Chapter 3
Heather looked up at the knock on her open door late Monday morning. Opal Lorrie, her director of finance and management, stood in the threshold. Heather rose and circled her desk to meet Opal halfway.
She felt a chill in her office—or was she imagining it? Either way, Heather believed another cup of coffee would help her once she and Opal were done with their briefing. “Thank you for taking the Board of Ed budget meeting for me. I hope I haven’t disrupted your day too much.”
Opal shook her head, causing her bone-straight brown tresses to swing behind her slim shoulders. Her hair was a shade or two lighter than Heather’s chestnut brown. A smile softened her peaches-and-cream expression even as her large brown eyes remained serious. “I should be thanking you. You’ve given me a good excuse to skip two meetings that I don’t need to attend. I’ve asked Penelope to sit in on the third one for me.” Opal referred to her direct report, Penelope del Castillo, the town’s finance manager.
The nagging regret that had been plaguing Heather for most of the morning disappeared. “I’m glad I could help, even if it was unintentional.” She checked her wristwatch. It was almost nine a.m. The meeting was scheduled for ten. “You’re much more familiar with the numbers. You’ll do a better presentation of the proposed budget than I could and you’ll have better answers to any questions they may have.” Especially since the latest threat she’d received that morning still had her rattled.
“I’m comfortable with the information, but I wasn’t expecting to go to this meeting.” Opal gave Heather a sheepish smile. “I don’t think my gray parka will set the right tone and I don’t have my car with me.”
Heather eyed the other woman critically. Opal was slim and stood about five-foot-eight or -nine inches tall in her black flats. She’d accessorized a heavy brown knit sweater and brown slacks with chunky gold earrings and a matching necklace.
“You look great.” Heather crossed to her black metal coatrack in the corner of her office beside the bookcase. She freed her scarlet wool winter coat from one of the hooks, then returned to Opal. “But you’re right about your parka. Borrow my coat.”
“Are you serious?” Opal’s brown eyes sparkled. “I love your coat.”
“So do I.” Heather smiled, offering her coat to Opal. The garment was wonderfully heavy in Heather’s arms, reminding her of how warm and cozy the coat was even on the coldest winter day that upstate New York could offer. “Try it on.”
“You don’t have to ask me twice.” Opal shrugged into Heather’s coat. “Oh, so warm. What do you think?”
“It’s a little long since I’m taller than you, but other than that, it’s a good fit.”
Opal’s eyes twinkled with mischief as she pointedly dropped her gaze to Heather’s three-inch pumps. “You know, I think I need more professional-looking shoes.”
Heather propped her fists on her hips. “Stop while you’re ahead.”
Opal chuckled. “Can’t blame a woman for trying. I love your clothes, especially your shoes.”
“Thanks. Well, that part’s settled.” Heather circled her desk and pulled open her right bottom drawer. She retrieved her purse and dug out a set of keys. The metal was cool to her touch. She offered the keys to Opal. “Take my car.”
Opal’s brown eyes widened. She repeated her previous question. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I’m serious.”
“Thank you.” Opal accepted Heather’s keys. “My fiancé brought me to work. My car’s in the shop.”
“It’s not a problem.” Heather remained standing behind her desk. “I trust you. Besides, you’re doing me a favor. We really need the Board of Ed to understand the figures and impacts that we’re facing. Unless they can come up with a better cost-saving plan, we need them to support our austere proposal.”
Opal wrapped her fingers around the car keys and met Heather’s gaze. “I know these preliminary budget meetings are important, especially since our opponents will use these numbers against us in the election.”
The muscles in Heather’s neck and shoulders tightened. Her gaze dropped to her wastebasket. The metallic taste of fear coated her tongue. “I haven’t decided whether I’m going to run for reelection.”
Opal laughed. “Everyone knows that you’re going to run again. You love this town as much as I do, and I was born and raised here. You just moved here seven years ago.”
Outsider. The word played on a loop in Heather’s mind, growing louder. “Does it bother you that I was elected mayor even though I’m not from Briar Coast?”
“Of course not.” Opal seemed surprised. “I worked on your campaign. I saw up close and personally that you love this town and the people who live here.”
“I do.” Heather’s voice was low. She allowed herself to drop onto her chair.
“Is something wrong?” Opal’s dark eyebrows knitted with concern.
“No, I just . . .” Heather shook her head. “I want to do what’s best for Briar Coast and our community.”
“You are. Believe me. And on the few occasions when you’ve needed to make a different decision, you’ve had five very confident women on your executive team who’ve been happy to let you know.” Opal’s smile softened the pronouncement.
Heather had already determined that the person behind the gutless threats was a coward, too afraid to confront her, even in writing. That description didn’t fit anyone on her staff.
Her gaze was drawn to the walnut wood conference table in the corner of her office beside her desk. That’s where they held their executive meetings, with everyone freely expressing their policy opinions. Well, everyone except Kerry. Heather had to prompt her assistant to share her thoughts. The young woman didn’t seem interested in politics, which made Heather curious about why Kerry had applied for the job—and what Kerry and her politically ambitious new boyfriend talked about.
“You’re right.” Heather returned Opal’s smile. “The fact that you’re all outspoken is one of the many reasons I hired all of you. Thanks, Opal.”
“Of course. And thanks for the loan of your coat and car. I’ll bring them both back safely.” Opal turned toward the doorway. “In the meantime, there are some tasks that I want to complete before the meeting.”
Heather frowned as she watched Opal disappear through her doorway. If the threats weren’t coming from someone on her staff, how were the unmarked, unstamped letters getting into her mail?
* * *
Hours later, a movement in Heather’s doorway claimed her attention. She paused in the middle of a tense telephone conversation with the Briar Coast Town Council president.
Kerry stood just inside her office. She was in the company of two Briar Coast County sheriff’s deputies, one male and one female. The deputies gripped their brown felt campaign hats in their fists. They wore matching heavy brown faux leather jackets over their identical uniforms of tan shirts, black ties, and spruce green gabardine pants.
Her administrative assistant looked puzzled, but the deputies’ somber expressions sent chills up Heather’s spine.
“Ian, I’ll have to call you back.” Heather cradled her beige telephone receiver without waiting for the council president’s response. She rose to her feet, giving Kerry a reassuring look before turning to the deputies. “Good afternoon, deputies. How can I help you?”
“Madame Mayor, I’m Sheriff’s Deputy Fran Cole.” The female deputy gestured toward herself with the hat she held in her right hand. She then waved the hat to indicate the tall, bald man beside her. “This is my partner, Sheriff’s Deputy Ted Tate.”
Sheriff’s deputies didn’t pop into her office on a regular basis. What was going on?
Heather took a deep breath in an effort to manage her increasing anxiety. The scent of the late winter day seemed to have followed the deputies into her office. “I know who you are, Deputy Cole, Deputy Tate. I congratulated both of you on your investigation into Autumn Tassler’s murder three and a half months ago.” Although everyone in Briar Coast knew the lion’s share of the credit belonged to Sister Lou, a member of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Hermione of Ephesus.
Deputy Ted Tate beamed as though pleased that the mayor remembered them. “Thanks, Madame Mayor. Could we speak with you in private?” His pale gray gaze settled pointedly on Kerry.
Ted’s request escalated Heather’s discomfort. What could they need to speak with her about in private? Heather glanced at her wastebasket, which held the letter she’d crumpled and discarded that morning.
“Of course.” She summoned a smile for her administrative assistant. “Thank you for your help, Kerry. Could you close the door, please?”
Kerry nodded before leaving, pulling the door closed behind her.
Heather gestured toward the cushioned chairs in front of her desk. She waited until the deputies were seated before settling on her chair again. “What’s this about, Deputies?”
“Your finance and management director, Opal Lorrie.” Fran’s bottle green eyes watched her closely. The deputy’s unruly ash blond hair was scrapped back from her thin milky features and gathered into a bun at the nape of her long neck. “Madame Mayor, I’m sorry to inform you that we found Ms. Lorrie’s body in the Board of Ed’s parking lot less than an hour ago.”
Heather gasped. Her right hand slapped against her open mouth, covering her parted lips. Her ears were buzzing. Her eyes were bulging. Her muscles trembled with shock. “Opal?” She forced her friend’s name out on a pant. “Are you sure it’s Opal? What happened?”
In the back of her mind, Heather had begun to wonder about Opal’s return. She should have been back by now. Heather thought that perhaps the meeting had run long or her finance director had stopped for lunch. The Briar Coast Café wasn’t far from the Board of Education’s building.
Ted ran his large right hand over his clean-shaven head. His narrowed eyes set in his wide, craggy face were as watchful as his partner’s. “It looks like she stumbled on her way down the steps leading to the parking lot. She fell and broke her neck.”
“Stumbled?” Heather frowned at the deputies. “But Opal was wearing flats. How could she have stumbled in them?”
Fran shrugged her narrow shoulders. “It’s possible. If she was rushing down the steps, she might have missed her footing.”
“Rushing?” Heather didn’t buy it. But what was the alternative, that Opal had been pushed down the stairs? By whom? Heather’s gaze was again drawn to her wastebasket.
“Her body was found at the foot of the stairs.” Ted sounded dismissive. “From all indications, it appears that she tripped on her way down. The scene looks like an unfortunate accident.”
“We’re very sorry for your loss,” Fran added. “We were told by some of the witnesses that Ms. Lorrie was on-site for a meeting you were supposed to attend this morning.”
“That’s right.” Heather blinked away the sting of tears. She sniffed, catching the scent of the Italian dressing she’d poured on the chicken salad lunch she’d rushed through earlier. “It was a meeting to discuss the Board of Education’s preliminary budget numbers. I was supposed to attend but asked Opal to go instead. She has—had—a much better grasp of the numbers than I do.”
Fran nodded. “A couple of people at the meeting mentioned that Ms. Lorrie was wearing your coat.”
Heather felt another chill along her spine. “That’s right. I loaned her my coat and my car to get to the meeting. Her car’s in the shop. Her fiancé drove her to work.”
Opal’s fiancé. Heather’s heart hurt. This tragedy will destroy him and Opal’s family.
“We can drive you to the Board of Ed to get your car, if you’d like,” Fran offered. “We recovered Ms. Lorrie’s umbrella and handbag. We’ll need to get those to her next of kin. You can have your coat back.”
“No, please leave that with Opal.” Heather waved a dismissive hand. “I’ll provide you with the emergency contact information from her employment forms so you can notify her family.”
Another pain contracted in her chest as Heather thought about Opal’s parents, brothers, sisters, nieces, and nephews. They were all so close.
“We’d appreciate that.” Ted reached forward, offering Heather his plain white business card, which featured the Briar Coast County Sheriff’s Office logo centered at the top.
Heather took the card from the deputy. “You mentioned that you found Opal’s umbrella and her handbag. Was her briefcase with her?”
Heather flashed back to the memory of Opal stopping by her office on her way to the budget meeting. The other woman was still beaming at wearing Heather’s coat. Her long dark hair had swung behind her shoulders as she’d circled to model it. It had fit her so well. At the time, the finance director had balanced her bag on her right shoulder. She’d carried her umbrella in her right hand and her briefcase in her left.
“We didn’t find a briefcase with Ms. Lorrie.” Ted exchanged a look with Fran.
Fran nodded in agreement. “Maybe she left it in the meeting room.”
“Maybe.” But Heather knew Opal hadn’t forgotten her briefcase. It would have held important notes. Opal wouldn’t have left those behind.
Could that be what had happened? Her finance director had realized she’d forgotten her briefcase. She’d turned, intending to hurry back up to the conference room, but tripped on a step instead. Heather still didn’t buy it. Her gaze again slid to her wastebasket. Opal’s tragic death couldn’t possibly be connected to the threats Heather had received.
Could it?