Christmas In Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 4) (9 page)

The borrowed deputy jotted down some notes. Tj hoped the pause in his questioning meant that he was wrapping things up.
He went so far as to put his pen back into his shirt pocket before he asked the next question.

“And when did you first notice that Mr. Elston was missing?”

Tj glanced at Hunter. She hoped he could see the desperation in her eyes and would back her up if she strangled the man.

“Shortly before J
enna left to look for him,” Tj answered. “He was talking to his mother, and then Captain Brown came in to tell him that he needed to respond to a call, and Dennis walked him out. I didn’t see him again after that, so I assume Jenna found him and they went to talk. Do we have to go over all of this again? I’m beyond tired.”

The borrowed deputy
hesitated before replying. “I guess I can interview you again at another time if you agree to two stipulations.”

“Anything.”

“One, you don’t leave the area, and two, you stay out of this investigation.”

Tj looked shocked that he’d say that.

“Your reputation precedes you, Ms. Jensen. Do we have a deal?”

Tj hesitated. Could she agree to th
at? Dennis needed her. Jenna needed her.

“Well?”

“Okay, I agree.”

“Fine
; then you’re free to go.”

After the borrowed deputy left, Kyle and Hunter helped Tj store the leftover food in the large refrigerator in the Grill; no use wasting what amounted to hundreds of dollars’ worth of perfectly good food. Tj called her dad, who informed her that Doc, who was a retired coroner who occasionally helped out when the county needed him, Jake, a retired doctor and the founder of Serenity Community Hospital, and Bookman, a famous author and town council member, were using their connections to get any information they could on both the victim and the suspect. Tj had left numerous messages on Jenna’s phone, but so far she hadn’t called back. Tj’s heart bled for her.

“This whole thing is surreal,” Kyle commented as he covered the untouched pies with plastic wrap.

“I know it looks like Dennis killed Bob, but I can’t bring myself to believe he would actually hurt
anyone
,” Tj said.

“Maybe he didn’t,” Hunter counter
ed. “There were thirty people in the building. I suppose anyone in attendance had the opportunity to kill the man.”

“Yeah, but who else would
want
to kill Bob?” Tj asked.

“There was something really off about that guy,” Kyle
said. “Maybe he had enemies we don’t know about.”

“In Serenity? Among our friends and family?” Tj questioned.

“I guess it’s unlikely that one of the other guests did it,” Kyle admitted. “Still, I find that I’m curious about the real Bob King.”

“Maybe you should dig around,” Hunter suggested.

“I promised I wouldn’t,” Tj reminded him.

“True
, but Kyle didn’t. How about it? Want to see what you can pull up on the man behind the phony smile?”

Kyle
grinned. “Actually, I would.”

“Why don’t you go ahead and head over to the house
? Tj and I will finish up and then join you. Maybe we can figure this out without getting Tj in trouble for breaking her promise to the deputy. I hate to admit it, but he seems about as clueless as they come.”

“I know. Did you
hear how he kept asking the same questions over and over?” Tj commented.

“While repetition is an interrogation tactic
, I think he just forgot what he’d already asked,” Hunter agreed.

“And see if you can find out what happened to Jenna,” Tj instructed Kyle as he put on his coat to head over to the house.

“So how are you holding up?” Hunter pulled Tj into his arms for a tight hug after Kyle left.

“I’m hangin
g in. I just feel so bad for Jenna and Dennis. And poor Bonnie. Bob seemed like a real jerk, but she seemed to care for him. She must be devastated.”

Hunter kissed Tj on the forehead and then took a step back
to return to his job of wrapping leftovers to store them in the commercial refrigerator in the Grill. “And how are things going with Uncle Jordan?” he asked.

“
Great. He’s really good with the girls and they seem to love him already. I just hope the guy is as genuine as he seems. I have to be honest: I’m still having a hard time relaxing about the whole thing.”

“Understandable. Do you want to save the leftover veggies? They might make good soup.”

“Save everything unless it’s perishable and has been sitting out for an extended period,” Tj suggested. “I’ll let Kallie sort out what to save and what to toss.”

“I think
we should call time of death on these wontons,” Hunter said. “The cream cheese filling might have gone bad by now.”

“I really am glad you were here today,” Tj
said. “That borrowed deputy seemed like he was going to be a real problem until you stepped in and organized things.”

“Happy to help
.” Hunter smiled.

“Do you remember that Thanksgiving when we were seniors in high school?”

“I talked you into coming to my house to meet my aunts and uncles, who were visiting from Boston.”

“Hands down the worst Thanksgiving of my life up to and including this one,” Tj declared.

Hunter laughed. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Really? Your mom spent the entire afternoon pointing out every one of my faults, real or imagined, to
anyone and everyone who would listen. You were so busy watching football with your dad and uncles that you didn’t even notice. Chelsea was upstairs pouting all afternoon because some guy she had invited didn’t show, and I was left alone in the wolves’ den with your mom and aunts.”

“I’m really sorry
.” Hunter sounded sincere. “I guess I wasn’t a very good boyfriend back then.”

“You weren’t
that
bad,” Tj said. “You just had blinders on when it came to the fact that your mom hated me from the moment we started dating.”

“She didn’t hate you.”

Tj rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me that after everything she’s done to keep us apart you still believe that? The woman broke us up!”

Hunter stopped what he was doing and came across the room to where Tj was standing. He took her hand in his and turned so that he faced her. “My mistakes were my mistakes. I was young and immature
, and I freely admit I was a jerk. Yes, my mom wanted to see me marry someone she considered to be in our ‘social class,’ but in the end I was the one who let you go. I’ve regretted it every day since. If I get another chance with you, I promise I won’t let that happen again.”

Tj wanted to say something
, but she honestly had no idea what it was. She’d loved Hunter ever since she’d met him, but he’d hurt her, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to trust him with her heart again.

“It looks like we
’re done here,” Hunter announced. “How about we go find out what, if anything, Kyle might have discovered?”

“Yeah, okay. You get the lights and I’ll lock the back door.”

Hunter and Tj walked through the snow from the activities room to the house. It was snowing hard enough that the walkways Mike had shoveled were covered with fresh powder.

“The house looks nice,” Hunter
said.

Her dad and grandpa had begun the holiday decorating by stringing lights along the eaves
.

“It’s a start. You should see the plans
Grandpa has for the rest of the resort. It’s really going to be like living in Santa’s Village.”

“Santa’s Village is one of my favorite places
.” Hunter grinned.

Tj smiled back. “Mine too.”

They had first gotten together at Santa’s Village. Hunter, as football captain, and Tj, as cheerleading captain, had been selected to play Mr. and Mrs. Claus at the annual team fund-raiser. At first, neither had wanted to do it, but by the end of the evening their status as a couple had been firmly in place.

Tj hung up her coat as the pair entered
the house through the kitchen. Each placed their wet boots in the mudroom and slipped on a pair of the heavy socks her grandfather kept laundered and available for whoever might need something warm for their feet. Tj tossed another log on the kitchen fire before joining the others in the living area of the large home.

“So what have we learned?” Tj asked.

“Dennis has been charged with first-degree murder and Jenna has been charged as an accessory,” Kyle informed the newcomers.

“Jenna is in jail?”
Tj exploded.

Echo ran to her side
, looking at her anxiously. It was obvious he sensed her distress but didn’t have a clue as to the cause.

“It’s okay,” Tj assured him. She scratched his head and then asked him to lie down. “What happened?” she asked in a much calmer tone of voice.

“I guess when the deputies showed up they went to the house looking for Dennis. Jenna told them that he wasn’t there,” Kyle answered.

“
Oh God. She lied to protect him,” Tj realized.

“If she lied to protect him
, she must have thought he was guilty,” Kyle pointed out. “It really does look like he might have done this.”

“Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t.
Maybe Jenna just panicked when she realized that something was going on and the cops were looking for her husband. Either way, we have to get her out of jail.”

“I’m ready to post bail the minute they set
it,” Kyle assured her. “The problem is that since it’s a holiday weekend, they’re saying bail won’t be set until she can see the judge on Monday.”

“We can’t leave her there until Monday,” Tj insisted.

“I’ll call Judge Harper,” Hunter volunteered.

“Already did,” Jake joined in. “He
’s no longer a sitting judge, but he’s going to use his influence to see what he can do.”

Tj put her hands over her face as she sank into the sofa behind her.
Echo put his head in her lap and she mindlessly scratched him behind the ears. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Don’t worry
.” Her dad sat down next to her and put his arm around her. “We’ll figure this out.”

Tj looked around the room. The people she trusted most to do just that were all
there: her dad, her grandfather, Bookman, Doc, Jake, Kyle, and Hunter. If she were going to assemble a team to help her help Jenna and Dennis, this was exactly who she’d call on.

“Has anyone called Helen?” Tj
asked.

“No, it didn’t occur to us,” her dad
said.

“I’
ll do it right now.” Tj dialed Helen’s home number and waited. Poor Helen was going to freak when she found out Jenna was in jail. The entire situation was insane.

“
Hello?” said a deep, masculine voice.

“Jordan?” Tj asked when someone who sounded exactly like their guest answered Helen
’s phone. “What are you doing at Helen’s?”

“
The girls were pretty hysterical by the time Helen rounded them up to take them home, so I offered to help out. It took a while, but we managed to get them to bed. I thought about calling a cab and heading back to the resort, but Bren and Helen are kind of hysterical themselves, so I decided to stay for a bit. Have your heard from Jenna?”

Jordan was calming down hysterical
women and children?
Somehow the image of the huge and formidable man comforting them didn’t fit. Still, the girls seemed to love him, and he did have a way about him that let you know he was in control of a situation. Maybe he was the perfect man for the job. Tj decided to fill in Jordan and let him break the news to Helen. He was handling things well to this point, and he’d been in combat. He could certainly handle one tiny, hysterical woman.

“And the worst part is that since it
’s a holiday weekend, we’re being told Jenna’s bail won’t be set until Monday,” Tj finished.

“I can stay here as long as I need to
,” Jordan assured Tj. “If there’s anything more I can do, just let me know.”

“Okay, that
’s actually very helpful.” Tj hung up.

“Did Jordan say anything about Bonnie?” Ben asked.

“I forgot to ask. No one has heard from her?”

Everyone confirmed that they hadn’t.

“Maybe I can get hold of Tim or Roy. If I can catch them when they aren’t within hearing distance of their new boss, they’ll probably fill me in on what’s going on.”

After leaving several messages
, Tj did finally get hold of Roy while he was driving home for the night. When she asked about Bonnie, his answer sent a chill of fear to the very core of her being.

“What do you mean
, she’s missing?” Ben asked after Tj had hung up with Roy and begun filling in the men in the room. “I thought she left with one of the deputies.”