A Zen For Murder (Mooseamuck Island Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (16 page)

Claire crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, we figured out it was you …"

"Yeah. You see, I had to stop her. I couldn't give half my fortune to him." Kenneth jerked his head toward Ben.

"Half your fortune? What are you—?" Claire looked from Kenneth to Ben and then to Kenneth again. Her mouth dropped open when realization dawned on her.
 

She remembered Dom's feeling of deja-vu when they were at Ben's house, and now she knew what it was even if Dom hadn't recognized it himself. Ben and Kenneth bore an uncanny resemblance to each other, right down to the cleft chin which Claire knew was a genetic trait … one that Silas Barrett also had.
 

Kenneth and Ben were half-brothers.

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Zoila found out you were brothers," Claire said softly.

Kenneth looked at Ben with contempt. "
Half-
brothers. Dear old Daddy couldn't be faithful."

"And Zoila was going to tell."

"That's right," Kenneth said. "Like most of the sappy islanders here, she had a soft spot for Ben and thought he should get a cut of the Barrett fortune. She had proof in Daddy’s own hand that he wanted it that way, and she said she'd give me one day to tell Ben myself and or she was going to tell him. She had a meeting with Ben that morning at the zen garden, but I got there first."

"That's the paper that she and Norma were arguing about," Claire said.

"Norma?"

"Yes, they argued right before she died. That's why Zambuco arrested her."

"Arrested her?" Kenneth’s face crumbled. "But that means that Norma knows…"

"That's right." Claire saw her chance and decided to take advantage of her psych skills to try to persuade Kenneth into giving up. "Norma knows and Dom knows, too, so it won't do you any good to kill me and Ben. It's better to give yourself up now and I'll help persuade the judge to go lenient on you."

Another clap of thunder, and Claire almost peed her pants as she watched Kenneth's gun wave around in his hand. His eyes had taken on a glazed look and were darting from her to Ben.
 

"I won't give up! No one will believe Norma, she's too crotchety. And I'll have to make sure that old washed up detective, Benedetti, meets with an accident."

Kenneth advanced toward Claire and brought his gun level with her forehead. She heard the click of the safety and she felt like a stone was lodged in her throat as she wracked her brain for something to say to persuade him to give her the gun.

She opened her mouth to speak but was silenced by another clap of thunder. The sound of a gunshot rang in her ears.

And then the lights went out.

***

Dom burst through the door just as the lights went out. He didn't know if Claire had been hit or not, but his old cop instincts kicked in and he launched himself in the direction of Kenneth without even thinking twice. As he flew through the air toward the gunman, he vaguely remembered that he didn't have a Kevlar vest on, but he wasn't concerned with his own safety. There were two people in danger in there and he had to do what he could to keep them safe.

The lights flickered on again just as Dom crashed into Kenneth, sending them both to the floor amidst the sharp report of another gunshot.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Claire rushing toward them. She kicked out at Kenneth, trying to dislodge the gun but to no avail.

"Let go, old man!" Kenneth yelled as he brought his knee up hard into Dom's stomach.

Dom grunted in pain, but managed to keep his grip on the hand with the gun. Claire kicked out again, this time connecting with Dom in a fatal mistake that caused him to loosen his hold.
 

Kenneth rolled away and sprang to his feet, waving his gun between Claire and Dom.

"Killing you two is going to be fun." Kenneth jerked the gun toward the middle of the barn where Ben was tied up. "Get over by Ben. That way, I can take care of the three of—"

"
Meow!
" A bundle of black and brown fur came flying down from the loft, landing on Kenneth's arm with all claws extended. Kenneth waved his hand to dislodge the cat, losing his grip on the gun that landed in the corner with a clatter.

Claire ran for the gun.
 

Dom ran for Kenneth, plowing into him like a linebacker. They rolled around on the floor again. This time, Dom had the advantage over Kenneth, whose cat-scratched arm slowed him down.

Dom managed to get Kenneth over onto his stomach and, with his knee on his back, he jerked his arms behind him.

Claire rushed over, the gun safe in her hand.

"Ben, are you okay?" Claire asked. Dom managed to look over to see Ben smiling down at Porch Cat, who was curled in his lap licking her paws leisurely. Before Dom turned away, the cat turned her bright green eyes on him and he could have sworn she winked.

Dom shoved his knee harder into Kenneth's back.
 

"Not so bad for an old washed up detective, eh?" Dom's chest swelled with pride. He wasn't too old to chase bad guys after all.

Kenneth didn't have time to answer because just then, the barn door burst open and a voice yelled:

"Hands up in the air and don't move!"

***

“Robby, what are you doing here?” Claire was surprised to see her nephew standing alone in the doorway. Surprised that he’d known they were there
and
that he’d had the guts to bust in on his own after hearing the shots. She knew he’d never been in a situation this dangerous before and the look on his face alternated between pride and terror as he took in the situation.

“What’s going on here?” Robby asked, his eyes darting from Claire to Ben to Kenneth and Dom on the ground.

“Kenneth kidnapped Ben … he was the killer all along,” Claire blurted out.

Robby's eyes widened. “He killed Zoila? But why?”

Claire explained how Zoila had discovered the relation between Kenneth and Ben and was going to tell everyone. “Apparently, Kenneth didn’t want Ben to get any of the Barrett money.”

Robby scowled down at Kenneth. “I never did like him. Is everyone okay?”

“I could use a little help with the bad guy,” Dom said from his position on the floor, where he was still holding Kenneth down.
 

“Right. Of course.” Robby hurriedly holstered his gun and took a set of handcuffs off his belt, then knelt down and snapped them on Kenneth’s wrists. Dom stood up and Claire noticed his leg was oozing with sticky, red blood.

“You’ve been shot!” Claire pointed to Dom’s leg and they all turned to look.

Dom looked down, then back up at them, a sheepish grin spreading on his face.

“That’s not blood,” He pulled out a bakery bag from of his pocket—the outside was stained with red goo. “It’s my bocconottis. They must have gotten squished in the scuffle.”

“Can you guys untie me?” Ben asked in a small voice, and Claire ran over and started loosening the ropes while Robby pulled the now docile Kenneth to his feet.

“Kenny did something bad? Are you arresting him?” Ben stood up shakily and lowered Porch Cat gently to the floor. The cat strolled over to Dom and licked a blob of jelly that was on his pants, then turned her back to him and strolled off.

“I’m afraid so,” Claire said, then turned to Robby. “How did you know we were in here?”

“I knew Ben wasn’t a murderer and I figured you two knew more about what was really going on than anyone else, so I took a play out of Zambuco’s book and followed you.”

“Well, you got here just in time.” Dom glanced over at Claire. “I don’t know if we could have pulled off the capture if it wasn’t for you.”

Robby's face turned red. “Well, it looked like you had things pretty much tied up when I got here. I didn’t do much.”

“Oh, that’s not true,” Dom said graciously. “You played a critical role. Isn’t that right, Claire?”

“Yep, we were struggling … you came in just at the right time,” Claire said earnestly.

“Well … if you guys say so.” Robby straightened with obvious pride and Claire shot Dom a grateful look. Capturing Kenny would do wonders for Robby's self-esteem and who knew, maybe he’d even share clues in the future without her having to bribe him with baked goods.

“I gotta secure the prisoner in my police car and call this in.” Robby nodded at them and propelled Kenneth out the door.

Ben followed quickly behind them, asking Robby if he could ride in the police car, too.

Claire and Dom trailed at a more leisurely pace. Claire noticed the rain had stopped as they stepped outside. Thunder roiled in the distance but softer now, not the loud claps they’d heard when the storm was overhead. Robby already had Kenneth in the back of the car and could be heard on the police radio.

“That’s right, you can call off the search for Ben Campbell—I have him with me. But he’s not the murderer. Kenneth Barrett is and I’ve captured him, too.”

Claire heard something crackle across the radio, then Robby's voice again:

“By myself. Well, almost … I had two civilians help … Yes,
those
two civilians …”

Claire and Dom exchanged raised-brow looks. Robby must have been talking to Zambuco, and Claire figured he’d guess it was her and Dom. They walked past Robby toward her car.
 

“We don’t need to take the credit for this one, right?” Claire asked.

“Of course not. We’ve had plenty of credit in our day. Now, we do it just for fun.” Dom reached into the bakery bag and pulled out a smooshed cookie. “You want a bocconotti?”

The squished thing oozing red goo in Dom’s hand looked more like some sort of amputated body part than a cookie. Claire didn't find it the least bit appetizing—and anyway, sugar wasn't part of her health regimen.

“No, thanks.” Claire glanced back at the barn. “I’m glad you busted in like that and saved us, but that was dangerous. Why didn’t you just take off in the car and go to the police station.”

Dom’s face was thoughtful as he chewed his cookie. He swallowed, then shrugged. “I never even considered driving away in the car. I guess my police training kicked in. This old dog still has some tricks in him.”

Claire smiled. She was glad to see
she
still had some tricks in her, too. “We did pretty good working together.”

Dom nodded and held his knuckles out for a fist tap. “It feels good to be useful even if we are a bit rusty.”

“Yeah, I’m glad we still have our skills. Too bad we won’t get a chance to use them again any time soon.”

Dom’s face fell with disappointment. “Why not?”

“Until this week, there hadn’t been a murder on Mooseamuck Island in over a hundred years. What are the odds another one will happen any time soon?”

Dom glanced up at the clearing sky, then smoothed his bushy eyebrows. He thought for a few seconds, then looked back at Claire with twinkling eyes.
 

“It’s hard to say, but with no murders in the past hundred years, perhaps Mooseamuck Island is due for a few more.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

“And Dom burst in and saved everyone?” Mae asked, looking at Dom with a level of admiration that made him extremely uncomfortable.
 

“Oh, no, I just tried to subdue Kenneth until Robby got there. Robby's the one who saved us,” Dom replied graciously. He was happy to give Robby the credit and fend off Mae’s unwanted attention, especially since he noticed Tom Landry frowning at the way Mae was looking at him.

“Well, I didn’t really do anything …” Robby stammered.

“Oh, yes, you did,” Claire cut in. “You figured out who the real killer was and that something was going on at the point. Why, if you hadn’t come in when you did, there’s no telling what might have happened.”

"What about Zambuco?" Jane craned her neck, looking around the diner. "Did he just take off into the wild blue yonder?"

Robby nodded. "He took Kenneth back to the jail on the mainland."

"Well, you showed him us islanders don't need any help from the mainland police," Tom said.
 

"I don't know about that." Robby lowered his voice. "He did put me in for a commendation, but I don't think we've seen the last of him."

Robby blushed as Sarah put a mug of coffee down in front of him. “That’s on the house, Officer Skinner.”

Sarah shot Claire and Dom a knowing look as she walked away. They’d never figured out what her secret was, but had promised they wouldn’t let on they knew she had one. Claire thought that was just as well. It had nothing to do with Zoila’s murder and Sarah deserved her privacy.
 

Besides, she’d probably come to Moosamuck Island to get away from whatever it was that was such a secret, and it was no one’s business but Sarah’s. Claire watched Sarah and Shane exchange special smiles as Sarah made her way back behind the counter and her heart lifted. She hoped whatever had plagued Sarah in her previous life was well behind her now.

“I still don’t understand why you didn’t say something, Norma.” Jane turned to Norma, who sat at the end of the table, her floppy hat casting a shadow onto her plate of Maine blueberry pancakes