This Old Homicide (18 page)

“I will. It’s in Blue Point, right?”

“Yes, you have a good memory. It’s such a pretty little town. Smaller than Lighthouse Cove, but just charming.”

“I’ve been to a few restaurants down there, and you have a great little bookstore, too.”

“That’s right,” she said, looking pleased that I remembered. “My shop is just a few doors down from the bookstore.”

She really did seem nice. So why was I still grappling with suspicion? “I might stop by one of these days. I’ll probably drag Jane along, too.”

“That would be wonderful.” She glanced around. “Speaking of Jane, I haven’t seen her yet.”

“She should be in the kitchen.”

“I hope she won’t mind giving me a little tour later. This is one of the loveliest B-and-Bs I’ve ever seen.”

Okay, well, I had to admit the way to my heart was to flatter my friends and my own work. “It is, isn’t it? I’m sure Jane would love to give you a tour. The gardens are beautiful, too.”

She glanced in the direction I’d pointed. “Oh, it all looks lovely.” She picked up her drink. “I might just peek around on my own until I find her, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Of course. Enjoy yourself.”

I watched her walk outside onto the deck and wondered just how close Jesse and she had been. I mean, if it had been serious, he would have said something to Jane, right? I would think so, anyway. And if they weren’t serious, why was Althea suddenly becoming so at home in Lighthouse Cove?

And why couldn’t I stop asking dumb questions? Althea was here because Jane had invited her, duh! There was nothing nefarious about her presence here this afternoon.

Deliberately I turned back to Ian. We talked for another minute until someone behind me ordered a drink. I turned and bumped into Stephen Darby. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No damage done,” he said, smiling as he extended his hand. “Hello. We met the other day. Stephen Darby. You’re… Sharon?”

“Shannon.”

He winced. “Sorry, Shannon. You were Jesse’s neighbor.”

“And you’re Ned’s son.”

“Right.” We smiled at each other. He turned to Ian and asked for two scotch and waters for Bob and Ned, and a glass of white wine for himself. I waited for him, sipping my wine as Ian worked.

“Here, let me help you,” I said, and took one of the cocktails Stephen had ordered. We delivered them to the two older men, who were involved in a stirring discussion with Mac about navy policies.

Mac winked at me by way of greeting before continuing his conversation with the two men. I turned back to Stephen. “I remember you said you were working at Tre Mondrian. How’s it going?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You have a good memory.”

“I love that restaurant,” I said brightly, “so naturally I remembered you talking about it. Is it working out okay?”

“It’s, uh, yeah, it’s going great. It’s part-time for a few months and then I’ll go full-time this summer.” His gaze flitted restlessly over the crowd and I wondered if I was boring him as well as the other way around. He clearly wasn’t interested in my charms, shocking as that was.

“That’s good to hear.” We strolled around the room and outside onto the deck while I tried to find something to talk about. Not usually an issue for me, but Jane was right. Stephen wasn’t exactly electrifying company. “And you’ve found a place to live?”

“Not yet,” he said, sounding sheepish. “I’m starting to look at houses in town, but meanwhile, I’m bunking with my dad.”

“You’ll find the right home.”

“I hope so.” He took a big gulp of wine, glancing around, looking desperate to find someone else. Jane, no doubt. “I’d like to get something near the beach.”

I wished I hadn’t vowed to stay close to him, because I was so ready to walk away. Would he even notice? I tried to think of a way to steer the conversation toward what I needed to know without being obvious about it. Such as, where was he the night of the murder? Did he know about the necklace?

Did he murder my friend Jesse?

“I don’t blame you,” I said. “The coastline is beautiful.”

“Especially around Lighthouse Cove,” he said. “I love this area. I think it’s the prettiest part of Northern California.”

“I think so.” I tried to smile, but it wasn’t easy. I didn’t believe a word he was saying. It was my own fault for striking up a conversation with someone whose name was number four on my suspect list. My judgment was already clouded by that, and now every little thing he said, the tone of his voice, his facial gestures, felt false.

“Are you looking to buy something or rent? I usually know which houses are on the market so I’d be happy to help.”

“Oh.” I must’ve caught him off guard with my offer, because he looked stymied. “I’ve actually been looking for a place similar to the one Jesse owned. Smaller, one story, but still in the Victorian style.”

I smiled tepidly. “Sad to say, Jesse’s home will be on the market eventually.”

“Of course. I didn’t mean to sound crass. I just remember visiting him once and really liking the feel of the place.”

Wasn’t that fascinating?

And also, it was the first time in all these minutes that I wasn’t bored by his presence. Maybe because it was the first time he seemed genuinely connected to what he was talking about instead of just muttering small talk. Before he had seemed so distracted. Not exactly flattering to the person he was with.

“How long ago did you visit him?” I asked.

“It’s been a few years.” He set his drink down. “Maybe I should ask my Realtor to contact Jane to ask what her plans are. I don’t want to pressure her by asking her directly.”

Oh, really?
I thought.
Ask Jane?
Jesse’s place would be available when I said so.
Meow!

I knew it wasn’t fair to be influenced by the fact that Stephen’s name was on my suspect list, but there it was. He bugged me. I managed to keep talking though, because I was on a mission of sorts.

“So, do you scuba dive like your father does?” I asked.

“I got certified a few years ago, but I’m not as gung ho about it as Dad is.” He chuckled. “If he could throw on a wet suit and jump in the water every weekend, he’d be a happy man.”

He looked almost animated again. Score another point for me.

“We have some great diving areas around here,” I said. “Did he tell you about our amazing shipwreck right in the middle of Lighthouse Bay?”

“He said something about a clipper ship sinking out there.”

“Yes, the
Glorious Maiden
. That’s where your father went on a diving trip with Jesse and Bob a few years ago.”

“Oh yes.”

“Rumor has it that it sank with a huge stash of gold, payment for the opium it had delivered to San Francisco. These days we get our share of diving enthusiasts who show up every year, hoping to find some kind of treasure down there.”

I watched his face for any reaction to the mention of gold and treasure.

“Does anyone ever find anything exciting?” His eyes flickered with interest. A good sign.

“A gold coin might wash up on the beach every few years, and that seems to be enough to keep some of the more adventurous people interested and coming back.” While that was true, most normal people returned to Lighthouse Cove for completely different reasons such as the great weather, the beauty of the coast, the Victorian charm, and the welcoming warmth of the townspeople.

“A lot of folks want to get something for nothing,” Stephen said, frowning.

“True enough.” I took a sip of wine and savored the flavor. “Jesse used to boast that he’d found some fabulous piece of jewelry while diving around the
Glorious Maiden
.”

“Jewelry?” he said, perking up again. “Now, that’s exciting. Did you ever see it?”

“No.” I chuckled. “Jesse had a tendency to tell tall tales once in a while.”

“But if he found it, what would he do with it?”

“Sell it? Or give it to a museum? I don’t really know.”

“Would he hide it?”

“Maybe. What would you do with something like that?”

He blinked and seemed to catch himself. “Uh, yeah, I’d probably give it to a museum. But you don’t think it exists? Too bad.” He glanced around at the walls and ceiling and I could feel his attention slipping away again.

“Jane’s place is fantastic,” he said.

“Isn’t it? It took us a few years to get it into shape, but it was worth it. It’s beautiful.”

“It sounds like you had a hand in it.”

“My construction company helped Jane renovate the entire building.” I gazed around the room. “But the furnishings and color schemes and the warmth are all due to Jane.”

“She is a warm person,” he said, his gaze focusing on someone behind me. Was Jane back there?

“Yes, she’s got a loving and generous heart and she’s smart and beautiful. She’s been my best friend since kindergarten.”
So don’t play games with her,
I added silently.

I thought maybe he got the message, because his jaw tightened ever so slightly. “That’s great to hear.”

“Hello, you two,” Jane said from behind me. “Having fun?”

“Sure are,” I said.

“Jane, I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Hello, Stephen.”

“I was hoping we could take a walk in the garden.”

“Maybe a little later,” she said vaguely, and gave him her most gracious smile. “Help yourself to some appetizers. They’re delicious.”

“Don’t mind if I do. Thanks.” He rushed away and Jane gave me an accusing look.

“What did you say to him? He ran off like a scared rabbit.”

“I didn’t do anything. I thought we were having a pleasant conversation. I guess he was hungry.”

“I know he’s on your so-called suspect list, but that doesn’t make him guilty of anything.”

“Then why does he act so suspicious?” I whispered.

“Shannon,” she warned.

“Okay, but you were right about one thing.” I leaned in and said, “He’s boring.”

The truth was, I hadn’t tried very hard to frighten Stephen, but he’d looked awfully uncomfortable talking to me. And he’d seemed a little too interested in Jesse’s house and in what Jesse might’ve done with the necklace if he found it. Made me wonder what kind of secrets he was hiding and how I might find out what they were.

Jane was right. Stephen’s discomfort didn’t mean he was guilty of anything—except maybe boring me to death. One thing was certain, though: I would be keeping an eagle eye on Stephen Darby from now on.

“How do you think the party’s going?” Jane asked an hour later as she cast an anxious look around. “I’m too involved to see it objectively.”

“It’s going great,” I said. “It’s a fabulous party. Try to relax. Everyone is raving about the great food and excellent wine, and your place looks fantastic. Did you redo the lighting in here?”

“Just tweaks here and there.” Jane’s smile was tinged with pride. “I think we cleaned up well.”

“I’d say so,” I said, laughing. “Everything looks elegant and welcoming. Have any guests arrived yet?”

“Yes, two darling couples drove up from San Francisco earlier this afternoon and were the first people to check in.”

“How exciting.”

“It was. I gave them each a champagne basket to celebrate.”

“Cool.”

“Three more couples arrived shortly after that, and five singles and a couple streamed in over the past few hours. I suspect at least one of them is a reviewer. Sandra is showing them to their rooms.”

“Who’s Sandra?”

“Sandra Larsen. Didn’t you meet her? She’s my new assistant manager.”

“I guess I haven’t been around lately.”

“I’ll introduce you. She’s a cousin of Sean’s.”

“Then she must be okay,” I said, grinning. “So any more guests expected?”

“Yes, I’m expecting a family to arrive later tonight. And I had one dropout, which bummed me out a little. But then someone just called a few days ago and reserved the room for a week starting Monday afternoon. So that’s all fourteen rooms.”

I grabbed her hand and squeezed. “A full house. It’s all happening, Jane.”

“I know.” She giggled and let out a little squeal. “I’m an innkeeper for real!”

“You’re a hotelier,” I said, raising my glass to her.

“Yes, much classier.”

I gave her a quick hug. “I’m thrilled for you. Congratulations.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“That’s so true.” I laughed and shook my head. “No, I helped rebuild the walls and the floors and the facades, but you added your own special touch of beauty and grace and friendliness. That’s what your guests will take away and talk about for years to come.”

“Oh.” She pressed her fingers to her lips. “Don’t you dare make me cry again.”

“Ooh, I see a tear,” I said, peering at her. “I believe my work here is done.”

She smacked my arm. “Beast.”

“That’s me.” I grinned. “Hey, did Althea find you?”

“Althea’s here?” She glanced around. “Where is she?”

“She took herself off on a little tour of the place, but that was a while ago.”

“Oh, good. I’ll go track her down.”

At that moment, Jane’s assistant tapped her on the shoulder. “I hate to interrupt, but we’ve had a cancellation.”

“Oh no.” Jane gave me a quick glance before turning to follow Sandra through the door to the check-in desk tucked under the main stairway off the foyer. I tagged behind.

Jane looked at the phone message Sandra handed her. “Andrew Braxton. He was involved in a car accident.”

“His doctor called from the hospital,” Sandra added. “He’s had to cancel his entire trip.”

“Must’ve been a bad accident,” I said.

“I hope he’s okay.” Jane wrung her hands. “He’s the one who reserved the last room, and he even paid for the entire week in advance. I’ll have to issue a refund to his credit card. We should find out what hospital he’s in and maybe send flowers.”

“I can call around and take care of it,” Sandra said.

“Thank you, Sandra. You’re the best.”

“Come on,” I said. “Let’s get you a glass of wine.” I wound my arm through Jane’s and we walked back to the living room bar.

“And he was booked into my favorite room,” she said dejectedly.

“They’re all your favorite rooms,” I said.

“I know, but he was booked in Desdemona, the one with the pretty pale green walls and the little balcony that overlooks the Buddha Garden.”

“That’s a nice one,” I admitted, remembering vividly the work we’d done to refurbish that room with its peeling paint and rotted wooden walls, not to mention the crumbling balcony. Steel-reinforced beams had been extended out from beneath the floor to buttress the small terrace, and the softly curving iron rail and elaborate fretwork in the balusters had cost a small fortune to replicate. But it had been worth it, if Jane’s overwhelming delight was any gauge.

Jane had named each of her fourteen suites after Shakespeare’s heroines. She’d also named different areas of her garden after the various statuary she’d placed there. So there was the Buddha Garden with its statue of the laughing Buddha set at the base of a young redwood tree, surrounded by verdant ferns and pink cyclamen. A standing statue of Walt Whitman had his own miniforest of pines at the end of the garden walk. And a family of deer stood guard near the copse of bay laurels, earning it the whimsical name of Bambi Bay.

“I hate that the room’s going to be empty all week,” Jane said.

“I know. I’m sorry.”

She took a sip from the wineglass I handed her. “I just wanted to be able to say that I had a full house our first week in business.” She waved her problems aside. “Never mind. The important thing is to find out if he was badly injured. I hope not.”

“Did I hear you say you have an empty room this week?”

We both turned and saw Stephen Darby hovering nearby.

“Yes, I’ve had a cancellation,” Jane said. “My guest was involved in a car accident.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, touching her arm in a show of sympathy. “And I hate to gain from your guest’s loss, but I would love to take that room for as long as it’s available.”

“Oh, Stephen, you don’t have to do that.”

“But I want to,” he insisted, then leaned closer. “I really want to get out of my father’s house.”

Jane laughed softly. “In that case, the room is available and it looks like it’s yours.”

That was convenient, I thought, as Stephen ushered Jane back to the registration area. First he wined and dined Jane and now he was renting a room in her B-and-B? Was he so enthralled with Jane or was there something more sinister going on? I had already decided to keep an eye on Stephen, so what else could I do but traipse along behind them?

“Here we go,” Jane said, settling herself behind the check-in desk. “If you’ll fill out this information card and let me know which credit card you’ll be using, I’ll get things started.” She looked a bit flustered. “Oh, but I guess you don’t have any luggage.”

“No, I’ll go back to Dad’s later and pack a few things. Here’s my credit card.”

“Perfect,” Jane murmured, taking the card and sliding it through the mini credit card processor.

“Oh, there you are, Jane,” Althea said.

“Althea,” Jane cried, glancing up from the card reader. “I’m so happy you made it.”

“I’m happy, too. But you look busy, so I’ll find you later.”

“No, wait.” Jane skipped around the desk and gave the older woman a warm hug. “It’s so good to see you. Are you finding your way around?”

She giggled. “I hope you don’t mind, but I just gave myself a little tour through your beautiful garden and lost track of time. This place is magnificent. I’m so proud of you and I know Jesse would’ve been bursting with pride tonight.”

“That means a lot. Thank you.” She hugged her again. “Just give me a few minutes to take care of some business, and we can sit down and have a little talk.”

“I would love that,” Althea said. She waved her hand in the general direction of the living room. “I’ll be around, mingling.”

“Good.” Jane returned to her seat and stared at the readout. “Oh. Oh dear.” Her shoulders tensed slightly as she gazed up at Stephen. “I’m sorry. Your card was rejected. Let me run it one more time.”

“No, no,” he said, his face turning pink. “I’ll just give you another card.”

“Of course.” Jane stood waiting patiently, her face a mask of professional discretion.

“This is awkward,” he muttered.

“It happens all the time,” Jane said. “Don’t give it another thought.”

He fumbled through his wallet, yanked another card out of its slot, and stared at it for a few seconds before handing it to her. “I see the problem. I gave you my old business credit card, but I’m no longer working there, so it’s not active. I wasn’t thinking. Sorry.”

“No apologies necessary.” Jane handed him the rejected card and took the new one. “Let me run this through for you.”

She sat down and swept the card through the machine. We all held our collective breaths for the fifteen seconds it took for the card to be accepted.

“There we go,” Jane said, peppy and perky again. “All checked in. Whenever you bring your luggage back, please ring the bell and I’ll have someone carry it upstairs for you.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll just have a small bag with me.”

“Well, then, welcome to Hennessey House.” Jane stood and handed him a room key. “Sandra will show you to your room. You’ll find a notebook on the dresser filled with every bit of information you could possibly want to know about our bed-and-breakfast and about Lighthouse Cove and the surrounding area. We have free Wi-Fi in every room and bicycles available anytime you’d like to take a spin around town or ride down to the beach. We begin serving breakfast at seven, but coffee is available starting at five in the morning.”

I beamed at her and she smiled back. I knew she’d worked extra hard to memorize that speech.

“Good to know,” Stephen said. “Thank you. I won’t go up to my room just yet. I’d rather enjoy the party for a while longer.”

“Please do.” Jane handed off the desk to Sandra, who nodded and slipped back into professional greeter mode.

Stephen’s embarrassment seemed to dissipate as he chatted with Jane while Sandra stacked his information card and initial hotel bill printout and slipped both into a drawer. Having a credit card refused was a fairly common problem, but I had to wonder how a financial adviser could make that mistake.

I knew I wasn’t being fair to him. Maybe he’d been so blown away by Jane’s beauty that he handed her the wrong card. No offense against Jane’s beauty, but that sounded like a load of baloney.

Stephen finally wandered off to find his father, and Jane went to find Althea. I saw the two of them slip outside to have an intimate chat, and I walked back to the parlor and found Lizzie and Hal. I hugged them both and we toasted to Jane’s success.

“It’s about time we found you,” Lizzie said in a quiet voice. “We’ve been talking to Bob and Ned for the past twenty minutes.” She winked meaningfully at me and I almost laughed.

“So maybe we’ll talk tomorrow,” I said.

“You bet we will,” she said, nodding with purpose.

Hal just rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to know what you two are cooking up this time.”

Lizzie patted his cheek, gave me another wink, and they took off for home.

Seeing Lizzie and Hal made me realize I’d lost track of Mac. I’d spied him momentarily a while ago when I was talking to Stephen, but now I didn’t see him anywhere. It wasn’t as if we were here on a date, so it was none of my business if he’d already left the party. Still, I couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed. It would have been fun to hang out with him for a while.

“Hello, Shannon.”

I whipped around. “Eric! Hello.”

He smiled. “Can I get you a drink?”

I glanced at my glass and saw that it was empty. “I’ll go with you.”

“Good.” He grinned and held out his arm, and I weaved mine through his. It was odd to be walking arm in arm with the man who had reprimanded me so thoroughly the other day. The man who’d promised to lock me in a prison cell and throw away the key. Maybe he’d been partly kidding about that, but still, I was nervous, especially as I mentally ran through all the information I was presently keeping from him.

“This place is fantastic,” he said, admiring the features of the room. “I heard you had a lot to do with renovating it.”

“My company helped out.”

“Something tells me you’re being too modest.” He ordered a glass of cabernet for me and a beer for himself. When we had our drinks, we walked out the French doors and into the garden.

“This is spectacular,” he said, looking around.

I took a sip of wine and almost spilled it down my dress. I was too nervous to think straight and knew I had to tell all. “Eric, we have to talk.”

He gazed down at me. “Right now?”

“Yes, please.”

“Let’s go for a walk.”

*   *   *

“What’s this all about?” Eric asked when we’d walked half a block from Jane’s.

I stopped and turned to him. “It’s about a priceless jeweled necklace I found in Jesse’s basement. Jesse used to tell us about it, how he’d found it while scuba diving on the
Glorious Maiden
.”

“But he later denied that he found it.”

“Right.” We continued walking toward the town square. “He finally admitted to Jane that he’d been joking, and that was the end of it.”

“But it wasn’t.”

“No.” I took a deep breath and forged ahead. “I found it. See, Jane decided she wants to rehab Jesse’s house and sell it, so last Tuesday I did a preliminary inspection. I don’t think it’ll take too much to clean it up, paint it. It’ll sell well, I think, but I need to… um, anyway, I found the necklace hidden behind the brick wall in his basement.”

I had a tendency to veer dangerously off topic when I was nervous.

“Where is it now?”

“In a safe-deposit box at the bank.” I gave him the name of the bank without him asking. And then I started describing the necklace while he alternately nodded and scowled.

Eric had this clever, insidious way of not saying anything, thereby forcing me to fill the gap and blather out all sorts of information. I told him everything—except the part where I’d been the one who wanted to tell him about the necklace right away, but Jane had insisted on waiting. I wasn’t about to throw Jane under the bus.

I made a mental note to remind her what a good friend I was.

“I’m telling you about the necklace,” I said, “because I’m afraid it might be the reason someone’s been breaking into Jesse’s house and searching for something.”

“Yes, I got that connection,” he assured me. “Any reason why you waited so long to tell me?”