The Extinguished Guest (A Lexie Starr Mystery, Book 2) (26 page)

"Oh, gosh," I said, embarrassed by the praise. I hadn't expected or envisioned a reward,
especially not of that magnitude. My only concern had been for the parrots and the
future of the endangered species. "That's really not necessary. I didn't do it for
a monetary reward."

"I know, and they know you didn't," Wyatt said. "But I still think the reward is well-deserved.
Most people would've hesitated to get involved."

"Wyatt's right," Stone agreed. "And what you ultimately decide to do about it is obviously
up to you. I'll back whatever decision you make. I have to hand it to you, though.
It took a lot of guts on your part, and I'm proud of you, even though it probably
did take ten years off my life." Stone gave me an affectionate hug.

"Thank you, Stone. That means a lot to me," I said. "But I just did what any responsible
citizen would have done. You know, ten thousand dollars could go a long way in the
kakapo recovery efforts. If they offer me a reward, I'm going to accept it because
I don't want to offend them. But then I'm going to donate the ten thousand dollars
back to the recovery program and ask if there's some way I can volunteer my efforts
in soliciting other donations on their behalf."

Stone gazed at me with an expression of awe. "Ah, my dear, I wholeheartedly agree
with your decision. You're one-in-a-million. Do you know that?" he said softly. "Not
many people would be so thoughtful and unselfish. I'm certainly lucky you found me."

"I agree with Stone," Wyatt said. "That's very generous of you. And speaking of lucky,
I spent the afternoon with Veronica, and she's agreed to go on a date with me after
her father's wake and funeral are behind her. She's changed a lot since high school.
She's mellowed, become a lot more humble and a lot less high strung. I guess I've
changed, too. In my younger days, I was too shy to ask her out on a date, not that
she would have gone out with me back then anyway."

I congratulated him, wished him luck with Veronica, and thanked him for stopping by
with the news. Then I encouraged him to finish off the three remaining oatmeal cookies,
which he did in three quick bites. I wished Wyatt a good night and headed cautiously
up the stairs, leaving Stone to see the detective out and lock up behind him. I was
relieved to see the light on at the top of the landing.

I walked softly so as not to disturb anyone's sleep as I made my way to Stone's suite.
Crystal was sleeping in my room, and I had a debt to pay; a promise to Stone that
I looked forward to fulfilling.

Stone soon joined me, telling me that Wyatt had departed shortly after I left the
kitchen. We chatted for a few minutes about what had been discussed with the detective.

"Did you catch the part about Veronica not having a very good relationship with her
father?" Stone asked.

"Yeah, I did. Seems a little odd to me. If she's not particularly concerned about
his passing, then why was she so insistent on having a professional and thorough investigation
into the murder? Was it just an inheritance she was interested in?"

"I don't know."

"And why did she make a bee-line back to Rockdale? I wonder why she wasn't closer
to Horatio than Wyatt thought she had been. Do you think this is a matter we should
delve in to a little more deeply?"

"I'm not sure, but somehow I have a feeling that you want to do some delving, and
my opinion doesn't really matter." Stone smiled a bit as he spoke. It was not a happy
smile, I noticed.

"Oh, dear," I said, as I sighed dramatically. "Your opinion matters very much to me,
Stone. But it won't necessarily deter me from tracking Veronica down tomorrow morning."

"I was afraid of that." Stone sighed even more dramatically than I had and turned
back the covers of his bed. "Hop in, you little spitfire."

I went to sleep in Stone's arms, with a contented smile on my face, and I slept like
a baby for the first time in weeks. It'd been a very exhausting, but satisfying and
productive, day.

Chapter 21

I woke up bright and early the next morning, only to find that I was the last one
to get out of bed. The Historical Society, minus the deceased and jailed members,
were milling around in the kitchen and parlor, drinking coffee and conversing pleasantly
with one another. Cornelius had Rosalinda cornered, and Harry and Otto were laughing
at something Patty had said. Alma wasn't present, but that didn't surprise me any.
Stone was on the back porch discussing something with Detective Johnston again, and
Crystal was standing at the stove frying bacon.

I greeted the guests and Crystal before joining Stone and Wyatt on the back porch.
The fact that I snatched a cup of coffee off the kitchen counter goes without saying.
Stone and Wyatt each had a mug in their hands, as well, as I opened the back door.

"Good morning, gentlemen."

"Good morning," they replied in unison.

"Anything new?" I asked. I assumed the detective had stopped by with some new information
regarding the murder investigation.

"Not really," he replied. "Just in the neighborhood and thought I'd stop by. Crystal
invited me to stay for breakfast, and I thought I'd take her up on the offer. I wouldn't
want to offend her."

I doubted it took much consideration on the detective's part to agree to the invitation
and wondered if he hadn't had that exact possibility in mind when he stopped by in
the first place. "Glad to have you, Wyatt. You are always welcome here, of course."

"I appreciate it. It's warming up today, isn't it?" he asked. "Looks like it's going
to be a mild day. I may ask Veronica out for supper tonight since she's kind of stuck
here in town all by herself for a few days."

"That's a good idea. Speaking of Veronica," I said, glad to have an opening to bring
her name up in the conversation. "I'd like to speak with her this morning. I want
to offer her my condolences, and all that, you know. Do you know where I could find
her sometime later after breakfast?"

Wyatt nodded, and after taking a long sip of his steaming coffee said, "Sure. She's
staying at the Sands Motel while she's in town. She's in room two fourteen, and I'm
sure she'd welcome the company."

* * *

"Thanks for stopping by, Ms. Starr."

I grasped Veronica's outstretched hand and shook it. "You're quite welcome and please
call me Lexie. Since the murder of your father took place at my boyfriend's establishment,
I thought I really ought to come over and offer my sincere condolences. I wish I could
tell you there was a solid lead in the case, but I can't."

"I wish you could, too, Lexie. So far I'm not too impressed with the investigation
that's taking place on my father's murder case. I'd hoped to be able to make funeral
arrangements while I was back here, but the body is tied up pending further investigation."

"Yes, I suppose it is."
The body
sounded a bit impersonal for my taste.

"At least this happened at an opportune time for me," Veronica said. I wondered whether
there could ever be an opportune time for a parent to be murdered, but I didn't say
anything.

"I'm between jobs right now and not too sure what the future holds for me. It's nice
to have a reason to take a break from pounding the pavement for a while, looking for
employment, but I can't stay here indefinitely."

"I'm just sorry the reason for your break was the loss of your father," I said.

"Yeah, well, whatever. Let's run down to the little cafe up the street and have some
coffee. You do drink coffee, don't you?" Veronica asked.

"I've been known to have a cup now and then."

A few minutes later we were seated at a table in the rear of the cafe, sipping our
coffee. I studied Veronica for a moment and realized she was a stunningly beautiful
woman. She had that cheerleader look to her: tall, willowy, blonde, and busty. Her
hair reached halfway down her back, and her lipstick was very red around her full
pouty lips. I could understand why Detective Johnston was infatuated with her. I doubted
she cooked much, however, as she was so thin it appeared she hadn't had a decent meal
in weeks. She could use a platter of biscuits and gravy, I thought.

"Have you had breakfast, Veronica?"

"No, I don't do breakfast," she said.

Why did that not surprise me? I hazarded to guess that she really just didn't do food
much at all. I decided to bite the bullet and get down to brass tacks. "I hope I'm
not being too intrusive, but it seems to me that you weren't all that devastated over
the loss of your father. Am I wrong?" I asked, patting her hand resting on the surface
of the table. I didn't want to seem as if I were being judgmental. I was, but that's
beside the point.

I was surprised to see tears in her eyes as she answered. "No, I guess you could say
you aren't wrong. We were never very close, and I feel bad about not being more shaken
up over his death than I am. But, you see, my mother died when I was eight. I was
torn up and lost without her. But Dad... well he just dusted himself off, handed me
over to a new nanny, and lined up the next of several wives to come. He never shed
a tear, never looked back. He just dove even deeper into his work at D&P Enterprises,
and forgot I ever existed. I kind of lost both my parents at the same time."

"I'm so sorry, my dear," I said, trying to comfort her. "I really am."

"Thanks," she said. "I led a very lonely childhood after my mom died. Nannies came
and went, waging constant battles with my father and taking it out on me. I know I
shouldn't hold a grudge or let bitterness interfere with my life, but I guess I just
can't help it. I feel like I grew up as an orphan, and that's tough to get over."

"I'm sure it is. I grew up in a close and warm family atmosphere, so it is hard for
me to even imagine how you feel. Why, may I ask, were you so determined to get a private
detective before the case got transferred to the county investigative team?"

"That's a long story."

"Go ahead," I encouraged. "I'm in no special hurry."

"My ex-husband is back in town this week from his home in Utah. He's here to attend
his class reunion in Leavenworth, which was a couple days ago. He never got along
with my father. In fact they hated each other's guts, and I just needed to assure
myself that he had nothing to do with Dad's death. He's got kind of a volatile temper."

"Why did they hate each other so much?" I asked.

"When Caleb asked me to marry him, my father was beside himself. He nearly forbade
us to marry, and called Caleb a blooming idiot and a worthless bum. Caleb never was
much at working or holding a job, and he had a history of drug use, although that
was truly in his past. He hadn't touched the stuff since he graduated from college.
And he was kind of a career student. It took him seven years to earn a B.A. in business
administration, although it was a degree he never utilized. Caleb was a free-spirited
guy, and he resented my father's interference in our lives. Caleb was right though.
Dad really could be a bastard!"

I involuntarily glanced down to check out the size of Veronica's feet. No, her feet
were as long as she was tall, so it couldn't have been her small footsteps in the
snow outside the inn the morning of the murder.

"Veronica, maybe I can check into this for you. Do you know where Caleb is staying
while he's in town? I can go see what information I can get out of him. Perhaps just
to give you some peace of mind, if nothing else."

"As far as I can tell, he is staying with his parents in Leavenworth. His parents
live on Spruce Street, just a few blocks from the county courthouse at Fourth and
Walnut. It's a green ranch home with a red tiled roof."

"Have you seen Caleb since you've been back in town?" I asked.

"No, and I haven't spoken to him either, but I did see a friend of mine who was in
his class in high school, and she told me that his current wife did not attend the
reunion with him. The reunion took place the night after Dad's murder," Veronica said.
"Do you really think you can find out if he has an alibi for that night? It would
sure be a relief if you could."

"I'll do my best!"