The Legend of Tabby Hollow (Whales and Tails Mystery Book 5) (11 page)

“Tonight.”

Cody had offered to bring everyone dinner from Antonio’s, which we completely devoured before we began our discussion. Siobhan was disappointed when Finn called to cancel, blaming it on a pile of paperwork that needed his attention. If I had to guess, he just wanted to slow things down a bit to avoid a repetition of the broken heart he’d never really gotten over.

“Now that we’ve all had a chance to eat let’s start,” Siobhan began. “I’ll go first. I spoke to Mrs. Cloverdale at the reception today and she told me that her husband had had a falling out with Mayor Bradley over a business deal the two men had teamed up to invest in. She didn’t know the specifics of the deal, but she did say that Grover had suffered quite a bit of angst over the whole thing, to the point where he had become almost impossible to live with. After Bradley was found dead, Grover went to his wife and asked her to forgive him for his moodiness. He assured her that he was going to fix whatever needed fixing so they could return to some semblance of normalcy. The next thing she knew, he was dead. She has no idea how he ended up in the water, but she seemed certain his death was the result of the deal he’d entered into with Bradley.”

“And she just shared all this with you during her husband’s funeral reception?” I asked.

Siobhan shrugged. “I have a way with people. They talk to me. So what do you think? Do we have our motive?”

“It would seem that we might,” I agreed. “We know Bradley might have been having an affair, but I don’t see how that would lead to Grover’s death, and we know Bradley wanted the cats gone, but I don’t see how that would affect Grover. The desire of the men to bid out the contracts currently held by the island seems to provide a motive, but Cody and I checked out all the companies involved, and while they would stand to lose a certain amount of revenue, with the exception of Dougan’s firm, they’re all large companies with multiple contracts. I’m guessing they deal with things like that all the time.”

“So what about Dougan?” Tara asked.

“I had a fairly long conversation with him. He didn’t seem overly worried about losing the business. He said he’d contracted with the island for quite a while and he’d always received positive reviews. While the competitive bid could ruin what he’d built here, he had no reason to believe the council would actually follow through with Bradley’s suggestion. He also said it was his understanding that it was really the refuse contract Bradley was after. If kickbacks were involved, there are quite a few huge conglomerates that would welcome a foothold on the islands and could afford to bribe someone to open the door for them.”

“The refuse contract is a big one,” Danny said. “If Bradley was after it, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to think the current contractor might be feeling threatened. I get that the company is owned by a larger firm on the mainland, but the management and staff who operate on the island could lose their jobs if there was a change.”

“That’s true.” I nodded. “I hadn’t thought about that, but companies do tend to bring in their own staff when they move into an area. Especially their own management staff. I suppose the idea might deserve a second look.”

“Okay,” Siobhan said. “Cait and Cody will take another look at the competitive bid process as a motive, but in the meantime let’s talk some more about the idea of a business deal gone bad. It seems like a likely motive that should be explored in more depth. The question is, how do we find out what they were up to?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Danny answered. “I think we need to try to retrace the steps of both men the week before their deaths. Chances are one or both of them came into contact with the killer on more than one occasion.”

“I agree.” I stood up and walked over to the murder board. We had a lot of items that might have seemed relevant earlier but didn’t seem to connect now that we were focused on the business angle.

“I think we need to re-sort these clues,” I said. “We should keep only the ones that pertain to both men. Bradley’s affair probably isn’t relevant, nor is the fact that he was getting a divorce. The black poker chips are a linking clue, as is the fact that the cars were found in the same location.”

“If the men were involved in a business deal, even a shady one, there must be a paper trail somewhere,” Cody pointed out.

“Maybe I should call Lacy,” Tara suggested. “She might know what sort of business deal Grover was in to.”

“How would she know when his wife didn’t?” Danny asked.

“I told you: she snoops.”

“I guess it couldn’t hurt to ask,” I said.

I refilled everyone’s beverages while Tara made her call. I felt like we had a lot of information that didn’t quite fit together. I’d planned to suggest to Maggie that she not have Lacy over to clean again, but I did sort of hope she had something that would help us track down the killer.

“Lacy wasn’t home, so I left a message,” Tara informed us.

“I can stop by both men’s offices tomorrow to see if I can pick up any clues,” Cody offered. “Glenda seemed fine with me looking around Bradley’s office the other day, and I think Wendy is still holding down the fort at Grover’s place.”

“Wait.” I got up and crossed the room to pick up my backpack. “I totally forgot to drop off the document Wendy left on the copier last week.”

I pulled out the sheet of paper and began to read. It was some kind of contract. Actually, it looked more like the draft of a contract rather than an actual contract itself.

“It looks like Bradley was planning to sell trees,” I stated.

“Trees?” Tara asked. “What kind of trees?”

“It doesn’t say, but based on the location indicated on the proposal it looks like they planned to harvest the trees from the hollow.”

“Not the Madronas!” Tara groaned.

“That’s why Bradley wanted to get rid of the cats,” Danny said. “He couldn’t very well orchestrate a large logging operation with all those cats there.”

“That makes sense.” Siobhan turned to write down the new information on the whiteboard.

“We know Nora Bradley owns the land where the hollow is located. Now it looks as if her husband planned to enter into a deal to sell the trees growing on that land. How does Grover fit into all of this?” Cody asked.

I frowned. How
did
Grover fit in?

“We know Bradley was having financial issues, so maybe Grover was providing the financial backing to get the project off the ground,” Siobhan suggested.

“Maybe, but the rumor is that Grover was struggling financially as well,” I reminded my sister.

Siobhan shrugged. ”Then I have no idea.”

“Of course you and me having money problems and old money having them aren’t the same thing,” I realized. “Grover had assets, even if he was short on cash. A lot of them. Real estate, cars, antiques. We know Nora controlled most of the money the Bradleys had, but Grover is the direct descendant of his family’s wealth, so maybe he was going to finance the project. I think this bears further research.”

Siobhan’s cell phone dinged, indicating she had a text. She looked at it and frowned. “I have to make a call.”

While Siobhan was out of the room the rest of us sat around and discussed the possible angles a little longer. Then Tara decided she needed to go home to see how Destiny was getting along and Danny went with her.

“Looks like it’s just you and me.” Cody pulled me into his arms.

“Looks like.” I leaned forward and kissed him.

“I have something I want to talk to you about.”

“You want to
talk
?”

“Actually, I want to kiss you again, but maybe we should talk first.”

“Okay.” I took a step back. Cody sounded so serious, which kind of frightened me. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Maybe we should take a walk.”

“A walk?”

“Max looks like he might need to go out.”

“Okay,” I said, although I was thinking
what the heck?

Cody held my hand as we started down the beach. It was a beautiful evening. The moon shone down on the calm water that lapped gently onto the shore. It was chilly, but Cody’s body felt warm next to mine. I don’t know why, but I was terrified this was the last romantic walk we would take together.

“You and I seem to be moving toward something,” Cody began.

I held my breath as I waited for him to continue.
Please, God, don’t say you want to cool things down just when they’re heating up.

“Due to our past experience, where a misunderstanding led to heartache,” Cody continued, “I wanted to be sure that the
something
we’re moving toward is the same in both our minds.”

I frowned. “Okay. Why don’t you tell me where you think we’re headed and then I’ll let you know if I think the same thing?”

Cody took a deep breath. He stopped walking and turned toward me. Then he took both my hands in his and looked me directly in the eye. “You know I’m attracted to you, and I think we both know we’re heading toward a physical intimacy of the complete kind.”

God, I hoped so.

“And I want so very badly to make love to you, but I need to be clear with you that what I’m after is something more.”

“More?” I could feel my heart pounding as I waited for the other shoe to drop. I knew he was so going to tell me that we needed to take a step back from the intimacy we’d been building. He needed more than I could give him. I was after all only his best friend’s kid sister.

“I love you. I’ve always loved you. I didn’t admit it at the time, but the reason I came back to Madrona Island was to be with you. I’m not saying we need to run out and get married, but before we go any further I need you to understand that this isn’t a fling for me. When I make love to you, I’ll be making a forever kind of commitment. I know that once I share that with you there’ll be no turning back.”

I didn’t say anything. I wanted to, but I was afraid I might cry.

“Cait?”

I let out the breath I’d been holding. “I love you too,” I sobbed. Tears streamed down my face. The heck with holding them back.

“You do?”

“I do.”

Cody pulled me into his arms and kissed me. A deep kiss filled with longing and meaning. I felt his heart meld with mine as the world faded away. The kiss seemed to last a lifetime, but before I knew it he was pulling back.

“Maybe we should go back to the cabin,” he murmured.

“Oh, God, yes.”

Cody and I shared a magical night we knew sealed a commitment for both of us. I asked him to spend the night, but he didn’t want Mr. Parsons to worry, and honestly, I was just as happy to have some time to process everything that had happened. Cody was the man I’d always known I was meant to spend my life with, and for the first time I felt confident I was the woman for him as well.

In spite of the fact that I lay awake most of the night replaying Cody’s gentle touch over and over in my mind, I woke up early the next morning and decided to take Max for a run before I headed into town. I dressed in layers and headed downstairs to see Siobhan sitting in my living room.

“What are you doing here so early?” I asked. My heart sank when I noticed the bags by her feet.

“I’m heading out on the first ferry east. My friend Rain is going to give me a ride into town so I don’t have a lot of time, but I wanted to say good-bye before I left.”

“You’re leaving? Did something happen between you and Finn?”

“No. Things are fine between me and Finn. Or at least they were. I’m not so sure now. He seemed pretty upset when I called him earlier.”

“I’ll bet. It seemed like you might get back together.”

“I guess we were headed in that direction, but my old boss called me last night. He offered me my job back. Actually, not the job I had before. He offered me a promotion and a huge raise. He said the company was lost without me.”

“So you’re going back? Just like that?”

Siobhan took a deep breath. It looked as if she were searching for the right words. “I’ve had so much fun being here on the island. I didn’t realize how much I missed you and everyone else. I feel at home here in a way I’ve never felt in Seattle, but we’ve talked about the fact that there aren’t any job opportunities here. I mean, really, what am I going to do? Get a waitressing job?”

Siobhan wasn’t wrong about that.

“I’m so sorry I let us drift apart the way I did and I promise to visit more often, but I think I need to hear what my old boss has to say at the very least. I haven’t committed to anything yet, and I plan to go into my meeting with him with an open mind, but the job I’m being offered is a dream come true.”

“What about Finn?” I asked.

Siobhan looked up toward the sky the way I knew she did when she was fighting tears. “I love Finn. I’ve always loved Finn. But I would wither and die if I spent my days doing nothing more than changing diapers and going to PTA meetings. I need the challenge of a good negotiation or a problem to solve. I need to be able to use my planning and marketing skills. I need a life where I’m free to be the person I know I’m meant to be.”

“Does Maggie know you’re leaving?”

“Yeah, I told her. She’s upset, but I think she understands. At least she said she did.”

I crossed the room and hugged my big sister. I squeezed my arms as tightly around her as I could. She said she’d visit more often, but she wouldn’t.

Siobhan took a step back and looked me in the eye. “You look different.”

I blushed.

“You and Cody?”

“Me and Cody.”

Siobhan hugged me again. “I’m so happy for you. I always felt there was something special between you. I really want to talk to you about this, but I have to go. If I miss the first ferry I’ll be late for my meeting. I’ll call you tonight.”

“Okay.” I felt like I was going to cry.

Siobhan hugged me again and then scurried out the door as Rain pulled up in the drive.

I watched the car move away and then headed upstairs to change into work clothes because I was no longer going to have time for a run with Max. I felt bad that he and I didn’t have as much time to spend together as we once did. I know he likes hanging out with Cody, but I also know he misses me. I’m not sure how I’m going to reorganize my life so we can hang out more together, but I need to address the issue sooner rather than later.

I took a quick shower, then pulled on a pair of jeans and a Coffee Cat Books T-shirt. I headed downstairs and was preparing to leave when Ichabod began scratching at the door.

“I need to get to work. Can we do this later?”

Ichabod just looked at me.

“I promised Tara I’d be on time today.”

“Meow.” Ichabod began scratching again.

“Oh, okay. Let me call Tara to let her know I’m going to be late and then I’m all yours.”

Tara said she was fine with me being late and then went back to where Ichabod was waiting for me. I opened the door. “What do you want me to do?”

He trotted outside and headed toward my car.

“Oh, this should be interesting.”

I opened the door for him and he jumped into the front seat. I noticed Max watching us through the window, so I went back for him and let him into the backseat.

I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to take directions from a cat, but I have an open mind about these things and decided to just go with it. I figured Ichabod wanted to go somewhere farther than the peninsula because we most likely would have walked otherwise, so I headed down the road to the highway. “Okay, which way? Left or right?”

“Meow.”

“Meow left or meow right?” I asked.

Ichabod just looked at me.

“How about this: one meow for left and two meows for right.”

“Meow.”

I followed Ichabod’s meow instructions across the island to the north shore. Eventually, he directed me to a dirt road that led to a private drive. The house looked deserted and there was no sign of a car, but there was a boat tied to the dock that I recognized as belonging to one of the local fishermen.

“Are you sure?” I asked Ichabod.

“Meow.”

“I’m not sure the person who lives here is going to be all that receptive to early morning visitors. Maybe we should come back later.”

Ichabod began scratching at the passenger side window.

“Okay. Here goes nothing, but if we get yelled at don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I walked up to the front door with Max and Ichabod trailing behind me. I knocked twice, but no one answered. I was trying to decide what to do when Ichabod pushed the door open with his paw. Whoever had been the last one out hadn’t closed it all the way.

“Hello,” I called as I poked my head in the front door.

There was no answer, but there was a powerful smell that almost caused me to turn around, but Ichabod trotted on inside.

“Anyone here?” I called as I placed my hand over my nose and took a step inside the entry. “It’s Caitlin Hart,” I added as I walked down the dark, narrow hallway toward the back of the structure.

The first thing I noticed upon entering the living area was the pile of black poker chips on the dining room table. The next thing I saw was Leif Piney, lying dead on his living room floor.

“Poor Finn,” Tara said later that morning after I filled her in on both the fact that we had a third victim and Siobhan had had a job offer. “I really thought Siobhan was enjoying being home.”

“She was. But she needs to feel needed.”

“She did an awesome job with the murder board.”

“Yes, she did. And if we had a murder to solve every week we might be able to keep her interest. It’s going to seem so odd to have her gone,” I said. “I mean, I know she was only back for a little over a week, but I’d gotten used to having her around. It almost felt like old times, before Dad died and the cannery closed and everyone moved away.”

Tara crossed the room and gave me one of her perfect Tara hugs. I hugged her back as I allowed my heart to long for a relationship with my sister that I knew I would never have.

“Am I interrupting something?” Destiny asked as she entered the main part of the store from the office.

“No, you aren’t interrupting,” I answered. “What do you need?”

“There’s a call for Cait.”

“Okay, thanks.”

I headed into the office and picked up the receiver.

“This is Cait,” I said.

A deep voice said, “If you value your life stay out of that which is none of your business.”

The line went dead.

“That was weird.”

“What’s weird?” Tara asked as she came into the office.

I told her what the voice on the phone had said.

“Someone knows you’re investigating. Maybe you should do as the caller said and leave the investigation to Finn.”

“No way.”

“The person on the phone threatened to kill you,” Tara insisted.

“It wouldn’t be the first time.”

I couldn’t help but notice the troubled look on Tara’s face.

“Don’t worry,” I added. “I’ll be careful. I’m going to be at the haunted house all afternoon. I doubt I’ll be in any danger there.”

“I don’t know about that. You seem to have a knack for putting yourself in danger anywhere you go.”

“I’ll be careful,” I repeated. “I promise.”

Tara didn’t say anything, but I could see she was worried.

“You don’t think we have a serial killer on the island, do you?” Tara asked.

“I doubt it.”

“We do have three bodies.”

“Yeah, but my gut tells me they’re connected, not random. A serial killer wouldn’t know Bradley hated cats and Grover was afraid of water.”

“How about Leif? Did his death indicate he died in a manner that addressed a fear or dislike?”

I frowned. “Actually, no. It appeared he was hit on the head with something, although I didn’t really see anything I would consider to be a murder weapon. Of course it smelled pretty bad in the house, so I didn’t stick around to look.”

“The addition of Leif as a victim seems to change the focus of the investigation,” Tara commented. “When the victims were just Bradley and Grover it seemed like the most obvious link was the council or the business deal, but Leif wasn’t on the Island Council and he wasn’t part of the tree harvesting deal. Assuming all three men were killed by the same person, I think we need to look for a new motive.”

“They all belong to the Fisherman’s Lodge. I suppose the killer could somehow be related to their activities there. The fact that both Grover and Bradley were found with black chips in their pockets and Leif had a whole pile of them on his dining room table seems to indicate that they’re relevant.”

“Maybe Leif killed Bradley and Grover for some reason and someone found out and killed him. Was there a chip on Leif’s body?”

“Not that I noticed, but I didn’t look through his pockets. I can ask Finn. If you ask me, though, I’d say Leif was the first victim rather than the last.”

Tara scrunched up her nose. “Really? You think he’s been dead for over a week?”

“Based on the condition of the body I’d say it’s possible. I’m not a medical examiner, but I can tell you that man had been dead for quite some time. Finn will be able to answer that question for certain. I thought I might call him tonight to see how he’s doing anyway.”

Tara and I returned to the sales floor just as the noon ferry arrived. We’d found Thursdays weren’t usually busy in the off season, but we didn’t want to leave Destiny alone to deal with the few customers we’d undoubtedly have. I planned to check in with Amanda today to see how she was getting along with Angel, but I wasn’t certain if she’d be going home after school or if she’d be staying for the haunted house. I supposed I could look for her that afternoon, and if I didn’t run into her, I could try her at home over the weekend.

“You have to be the most adorable zombie I’ve ever seen,” Cody said later that afternoon after he’d finished applying my makeup. He’d volunteered to help me get ready for the event at the school.

“Then you’re doing it wrong. Zombies are supposed to be horrifying. Let me have that mirror.”

Cody handed me the hand mirror on my dresser. I actually looked pretty awesome. Cody had done a fantastic job, just like he’d assured me he would.

“Where’d you learn to apply makeup like that?” I asked as I studied my reflection.

“I’m a man of many talents.”

I smiled. “Yeah, you are.”

“You, Caitlin Hart, are a tease. You know that your come-hither look makes me want to kiss you, but you also know that if I do, I’ll end up with half your makeup on my face. Besides, that would make you late, and we don’t want to keep the kids waiting.”

“Later?” I asked.

“Later for sure.”

Running around a fake haunted house in my fake zombie costume chasing real kids was the most fun I’d had in a long time. Who knew that channeling your dark side could be such a rush? Maybe I’d keep my zombie makeup on for my date with Cody later.

“Mike,” I greeted Amanda’s dad. “I’m so glad I ran into you.”

“Cait?”

“Yeah, it’s me under all this makeup. I wanted to see how you’re doing with Angel.”

“Actually,” Mike smiled, “Angel is the best thing that has happened to Amanda and me in a long time. I guess I’ve been so knotted up with my own grief that I couldn’t see how lonely Amanda was. Now that we have Angel to brighten up our lives we’re both much happier. Thank you for taking the time to help me see what I couldn’t on my own.”