Freezer I'll Shoot (A Vintage Kitchen Mystery) (13 page)

Jaymie had known Joel awhile, and never once had he expressed any interest in, or even any acquaintance with, sailing, but it wasn’t up to her to break that news to Heidi. “Well, good luck.”

“It’s been a couple of years since I sailed. I think I’ll need a refresher, some lessons or something. I asked the kid if he would take us out so I could see how she handles.” She glanced back at the guys. “He looked a little hesitant.”

“I don’t think he’s fond of sailing,” Jaymie said. “Robin—that’s the owner of the plumbing company that’s excavating the harbor; Sammy has worked for him all summer—said as much. His dad used to bully and berate him, and maybe that’s his only memory of sailing.”

“Aw, poor kid!” Heidi said, quick to empathize, as always. She picked Hoppy up and cuddled him against her cheek. “Why would any daddy do that to his ’ittle boy,” she said, her voice skirting dangerously close to baby talk territory. Hoppy, of course, loved it and wriggled, licking her face. She giggled.

“Heidi, if you guys are going back to the Dobrinskies to do anything—sign papers, or hand over money—can I come? I . . . I’d like to see the landscape work that Sammy has done.”

Her head cocked to one side, Heidi asked, “Why don’t you just ask to see his work?”

The straightforward approach; it had its merits. “I never thought of that until now.” The guys were coming toward them. She knew Heidi was eyeing her with curiosity, and she realized that Heidi was likely not up to speed on all the relationships, but it was too late to explain.

“Hey, sweetie, it’s all set,” Joel said, putting his arm around Heidi and squeezing, scruffing Hoppy’s head with his free hand. “We are the proud new owners of the
Sea Urchin
!”

“Congrats, Joel, on achieving your lifelong dream,” Jaymie said, her tone laden with sarcasm. “Didn’t you always talk about sailing the seven seas, or . . . something?”

He shot her a quelling look. “When I found out how much Heidi loves sailing, well . . . this seemed perfect. It’ll be a wedding present.”

A wedding present. Confused, Jaymie said, “From whom to whom?”

Will Lindsay glanced back and forth between the two of them, a question in his eyes. But Joel ignored her. As Heidi gently set Hoppy down, Joel turned to Sammy, who was pink with embarrassment and shifting from foot to foot. “If you were older, I’d buy you a drink to celebrate,” he said.

Heidi was about to speak, but Jaymie beat her to it. “Sammy, I’d like to talk to you about your landscape ideas, but I wondered if I could see what you and your mom did in your backyard? Just as a reference.”

“Uh, sure. Okay. I’ll let my mom know we’re coming.” He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and called home, hunching his shoulder and moving away from the group.

Too late, Jaymie realized how rude it was to blurt it out, like that. She had interrupted the celebration, and could have been more delicate in her approach. Should she even be butting in on his mother, especially given that she had lost her husband and was in mourning? Will Lindsay was staring at her as if she were a ghoul, and she shifted, uncomfortably aware of her lack of sensitivity. They hadn’t even had the funeral yet, for crying out loud. She felt bad, but the knowledge that someone had killed Urban Dobrinskie in her backyard—and was so far getting away with it—fueled her.

“I . . . I told her ab-bout selling the sailboat, and everything, and she said for you
all
to come over for lemonade.” Sammy slipped the phone back in his cargo pants pocket.

“Great,” Joel said. “I’d like to meet your mom, assure her we’ll take good care of the
Sea Urchin
.”

Sammy gave him a startled look. Jaymie surmised that his mom had little or nothing to do with the sailboat and couldn’t care less about it, except as a source of revenue for her boy to go to college. They all hustled off, an ill-assorted group—Will Lindsay went with them, probably feeling protective of Sammy, with such a group of ghoulish hangers-on—headed for a visit with a woman Robin had called “odd.”

It took only ten minutes to walk there. The Dobrinskie house was a white clapboard two-story, a little run-down, one of the bigger houses near the center of the island, close to the border between the Canadian and US sides of Heartbreak Island. It was on a hill, the walkway up to it punctuated with several runs of three or four steps with black-painted plumbing pipes as railings. Sammy raced up the steps and dashed ahead of them, into the house. Hoppy yapped and strained at the leash to follow. The rest of them followed at a more sedate pace, and were greeted at the door by Evelyn Dobrinskie.

Jaymie was startled by the difference in the woman she knew only from her brief encounter with her at Tansy’s Tarts. There she had been wan, pale and nervous. But now her cheeks were pink, and she was smiling as she held the door open and asked them to come through to the back garden. The big house echoed with their footsteps. They followed her through a dim hallway to a sunny, modern kitchen that smelled of fresh herbs, then out sliding doors to a garden.

The garden; Jaymie stared at it, her mouth open. Sammy had not done justice to his and his mother’s project. Up near the patio there was a normal kind of garden that held a tumult of flowers and herbs breathtaking in their variety. Dotted among the exotic were plants that Jaymie knew: rosemary beside geraniums, varicolored thyme accompanied by dwarf daisies, and assorted other herbs alongside more prosy flowers, and all interspersed with some plants Jaymie didn’t recognize.

But the vista that opened out below the patio area and beyond was enchanting. There was a gully, with steps down into it, and pathways cutting through sections that held a pagoda surrounded by leafy ferns. There was, partially shaded by overhanging bushes, a lovely water feature, the whole garden walled by casual-looking but beautifully planned rockery plants, interspersed by outcroppings of lichen-covered rocks.

“This is lovely,” Jaymie breathed, standing and staring, stupefied.

“Mom, this is Jaymie Leighton. She’s the one I was doing the garden sketches for.”

The woman turned knowing eyes toward her, and there was some fleeting expression of worry on her face. “We met at the bakery on . . . on
that
day.”

Joel and Will were talking, off to one side, but Will was watching her, Jaymie knew.

Heidi clapped her hands. “Oh, Sammy, this is lovely! I had no idea you were so talented!”

He flushed and shuffled his feet. Evelyn took Heidi by the arm and guided her around the garden. Jaymie, after tying Hoppy to a deck railing and stowing her noisy bag of enamelware under the table, followed in their wake, and Sammy trailed behind, punctuating his mother’s running commentary with his own explanations. They made an odd little train.

Upon returning to the patio area, Evelyn offered everyone cold drinks in the shade of the deck pergola. The day was heating up, and refreshment was welcome.

“So,” Evelyn Dobrinskie said, when everyone had a cold lemonade in their hands. Her voice seemed brittle, as if she were on the edge of cracking. “How about a toast to the memory of my husband? My
dear
, departed husband?”

Thirteen

T
HERE WAS AN
awkward silence; then everyone got that hearty “We’re uncomfortable but we’ll pretend not to be” expression and clicked glasses of lemonade. Hoppy, seeming to sense the tension in the air, looked around, his tail wagging intermittently, like a windshield wiper in a drizzle.

“Mom, that’s messed up.” Sammy shrugged and looked away.

Her expression softened. She reached over and caressed his shoulder, saying, “It’s okay, Sammy, we’re with friends. Everyone knows that your father and I didn’t . . .” She shook her head, tears gleaming in her pale eyes.

Robin’s comment on Evelyn’s “oddness” came back to Jaymie. How many people would make that kind of a toast with virtual strangers? Did that qualify as “odd” behavior? And she had called them “friends.” Did that mean she had no real friends, or was she being facetious?

Sammy said, his voice taut with strain, “Just let it go, willya?” He scuffed at the deck with his Adidas, staring down at his feet the whole time.

“No one’s pretending he was a prince among men,” she said, an edge to her voice. Two spots of color bloomed on her cheeks, and a frown pulled her mouth down as tears formed in her eyes. “He could be an ass, and everyone on the island and in Queensville knew it.”

There was a moment of shocked silence.

“You must be looking forward to college, Sammy,” Heidi said quickly. “I mean . . . I know it’s a difficult time, but you are really talented.” She waved her hand over the garden, like a garden fairy sprinkling magic dust. “Your dad would have been proud.”

“I wouldn’t even be going to college, if D-dad was still here,” Sammy blurted out, then shut his mouth, his eyes wide, his gaze now fixed on his mother. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, drying without her so much as swiping them away.

“What do you mean?” Jaymie asked.

“N-nothing.”

“His father wanted him to go to business school, not college for landscaping, right, Sammy?” Will said. “He just wanted you to explore all your options, don’t you think?”

“What he
really
wanted was for Sammy to make a million dollars,” Evelyn said, harsh lines bracketing her pinched mouth. The salty tears were dry now, leaving faintly puckered trails down the fragile skin of her cheeks. The brilliant sunlight filtering through the top of the pergola made her look older than she was, and wan. She had been chipper, at first, but the turn of the conversation had left her bitter. “All he cared about was money. He made fun of Sammy for wanting to work with his hands, said no son of his was going to grub around in the muck for a living!”

“Mom!”

“It’s true,” she cried, her hands gripping each other on her lap, anguish throaty in her voice. “He tried to kill your talent!”

So Evelyn killed him, instead? How far would a mother go, especially one who was clearly abused by her husband? But this was not an unplanned crime, Jaymie thought, her gaze shifting from mother to son. Who was to say how long Evelyn’s anger had festered, though, and how it might have fueled a plot to kill her difficult husband. But would she then leave his body in a place where Sammy had been working? That didn’t make sense, unless there was some kind of message there.

Sammy hung his head, not meeting anyone’s gaze. It was one of those silent, intensely uncomfortable moments, and Joel pulled Heidi to him, circling her in his protective embrace.

“That’s why the morning after he died, I called the college up right away and made sure Sammy could get in for the fall semester!” Evelyn finally said, her voice softening as she gazed at her son.

The very morning after she had just learned her husband had been murdered? The same morning Jaymie saw her at Tansy’s Tarts looking like she was grief stricken?

“No one’s saying he was perfect, Evelyn,” Will Lindsay said, his tone soothing. “Urb was a tough nut to crack, but he meant well.”

“Don’t give me that,” Evelyn said, her cheeks pink. “He never saw anything but his own way, and if you thought differently, well . . .” She caressed her arm, where a faint bruise still colored the skin.

There was another longish silence. Hoppy begged for attention, and as Jaymie picked up her little dog, she began to wonder where both Evelyn
and
Sammy were on the night in question. As the wife and son of the victim, the police must be looking at them as possible culprits, but Jaymie had not seriously considered either. Sammy seemed too skinny to do such a heinous deed, and Evelyn too weak-willed, given Urban Dobrinskie’s hefty power and dominating will.

But she had seen for herself that Sammy was thin, but strong, a summer of hard physical work toughening him. And as far as Evelyn being weak-willed? There was a simmering anger burning in her. She may have accepted abuse as her due. But if Urb was denying his son the chance to go to the school of his choice for the career of his choice, how deep may a mother’s anger have gone?

“So, what do you think happened?” Jaymie asked, suddenly, looking around. She agitatedly scruffed her Yorkie-Poo’s tufted fur.

Silence, for another longish moment. Their uneasy little gathering seemed to be punctuated with awkward silences.

“Jaymie, no one wants to talk about that,” Joel admonished, frowning.

Heidi pulled away and straightened, sitting up tall. “I think maybe people do, Joel. You all must be terribly upset about it,” she said, gently, scanning the others. Her gaze lingered on Sammy and his mother. “It must be a little . . . frightening.”

“Frightening?” Evelyn asked.

“I mean, whoever did it must live on the island, right? And to have a killer right near you . . .” Heidi shuddered and huddled into Joel’s embrace again. “I’d be worried.”

“We never used to lock our doors at night,” Will said. “But we do now! My wife, Barb, is really upset.”

“I can’t believe I was so close to it all,” Jaymie said. “It scares the
heck
out of me.” She glanced between Sammy and his mom; Evelyn had gone even paler, and looked about ready to faint. “I’m sorry . . . We’re discussing all of this, and you . . .” She shook her head. “You’re still suffering the shock and loss. You were probably sleeping soundly in your bed, that night, not knowing what was going on.”

“Sammy was at a sleepover with his pals that night!” Evelyn said, her gaze defiant.

Hmmm, odd reaction. Unless Evelyn thought Jaymie was implying Sammy may have committed the murder. Was the sleepover story true? The boy had glanced at his mother with a furrowed brow.

“So you were all alone?” she asked Evelyn point-blank. “Was Urban at home and left? Or did he get any phone calls or anything that evening?”

There was a kind of collective gasp.

“Jaymie!” Joel said, giving her a disgusted look.

Okay, maybe she had gone too far in her consuming need to find out what had happened in her backyard that night. “I mean, that must be hard to remember,” Jaymie added, glancing around, “that you were alone when . . .” There was no way to continue that; she had boxed herself in, and Evelyn Dobrinskie would be within her right to ask her to leave. “I’m sorry,” Jaymie said, surprised by her emotion, her voice thick. How did cops do it, probe open wounds, expose people’s raw emotions, without getting tangled up in them? “It’s been a really difficult time, finding Urban like . . . like I did, but even more so for you, Evelyn, Sammy. I’m so sorry.”

Heidi put one hand on her arm. Jaymie glanced at her, grateful for her supportive gesture.

“You’ve had
your
share of dead bodies,” Evelyn said, her voice brittle. Her chin went up, in a combative expression. “Sherm says you’re a regular Jessica Fletcher.”

Will stared at Evelyn, his eyes wide. He had probably never seen his partner’s wife so outspoken as she had been today. How the worm had turned! “I, uh, have to go,” he said, standing and looking around at the rest of them. “I’ve gotta . . . do some things.”

“It must be a busy time, with no partner to help run the day–to-day business. Robin told me that Garnet Redmond is buying out the Dobrinskies’ share of the marina,” Jaymie said.

“He’s talking about it,” Will said, cautiously, glancing over at Evelyn. “We don’t know if that’s what Evelyn and Sammy want yet. I don’t want them to rush into anything. I really gotta go. I’ve got a customer coming to look at a boat.”

“Not the
Sea Urchin
, though, right?” Joel said, standing and thrusting out his hand.

“Nope. You guys and Sammy have a deal on that. We can’t do the paperwork until the will is probated, but as soon as that happens, I’ll let you know.” Will shook his hand, and said to Evelyn, “I’ll let myself out, okay?”

Joel turned to Jaymie and said, “We ought to leave these people be, and let them get back to . . . to whatever.”

“Sammy,” Jaymie said, turning to the teenager. “I like your sketches and plans, and we—my family and I—would like to work on it with you. My dad thinks it would be a good investment. Robin said he can spare you to work for a few days on the landscaping. Do you
want
to do that? I mean, I’ll understand if you don’t.” Given that his father had died right there, and that she had been a bit aggressive with his mother, it seemed even odds that he would turn down the work.

He exchanged a glance with his mom, who nodded, and he turned back to her. “I’d like to help. Will I be able to take photos along the way, so I can make a project out of it when I get to school?”

“Absolutely!” Jaymie said, sighing with relief. “You can take as many photos as you want.”

She trailed out after Joel and Heidi, lugging her shopping bag and accompanied by Sammy. Evelyn stayed behind, gathering glasses onto a tray. Sammy scooted ahead of them, guided them around the side of the house, and let them out a gate. Jaymie was wondering, all the while, about Evelyn’s assertion that Sammy was at a “sleepover.” Surely a guy in his late teens didn’t still do “sleepovers”? But maybe she meant he was hanging out at a friend’s place, and sacked out on his couch.

Or was that what he told his mother? Who knew her job site better than Sammy, who had been working on it for Robin? At that moment, something else occurred to her, and she stopped stock-still on the sloping lane. She eyed the teenager, as he talked to Joel and Heidi.

Means, motive, opportunity.

Who knew the plumbing job site, where Urban’s body was found? Robin, Garnet, Ruby and Sammy.

Who would gain from Urban’s death? Evelyn, Garnet (indirectly, if he was cheating in the sailing race) and Sammy.

And who had opportunity? Garnet and Ruby, if they were working together, but otherwise it would be risky for either of them to go it alone. Evelyn, if she was alone, as she appeared to be, but then there was the problem of knowing the site. And Sammy.

A terrible idea occurred to her. Had the intention been to
bury
Urban in her backyard, in the mud of the leaching field? Sammy would have known they were not finished yet, but he may have intended to bury Urban in a part of the site that would not be disturbed by the work. Was he interrupted midplan?

Sammy was the common thread, it seemed, among those with a motive to want Urban Dobrinskie dead, and those who had the means and opportunity. She thought of all the famous cases of the last twenty years of sons killing their fathers in a fit of rage, or sometimes coldly calculated fury. Abuse was a common thread in those trials, and she had an eyewitness account that Sammy was his father’s victim, in that sense.

It was more important than ever to find out what Sammy was up to that night, and the only way to do that was to get him to talk. As Heidi and Joel finalized their plans with the kid, Jaymie approached and said, “So, Sam, if I clear it with Robin, can you start tomorrow morning? My boyfriend is calling the company that provides him with sod, to see if they can bring it over here, but I should have asked first if you knew any suppliers that served the island.”

“Sure, I’d be happy to start tomorrow. There aren’t any sod suppliers on the island. If you want to use my plans, we’ll need to take measurements first, and then I can tell you how much you’ll need.” He seemed surer of himself away from his mother, more confident already, with his father out of his life.