A Candidate For Murder (Old Maids of Mercer Island Mysteries Book 2) (22 page)

Officer Capshaw took us first to Dana’s house to get her overnight things. We went inside with him and remained in the foyer, while he checked the house to make sure it was safe.

Dana stood quietly by my side, almost sullen. I glanced sideways at her. Her left eye was slightly swollen where Sonja had connected with the initial punch, and her face was smudged with dark splotches of dirt and barbeque sauce. Those naturally rounded shoulders I often made fun of were hunched with tension as she clasped her arms close to her chest. She was a wreck.

Once Officer Capshaw was satisfied the house was vacant, Dana went to her room to fill an overnight bag. We then went to the Inn.

It was dark by the time we arrived. I’d called April, and she offered to make dinner. I was too exhausted to argue. We left Officer Capshaw in the unmarked car out front and dragged ourselves into the entryway. I went to the reception desk to get the key for Dana’s room, but a commotion in the breakfast room made me look over that way.

The Kohls were back from their trip to Bainbridge Island and were huddled around Ahab’s empty cage. Sherrie and Barry, the twins, were laughing and pointing inside, which immediately raised my antenna. I pictured them somehow defaming Ahab’s cage or in some other way misbehaving and I snapped.

“Excuse me,” I shouted, leaving the front desk to march in their direction.

And then I heard the voice I’d been longing to hear.

“I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too. Squawk!”

I nearly ran the rest of the way to the cage, scattering the children.

“Sorry,” Sherrie said nervously as she stepped to the side. “He was outside the window, so we opened the door, and he flew right in.”

“It’s okay,” I said to them. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. Hello, little boy,” I said, poking my fingers through the cage.

Ahab bounced over and rubbed his beak against my finger. “Happy to see you. Happy to see you. Going my way?” he squawked.

April came through the swinging door of the kitchen, a small towel between her hands.

“Well, what do we have here?” she said with a broad smile.

She came up to the cage and stuck her finger through, too. Ahab bounced over and touched his beak to her.

“Polly want a cracker,” he said.

Everyone laughed.

“And you deserve one, too,” I said.

We filled his water bowl and his little food dish. He immediately went to work, pecking away. I got out my phone and texted Jose´, who was just getting ready to leave. He hurried over.

I said, “Jose´ can you find a padlock somewhere? And then I want this cage bolted to the floor tonight. I’ll pay the overtime.”

He grinned. “No problem. Right away.”

I looked up at April, tears in my eyes. “I’m so glad.”

“I know,” she said, reaching out to put a hand on my shoulder. Her features suddenly compressed into distaste, and she withdrew her hand, rubbing her fingers together. “What’s all over your coat?” Then she got a good look at me. “And in your hair?”

My hand reached up automatically to where a glob of sauce had stuck a fingers-width of hair together. “Famous barbeque,” I said with a fake smile, trying to rub the sauce off my fingers. “I don’t think I’ll eat barbeque ever again.”

Dana had remained by the reception desk through all of this, so I helped get her settled into an empty guest room upstairs and then went to my apartment to clean up. An hour later, we joined April in the guest house, where she grilled more than the panini sandwiches she served us. She wanted a moment by moment account of what had happened that afternoon. I did most of the talking, while Dana stared at her plate.

We left the guest house around 7:30 to cross the drive back to the Inn. I noticed Angela’s car out front. “Uh, oh. Prepare yourself,” I said to my companion.

“Why?” she said, pulling back a little.

“My daughter is here again. Which means her dog might be, too.”

Dana stopped in her tracks, her mouth pulled into a grimace.

“What is with you and dogs?” I asked, stopping with her. “Did one attack you as a child or something?”

Her eyes had come alive again, and I thought for a moment she might pass out. “They lick,” she said with disgust.

“Yes? So?”

“And they smell things. I…I can’t stand the thought of where their noses have been.”

“You mean you’re so pristine that you can’t be around a filthy, smelly dog?”

She straightened up. “Well, they do…you know…um…lick themselves.”

Her lips pinched together and her nose twitched as if she had just smelled cow dung. I whirled away from her in newfound disgust.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! Didn’t you ever hear that dogs’ mouths are cleaner than humans?” I continued toward the front door, leaving her behind. She hurried to catch up.

“That’s not true,” she said. “I don’t believe it.”

I turned to her. “Yes, it is. Any doctor will tell you that a human bite is far more dangerous because of infection than a dog bite. So frankly, I’d rather share my table with either one of my dogs than you.” We entered through the front door and stopped in front of the reception desk.

“So, to be clear,” I continued. “We’ll make sure to keep all the dogs in my apartment while you’re here. But you should know that Angela’s dog, Lucy, actually saved my life during the last investigation, and Mickey and Minnie rescued me the night Ahab was stolen. It’s uncanny how a dog knows the difference between a friend and foe. I’m not sure that any one of them would extend the same favor to you. I rather think they wouldn’t. Regardless, I’ll keep them locked up so you won’t be offended by their presence. Good night. And don’t call me unless your life is in danger…again!”

She started to say something, but I turned my back on her and strode down the hall.

Angela was sitting comfortably on the sofa with her laptop out and the fireplace going. Lucy, the Great Dane, was stretched out in front of the fireplace soaking up all the heat, with Mickey and Minnie tucked in between her big paws. The moment I came in, my dogs jumped up and ran over, bouncing around my feet. Lucy lifted her head and looked at me over her shoulder before lying back down.

“Hey, there,” Angela said.

I made an immediate turn into my kitchen, willing myself to calm down. It was odd, that after all Dana had confessed, I was most offended by her aversion toward my dogs. Clearly, the stress had caught up to me, too.

“I heard about what happened this afternoon,” Angela said, putting her laptop down and following me to the other side of the counter. “So I decided to come hang out with you for a couple of days.” She watched me grab a glass and pour myself some wine. “You okay?”

I took a swig and swallowed before replying. “Sorry,” I said. “I’m fine. Just incredibly irritated at Dana right now. I can’t stand that woman.”

She laughed. “Did you just realize that?”

“No,” I said, taking a second gulp. “But believe it or not, we’ll have to keep the dogs in the apartment while she’s here because she has an intense aversion to them.”

Angela rolled her eyes. “I can handle that.”

I grimaced at her over the counter. “So, I take it you’re here to protect me?”

“Something like that. I came armed.”

“With Lucy? Or a real weapon?”

“I came armed,” she repeated, locking her gaze on mine.

“Angela, I don’t feel comfortable with weapons in the house. Real weapons, I mean.”

“Well, you’d better get used to it. You
are
dating a policeman, you know.” She smiled ruefully. “Can I have hot chocolate?”

I paused, knowing this was a battle I would lose.

“Marshmallows?”

“Of course.” She pulled a stool out and climbed onto it. “So tell me about it.”

“You already know,” I said, filling a mug with some 2% milk and placing it into the microwave. “We got shot at on the way home.”

“That’s not what I mean. Why are you helping Dana? You lied to me the other day.”

I pulled out a package of hot chocolate and a bag of marshmallows. “No, I didn’t. She really did walk into the kitchen accusing me of trying to kill her.”

“But…?”

I dropped my hands to the counter and sighed. “But she also asked me…no, let me rephrase that. She demanded that I help her.”

“But why would you agree, Mom? Not only do you hate her, it’s putting you right in the line of fire again.”

I explained the deal I’d made with Dana about dropping out of the campaign for mayor.

“So this was an easy out,” I said, ripping open the bag of hot chocolate. “Of course, my solution was to get Tony Morales to run instead, but…”

Her eyes opened wide. “But he was arrested.”

“Right.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, he clearly wasn’t the one who took a shot at you this afternoon, so they’ve let him go.”

“Thank God,” I said with a sigh.

“He’s not out of the woods yet. He could be an accessory. But he’s a lot lower on their list of suspects.”

“What about the weapon they found in his garage?”

“I guess he leaves the side door to his garage unlocked. Someone could have easily planted the hammer. Besides, the hammer that was used to kill Trudy was what they call a planishing hammer. It’s used for metal working. Tony was a construction worker, but he didn’t do any metal work and said he didn’t own one. So they’re checking local hardware stores to see if they can ID someone who might have bought it recently.”

The microwave beeped, and I quickly made Angela’s hot chocolate, adding some extra chocolate syrup and the marshmallows. Then we retired to the living room.

“Angela,” I said, once I’d settled into my wingback chair with a small Doxie tucked in at each side. “What do you know about the statute of limitations for child abuse?”

She stopped halfway to a sip of hot chocolate. “Oh, the pictures, right?”

Angela was an assistant prosecuting attorney. Since she was dating Detective Abrams, their pillow talk was as good as a direct phone call.

“Yeah. I was just wondering if Dana is in any real trouble.”

She put her mug onto a coaster and sat back. “Do you know, yet, why Dana had the photos?”

“No. We confronted her, but she wouldn’t say much, other than she had nothing to do with the abuse.”

Angela’s eyebrows clenched. “And just how did
you
come into possession of them?”

I squared my shoulders. “I’d rather not say.”

“Mom,” she said. How many times had I heard that tone of voice? “You didn’t break any laws, did you?”

“Certainly not,” I replied, hoping against hope that I hadn’t just lied.

“Well, for most crimes, the statute of limitations is only three years. Of course, murder is the exception. There is no statute of limitations on that.”

“What if Dana knew about it? Would that make her an accessory to the crime?”

“Depends on what she knew.”

“Well, she had the pictures, so she must have known something.”

“Not necessarily. She might have found the pictures after her husband disappeared. Did the pictures show actual abuse?”

I shook my head. “No. They were just pictures of nude boys.”

“Well, being in possession of pornographic pictures is much different than actual abuse. You’d have to prove they were being used for someone’s sexual pleasure. So Dana was throwing these photos away because she was afraid she’d be culpable?”

“I think so. Or she just didn’t want to ruin her reputation. She seems overly concerned with that. The answer to who’s trying to kill her could be in those photos, but she’s not giving up all the information.”

Angela suddenly stood up. “Okay, then. Let’s go talk to Dana.”

“Weren’t you the one who said I shouldn’t get involved with Dana?”

Angela smirked. “That was before you jumped into the investigation and got shot at,” she said. “Let’s go talk to her.”

“But as I said, she’s not saying much about that.”

“Yes, but maybe having an assistant prosecuting attorney asking the questions will wake her up a bit.”

We left the dogs in the apartment and climbed the stairs to the second floor. I didn’t relish another go around with Dana, but I wanted this nightmare over so I could get back to my priorities – like dating David.

But as we reached the head of the stairs, there was a shriek and Dana’s door flew open. She burst onto the landing, breathing heavily, her face twisted in fear.

“What happened?” I called out, rushing up to her.

“Someone…was in my room. I…I think it was a…a…it was a ghost,” she said, trying to get the words out in between gulps of air.

The door to the suite next door opened and the Kohl family emerged with looks of concern. Barry hung back just inside the door.

I heard a noise a moment later, and the Brewsters appeared on the opposite end of the hallway. It was early enough that no one except Dana had gone to bed yet. She was dressed in a long nightgown.

“Calm down, Dana. It’s okay. Let’s go back in your room.”

“But…but, Julia, I’m not kidding. I was in bed and someone pulled the blanket off. You’ve always said the Inn is haunted. I didn’t believe you. But…”

She began to hyperventilate again just as Barry giggled. I glanced over at him. He had stepped out into the hallway and was standing behind his father with something held loosely in one hand. The moment I eyeballed him, he closed his fist around whatever it was, but I noticed a string extending from the ball of his fist to the floor. The moment he realized that I’d seen the string he abruptly turned toward the wall.

As Angela guided Dana back into her room, I turned to the guests. It was just the Kohls and the Brewsters. Most likely, the other guests were still out for the evening.

“Sorry, she just had a nightmare.”

As they shuffled back into their rooms, I stepped forward to follow Angela and Dana, but stopped the moment I noticed something bobbing along the carpet runner at my feet. I quickly leaned over and grabbed it. It was a small claw clasp tied to the other end of Barry’s string. I turned to him with a very disappointed look and yanked on it. His parents had returned to their room, so it was just the two of us, standing there holding opposite ends of the string.

“I wouldn’t play games if I were you,” I said. “The Inn really is haunted, so you don’t want to make the ghosts mad.”

He chortled. “Yeah, right,” he said. “You heard what my dad said. It’s all fake.”

He yanked the string out of my hand. Since his parents were inside their room, I moved up close to him.

“Well, let’s put it this way then. It’s not nice to frighten older women. They might die on you, and then the police could lock you up for murder.”

His eyes opened wide at the threat, and he turned and disappeared into his room.

I returned to Dana’s room with a sly smile playing across my lips. Angela noticed it as I closed the door.

“What?” she said.

“Your ghost, at least this time, was merely the prank of the evil fifth grader in the room next door.”

“What do you mean?” Dana said.

“He must’ve gotten in here after the room had been cleaned earlier. We don’t lock the room until a new guest checks in. He would’ve had time to attach a string to the end of your blanket. Then while you were falling asleep, he pulled it off. Kinda gutsy, actually,” I said.

“Really?” Dana said. “You think scaring me half to death is gutsy?”

Angela was sitting at the end of the bed, while Dana was sitting in the middle. I took the straight- backed chair at the small desk under the window.

“Look, Dana, I have to be honest. It’s been documented that we have supernatural activity here. But there is nothing to fear. No one has ever been harmed or their safety threatened.”

“I don’t want to stay here. I want a different room,” she demanded.

“Sorry,” I replied hurriedly. “I didn’t mean to scare you. But there isn’t another room available.”

“What about your apartment?”

“I could stay up here,” Angela offered, trying to be helpful.

“No,” I snapped. “Besides, there’s Lucy. She’d have to stay with me.”

“But…” Angela started to object.

“No, Angela! Like I said, Lucy
has
to stay downstairs.” I turned to Dana. “So, if you’re comfortable with having all the dogs around you, then by all means, come down to the apartment.”

I was afraid the smile I was feeling on the inside was spreading like molasses across my face.

Dana’s expression seemed to morph between fear and disgust within nanoseconds.

“No…no, I’ll be okay, then. Some little kid isn’t going to scare me off.”

“Fine. And just remember, that if you do see something, Chloe is a very sweet little girl. Nothing to be afraid of.”

“Let’s get around to what we needed to talk about,” Angela said, cutting to the chase.

Dana turned to her. “What do you mean?”

Angela leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “Let me say first Dana, that I’m with the prosecuting attorney’s office in Seattle. So if you’re uncomfortable saying anything in front of me, I’ll leave. But I’m here to be helpful, not in any formal capacity.”

Dana shifted her attention to me. “What’s this about, Julia?”

I took a deep breath. “Dana, I told Angela about the nude photos.”

She took a quick intake of breath. “What?”

“We need to know why you were throwing them away and what they mean,” I said.

“Actually, I’d like to know why you were holding onto them in the first place,” Angela interjected.

“How did you know I was throwing them away?” she said, giving me a suspicious look. “You said Rudy found out about the abuse in Vancouver. How did you even know I
had
photos?” Dana stopped and drew in a breath. “Oh, it doesn’t matter anymore. None of it matters anymore.”

“Dana, why did you hold onto the photos?” Angela asked again.

“Because my husband was an animal. He did more than just abuse them. He dehumanized them. He really was a sick bastard. And if I argued or said I didn’t want to go along with things…he’d take it out on me.” She hung her head in defeat.

“So you participated in the abuse?” I said in shock.

Her head jerked up. “No! Please, you have to believe me. I never abused anyone. But we argued about it often. I knew what he was doing, and a couple of the boys came to me for help.”

“And you didn’t do anything,” Angela said.

Tears filled her eyes. “No. You don’t understand. He was abusive in more ways than one.”

“What do you mean?” Angela prompted her.

Dana hesitated. She was chewing the inside of her cheek, a sure sign she was nervous.

“The statute of limitations has run out,” Angela said. “You can’t be prosecuted.”

This didn’t seem to relax her, but she took a deep breath and continued. “My husband would hit me if I complained. And… he liked to put the boys in cages as a punishment. He put dog collars on them and forced them to crawl around on their knees like animals.”

She had begun to sweat, and I could tell that reliving this was difficult.

“He liked having control over others. I felt as trapped as those boys.” She was staring at the floor. Finally, she said, “He forced me to take the photos you saw and to bring the boys food. But I never harmed them or did anything to them. I swear.” She choked back a sob. “I’m not an animal,” she whispered.

Angela sat back. “But that, Mrs. Finkle, could be why someone is trying to kill you. Abuse is a powerful motivator.”

Her head came up. “But it could still be Sonja Kyes. She hates me. I ruined her life. And if my ex-husband is here on the island, it could be him, couldn’t it?”

“Maybe,” Angela said. “But it sounds more like Mrs. Kyes was exploiting the fact someone was trying to kill you. She used that to blackmail you. And we don’t know why your ex-husband is here. Perhaps he’s involved. Perhaps not. I think it’s more likely we’ll find the killer amongst those boys. How much have you told the police?”

“Most of it,” she replied.

“Then you need to tell them the rest. Tomorrow.”

She glanced up at me. “I’ll go back to the police station in the morning,” she said. “And then once this is over, I might as well move to Canada, because I’ll never be able to show my face anywhere in this country again.”

At last
, I thought.
Something good might actually come from all of this.