***
Chloe headed straight for the detective. She caught up with him as he walked back to the scene of the crime.
“Detective, I’d like a word with you,” Chloe said.
The detective turned around with an apprehensive look on his face.
“I figured you would,” Detective Thicke replied.
“This is crazy--”
“Ms. Cook, it’s not my fault you have a habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The good news is, your alibi checked out, which means you’re no longer a suspect in this case.”
Chloe couldn’t believe the crazy things that were coming out of the detective’s mouth. “No longer? The mere fact that you even had me on the suspect list in the first place is ridiculous.”
“No. I was just doing my job.”
Detective Thicke was being even thicker than usual.
Yikes.
It was going to be one of those days. Still, Chloe had to find a way to power through. But first, she wanted to talk some sense into the detective.
“No, your job is to find the real killer. You should have been able to eliminate me as a suspect right off the bat. You know me. Obviously I’d never do something like this.”
Detective Thicke had a different approach. “Ms. Cook, nothing is obvious when it comes to murder cases. This job makes me constantly question the truth and how much I truly know about people.”
Talking to the detective was never fun, but today proved to be even more frustrating than usual. How did the detective expect to solve this case if he acted this dimwitted? Chloe would probably have just as much luck slamming her head into a brick wall repeatedly as she’d have in getting her point understood. Still, there were pressing issues that needed to be dealt with. Because of that, Chloe had to keep trying.
“Unlike you, there are people in the world I know well enough to be a hundred percent certain that they’d never commit murder,” Chloe declared.
Detective Thicke got annoyed. “Ms. Cook, I don’t get what all this hullabaloo is about. I told you; you’re not on my list of suspects anymore.”
“This isn’t about me.”
“Then why are you wasting my time? I have a murder to solve.”
The detective was awfully grumpy this morning. Had diet fever swept through Cape Cod, causing widespread grumpiness? Was the detective on a no-donut diet? Was that why he was so irritable? Whatever was going on in the detective’s personal life, it was sure making him grouchy.
Chloe wasn’t about to let a bad attitude get in her way. “If you want to find the real murderer, you’re wasting your time even investigating Hope Callahan.”
“That’s where we disagree.”
“Oh, come on. You can’t really think my friend could have done this.”
“Actually, of all the suspects, she looks the guiltiest right now. Her name tag was found at the scene of the crime.”
“Detective, I’ve known Hope most of my life. We used to build castles in the sandbox in her backyard when we were little girls. Trust me, there’s no way she’s capable of doing something like this.”
“Ms. Cook, you’re wasting your breath. Not only will Hope remain on my suspect list, but she's also staying at the top of it, where she belongs.”
Chloe stared the detective down. “You know, we’ve been down this road before, and it did not end well for you.”
“I’ll admit it; you’ve made me look bad in the past.”
“You mean, two cases in a row.”
The detective narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think the third time will be a charm for you. I advise you to quit while you’re ahead.”
Detective Thicke had been surprisingly combative. Chloe wasn’t expecting this in the least, especially given how she’d upstaged him twice. If anything, by this point, she’d proven what a good sleuth she was and figured Thicke would welcome her opinion. Then again, a man’s ego rarely went down without a fight. The ego wanted to be massaged, not trampled. Maybe this was the last stand for the detective’s professional pride. Either way, whatever was going on in the detective’s head was clouding him from the truth.
“I don’t quit on my friends, especially when they are being wrongfully suspected of murder,” Chloe declared.
“She’s being suspected all right, but there’s nothing wrong about it. Look at the facts.”
“The only fact you have is that Victoria Ryan was murdered. Everything else you have on Hope is circumstantial.”
“You have to admit, those circumstances look really bad for your friend. In addition to the name tag being found next to the body, your friend was also fired by the victim shortly before the murder occurred. The only reason I haven’t arrested Hope yet is because I want to be a hundred percent certain she’s guilty instead of just ninety-nine. The lab tests will be back later today, and if her prints or DNA show up on that murder weapon, she’s going to spend the rest of her life in jail,” Detective Thicke explained.
“I’m telling you, arresting her would be a big mistake. She didn’t do this,” Chloe insisted.
“I think you’re wrong this time.”
“We’ll see about that. I’ve been right twice before and the third time will be a charm.”
“You know, luck runs out for everyone eventually.”
“Except, this isn’t luck, it’s logic. Ask yourself this, if Hope killed Victoria, why would she leave her own name tag at the scene of the crime?”
“People panic when they’ve committed a crime. In the heat of the moment, it’s easy to panic and forget something simple like a name tag. Maybe she was so desperate to flee the scene that she didn’t even realize she left it behind.”
“Let’s say I go with your logic. She’d never be so panicked to leave the murder weapon behind. Leaving it there would just scream of her guilt.”
“I said it before, things like that often happen in the heat of the moment. If she heard a noise, she could have gotten spooked. Or maybe it was just an issue of not having time to cover her tracks.”
“That’s a whole lot of speculation with no evidence to back it up. Hope isn’t a fool. She would have brought the name tag and murder weapon with her. This whole scene reeks of a frame job. I think the killer left the weapon next to the body and planted the name tag here, knowing Hope would be the perfect person to pin the murder on.”
“You claim my theory is nothing but speculation, but so is yours,” Detective Thicke remarked.
“True, but I have logic on my side,” Chloe insisted.
“So you say. The fact is, just because you want it to be true, doesn’t mean it is.”
“Oh, it’s true all right.”
“My team is dusting for prints and will be running a barrage of tests. We’ll find out soon enough.”
Chloe shook her head. “I doubt that will tell you anything. The killer wouldn’t be dumb enough not to wipe their prints off the weapon.”
By that point, the detective had enough of Chloe. He tried to get rid of her as quickly as possible.
“Ms. Cook, thank you for your unsolicited opinions on this case, but I have everything under control. Goodbye,” Detective Thicke said.
Chloe could have kept arguing with Thicke, but she knew it wouldn’t do any good. She could throw all the logic she wanted at him; he was too stubborn to see things her way. Chloe had to come up with indisputable evidence. The only way she could do that would be to find the real killer and get a confession out of them. Chloe had plenty of work to do.
That being said, she wasn’t prepared to leave without getting the last word in.
“Enjoy as many donuts now as you can, because by the end of this case, you’ll be eating crow,” Chloe insisted.
Chapter Thirteen
Chloe went from talking to a stubbornly egotistic detective, to an emotionally-fragile friend. Hope and Chloe left the crime scene and headed over to Hope’s rental townhome to regroup. The change of scenery didn’t do Hope as much good as Chloe was hoping for. Eve
n in the comfort of her living room, Hope was just as on edge as ever.
“What am I going to do now?” Hope wondered.
Chloe gave her friend a hug. “I’m going to get you through this.”
Hope gave her a half-smile, nowhere near as confident as Chloe was about the situation.
“Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but there’s only so much you can do,” she reasoned.
“Look, just hang in there,” Chloe insisted.
“That’s easier said than done.”
“I know it doesn’t seem like it, but everything is going to be ok.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I’ll see to that.”
Hope furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m going to get you out of this jam,” Chloe said.
“How?”
“By finding the real killer.”
Hope’s jaw dropped. At first, she didn’t know what to say. After catching her breath, she was finally able to formulate a sentence. “Are you sure about this?”
“This isn’t my first choice, but we can’t rely on the police to catch the right person. The only way to prove your innocence is to find the real killer.”
Hope was still in a state of disbelief. “You’d really do that for me?”
“Of course. You’re my friend. I’m not going to just sit around and let you get wrongfully accused of murder.”
“Chloe, you’re more than just a friend. No one has ever done anything like this for me.”
“Well, I’m not doing it alone.”
Hope looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“If I’m going to crack this case, I’m going to need your help.”
“Uh, sure. Of course. What do you need from me?”
“I want you to look up everything you can on all the suspects, and I mean everything. It doesn’t matter how trivial it may seem. Sometimes the smallest details lead to the biggest breaks.”
“Ok. I can do that,” Hope said.
“And pay close attention to social media updates. It’s amazing the dumb things people post on the internet,” Chloe replied.
Hope laughed. “Isn’t that the truth?”
Chloe took a deep breath. “All right. Time to get to work. Wish me luck.”
“Knock them dead,” Hope said. She then reconsidered her phrasing. “Not literally, of course.”
“No. One of the suspects has already done that.”
Hope gave her friend a look of great admiration and heartfelt gratitude. “Thanks again for doing this.”
“Don’t thank me yet. There’s still plenty of work to be done.”
“Be careful out there,” Hope said.
“As crazy as it is to admit, this is far from my first time doing this.”
“That is pretty insane to think about Chloe.”
“Even more amazing is how much I’ve gotten out of those self-defense classes I took last year,” Chloe said.
“Well, let’s hope you don’t need them this time around,” Hope insisted.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about sleuthing, it’s that there’s no way to tell what’s going to happen out there,” Chloe said.
***
Before diving into the investigation, Chloe had to get her thoughts straight. Her mind was going in ten different directions. She needed to take a breather in private to re-focus. An investigation like this demanded her full attention. Distraction could lead to disaster.
Besides, Victoria Ryan’s combative, scorched earth personality created a lot of enemies. Half a dozen people wanted her dead. The question was, who was the one to kill her? Chloe started to run down the list of suspects in her head.
First, there was Noah Bryant. Noah was a rising star who seemed primed for his big break. He was also Victoria’s latest crush. Noah did not share an affection for her. He was interested in Hope Callahan, instead. Victoria couldn’t take that. The idea of being upstaged by her own assistant was too much for Victoria’s ego to take. When Noah rebuffed Victoria’s advances, she threatened to ruin his career. For a burgeoning star like Noah, the thought of having everything he’d worked so hard for being taken away was terrifying. When people were backed into a corner, they could do some crazy things. Did that include murder?
Ben Harrington was next. Ben was not only a comic, but he was also Victoria’s ex-boyfriend. The rise of Ben’s career had coincided directly with his relationship with Victoria. For a time, it seemed like he was on top of the world. Then, Victoria broke up with him. Now, not only was he still hung up on Victoria, but his career was in dire straits. Seeing Victoria going gaga over Noah Bryant was the last straw for him. Jealousy and heartbreak were a dangerous combination. Were they deadly this time?
Tony Ryan was also on the list. Tony was Victoria’s underachieving son. He’d grown up in her shadow and appeared poised to stay there forever. Victoria and Tony had a rocky relationship, at best. It was clear Tony expected favoritism from his mother when it came to his attempts at becoming a star, but if anything, Victoria seemed embarrassed by him. Ironically, Tony’s greatest financial success would be coming from getting his mother’s inheritance, rather than through his own actions. Was it really irony at play, or was this Tony’s plan all along?
Isaac Hunter made the list as well. Of all Victoria’s confrontations from the night before, the one with Isaac may have been the most combative. Isaac had just been fired for stealing money from the club. In Isaac’s mind, his firing was a miscarriage of justice. Given the fact that he had medications to pay for and received no medical benefits while working at the club, he felt his thievery was completely justified. Now that he’d been canned, his livelihood had been taken away. Desperate times often led to desperate measures. Was that the case this time as well?
Leah Manning was next up in Chloe’s mind. Leah was one of Victoria’s former friends. Not to mention Ben Harrington’s ex-wife. Victoria’s affair with Ben was what had torn Leah’s marriage apart, only to have Ben be discarded by Victoria later. It was clear Leah was still far from putting the trauma of the situation behind her. Were the emotional scars too much for Leah to bare? Had she killed Victoria to get her revenge?
Finally, there was Andrew Brown. Andrew was Victoria’s business partner. Victoria believed he should get out of her way and be a more silent partner, but Andrew had decided to speak up. He vehemently disagreed with the direction she was taking the club in, and resented how quickly she dismissed his vision of the club. With Victoria alive, Andrew’s role in the business would forever be marginalized. If Victoria was out of the picture, he could finally exert the control over the club that he wanted. Was that enough to kill for?
There were a lot of questions to be answered and not a lot of time to work with. Chloe knew she was in a race against the clock. She had to get a move on. No matter what it took, Chloe had to get to the bottom of this.
Chapter Fourteen
Chloe decided to head to the scene of the crime first to see if she could discover any additional evidence the police may have overlooked. When she arrived at the scene, her plans quickly changed. Imagine her surprise when she spotted Victoria’s son, Tony Ryan, snooping around the parking lot.
Tony sure looked suspicious. She had no idea what he was doing there. The only thing she could think of was that he’d left something incriminating behind and was trying to grab it before someone else found it.
Chloe approached Tony from behind and was successfully able to sneak up on him.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Tony was so startled that he almost jumped right out of his shoes. He whirled around clutching his chest as he tried to catch his breath.
“You scared me half to death. What are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?” Tony asked.
“Answer my question first. What are you doing here?” she repeated.
“I could easily ask you the same thing.”
Tony was sure being evasive.
It was a simple question. If he was having this much difficulty answering this one, what would he do when Chloe got to the hard questions?
“The difference is, I’m not a suspect in this case,” Chloe reasoned.
“I shouldn’t be a suspect, either.”
“That’s what all the suspects say.”
“Yeah, but I’m the only suspect who is willing to go out and find the real killer just to make sure that justice is truly served,” Tony argued.
Chloe was critical of his answer. “So, that’s what you’re doing here, trying to scrape up evidence to solve the case?”
“You act like you don’t believe me.”
It was a novel approach. When most suspects got caught rummaging around the scene, they high-tailed it away, making themselves look more guilty. Instead, Tony was putting on a sleuthing act to prove his own innocence. Either way, Chloe didn’t buy it.
“It just seems awfully curious. Not to mention a convenient excuse, considering I just caught you here,” she explained.
Tony fired back at her. “Oh, yeah? What are you doing here?”
“I was coming to see if the police missed any crucial evidence.”
“Why are you getting on my case, then? We’re doing the same thing.”
Chloe shook her head. “No, we’re not. I have an air-tight alibi and no motive for wanting your mother dead. I cannot say the same thing about you.”
“How dare you throw accusations at me? I had no reason for wanting her dead. She was my mother.”
“She certainly didn’t act like it. Do you need me to elaborate, or can we leave the nasty details out of this conversation?”
“So she had an interesting way of expressing her love. I would never do something so hateful like killing her,” Tony insisted.
It turned out Tony had a flair for understatement. Victoria Ryan brought all-new meaning to the phrase “tough love.” The woman treated Tony not so much like a son, but rather a burden. She insulted his jokes, cut him from the show, and then told him to get tougher skin instead of giving him the comfort he so desperately wanted.
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