Murder at Jade Cove (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Book 2) (3 page)

Chief Many Trees heard her
car as she approached and walked out of one of the buildings, motioning for her
to park in front of it. He walked over to her car and said, “Can I help you
bring in the stuff?”

“Absolutely, just let me
pop the trunk so you can get the cookies and caramel rolls out. Do you have any
objection to Rebel coming in with me?”

“No. We’ve got a lot of
dogs here on the reservation, although I think they’re all pretty much mutts,
but doesn’t matter, they’re still good dogs.”

She followed him into the
nondescript forlorn looking building. The chief noticed Kelly looking around
and said, “We don’t have much money and as I told you, the tribe is getting
smaller every year.” The room had minimal furniture and was cold and
uninviting. Nine fold up chairs had been placed in a circle near the center of
the room. He looked around, put up his hands as if he was surrendering, and
said, “Sometimes I think maybe we should accept the deal offered to us by those
people who keep coming here from Las Vegas. They want to build a casino on the
reservation. They tell us it would be very popular because it’s close to the
ocean and it’s in a tourist area. If we accepted their offer they said all the
tribal members would probably become millionaires.”

“Why hasn’t the tribe
agreed to it?” Kelly asked, her eyes sweeping the bare room.

“Probably because I’m the
chief and I’m against it. We have enough trouble with alcohol and domestic
abuse on the reservation. I’m not sure it would do our tribe any good if we got
rich and then added another thing that could cause problems for our members –
gambling, plus it would just provide more money for the members to buy alcohol.
I think the tribe should stick to our traditional old ways and not get involved
in gambling. When I’m gone it will probably happen. A lot of the members of the
tribe are for it.”

“If they’re in favor of
building a casino here on the reservation, why were they so opposed to Jeff
building a hotel and spa on his property at Jade Cove? It seems to me they’re
kind of like the same thing. Both would attract a lot of tourists and I thought
that was one of the reasons your tribe was against it.”

“Yes and no. You see,
Jeff’s land is located on our ancient tribal burial grounds. Many years ago,
the Bureau of Land Management took that land away from us and gave us this land
in return for it. A few years ago the BLM decided to sell some of the land they
had previously taken from us. My son, Charlie, and some of the other members of
the tribe still resent it. Anyway, the tribe had some money from reparations
the government gave us years ago as well as money some of the members had
earned when they worked with the miners at Jade Cove. By the way, a lot of our
members continued to find jade there after the big mining company no longer
found it profitable to maintain their mining operation at Jade Cove.

“When the BLM decided to
sell the land, they held an open Internet auction for the property. The bidding
was to close at 5:00 p.m. on a Friday. Naturally we bid on the land and were
practically guaranteed that we could get our ancient burial grounds back. At
two minutes before 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the auction, Jeff Black bid one
hundred dollars more than we had bid. We had two minutes to submit a larger
bid, but it required the approval of the tribal council and being Friday, many
of them had gone off the reservation to Cedar Bay and Sunset Bay. We don’t sell
alcohol on the reservation, but on the weekends a lot of our members go to
those two towns to get it. Anyway, I couldn’t get a majority of our tribal
council together to authorize a higher bid and I couldn’t do it without their
approval, so we lost the land to Jeff Black. To say that members of the tribe
have hated him ever since that day would be an understatement. Before he bought
the land, we used to have access to Jade Cove, but when it became his, we
couldn’t even get to the beach to mine the jade.”

“Well, I can understand
your dislike for Jeff Black. It seems like kind of a dirty trick and an
underhanded thing for Jeff to have done.”

“Yeah, that was just one
of the sneaky tricks he pulled on us. He accused us of rustling his cattle,
then we found out he was growing marijuana on his land. A few of our young
people were buying it from one of his guards on the property. We’re pretty sure
Jeff knew and allowed it.”

“Well, maybe that fire on
his property awhile back was a good thing if it destroyed the supply, although
he claimed he was growing it for medicinal purposes.”

The chief laughed
bitterly. “He may have said that, but our reservation butts up to the back of
his property on this side of the highway. Some of the members told me they saw
trucks going in and out of that property all day and night and they sure didn’t
look like they were any kind of medical trucks. Heard that the people who drove
the trucks were all Mexicans, probably members of some drug cartel. I think
it’s a good thing he’s dead. He was an evil man.”

“Well, that may be so, but
nobody deserves to be murdered.”

“Kelly, that’s a matter of
opinion. And trust me, your opinion would definitely be in the minority around
here. Now what do I owe you?”

He paid her and they
walked out to her van. She stopped for a moment, looking at some of the mobile
homes which were badly in need of repair and practically falling apart. Those,
along with the unpaved parking area and the abandoned cars, meant just one
thing to Kelly, poverty.

“Chief, it’s none of my
business, but are you sure you’re doing the right thing by not building the
casino on the reservation? It seems to me that the tribal members sure could
use the extra money. I’ve heard that some tribes that have built casinos on
their reservations have been able to build schools and medical facilities as
well as bring in psychologists to help the members deal with issues involving
alcohol and spousal abuse. All of those benefits were paid for with the profits
from the casino.”

“Kelly, there are nights I
don’t sleep because I’m thinking the same thing. My time is coming to an end
here on Mother Earth and I’ll soon be with the Great Spirit. When I’m gone, I’m
sure that will happen and you can judge if it was the right decision. Thanks
for bringing me the cookies and caramel rolls.”

“Chief, seems to me I
remember some Native American saying about not knowing what another man is
going through until you walk in his moccasins. Don’t think I’d want to be
walking in yours right now. You’re bearing a heavy burden. See you at the
coffee shop and tell Charlie hello for me. Come on, Rebel,” she said. Rebel was
busy playing tag with some newfound four-legged friends, but he came
immediately when she called.

As she was opening the
door of her minivan for Rebel, a thought occurred to her. She turned around and
said, “Chief, you mentioned that alcohol isn’t sold on the reservation. Are
guns allowed?”

“No. Many years ago the
Tribal Council decided that nothing good would come from having guns on the
reservation, particularly when we have such a problem with alcohol abuse. We
have a strict policy that no firearms are allowed on the reservation. If one is
found in the possession of a tribal member, that person is banished from the
tribe and not allowed to live on the reservation. Why do you ask?”

“Jeff Black was killed by
a gun.”

“Well, I guess that puts
the members of our tribe in the clear.”

She waved goodbye and
headed down the dirt road to the highway.
Maybe yes, maybe no. I’m sure if a
member of the tribe wanted to get a gun, he could, but it probably does
eliminate a lot of the tribal members.

“Rebel, we’re going to pass right by
the lane where Doc lives. Think we’ll pay him a visit. I haven’t really had a
chance to talk to him about his volunteer work at the clinic and I’m curious
how it’s going. Anyway, he usually has a little filet mignon treat for you.
What do you think?”

Kelly could swear Rebel
understood everything she said to him, which was one reason why she talked to
him a lot. When he heard the words “Doc” and “filet mignon,” his short little
tail wagged in anticipation and he pawed at the seat upholstery, indicating he
would be thrilled to go see Doc and hopefully get a few pieces of filet mignon.

Doc had moved to Cedar Bay
three years earlier and purchased a small ranchette a few miles out of town. He
kept to himself and no one knew much about him other than he ate lunch, Monday
through Friday, at Kelly’s Koffee Shop. Kelly was one of the few people Doc was
friendly with and he had a reputation among the townspeople of being a loner, a
man who wanted to isolate himself from people and more or less live off the grid.

When she pulled into Doc’s
driveway she saw the grizzled older man in a flannel shirt and jeans standing
near the side of his house, watering his fruit trees. “Doc, I need you to come
to my house and take care of my fruit trees. Those are some of the healthiest
trees I’ve ever seen. What’s your secret?”

“Afternoon, Kelly, Rebel.
If I had a secret it would be loving neglect. I think too many people overwater
and fuss over them too much. These trees just like some sun, a little water,
and maybe they know how much I like to eat their fruit. I was just finishing
up. Come on in.” He held the door open for them. “So, what brings you out this
way? And I don’t see any coffee shop treats for me, so I guess there’s no
ulterior motive in your visit this time.”

They both were quiet for a
moment, thinking back to the last time she’d paid Doc a visit. Kelly had gone
to his home under the pretext of wanting to give him some food from the coffee
shop, but the real reason had been to find out more about the relationship
between Doc and Amber, the young woman who had been murdered and whose body had
been dumped in the ocean. Madison’s father thought he had a large fish on his
line when he was shore fishing, but it turned out to be Amber. When Kelly went
to the marina to confront the suspected killer, she and Rebel had almost gotten
killed after she’d promised Doc she wouldn’t go there without Mike. She well
remembered internally crossing her fingers when she told Doc she wouldn’t go
alone, even though she knew she was telling him a lie. She and Rebel probably
owed Doc their lives. If Doc hadn’t called Mike and the two of them hadn’t gone
immediately to the marina, who knows how it might have ended, but probably not
well for Kelly and Rebel.

“No ulterior motive, Doc.
I just wanted to see how you were getting along at the clinic. Are you enjoying
counseling people? I talked to Liz the other day and she’s thrilled you’re
working there. Says it makes her job as the town shrink a lot easier.”

“She’s really easy to be
around. Since I’m volunteering my time and not giving medical advice, per se, I
don’t need to have a medical license. I tell people I’m just a retired doctor
who wants to give something back to the community and that seems to be good
enough for them. No need for them to know the California State Medical Board
pulled my license. Seems that no matter where you go, people have problems, so
I’m glad I’m able to help in some small way.”

“I’m sure you do, Doc.” 

“The patients Liz refers
to me generally have a problem with some type of substance abuse, like alcohol
or drugs. I’ve even counseled people on the best ways to stop smoking. Next
week we’re starting a group therapy class for people who are interested in
talking about their problems with other people. Been my experience that being
accountable and having people care about whether or not you’re able to quit
something that’s not good for you can make the difference between being a
success or a failure.”

“I’m so glad you’re doing
this. I thought you’d be perfect for it. Liz also told me she’s really become
dependent on your advice.”

“Glad to hear that. I’m
there just a couple of days a week and then only for a few hours. Oh, by the
way, I don’t know if Madison told you, but her father has quit drinking. He
came to the clinic one day and asked for me. I was surprised because I’d never
met him. Evidently Madison asked him to go see me because she was afraid of him
when he drank too much. I guess he’d hit her a couple of times. I assumed you
and she had talked and that’s where he’d gotten my name. Anyway, he came to my
office at the clinic and we had a long talk. He told me he wanted to stop
drinking, that it was hurting his relationship with his daughter, Madison, and
she was all he had. He said he didn’t know how to stop. I gave him a lot of
information about it and told him I’d like to see him once a week. From what
he’s told me, he stopped drinking that day and hasn’t had one drop of alcohol
since then. It’s been several weeks now and according to him, his relationship
with Madison has really improved. I’m glad. They’re both good people.”

“Thanks, Doc. I know one
of the reasons you agreed to donate your time was because I asked you to do it.
I’m so glad you’re getting some benefit from it, and I’m sure you’re really
helping people.”

“Yeah, well not always.
Since Jeff Black is dead, I believe I can talk to you about him. I think the
old saying of lawyers, ‘that the attorney-client privilege dies with the death
of the deceased client,’ works here as well.”

“I don’t understand. What
do you mean? Do you know something about Jeff Black? Why would he go to see
you?”