Chapter 9

Chapter

Nine

W hen Cat came out of the administration building she pulled her coat closer. The temperature had dropped by several degrees in the last hour as she talked with Roxie. And she’d learned nothing new. As she walked to the street, a parked limo flashed its lights at her, and she watched as Dante stepped out of the back seat and held the door open for her. She went over and slipped inside the warm car. “You must really love this scarf.”

He laughed as she unwrapped the scarf and gave it to him. “It has sentimental value, what can I say? I’m a softy for these types of things. How was your conversation?”

“Interesting. Roxie states there are only three people who could have moved that money. You, her boss – Allen, now Mike, and the president of the college.” Cat leaned against the exceptionally soft leather on the seats.

“Interesting that she brought Martin into the discussion. But if he or Allen are anything like me, three others had the security codes to get into the account. Our assistants. Mine has top-secret security clearance so I think she can go off the list.” He watched as they left the campus. “And I pay a lot better than the college positions. She has no need for the money.”

“Sometimes money isn’t the motivating factor, but I think she can go down on the list,” Cat thought about her conversation with Kim Stage. “Are we still thinking you were set up to take this fall? And if so, why would the framers kill Allen?”

“I’ve had some feelers out in my family business. No one is claiming responsibility, but, I have ruffled some feathers. They all think I’m soft since I’d rather stay within the law for the businesses I manage. I think some of our businesses are too busy sampling the product and have lost sight of what a business should do. Make money.” He turned to see her grinning at her. “What?”

“You sound positively normal. Michael always said if a business was going to succeed, they had to look at the big picture and play within the rules.” She took her beanie off and ran her fingers through her hair to try to control the madness at least a little now that she was warming up. “I didn’t know then all he knew about your family business.”

“If he would have lived, my section of the business would be completely clean by now. I’m close, but Michael was a lot smarter on how to expedite it than I’ve been. I’m afraid I’ve let this cleanup go on too long. People are getting nervous.”

“The question then is who benefits if you go down for this? Allen’s murder was probably a red flashing arrow to my uncle to point everything at you. The problem is Uncle Pete’s not an idiot and he knows if you were going to get rid of Allen for ratting you off, it wouldn’t be in your own house with a bunch of guests floating around.” Cat saw they had just turned on her street. “Are you going tonight to the memorial for Allen?”

He nodded. “Do you want to come along?”

“I would but I’m not sure if I continue to look like your date if anyone will talk to me again. I’ll be at the funeral tomorrow,” she reached for the door handle. “Let me know if anyone acts suspiciously tonight.”

“At this point, I’d appreciate it if someone just bragged and admitted their evil plan with a laugh. At least that way, I’d know who was throwing knives at me. I’m tired of watching my back all the time.” Dante leaned against the headrest and closed his eyes. “Sometimes I think you’re the only one who believes me.”

“That’s not true,” Cat paused before getting out of the car. “Besides, you have a security team. Let them watch your back for a while. Go have a little fun.”

He opened her eyes and stared at her, “At a memorial.”

“Okay, bad example, but maybe tomorrow.” She climbed out of the car and before she shut the door, she leaned down. “Thanks for the ride. Totally unnecessary, but it was nice.”

“You just can’t say thank you and leave it be, can you?” He shook his head as he leaned back into the leather seat.

Cat watched the car leave and then hurried into the house. She hoped that Shauna had something cooking that was warm and filling. She felt like she’d been out skiing for hours.

Seth held the door open for her. She pulled off her coat and hung it up. “Thanks.”

“Where have you been? Your guests are asking about tonight’s reading. I guess you told them that there would be hard copies available?” Seth watched Dante’s limo drive away.

“I walked to the college to talk to the fundraising department. Dante saw me and drove me home,” Cat hurried to the front desk. “Where’s Shauna? I thought she would do the copying.”

“She’s been dealing with finding a plumber for the barn. The pipes to Snow’s water trough froze over. If you sent her something, she probably didn’t see it.”

Snow was Shauna’s pride and joy. The horse lived in the barn behind the house with a tribe of cats. Keeping the barn warm enough for the animals and the plumbing was an ongoing challenge.

“Oh, well, that’s what I get for leaving the house to investigate. You would think that I’d put off the mystery-solving until the monthly retreat is done. I’ll go get the copies made right now.” After one of her advances, she’d bought a large printer for the house. Shauna kept it in the closet in the den where Michael had kept his office supplies. The printer was on their network so all she had to do was push a button to get the copies made. “I’ll be right back if anyone asks.”

“Cat, you can’t dog yourself for trying to help solve a murder. You didn’t kill the guy and you can’t schedule these things around the retreat. You like figuring this stuff out. Besides, you’re good at it.”

She turned back and smiled at him. “Thank you for saying that. Sometimes I don’t think I’m doing anything right. Not the writing. Not the retreat. And not the sleuthing. Just ask Uncle Pete.”

“He worries about you, that’s all. Go get the copies and I’ll go check on Shauna and the barn rats. Hopefully, this plumber has the problem fixed.” Seth kissed the top of her head as he grabbed a coat to head outside.

By the time Cat got the copies made and back up to the front desk, several writers were hanging out in the dining room. Shauna must have just refilled the treat bar and coffee. Cat headed that way to check in with them. “Hey, Alicia’s pages are at the front desk. I’m sorry about the delay. Tomorrow’s pages will be there when you get back from lunch. But I’ll be out tomorrow afternoon for a couple of hours and back for the reading and writing sprints.”

Nan held up her hand, “Can I ask a question?”

“Of course, and you don’t need to raise your hand. We’re informal around here,” Cat grabbed a cookie and sat at the table with the writers.

“Sorry, I’m feeling like I’m back in school. Are you going to that guy’s funeral? The one who was killed at the house where the party was held?” She looked around the table. “We heard about it at the diner. Everyone’s saying the owner of the house killed him. Was it gang related? Are we safe here?”

Cat took a breath and wondered how much to tell the writers. “First of all, you’re very safe here. Aspen Hills is one of the safest towns in Colorado. If you’re concerned about walking anywhere, please let us know and we’ll transport you in the van. But it’s totally safe to walk around town. Second, Dante is a neighbor and a friend. Allen’s death at the party is a tragedy but Dante didn’t kill him. Small towns tend to gossip about people who aren’t in their own social circle and those they consider outsiders. I’m not sure what else to say, but I’m sorry if you’re feeling unsafe.”

“Oh, I’m not feeling unsafe,” Nan hurried to explain after the group stared at her. “We were just repeating the rumors. I guess that wasn’t very kind to your friend.”

“I understand that people gossip, I just don’t want this event to affect your retreat. If you don’t feel comfortable with me attending the funeral, I can send Shauna as our representative. Since I was a faculty member of Covington, I feel a responsibility to attend.”

Nan shook her head violently. “Now I feel horrible. No, you go ahead. I guess we were just wondering if you were investigating the murder. I’ve read reviews of the retreat where the writers had been involved in helping to solve a murder and…”

Jon broke in. “Don’t be mad at Nan, we were all talking about it at lunch today. It’s kind of cool to be at the murder retreat during an actual murder so if there’s anything you need us to do to help solve this mystery, we’re here for you.”

Cat set her half-eaten cookie down on the napkin. “Look, I know some of the past guest reviews have talked about participating in a murder investigation, but I swear, it’s not a formalized part of the retreat. And Allen Johnson isn’t an actor, paid to be the dead guy. This is an actual murder that my uncle, who is Aspen Hill’s police chief, is solving. We’re writers. We should stay out of real investigations.”

“We’re sorry if this came off wrong. We love the retreat, I promise,” Debra Jennings came to the rescue of the other guests. “I probably set this whole conversation in progress since I found Mr. Johnson that night. It seemed like a staged event.”

Cat felt sorry for Debra. She’d found a man murdered. It would be simpler if that was just a fake murder for the benefit of the writers' group. Cat glanced at her watch, “I understand and I hope I didn’t come off grumpy. If you’re all going to grab dinner before our session tonight, you better get going. Unless you want Seth to drive you to the restaurant?”

“No way, I’m finally getting some steps in during the day. Typically, at home, I’m either stuck at my desk in the office or sitting on the couch with the laptop. The fresh air is making me so creative.” Patrick Bradley stood and looked around the room. “But I could be the only one.”

As the group assured him that he wasn’t, Cat reminded them of the five pm start time for the reading and she left the dining room, fleeing to the kitchen.

Shauna and Seth were there with cups of hot tea in front of them. Seth grinned at her. “Water crisis adverted. Snow and the dwarfs are fine.”

“Good, I’m happy about that,” Cat grabbed a cup and put a teabag inside, then came to the table to fill her cup with hot water. “The group feels slighted that I haven’t invited them to solve the staged murder we had on Saturday night.”

“Seriously? They thought Allen’s death was just play-acting?” Shauna sipped her tea. “Maybe we should put something in the fine print saying that if an event happens during retreat week, we are not just putting on a show for their amusement.”

“I’m not sure it would work. Nan asked if they were safe here in Aspen Hills. So they went from one extreme to the other. From thinking it’s made up, to worrying about their own lives. I’m concerned.” Cat played with dunking her tea bag. Maybe she should have been more clear and addressed the elephant in the room earlier so that when the guests heard rumors, they could put their own spin on them. “Anyway, I sent them off for dinner. I’ll probably have to reassure them again tonight during the session.”

“So let’s get our dinner ready and then you can tell us what you found at the college,” Shauna stood and went to the crockpot where she stirred something. “I’ve got salsa chicken ready and I just need to make some rice so dinner should be ready in about thirty minutes?”

“Sounds good,” Seth stood as he drained his tea. “I need to get Sam out and about then I’ll come back after I feed him.”

Cat paused as she watched Seth leave and Shauna busy herself at the stove. “Do you need help?”

“No, go write or something. I’ve got this,” Shauna said as she finished setting the rice to cook. “Besides, I need to plan out tomorrow. I spent so much time out in the barn, I’m behind on baking and cleaning.”

“Can you still go to the funeral with me?” Cat paused as Shauna grabbed her planner.

“It’s at three? Probably not. I’m going to have a full day as it is.” Shauna shrugged. “Sorry. Maybe Seth would go with you?”

“I can ask,” Cat responded and headed up to her office to check her email quickly and look at her plans for the week. All of the writers had signed up for private sessions with her so she needed to put them in her calendar. As she played with her calendar, she thought about what Roxie had said. The gossip train was shining the light on Dante for the murder. Was there a reason for that? Who would take over Dante’s consulting spot from the family if he was in jail?

She texted him the question and he responded back quickly with a short – I’ll look into that – response. She was sure the idea had occurred to him. And it had to be someone who was at the house that night. Another guest? One of Dante’s own security team? Or just someone Allen was meeting who’d come in the guise of being invited?

She texted another request. The names of everyone who had been invited to the party. Dante’s security team had checked her invite, but not the five writers who had followed her inside.

This time the answer came a few minutes later. In your email .

Cat had a lot of work to do, including looking up all the names on the list he’d just sent her. She hoped someone would take on leading the writing sprints tonight since Maggie was at the memorial. If not, she’d check out the names on her laptop while the guests wrote. Hopefully, no one would realize what she was doing or everything she’d told them about not being part of the investigation would turn out to be a lie.

The next morning, Cat hurried down to get coffee so she could write a few words before her one-on-one meetings began. She ran into Shauna in the kitchen. “Hey, I just need coffee and maybe a muffin or something to tide me over. What was I thinking - offering individual conference times and a new panel session? Everyone signed up so I’ve got meetings today and tomorrow. And the funeral.”

“Did you talk to Seth?” Shauna got a carafe down from the cabinet and handed her a plate with two slices of zucchini bread. “Eat this while it’s warm. There’s butter on the table.”

“Thanks. And no, I didn’t talk to Seth. I forgot at dinner, then I ran the evening session since Maggie was gone,” Cat sat and slathered butter on the warm bread. “I was trying to go through the list that Dante sent me with the party guests. So many departments at the school. I mean, I knew they offered a lot of degrees but there had to be fifty Deans there with their spouses.”

“The last time I went to one of Dante’s parties, he said that if one of the special students wanted a specific degree, they built the department around them. At least at first. He’s been working with the president to combine some of the less popular degrees into others. Like Professor Turner, he had an entire degree program in Hemingway studies, but then program got sucked into Contemporary Literature a few years ago. That’s why the English Dean sends him here for the lecture. Turner’s paid more than him and there’s nothing Forest can do about it, he has a tenure contract.” Shauna set a full cup of coffee on the table, then sat down with Cat.

“You’ve been spending time with our favorite professor,” Cat finished the first slice of bread and licked her fingers. “I didn’t realize that about the school. And I worked there.”

“Not long enough. If Michael had lived, they were going to let him open his own graduate degree program in Economics. It would have been quite the boon for the college. Which made the families a little nervous about the attention he was bringing.” Shauna was checking her to do list while they talked.

“So a lot of department heads all focused on money and students. No wonder the fundraising guy was killed. I wonder what whale donor he was trying to reel in when he died. Allen said he was having problems with a donor at the party. That the guy wanted too much for his money.”

“There are only so many buildings on campus. And so many streets in town. What else could they offer?” A buzzer went off and Shauna stood to check something in the oven. When she opened the door, the smell of cinnamon and sugar filled the room.

“Rolls?” Cat finished her bread hoping to snag a cinnamon roll before she left to go write.

“French toast casserole for the guests,” Shauna corrected. “Kind of a bread pudding with a maple syrup cream on top. This group loves their sweets. The egg casserole was almost untouched yesterday, but the muffins disappeared within minutes.”

Cat took one last sip of coffee and dumped the rest into the travel mug sitting by the carafe. “Well, have a good day. See you at lunch?”

“I’ll bring up treats and coffee for your meetings. What times are they today?” Shauna wrote down the times and names for each of the four meetings today. Then she stood and grabbed something off her desk. “I almost forgot. I found this by the front door this morning when I went to check the dining room.”

Cat took the flash drive that Shauna handed her. “Probably someone’s backup. We’re all terrified of losing words. I have an auto-system that sends my work to a cloud storage. I’ll check it and see if I can identify the owner.”

She went to her office and got lost in her words until ten minutes to nine when Shauna’s sharp knock pulled her out of the story.

Shauna came in with a coffee service and arranged it on the table by the sofa. “Did you find out who the drive belongs to?”

Cat saved her work, then popped the drive into her desktop. “No, but I will right now. Alicia’s first up so I have a couple of minutes.”

When the drive came up on her screen, she frowned. “These aren’t Word documents. They’re Excel files.”

“Like what we use for the accountant?” Shauna stepped closer and peered over Cat’s shoulder. “The file names seem to be months and years. Open one.”

Cat did and when the spreadsheet finally loaded, she realized what she was looking at. “This is a listing of all the donations and expected donations with all the promises made for how the money would be spent. This line is supposed to go to student scholarships. And this one, athletic supplies.”

Cat turned and met Shauna’s gaze. “There’s only one person who had access to this level of information from the school and even Maggie shouldn’t have this. She’s the president’s wife, not the head of fundraising.”

A knock on the door stopped their conversation. Alicia popped her head in, a planner in her arms and a huge smile on her face. “Oh, sorry, am I early?”

Cat closed the file, then pulled the flash drive and tucked it in her desk. “We were just going over some retreat business. Come on in. Do you want some coffee?”

Shauna took Cat’s empty carafe and headed to the door. “I’ll come up just before ten with more treats, so please, eat.”

Alicia sat down on the couch and filled a plate with cookies. “You are a much better dessert baker than the woman at the college. She’s always trying to push low-sugar and low-fat stuff on us. I swear, I’m going to gain back all of the freshman fifteen I just lost. And then, at my work-study job, Kim’s always bringing in home-baked brownies for the crew. She keeps us well fed.”

Shauna paused at the door. “Oh, Cat, do you want me to invite your uncle to lunch? We haven’t seen much of him this week?”

Cat shook her head. She knew that Shauna was trying to give her an out to just give the flash drive away but she wanted to study it more. Not that she’d know what she was looking for, but she needed to at least try. Especially if Maggie was involved in this scheme. “Let’s wait. You know he loves spending Sundays with us. Maybe invite him for dinner then.”

Shauna shook her head but closed the door as she left. She didn’t have to tell Cat she thought she was making a mistake. Cat got the message without Shauna saying a word.

“So Alicia, what are your plans for your writing? Your career goals?” Cat grabbed Alicia’s goal sheet and a notebook and sat in the chair next to the sofa. She just hoped she could keep her mind on the meetings and her guests and not on what information was hidden in the flash drive setting in her desk.