Page 42 of Exposure of Murder

Jane forced a small smile, but she didn’t. Maybe she was too optimistic, too trusting, too much into her close friends, but she didn’t remember knowing anyone who was so mean. But then again, she was too wrapped up in her own world, dating Mike and writing to notice. So, who knew?

Twenty-Three

Ethan’s truck cut through the darkened street as he drove toward home. He passed Jane’s farm and, slowing down, noticed the house was brightly lit and several cars parked outside. It looked like she was having a group of women over. Good for her. Jane was making friends and engaging with the community. Everyone seemed to like her, including him.

When did that happen? It was probably a lot of things.

He was impressed by the renovations and addition she was doing on the farm, which involved a local carpenter. She frequented local restaurants, or so Leah told him. Jane even gave an ex-con a hand up, although he still wasn’t sure why Bucky was here and was keeping an eye on him for now.

Ethan’s mind was blown when he saw her at Vanessa’s house. The gall of the woman trying to help him and yet she stood up for herself when he questioned her. Not only that, but she was also easy on the eyes. For the first time in forever, his mind was free of Corrine, and his sexual fantasies were awakening. It both scared and thrilled him. Feelings he wasn’t used to.

He thought about stopping by the next day to let Jane know what was happening with the murder and his investigation. Uh-huh—that was the story he was going with. Unfortunately, there was nothing much to report. So, maybe he wouldn’t. Or would. Or just kill him now.

Jim Jenkins had a temper and was seething with anger when Ethan spoke to him earlier. Annabelle was a loony tune, constantly complaining about how hard life was and how she was being unfairly blamed.

He still couldn’t rule out any of the suspects. However, there was no one else.

Ethan turned Tanner’s guns in to be tested and was waiting for an answer. That was silly. Truth be told, he knew the answer. Tanner would never shoot a person. Although he did own a Smith & Wesson 9mm and a Glock. They were running ballistics to see if either matched the weapon used in the murder. He was dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s. No one could accuse him of partiality.

Tanner would never kill someone. Jane didn’t own a gun that he knew of, and she, Vanessa, and Annabelle were short. He just couldn’t see any of them sneaking up on Thornton. As for Maggie, Ethan found it hard to believe she would kill her father, but stranger things had happened.

Jim was another story. Ethan had demanded his gun, which he reluctantly surrendered. But again, it was a Ruger 9mm, not a Glock. Although Jim had motive and opportunity and hated Thornton for a couple of reasons.

One, Thornton kept annoying his elderly father about selling the land. And two, although Jim didn’t freely admit it, he was angry Thornton came in and sweet-talked Vanessa. They had been dating on and off for years. Jim mentioned he had hoped to ask Vanessa to marry him. Ethan didn’t have the heart to tell him that twenty years was a rather long time for someone to wait. But hey, maybe Vanessa didn’t mind. Not his business to interfere. The only question was, did Jim kill Thornton?

Pulling into his driveway, Ethan noticed a sleek black SUV parked next to Tanner’s mud-splattered truck. Hmmm. Sean was here. He turned off the ignition and sat for a minute. The brothers saw each other as often as they could, but with Kane up in Stowe and always leading wilderness expeditions or skiing, they didn’t see him as much. Sean was busy with his security company, Champlain Security Solutions, founded after he left the SEALs. So why was Sean here?

And why was he sitting in his truck in the driveway wondering why?

Ethan walked into the kitchen, and his senses were immediately assaulted by the mouthwatering aromas of garlic, tomato and basil. Tanner and Sean were at the long wooden table having a beer, with a steaming pizza between them.

“Bro.” Sean’s face broke into a broad grin as he stood to greet Ethan with a man hug and slapped his back. “It’s been a little while.”

“Sure has,” Ethan replied. “What brings you here?”

Sean dramatically clutched his heart. “Can’t a guy just drop in on his baby brothers?”

“You could.” Ethan chuckled. “But usually, you have something on your mind.”

Sean was the oldest brother at thirty-six. He had the muscular build of their father with short, dark hair starting to gray at the temples and blue eyes that could spot bullshit a mile away. As a former SEAL, he was a confident, no-nonsense man, qualities that served him well in the military and in his business.

“Grab a cold one and sit,” said Tanner, gesturing toward the fridge. He took a swallow of his own beer before biting into a slice of pizza.

“Did Leah make that?” asked Ethan.

Tanner nodded. “Yeah, she made a couple and froze them for us.”

Sean reached into the fridge and handed Ethan a cold one.

“So, how’s everything in Burlingham?” he asked Sean.

“That’s why I’m here.” Sean leaned back in his chair. “We’ve been investigating a money laundering operation outside town.”

“What does Beaver Creek have to do with that?” Ethan had heard no rumors of criminal activity outside of the strange business with David Thornton and that he had a shady reputation. Could he have brought that kind of trouble here?

Ethan frowned. “You mean people’s houses? Businesses? What?”

“Well, what we understand is happening is that properties are being bought up to be used as fronts for the operation. They inflate the value of the property and sell it to their own shell companies, making the illegal money look legit.” Sean took a gulp of beer and set the bottle down. “We’ve just discovered a dry-cleaning business in Berkshire that was being used to launder money. But nothing else. Yet.”

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