Teddy barked at her for not acknowledging him.
“Sorry, sir,” she said. “Welcome back to you, too.”
It certainly felt good to have stiff security around the hotel, but it hadn’t stopped a murderer. No. Regina knew her assailant, of that I was convinced.
Walter greeted me as he opened my door. He looked hopeful. “Any luck?”
I sighed. “He’s pretty discouraged. You should stay close to him, Walter. Try to keep his spirits up.”
Then I had a stroke of inspiration. “Does he have a computer at home by any chance?”
“Yes, he does. Sometimes he has to check on the accounts when he’s not at work.”
“That’s good. I need his home address and phone number as soon as possible.”
“Mr. Ibarra is looking daggers at me, Mrs. Bradley. I’ll leave the information for you at the desk.”
“Walter, I’m kind of in a hurry. Take my key and put Teddy back in the room for me, would you, please?” I handed Teddy over to him as I spoke. “You may leave the key at the desk.”
“Sure thing. Come on, boy.” Walter took him in his arms. “This is the best fun I’ve had all day.”
The chief had saved me a seat. Down the row next to him, my garden club friends waved to catch my attention. I smiled and took my place just as Marianne began her talk.
“Tree peonies make an excellent addition to any garden….”
It was difficult to fix my mind on the review I would soon be writing. I took notes on content, presentation, and audience appreciation of the subject matter.
Marianne had prepared a great presentation, even getting the chief to nod his head upon hearing a surprising fact or two.
At the lecture’s end, the audience was given time for questions. Afterward, Marianne invited us to look at a few samples that she had set out on the row of tables.
She had a specimen of each major species of tree peonies from all over the world, which was amazing. Some of them I’d only seen in books.
A crowd of people gathered to ‘ooh’ and ‘ah.’ Another crowd shuffled around her person to give kudos for such an extremely entertaining presentation.
Ann, Dominique, and Nicole waited patiently for the hordes to clear out. It took a while. I could tell they hungered to know where I’d been, but it wasn’t safe to talk here.
The Chief excused himself. “Be right back, ladies. I’ll speak to Ms. Delacruz for a moment.”
Good.
“Ladies, we need to talk. Shall we have tea in the Fireside Room?”
“Perfect.” Ann beamed greedily. Dominique and Nicole nodded.
The Chief returned, a little disappointed, “It appears Ms. Delacruz is too exhausted to talk right now.”
I had an interesting thought. Why not let him in on our little table talk? I would only have to fill him in later, in any case.
“Chief, won’t you join us for tea?”
“I have a better idea. Why don’t you all join me in the private dining room? There are too many ‘ears’ in the Fireside Room this time of day.”
I stopped by the front desk on the way there and grabbed the note from Walter with the address and phone number of his father, along with my room key.
Good boy, Walter.
The hotel served us a tea befitting a queen: delicious finger sandwiches, miniature cherry tarts with cheesecake filling, fruited scones with real Devonshire cream and strawberry jam, decadent chocolate and hazelnut truffles, petit fours, and steaming hot Lady Gray tea. I was “mother” and poured out.
Nicole took her cup of tea. “Is the ball still on for this evening, Chief?”
“As far as I know there haven’t been any changes. Spencer Hausman is trying to keep everything as normal as possible. This is the last event of the conference.” The chief popped a whole pecan and cream cheese sandwich in his mouth.
I selected a cucumber sandwich. “Chief, whoever killed Regina might be involved in embezzling funds from the Westovers’ nursery business.”
“Embezzling funds?” He gave me his full attention.
I turned to Nicole. “Find out all you can about the accounts of the Seaside Nursery. See if they’re all legitimate.”
“Sure, Jillian.” Nicole sat up straighter than she had before.
I looked at Ann. “Research why Evelyn fired Walter Montoya so suddenly. Find out why Thomas didn’t. I think that’s important.”
Ann nodded. “I’ll talk to her at the ball.”
“Good.”
“Well, well, Mrs. Bradley. You have a regular investigative team set up here, don’t you?” Chief Viscuglia sounded a bit stunned.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just four neighborhood busybodies who are turning their talents for the common good.” I grinned deviously.
Dominique looked at me. “What can I do, Jillian?”
“You got along pretty well with Marianne at dinner last night, didn’t you?”
“We sat next to each other and made small talk. I’m sure I can make arrangements to talk to her privately, if you want.”
“We need to know how well Marianne knew Regina. See if there were any links between them. Remember, anything that sounds interesting may be important.”
The chief raised his hand. “What about me, Jillian? What do you want me to do?”
“You don’t mind if my friends help, do you?” I put on an innocent face.
“Do I mind?” He shook his head. “I’m glad to get all the help I can. So far, we’ve hit a brick wall in the investigation. No clues, no motive and the only suspects we have are those who were involved in planning this conference or were on the Society board.”
I took a sip of tea and had a thought. “Chief, Hugh Porter knew Regina’s father. Maybe he knows something about who Regina was seeing.”
The chief finished one last sandwich and stood. “It’s a long shot, I admit, but we need any kind of shots right now. That leaves Paul Youngblood. I think I’ll have a talk with the lad. Ladies, thanks for your help, and be careful. You may step on some toes that are already hurting.”
“We’ll be careful, Chief.” Dominique spoke for our group.
We all stood and agreed to meet back in the Club Room at seven o’clock that evening.
I took my room key from my pocket. “Good luck, ladies.”
With assignments in hand, we all went our separate ways.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Hugh agreed to meet me for a short stroll on the beach. I changed into my tennis shoes and welcomed the outdoors. Teddy and I walked down the path from the hotel.
The cliffs overlooked the ocean. An assortment of coastal flora bloomed just beneath the surface of the waves. Hugh was in a retiring mood, so I initiated the conversation.
“Thanks for coming, Hugh.” Hugh was a little intimidating to me. I took in a deep breath of the sea air to calm my nerves.
“It’s a pleasure, Jillian. With all the gloom of Regina’s death permeating the conference, it’s good to get away from it, even for a few minutes.”
“Hugh, tell me about Regina’s father. The chief said he was pretty unfeeling when he came in to identify the body.”
“That’s Jack Anatolia, all right. Kind of a cold fish.”
“Has he always been that way?”
“He lost his wife two years ago.”
“Hmm.” How could this mean anything? I needed a connection. “So you know how she died?”
He looked uncomfortable, as if he remembered something unpleasant. “She drowned.”
“Drowned where? How did it happen? Do you know the details?”
He sighed, but after a moment continued. “Jack and Katherine were on their boat for a fishing weekend up at Princeton.”
“That’s just a few miles up the coast. What happened?”
“It made big news. The reports said it happened after they went to bed on the first night out. Evidently, a strong wind came up unexpectedly. The sea was rough, and Katherine told Jack she felt nausea
ted and needed some air. She went topside and didn’t come back.”
“What did he do?”
“Jack said he came up to look for her, but when he did, she had disappeared. He assumed she fell overboard. It was dark, and the water was extremely choppy. He said he couldn’t see a thing. There was nothing he could do.”
“The poor man, it must have been awful!”
“A pile of loose rope had been left on the deck. It looked like she had stepped on it, got caught, tripped, and fell overboard when a large swell hit the boat. Jack said that normally the rope was wound into a pile.”
“Did the police think it was an accident?”
“There didn’t appear to be any indication of foul play, if that’s what you mean, Jillian.”
“Hugh, would you take me to see Mr. Anatolia?”
He stopped and faced me, “Jillian….”
“He may be able to shed some light on Regina’s private life…who she was seeing, perhaps?”
“I’ll get him on my cell. He’s a supplier, so I keep him listed.” He brought up the number and dialed.
After the fourth ring, Mr. Anatolia answered. He was busy, but he could arrange to meet with me at his home in half an hour.
“Thanks, Hugh, this will really help.”
We entered the double doors into the warm lobby.
“Hugh, do you know why anyone would want to see Regina dead?”
Shaking his head, he looked at his shoes. “The wages of sin is death.”
“You’re saying, because she was involved in something immoral, she suffered the consequences?”
“Something like that. There were rumors that she was seeing a married man. There was also talk about seeing her with a strange man. No one knew who he was.
“Who knows, she may have had incriminating information about someone, and whoever it was killed her because of it. Why else would someone murder a lovely young woman like that, Jillian?”
My mind kept whirling through all the events of the past few days. I put a bowl of some fresh water down for Teddy, and after he lapped to his heart’s content, I cuddled him.
“Okay Teddy, we need answers here. Where is the motive? That’s the key. Did Regina know anything about the missing money at the Seaside Nursery? Was she receiving any of the money, and if so, why? Who took that money? I have to find out.”
He looked a little puzzled but wagged his tail and lifted an ear. It brought a smile to my face.
“Yeah, I know. You’re just confused, like me. Thanks for listening, though.” I gave his ears an extra scratch and set him down at the end of the bed. He needed a rest after that long walk.
The message light on the phone grabbed my attention after Teddy settled. It blinked as I looked at it, and I felt a sense of urgency.
It was the chief.
He answered on the first ring.
“Hello, Chief. What’s up?”
“The report came back from the medical examiner.”
“I’m listening.”
“We found evidence of sexual activity.”
“Can they pinpoint the time it occurred?”
“It was on Saturday afternoon, probably late.”
“I see.”
That laughter rang through my head again, my memory of the sound I’d overheard in Regina’s room next door. Could someone love a person one day and murder them the same evening?
“Jillian, are you there?”
“The laughing….”
“Laughing?”
“Someone was laughing Saturday afternoon in Regina’s room. We need to find out everyone’s whereabouts at that time.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Chief, DNA can convict someone, can’t it?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely.”
“What do you think the probability is that we are dealing with a male suspect?”
“I’d say pretty good.”
“Hmm.” Inspiration hit me. “Listen, I need to run. I’ll check back with you shortly.”
“Be careful.”
“You, too.”
After hanging up, I called extension 48 to talk to Spencer Hausman. He answered the phone with a heavy tone. Had he been crying?
“Spencer Hausman…here….”
“Spencer, it’s me, Jillian Bradley.”
“Jillian…how may I help you?” he sounded as if he hoped he wouldn’t have to do anything at all.
“Spencer, can we meet somewhere privately?”
“There’s really not much time with the ball and all. Can it wait?”
“I don’t think so, Spencer. It will only take a few minutes.”
“Well…meet me in the lobby. We’ll choose a place that’s private.”
“Thank you. I’ll be down in two minutes.”
Spencer appeared as promised, looking tense and pale. The slick confidence he had displayed earlier had disappeared.
“Spencer, are you all right? You look terrible.”
“No, I’m not all right. Can’t get used to her being gone. I depended on her much more than I realized.” He began to break down.
“Let’s go into the Fireside Room. It appears to be empty.”
I led the way to a back corner table. Soon enough, the server appeared and took my order of black coffee for both of us.
“Spencer, if we’re going to find out who killed Regina, you have to help us.”
“What do you want to know?” He had re-gained his composure a little, as he sipped the hot black coffee.
“What do you know about the missing $8,000 from the Seaside Nursery?”
The straightforward question gave him an obvious shock.
His eyes grew large. He swallowed hard and set his coffee down. “How did you know about that? Who told you such a confidential thing as that? Who?” His voice grew louder.
“Please, Spencer, not so loud.” I whispered a warning.
Taking a deep breath and looking down at the table, the words came reluctantly. “If I tell you, someone is going to be terribly hurt. I don’t want any part of it.”
“I see.”
Spencer abruptly stood up. “Jillian, there are details for tonight’s ball I must see to, and without Regina…will you please excuse me?” Without waiting for a reply, he fled the room.
Finishing my coffee, I thought over the overwhelming events of the past twenty-four hours. Why was Spencer Hausman acting so strangely? Something in my bones told me he was in trouble somehow, so I decided to check in with the chief.
He answered on the second ring this time. “Chief Viscuglia.”
“It’s Jillian. I just finished talking to Spencer Hausman, and he shut up tighter than a clam when I asked about the missing funds. He looks awful.”
“Looks awful, huh?”
“Yes, awful…ill…like he’s under stress. Something is eating at him, and it’s not just Regina’s death.”
“We’ll keep a watch on him. Who knows? He may lead us to some answers if we just sit tight.”
“Chief, the ball is tonight at eight o’clock. I have enough time to go see Regina’s father. He may have a piece to the puzzle, and he may not.”
“Such as?” The chief sounded encouraging.
“I’ll tell you later, I promise. Did you talk to Paul Youngblood?”
“Yep. He told me he and Regina were on more than speaking terms as of Saturday night.”
“What’s your opinion, Chief? Friends, or more, do you think?”
“I got the feeling it was more. He was deeply moved by her death.”
That’s interesting. Did Celeste know about them? She was always watching Paul. Celeste was hoping for a relationship with him. She might be upset to know he and Regina were planning to get back together. If she knew they were together that night, she could have waited until he left and then killed Regina.
Walter held the door for me and then jogged off to pull my jeep up under the overhang. Mr. Ibarra approached. He had a strange look on hi
s face.
No, a bit nervous, in fact.
“Mrs. Bradley?”
“Yes?”
“I saw your friends come in just a few minutes ago. They asked if I’d seen you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Ibarra. I’ll speak to them when I get back.”
Walter brought my car around and helped me in.
“Just set Teddy in the back seat. He likes it back there.”
He obeyed, happy to cuddle the little guy once again.
“How’s your father doing? Have you talked to him?”
“He’s okay. Well…mad that someone killed Regina. He said she didn’t deserve to die so young. But, as far as the job and all, my mom is looking out for him. She’s making his favorite dinner tonight.”
“Good. We still need his help, you know.”
“He wants to help. They really did him dirty by firing him like that.”
“Walter, did you notice anyone driving out with Miss Anatolia yesterday?”
“Hmm… no, but I’ll let you know if I remember later.”
“Thank you. Let’s stay in touch…and Walter, keep your faith.”
“Faith?” he asked. “Faith in what, Mrs. Bradley?”
I smiled and nudged him. “Faith in your father for starters. He’s bound to surprise us.”
My car approached the gatehouse. Would the gatekeeper recognize me by now? Sure enough, she waved hello and actually waved to Teddy, too. He showed his appreciation by wagging his tail.
This place is beginning to feel like home. Home…
Right now, home sounded like a good place to get some rest, but I needed to be here to find out who murdered Regina. There would be plenty of time for rest after he, she, or they, were behind bars.
Mr. Anatolia lived in the hills above Half Moon Bay. I liked the Spanish architectural style of the houses. Some people would probably call them “quaint” but in truth, they were simply older homes, relics from the cold war era — many in need of serious repair.
I found the place and pulled into the driveway behind two very dusty cars — a Chevrolet Impala, and a Plymouth something. Perhaps they weren’t in working order. It looked as if no one had driven them for quite some time.
I put Teddy on his leash and we found the side steps to the front porch. No porch light greeted us, even though dusk was approaching. In fact, I didn’t see any lights on in any of the visible windows.