Snowmen In Paradise (Book 2 Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries) (28 page)

“Okay,
I’ll
check it out. You stay put and wait for my call.”

“But
. . .”

“But nothing,” Dylan insisted
. “You’ve been a great help, but it’s time for you to let me do my job. If Quinn is involved in Travis’s death, he could be dangerous.”

“But
. . .” Tj tried again.

“Do I need to lock you up?”

“You wouldn’t,” Tj spat.

“I would if it was the only way to get you to do what I say.
I don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have let Jenna talk me into calling you.”

“Tj . . .” Dylan warned.

“Oh, okay
. I’ll hang out here at the carnival, but you have to promise to call me the minute you find out what’s going on.”

“I promise.”

“Talk about a male chauvinist attitude,” Tj complained as she waited in line with Jenna and the girls at the ice castle.

“He’s just trying to make sure you don’t get hurt,” Jenna reminded her.

“I’m the one
who uncovered the plot,” Tj insisted.

“There’s a plot?”

“It seemed like a plot. Besides, I can take care of myself. I don’t need some
man
protecting me.”

“He’s not just a man
, he’s a cop,” Jenna pointed out. “And not only is he a cop, he’s a cop who cares about you and doesn’t want to see you dead.”

“Yeah, I guess
.” Tj sighed. “It’s just so frustrating to do all the hunting but then not be in on the kill.”

“Y
ou’ve been watching too many police shows.” Jenna laughed.

“H
ow come this line is so long?” Gracie whined.

“We’re almost there,” Tj promised
. “Are you getting tired?”

“My feet hurt.”

Tj picked Gracie up. Her little sister put her arms around Tj’s neck and her head on her shoulder.

“I should have reminded him how well I took care of myself when I took down Zac
hary’s killer,” Tj continued without missing a beat.

“Small ears,” Jenna reminded her.

Tj looked at Ashley, who was talking to Kristi and Kari.

“He was acting like I was some helpless girl,” Tj continued
. “I have moves. Major moves. I could drop the guy to the ground before he knew what hit him.”

“Sweetie,” Jenna
said, putting her arm around her best friend, “you know I love you, but you’re like a dog with a bone when you get something in your head. Let it go. It’s a beautiful winter day and you’re at a festive event with the people you love most. Let Dylan do his job so you can do yours.”

“Mine?”

“M-O-M,” Jenna spelled.

“Oh
, yeah. That job.”

Tj rubbed her cheek against Gracie’s soft curls
. The poor little thing had fallen asleep. Tj would have to wake her when they got to the front of the line. She’d have a fit if she missed the castle. But for this moment Tj let herself enjoy the feel of the child in her arms. Ashley was well beyond the age at which she wanted to be held, and Tj suspected Gracie wasn’t all that far behind. Tj had never thought much about having children of her own, but now that she had her sisters, it made her think how awesome it would be to have a baby in some very distant point in the future.

“You look so content,” Jenna spoke
. “What are you thinking about?”

“Babies,” Tj answered.

Jenna laughed. “That’s one of the things I love most about you. One minute you’re talking assault tactics and the next you’re talking babies. You’re so diverse.”

As per tradition, the trophies for all of the carnival events were presented at the ceremony that took place after the final competition. And following the presentation of the trophies, the ice princess’s court was introduced and the princess herself announced. Tj stood with her entire extended family as she waited for her name to be called.

“Congratulations
, Coach.” Connor slapped Tj on the back. “It hurt my pride a little that I was slaughtered by a girl, but I guess I should have remembered why they call you coach.”

“Thanks
, Connor. Second place is pretty good.”

“Did you hear that Beaver Creek fell into third place behind us and Aspen Shore?”

“No, I hadn’t. That means we’ll face Aspen Shore next weekend at the meet in Mammoth.”

“Looks like
. Figured you’d want to know.”

“I do
. Thanks for staying on top of things. I knew I made a good choice when I appointed you captain of the team.”

“Was that
Connor?” Kyle asked as he walked up behind Tj just as Connor was walking away.

“Yeah.”

“Was he crying the blues that you slaughtered him in three of the five events?”

“A bit
. He’s a good kid.” Tj beamed like a proud parent. “I’m sure he’ll spend the next year practicing, then come back and hand me my hat next year.”

“You think he’ll be back for
carnival?”

Tj shrugged
. “I don’t see why not. His parents live here, so I’m betting he’ll be back to visit. I guess it depends on what college he decides to go to. One of his choices is Stanford. It’s close enough for him to make the trip.”

“It looks like you’re next
.” Kyle nudged her toward the front of the crowd.

“And this year’s snowball decathlon champion is none other than our own Tj Jensen,” the
mayor announced.

The crowd whistled and hollered as Tj accepted her trophy
. She had always been competitive and had earned many trophies in her life, but each and every time she raised her hands to the crowd in victory she felt like Rocky Balboa at the end of his memorable fight.

“You’re such a ham,” Kyle teased as Tj returned to the crowd.

“I am.”

“
Your phone buzzed while you were parading around on the stage.”

Tj took
it from Kyle. There was a message from Dylan. “I’m going to go put this trophy in my car and call Dylan back,” she informed Kyle. “I’ll only be a minute.”

“I’ll be waiting
. Hurry, though. You don’t want to miss Bren’s crowning.”

Tj trotted across the high
-school football field toward the parking lot. The field was covered with snow, but it was so packed down after being trampled on all weekend that it was almost like walking on cement. Dylan’s message said he’d talked to Pete but had yet to corral Wallaby. That made sense; Wallaby had been busy giving out trophies. She put her trophy in her trunk and then leaned against the hood to call Dylan’s cell number.

“So?”
she asked as soon as he answered.

“Pete claims Wallaby owed him money and was simply repaying him
. I’m pretty sure he was lying.”

“Do you think the money was some sort of payoff
?”

“I think that makes more sense than a simple loan
payment, but Pete isn’t talking. He hasn’t actually broken any laws, so I can’t hold him. I’m hoping Mayor Wallaby will be more forthcoming. Is he finished with the award ceremony yet?”

“Almost
. He just needs to crown the ice princess.”

“I think I’ll head over
. I can grab him as soon as he’s finished.”

“The gang and I are on the left side of the bandstand
, about halfway back. I’ll look for you.”

“Okay, see you
soon.”

Tj
hung up the phone and started back toward the crowd when she heard her name called from behind her.

“Coach Long
.” She smiled at Sean’s coach as he walked toward her from across the parking lot. “Are you here for the crowning of the ice princess?”

“Actually
, I was looking for you.”

“Looks like you found me
. What can I do for you?” Tj asked.

“This is kind of personal
. Can we walk a bit?”

Tj hesitated
. She barely knew the man. What could he possibly want to talk to her about that would be considered personal?

“I really need to get back
. The family is waiting for me, and I wouldn’t want to miss the crowning. Can we talk while we head in that direction?”

“Sure, no problem. I heard
you got Chelsea Hanson cleared.”

“I’m not sure it was my effort that ended up clearing her
, but yeah, they let her go.”

“Glad to he
ar it. She knows my daughter Pamela. They met at the X Games last winter. She seemed like a nice girl.”

Tj was surprised to hear that Coach Long knew Chelsea
.

“I know you’
re investigating Travis’s murder,” Roger Long continued. “I was wondering if you’d identified the killer.”

Tj frowned. It seemed odd that Coach Long would ask her about her investigation
. “No, not yet. Why do you ask?”

He
shrugged. “Just interested. I usually try to stay on top of anything going on in the snowboard community. Travis’s death was big news. Not only did it shift Sean into the number-one rank but it affected the ranking of other athletes as well.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Coach Long stopped walking. He looked at Tj but didn’t say anything. He had a strange look on his face that made Tj feel instantly uncomfortable.

“I really need to get back
.” Tj took a step back. Something wasn’t right. She looked around the deserted parking lot. Everyone had already gone over to the bandstand for the crowning of the princess. “It was nice chatting with you.”

“I’ll walk with you
,” Coach Long replied. “I guess I wouldn’t mind watching the crowning. I understand you had a conversation with Serena.”

Is that what this whole thing was about?
“I know Serena was following Sean to help document his activities because Travis was trying to frame him,” Tj began “I know Sean was driven to take such extreme action because Travis had ruined the career of another snowboarder, who I just realized must have been your athlete, Walter Tovar. I know Serena broke into Travis’s room to look for a missing tape, and I understand why she did it.”

“Travis
was trying to frame Sean the way he framed Walter.” Long was beginning to sweat, which seemed odd to Tj. Coach Long surely couldn’t consider the fact that she was in on their secret to be any kind of a threat.

“
I couldn’t let him ruin two careers,” Long continued. “Walter was like a son to me. He had unlimited potential until Travis ruined it with his lies.”

“I understand,” Tj offered. “Don’t worry
. I won’t tell anyone about Serena breaking into Travis’s room.”

“
Not only did he ruin Walter’s life but he ruined Pamela’s as well.”

Tj was beginning to suspect that Coach Long
’s rant had nothing to do with her replies. It was almost as if he was trying to convince himself of something. Suddenly the whole thing was falling into place, though Tj rather wished it hadn’t.

“Did you kill Travis?
” Tj realized the moment
after
the words left her mouth that accusing the man of murder when they were alone in a deserted parking lot wasn’t the best move she’d ever made.

“
I didn’t intend to.” Long’s body began to shake. “He had a tape of Pamela. It wasn’t the type of thing a father—or anyone else, for that matter—should have to see.”

“He raped her?”

“No, she was willing,” Roger admitted. “Pamela loved Travis. He led her to believe he loved her too, but I know now that he only seduced her to get leverage against me. He told me if I pressed the issue of Walter’s innocence, he’d post the tape online. Walter told me that he’d had enough. He wanted to quit, and I let him. I should have done more.”

“So when you found out about the tape Serena was missing
, you realized you had to do something to stop him,” Tj theorized.

“I went to his room to try to talk some sense into him
. He was passed out in his bed. I tried to find the tape, but I couldn’t. I heard people in the hall and knew I was running out of time, so I took one of the pillows from the bed and held it over his face. I’d been drinking and wasn’t thinking clearly. I’ve regretted it ever since.”

Tj suddenly realized it wasn’t a good sign that
Coach Long was telling her all of this.

“
I understand why you might have done what you did. I probably would have done the same thing,” Tj assured him. “I promise I won’t tell anyone, but I really need to get back. My family is waiting for me.”

“Not so fast.”
Roger reached his hand into his pocket.