Thanksgiving in Paradise Read online

  “I agree. Greg is a great guy and would make a wonderful addition to the council. Not only is he intelligent and hardworking, but I’ve known him to be fair and open-minded as well. It’s rare for the entire staff of a high school to be a fan of the principal, but in Greg’s case, I can’t think of a single staff member who doesn’t admire and truly like him.”

  “I’m convinced. He needed to speak to his wife about it, which is fair because the council will take up some of his nights and weekends. He said he’d get back to me today, but with the snow, it might be tomorrow. Doc was a bit less certain and wanted to noodle on it a bit, but he said he’d get back to me by the end of the week. He has the time, and he has a unique skill set that will come in handy. My sense was that he wasn’t sure he wanted to make that sort of a commitment, but I also think he feels bad that Bookman, Jeff, and I are left to deal with this total mess and he wants to help out if he can.”

  I bobbed my head. “I bet he does it. Even if he only agrees to a limited term, he is the sort to roll up his sleeves and pitch in when there is something that needs to be done.”

  “I hope so. I think he could really help.”

  Kyle got up and began clearing the plates, and I pitched in to help. Poor Kyle. He looked exhausted. Between trying to put the town council back together, taking care of town business, and helping to figure out who blew up the town hall, the guy had a lot on his plate. And if you threw Thanksgiving on top of all of that, I was afraid it was too much.

  “Maybe we should consider moving Thanksgiving back to the resort. It is a lot of work to host such a huge gathering, and you already have so much to deal with.”

  Kyle shook his head. “No. I want to do it. I spoke to Rosalie, and between her and Ben, they have assured me that they will take care of the hams, turkeys, and rolls. Jenna and Frannie are bringing desserts, and my mom is going to tackle the vegetables. We just have to make mashed and sweet potatoes and a few appetizers. I figure that between you and me, Ashley and Gracie, your dad and Rosalie, my mom, Kiara, and Annabeth, your grandpa and Doc, Jenna and her family, Bookman and Helen, Frannie and Hazel, that is only nineteen people. Quite a few less than normally attend. Is there anyone I am missing?”

  “I think that is the main gang, although we should ask Bree, Pastor Dan, and Hannah, which will bring us to twenty-two.” I felt a pull at my heart. “I can’t believe so many people who attended last year’s Thanksgiving feast are no longer with us.”

  Kyle took my hand in his. He gave it a squeeze. “It has been a tough year.” He kissed my forehead. “But this year will be better. Things are really up in the air right now, but once we get everything back on track, things will be better.”

  It felt to me that Kyle was trying to convince himself of this fact even more than he was trying to convince me.

  “Maybe we should hold off on making the big engagement announcement for a while. I’m not sure that Thanksgiving is the best time to do it.”

  Kyle frowned. “Are you having second thoughts about the engagement?”

  “No. Not at all,” I assured Kyle. “But the girls need time to adjust to the idea, and I just feel like our announcement would be tainted by the fact that Harriet is sure to be on everyone’s mind this Thanksgiving. I want our announcement to be a happy occasion associated with only happy thoughts. I’ve told everyone in my immediate family, and I know you told your mom. In a way, telling folks as we see them, rather than making a huge announcement, seems like it might be the better way to go. Although…”

  “Although what?” Kyle asked.

  “Although once we make it public, people will start asking about a date. I told the girls we’d wait to settle on a date until everyone has had a chance to get used to the idea and we’d had a chance to work through their issues, especially Gracie’s.”

  Kyle kissed me gently on the lips. “I agree with everything you have said. And I’m fine with waiting to make an announcement. I really do want Ashley and Gracie to know that their feelings matter and I want you to take the time you need as well.”

  I put my hands on Kyle’s cheeks. “And that is just one of the many reasons I love you so very much.”

  Chapter 20

  Wednesday, November 15

  Kyle called me the next morning to let me know that he had gotten into Harriet’s personal online storage system. He asked if I had the day off as I had the previous day, but as of this morning, school was back on. I did have a number of vacation days saved up, however, and this did seem important, so I called Greg and explained the situation, and he offered to get me a sub. I dropped the girls off at school and then headed over to Kyle’s.

  “It was nice of Greg to give you the day off.”

  “He wants us to figure this out as much as anyone, and I do have a bunch of vacation days saved up. What did you find in Harriet’s saved documents?”

  “The notes for the November blog for one thing. As far as I can tell, the blog has not been written yet, but if Harriet had actually used the notes in the file, I suspect there would have been a lot of people standing in line to wring her neck.”

  I cringed. “Okay. Part of me doesn’t even want to know what she had dug up if her plans for the November blog were that bad. Still, given the fact that her home office was ransacked, it does look as if at least one of the individuals who would have been targeted in an upcoming blog might actually make a better suspect than the individuals affected by a past blog. What was she planning to write?”

  “Unlike past blogs, she had notes on four individuals rather than three in a file marked November blog. Victim number one is Jennifer Black. She owns the bakery that recently opened on the north side of town.”

  “I know who she is, although I’ve never actually spoken to her. I don’t think she has lived in the area very long. What did she do, or I guess I should say, allegedly do?”

  “She allegedly buys her baked goods at a bakeshop in Carson City, and then resells them in Serenity claiming that they are her family recipes.”

  I raised a brow. “I suppose she wouldn’t want that getting out. I can see that it might destroy the business she is just getting started. I wonder how Harriet even found out about something like that.”

  “I don’t know. And I don’t know if it is true. But it does seem that if Harriet had revealed that Jennifer is reselling someone else’s baked goods and marketing them as her own, it would have hurt her business whether it was true or not. Still,” Kyle paused, “I’m not sure that exposing Jennifer’s false advertising would warrant her blowing up an entire building.”

  I sort of doubted Jennifer was the potential bomber we were looking for. “Who else do we have?”

  “Girard Bowman. Apparently, he has been stepping out on his wife.”

  Girard Bowman was a man’s man. He was tall, built, and an ex-football player who had a reputation with ladies. He liked to hunt and fish, and he owned his own taxidermy shop. I supposed in terms of having a violent nature, he might fit the profile of a man who would kill someone, although, in terms of motive, he seemed more like the sort to brag about an affair rather than to kill over it. “Who is he allegedly sleeping with?”

  “Will Colter.”

  “Will Colter. The guy who owns the dance studio?”

  Kyle nodded.

  “I didn’t realize Girard was gay. I mean, he is married. To a woman,” I emphasized.

  “He is, and I hadn’t a clue he was gay either. Keep in mind he might not be, but if he is and Harriet was about to out him, I could definitely see him wanting to stop her.”

  “Well, yeah. He has to be our killer. I can totally see him blowing up a room full of people just to watch the fireworks. The guy is a real scary sort.”

  “I agree that he seems capable of something like setting off a bomb, but I do think we should follow up with victim number four as well.”

  “Victim four? W
hat happened to three?”

  “Victim number three was going to be Lloyd Benson. Not only is it impossible to follow up with him, but I doubt he blew himself up.”

  “Lloyd? What did Harriet have on Lloyd?”

  “According to the notes, which keep in mind are nothing more than unverified rumors at this point, Lloyd bribed Mayor Wallaby to push through several of his developments back when Wallaby was mayor. According to the notes I found, Harriet was going to use that information to make the case that he should be kicked off the town council and that any and all future developments he might sponsor within the town limits should be denied.”

  “Wow.”

  “Wow is right. If that is true and Sinful Secrets would have revealed it, then it could have made things very difficult for Lloyd. Especially if the rumor turned out to be true and Harriet had proof of the dirty dealings.”

  “If Lloyd hadn’t been a victim of the bomber, I would totally have suspected him. But I agree, it is unlikely he blew himself up, and it does look as if he might have been behind the emergency meeting, so who is victim number four?”

  “Victim number four is Kate Baldwin.”

  “Kate Baldwin? Officer Kate Baldwin? Roy’s new partner and my new pain in the backside? That Kate Baldwin?”

  Kyle nodded. “Apparently, when Kate was in college, she was arrested for attacking a woman named Jackie Leman, who she accused of being responsible for her father’s death.”

  I narrowed my gaze. “If I remember correctly, Kate’s father was a cop who died in the line of duty when she was a kid. I don’t remember if Kate ever said how he died, I assumed he was shot. Did this woman shoot him?”

  “No. I called and spoke to Roy, and he said he’d look into it. He called me back a while ago to let me know that Jackie Leman was the daughter of the murder victim whose death Kate’s dad was investigating at the time of his death.”

  “On the first night we met Kate, she told us that her dad died in the line of duty, trying to protect civilians who shouldn’t have been anywhere near a crime scene in the first place. I wonder if Jackie was one of the civilians she was talking about.”

  “Perhaps. That might explain why she attacked the woman. Harriet’s notes didn’t go into detail as to why Kate attacked the woman, only that she had and that she was arrested for assault and battery.”

  I frowned. “So Kate killed Harriet because she was going to reveal that she had a record? I guess that her tainted past isn’t something she would want to get around, but to kill someone to keep it quiet. It seems like a stretch.”

  “I agree. But in my book, it does make Kate a suspect, especially when you add in the fact that she left town for a vague family emergency just as the investigation into the bombing got started.”

  “That’s a good point. Was there anything else in the file?”

  “There was a file with additional security attached to it. I’m working on getting into it, but the security is pretty sophisticated.”

  “Seems odd that Harriet would have a file with that level of security.”

  “I agree. I don’t know who set up the security for the file, but I’m sure it wasn’t Harriet. Anyway, it may take a while, but I’ll get in. In the meantime, I found a list of passcodes, one of which will allow me to access the town’s files.”

  “Didn’t you already have access to the town’s files?”

  Kyle shook his head. “No, the only people with access were Bookman, as mayor, and Harriet. I asked Bookman for the passcode, which he gave me, but Harriet had changed it. In fact, it looks as if she changed the town’s passcode the day before she died. Bookman didn’t remember receiving a new code. Maybe Harriet gave it to him, and he forgot, or maybe she never gave it to him. There is no way to tell at this point. Anyway, once I finally got into Harriet’s system, and realized she had a master password sheet, which included the password for the town’s online file storage, I was able to use that code to get into the town’s files.”

  “Did you find anything interesting?”

  “Not really, although I have really only touched the surface in terms of examining the files. It is going to take some time. In the meantime, I thought we might see a woman about a donut, and after that, we might want to check into either getting something stuffed or dance lessons for the girls.”

  I raised a brow. “So we follow up with the easier leads. Works for me, although the girls already take dance lessons from Miss Marsha.”

  “We don’t need to sign them up. I just figured it would be an ice breaker.”

  “We should go now. I need to pick my sisters up from school at three.”

  Chapter 21

  Sweet Perfection was a cute shop I supposed if you were into pink and green. I was pretty sure that Ashley would adore the décor, but personally, it wasn’t my taste. Still, the aroma of cookies baking when you walked in the front door could not be denied. If Jennifer was buying her baked goods in the valley and then reselling them, she was smart enough to have something in the oven to provide a wonderful aroma for atmosphere.

  “Can I help you?” A short woman with short blond hair standing behind the counter asked.

  “Everything looks wonderful,” I honestly said, as I inventoried the selection displayed in the glass case. “I understand that your baked goods are made from family recipes.”

  The woman nodded. “My grandmother was a wonderful baker. When she passed away, she left my sister, Lacy, and I each a file box full of family recipes. The recipes were so delicious and so unique that we decided to open a bakery.”

  “So Lacy works here with you?”

  The woman shook her head. “No. Lacy works at the first Sweet Perfection Bakery in Carson City. We opened it together a year ago and did so well that we decided to branch out and add a second store here in Serenity.”

  I glanced at Kyle. It sounded like Jennifer had been buying the pastries she resold from her own bakery. “I guess having two kitchens must allow you to offer more of a selection.”

  Jennifer nodded. “The bakery in the valley is much larger. I live in the valley, so I make a lot of what I sell in this store in the kitchen down there. At least for now. Lacy has help running the counter, but so far, it is just me at this location, which makes baking and running the front at the same time pretty tricky. The pastries are all fresh, however. If you can’t decide, I have a sampler tray.”

  “That would be great. We’ll take a sampler and two coffees.”

  So much for Harriet’s juicy piece of gossip. It wasn’t even true. Well, I supposed technically, it was true, but given the situation, it was far from shocking, and the pastries were to die for. In all fairness to Harriet, Kyle had only found notes pertaining to the bakery. There was a chance that Harriet would have looked into things further and not printed the piece about the bakery had she lived.

  “So I wonder if the rumor about Girard and Will is equally yawn-worthy,” I wondered after we had left the bakery with a takeout box filled with donuts.

  “I don’t know. Maybe. But to be honest, I sort of doubt it. I’m not even sure how to handle the interview. Do we simply come out and ask Girard if it is true and if he blew Harriet up because of it?”

  I frowned. “No, I don’t think that would be the way to approach it. Girard owns that taxidermy shop next to Guns and Roses. I guess we’ll just stop by and talk to him. Maybe he will volunteer something or create an opening for us to bring it up.”

  Kyle frowned. “Seems unlikely, but I’m game to try. I’m not sure we want to do or say anything to get on the guy’s bad side.”

  “I totally agree. The guy is about as scary as they get. In fact, every boogeyman I ever imagined when I was a kid looked pretty much like him.”

  “The guy does seem formidable.”

  After we pulled up out in the front, I began having second thoughts. “Maybe we should let Roy handle
it. He does have a gun, and we don’t.”

  “Do you really think he is dangerous?” Kyle asked.

  “We do suspect him of blowing up a building with seven people inside. Yes, I think that in the right circumstance, he could be dangerous.”

  Kyle looked at the building. “I guess we could talk to Will first. Get a feel for things.”

  “Yes,” I said, “let’s do that.”

  Of course, it was at that moment that the man walked out and approached the car. The windows were up, so he knocked. Kyle lowered the passenger side window halfway, which had me scooting toward the middle of the seat.

  “I noticed you sitting out here, staring at my shop. Can I help you with something?” Girard asked.

  “We were debating whether a taxidermist works with family pets that have passed on and not just hunting trophies,” I blurted out the first thing I could think of which was incredibly gross and made me want to puke.

  “You want to stuff your little fluffy friend?”

  “Well, not really,” I admitted. “We just noticed the shop which a friend of ours mentioned and the subject came up. For future reference only,” I added quickly, “we don’t actually require the services of a taxidermist at this point.”

  “And who friend might that be?” Girard asked.

  “Will. Will Colter.”

  The man smiled, showing off smokers’ teeth that were more brown than white. “You know Will?”

  “Not well,” I answered. “But well enough to have overheard him mention this place. Another friend, Harriet Kramer, mentioned it as well.”

  I watched as the man’s smile faded into a scowl. “If you are friends with that liar, you are not a friend of mine. Now get along. Both of you. And don’t darken my door again.”

  Kyle pulled away from the curb. “Well, the man certainly doesn’t like Harriet.”

  “The fact that he called her a liar seems to indicate that he might know her secret identity.”