Uncover Persona - Chapter 9

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Emily was looking out over the hotel pool from her room, where she had been staying since the day before Kenton was killed. The police had released the house a few days after Kenton's death, but she wasn't sure if she would be able to live in the house again. She knew that every time she walked out on the patio, she would see Kenton's body and the blood in the pool. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, but she knew she would have to figure something out soon.

She was going back to the house today to get clean clothes and to pick out something to wear to the funeral home. Mario and Sonja were supposed to come by in a little while. She would get them to go to the house with her, and then it might not seem so horrifying.

Mario and Sonja had been at the hotel with her every day, trying to help her deal with making plans for Kenton's funeral. Kenton had been an only child, and his parents were traveling in Europe. She had been trying to get hold of them, but apparently, their cell phones weren't working wherever they were. She refused to leave a message telling them that Kenton was dead. She just said that there was an emergency and that they needed to contact her right away.

Emily's phone buzzed. She expected it to be Sonja, but it was Kim. Kim had called daily to check on her. She was fast becoming a good friend. "Hey," Kim said cheerfully.

"Good morning," Emily said. "How are you holding up this morning?"

"Pretty good. I'm going to the house later to get clothes and see how I feel about being there."

"I can't imagine how weird that will be," Kim said. "How long are you going to be there?"

"I'm not sure," Emily admitted. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to deal with being there.

"Ashley called me late last night and told me that Damon left Atlanta without a word to anyone. She said Walter had somehow gotten a copy of the police report and was furious when he found out that Kenton was having an affair with Carol and Damon."

"I bet. He's a pretty big homophobe. I was surprised he let Damon bring Ashley in on the deal," Emily said.

"That's what she said, but unless someone has actually told him that Ashley is gay, you can't really tell, and she doesn't usually announce that she's lesbian."

"Is she coming back for the funeral?" "Yeah, she's coming home tomorrow." "Cool, maybe we can all get together for dinner," Emily said.

"That would be great. And if you don't mind, I would like to come out this morning while you are at the house and take some pictures of the flowers."

"That's fine. I'm not sure what condition they are in. I haven't been back to the house since the day of the murder."

"I'm sure they are fine," Kim said. "Fernando and Mario have probably been taking care of them for you. Well, I guess I'll see you here in a few hours. Okay?"

"Okay, see ya then," Emily disconnected the call.

Everything that she had been doing to keep busy before, the gardening and landscaping projects, were at a standstill. She tried to convince Mario to go ahead and do Barbara and Carol's yard projects. He said that he had talked to Barbara, and she said just to hold off on both projects until after the funeral.

There was a knock at the door. Emily got up and went to the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Mario called.

She opened the door, and Mario was standing there with Sonja. She was holding a platter with breakfast burritos, and Mario was holding a cup holder with three cups of coffee in it.

"My heroes," Emily said and opened the door wider to let them in.

Sonja took the burritos to the table and put them on the plates she had in a bag. Mario put the cups on the table and threw away the carrier. He gently squeezed Emily's shoulder as he moved past her to sit at the table next to her.

She smiled warmly at him. They were becoming closer by the day. With Kenton gone, there was nothing to stop her from wanting to be with Mario. The biggest problem was the investigation into the murder. She didn't want them to jump right into a relationship and give the police any more reason to suspect that they were the murderers. Even though the hotel manager and the hotel videos proved that she and Mario had been here all night that night, Emily didn't want to take any chances. She wanted them to find the real killer and for this whole thing to be over with. Sunday, she would bury Kenton, and then hopefully, they could move on with their lives.

"I think the police are just about done with the house," Sonja said, putting a small tub of salsa on the table.

"They are. Detective Carter called and said they had released the house," Emily said. She poured some salsa over her burrito and took one of the forks Sonja had put out, and cut a bite off the burrito. She moaned and said, "God, I have been missing your cooking so much."

"I miss cooking for you," Sonja said, squeezing Emily's hand. "But hopefully, soon, we will be back to some kind of a routine. I think we both could use a Friday margarita session."

"Amen," Emily agreed. As much as I hate the thought of going to the house, I really need to go get some clothes and get some washed."

"I washed a bunch of stuff the other day when I was out there," Sonja said.

Emily smiled. "Thank you. I just really don't know what I would do without you."

Sonja patted her hand. "Let's eat, and then we'll head to the house."

It was a beautiful day, and Fernando was outside working in the gardens. "You know," Emily said. "I think I'm going to put on some work clothes and work out in the garden with Fernando. I think that would really help me get some things sorted out in my head."

"I think that sounds like an excellent idea," Mario said. "I'll join you two. We really need to get the tomato and pepper plants in the ground."

"Kim said she was going to come out later and take pictures. I'm glad to see that everything is coming in bloom and looks so pretty. Maybe we'll have some margaritas when she comes."

"Good idea," Sonja agreed. "I'll get some cleaning done, and then we'll have a nice dinner at our house. Kim can join us."

Going back into the house was not as hard as Emily had thought it would be. She avoided going into the family room or looking out the back windows. She went upstairs and found some old Capri's she liked to wear gardening, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes.

It was hard to avoid looking out the back windows coming down the stairs, but she made herself do it. She could see glimpses of the patio and drained pool. It has been such a horrible shock to find Kenton's body in the pool. She still couldn't believe it. She had been so angry at him for what he had done to her, and a part of her had wanted him dead, and now he was. It was so awful and, at the same time, a relief. That was what was bothering her more than anything else, the amount of relief she felt that Kenton was dead. It was almost like she had wished it to happen.

Shaking off her thoughts, she went out the front door and around the side of the house. She walked through the long yard toward the vegetable gardens. The tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths were in bloom all over the yard. Fernando had kept the yard trimmed and cared for the past few days while all this insanity was happening.

"Do you already have the tomato and pepper plants?" she asked Fernando when she got to the vegetable garden. "No, I was waiting until you were ready." "We'll go get them after Kim comes to take pictures."

"So, are you ready to start moving on with the changes you wanted to make?" Mario asked.

"Yes," Emily said. "It's time to move on."

Kim was there within the hour. She got out of her car, put two different cameras around her neck, and gave Emily a hug. "How are you?"

"I'm doing better. I'm still in shock, I think, but I'm slowly sorting things out in my head."

"Have you thought about seeing someone professionally? There is a lot to all of this, besides your husband dying, to sort through." Kim studied her with a concerned look.

"No, I haven't gotten that far in my thinking," Emily admitted.

"Maybe later we can get Sonja to make us some margaritas, and then we can all sit down and talk some of it out. That might help clear up some of your confusion with all that's going on," Kim suggested.

"We had already planned on margaritas," Emily said with a smile. "Have you talked to Ashley since you talked to me? Is she going to make it back for the funeral for sure? I can just imagine Kenton's death has created some serious problems for the land deal in East Tennessee."

"Yeah, I talked to her right after I talked to you. She asked if she could come by and go through Kenton's office here. She said some documents were missing that she needed and that Kenton probably had them here."

Emily nodded. "Sure. I probably should check the house later. I don't know if Kenton's briefcase is in the house or in his car. I haven't been in his office in the house for probably five years. It's hard telling what important papers might be there."

"I'll help you go through that if you want me to. I know it will be difficult, and I can call Ashley, and maybe she can tell us what to look for," Kim said.

"That's a good idea. Let's plan on doing that tomorrow night. The viewing will be over at six. I've already paid for tonight's hotel room, but I think, after being here today, I'll be ready to stay here tomorrow night," Emily said, looking around the yard again. "I didn't realize how much I missed being here until we came this morning."

"That sounds great. Hopefully, Ashley will be back by then, and she can go through the papers with us. Maybe we'll have a sleepover. We'll get Sonja to come up, and it'll be a girl's night."

Emily squeezed Kim to her. "That is a great idea. I think that may be just what I need."

They spent the next few hours taking pictures of the garden and talking about Emily's plans to change it. Kim said she had to take care of some other projects but would be back later in the afternoon for margaritas and dinner. After Kim had left, Emily, Fernando, and Mario went to the nursery to get the tomato and pepper plants.

It was just starting to get dark when they finished planting the tomato and pepper plants. Sonja and Kim were waiting at Sonja and Fernando's house for them with fresh margaritas and steak fajitas.

Emily was exhausted, but it was a good feeling. It seemed like it had been months since she worked in the garden when, in fact, it had been less than a week. Fernando turned on the television to the news, and the main story was about the Kentucky Derby Festival and the activities going on in preparation for it.

It hit Emily that Kenton would have been there today if he weren't dead. She sighed sadly. She didn't even miss him. Wasn't that awful? Her husband of six years was dead, and she didn't miss him.

She sipped her margarita as she watched the parade of famous people who were in Louisville partying. There was a point when they scanned the crowd, and she saw Damon and Frank Chase standing together. That's interesting, Emily thought to herself.

The picture had gone by so fast, and she tried to remember if she saw Carol or Frank's wife, but she would have sworn they were surrounded by men. They showed the replay one more time. Emily moved into the living room and watched the screen intently.

"What's wrong?" Sonja asked.

"I would swear I saw Damon and Frank Chase. There!" she said, pointing to the screen.

"Sure enough," Mario said.

"What the hell?" Kim said. "Is he not going to Kenton's funeral? I thought they were best friends besides being lovers?" She looked at Emily. "Sorry."

"No, you're right," Emily said. She picked up her cell phone and called Damon's number. "Straight to voicemail," she said through gritted teeth. She pulled up Carol's number and called it. "Carol, it's Emily."

Kim could hear Carol crying from where she sat. Emily held out the phone from her ear. "Carol," she called into the phone. "Stop crying."

"I'm so sorry," Carol said. She calmed down but was still sobbing and hiccupping.

Emily ignored her apology and said, "I just saw Damon with Frank Chase on television in Louisville. Is he not coming to Kenton's funeral?"

"He said he'd be back Sunday in enough time for the funeral," Carol said. "I can't believe he's just going about life like nothing happened."

"Me either," Emily said. "The viewing starts at one tomorrow."

"I know. I'll be there."

Emily nodded. "We'll talk then." She clicked the phone off, gritting her teeth. "What the fuck is up with that?"

Sonja and Fernando both looked at her.

"Sorry about the language," she said. "But, I don't get it. Your best friend was just murdered right down the street from where you live. And, you were supposed to be lovers, but you are out partying with your boss's son."

"Maybe the son is one of his lovers too," Kim suggested.

"No way," Emily said. "Walter Chase would have Frank skinned alive."

Kim pulled out her Mobile and got online and searched for the more publicized events at the Derby Festival that might draw Walter Chase's son.

Emily's phone buzzed with a text. She read the message from Carol. "Carol says that Damon and Frank are there to run in Saturday's marathon." She sent a message back saying, "Thanks."

"There are also two golf tournaments going on this weekend," Kim said as she scrolled through the information on the Internet.

"I'll bet Walter is there too, then. He plays in almost all the Pro-Am tournaments offered around the country," Emily said and took another drink from her margarita.

Kim didn't say it, but she thought that Damon and this Frank person looked awfully cozy together. They were standing closer than most men would to a friend. She wondered if Frank might be the third party in Kenton's love mess. Whoever Junior was, he needed to be revealed for the police to have a complete investigation. She would call Janice Carter later about it.

"So you're going back to the hotel tonight?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, I paid for tonight. I still wasn't sure if I could come back here," she said quietly.

"Have you thought about who might have done this to Kenton?" Kim asked quietly

"I know it's not Carol; she doesn't have the balls for something like that," Emily said thoughtfully. "I would have a hard time believing Damon did it. We grew up spending a lot of time together, and quite frankly, I'm not that surprised that he is apparently bisexual. He was always a little feminine, but I can't imagine he's capable of murder. And I'm not surprised Kenton went both ways. I was so totally blind to his charms, but I knew that he'd had a lot of lovers. I really shouldn't be surprised that he slept with men, too."

Suddenly, a thought came to Emily, and she turned completely white. "What's wrong?" Sonja asked, rushing to Emily's side.

"It just occurred to me that he apparently continued to sleep with people after we got married. We were both tested for STDs before we got married but not afterward. I need to call my doctor first thing in the morning, and I'm going to call that police officer; what was her name?" she said as she dug in her purse.

"Janice Carter," Kim supplied.

"Yeah, her; I'm going to call her and ask her if the coroner tested Kenton for any of that stuff."

"That's a good idea," Kim agreed.

Sonja nodded her head. "Yes, you must get yourself looked at. Let me know when you have to go. I'll go with you."

"Thank you, Sonja," Emily said, squeezing her hand.

Emily's phone buzzed again. She looked at the number and answered it. "Hi, Mom." "How are you?" her mother asked. "I'm fine. I'm at Rodriquez's house having dinner." "Your dad and I were going to see if you wanted to have dinner with us tomorrow night?" her mother said.

"I've already got plans for tomorrow night; how about Sunday, after the funeral?" Emily answered.

"That will be great. Are you going to try to stay at the house after the funeral?"

"I'm going to start tomorrow night. I've got some friends who are going to stay with me."

"Okay, Sweetie," her mother said. "I'll talk to you at the funeral home tomorrow.

"Okay, Mom. Love you."

"Love you, too," her mother said and hung up.

"You know, back to your question about who killed Kenton. I really have no idea. Depending on whom he's been sleeping with, it could be anyone. I know they are looking at everyone's jewelry, so I'm assuming they must have found some kind of imprint on Kenton's body. But, if I wanted him dead, I wouldn't have just hit him, let him fall in the pool, and watched him drown. I would have been too mad for that. I would have hit him with something hard enough to kill him to start with," Emily said reflectively.

"So, do you think whoever did it didn't intend to kill him but panicked when Kenton fell in the pool?" Mario asked.

"Maybe," Emily said. "But they didn't find any tracks other than mine, Kenton's and Mario's. If we didn't have the hotel records to prove we weren't there, we would probably be in jail for Kenton's murder right now." Her face darkened. "Maybe that was the killer's plan."

Kim cocked an eyebrow. "That's a theory."

Emily shook herself and drained her margarita. "Sonja, can I have one more before I go back to the hotel?"

"Of course," Sonja said, getting up to fix Emily's drink. "Let's not talk about this anymore."

"Yeah, let's change the subject," Emily agreed. "What are you going to do with the pictures you took today?" she asked Kim.

The subject was changed, but Emily couldn't help wonder if she hadn't hit on something. She would mention it when she talked to the detective tomorrow.