Murder over medium, p.13
Murder Over Medium, page 13
She still looked a little skeptical, but said, “Yeah. I guess it’s possible.”
Warming to the prospect, I took the supposition further. “And, since Trevor is knowledgeable about computers, he could have hacked into Gwendolyn’s Facebook and started chatting with Harry as her and invited him to the séance so he could get to his truck easily. I’m not sure how he could have gained access to her computer to make it look like Gwendolyn watched those videos, but I’m sure there’s a way.”
“So, it’s possible we’re facing another case of computer hacking?”
“I think so. Would you share the hypothesis with Ross? He’d be more likely to accept the veracity of the idea coming from you. If I share the theory with him, he’ll just think I’m trying to get Gwendolyn out of trouble.”
“But that’s the truth of it.” She smiled at me genuinely for the first time since I arrived.
“Yeah, and for good reason,” I told her about Wendy’s accident, and that I was concerned now not only for Gwendolyn’s freedom but also for her safety.
“What does Ross have to say about it?”
“I haven’t heard back from him yet. It just happened yesterday, late afternoon. He’s having the tech guys look into it though. Let’s go back to the theory. What are the probate laws around this sort of thing? If Susan and Trevor were able to get Gwendolyn convicted of Harry’s murder, could they inherit the ranch?”
“Wyoming adopted the federal Uniform Probate Code, which states if the person who inherits, but dies without a will in place naming the newly-inherited property, or if they are found guilty of felony, usually, but not always, the property will revert to the next of kin, though it can be challenged.”
I smiled with smug satisfaction and slapped the top of Gabby’s desk. “What did I tell you? It logically works.”
“If you can figure out who told the Wills about Harry’s short lifespan and all the other stuff. That’s still a lot left to prove.”
“Yes, but if you’re willing to go to Ross about this as part of your hacking case, he’ll figure out all that stuff. He has a lot more access to information than I do. He should have it wrapped up in a couple of days.” In my mind, I saw Gwendolyn glowing with appreciation as she and Wendy drove off into the sunset.
“True.” The uncertainty in Gabby’s voice brought me back to reality. “I hate to rain on your parade, but how does Wendy’s accident fit into this scenario? I mean, why would Susan and Trevor tamper with Gwendolyn’s rental car if she is a strong suspect for Harry’s murder? It seems counterproductive. So far, things are going their way.”
“Hmm. I don’t know.” I tapped my fingers on Gabby’s desk. “Maybe they decided they’d rather have Gwendolyn dead than take a chance she wouldn’t be arrested for Harry’s murder.”
Our conversation was cut short when Gabby’s next appointment arrived. I apologized for keeping her, so she hadn’t had time to prepare for their meeting.
“It’s okay. I’ll do what you’re going to do and wing it.” She winked at me, obviously feeling less strained after getting her mind off her troubles for a while.
As I walked out the door, Gabby stopped me. “Lucy has Brian Potter’s details you asked for. Sounds like you won’t need them now, but you’ll have them if you do.”
~~*~~
Since I had Brian’s details and was in the sleuthing groove, I decided to head out to his place of employment for a chat. I got settled in the Subaru before opening the folded page Lucy had handed me. My eyes grew wide when I saw the company he worked for: Blackwell Construction.
I sat for a moment, trying to decipher if it made any difference to the investigation that my husband signed Brian Potter’s paychecks. I doubted Christian knew him since the site manager dealt with most of the day-to-day stuff like hiring. But it still made me uneasy. This situation was fraught with coincidence and happenstance, and I didn’t like it.
The apprehension was about more than just another coincidence, though. My husband would soon become fully aware of my participation in the case. He wasn’t going to be happy.
When my pottery instructor had been killed a few months ago, Christian had asked me to stick to making lists of suspects and motives instead of talking to suspects. I’d tried to figure it out by sitting at home or talking with Gwendolyn, for the most part. Could he object to me talking to one more person? Oh, yeah, he could.
At least I knew where to find Brian. Usually it would have taken a few phone calls to locate a construction crew, especially if the owner wasn’t interested in having one of his employees connected with a murder inquiry. After mulling it over as I drove, I resolved to face the dragon straight out by requesting to talk to one of his guys while he was on the clock. My long-suffering husband would find out about it anyway, and this way, at least it wouldn’t be like I’d been sneaking around his back. Better to be out in the open with it.
I pulled the Subaru into the muddy lane and got as close to the trailer that served as an office as possible. Opening the door slowly, I peeked inside and saw my handsome husband on the phone. One elbow on the desk, he had his head resting in his hand, his fingers weaved in between his curls. His hair was still dark, but it was showing wisps of gray around the temples. I found this sexy. Him, not so much.
Looking up, his face showed surprise and then a shadow of worry. I smiled and did a little finger wave at him to put him at ease. I rarely showed up on a site, and never unannounced, so his first thought was likely that something major was wrong. I saw his shoulders relax as he finished his conversation. It sounded like someone on the other end wasn’t going to be happy if they didn’t give him what he wanted.
Dusting off one of the standard folding chairs across from his desk, I had a seat while he finished the transaction.
“What are you doing here?” he asked as he punched the end button on his cell phone.
“That doesn’t sound like a very warm welcome.”
I got up, leaned across the desk and gave him a big smooch. Having people around, and knowing we could be interrupted at any time had put the kibosh on romance over the last week. We’d been spoiled having Ellie out of the house now that university was back in session. A longing filled me—just another good reason to get Gwendolyn and her crew of misfits out of our house.
“Actually, I need to speak to one of your employees.”
“Oh, yeah? Why?”
“Shouldn’t the question you ask be ‘Who’?”
“Not with you, it shouldn’t. Why could you possibly need to speak to one of my crew?”
“Just hear me out, Christian—"
“Nothing good ever started like that.”
“I think someone is setting Gwendolyn up for Harry’s murder.”
“Oh, brother. Jade, I thought we’d decided you weren’t going to get involved like this. I know she’s your friend, and you owe her a lot, but I told you how much I worry when you start playing gumshoe. I’d rather Gwendolyn be in danger than you.”
“But as I explained earlier, we’re involved, regardless if we want to be or not, honey. What if Ross discovers her rental car was sabotaged? How would you feel if someone got to her at our house? I have talents I can use to help get her out of this, but I just need to talk to this guy to rule him out. I don’t even think he had anything to do with it, but I have to ask him the questions to cover all my bases, tick all the boxes.”
Glancing at his watch, Christian said, “Look, I don’t have time to listen to all the details, Jade. Can you lay it out for me in a few hundred words?”
I explained who Brian was in relationship to Gwendolyn, and why he was on my suspect list. “So you see, it will only take a few minutes, and it’s probably a fool’s errand anyway.” I made puppy dog eyes at him until finally, he could no longer resist my charms.
He rubbed his forehead. “Oh, all right.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he held up his forefinger. “Just this once. And I want Sam with you or at least within sight of you, just in case.”
~~*~~
Sam Wheeling, Christian’s foreman, walked me over to where Brian was working and made the introductions. After that, he silently moved to the side and watched the interaction while leaning against the wall studs that were framing the building.
Brian took off his hardhat and wiped sweat from his forehead even though it was cool enough to see your breath.
“I wondered when you’d get around to talking to me.”
“I didn’t realize you worked for my husband, Brian.”
“Yeah, kinda ironic, huh?”
“That’s putting it mildly. Uh, I just have a couple of questions for you, and then I’ll let you get back to work. First, how did you hear about the séance?”
“My girlfriend saw it on Facebook and posted it on her timeline, tagging me on it. She’s the one who wanted to go.”
“What made you decide to attend? I didn’t see anyone with you. Why didn’t she come too?”
“I didn’t tell her I was going. I guess I couldn’t resist. I wanted to see what the old battleax was up to. She always was weird. Plus, I was interested to see if she’d remember me."
“Don’t you find it interesting that on the very night you just couldn’t stay away, someone was murdered and Ms. Hexby is a suspect?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I gotta admit it feels like justice, considering how she ruined my life. Now someone’s gone and ruined hers. I wonder, if she doesn’t go to jail, do you think people will still want to hear words of wisdom from a murder suspect?”
“You must really hate her to wish her that kind of an end. Surely informing the proper authorities about your cheating doesn’t deserve life in prison.”
He clutched his fists and spoke very distinctly, trying to hold in his anger. “I never could get into the field I wanted to because of her. Oh, I could get admitted to universities, but none of the medical departments would accept me. I tried for years until I finally gave up and took this menial job. My life sucks. I’ll never be able to do the work I love, and it’s all because of her.”
“You’re a bright young man, Brian. Surely you see that you have some blame in this situation. After all, she didn’t make made you cheat. And, she isn’t even the only professor who turned you in. You could have chosen to do the work instead of taking the easy way out. From where I sit, you are the only one to blame for your life being crap.”
“Why don’t you just get the answer you came for and leave me alone? Do I hate the old bag? Yes, I hate her guts. Did I kill her old boyfriend so she’d get the blame? No, but I wish I’d had the nerve.”
Chapter Fourteen
As I drove home, I found myself shaking my head whenever I played the scene in my mind. How did kids end up like that? Believing they had no responsibility for their actions? I saw it over and over again in the classroom. In fact, it was one of the major reasons I’d left—the whiny students who believed they were entitled to a passing grade simply because they had paid their tuition.
It sickened me, and the conversation with Brian was a good reminder that I’d made the right choice to change careers. Even though I wasn’t being fulfilled with what I was doing anymore, at least I wasn’t always worried about being attacked by an entitled brat whose daddy had the ear of the dean. Something he’d said did beg the question: How had he known Harry was an old flame of Gwendolyn’s?
By the time I’d pulled into our driveway, I was certain I’d been able to strike a happy medium between keeping myself safe as Christian wanted, while still paying back Gwendolyn for her good deed long ago. Gabby had promised to call Ross to tell him my theory about Trevor after her client left, so by now, Ross was on the case. My work was done, mostly. I did still want to speak with Evan Fowler and Reverend Holt, just to tie up loose ends. I could do that at Harry’s viewing tomorrow evening.
The kitchen was empty when I walked in the back door. There weren’t even any dirty dishes sitting around. I walked into the living room, and when I saw no one there either, I called Gwendolyn’s name. Moving up the stairs, I peeked into each room. No one.
I was starting to get concerned. Where could they be? Their car was wrecked, and the rental car agency hadn’t sent a replacement yet. I continued to call.
What if the killer had kidnapped them? Gwendolyn seemed so trusting, she’d let anyone in the door of the house. I moved faster at that thought, and when I got to Gwendolyn’s room, I paused, dreading another encounter with Athena.
I steeled myself and opened the door the slightest bit possible. No Gwendolyn. No Athena rushing out past me with fangs showing. She must be in Wendy’s room. I slid Wendy’s door open a tiny crack. No Wendy. Where had they disappeared to?
Getting seriously concerned now, I was about to shut the door when I saw Athena lying on her side on the floor, not moving. Maybe she’s asleep. As much as I wanted to believe that, I knew it wasn’t true.
I crept into the room, considering the possibility she was playing opossum and was going to attack as I got closer. But once I reached her, I saw her breath was labored, and there was foam coming out of her mouth. Beside her were two plastic bags stuck together. One looked like potpourri. The other bag was much smaller and held a white powder. There were fang marks in the plastic, which meant Athena had gotten access to the contents of the bags by sheer willpower and sharp fangs. There’d been something in the bags she’d desperately wanted, and by the look of her, she’d unfortunately gotten it.
Despite my strong dislike for her, I couldn’t watch an animal suffer. Still wearing my coat, I picked up the bags and stuffed them in my coat pocket. Then I grabbed an old towel from the linen closet, wrapped her up and dashed back to the car. After laying her gently on the passenger’s side, I sped off to the vet without a second thought. I forgot all about my concern for Gwendolyn and Wendy as I glanced over at Athena, so weak she was unable to make a sound. Seeing she was still breathing, I pushed the accelerator down farther.
~~*~~
I peeled into the Aspen Falls Pet Clinic and parked haphazardly. Scooping Athena up into my arms, I went inside and loudly announced to Tori, the receptionist, I had an emergency. Hearing the commotion, Dr. Abernathy came out of one of the patient rooms, took one look at the bundle I was holding and gently took her out of my arms, whisking her away to another room. Once I was sitting down in the waiting room, I realized I was shaking, and tears were threatening to run down my cheeks. Reaching into my coat pocket, I pulled out a slightly-used tissue, flipping the plastic bags I’d found in Wendy’s room out in the process.
I handed the bags to Tori, explaining they’d been found near the cat. She grabbed the packages and rushed them back to where the doctor had disappeared with Athena. Feeling numb, I sat and stared straight ahead, waiting. Poor Athena. I wondered how long she’d been lying there waiting for someone to find her. Imagining my lovely kitties ill like that made me need another tissue. I just hoped I’d found her in time.
After what seemed like hours, Dr. Abernathy came walking slowly out to the reception area, his brows furrowed. Oh no. I’d been too late.
“Jade, the cat is hanging in there, but I’m not holding out too much hope for her. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you’d added a new cat to your collection.”
“She’s not ours. She’s a friend’s whose visiting. I found her when I was searching through the house for my friend, after just coming home.”
“Oh, you must be talking about the psychic medium. She used to be a professor at U of W, didn’t she?”
“How did you—Never mind. Of course, you and the rest of the village know I have a houseguest, and that she’s caught up in Harry Wills’ murder. After all the years, I can still be caught off guard by everyone knowing my business. So, what do we do now?”
“I’ve given her some help breathing. I’m no chemist, but I’m going to run some tests on the substances you brought in once Athena is stable.”
“Once you know what it is, will you be able to treat Athena more specifically?”
“Maybe. It depends on what it is. It’s odd. Animals have a strong instinct and would normally stay away from things that could make them ill.” He handed me the plastic bags. “I’ve taken samples of each, so you can have these back.”
“Is it possible to send samples to an outside lab also, besides you looking at it? I want to know what’s in those bags to help Athena. But beyond that, I want to know why they are in my house, and if they have anything to do with Harry’s murder.”
“I have a friend who might be willing to help us with that. Leave it with me.” He patted my shoulder and attempted to smile through a glum expression. “I’d better get back to her. There’s nothing you can do. Go home and let her owner know what’s going on. I’ll have Tori call you in a while to give you a status update.”
I thanked the doctor and drove home as if in a fog. I didn’t know how I’d tell Gwendolyn about her beloved pet.
~~*~~
Turns out Phyllis had taken Gwendolyn and Wendy to pick up another rental car, and none of them had bothered to leave a note. We had a quiet evening, worrying for Athena. Gwendolyn and Wendy were beside themselves. When I gave the plastic bags back to Wendy, she’d marched them right up to her room to hide them in a safe place. I’d learned earlier that what I’d mistaken for potpourri was really the ingredients for the nasty tea Gwendolyn was always drinking. Wendy made the concoction herself.
After she’d relayed the ingredients, I’d phoned the vet to let him know. No doubt the reason she tried to gain access to it was the catnip in it. Apparently, catnip is a common ingredient in herbal teas, good for calming the nerves, like chamomile. Unfortunately, the tea also contained white willow bark, which can be fatal to cats.
Wendy clarified the white powder was an innocuous baking soda and ground sea salt concoction for her neti pot, whatever that was. Since those things weren’t harmful, we concluded it had to have been the willow bark in the tea that had poisoned Athena. Now that Dr. Abernathy knew what was in the bags, hopefully, he’d be able to find an antidote.
