The Trouble with Turkeys (Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 2) (9 page)

“She is. I love her very much, but I have to admit I don’t really understand her.”

“So I’m guessing you eventually got through to the old man?” I asked.

Holly smiled, a genuine, heartfelt smile that conveyed her true affection for the man her mother had bled for money. “I did. It took a while, but at some point he began to respond to my incessant chattering. He started to reveal parts of himself to me: unmet hopes and dreams, regrets and broken promises.”

If there was one thing our investigation had accomplished, it was the discovery that Charles Tisdale had been a monster who
killed his wife and then refused to help his children in their times of greatest need, even though he had more than enough means to do so. I found Holly’s genuine affection for the man confusing.

“Do you think your mother’s disappearance is in some way connected to Charles’s death?” I asked.

Holly looked startled. “You think something happened to her?”

“Don’t you?”

“Not really. I hate to admit it, but I think she’s moved on.”

“Moved on? Charles passed away on Wednesday. Your mother was gone by the time you got here on Thursday. Surely she wouldn’t . . .”

Holly smiled sadly. “She would. Her relationships are and have always been a means to an end. The money dries up and she’s gone.”

“But she loves you,” I pointed out. “Surely she’d stay around to see you. She knew you’d be here.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s why I’m worried. Still, if I find out she hooked up with some guy and took off for the Bahamas, I won’t be surprised. Keep in mind that Charles was more than forty years older than my mother. In her mind he was her benefactor, nothing more.”

I felt sorry for Holly. My mom was a flake, but I had my dad, and he was fantastic. Holly didn’t appear to have anyone.

“How are the others treating you?” I asked. “They didn’t seem thrilled you were getting a fifth of the estate.”

“Oliver and Olivia have officially challenged the will. Leroy doesn’t seem to care, as long as he gets his cut, and Peggy and Margaret just want to wrap this whole thing up as quickly as possible. I think they resent the fact that I was included, but they don’t want the estate tied up in court, so they’re willing to let me have my cut if they can get their share that much faster.”

“And Brent?”

Holly frowned. “I’m not sure. Brent was really nice at first. Even flirty. But he’s been sort of withdrawn ever since the funeral. I get the feeling something is up, but I have no idea what.”

“Did your mother have a relationship with anyone in the family other than Charles?”

“Why do you ask?” Holly seemed suspicious of my questions, and I guess I couldn’t blame her.
I was after all the hired help and really had no reason to be asking so many personal questions.

“It just occurred to me that maybe one of the other family members had spoken to your mother since Charles’s death and might have an idea of where she’d gone
,” I offered.

“My mom wasn’t really accepted by the group, so it wasn’t like there were any big family dinners, if that’s what you’re talking about,” Holly shared. “But my mom did have an acquaintance of sorts with Olivia.”

“Olivia? She seems so . . .”

“Cold? Yeah, she is. The only reason I even knew the two had met was because my mom mentioned that Olivia sought her out in the hope that she could assist her in her quest to convince Charles to help them out financially. My mom didn’t have a lot of influence over Charles, but she had some, and it sounded like Olivia was desperate.”

“I guess that makes sense. Have you asked Olivia about your mother’s whereabouts?”

“Yeah. She said she didn’t know and in fact hadn’t spoken to her in quite some time. I’m not really surprised by that. I doubt my mom would have helped Olivia even if she’d been able to. If my mom thought she could get extra money out of Charles, she would have kept it for herself.”

Holly’s phone rang while I sat trying to wrap my head around everything she’d said. She looked at the caller ID, then excused herself.

Olivia and Dolly had at a minimum met. I wasn’t sure this was important, but I filed it away for future reference. Given the fact that Oliver and Olivia were challenging the will, thereby delaying everyone’s departure, I was willing to bet they hadn’t killed Charles. It made sense that if they had, they would have been more than anxious to leave. Peggy and Margaret, on the other hand, were displaying behavior more akin to a guilty party
. I still hadn’t decided what, if any, relevance Brent’s possession of Charles’s journal had to do with his death and I wasn’t sure what to make of Dolly’s disappearance. Zak would be at the house when I returned. Maybe I’d run everything past him and see what he thought.

Scott called while I was at the farm and told me that he had a nutritional supplement he wanted me to start giving Maggie after the puppies were born. He’d been by the boathouse earlier to check on her and agreed that the pups would most likely be born in the next twelve hours. He hadn’t had the supplement with him at the time but wondered if I could stop by and pick it up on my way through town.

It was dark by the time I pulled into Ashton Falls. The town where I was born and raised holds a special place in my heart. Known as the event capital of the Timberland Mountains, Ashton Falls is a quaint village nestled on the shore of a large deepwater lake, surrounded by hundreds of miles of thick evergreen forest. The town was originally developed by Ashton Montgomery, a multimillionaire and my great-grandfather on my mother’s side. At one time all the land in the mountain basin where Ashton Falls now resides was owned by the Montgomerys, but, unlike Ashton, his three sons weren’t thrilled with the mountain way of life and had moved from the area as soon as they were old enough.

After Ashton died, his sons had divided the land and begun selling it off, keeping in the family only a few prime pieces of property, including the isolated bay where my converted boathouse sits. Of the three sons, my grandfather Preston is the only one who continued to visit Ashton Falls after their father’s death. Every summer he’d bring his wife, three sons, and daughter,
my mother, to the mansion he built overlooking the lake for two months of what he laughably labeled rugged mountain living. That, by the way, is how my mother met my father and yours truly was conceived.

The veterinary hospital, where I was to meet Scott, was just north of the animal shelter where I used to work. Scott had volunteered many hours at the shelter, and during the time we’d worked together we’d become good friends. As I passed the shelter, I gasped. The day after the county closed the place, they’d stuck a for-sale sign on it, although there had still been a part of me that hoped the county would realize the error of their ways and ask Jeremy and me to return to work. As I stopped in front of the old building and stared at the
sold
sign, I knew in my heart that the thing I most longed for in the world was good and officially gone.

In many ways I felt like I was trapped in a bad dream in which I was left alone and adrift in the middle of an endless sea. I’d worked for the county shelter since I was old enough to serve as a volunteer. I’d spent summers during high school, as well as every afternoon during the school year, caring for the animals that felt like family. After high school I had taken the necessary classes and applied for a full-time position. When word came through that I’d landed the job, I’d really felt that my career was set for life. I’d worked my way into the position of facility manager and hoped to use my influence to change the county’s antiquated policies regarding mandatory termination after a specified number of days.

I guess the good I might have done will go unknown. To this day, I’m not sure whether I’d have done things differently if I’d had the chance to do them again. A killer was caught, and that was important, but the dogs and cats that might have lived and now will most likely die seem much too great a price to pay.

I continued on to the veterinary hospital, where I greeted Scott.

“I’m glad you were able to stop by.” Scott hugged me. “Maggie is doing a lot better. I can see that you’ve been taking really good care of her.”

“I’ve done everything I know to do,” I confirmed. “She’s such a sweetie. I hope that delivering her pups isn’t going to be too much for her.”

“She seems to have regained her strength, and the pups seem healthy. You never know what might go wrong, but I’m betting she’ll do okay. We’ll want her to nurse if she can after the pups are born, so it’s important you start her on the supplement right away.”

“I will. I noticed a sold sign on the shelter. Any idea who bought it?”

“I’m not sure. I overheard some clients talking about a rich developer, but that might have been nothing more than small-town gossip.”

“A developer? You think someone might tear it down?”

“It seems likely. I’m not sure what good the building is to anyone other than an animal shelter.”

“Yeah, I guess.” I couldn’t believe how sad the thought made me. I mean, I get it. There aren’t a lot of businesses that can make use of hallways full of cages, but I’d spent a lot of time in that building. It was going to kill me to see it destroyed.

When I arrived at the boathouse, Zak was in the kitchen,
cooking something that smelled like heaven. Charlie trotted over to the door and greeted me with unbridled joy, but Maggie was nowhere to be found. I greeted Charlie, who wasn’t about to let me pass until I’d done so, and then wandered in to speak to Zak.

“Maggie?” I asked.

“Upstairs in your room. No puppies yet, but I have the feeling it won’t be long. I’m making my macaroni and chicken casserole. I’ll stick the garlic bread in the oven if you want to change.”

“The casserole
smells wonderful.” I opened the oven door and peeked inside. “What’s in it?”

“Family secret.” Zak grinned.

“I want to check on Maggie and take a quick shower. Give me twenty minutes.”

I scurried up the stairs to the loft that serves as my bedroom. Maggie, who was curled up in the corner of my closet, didn’t get up but wagged her tail as I bent down to greet her. “I see you’re not a fan of the birthing box I set up.”

It appeared that Zak had moved my shoes to the side and made up a bed of blankets for the mom-to-be. I ran my hand over Maggie’s distended stomach and felt for the pups as they moved into position. “It won’t be long now,” I promised the little dog. “I’m going to get cleaned up, and then I’ll be back to check on you.”

Maggie licked my hand as I rose to gather my clothes and make my way down to the bathroom. I turned the water on to heat as I stared out
of the window to the dark forest beyond. When I’d first rescued Maggie, she was so thin that her bones protruded from her frail little frame. I figured there was no way her puppies would live, but Scott started her on a high-calorie, nutrient-dense diet and enough supplements to fill half a shelf in my kitchen cabinet. I still worried about her ability to deliver without complications and the overall health of the puppies given their rough start, but I hoped that after two weeks of tender loving care, everything would go smoothly for the sweet little mother and her family.

After showering and changing into comfortable sweatpants and an oversize sweater, I checked on Maggie one more time before joining Zak in the kitchen.
The cheesy pasta, crisp garden salad, and golden garlic bread was quite possibly the best meal I’d ever had. It didn’t hurt that it was served with a glass of Zak’s ridiculously expensive wine.

“So how goes the investigation?” Zak asked after we were seated.

“I don’t have a lot of new information,” I informed him. “Oliver and Olivia have contested the will, Peggy and Margaret want things wrapped up as quickly as possible, Leroy doesn’t seem to care much one way or the other, Dolly is still missing, and Brent, who is in possession of Charles’s deepest, most intimate thoughts, is acting withdrawn and secretive. Probably the most interesting thing I learned is that Holly seems to have genuinely cared about the old man. I had a brief discussion with her today and, of all the leeches at the estate, she seems to be the only one to truly give a damn about him, not just the money. How’d your meeting with your attorney go?”

“Good. The property should close by the end of the week.”

“Congratulations.” I held up my wineglass in a toast. “I wasn’t sure about having a neighbor after all this time, but if I have to have one, I’m glad it’s you.”

Zak smiled.

“I noticed the old shelter has a sold sign on it,” I commented. “I knew it would be sold eventually, but I have to be honest: a part of me really hoped the county would change its mind and reopen the facility. Ashton Falls really needs its own shelter. Running things from Bryton Lake may work out in the short-term, but having patrols drive the thirty miles up the mountain in the dead of winter is going to be a nightmare.”

“I’m sure the county has taken that into account.”

I frowned. It wasn’t like Zak to so totally disregard my feelings. Here I was, pouring my heart out to him, and he was answering with logic.