The Stone of Sadness (An Olivia Miller Mystery Book 3) (24 page)

“I told Emily that she might want to just try and get along with mother and dad. That she would be able to get her own place after graduating college. Emily didn’t like that suggestion. She started in on me…that I always took their side…never defended her.”

Angela’s face was lined with sadness. “I loved Emily. Loved her spunk. But her personality clashed terribly with my parents. They did smother her. They were very controlling. I hated the turmoil that went on. I always felt like I was taking sides. I didn’t know how to mediate the mess between them. I was always worried about Emily. She drank, slept around. Maybe she did drugs. Her rebellious behavior was because of mother’s iron fist. That night Emily had on a long kimono that father had brought each of us from a trip to Asia…it was like a bathrobe, it had wide droopy sleeves. Emily had it on over her sundress. I think she put it on to hide the fact that she had bruises on her wrist.”

Olivia asked, “Bruises?”

“When Emily reached for something on her desk I saw cuts and bruises on her wrist. I asked her what happened. She told me that she fell. I didn’t believe her. I asked if Overman had hurt her.” Tears welled in Angela’s eyes. “She pushed me. Told me to leave her the hell alone. Told me to mind my own business. Said to get out.” Tears spilled over.

“You think Kenny had been rough with her?”

“I worried that he had hurt her. I knew she would try to protect him. She wouldn’t tell me if he hurt her, but I think he did.”

“Had you ever noticed bruises on her before?”

“No, but I didn’t really ever have a chance to notice. We didn’t spend much time together.” Angela’s face was lined with sadness. “I didn’t have the relationship with my sister that I always hoped for. I really don’t think she ever liked me.”

“I’m sorry, Angela,” Olivia said, her voice soft. Her mind was racing.
Did Kenny hurt Emily? Why would he hurt her?

Jackie and Olivia were riding in Jackie’s red truck heading to the center of town for dinner.

“So I think Emily is holding back information,” Olivia said. “When I was at her office and I told her I’d spoken with Father Anthony and then I asked her straight out, were you at the church on the day of the murders, she got a cold look on her face and told me not to believe what Father Anthony said.”

“Strange,” Jackie said. “Does she think the priest is telling lies?”

“I don’t know. Does Emily believe that Father Anthony is hiding something?”

“Why doesn’t she just tell you what she thinks he’s lied about?” Jackie asked.

“I think she knows something,” Olivia said. “Maybe she didn’t go to New York like she claims. Maybe she was at the church. Did she see someone that day at St. Catherine’s? Hear something? Is she protecting someone?” Her eyes widened and she turned to Jackie, her voice excited. “Remember I told you that Emily’s sister saw cuts and bruises on Emily…that she suspected Kenny had hurt her? Could someone have threatened Emily into silence? Is that why she never wanted a family? Is she afraid someone would try to hurt them to keep her quiet? I need to talk to her again.”

Jackie shot Olivia a glance. “I don’t think she’ll talk to you. Sounds like you got her angry last time.”

“Do you think she’s still at work?” Olivia checked the time on her cell phone. “People say she’s a workaholic.”

“It’s kind of late, but maybe. Why? You want to go now?”

“Would you mind, Jackie? I thought if she was still in the office, I could just show up. She’s probably alone there…everyone else would have left by now. Maybe I could get her to talk to me.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think she will. We can drive over if you want to give it a try.”

It’s about twenty-five minutes away,” Olivia said. “In Brookline. Afterwards, we could get a bite to eat.”

“Okay. But I don’t think she’s going to talk.” Jackie shook her head. “How do I get there?”

Olivia gave the directions and thirty minutes later they pulled into the accounting firm’s parking lot. There were a few cars parked and some lights could be seen in the building’s windows.

“Which floor is Emily’s firm on?” Jackie asked.

“The first. She owns the building. She rents the other floors out to different businesses.” Olivia craned her neck to look around at the parked cars. “I don’t see Emily’s car.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Let’s go see if anyone is in there.”

Just as Olivia reached for the door handle, she spotted a woman leaving the building. The woman was carrying a stack of papers and folders in her arms. “That’s someone from Emily’s office. I’m going to go talk to her.” Olivia jumped from the passenger seat and jogged over to the woman who was just about to open the back door of her car.

“Excuse me,” Olivia called. The woman startled and wheeled towards Olivia who was coming up behind her. “Hi. I was here the other day to speak to Emily. I’m Olivia Miller.”

“Oh.” The woman’s brow was furrowed. Her voice was tinged with annoyance.

“Sorry to bother you but I was…”

The woman fumbled with the door handle while balancing the load of papers.

“Here, let me help,” Olivia said and opened the rear door so the woman could plop the papers on the back seat. “Is Emily still in the office? Is she working late?”

The woman straightened. “Emily isn’t, but I was.”

“Oh.” Olivia was disappointed. “What time does Emily usually come in to work in the morning?”

“She gets here early.”

“Like 7am?”

“Earlier.” The woman was searching in her purse. It was clear she wasn’t interested in conversing with Olivia.

“Do you think it would be okay for me to come by early tomorrow morning?”

“I don’t know.” The woman opened the driver side door. “Why don’t you just make an appointment?”

“I only wanted to see her for a quick minute.”

“That’s all you’d get from her anyway.” The woman got into her car.

“I guess I need to make an appointment then?”

“Not with me,” the woman said. “I just quit. I cannot stand that woman for one more day. She‘s a bitch. I thought working for a woman would be great, but she may as well be a man. She puts everything on me. She’s always leaving the office to go running or biking. Training for that stupid triathlon.” She made a face. “I need to get going.” The woman started the engine. “Call the receptionist and make an appointment.” She backed out of the space leaving Olivia standing there.

Jackie walked over to Olivia who was watching the car drive away. “I take it Emily’s not here.”

“That was a weird exchange.” Olivia told Jackie how the woman was hurried and unhelpful.

“Not good qualities for a receptionist,” Jackie said.

“I think she was the office manager or something. She seems really annoyed with Emily. She called her a bitch and said, ‘she’s worse than a man.’”

Jackie shrugged. “Maybe Emily might not understand that it’s possible to run a business and still be nice to people?”

“Yeah. Well, that was a waste of time,” Olivia said.

“Let’s go eat,” Jackie said and they walked back to the car.

On Saturday, Olivia and Jackie made a picnic lunch of sandwiches, pickles, cut up veggies, water, chocolate chip cookies, and cherries and strawberries. They packed a snack for Lily and a bowl for water. The women changed into bathing suits and grabbed beach towels and a Frisbee. They loaded everything into Jackie’s truck and opened the door to the truck’s passenger cab so that Lily could sit back there. Jackie knew of a small, clear lake situated near Walden Pond in Concord that was unknown to most people in the area and where they would be able to swim with Lily.

The drive took about thirty-five minutes. Jackie parked well off the side of the road next to a trail that wound through the woods to the lake. The scent of pines filled the air. The dog ran a short distance ahead with her nose close to the ground, intrigued by the new smells along the pathway. They walked for about ten minutes to a smaller trail that led to the lake. A thin, sandy beach hugged the edge of the water. A large grassy field spread out behind the beach.

“What a great spot,” Olivia said.

“My husband and I come here some weekends,” Jackie told her.

An older couple sat in sand-chairs reading at the water’s edge. A young couple sat whispering to each other on a blanket and another couple with two small children was digging in the sand making a castle. Jackie spread the blanket and Olivia placed the picnic basket next to it. They both agreed that this would be a hiatus from the events of the past few days and that there would be no talk of the Monahan murders or who could be responsible.

They swam in the lake with Lily, sunned themselves, dug into the lunch items, read books, and played Frisbee in the field with the energetic dog. They returned to the blanket and pulled cold drinks from the cooler.

“What was your aunt like?” Jackie asked.

Olivia’s eyes widened at Jackie’s unexpected question. She looked across the lake and her face muscles softened. The corners of her mouth turned up into a slight smile. “She was great. Aggie was fun and smart and kind. She loved the ocean…the Red Sox. She loved taking me into Boston and just wandering all around the city with me.” Olivia hugged her knees. “Whenever I had a fever, she’d lay a cool cloth across my forehead and sit next to me until I felt better. She read to me all the time when I was little. We’d draw, plant flowers. She taught me to drive… how to sail…how to swim. She’d ask my opinion about things…even when I was just a kid.”

“What did she do for work?” Jackie asked

“She was a lawyer, started out as a public defender and then worked as a law professor. Poverty, corporate greed…those things made her crazy. Social justice was important to her…she stood up for people who needed help.”

Sounds a lot like you,” Jackie smiled.

“Hmm…maybe, someday.” Olivia sipped from her water bottle and watched Lily sniff along the water’s edge, then she turned to Jackie and said, “You know, I’m lucky. Aggie gave me a great gift. Probably the best gift that one person can give to another.”

“What was that?” Jackie asked.

“The gift of knowing that I was loved.”

Near dusk, they packed up and headed back to Jackie’s family home feeling rested and relaxed. Jackie’s parents had gone out for dinner, so the women made a frozen pizza and ate it in the den in front of the TV. Jackie lay down on the sofa while Olivia cleared the dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher.

Olivia returned to the den. “I’m going…,” she started to speak but stopped when she saw that Jackie and Lily were asleep. She inched back out of the room.

Olivia wanted to go back to John’s house because her cell phone was nearly dead and she had left her charger there. She also needed to pick up dog food from the house since Lily’s food supply was running low.

Olivia opened a kitchen drawer and found a pen and small pad of paper. She left Jackie a note telling her that she was going to drive over to John’s to pick up a few things and would be right back. Olivia grabbed her purse and keys and put her phone in her back pocket.

It was dark when she parked in front of John’s garage. She got out, walked up the front porch steps and unlocked the door. The air in the house was stuffy and hot from being closed up. Olivia walked through the rooms checking that everything was in order. She climbed the stairs to the bedroom she used. The AC unit’s hose was lying on the floor where she had thrown it after pulling it out of her window and the bedside table was overturned from her attempt to reach her phone the night of the CO2 problem. She righted the table and sat on the bed. The police must have removed the trash can that she had heaved into because it was nowhere in the room.
Thankfully.

The events of that night played in her mind. The dream that she had on the first night at John’s house of the little blonde girl standing at the foot of the bed popped into her head. She glanced at the spot where the girl had stood in the dream.

Olivia sighed and left the bedroom.

She returned to the first floor and headed for the kitchen where she took a bag of Lily’s food from the closet and set it on the floor by the table. She walked to the sunroom and flicked on a light to check the progress of the work. New floor to ceiling windows were now in place, the walls were being painted, and woodwork was in process. It looked beautiful and well constructed. While checking the new sliding glass door to the deck, Olivia spotted Jackie’s sweater hanging over the railing. She unlocked the door and stepped out to retrieve it.

The air was warm. Stars were shining. Crickets and peepers were singing. Olivia sat down in one of the deck chairs and gazed across the dark back lawn. She clasped her hands together and laid them on her chest as she looked up at the stars.

Snippets of events and conversations she had had with townspeople over the past days played in her mind. The Bradford women. Kenny. Father Mike. Father Anthony. The lawyer that Emily had dated. James Martin and his tragic swimming pool accident. The squirrels on the front porch. The psychic. Lily being tied up at the state park. Mary and Kimmy.
Why were they killed? Who did it?

Olivia saw something on the deck. She leaned forward to better see what it was. Lily’s collar. Olivia had forgotten to take it inside after washing the mud off of it from the state park incident. She stood and went over to pick it up. It still had a few inches of the rope attached to it. Lily’s dog license and identification tag jingled in the darkness. Olivia fingered the piece of rope.
Who tied Lily up?
Anger and anxiety bubbled up inside her. She wanted that damn piece of rope off of Lily’s collar so she turned to go back into the house to get the scissors.

She stopped short. She looked at the rope remnant. A thought formed. Olivia’s heart beat sped up. She played her idea against what she had found out over the days of talking with people.

Thoughts aligned and, one by one, the puzzle pieces slipped into place.
Son of a bitch!
Could it be?
Her hands trembled with excitement.

Just as Olivia was reaching around for her phone to call Brad to tell him what she suspected, it rang in her back pocket. She startled and dropped the dog collar on the deck. She pulled the cell phone out.
Angela Bradford.