The Past Can Be Murder

By Nickie Turnipseed

David Reardon is the salt of the earth type of guy. Hes been married to Adele for thirty-five years and has two great kids, David Jr. and Carol, plus four grandchildren. They all get together once a year and head out to their property along the north coast for two weeks. He says that it is the only time they can all get together and spend some quality family time. Hes not sure how many more years theyll be able to get together, but he says that hes grateful for as long as it lasts.

He started his career as a newspaperman in San Francisco, and from what Coley had heard, he was one of the best. He says he wanted something less hectic that would let him spend more time at home while his children were growing up. So he left a very good career and moved his young family to the valley and started working for the magazine. She thinks it was around thirty years ago.

He actually lives up valley in Calistoga. He works out of his home office most of the time. Coley actually worked for the magazine for over a year before she finally saw him in person. They communicated by phone when he needed her to do some background work for him. She thought he was just a recluse. But it turns out that Adele, his wife, is an invalid; and he works from home so he would be there if she needs him. He is devoted to her and the kids. I have never met a man like him, she thinks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 5, 2017
• ISBN: 9781546204985

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

C oley was walking down the street from her office to have lunch at the deli by the river. She’s had a hectic morning trying to get her article written for the magazines next issue. However, right now she was starving and couldn’t wait to dig into her favorite sandwich. This was the only deli she knew that served a dill and shrimp sandwich as a regular menu item. She loved it, could eat it every day. As she continued down the street she noticed something out of place, but couldn’t quite put her finger on what was different. Holy crap, it’s that old building. I have passed it a thousand times, but today there was something very different about the appearance. It was the big Sale Pending sign on the door. This place has been closed up for years. I didn’t even know it was for sale. It will seem strange not having it stand vacant anymore.

The sun was warm on her back with just enough breezes to keep the temperature comfortable. Just the kind of day Coley loved. She arrived at the deli and chose to eat on the patio and enjoy the river. She loved the changes that were being done to the whole downtown area. Whoever was in charge sure knew what they were doing. The whole plan was to take away the decay but continue to show the charm of the town the way it had always looked. The new bridges across the river were lined with old fashioned streetlights that let off a luminous glow on the river at night. It made for a very pleasing sight. Coley sat and enjoyed watching the tourists go in and out of the shops while waiting for her sandwich. She wondered what their lives were like. Did they live in the area or moved from the area and decided to come back for a visit? Were they even from this country? We get a lot of people from all over the world that come to sample the wines and the beauty of the valley. Coley finished her sandwich and headed back to work. It was going to be difficult to get back into the work mode on such a beautiful day.

Back at the office, Coley was looking through some pictures for future articles when she came across a picture of the old building she had seen the sale pending sign on. It looked even more run down in the picture, as if it was suspended in time. Everything around it was up to date and modern, well as modern as this town ever gets, but the old building stood out like a sore thumb. There was a new park across the street by the river and new condominiums just beyond. Several fine restaurants opened in the area and one of the other old buildings down the street has been turned into a quaint hotel. In fact that’s where the deli she just had lunch was located, the one with the patio overlooking the river and a sweet shop that tempted her every time she passed by. And now one of the last holdouts was finally going to be sold after forty some odd years of sitting empty. Why would someone leave a building in this very pricey area of downtown, sitting empty for such a long time? What a waste.

Hey Connie, do you know anything about the old building in this picture? Connie had been working at the magazine for as long as anyone could remember. She knew her way around town and almost everyone in it. She took the picture and studied it. Oh sure, I remember this old place. It used to be a bar or something. I pass it all the time. I’ve often wondered why the city didn’t do something about that old eyesore. I don’t remember too much about it though, it was a long time ago and I am not that old. Coley couldn’t help but laugh. She knew Connie had to be up there in age, but her face never seemed to age. She wasn’t what you would call pretty, but you had the impression that at one time she was quite lovely. Connie walked across the room as she contemplated the picture. You know, I do remember hearing that there was some kind of scandal or something that was connected to the place. People bring it up every once in a while when someone tries to buy it. I just don’t remember hearing any of the details. David might know something though; he was born in this town and has been on the magazine even longer than I have. Coley thanked Connie and said, My curiosity will have to wait, David is still on vacation and won’t be back for three more days.

David Reardon is the salt of the earth type of guy. He’s been married to Adele for thirty five years has two great kids, David Jr. and Carol, plus four grandchildren. They all get together once a year and head out to their property along the north coast for two weeks. He says that it is the only time they can all get together and spend some quality family time. He’s not sure how many more years they’ll be able to get together, but said, he’s grateful for as long as it lasts. He started his career as a newspaperman in San Francisco and from what Coley had heard he was one of the best. He said he wanted something less hectic that would let him spend more time at home while his children were growing up. So he left a very good career and moved his young family to the valley and started working for the magazine. She thought it was around thirty years ago. He actually lives up valley in Calistoga. He works out of his home office most of the time. Coley actually worked for the magazine for over a year before she finally saw him in person. They communicated by phone when he needed her to do some background work for him. She thought he was just a recluse, but it turned out that Adele, his wife, was an invalid and he worked from home so he would be there if she needed him. He is devoted to her and the kids. I have never met a man like him, she thought.

Coley placed the picture of the old building in a folder on her desk and got back to what she was supposed to be working on. There is a new facility called The Wine Institute, opening in a few weeks that will be a living museum about the wine industry, as well as a food and art gallery. It has a theater that will seat 600 people for various community events. It’s the pet project of several of Napa’s leading winery owners and everyone who is anyone in this valley will be at the grand opening. The governor is cutting his trip to Washington DC short just to be here for the great event. It was designed to be the corner stone for the river beautification project that the city has been trying to get completed for twenty years. Come to think of it, that old building would be a real blemish on the landscape considering its right across the street from the park that connects to the new museum. The magazine has received three invitations and Coley has been chosen to be one of the people to attend. This is not my idea of a fun evening, she told Rick, but Rick, her editor said it’s not supposed to be fun Coley, it’s supposed to be work! Rick has been here even longer than David has. Coley jotted down a note to herself to ask Rick about the old building later. She got her mind back on work and was deep in thought when the phone rang. It was her real estate agent Sarah, with what she hoped would be good news. Coley has been looking for a new house for several months now and has just about given up on finding what she was looking for. She agreed to meet with Sarah tomorrow morning around ten to see what Sarah described as the greatest real estate find of the decade. Sarah is a little prone to exaggeration. Coley left her office around 5:30pm to head home, but first she wanted to take a slow drive by the old building before the sun went down, just to get one more look. When she arrived, she couldn’t resist the temptation to look inside. So she parked the car and walked over to the building. It had glass block windows placed up high on the wall and purple tile on the rest of the outside. The door was wood with a round window in it that was reminiscent of a porthole. It really was an ugly building, but it had the power to take you back to a different time. Coley tried to look through the porthole-window, but couldn’t see much of anything. There was a little light coming in from the upper windows, but not enough to really see anything. She could just barely make out what looked like the end of a bar. Connie said she thought this used to be, an old bar, Coley said out loud. Coley’s imagination was taking hold, the more I look at this place, the more questions I have. Maybe I can check with Sarah tomorrow to find out who owned it and who is buying it now. Being in real estate, she should be able to get that information for me. I would love to know what was so important about this old building that made them leave it boarded up for so many years.

CHAPTER TWO

C oley woke up early. Her sleep was interrupted by fitful dreams about the building. So many questions kept coming to her mind. She showered and dressed in a dark navy blue pant suit with a white blouse and navy blue low heeled shoes. She had been with Sarah before when she said she just had one or two houses to show her. She knew she needed to be comfortable. Besides, she wanted to wear something that would let people know she was a professional, not just some woman snooping around when she started her investigation into the old bar. After all, it might make a good story for the magazine; a nice human interest story about a part of Napa history. It wasn’t just her curiosity right?

Coley met Sarah at the real estate office on Jefferson Street at 10:00am as per their agreement. Coley dear, wait until I show you this new development. It’s right on the river, a magnificent view. The price is right and it has everything you want in your new home. Ok Coley said, Let’s go look at this place before someone else buys it out from under us. They arrived at the new complex at about 10:30am. The grounds were certainly beautiful. It was set up with a courtyard in the middle. Some of the units were on the east side and some on the west. The units on the west side backed up to the river. There was a pool, a fireplace set in the middle of one of those trendy outdoor living rooms, a very attractive clubhouse and a full workout room for the convenience of the condo owners. Sarah led the way to the unit she knew would be perfect for Coley. They entered into an ample foyer and as Coley walked through to the living room, she was stunned by the incredible view she was seeing out of the window. The river was so beautiful with its green and blue hues from the morning sun shining in. Coley could see the quaint hotel and deli down the street, the wonderful restaurants that she often frequented and the new park with its blooming trees and vast area of green grass. This would be perfect. She could walk to work and to her favorite deli, but what really caught Coley’s eye was the old bar looming at her as if it was calling her to let out its secrets. Sarah saw what Coley was looking at, Can you believe how ugly that old building is? Fortunately they are going to be tearing it down soon. Scott Newland, a local contractor, is buying it and putting in a modern coffee bar. Won’t that be great? Coley snapped back into reality. Do you know when they are going to tear it down? Sarah looked at Coley with a little surprise. Why would you be interested in that old building? I thought I might do an article on one of the last real old buildings in this area. You know, kind of a human interest story. Well I hope you aren’t going to try and save that old piece of junk. Rumor has it that a murder took place there forty years ago. A murder! What do you know about the murder? I don’t really know anything. You would have to ask Scott about that. He did a little research on it when he was trying to get the old lady who owns it to sell it to him. You mean the woman is still alive? Yes, she’s still alive. She is old, but for some reason she would not sell the building or allow anyone to go into it. No one has been in there since they closed the doors on the night of the murder. Now let’s go see the rest of the condo and if you like it, we can put in an offer. Coley followed Sarah. At first she was still distracted by the news she had just received, but as she toured each of the rooms, Coley was struck with the beauty and layout