Black Beans & Vice (30 page)

He found Jane standing in front of the kitchen sink, staring
out the window into the back yard. "How'd it go?" he asked.

She sighed. "You can cross Donna Woodman off your suspect
list. She really loved her husband and is genuinely grieving." She
pointed at the gold fir tree on the counter. "That belonged to Ned, but it wasn't a charm for a necklace or a bracelet. Donna had it
made for his key chain."

"So the two deaths must be connected! When Ned's killer came
after Tia he must have dropped the charm. It was pretty dumb of
him to have kept it in the first place." James picked up the shiny
tree. "Did Donna mention the Wellness Village at all?"

Jane looked surprised. "Funny you should say that! When I
asked her about the masseuse she visits there, she started crying.
She thinks Ned was having an affair with someone who worked in
the Village. She was going to confront him about it the day of the
Food Festival, but Ned was killed before she had the chance."

James blinked. "An affair?" He recalled how anxious Ned had
seemed before his death. "How did Donna come to that conclusion?"

"His landscaping company took care of the mowing and fertilizing for the complex-apparently, they're the only organic landscaping company in the area-but Donna said Ned went there
way too often. She'd drive by and see his truck parked in the Village's lot during odd hours."

"Couldn't Ned have been a client? Maybe he was seeing Harmony or Roslyn or even the acupuncturist, but wanted to keep it
a secret?" James didn't know why he was playing devil's advocate,
but he felt compelled to do so.

Jane frowned. "I said `odd hours.' We're talking after closing
time, honey. If he was the acupuncturist's client, for example, then
he was getting X-rated services after she put away her hot needles!"

"Oh, I see." James fell silent. Mechanically, he loaded the lunch
plates into the dishwasher. He then opened a liter of Coke Zero and poured a glass over crushed ice. "Could Donna be the killer?
After all, she is a woman scorned."

Jane shook her head emphatically. "No way. She was angry, but
she wanted to fight for her marriage. She and Ned had a child together. Now that kid has no father. Donna is embarrassed about
the missing money and she is really, really hurt, but she would give
anything to have Ned back. She truly loved him."
"

I trust your judgment," James answered readily, brushing a
strand of hair from Jane's cheek and tucking it behind her ear. "So
could the other woman be the killer?"

"That's what I've been turning over in my mind. Maybe Ned's
lover wasn't as keen on him as he was on her," Jane suggested.
"Perhaps her feelings were never genuine and she was using him as
a source of easy money."

James took a sip of soda. "And then she disposed of him because she'd gotten all the ready cash she was going to get? That's
pretty ruthless." He considered the theory. "It also means she'd
have to be strong enough to strangle Tia until she lost conscious„
ness.

"Or, she had a partner."

Now it was James' turn to be surprised. "No one's considered
that possibility." He rubbed his eyes. "Boy, this is getting complicated."

"Looks like you need to book another appointment with Harmony," Jane said, handing James the phone. "And you'll have to
give yourself enough time beforehand to check out all the other
women working in the Wellness Village."

Putting down his sweating glass, James dialed Harmony's
number. When the office voicemail came on, he left a message say ing that he was having difficulty keeping a secret from his family
and friends.

"It's a good secret," he added and smiled at Jane. "Still, I'd like
to make peace with myself about the whole thing. Plus, I haven't
quite resolved my sugar issues either." He sighed, recalling the
number of chocolate chunk peanut butter cookies he'd eaten that
morning. "Honestly, life has gotten in the way of my being healthy
again. I just cannot seem to stay focused on my physical fitness
goals." He requested an afternoon appointment as soon as Harmony had an opening and then hung up.

Jane was studying him. "Is that true? That you feel guilty about
keeping our upcoming nuptials from your family and friends?"

He reached for her hand. "Guilty, no. It's difficult because I'm
having a hard time hiding how happy I am. I want to climb on top
of the town's water tower and shout our news to the world." He
jerked his thumb at the phone. "But I had to tell her something."

Relaxing, Jane closed the distance between them. "As far as
your second reason for seeing Harmony goes, I want you to know
that I wouldn't change a thing about your looks. If you want to be
healthier, then that's great. Eliot and I want you around for a long,
long time." She wound her arms around him. "But I do like a man
who can push me around in bed. I don't want some bag of bones
lying next to me."

"You don't, huh?" James grinned. "Say, how long do you think
Eliot will listen to his Curious George CD?"

Before Jane could answer, the doorbell rang.

"Lucy!" James greeted his friend loudly. Even though she
couldn't possibly have heard his exchange with Jane, he felt slightly
embarrassed. "Um, what brings you by?"

She put her hands on her gun belt and rocked back on her
heels looking extremely pleased. "News! Good news. Can I come
in?"

Jane gave James a playful push. "Please do. I was just about to
brew some coffee. Can I offer you a cup?"

"Yes, thanks." Lucy settled down at the kitchen table. "In all the
crime books I read, the authors always talk about how foul the coffee is in every law enforcement agency across the country. It may
be a cliche, but it's totally the truth. Ours is mixed with jet fuel, I
swear it"

Laughing, Jane filled the coffeepot and got a pint of half and
half out of the refrigerator. While Lucy talked, Jane placed a sugar
bowl, a small pitcher of cream, and an assortment of Pepperidge
Farm cookies on a tray.

"Kenneth Cooper checked into the rehab facility under a false
name. Most people can't get away with that, but since he paid in
cash, he didn't need to show them an insurance card." Lucy helped
herself to a Milano as soon as Jane set the tray on the table. James
raised his brows at his fiance, perplexed that she was making an
effort to impress Lucy. "Yum. I love these." Lucy saluted Jane with
her cookie. "Anyone can get their hands on a fake driver's license
and if pressed, I'm sure Kenneth would claim that he only lied because he wanted to protect his reputation as a top-notch attorney."

"You don't believe that's the reason he used a fictitious name
though," James guessed.

Lucy took another cookie. "No. I think he wanted to hide his
identity so he could terrorize you three more freely. We've got a
record of every single second he was off the clinic's grounds." She paused dramatically, picking off crumbs from her lap. "Each time
he left, one of you received a little love note."

Jane's hand shook as she poured coffee into mugs. Seeing her
agitation, James took over the serving. "But can you prove anything? Is this going to stop now?"

"We don't have any hard evidence, but my assistant on this
project has obtained permission to write an article on the clinic.
She'll be sure to find Kenneth and ask him a few pointed questions." Lucy clenched her jaw in determination. "Because this is an
emotional issue for him, we need to stir up those emotions and get
him to confess."

James paused in the act of shaking a sugar packet into his coffee. "An article? Lucy, please tell me you haven't recruited-"

"Murphy's been searching for a way to make peace with us,"
Lucy interrupted firmly. "I needed her help on this one and she
was more than willing to give it. As far as I'm concerned, if she
ends up getting me what I need to keep Kenneth Cooper from ever
stepping foot in Quincy's Gap again, then she's forgiven." She hesitated. "At least until her next book comes out."

Breaking a shortbread cookie in half, Jane stared at the pieces.
"I realize that Murphy Alistair is known for her doggedness, but
how will she get him to confess? He's not a dumb man. Kenneth's
going to see her coming from a mile away, even if his emotions are
boiling over."

Lucy grinned. "That's why I'm here. I'd like your blessing to let
Murphy tell Kenneth a few tall tales to get a rise out of him. For
example, I thought she could mention, almost as an aside, that you
two are getting married in an intimate service next week. Then, after dropping Eliot off with his grandparents in Nashville, you're
jetting to Paris for a romantic second honeymoon."

"That sounds lovely!" Jane exclaimed with a laugh. "Are we flying first class?"

James avoided looking at her, for fear his face would give their
secret away. "Yes, it does sound great. Except for the Paris part. I
like the food better in Italy." Remembering that he wanted to tell
Lucy what Jane had discovered about the golden charm found in
Snickers' stomach, he retrieved the fir tree from the soap dish and
handed it to his friend. Her cornflower-blue eyes grew wider and
wider as he told her about Donna Woodman's visit and his plans
to snoop around the Wellness Village.

"Let's have another supper club meeting right after your hypnotherapy session," Lucy said, holding the charm up to the light.
"Sullie and I received an interesting update from the medical examiner today that may help us link Tia's murder with Ned's seemingly accidental death. Tia died from heart failure and her tox
screen was totally clean. However, the M.E. found some burns on
her chest. The kind you can get if someone uses defibrillator paddles on your bare skin."

Picturing an ugly, red welt appearing on Tia's youthful and unblemished skin, James grimaced. "Is that what happened to her?"

"We're not sure yet, but it's a strong possibility. The M.E. told
me that the use of a defibrillator on a healthy person throws the
heart's rhythm out of whack and can often stop it beating altogether," Lucy explained.

"We have one of those A.E.D. machines hanging in the hall
right near my office!" Jane sounded shocked. "I didn't realize they
could be used to kill people as well as revive them!"

"Apparently, the new models don't work that way," Lucy assured her. "Those machines test for a rhythm first so that a layperson can operate them without making a serious mistake. The
one used on Tia must be an older machine or one used by professionals, like EMTs or hospital personnel. Sullie and I have been
running in circles looking for the machine, but so far not one
paramedic in the county has a connection to Ned or Tia" She examined the gold charm again. "But I think we need to start knocking on the office doors at the Wellness Village. Ned was killed there
and if someone was dumb enough to stash their defibrillator in
the back of a broom closet, we're going to find it."

"Was his chest burned too?" James asked.

Lucy shook her head. "The coroner said it wasn't, and the folks
at the funeral home didn't remember seeing any marks on his
chest either. Still, the M.E.'s report on Ned's is identical to Tia's.
Without the bruises on the neck, that is. But we've got a pair of
healthy adults dropping dead of heart failure and now we know
how. We just don't know why." She took another hasty sip of coffee. "I need to get back to the station and print out a list of all
the Wellness Village employees. Maybe one of them used to work
around defibrillators."

"Thanks for coming over and..." Jane pushed out the words,
"please tell Murphy that we're grateful for her help."

The sheriff's deputy pushed back her chair and rose while eying the fresh smear of chocolate on her uniform shirt with annoyance. "You two need to have a baby. That way I can borrow its bib.
Look at me! I'm a mess."

She didn't notice the tinge of pink flushing Jane's cheeks, or
that James suddenly reached across the table for his ex-wife's hand, but even if she had, it wouldn't have bothered Lucy. She had
found her soul mate and he was waiting for her at the station, poring over the case file for the millionth time in hopes of picking out
an essential detail-something they'd missed that could turn the
tide in their favor.

"I've got what you need, Sullie." Lucy whistled as she hustled
outside to her brown sheriff's department cruiser. "We are going
to have a hell of a night."