Murder is Secondary: A Susan Wiles Schoolhouse Mystery Read online

  Susan went searching for Misty. She went down the hall and found Joey’s bedroom. She knew that Johann and Ludwig liked hiding under the bed when strangers came over so she figured maybe this cat felt the same way. As she cooed to the cat, she got down on the floor. Boy, she thought, I’d better get in some yoga classes before I start crawling around with my grandbaby. Getting down on the floor wasn’t as easy as it used to be. She lifted up the dust ruffle and peered under the bed. The cat wasn’t there, but she did find something notable––something unexpected––something that might just be a motive for murder.

  Her knee creaked as she held onto the bed and stood up holding this new piece of evidence. It was a thick, stapled science report. She recognized the topic––Utilizing a Saliva-Based Screening Test to Determine the Likelihood of Developing Type 1 Diabetes. That was the project Joey had won the science fair with. It would make sense that he’d have a copy stashed under his bed, except there was something wrong with this picture. The name on the front cover was Amber Bernstein. Was it possible that Joey had actually stolen Amber’s report and claimed it as his own? He’d never do that––or would he? Amber had insisted repeatedly that Joey had stolen her work. Maybe he had killed her to keep her quiet. After all, Susan didn’t know much about Joey. And the picture on the fridge––Joey had been building houses with Habitat for Humanity. He could have learned how to drive a bulldozer while volunteering.

  She’d have to bring this to Lynette’s attention. But how was she going to explain being under Joey’s bed? She really hadn’t set out to snoop. She’d been looking for Julie’s cat when she happened to find Amber’s report. Lynette wasn’t going to believe her, no siree. Lynette would accuse her of snooping again. Maybe she’d have to look into this on her own. She remembered that she still hadn’t found the cat.

  Next, she checked Julie’s bedroom. The cat wasn’t on the bed. The bathroom door was open so she peeked in there. She didn’t find the cat, but couldn’t resist opening the medicine cabinet. Hmmm, she thought. Now I know everyone looks in medicine cabinets when given the opportunity. She found a bottle of Advil, floss, and a box of brown hair color. She wondered why Julie would be coloring her hair. And why would she choose this color? Susan had always thought Julie’s skin was awfully fair in contrast to her dark locks. Maybe she was starting to turn gray. God knows, thought Susan, those grays can be pretty stubborn to cover. This had been a very interesting day.

  Suddenly the cat came running into the bedroom, using the bed as a trampoline en route to the top of the dresser. Susan nearly jumped out of her skin. “There you are Misty. There’s fresh food and water inside. Glad to see you are just fine.” Susan gave the white cat a scratch between her ears, then locked the front door and headed home.

  Chapter 21

  “Phillip, what are you doing here?” said Dalia. Zach had left for a poker game and Dalia was enjoying a quiet evening at the Rocking Horse Ranch when there was an unexpected knock at the door.

  “First of all, I missed you,” said Phillip. He embraced Dalia and gave her a long, wet kiss. “Secondly, we have things to talk about. Our plan is going to fall apart if Zach stays in Westbrook doing who knows what, while he ignores our paying clients back home in Saddle River.”

  “I can’t figure out what he’s up to,” said Dalia. “He’d never even mentioned Westbrook––not even once. Do you think he has a clandestine client here? Maybe he’s keeping it from you so he can pocket the fees without sharing them.”

  “Now Dalia, Zach and I are partners. We share everything. We would never keep secrets from each other.” Both he and Dalia laughed from the pits of their bellies. “How’s he treating you? Has he touched you since he gave you that gash on your chin last month?”

  “I’m fine. He won’t hurt me now. I have a secret weapon to protect me. Well, maybe not a secret anymore. Let’s just say Zach won’t dare lay a finger on me now.” Dalia was startled when she heard the door unlocking. To her surprise, Zach stepped into the room. She flinched involuntarily.

  “Phillip? What are you doing here?” said Zach. He stressed the word you.

  “I came to get you back to New Jersey. You’re abandoning your clients and I can’t run the firm single-handedly. I don’t understand how you could pick up and skip town without saying a word to me or your clients. What on earth are you doing here in this town? This doesn’t appear to be a thriving real estate mecca if you ask me.”

  “I have important business here that I can’t talk about. Trust me. I’ll be back as soon as I wrap things up here. I’ll send out an email to my clients.”

  “What clients? The ones who showed up for appointments didn’t understand why they were the only party at the meetings they’d arranged with you. Some of them left in a huff and cancelled their contracts. You’re destroying the firm. You’re being extremely selfish right now.”

  “I told you I have things to take care of. I’ll be back when I get back.”

  “Maybe there won’t be anything to come back for,” said Phillip. He slammed the door and walked out.

  “You’re ruining my life as well,” said Dalia. “What am I supposed to live on if you destroy the company? I haven’t held a job since we got married, all at your insistence. How could you be so irresponsible?”

  Zach took a step forward as if he was about to punch her, but he stopped himself.

  “Good boy,” said Dalia. “You’re learning the art of self-restraint.”

  “Shut up, Dalia. This respite is only temporary. You’ll get everything that’s owed you––all in good time.”

  “How was your poker game? Making friends here already, aren’t you?”

  “It was good to be away from here for a while.” He took off his boots, then grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the mini bar. “By the way, Mike invited us over for dinner Saturday night. His wife was concerned that you’d be bored sitting alone in the hotel room while I was hard at work.”

  “That’s so sweet,” said Dalia. She was genuinely surprised that there were caring people left in this world. It was true that she couldn’t stand staring at the walls for another minute. “I’d love to go.”

  “I’ll tell him we’ll be there. Meanwhile, I’m going down to the lounge. Don’t wait up.”

  “Don’t worry, I won’t,” said Dalia. She tried to read her novel, then flipped through the TV stations. She needed something to keep her occupied. Then she noticed that Zach had left his phone on the desk. Spying on that old bag of wind is usually interesting, she thought. She looked up his recent search history and found a search for the name of his first wife––Kaitlyn Chichester. There was an obituary from fifteen years ago. What brought that up? Then there was a google search for an address here in town. She copied down the address and stuck it in her purse for future reference.

  Chapter 22

  Susan checked the chicken parmesan and gave the pasta a stir. Mike was setting the table for six, using the vintage china that Susan had inherited from her mother. Susan missed her Mom. Alzheimer’s had been slowly pulling her away from Susan for many years but there was a finality to death that couldn’t be underestimated.

  “The table looks elegant,” said Susan. “Mom kept these dishes safely tucked away in the china cabinet. We used them only on holidays and for special occasions.”

  “It sure does add some class to the table. We will have to make a point of using it more often,” said Mike.

  “That reminds me. I’ll have to stop by the bank next week. I need to close out Mom’s account.”

  Susan had decided to invite Lynette and Jason for dinner as well. Zach already knew Jason from their poker games, and Zach’s wife was more or less Lynette’s age. Susan was looking forward to a pleasant evening. Lynette and Jason arrived first.

  “Hi, honey. You look beautiful,” said Susan. “Hi, grandbaby,” she said as she bent down and addressed Lynette’s baby bump. “You look beautiful too,” she told Jason. She ruffed up his sandy blond hair, knowing he wouldn’t
be able to relax until he looked in the mirror and combed it. She and Mike were always teasing him about being such a ‘pretty boy.’

  “Glad you could come,” said Mike. “Mom’s making her chicken parmesan. I haven’t eaten real food in weeks.”

  “Well, you’re looking good, Dad. I can tell you’ve lost weight,” said Lynette. “What a scene we had at the station this afternoon. Amber Bernstein’s father was in yet again, screaming about getting even with Tank and suing the police department. He’s pushing to have the trial moved up. We still don’t have any good leads. Tank remains the prime and pretty much––only––suspect.”

  “Let’s have a seat,” suggested Mike.

  “Lynette, I didn’t want to say anything until I had a chance to investigate further, but I think Joey Martin may not be as innocent as we thought.”

  “Investigate further?” said Lynette. “What were you planning on doing? Bugging his house, setting up a surveillance camera, or maybe wearing a wire and getting him to confess?”

  “See, Lynette. That’s why I didn’t say anything right away.”

  “Spill it, Mom.”

  “Well, Julie had asked me to feed her cat while she and Joey were at the cross country finals. She knows I love cats and she trusted me to watch Misty.”

  “Go on. Just the facts, Mom.”

  “Well, first I saw a photo on Julie’s fridge of Joey volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. There was a bulldozer in the background of the picture. Maybe Joey has had experience driving a bulldozer after all.”

  “That’s interesting, but we don’t know that for sure,” said Lynette.

  “Also, I found a report under his bed. It was on the topic he won the science fair with. The only thing is, it had Amber’s name on it.”

  “I’ll skip right over the part about you looking under Joey’s bed. We have no idea why he had that report.” She paused. “It could be that Amber was taunting him by putting her name on his work.”

  Dalia and Zachary arrived. Mike made the introductions while Susan brought out canapés and a bottle of wine.

  Lynette grabbed the wine glasses.

  “Can I pour you some wine?” Lynette filled Zach’s glass, but Dalia put her hand over the top of hers.

  “No thanks. Just water for me,” said Dalia. She turned to Lynette. “So when are you due?”

  “The end of November. Not much longer to go.”

  “You know,” said Susan, “we’re going to have a baby shower for Lynette in a few weeks. We’d love to have you and Zach come. You know, in my day, baby showers were just for us hens, but nowadays men are included too. It’s nice, don’t you think? How dads take so much more of an interest in the whole pregnancy thing?”

  “I beg to differ,” said Mike. “Who made you grilled cheese sandwiches in the middle of the night when you had cravings? Who spent four hours at the baby store trying to pick out a comforter set?”

  “Well, you were the exception.” Susan gave Mike a kiss on the cheek. “That’s one of the reasons I married you.”

  The food was ready and Susan ushered her guests into the dining room.

  “Yum,” said Zach. “I sure do love home cooking. Not that I get any, even when I’m at home. Dalia’s idea of home cooking is popping a Lean Cuisine into the microwave.”

  “Well,” said Susan. “I don’t cook like this every night. Sometimes I’m just too busy enjoying retirement.”

  “At least you earned it. You did work full time for many years, didn’t you? Mike said you were a teacher. Dalia here just sits home and relaxes all day long.”

  Susan saw Dalia shoot him the evil eye. Susan detected more anger than hurt in Dalia’s expression.

  She was glad that Dalia wasn’t buckling under to her husband’s malevolence.

  “Behind every successful man is a strong woman,” said Lynette. Jason nodded in agreement and squeezed Lynette’s hand.

  “So how do you spend your days?” asked Lynette.

  “I’m a real estate developer. I’m in town overseeing the construction of the new housing development that’s going up behind the high school,” replied Zach.

  “So, you’re out there behind the school most days? Hands on supervision?” said Susan.

  She couldn’t wait to hear his response.

  “That’s right. Out there in the trenches, making sure things are being done right.”

  Susan knew he was lying. The guys at the construction site had never even heard of Zach. She wondered what his game was.

  “So, how about those Jets?” said Mike, changing the subject.

  “Oh, no. Dallas Cowboys all the way,” said Zach.

  “Why the Cowboys? Are you originally from Texas?” asked Jason.

  “Born and raised,” said Zach. “My Dad was a cattle farmer. I grew up on a ranch. Been a Cowboys fan since before I could walk.”

  Susan and Lynette began to clear the table. They put the china in the sink and Susan took the apple pie out of the refrigerator.

  “Let’s not tell Mr. Chauvinist out there that I bought this at Safeway,” said Susan.

  “Yes,” said Lynette, “after all, you’re retired and sit around all day doing nothing. You had plenty of time to pick fresh apples off the tree, ground your own fresh cinnamon, and whip up some fresh cream for the topping.” Susan loved Lynette’s sarcastic side––when it wasn’t being directed toward her.

  “There’s something sinister about that man,” said Susan. “You know, he’s lying about being at the construction site. I went out there to invite him over tonight and the guys at the site had never even heard of him.”

  “There’s definitely something shady about him,” replied Lynette. “Did you notice those expensive Italian boots? How shiny they were? He hasn’t been wearing those to any construction site. And who packs multiple boots for a business trip? You know that’s what those construction workers wear.”

  “Like minds think alike,” said Susan. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  “I’ll get to the bottom of this if there’s anything other than the fact that he’s a lying jerk. By the way, how’s that baby blanket coming along?”

  Lynette and Susan brought in the pie and coffee and sat back down at the table. “So, Lynette,” said Zach, “are you going to continue working after the baby is born?”

  “I’ll take a little time off, but we can’t afford to be a one income family. Besides, my job is part of my identity,” answered Lynnette. “I just hope I can find a daycare center that meets my expectations.”

  “Do you have child care at the police station?” asked Zach. “It’s very convenient when you can take the baby with you.” Susan was surprised that he’d even known on-site daycares existed.

  “Oh,” she said. “Do you and Dalia have children?” She had assumed they didn’t.

  “Dalia and I? Heavens, no. I did have a son, but he died when he was very young,” said Zach. “His mother used to take him to the preschool at her work site.”

  “I’m so sorry,” said Susan. She felt a fleeting twinge of empathy for the man.

  “Don’t be. It was a long time ago. I’m over it now.” He shuffled in his seat. “That pie looks delicious. See Dalia. Some women actually know how to bake pies.” Zach lifted his shirt and programmed something into a small machine which was no bigger than a deck of cards. “It’s my insulin pump,” said Zach. “I’ve had type 1 diabetes practically my whole life.”

  “I didn’t know,” said Susan. “We have some sugar-free ice cream in the freezer.”

  “This will be just great,” said Zach as he grabbed a slice of pie. “It’s a fallacy that diabetics can’t eat sugar. That’s what the pump is for.”

  “You know, one of the boys at Westbrook High developed a simple test for detecting the likelihood of developing diabetes,” said Susan. “He even won a big award for it.”

  “Zach, didn’t we see that on Sixty Minutes?” asked Dalia.

  “Yes, we did. Must be one brilliant boy to h
ave come up with that.” Zach smiled.

  “Zach, maybe we should be getting back to the Ranch. It’s getting late. Lynnette looks sleepy. I guess pregnancy does that to you,” said Dalia. They left followed by Jason and Lynette. Susan closed the door behind them. She was pretty worn out herself and couldn’t wait to crawl into bed.

  Chapter 23

  Susan kissed Mike goodbye and nursed a second cup of coffee while reading the newspaper. Johann was curled up at her feet. She could hear Ludwig using the scratching post in the living room. An article in the newspaper caught her eye. It said that Amber Bernstein’s father was in the process of suing the school board over the sexual harassment case. He insisted that the school should have gotten rid of Tank when they found he’d been previously accused of sexual harassment, and that Tank’s teaching license should have been revoked. Again, Bernstein vowed to get even with his daughter’s killer.