Scones and Scofflaws Read online

  Sammy stood and walked over to lean against her friend, Eoin’s gaze following her every move. “Are you going to keep trying to learn more about George?”

  “I don’t know.” Anna shook her head. “What’s the point? If he found out something about someone else, that means I would have to dig into the secrets of everyone in this town. There’s no way I can do that.” She grabbed Sammy’s hand. “Even with your help.”

  Something rubbed against Anna’s leg and she started, shifting suddenly in her chair. She looked down to see the cat sitting below her, staring up at her. Blinking slowly.

  “Ah yes, the cat. The one that managed to get all over your clothes this morning,” Sammy said.

  Anna sighed and tried rubbing her skirt again. It was no use. She’d have to get one of those sticky rollers to get animal hair off her clothes. If she was keeping the cat, that was.

  “So, are you keeping it?” Sammy asked, clearly following Anna’s train of thought.

  Anna shrugged. “I think, more to the point, it’s keeping me. She hasn’t really left much since we fed her.”

  “And you did tear down her home,” Sammy added.

  Anna frowned at her friend. “Please don’t remind me. Hey there kitty.” Anna leaned forward and dropped her hand toward the ground, rubbing her fingers together to get the cat’s attention. When she approached, Anna reached to pick her up.

  The cat meowed and jumped back, leaving Anna with nothing more than the feel of her silky tail.

  Sammy laughed. “I guess she’s not ready for that level of intimacy. Ha! Something else you two have in common.”

  Anna rolled her eyes, but laughed, too. “That’s not good. How can I take care of her if she doesn’t trust me?” She got up and walked toward the cat, but the cat walked slowly in the other direction, heading toward the back door. It reminded Anna of their chase this morning, but this time she was chasing the cat instead of the other way around.

  She kept stepping slowly toward the cat, her hand low, making cooing sounds. The cat kept walking away, turning back to look at Anna every few steps.

  “If I didn’t know better, I would say she wants you to follow her,” Sammy said, standing to join Anna. Eoin jumped down from his stool and took Sammy’s hand.

  They watched as the cat slid out through the partially open back door, then followed it quietly. It sat down next to the large garbage bins that Anna kept behind the house.

  “Ooh.” Sammy waved a hand in front of her nose. “Please tell me the cat doesn’t want to live in the garbage.”

  “I can’t believe that.” Anna looked around, trying to figure out what the cat was telling her. The cans were almost full. Which wasn’t great, since trash day wasn’t until Tuesday. Of course, without any new guests checking in, she wouldn’t be producing that much more trash. Right now, the bins only held the garbage that had been produced by her ongoing efforts to clean out the house, by her recent guests and the food she’d made for them that morning. The morning George died.

  She shuddered at the thought.

  “You okay?” Sammy asked.

  “Yeah, sure.” Anna waved away the question. “Just thinking that I need to be a little more environmentally conscious. There must be more sustainable ways I can run this B&B, without producing that much trash.”

  Sammy laughed. “So you think the cat brought you out here to tell you that you throw too much stuff away?”

  Anna made a face at her friend, then looked back down at the cat. “If I am keeping her, I’ll need to name her. I can’t keep calling her cat or kitty.”

  “I don’t know.” Sammy shrugged and walked back into the kitchen with Eoin to get them each another cookie. “Some people do that. They think it’s cute.”

  “Well I don’t,” Anna replied. She looked down at the cat one more time. She was only a few feet away, but determinedly ignoring her. “I am glad you decided to stay. It’s good to have somewhere to live and someone to take care of you.” When the cat ignored her, she added. “Even if you are a real tough cookie.”

  The cat turned and looked at her. And started purring.

  “What do you know?” Sammy spoke from the doorway. “Turns out you have already named her.”

  Anna approached the cat carefully, once again putting her hand low. This time, the cat rubbed up against her hand, still purring. Anna smiled at the sound. It was comforting, cozy.

  “So that’s who you are? Tough Cookie.”

  The cat sat, licked its paw, then walked back into the kitchen and went directly to the two saucers Anna had left on the floor. One was still full of water, the other empty. The cat put a paw on the empty saucer and looked at Anna.

  “Okay, Tough Cookie, I get it. It’s time for your lunch. Better eat while I still have food to offer you.”

  38

  Anna tossed the still-cat-hair-covered shirt and skirt into her laundry hamper just as the front doorbell jingled. She checked herself in her mirror quickly to make sure her jeans and sweater carried no traces of cat, then ran down to see who had come. She wasn’t expecting any guests, that was for sure.

  “Evan.” She greeted the police officer from the top of the stairs. “Hi. How are you?”

  “Anna. Hi, I’m glad I caught you.” He smiled as she ran down the stairs and she was struck once again by the warmth of his expression, the comforting way his smile reached deep into his dark eyes.

  “Come into the lounge.” Anna gestured as she spoke. “Can I offer you some coffee?” She moved into the lounge then stopped as she thought about what this visit might mean. “Oh. Is this an official visit?” She put a hand out to steady herself against a bookshelf. “Should I sit down?”

  Evan smiled again. “No, everything is fine. And yes, I’d love some coffee.”

  Anna nodded warily and moved back into the kitchen, Evan close on her heels. She wished Sammy was still there, but her friend had taken Eoin — an absolutely thrilled Eoin — out to the bookshop on Washington Mall.

  He watched in silence as she brewed the coffee, then joined her at the tall stools along the counter.

  “I actually have good news,” he said as he accepted a steaming mug from her and added a spoonful of sugar. “It’s not really official yet, but I knew you’d want to know. You’re off the hook, at least in terms of the accidental poisoning. The toxicology tests came back positive for poisoning by nicotine. There’s no way that could be administered by accident.”

  “Thank goodness.” Anna felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, then blushed when she saw Evan’s expression. “I mean, of course that’s terrible.”

  He shook his head at her as he smiled. “Don’t worry, I know what you meant. And it only means you’re off the hook for accidentally killing him. You’re still on the suspect list.”

  “Me?” Anna’s eyes widened. “Why on earth would I kill my first guest?”

  Evan acknowledged the question with a dip of his head as he took a sip of coffee. “I agree, and I’m sure Detective Walsh does, too. But we can’t simply write you off. Walsh is a stickler for wrapping up every detail.”

  “Hmm.” Anna considered her options. “So will you be making an announcement or something? About this new find?”

  Evan shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way. First, this is just based on preliminary toxicology reports. It will take a few more days to get the final report back. We might do a press announcement then, but that’s not up to me. Detective Walsh might think it will work in his favor not to make the announcement.”

  “Not to make the announcement?” Anna stood, her fists balled at her side. “How could that help? It just means people will keep suspecting me. My guests will keep cancelling.”

  Evan stood with her. “I know, and I’m sorry. But think about it. There’s a cold-blooded killer out there. Doesn’t it make it easier to catch him if he thinks we’re not looking for him?”

  Anna took a breath. It did kind of make sense. But it didn’t help her at all. She l
ooked up at Evan, who was watching her closely. “So what can I do? I need to get my business back on track.”

  Evan slid back onto the stool and picked up his mug. After a second, Anna followed his lead. The two sat in silence for a moment before Anna spoke again. “I need to make sure people aren’t afraid to stay here.”

  “Do you have any guests still booked?”

  Anna nodded. “One couple is coming later this week, the others next weekend.” She laughed. “I guess they haven’t heard the news yet. I keep waiting for them to cancel on me, too.”

  “Well, at least that’s something.” Evan spoke with confidence. “You treat them well, make sure they have a good time, and people will start forgetting about… what happened with George.”

  “And maybe by then you’ll have caught the real killer?” Anna asked hopefully.

  “We will, I promise.” Evan put a hand on her arm. “I will make sure of it.”

  Anna smiled into his eyes. “Why are you being so good to me?”

  Even as she asked the question, Evan started to blush, a deep red that spread up from his neck. “Oh… well…” he spluttered, picked up his coffee mug, then put it down again when he realized it was empty. “Do you mind?” He looked back at her.

  She shook her head no. “I guess I don’t.”

  “Come on.” He stood and grabbed her hand. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  Anna ran upstairs to get a light sweater, considering what Evan had said. She wasn’t a suspect, not really. That was good news. But no one else knew and the police weren’t going to announce it. That was bad news. And there was nothing she could do about it.

  The beautiful spring weather had drawn plenty of other residents out this Sunday afternoon. Anna and Evan walked down the beach to the water’s edge, walking along it and veering away whenever a wave rolled in a little too far. They walked close to each other, their arms occasionally touching. It felt good.

  Anna closed her eyes to feel the sun on her face, hear the calls of the gulls, smell the salt of the ocean. She’d always thought she loved the solitude of walking on the beach, but it turned out it could be just as rewarding walking with someone by her side.

  She opened her eyes and looked up at Evan, only to see him smiling down at her.

  “Do that often?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “Walk with your eyes closed. You’re going to hurt yourself if you keep that up.”

  She laughed, pushing her hair back behind her ears as it blew out over her face. “Not out here I won’t. That’s why I love it.”

  “Hmm,” Evan replied, apparently unconvinced.

  “I’m glad you’re still working on the case, Evan. I’ve heard you’re a good cop.”

  “You heard?” He sounded surprised. “You’ve been asking around about me?”

  “Oh… well…” She stammered, not sure how to respond. He wasn’t going to react the way Richard Gormley had, was he?

  He laughed. “It’s okay. I’m flattered. So who were you talking to about me?”

  “Felicia Keane. When I told her you were part of the investigation, she was relieved. Said that I could be confident you’d get to the right place. Eventually.”

  “Right. Eventually.” Evan looked out over the ocean. “The problem is, we’re not there yet.”

  “You know what killed him. That’s a good start.”

  “Yeah, but we’re not just starting, are we? We’re five days into the investigation already. I mean, we’re moving forward, sure. But way too slow.” Evan shook his head and grabbed her hand. “I know how important this is for you. Believe me, I do.”

  “I know you do, thank you. I trust you to do your job.” Anna didn’t meet his eyes as she said this, afraid he’d read the truth in them, the fact that she’d thought she could conduct her own investigation into George’s death. “So…” she continued, “do you want to bounce a few ideas off me? It can help to talk things through.”

  Evan took a deep breath, then let it out slowly as he shook his head again. “You know I shouldn’t talk about the case with you. Not just with you, with anyone.”

  “But I’m not just anyone, am I?” She gave his hand a squeeze and he grinned.

  “No? I guess you’re not.” He dropped her hand and wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked on.

  After a few minutes of silence, he shared his thoughts. “So we know George was killed. It was intentional. Not an accident. A weird way to kill someone, for sure. I’ve never heard of murder through nicotine poisoning.”

  “Hmm.” Anna thought about everything she’d ever learned about nicotine. “Do the reports say how it was administered? The poison,” she added when he looked confused. “Did he ingest it, touch it, inhale it… that sort of thing.”

  “Ah. No, not that I saw. I guess they’re still working on that.”

  “If he inhaled it, it could have been a vapor. A lot of vapor, though, to kill him. If it was in liquid form, he could’ve drunk it. But that’s not likely, it would be too hard to mask the flavor… he could have got it on his skin, I know that’s a common way nicotine poisoning happens… but it wouldn’t be easy to get someone to put that much liquid nicotine on themselves.”

  “Definitely not.” Evan’s brows lowered. “So even though we know the poison, we still don’t know how it was done.”

  “I can’t tell you that, but I can tell you the stuff acts fast,” Anna said, remembering what she knew about the poison from her studies, a poison sometimes used in traditional remedies. Remedies that risked being deadly. “That means it was only a short time before he died. Maybe an hour, maybe less.”

  “Hmm.” This time Evan’s tone was more upbeat. “Okay, so that narrows it down. Who might have wanted George dead and been able to poison him that morning?”

  Anna chewed on her lip again, then realized Evan was watching her and stopped in embarrassment. “How about his partner, Paul Murphy? I don’t know how he could have done it, but he really did not like George.”

  Evan moved his head back and forth as he looked back at the ocean. “Not liking someone doesn’t usually lead to killing them.”

  “It’s more than that. He was about to quit. He didn’t want to work with George anymore. Now, with George dead, he doesn’t need to find a new job. He gets the whole company to himself.”

  “We knew he inherited sole ownership.” He looked sideways at Anna. “Though I’m not sure how you found that out. We are looking into his background”—he held up a hand as Anna started to object—“but he can’t be our only suspect. There is a guy we uncovered who had a relationship with George no one knew about.”

  “Oh?” Anna asked, already worried what Evan was going to say.

  He confirmed her worries. “Jason Enright. He’s a lifeguard. Turns out he has an… interesting sideline, nights and weekends.” Anna realized Evan was blushing and tried not to laugh. “I won’t go into it, but he had a social connection with George. And some sort of business connection as well.”

  “I know Jason.” Anna said. When Evan looked at her in surprise, she added, “I met his aunt at church this morning, in fact.”

  “So what do you know of him? Anything that can help?”

  “He has a nasty temper, I can tell you that from personal experience.”

  Evan stopped walking and turned to her, both hands on her arms. “What happened? Are you okay?”

  “Yes, yes, I’m fine. Fortunately, Luke was there.”

  “Luke? Who’s he?”

  “Oh right.” Now it was Anna’s turn to be embarrassed. “You haven’t met him, have you? He just does some work for me around the house. He was there when Jason came by. Jason was… angry. And Luke sent him away. That’s all.”

  Evan released Anna and they resumed their walk, turning around to head back toward home. “So Luke is another suspect then. He had access to the house when George died.”

  “Luke?” Anna gasped. “No way, he wouldn’t kill anyone.”

  Eva
n looked at her out of the corner of his eye. “I should meet him anyway. Ask him a few questions.”

  Oh great, Anna thought, that would not go well.

  “How about Richard Gormley,” she said aloud. “He didn’t like George either.”

  Evan laughed. “You know a lot of people who didn’t like George. But I need motive and opportunity, remember.”

  “Well, Richard certainly had opportunity. He was staying in Climbing Rose Cottage the night before George died. He might have known George would be there as well and booked the room just to get access to him. And he definitely still holds some anger for George.”

  “Okay, that’s true. But because he was there, we did talk to him and his wife. We looked into his background, talked to some of his old neighbors. They don’t paint a picture of a man bent on revenge. It seems like he’s actually pretty happy in his retirement.”

  “Hmm.” Now it was Anna’s turn to think. Evan was batting back all her suggestions. “Mrs. Hedley. Catherine,” she said, her eyes narrowing just thinking about the woman. “There’s a person who could definitely kill someone.”

  Evan laughed and looked at her. “Seriously? She’s tiny. How would she get him to drink poison or get it on his skin? Plus”―he held up a hand as Anna started to respond―“she has no motive. With her husband dead, she loses his income. We checked, and there’s no big life insurance policy or anything like that. Second, she wasn’t there. She was in Trenton when he died.”

  “But you met her.” Anna felt her voice rise. “She’s creepy.”

  “Maybe so, but that doesn’t make her a killer. And think about it, her first introduction to you and Climbing Rose Cottage was showing up to collect her dead husband’s belongings. You can’t expect she’d be cheerful and friendly.”

  Anna stopped walking, a memory jumping into her thoughts. “Is that right? I thought she was there before?”

  “No,” said Evan, shaking his head. “She was definitely in Trenton that morning, at their home. We have multiple witnesses.”

  Anna took a deep breath, trying to let the beach work its magic. The feel of the sun on her uplifted face. The sound of gulls calling from over the waves. The scent of sand and seaweed and salt…