Page 22

The waves hadn’t worked all their magic on me yet when my phone rang. “Hey, Beth, how did you know I was sitting on the beach soaking up some rays for you?”

“I must have felt the power,” she responded, laughing. “I wanted to wait until we’d dropped Amanda off, but then I got distracted. Then I knew you were working, so I’m sorry I didn’t call earlier.”

Now I was confused. Had I asked her to call when they got back? “It’s fine. I really didn’t expect a call. I’m glad you’re home safe, though.”

“Oh, I’m not calling about that. Something was bothering me about the whole Vince thing. I mean, Amanda told me that she’d divorced him, but I don’t think she ever called him by his full name. And she goes by King, so it didn’t register until I started thinking about my dissertation. Maryanne’s maiden name was Penn.”

“Like Vince?” It could be just a coincidence. But maybe it wa s a connection.

“It could be just a coincidence,” Beth said, repeating my thought. “Amanda said Vince said he grew up in Oregon. You don’t think Vince Penn is related to Maryanne Mat thews, do you?”

“If he is, he needs to repay Molly all that investigation money he charged her for looking for Carlie.” Especially if he could have just called his sister and asked if Carlie was at the compound. I stood and brushed the sand off my capris. Maybe Vince was still in town and had seen the kid s this morning.

“Well, I just wanted to tell you that. I mean, it might not mean anything, but it’s weird, right?”

“I’m going to run to the college and see what I can find out about Vince and Maryanne.” I hoped that maybe this would give Greg another person with motive and maybe an opportunity. He was in town when Kane was killed. Molly probably told him about her planned meeting with Kane. “Thanks for calling. I’ll let you know wh at I find out.”

“I’d appreciate it. I know I don’t have to add to it now that it’s been accepted for my degree, but I feel like I need to add a new chapter to my thesis. Maybe this will make it publishable and get me that position I’ve been looking for in academia.” Beth sounded giddy. “Anyway, be careful and make sure you send Greg to do anything dangerous. I’d like to think you’ll be around if Jim ever pops the question.”

“I’ll be there, I promise.” I hung up the phone and gathered the blanket, water bottles, and Emma’s water bowl and tucked them into my beach tote. “Let’s go home, Emma.”

I would have taken her with me to Bakerstown, but I didn’t want to leave her in the Jeep when I went into the library to track down Maryanne’s or Vince’s history. I might wind up empty-handed. And if I did, I’d give Beth’s tip to my brilliant husband and not mention that I tried to find out more. Besides, he wa s busy tonight.

I hurried home, made sure Emma was set for a few hours, then wrote Greg a note. Heading to Bakerstown. Stopping by the store a nd the library .

I grabbed my shopping lis t just in case.

I paused as I looked around the house. This was the point where Greg would say I stepped over the line and went investigating. However, Beth knew what I was thinking. The library wasn’t dangerous. I wasn’t heading to a remote cave or searching the ocean or mountain valleys for a friend. I was just visiting the university library to see what I could find on a c ouple of names.

That was my justification and I was standing by it. Besides, if he got mad, now he had to divorce me rather than just move out. I thought that gave me a bit more leeway. At least th at was my hope.

I hadn’t eaten lunch and I’d had cookies for breakfast, so my first stop in Bakerstown was the drive-in I loved. Bennie’s Bop had incredible fish sandwiches with just the right amount of tartar sauce, soft buns, and perfectly fried cod. And the fries weren’t bad. I usually ordered a large so I could share them with Emma, but since she wasn’t here, I just got a small order with a large iced tea.

I ate my fries as I drove to the university parking lot, then demolished the sandwich. I guess I was hungrier than I’d thought. As I ate, I thought about Vince and Maryanne. Now that I suspected a connection, it made sense that Vince might have been the one to see the O’Dell kids in my shop this morning. Thank goodness Anya had arrived before I had to fight off the New Hope goons. Would they have resorted to violence? I was glad I didn’t have to find out. I knew they carried sidearms because I’d seen them and Greg had been involved in approving the guards’ concealed carry licenses. Roger had claimed that most of their guards never left the premises with a gun so they had only licensed a few of the members.

Was it because the others couldn’t pass a ba ckground check?

All I knew was that both of the men who had come in with Maryanne and Mrs. O’Dell had been carrying. I’d seen the holsters on their belts.

Walking into the library, I felt nostalgic for classes. I’d finished up my MBA last year but I was a lifelong learner. I loved taking on new challenges. Now I understood the feeling that had kept Deek in school long after he’d gotten his degrees. He lo ved the energy.

Now, he got his learning fix by writing. He was always ordering and devouring new books on writing craft and marketing ideas. And the bookstore hosted not one but two evening writer groups.

I just needed to find my groove to fill my need to learn. Without going back to school for another degree. With the three I held now, I thought there might be enough letters behind my name.

I grabbed a spring-term calendar from the checkout desk, just in case. Maybe there were some community classes I could take. Or at least one. Learning new things made me happy. Which was probably why I was always sticking my nose in Greg’s investigations.

Like today.

I made my way over to the periodicals section and logged onto a computer. I’d bought a community membership for access to the library after my student card expired, charging it to the business. I did a lot of reading about new books to order and marketing ideas for the bookstore. Most of those I forwarded to Darla for her to consider for the town festivals she loved to plan.

I looked up Vince’s name and it came up with several links. In several states and for several reasons. Most were about investigations. He’d published several magazine articles on when and how to hire a privat e investigator.

My phone buzzed with a text. It was from Esmeralda.

Not sure if you still want this, but I sent you a list of the closed cases involving Amanda’s ex. I’m really glad she saw through him fast. A lot of women filed small claims on money he owed them. It’s in your email .

I sent a quick thanks in reply and logged into my email on the server.

As I scanned the cases, I wondered if there was anything I could use to tie him to Maryanne. I’d print this out at home and go through them one by one, then see if I could get the final court records.

If nothing else, Amanda needed to be aware of the full extent of Vince’s issues just in case he tracked her down again. He didn’t seem ready to walk away from her. I’d say it was love, but I think he felt she was an untapped mark. Or maybe a challenge, since her son was in l aw enforcement.

There had to be some kind of thrill that came with lying to all these people. Making them feel something, then taking advantage of t hat connection.

All I knew was I wanted my new mother-in-law to be aware. What she did with that information wasn’t my problem. Even though Amanda was smart, sometimes love got in the way of making the right decision.

I guess I had a new project now. Two, actually. Setting up the book club and finding out as much as possible ab out Vince Penn.

And I’d thought I was goi ng to be bored.

Besides the articles he’d written extolling his amazing investigative skills, there wasn’t much online about Vince Penn. He wasn’t on Facebook or any other social media channels, so I decided to see what I could fi nd on Maryanne.

Her online footprint was even more sparse. I already knew she didn’t have a Facebook presence. If she wasn’t listed in an article about the Matthews boys, she didn’t exist. I went back to their wedding announcement. There were two pictures in the small-town paper. A shot of her and Roger, and one of their wedding party. Four attendants. The women weren’t anyone I knew by name or by sight. Kane was Roger’s best man. I could tell it was him even in the grainy picture, though obviously younger. The other man looked familiar. I glanced down at the article below the photos. The other groomsman was Vincent M. Penn. The b ride’s brother.

I’d found the connection. I sent the article to my email as well as Greg’s and Beth’s. Then I packed up my notebook and left the library. I still had time to stop by the store and get groceries before it starte d getting dark.

* * * *

I was putting the groceries away and wondering what to have for dinner when Greg came in the front door. I had just come downstairs from dropping things off in our bathroom. “Hey, I thought you were wo rking tonight.”

“Why aren’t you answering your phone?” He opened the door to the office and glanced inside, then went to the small downstairs bathroom and did the same. When he came out, he headed to th e laundry room.

“Did you lose something?” I ca lled after him.

“Your phone?” he called back.

For a second, I couldn’t remember where I’d last had my cell. In the library. I’d read Esmeralda’s text. “It’s probably in my tote. I left you a note that I was going to Bakerstown. I probably forgot to turn the ringer back on after I lef t the library.”

I headed into the kitchen and pulled my cell out of my tote. I had five calls from Esmeralda, two from Toby, and three from Greg. I held it up for him to see. “I found it. Wow. I didn’t think I was this popular. What’s going on? Did you see the ema il I sent you?”

“About Vince? Yes. That’s why I was trying to reach you. Roger Matthews came in today and told me he was concerned for his safety. That his wife had been acting strange and he didn’t trust his brother-in-law.” Greg got a soda from the fridge, then checked the lock on the back door. “Did you lock the doors when you went to Bakerstown? Was anyth ing disturbed?”

“No, the house was fine.” Now I was beginning to freak out. I put the ice cream away in the freezer.

“Everything okay upstairs?” He still had his han d near his gun.

“I just went into our bathroom to drop off soap and toil et paper. Why?”

He didn’t answer. I watched as he went upstairs. I heard doors opening and closing and the squeak of the attic door. He was checking the entire house. When he came back, I’d put the kettle on to heat and sat at the table. “Do you want to tell me why you’re searching the house like I have a boyfrien d tucked away?”

He chuckled as he sat down. “That option was never on my mind. Anyway, Vince didn’t leave town when we thought. Molly got a call from him earlier today. She called the station, worried that he was trying to t rack her down.”

“Why all the focus on Vince? Your mom’s home. I talked to Beth this morning. That’s what sent me to the library. I wanted to find proof that Vince is Maryanne’s brother.” I’d already told him about the visit from the New Hope crew. “When the group descended on the shop this morning, it felt really creepy. They were trying to take those kids. Thank goodness Anya wa s on the ball.”

“You said you were worried someone was reporting what he saw in South Cove to New Hope. Do you think t hat was Vince?”

I nodded. “I didn’t see him outside, but then again, I wasn’t looking. The kids were sitting by the window reading for most o f the morning.”

He finished his soda. “I’m heading back to the station. Esmeralda’s looking up some of those cases she sent you. I’m interviewing the staff who were working at the Castle that Sunday morning. Maybe someone saw Tanner at the hotel during the time Kane was killed. And now I want to find out where Vince was at that time. It might just be Tanner O’Del l’s lucky day.”

Greg had good reason not to trust Vince Penn, but he didn’t have any direct evidence that the guy had done more than beat up Molly. And maybe Amanda. Murder was a far cry from beat ing someone up.

Except Roger was now afraid of Vince. I wished there was some excuse I could use to go talk to him and Maryanne. But as I thought of the walls around the compound and all the men with guns walking around, I didn’t really want to go inside all that for a social call.

After Greg left, I pulled up Esmeralda’s email of court cases involving Vince and sorted them by date and place. Once I was done, I consulted my notes from the articles on the Matthews brothers and their ministry.

The comparison didn’t match up perfectly, but more than 75 percent of the cases were in towns where the Matthewses had set up a church. Amanda was an outlier in Nebraska. What had l ed Vince there?

I put a potpie in the oven for dinner, then got my phone. I turned on the ringer, just in case Greg called again, then called my mother-in-law.

“Jill! I was just thinking about you.” Amanda muted the television. “How is married life?”

“Just like it was before the wedding. Greg’s working hard to get this investigation closed and I’m back at the shop since he took one of my baristas out of commission.”

“Toby’s such a nice guy. He loves both jobs.” Amanda changed the subject. “So, what’s got y ou up so late?”

I glanced at the clock. It was just seven here. “Oh, sorry, I forgot about the time change. It’s not t hat late here.”

She laughed. “You’re right. I guess I’m still on West Coast time because I couldn’t get to sleep tonight. I’m sitting in my bed watching a home improvement show. I want to redo my bathroom now. Make it more of a spa experience. Anyway, how can I help? Or are you just lonely after having us descend on you last week?”

“I was wondering. Where did you meet Vince?” I heard the effect of the question in her pause. “I know, it’s hard to talk about, but it might be important. Was he living in Omaha when you met?”

“No. I’d gone to a women’s church retreat on the Oregon coast. We were there for two weeks. It was lovely. One day I walked into town and got caught in a coffee shop by a rainstorm. I was just about to call for a ride when Vince offered to take me back to the compound. I’d seen him at the compound earlier. His church’s men’s group was helping with some landscaping that the retreat was having done. We started talking. Then he asked me out.”

Amanda paused for a minute before starting again. “I hadn’t dated since the boys’ dad died. Vince seemed nice, like he had the same values as me. So when he asked for my number when it was time to leave, I gave it to him. Two weeks later, I got a call that he’d m oved to Omaha.”

“He foll owed you home.”

Amanda sighed. “I thought it was romantic, not creepy. I should have told one of the boys, but I wanted to hold it close to see if there was something between us. We got married on a whim. And th en he changed.”

I could hear the pain in her voice as she told the story. “One more question and I’ll let you get back to your remodeling show. Where was the retreat held?”

“Oh, it was a beautiful place. Right on the ocean. I heard they sold the property for a subdivision a few years ago. What was the name of the town that had that cut e coffee shop?”

I held my breath as Amanda thought.

Finally, the name came to her. “It was Newport. Ne wport, Oregon.”

I thanked her and told her that if she saw Vince, she shouldn’t talk to him. And she needed to tell Jim or Gre g if he called.

“Believe me, I’ve already closed that door.” Amanda laughed. “I might be an old dog, bu t I can learn.”

I took a picture of my Vince timeline and texted it to Greg. Then I ate my chicken potpie in front of the television as I watched a cooking show.