sweater or sweatshirt was a necessity, but the relaxing environment provided by the crackling fire and the moonless sky made the extra layer of clothing worth it.
“It’s too dark out here for us to use the murder board,” Siobhan pointed out.
“I thought we’d eat out here and enjoy the ocean and the crystal-clear sky and then move inside for the theory-building session. It won’t be long before it’s too cold to spend time on the deck after dark.”
Siobhan began gathering plates and silverware. “Fine by me. It really is a beautiful night. Finn’s going to call us when he gets back to his room for the evening and we can keep him with us on speakerphone. It’ll almost be like he’s here with us. Did he ever get hold of you this afternoon?”
“No. He called when I was driving and couldn’t answer. I called him back and left him a message, but he must have already returned to the conference. Tripp said Finn might be able to get the original police report from the county, so don’t let me forget to ask him about it.”
Siobhan set a bottle of wine on the counter and then opened the drawer in search of a corkscrew. “I’m sure Finn has already thought of that. He may even have had the report emailed to him. I’m feeling very motivated to get this case wrapped up sooner rather than later.”
“Right there with you.”
“What I can’t decide,” I shared, “is whether Amanda’s death is actually related to the deaths of those two girls, and if we decide they aren’t, is it Amanda Lowman’s death we’re trying to solve or Bronwyn and Ruby’s?”
Siobhan was looking in the cupboard in search of wineglasses. “I think if we decide the deaths aren’t related we focus on finding Amanda’s killer. We have no way of knowing if the person responsible for Bronwyn and Ruby’s deaths is still on the island or even still alive, while the person who killed Amanda could have taken the morning ferry back to the mainland. Though my instinct is that the killer is most likely still in our midst.”
By the time we finished dinner Finn was done with his work for the day, so we dialed him into the conversation from the very beginning.
“Okay, Finn, I have you on speakerphone, so join in as you can,” Siobhan instructed.
“I have to admit it’s frustrating to be here when there’s so much going on there, but I guess this will have to do for now. What do we know?”
The five of us in the room—Siobhan, Cody, Danny, Tara, and me—were huddled around the table so we were all close to the phone and hopefully all could be heard.
“First of all, Amanda Lowman left a notebook at the store that I’d put in my pocket, meaning to give it to her when we stopped off at her motel room. I forgot all about it and accidentally brought it home with me,” I began. “I haven’t had the opportunity to turn it over to the deputy yet, but I did find the time to look through it.”
Finn groaned. “You didn’t just tell me that.”
“Of course not. Forget I mentioned it. I will tell you, though, that I managed to come up with two lists of names from the notebook I don’t have.”
“Hang on,” Finn said. “Let me grab a pen.”
I waited for him to come back on the line. I could hear rustling in the background, as if he was opening and closing drawers.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Finn said. “What do you have?”
“On the first list we have Tripp Brimmer, who I spoke to today; Orson Cobalter, who we all know is dead; and Toby Willis, Lisa Kellerman, and Conrad Quarterman, who I’ve left messages for but haven’t spoken to yet. Father Kilian was also on the first list; I managed to speak to him this afternoon.”
“What did Tripp have to say?” Finn asked.
I filled him in on the very limited amount of information Tripp had provided and also told him that Tripp seemed like he might have additional information he would be willing to share with a deputy but not me. Finn promised to find some time to
“It’s too dark out here for us to use the murder board,” Siobhan pointed out.
“I thought we’d eat out here and enjoy the ocean and the crystal-clear sky and then move inside for the theory-building session. It won’t be long before it’s too cold to spend time on the deck after dark.”
Siobhan began gathering plates and silverware. “Fine by me. It really is a beautiful night. Finn’s going to call us when he gets back to his room for the evening and we can keep him with us on speakerphone. It’ll almost be like he’s here with us. Did he ever get hold of you this afternoon?”
“No. He called when I was driving and couldn’t answer. I called him back and left him a message, but he must have already returned to the conference. Tripp said Finn might be able to get the original police report from the county, so don’t let me forget to ask him about it.”
Siobhan set a bottle of wine on the counter and then opened the drawer in search of a corkscrew. “I’m sure Finn has already thought of that. He may even have had the report emailed to him. I’m feeling very motivated to get this case wrapped up sooner rather than later.”
“Right there with you.”
“What I can’t decide,” I shared, “is whether Amanda’s death is actually related to the deaths of those two girls, and if we decide they aren’t, is it Amanda Lowman’s death we’re trying to solve or Bronwyn and Ruby’s?”
Siobhan was looking in the cupboard in search of wineglasses. “I think if we decide the deaths aren’t related we focus on finding Amanda’s killer. We have no way of knowing if the person responsible for Bronwyn and Ruby’s deaths is still on the island or even still alive, while the person who killed Amanda could have taken the morning ferry back to the mainland. Though my instinct is that the killer is most likely still in our midst.”
By the time we finished dinner Finn was done with his work for the day, so we dialed him into the conversation from the very beginning.
“Okay, Finn, I have you on speakerphone, so join in as you can,” Siobhan instructed.
“I have to admit it’s frustrating to be here when there’s so much going on there, but I guess this will have to do for now. What do we know?”
The five of us in the room—Siobhan, Cody, Danny, Tara, and me—were huddled around the table so we were all close to the phone and hopefully all could be heard.
“First of all, Amanda Lowman left a notebook at the store that I’d put in my pocket, meaning to give it to her when we stopped off at her motel room. I forgot all about it and accidentally brought it home with me,” I began. “I haven’t had the opportunity to turn it over to the deputy yet, but I did find the time to look through it.”
Finn groaned. “You didn’t just tell me that.”
“Of course not. Forget I mentioned it. I will tell you, though, that I managed to come up with two lists of names from the notebook I don’t have.”
“Hang on,” Finn said. “Let me grab a pen.”
I waited for him to come back on the line. I could hear rustling in the background, as if he was opening and closing drawers.
“Okay, I’m ready,” Finn said. “What do you have?”
“On the first list we have Tripp Brimmer, who I spoke to today; Orson Cobalter, who we all know is dead; and Toby Willis, Lisa Kellerman, and Conrad Quarterman, who I’ve left messages for but haven’t spoken to yet. Father Kilian was also on the first list; I managed to speak to him this afternoon.”
“What did Tripp have to say?” Finn asked.
I filled him in on the very limited amount of information Tripp had provided and also told him that Tripp seemed like he might have additional information he would be willing to share with a deputy but not me. Finn promised to find some time to
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