Rota nodded. “I called the three insurance companies in town and found out that Mari did have an insurance policy.” She ate a blueberry. “Itwastwo-hundred-fifty-thousand dollars. But last year, it was increased to five-hundred-thousand dollars.”
Link flew off the globe, his wings glowing purple and green. “Half a million dollars? Nowthat’smotive!”
I nodded and took a sip of hot tea. “I’d agree.”
“Parker Harrington is the attorney in charge of Mari’s will,” Rota said. “He told me he spoke to Hunter yesterday about what Mari had in her will. And you better hold on to your seats because you aren’t going to believe this.”
“What?” I demanded, taking a bite of my sandwich.
“Mari split her royalties. Fifty percent are to go to Hunter, and the other half will be put in a trust for Jayla until she’s eighteen. There’s a trustee for that. But before I tell you who it is, there’s something else important you need to know.”
“What? What?” Link demanded as he nibbled on a piece of cheese the size of his body. “I can’t take the excitement.”
“The house the Quinns live in was purchased five years ago…in Mari’s name only. She paid cash for it. I’m assuming from her royalties.” Rota took a sip of her mead, and I could tell it was deliberate. She had something juicy to tell us. “The house was put in a living trust forthe daughter. Not Hunter.” Rota held up a finger. “There was a caveat. If Mari died before Jayla turned eighteen, Mari gave rights for Hunter to live in the house until Jayla turned eighteen. But upon her eighteenth birthday, the house was to go to Jayla.” Rota paused and grinned. “Mari appointed the same trustee to oversee the house as the person overseeing the royalties, and she made that change two months ago.” She paused again. “Oh, and this trustee gets a compensation or stipend for being the trustee.”
“Who is it?” Link and I demanded simultaneously.
Zane chuckled and took a sip of his coffee.
“Eliza Nordic,” Rota said triumphantly.
For a second, no one spoke. And then we all spoke at once.
“No way!”
“Ye gotta be kiddin’ me?”
“Does Eliza know?”
Rota held up her hand. “I assume Eliza knows by now. I spoke to Parker this morning, and he said after he spoke to me, he was contacting Eliza.”
“We’ll need to speak to Eliza after this,” Zane said.
“What’s the husband’s alibi?” Rota asked.
I got up and headed to the cart. It was time for peanut butter pound cake. “Hunter told us after Sasha left his office around two, he stayed there until four-thirty. Alone. He’d had his secretary only work half a day, and she left after lunch.
Rota snorted and took a sip of mead. “Giving him time alone in his office for his afternoon delight.”
I laughed. “Afternoon delight? That’s a good one.”
“So he falls within the timeline.” Link took a sip of the hot milk and honey in his thimble. “He could be the killer. He’d get a huge chunk of insurance moneyandhalf the book royalties.”
I nodded. “Yes. The hard part now is identifying the murder weapon. Barbie said it was jute twine, but that’s common around here. He could have gotten it from Sasha Carters’ shop—Zane and I noticed she had boxes of candy wrapped with it—or he simply could have gotten it from the local hardware store.”
Rota clicked on her computer and projected the next folder onto the wall. “Next is Rayna Halter. Age, thirty-three. Sea witch. Divorced twice, no children. Born and raised in Mystic Cove. Owns Halter Marina Supply & Tackle. She also sits on the city council. Rayna has no criminal record, and her personal and business financials are in good order.”
“Motive to want the lass dead?” Link asked.
“I’ll take this one.” I took a sip of my hot tea and thought a moment. “Rayna was afraid Mari was going to tell the sheriff about what they’d done fifteen years ago to Eliza Nordic. I overheard them discussing that very thing in the alleyway a few days back. I even heard Rayna give Mari a sort of veiled threat about Jayla if Mari didn’t toe the line. We now know Rayna may have added another part to the original spell which would explain why Eliza told us she felt her anger building throughout the day, until it was all-consuming. And then Mari and the others suspected Rayna used magic again in the parking lot fight to help harm Eliza.” I ate the last bite of my cake. “And then getting the valentine in the mail may have just been the final straw for Rayna. She realized Mari wasn’t going to back down.”
“Her alibi and opportunity?” Rota asked.
Zane set down his coffee cup. “Rayna told us she had business drinks with a potential customer at Bottoms Up around three-fifteen and left the bar a little before four. She was back at the marina in time to see her worker leaving at four for the day.” He shrugged and lifted a hand in the air. “From four to five, she has no alibi that anyone can corroborate.”
I nodded. “Mari showed us a receipt from Bottoms Up, but I’d like to still talk to the bartender.”
“We can do that when we leave here,” Zane said.
