Marriage and Murder (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Book 4) Page 5

  “A lot better after a nice hug like that, but I could use some coffee and lunch. I’ve been looking at files and on the phone all morning,” he said as the three of them walked into Kelly’s. It was busy, but Kelly’s trained eye spotted an open table, and she told him to hurry and sit down before someone else took the spot.

  “I need to talk to Roxie a minute, and then I’ll get your coffee. Take a look at the board, but I’d recommend the baked burritos with chicken and beans. I happen to know that’s one of your favorites.”

  “Don’t need to look. That’s what I want, and yes, it definitely is one of my favorites. Take your time,” he said, quickly reaching into his pocket for a treat for Rebel as Kelly walked away with her back to them.

  She returned a few minutes later with his coffee. “Mike, I went over to Amanda’s Flower Shop a little while ago. I wanted to thank her in person for the flowers she did for the wedding, but I need to talk to you about some things I found out while I was there. Give me a couple more minutes, and then I can sit down. Madison’s on break from classes this week, so she and Roxie can handle the start of the lunchtime crowd.”

  “No problem. I could use a break myself.”

  Five minutes later she returned with his burritos and a fresh cup of coffee. “Mike, I don’t know what you’ve found out, but I’ve had a couple of interesting conversations that I need to share with you.” She told him about her talks with Mrs. Allen and Celia, with Sophie, and finally her encounter with Sydney while she was at the flower shop.

  When she was finished talking, Mike put his coffee cup down and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Kelly,” he said in a voice that sounded extremely aggravated, “I know you well enough by now to know if I asked you to stop talking to possible suspects in one of my cases that you wouldn’t. I also know you well enough to know you’d probably have an excuse for going to see Mrs. Allen and Sophie…”

  She interrupted him, “Mike, please don’t be upset with me. As a matter of fact, I told you I was going to Mrs. Allen’s home. I didn’t want her to find out about her son’s death from someone else, and it was a plausible reason, not an excuse. As for Sophie Marchant, I hadn’t planned on going there at all, but once I found out that she and Jesse were very close, it seemed like the right thing to do, rather than have her find out from some television report or read it in the headline of the local newspaper. You can call those excuses if you want, but I certainly don’t,” she said. “As for meeting Jesse’s ex-wife, Sydney Allen, at Amanda’s Flower Shop, how could that possibly be an excuse? It was purely a random thing. How was I to know she’d walk in the flower shop while I was there?”

  “I have no idea, but you probably saw her walking down the street or something,” he said raising his eyebrows and taking another sip of coffee. “Oh well, I know I’m not going to get anywhere with this. What do you make of these women? Sounds like a lot of female cat-fighting to me.”

  “I honestly don’t know. It’s pretty obvious that Sydney and Celia hate Sophie. I liked her, but if what Sydney says is true, then she certainly didn’t tell me everything about her background.”

  “To play the devil’s advocate, why should she? You were someone who had just told her the man she loved had been murdered. There was no reason for her to tell you about her first husband’s death and the trial, if it’s true.”

  “No, you’re right. I only asked her about how she happened to come to the United States,” she said as she paused and looked around the room. “I can’t stay much longer. Looks like we’re getting busy, and I’ve got to help Roxie and Madison. Anyway, what did you find out?”

  “Something I sure wasn’t expecting. I found out The Crush has been losing money for months, and that Jesse owed back taxes and was way behind on the payments he was supposed to make to the wineries that supplied him with the wine he sold. He was big time, seriously, in debt. I’ve been going through his files all morning, and I found something else that I thought was very interesting.”

  “What?”

  “Many years ago when he was still married to Sydney, he’d taken an insurance policy out on his life in the amount of one million dollars. Evidently he never changed the beneficiary after his divorce, because Sydney is still named as the primary beneficiary.”

  “Wow! That would sure give her a motive to kill him. Jesse dies and bingo, she gets a million bucks.”

  “That’s what I thought, too, but if she wanted to reconcile with him, and she even hoped they might remarry, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for her to kill him. I wonder if she even knew he’d never changed the beneficiary on the policy after they got divorced.”

  “Sorry, Mike, but I’ve got to stop our conversation. I need to help Roxie and Madison. Before I go, let me tell you something. At our reception I noticed Jesse was perspiring heavily and although it was a beautiful day, it was still cool. He didn’t look like his normal self. From what you’ve just told me that might be the reason. Perhaps he was worrying about his debts, or maybe one of his creditors was even threatening him.

  “I really do have to go. This place is completely full, and I can see people standing outside, waiting to be seated, but I just had a thought. Remember when Luke told me Jesse was going to give him a crash course in winemaking when he decided to take over the White Cloud Retreat Center? I wonder if Luke knows anything about Jesse? Would it be okay with you if I give him a call this afternoon?”

  “Sweetheart,” he said in an exasperated voice, “would it even matter if I asked you not to? Or would it even matter if I told you that it was my case, and I should be the one who called Luke? Or would it matter if I told you I really don’t want you involved in this case, because it deals with murder and I worry about you?”

  “Of course it would matter,” she said, mentally crossing her fingers behind her back.

  “Somehow I doubt that, but since you know Luke better than I do, you probably should be the one to talk to him. I know you’ve become friends. Maybe you can find something out from him.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’ve got to get back to work. I’ll call him later on and tell you tonight what he had to say. You will be home for dinner tonight, won’t you?”

  “Yes, there’s not much work I can do tonight on the case. I’m trying to find out from the IRS how much Jesse owed in back taxes, and there are a bunch of other past due bills in some of his files I need to look at. I haven’t run across the name of a tax person or anything like that yet. I’d like to ask his ex-wife if she knows if he had one, but since I’ve found out she’s the beneficiary of his life insurance policy and a possible suspect, I’m a little reluctant to do that.”

  “I could ask his mother.”

  “Don’t push it, Kelly. I’ve been more than generous by agreeing to let you call Luke. My generosity ends there. Fair enough?”

  “Fair enough, and I love you.”

  “Love you too, Mrs. Reynolds,” he said standing up, taking his signature white Stetson hat from the hat rack near the door, and walking out of the coffee shop with Rebel closely following. As soon as the door closed behind them, Mike reached into his pocket for Rebel’s customary treat. “Our little secret, boy. Don’t think she’d approve,” he said, as they walked to his sheriff’s car.

  CHAPTER 9

  “Kelly, phone’s for you,” Roxie said, handing it to Kelly.

  “This is Kelly, may I help you?”

  “Hi, Kelly, or I suppose it would be more appropriate for me to say ‘Hi Mrs. Reynolds, given the fact of your recent name change. This is Doc, and I wanted to tell you your wedding was beautiful. I was honored that you and Mike would have me be a part of it. Guess Mike will be standing up for me in the not too distant future when Liz and I tie the knot. Your wedding gave Liz and me a lot of food for thought, but I sure hope we don’t have all the uninvited guests you had.”

  “It’s we who thank you, Doc, for standing up with Mike, and I agree, it was a beautiful wedding, although I feel so badly about what h
appened to Jesse.”

  “Me, too. I really liked him. Whenever I went to The Crush to get a bottle of wine, he was always so patient with me, explaining all about the different wines. He’s really going to be missed.”

  “Speaking of which, you’re not at the coffee shop, and it’s noon. Something must be pretty important for you to miss eating lunch here. Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, everything’s fine. Somehow our scheduler here at the clinic overbooked me with patients, but I would like to talk to you. I was hoping to do it at lunch, but that’s simply not going to be possible today. There’s no way I can get out of here. I think half the people in Cedar Bay have the flu. Any chance you could stop by the clinic this afternoon?”

  “Sure. Can you schedule a little time for me around 3:00 or so?”

  “I’ll tell the receptionist to notify me as soon as you come in. I’ll make it work.”

  “Want to tell me what this is about?”

  “No, I just heard something I thought might be of interest to you. Don’t have enough to tell Mike about it, so I thought I’d get your input.”

  “Sounds interesting. See you at 3:00. Want me to bring you a doggie bag when I come?”

  “A little something for me, and a little something for Lucky would be very much appreciated. Thank you!”

  She walked into the kitchen where Madison was refilling her coffee pot. It was a chilly day, and Kelly had lost count of how many pots of coffee they’d made in the large commercial coffee urn.

  “Madison, Charlie, I’m making a little care package for Doc. He’s overloaded with patients and can’t make it in for lunch today. I’m going to take him two of the chicken burritos we’ve been serving. I’m writing ‘Hands Off’ on it, so neither one of you will accidentally serve it to a customer.”

  “Got it, boss. I’ll keep an eye on it for you,” Charlie said.

  “Thanks.”

  She took her cell phone out of her purse intending to call Luke and went into the storeroom for a little privacy.

  “Hi, Luke, it’s Kelly.”

  “You must have ESP. I was getting ready to call you and offer my congratulations to both you and Sheriff Mike. That was a beautiful ceremony. I just wish Scott could have been here to see it.”

  “So do I, and I also wish Amber could have been at the wedding. I’m not sure you ever met her, but she was my godchild.”

  “No, I didn’t, but I remember reading about her tragic death in the newspaper. As I recall, she was an only child. How are her parents doing?”

  “It’s been terribly hard on them. As a matter of fact, I was thinking of visiting them this afternoon. Doc asked me to stop by the clinic and see him, and the book store Ginger owns is only a block down the street from him. I want to thank her in person for taking care of the wedding guest book at the church.”

  “I wondered who that was. I’ve met a lot of people in Cedar Bay since I came to the Center, but I’ve not met her.”

  “I’m not surprised. It’s taken her awhile to recover from Amber’s murder. I think the wedding was really her first venture out in public other than going to work at her book store. She and her husband have pretty much been holed up in their house. I’ve gone over to see them a few times and frankly, they’re not doing very well. They both seem to be hopelessly overcome with grief and sadness from the loss of their daughter. Jim’s handyman business has become almost non-existent, and you know what’s happened to private book stores since people can buy a book on the Internet a lot cheaper than they can buy the same book at a book store.”

  “I didn’t know there was a handyman in town. I’ve got several things that I need to get fixed out here. Would you mind giving me his name and telephone number?”

  “Here it is,” Kelly said. “I know he’ll be happy to get some work. I’ve used him for years and highly recommend him.”

  “Good to know. Thanks. So what can I do for you?”

  “I remember after Scott’s death you told me that Jesse was going to give you a crash course in winemaking. I’m wondering how that turned out.”

  “You’ve got a good memory. We met a number of times since last November, and his help and advice was invaluable to me. I’m really sorry to hear of his death. Interesting you’d ask me about wine making, because this morning the Pellino brothers paid me a visit. You know, they’re the ones who own the vineyard next to ours. They’re the same guys Scott had a run-in with before he was killed over their improper use of dangerous chemicals banned by the EPA.”

  “So you’re telling me they came to see you? That’s a first, isn’t it?”

  “That’s true, but I don’t quite know what to make of it.”

  “I’m very interested in hearing what they had to say.”

  “It was an awkward conversation. They wanted to know if I was planning on selling the Center now that Jesse was dead. I asked them why Jesse’s death would cause me to sell the Center, and then I told them I had absolutely no plans to sell it. They said they wanted to buy it, and now with Jesse dead they figured I wouldn’t know how to make good wine, and I might as well sell the vineyard to them. They told me they’d give me a fair price, and they could pay the entire purchase price in cash, since they didn’t need to get a bank loan.”

  “You’re kidding!” Kelly interrupted. “I remember Jesse saying there was some talk that their money might be Mafia money. What do you think?”

  “I have no idea. I’m not planning on selling the property, but if I was, it wouldn’t be cheap and for someone to pay all cash for it? I suppose it could be Mafia money. I don’t know many people who have that much available cash.”

  “I know I may be jumping the gun here, but it almost seems to me like they might have a motive for killing Jesse. If Jesse was dead and couldn’t help you with the winemaking, you might be inclined to sell the property to them. Maybe their intent is to try and convince you that you don’t have the necessary skills to make the fine wine that Scott was able to make. Does that sound crazy?”

  “No, not at all. I think you’re right, and I’ve just made a decision. I’ve been debating with myself for the last month whether I may be in over my head with the winemaking part of the Center. There are so many other things to do here that I just can’t devote myself to it exclusively. I met a great guy at the Oregon Wine Conference Scott and I attended several months ago before he was killed. He’s a wine and vineyard consultant. I think I’ll hire him to come here and help me. The Center has the money, and with Jesse gone, I really do need some help. I don’t want to be the one responsible for having to sell the Center because of lost revenue from lower wine sales, and I sure don’t want it to go into the hands of the Pellino brothers.”

  “I think that’s a great idea. How long are you planning on hiring this consultant to work at the Center?”

  “I don’t know. If he’s able to come here for several months, that would be great. I can easily put him up here. I’ll let you know. Kelly, I just thought of something else. I overheard the Pellino brothers talking when they left, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t mean for me to hear what they said. It was kind of a veiled threat.”

  “What did they say?”

  “Well, like I said, it wasn’t said directly to me, but I overheard Dante tell Luca that, and I quote, ‘He might want to take a lesson from what happened to Jesse.’ The meeting I had with them took place here in my office. There’s a gap in my office window frame, so I can often hear what people say when they walk past it on their way to the parking lot. That’s how I overheard what Dante said. Since he didn’t say it directly to me, I suppose technically it’s not a threat. By the way, that’s one of the reasons I’m glad I got the name of Bob, the handyman, from you. I need to have some caulking put in around the window in my office.”

  “The threat may not have been said directly to you, Luke, but I sure would consider it a threat. Be careful. I remember you had a .22 pistol that you started keeping in your desk and nightstand after Scott was murder
ed. If you’ve put it somewhere else, you might want to rescue it and get in the habit of keeping it handy.”

  “Good advice. Thanks for the call. I need to see about getting in touch with the wine consultant and also Bob, the handyman you recommended. Talk to you later.”

  If the Pellino brothers are tied to the Mafia, I sure wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of them, and it sounds like Luke is. I wonder how far they’d go to get control of the Center’s property.

  CHAPTER 10

  Kelly heated up the burritos in the microwave and cut up some chicken for Lucky. When the burritos were ready she locked the coffee shop door, and she and Lady walked out to her minivan. Lady’s nose kept drifting in the direction of the cloth bag holding the food Kelly had prepared for Doc.

  “Not now, girl. When we get to the clinic, you and Lucky can each have a treat, but not before.”

  Five minutes later they walked through the front door of the Cedar Bay Clinic, an attractive brick building with yellow shutters on each side of the windows and a yellow canopy over the door. It was an inviting, warm building, a place that welcomed the visitors, whether they were seeing Liz, the town’s psychologist, or Doc, the town’s medical doctor. No matter what they needed help with, they began their visit in a friendly and inviting atmosphere.

  “Would you please tell Doc that Kelly Reynolds is here to see him? Thanks,” she said to the young receptionist, as she looked around approvingly at the room which had vases filled with cut flowers and vivid green plants on the tables. Photographs and paintings of Cedar Bay filled the walls.

  The young woman called Doc on the intercom, then turned to Kelly and said, “He asked me to take you back to his office. Please follow me.”

  Kelly and Lady walked into Doc’s large office where he was sitting behind his desk. Lucky, the yellow Labrador retriever Kelly had given to him as a present, was in his dog bed next to Doc. One wall was covered with the framed diplomas and honors Doc had obtained over the years. Two of the walls had early 20th century California Impressionist paintings on them, and bookcases filled with books covered the fourth wall.