Deep down, Chloe wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to that. After all, she still hadn’t heard back from her friend Hope. That was a big shame too, as Chloe had figured out the answer to Hope’s predicament over her bad work situation. If Hope took a job working at the pie shop, all her professional drama would be over. Chloe decided to drop Rufus off at home, grab a cup of coffee, and then pay Hope a visit.
For the second day in a row, Chloe wouldn’t make it to her friends’ house. Life had other plans. As she approached her house, she saw a most unwelcome sight; a police cruiser was parked in her driveway.
Chloe could only imagine what her neighbors were thinking at this point. She could see a few of them peering through their blinds in a not-so-subtle fashion. Chloe wished they’d go back to their Mahjong games or Jazzercise DVD’s and stay out of her business.
Ugh.
Chloe was not looking forward to reaching her doorstep. She’d had far too many surprise conversations with Deputy Stanton in the last few months. The man seemed to be the perpetual bearer of bad news. No doubt that would be true this time. There was no reason for Stanton to make an impromptu house call, especially at nine in the morning.
The burly deputy and his brawny partner waited at the door for Chloe to approach.
“Ah, Chloe, there you are,” Deputy Stanton said.
Chloe? The deputy had always called her Ms. Cook. Was he getting so used to showing up at her house for police-related matters that he felt like they were on a first name basis?
Two could play at that game. “Steven, I’d say I’m happy to see you, but I wouldn’t want to lie to you.”
“As a general rule, it’s best not to lie to a police officer,” Deputy Stanton replied.
“So, let me guess, you didn’t come here with good news,” Chloe said.
He shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
Chloe sighed. “Of course not. The question is, how bad is the news?”
“That’s actually not for me to say.”
“Then what did you come here for?”
“Unfortunately, I’m going to have to ask you to come with us.”
Chloe didn’t like all this tap dancing around. She wanted to get to the meat of the issue. Instead, the police deputy that was suddenly on a first name basis with her was having a hard time getting to the point.
She got blunt with Stanton. “Look, something awful must have happened for you two to show up at my door like this. Just tell me what it is.”
The deputy managed to keep a tight lip. He stuck to the script his boss had clearly given him. “The detective has some questions for you.”
Chloe wanted something to go on at least. She pressed again. “About what?”
“The murder of Victoria Ryan.”
Chapter Eleven
When Chloe got a strong feeling in her gut earlier that morning, she was almost certain that something awful had happened. Unfortunately, she was right. Why couldn’t her gut be right about picking the correct lottery numbers? Why was it always about bad news?
The deputies brought Chloe to Victoria Ryan’s comedy and magic club, which also happened to be the scene of the crime. When they parked their car, the deputies went to grab Detective Todd Thicke, while Chloe surveyed the parking lot. The local police department was out in full force. To an outside observer, everything seemed so chaotic with police officers and members of the forensics team scurrying to and fro.
Chloe wasn’t thrown by that. She’d set foot on a few crime scenes in the past. Oh dear, what a surreal fact that was to contemplate. A few months ago, Chloe couldn’t imagine ever being near a crime. It was amazing how quickly things had changed. Even more, the changes appeared to be far from over.
Still, despite no longer being a stranger to crime scenes, one thing remained shocking to her; the sight of a murder victim. That was something she suspected she’d never get used to. How could she?
As if she’d just spotted a car crash on the Mid-Cape highway, Chloe couldn’t peel her eyes away from Victoria Ryan’s body in the parking lot of the club. It was a chilling sight. At the same time, Chloe didn’t want to linger on it too long. Stuff like this gave her nightmares. Before turning her head away, she did happen to spot a few peculiar things.
The body was face down, and there was a gash on the back of Victoria’s head. A portion of her hair was stained with blood. That left no mystery to how she’d been murdered. This was clearly a case of being struck with a blunt object to the back of the head. In addition, the body was not far from the backstage door. Most likely that meant the killer waited for Victoria to leave the building, then snuck up on her from the shadows and struck her from behind.
While the forensics teams inspected Victoria’s corpse for any other wounds or leftover evidence, Chloe’s eyes shifted to a bloody shovel that was on the ground beside the body. Chloe recognized that shovel, and not just because it was the same kind that could be found on the shelves of every hardware store in America.
That particular snow shovel was propped up on the brick wall next to the backstage door last night. It was so close that Victoria tripped over it yesterday. The fact that is was now the murder weapon made it likely that the killing wasn’t predetermined, but rather a crime of passion. If the killer had been planning things, logic dictated that they’d bring their own weapon from home.
The body and bloody snow shovel weren’t the only things of interest at the scene. Beside the shovel, a member of the forensics team was bagging up a name tag. Chloe recognized the tag as the kind that the staff wore at the club. From fifteen feet away, she couldn’t make out the name on the tag, but it definitely belonged to one of Victoria’s employees.
Suddenly, Chloe’s attention was diverted elsewhere when she heard Hope Callahan’s voice calling her name.
“Chloe,” Hope said.
Chloe turned and saw Hope approaching. So much for the drama being over for Hope. If anything, it appeared to just be heating up.
At the same time, she wasn’t alone. There were half a dozen other people at the scene with no police affiliation. Chloe recognized them all. They were Noah Bryant, Ben Harrington, Tony Ryan, Isaac Hunter, Leah Manning, and Andrew Brown. All had very public blow ups with Victoria last night. Each was no doubt a suspect in her murder now.
Hope had a panic-stricken look on her face as she continued. “I can’t believe they dragged you into this. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”
Chloe had to cut through the hysteria and get to the bottom of this. “What is your fault exactly?”
“If I hadn’t told you to meet me at the club, you wouldn’t be here right now.”
“Hope, what happened after I left last night?” Chloe wondered.
“It’s complicated.”
“Simplify it then.”
“Things got much worse after you left.”
“How much worse?”
Chloe wouldn’t get her answer. Just then, Deputy Stanton approached and interrupted them.
“The detective is ready for you now,” Stanton said.
***
Detective Todd Thicke got everyone in a lineup and addressed them as a group. Todd was a bulky, bespectacled man in his mid-fifties with a round face that matched his beer belly. There was a weariness in his voice like he’d already seen too many horrors for one lifetime. He wasted no time in getting straight to the point.
“A woman was killed here last night outside this club. Not only did you all know her, but most of you had very strong motives for wanting her dead. Even more, each of you spoke with her shortly before she was murdered. I’ll have you know; I take crime very seriously. This is my town, and I’m not going to let some lowlife run afoul and get away with murder. Justice will be served in this case. Not only was Victoria Ryan murdered last night, but I think the killer is amongst us at this very moment. Now, there are two ways to do this; the easy way, and the hard way. So, does anyone want to come forward and confess?” Detective Thicke asked.
; The crowd was silent.
“Of course not. That would be too easy. It looks like I’ll have to do this the hard way.”
The detective approached Tony Ryan first.
“Where were you last night between two and three a.m. this morning?” Detective Thicke asked.
“I was at home working on new material,” Tony answered.
“Alone?” Thicke replied.
“Yeah. Why does that matter?”
“Because, if you were alone, that means you have no one to verify your alibi.”
“I don’t need an alibi. I didn’t do this.”
“At least that’s your story, but you have no way of proving that,” the detective said.
“You have no way of proving I did it, either,” Tony countered.
“Not yet. But that doesn’t mean I won’t,” Detective Thicke said.
The detective scribbled a note down on his pad, then moved on to Victoria’s ex-boyfriend, Ben Harrington.
“How about you, Mr. Harrington, where were you between two and three a.m.?” the detective wondered.
“I was asleep,” Ben replied.
“Were you alone?
Ben sighed. “Unfortunately.”
“So you have no one to corroborate your alibi either,” the detective said.
“Technically, no.”
Detective Thicke gave Ben a long stare, then turned his attention to Victoria’s ex-best friend, Leah Manning.
“Ms. Manning, what’s your story?” Detective Thicke asked.
“Are you kidding? I was in bed at midnight and didn’t wake up until seven this morning,” Leah said.
“Do you have anyone to confirm that?”
“No, but I was sleeping. Trust me.”
“Ms. Manning, this is a murder investigation. The last thing I’m going to do is trust any of you.”
Detective Thicke wrote another note down on his pad, then approached Victoria’s business partner, Andrew Brown.
“Mr. Brown, where were you at the time of the murder?” the detective wondered.
“I was in my office, running numbers,” Andrew said.
“At that hour?”
“The club doesn’t close until two. I always stay late to add up the sales receipts for the evening.”
“Do you have anyone to verify your story?”
“I’m sure someone must have seen me,” Andrew said.
Detective Thicke turned to the rest of the lineup. “Can anyone here verify Mr. Brown’s story?”
The detective received nothing but silence from the lineup. “That’s what I thought.”
Detective Thicke then moved on to Isaac Hunter next.
“Mr. Hunter, how about you?” Detective Thicke asked.
“I was at Sully’s Sports Bar,” Isaac said.
“That should be easy enough to verify. I’ll just have Sully pull his security tapes, and see if I spot you,” the detective replied.
Isaac was quick to revise his story. “I meant, I was on my way home from the bar.”
“Do you have anyone who can verify your story?” the detective wondered.
“I guess not.”
Detective Thicke stared at Isaac, then approached Noah Bryant.
“Mr. Bryant, where were you between two and three this morning?” Detective Thicke wondered.
“I was at home drinking,” Noah replied.
“Alone?”
“I have no one to verify my alibi, if that’s what you mean.”
“You know that’s exactly what I mean. And don’t get fresh with me,” Thicke warned.
The detective stared Noah down, then moved on to Chloe.
“Ms. Cook, what’s your story?” the detective asked.
“I was with my friend, Shannon McGraw. We went out for a few drinks after her pie shop closed. Call her up at 555-8972. She’ll verify it,” Chloe said.
Detective Thicke turned around and addressed one of his deputies.
“Deputy Stanton, call that number and check out Ms. Cook’s story,” Detective Thicke said.
“Will do, sir,” Deputy Stanton replied.
Detective Thicke then approached Hope Callahan.
“Ms. Callahan, where were you at the time of the murder?” the detective asked.
“I was on my way home. It was a long night,” Hope said.
“I’ll bet. But I don’t believe you were driving home,” Detective Thicke revealed.
“That’s what I was doing. I’m telling you the truth.”
“Then why was your employee name tag found next to the body?”
Hope’s jaw dropped. She stammered as she tried to answer. “I don’t know.”
“Would you care to revise your story, Ms. Callahan?”
“No. I didn’t do this. Look, I left my name tag at work last night. Anyone could have come by and grabbed it.”
“You say you were driving home at the time of the murder, but do you have anyone to verify that?” Detective Thicke asked.
“Well, no. Detective, you have to believe me. I don’t know how my name tag got there. I would never do something like this,” Hope argued.
“We’ll see what my forensics team has to say about that. They’re going to be running lab tests, and if your prints turn up, I’m going to be arresting you for murder.”
“They won’t show up because I didn’t do this.”
“I don’t care about your story. The only thing that matters to me is the result of these lab tests, and they won’t take long to get back. In the meantime, don’t any of you leave town,” Detective Thicke said.
Chapter Twelve
That was way too close for comfort. Not so much for Chloe, as she knew she had an alibi and no motive for wanting Victoria Ryan dead. The same could not be said for Hope Callahan. At first, Chloe was surprised to see Hope at the scene. Now, she feared for her old friend. Things did not look good. Luckily, Detective Thicke preferred to wait until he’d built a nearly ironclad case against a suspect before arresting them. A more liberal detective would have probably handcuffed Hope already.
Chloe was glad the detective took the more deliberate and cautious approach, not only because her friend was under the gun, but also because Chloe believed there was no way Hope could have done this.
That being said, Hope was a complete mess. What she craved most was comfort, but Chloe had pressing issues of her own to tackle.
“The detective thinks I did this,” Hope said, nearly shaking.
Chloe nodded. “Unfortunately.”
“How could he think that?”
Chloe had to find a way to calm her friend down while also getting some answers. “To be honest, things aren’t looking good for you right now.”
“I should have taken my name tag home with me.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Chloe, I didn’t do this,” Hope stated.
“Hope, why was your name tag at the scene?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. All I can tell you is I didn’t do this. You believe me, don’t you?”
Chloe stared at her friend.
There was plenty of fear in Hope’s eyes, but there was also truth in her words.
When people lied, their eyes tended to dilate. Sometimes it was only ever so slightly, but it was rare that a person could keep a true straight face. Looking deep into Hope’s eyes, Chloe saw no hesitation. There was no doubt in Chloe’s mind that her friend was telling the truth.
“I believe you,” Chloe said.
“Good, because I need you to know that I’d never do something like this. I couldn’t stand Victoria, but I’m no murderer.”
“I understand, and I know you didn’t do this.”
“At least you believe me. Now, how can I convince the detective of that?”
“I need to know everything. The whole truth, and nothing but. Now, what happened after I left last night?”
Hope took a deep breath, then bared her soul. “Victoria fired me.”
Chloe’s jaw near
ly dropped. “What?”
“She said it was because my work wasn’t up to her exacting standards, but Joe Jennings still works there, and he’s been slacking on the job for years. The fact is, I knew Victoria was just jealous that Noah Bryant was interested in me instead of her. She couldn’t take the hit to her ego. Noah Bryant was bringing in the club too much money to cut him loose for good, so I got the ax instead.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Which is exactly what I told her. She didn’t listen. Even after I threatened to take her to the labor board for wrongful termination, she just scoffed at me.”
“Then what happened?” Chloe asked.
“I stormed out,” Hope replied.
“And that’s it?”
Hope nodded.
“What about your name tag?”
Hope meekly answered. “When I stormed out the back, I tossed my name tag in the dumpster beside the door.”
“Is there a chance you might have missed the dumpster?”
Hope shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. I was too angry to pay attention either way. I just wanted to get as far away from that club as possible.”
Chloe followed a different line of thought. “How many people saw this fight between you and Victoria?”
“Everybody. Victoria liked firing people in public. She had a theory that people were less likely to act out when other people were watching,” Hope explained.
“So theoretically, any of the other suspects could have seen you toss your name tag aside, then grabbed it from the dumpster later?” Chloe said.
“Well yeah, I guess.” Hope had been antsy throughout the entire conversation, but she was suddenly very uncomfortable in her skin now. “Look, can we get out of here? Being here just gives me the creeps.”
Chloe understood her friend’s desire to leave the scene. At the same time, she had some business to attend to.
“Not yet. There’s something I have to do first,” Chloe insisted.
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