Murder is Secondary: A Susan Wiles Schoolhouse Mystery Read online

  “I’ll call you tonight,” said Susan. She guessed she would have to explore Julie’s past on her own now.

  Chapter 38

  After the scare with Lynette earlier that day, Susan was having trouble falling asleep. She started thinking about the secrets Julie was keeping. If Julie had faked her own death, then whose identity was she using? Was there a real Julie Martin? If so, where was she? Was she dead? If Julie was capable of keeping her identity a secret for so long, perhaps she wasn’t as sweet and naïve as she seemed. Did she have anything to do with the death of the real Julie Martin?

  If Zachary posed a threat to her and Joey, that could have been a motive for murder. A mother will go to any lengths to protect her child. If Julie had something to do with the real Julie’s death, perhaps Zachary had found out and that would be an even stronger motive. And then there was Tank. Julie seemed like she really cared about him. How could she let him take the blame for a murder she committed?

  Susan must have eventually fallen asleep because the next time she looked, the alarm clock said 7:00 and the sun was out. Mike must be downstairs having breakfast, she thought. This may be a good time to tell him what I found out about my parents.

  “Good morning. I’m glad you finally fell asleep last night. You were tossing and turning something fierce,” said Mike. He scooped some scrambled eggs out of the frying pan and put them on a plate. “Do you want some? I can make more.”

  “No thanks. You have to get to work. I’ll sit down with you and have some coffee for now.”

  “Jason already called this morning. He knows we are early risers. Lynette is doing just fine. At the moment, she’s relishing the idea of lounging around in bed all day, but we know her better than that. It won’t be long until she starts feeling restless.”

  “I know, but she will put the baby’s wellbeing above everything else. You know that.” She swallowed hard. “Mike,” she hesitated. “Hey, there’s something I want to talk to you about,”

  “What is it? You look very serious all of a sudden. I know you’ve had a lot on your mind these days.”

  Susan took a deep breath. “I found out something shocking about my parents the other day.”

  “Shocking? Like what––your mom came from a line of Scottish royalty and abdicated the throne to marry your commoner father?”

  “Come on, Mike. Just listen.” She went on to tell him how she’d found the adoption papers in the safety deposit box.

  “That’s unbelievable. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? You must have been shocked. Why did you wait this long to tell me?”

  “I know. It’s just that I needed to get over the initial shock before I could talk about it. And you were so stressed about Tank.”

  “Did it say in the papers the names of your birth parents?”

  “No. It was a closed adoption. I don’t even know if the agency still exists and whether or not I even want to pursue this. What if I find out my parents were criminals or something?”

  “She was probably an unwed teen. Back in those days it was considered something to be ashamed of, being pregnant and unwed. Lots of times in those cases, parents sent their daughter away somewhere to have the baby, then it was given up for adoption. As far as anyone knew, the girl went on an extended trip to visit relatives or study abroad, then came back home like nothing had ever happened.”

  “You’re probably right. I don’t remember watching any Teen Mom reality shows on the three television stations we got when I was a kid, no siree.”

  “Lynette can probably help you find them. She has time on her hands now. I’ll bet she wouldn’t mind searching from her laptop or making a few phone calls.” Mike grabbed another cup of coffee.

  “Not yet. I can’t decide what I want to do. I need to think about it a while longer.”

  “Okay, then. You know I’ll support you whatever you decide. Did you tell Lynette yet?”

  “Yes. She said she’d help me if I decided I wanted to find them. I’m not sure what the point would be. They may very well be dead or if not, I’m sure they went on to have families of their own. How would their children react to this? It could turn a lot of lives into a tailspin.”

  “Hey, you might have brothers and sisters running around out there.”

  “Yeah, I hadn’t thought of that. Maybe I’m Angelina Jolie’s long lost sister or something.”

  “Yeah, you look so much alike.” Susan gave him a swat. “You know I meant that she would be jealous if she saw how beautiful her older sister was,” said Mike. Boy, thought Susan. I have trained this man well.

  “I’ve got to get to work but we can talk about this some more later. Love ya.”

  “Love you too,” said Susan.

  Chapter 39

  Dalia was finishing the breakfast she’d ordered from room service when her cell phone began vibrating on the table.

  “Oh, hi,” said Dalia. “Yes, me too. Things are going so much better now that he’s dead. Playing the grieving widow is harder than it seems though. Uh huh. I know. Teamwork. We’ll talk again soon.”

  Dalia ended the call and sat back in her chair. Then she walked over to the dresser drawer and took out Zach’s life insurance policy which Phillip had taken from Zach’s office safe. Sure enough, she was the sole beneficiary. Good thing he hadn’t had time to amend the policy after he realized that his son was still alive. As evil of an oaf as Zach was, he still would have felt an obligation to take care of his son financially. She knew him well enough to be sure of this.

  Chapter 40

  Susan couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to Julie than met the eye. Even after realizing that she had faked her own death to escape an abusive husband, Susan felt like she was hiding something else. There was obviously a secretive side to Julie, but was there also a sinister one? Could she have pushed Zach into the Jacuzzi and thrown the Boom Box in with him? Maybe knowing more about the real Julie Martin would shed some light on the situation. Was Julie a friend of Kaitlyn’s who’d agreed to help her out, or did Kaitlyn kill the real Julie Martin and steal her identity?

  She was scheduled to volunteer at the school today and was likely to run into Julie. If so, Susan would have a conversation with her––find out a bit about her life before Westbrook. She pulled on a dark wash pair of trouser jeans and a colorful crew neck sweater, then drove the short distance to the school.

  “Hi, Janet. I’m here to help.”

  “And not a minute too soon,” said Janet. “I’m having a heck of a time finding room on the shelves for all these new books that came in. I made a list of some outdated books that we can pull.”

  “I’ll get right to it,” said Susan. She got on her knees to start pulling from the bottom shelf when she recognized two familiar voices––Joey and Carolina. She remained hidden from view as they began their conversation.

  “Are you doing okay Joey?” asked Carolina.

  “Yes. An awful lot has happened in a short period of time, but in the end I’m back where I started. My father is dead. At least, I don’t have to go to the police since he’s no longer a threat. He would have killed my mother. You heard my mom––he killed Amber accidentally because he was trying to kill my mom. Mom said he’d abused her from the time they were married. We’ve only been safe these past years because he thought we were dead. As much as I didn’t like Amber, she didn’t deserve to be killed simply because she was wearing my mom’s yellow rain slicker. He had to be stopped.”

  “I feel so bad for Amber’s parents. They must miss her so much. She was an only child too,” said Carolina.

  “I feel guilty that I dissed her so much. Well, at least in a weird way, justice was served. Her killer is dead.”

  “Come on, here’s the book I need to check out. Let’s do that and get to class before we’re late.” Carolina and Joey left the library just as Julie came in.

  I wonder if Joey had it in him to kill Zach. After all, he had that paper under his bed with Amber’s name on it. And now his h
and was bandaged. She hadn’t noticed that at the shower. Maybe he isn’t the golden boy he appears to be, thought Susan. She got up and walked over to Julie.

  “That was a beautiful shower you gave Lynette,” said Julie. “It’s too bad that you had to find a dead body in the Jacuzzi the next morning––that must have been horrible––but aside from that, Lynette will always remember that night.” Susan was stuck by how nonchalant Julie’s tone was. She would have expected her to sound sad, angry––some kind of emotion when talking about the dead body.

  “Thanks. Did your parents throw you a shower when you were expecting Joey? Did they live near you back then?” asked Susan.

  “My parents were in New Jersey, but, no, they didn’t. Actually, my coworkers did.”

  “Schoolteachers throw good parties. I’ll bet it was great.” Susan watched closely for a reaction.

  Julie told her that she’d been a paralegal back then.

  “It was a lifetime ago.” Julie looked at her watch. “Got to get back to work.”

  As Susan watched Julie leave, she couldn’t help wondering why she would have given up her paralegal career for a teaching job. Unless the real Julie Martin was a teacher, thought Susan. That might be an avenue to explore. Susan sat at a vacant computer and looked at the New Jersey Department of Education website. She knew it was possible to look up a particular teacher’s license and areas of certification. Nothing came up under the New Jersey site. Maybe she lived nearby in New York, thought Susan. Susan knew lots of people who worked in the city but lived in New Jersey or even Connecticut.

  When she tried the New York State Department of Education site, she hit pay dirt. Julie Martin had received a teaching certificate in 1999. But this is weird thought Susan. If Julie was still working as a paralegal in 1999, she must not have had a teaching license yet. Stranger still, the certificate had been renewed two years ago. This Julie was working using the real Julie Martin’s teaching license.

  Susan left the school and decided to check up on Lynette––and perhaps get her help. She picked up food along the way.

  “Hi, Mom. Mmm, you got it. I smell egg rolls,” said Lynette.

  Susan handed her two paper bags. “Eggs rolls, and Baskin Robbins’ Quarterback Crunch ice cream.”

  “You’re the best. Want some?”

  “No thanks. I’m trying to be good. Dad has lost close to ten pounds already and I’ve gained two or three. I’ll sit with you though.” Susan poured herself a glass of water from the tap and brought a plate and eating utensils to the dining room table.

  “Lynette, I don’t want to stress you out with police matters, but I could use your help. I found out some things regarding Zach’s murder.”

  “Mom, I’m so bored that I won’t even chastise you for sleuthing without a license. Tell me.”

  “Well, first of all, Julie Martin was once married to Zach. He was an abusive husband. Julie somehow faked her own death and moved here with Joey fifteen years ago. Zach found out that she was still alive and came here after her.”

  “Mom, are you sure? How could you possibly know this?”

  “I overheard a conversation the night of the shower. I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop mind you. I just happened to be standing behind that giant oak we have when Julie and Dalia began talking.”

  “I didn’t realize they knew each other. We interviewed Julie. She never mentioned that she even knew Zach.”

  “I was surprised, but boy, I got an earful. Dalia had figured out that Zach’s first wife was still alive and that he had come to Westbrook to harm her. She had figured out that Julie was Zach’s first wife and must have told this to Julie sometime earlier.

  “That’s incredible. We questioned everyone who was at the shower that night but we had no reason to suspect Dalia or Julie. How did I miss that? How does this tie in with Zach killing Amber though? We still haven’t uncovered a motive.”

  “Zach had been following Julie. One night she was wearing a yellow rain slicker. When Zach came to the school that night, he saw a woman in a yellow rain slicker leaving out of the back door of Julie’s classroom. Amber was following the path Julie normally took to walk home. He was trying to kill Julie, but killed Amber by mistake.”

  “Oh my God, that’s awful.” Lynette shook her head. “I don’t know how to even begin explaining that one to Amber’s parents. She was killed by mistake? How horrible is that?”

  “I know. Well, at least we have a motive. In some way maybe that will help give closure to the Bernsteins.”

  “Mom, why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” Susan hated when Lynette used that scolding parent tone on her.

  “I didn’t want to upset you. I was starting to tell you at IHop the day you wound up in the emergency room,” said Susan. “Another thing. I was curious about the real Julie Martin so I searched and found that she was a teacher in New York. She had gotten her license in 1999. At that time, our Julie was working as a paralegal. I think she assumed Julie’s identity and her profession.”

  “Boy, you’ve been busy. If that’s true, the real Julie Martin is probably dead. They must have known each other.”

  “I know. And maybe Julie even killed the real Julie so she could escape Zach and even have a way of supporting herself and her son.”

  “Now that’s a bit of a leap, even for you Mom.”

  “In any case, I’m thinking that if we can maybe find Julie’s parents, we can find out what happened to her and whether or not she and our Julie were friends. Problem is, I need a real detective to help me find them.” Susan looked at Lynette with pleading eyes.

  “Oh, this is so against my better judgment.” She thought about it for a few minutes. “I can’t very well go and do it myself though.” She patted her stomach. Susan could practically see the wheels turning inside her daughter’s head. “Okay. I’ll look into it for you. I’d ask Jackson to investigate this, but he wouldn’t be happy that we are basing all this on a conversation my Mom heard while standing behind an oak tree at my baby shower.”

  “Yeah. I guess that sounds a little ridiculous.”

  “I’ll get back to you when I find something. Then we will bring Julie and Dalia in for questioning. That’s one giant motive. They are both primary suspects now.”

  “Oh, and one more thing.”

  “There’s more?” Lynette emphasized the word more.

  “Yes. Joey apparently heard the conversation also. I heard him talking to Carolina about it at the school media center.”

  “Mom….really?”

  “Anyhow, he was piping mad about his father surfacing and worried about his mother. He may have pushed Zach into that Jacuzzi to protect her. He has a temper––I’ve seen it myself. And he’s sporting a bandage on his right hand. Maybe he injured himself while pushing Zach into the Jacuzzi.”

  “I guess that gives us three prime suspects then. Good work, Mom.” Susan couldn’t believe Lynette actually said those words to her but she’d graciously accept the compliment.

  Chapter 41

  The next day, Lynette called with a home address and phone number for Julie Martin’s parents. They lived in Westchester County, only about an hour or so away. Susan debated calling them, but decided to jump into her Prius and drive there instead. It would be harder to close a door in someone’s face than it would be to simply hang up on them. That was her reasoning anyway. She came to an affluent neighborhood and soon found the house. She was nervous but anxious as she knocked on the door.

  “Hello, Mrs. Martin? My name is Susan Wiles. I’m a friend of an old friend of your daughter.” Mrs. Martin appeared understandably puzzled.

  “Then you know my Julie has been dead since 2001. What brings you here now? What friend?” Understandably, she sounded suspicious.

  “Her name is Kaitlyn Chichester,” said Susan. “I think maybe they worked together.”

  “Come on in.” Susan followed Mrs. Martin into the living room.

  “That name doesn’t sound familiar. It’s been a w
hile now though. Sometimes I have to remind myself that it’s been fifteen years. It seems like yesterday.”

  “I can imagine. I understand Julie was a teacher. Do you think Kaitlyn may have been a colleague?”

  “If you’re a friend of Kaitlyn’s, you should know the answer to that. Why didn’t you ask her?” said Mrs. Martin.

  Susan sensed that this conversation was about to end. She fidgeted on the couch as she summoned her creative muse. Think, Susan, think, she told herself. “Well, the thing is, Kaitlyn has gone missing and we’re looking for clues to her whereabouts. The first 24 hours are crucial you know. We found a picture in her apartment of her and Julie. It had a caption on the back.” Susan was at the same time ashamed and proud of herself for being able to conjure up a plausible story under pressure.

  “Oh my. If this Kaitlyn was able to escape from the towers, only to go missing fifteen years later, what a shame. Her poor parents must be beside themselves.”

  “The towers?” Did she hear her correctly? “What do you mean?” asked Susan. She replayed the words inside of her head, trying to comprehend them.

  “911. Julie died during the 911 attack. She worked in one of the towers.”

  “I’m so awfully sorry.” Susan swallowed and tried to digest this shocking piece of information.

  “Thanks. It doesn’t get any easier. People say it does with time but the more time passes, the longer it’s been since I’ve been able to hear her voice or give her a hug. I miss her so much.”

  “That has to be horrible. I can’t imagine losing a child like that. My mom died recently. That’s difficult enough but at least she had had a chance to live out her life.”

  “The worst thing is that they never even found her remains. The explosion was so forceful, they say two out of three bodies were beyond being able to identify. We had a memorial service but it’s not the same as putting her to rest with a proper burial. I feel like I never got to say goodbye.”