Marriage and Murder (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Book 4) (12 page)

“We’re home,” Mike said, as he walked
into the house, Rebel faithfully following at his heels. He saw Kelly in the
kitchen getting things out of the refrigerator.

“Hey beautiful, I am so
glad to see you after the day I’ve had.” He walked over to her, put his arms
around her, and kissed the back of her neck.

“Sheriff Mike, you keep
that up, and dinner will be delayed,” she said laughingly. “Actually, keep the
thought, but I’ve got a lot to tell you, and I imagine you have a lot to tell
me, according to Angie.”

“Angie? When did you talk
to her?”

“When I couldn’t reach you
on your cell phone. I had a weird visit from Celia today at the coffee shop, and
I was calling to tell you about it. When we’d talked earlier, you sounded
frazzled, so I didn’t go into it. Angie said you’d been busy from the time you
got to the office, and you’d already left for an appointment you had with Lem.
What’s up with that?”

“Let me feed the dogs and
change out of my uniform. I’m getting the evil eye from both of them. You could
pour me a glass of wine, and I’ll tell you in a minute. Can you hold dinner for
a little while?”

“Absolutely. Actually, I
think I’ll make a fire in the fireplace. Perfect night for one.”

“Here you go, sheriff.
Enjoy,” she said, handing him a glass of wine a few minutes later.

“It’s good, Kelly,” he
said, taking a sip, “but I have to tell you the White Cloud Pinot Noir that
Scott produced was better. That’s somewhat related to one of the things that
happened today. I got a call from someone who’s working at the Pellino Brothers
Vineyard.” He told her about the conversation he’d had with John Baker, but
true to his promise to John, never mentioned his name. He also mentioned he’d
called Luke, and expressed his concern about his safety.

“Like they say in the television
ads, but wait, that’s not all, there’s more. Remember the guy you followed, the
one from the AA meeting?”

“Yes, of course. I could
hardly forget him. Actually, I’ve been thinking a lot about him.”

“I had a long conversation
with his employer this morning, and I went out to his house. Here are a couple
of photos I took while I was there. It was really bizarre. I’ve never seen
anything quite like it before,” he said reaching for his phone.

“Good grief, Mike. On one
hand he seems to be a raging alcoholic, and on the other, a man desperate to
get sober. Talk about a split personality. What did his employer have to say
about him?”

He told her the gist of
his conversation with Derek. “And that’s not all. I met with Lem and Jesse’s
ex-wife, Sydney.”

“Sounds like you really
did get around a lot today. How is Sydney doing and why the meeting with Lem? I
thought he’d been Jesse’s lawyer when the two of them got divorced.”

“He was, but seems like
things aren’t quite what they appear to be.”

“That sounds rather
cryptic. What do you mean?”

He told her about the
meeting and how he’d become concerned about Lem’s personal safety, because
Sydney had a reputation as a hothead and was a crack shot. He went on to tell
her how shocked Sydney seemed to be when Lem said she was no longer the primary
beneficiary on Jesse’s insurance policy.

“Wow, I bet she wasn’t
expecting that. So now you have the Pellino brothers, who have always been on
your radar, a hit man from Chicago, a disgruntled ex-wife who’s a crack shot
and just found out that she’s not the beneficiary of a large insurance policy,
and a sometimes recovering alcoholic who hates liquor store owners. Those are all
people who definitely might qualify as suspects. Let me give you another one,
Celia Parsons, Jesse’s sister.”

“What made you think of
her?”

“I mentioned to you she
came to the coffee shop today. I knew she was the president of the Historical
Society, and I knew she didn’t like Sophie Marchant, but I’m not so sure she
couldn’t be the one who killed Jesse. She’s absolutely rabid on the subject of
keeping foreigners out of Cedar Bay. Remember her mother told me that Jesse
said he was going to marry Sophie. As hard as it is to believe, she may have
killed her brother to keep Cedar Bay pure. If that’s not downright twisted
thinking, I don’t know what is. After I met with her today, I had the sense she
could almost qualify as being deranged.” She related the details of Celia’s
visit to the coffee shop and how she looked and acted.

“All right. I’ve heard
enough. That was definitely a threat, and from what you told me, Lady sure
sensed it, too. Remember your promise to me. From now on, you and the gun I got
you are going to be inseparable. You don’t go anywhere without it, and while we’re
on the subject, I want you to take Lady with you everywhere you go until this
thing is solved. You’re the third person today I’ve had to tell to keep a gun
near them. This case is definitely heating up. We’ve got some people involved in
this case who are having a difficult time dealing with reality, and I don’t want
you mistaken for being the cause of their troubles if they spin out of control and
sink into one of their unreal worlds.

Mike’s phone started
buzzing and he looked at the monitor. “It’s the fire marshal. I need to take
his call.” He listened for a few minutes and ended the call. “As if things
couldn’t get any worse, Sophie’s house is on fire. The county fire marshal just
issued a call for all volunteer firemen from the surrounding area to respond to
the scene of the fire. He wants me out there ASAP to provide security and crowd
control. I don’t like what I’m thinking, and I imagine you’re thinking the same
thing. This is a little too coincidental. I have to go out to Sophie’s house
right now, but I was saving the best news for last,” he said smiling as he
stood up.

“I told you I wasn’t going
to get involved in the DNA test Julia called you about, but I had second
thoughts about it and had the samples couriered to the state police DNA lab. Julia’s
fiancé, Brad, is definitely the father of the two girls. That should make all
of them happy. I was going to tell you all about it, and I’d planned on the two
of us calling her with the good news tonight, but given this turn of events,
I’d appreciate it if you’d call her. Tell her she can call me at the office
tomorrow if she needs particulars, but it was a definite match with no room for
error.”

“Mike, that’s the best
news I’ve heard in quite awhile. I’m so happy for all of them.”

“I’ve got to go, and I’ll
take Rebel with me. Keep Lady and the gun with you. Like I said, seems like
things are accelerating rather quickly in this case.”

“I’ll leave your dinner in
the refrigerator with instructions how to cook it on the counter, and I’ll
leave the light on over the stove, so you’ll know I’ve gone to bed. I wonder if
anyone has called Sophie about the fire yet,” she said, following Mike down the
hall as he got ready to change back into his uniform. “She called me today and
told me she and Jesse had argued the morning of his death because he wouldn’t accept
money from her to pay off his creditors. She thought I should know and didn’t
want me to hear it from someone else.”

“Kelly, I’m reluctant to
ask this of you, but you seem to have a better rapport with her than anyone
else does. Any chance you could call her for me? She’d probably take finding
out about the fire better from you than from me or someone else.”

“Sure, I can do that. See
you later. Be safe!” she said as he walked out the door with Rebel at his side.

“Hi, Mom,” Julia said when she answered Kelly’s phone
call. “How’s the old married lady?”

“Doing well, considering
it hasn’t even been a week, but it sure has been busy around here. The number
of suspects in Jesse’s case is growing by leaps and bounds, and Mike’s
insisting I keep my gun and Lady with me at all times. From that, you can
assume he thinks he’s getting close to figuring out who killed Jesse.”

“Your gun? Mom, I didn’t
know you had a gun!”

“I do now. Mike bought it
for me almost a year ago and took me out to the gun range, so I’d get
comfortable with it. I rarely ever carry it, although in the last few cases
he’s had, I’ve gotten into a couple of situations where it sure helped my
comfort level.”

“That’s just swell. Sure
doesn’t help my comfort level to hear that. I thought Rebel was providing all
the comfort level you needed.”

“Well, when you were here,
I think I mentioned that Rebel was getting quite attached to Mike. Actually, the
more I think about it, I’m certain Mike got Lady for me, because Rebel was
shifting his loyalty to Mike. I’m also pretty sure he’s a lot more liberal with
treats for Rebel than I’ve ever been. That may be part of the attraction, but
Lady is turning out to be every bit as protective of me as Rebel. Anyway,
that’s not why I called.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. Out with
it.”

“Are you sitting down?”
Kelly asked.

“Yes, but you’ve
definitely affected my comfort level with those words.”

“Darling, I have some
wonderful news for you and believe me, your comfort level is going to be just
fine.”

“Mom, hurry up. You’re
killing me with the suspense.”

“Mike sent the hair
samples by courier to the state police lab. He got the results back today. Brad
is definitely the girls’ father. The test was one hundred percent conclusive.”

Julia was silent for a few
moments, and then Kelly heard her crying softly into the phone. “Oh, Mom,
you’ll never know what those words mean to me,” she said tearfully. “He’s such
a wonderful man. I can’t wait for you to meet both him and my stepdaughters-to-be.
Hate to tell you this, but you’re going to be an instant step grandmother.”

“Well, I’d appreciate it
if you’d at least send me pictures of my future son-in-law and the two girls.
When do I get to meet them?”

“We were talking about it
last night, and we’re kind of planning on driving up to Cedar Bay around Easter.
Brad and I can both take some time off from our jobs around then. How would
that work for you?”

“Absolutely fine. I’ll see
if Mike can take a little time off and spend it with his instant step granddaughters.
Poor guy never had any kids of his own, and now he’ll have two step grandchildren.
That may come as a shock to him. By the way, he said to tell you hi, and he
wanted you to know he was planning on calling you himself with the good news,
but duty beckoned, so he asked me to call for him. He said if you have any
questions, you can call him tomorrow. Any thoughts on when the wedding’s going
to be?”

“Yes. Brad met Cash just
before we drove up for your wedding, and he asked Cash to be his best man.
We’re going to wait until Cash finishes his tour of duty in Afghanistan in
August, so we’re thinking around the middle of September. Mom, I’ve got a
question. I know you’ve just married Mike, but you know how much I like him. Do
you think he’d consider giving me away?”

It was Kelly’s turn to cry
softly into the phone. “Julia, I can’t think of anything that would make both
of us happier. I can unequivocally answer yes on his behalf.”

“That’s great and Mom, I’m
planning on you being my maid of honor, and my new stepdaughters will both be
flower girls. I know that’s a lot of family taking part in a wedding, but hey, it’s
my wedding, and that’s what I want to do. What do you think?”

“I think it will be a
perfect wedding, and you’re absolutely right, it is your wedding, so don’t let
anyone try and change your mind. Have it just the way you want it.”

“Mom, I need to talk to
you about something else. I was going to call you in a day or so, but now is as
good as time as ever. I’ve decided to move in with Brad and the girls. I’m
giving up my apartment, so beginning in March, I’ll have a new address. I know
I’m making the right decision, and it seemed stupid to keep my apartment when
I’m spending most of my time with Brad and the girls at his place anyway.”

“Julia, that’s a decision
for you and Brad to make, and it looks like you’ve already made up your mind,
so if that’s what you want to do, then I’m very supportive of it.”

“That takes a load off of
my mind. Even though we’ve discussed it before, I wasn’t really sure how’d you
feel about it when the time came. Thanks, Mom.”

“I’ve got another call to
make, so I’m going to sign off for now, and don’t forget to send those
pictures. I can’t wait!”

“Love you, Mom, and thanks
for everything.”

Whew, glad she didn’t
question me more specifically about what’s happening with the investigation. I
don’t want her to know that I really am concerned Celia will try and do
something. I sure don’t want to alarm Julia, but in a strange sort of way Celia
seems almost crazy to me. Anyway, Julia’s got enough on her mind without
worrying about me.

Just as Kelly picked up her cell phone to call Sophie
Marchant, it rang while it was in her hand and somewhat startled her. She looked
at the screen and saw it was Mike.

“Hi sweetheart. How bad is
the fire?”

“About as bad as a fire
can be. It’s a total loss. The house and everything in it burned to the ground.
The wind carried some live embers onto other nearby houses in the area, and
some of them caught on fire. The firemen are putting out the last of those
fires right now. Fortunately a lot of volunteer firemen showed up, and they
were able to put out the small fires that seemed to be everywhere for a time.
There’s something else you need to know. The fire marshal says it looks like
the fire was intentionally set by someone, in other words it was arson. Some
state fire investigators are on their way here to see what they can find out
about the fire’s origin. Given our earlier conversation about Celia, I thought
you should know.”

“Mike, you don’t think
Celia did it, do you?”

“At this point, I can’t
answer yes, and I can’t answer no. Fires are not my specialty. I’ll wait until
the investigators get some evidence, but you know I don’t believe in
coincidences when it comes to crime. I have a hard time believing Celia just
happened to mention to you something about a fire at Sophie’s home and then,
gee, coincidentally, a fire occurs at her home that very night. Seems way too
coincidental to me. Be extra careful until I get home. Don’t forget, she said
words to you that I consider to be a threat. Make sure you have your gun and
Lady with you.”

“Lady’s with me. I’ll get
the gun and keep it on me.”

“Kelly, I want it in your
hand until I get home. Don’t forget we know that Celia has access to a .38
caliber pistol, the one taped under the drawer of her nightstand. If she set
the fire and then suddenly remembered she told you she thought Sophie’s house
should be burned down, she might come after you in order to eliminate you as an
incriminating witness. I’m going to be tied up here for several more hours, and
I sure don’t like what I’m thinking. Have you had a chance to call Sophie?”

“No. I’d just picked up the
phone to do it when you called. I’ll take care of it right now. Poor woman.
First Jesse’s killed, and then her home’s burned down. Now she’ll have
absolutely no reason to ever come back here. See you later. Be safe.”

“You too.”

*****

Kelly checked her phone
for Sophie’s number and called her. It rang several times before it was
answered. “Sophie Marchant speaking. May I help you?” she asked.

“Sophie, it’s Kelly
Reynolds. I’m sorry to bother you this late, but I’m afraid I have some bad
news.”

“Oh no! Please tell me,
what is it?”

“There’s been a fire at
your home here in Cedar Bay. I don’t know much about the details, but Mike is
at the scene right now. He just called me and told me that your house and
everything in it is a total loss. I’m so sorry.”

Sophie was quiet for several
moments, and then she said softly, “Kelly, I told you I had been through bad
things before. This is a very bad thing, but I will get through it. First Jesse,
and now my home with all my beautiful things in it. I guess I wasn’t supposed
to ever settle down in Cedar Bay. There’s nothing for me to go back to now.”

“I suppose there’s
probably not, but you told me earlier today that you have good friends in
Portland. You might want to call one of them to be with you tonight.”

“A good friend of mine is
here now, and he’ll help me. Did Mike say what caused the fire? Was it arson?”

It was Kelly’s turn to
pause and then she said, “Why do you ask?”

“It’s probably nothing,
but you know how much Jesse’s sister hated me. I had gone into The Crush
several months ago, and after I entered the store, I heard raised voices coming
from the back room. I overheard Celia telling Jesse that I was one of those
French foreigners who would ruin Cedar Bay, and he shouldn’t have anything to
do with me. She said it was her duty as the president of the Historical Society
to make sure the city remained pure and protected its historical past. She told
him someone should get rid of that monstrosity of a house I’d built on the
bluff. I didn’t want them to know I had overheard their conversation, so I
opened the front door a second time and made a big deal of slamming it. They
both came out from the back room, and I pretended that I had just come into the
store. Jesse never mentioned the conversation to me. If it was arson, I wonder
if Celia is the one who set my house on fire.”

“I hate to think of anyone
doing something like that, but Mike did tell me arson investigators are going
to be investigating the cause of the fire. I’m sure he’ll call you as soon as
he knows something. Again, I’m so sorry. Good night.”

After she ended the call
she prepared a dinner plate for Mike with instructions on how to warm it up.
She turned on the surface light over the stove to let him know she was in bed and
then walked down the hall to the bedroom. She knew that after the fire tonight,
tomorrow would be another busy day at the coffee shop, so she’d better get a
good night’s sleep. She opened the sliding glass door that overlooked the bay
and let Lady out. A few minutes later, she realized Lady hadn’t come back. She
walked over to the door and slid it open. “Lady, come, come in girl,” she
softly called. A few seconds later, Lady walked through the open door and stood
next to Kelly, her hackles up. “What’s up, Lady? Did you see a raccoon or a
skunk? Easy, girl, it’s okay,” she said, petting Lady and calming her. “Time
for us to go to bed.”

I hope it was only a skunk
or a raccoon
, Kelly thought, her heart pounding in her chest.
I don’t know if I’ll
ever be able to sleep tonight. I’d feel so much better if Mike was home. I
don’t like being here alone, although technically I’m not alone, because Lady’s
here with me. What if Celia is out to get me and she’s outside? What if Lady
heard her or smelled her? Kelly, stop it,
she said to herself.
You’ve
got to get some sleep.

She got in bed and put her
gun on the nightstand. A few minutes later, she was sound asleep. Two hours
later she was awakened by Lady standing next to her, a loud growl coming from deep
in her throat.

Oh, no. I’ve never heard Lady
growl like that. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life.