It would do no good to try to explain it first. Jack’s mother had formed her opinion of what had happened long ago, and only hearing from Jack himself would make her listen to any other explanation of his death. “You’d better sit down.”
Marilyn came around the side of the counter and held out her hand. “You sound very ominous.”
Shauna pulled up the video and started it, then handed her phone to Marilyn without another word. Marilyn’s hazel eyes filled with tears as the sound of Jack’s voice echoed in the kitchen. Her mouth dropped open as she watched the video. She started the video again and let it run through a second time before she spoke.
The color had leached from her face, but she couldn’t seem to tear her gaze away from the frozen image on the screen. “He expected to be killed. This is proof that Zach killed him. You need to show the sheriff.”
She must not have listened well. “That’s not what he’s saying at all. He told me to turn to Zach for help. If he feared Zach, he wouldn’t have done that. Someone was coming for him, but it wasn’t his best friend. His death wasn’t an accident. I talked to Zach last night about the day Jack died. The rock-and-ice slide happened out of nowhere. I think someone deliberately started it to kill Jack. I have to find out who did it. I think Jack’s killer is after me now. I think he killed Clarence and Lucy. Darla too.”
Marilyn said nothing as she started the video and watched it to the end a third time. She finally put the phone on the counter. “Everyone loved Jack. Who would want to kill him? And what makes you think his death is tied in with the other deaths?”
Shauna couldn’t explain her conviction, even to herself. “Jack is dead. So are Darla, Clarence, and Lucy. I found out that Darla discovered something upsetting and went to Jack about it. What if they uncovered something illegal and were killed to keep it quiet? Maybe Clarence found evidence after Darla died. It all fits.”
Marilyn pressed her lips together and went back to stir the curry. “Town scuttlebutt says Clarence was involved with something illegal that got him and Lucy killed. People think he was trafficking drugs. Why else would Lucy move to that neighborhood?”
Hunger forgotten, Shauna leaped to her feet with her fists clenched. “Clarence and Lucy were fine people, good Christians with impeccable integrity, and you know it. I don’t care what rumors are flying around. I knew them better than anyone, and they both hated drugs, especially after Darla’s death.”
Could Jack have found out evidence involving drug trafficking, though? He might have told Clarence about it. “Can you think of anything in the couple of weeks before Jack died that made you wonder if he was worried about something?”
Marilyn’s brow creased as she stared off into space, then shook her head. “He’d been busy with the annual audit so I didn’t see him much for several weeks. He seemed quiet, but he usually was during tax time.”
Remembering the same thing, Shauna nodded. “He didn’t get home until after nine the week he died.” Jack had owned an accounting business and often conducted audits for companies as well as prepared individual taxes. “What if he found evidence of wrongdoing during an audit?”
Marilyn scooped up rice into a bowl and added several ladles of curry to it, then handed the steaming food to Shauna. “That doesn’t seem like enough to get him murdered.”
“Unless the person was afraid he’d turn him in to the police. Staying out of jail is quite a motivation.” The oven dinged as the timer went off for the bread. “Do you remember Harry Richards?”
“Jack’s friend who plays for the Jupiters?”
“Yes, that’s the one. He had lunch with Jack, and we wondered if he’s the Jupiter connection Jack mentioned. Did he tell you about their lunch?”
“Just that he saw Harry and he was doing well. Jack didn’t mention anything they talked about.”
A dead end. Shauna spooned up some curry and closed her eyes when the spices hit her tongue. “This is so good.”
“I haven’t made it since Jack died.”
“I know.” His mother’s curry had been his favorite dish, and Shauna had never been able to duplicate it. “I have his computer in storage, and his filing cabinet is in the garage. I could go back and see what he was working on the month before he died.”
“Isn’t the sheriff inquiring? You don’t need to be inserting yourself into the investigation when someone is already targeting you. If you back away, things should settle down and you can go home.”
“I don’t think the sheriff is looking into Jack’s death just yet. And I think his death is the start of all of this. I can’t rest until I know.” Shauna slid off the stool and went to call Alex for supper.
If she had to dig out the truth by herself, that’s what she’d do.
Chapter 25
The roar of plane engines was over for the day as Zach locked the door behind his crew and went to his truck. The stench of airplane fuel hung in the air under a clear sky. It was a little after three. Now might be a good time to reach Harry Richards. He pulled out his phone and found the number he’d entered from Jack’s phone. When he was dumped to voice mail, he left a message asking Harry to call him.
He’d barely slipped his phone back into his pocket when Harry returned the call. “Sorry, Zach, I didn’t recognize the number. I haven’t heard from you in ages. How are you doing?”
“I need to talk to you about Jack, Harry.” Zach launched into the events of the past year. “What did you and Jack talk about over lunch? Did he seem worried or anything to you?”
Harry went silent, and the sound of a distant ball field came through the phone. “He seemed a little quiet and wasn’t his usual self. I asked him once if everything was okay. He hesitated, and I thought for a second that he might tell me what was wrong, but then I got a phone call. By the time I got off, he had to go. Do you really think he was murdered?”
“Yeah, I do.” As the words rolled off his tongue, Zach felt the weight of his guilt roll off. He hadn’t killed his best friend. It was going to take some time to fully process that revelation. Someone out there had looked down on Jack clinging to the rock face, then had deliberately rolled boulders down on him.
“I hope this doesn’t sound offensive, but you and Jack weren’t exactly good friends. Why did you have lunch in the first place?”
Harry went silent a moment. “Well, it’s a little embarrassing to admit. I was seeing Darla Glennon, and I wanted to ask him about her. He’d been friends with the family for a long time. She’d been acting kind of weird, distracted and nervous. I thought maybe she was seeing someone else. I only got to see her a couple of times a month because of the distance, so it seemed logical.”
“What did Jack say?”
“He said Darla had some trouble, and he was trying to help her. According to him, she really cared about me, and this issue would be over soon because he had a handle on it and was going to take care of it.”
Zach’s grip on the phone tightened. “He had a handle on it?”
“That’s what he said. Of course, it doesn’t matter now. Once she died from that drug overdose, I figured out what he meant. He’d probably convinced her to go to rehab again, but she didn’t go soon enough.”
Zach wished he could tell Harry the truth, but he bit back the words. “I’m sorry, Harry.”
“Thanks, but life happens. I’ve moved on.”
So Darla had gone to Jack for help, just as Alyssa said. He clenched his hands into fists. “I’m going to find out who did this and why. Does the word Jupiter mean anything to you? Other than your team’s name?”
“Jupiter. Well, the only other thing that comes to mind is the planet, but you probably already thought of that.”
“Yeah, we did. Nothing else?”
“Let me think a second.” Harry fell silent, then cleared his throat. “There’s the Mount Jupiter Quadrangle out in the Olympic Forest.”
Zach frowned. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard that term.”
“I worked for t
he forestry department in the summers during college. We divided the forest into quadrangles, and I worked out of the Quilcene Ranger District. Most people wouldn’t know much about the quadrangles.”
“Do you think Jack did?”
“Sure. He worked there one summer. He knew the lingo.”
Zach had forgotten. “It’s worth looking at. Where is that quadrangle?”
“I’ll send you a map. What’s your e-mail?”
Zach rattled off his e-mail address. He had to be careful not to get too excited. A forest quadrangle was hardly likely to give them any clues. The forest quickly reclaimed what man disturbed, and Jack had been dead a year. “Thanks, Harry. I’ll check it out.”
“I just e-mailed the map. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do.” Cheering in the background intensified. “I have to go. My break is over.”
Zach clicked over to his e-mail. He opened the attached file from Harry, then enlarged it until he found the Mount Jupiter Quadrangle. Some of the peaks were familiar, but he’d never hiked or climbed in that area on the western slopes of the Olympic Mountains. There didn’t seem to be any landing strips, but Shauna could fit her chopper into some of the clearings.
The quadrangle was big, though, and it would be like looking for one particular blade of grass in a ten-acre yard. But they had to try. He put his phone down and started the truck. There was satisfaction in having something to investigate. He’d felt blocked at every turn, but this might lead to something.
The two men from China met him in the small building hidden in the woods. The older one, a portly gentleman in his fifties, spoke impeccable English. “We’d like a demonstration that this device really can trigger an earthquake. This will show us if it can work on any other sites.”
He wanted to roll his eyes. Hadn’t he already given them decades’ worth of proof? “I don’t want to tip off the authorities to what’s going on here.”
“We cannot buy this information without a demonstration.”
He suppressed a sigh. “Very well, but it will be on the small side. This is my home too, and I have friends and family here.”
The Chinese guy shrugged bulky shoulders clad in a black Armani suit. “The size does not matter to us, just the proof we are not spending five hundred million dollars unwisely.”
The guy had a point. He was about to fork over a fortune big enough for a comfortable life. “Okay, let me show you how this works.”
An hour later, he exited the locked room and smiled at them. “The earthquake should start within the next few hours.”
“That’s as precise as you can be?” Armani Man’s frown deepened.
“Think you can do better? Be my guest. No one else knows how to do this.” Which was only a small lie. The only other person who understood how to work the machine wasn’t talking, and he didn’t think Duval was likely to spill his guts to anyone.
Armani Man’s brow smoothed, and he waved a hand sporting a diamond ring worth enough to buy a beach estate. “You are correct. You’re the only game in town. We shall go back to our hotel and await the quake. If it begins on schedule, we have a deal.”
The two men exited the building, and he watched them slide into the backseat of a black limo. The chauffeur was Chinese too, probably brought over with them on their private jet. The group he was dealing with was a paranoid bunch, but that was probably necessary in this line of work. As soon as the trail of dust settled behind the big car, he went back inside and reviewed the procedure he’d just executed. Every step had been perfect.
He checked his watch and smiled. Within the next hour, they should have all the proof they needed. His phone vibrated, and he dug it out of his pocket, pausing a moment to enjoy the way her beautiful face filled the screen.
“It’s done,” he said before she could ask. “They wanted proof, so I triggered a small earthquake.”
“They agreed to the half billion dollars?”
“They did.”
She gave a whoop and his grin widened. “Get some new bikinis, baby.”
“I never dreamed blackmailing the old man would be this lucrative. I’ve got some property all picked out to buy. I’ll show you when I see you.”
“Sounds good. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
He ended the call and pocketed his phone. Life was about to get really interesting.
Chapter 26
The Yellow Submarine had been a town favorite since Shauna was a kid. The small café’s signature meal was grilled clam toasts with lemon and green olives served with a side of Italian roasted potatoes. Shauna caught Felicia’s dubious glance at the dishes in front of them and smiled. “You’ll be addicted with one bite. It’s better than it looks.”
Felicia, dressed in jeans and a blue T-shirt, seemed unaware that she had the attention of every male in the café. Most of the women were looking her way too, but their faces lacked the appreciation in the male glances.
She picked up a wedge of toast and took a bite. “Delicious! Thanks for bringing me. I came once by myself but didn’t know what to order. The woman who waited on me just seemed to want me to leave and didn’t have any suggestions.”
“I’ll introduce you to some people when we’re done.” Shauna straightened when she recognized a wide set of shoulders outside the display windows. “There’s Zach.”
She started to wave, but he walked on past the door and crossed the street to intercept his copilot, Valerie. The blonde looked stunning this morning with her hair in a messy bun. Had there ever been anything between the two of them?
She forced her attention back to Felicia, who was looking at her with a knowing glance. “What?”
Felicia’s smile widened. “You’re in love with him.”
“Of course not. He’s just been a friend forever.”
“Girlfriend, I recognize that lovesick expression so you might as well quit covering it. He’s nuts about you too, so you don’t have to be afraid.”
Heat washed up Shauna’s face. “You’re mistaken on both counts.”
Amusement lit Felicia’s dark eyes. “I’m never wrong about these things. I realize you’re in the middle of trying to figure out a murder, but I’d be using this time at his house to see where your relationship might go.”
“We have no relationship! I mean, not that kind.” Her tongue tripped over itself, and she reached for a piece of toast to cover her confusion.
“What’s the problem, anyway? He loves you and you love him. Is it your son?”
“No, Alex loves Zach and Zach loves him.” Shauna wanted to plant her face in her hands. “Zach was my husband’s best friend. It would be disloyal to Jack.”
Felicia nibbled at a triangle of toast. “So your husband was a jerk who would want you to be unhappy the rest of your life?”
“Jack was a wonderful man! He only wanted the best for us.”
“Then why would you think loving Zach would be disloyal? If Jack was so wonderful, he’d want you with a man he loved and trusted, wouldn’t he? I heard that video too. He told you to turn to Zach if he died. So why are you running away?”
She’s right. Shauna sat back in her chair and exhaled.
Felicia took another bite. “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a coward either, but you’re sure acting like one. Hiding away in your house, afraid to move on and be happy again. What kind of life is that for you or for Alex? You’re only in your early thirties. Do you plan to spend the next fifty years alone? Alex will grow up and move out before you can blink.”
Good grief, the woman was blunt. Shauna wiped her fingers on her napkin. “You’re practically a kid yourself. How do you know so much about life?”
Felicia’s smile was sad. “I’ve had to become a student of men and what makes them tick since I was fourteen. I was on my own by sixteen and swimming with the sharks of the world. When I met Everett, I knew I would be safe. He saw me for who I am and not for just what I looked like. Zach looks at you that way too.”
?
??Zach and I share a common history built around love for Jack. I’m not sure how to even get past having Jack at the center of everything.” Shauna heard the tremble in her voice and swallowed it down. “I mean, I’m not sure how to do it. He’s part of who I am.”
“Moving on doesn’t mean forgetting Jack. He’ll always be part of you. Our experiences, good and bad, shape us and form us. That’s all part of our growth. I wouldn’t be who I am without having spent some time in a foster home or without those nights crying alone in my hotel room. My foster parents were great, by the way. The nights in the hotel room weren’t.”
Maybe she wouldn’t be giving up Jack if she moved on with her life. She’d gotten a little caught up in what people would think, which was silly when she stopped to think about it.
Felicia devoured another wedge of clam toast. “You were right—this stuff is pretty good,” she mumbled with a full mouth. “So what’s it going to take for you to move on? I can see you’re still hesitant.”
Shauna’s attention went out to where Zach still stood talking to Valerie. “Maybe once the murders are solved, I can think about it.”
“What if they’re never solved? Life doesn’t always fit into our neat boxes.”
“I have to find justice for Jack. Lucy, Clarence, and Darla too.”
“Have the courage to admit you want justice for you, not for them. Justice this side of heaven is a myth. It’s not our job anyway. Real justice belongs to God.”
Shauna held up her hands. “Okay, okay, I give.”
Zach turned and headed back toward the restaurant. Her cheeks went hot when he yanked open the door and stepped inside. Felicia was right. Shauna loved him, and she couldn’t deny it. The smile that lifted his lips when he saw her made her pulse leap.
When the trembling started, she thought at first it was because the revelation was so earth-shattering. Then glass began to break around her, and someone screamed out, “Earthquake!”
It was only after she was crouching under the table with her hands over her head that she realized the screaming was coming from her.