Two Scoops of Murder (Felicity Bell Book 2) Page 15

  “I know, Dad. And I want to catch this guy just as much as you do.”

  He shook his head. “Stay out of it, or next time it’s your ass I’m throwing in the slammer.”

  “You wouldn’t dare,” she said, incredulous.

  “Watch me.”

  She watched him stalk away toward the inn and shook her head, then joined the small group who stood conferring near the bakery van. Bettina, Mabel and Marjorie had arrived the moment Reece Hudson had gone in. He’d come out in handcuffs, been stuffed into a police car, and hauled off like a common criminal. And all because he wanted to help.

  This was simply too much.

  “What did he say?” Felicity asked anxiously.

  “They found another body, stuffed in a closet in one of the empty rooms upstairs. The blood had seeped into the floorboards and into the room below. Reece saw the blood and decided to do the right thing and call it in.”

  “And as a reward they arrested the poor man!” Bettina cried. “This time your father is really out of line, Alice.”

  “Don’t I know it,” she muttered, staring at the inn, where now all the windows were ablaze with light. No one was going to get a lot of sleep, she thought. Not with two murders happening in one night.

  “Who was it? The dead body?” Mabel wanted to know. She was hugging herself, the night chill creeping into everyone’s bones.

  “Dad didn’t say. You know him.”

  Marjorie pressed her lips together when she saw her son appear in the door. “Let me handle this,” she said, and made her way over.

  They watched mother and son exchange heated words and finally Virgil threw up his hands and for some reason pointed to Alice.

  She swallowed, remembering how she’d stolen his little notebook.

  Marjorie returned, her face a mask of determination. “It’s a man named Malcolm Samovar. A guest at the inn. He was stabbed to death.”

  “Oh, dear Lord,” whispered Bettina. “What’s happening to this town?”

  “Why was Virgil pointing at me?” Alice wanted to know.

  Marjorie displayed a rare smile. “He claims you stole police property and if you don’t get it back to him, he’ll have to report you. Is it true?”

  Alice rolled her eyes. “It’s just his silly little notebook. And I didn’t steal it, I just borrowed it.”

  “Alice!” cried Mabel. “You didn’t!”

  She flapped her arms like a chicken. “It’s Virgil’s fault! He won’t share information so I saw no other way than—”

  “To take it,” said Marjorie with a frown. Then she laughed, probably the first time Alice had ever heard her do so. She clasped her hands together. “That’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever heard! Let’s have a look.”

  Alice drew out the notebook and started reading aloud, the other women gathering around her. “Victim #1. Alistair Long. Sixty-four years of age. Resident of Sullivan Street…”

  Chapter 46

  Dorothy Valour was checking the Daily Mail website for the latest gossip when the page refreshed and a breaking news story appeared. She’d been up half the night, fielding messages from reporters and friends about the rift between her and Reece Hudson. She’d done her usual routine and given them all a ‘no comment’ and the line that she loved Reece dearly and that she fully supported his decision to take it easy and lay low for a while.

  It had set off a flurry of news comments that Reece’s career was in trouble and that there was something wrong with the latest contract negotiations for Crunch Time 4. Even Reece’s own agent had been on the phone, asking her what she knew about this, for he’d been unable to get in touch with his prodigy for the last few hours.

  Probably because the doofus was asleep, she thought, as it was now three o’clock in the morning, a time when normal people are in bed enjoying a peaceful slumber. She, on the other hand, was reveling in all the attention and secretly hoping that when Reece woke up in the morning, he’d discover that his movie star stock had taken a plunge overnight and was now trading at an all-time low.

  She’d carefully conveyed the message that Reece was licking his wounds on Long Island and that she fully supported his decision to spend some quality time with his family in these difficult times. And that she was resolved to stick by him and be the crutch of his declining career.

  She grinned evilly when she thought of Reece’s face when he realized that ignoring Dorothy Valour was something only done at one’s own peril.

  She was surprised therefore to find that Reece Hudson had been taken to prison in Happy Bays for impersonating a police officer.

  Infuriated, she gawked at the news report. There was even a picture of the arresting officer, some gangly sort with a stupid expression on his face, holding up his hand and quoting Dorothy’s ‘no comment’ line.

  She scanned the article with rising indignation. Apparently, Reece had been whooping it up with some of the local women at his father’s gun range, at which point he’d decided to insert himself into an ongoing murder investigation by impersonating a police officer and interviewing witnesses at the crime scene.

  Livid, she brought up Reece’s number and tried his cell. Straight to voice mail, just like the previous forty-one times. This was it. She rose to her feet in a tizzy and stalked over to the closet, dragged out her travel bag and started dumping in clothes.

  If that horrible fiancé of hers thought he could ignore her like this and then make whoopee with the local yokels, he had another thing coming. She would go over there, confront the man, and demand he come back with her to New York right away. If he refused, she would throw both his ring and his promises back in his face and be done with the cheating hound once and for all.

  “Crunch time, Chuck MacChuckleton,” she muttered as she threw two or three designer dresses into her travel bag.

  She didn’t need Reece Hudson. It was the other way around. And if he didn’t see that and swear allegiance to her once and for all, he deserved to see his career go up in flames, just like it said in the tabloids.

  And the tabloids were never wrong. She saw to that.

  Chapter 47

  Bright and early the next morning sleep was wiped from Felicity’s eyes by a bird chirruping on her windowsill. She rose and walked over to the window, gazing outside. Spring had finally come to Happy Bays and the trees were in bloom, blossoms springing up everywhere she looked, with birds tweeting their joy at the new dawn.

  It was as if all nature celebrated, and the contrast to recent events couldn’t be greater. For Happy Bays had been thrown into turmoil. Three people dead in the space of a mere couple of days. What was going on? This was unprecedented. To Felicity’s recollection not a single murder had taken place in her hometown in recent times, and now this.

  They’d read Virgil’s notes and discussed them with the other members of the watch committee, but that hadn’t led them anywhere. The police officer, as Alice had already indicated, was a lost cause when it came to stopping this unprecedented killing spree.

  The man might be a force to be reckoned with when policing traffic, but his notes were unimaginable and deadly dull. He’d gone through the motions of interviewing witnesses but hadn’t had any real brainwaves or flashes of brilliance. Clearly his was a mind not equipped to dealing with murder. Hercule Poirot or Sherlock Holmes could breathe easy. Their reign was unchallenged.

  The only interesting factoid was that Carla Santonica had had her abortion, through a private loan from a close friend. So whatever resentment she’d harbored toward Alistair Long was unlikely to have led to murder. After some more digging Felicity had even discovered this personal friend was none other than Mary Long herself. The innkeeper, behind her husband’s back, had apparently raised enough money to pay for Carla’s abortion.

  So that cinched it. Carla Santonica could be scratched from the suspect list, as it was very unlikely she would go around killing her benefactor.

  And then there was Jack Hudson. Reece had quickly dismissed the n
otion that his father would go after the Longs. Jack had gotten over the loss of Benji years ago, and had attributed it to an unfortunate accident. Especially since Alistair, being a dog lover himself, had been devastated by what happened.

  That left Rob Long, but as Rob had apparently tried to commit suicide at the exact same moment his mother was being murdered, and had been seen by a witness, that left him out of it as well.

  And then there was Stephen Conch. Unfortunately—or fortunately for them—the Conches were in Hawaii, enjoying a family vacation, so they were definitely in the clear about last night’s murder. And according to Virgil’s notes Stephen Conch hadn’t been home when Alistair was murdered, and it hardly seemed likely that Billy Conch had killed the old man. Billy was ten.

  So the only remaining murder suspect was Ruth Long.

  Felicity pondered this. She didn’t know Ruth, as she’d left Happy Bays a long time ago. But she knew someone who knew her very well indeed. Her mother.

  As she stumbled into the bathroom she decided to have a chat with Mom. After all, she was a great judge of character and if there was a murderous streak in the Long offspring, Mom would know.

  She came upon Alice brushing her teeth. Like herself, her friend seemed hardly awake yet, which wasn’t any wonder, as they’d been up half the night.

  “I’m going to get Reece out of jail,” Alice said, removing the toothbrush from her mouth. She gave Felicity a pleading look. “It’s my fault he’s in there in the first place so it’s only right I get him out.”

  “I’ll bet he’s out already. He probably has about a thousand lawyers on retainer. They will have pounced on Chief Whitehouse and pried Reece from his cold, dead hands.” She grimaced. “Sorry, that’s not funny.”

  “He’s not out yet. I called the station and he spent the night in jail.”

  “So how are you going to convince your dad to let him walk?”

  “I’ll convince Virgil to let him walk. In exchange for his notebook.” She shrugged. “It’s not as if we need it anymore.”

  “You think he might go for it?”

  “I can try,” said Alice valiantly. “I have to spring the poor guy from prison.”

  “I’ll go with you. Bancroft can take the first shift and Busby can do the bread run.”

  Alice gave her a sad smile. “Thanks, Fe.”

  “Don’t mention it. I feel a little guilty myself. Even though he volunteered, I think Reece didn’t know what he signed up for.”

  Alice resumed the brushing of her teeth and Felicity took a seat on the laundry hamper. “I’ve been thinking. So far we’ve managed to clear all the suspects except Ruth Long.”

  “I hardly think Ruth Long would kill her own parents.”

  “Well, that’s just it. I don’t know her well enough. But my mom does. She used to work with her for years.”

  Alice frowned. “She did?”

  “She was her speaking coach, remember?” Mom volunteered at the local middle school as a speech therapist, which had been her profession before meeting Peter Bell and becoming a baker. Ruth Long had a slight lisp, and Mom had helped the young girl overcome it.

  “Oh, that’s right. Now I remember.” She shook her head. “I still think it’s hardly likely. Who would kill their own parents?” Then she paused, considering. “Though I’m about ready to kill my dad.”

  “Perhaps you can talk to your mother about him? Doesn’t she have some pull in the Whitehouse household?”

  Alice scoffed, “No way. She keeps out of this and she’s probably right. She never takes sides. Though if I tell her that Reece Hudson might be her next son-in-law, she might reconsider.”

  Felicity laughed. “Still thinking about the bet, huh? It’s fine, Alice. I told you already that you can have all the donuts you want, and I don’t mind cleaning the house by myself. Or I could ask Mom to help out.”

  “It’s not that.” Alice suddenly looked a little hesitant. “I—I like him, Fe. And not just as a movie star, but…”

  Felicity raised an eyebrow. “You’re falling for him, aren’t you?”

  Alice nodded sheepishly. “Yep. Beneath all that tinsel he’s a great guy.”

  “Yeah, I noticed that too.” She stood and gave her friend a hug. “Then go for it, hon. You have my blessing.”

  “Thanks,” Alice murmured. “I would go for it, if not for the fact that he’s engaged to be married.”

  “There is that.” Though Bancroft felt the engagement was a bust, Dorothy Valour was still very much in the picture last she heard.

  Alice shrugged, putting on a brave face. “Let’s get him out of prison first. And who knows, Dorothy might resent getting married to a jailbird and break off the engagement.”

  Chapter 48

  Rob stared before him, bleary-eyed and suffering from an excruciating headache. He didn’t remember much of what happened last night, but apparently his wife did. He’d never seen her this upset.

  “You shouldn’t have done it, Rob. You really shouldn’t.”

  He gave her a sheepish look. “I’m sorry, Maggie. I am. I just figured I was doing you a favor.”

  Her eyes widened incredulously. “Doing me a favor? By deserting me? By making me a widow? Strange idea of favor you have.”

  “I know, I know. I just thought…” He lifted his hands feebly. “I just figured you were better off without me.”

  “That’s for me to decide, not you. Oh, Rob. Don’t you see that I love you? I’m your wife. We stick together through thick and thin. Till death do us part, remember? In good days and bad? For better or worse?”

  “This is definitely the worst day of my life,” he said, pressing his fingers against his pounding temples. “The absolute very worst.”

  “You’re a bit of a loser, Rob. But you’re my loser and I love you.”

  He looked up. She hadn’t said those words in ages and neither had he. “You’re serious? You still love me, in spite of everything?”

  “Of course, you big doofus.” She sat down on the bed next to him and laid her head on his shoulder. “You thought you could just leave me, huh? Good thing I switched those pills of yours.”

  “You shouldn’t have,” he muttered.

  “They’re not good for you, honey. I told you from the start. And you never felt the difference, did you? Always slept like a baby, just by sucking those sugar pills.”

  “You’re probably right,” he admitted. He did sleep well, placebos or not. Though now that he knew they weren’t real they probably wouldn’t work anymore.

  “Horrible thing about your mother, though.”

  “What horrible thing?”

  Maggie sat bolt upright. “You mean you don’t know?”

  “Know what?” Alarmed, he gaped at her.

  “The police…they didn’t tell you?”

  He rubbed his eyes. “All they told me was that I should sleep it off. When they found me I was dead drunk. I could hardly walk.”

  “I know. You were a mess.” She took his hand and squeezed it tenderly. “Honey, you gotta be strong now, you hear? Your mother…” She closed her eyes, her face a mask of grief.

  “What, what? Tell me already, will you?”

  “She’s dead.”

  The words didn't register at first. “Dead? What do you mean dead?”

  “She passed away last night, Rob.”

  He gaped at her. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Would I ever kid about something terrible like that? She died, Rob. And what’s worse…”

  “Worse? What could be worse?” Then it hit him. “God, no. Don’t tell me that she…”

  Maggie nodded. “She was murdered, same as your daddy.”

  “Shot?”

  “Knocked over the head with a big club, from what I heard. The police talked to all of us last night. Except you, of course. You were sleeping off your hangover.”

  He shook his head. “What’s going on, honey? What’s happening?”

  “A murderer is on the loose, t
hat’s what’s happening, and if we’re not careful, he’ll do us next.”

  “Christ, we gotta get out of this place.” He jerked his head up, which he probably shouldn’t have, for a lancing pain shot through his skull. “Dammit.”

  “Serves you right for trying to desert me,” she said primly, then relented and placed a cooling hand on his brow. “I’ll get you some aspirin.”

  As she walked over to the cupboard, he repeated, “We gotta go, honey. We’re not safe here. If this maniac is going after the Long family we might be next.”

  She handed him aspirin and a glass of water. “We can’t go.”

  He swallowed it down. “Why not? Do you wanna get killed next?”

  “It’s the cops. They told us to stay put. Besides, we now have two funerals to deal with, remember?”

  “Two funerals…” It dawned on him that he was an orphan now. Not that it made much difference, as he practically hadn’t been in touch with Mom and Dad for years, but still. The thought of his folks not being there anymore… It was hard to fathom. “This is a nightmare.”

  “You’re right about that,” she agreed. “And it ain’t over yet.”

  Chapter 49

  Nathan looked out the window to see if the coast was clear. No one. Fine. Great! Of course the police wouldn’t be patrolling the inn. They probably had five cops tops in this one-horse town. He grinned. Now was the time to make a run for it. He’d registered under one of his aliases, so the moment he was gone he would never have to think about Happy Bays again.

  He picked up his suitcase, checked around to see if he hadn’t missed a spot—no fingerprints, no DNA—and strode to the door.

  He still didn’t understand what happened to Malcolm. Had the old lady managed to get the upper hand? But then why was she reported dead herself? No, it seemed to him Malcolm had finished the job, then had run afoul of a third party. And something told him this third party would now be after him.