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“Sounds like it. And it might explain why Daniel keeps it classic—Havana rum, hot water, honey, lemon, and cinnamon.”
“What? No white rum? Nomaraschino liqueur? No grapefruit juice? Not even a squeeze of lime?”
“Wow. I want you at my next party. You do know your sophisticated nightcaps. I say to each his own, though. People give me a hard time about my no-frills frappe.”
“Paula says you prefer the European style.”
“Less sugar, more coffee. It couldn’t be simpler—takeespresso, add milk and ice, no icky syrup to deal with, and no whipped cream on top to yuck it up. That’s coffee at its best, strong, yet gets the job done.”
Brogan made a face. “Must be an acquired taste.” She nodded toward the counter at the shiny, stainless steel espresso maker sitting to the right of their simple drip coffeemaker. “Brand new, right out of the box. I haven’t read the instructions, so I’ll let you do the honors.”
Kelly’s eyes flashed with delight. “An inaugural run? I love those. This is the same model Jordan uses at the B&B. I’m an old hand at working it. Step aside and let the master work her magic. If you don’t drink espresso, mind if I ask why you’d go to the expense of this kind of machine?”
“My grandmother sent it as an anniversary gift. Even though our anniversary isn’t for another month, it arrived two hours ago by FedEx.” Brogan watched, eagle-eyed, as Kelly turned into a barista, getting the machine up and running. “There is something that bothers me about the affair theory, though.”
“What’s that?”
“Why would this Aaron Deming murder Anna? Flip that back to Mack. Why would his lover show up at their summer house and murder Mack? Why would they murder the toddler?”
“Hmm. That is a problem. I don’t have an answer for that yet. By the way, Birk and Jade are back in town. We’re ordering pizza tonight. You guys should join us. We’ve already sent them copies of the case. They’re as fascinated with it as we are.”
Brogan heard Lucien’s truck pull into the garage. He entered the kitchen through the laundry room door with Beckett in tow, followed by Brodie and Journey.
While the dogs got to know Stella and Poppy, the four adults caught each other up on the day’s turn of events.
When she heard about Bryan, Brogan let out a gasp. “So he took Trey’s bike just like that. And nobody noticed? That’s so wrong. And weird. Isn’t that weird?”
“It definitely points to what kind of man Bryan would turn out to be later in life,” Lucien stated, going to the fridge and taking out several beers. “Although he was extremely cooperative. I suppose he didn’t have to come clean about it.”
“I saw guilt in Bryan’s eyes,” Beckett noted, twisting the cap off one of the beers. “Might not have been much guilt, but something was there.”
Brogan set out snacks—a veggie dip with crackers. “I find it very odd that the family took off the way they did. So fast. In less than a month, the Sutherlands were in Oregon. We should do a background on that family, specifically the father. What was his name?”
“Bob Sutherland, Robert J.,” Beckett said, rattling off his date of birth and social security number. “I think I might go ahead and check every neighbor in the area around Lynley Circle. You never know. Everybody’s a suspect until they’re ruled out.”
Lucien bobbed his head in agreement and swiped a cracker through the dip. “Let’s say you’re right about Anna and Mack having affairs. What motive did the lovers have to kill the couple, let alone little Elliott? That doesn’t add up.”
Kelly traded looks with Brogan. “Yeah, that’s the hole in the theory.”
“Let’s not rule out that it could come down to Anna not wanting to leave Mack or Mack not wanting to leave Anna,” Brogan proffered. “That decision doesn’t sit well with the lover. Simple but effective. However, before we make any more assumptions, we should ID this New Jersey person and try to find Dr. Aaron Deming. Let’s try and get both on the record.”
Kelly nodded. “And when we do find Dr. Deming, you guys should conduct the interview. We’ll do the same with the New Jersey person, whoever it is, assuming it’s a woman.”
“Why?” Beckett asked. “What difference does it make?”
“Women open up more with women. Remember how Jade and I got Brigid’s roommate to talk after so many years of silence.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s a tried-and-true method.”
“Okay. Then you think Brogan and I would’ve had the same result as you two getting Bryan to admit he took Trey’s bike?”
Beckett rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. “Probably not. Why is the woman always right?” He held up a hand. “Don’t answer that. Did you mention pizza at our house?”
“Notice how smoothly he segued into another subject,” Kelly pointed out. “Yes, I invited them for dinner, which means we should get going. We have things to do.”
“We’re ordering pizza,” Beckett reminded her. “What things do we have to do?”
Kelly winked at Brogan. “I’m still coming up with my list—pick up the backyard, clean up the patio, straighten out the garage.”
