, she saw Lauren standing in the grass about twenty yards away.

  Shelly’s heart flooded with love for her twin and she reached out her hand to her sister.

  Lauren sadly shook her head.

  The wind began to blow, gently at first, but eventually building to a near gale. The branches of the trees swayed and leaves started to fall and blow around the field.

  Shelly looked up to watch as the leaves began to rip from the branches in the strong wind. With her hair blowing all around her head, she crouched down.

  Lauren made eye contact with her sister and then pointed to the sky. Dark clouds raced overhead and the air became cold, chilling Shelly to the bone.

  Suddenly, the leaves turned into pieces of paper, falling all around the field, many of them hitting right on the ground in front of Shelly.

  She glanced over to Lauren and saw her sister nod and gesture to the glossy pieces of paper.

  Picking one up, slowly and carefully, Shelly looked at it. Then she reached for others. All of them were photographs … some from the community meeting, some of Wilson Barrett’s body, others were of Shelly and Juliet standing over the dead man as a few people watched from the side. A feeling of horror washed through her body and Shelly let the photographs drop from her hand as if they’d singed her skin.

  Lauren took a few steps forward and stopped. She quickly looked over her shoulder, and then back to her sister, and then repeated the moves. Lauren ended her pantomime by using her arms to protect the back of her head, and then she stared at Shelly with a pointed expression that sent chills down her twin sister’s back.

  The photos swirled and lifted and rode on the frenzied air currents until they formed into a funnel cloud and then tore away through the woods with a wild roar.

  With a gasp, Shelly woke and sat up in her bed, her breathing coming fast and shallow.

  Justice leapt to her feet and hissed.

  A bit of starlight filtered through the window into the room and with a sigh of relief, the young woman realized where she was and began to take in slow, calming breaths.

  She reached for the cat and ran her hand over the soft fur. “I had a dream. Photographs filled the sky. They fell all around me. I was afraid, but Lauren was there. She stayed with me until I woke up.” Shelly looked into the cat’s eyes and whispered, “Lauren gave me a warning.”

  Justice arched her back and growled low and deep in her throat.

  15

  Eating chili and brown bread, Shelly and Jack sat at the small, round dining table near the big window in his townhouse apartment. The rental unit was tucked into the pine trees at the base of the mountain located only a quarter mile from the resort. A jar candle flickered in the middle of the table and its light reflected off the window.

  “My landlord paid a visit to me today,” Shelly said.

  “Was everything okay?” Jack asked.

  “He has some trouble with some of his renters. He was driving by and saw me in the yard planting flowers. He stayed for a glass of lemonade.”

  “He’s a good guy. He keeps his places in excellent condition and he doesn’t charge an arm and a leg for the rents. I know a few people who rent from him and are very happy.”

  Shelly took a sip of her beer. “You know that before the accident, I had saved a good amount of money to open my own bakery?”

  “I remember,” Jack nodded.

  “I’ve been working hard to save again. I work the part-time job at Glad Hill Farm and I’ve taken on more hours at the resort bakery so I can put money aside.”

  Jack had an expression of concern on his face. “Do you want to go back to Boston when you save up enough money?”

  Surprised by Jack’s question, Shelly sat up straighter. “No. My life is here now. I love Paxton Park. I want to stay.”

  Jack exhaled loudly. “You had me worried for a few seconds.”

  Shelly smiled at her boyfriend. “There’s another reason I want to stay besides loving the town and the mountains.”

  “Oh? What would that be?” Jack held her eyes.

  Teasing him, Shelly said with a straight face, “My friendship with Juliet.”

  For a second, Jack’s face dropped, and then he grinned. “Is there a third reason for staying?”

  With the corners of her mouth turning up, Shelly said, “There might be.”

  Jack leaned close and took her hand in his. “I guess coming in third isn’t so bad.”

  Bringing his hand to her mouth, Shelly kissed his knuckles. “So I have a dilemma.”

  “What’s that?” Jack reached for the bowl of grated cheese.

  “I was hoping to one day have enough money to buy my own bakery here in town.”

  “That’s a great idea. The center of town could use a good bakery.”

  “Well, today the landlord asked if I’d be interested in buying the bungalow from him. He told me he’d take twenty thousand dollars off the price because I’ve always taken such good care of the place.”

  Jack’s mouth dropped open. “That’s amazing. What did you tell him?”

  “I have to think about it.” Shelly looked down at her bowl of chili. “If I try to buy the house, the down payment will exhaust my savings and I’ll be back to square one on the bakery. Again.”

  “It does seem like a good opportunity. Taking that much off the house is a huge help. If he didn’t lower the price, you might not be able to afford to buy.”

  “I definitely wouldn’t be able to afford it. That twenty thousand makes all the difference,” Shelly said. “It makes the down payment less and it reduces the mortgage amount I would need to borrow. It’s just … well, you know.”

  “You want your own bakery.”

  Shelly gave a nod. “But, I love my bungalow and I don’t want to move out if the landlord sells it to someone else.”

  “Have you talked to Juliet about it?” Jack asked.

  “Not yet. I wanted to hear your opinion.”

  “There’s only one opinion that matters here,” Jack told her. “Yours.”

  Shelly groaned. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “Go talk to a mortgage lender. See what they say. Find out how much you’d have to pay for a mortgage on the house. If it’s going to be too much or they won’t give you the mortgage, then your decision will be made for you.” Jack buttered another piece of bread. “And going through the process of gathering information will give you more time to think it over.”

  “You’re very smart.”

  “I know.” Jack bit into his bread and when a little bit of butter got left on his cheek, Shelly chuckled and wiped it off with her napkin.

  “I heard some interesting news today,” Jack informed her.

  “What was it?” Shelly leaned forward eager to hear what Jack had to say.

  “Mike Meeks’s wife is planning to divorce him.”

  Shelly’s forehead creased. “Is she? Why? Was he cheating?”

  “I’m not sure about that, but there’s another frequent reason for breakups.”

  “Money?”

  “Meeks has been trying to get his software company into the black. He’s been losing money. He’s borrowed too much and now he can’t get any more loans. His wife is furious that he used up all their savings and has taken on so much debt. She’s had enough and will be filing for divorce soon.”

  “Wow.” Shelly looked confused for a moment. “I thought Meeks did financial planning, not software.”

  “He did financial planning for years then he got the idea to develop software and apps for people to use to keep track of their finances and plan for the future,” Jack explained. “It started off pretty well, I understand, then the business hit some revenue issues. It sounds pretty certain the company will go under. Meeks is a wreck.”

  “This is a fairly new development?” Shelly questioned.

  “Six months, maybe a little longer.”

  “How did you find out?”

  “My buddy’s girlfriend has been friends with Mrs. Meeks for years. They’re very close.”

  “Meeks had an argument with Wilson Barrett not long ago,” Shelly pointed out. “I wonder if it was over money. Could Meeks have asked Barrett to write him a personal loan and Barrett refused?”

  “That could be. Meeks was described to me as being desperate. I can see how a loan refusal could trigger an argument between friends,” Jack surmised. “Meeks may have turned to Barrett for financial help and his friend refused him.”

  A shiver ran through Shelly’s mind. “Do you think Meeks could have been so angry that he hurt his friend?”

  Jack drew in a long breath. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first time money was a reason for murder.”

  “Gosh. I’d better tell Jay.” Shelly’s mind raced. “Wait a minute. If Meeks is Barrett’s killer, why would he kill Mayor Daniels?”

  “You and Jay thought the killer was insulted by the mayor’s comments about Barrett not taking the proper precautions to keep himself safe,” Jack said. “Maybe the comments enraged Meeks. Meeks could be on the edge. He’s losing his business and his livelihood and he’s going to lose his wife, too. His life is crashing down all around him. Reality may be fraying for him.”

 

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