Chapter 14
Peter’s plane landed in Aspen at around three-thirty in the afternoon. He’d listened to the recording on the way over. He knew they had Beecher for the fire, if not the murder. An SUV with a driver was waiting for them as they exited the plane.
Once he and A.J. were buckled up, he sat forward. “Ron. Good to see you. Take us to the sheriff’s department…please.”
“Yes, sir.” He put the vehicle in gear and headed toward Aspen.
If the driver thought anything odd about the request, he didn’t mention it, but all of the Kincaid employees were used to somewhat eccentric behavior.
The driver pulled the SUV in front of the Pitkin County courthouse and killed the engine. The sheriff’s department was housed inside.
Peter stopped at the front desk in the sheriff’s office. “I’d like to see Sheriff Taylor.”
“May I tell him your name and what this is about?”
“Tell him it’s Peter Kincaid, and this is my associate, A.J. Watson. It’s in regard to the gallery fire.” He looked again at the deputy behind the desk. “You’re Miranda, Alexis’s friend, right?”
She grinned. “That’s right. With everything that was happening at that time, I’m surprised you remember me. Let me call back to the sheriff, then we can catch up or wait until after you’re done.” She placed the call. “He’ll see you shortly.”
“Sounds good. I just flew in. Alexis doesn’t know I’m here, and I’d like to keep it that way for a bit. I intend to contact her after I’ve talked to the sheriff.”
“Understood. Whatever it is must be pretty good.”
“Let’s just say there is no doubt about the cause of the fire and who was behind it.”
She pushed out a breath. “Boy, I hope you’re right.
McNubbin has been pressuring the sheriff to arrest Alexis.
The sheriff has been holding firm that there isn’t enough evidence.
I hope you have evidence pointing at someone else.
” She lowered her voice. “We all know who did it, but we can’t find anything to prove it. ”
“What I have will change that.”
Her phone buzzed and she picked it up. “Yes, sir. I’ll show him right back.” She placed the phone back in its cradle. “Follow me, gentlemen.”
“Right behind you.”
They walked down the hallway to the door at the end.
She knocked.
“Come in.” A deep voice beckoned them.”
Miranda opened the door and then stood back so Peter could enter the room.
Sheriff Taylor stood and held out his right hand. “Glad you could come in, Mr. Kincaid. Mr. Watson. Won’t you both have a seat, please.” He pointed at the chairs in front of his desk. “I understand you have something for me.”
“I do.” He pulled the flash drive from his pocket and handed it to the sheriff. “Mr. Watson acquired this.”
He lifted a brow and lifted his chin a bit. “What’s this?”
“Horace Beecher has a habit of recording all his telephone communication. This is a copy of some of his recordings. If you plug it into your computer, you’ll see what I mean.”
The sheriff looked down at the flash drive. “How was this acquired?”
“Not in a way that it would be admissible in court,” replied Peter.
Sheriff Taylor nodded and plugged it into his computer, then turned his speakers up so they all could hear it.
“This is Beecher.”
“Mr. Beecher, this is Shaw. Avery and I did as you asked, but there was a complication.”
“Complication? What do you mean a complication? I don’t pay you for those.”
“McNubbin took care of it.”
“What did he take care of?”
“The assistant was there, but she won’t be telling anyone anything. After the fire, no one will know what happened to her. They will think she died in the blaze.”
“He killed Heather? Oh, jeez. What were you two thinking? You imbeciles. You should have waited and come back when the gallery was empty. Now you’ve involved us all in a murder.
” Beecher could be heard taking a deep breath and letting it out.
“Oh, well, nothing to be done now. You and Avery will have to disappear. I’ll take care of Alexis. ”
Peter’s fists clenched upon hearing the threat against Alexis again. Beecher’s voice continued.
If they can’t find you, they can’t tie it to me. I want you on the next flight out. Meet me at the rendezvous in L.A.. I’ll have McNubbin deal with any fall out”
“Sure. We’ll see you at Rick’s Cafe. How long will you be? We’re gonna need money.”
“I’ll wire money into your account.”
“If you try to double-cross us, I’ll be back, and you won’t double-cross anyone ever again. Do you get my meaning? And McNubbin will be watching you. You can’t put him off like you are me. He’ll want his money”
“Um, yeah…yeah. I get your meaning. I’ll make sure to take care of McNubbin, too, after he’s through being useful.”
“You’d better. He’s not a fun person when he feels used. I’ll be in touch.”
A click sounded.
“What do you think, Sheriff? Is that enough?”
His mouth was a straight line. “It should be enough to get a warrant but I need to find this information on my own, so it’s admissible in court.”
“What about McNubbin? He’s part of this, and he’s been trying to point you at Alexis. You know she had nothing to do with it now, but how are you going to stop him?”
“You leave McNubbin to me. I have something special for him.” The sheriff steepled his fingers. “I hate crooked cops, especially when they supposedly work for me.”
“What do you want me to do?” asked Peter. Thank God, support is now here.
“For now, I want you to stay close to Alexis. She could be in great danger from Horace Beecher. We just don’t know what his plans are. He’s a wildcard here.”
“I can try. She’s not very happy with me at this moment.”
“Do the best you can. I can’t get to Shaw or Avery. I had to let them go after seventy-two hours because I had nothing to hold them on. Now, they’ve gone to LA. I’ll get the police there to hold them for me. I’ll also talk to the FBI and make them aware of the situation.”
Peter stood. “That’s a good idea. I’m going to see if Alexis will talk to me.”
Sheriff Taylor stood and extended his right hand. “Good luck but something tells me you won’t need it.”
Taking his hand, Peter shook it. “I hope you’re right.” He let out a deep breath wondering what it will take for Alexis to forgive him.
Alexis looked over the new building. The rectangular building had two display windows, one on either side of the double doors in the front.
The long sides of the building both had long, vertical windows.
All the windows were treated with reflection material so they let in light, but not enough direct sunshine to damage the paintings.
The building was almost complete. The construction company she’d hired was working overtime to get it done on time. She wanted it open for the summer tourist season. The interior was easier to do than the contractor had expected, which made finishing it quicker.
She’d changed her mind and rather than have several rooms, it was designed with one big room with moveable walls that she could make into one large room or several smaller ones.
After visiting a small gallery in Belmar that had this configuration, she’d decided it was exactly what she wanted for her gallery, too..
“Hello.”
She turned at the sound of the voice belonging to the man she loved. Her heart lurched and her stomach was suddenly flipping over. “Peter? What are you doing here?”
“I came for a lot of reasons, and I hope you’ll hear me out before you throw me out.”
Alexis clasped her hands behind her back, mostly for something to do with them but also so he wouldn’t see them shake. “I’m listening.”
“I brought evidence that my PI gathered against Horace. He’s with me but wanted to give us some space so he stayed in downtown Aspen with my driver.
A.J. will find his own way to the hotel and Ron’s wife is picking him up.
Anyway, the evidence proves Horace was behind the gallery fire and indirectly responsible for Heather’s murder.
Though to be fair, he didn’t order that and was upset because now it’s a murder charge, not just arson.
” He paced in front of her. “The sheriff is getting a warrant now to search Horace’s home and any business he has, including the gallery.
He wants me to stick close because we both agree you could be in danger.
If Horace hears about the raid before he’s taken into custody, then you are definitely in danger.
No telling what he’ll do, and hurting you would be high on his list because he’ll blame you for everything.
He’ll say all of this could have been avoided if you had just sold to him.
But don’t let him guilt you. None of this is your fault. It’s all his.”
I was right. Horace did this. He’s responsible for Heather’s death. “I know but it’s hard not to think that maybe if—”
He placed two fingers over her lips. “Stop. Nothing you could have done would have changed this. If it hadn’t been this, it would have been something or someone else who he hired. You. Are. Not. To. Blame. Do you understand? This. Was. Not. Your. Fault..”
“But—”
“No. No buts. You are not to blame. Did you want to sell to him?”
She shook her head.
He frowned. “Even if you had and were just trying to get the price up, that’s still not a reason to kill anyone.”
Alexis shrugged. “That’s true. I just don’t understand it at all.”
He placed an arm around her shoulders. “Sometimes, we don’t have to understand. We just have to let it go.”
She leaned her head against his broad chest. “I guess you’re right. We probably won’t ever know what was in Horace’s mind when he ordered the gallery to be torched. Hopefully, when they catch him, he’ll explain, but I’m not counting on it.”
“It’s best not to. Come on. If you’ll let me, I’d like to take you home.”
“I’ll probably regret it, but okay. I don’t want to be alone now, anyway, and we have some things to discuss.”
Peter nodded. “We do. My car is out front. Do you want me to pull around to the back?”
Alexis shook her head. “Yes, please. I’ll leave my car here, lock the front and come out the back.”