Kill them with canvas, p.24
Kill Them with Canvas, page 24
At once, a thought occurred to me. “Dewey, when did you come back to town?”
His face reddened, and he rubbed a towel across the back of his neck. “Last night. Now, I know what you’re thinking. I should confess that particular detail too. Sorry to say, I got spooked when I seen you on the deck. I apologize if I hurt you any. I didn’t intend to. Honest I didn’t.”
“You were the one I heard. You’re my blanket-toting attacker.” I sighed and shook my head. “Dewey.”
“It’s true. I didn’t want anyone to know I’d come back, not until that woman’s killer was found, but my cousin kicked me out of the cabin. Said I overstayed my welcome.” Dewey’s head hung as he avoided my gaze. “I only came to the dock to grab my jacket and some other items. Being in such a hurry to leave before, I forgot to take them. Anyway, I planned to get my things and go hide someplace else where nobody would look for me. Again, I apologize.”
I didn’t know whether to believe his story, but if I did, that left only one person to blame. Marilyn Pervis. “There’s one more thing you need to be honest about, Dewey. Did you hide Viola’s bag in your shack?” I steadied my gaze on him.
He shuffled his feet, staring at the ground. With a sigh, he looked up. “I suppose you won’t believe me, but I thought one of the passengers on the ferry left it behind. I told you how they’re always forgetting things. I have a box full of those. Anyway, I found that bag snagged on a nail and hanging off the far side of the deck. It was after you and your sister and the detective with all his men left. They must’ve failed to notice it when they searched the area. I remembered hearing you say that poor woman’s bag was missing. It got me thinking, so I searched inside it.” He rubbed a hand across his neck. “I’ll admit, I panicked. I didn’t know what to do. That’s when I hid the bag. I needed time to think. Then you found it. I know it was wrong, but that’s what I did.”
My pocket buzzed with a phone call. Turning away from the scene of confusion, I answered. “Hello?”
“Oh, thank God you picked up. I called emergency, but when it comes to the authorities, who knows when they’ll show up?” Aunt Constance panted as the words flew out of her mouth.
“Aunt Constance.” I let her name drag out. I remembered the last time she’d called 911 to complain about her neighbor’s spotlights blinding her view outside the front window. Not at all an emergency. Who knew what trivial issue had prompted her this time? “Why would you call emergency?”
“Why?” Her voice shrieked. “I’m in trouble and afraid for my life. That’s why.” Someone screamed in the background followed by the sound of pounding on a door. “There’s an insane woman outside my bathroom. I’m hiding in here, but she’s threatening to break in. I seriously believe she can do it.” She sobbed into the phone. “Please come quick. I need you.”
“What insane woman, Aunt Constance?” I paced back and forth across the ferry deck. I asked the question but was ninety percent sure who we were talking about. Or at least eighty percent sure. From the parking lot, I spotted Izzie, Mom, and Dad hurrying my way. “Aunt Constance, talk fast. Who’s outside your door?”
“Marilyn Pervis. She’s outside my door, yelling and screaming, and I’m pretty sure she killed Viola.”
Chapter Nineteen
“Chloe, are you all right? We heard screams.” Mom took hold of my shoulders and turned me to face her. Her gaze traveled from my head to my black leather shoes. With a satisfied nod, she stepped away.
“Thank goodness. For a moment, I thought the killer might have, er, you know?” Izzie tapped her head, then shot our parents a tentative glance.
“Oh, you mean like last night when you two decided to meet with a possible killer because you believed you could do what? Make a citizen’s arrest.” Dad shook his head. “You should’ve called the authorities.”
“Sorry, but there’s no time to discuss what we should or shouldn’t have done.” I stabbed a number on my phone and then waited while the call kept ringing. “Hunter! Thank goodness you answered. Aunt Constance is in trouble.” I rushed to explain. “And Marilyn Pervis is at her house, acting strange and upset, maybe threatening her. I’m not sure because Aunt Constance is frantic and afraid. She called emergency, but can you please go there? A familiar face might help keep her calm.” I gripped the phone and swallowed the lump in my throat.
“I’m on my way. Probably be there in ten minutes. I shouldn’t have to say this, but maybe it’s safer if you don’t show up? I’m guessing that’s what you’re thinking.”
“I’m sure you can handle the situation.” I winced when Izzie gave me that stare.
“I hope you mean that. I’ll call to make sure officers are on their way.”
I managed a thank-you, then hung up. Still gripping the phone, I shoved it in my fanny pack. He was right. Marilyn could be carrying a gun. Or what about that tiny pink and purple pistol that Aunt Constance kept in her nightstand? It wasn’t loaded. Still, with everything going on in the past couple of weeks, maybe she was desperate enough to arm herself for real. I stared at Izzie, opened my mouth, then snapped it shut.
“She’ll be fine. We don’t need to worry. Right?” Izzie blinked.
“Unless she has one of her episodes or does something crazy.” I raised my shoulders. “Never know.”
“And faints. That would be bad. She’d need someone she trusts to care for her.” Izzie nodded.
“We should go. I’ll drive.” I glanced over her shoulder at Mom and Dad, who’d taken over the task of drying off Max and Milo.
“Don’t worry about me.” Sarah shouted and waved. “I’m fine. I’ll just stay here until Wink comes. I know he cares.”
I winced and turned to face her. “Sorry. Maybe Dewey …” I turned to see he’d disappeared, then settled my gaze on Ross.
“I’ll stay with her.” Ross stepped close. “You go and take care of your aunt.”
I smiled. Caring about others was one wonderful quality in him I couldn’t deny. “Thank you. Would you mind telling our parents where Izzie and I are going, and ask them to take care of Max and Milo? I don’t want to waste any more time.”
“Done. I’ll call you after I get back to New York.” He leaned in but then hesitated.
I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed. “You’re a good friend. The best I could possibly have.” My voice hitched for an instant, then I laughed. “Bye, Ross.” I grabbed Izzie’s hand. “Let’s hurry. Aunt Constance will be in panic mode by now.”
My anxiety had grown worse. I was genuinely concerned for her. Aunt Constance could be many things, but she was a decent person and the best aunt, who’d doted on us since birth, or at least as far back as my memories would take me.
Izzie hopped in the passenger side of her Land Rover and pulled out the spare key from the glove compartment. She set it in the cup holder. “Glad you’re driving. I can’t get my hands to stop shaking.”
Without skipping a beat, I got in, took the key, and fired up the engine. Hunter was probably there by now. I struggled to restrain myself from calling. Without taking my focus off the road, I used one hand to dig through my fanny pack and pull out my phone, and I tossed it in Izzie’s lap. “Call Hunter. I want to know how things are going.”
Izzie reared back her head and sniffed. “You want me to call so he can be angry with me rather than you. Not nice, but I will because I’m anxious to know too.” She lifted the phone. “Say, when did you change your cover? I like the purple.”
My head snapped around for a quick second. “That’s not mine.” I blinked, and when my mind caught up to speed, I sighed. “The phone belongs to Sarah. She handed me her stuff to dry off after the dump in the lake. In all the chaos, I must’ve thought it was mine.” I pulled out my phone and tossed it to her. “On second thought, maybe it would be safer to call Aunt Constance. If she answers, just make it brief. Ask her if Hunter and the officers arrived.”
“In that case, I’ll connect your phone to my car, and we’ll listen over the speakers. If Marilyn is already handcuffed and sitting in the back seat of a squad car, that would be nice to know.” Izzie pressed buttons on the console, then sat back while the phone rang.
After the tenth ring, the call went to voicemail. Izzie disconnected the line. “She probably left her phone in the bathroom.”
I rubbed the back of my neck. He said he’d call. “We should be there in about twenty-five minutes.” I moved my hand back to the steering wheel and tapped out a quick drumbeat.
“Hey. I know. Since we have time to kill, why don’t you catch me up and explain what happened at the ferry dock? Let’s start with Sarah looking drenched and more sour-faced than normal. There has to be a story behind that.” Izzie nodded.
I stopped drumming and was grateful for the distraction. “Well, in a quick recap, I followed her to the storage shed, where she popped inside to search for what I figured was the paddle, then stormed out, looking like she wanted to kill somebody. Instead of returning to her booth, she walked onto the ferry deck, where Dewey spotted her. He screamed because he recognized her from the night Viola was murdered. Sarah was startled by his scream and fell in the lake. Dewey jumped in to save her, even though the water isn’t that deep near the shore, which is kind of funny—but not really, considering the circumstances. Anyway, Sarah explained she had gotten a call from Marilyn, claiming she planned to move evidence out of the storage shed. Sarah was worried about Marilyn and went to look for her there.” I took a deep breath. “Of course that made perfect sense because she’s the one who drove Viola to the ferry, hoping to convince her to save their chapter and dump a different one, from up near the Finger Lakes in a town named … something or other. Can’t remember. But when Viola refused, Sarah claimed she drove off and left Viola, alive and healthy.”
“Wow.” Izzie blinked. “All that happened in a matter of minutes. Who says Whisper Cove is a quiet town?”
I steered through the back streets of Aunt Constance’s neighborhood. Slowing to a crawl, I turned onto her street and could see the lights of Aunt Constance’s house as we drew near. It seemed almost every window was lit, and there was also the spinning red bulb of a cruiser sitting in the drive.
“So, if Dewey isn’t the killer and Sarah appears to be in the clear, then Marilyn must be the guilty one?”
“Why do you sound so unsure? It’s a textbook case. Just like Uncle Seymour, only in this instance she really carried the protect and defend idea too far.”
“I don’t know. It’s almost too easy, but hey, sometimes the case turns out exactly like that.” Izzie reached inside the center console and pulled out a pack of gum. “You want a stick?”
I shook my head. “Maybe we should park at a safe distance to keep the car out of sight.”
“Ha. Someone’s regretting our decision to come here.” Izzie popped the gum in her mouth and chewed.
I ignored the dig. “Then we take a casual walk past the house and see what’s going on.”
“You mean like a recon mission where we spy to assess the situation? That’s so cool. I feel like James Bond.” She chewed faster.
“Yeah, sure,” I muttered and pulled to the curb. We were three houses away from Aunt Constance’s, but with a clear view of the front. I made out Hunter standing next to an officer. They were obviously carrying on a conversation. The EMTs weren’t parked in the drive, which meant nobody was hurt. Still, Aunt Constance had to be frantic by now. We needed to be with her. “New plan. We’re going straight up to Hunter and demanding to see Aunt Constance.”
“Do you think that’s wise?” Izzie moved alongside me.
“I’ll tell him Aunt Constance called and begged us to come.” I also needed to know the ending to this story. Was it Marilyn who had killed Viola Finnwinkle? Or was the killer running free and Aunt Constance still a suspect?
Walking up the drive, I could see Hunter’s face transform from smiling to jaw clenching. I puffed my cheeks and straightened my shoulders. “Before you say anything, Aunt Constance called and begged us to come.”
“Yes. Yes, she did. Poor woman is panic stricken.” Izzie sniffed and swiped her brow with one hand. “She needs family.”
Hunter rolled back on his heels. “You mean called you with this?” He snapped his fingers at the officer, who handed him a bag. Inside was a phone with a familiar yellow and green design.
I cleared my throat. “She … um.”
“She has a landline,” Izzie rushed to say.
“No, she doesn’t. Come on, ladies. Let’s not play games. You want to see her? I’m not stopping you. Officer Daniels is inside with the two of them. Neither one is saying much. Let’s go.” He waved an arm for us to lead the way.
Once inside, I ran over to Aunt Constance, Izzie close behind me. “Are you okay?” I rubbed her arm.
“We were so worried.” Izzie hugged her, then narrowed her eyes at Marilyn. “She didn’t hurt you, did she?”
“No. She didn’t have the chance.” Aunt Constance sniffed and dabbed her nose with a tissue. “These wonderful officers came right away and saved me. Thank you.” She blinked at the man with a name plate that read “Daniels.” Despite the compliment, he only gave a slight nod at her.
“I’m telling you. It was the painting. I figured it out. When I asked her and she told me she’d destroyed it, I should have known. The answer was right in front of me. The painting had to be hers. I’m such a fool.”
Marilyn lowered her head. “I only came to warn Constance that she might be in danger. I would never hurt her,” Marilyn cried and squirmed in her chair. “I had nothing to do with Viola’s death. Believe me.”
Hunter leaned toward me. “Marilyn keeps rambling on about that painting you found left behind at the lodge. I can’t make sense of what she’s saying. Only that the person who painted the picture means to kill again. But she can’t or won’t tell me who. Just keeps mumbling that she should’ve known.” He shook his head. “Maybe she was crazy enough to kill Viola.”
I frowned. Nothing in that painting hinted to me that the killer would strike again. Unless Marilyn was referring to the ghost image and the legend. However, that was purely make-believe. “Wait. How did she see the painting?”
“According to one of our guys working the front desk, Marilyn came into the precinct earlier today to lodge a complaint about her neighbor’s tree dropping too many leaves on her side of the property.” Hunter nodded at the officer standing next to Marilyn. “Deputy Daniels informs me that at that time, my crime team members were moving evidence, including that painting, to another room. She must’ve gotten a look at it then because she became upset and hurried out of the building without finishing her complaint form.”
“What a shame.” Aunt Constance clucked her tongue. “You of all people? Loyal, honest, always offering to help me, and all the while you were trying to frame me for the murder you committed.” She smacked the chair and stood up. Her finger pointed. “Well, that’s all over now. You Judas.”
With cuffed wrists clinking as she raised her hands, Marilyn tried lifting herself from the chair. “It wasn’t me. I followed you to the dock, then kept driving because I felt guilty and ashamed. I returned to the lodge, Constance. I didn’t hurt Viola.”
“You admit it. You followed me, and then you must’ve returned to the dock and killed Viola because … because—you! You sent me that candygram with that scary message warning me to confess, didn’t you? Why? You are one sick woman, Marilyn Pervis. I heard you. You stood outside my bathroom and said you’d been so angry with Viola, you wanted to kill her for destroying my career. How could you do something so horrible?” Aunt Constance fanned her face. “Oh my. I don’t feel very well.”
Hunter stepped close to Aunt Constance and laid one hand on her shoulder. “You’ve had a rough evening. Why don’t you rest, and I’ll take your statement tomorrow?”
The hall clock chimed ten times. “It’s late, Aunt Constance. Let’s get you ready for bed.”
“I’ll take care of her.” Spencer walked into the room and pulled off her coat and gloves. “You and Izzie should go home and get some rest. You both look like you need it.”
I glanced wearily at Spencer, then at Aunt Constance. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yes. My daughter and I have some things to discuss. Thank you, again, officers. Detective, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As they went upstairs, I walked through what Marilyn had said. She had followed Aunt Constance to the dock that night. Hunter caught the words too. I noticed the glint in his eye and that slight twitch of his chin. One thing Marilyn hadn’t lied about was returning to the lodge. I remembered seeing her walk out at the end of the event with her painting. However, she would’ve had plenty of time to commit the murder and get back to the paint party event well before it ended. I had no memory of her until everyone was leaving. Also, that missing hour was beginning to take form, and a piece of the puzzle had to do with Aunt Constance stopping at the ferry dock. Spencer had heard her say she shouldn’t have left her alone, meaning Viola. Spencer had also said how upset and out of sorts her mom had seemed when she came home. Why didn’t Hunter make her explain right now, I wondered? I needed to know the story. I wanted reassurances that my aunt was innocent because something nagged at me, some tiny detail that didn’t make sense or add up, but what?
“Daniels, please escort Miss Pervis to the squad car and take her to the station. We’ll talk there. For starters, Miss Pervis, you’ve broken into a private residence, and that’s a crime. I shouldn’t have to tell you that you’re in serious trouble. If you have a lawyer, I’d advise you to call him or her.”
“I didn’t break in.” Marilyn struggled to pull out of Officer Daniels’s grasp. “Constance gave me a key to her house. She likes how I look after her, you know. Why would I hurt her?”
