Corpse in a Crate Read online

  Poor Nate. The word crestfallen didn’t come close. The look on his face was that of a man watching his hard work and his dreams, dreams built over the course of seven years, crashing down around him.

  “It’ll be okay,” I whispered, feeling like it was going to be anything but okay. What did a person say to a stranger in a situation like this, though? Sorry your house had a dead body in it? Sorry you didn’t know there was a corpse in your attic?

  Raina managed to wait until we were in the car before letting out a long, shuddering breath.

  “You all right?” I asked, rubbing her shoulder. The pain etched into the lines between her eyebrows alone was enough to make me feel sorry for her.

  “We have to help him,” she whispered, eyes fixed on Nate as he ushered the detectives into the house. “Somehow. We have to help him.”

  I had a feeling she would say that.

  Chapter Four

  “Lemme get this straight.” I looked up from my laptop, where Raina rubbed her hands together as she paced in front of my bed. “The Pattersons are basically a bunch of weirdos.”

  “Rich weirdos,” she corrected. “George was one of the worst. Nate’s grandfather.”

  “Right. The one who didn’t think about leaving the farm to one relative while leaving the house to another. That’s the sort of thing you do when you’re playing with a full deck, all right.”

  “Exactly. The word used to describe the family is eccentric.”

  “That’s a word only used to describe rich people.” I chortled.

  “Yeah. It is.” She heaved a sigh, running her hands through her hair for maybe the hundredth time. Clearly, the humor was lost on her. “My heart’s aching for him right now. It really is.”

  “I know,” I murmured in sympathy. How did I know? Because I went through the same sort of emotions when Robert Klein, aka First Kiss Robbie, was arrested for murder. I knew he couldn’t possibly do anything like that since he didn’t have a violent bone in his body.

  But knowing something and being able to prove it were two different things.

  I turned my attention back to the articles I’d pulled up almost as soon as we’d finished checking in. Wasn’t this supposed to be a relaxing weekend getaway? I should’ve been oohing and ahhing over the soaking tub in the bathroom, the gorgeous toile wallpaper covering the accent wall and the exposed brick on the other three, the view of the bustling street which cut through the heart of the town’s commercial district.

  This was where Nate had been when his cousin instigated that fight. At least, this was the general area. I could imagine there being lots of people to witness a commotion like that. How embarrassing.

  Instead of squealing over the ridiculous charm of our hotel room, however, I was cross-legged on the bed with my laptop open, researching the farm which sat three miles outside of town, while Raina filled me in on the particulars of the family.

  “Nate’s dad was probably the only one of them with any sense. Frank, his name was. Dad did business with him over the years, but they met in college. Frank always did his best to steer clear of his family’s messes. Nate obviously inherited that trait.”

  She chuckled grimly. “I remember when we were kids, one of Nate’s cousins was getting married. Half the family wasn’t invited since they weren’t talking to the other half. Can you imagine? They have more money than God and can solve any problem with a quick phone call, but they can’t manage to get along with each other.”

  “What was the fight about?” I asked. The troubles of the wealthy always held interest for me, but not because I envied them. To me, they were like a science experiment. I observed them, took note of how they behaved, knowing I’d never be in their league. I was okay with that.

  She shrugged. “Who knows? But you know what the best part was? I bet none of them remembered. That’s always been the way of it. They hold grudges for years and years.”

  “I guess a seven-year lawsuit is enough to make all of Kevin’s allies in the family resent the heck out of Nate,” I mused, typing notes to myself as I spoke.

  “I’m surprised the house is still standing,” Raina admitted. “I expected Kevin to burn it down just to prove a point.”

  “Wow! It’s really that deep with them?”

  Her head bobbed up and down. “It is. Kevin’s the kookiest of all of them. A live wire, my dad used to say, and he wasn’t being complimentary. I bet if we kept an eye out tomorrow, we’d see him around town. He’s the sort of person who likes his routines. Coffee and a paper every morning, that sort of thing.”

  “Sounds like half the people who live in Cape Hope,” I joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

  It wouldn’t be that easy. “How many of them pick fights with family members out in the open?”

  “That’s true.” I watched her pace and fret and fidget until I finally had no choice but to give in to my curiosity. It had been eating me alive since we first met up with Nate at the house. “What is it between you two, anyway? Why didn’t you tell me you have a crush on him?”

  Her eyes widened in a way that told me I’d struck gold. “Wh-wh-what?” she stammered. If she was wearing pearls, she would’ve clutched them.

  “Come on. This is me you’re talking to. You don’t have to pretend.”

  “There’s nothing to pretend,” she sniffed. “There was never anything between Nate and me.”

  “Just because nothing ever happened doesn’t mean you don’t have feelings for him. It’s okay. Childhood crushes are a hard thing to get over.” Once again, I recalled Robbie’s case. He was my first kiss, somebody I had a crush on when I was a teenager and he was an older boy. A girl didn’t forget something like that.

  Sometimes, it was enough to inspire a girl to put herself in danger to spare him a stint in prison.

  She wanted to fight me on it. I could tell. I wouldn’t let her get away with it, though, holding her gaze long enough that she had no choice but to melt under the weight of my sympathy.

  Sitting at the foot of the bed, she sighed. “I had a crush on him when we were kids, sure. All the girls did. He was gorgeous, charming as heck. Athlete, straight-A student, president of his class. I mean, he had it all.”

  “Sounds like it.” I could easily imagine him dazzling all the girls back then. He was still handsome, still skilled at making the people around him lower their defenses and be won over by his charm.

  “So yeah, I was one of many girls who had a thing for him at one point. I used to run into him at events where his family was involved. Charity balls, parties. But I was barely fifteen and he was already out of high school, so he was well out of my reach.”

  “Which only made him that much more appealing,” I grinned.

  “You have no idea,” she groaned, giggling. “I was so thirsty for him, I pretended to turn my ankle while walking past him, just so he would help me to a chair.”

  “That’s pretty thirsty.”

  “I considered swooning, so then he’d have to pick me up and carry me,” she confessed, holding her hands to her flushed cheeks. “Ugh. It’s so embarrassing.”

  On the other hand, I was loving it. Even knowing Raina as well as I did, I found it hard to imagine her ever being anything less than perfect and worldly. There was something touching about imagining her as a gawky teenager with a crush on an older boy. Some things really were universal.

  “It’s clear he’s fond of you,” I offered. “Your chemistry is off the charts.”

  “Oh, please,” she giggled, waving a hand. “You’re just saying that because I told you I used to like him.”

  “I’m saying that because I felt like the awkward third wheel standing between you two. I wondered if I should excuse myself or something. I’m not just saying that,” I insisted, lifting a hand like I was swearing. “Honestly. But that’s beside the point now. Suffice to say, you liked him, and you still do a little.”

  “Emma,” she warned.

  “What? I’m just saying. It doesn’t matter o
ne way or another to me.”

  “You know who you remind me of right now?”

  “If you say my mom, I’ll slap you silly.” My hand went up again, this time as a warning.

  She shrugged. “I won’t say it, then. But you’re right. That’s exactly who I had in mind.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. That doesn’t mean I’m wrong. But that’s not the issue right now, either. It looks like there’s a ton of information on the farm itself, and tons about the family online; they’ve been around forever.”

  “They came over on the Mayflower,” Raina informed me, sounding bored. “Believe me, it’s a point of pride. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a member of that family talk about their lineage, like they were the actual people who sailed over.”

  I guessed I’d be stoked if my family had such a prestigious history, too. My dad’s side of the family was a bunch of mutts, coming from pretty much all over the world. One of my clearest memories from early childhood was of my mom joking that Dad’s ancestors weren’t at all particular about who they married.

  To which he’d replied, “I guess it runs in the family.” Blank-faced, staring at her. Ice cold.

  Their eventual divorce didn’t shock me, in other words.

  “I guess we can hang around town this weekend and see what we can see,” I offered, even though my heart wasn’t in it by a long shot. I’d imagined driving the last few miles to the shore and lying on the beach for much of Saturday, which was supposed to be beautiful.

  There wasn’t even a pool at the hotel. I hadn’t bothered to look it up, which was deeply out of character for me since I was normally the sort of person who had a menu memorized before even making the first visit to a restaurant. There went my bathing suit. One would think that living in a shore town would give me ample chance to visit the beach, but that wasn’t strictly true.

  Besides, the thought of sunbathing with thousands of tourists had never appealed to me. Maybe if I hadn’t grown up with them my whole life I’d feel differently. It would only be another two weeks before the beach exploded with them, and I wanted to enjoy myself before that time came.

  But this was more important. I’d never seen Raina so stricken, and Nate seemed like a nice guy. I wanted to see things work out for him, especially since he’d waited so long to gain full ownership of the property.

  When she turned to me, jade eyes full of hope, I knew I was making the right decision. “You’d be okay with that?” she asked, chewing her lip.

  “Of course, goof. Besides, the town itself is pretty and interesting enough that I don’t need to spend the weekend at the beach. No biggie.” I barely had the chance to get the words out of my mouth before she tackled me in a bear hug. I wasn’t used to such intense shows of affection from her. Clearly, this meant a whole lot.

  “We’ll help him,” I promised, even though I had no idea where to start.

  Chapter Five

  “Not another one.”

  I stuck my tongue out at the phone, not that my sister Darcy could see me. But it made me feel better. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I might have to stop spending time with you. I might end up dead.”

  “Ouch, Darce.”

  “I’m just saying.”

  “You make it sound like I bring death wherever I go. This is only the second time something like this has happened around me, and the person in the attic was dead long before I showed up.” Was I actually being smug over a murder? Because it sounded like I was.

  “Just the same, I think it might be better if you don’t hang around the café for a while. I’m just next door, after all.”

  “You’re hilarious.” But mentioning the café brought something to mind. “Please. I beg you. If you’ve ever loved me even for a second, you won’t say anything to Mom about it. The entire town will be talking by the time I get home.”

  “Please. You don’t have to tell me.” The teasing note dropped out of her voice. “How is Raina taking it?”

  I winced, glancing up at the window of our hotel room. I was out front, getting a little fresh air while talking with my sister. The light was on up there, and I had the feeling Raina was pacing up a storm as she talked on the phone with her father. There would be a hole in the floor by the time she finished if she kept that up.

  “Not very well. I get the feeling she carried a torch for this guy. Not that I blame her. One of those childhood crush sort of things.”

  “No, you wouldn’t know anything about that,” Darcy replied, sounding as smug as I’d ever heard.

  “Do you ever get tired of sounding like a big sister all the time?”

  “Nope.”

  “Darn it. I guess I’m stuck with you, then.”

  “And you’re lucky to be.” Again, we got serious. “The whole thing sounds so sketchy. I mean, how would a body be up there for such a long time with nobody knowing about it? And isn’t it a coincidence that the guys doing the renovations just happened to find it when they did?”

  “I know. I was thinking the same thing. It seemed like the detectives were too busy looking for reasons to accuse Nate to give that any real thought.”

  “You don’t know for sure what they were thinking. You know how it is. A detective can’t show all their cards. They have to at least make it seem like they’re looking at the case through neutral eyes, at least until they start gathering evidence. It wouldn’t do any good for them to start kissing up to this Nate person just because they feel sorry for him and he has a good family name.”

  I saw the sense in that. “And if they didn’t rake him over the coals a little, it might look like they were going easy on him just because his family is famous and wealthy.”

  “Exactly. The Pattersons are old money, aren’t they?”

  “Yeah, they are. Even from the little bit of research I did, I found tons of articles and pictures and all sorts of things about them. They were some of the biggest landowners in the area for a long time, and easily the wealthiest family in the state. There are famous horse breeders in the family, real estate investors—I think that’s how Raina’s family got involved with them in the first place, with her dad and his family being in real estate for so long. They’re wealthy enough that none of them has to work, I think. At least, that’s the way it seems. Their great-great-great-grandfather or whoever it was set them up for life, for generations ahead of him.”

  “Ah, jeez. We forgot.”

  “Forgot what?” I asked my sister.

  “We forgot to be born rich.”

  I giggled. “I don’t know. From the sort of things Raina tells me, I’m glad we’re normal, working class people. There’s too much baggage involved otherwise.”

  “Oh, sure. We’re normal. Our parents waited practically twenty years to decide they shouldn’t be married, and now our father is living with a woman who’s practically young enough to be our sister.”

  I asked myself how long it would take for my sister to finally get over what she saw as a betrayal on my father’s part. “You know, Darce, that sort of does make us normal. I know you don’t want to hear it, but that’s just the way life is. Lots of people end up with second families later on in life, and there doesn’t have to be anything wrong with that.”

  She huffed, clearly disagreeing the way she always did, but chose to let the subject drop. “So, what’s your next step?”

  “I don’t know that there is a next step, per se.” I eyed up a pair of tourists walking hand-in-hand, and one of them reminded me for all the world of Joe Sullivan. Maybe it was being reminded of him that left me hesitant. What was the first thing he would say to me if he had the chance? Easy. He would tell me to mind my business. To let the cops do their job.

  And in this case, maybe he would be right. I would never tell him that out loud, of course, since he would never let me live it down. But with Robbie, it was different. I knew he didn’t have it in him to kill anybody, and it was the strength of my convictions that carried me throu
gh.

  Meanwhile, I didn’t know this Nate guy from Adam, and I would end up with egg all over my face if he ended up having a dark past or something similarly unsavory. Naturally, I didn’t think he would kill anybody and leave their body in his attic, for heaven’s sake, but if I poked and prodded and demanded the detectives look into his life, who knew what would happen? Who knew what they would find?

  If they were determined to be hard on him so it wouldn’t look like they were playing favorites, who knew what they might turn their findings into?

  Then again, there was Raina. My best friend, practically heartbroken for her old friend. I didn’t want to let her down. “Maybe I can call Joe and see if he has any advice,” I mused. There had to be a reason why he was on my mind, why a random stranger who looked a lot like him happened to cross my path when he did. I wasn’t one to ignore signs when they practically slapped me straight in the face.

  My sister, on the other hand, had ideas of her own. “Ooh, Joe. We’re on a first name basis. I forgot.”

  “Shut up,” I groaned. “Detective Sullivan. There. Is that better?”

  “Nope. You can’t take it back. You called him Joe,” she crowed.

  “That’s his name, dork.”

  “Emma and Joe, sitting in a tree…”

  “Now, see? If we were wealthy, I might take offense to that and buy your bookstore out from under you, then turn it into something you would really hate. Maybe a store that sold only DVDs of macho action hero movies and played endless loops of football games on the TVs mounted to the walls.”

  Darcy burst out laughing. “When you put it that way, I guess it’s better that we’re not rich.”

  Across the street, something caught my eye—or, rather, somebody. “Oh, my gosh!” I whispered, all thoughts of my action movie DVD store out the window when I realized who I was looking at. I’d seen his picture online.

  “What? What is it?” Darcy whispered, even though there was no reason for her to whisper. I doubted anybody would hear her from across the street, especially with Friday night crowds starting to line the sidewalks.