Murder in Cottage #6 (Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series Book 1) (7 page)

“Well, there actually is a
reason. I just came from Dave’s home, and he said he spent the night with you.
He told me he’d been seeing you. I think it’s rather obvious that you might
have benefited if Barbara died. I understand she was a very strong Catholic and
wouldn’t even consider a divorce. With her out of the way, you and Dave would
be free to get married.”

“David said he spent the
night with me? Is that true?” Darcy demanded.

“Yes. Like I said, I just
came from Dave’s home, and he’s the one who told me.”

“I see. Well, if he told
you that, I’ll confirm that yes, he was here all night on the night in
question. We both left the apartment yesterday morning about 7:00. I like to
get to the high school before the teachers or students arrive, and he likes to
get to his insurance agency an hour or so before his clients start arriving for
scheduled appointments. We were here all night. Neither one of us left the
apartment that night, so it couldn’t have been either one of us who committed
the crime.”

“Thank you, Darcy. I’m
sure you can understand how anxious I am to find out who the killer is and have
this unfortunate episode behind me. It’s getting very close to my busiest
season, and if word gets out about this and people think there’s a killer on
the loose at the spa, it could be a disaster for my business.”

“Yes. I understand your
concerns. You seem like a nice person, and I wish I could help you, but I
can’t. I know nothing more than what I just told you. From what I understand,
Barbara and Dave haven’t been close for many years. Maybe she had a boyfriend.
Those things happen, you know.”

“I hadn’t thought of that
but maybe she did. Thanks for your help. This can’t be an easy time for you.
I’m sure very few people know that Dave and Barbara have had a marriage of
convenience only for a long time. It must be very difficult for you to have to
stay in the shadows.”

“It is, but perhaps in a
few months Dave and I can be seen together publicly. Maybe something good will
come from something that is terribly bad. Isn’t it strange where life takes
you?” she said wistfully.

“Yes it is. I wish you
well, Darcy. Again, thanks.”

Good grief. These two must
be living in la-la land if they think no one knows about their affair. And
isn’t it convenient that Dave and Darcy backed up each other’s alibi. If one of
them is the murderer, maybe they decided in advance to use each other as an
alibi. Wow, that sounds real private eyeish. And Barbara having a boyfriend? No
one’s mentioned that. If there was any truth to it I would have thought her
partner at the antique store might have mentioned it. However, with Barbara
being such a strong Catholic, I have a hard time thinking of her having a
romantic affair outside of her marriage. Then again, you just never know about
people.

Fortunately it was one of the few
nights of the year when there weren’t any guests staying in the cottages, so
Liz didn’t have to rush home and fix appetizers and dinner for them. Knowing
that no guests would be on the property, she was glad Winston would be with
her. With everything that had happened in the last day and a half, she was no
longer comfortable being by herself at the lodge during the night.

            “Okay boy, time for
dinner,” Liz said as she pulled her van into the lodge’s parking lot. Winston’s
ears went up, and as soon as she opened the door on the van, he ran up the
steps to the front door of the lodge, waiting for her to open the door. A few
minutes later he was hungrily eating the bowl of food Liz had put out for him.
“Good grief, Winston. Ed didn’t tell me you were such a big eater. I’m glad he
put the amount of the dog food you’re supposed to have on the instruction
sheet, or I would have kept feeding you until you stopped eating! From what I’m
seeing your tummy probably would have burst about that time.” He wagged his
tail and continued eating.

           
No doubt about it.
This dog understands everything I’m saying!

           
She suddenly remembered
she hadn’t booked any spa treatments for Judy or herself for tomorrow. She
looked at the kitchen clock and thought,
Delores should still be at the spa.

            “
Hi, Delores. It’s Mrs.
Lucas. I want to book four spa appointments for tomorrow, two for me and two
for a friend of mine, Judy Rasmussen. I’d like to book facials and massages
with Cindy and Gina for both of us. I can have a massage while Judy’s having a
facial, and then you can reverse them. I’m open on the times. If you have to
stagger us, that’s fine too. Go ahead and check what’s available, and I’ll
wait.” She doodled on the pad of paper next to the phone while she waited for
Delores to come back on the line.

            “That’s great. So you
booked me for a massage at 9:00 and Judy for a massage at 10:30 and facials at
2:00 and 3:00. Perfect. See you tomorrow.”

            She called Judy. “Hi,
hope you’re still planning on coming up tomorrow, because I just booked our spa
appointments.”

            “What time is my first
appointment?” Judy asked.

            “You’re on for a massage
at 10:30. You should be able to easily make it here by then. I have a massage
at 9:00, so I’ll probably be over at the spa when you get here. I reserved
cottage #1 for you. We didn’t have any guests today, so it should be ready for
you when you get here. You can go to Bertha’s office in the lodge and get the
key from her. Judy, do you have a few minutes? I’ve got a lot to tell you.”

            Liz filled Judy in on
everything that had happened at the spa beginning with Bertha discovering
Barbara’s body. She related her thinking about some of the possible suspects
and finished by telling her Roger had gotten her a guard dog.

            “Liz, I haven’t met Roger
yet, but he must really care for you if he got you a guard dog. Is this man
becoming a person of interest in your life?”

            “Could be, Judy, could
be. I like him a lot. I really do want you to meet him. He’s started coming up
here quite often. In fact, he drove up last night and left early this morning.
He had to get back in time for a big trial he has that started today.”

            “Wait a minute. The guy
drove up from San Francisco the night before he’s starting a big trial just to
see you, and then he gets you a guard dog that’s fully trained? Do you have any
idea what dogs like that cost? I looked into buying one once, and we’re easily
talking high four figures, maybe five. That doesn’t sound like a casual
relationship to me. Want to tell me anything else?” she said with a teasing
sound in her voice.

            “Nope, nothing else to
tell. Anyway, I won’t be seeing him for the next few weeks because of his
trial.”

            “If he came up the night
before a big trial, I’d bet everything I own he’ll be back a lot sooner than
you think. For whatever it’s worth, that’s my two cents on the subject. When I
get there tomorrow I want to hear every detail about this murder. I’m sure
you’ve already thought of this, but it probably won’t help your spa business
when the word gets out.”

            “I’m well aware of that.
The coroner told me I should try to solve the crime myself, because he doesn’t
think much of the abilities of the chief of police.”

            “You’ve got to be
kidding! You don’t know anything about private investigating, do you?”

            “Well, I’ve never done it
before, but if it means the difference between losing the spa because of bad
publicity and holding on to it, I’ll do everything I can to find the killer.”

            “I don’t know if I can be
of any help in catching whoever did it, but count me in. Hate for my best
friend to get knocked off while she’s trying to find the killer. Liz, I’ve got
to tell you this sounds like something stranger than fiction. I’m really glad
Roger got the dog for you. Maybe he had some kind of a premonition. Gotta go.
Someone’s at the door. See you tomorrow!”

            “I don’t know how this is
going to work out, Winston. Judy doesn’t know any more than I do about finding
a killer, and it doesn’t sound like the chief of police could find one if it
was right in front of him. Good grief. I can’t believe this is happening. Oh
well, it’s always better to do something rather than nothing. Roger should be
home by now. I’ll see if I can reach him. Anyway, I need to thank him for you.”

            Winston walked over to
her and put his paw on her lap.

           
Not only does this dog
know what I’m saying, he knows the right thing to do. My life is turning into
something beyond bizarre. Glad Brittany and Jonah aren’t around. They’d
probably have me committed, and I’m not so sure they wouldn’t be right.

           
“I’m glad you could answer
your phone, Roger. Are you at home or on the road?”

            “I’m home and have been
for about an hour. We’re still picking the jury, and when it started to get
late in the day, the judge decided not to call in another panel that late in
the afternoon, so he dismissed us a little early. I’m just going over some of
my trial notes for tomorrow. Now, tell me about your day.”

            “First of all, I’m in
love with Winston, and I can’t thank you enough for giving him to me. He’s not
only beautiful, but he’s the smartest dog I’ve ever been around. I absolutely
positively believe he understands everything I say to him.”

            She stopped talking and
held the receiver away from her ear. When he’d finally stopped laughing, she
said, “Roger, you may not believe me, but just wait until you meet him, and
you’ll understand then. Anyway, I need to talk to you about Barbara’s death. It
turns out her death wasn’t from natural causes or suicide, and the coroner
thinks she was poisoned. Let me start from the time you left, and I’ll fill you
in.”

            She told him everything
that had happened during the day beginning with Gertie and ending with her
conversation with Darcy.

            “Liz, I completely agree
with the coroner. From what I’ve heard, the police chief probably couldn’t find
his hat if it was on his head. Yes, you probably are going to have to do what
you can to find the killer. I just want you to be careful. Do you own a gun?”

            “I have one, but I
haven’t used it in a long time. Joe fired an employee quite a few years ago,
actually before we moved here, and the employee threatened him and insinuated
that I could be in danger. Joe bought a gun for me, and he took me to a pistol
range several times to practice. He wanted to make sure I could use it if I
ever had to. Fortunately, I never had to. Why?”

            “When we get through with
this call, I want you to get the gun and keep it with you. I know it’s a scary
thought, but a killer was on your property as recently as two nights ago. The
killer may be long gone, but using poison as a way to kill someone indicates to
me it was premeditated, not an emotional spur of the moment killing. If someone
goes to the trouble to plan a way to get the victim to take the poison, in my
mind, that person is a lot more dangerous than someone who kills someone in the
heat of the moment. Do you see what I’m saying?”

            “I do, and it doesn’t
make me feel very good. I know where the gun is, and I still have the box of
ammunition Joe gave me. It’s a semi-automatic pistol, and I actually got to be
a pretty good shot with it, but like I said, that was a while ago.”

            “Trust me, Liz, it’s kind
of like riding a bike. Once you have the gun in your hand, you’ll be good to
go. Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that. Keep it in your purse or on you or
next to you when you’re in the lodge. Is Winston scary looking or what?”

            “He’s big enough that I
think he definitely would frighten someone. Ed gave me a sheet of paper with
written instructions. One of the paragraphs lists the commands to use for
protection and guarding.”

            “I want you to memorize
those and keep him with you everywhere you go from now on. So you’ve talked to
Darcy and Dave, and they’re covering for each other.”

            “Yes, but I have a
feeling they genuinely care about each other. I find it hard to believe that
either one of them might be the killer.”

            “Maybe yes, maybe no.
They both have a powerful motive for wanting to see Barbara dead. Very simple.
If she’s dead, they can be together and ride happily off into the sunset. Most
crimes are committed in the name of love, heat, lust, or call it whatever you
want, and for that reason it’s the number one motive in murder cases. That’s
why homicide investigators always look to the spouse or lover first. And from
what you’ve found out about Barbara’s strong religious faith and lack of any
factual basis for having a boyfriend, I wouldn’t spend much time looking for a
boyfriend who might have been so angry with her he would kill her. Pretty far
reach, if you ask me.”

            “I agree. Nothing anyone
has told me points in that direction and don’t forget, this small town feeds on
rumors. I think Gertie would have hinted at something like that if there was
anything to it.”

            “What’s your gut feeling
on this guy Zack who works for you? He certainly would know the lay of the land
and how to get into the cottage, probably even if the door was locked. What he
said to you was odd, and remember, he did say he couldn’t even tell you where
he’d been.”

            “I think he could
definitely qualify as a suspect. I guess the motive could be getting back at
Dave by killing Barbara, but since everyone I’ve pretty much talked to knew
that Dave and Darcy were having an affair, surely Zack would have known about
it too. If Dave does want to marry Darcy, Zack would actually be helping Dave
achieve his goal. He wants to harm Dave, not help him. It wouldn’t make a lot
of sense.”

            “Possibly,” Roger said.
“What about keys to the cottages? Which employees have them?”

            “Bertha and I are the
only two who have keys to all the cottages. I don’t know if Zack does, but I
wouldn’t be surprised, because he’s probably had to work in all of the cottages
over the years. That’s a good question. He may be the only one who could have
entered the cottage without being allowed in by Barbara.”

            “That’s true. So that
means we have to figure out if Barbara knew the person who possibly entered her
cottage. If it was Dave, she probably would have let him in. Do you know if she
knew Darcy?”

            “When I talked to Darcy
this afternoon, she mentioned she had met Barbara only once. From everything
I’ve heard, Barbara knew about Dave’s affair with Darcy, so I can’t see her
inviting Darcy in, but who knows?”

            “I had Sean find out
everything he could about the Tiffany lamp buyer, Henry. His last name is
Sanchez. He lives in a bad part of town in a run-down apartment building, but
the rent is really reasonable which fits in with what you told me about his
penny-pinching ways. He’s well-known in the antique world and as a matter of
fact, has been in most of the shops in the last week or so with a picture of
the disputed Tiffany lamp, asking people if they think it’s authentic.
Evidently he’s become totally obsessed with the notion that he was duped into
buying what he now believes is a fake.

            “He’s not well liked and
several of the terms used to describe him included ‘nut case,’ ‘wacko,’ and ‘a
man angry at the world.’ I don’t think he can be ruled out as a possible
suspect. He paid a lot of money for something he’s been told is a fake. Barbara
had mentioned to him she was going to a local spa and even told him when she’d
be returning. By process of elimination, he could deduce that it was the Red
Cedar Spa. As far as knowing which cottage she was in, I suppose all one would
have to do is look through the windows. He knew what she looked like. Seems to
me people park their cars next to their cottage. He may have even staked her
out beforehand to see what kind of a car she was driving.