Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
“You can’t stop fate,” I thought as I stepped away from Moorehead’s body. That’s what Millie had said earlier. At the time, I hadn’t known what she meant, but now, as I glanced at her, meeting her sorrowful green eyes, I knew. Death had come for Moorehead, and there hadn’t been a way to stop it.
Naomi fluttered her hands next to me.
“What can we do? The poor man. To die out here all alone.”
“He wasn’t alone,” Jo said, raising her chin. “If someone killed him, I mean.”
The people crowding around us gasped, and I turned to see what looked like most of the town gathering, trying to get a look at what was going on. Well, maybe not the whole town, but it sure was a lot of people.
“Murdered!”
The buzz of so many conversations happening at once crescendoed. I wanted to cover my ears. I briefly wished for the numbing hearing loss I’d experienced the day before. It was just too much.
“Donna, we need Rob over here and we need him quick,” Emma said. “I don’t care what he’s doing; we’ve got a dead man and tons of people standing around, mucking up the crime scene.”
Hearing her tone snapped me back to reality. I should have been the one to call him. But after this morning... I shook off that lingering sadness and stepped forward.
“Please, we need everyone to step back. This is an active scene, and we can’t destroy any potential evidence.”
My voice sounded weaker than I’d hoped it would, but with a few grumbles, the townsfolk stepped back, forming a wide semicircle around the bench that held the remains of Moorehead.
I turned and looked at his body again. He was seated, gazing forward as if nothing were wrong.
He had a disposable coffee cup from Meg’s sitting next to him, tipped over onto its side.
Emma put her phone in her bag.
“Donna says he’s coming. He’s over at your store, so it should only take a minute or two. Trevor’s still out investigating the gunshots from earlier.”
I’d totally forgotten my earlier fears of Rob rushing off to investigate those shots. So much had happened this morning it felt like I’d lived a day and a half already.
“Good. Did anyone see anything? Marcie? Where’s Marcie?”
“Here,” she said, stepping through the crowd, dragging her friend along.
“Did you see anyone in the park?”
Marcie shook her head while Dorcie peeked over her shoulder, looking at the body.
“No. He was sitting here, and I figured I’d ask for an autograph since he didn’t look very busy. It was just him.”
“This happened in broad daylight,” Dorcie said, her voice shaking. “Right in front of God and the world. And we didn’t even know. How was he killed?”
I shook my head as it felt like the crowd leaned closer, listening intently.
“I don’t know. There are no visible...”
“Alright, people, step back. That’s right. Excuse me, Mrs. Holloway, I need to get through. Jim? Could you move? Thanks, buddy.”
Rob’s voice, typically soothed my soul. Hearing it now, after the fight we had, it felt like my insides were warring with each other.
I quickly tamped that feeling down as he approached.
His faded denim-blue eyes caught mine, and some emotion, too fleeting to name, whisked through them before he sobered.
“Olivia.”
“Rob.”
Again, I had the sensation of the entire town straining their ears as Rob and I faced each other, Moorehead’s body just a few feet away.
“Who found him?”
I pulled Marcie closer, having to tug a little harder than I thought I would. She must have planted her feet.
“Marcie?”
The older woman fiddled with the zipper on her coat, licked her lips, and cast an imploring look at Dorcie, who pretended not to see it, looking anywhere but at the two of them.
“Yes, Chief?”
Rob smiled, his voice softening.
“Can you describe what you saw?”
“Oh! Yes, as I was telling Olivia here, I was out for a walk and spotted Mr. Moorehead sitting here on the bench. I thought, what the heck, maybe he’ll give me an autograph on account of him being sort of famous, you see, so I left Dorcie over there,” she said, turning to point further down the path.
“And I walked over. I was very polite, but it didn’t seem like he was busy or anything.
I thought maybe he was brainstorming something for his new novel, and I almost changed my mind, but as I got closer, I noticed something odd. ”
She finally stopped to catch a breath. If there were an award for the most patient police officer, I would have handed it to Rob right then and there. He nodded and gave her an encouraging smile.
“I noticed he wasn’t blinking. At first, I thought maybe he was just, oh, I don’t know, zoned out or something.
But I called his name a few times, and he never changed position.
I thought it was weird, and then I realized his chest wasn’t moving.
I screamed, and then Olivia and everyone else showed up.
She checked his pulse and confirmed he was dead. ”
She turned to point at me, and I swallowed hard as Rob’s eyes swiveled over to me.
“Olivia?”
“Yes,” I said, clearing my throat. “He didn’t look right, and when Marcie screamed that he was dead, I had to be sure. So I touched his neck, right there, and felt for a pulse. Nothing. He... felt cold. Not...”
I trailed off as my emotions threatened to get the better of me. Rob gave me a brisk nod as sirens sounded in the background. I turned to see the ambulance pulling in, but it was far too late.
“Thank you, Olivia. Now, everyone, I’m going to need you to clear this area,” Rob said, as a few people groaned. “I know, but we have protocol. If everyone could give us a perimeter of about a hundred yards, I’d sure appreciate it.”
I moved to follow my friends, but Rob put a hand on my arm, stopping me.
“Not you.”
Perversely, I felt as though I was guilty of something. I nodded, clearing my throat again to get rid of the lump sitting inside it. It didn’t work.
The ambulance crew rushed over, pushing a gurney. I recognized Chloe with her twin French braids. She smiled at me and waved.
“Olivia! How’ve you been?”
“Uh, I’ve been better. How about you, Chloe?”
She grimaced as her partner approached the dead body.
“Same, I guess. Busy couple of days. Hiya, Chief.”
“Chloe.”
I turned away as they quickly checked over the body.
“Chief, what do you want us to do? He’s definitely dead.”
“Leave him for now,” Rob said, turning toward them. “We’ll wait for the coroner.”
They stepped aside, and Chloe studied her hands, avoiding looking at the corpse on the bench. It felt weird to think of Jackson Moorehead as a corpse. I’d been wishing he’d leave just a few minutes ago, and now he was never coming back. That guilty feeling in my stomach rose again.
“Olivia, where’s his bag?”
I blinked a few times as my brain processed Rob’s question.
“I don’t know. I don’t see it here. That’s odd.”
“Very.”
I looked into his eyes then and noticed the lines crisscrossing his forehead. He looked tired.
“It was black and shiny. It looked expensive. I didn’t see the brand name when I... uh, anyway, it’s not a briefcase. There’s no lock on it, just a zipper.”
I shifted on my feet as Millie leaned against my leg, offering her silent support. She had no idea how much I needed that right now. Although knowing her, she probably did.
“Well, I might need you to confirm it’s his when we find it. Where were you when he was found?”
Something about that question rankled deeply, even though I knew it was just a standard inquiry.
“With the ladies at the quilt shop. We heard a scream and came outside. Before that, I drove around for a little while. Stopped at Susie’s for a few treats for Emma and everyone, and then went right to the shop. I guess Susie could offer an alibi if you need it.”
He heaved a sigh and took off his hat.
“I wasn’t asking you like that, Olivia...”
“I know. You’re just doing your job,” I said, backing away, feeling the gulf between us widen even more. “I didn’t kill him, Rob. And I’m sorry for going through his bag.”
I walked away, ignoring him as he called after me. Emma stood with her friends and opened her arms to me. I walked into that hug like she was offering me a life preserver. My mother was long gone, but in moments like this, it felt like I’d been adopted by these wonderful, caring women.
“So? What’d he say?” Jo asked. “Was it the nose candy? You know, I was thinking, I’ve seen on the news about that stuff being contaminated. Maybe it was an accident. Or maybe he took too much and his heart couldn’t take it. It might not be murder.”
I stepped out of Emma’s embrace and saw Sandy tugging on Jo’s sleeve.
“Why don’t you say that a little louder?” Sandy asked, hissing her words. “The people back there might not have heard you.”
Naomi twisted her hands together.
“It’s just terrible. Such a bright mind in such an awful person. I can’t believe he’s dead. What do you think, Olivia? Was it murder? Or just a tragic accident?”
I took a shaky breath.
“I don’t know. His bag isn’t here, Jo, or you might be right.”
“Heck, he could have a baggie in his pockets. Dang it, I wish I’d thought to search him before Rob got here. Now we’ll never get a chance.”
Emma rolled her eyes.
“Poor Rob. The things he has to put up with thanks to us and our eternal nosiness.”
I recognized Doc Thompson, the coroner, as he joined Rob, their heads together as they conferred about something.
The county coroner must have been busy. Doc Thompson usually filled in for him in cases like this.
A thought occurred to me as I watched Rob work the scene, carefully putting the coffee cup into a plastic bag.
“Olivia, do you need to sit? You look a little pale,” Sandy said, reaching for me.
I shook my head.
“No, I’m fine. I just... Never mind. It’s nothing.”
Sandy gave me a narrowed-eyed look that said she knew I was covering something up and there would be hell to pay for it later. That was a risk I was willing to take. I wasn’t ready to speak the horrible suspicion that flared. This was the last thing Meg needed.
“Excuse me, is there an event or something going on?” asked a voice that was vaguely familiar.
I turned to see a slight woman standing behind us.
She had long dark hair that curled softly on her shoulders, pale skin, and her eyes were a startling shade of pale green.
She was dressed in business casual, a crisp white blouse with a black pencil skirt, and high heels.
She stood out like a sore thumb among the rest of us.
“It’s not what we would call special,” Jo said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Who are you?”
“Natalie Adams. Is someone hurt? I saw the ambulance and this big crowd and figured I’d better see what was going on.”
It took my brain a few moments to click and place the familiar voice with her name.
“You’re Moorehead’s publicist.”
She smiled, a dimple forming in her left cheek.
“Yes! You sound very familiar. Have we met?”
“Not in person,” I said, moving to stand closer, hoping to block her view of what was going on behind me. “I’m Olivia Sutton, the owner of the Timber Falls Book Emporium.”
Natalie clapped her hands together, bouncing a little in place.
“That’s it! Oh, it’s so nice to meet you, Olivia.”
“I thought you were helping another client, Ryan Dullington,” I said, as my friends looked on, not attempting to hide their curiosity. “I didn’t expect...”
“As soon as I heard what happened to Jack yesterday, I got right on a plane in Minneapolis and headed straight for Denver. He needed a ride back to the airport, and, well, um, he preferred to have his own car. Speaking of Jack, have you seen him?”
Oh boy. This was not going to be fun.
“Natalie, I’m so very sorry. But...”
I stepped to the side, words failing me. Natalie looked puzzled until I nodded toward the bench. Rob must have cleared the body to be moved as Chloe and her partner lifted him onto the gurney.
Her face went ashen as she yelped.
“No! Jack!”
She rushed past, her high heels digging into the grass as she stumbled over to the bench.
We watched her go, my friends crowding in close around me. Emma leaned closer and whispered in my ear.
“Oh, that poor girl. I wish there’d been a way to break that to her better. But sometimes it’s best just to rip the bandage off.”
I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the scene as Natalie sobbed over Jack’s body on the gurney. Rob looked my way, a question in his eyes. I couldn’t answer it, not now, but I knew he’d have questions later.
“Has she ever been here before?” Naomi asked, her eyes trained on Natalie’s back.
“Not that I know of. Why?”
“I don’t know. There was something familiar about her. I don’t know. It might come to me.”
I nodded, half paying attention as Chloe comforted Natalie, gently moving her out of the way.
Her partner pushed the gurney toward Doc Thompson’s medical van.
Rob’s face was set into severe lines as he talked quietly with the coroner.
A feeling settled deep in my stomach as I watched them talk, wishing I could overhear what they were saying.