Luckily for both of us, Jason and I managed to find one of the windows in a nearby room and sneak back out into the street without being seen. Our exit was a lot less dramatic than our entrance. We mingled with the crowd for a few minutes to listen to the idle gossip; it seemed most of the town had settled on the rumor that Elizabeth Armstrong died of a heart attack as being the correct one, and they were all now eulogizing the poor woman who I was sure was still inside the hotel, probably having an afternoon nap or something.
We made our way to the Thai food place and ordered some take-out, then sat at one of the empty tables while it was being made and began to discuss the new case.
“So I guess you’re thinking that whoever killed Jeremy Wallace also killed Jack?” Jason asked, and I nodded.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s a pretty safe assumption, I think. Jack was the leader of the new group that was going to try and find the diamonds together, and it seemed pretty obvious to me when I was listening in to their conversation that if it wasn’t for him, they were all going to go about it alone.”
“So Jack was the glue holding them together?”
“Exactly. I think whoever killed Jeremy Wallace was a lone wolf to begin with. Otherwise, why not tell the rest of the group what they’d done? Just the fact that they went out and killed him to begin with shows that they weren’t exactly a team player.”
“Yeah, something about that doesn’t make sense. After all, Jeremy was literally the only person on the planet who knew where that diamond was, if everyone else is to be believed. And seeing as all the thieves are still here, I think it’s safe to assume that the secret did die with him. Why kill him? Now they have to find the diamond on their own.”
“That bothers me,” I admitted. “I honestly don’t have an explanation for that. Maybe killing Jeremy Wallace was an accident, and then they made it look like a bear attack to draw suspicion away from themselves. That’s the best I can come up with.”
Jason nodded. “It’s not a bad theory. It’s certainly plausible. So which of the remaining robbers do you think did it? You’ve seen them interact with each other more than anyone else.”
I rested my hand on my palm and thought about it for a while.
“I think,” I started slowly, “Claire would be the most likely suspect. Yes, if I had to put money on it, I would bet you that she was the one who would be most likely.”
“And why do you think that?” Jason prodded, interested.
“Well, it’s just kind of, her general attitude. A feeling I have. Maybe not an instinct, but just kind of… the way she acts, it’s different to the others. For one thing, Claire was the first of the robbers that I’d met. She was out in town, she even managed to get me to show her on a map where Jeremy Wallace was killed and how to get there. She was asking questions. She had a cover story. She was open in making herself a part of the community, whereas all the others seemed pretty content to more or less hide away in the inn and be more subtle about things. And when they had that meeting, she seemed to be the least enthusiastic about joining forces. She also had an argument with Jack about it.”
Jason raised an eyebrow. “I can see why you suspect her.”
I shrugged. “But at the same time, I’m not sure.”
I hated to admit it, but Jack being killed was actually going to help my case. Before he’d been killed, I was out of leads and out of ideas when it came to Jeremy Wallace’s killer. But now, I was going to have to find out when Jack died, and then I could possibly find out if any of the robbers had alibis. That way, I could narrow down the list of suspects, and if I found out who killed Jack, I might be able to find out who killed Jeremy Wallace as well.
I felt a bit bad knowing that someone’s death was going to benefit me, but there was nothing I could do about it. I just hoped I was going to be able to find out who killed both men for sure.
15
I ended up spending the night at Jason’s place; I woke up the next day and texted Sophie that I’d meet her at the vet clinic.
I’ll make sure to make fun of you for still wearing the same clothes as yesterday Sophie texted back, and I made a mental note to ask Jason if I could keep a change of clothes at his place in the future just in case.
Oh yeah, like you can talk, I texted back, mentally shaking my head at my own weak retort. In my defense, it was pretty early in the morning.
Getting out of bed, I made my way to the kitchen, where Jason was making coffee and toast.
“Mmmmm, don’t tell Betty, but that coffee smells amazing,” I said, closing my eyes.
“I definitely won’t tell Betty, that lady scares me.”
I laughed. “She’s like, sixty-something years old and weighs half what you do.”
“And she’s the center of this town. Seriously, I think Betty MacMahon has more power in Willow Bay than even the mayor or Chief Gary.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I said, nabbing a piece of toast from the plate and spreading butter on it. “Thanks for breakfast.”
“Hey, it’s the least I could do for you after last night,” Jason said with a grin, and I felt a blush crawling up my face. “Want some eggs?”
I shook my head. “No. I have to get going; I know Karen got everything set up yesterday but I still want to get in a bit early to make sure everything is fine with the new setup. I have a dog coming in for his yearly checkup first thing.”
“Cool,” Jason said, grabbing a piece of toast for himself. “Text me later?”
“Yeah,” I said, giving him a quick kiss, then grabbing my purse and heading for the door. Jason lived a little ways out from downtown, but this being Willow Bay, that meant it was still only a fifteen-minute walk from the vet clinic. I figured the fresh air would do me good; if I’d asked for a ride I knew Jason would have given me one.
I was walking along the edge of Main Street when suddenly I saw a familiar black cat darting away behind one of the buildings. I shook my head. This time, I was sure of things. It was Bee. I was going to find out once and for all what on earth my cat was up to. How had she gotten out of the house? Had she been out all night? And what was she doing?
I knew calling out to her would only scare her away more, so instead I simply tried to be as quiet as possible as I made my way behind the Japanese restaurant I’d been standing in front of. If it turned out Bee was stealing sushi from one of the Willow Bay businesses, she was in so much trouble.
As I got to the back of the building, I peeked carefully around the corner. I couldn’t see anything. No Bee, nothing. I frowned, then slowly walked along the back of the building. Still nothing.
Suddenly, I heard a cry. It was absolutely tiny, and very high pitched, but I knew that cry.
“Traitor,” I suddenly heard Bee’s voice say. I moved back about three feet and suddenly noticed a small hole in the ground, just below where the HVAC system from the restaurant blasted out warm air. Peering into it, my mouth dropped open.
Bee was lying in the hole, with three—no, four—kittens nestled against her, nursing.
“Bee! Oh my God!” I exclaimed.
“Well, fancy seeing you here,” Bee said nonchalantly.
“Why do you have kittens? Where did they come from?”
“I’m training them in the war against the dogs,” Bee replied. “I’ve decided to get started on them young.”
Immediately my vet instincts took over. I bent down and picked up one of the kittens, who started squirming. At a guess, I’d say he had to be a week old, at the most. There was no umbilical cord, but the kitten’s eyes hadn’t begun to open and her ears hadn’t begun to unfold yet.
“Bee, we need to get these kittens to the vet clinic.”
Bee scowled at me. “Fine. But I get all the credit for keeping them alive.”