“Before I tell you what Amy and I discussed, I want you to promise that you’re not going to get angry with me.”
Scott laughed nervously. “Wow. I’m really not going to like this, am I?”
I grimaced. “Probably not.”
“Well, at least you’re being honest with me.”
“When it comes to a topic like this, I think being upfront is the best call.”
“In that case, let’s get down to business. Why did she phone you?”
“She wanted to hire me.”
“Hire you? To do what? She’s in jail?”
“It’s funny you should mention that. She wants me to help her get out of jail.”
“She realizes you’re not a lawyer, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then what does she think you can do for her?”
“Find out who really killed Connor.”
I expected Scott to blow his top. Or to at least get a little bit angry. Instead, he surprised me by laughing.
I squinted. “What’s so funny?”
“This entire situation. I can’t believe how far she’s taking this act of hers.”
“What act?”
“This ruse that she’s innocent.”
“Has it occurred to you that maybe it isn’t an act?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
“What if she’s telling the truth?” I asked. “What if she had nothing to do with Connor’s death? It would mean that the killer is still out there. And that an innocent woman is stuck in jail.”
“She got you to buy her story, didn’t she? Wow.”
“I think it’s more than just a story that she made up.”
“Wait a minute. Does that mean you took the job?”
“Yes,” I replied.
He stared at me.
“You’re not mad at me, are you?” I asked.
“No.”
“You’re not?”
“Hey, you have to make a living.”
“Isn’t that the truth?”
“The question I have is this. Did you only take this case for the money, or deep down, do you really believe that she’s innocent?”
“I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but I don’t think she killed Connor.”
Scott winced. “You’re right. That isn’t what I wanted to hear.”
“What can I say? That’s what my instincts are telling me.”
“We definitely disagree about Amy’s level of guilt.”
“I guess we’ll just have to see what my investigation uncovers.”
“If I had to guess, you’re probably not going to find much of anything.”
“Look at you, being all dismissive of my investigation when I’m just getting started.”
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s nothing against you or your investigative skills.”
I threw out my arms. “Really, I shouldn’t take offense?”
He shook his head.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because you know that I performed my own investigation. And that I had state-of-the-art tools at my disposal. Which led me to the conclusion that Amy is guilty.”
“I’m aware of all that.”
“Good.”
“I also didn’t make Amy any guarantees.”
“At the same time, I would never bet against my instincts.”
“Well, I wish you luck.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re definitely going to need it,” Scott said.
Chapter Four
While I was glad that Scott and I didn’t get into an argument, that conversation still could have gone better.
In particular, I wasn’t a fan of the fact that Scott dismissed what my gut was telling me. It was almost as if he had already come to the conclusion that I would fail. I wanted to prove him wrong. Not just for my sake, but for Amy’s as well.
While I could have spent more time thinking about how frustrating that conversation with Scott had been, I turned my focus to the case.
A few minutes later, as I drove away from the police station, something about my previous discussion with Amy really stood out to me. I couldn’t help but think about the timing of the argument that she’d had with Connor on the night of his murder.
According to her, when she left his house, he was still alive. It meant that after she drove away, he didn’t survive much longer. To me, that was a crucial detail. After all, there was a chance that Amy and the real killer might have crossed paths without knowing it.
There was another possibility as well. What if the killer was already on Connor’s street when Amy drove away? What if the murderer was hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike? Perhaps when they saw Amy speeding away in a huff, they figured it would provide great cover for them. There was even a chance that the so-called neighbor who had placed the call to the police might have actually been the murderer phoning under a false identity.
Of course, I couldn’t prove any of this. It was just a theory. And even if I was right, I didn’t know the identity of the caller.
One thing I could do right then was head back to the scene of the crime. I set a course for Connor’s house. Even though I wouldn’t have access to the inside of the home, where the actual murder had taken place, I could wander around the outside. I could also take a look at his neighborhood again. In addition, I might be able to peek into some of his windows.
What I didn’t expect to happen was to see one of the suspects standing in Connor’s driveway when I pulled onto his street. Yet, that was exactly what happened. The suspect was Nancy Billingsley. Connor and Nancy had been good friends.
The question became, what was Nancy doing here? I asked her that very thing as I got out of my car and approached her.
Rather than replying to my question, the redhead had something that she wanted to ask me.
“Who are you?” Nancy said.
“I’m a private investigator,” I said.
“What exactly are you investigating?”
“Connor’s death.”
“I don’t understand. I thought that was already solved.”
“Not quite.”
“Are you serious?”
“Trust me. The case is very much still open.”
“Wow. I had no idea.”
“With that in mind, I can’t help but wonder what you’re doing here.”
“I was just thinking about how much I miss Connor. Things haven’t been the same since he died. I guess I just came here to pay my respects.”
“Wouldn’t the cemetery be a better place to do that?”
“I can’t set foot at the cemetery. It’s just too sad of a place.”
“But what, Connor’s house isn’t?”
“Look. I know this is where he died, but I also have a lot of good memories of this place.”
“You two were very close, weren’t you?”
“Absolutely. He was one of my best friends.”
“It should be especially troubling to you then that his killer is still on the loose.”
“That is a terrifying thought.”
“I agree. Which is why I want them to be apprehended as soon as possible.”
“I wish you luck.”
“An investigation like this is about more than just luck. It’s about information. That’s where you come in.”
Nancy’s eyebrows knitted. “Me?”
“Absolutely. As Connor’s good friend, you could play a pivotal role in bringing his killer to justice.”
“How?”
“Can you think of anyone who had a reason to want him dead?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Why do you sound so surprised?”
“I just assumed that you’d be able to come up with a bunch of names.”
“You’re dead wrong.”
“That’s some interesting phrasing.”
“Yeah. It’s unfortunate. I wish I could take it back.”
“Why don’t we just mo
ve forward?”
“There’s one problem with that.”
I squinted. “What do you mean?”
“As much as I’d like to help you with your investigation, I don’t really have anything to say.”
In my experience, investigations were never easy, but this conversation was going particularly poorly. Nancy was giving me nothing to work with. I had to find a way to get her to open up.
I didn’t want to go right at her, however. If she felt personally attacked, she could just shut down. Or maybe she’d run away. I had to be a little tricky right then.
“Nancy, you realize that you’re not really helping your case, don’t you?” I asked.
She shrugged. “What case?”
“You might wish to remain quiet, but I can’t say the same for other people. I mean, here you are, showing up at the scene of the crime. You have to admit, it looks pretty suspicious.”
“I told you, I just came here to pay my respects.”
“Maybe you did. But I will say this. Appearances play a role in an investigation like this.”
“So what if I’m here? I don’t get why that would be suspicious.”
“Are you really going to make me spell it out for you?”
“Yes.”
“Generally, suspects try to avoid showing up at the scene of the crime. Unless they are worried that they left something behind earlier.”
“Wait a minute. Did you just call me a suspect?”
“Of course, I did.”
“Why?”
“You’re really playing dumb today, aren’t you?”
“No. I just don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Nancy, I know you had feelings for Connor.”
“Stop right there. I’m in a relationship.”
“Are you really going to pretend like you and Bill aren’t having problems?”
“I have no clue where you got your information from, but you are way off base.”
“Nancy, will you drop the act already and come clean with me? Every time you lie to me, you only dig yourself a deeper hole.”
“I don’t like where this conversation is going.”
“Neither do I. But there’s a killer on the loose. And I’m going to do everything I can to bring them to justice.”
“I didn’t kill Connor.”
“Give me a reason why I should believe you. After all, you had feelings for Connor, but he was trying to win Amy back. You also don’t have a verifiable alibi for the time of the murder. Finally, here you are, at the scene of the crime.”
“I already told you, I’m not a murderer.”
“Nancy, your word isn’t enough. You’re going to need more than that.”
“Why aren’t you listening to me? I had nothing to do with this. Go and bother someone else.”
“Is that really all you have to say for yourself?”
“That’s it. I’m out of here.” Nancy started backing away from me.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“As far away from you as possible.”
I started walking toward Nancy.
She pointed at me and said, “We’re done here.”
Chapter Five
I could have followed Nancy to her car, but there didn’t seem to be any benefit in that. If anything, it would just set her off even more. I didn’t want to take the risk of her getting violent with me.
Either way, that conversation certainly spiraled out of control in a hurry. If I had suspicions about Nancy before, they were only heightened now.
Once Nancy left the scene and drove away, I stuck around Connor’s place for a few minutes. I wanted to look around Connor’s neighborhood. I also peered into a few of his windows. Unfortunately, nothing ended up standing out to me.
That wasn’t terribly surprising. The police had done a thorough sweep of the crime scene during their initial investigation. In addition, before Amy’s arrest, I had also poked my head around here briefly. The odds were incredibly slim that I’d find any evidence. Still, I had to try.
After coming up with nothing, I decided to head over to Betsy O’Dell’s house next.
Betsy lived in a beige ranch-style home on the south end of town. I knocked on her dark-brown door. Much to my surprise, she answered her door almost immediately.
Clearly, she was expecting company that afternoon. Judging by the look on her face, however, that person just didn’t happen to be me.
“Wait a minute. You don’t work for the package delivery company,” Betsy said.
“No, I don’t,” I said.
Betsy looked like she wanted to close her door in my face.
I put my hand up. “I would like a word with you, though, Betsy.”
Betsy’s nose scrunched. “How do you know my name?”
“I know a lot more about you than just your name.”
“I don’t understand.”
“No, I suppose you don’t.”
“Would you mind filling me in?”
“Actually, I was hoping that you could provide me with some information.”
“What kind of info?”
“Any detail that can lead to the apprehension of Connor Taggart’s killer,” I said.
Betsy laughed.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“I knew that the police department in this town was a joke, but this is ridiculous. Amy Dearborn was arrested for that crime,” Betsy said.
“I know.”
“So, what are you hassling me for?”
“Amy didn’t murder Connor.”
“You should tell the media that. There are stories about her all over the news.”
“Do you always believe what you see on the news?”
“Are you telling me that’s a mistake?”
“It is. Let me tell you, this case is far from over.”
“I still don’t know what any of this has to do with me.”
“Maybe nothing. Or perhaps it has everything to do with you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The finger of suspicion has been pointed at you.”
“By who?”
“Who do you think?”
“I have no idea.”
“To be honest, that part isn’t important,” I said. “The only thing that really matters is the truth. For example, I know that you and Connor were sleeping together.”
“No. That’s not true.”
I reached into my purse and pulled up a photo on my phone. “This picture says otherwise.”
Betsy’s eyes widened. “Hey, where did you get that from?”
I had actually taken that photograph myself during a previous investigation.
“Like I said, Ms. O’Dell, I’m an investigator. Getting information is what I do. Let me tell you. Things don’t look good for you right now. Not only were you sleeping with the victim, but you also don’t have an alibi for the night that he was murdered.”
“Like I told the detective a few days ago, I was here watching TV the night that Connor was murdered.”
“And according to your statement, you were alone. Which means that there’s no way of verifying your story.”
“It’s more than just a story. It’s the truth.”
“If that’s truly the case, then help me out.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“Give me a reason to believe you.”
“Being innocent isn’t reason enough?”
“It’s hard to believe that you’re innocent if you can’t prove it.”
“Last time I checked, people in this country are innocent until they are proven guilty.”
“Yes, in court. But if you didn’t have anything to do with Connor’s murder, you should be hoping that things never get to a court of law.”
“Look. I don’t know what you want from me.”
“The only thing I care about is finding Connor’s killer.”
“Then talk to someone else.”
“Do you
have anyone in mind?”
“I don’t know.”
“Take your time and really think about it. If I can prove that someone else is guilty, then by default, it will also prove that you’re innocent.”
“I’m sorry. I have no clue who might have done this.”
“That’s really unfortunate.”
“It’s also the truth.”
“Maybe so, but it also means that I can’t help but be suspicious of you.”
Betsy gritted her teeth. “You’re maddening, you know that?”
“No. What’s maddening is the fact that there’s a killer on the loose,” I said.
Chapter Six
I spoke with Betsy for a little while longer, but I didn’t get anywhere. When it became clear that I wouldn’t get any useful information out of her, I elected to move on.
As I drove away from Betsy’s house, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated by the fact that another conversation had gone nowhere. I was hoping that my third suspect interview would go a little better. I certainly hoped so. Julie McIntosh was the final suspect on my list.
I drove over to Tilden Road, where Julie lived. After I parked in her driveway, I didn’t immediately approach her split-level home.
I needed to take a moment to myself. After all, it had been an awfully rough afternoon for me. I really wanted this next conversation to go off without any fireworks. Would I get my wish? I said a quick prayer and then got out of my car.
From there, I went up Julie’s walkway. I then knocked on her front door.
Things certainly didn’t get off to a good start. Much to my chagrin, Julie didn’t answer her door. I waited a few seconds and knocked again.
Once more, I didn’t receive an answer. I then rang the doorbell.
That also got me nowhere.
I began to worry. I knew that Julie wasn’t at work. To start, it was Saturday. Her office wasn’t even open then. There were a number of other places that she could be, though. She could be out running errands. Or having a good time. Or relaxing at the beach. Perhaps she was even out of town. All of those possibilities scared me.
Tracking people down was not something that I enjoyed. Of course, if it was necessary, I would do it. I just didn’t want things to come to that.
My gut was telling me that Julie was still at home. After all, her car was still in the driveway. Of course, someone could have come by and picked her up. Or she could have walked somewhere. Then again, perhaps she was hiding inside her home, avoiding coming to her door at all costs.
Majestic Cove Mysteries Box Set 2 Page 2
