Page 8

7

In the hallway outside the escape room, Mina watched Harmony’s expression as she and Nolan questioned her about the rental. She said she’d worn noise-cancelling headphones to watch television in the second-floor sitting room and had been oblivious to the events on the first floor. It was only when she saw the patrol car lights strobing in the window that she came out to investigate. Or so she said.

“And you’re sure you didn’t leave that room?” Nolan asked.

“Why would I?” Harmony’s surly tone grated on Mina. “My contract with Palmer says I have to be present when the building is leased, but it doesn’t say I have to babysit the occupants.”

Harmony was known to have an attitude. Which is why Mina had been surprised when she learned Cody Palmer had hired her to manage the leasing business. She could certainly do the cleaning and organizing, but when it came to being pleasant to customers, that wasn’t the woman’s forte. Hopefully for Palmer’s sake, she was pleasant with customers, and if she copped an attitude, she didn’t do so until after the contracts were signed.

“What can you tell us about the person who leased the space tonight?” Mina asked.

“First of all, it wasn’t just leased for tonight. The contract was for a full five days starting on Thursday.”

Nolan tilted his head. “So you had to be here for the entire five days?”

“That’s the weird thing about it all,” Harmony said. “The only time they came to the building was this afternoon to set up the dining room and then the event tonight.”

“Let me clarify. The escape room would’ve taken time to prepare. They didn’t arrive earlier in the week to set it up?”

Harmony’s eyes creased. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Mina pushed open the door. “Have a look.”

“That’s a new lock. I don’t know how it got there.” Harmony poked her head into the room and spun around. “Man, oh, man. I wasn’t here when they did all of this. Palmer is going to kill me if I can’t get this room back to normal.”

“If you weren’t here, how did they get in?” Mina asked.

Harmony tapped a finger against her narrow chin. “I dunno. Must’ve broken in or something.”

“I checked the door locks when we were looking for Smythe,” Nolan said. “No sign of a forced entry.”

She crossed her arms. “Like I said. I didn’t let them in except today. So I don’t know how they got in here. Maybe through a window. Did you check all of those too?”

He shook his head. “But that can be easily remedied. How about the building keys? Was there any time that your master key was left unprotected, and they might’ve had a copy made of it?”

“No, I keep them on this ring on my belt.” Harmony patted a keyring clipped to the belt at her ample waist. “And you’re not going to try to pin this on me. I didn’t do it.”

Mina didn’t doubt her answer, but she could just be a good liar. “So where were you between three and five p.m. today?”

“Here, like I said.” She fired an irritated glare at Mina.

“Is there anyone who can corroborate that?” Nolan asked.

Harmony tightened her arms. “If by using a big fancy word like corroborate to mean vouch for me being here, then yeah, this Smythe fellow. He brought me up a snack around three o’clock, just as I was falling asleep watching the Road Runner. That show really cracks me up.”

For some reason, this woman wasn’t getting the gravity of the situation, and Mina needed to make sure she got the point. She propped her hands on her hips. “You better get serious about this. You could be in trouble. We don’t know how to find Smythe right now, which means you don’t have an alibi for the time of the mayor’s death.”

“Don’t need no stinking alibi.” Harmony glared at her. “I didn’t do it, and that’s all you need to know.”

She resisted sighing. “That’s not how it works, Harmony. If you watch enough television, like it sounds like you do, you’ve probably watched crime shows. You should know better.”

“I don’t watch them kind of serious things.” She scoffed. “I’m a comedy person myself.”

Maybe in your television viewing, but the humor doesn’t extend to your personality , Mina wanted to say but kept it to herself. “Are there security cameras on the property that could confirm your arrival and departure?”

“Nope. I wanted to install some for my safety, but Palmer wouldn’t allow them. Said he had guests who didn’t want to be seen, and he didn’t want to infringe on their privacy.” She sniffed as if the air were suddenly foul. “Maybe this will show him, and he’ll decide to put some in.”

This Palmer guy didn’t seem like he cared much about Harmony’s safety, otherwise he would’ve installed security cameras despite the cost of providing a private retreat. “Before I let you go, tell me about the person who leased the building.”

“Never met the guy. He made the reservation online. I can look up the information for you, but when he made the reservation his notes said a man named Smythe would meet me here and be in charge of the evening.”

Nolan described Smythe. “Is this the man you’re calling Smythe?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Sounds like him. I let him in and watched for a few minutes while he brought supplies into the dining room, then I went upstairs. My only other contact with him was the snack and dinner. I liked the guy. He’s the first person who’s ever brought me food. Didn’t much care for the meal, though. Too fancy for me. Especially that kale salad. That stuff belongs in a recycle bin, not on a table.”

After hearing what was served, Mina could see how Harmony might dislike it. But most importantly she could describe the food, lending credence to her statement. “Okay, then, we’re done here. I need you to go directly to your computer and print out the rental agreement for the property and any contact information you have. Include Cody Palmer’s address and phone number too. Drop it off at my office tonight.”

“Okay.” She lowered her arms like she was lowering her defenses.

Mina eyed her. “You’re to talk to no one about this. Are my instructions clear?”

“Crystal,” Harmony said and stomped down the hallway. “So much for sleeping.”

Mina tracked her departure.

Nolan kept his focus on her too. “Nice woman. Unless she just behaves this way when questioned by law enforcement.”

“She’s known for her attitude.” Mina shifted to look at him. “Which doesn’t make her a good match for this job. She must really have snowed Cody Palmer in the interview.”

Nolan turned. “Do you think she’s telling the truth?”

“I do. She might be a character and often times an unpleasant person, but she’s more known for being straightforward than lying. Besides, I can’t see a motive for her to want the mayor dead.”

“You’ll still keep her on a suspect list, though, right?” Nolan asked.

“Absolutely, and I’ll have my team check her out to see if there’s a connection to the mayor that I’m missing.” Mina stowed her notebook and pen in a cargo pocket. “I need to get to Becca’s house before Harmony blabs.”

“You think she’ll tell someone even though you told her not to.”

“I know she will.”

“Before we go, I’d like to check the building to see if I can find a place of entry,” Nolan said.

She appreciated him telling her of his plans instead of just demanding to do it. “You should have time to do that while I give my deputies instructions. Don’t get sidetracked because we still need you to do the description of Smythe with my digital artist. Meet me at the door.”

As he walked away, Mina tugged the escape room door closed, then did just as she’d told Nolan she would do. She gave all three of her deputies instructions, ending with the guy outside, finishing before Nolan arrived. She texted her sergeant to let him know that these deputies would be assigned at this location for the foreseeable future, which took almost half the force away. He would have to figure out a schedule without them. They would have to pay overtime to handle this incident, but protecting the scene was top priority right now in finding the murderer.

Nolan stepped outside, and they hurried to her patrol car. She got them on the road. Neither spoke. She actually preferred that so she could think about what had occurred.

If someone had told her she would be on her way to notify the mayor’s daughter that he’d been killed and that Nolan Orr would be sitting in the passenger seat next to her, she would’ve laughed. But here she was, the bearer of horrendous news, driving at midnight down the quaint streets of Lost Lake, heading for Becca’s secluded house near the harbor. She could only hope Becca was still awake and she wouldn’t have to pull her from sleep to deliver the news.

“Have you done this before?” Nolan asked. “I mean a death notification call.”

“For traffic fatalities, yes. Not for a murder. This is my first murder investigation as a sheriff.”

He glanced at her. “But you were involved in murder investigations when you served in Portland, right?”

“Right, but not as a detective, just as a patrol officer arriving first on the scene and taking statements, then running down a few leads for the detectives.”

“It’s not the same,” he said, his tone somber. “The notification. At least that’s what I’ve heard. I’ve never handled traffic fatalities like you, but when I was on the governor’s detail before I moved up to D.C., I did have to notify a good friend’s family that their son had been killed protecting him.”

“Oh, I remember that assassination. That was your friend, huh? The guy who threw himself in front of the governor to save his life?”

“It was. Great guy. We served together on the governor’s detail for a few years and had a lot in common.”

She could only imagine how hard a notification like that might be. “Why did you have to make the call instead of the lead detective?”

“I didn’t have to. I asked to.” Nolan drew in a deep breath. “For some reason, I thought it might be better if they heard it from me. From someone who was there when he died. A friend who held his hand and told him things were going to be okay when they’d gone horribly wrong. To be able to tell them how brave he was. What an amazing person and true patriot he was. The detective didn’t know him. He couldn’t share those things.”

“Do you think it helped?”

He shrugged. “I think so, or at least I hope so. When someone is suddenly taken from you, like in a car fatality, that’s one thing, but to have someone actually be a victim of violence? To be gunned down? That’s a whole other thing, and I’m not sure anything can make it easier.”

“Yeah, I could see that,” she said, thinking ahead to her upcoming task. “Becca’s mom died a few years ago. She’s bound to take this hard.”

He sat silently for a moment. “You sure you don’t want me to come in with you? You know. For moral support.”

“I appreciate the offer,” she said, and despite their differences she did think having him at her side would help. “But I think it might be harder on her with a stranger in the room.”

“Makes sense.” He looked out the window again. “Do you know if she has any close friends we can call to be with her?”

“I don’t know her that well, but I’ll ask when I see her.” She didn’t want to talk about this anymore as the closer they came to the house, the more nervous she got about sharing such difficult news with someone she knew. “Thank you again for getting the Veritas team on board with this investigation. I’m sure it will make a big difference.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, and if she was right, she detected a note of thankfulness at the change of topic. “As an official deputy now, I assume I’ll have access to those reports when you get them.”

“I want to review them first, but then…” She stopped as she really hadn’t had time to think this through.

“Then what?” he asked. “I got into this whole deputy thing because I expected you would share every report.”

“I will,” she said and hoped she didn’t have to withhold anything. “I just want to process the news first.”

She turned the corner onto Becca’s street and pulled onto the narrow lane that led to her secluded property, not as brightly lit as the main road. Trees on the property ahead cast ominous-feeling shadows.

Nolan glanced at her. “I’d love to see this in the daylight. I’ll bet it’s beautiful back here. I’m surprised someone as young as Becca could afford this place.”

“The property has been in the family since this town was founded. She inherited it from her maternal grandparents.”

“Looks impressive from what I can see.”

“It really is something. Despite all the trees lining the driveway, the entire back wall of the house is filled with windows overlooking the cove.”

As Nolan leaned forward to look ahead, she pulled into the circular driveway and up to the house. The outside lights burned brightly as if Becca was expecting visitors or someone was already visiting. But there were no cars in the drive ahead or on the road. Lights shone out from the first floor, even at this time of night.

Mina couldn’t be more thankful. It was looking like she wasn’t going to have to wake Becca up. She might not even be there. “No car in the driveway.”

“It’s likely in the garage,” Nolan said.

Mina shifted into park and looked at him. “Wait here. I might be gone awhile, but please don’t come looking for me.”

“Are you planning to question her about her father’s death?”

“Maybe,” she said, though she hadn’t thought that far ahead yet. “It’ll depend on the situation and how Becca responds.”

She got out of the vehicle and headed toward the garage. The scent of pine filled the crisp night air, and an owl hooted from nearby. She looked through the garage windows.

No car. Not home ? She turned to face Nolan and shook her head to let him know Becca hadn’t parked in the garage. Could be she wasn’t home and this trip was for no reason.

She started for the solid oak door. It stood open about three inches.

Her steps faltered and goosebumps prickled across her back.

Moving slowly forward, she rested her hand on her firearm and resisted pushing the door open farther. “Becca! It’s Sheriff Park! Are you here?”

Mina waited for a response. Counted in her head.

One one thousand. Two one thousand. Three one thousand. Four one thousand. Five one thousand.

No response. Deadly silence surrounded her.

She nudged the door open with her elbow. She didn’t want to touch anything in case something terrible had happened here. The door groaned inward, revealing a small entry area that led directly into a large open-concept family room.

She took a few steps, her gaze sweeping over the space, traveling across the floor and landing near the stairway.

She halted. Stopped. Abruptly.

A large pool of blood glistened from the tile. The scarlet red color stark against white marble tiles. The metallic smell scenting the air.

She swallowed hard. Gulped in a breath.

Was she looking at the mayor’s murder scene? And if she was, where was Becca? Or was this Becca’s blood, and she was dead too?