Murder at Jade Cove (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Book 2) (9 page)

“Okay, let’s talk about
this,” Mike said. “First of all I think there’s a very good chance this is an
empty cartridge from the gun that killed Jeff. The coroner told me he was shot
from a distance because there was no gunpowder residue on him. It’s also very
possible that someone was waiting in that old shack to shoot Jeff. How far do
you think it is from the shack Jeff used as an office to the abandoned shack on
the BLM property? Did you say you could clearly see Jeff’s office and the
Black’s ranch house from the old abandoned shack?”

“Yes,” she answered. “I
could see both of them very clearly. I’d say the old abandoned shack is about a
hundred yards from the shack Jeff used for his office, but gauging distances
has never been my thing. It could be more or less.”

“Let’s assume your
estimate is close. The killer could have been lying in wait at the old shack
because he or she knew that Jeff often left the ranch house at night to go to
his office and work. When the person saw Jeff, he or she shot and killed him.
Then again, it could have been a random thing, but I find it hard to believe in
coincidences like that.

“Mike, there was something
else. When I got back to the van after visiting the shack, this note was on my
windshield.” She handed it to Mike.

“Kelly, when someone left
this on your windshield, they were definitely trying to scare you. They either
saw you go in there or they saw your car and realized you were in there. It
certainly doesn’t seem to be a note from the BLM. They would have put it on
something more official looking with the BLM logo on it, plus they probably
would have gone in there to find you. This concerns me. Did you see any other
cars when you went in there?”

“No. I looked carefully
before I went in and I’d decided if there was someone else around, I wouldn’t
go in. I knew I was trespassing. There’s a big sign and you can’t miss it. I
sure didn’t want to get arrested for trespassing.”

“Well, looks like someone
put this on your windshield while you were at the abandoned shack. I wonder if
the person who dropped this cartridge in the old shack is the same person who
wrote you the note. Maybe someone was afraid you’d find the cartridge. Did you
notice anything else?”

“Well, there was something
else that was kind of strange. When I got back in the van I realized I hadn’t
given Marcy the cheesecake that I’d brought for her, so I turned around and
went to the ranch house. When I’d looked at the ranch house a few minutes
earlier when I was in the shack, her car wasn’t there, but I thought maybe in
the interim she’d returned. I pulled in and still didn’t see her car, but there
was another car in the driveway. It had a bumper sticker that read “Oregon
Needs Lumber.” When I drove in and saw it I thought maybe her car was in the
shop for repairs or something, but then I thought a sticker wouldn’t be on a
loaner car. Anyway, I took the cheesecake from the trunk and knocked on the
front door. No one answered, so I knocked again. Still no answer. I turned
around, put the cheesecake back in the trunk, and drove here, which reminds me,
I need to get it out of the trunk.”

“Tell me more about the
car that was in her driveway.” Mike said.

“Well, it was silver
colored and I think it was a fairly late model, but I didn’t look at it all
that closely other than at the bumper sticker.  Why?”

“Depending on what
direction the car was coming from, there’s a fifty-fifty chance that the same
car passed your minivan on its way to the ranch. This time of day there aren’t
a lot of cars on the highway. I’m just wondering if there’s some connection
between the car you saw at the ranch house and the note you found, but we’ll
probably never know.”

“Mike, the only person we
know who has been out to that old abandoned shack is Bonnie. Do you think she
killed Jeff?”

He rubbed his eyes. “I
honestly don’t know what to think. She knew where the shack was located and she
probably had access to one of her husband’s hunting rifles. She also hated Jeff
because of the damage he was about to inflict on the spotted owls’ habitat by building
the hotel and spa. She certainly had a motive for killing Jeff. From the empty
cartridge case you discovered, I think Jeff was killed by someone who was in
the old shack and fired the rifle that killed him. As to the motive and who did
it – I don’t know. It could be a hunter who mistook Jeff for a deer, although
that’s a far stretch and it was after the hunting season for deer. What I do
know is that you better bring in that cheesecake from the trunk of your
minivan. I’d hate to see it go to waste and I’m rather glad Marcy wasn’t home,
that way I can have it.”

“I get the hint. Time to
fix dinner. I am so looking forward to this weekend. Sit where you are and I’ll
call you when it’s ready.”

“Wait a minute. One more
thing. Remember awhile back I bought a gun for you and got you a permit for
carrying a concealed weapon. I even took you to the range a few times so you’d
feel comfortable with it. I haven’t seen it lately, but I’d like you to start
carrying the gun with you. Would you do that for me? It sure would make me feel
better.”

“Sure thing, Sheriff Mike,
but I know I’ll never need it. Don’t forget, I’ve got Rebel with me.”

“I’m well aware of that,
but there may be a time when he can’t help you. Just say yes and don’t fib when
you say it.”

She made a face at him.
“Okay. I will.” She realized he was probably right and this time, she didn’t
even mentally cross her fingers when she made the promise.

“Mike, I know planning a wedding is
not high on your priority list, but please indulge me. Everyone is wondering
why we haven’t done anything about setting a date. Can you give me a couple of
hours so we can talk about it?” Kelly asked when she’d finished the dinner
dishes.

He put down the latest
Stephen King novel he’d been reading. “You’re right. It’s not my number one
thing to do and I imagine I’m not the only man in the world who tries to stay
uninvolved in wedding plans. It’s kind of a guy thing you probably wouldn’t
understand. Okay, I’m all ears. What do you have in mind?”

“Well, I’ve been doing a
lot of thinking about it. I’d like it to be small. I thought I’d ask Julia to
stand up with me and Cash to give me away. Do you think that’s schmaltzy and
over the top to have your son and daughter that involved?”

“No, I think they’d both
be honored. What would you think if I asked Doc to stand up with me? I’ve
gotten to know him over the last few months and we’ve become friends, plus he
adores you. There are several other friends I could ask, but I think it would
be a nice touch if I asked him. Would that be okay with you?”

“Oh, Mike, I would love
it. He’s such a wonderful man and I know he likes you, however, there’s one
issue I’ve been hesitant to bring up.” She took a deep breath and continued, “I
would really like to be married by Father Brown in the Catholic Church. I
talked to him today and he said he could conduct the ceremony in the church
even though you’re not Catholic, since you were baptized as an Episcopalian.
When I told him you were divorced, he said he could still conduct the ceremony
in the church, but it might really anger some members of the congregation who
still feel very strongly that anyone who is divorced should not be married in
the church.”

“Well, I can understand
that. Could he perform the ceremony somewhere else, like here at the house?
Maybe we’d just have a small ceremony and then go somewhere for a reception.
What would you think about that?”

“Mike, I just want to be
your wife. That’s far more important to me than where we get married. He did
ask me a question I couldn’t answer.” She looked at him and began to chew on
her lower lip. It was an unconscious gesture on Kelly’s part and Mike knew she
only did that when she was really nervous about something.

“What are you keeping from
me, Kelly? Are you going to tell me you’re already married to someone else?” he
asked, laughing.

“Of course not. Okay, here
goes. Father Brown asked if I knew if your ex-wife was alive. He wondered how
long it had been since you’d had any communication with her. He said often a
former spouse has died and in that case, the surviving spouse can be married in
the church.”

Mike sat quietly for a few
minutes deep in thought. “Kelly, I haven’t seen or heard anything about Denise
for at least ten years. I know she married that doctor, Brian Hill, the one she
met in Las Vegas. I left town when we got divorced and lost track of her. I’m
not sure there’s any way I could find out anything about her. I’m afraid I
can’t help you.”

“Why don’t we try and look
her up on Google. I know it’s a longshot, but maybe we can find something out.”

“Kelly, I’ll try it for
you, but if that doesn’t work, and believe me, I have strong doubts that it
will, I think that’s the end of the road, but let’s find out one way or the
other.” He stood up from his chair, walked towards the bedroom Kelly had made
into her home office, and sat down at her computer. Kelly followed him and sat
down on the couch in the cozy office.

Mike pulled Google up on
the computer and typed in the words, “Denise Hill.” Kelly watched and then saw
Mike’s eyes widen as he uttered, “What the…”

“Did you find something,
Mike? Is something wrong?” He sat quietly looking at the screen intently and
sliding the mouse around. After a few minutes he sat back, never answering her.

Kelly got up and walked
over to computer to see what had caused his reaction. There on the monitor she
saw the headline “Dr. Brian Hill and Wife Killed in Car Crash.” She quickly
read the article that said they had been returning from a visit to his parents
in Northern Oregon when a big rig swerved across the center divider and hit
their car head-on. The article went on to say they were killed instantly as was
the driver of the big rig. The article was five years old.

“Mike, I’m sorry. This
must be hard for you. I know you two were estranged and you’d been divorced for
a number of years, but it must be hard to read about her death.”

“Not really. About the
only emotion I feel is surprise. I told you about how she found the doctor on
the Internet and then went to Las Vegas to meet him and how she’d lied to me,
telling me she was going to a ‘girl’s weekend’ in Las Vegas. I remember telling
you that she filed for divorce as soon as she returned. She got what she wanted
– status. A small town sheriff never could give her the status she wanted. No, it
was not a good marriage and it ended even worse. It’s just really a strange
feeling to think that a person you lived with is dead and you didn’t know it.”

“If you want to be alone
for awhile, I’ll understand. I’ll be in the other room. Come on Rebel.”

Rebel sensed something
wasn’t right with Mike and as Kelly had predicted, his loyalty was beginning to
shift to Mike. He stayed in the room with Mike.

A few minutes later Mike
walked out of the room with a big smile on his face. “Well, babe, things have a
way of working out. Why don’t you call Father Brown and tell him we’d like to
be married in the church. Looks like with the death of Denise, it shouldn’t be
a problem. When do you want the wedding to take place?”

“How about on Valentine’s
Day? It falls on a Saturday. We could get married in the church and have the
reception here. I suppose we could have it at the coffee shop, but I think it
would be nice to have it here. Let’s make it a Celebration of Marriage. If we
got married in the morning, we could have the Celebration here from say, one to
four. That way people could come and go and we wouldn’t have a traffic jam of
people. Parking might be a problem, but in a town this small, most people would
probably walk here anyway. How does that sound to you?”

“Whatever you want
sweetheart, I’m just here to please you and if that pleases you, it will please
me as well. Let me ask you a question. Am I going to have to wear a monkey
suit?”

“No. I thought we’d wear
jeans.”

He raised his eyebrows at
her. “Kelly, we both have an image to uphold in this town and I’m not sure
that’s a good idea.”

“Oh, Mike,” she said
laughing, “you are so easy. I’m just kidding! Actually, I thought I’d wear a
cream colored or pale colored dress and you could wear a suit. We’ll keep it
simple. After all, it’s a second wedding for both of us, so I don’t think I
need to be in some fancy white wedding gown with a long train and you don’t
need to be in a tuxedo. Anyway, Cedar Bay’s more of a casual town.”

“I’ll call Doc tomorrow
and ask him. You’ll probably want to call your kids and Father Brown. Now, is
there anything else you need from me? I’d kind of like to see what’s going to
happen in the King book I’m reading. I stopped at a crucial place.”

“Go on. I’ll call them
now. Since I don’t have anywhere I have to be for the next two days, I’m going
to drive up to Portland tomorrow morning and see if I can find a dress. I don’t
want to leave it to the last minute and things get pretty crazy around the
holidays. I’d feel a lot better if I could get that out of the way.”

“Portland, tomorrow,
okay,” he said opening his book and reaching down to scratch Rebel’s ears.