A Story to Kill (20 page)

She studied him, waiting for the zinger at the end. But when a clarifier never came, she squared her shoulders and took the compliment. “Thanks. I just wanted a place where people could go write without all the drama.”

“Where there are people, there's drama. I figured that out during my years in the service. You wouldn't believe what people can complain about. My motto is to be grateful for what you have now, not worried about what you might not have tomorrow.” He took in the front yard of the house, covered with brown dried oak leaves. “Not to change the subject, but are you going to hire a landscaper? Or do you want me to rake up your yard? The city picks up the leaves off the curb until the end of the month. After that, the chances of snow are pretty high.”

Cat nodded. “One more thing on my to-do list. Although I assumed Shauna had already thought about this.”

“She's a city girl,” he laughed. “I don't think she's ever had to mow a yard or deal with six inches of snow in the morning. Her first winter here is going to be an eye-opener for her.”

“If you have time, I'll pay you for the cleanup.” She leaned back and took in the smell of the fallen oak leaves. Sometimes it felt like the trees were also mourning the passing of summer. This warm weather wouldn't last much longer, and Cat wanted to sink it all into her memory file before the season changed.

The front door banged closed. Cat looked over and saw Daisy with her suitcases standing on the porch.

“Hey, I didn't know you were already back from the library.” Cat stood and stretched. “Did you get what you needed?”

“I think so,” the older woman looked around. “Even with the craziness, this has been a wonderful week. Thank you for sharing your lovely home with us.”

Cat could see the emotion Daisy was trying to hide. “I'm serious about that offer. If you decide to stay to support Rose, I'll give you a room.”

She came up and gave Cat a quick hug. “I know you are, but I really feel like I should go home.”

The screen door banged again and Shauna joined them on the porch, tossing the set of keys to the vehicles up and down. “I guess we're ready then?”

Daisy nodded and reached down to get her suitcases.

“Let me.” Seth grabbed the handles and took the luggage to the SUV, where he put them in the back.

Daisy paused before she followed Shauna off the porch. “Just tell me you'll check on Rose every once in a while. She'd love to see you.”

Cat linked her arm with the other woman and walked with her to the driveway. She opened the passenger door and waited for her to climb in before she spoke. “Of course I will. You and I both know Rose couldn't have killed Tom. We just need to find out who did before this goes too far.”

Daisy lowered her voice. “That's the thing.” She paused as she clicked her seat belt locked, staring straight forward and not meeting Cat's gaze. “I'm not sure she didn't.”

Chapter 20

“I'm going to get the front yard done this afternoon,” Seth said as he stood next to Cat on the sidewalk, watching the car disappear down the road. “You okay alone in the house?”

“Shauna needs to keep her mouth shut about some things.” Cat shook her head. “I've been alone before. I'm sure I can manage a couple hours all by myself.”

“Unless you really want some company.” He stepped closer and whispered in her ear. “I could put off the chores for a little afternoon delight.”

Cat ached to lean back into his arms and take his lips in her own in a deep kiss. One that Mrs. Rice could report back to her gossip girls. Instead, she shook her head. “As tempting as that sounds, I'm going up to write for a while.”

He called after her, “You don't know what you're missing.”

Of course, she did know. And she regretted every step away from the man, but she wasn't quite ready to go there again. Her lips curved into a smile. She was close, very close to seeing if the high-school sweethearts could manage a very adult relationship now. She stepped into the cool of the foyer and headed upstairs. The quiet of the house seemed strange after having so many people in it just a day ago. Even when they were all doing their own thing, the hum of laptops, or the clacking of keystrokes, had made the house feel lived in.

She paused on the steps and took in the bottom floor. No matter what happened, she'd made a decision. She was going to continue the monthly retreats just like she'd planned. At the end of the year, she'd sit down with the numbers and make a business decision on what the next year would hold. But for today, she wasn't going to worry about it.

With her mood lighter, she climbed the rest of the way to the third floor and, after locking her door, sat down at her desk.

But instead of turning on her computer, she opened a notebook and listed all the things that didn't make sense about Rose killing Tom. After she finished that, she made a list of what she knew about Gloria and her disappearance. The second list was longer.

Even though she didn't know how or why, she knew the two incidents were linked somehow. She just needed to find the link. Hopefully, before Rose was convicted of her favorite author's murder.

She closed the notebook and looked out the front window. True to his word, Seth had most of the yard cleared, with bags of leaves sitting out at the curb. The brown paper bags seemed to blend in with the entire look. One day, once the outside was refreshed, maybe in spring, she'd hire a photographer to take some promotional shots of the place.

A knock on her door broke her thoughts, but before she turned from the window she looked at the driveway: empty.

She swung the door open. “Hey Linda.” The woman was all decked out in a soft peach pantsuit. Dark circles under her eyes hadn't been completely hidden with the woman's makeup.

Linda lowered her hand, which had been raised to knock again. “I guess I am the only guest left. I need to talk to you.”

“Come on in.” Cat pointed to the floral sofa she'd bought to go under the tower's windows. She loved sitting and reading in the spot, although that had been a pleasure she'd had to put off while they prepped for the retreat. “What's going on? Are you leaving, too?”

Linda sat perched on the edge of the sofa, clearly uncomfortable. “I overheard you talking to the librarian today. You need to leave this Gloria thing alone.”

“I don't understand—why are you so worried about me asking about a decades-old disappearance?” Cat sat next to Linda, but turned so she could watch her responses.

“Can't you just leave it alone?” Linda patted her hair like it had gone rogue in the last few minutes.

“Not until you tell me what you know. Did Gloria go after Tom? Is that what this is about?” Noticing Linda's shocked look, Cat pressed on. “Don't try to deny it. I saw the photo in the yearbook.”

“It wasn't what you think. I mean, yes, she did try to get Tom to intervene, but I believe she was just looking for a way out, and using her sex appeal was the only tool she had at the time.” Linda relaxed into the sofa. “It was a different world and Gloria was beautiful. She knew how to use that to her favor. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I guess it's time to tell the whole story, then you can make your own decision.”

“I'm listening.” Cat put her arm over the back of the couch and tried to look relaxed.

Linda paused, clearly thinking about her words. “Gloria fell hard for Larry. By the time sophomore year was over, she was already talking wedding plans and picking out a church. But junior year, things changed. I noticed them fighting more. Gloria told me Larry wanted her to quit cheerleading, even though she loved it.”

“He was jealous,” Cat guessed. She could see the dean not wanting his prize possession outside his control.

“Extremely. By the end of the year, Gloria had tried to call it off, but Larry wasn't listening. He told her that they would be married at the end of senior year and she needed to get on board.” Linda shook her head. “That poor girl. Larry had visited her folks with her on Christmas break and sold them the line of goods, too. Everyone was so happy for Gloria; she'd found the one. The only problem was she wasn't happy.”

Cat tried to process what Linda was saying. “So why didn't she just break up with Larry?”

“No one listened to her. No one saw the bruises. She was helpless. And there wasn't a lot of support for domestic violence victims, not like there is today. Besides, she wasn't his wife. They didn't realize what kind of power he held over her.” Linda pressed her lips together like she was considering her next words. “So I convinced Tom to take Larry on a week-long white water rafting trip. The girls would stay home and go shopping.”

“And by the time they got back, Gloria had disappeared.”

Linda twisted the wedding ring on her hand. “Yes. I'd gotten hold of a group of women from the college who ran a type of underground railroad system for battered women. We bought her a few clothes, gave her as much money as I could scrape up, and she escaped into another life.”

Cat wasn't sure she believed the story. “What about her folks? She just left them to wonder about where she was all these years?”

Linda smiled. “Actually, her mom comes to New York annually, and I get Gloria a room under my name. It's probably overkill, but she's still scared of Larry.”

“But her mom calls the detective on the missing person case every year on Gloria's birthday.”

“Gloria thinks it's the best way to keep Larry in check for future women. If the police still have him on their short list for potentially killing her, she knows he'll think twice about giving them cause by hurting someone else. And for the most part, it's worked. I do feel sorry for that Sara girl. She thought the man would marry her. He's such an ass.”

“It's a good story, but what proof do you have that Gloria's even alive?” Cat decided to lay the cards on the table. “Maybe you killed Gloria because you were jealous. Tom and Larry were out of town; you could have gotten rid of her easily.”

Linda picked up her phone and dialed a number. When the call was answered, she spoke into the phone. “Yeah, you need to speak to the woman. She's not convinced.”

Cat took the phone as Linda passed it to her. “Who is this?”

“I think you know, but I'll go through the motions for you. I'm Gloria Jenson, or I used to be. Now I'm Brandi Moore.” The woman formerly known as Gloria went through the story again, filling in bits and pieces that Linda had left out. As the conversation ended, she made one last plea to Cat. “Now that you know this, I need you to keep it to yourself. Please don't come looking for me. I promise I'm happier than I ever dreamed I'd be.”

Cat assured the woman that what they'd discussed would be kept between them. As she hung up, she handed the phone back to Linda. “Well, there's one mystery solved, but I know Rose didn't kill your husband.”

“I don't think she did either, but I know what you're thinking. I didn't kill Tom. I loved him. Good or bad times, he was there for me.” Linda stood and walked to the door. “Thank you for listening.”

Cat turned back and opened her notebook to the page where she'd written down all the information about Gloria. She tore out the page and dumped out her trash can on the desk. Grabbing the matches she used to light her scented candles, she scratched one and put the flame to the page.

As it started to consume the paper, she let the flaming ball fall into the aluminum trash container. As it burned out, she whispered, “I hope your life is all you wanted it to be.”

She closed up her office and headed downstairs. As soon as she reached the lobby, the front door opened and Shauna entered.

“Hey, thanks for driving today. I appreciate you getting the guests all back to the airport.”

“Well, about that,” Shauna started but then Daisy burst in and started talking over her.

“I just couldn't leave knowing poor Rose was in that jail cell. I won't be a burden, and I can help clean the place to get ready for your next session. I swear I'll leave as soon as I know what's happening with my sister.”

After they got Daisy set back up in her room, Cat and Shauna met in the kitchen. “What a day.”

Cat laughed. “I didn't realize the hard part of a retreat was going to be how to get the customers to leave.”

“I know. I felt so bad for her on the drive to the airport. I could tell she was fighting with herself over leaving. We got her suitcase out of the car and she just froze.” Shauna held up the bottle of white zin. “Wine or beer?”

“Seems like we're asking that a lot lately.” Cat nodded. “Beer. Maybe it will help me sleep tonight. I had a long talk with Linda earlier.”

“Linda? Don't tell me she's planning on moving in temporarily while she gets her life figured out.” Shauna set a bottle of beer in front of Cat along with a bag of salt-and-vinegar potato chips. When Cat looked at her, she shrugged. “If we're doing the late-night thing, we're going to do it right.”

Cat ripped open the bag and took a handful of chips, placing them on a C
ELEBRATE
C
OLORADO
napkin that Shauna had bought on sale from the souvenir shop. She pushed the bag toward her friend. “I feel so bad for Daisy. We all know that Rose wouldn't have killed Tom. She adored the guy. Kidnapped him and made him write only for her, that I could believe. But not murder.”

Shauna choked on her beer. “Seriously, that
would
be an option.” She ate a few chips, puckering at the sour taste. “So what did Linda want?”

“She told me what happened to Gloria.” Cat let the words settle, hoping it wouldn't cause Shauna to choke again.

“Wait, you've solved the mystery? What happened to her? Did Tom kill the girl or was it Larry?” Shauna held up her hand, “Wait, don't tell me. It was Linda. She killed her in a jealous rage and hid the body out at Sugar Hill.”

Cat smiled at the smug look on her friend's face. “So you're saying Colonel Mustard in the drawing room with the lead pipe?”

“Am I wrong?”

“It does feel like we're living a game of Clue lately, doesn't it?” Cat took a draw off her beer. “Actually, Gloria isn't dead. Well, Gloria is, but the woman formerly known as Gloria is alive and well. But you have to keep this to yourself.”

“You can't just leave it at that. Tell me the story, and I'll swear myself to secrecy.” Shauna held her hand up in a Girl Scout salute. “Don't look at me that way. I was a Scout from Brownie to junior high, when I reached the gold level. Just ask my mother; she'll verify.”

“I trust you.” Cat looked around the empty kitchen. “So, Linda helped Gloria disappear because Larry was abusing her.”

“Dean Vargas.
That
Larry?” Shauna slumped back into her chair. “Shut the front door.”

“Exactly. That's why this needs to stay between us.” Cat shook her head. “Now it makes sense why he goes through women so fast. He has to catch and release before he becomes a total jerk. I can't believe no one has reported problems with him before.”

“Maybe they have, and the college has swept it under the rug. Or maybe he changed his treatment of women after Gloria left?” Shauna shook her head even as the words left her mouth. “Men don't change like that, do they?”

“Statistically, no.” Cat sipped on her beer. “But maybe Gloria's disappearance scared him straight. It could happen. I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt.”

“I'm just glad I decided to give him a wide berth when I met him over at Bernie's last month when I was there.” Shauna finished off her beer. “You want another one?”

“I'm good. I'm going upstairs. I'm beat.” Cat took one more chip out of the bag and threw her napkin away.

“Now that we know about Gloria, there's only one more thing we need to figure out.” Shauna pulled the bag closer to her and took out more chips.

“What's that?” Cat paused at the door.

She took a beer out of the fridge, opening the bottle and taking a swig before she sat down. “Who killed Tom Cook?”

* * *

Cat grabbed the clock next to her bedstead and read the display: three thirty. Groaning, she climbed out of bed where she'd been lying for the last two hours, trying to get back to sleep. Finally giving up, she pulled a robe on and padded downstairs to Michael's study. A few more sleepless nights and she'd have all the boxes cleaned out and the books up on the shelves. Eventually she'd cull through what was there and probably donate a lot of the materials to the college library. But for now, just having them out of boxes and sitting on the shelves made her feel better.