Murder at the Fortune Teller's Table Page 7

  Diane’s face paled, and her skin turned ashen.

  Sue Ellen gasped.

  “Amy adopted the child and loved him as her own since the day he was born. Now a grown man, your son, Mark, is in need of some medical treatment.”

  “I’m going to stop you right there,” Ken said. “If this is about money, forget it. An illegitimate child has no rights to what I have. He won’t get anything.”

  Martha leaned toward Ken. “Did you and Diane get a divorce?”

  Ken shot a glance at Sue Ellen, then looked at Martha. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about the fact that you two were married. I performed the service. Mark is not illegitimate.”

  Ken’s eyes darted to Sue Ellen. “That’s crazy. The marriage certificate was destroyed, burned in a fire before the paperwork could be completed. I saw your file folder with the document in it go up in flames.”

  “It was in there, but when you two were making waves in the hot tub, I put it in my briefcase. Only my notes were in that folder.”

  Ken shot another look at Sue Ellen.

  Martha squared her shoulders. “I do my job. Amy Winter and Despina Manyotis signed as witnesses, and I registered your marriage. Unless the two of you got a divorce, you and Diane are still husband and wife.”

  Chapter 11

  “No way!” Ken exclaimed.

  “Impossible,” Diane said.

  Their voices united in denial.

  Martha pulled a paper from a bag she had brought with her and held up a certificate. “As I said, unless you two divorced, you’re married. Your names were familiar, so I went through my files at the house and found the form.”

  A deep frown creased Sue Ellen’s face. “How is it you conducted the service? Are you a minister or something?”

  Martha put the document on the table. “I’m a captain in the Salvation Army. We’re licensed to perform marriage ceremonies.” She turned to Ken and Diane. “When I agree to do something, I see it through. When I couldn’t find you two, I made a new certificate, had the witnesses sign, and filed it.”

  Ken leaned forward and slapped the table with his hand. “Hot diggity!” He looked at Diane. “That means we’re married.” Then he said over his shoulder to Sue Ellen, “And we’re not. Let’s see what your fancy divorce attorney does with that.”

  He turned back around to Diane with a huge grin.

  The look she gave him froze any of the hot in “hot diggity.”

  Ken took a deep breath and leaned back. “The Summer of Love. The ceremony by the world’s largest hot tub. Quite a night.” His gaze rested on Diane. “I remember it well.”

  Her icy stare displayed no fond memories.

  Ken’s eyes narrowed. “And that means what is yours is ours.”

  A glacial chill filled the room. “Don’t think for one minute you’ll get your hand on one cent of my money.” The freezing tones of the quietly spoken words held more power than any said in the heat of anger.

  “I’m happy to help . . . Mark . . . in any way I can.” Diane opened her purse and took out two cards. She rose and handed one to Martha. “Here is my contact information. My attorneys will handle the legal aspects of this situation.” She nodded at the marriage certificate. “They might need to get in touch with you.”

  “Of course.” Martha reached in her sweater pocket and pulled out a card case. She opened it and handed one to Diane. “I always keep these handy in case I run into someone in need.”

  Diane handed the other one to me. “I’d like to meet with you privately, if that’s possible.”

  “Certainly.” There were cards for the inn on the counter behind me. I retrieved one and wrote my personal cell phone number on the back. “Give me a call, and we’ll set up a time.”

  Diane slipped on her coat.

  Ken sat up straight and hastily pulled out a card. “Here’s my contact information.”

  “I don’t need it,” Diane said and picked up her purse.

  “Wait a minute. How do I get a hold of you?”

  She turned to leave. “You don’t.”

  Diane strode out of the room head high, back straight.

  “This is a fine mess you’ve made,” Sue Ellen said to Ken. “There was a reason your daddy’s will left everything in trust to your legitimate children. He figured there were a few unknowns out there. But he never saw this coming. That means this person Mark gets it all, and our children get nothing.”

  “Now, Sue Ellen, you know that wasn’t his intent. I’m sure this can be worked out.”

  “What do you plan on telling the kids? They’re waiting in the parlor for that fun family afternoon you promised them.”

  Ken’s face crumbled. “The kids. I forgot about them.” His eyes took on a worried look, and he drummed the table with his fingers. He looked at me and cleared his throat.

  “Uhh . . . would you please tell them about . . . everything? They might take it better from a stranger.”

  Everything? His marriage? His son? Their half brother? “That’s a lot of personal information, Mr. Nelsen. Are you sure you want me to be the bearer of all that news?”

  “Yes, please.” He took a big swallow from a glass of water. “Please. You can tell it as an outsider. It’ll have a different tone.”

  He had a point. There could be some strong reactions. Hearing it from strangers might help to keep emotions in check.

  I gestured to the Silver Sentinels. “We all were part of Amy’s request. If they’re willing, I’d like them to be part of giving out the information.”

  “However you want to do it. I just don’t want to be the one to tell them.”

  The Sentinels agreed, and we talked briefly about who would take what part. When we finished, Sue Ellen left to get the family. It would be the first time I’d see all of them. Edie came in on the arm of a handsome, dark-haired man dressed in a conservative navy suit and tie. I surmised it was John and, at least in terms of looks, not as much of a chip off the old block as Ken had suggested.

  A slim man in a bulky gray sweatshirt and loose, worn jeans followed them in. He sat in a chair at the end of the table and crossed his legs, revealing worn sneakers and thick brown socks.

  I’d only seen Daisy, their youngest daughter, from a distance. Her stiletto heels made a racket on the wooden floor as she stomped in. Her white jeans looked sprayed on. A pink, low-cut sweater with sequins scattered across the bosom, gold earrings dangling almost to her shoulders, and a silver-studded belt completed her ensemble. Her hair was in one of the disarrayed looks that took a lot of time to accomplish. She wore so much mascara I figured she’d have trouble keeping her eyes open. Daisy crossed her arms, remained standing, and fixed her gaze on the ceiling.

  Ken introduced them to us. The new ones to me were his son-in-law, John Brockton, his son, Anthony, at the end of the table, and my official meeting of Daisy.

  “Ken has asked us to share with you what took place in the meeting we had,” I said.

  Daisy put her hands on her hips. “Why can’t he tell us himself? Then we can get out of here and see the town.”

  Ken reached up and patted her arm. “Daisy, bear with me. I asked these people to handle this. They’re doing me a favor.”

  Daisy sighed, rolled her eyes, crossed her arms, and leaned back into the wall.

  Martha began the story, and we each told our piece of it. We had decided to leave the marriage connection and the half-brother part until last. I had volunteered for that.

  “The reason Amy contacted Ken is because he is Mark’s father.”

  Anthony sat up. “We have a half brother?”

  I nodded. “There’s more.” I explained about the marriage and the certificate.

  “What!” Daisy exclaimed. “Another member of the family?” She rounded on her father. “Does that mean he gets some of our money?”

  “When can we meet him?” Edie asked, her face open and excited. “Of course, I’ll do whatever I can to help him.”<
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  “Count me in as well,” Anthony said.

  Sue Ellen held up her hand. “Hold on. We have a complicated situation.”

  The clan turned to her.

  “If your father is married to this other woman, then he’s not married to me.”

  Shock registered on all of their faces. I could see wheels turning in Daisy’s mind.

  “Does that mean we’re illegitimate?” Daisy’s voice went up an octave. “Grandpa’s will said only legitimate children could inherit.”

  “Daisy, we don’t know what it all means right now. We’ll get it squared away. We know my dad intended for all of you to have that inheritance,” Ken said.

  John put his hand on Ken’s shoulder. “It’s good timing that I’ve been taking more of a hand in running the dealerships. It’ll give you more time to sort things out.”

  Anthony leaned forward. “More importantly, this man needs our help.” He looked at me. “How do we get in touch with him?”

  “He doesn’t know about this meeting or his mother’s request. At the time she wrote the letter, he didn’t even know he was adopted. We didn’t want to say anything to him until we knew if you would be willing to help.”

  “Now that we know you are,” Mary said, “we’ll get in touch with him. Those of you willing to help, I’ll need your contact information.”

  Anthony got up and took one of the inn’s cards, wrote a number on the back, and handed it to her. Sue Ellen took out a card and had John pass it down. Daisy looked away. That left Ken as the only other blood relative who could help. Sue Ellen and Anthony stared at him. He wiped his face with his hand, then dug a card out of his shirt pocket. He tossed it on the table and stood up.

  “Let’s go up to our rooms and discuss this,” Ken said.

  Daisy couldn’t leave fast enough. She flung the door open before he’d finished the sentence. John, Edie, and Anthony followed.

  Sue Ellen grabbed her coat and purse. “You have a lot of explaining to do,” she muttered at him as they exited together.

  I stared at the certificate on the table next to my hand. Three names. Amy Winter and Despina Manyotis . . . both dead. Martha Rutledge, Mary’s twin sister. I felt goose bumps form on my arms. Had the attacker been after Martha and not Mary? Who was the target? Had the plan been to kill Martha as well? And why?

  Chapter 12

  Gertie reached out and put her soft, thin, warm hand over mine. “Kelly, are you okay? You look as white as a ghost.”

  I held up the certificate. “There are three people on this. Two of them have been murdered. Mary was attacked.” I turned to Martha. “But maybe they were after Martha.”

  “As I mentioned, I spoke to Mark,” Mary said. “He found a copy of the letter Summer sent to Ken and Diane. It had a copy of his birth certificate and their marriage license.”

  “That means whoever received the letter meant for Ken knew the situation,” Gertie said.

  I stared at the document. “If the marriage and Mark’s existence weren’t discovered, then there wouldn’t be a problem with the inheritance.”

  “If the witnesses were eliminated, no one would know,” stated Rudy.

  “Summer stressed the fact she had promised not to tell anyone if they contacted her,” Gertie said.

  “If they were murdered because of this information, the person figured if they acted quickly, the secret would be safe,” I surmised.

  “They didn’t realize how desperate Summer was,” Rudy said.

  “Or that she turn to us for help,” Ivan added.

  “Money,” the Professor replied. “There’s a reason it’s called the root of all evil.”

  “With this scenario, it’s possible Martha was the intended victim of the attack, but they got Mary instead,” I said.

  The Professor had gone back to twirling his pen. “Interesting point. If someone didn’t know they were twins and were using a picture, they wouldn’t know which one it was.”

  “Someone from out of town wouldn’t know there were two of us, so to speak,” Mary said.

  “Diane explained about her letter. Ken or someone in his family signed for his letter and knew about the marriage and the son,” the Professor added.

  “I think there’s a bigger problem than the inheritance,” I said.

  They looked at me questioningly.

  “The fact that they weren’t divorced took the situation in a much more complicated direction,” I added.

  “And threatened their livelihood and made for an uncertain future in many ways,” Gertie said.

  Mary frowned. “It seemed that the information came as a complete surprise to both of them. How would someone find out they were still married when they didn’t know it themselves?”

  “If someone saw the marriage certificate,” the Professor said, “it would be simple to search the Internet for divorce information—if someone thought to do that. There are numerous companies more than willing to pry into someone’s life for a fee.”

  “Ken might have said something at some point, indicating he had no idea he’d ever been married,” Rudy added. “That would make someone realize the significance of the marriage document.”

  “Money was certainly the foremost concern in a couple of members of that family,” Gertie said.

  “Now what we do?” Ivan asked.

  “We need something sweet to eat that will give us strength after all of that commotion,” Mary said and opened her container.

  She took out a moist-looking chocolate bar, placed it on a napkin, and passed the container down. We helped ourselves. I found the sweet, rich smell of the chocolate soothing. The change of pace and the comfort food were a welcome relief from the tension we’d experienced.

  Once I finished my brownie, I pulled a chart from the cabinet and posted a paper on the wall. “We have the attack on Mary. It could be random, one of a string of thefts.” I jotted down “theft, random,” then started a new column. “It could be related to Auntie and Amy’s deaths.”

  Rudy said, “We know Jack Smith was angry with them. We’re planning on talking to him tonight.”

  “We found the name of the woman who threatened us—Katrina Costov,” Mary said. “Martha and I can go through Auntie’s notes and see if we can find more information and figure out where she works or lives.”

  I added the two names under the “Auntie/Amy/Mary” column. Then I wrote “Martha.”

  “You can put Ken’s whole family on that list,” Gertie said.

  So I did.

  I put the pen down. “I’ll talk to them whenever I can. The only thing I know about their activities right now is that Edie plans on taking a class tomorrow morning at the botanical gardens, and Sue Ellen is planning a spa visit.”

  “I was thinking about taking that class,” Gertie said. “I’ll sign up and make it a point to sit next to her.”

  “Great,” I said.

  The Professor tapped his pencil on the table. “I’ll see if I can find out anything more about our thief that would point to someone or eliminate one or more of the names on our lists. I’ll also dig up as much as I can on all of Ken’s family.”

  “Gertie, is your son still arriving tonight?” I asked.

  “Yes, Stevie and his beagle crew of professional bug sniffers should be here by dinnertime. They just finished checking a hotel for bedbugs and are on their way. I’ll tell him what’s going on, and we’ll stick together.”

  “Should we say anything to Deputy Sheriff Stanton?” Mary asked.

  I looked at the lists. “I think it’s too soon. Auntie and Amy’s deaths have been officially listed as accidental. We don’t have anything concrete to give him.”

  “Ivan and I will hopefully learn something when we talk to Jack Smith. Let’s meet tomorrow afternoon and see what we have,” Rudy suggested.

  I checked the conference room schedule. “We can meet here at two. Will that work for everyone?”

  They nodded.

  Mary took Princess out of her pi
nk purse and put her on her lap. “Mark told me Summer left him a long letter with her will, explaining everything.”

  “How did he take it?” Gertie asked.

  “It was like you said,” Mary replied. “As far as he’s concerned, Summer was his mother. No anger, no upset. Summer was his mother. Period.”

  “I’m glad he knows,” I said. “That will make your conversation with him about Ken’s family much easier.”

  Martha bent down and looked in on Sergeant. “Is it okay if I let him out?”

  “Sure.”

  She opened the carrier door, and out the little black dog marched. He did a reconnaissance of the room’s corners, the table’s legs, and everyone’s feet—a very thorough search befitting his military status.

  Mary scratched Princess behind her ears. “Mark and I are going to the botanical gardens tomorrow. The manager called and wants to give Mark one of Summer’s favorite plants. I’ll tell him then.”

  The Sentinels began to gather their things.

  “What did Ken mean by the world’s largest hot tub?” I asked.

  The Professor chuckled. “A Redwood Cove claim to fame. It’s a monstrous tub built over fifty years ago. It hosted some wild parties back in the sixties. The tub was filled with dirt not long after Ken and Diane’s wedding. It was damaged in the fire Ken mentioned and was considered a hazard.”

  “Is still there,” Ivan volunteered.

  Mary put Princess back into her doggie abode. “It’s at the east end of State Street and is a tourist attraction now. There’s a plaque with its history.”

  Gertie grinned. “The tub served as a local post office of sorts. There were cubby holes where people left notes for each other.” Her grin widened. “I found out my students were trading their homework papers there. I went over one afternoon, gathered them all up, and left each of them notes. I had fun the next day!”

  Rudy pulled on his sweater. “Drugs were sometimes traded there as well.”

  The Professor stood. “You should take a look at it. It’s worth seeing, and your guests might enjoy learning about it.”

  “I’ll do that. Thanks for telling me about the world’s largest hot tub.”