4 Cupids Curse (9 page)

“You’re leaving?”

Zak paused. “I’m sorry. That was rude. I really do need to go. Tonight?”

“Listen
, you obviously have a lot going on, so I’ll stop by to talk to Gage after I finish here.”

“Thanks
.” Zak leaned down and kissed me. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“That was abrupt,”
Ellie said as she slid into the booth across from me after Zak left. “What was that all about?”

“I think Zak is going to break up with me.”

“What? Why would you think that?”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. I suggested a romantic evening of champagne and candlelight at his house
, but he countered with dinner out at the Wharf. Then he got a text and left in the middle of lunch. And to top it off, he doesn’t believe that Blythe is in cahoots with Anthony Martucci.”

“Sweetie, no one but
you believes that Blythe and Anthony Martucci are connected. I have to admit, though, that the rest seems odd. He does have that big project going on. Maybe he’s just distracted.”

“Maybe.”

“I talked to Jeremy earlier. He told me about the cats and dogs. That doesn’t seem like something a guy who was planning to break up with a girl would bother with.”

“Yeah, I guess. It just seems like
something
is going on. Maybe I just need to put it out of my mind. How was your date with Rob last night?”

“Confusing.”

“Confusing how?”

“I guess his babysitter canceled
, so he asked Rick to stay with Hannah.”

I grimaced. I think I could see where th
is conversation was going. Rick was Ellie’s ex. She hadn’t started dating his brother Rob until after they’d broke up, and I’d warned her at the time she started seeing Rob that there could be a conflict.

“I’d agreed to meet Rob at his house and Rick was there when I showed up. Rob was still in the shower
, so Rick and I chatted. He said he missed me and was sorry we broke up. He wanted to know if we could try again.”

“What did you say?”

“I said that given the fact that Rob and I had been dating, it would be awkward at best. When I first started going out with Rob, I talked to Rick about it, and he said he was perfectly fine with the situation, but now I’m not so sure he is.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Honestly, I have no idea. I really enjoy going out with Rob, but I also enjoy my friendship with Rick, although I’m pretty sure our romantic relationship had run its course by the time we broke up. If I choose one brother over the other, it’s only going to lead to trouble. I suppose it would be best not to date either of them, but I really like Rob, and I feel like there could be something more in our future if we give our relationship a chance.”

“Maybe
you should have a heart-to-heart with Rick,” I suggested. “Explain your feelings for Rob and see what he says.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“A word of warning, however,” I cautioned. “Rick is a fun sort of guy who doesn’t appear to be ready for anything serious, while Rob is older and has a child. Based on the few casual conversations I’ve had with him, I think there’s a very good possibility that Rob is ready to find someone to settle down with. The question is, are
you
ready for that sort of relationship?”

“Rob and I are really just friends,” Ellie countered. “I doubt
he’s thinking about wedding bells right now.”

“
Maybe, but Rob has a child in need of a mother. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he didn’t choose the women he dates based on their
potential
to at least fulfill that role. I could be wrong, but it wouldn’t be bad to keep that in mind.”

“Yeah, okay
, I will.”

“I need to get going
.” I slid out of the booth. “I want to catch Gage Wheeler before he goes home for the day.”

“It’s early,” Ellie pointed out.

“Yeah, but Gage has a tendency to go in early and then leave shortly after lunch. I’ll call you later.”

Gage Wheeler owned the local lumberyard and was an active volunteer in the community. Although I wouldn’t say we were close, I’d known him for years. He had a reputation for being gruff and outspoken, but he cared about his neighbors and could be counted on to roll up his sleeves and pitch in if there was a task to be accomplished. The lumberyard was located on the east edge of town and could only be accessed by a graded road. Luckily, someone had come by with a plow, so the property was accessible by a four-wheel drive vehicle.

Charlie looked out
of the passenger-side window and barked as we were greeted by two large dogs as we pulled up in front of the trailer Gage used as an office. The trees surrounding the property were blanketed with snow, as were the large piles of logs waiting for processing. I knew that the large barnlike structure at the back of the property housed the lumber that had been cut and processed and was now available to be purchased by local contractors.

While the lumberyard was a busy place in the spring and summer
, Gage and a couple of assistants held down the fort during the heart of the winter, when new construction was at a standstill and remodels were few and far between. I parked near the entrance to the trailer and told Charlie to wait while I climbed out of my giant truck and carefully made my way along the icy path to the front door. I knocked and waited for Gage to invite me in.

“Zoe Donovan. What are you doing all the way out here on this snowy day?”

The interior of the trailer was drab and gray, with metal desks and tall black file cabinets. There was a computer on the desk Gage was sitting behind that was probably older than I was. To the right of the desk was a locked cabinet holding several guns on display. I knew Gage was a hunter who often went into the forest for weeks at a time.

“I’m trying to round up all the keys we gave out during the remodel and wasn’t sure if I’d gotten your
s back or not.”

“Actually, I do still have it.” Gage opened the top drawer of his desk
, found it, and handed it to me. “I was waiting to bring it back until I found out if you were going to need more wood for the enclosure in the bear cage. It looked like you might be short.”

“
I wasn’t aware you’d been by to see the work we’d done.”

“Stopped in the other day
, when I was in the area.”

“Jeremy didn’t mention it.”

“He wasn’t there. It was after hours, so I let myself in. The offices look really nice with all the new paneling.”

“Yeah, they are nice. Listen
, I wanted to ask you about a man who stopped into Rosie’s the other day while I was having lunch with my dad. He came in from the street, spoke briefly to Blythe, and then left. You were eating at the counter. I was hoping you’d seen him.”

Gage appeared to be thinking about it.

“I’m trying to determine if the man who came in was this man.” I showed him the photograph of Anthony Martucci.

Gage shook his head. “I had my back turned toward the main dining area. I remember you and your dad having lunch. I remember seeing Blythe come in. But I’m afraid I don’t remember this man
, although I’ve seen him before.”

“Can you tell me where and when?”

“He was talking to Kevin Michaels in the parking lot of the grocery store. To be honest, it looked more like they were arguing.”

“
When was that?”

“
It must have been Saturday. I was in town doing my errands.”

“And you don’t know what they were arguing about?”

“No, I didn’t really stop to listen.”

“Okay
, thanks.”

Gage hadn’t provided the proof that I needed to convince the masses that the man I’d seen in the
café was the same man who’d killed Trent, but he had given me a clear direction and a solid lead. Maybe I was getting somewhere.

I decided it might be worth my while to talk to Kevin. Not only was he one of the few people in town who knew Trent but he’d also been seen arguing with Martucci. If there was a connection between the man and Trent, Kevin might be the one to provide it.

Ashton Falls
is a small town with limited opportunities when it comes to new construction, so Kevin Michaels, a general contractor who has lived and worked here for the past ten years, specializes in remodels. While he doesn’t maintain a regular workforce due to the seasonality of the construction trade, he hires subcontractors and temporary help from time to time. As far as I knew, Trent had worked for Kevin ever since moving to the area the previous spring.

Trent seemed to be a good worker as well as an all-around nice guy. Of course
, people who tend to keep to themselves are sometimes the very ones who have something to hide. I knew Kevin had been working on an attic conversion the previous day, so I headed toward the Mendoza house, which is located at the edge of town. As I pulled up in front of the house, I saw that Kevin’s red truck was indeed in the drive. The house he was renovating was a two-story structure built on a large, open meadow overlooking the summit. While the lake views from the boathouse are breathtaking, the one from the back of this house was spectacular as well. After instructing Charlie to wait, I got out of my vehicle and made my way to the front of the house.

“Kevin inside?” I asked one of the temporary workmen Kevin had hired for the job as I slipped out of my boots
, leaving them on the tile entry before stepping onto the light beige carpet.

“
Yeah, he’s upstairs.”

“Thanks,” I responded as I made my way toward the attic in my stocking feet. I could hear hammers and saws working away and realized that Kevin might not want to take a break to speak to me.

“Hey, Zoe. What brings you out here?” Kevin asked as I entered the room.

“I wanted to ask
you about Trent.”

“I guess I should have figured as much. How about we take this conversation downstairs
, where it’s not so hectic?”

“
That’s probably a good idea.”

By the look of things
, the attic wasn’t the only space getting a facelift. The house was already beautiful; once Kevin and his guys were done with it, it was going to be spectacular. It appeared as though everything from flooring to light fixtures and cabinets had been stripped out to make room for the new.

“So what can I do for you?” Kevin asked as we took seats at the counter in the empty kitchen.

“Are the homeowners gone?” I looked around.

“
They’re vacationing in the Bahamas while the remodel is underway.”

“That,” I decided as I looked out
of the window at the falling snow, “sounds wonderful.”

“Yeah, it must be nice,” Kevin agreed.

“Like I said, I wanted to ask you about Trent.” I decided to get right to the subject at hand. “I know Salinger is conducting an official investigation, but I decided to do some snooping around on my own.”

“
Seems to me that you’ve been smack dab in the middle of all the murder investigations around here of late.”

“Yeah
, well, I guess circumstances keep pulling me in.”

“Don’t figure there’s any harm in telling you what I know. Seems you’re developing quite an impressive track record.
”

“Believe me when I tell you that spending all my free time investigating murders is nowhere in my overall plan. Still, Trent did die on the property I manage
, and he seemed like a really nice guy. I just want to be certain that his killer is brought to justice.”

“Yeah, I’d like to see that too.”

“Can you tell me how Trent came to work for you?”

“
He came to me last May as part of the Fresh Start program the state is sponsoring to help men and women who have spent time in prison get a new lease on life once they’re released.”

“So Trent was in prison,” I confirmed.

“Spent the past seven years incarcerated for various Mob-related activities,” Kevin elaborated. “While he was in prison, they trained him to perform various tasks in the construction industry. After he was released, I was contacted about hiring him. I agreed, and it ended up working out really well. He was actually one of my best temps. I’m going to miss him.”

I watched Kevin’s face as he spoke. His tone of voice seemed casual and controlled
, but the twitch in his eye and the reddish tone of his skin indicated that he was more affected than he was letting on. It made sense that Kevin would be upset about Trent’s death. He
had
worked closely with him for almost a year.

“Where did he live prior to his stint in prison?”

“I have no idea,” Kevin admitted. “The program places their graduates in locations far from their old neighborhoods and associations. Trent made several comments, however, that led me to believe he was originally from the East Coast.”