I arrive at Cup of Jo earlier than usual Saturday morning because I want to tell Cam what I figured out. I was up most of the night trying to piece together why it might be important that Harmony Underwood is Gabe Underwood’s daughter.
“What if Simon Porter is in contact with Harmony and her mother?” I ask. “They could have been working together to sabotage the construction on that new hotel.”
“But why?” Cam asks as he mixes batter in a large bowl.
“I don’t know. Maybe we should go talk to Harmony’s mother. Lisa Porter said they still live next door to each other.” I snap my fingers. “That’s why Harmony looked familiar to me. I saw her when we went to see Lisa Porter. Harmony was hurrying out of her mom’s house. She was probably late for work or something.”
“You think Harmony still lives at home with her mom?”
“Maybe, or she was just visiting since she’s working at King’s Cabins this week.”
He pours the batter into the muffin tray. “But I still don’t see why Simon would sabotage the job site. He was working there.”
“Maybe he took the job for that purpose,” I say. “It’s possible he felt guilty for Gabe’s death since Simon was driving. If Harmony or her mother approached him about the hotel construction, he might have agreed to help them sabotage it because he felt like he owed them something.”
“I guess that makes sense, but didn’t Lisa Porter say they lost touch after the accident twenty years ago?” Cam places the muffin tray into the oven.
“She did, but what if Simon didn’t? He might have been looking after them because he felt it was the right thing to do. He and Gabe were like brothers. I can see Simon wanting to look after Gabe’s family.”
“Okay, then I guess as soon as we’re set up here, we go see Rebecca Underwood.”
I go finish setting up the coffee station and the special’s board for the day. When Jamar and Robin show up, I fill them in on my plan.
“No problem. We can cover everything here,” Jamar says.
Mickey Baldwin walks in, looking upset. He marches right over to me. “I can’t believe I keep missing all the good stuff that happens in this town. I take off one day of work, and suddenly I’m in the dark about half the things going on here.”
“Were you sick, Mickey?” I ask.
“I had a sore throat. I was trying to do the responsible thing and stay away from people to keep from spreading any germs. But I miss you getting attacked right here, Mrs. Marlow beating a man with a coffee mug, and who knows what else?” He places both hands on the counter. “You’ve got to give me something, Jo. I have a reputation to uphold. People look to me for all the good gossip. You have to help me get back on top of my game.”
“Mickey, I can’t tell you anything about this case. You know I’m not allowed to talk about it.”
“I gave you information. I do it anytime I can. Come on, Jo.” He gives me his puppy dog eyes.
I try to think of something I can tell him. There is one thing that is sort of related to the case but not necessarily related to the murder itself. I go with that. I lean forward, trying to play up that this is secret information I’m giving him. “Have you heard of Holland Construction?”
“Yeah.” He leans closer, his eyes widening.
“We found evidence that Peter Holland bid on the hotel construction and lost the job to Merkel. But Elliot Merkel had done work for DeShawn Washington before, so Peter Holland wasn’t happy about losing the job simply because DeShawn and Elliot knew each other.”
“He thought the bid was fixed,” Mickey says.
I nod. “So Holland decided to contact Jesse King, you know from King’s Cabins?”
Mickey nods.
“And they came up with a plan to sabotage the construction by stealing from the hotel’s job site.”
“This could ruin Holland Construction.”
“If the police get word of it and do some digging, yes. Right now, the only trail is online, and they haven’t found it.”
“But you have,” he says.
I bob one shoulder. “You know how Chief Harvey feels about getting information from me. But if the BFPD finds it on their own after hearing rumors about it… Well, Peter Holland and Jesse King might get the punishments they deserve.”
Mickey stands up straight and salutes me. “I’m on it, Jo. I hear you loud and clear. The entire town will be talking about this by midmorning. We’ll bring those two dirty businessmen down. You can count on it.”
“And you can have all the credit, Mickey.”
He smiles. “Can I get a ristretto and a strawberry Danish?”
“For a hero like you, it’s on the house. Take a seat, and I’ll bring it to you.”
By the time Cam and I leave for Rebecca Underwood’s house, Mickey has a crowd around him.
“What was that about?” Cam asks on the drive.
“I might have filled Mickey in on what Mo discovered about Peter Holland and Jesse King.”
“You want him to tip off the police, don’t you?”
“Those men should have to pay for what they did to DeShawn Washington.”
“I agree, and it’s good this tip isn’t coming from either of us for once.”
When we pull up to Rebecca Underwood’s house, she’s outside, drinking coffee on her front porch. She looks up at us when Cam parks in the driveway.
“Maybe we should have brought some pastries to get our foot in the door,” I say.
“Too late for that now.” Cam gets out and waves to Mrs. Underwood.
“Good morning,” she says. “Can I help you?”
“Are you Rebecca Underwood?” I ask.
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Hi. I’m Jo, and this is Cam. We own Cup of Jo on Main Street.”
“Oh, yes, I’ve heard of it.” She holds up her mug. “I admit I make my own coffee, though.”
I smile. “We spoke to your daughter, Harmony. You two are protesting the hotel that’s being built on Ridgeway Court, right?’
Rebecca perks up, just like I figured she would. “Are you here to sign the petition? You know it’s not too late to stop the construction, especially now…” Her voice trails off.
I wag a finger in the air. “Oh, that’s right. You knew Simon Porter, didn’t you? You two are neighbors.” I need to establish I know there’s a connection between Simon and Gabe, but I don’t want to let Rebecca know how much I know about the accident. I’d rather hear it from her.
“Yes. There was a time when we were good friends, too.”
“Oh?” I ask.
She looks into the contents of her coffee mug. “My husband, Gabe, was best friends with Simon.”
Here’s where I need to tread carefully. Lisa Porter said she and Rebecca don’t talk anymore, but Lisa told Cam and me all about the accident, so pretending not to know is dangerous if these two happen to talk anytime soon.
“I think Mrs. Porter mentioned something about that.” I look to Cam for help.
“Yes, she said there was an accident, right?” Cam pretends to have forgotten the details as well.
Rebecca inhales deeply, her chest rising and then falling. “Gabe was killed in that accident. The police said it was because of the thunderstorm, but it was really the construction they were doing along the road. That rock wouldn’t have come lose from the mountain if they hadn’t been blasting earlier that day. That’s what killed my husband.”
“We’re so sorry for your loss,” I say. “I can only imagine the pain that must have caused you.”
She bobs her head. “That’s why I got involved in these petitions. We need to stop all this construction and leave Mother Nature alone.”
“Is that why your daughter went into environmental science?” I ask.
“She did that at my insistence.”
“Really?” Cam asks.
“Don’t get me wrong. She cares about the environment and works with me to protect it, but she didn’t want to pursue this field. I talked her into it for her father’s sake.”
“I see.” I pause to see if she’ll continue on her own. When she doesn’t, I ask, “Did Simon Porter help you and your daughter with that endeavor?”
She shakes her head. “Simon was injured in that car accident as well. He was in a coma and had no memory of what happened. He had a very difficult time handling the news that Gabe was dead. I never blamed him. Like I said, it was that stupid mountain blasting project. All to make one more lane.” She clenches the mug in both hands. “Simon couldn’t bear to be around me or my daughter. Harmony looks so much like her father. I can understand why seeing her was difficult for Simon. He and Gabe were so close.”
“Were you surprised to find out that Simon was working security for the hotel job site?” Cam asks.
“A little. But I suppose he needs to work, and a hotel is very different than road construction. I don’t fault the man for needing to make a living.”
“Mrs. Underwood, do you have any idea who may have killed Simon? I mean, do you think anyone trying to stop the construction would resort to murder to do it?”
“Are you asking if anyone who signed the petition could be responsible?” She looks up at us. “Is that why you’re really here? You want to see the names on that list.”
“I won’t lie to you, Mrs. Underwood. We were working with the BFPD to try to find Simon Porter’s killer. That’s why we were talking to Lisa next door.”
“They have no leads?”
They do, but I’m not sure Marcus Bishop is the killer. It very well could be someone who was trying to stop the construction of the hotel.
“We’re not at liberty to say,” Cam tells her. “But we’d like to get your opinion.”
“The people I talk to are good people who care about the preservation of the environment. They aren’t killers. They have no interest in taking lives.” She shakes her head. “Besides, the murder is only delaying the construction. It won’t stop it.”
“But your petition might,” I say. “The murder is stalling the process, giving you and your daughter time to get more signatures.”
Mrs. Underwood’s jaw drops.
“What is it? What did you just think of?” I ask.
“Nothing. Nothing at all. It’s just awful about Simon. He didn’t deserve to die.” Her eyes fill with tears, and she raises her mug to her lips. I can’t help thinking she’s trying to cover up her emotions by drinking her coffee. But why? Does she know who the killer is? Who would she want to protect when they killed her husband’s best friend?
Oh my goodness!
This time it’s my jaw that drops. “Mrs. Underwood, is your daughter still at King’s Cabins with the camp group?”
“No. The camp ended yesterday.” She couldn’t look more uncomfortable, and I know she’s lying.
The problem is, even if Cam and I get in our car and drive to King’s Cabins immediately, Rebecca will have plenty of time to call Harmony and warn her to get out of there. I need to find a way to stop her from doing that.
Mrs. Underwood stands up. “Let me go get that petition for you.” She turns toward the front door.
“Cam, we have to stop her,” I whisper to him.
“What are you talking about? We need that petition.”
I shake my head. “She’s going to call Harmony to warn her to get out of town. Harmony killed Simon Porter.”