Текст книги "A Haunted Murder"
Автор книги: J. A. Whiting
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Текущая страница: 8 (всего у книги 9 страниц)
Chapter 21
Lin stepped out of the front door of Viv’s house. “You two behave,” Lin told Nicky and Queenie. “And be sure to protect the house.” She locked the door and pulled it closed. Lin was heading into town to meet Jeff at a pub for dinner.
Viv and her band had a gig to play at a night-spot down by the docks. Viv’s boyfriend was still in Boston so a friend of theirs was sitting in for him on the keyboards. Viv was still uneasy about the evening intruder in her yard, so she asked Lin to stay overnight with her again.
Lin was so excited to see Jeff that she practically skipped down the street, her long brown hair swinging beneath her shoulders. Lin chuckled when she realized this would be the first time he would see her when she wasn’t covered in sweat or garden grime so she chose her cutest summer dress to emphasize her nicer appearance.
Jeff was waiting at the pub entrance and when she turned the corner and he caught sight of her, he beamed and strode up the sidewalk to greet her.
“You look great.” He gave her a hug and held her hand as they walked the few steps to the pub door. Lin’s heart raced and her cheeks tinged with pink.
“I thought maybe you wouldn’t recognize me all cleaned up.” Lin’s blue eyes were shining.
“Well, you did shower the night we got takeout for dinner,” Jeff smiled as he reminded her.
They sat down at a table near the window and sipped drinks while perusing the menu. Once they ordered, they chatted about their week and the talk turned again to the murder of Greg Hammond. Lin told Jeff about the bank heist, the notion that Sebastian Coffin helped persecuted people settle on the island, and the rumor that Sebastian and Emily had received valuable items from a pirate’s treasure for helping those people live in safety.
Jeff set his beer glass on the table. “Greg would be very interested in that. He probably thought that he’d find the long-lost treasure and all of his problems would be solved.” He gave Lin a serious look. “I heard some rumors, too.” He seemed reluctant to share.
“What did you hear?”
“I met a couple of friends for lunch the other day. One of them heard something about Greg’s company being in financial peril. Greg put the business up for sale right before he was killed. An audit is being done on the company. It’s hush-hush. They don’t want to tip off any of the employees that there are questions about the finances. It seems someone may have been stealing from the business, probably still is.”
Lin straightened. “I’m not surprised. My guess would be Leonard. When I stopped in at the landscape company a while ago, it seemed that Leonard had free rein in that office. He didn’t want me in there. He could very well be the one stealing from the company.”
Jeff nodded. “If the business was sinking financially, then Greg’s desperation to find hidden money in your cousin’s house makes a lot of sense.”
“But if his finances were a mess, how would a bank ever give him a loan to buy Viv’s house?” Lin asked.
“He could have used his business for collateral. It’s a big property, a well-known business on the island.”
Lin let out a long sigh. “I wish the police would make an arrest. Then Viv wouldn’t have to worry about being a suspect. The whole thing is wearing her down.”
Jeff reached across the table and took Lin’s hand. “I think the whole thing is wearing on you, too.”
She gave a reluctant nod and whispered. “You’re right. It is. They couldn’t pin this on Viv could they?”
The edges of Jeff’s mouth turned down. “I hope not.”
Thinking about her cousin being falsely accused caused anxiety to pulse through Lin’s body.
To lighten the mood, Jeff suggested sharing a dessert and they ordered a slice of key lime pie which arrived on a pale yellow plate with two silver spoons. When the date was over, Lin and Jeff stood on the sidewalk in front of the pub and shared a sweet kiss before parting ways. Despite the late hour, Jeff had promised to help a friend pull out some old kitchen cabinets in preparation for a remodel. He offered to drive Lin to Viv’s house, but Lin wanted to go see her cousin’s band playing in town.
Lin walked along in the light from the streetlamps and headed to the club where Viv and her band were playing down near the docks. Tourists were out in full force strolling by the stores and pubs and walking along the wharves to look at all the boats. Turning the corner, she noticed that the streetlights were out and that storefronts were dark in this section of town. People spilled onto the sidewalks and Lin heard them discussing the area power outage. Approaching the club, Lin spotted one of Viv’s band members amid the crowd at the curb.
“Viv went home. The power went out halfway through our first set. The guys packed up the equipment. I’m just waiting for Joe to come by with the van.”
Lin thanked the young woman and turned for Viv’s house. As she walked, she pondered what she’d learned about the case. No one had been arrested yet so Viv was still a possible suspect. Three hundred years ago, Emily and Sebastian Coffin helped people who fled the mainland out of fear of persecution for witchcraft to settle on the island. Emily and Sebastian may have received valuable gifts for their help. Those gifts had never been located and are thought to be hidden on Viv’s property. Greg Hammond’s business was in financial trouble and he’d put the company up for sale shortly before he was killed. Hammond desperately wanted Viv’s house hoping to discover the valuable items which would have solved his financial woes.
Distracted by her thoughts, Lin turned the corner and smacked into a woman carrying two bags of groceries. The bags hit the ground spilling some of the contents out onto the sidewalk. “I’m so sorry.” As she was about to kneel to gather the things, Lin recognized the woman as one of her gardening clients. “Oh, Mrs. Abbott. I was so distracted and not paying any attention.” She repacked the bags.
The small, silver-haired woman smiled. “It’s happened to all of us. Don’t worry. Nothing I bought can be hurt in a tumble. The wheel broke on my shopping pull-cart so I had to carry everything.”
Lin stood, her arms wrapped around the bags, all the items safely inside. “Let me carry them for you. I’m heading in the same direction.”
Mrs. Abbott gave a meager protest, but it was plain that she was grateful for the help. The two started up the lane heading for Main Street. The woman’s small home was tucked a few blocks away on a side road in town. They chatted about Mrs. Abbott’s gardens which were full and lush this year and the woman credited Lin’s care with their success.
Halfway up the hill, the topic changed. “So terrible about Greg Hammond.” Mrs. Abbott tsk-tsked and shook her head. “Such an awful thing. Our island is usually so quiet and peaceful. The poor man. Did you know him?”
Lin shook her head. “I was introduced to him only briefly.” She kept Hammond’s harassment of Viv to herself.
“He was a nice person.”
Lin looked at Mrs. Abbott out of the corner of her eye. That wasn’t the way Viv would have described the man. “Was he? You knew him?”
“He put in my garden plants a few years ago and he did the brick walkway recently.” The old woman gave a sad sigh. “He’d join me for tea. We had some very nice discussions. We talked about everything, flowers, of course, but current events, books, history, especially the history of the island. He was quite knowledgeable.”
“What do you think happened? Was he in trouble with someone?’
Mrs. Abbott gave a little snort. “Greg was in trouble with himself mostly. Money slipped right through his fingers like water through a sieve. He needed to pay more attention to his company.” The woman looked over her shoulder and lowered her voice. “Greg was sure one of the employees was stealing from the business. He was positive that he should have been making more money than he was. He was trying to figure it out.”
Lin was shocked that Hammond would confess such things to a customer. “He told you this?”
“Oh, yes. Greg put the business up for sale. He figured an audit right before sale would uncover the wrongdoing.”
“Did he tell you who he suspected?”
“No. He didn’t want to accuse someone without proof. He came by the day before he was killed to fix the patio. The cold winter weather had forced up some of the bricks. He told me that his fortunes were about to change.”
“Did he say how?”
“Greg finally figured out who was stealing from him. He planned to go to the police with the information the very next morning.” The woman’s face clouded. “He never got there.” Mrs. Abbott let out a heavy sigh. “How I wish he’d told me the name of the devil who stole from him so that I could inform the police.”
Lin’s heart was beating fast as they turned onto the woman’s front walk and then went up the stairs to the porch. Under the porch light, Lin could see a frown pulling on Mrs. Abbott’s facial muscles.
“Do you think the embezzler knew Greg was on to him? Do you think he killed Greg?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” the woman said solemnly.
“Did you tell the police about this?” Lin asked.
“Indeed, I did.” Mrs. Abbott stood a little straighter. “But no one’s been arrested so it mustn’t have been any help.”
“I bet it was a huge help.” Lin’s mind was racing. A thought popped into her head and gave her such a jolt that she nearly dropped the grocery bags. “Would you like me to bring these inside?” She wanted to hurry away to pursue her idea.
“No, my dear. Just set them down.” Mrs. Abbott pointed to the porch floor and thanked Lin for her help.
Lin was about to hurry down the front steps when Mrs. Abbott let out another sigh as she fumbled in her purse for her house key. “Poor Greg. He really seemed very much alone in the world.”
Lin’s heart clenched. She stood still for a moment and then she moved slowly down the steps. For a good part of her life, she’d been all too familiar with the feeling of being alone.
Chapter 22
Leonard. It had to be him. Lin raced up Main Street to get to Viv’s house as fast as she could.
Leonard had access to Hammond’s back office files and he was probably in need of money. Greg ignored the business so it must have been fairly easy to doctor the books. He must have known that Greg was interested in Viv’s house. He must have seen the books that Greg was reading. Maybe Leonard even knew what Greg hoped to find on Viv’s property. Lin’s brain was trying to fit all the pieces together. He must have known that Greg had discovered that he was embezzling from the business so, to save his skin, Leonard murdered Greg. Lin berated herself for not seeing it sooner.
A shadow stepped from a dark yard onto the sidewalk in front of Lin causing her to pull to a halt.
Leonard.
Fear gripped her throat and her body felt like rubber. She wanted to whirl and run, but she didn’t want to incite him. She forced herself to take slow breaths.
The man’s face was bruised and cut. His hair hung in long strings around his cheeks. Leonard’s lip was twice its usual size.
He must have been one of the two men fighting at the side of Viv’s yard the other night.
“I been lookin’ for you.” Leonard shuffled to the side so that he wasn’t directly under the streetlamp.
Lin glanced around, but there was no one walking in the area. She took a tiny step back. She swallowed hard, but her constricted throat only allowed her voice to come out as a squeak. “What do you want?”
“I need to tell you something.” Leonard flicked his eyes side to side and up the street.
“I need to get home.” Lin’s heart pounded so hard she was sure that her chest would burst open. She took a step to her left, but Leonard moved to block her way.
Even in the thin light of the streetlamp, Lin could make out Leonard’s yellow, chipped teeth.
“I’m in trouble,” Leonard mumbled.
“Yeah, I know.”
Leonard’s face screwed up. “How would you know?”
Lin wished she was a foot further back from the man. If she tried to run, he would just reach for her arm and grab her. She waited for an opportunity.
“People talk.” Lin forced her shoulders back.
“Nobody knows this.” Leonard stepped closer.
Lin gently slid both of her feet an inch out of her flip flops so that when she got the chance she could more easily step out of them and run as fast as she could.
A car came up the small hill of the street and caught the two people standing on the sidewalk in the headlights. Lin would rather be hit by a car than dragged away and killed by Leonard.
Lin bolted into the road in front of the vehicle hoping they would see her and stop in time to avoid hitting her. She grimaced and closed her eyes waiting for the hit.
Leonard ran into the yard of the house to his left and disappeared into the trees.
The car screeched to a stop. The driver jumped out and hurried to the side of the shaking young woman standing in front of him in the dark.
***
When the police arrived, Lin was still shaken. She explained why she had run into the road. “I think a guy who works for Hammond Landscaping is responsible for killing Greg Hammond. The guy’s name is Leonard. I don’t know his last name.”
The two officers exchanged a look. One of the men said, “We know who you mean. It’s not him though.”
Lin’s eyes flashed. “Why isn’t it him?”
The other officer spoke. “We know where Leonard was the morning Mr. Hammond was killed.”
A questioning expression spread over Lin’s face and she tilted her head to the side. “You do?”
The first officer nodded. “He got into some mischief the night before. He was a guest at the police station until after the murder took place.”
Lin’s shoulders drooped. She felt foolish for making the accusation.
“Did he threaten you this evening? Do you want to make a formal complaint against Mr. Reed? Leonard Reed.”
Lin blinked. “No.” She shook her head. She wanted to get away from the police officers and get to Viv’s house where she could forget the whole evening. The officers offered to give her a lift, but she declined and instead, walked the remaining few blocks to her cousin’s place.
The house was dark when she arrived. She unlocked the front door and flicked on the lights. The dog greeted her with sleepy eyes and Queenie arched her back and yawned from her place on the sofa.
“I made a fool of myself tonight,” Lin told the animals. She let out a long groan. She kicked off her flip flops and climbed the staircase to the spare room where she pulled off her dress and put on a T-shirt and a pair of long pajama pants. She picked up one of her crossword puzzle books, went downstairs and into the kitchen.
Nicky woofed to be let outside. Following the dog to the back door, Lin texted her cousin. A moment later, Viv replied that when she was on her way home after the power outage at the club, she had to stop at the bookstore because an employee was sick and couldn’t finish her shift. She’d just finished locking up and would be home in a few minutes.
Lin opened the back door, let the dog out, and stepped onto the deck. Cloud cover hid the moon and stars making the yard unusually dark. She sucked in a long deep breath and sat in one of the chairs.
How could she have been so wrong about the killer? Everything seemed to fit. A wave of guilt washed over her. It had been easy to suspect Leonard. The way he looked and his poor social skills made Lin uncomfortable and she always wanted to get away from him, but those things didn’t make him a murderer. She’d been too quick to jump to conclusions.
Lin looked out over the yard. “Nick?” She stood and walked down onto the grass where she called the dog’s name again.
Bits and pieces of information flashed in Lin’s mind like tiny sparks. Leonard had said that he wanted to tell her something, he’d said he was in trouble. He looked like he’d been in a fight. Other thoughts sparked in her brain and her mouth dropped open in realization.
Just about every time the ghost had appeared, one particular person was present. Lin closed her eyes. Everything aligned and pointed to one person. My God. How did I miss it? I know who killed Greg Hammond.
Nicky’s insistent whine from behind the shed shook Lin to attention. A man’s moan floated on the air. Flickers of anxiety pulsed down her back as Lin rushed to where the sounds were coming from. Rounding the corner of the shed, Lin saw Nicky standing over a man who lay on the ground face-up.
Lin moved closer. She could see blood on the man’s face and chest. Leonard. She reached wildly for her phone, but when she shoved her hand into her pajama pocket, it was empty. She let out a curse.
Lin leaned closer to the man and whispered his name. As she reached her hand towards Leonard, cold air surrounded her and something caught her eye to the left.
The ghost. His eyes were wide. With a swoop of his arm, he pointed behind her.
Lin sensed movement. She hit the ground and rolled to the side narrowly missing being struck from behind. Leaping to her feet, she faced Bill Ward. He held a knife in his hand.
“You.” Lin sucked in a breath. “You greedy monster.”
“Save it.” Bill spat out the words and slowly circled preparing to lunge.
Having just arrived home, Viv stepped from the back door of the house and scanned the yard looking for her cousin. “Lin?”
Lin yelled, never taking her eyes from Bill Ward and his silver knife. “Stay inside, Viv. Call the police. Lock the door.”
Bill rushed at Lin holding the knife in his right hand like a spear. Lin side-stepped to her left which made the force of the man’s swing less effective, the thrust of the knife less powerful. She brought her right forearm up like a shield. The knife grazed her arm. Lin spun around and using the whole sole of her foot, she kicked Bill in the back of his leg.
Just as the man’s knee buckled, Nicky jumped up and chomped into Bill’s leg. At the same moment, the dark gray cat leaped through the air from the top of the shed. The snarling feline sank her claws into the man’s shoulders and her fangs bit into his neck. Her back legs ripped through the assailant’s shirt and into his skin.
Bill screamed and lost his balance. The knife fell from his hand and hit the ground with a thud. While the cat and dog continued their attack, Lin kicked out and the blade scuttled across the lawn out of Bill’s reach.
Viv rushed off the deck and into the yard, wielding the fireplace poker like a spear. Her chest heaving, Lin saw her cousin running towards Bill like a banshee. She couldn’t help a tiny smile from spreading over her lips.
The letdown from the sudden release of adrenaline in her body caused an enormous flood of fatigue to wash over Lin. Then she burst into tears.
Chapter 23
Lin, Jeff, Viv, and John sat in beach chairs overlooking the ocean. Lin pushed her toes under the warm, soft white sand and rested her head against the chair back. The four had spent an hour body-surfing and floating on the waves and were now warming themselves under the late June sun. Viv had packed the cooler with roasted chicken, pasta salad, crusty Italian bread, and yogurt and fruit parfaits layered in little plastic cups. It was a chance for everyone to relax and enjoy the warm, summer day after the strange events of the past few weeks.
“So, fill in the details for us.” Jeff sipped from a can of seltzer.
Viv groaned. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I’m just glad it’s over and things can get back to normal.”
Lin sat up in her chair and adjusted her sunglasses. “I’ll tell you about it. Where should I start?”
“At the beginning.” John smiled. “I leave the island for a week and everything is solved when I get back.”
Lin stretched her legs out over the sand. “Bill Ward was stealing from Hammond Landscaping for years. His wife was the bookkeeper and she doctored the stats to make it seem that, over a few years time, the company was sliding into financial trouble.”
“How convenient that Bill Ward’s wife was a bookkeeper.” John shook his head.
Lin continued. “Recently the speed of the embezzling picked up. Hammond was frantic about the rapid loss of money. He’d been reading histories of the island for years and he believed the stories that said Sebastian Coffin had hidden valuables on his property. If Greg could get his hands on those valuables then his financial troubles would have been over.”
Viv sighed. “That’s when he started his pursuit of my house.”
“Leonard told the police that Greg talked to him about his concern that someone in the company was stealing from him,” Lin said. “Greg always talked about the island stories and history with Leonard. Leonard thought that looking for pirate’s treasure at Viv’s house was folly, but he humored Greg.”
Even though Viv had said she didn’t want to talk about the whole mess, she was drawn into the telling of the story. “Greg told Leonard that he suspected Bill of embezzling. Bill revealed to the police that he’d overheard Greg making accusations against him and that he had no choice but to kill Greg in order to silence him. Bill used his scuba equipment to approach Greg’s boat in the water early that morning. That way no one saw him on the docks.”
“I’m ashamed that I jumped to the idea that Leonard was the killer.” Lin frowned. “He came into town twice to tell me that Bill was stealing and that he’d probably killed Greg. Leonard was trying to do the right thing and I just thought he was harassing me.”
Jeff reached over and took Lin’s hand.
Viv put on a sun hat. “The night we heard noises outside and saw a man in the bushes, it was Leonard and Bill having a fight. Leonard followed us home from town that evening. He came to the house to try to tell Lin what he knew, but he saw Bill in the yard. Bill was trying to break into the shed to hunt for the valuables Greg claimed were hidden there, but Leonard confronted him about the embezzling and the fight broke out.”
“Leonard pulled out a switchblade and Bill took off. Leonard rang the doorbell, but we didn’t answer. Turns out, he had a concussion from the fight. He ended up collapsing in the bushes on the edge of Viv’s yard.”
“Leonard had been hiding out after the fight. He knew Bill would try to kill him. That last evening, Leonard returned to Viv’s house after trying to talk to me on the sidewalk.” Lin rubbed her forehead. “Bill had been hunting for Leonard since they fought the day before. Bill tailed him to Viv’s and attacked him in the yard. That’s when I went outside with the dog and found Leonard hurt behind the shed.”
“Lucky the animals were so determined to protect you. They were a big help.” Jeff squeezed Lin’s hand. “But I think all the bending and squatting you’ve been doing in the gardens has strengthened your legs and made you quick and that helped you take Bill down.”
Lin nodded and then she chuckled thinking of Viv rushing out of the house with the fireplace poker. “Well, if Nicky and Queenie hadn’t helped me, Viv would have taken care of Bill Ward single-handedly.”
“You bet I would have.” Viv flexed her arm to show a muscle.
“Oh, and unfortunately, there was no treasure in the shed,” John told Jeff.
“We searched for hours.” Viv removed the lunch items from the cooler. “We didn’t even find a single coin.” Viv served the chicken and pasta on paper plates and passed them around. Everyone dug into the tasty meal and showered Viv with praise for the delicious lunch.
Lin balanced the plate on her lap and sipped from her water bottle. She hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that they just hadn’t searched in the right place.
***
After returning from the beach, the guys said their goodbyes and headed off. The girls showered and changed into comfortable clothes, made tea, and sat down in the living room. Queenie and Nicky slept peacefully on cushions in the corner of the room.
The bulge in the wall near the fireplace had been repaired and repainted. “The wall looks great,” Lin said.
Viv put her legs up on the ottoman. “I’m happy with it. I’d hire that guy again. Hopefully I won’t need his skills any time soon.”
The sound of a car’s engine could be heard in Viv’s driveway and a few minutes later the doorbell rang. Libby Hartnett, carrying a bottle of wine and a box of chocolates, and Anton Wilson holding a bouquet of flowers, stood on the front stoop and called greetings to the two young women through the screen door.
“We brought some things to help you recover from the ordeal.” Libby placed the wine and sweets on the coffee table in front of Lin.
“And some flowers to brighten the day.” Anton placed the vase of blooms on the side table.
Lin thanked them both for their thoughtfulness.
“Please sit.” Viv invited Libby and Anton to join them in having a mug of tea and they accepted.
When everyone was settled, the tale of Greg, and Bill, and Leonard was recounted once again.
“How are you feeling?” Libby asked.
“I’m fine, really.” Lin lifted her mug.
“We’re thankful that the killer is behind bars and things can go back to normal.” Viv pushed her hair behind her ears.
Libby eyed the young woman with skepticism and then looked to Lin.
“You can speak freely,” Lin said. “Viv knows everything.”
“And many things I wish I didn’t know.” Viv frowned.
Libby adjusted in her seat. “What about Sebastian Coffin?”
“I haven’t seen him since the night Bill attacked me.” A twinge of sorrow grabbed at Lin’s heart. She wanted to thank the ghost for alerting her to Bill’s attempt to attack from behind. She wondered why he’d disappeared without saying goodbye, or at least a wave of his hand, since he never spoke.
Libby looked crestfallen that the ghost was gone.
“We’d hoped that Coffin might stay around and that perhaps you could learn to communicate with him.” Anton stroked his chin.
Lin gave a tiny shrug of her shoulder. She had no idea why ghosts came and went as they did. She glanced across the room to the fireplace. She guessed she wouldn’t see Sebastian again and it made her sad. “I guess we’ll never figure out what that old key from the leather pouch opens.” Lin’s voice was tinged with disappointment.
“A key was in the pouch?” Libby asked leaning forward.
“What pouch?” Anton looked confused so Lin relayed the information about the hidden cupboard, the words written under the shelf, and the leather pouch that was found containing a key.
“May I see it?” Libby asked.
Viv went to the kitchen to retrieve the pouch and when she returned to the living room, she handed it to Libby. Libby gently removed the key and turned it over in her hand.
“Can you sense something from holding it?” Lin’s tone was hushed.
Libby let out a sigh. “I’d hoped I would.” She shrugged and placed the items on the table. “But, nothing.”
“Ours to thee.” Anton pondered the words. “Certainly seems like whoever left the pouch in the cabinet intended that the key and whatever it opened should go to the person who found it.”
Lin told the historian that the “t” on the word “to” looked almost like a fancy “s”.
“Ours so thee?” Anton frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Viv chuckled. “Maybe it’s a puzzle. Lin’s always doing word puzzles.”
Nicky and Queenie sat at attention staring at Lin. Nicky whined.
An idea flashed in Lin’s mind. She jumped from her seat. “I need a piece of paper and a pencil.”
