Criminal Crumbs (2 page)

“I’m not letting you do this alone. If I can help, you can count on me.”

She reached over for a moment and patted my arm. “Thanks, Suzanne. I’ll admit that I wasn’t crazy about doing this without you.”

“Start from the beginning, okay?” I asked her.

“I’ll tell you what I know. If there’s anything else, we’ll have to get it from Nicole. That’s her name, by the way, Nicole Thurman. She came up through the ranks with me, and when our old boss got promoted, the district manager thought it would be fun to have a competition to see who got the job.”

“What did you do, arm wrestle for it?” I asked.

“That might have been simpler. No, he set impossible goals, made it ridiculously easy to cheat, and then he stood back and watched the bloodbath.”

“Why didn’t I hear anything about this from you?” I asked her. Normally Grace shared quite a bit with me, and while I knew that I’d been spending an inordinate amount of time with my husband lately, there had still been opportunities for the two of us to talk about what was going on in Grace’s life. Or had there been as many as I thought?

“The truth is, I didn’t want to bother you with it,” she said, averting her gaze.

“Listen to me carefully, Grace Gauge. I’m not a delicate flower. You don’t have to tiptoe around me.”

“Any more, you mean?” she asked me with the hint of a smile.

“Was I really that bad?” I asked her.

“Suzanne, you were in pain. We all made an effort not to bring your spirits down any lower than they already were. Besides, it wasn’t as though the job was important to me. I’ve given up promotions in the past so I could stay in April Springs, remember? I’ve found my perfect spot in the world. Why would I want to give that up? For more money? I’ve got everything I need and more, thank you very much. The prestige of being higher up on the corporate ladder? No, I don’t think so. I was happy for Nicole when she got the job, especially because she earned it.”

“I thought you said the system was set up for cheating. Are you certain that she came by it fair and square?”

Grace glanced over at me, and I could see a grin forming. “That’s where the district manager was really devious. I said it was easy to cheat, but it was also fairly simple to discover who had played by the rules and who tried to lie their way into the position. Two of our other reps were caught trying to game the system. Not only were they disqualified from the promotion, but they were both put on probation. Of the remaining contenders, Nicole was the obvious winner.”

“How did the two cheaters get caught?” I asked her.

“Nicole came up with a way to verify that their reports were completely fabricated, and she took it to the district manager,” Grace said uncomfortably. “I probably would have done the same thing if I’d wanted that job for myself. Word got out, though, and the resentment is still pretty obvious.”

“Would someone actually kill their boss over a promotion?” I asked her. In my donut world, I was already at the top. Emma, my young assistant, was my only other employee, and I couldn’t imagine the circumstances that would make her do something to me to try to take over Donut Hearts.

“You’ve lived a sheltered life, Suzanne. This was a very big deal, a career builder or breaker. Nicole likes expensive things, from designer dresses to elegant jewelry. Getting that promotion allowed her to feed what must be a pretty expensive habit by now.”

“Hang on a second,” I said. “Before you tell me more about your list of suspects, what makes Nicole believe that someone is trying to kill her?”

“I asked her the same thing when she started telling me about this a few days ago,” Grace said. “At first she thought she was just being paranoid, but as events started to escalate, she decided to come to me with her concerns. You and I have a bit of a reputation, did you know that? It appears that our efforts at catching killers in the past haven’t gone unnoticed. But you asked me about specific incidents. The first one happened while she was out jogging one morning before work. It was dark out, and she was listening to an audiobook on her headphones, so she didn’t hear the car coming. In fact, if she hadn’t looked up at precisely the right moment, she said that she would have been run over. Nicole managed to jump into the bushes nearby, but she didn’t catch sight of who did it.”

“Couldn’t that have been an unrelated accident?”

“She was certain that the intent was there. Why else would someone drive in the dark with no headlights on and then swerve to hit her at exactly the right moment? Nicole tried to put it out of her mind, and then her house almost blew up.”

Chapter 3

“W
hat!”

“She had a reception at her home for all of us, including her family, to celebrate her promotion. After everyone left, she went to bed, but something made her uneasy. She checked her place from top to bottom, and she discovered that someone had blown out her pilot light in her hot water heater. She would have either been asphyxiated or blown up if there’d been a spark to set it off. She even had one of those all-purpose detectors in the utility room, but the batteries in it had been reversed, making it useless as anything but a paperweight.”

“Why didn’t she call the police when it happened?”

“She thought about it, but then she realized how it would appear to someone from the outside. Unfortunately, cars hit pedestrians much too often, especially when it’s dark, and pilot lights blow out on occasion. As for the detector, it could be explained as an unfortunate accident that she’d replaced the batteries incorrectly. Nicole knows that someone’s out to get her, though, and she asked me to help her find out who’s after her.”

“Okay, she’s got reason enough to be concerned,” I said. “Who makes up her list of suspects?”

“The two women we work with who are now on probation because of her, Janelle Best and Georgia Collier, to start with. If you ask me, either woman might be capable of trying to kill Nicole for her job. Janelle is a single mom, not that she sees her kids all that much. She’s constantly trying to claw her way to the top. Oh, and she’s a petty thief, too.”

“What does she steal, cosmetics?” I asked.

“As far as I’ve been able to tell, there’s only one criterion—it has to be of little enough value for the owner not to be too upset by its absence. I’m talking about things like office supplies, little things like that.”

“What does that have to do with the attempts on Nicole’s life?” Yes, I’d already come to the conclusion independently that someone was indeed trying to kill Grace’s boss. One accident is possible, but two, so close together? No, I wasn’t buying it, especially with the dismantled detector as additional evidence.

“Nothing that I know of. I just thought it was interesting.”

“What about Georgia?”

“She’s a real piece of work,” Grace said as she suddenly yanked the steering wheel to the right, nearly sending us off the road into the woods far below. I hadn’t been paying too much attention to the drop-off on my side before then, but seeing it up close had made me stomp on imaginary brakes on my side of the car. “Sorry,” she apologized as she corrected her steering back to the road. “I thought I saw a groundhog.”

“I didn’t see anything,” I said.

“It was there, Suzanne. Maybe that’s why they call this area the Shadow Mountains. It’s really hard to see the road clearly with all of these trees looming over it.”

It was time to get back on point. We were running out of time, and I could feel my ears popping from the change in air pressure. It was getting a bit chillier as well, and I started to wonder if I’d packed enough heavy clothes to get me through the long weekend. “Tell me about Georgia.”

“She’d climb over your dead body if she wanted what was on the other side, no questions asked, and no looking back. I could see her trying to run Nicole over without a problem, but I’m not sure she’s devious enough to think of the pilot light.”

“So then, we have two obvious suspects. That should make it easier than most of our cases have been in the past.”

Grace shook her head. “Sorry, but there’s more.”

“Why wouldn’t there be? Who else belongs on the list?”

“There are two other people in Nicole’s life who might want to see her dead as well: her sister, Celia, and her intermittent fiancé, Hank Lancaster. Oh, I forgot to mention something. Hank is the district manager who arranged that little competition for the job Nicole now has.”

This was getting messier by the second.

I sighed heavily, and Grace didn’t miss it. “I know. It’s a real mess, isn’t it?”

“Let’s take these one at a time. Why would her own sister want her dead?”

“When Nicole’s parents died, they left Nicole in charge of everything, and I mean completely. Celia had a long history of burning through her money at an alarming rate, and now Nicole metes it out in small sums, and Celia isn’t shy about letting everyone know that she resents it.”

“And if something happens to Nicole?”

“Then Celia gets everything the moment she’s pronounced dead,” Grace said.

“Wow, it sounds as though she has reason enough if the estate is of any size at all.”

“From what I’ve heard, it’s well over a million dollars,” she told me.

“Okay, that’s a motive. How about Hank? Why would he want to kill her?”

“After Nicole got the promotion, she broke up with him, once and for all. She knows that he can’t fire her because of it, and she’s gotten it on the company record, just in case he tries. She’s bulletproof from one kind of termination, but not the more final one.”

Wow. Just wow. I would not want to be in this woman’s shoes for love or money. “Okay, it appears that we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

“I’m sorry I got you into this jam. The good news is that all of our suspects will be gathered together for the entire three-day weekend.”

“Even Celia?”

“She’s Nicole’s plus one,” Grace said. “We thought it would be easier that way.”

“It’s hard enough as it is,” I said as I pointed out a massive towering oak tree over the road that looked as though it had been there forever. The tree was so large that, for a single moment, it completely blocked out the sun as we drove under it.

“Sorry I got you into this,” Grace said. “It’s not too late to back out, you know.”

“I’m afraid that it is,” I said as I pointed out the sign that stood tall as we broke through the last of the trees that crowded the road on both sides.

The sign read,
“Welcome to Shadow Mountain Resort, Your Final Destination.”

I didn’t like the sound of that at all.

Chapter 4

T
he resort was breathtaking; there
was no doubt about that. The main lodge had been built on a hilltop, grand in a way that wouldn’t be possible to replicate today, with heavy woods situated just behind and on the right side of it. The walls were made from heavy fieldstone, and small windows were scattered along its front. Three massive chimneys stood high in the sky above the tile rooflines, and smoke wafted gently from two of them at the moment. Off to the left, built on a much smaller scale, were four cottages, each constructed from identical matching stone, and every one of them situated on the edge of what appeared to be a steep drop-off to the forest below. These cottages were accessible from a gravel footpath alone. In the other direction was a large lake, pristine in its surroundings, with nothing but a boat house, a fire pit with benches, and a gazebo spaced out along its edges. Finally, where a grand lawn most likely should have been, there was a dense copse of evergreens, and I saw a faded sign that proclaimed it to be a maze. That should be interesting. I’d had a bad experience the last time I’d been in one, but it had been made of corn stalks, not living trees.

As we parked on the right side of the building and got out of Grace’s car, I could see that several other parties had already arrived. Pulling my light jacket closer, I had an involuntary shudder from the chill. “It’s really cold up here, isn’t it?” Grace asked me with a grin. “I’m not sure I packed enough warm clothes to get me through three days.”

“I’m not sure I’ll have enough to get me through today,” I said. “Where do we go now?”

“We’re supposed to go to the main lodge front entrance,” Grace said as we puzzled out the front of the building. Long and low rooflines were just off the first level, giving the place the feeling of a single long eyebrow, and it wasn’t until we walked up the stone steps that I realized that it was one massive porch, under cover from rain, and probably snow as well, given the temperatures we were experiencing at the moment. There was a scattering of tables and chairs spread out along the terrace, and I could see the entrance at last, a grand old wooden door that looked as though it hadn’t been touched since it had been put in place a century before.

Once we were inside the building, the place was even more magnificent. Stone walls and floors gave the grand space an open feeling, and heart-pine wood covered the sweeping vaulted ceiling. An iron chandelier hung in the center of the room, and the far wall was taken up by a massive fireplace. There were comfortable couches and chairs surrounding it, and the registration desk was opposite it, ready to welcome the resort’s guests. Beside the desk were steps leading upstairs, and on the right side of the building, there was a sign indicating that the restaurant and bar were close by.

We approached the front desk, and Grace identified herself. “We’re here with Laurel Cosmetics,” she said.

The young man at the front desk gave us a clearly well-rehearsed smile. “Welcome to Shadow Mountain Lodge. Most of your party has already checked in.” He slid a packet across the oak desktop toward her. “Everything you need is inside. I hope you enjoy your stay with us.”

“Could we have our room keys?” Grace asked him. “We’d like to drop off our things first.”

“They’re in your packet,” he said, tapping the thick envelope.

I was headed for the stairs when he stopped me. “Sorry, but you’re not staying in the main lodge.”

“What?” Grace asked. “Why not?”

“I was told that the top employees of your organization were awarded space in one of our cottages. You and your guest will be in the Hemlock Cottage.”

I wasn’t sure I liked that idea very much, for several reasons. Those cottages were secluded from the main lodge. We’d have to trudge back and forth for meals and other activities, and that included nighttime and any foul weather we might be getting while we were there. Also, hemlock was poisonous, wasn’t it?

Clearly Grace didn’t care for the idea very much, either.

“Is there any way we could switch and stay here in the lodge?” she asked.

“I’m afraid that would be impossible. You see, we’re extended beyond the end of our season, and we’re working with a short staff. Trust me, you’ll love your cottage. They’re the best we have to offer.”

“Sweet, then Hemlock it is,” I said, trying my best to make Grace think it was a wonderful idea. “Let’s go check it out.”

“Grace? Hello. Glad you made it. We’re all in here,” a lovely woman in her mid-thirties called out to us from the restaurant. Though we both had dark hair, mine was simply brown, while hers could best be described as chestnut, full of rich tones of deep browns and reds. Her green eyes were set off by porcelain skin, and if that’s what their line of makeup did, I was beginning to think I’d been too rash turning Grace’s offers of free cosmetics down in the past.

Grace said softly, “That’s Nicole.”

“Hi,” Grace told her boss as we approached. “Sorry we’re late.” I could see what she meant about her new boss’s expensive tastes. Nicole was dressed pretty elegantly, from her shoes to her dress to her jewelry, and I knew that Gabby Williams, a woman in April Springs who sold gently used designer clothing in a shop called ReNEWed, would have loved to get her hands on anything Nicole was wearing.

The restaurant sported half a dozen large tables, while the front contained a modest bar with a walk-through to the patio. I could see another pair of outdoor tables and chairs there.

Grace said, “Nicole, this is Suzanne Hart. Suzanne, I’d like you to meet my boss, Nicole Thurman.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, enfolding my hand in both of hers. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Thanks,” I said, not quite sure how to respond to that.

In a low voice, she said, “I really appreciate you helping me out. We’ll talk later, okay?”

“Sounds good,” I replied as other women began to join us. Grace made the introductions in rapid-fire order. I had to admit, they were a nice-looking group of women, and I felt positively dowdy being among them. I took special note when she introduced Janelle Best and Georgia Collier. Georgia looked a little like a fox, with long, thin features and small eyes, while Janelle was fuller in both face and figure. Neither one of them looked like a potential murderer, but then again, it had been my experience in the past that I could never tell what a killer was supposed to look like.

“Oh, and this is my sister, Celia,” Nicole said. As I shook her hand, I couldn’t help but compare her unfavorably to Nicole. Celia was washed out somehow, a faded image of her sister’s beauty, just a shade short of pretty. She carried more weight than any of the other women there, including me, and her hair was a shade of dirty blonde that lacked any kind of luster at all. Suddenly I didn’t feel quite so plain anymore.

“Where’s Hank?” Grace asked Nicole.

“Late, as usual,” she replied when we heard a commotion in the lobby. A man was speaking at the top of his voice, and most of the women looked hesitantly toward the restaurant door. “It appears that he made it after all.”

A tall, heavyset man with thick brown hair joined us, a frown on his face. “What’s this nonsense about putting me in a cottage, Nicole?” he asked her as he walked toward us.

“They’re the nicest accommodations in the resort,” she said, “but if you’d like to be moved to the main lodge, I’m sure that last-minute arrangements can be made. I should warn you that the rooms here are substantially smaller, though, and with no real housekeeping, you’ll have to take care of cleaning yourself.”

“No, that’s fine. I’ll stay out in the boondocks, if that’s the way you set things up. You’re out there as well, I suppose?”

Nicole nodded. “You’ve got one cottage, my sister and I have another, Grace and Suzanne have one, and Georgia and Janelle are sharing the last one. Given the short staff here at the resort, they felt that we’d all be happier with our own cottages.”

Hank looked at Georgia and Janelle and grinned, though there was no humor in it at all. “Doubling up, are you?”

“Nicole asked us if we wouldn’t mind, given the short staffing issues,” Janelle said. “We were happy to do it.”

“It’s fine,” Georgia added.

“Surprise!” a woman announced as she burst into the dining room.

She hurried toward Nicole, who frowned for just a moment. “Dina, what are you doing here?”

“I thought I’d take a chance on getting a room and driving up on my own,” the bottle blonde said. “You made it sound so lovely that I couldn’t resist. Surely there’s room for me here as well.” She looked around before adding, “This place is massive.”

“I’m not sure that they can accommodate you,” Nicole said, and then she introduced the woman to us en masse. “This is Dina Harmon, everyone.”

“Hello one and all,” Dina said. She had a big personality, and it was pretty clear that Nicole not only hadn’t been expecting her, but she wasn’t all that pleased by her presence.

“Well, now that we’re all here, let’s get down to business, shall we?” Hank asked. Then he turned to me, Celia, and Dina. Evidently the others had ignored the plus-one part of the invitation. “If you ladies will excuse us, we have some business to attend to before we begin the other activities.”

Nicole frowned again. “Activities? I hadn’t planned anything for us as a group.”

“No worries on that front. I’ve already handled it,” Hank said, giving her a sharp-eyed look that dared her to defy him. He might not be able to fire her because of their recent relationship, but clearly he wasn’t above throwing his weight around as her direct supervisor.

Nicole shrugged, and Grace looked at me apologetically. “Here, Suzanne. Take the packet. It’s got our keys in it.”

“Sorry, but you’ll be needing that as well,” Hank said.

Grace looked at him and smiled, but I knew it lacked any hint of sincerity. As she dug out my key, she whispered, “Sorry about this.”

“No worries,” I said as I took it and, along with Celia and Dina, left them to it.

I decided to linger in the main quarters before I went off in search of the Hemlock cottage. I found a bulletin board behind glass that displayed photographs there from the 1920s and ’30s, along with menus, activity sheets, and registers from past seasons offering up the names of movie stars, titans of industry and politics, and even a few authors. There was a bookshelf near the fireplace that offered titles across the decades, and I browsed through a few before returning them to their places. There was a fire gently burning away in the hearth, and I was watching the flames when someone nearby spoke to me. “You’re Grace’s friend, right?”

Celia Thurman was studying me as though I were some kind of oddity. “That’s right, I am.”

“Are you two
together
?” she asked me. What kind of question was that? Then I realized that she was asking me if we were a couple.

“No, we’ve been best friends since we were kids. I’m married to the chief of police, and Grace is dating his lieutenant.” Celia didn’t seem all that interested in me after that, and I had to wonder if I’d already begun to bore her with my mundane life.

“How nice for both of you,” she said.

“Your sister seems really nice,” I said, watching her closely for some kind of reaction. “You’re lucky to have her.”

Celia was about to say something sharp when she stopped herself. “Lucky. That describes me to a tee. Yes, I don’t know what I’d do without Nicole watching out for me.” There was definitely a hint of anger in her voice, no matter how she might try to disguise it.

“I think Nicole is fabulous,” Dina said as she joined us.

“You two aren’t even friends anymore, Dina, and you know it. What are you doing here?” Celia asked her.

“What? That’s nonsense. What makes you say that?”

“You can drop the act. Nicole trusted you with her savings, and you lost most of it before she fired you as her financial advisor.”

“The market had a correction. There was nothing I could do about it,” Dina said, a slight crack appearing in her armor. “Besides, that was business. This is personal. Just because we had a slight hiccup in her account doesn’t mean that we stopped being good friends.”

“Maybe according to you, but that’s not the way Nicole tells it.”

“I’m sure you’re mistaken, Celia,” Dina said, trying her best to smile.

“You make me weary,” Celia said as she stood and left us without another word, heading for the bar.

“You’re not supposed to go in there,” Dina called out.

Celia just waved a hand in the air and continued anyway.

After a moment, Dina said, “She was always difficult, even as a child.”

“Have you known them that long?” I asked her.

“Oh, we’ve been friends forever. That’s why this little misunderstanding has troubled me so. I need the opportunity to make Nicole see that none of this was my fault, so I figured, what better way to talk her out of pursuing any legal action than to face her directly?”

“She’s suing you?” I asked.

“Nicole said it in the heat of the moment, but I’m sure that I’ll be able to smooth things over with her once I get the opportunity. So, what do you do for a living, Suzanne?”