Secrets to Die For, page 5
“People like you keep this town from reaching its full potential.” Roger stuck out his chin.
“I’m sorry about your aunt, Roger.” Nina jumped in, hoping to change the subject before an argument developed. Stephen would be polite, but he would defend his viewpoint. On more than one occasion, she’d seen him refuse to back down when challenged. She didn’t want to turn Jessica’s living room into a debate arena.
Roger acknowledged Nina’s condolence with a curt nod. “She was a pathetic case.”
“Have a seat, Roger,” Jessica invited.
After looking around, Roger squeezed his bulk into an overstuffed chair.
“Would you like some tea?” Jessica gestured at the coffee table.
“Got any coffee?”
“I could make you a cup of instant.”
Roger sniffed. “If instant’s all you got, I guess that’ll do.”
“Back in a minute.” Jessica rose and left the room.
Roger turned to Nina. “Good you’re here. I wanted to talk to you.”
His sudden interest took her by surprise. “Really? What about?”
“What’s this nonsense I hear from Auntie's friends that you’ll solve her murder? Who said she was murdered?” Roger’s eyebrows folded into a frown.
My, word had spread quickly. She’d decided to investigate only a short time ago. Still, she might as well start now and see what she could learn from him. “Several of us doubt your aunt’s death was an accident.”
His lips thinned. “Yeah, well, cause of death is for the police to decide, now, isn’t it?”
“They can hand down the official verdict, yes.”
Roger leaned forward. “If I were you, I’d keep my nose out of their investigation.”
“Fortunately, you are not me.” Nina glanced at Stephen and saw his amused smile. She turned back to Roger. “Do you know of anyone who might want to harm Ellie?”
“No, I do not, because no such person exists.” He made a fist and pounded his knee.
Jessica returned with a mug of steaming coffee, which she set on the coffee table in front of Roger. Then she held out the plate of cookies.
Roger grabbed a cookie and munched. He picked up his coffee and took a sip, glaring at Nina over the mug’s rim.
Ignoring Roger’s blatant hostility, Nina considered her next question. “When I met Ellie on the lake path the night she died, she mumbled about secrets. Do you know what she was talking about?”
“Secrets?” Roger’s small eyes narrowed to slits. “Like she, maybe, knew something bad about someone?”
Nina shrugged. “I don’t know, which is why I’m asking you.”
Roger tilted his head. “Yeah, well, maybe I did hear her talking about secrets from time to time. I never thought…hmmm…” He put down his mug and leveled a forefinger at Nina. “You find out any more about Auntie’s secrets, you tell me right away, you hear?”
Stephen shook his head. “The first place Nina will go with any new knowledge of Ellie’s death will be to the police. Right, Nina?” He shifted his gaze to her.
Noting Roger’s admission he knew about Ellie’s secrets, Nina nodded. “Reporting to the police is my duty.” She meant what she said, even though she would risk a lecture from Pete Russell about meddling in their investigation.
Jessica placed her hands in her lap and crossed her ankles. “Have you decided on a service for Ellie?”
“She’s being cremated.” Roger reached for another cookie. “Soon as the police release the body.”
“Really?” Jessica raised her eyebrows.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” Roger said through a mouthful of cookie. “Cremation was Auntie's wish. But, yeah, we’ll have a memorial next Sunday, here at Marley. We have to wait until Dorleen Longman arrives. She lives in Florida.”
“You mean Ellie’s heir?” Jessica shot Nina and Stephen a wide-eyed glance.
“Yep. Dor-leen. A dopey name, if you ask me. She inherits some of Auntie’s stash, along with me and about a hundred charities.” Roger shook his head.
Nina was eager to know how the will was divided but didn’t dare ask. Hopefully, she would learn the exact details from another source.
“Dorleen is flying up from Florida?” Jessica took a cookie from the plate.
Roger pursed his lips. “She’ll show up to collect her money, but I doubt she’ll hang around.”
“Let me know if I can do anything for the memorial service, will you?” Jessica picked up the teapot and refilled Stephen’s and Nina’s teacups.
He waved a hand. “The memorial is all taken care of. Your director recommended a minister. The dining room is catering. Harriet Hambly insists on planning the food. Says she knows what Ellie would want.”
“Harriet was a home economist.” Jessica added tea to her cup. “On television.”
“Whatever,” Roger mumbled.
They sipped their drinks in silence.
Nina searched her mind for something to say that wouldn’t raise Roger’s ire.
Jessica put down her cup and leaned toward him. “Did you want to talk to me about something in particular?”
Roger lifted his chin and straightened his rounded shoulders. “About the development on Sixth North. I’ve got this really good deal, see, and I could get you in on the ground floor. You'd make a bundle, Jessica, a real bundle. But maybe now is not the best time.” He aimed a frown at Stephen.
Stephen waved a hand. “Don’t let me stop you from making your pitch. If you’ve read my newspaper, you know we present both sides. My recent editorial was negative, but next week, Joshua Billings will present the pro viewpoint.”
“You can forget about me, Roger.” Jessica shook her head. “I don't have any money available for investments.”
“Ah, come on, Jessica, you live in a swell place here.” He made a gesture to include the entire room. “Don’t tell me you don’t have a stash you could invest.”
“What assets I have are all tied up.” Jessica folded her arms.
Roger poked a finger in Jessica’s direction. “Okay, but keep my deal in mind, you hear?”
“Sure, Roger. I’ll keep your deal in mind.”
Knowing Jessica inwardly rolled her eyes, Nina hid a smile. Roger was so obnoxious, she didn’t know how he could convince anyone to invest in his projects.
Roger made a couple more efforts to interest Jessica in his investment opportunity and, failing, turned toward Nina. “You find out anything about Ellie’s secrets, you better let me know.”
“Why do you suppose Roger is so interested in Ellie’s secrets?” Nina asked after the door shut on the unpleasant man.
“He doesn’t want anything to threaten his inheritance.” Jessica placed Roger’s mug and cookie-crumb-infested napkin on the tea tray.
Nina tilted her head. “I wonder if he talked Ellie into contributing?”
“I doubt she’d agree.” Jessica shook her head. “I think she saw through him.” She tapped her wristwatch. “Say, dinnertime is almost here.”
Nina added her and Stephen’s teacups to the tray and then glanced toward the window. “All right, but before we lose daylight, I’d like to look at the area where Ellie was found. Do you know if the police have finished searching the scene, Gran?”
“I believe so. I didn’t see any of their yellow tape when I stepped outside this morning.”
Nina turned toward Stephen. “Do you want to go with me?” She tensed, expecting him to discourage her.
Stephen stood. “Of course, I do.”
She relaxed and then addressed Jessica. “Do you have a pair of high-top boots I could borrow? I might want to do a little wading.”
Fifteen minutes later, Nina and Stephen left the building and headed toward Lake Mead.
Nina stepped gingerly along the path in Jessica’s calf-high, green gardening boots. They pinched her toes but would do for the short time she planned to wear them. “I appreciate your coming with me, but I can’t help wondering why you’re so agreeable. I thought you didn’t approve of my investigating.”
Stephen gripped her elbow. “I’ll worry, all right. But I doubt anything bad will happen in broad daylight, especially if I’m along.”
Despite his sincere tone, she couldn’t help wondering if he had an ulterior motive. Perhaps he accommodated her in the hope she would weaken and agree to see Dr. Rebecca Young. If that reason were the case, he had another think coming. No point in arguing now, though. She gazed at the sky and held out her hand, palm up. “Hey, the rain stopped.”
Stephen turned his face skyward. “We’ve been granted a reprieve. Now, our walk will be more pleasant.”
Pleasant until they reached their destination. Then, as Nina gazed at the water and thought about poor Ellie, a shiver coursed through her. “I hate to think of someone drowning, no matter how it happened—accident or murder.”
Stephen put an arm around her waist. “Death by drowning would be horrible.”
“Look at the gouges in the ground at the water’s edge.” She pointed to the shoreline.
“I see them. The marks might have been made when the police pulled her body from the lake.”
Nina nodded. “I’ll search the water near the shore. I don’t suppose the police missed anything, but you never know.”
“While you check the water, I’ll take shore patrol.”
Nina left Stephen’s side and waded into the lake. She took a moment to let her gaze sweep the expanse, including the opposite shore populated with homes set amid towering pine and fir trees. Bringing her attention to her immediate surroundings, she studied the lake’s bottom. Rolling back her jacket’s sleeves, she fingered objects that looked interesting. However, her findings turned out to be only sticks or rocks.
Then she spotted a dark object half-hidden amid a plant’s long green fronds. Reaching under the surface, she pulled out her find and held it up, letting the water drip off.
“Got something?” Stephen called from the shore.
Nina joined him and held out the object in her palm, so they both might study it. What she found was a rectangular piece of black rubber, about an inch wide. One end was round and the other jagged, as though once attached to something else.
Stephen took the piece between thumb and forefinger. “Looks like the end of a strap, maybe belonging to a boot, but does it have anything to do with Ellie?”
“I don’t know, but I’ll hang onto it, just in case.” Nina took the piece of rubber and slipped it into her jacket pocket. Next, she explored the area under the dock but found nothing of interest. She waded to shore and caught up with Stephen, who had searched the path and the surrounding grass. “Let’s look at the boathouse.” She pointed to the wooden structure several yards away.
“Good idea.” Stephen nodded. “I’ve covered everything here without finding anything of interest.”
They walked across the grass and up the ramp leading to the building’s double doors. Surprise rippled through her when the doorknob twisted easily under her fingers.
“You’d think this place would be kept locked.” Stephen pushed open the door.
“I agree. Why didn’t the groundskeeper secure the door after the police finished?”
They went inside, the boards under their feet creaking and groaning. The air smelled like wet wood and moldy earth. Gray light filtered through several small, dirty windows set high in the walls. On either side of the room rowboats were stacked two or three high. In between, oars hung vertically on the walls.
Nina squinted as she and Stephen made their way down the aisle separating the rows of boats. “I should have brought a flashlight.”
Stephen grinned. “You should make a sleuthing kit to carry around—flashlight, lock picks, magnifying glass…”
“Good idea. For now, though, we’ll have to make do. I’ll take the back of the building while you search the front.”
Nina walked along the rows of stacked boats until she came to the building’s back wall. The last two boats shielded a third boat. That boat’s middle seat was missing, and a jagged hole gaped in one side. Leaning down to inspect the boat’s interior, she glimpsed a bit of green cloth crammed underneath the end seat. She tugged on the cloth and pulled it free. “Found something,” she called to Stephen.
“What?” He hurried to her side.
“A sleeping bag,” she declared when they had the cloth spread on the floor.
Stephen knelt and turned over the flap to expose the bag’s zipper. “Do you suppose someone’s been staying here?”
“Could be. Not the warmest or the most comfortable place a person could find.”
“But the boathouse would do if you needed to hide.”
Finding nothing else under the seat, Nina joined Stephen and turned her attention to the sleeping bag. Something made of metal was caught on the cord. Nina freed the object. “Look, an earring shaped like a bee. How cute.”
The bee’s body and wings were of a gold metal. Zircons, or maybe even diamonds—Nina couldn’t tell which—shone as the eyes. She turned over the bee. “This earring is for pierced ears. The piece that holds it onto the ear is gone, which is probably why the person lost it.”
“Okay, but like the scrap of rubber, the earring might have nothing to do with Ellie.”
“I know, but I'll take the earring with me, anyway.” Nina slipped the bee into her jacket pocket.
“The sleeping bag, too?” Stephen gestured to the bag.
“No, we’ll replace the bag where I found it. Until we know more, I don’t want the owner to know we’ve been snooping.”
They rolled up the bag and stuffed it under the seat in the rowboat. After looking around awhile longer and finding nothing of interest, they left the building. Dark clouds filled the late afternoon sky, threatening rain, and a cool breeze blew off the water.
“I’d appreciate your not mentioning to anyone what we found today,” Nina told Stephen once they were on the path leading to the home.
Stephen frowned. “You’re not turning in the rubber fragment and the earring to the police?”
“I am not.” Nina needed more time to consider the items and their possible significance. “They had their chance to search. Besides, I don’t want a lecture from Pete Russell. If what I’ve found turns out to be significant, then, and only then, will I contact him. For now, today’s find is our little secret, okay?”
“You’re not telling Jessica, either?” Grasping her elbow, Stephen guided them around a curve in the path.
“No. She might slip and tell one of her friends, and soon the news would be all over Marley.”
Stephen’s lips thinned. “Okay, I’ll keep my mouth shut. But Ellie’s secrets might have landed her in big trouble. I sure hope yours don’t do the same.”
Nina appreciated the concern she knew lay behind his grim warning. Still, she’d made her decision to look into Ellie’s death. Today’s search turned up several interesting finds. True, the bit of rubber, the earring, and the sleeping bag might have nothing to do with Ellie. Then again, maybe the items were related to the events of that fateful night. If so, she might have discovered valuable clues that would lead to the mystery’s solution.
Chapter Six
Half an hour later, Jessica led Nina and Stephen to the dining room for the evening meal. Stepping into the room always made Nina feel as though she’d entered an elegant restaurant. Fresh flowers decorated the white-cloth-covered tables. Planters filled with greenery functioned as attractive dividers, and paintings of Northwest landscapes decorated the walls. Large windows afforded views of a courtyard featuring a stone fountain surrounded by flowerbeds and wrought iron benches.
Sunday dinner was considered a special occasion, and everyone dressed up. Some of the men wore suit jackets and ties, a rare sight in the casual climate of the Northwest. Probably, Marley residents’ affluence had something to do with their choice of attire. Or maybe the reason was because they came from a generation in which dress and appearance were more important than now. Whatever, Nina found the custom refreshing and she, as well as Stephen, always dressed to blend in. Tonight, she’d added a colorful print jacket to her plain blue slacks and blouse, and Stephen wore a brown-and-red striped tie with his tan dress shirt.
The meal was served buffet style. Nina had a difficult time deciding among chicken cordon bleu, stuffed pork chops, and prime rib. Everything looked and smelled delicious. “If I lived here, I’d really have to watch my weight,” she commented to Stephen as, along with Jessica, they moved through the buffet line.
“So would I.” Stephen grinned as he scooped a generous helping of mashed potatoes.
Nina finally opted for the chicken, to which she added rice pilaf and braised carrots. “I don’t even want to look at the dessert tray.” She averted her head as they passed a table loaded with pies, cakes, and cookies.
“We’re sitting with Lily and Wally.” Jessica craned her neck to survey the room. “I see them at a table by the window.”
When she reached the table, Nina saw that Harriet Hambly, the erstwhile home economist, was also there, as were two other women she didn’t know.
Jessica gestured to the women. “Meet Sue Starrett and Clara Miller.”
Nina studied the two as they greeted one another. Sue’s gray hair curved around her chin liked giant commas. Clara’s sharp-featured face was softened by a generous smile.
Wally Anders, Lily’s friend, rose to greet them. “Well, well, our young folk are here.”
Wally’s black turtleneck sweater worn under a plaid jacket gave him a sporty look. Nina had met him previously and found him to be friendly and personable.
“Does that include me?” Jessica gave him a sly smile.
“Ha ha. Of course, Jessica.” He extended a gnarly hand to Stephen. “Nice to see you again.”
Stephen put down his plate and shook the other man’s hand. “Good to be here, Wally.”
“We were talking about Ellie,” Lily said, when everyone was seated.
“Everyone’s discussing her.” Jessica spread her napkin on her lap. “Do you know anything new?”
Nina focused on Lily, not wanting to miss anything to add to her growing file of information.
