Halloween in Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 6) (13 page)

Hunter kissed her lips, slowly, softly. “I thought you wanted to investigate.”

“I do.” Tj ran her mouth across Hunter’s. “After.”

An hour after they finally returned to the party they met back at the cabin to compare notes.

“Look at us combining romance with investigation,” Tj said as they gazed at the stars from their private hot tub.

“I’m not sure if I should be concerned or aroused.”

Tj slid her hands across his chest.

“Aroused it is.”

“So what did Brett tell you?” Tj asked.

“You want to talk about Brett? Now?”

“It won’t take long to compare notes and then we can relax,” Tj said.

“If you say so.” Hunter groaned and shifted slightly away from Tj. “If we’re going to talk murder I think we need some space between us. What do you say we take a rain check on the other?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Tj scooted to the other side of the tub.

“Brett said Jessie was in ‘one of her moods’ the night of the party,” Hunter began. “They got into a fight and Jessie and Holly went upstairs. He stayed downstairs and partied with the rest of us until the early hours of the morning. When he went upstairs Jessie was in his bed and Holly was gone. He crawled in with her and slept until noon.”

“Jessie said something similar, only she said it was Holly and she who argued, not she and Brett. She told me Holly had been putting a lot of pressure on her to break things off with Brett. Jessie admitted she was really conflicted because Holly had told her some stuff about Brett that disturbed her. She’d promised Holly she’d break up with Brett after homecoming, but at the party she found she was having second thoughts. When she told Holly as much Holly went berserk. Jessie claimed she took Holly upstairs so they could talk without everyone overhearing their conversation. They argued for a while, and Holly got mad and left. Jessie said she climbed into Brett’s bed and went to sleep and she never saw Holly again.”

Hunter topped off their glasses of champagne. “So although the stories seem to line up, either could be lying.”

“Yeah,” Tj agreed. “And Brett’s parents’ house had that back staircase. It’s totally possible Jessie could have followed Holly outside when she left, killed her, and then returned and crawled into bed.”

“And it’s possible Brett could have seen Holly leave, followed and killed her, and then returned to the party.”

Tj sighed. “In other words we haven’t eliminated anyone.”

“I eliminated Vicki, Doreen, and Mackenzie,” Hunter informed her.

“Excellent. How?”

“Vicki and Doreen said they left together shortly after Holly and Jessie went upstairs. They were both fighting with their boyfriends and decided to find a party with a better selection of hookups. Unless they were in on it together, which I doubt, I’m inclined to believe them.”

“Yeah, me too. And Mackenzie?”

“She said she only showed up at the party because she was looking for someone, though she refused to say who. When the individual didn’t show up she left. I do remember seeing her leave while we were still there. She didn’t really know Holly all that well and I can’t imagine she had a motive to kill her. She did seem to be hiding something, though.”

“When I spoke to her at the decorating party she made a comment about everyone having secrets.”

“Yeah, I suppose that’s true.”

“Do you have secrets?” Tj asked.

Hunter looked surprised by her question. “Why are you asking me that now? Do you think I killed Holly?”

“No, silly. Jenna said she and Dennis confessed all the lies they’d told each other before they got married so they could start with a clean slate. Do you think we should do that?”

“Probably not, and definitely not now,” Hunter answered. “Not that I have any big dark secrets, but we were apart for several years and we both had other relationships during that time. I’m not sure I see the wisdom in discussing our activities during our time apart, and I really don’t think we should get distracted right now.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Tj agreed.

“Did you find out anything from Dalton?” Hunter asked.

“Marianne was glued to his side, so I couldn’t really bring up that night. I’ll try tomorrow. As for the other suspects, Mia and Jada aren’t here and don’t plan to attend, so I don’t see how we can confirm or eliminate them as suspects unless someone we do speak to can verify their movements that night. I don’t know what’s up with Nathan. I know he’s in town, but I have yet to actually see him.”

“I’m sure he’ll be at the game tomorrow; we can talk to him then.” 

“So is that it?” Tj asked. “Have we done what we can for tonight?”

“I think we have,” Hunter confirmed.

Tj scooted back across the hot tub and climbed onto Hunter’s lap. “So about the rain check we discussed earlier…”

1 cup butter at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

¾ cup canned pumpkin

1 large egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3¾ cups flour

1½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

For the coating:

½ cup sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ground ginger

Dash of allspice

Whip together butter and sugars until creamy. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix well. 

Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

In a separate bowl, mix the sugar and spices for the coating. Roll chilled dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in coating.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 400 degrees until lightly brown (around 12 minutes).

Friday turned out to be the perfect day for football. It was sunny and warm, with a light breeze that prevented it from becoming hot even for those sitting on the crowded bleachers. The mountains surrounding the football stadium were painted in fall colors that provided a contrast to the deep blue of the crystal-clear sky. Tj let the enthusiasm of the crowd wash over her as she cheered and chanted for the boys who had come out to give it their all.

Nathan had finally made an appearance, which seemed to provide an added element of excitement for the slightly hungover alumni. He was probably the most famous member of their graduating class next to Mia. He didn’t have the overall presence Mia possessed, but he was enough of a celebrity that most of the townsfolk knew who he was and stopped by to say hi.

“Maybe it’s a good thing Mia didn’t come to the reunion,” Tj commented to Jenna, who was sitting to her left. “Nathan has created enough of a stir. There probably would have been a mob begging for autographs if Mia were here.”

“You might be right. Still, I’m sorry she didn’t show. We weren’t superclose in high school, but we did do a couple of plays together. I guess I’d say I considered her a friend.”

While Tj had focused on athletics and cheerleading in high school, Jenna had been much more interested in drama and home economics.

“Maybe we should have tried to convince her to come.”

“Maybe.” Jenna shrugged. “Mia certainly has a lot more to lose now than when we were in high school, but making choices based on avoidance never seemed to be her style. If you remember, she seemed to thrive on adversity. In fact, it wouldn’t be too far off base to say that she sought it out.”

“That’s true.”

“Of course that was ten years ago and people do change,” Jenna added.

“Yeah, but did you see that outfit she wore to the Academy Awards last year? It seemed like she was intentionally trying to make a fashion
don’t
statement, while everyone around her was going for a fashion
do
.”

“So if she didn’t cancel because of the investigation into Holly’s death why would she?” Jenna wondered.

Tj thought about it. The only other possible reason was that she was protecting someone else. Of course there
was
another alternative: Maybe she’d simply decided the reunion didn’t interest her after all.

And then there was Jada. She was bright and confident and motivated. Maybe she actually had cheated on her midterms and didn’t want to provide a platform for Samantha Colton to share that information. But even if she
had
cheated, it couldn’t possibly make a difference now. Jada was a multimillionaire with her own software company. Tj doubted anyone would care what she might have done when she was eighteen.

There was always the possibility that Colton had been correct—Jada had cheated and Holly had blackmailed her into hacking into the e-mail accounts of selected students. If that had occurred and Holly had used the access to bully the students, could one of them have found out who was responsible and killed her? Tj realized it might be worth her while to call Jada to see if she would tell her what actually had occurred. Tj wouldn’t call Jada a superclose friend, but they did occasionally chat on the phone and exchange e-mails.

“I’m going to head over to the snack bar before the game starts,” Hunter, who was sitting to Tj’s left and had been chatting with Brett interrupted to say. “Anyone want anything?”

“I could use something to eat,” Dennis responded. “I’ll go with you.”

“Yeah, I’ll come too,” Brett announced. “I have no idea where Jessie went off to.”

“I’ll just take a soft drink,” Jenna answered.

“A soft drink sounds good,” Tj seconded.

“Save our seats,” Hunter said as the guys made their way through the crowd.

“I didn’t see much of you and Hunter last night,” Jenna commented after they had gone.

“We were just catching up on some couple time,” Tj said. “It’s hard to do it when I live with a house full of people and Hunter’s grandfather lives with him.”

“Yeah, I can understand that. Have you discussed the future?” Jenna asked.

“In terms of?”

“In terms of where you’ll live if you get married.”

Tj thought about it. “No, not really. I don’t think we’re quite to that place in our relationship. My dad and grandpa help out with the girls, but ultimately they’re my responsibility, so they’ll be with me wherever I end up. Jake can’t live alone, so it would make the most sense that if we married, the girls and I would move in with Hunter and Jake. He has the room, but the girls would miss living at the resort, and I know they would miss Dad and Grandpa.” Tj paused. “I think your question is much too complicated to contemplate today.”

Jenna laughed. “You’re right. I’m sorry I brought it up. I like the new uniforms the cheerleaders designed for the game.”

Tj looked toward the field, where twelve girls were jumping and shouting. The uniforms were cute but skimpy. Tj couldn’t help but remember the cold autumn nights when the squad she had been part of chose to wear their sleeveless tops despite the chill in the air. At least the sun was out today, providing a certain level of warmth, although she wasn’t at all hot in her Serenity High sweatshirt.

“They are cute. It’s so odd; there are times I feel like we just graduated yesterday and others when I feel like high school was a million years ago.”

“Doreen Sullwold said the same thing when I was talking to her last night,” Jenna shared. “I got the feeling, though, that she was glad high school was nothing more than a memory.”

“Really? Why?”

“She didn’t say specifically, but I think it had to do with the difference in popularity between her and Grant. Grant was superpopular and she was average at best. I’m sure there were students who wondered why Grant even bothered to date her, and I’m sure there were some students who said as much right to her face.”

Jenna had a point. Grant had been way out of Doreen’s league when they were in high school. And as Jenna speculated, Tj was sure there had been students who’d reminded her of that on a regular basis.

“I’m not trying to be mean or insensitive, but it really was odd when Grant and Doreen hooked up in the first place,” Tj commented. “Doreen is great, but she didn’t really stand out from the crowd and Grant was a freakin’ peacock.”

“He certainly did make sure he was noticed,” Jenna agreed.

Tj’s phone beeped, indicating she had a text.

“It’s Teddy,” Tj announced. “His wife and one of his kids are sick, so he’s not going to make it to the game, but he wants me to meet him in the parking lot so he can give me the photos I wanted to see.”

“It looks like Dennis and the guys are heading this way, so go ahead. I think I can hold down the fort and save all the seats until they get here.”

“Okay, great.” Tj stood up. “Hopefully, I can get to the parking lot and back before kickoff.”

Tj jogged down the bleachers and onto the track that ran in front of them, then continued to jog toward the parking lot. She sort of doubted the photos would reveal anything significant, but you never knew what someone might inadvertently have photographed that would prove to be just the clue she needed to figure out who’d killed Holly Riverton.

The game was due to start in less than ten minutes, so pretty much everyone who planned to attend was already in the stadium. Tj looked around the mostly deserted parking lot until she saw Teddy’s car parked in the very back. Tj waved at him and then headed in his direction.

“Sorry I had to park so far away, but the lot was already full when I arrived,” Teddy explained.

“No problem. I appreciate your taking the time away from your sick family to drive the photos over. I’m sorry you’re going to miss the game and the dance.”

“I’m sorry I’m going to miss the game, but I wasn’t planning on attending the dance anyway,” Teddy informed her. “I didn’t like dances when I was in high school and I think I’d like them even less now.”

“I’ll text you the highlights during the game,” Tj offered.

“That’d be nice.” Teddy smiled. He handed her an envelope. “I guess I didn’t develop all the film I ended up with. I thought I had, but after I pulled everything out I found a role of undeveloped film in the bottom of the envelope. I don’t know if it’s still good, but I figured if you really wanted to see what’s on it you could try to make prints. Though I’m not even sure where to do that anymore.”

“My friend Kyle has a darkroom in his house. I can have him see what he can recover. Thanks again for bringing everything over.”

“No problem. I was actually looking for an excuse to get out of the house for a few minutes. Enjoy the game.”

Tj was walking back to the bleachers when she passed Hunter, who was heading out to the parking lot himself.

“Emergency?” Tj guessed.

“One of my patients had a heart attack. His second. I really need to go. I’m sorry. I know this was supposed to be a weekend for us time.”

“No problem.” Tj stood on tiptoe and gently kissed Hunter on the lips. “Will you make it back in time for the dance?”

“I’ll have to assess the situation once I get there. I’ll call you and let you know what’s going on. Given what I know, I suspect surgery might be our only option.”

TJ touched Hunter’s arm. “I’m sorry about your patient. And don’t worry about me. I’ll be waiting for you when you get done.”

Hunter hugged her. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He turned and headed toward his car and Tj continued to the bleachers. As promised, Jenna had saved her seat, and Jessie had taken the seat Hunter had vacated. Tj really didn’t want to look at the photos with Jessie sitting right next to her, so she turned around before anyone noticed her and headed toward her office. She texted Jenna to let her know she was going to be a few minutes longer so she wouldn’t worry about her.

Tj sat down at her desk and opened the envelope that held both the unprocessed film and the prints from the cameras Teddy had processed. Most of the photos were of people drinking, being silly, and making rude gestures toward the cameraperson. Tj had forgotten how truly out of control a lot of the partygoers had been that night. She cringed when she came across a particularly unflattering photo of herself dancing.

“Yikes.” Tj tore the photo in several pieces and tossed it in the trash. That was one image she had no desire to save for nostalgia’s sake.

Most of the photos didn’t really prove or disprove anything. Many were so blurry you could barely make out exactly who was the subject of the photo. But Tj felt her breath catch as she looked at images of Holly that had been taken just hours before she was brutally murdered. In most of the photos she was either standing alone or with Jessie.

Tj continued to thumb through the photos, making a comment out loud about each one as she did so. “Funny, funny, embarrassing, disgusting, hysterical, what was she thinking, embarrassing, annoying, kill me now, what the heck?”

Tj stared at the photo in her hand. In the background, behind the image of Brett and one of the other guys on the team chugging beer, was an image that was blurry at best but looked an awful lot like Coach Fremont. Tj didn’t remember him being at the party. Yes, she’d been slightly tipsy thanks to Brett’s spiked punch, but she was certain she would have remembered if the man had been present. What was even odder was that he seemed to be looking at something or someone out of camera range, not at the foolish boys who would both puke before the contest was over.

Tj continued to stare at the photo as she challenged her brain to remember the events of the evening. As odd as it seemed, the more Tj thought about it, the more certain she was that she had seen Coach Fremont that evening. Her memory was more like a brief flash that she couldn’t quite grab hold of.

She quickly thumbed through the rest of the photos, but the one with the chugging contest was the only one that contained an image she was certain was the coach. Suddenly, she had an uncontrollable urge to see the as-yet undeveloped roll of film.

She texted Kyle:

Hey I need a favor. Can you get away and meet me in my office?

Is everything okay?

Yeah, I just need to talk to you. Alone.

On my way.

Tj decided to go back through the photos at a slower pace and really look at the people standing around in the background. The teens taking the photos were as wasted as the friends they were taking photos of, so many of the photos were blurry and off center. There were several more of herself that she decided to destroy before Kyle got to her office. She usually had a good sense of humor about such things, but there were a couple of photos she didn’t want
anyone
to see
ever
. The really annoying thing was that every single image of Hunter was drop-dead gorgeous. Of course he hadn’t had anything at all to drink, so he wasn’t making funny faces or placing himself in embarrassing situations.

“What’s up?” Kyle asked as he joined Tj in the office and sat down across from her.