Death in a Major (17 page)

Although many of the cars that had parked near the church turned off in other directions, a small procession of vehicles headed for the cemetery, and JT pulled his truck in behind the line.

From my perspective, it was a good thing that the graveside ser­vice would have a smaller number of attendees than the church ser­vice. If only those closest to Mr. Major—­and a few others like me and JT—­were at the gravesite, it would be easier for me to keep an eye on all of them to watch for anything suspicious.

JT found a free space at the edge of the road bordering the cemetery and we followed a few other dark-­clad figures along the graveyard's main path. Near the middle of the cemetery we had to leave the concrete path for the grass. JT gave me his arm as I attempted to navigate a small hill in my high heels, and I kept hold of it as we drew to a stop at the gravesite. I was glad to have him there with me, whether Kevin Major showed up or not. I was even more glad to find that my nervousness from earlier in the day had disappeared, leaving me once again comfortable with my best friend.

After a ­couple in their sixties joined the small crowd gathered around the gravesite, it appeared as though everyone had arrived. Moments later the ser­vice began, but my mind wasn't on the minister's words. Once again, I was busy scrutinizing those present.

Detective Salnikova was one of the ­people who had shown up at the cemetery, which didn't surprise me in the least. The dark-­haired man who had sat next to her in the church pew was still at her side. He seemed to be close to Salnikova in age and I didn't doubt for a second that he was a detective as well.

Jordan stood with his mother, holding one of her arms while his aunt supported her from the other side. A few ­people I didn't recognize were present as well, mostly middle-­aged or older. As the minister recited a prayer, my gaze wandered beyond the scene directly before me to the surrounding area. My eyes moved from gravestone to gravestone, from tree to tree, searching for any sign that Kevin might be lurking nearby.

Off in the distance a bulky figure hovered near a stone angel, facing in our direction. When I squinted, I thought I recognized the person as the muscular woman from the church. Seconds later she turned away and wandered off out of sight. I continued my surveillance but saw no one else other than an elderly woman setting a bouquet of flowers at the base of a tombstone. I couldn't look behind me without being obvious about it, but I hoped that part of the graveyard was similarly Kevin-­free.

With my arm still looped through JT's, I glanced up at him. He too was checking out the area beyond the gravesite. I'd given him a brief description of Kevin earlier and I knew that was who he was watching out for. I squeezed his arm and gave him a grateful smile when he looked my way. It was sweet of him to watch over me, whether I needed it or not.

Knowing that JT was keeping an eye out for Kevin, I focused my attention on those gathered near us. I scrutinized facial expressions and body language. A hint of storminess clouded Jordan's face, but that could have been due to the police presence or simply the anger that came with dealing with all the recent drama in his family. Otherwise, nothing seemed odd or unusual. Nobody did anything suspicious and nobody seemed out of place.

Once the first handfuls of dirt had been tossed onto the coffin and the ser­vice had ended, I released my loose hold on JT's arm.

“I'm going to have a quick word with Jordan,” I told him.

He nodded and I left him to approach my student. I had to wait a moment as others filed past with a word or two for Jordan and his mother, but eventually my turn came.

I gave him a quick hug. “Let me know if you need anything, okay, Jordan?”

“Thanks, Midori. I'll be at my lesson at the usual time on Tuesday.”

“All right. I'll see you then.”

I glanced at Mrs. Duffy, but she was busy speaking with a silver-­haired woman so I didn't wait around to talk to her. Instead, I turned around, intending to make my way back to JT.

A step or two later, as I caught sight of my best friend, I hesitated. He stood close to where I'd left him, but he was no longer alone. Detective Salnikova was with him, and the two of them were deep in conversation. Maybe that shouldn't have worried me, but I couldn't help but wonder who had approached whom.

And why?

 

Chapter Eighteen

I
DID
N'T HESITATE
for long. I waited for a man and woman leaving the gravesite to pass me by and then picked my way around a weathered tombstone to approach JT and Salnikova. As I drew closer, JT said something I couldn't hear and Salnikova smiled in response.

She
smiled
.

I didn't think I'd ever seen her smile before. Not a full smile anyway.

And then JT grinned too.

What the heck was going on?

I wished I had super hearing so I could listen in on their conversation, but the wind was whipping their words off in the opposite direction. I picked up my pace in the hope of getting close enough to catch a few words before they spotted me, but I was out of luck. JT caught sight of me a second later and their mysterious conversation came to an end.

“Afternoon,” Salnikova said to me as I approached.

“Detective,” I returned. “Spot anything suspicious?”

Her usual poker face had replaced her smile from moments earlier. “I'm just here to pay my respects to the victim, as are you, I assume.”

“Right.”

Neither of us believed that for a second.

“Ready to go?” I asked JT.

“Sure,” he said. “Nice to meet you, Detective.”

“You too.” Salnikova's smile reappeared, if only for a fleeting second.

I set off toward the edge of the cemetery at a good clip, leaving JT to catch up with me. Somehow the encounter between JT and Salnikova had thrown me off kilter, and it irked me that I didn't know what they'd talked about. The slightest hint of jealousy twinged in my stomach as well. Salnikova was pretty and not all that many years older than JT.

In my haste to leave my annoyance and jealousy behind, my left foot slipped on a damp leaf and I almost twisted my ankle.

JT caught my arm and steadied me. “Careful.” He maintained a loose hold on my arm as we continued toward the main pathway. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

“No use sticking around.”

“I take it you didn't pick up any clues.”

“Nope. None.”

We followed the concrete path to the main gates and headed along the sidewalk toward JT's truck.

“Sorry I wasted your time,” I said as we climbed into his vehicle. “Unless,” I added, watching him with suspicion, “it wasn't an entire waste of time for you.”

“What does that mean?”

“Detective Salnikova.”

“What about her?”

“Were you hitting on her?”

JT laughed, which only irked me more. “Why would you think that?”

“She smiled at you.”

He fastened his seat belt with a snap. He'd stopped laughing but still seemed amused. “Police detectives aren't allowed to smile?”

I let out a dramatic sigh. “It's not that she's not allowed, she just doesn't. Not usually.”

“You mean she doesn't smile at you. Probably because you're always mixed up in her investigations.”

“I'm not mixed up in anything!”

“Relax, Dori,” JT said with a grin as he put the key in the ignition and started the engine. “I wasn't hitting on her.”

I did up my seat belt as relief eased away some of my frustration.

When JT left the truck in park instead of pulling out into the street, I glanced his way. His face had gone from amused to serious, his brown eyes on me. “Dori . . .”

Something outside the truck caught my eye, distracting me. After giving Jordan a quick hug, Mrs. Duffy separated herself from him and his aunt, heading on her own to a dark blue car.

“Jordan's mom came by herself?” I said, mostly to myself.

When she reached the driver's door, she paused, watching as Jordan and his aunt climbed into a silver car and drove off. Mrs. Duffy glanced around and only then climbed into the blue car.

“Strange,” I said, still watching Mrs. Duffy's car through the windshield.

“Why is it strange?” JT asked. “Maybe she wanted some time by herself.”

“Hm.” I wasn't convinced. There was something odd about her behavior. “Let's follow her.”

“Seriously? Why?”

“Because something's funny, that's why.” I swatted his arm as Mrs. Duffy's car pulled out into the street. “Hurry up, before we lose her.”

I could tell he thought I was nuts, but he put the truck into gear and pulled out into the street behind Mrs. Duffy's car, and that was all I cared about right then.

“She's probably going home,” JT said.

“Nope.” I pointed at the blue car as it turned left. “She's going the wrong way for that.”

“Then maybe a reception. Is there a reception?”

“Nope,” I said again. “Don't lose her,” I added as a van turned onto the street ahead of us, moving into the space between JT's truck and Mrs. Duffy's car.

“Don't worry. I can still see her.” He slowed the truck as the cars up ahead stopped at a red light.

“So,” I said, my curiosity making a comeback as I relaxed into my seat, “if you weren't hitting on Detective Salnikova, what were you talking about?”

“You.”

“Me?” I hadn't expected that. “But she smiled.”

“You exasperate her sometimes,” JT said as the light turned green, “but she likes you.”

“She said that?”

“Not in so many words, but that's what I got from her.”

The last remnants of my frustration drained away. I'd already known that I exasperated Salnikova on occasion, but it was nice to know she liked me despite that.

“Maybe behind her normally stoic expression she appreciates my investigative prowess.”

JT fought a smile without success. “I wouldn't go quite that far.”

I was tempted to stick my tongue out at him but—­luckily for my dignity—­I got distracted. “She's parking. We need to pull over.”

“If we can find a spot.”

“There!” I pointed to a free space by the curb between a BMW and SUV.

JT pulled into the opening and I unclipped my seat belt so I could lean forward to watch Mrs. Duffy more closely.

We'd stopped in a residential neighborhood on a street lined with large two-­story houses and tidy lawns. Jordan's mother had parked a short distance ahead of us. She climbed out of her car and headed up the walkway to a stately house with a stone façade. While the house wasn't nearly as large or imposing as Mr. Major's mansion, it still had to be worth a pretty penny.

Up on the small front porch, Mrs. Duffy knocked on the front door and waited. Seconds later, a man opened the door. Only, it wasn't just any man. It was Gareth Hollingsworth.

Although I'd seen him at the funeral, he hadn't continued on to the graveside ser­vice. That had given him time to change out of his dark suit and into khaki pants and a polo shirt.

As soon as he saw who was on his porch, he opened his arms and Mrs. Duffy stepped into them.

Interesting.

Or was it?

I supposed it wasn't all that strange that they knew each other since Mr. Major was a common link between them. Plus they'd spoken briefly at the season's opening reception the previous week and had likely both attended similar functions in the past. Even with that in mind, I was still somewhat surprised that they knew each other well enough for Mrs. Duffy to seek comfort from him.

After they'd hugged for several long seconds, Mrs. Duffy tilted her head back. Mr. Hollingsworth said something to her and they kissed.

Not a quick, friendly peck but a deep, passionate, lovers' kiss.

Wow.

I stared at them, completely stunned.

When they eventually broke apart, Mr. Hollingsworth guided Mrs. Duffy into the house and shut the door behind them.

I sat back in the passenger seat, thoughtful and still surprised. “I guess she doesn't have any intention of getting back together with Jordan's dad.”

“Please tell me you don't want to wait here until she comes back out,” JT said. “Judging by that kiss, it could be a while.”

“No, we can go,” I said, still staring at the front door of Mr. Hollingsworth's house. My voice came out sounding vague, but that was because of all the thoughts churning around in my head.

JT wasted no time starting the engine and driving off down the street. “Was that worth our time?”

“Maybe.”

“Really?”

“That wasn't just any Mr. Loverboy locking lips with Jordan's mother. He's the chair of the PGP's executive committee.”

“So?” JT flicked on the truck's wipers as several fat raindrops splattered against the windshield.

“So . . .” I paused, not sure what to say next.

JT glanced my way, eyebrows raised.

“They were both at the reception when Mr. Major died. That could be significant.”

“You were at the reception,” JT pointed out. “That's not significant.”

“But . . .” Again, I didn't know how to continue. I sighed. “Okay. It might not be significant. But it's important to look at every angle.”

“For the police, sure, but for you?”

I smacked the palm of my hand against my forehead. “The police. Shoot.”

“What?”

“I have a letter I need to pass on to Detective Salnikova. It could be pertinent to the case. But it totally slipped my mind when I saw her at the cemetery.”

JT waged an unsuccessful battle against a smile. “Probably because you were too worried that I might be hitting on her.”

“So not true,” I said, even though he was right.

“Why does the idea bug you so much?”

“It doesn't.” I unclipped my hair and let it fall loose over my shoulders. I hoped it would hide my ears. As warm as they felt, I was certain they had turned pink.

“Could have fooled me.”

I retrieved my cell phone from my purse and busied myself with searching for Salnikova's number in my list of contacts. “It would just be weird, okay?”

When I came across the detective's name, I tapped it and put my phone to my ear. Tucking my hand out of JT's line of sight, I crossed my fingers. I needed Salnikova to answer my call so JT wouldn't be tempted to continue our conversation.

Luck was with me. The detective answered after two rings.

When I told her I had something for her, the short pause that followed seemed to echo with the exasperation JT had mentioned earlier.

But when she spoke, her voice was as neutral as ever. “I just arrived back at the station. Can you come by?”

I covered my phone with my hand. “Can we make a quick stop at the police station?” I asked JT.

“Sure.”

“I'll be there within the half hour,” I said into my phone.

Salnikova and I exchanged goodbyes and ended the call.

JT turned up the speed of the wipers as the rain increased its intensity. “You really think whatever you're going to give her could be important?”

“It's a letter written by Mr. Major,” I said, fishing the piece of paper out of my purse to read it through once more. “And it could be someone's motive for murder.”

JT waited for a pedestrian to cross the street before making a right turn. “In that case, I'm more than happy to help you get it out of your hands. Having someone's motive for murder in your possession isn't exactly the safest position to be in.”

He was right. Dr. Beaufort didn't know I had the letter, but if that were to somehow change, I didn't want to know what might happen.