Double Jeopardy

  Double Jeopardy

  Book 3- Silent Partner Series

  Sheila Hudson

  Copyright 2018 Sheila Hudson

  Take Me Away Books, a division of Winged Publications

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the authors.

  Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV), Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the authors’ imagination or used fictitiously. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, and/or events is purely coincidental.

  1

  “Mollie McLachlan, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? I do.”

  “Phineas Latham Anderson, III. Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

  Poof! I awoke with a start. Ever since Finn asked me to marry him, I’ve had this dream over and over again. I always get to the part where Finn is supposed to answer, but then I wake up. And to add to my frustration, I never hear Finn’s voice or see his face. What if it’s not Finn? Is this an omen? Or a message from my sister, Maggie? There were no doubts on my part. Finn and I had been through triple what most people had in their courtship, I was certain that he was the ONE.

  Nemo begged to get into bed and cuddle. I lifted him up and gave this further thought. In a way, Rosie Adams’ demise in the back seat of the car I was driving brought us together. It was my first assignment from Finn’s dad, aka the Curmudgeon, at the Northeast Georgia Beacon. Finn was a support during the entire fiasco which included the arrest of a prominent detective, Ms. Adams’ entourage, and a car chase where my boss took a bullet for me. Now I can’t say that he’s a curmudgeon any more – he’s Mr. A my future father-in-law.

  After everyone had somewhat recovered, my estranged father, Patrick, showed up after being absent for years. He’d gone MIA sometime in our teens missing all the events that are precious to teenage girls. Furthermore, he didn’t communicate when Maggie, my twin, died or when Mom succumbed to breast cancer, so why now? Patrick, I could never call him Dad, brought with him another surprise – a half-sister who turned out to be a fruitcake with murder on her agenda. Why anyone would want me in their family I couldn’t say. In spite of my whacky heritage, Finn proposed on Christmas Eve giving me the family that I’ve always wanted.

  At the newspaper I have gone from apprentice to features writer. Finn’s mother, Phyl Anderson, became my ally during the Adams’ murder case. She used her influence to uncover facts which led to the arrest of the real culprits. Phineas turned out to be a teddy bear and the best boss in the world. Now that duo would become my in-laws. How lucky could one girl get?

  And while I’m thinking of my future mother-in-law, she is a great role model oozing charm and grace from every pore. No one could take the place of my mother, but Phyl is a great substitute since I can’t have the original.

  Phyl was over the moon when Finn proposed to me on Christmas Eve. She’s even accepted Nemo, my dachshund puppy, as he was part of the deal. For the past few months she and the rest of my posse have planned and re-planned this wedding to end all weddings more times than I can count. And I love them for it.

  The April wedding date was just around the corner. Callie, my best friend, is pregnant. Her due date was close to our wedding date, so against my protests, she bowed out as matron of honor. Natalie, my other BFF, stepped up in that position. Callie agreed to take charge of the bride’s book, the gift table, and other small but necessary details. Natalie’s mother, Auntie Lee, and Phyl were thick as the proverbial thieves with their ideas of what was a proper southern wedding. Simple and small were not words in their vocabulary.

  Finn and his father stayed well away. They preferred to talk politics, smoke cigars on the patio, and pontificate about the newspaper’s future under Finn’s leadership. Phyl also busied herself with announcements in all society’s polite places. She also was compiling the wedding guest list which meant that she quizzed me about family and friends.

  The immediate family was easy. My twin, Maggie, died while we were in college. Our mother died a couple of years back. And my long estranged father showed up last year and was tasered to death by Merry, a half-sibling I didn’t know that I had. My only friends to invite were in the wedding. Everyone else I knew was connected to the Andersons.

  Without any blood relations that were sane, the Andersons filled a longing in my heart I didn’t realize I had. And it didn’t hurt that I had been in love with Finn ever since he moved back to his home town. Finn went to a private prep school then straight to an Ivy League college so our paths never crossed. Of course everyone had heard of the famous Finn Anderson, but Maggie and I figured he was out of our league.

  With all the furor, I didn’t want Finn to feel left out so I assigned him the task of planning the honeymoon. Hawaii was mentioned along with a possible Caribbean cruise. Canada was a possibility although my leanings were toward a warmer climate. All I wanted was some time alone with the most wonderful man ever.

  With the Anderson’s taking care of the wedding details, I made an effort to locate distant relatives that I had lost track of after our parents’ separation. It was never a priority before, but now family seemed the most important thing in the world. I never stopped praising God that not only was I marrying the most wonderful guy in the world but that I was also gaining his family.

  I planned on keeping my job at the Beacon after our wedding. I poured myself into the features that I was assigned. Sometimes my editor even took my suggestions for stories to cover. Just the other day, he sent me an e-mail concerning the rise of modern day pirates in the western Caribbean. The idea seemed crazy but when your superior pitches an idea you don’t ignore it. Wally even attached an article to the email about the smuggling of black coral that brought outrageous amounts of cash on the black market. Wow. Sounds like tomorrow is research day with this as top priority.

  2

  But as Scarlett would muse, “tomorrow is another day.” Tonight was girls’ night. The plan was for Callie and Natalie to come to my place for pizza and sparkling cider – no wine until baby made its appearance. I needed help to decide whether or not to wear our mother’s wedding gown.

  I took Mom’s gown out of the box and hung it up so the wrinkles would fall out. While waiting on the girls to arrive, I pulled out my parent’s wedding pictures. A note fell out of the album.

  Dearest twinster:

  If you are reading this I must not be around. I pray that you have found your

  Prince Charming and will wear mom’s dress like we planned.

  It won’t be the double wedding we joked about but if you are

  marrying him, he must be something special. Please know that I will always

  be looking down on my ‘little’ sister and wishing you all that is wonderful.

  Love forever and always

  Maggie

  By the time Callie and Natalie arrived I was sobbing. Instead of answering their questions, I handed them Maggie’s letter to read. We all had a therapeutic crying session before moving on to wedding details. Finally we dried our tears and recalled all of our crazy antics. Callie submitted her list of baby names for our approval. She was keeping the sex of the baby a secret so names were harder to pick.

  Beau of course as a typical father preferred a son. They planned on naming him after a grandfather – Charles Wainwright or something like that. Charlize if it happens to be a girl. Callie is pulling for a girl since she has two brothers but at this point she just wants a healthy child.

  �
�Pizza is here,” Natalie announced as she closed the door.

  “Great. I’m starving. Of course, at this stage of the game I’m always starving. And if I sit down in a low chair I need a crane to get up. I need a pedicure because I can’t see my feet at all,” Callie complained with a smile.

  Natalie and I almost choked on the pizza because Callie’s dramatics made us laugh so much.

  Natalie said, “Remind me to crown you drama queen.”

  “Thank you, ladies. You are better than medicine. Now stop it before I cry into my sparkling cider,” I teased. Nemo danced around and sniffed everyone’s plate before resigning himself to Puppy Chow. He was my Christmas gift from Finn – him and a knock out engagement ring. Actually Nemo got his name after the original dachshund that Maggie and I had as girls.

  Natalie cleaned up our plates while I paraded around in my mother’s wedding gown.

  “Well ladies, what do you think?” I said and twirled around. Suddenly I was drawn to the mirror over the sofa. Maggie’s face was clearly there. She smiled. I blinked and her image was gone. My face betrayed me.

  “What’s wrong Mollie?” Natalie was beside me in a flash.

  “You will think I’m crazy.”

  “No I won’t.”

  Callie chimed in, “What is it? You can trust us. You know that.”

  “I saw Maggie in the mirror. She was smiling at me wearing Mother’s dress. What do you think that means?” I finally got all the words out. I looked at Natalie and Callie to see their reactions. They smiled. Natalie spoke up, “I think she just gave you her blessing.”

  Callie excused herself to the rest room. I took off Mother’s dress. Tomorrow I would take it to the tailor for some minor adjustments and then to the dry cleaner. We agreed on the color palette that Phyl had picked out for Natalie and Callie. Callie will have to wait until the baby comes for her final fitting.

  It was getting late and everyone had a full plate for the next day. Callie was working part time at West & West, Attorneys at Law until her delivery. Natalie was second in charge at the coroner’s office. When we said good night, I made a mental note to devote my day to researching modern day pirates, which I intended. That is until something more important came up.

  3

  “Mollie, dear. Who is Richard Kenman?”

  The voice on the phone was my future mother-in-law. She was busy paring down the wedding guest list to three hundred of our closest friends.

  “I don’t know. It must be one of Finn’s friends – from college or something.”

  “I don’t recognize it from his fraternity or one of the guys he brought home on holidays. Anyway I will ask him.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  It was fruitless to keep anything from Phyl so I told her about Maggie’s note that I found in the photo album.

  “Maggie had a type of premonition that she would die first. In her illness, she left notes and symbolic items for me to find at significant times. It’s uncanny, Phyl. It makes me happy and sad all at once. It’s hard to explain.”

  “I can't imagine especially for identical twins.”

  “True. Also in mother’s papers I found a document from her physician explaining that Maggie and I were also mirror twins, which have even more traits. I’ll explain later – just in case we have twins of our own.”

  “Ooh that would be divine. Grandmother to twins. It would be so perfect.”

  “Calm down. One thing at a time. Finn and I aren’t even married yet. We’ve agreed that we want to wait a while before starting our family.”

  “I know but a girl can dream.” Phyl had a whimsical tone. I wondered if she was thinking of her daughter, Phoebe that she lost many years ago. Losing someone close to you leaves a wound that never completely heals. Maggie is always in my thoughts. I’ve never completely given her up and I suppose that I never will.

  “Got to finish up my list,” Phyl offered “and find out who Richard Kenman is.”

  “Yes. Do that and solve our little mystery.”

  Phyl answered with a girlish giggle.

  The call was over and I thought how unlikely a mother-in-law I had. She was more of a girl friend or a den mother.

  Phyl’s call had come over the Blue Tooth in my car as I was driving to the newspaper office. She had put me in a good mood. I grabbed a newspaper off the counter on the way to my desk. The newsroom seemed a little empty today. Maybe everyone was on assignment. I rounded the corner and found the staff huddled around the flat screen in the break room.

  It didn’t take me long to see why. The headlines screamed:

  Man Found Dead in Prominent Businessman’s Apartment

  The victim’s picture wasn’t familiar. However when the television news reporter interviewed the apartment owner, I took notice! It was Finn. A collective gasp enveloped the room.

  Who was the victim? Why was he dead in Finn’s apartment? No wonder the staff was in awe. They looked at me like I knew the answer. Heck I didn’t even know as much as they did. So much for my good mood.

  I sat down at my desk and tried to think. Obviously Phyl didn’t know about this since I just talked to her. Should I telephone Finn? Should I go to the Andersons? I was family after all – or almost family.

  I didn’t need to ponder my questions for long. Phineas and Finn entered the newsroom together. Mr. A called a staff meeting in one hour. Finn beckoned me to his office for a private chat.

  “I didn’t want you to find out this way,” Finn said as he closed the door and shuttered the windows. He pulled me to him in an embrace.

  “Who is Richard Kenman?” I said. “And how did he wind up dead in your apartment?”

  “He was an old business partner from before I moved here. Richard got the Save the Date card about our wedding and decided to look me up. I couldn’t think of a good reason for us not to meet up so I had dinner with him last night. Afterward, I gave him the key to my place. I was staying with my parents since Dad and I were leaving early for an appointment. Since Richard was found dead in my living room, I’m sure that I will be a person of interest in his death.”

  “Someone mentioned suicide,” I began to tremble and tears flowed down my cheeks.

  “That’s what it looks like, but the man I know would never take his own life. He was too in love with himself,” Finn swallowed hard. “Dad is bringing our attorney up to speed. We will address all of this in the staff meeting. Meanwhile, I wanted you to hear it from me: I didn’t have anything to do with Richard Kenman’s death.”

  “Of course,” I replied. “But who else in town would want him dead? Does he even know anyone else who lives here besides you?”

  “That’s a good question. I wish I had the answer.”

  “I wasn’t in my apartment at all yesterday. I spent the night at my parents because Dad and I were leaving early for a trip to Atlanta. We got home after midnight, so I spent another night there. So I have an alibi.”

  “Yes but it’s your dad,” I said, “Of course he would alibi for you even if you weren’t telling the truth.”

  “But I am telling the truth,” Finn shot back

  “I’m playing the devil’s advocate.”

  “And you’re doing it well,” he nodded and pulled me to him.

  The door opened and Mr. A was glaring at us. “Staff meeting. STAT.”

  “Does Phyl know?” I managed to whisper to Mr. A.

  He nodded.

  3

  The staff meeting lasted forever or so it seemed. Mr. Anderson explained all of the events of the last 24 hours – how he and Finn were in Atlanta on business, how Mr. Kenman came into town and stayed in Finn’s apartment. The matter of whether or not his death was a suicide was still not confirmed by the police detectives. But if it was a suicide there was no note. What was Mr. Kenman’s reason for suicide? Was there any clue to suspect foul play?

  Questions came from left and right. Mr. A attempted to answer them all. A few were fielded to Finn who was holding my hand. Comment
s and opinions were voiced until an entourage of police officers entered the room. Finn was read his rights and escorted off for questioning so they didn’t handcuff him. For that I’m thankful, but Mr. A and I were crushed just the same.

  I telephoned Phyl. She was devastated and insisted that Nemo and I stay with her for a few days.

  “But I thought you were allergic,” I replied.

  “Oh that. I can take some pills. I need you here with me,” she blew her nose and said she was going to lie down.

  Phineas came in the door as I was leaving.

  “Well what’s the status?”

  “Before any conclusions are reached the police forensics are going over Finn’s apartment with the proverbial fine-tooth comb. He isn’t allowed to stay there until they are finished. It is a crime scene. So I guess he’ll bunk with us for a while,” Phineas volunteered.

  “Phyl wants me to stay with you too,” I said.

  “I don’t mind but what about Nemo?”

  “Oh evidently her allergies can be controlled with a pill when it’s convenient,” I said. “Meanwhile any idea when life can get back to normal?”

  “Nope. But with Phyl having the vapors I suspect the wedding planning is on hold. Auntie Lee will be on her own.”

  I picked up Nemo and packed a few things. I texted Natalie to ask if she was doing the autopsy and what did she know. I entered the front drive just as Finn pulled in.

  “Your mom asked me to come,” I said as he kissed me.

  “Cozy. Are you moving in too?” he asked and grinned.

  “Don’t know yet, but your mom ordered lunch for us.”

  “Madame has gone to bed with a migraine,” the butler offered.

  “Shall we partake? We wouldn’t want that repast to go to waste. By the way, where is Nemo? I saw him come in.”