by Raven Snow
“Any luck?” asked Rowen, hoping against hope for an affirmative answer.
“Not really,” said Willow, crushing her hopes almost immediately. “Lindsay had a pretty boring diary, if we’re being honest. Mostly, she just wrote about all the television shows she liked… And that woman watched a lot of television.”
“Oh, is that Rowen?” asked the voice of Aunt Lydia.
Rowen had wanted to talk to Willow. That was why she called Willow. There was no helping it now, though. She braced herself for a conversation with her aunt.
“How’s the detective work going, dear?” asked Lydia. At least she was still in high spirits.
“Could be better,” Rowen admitted.
“Well, we’re still going through that Lindsay woman’s diary,” Lydia assured her. “I had to leave the room a couple of times, though. That girl ruins a lot of shows. I was hoping to binge watch a few of them sometime. I really don’t appreciate the spoilers.”
“Well, her ghost has already moved on, Aunt Lydia. You’re going to have to wait a while to complain to her about that.”
“Yes, yes. Where are you right now?”
“At the police station, so I’m going to let you go. We’re checking in on Eric’s family.” Rowen began to get out of the car. “Don’t wait up for Margo and Rose,” she added. “They might be spending the night at the office tonight.”
Aunt Lydia made a noise of displeasure at that. “Well, you be careful,” she said.
Rowen promised she would before hanging up and heading inside. She could hear all three of the Richardsons talking at once as soon as she went in the door. Apparently, they did that a lot. They weren’t arguing, just making more phone calls. Rowen still hadn’t been able to sort out quite what they did. Something about stocks and owning companies. She hoped David’s arrest hadn’t hit them too hard.
Not wanting to interrupt them, Rowen pulled out her phone again. She texted Ben to let him know she was there. It was no use talking to the receptionist, it seemed. As long as she was here, she might as well have another word with Ben. He was the only one who seemed to be taking the case seriously, and she still wasn’t quite over finding out he had been at the party Lindsay had attended before her death. She just knew there was something to that.
Ben didn’t text her back. He just walked to the waiting room and frowned at her. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.
“You arrested my boyfriend’s brother,” she said, pointing to the back. “Remember?”
Ben rolled his eyes. She really wasn’t trying to be difficult, but that didn’t mean she didn’t enjoy pushing his buttons just a bit. She didn’t much appreciate being forbidden from being places.
“Do you have a minute to talk?” she asked.
The receptionist was watching them over the top of her computer monitor. Her eyes were narrowed and suspicious, like they had released some sort of memo on Rowen being here. “Outside,” said Ben, pointing to the double doors in front.
Rowen followed Ben outside. He led her to the side of the building where he leaned against the wall and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She wrinkled her nose at that.
“Want one?” Ben asked.
Rowen shook her head, taking a step away from him when he lit the thing.
“Sorry,” said Ben. “Bad habit, I know. I only smoke when I’m stressed.”
“There sure are a lot of reasons to be stressed right now, huh?” Rowen leaned back against the wall as well. “So, I went to go talk to Justin today,” said Rowen, getting right to it.
Ben exhaled smoke and frowned down at her.
“What?” asked Rowen, feigning innocence. “Freedom of the press and all that.”
“Hindering a police investigation and all that,” Ben shot back.
“Not hindering,” Rowen corrected. “I just went and asked some questions.”
“And?”
“And he had a lot to say about you.” Rowen watched Ben for a moment, trying to gauge his reaction. There wasn’t much of one. She went on. “He says you go to his parties an awful lot.”
“Not all that often,” said Ben, sounding unconcerned. “I go sometimes, though. I like to unwind on my time off.”
“Sounds like a lot of police go there,” said Rowen, “and a lot of laws get broken.”
“Do they?” If Rowen was going to play dumb, it seemed that Ben was content to do the same. “I never notice.”
Rowen went silent for a while. She watched Ben, trying to figure him out. “You’ve changed a lot.” Granted, she hadn’t been that close to him in a very long time, but facts were facts. “What’s wrong with you? What happened?”
Ben shrugged. It seemed like he wasn’t going to say anything at first. He finally cracked, though— breaking down and becoming a bit more candid. “I don’t know,” he said with a sigh. “I guess… Rising in the ranks, it’s broken down a lot of illusions I had. Things aren’t as cut and dry as I thought they were once. Justice isn’t all that simple.”
That wasn’t comforting to hear. It had occurred to Rowen before, though. “No one really seems to pay attention to things that happen in Lainswich. I guess a lot gets overlooked and goes unregulated?”
“Something like that,” said Ben, with a mirthless smile. “It didn’t get me so bad with the little stuff. Most of the crimes that happen around here are harmless, you know? This, though? This is murder. That’s a big deal.”
“The last murder we had got you promoted.” Rowen had never been sure why. It had, though. He’d seemed pretty pleased about it then.
“I wish it hadn’t,” Ben admitted. “I feel more useless than ever now. At least back then, I had a goal. Now… Now, I’m not so sure how I feel.”
Rowen watched Ben a moment longer. Her heart went out to him. It really did. Even though they had split up on bad terms, she still wanted him to find happiness in life. There was nothing she could do for that, though. She got back to the subject at hand. “Justin said that Lindsay was bleeding when she got in the car with David.”
Ben nodded. “We’re checking the car for blood now.”
“You’ll find it,” said Rowen. “The point is, I’m not sure that means he did it. And I’m not just saying that because he’s my boyfriend’s brother. Frankly, I can’t stand the guy. He ran over my roses. I don’t think he’s a murderer, though.”
“We’ll wait and see what the evidence says.”
“Unless your coworkers are just looking for an easy conviction.” Rowen had to admit that the evidence they had found was damning. “I don’t think you believe he did it, either. I think your coworkers and your boss have just worn you down.”
“Maybe, but what am I supposed to do about it?” Ben took a long drag on his cigarette.
“You could work with me.” Rowen offered him a smile. “We could figure this out together.”
Ben dropped the butt of his cigarette and crushed it into the asphalt with the toe of his boot. “That’s just not going to work, Rowen. I’m sorry.” He headed back for the front entrance. “Come find me if you get any real evidence. And don’t come back inside. The Chief will have my hide if he knows you’re back in there.”
Rowen watched him go. She sagged against the wall, feeling more dejected than ever. She pulled out her phone and began to text Eric. The least she could do was let him know that she had to wait for him outside. Her text was interrupted by a phone call.
“Hello?” Rowen answered. It was Willow’s number calling.
“It was someone who worked at the police station!” Willow blurted. “The J from the diary is someone who works at the police station!”
Rowen’s heart was pounding in her chest— either from finally having a sizable piece of the puzzle or because the implications of what Willow had just said were troubling. “How do you know?” she asked.
“It was in an earlier entry,” Willow explained. She was so excited that she was stumbling over her words. “Back in August− Aunt Lydia!” Her voice became dist
ant, presumably because Aunt Lydia had just taken the phone.
“Hello, dear,” said Aunt Lydia.
Rowen could have screamed. “Now really isn’t the time!”
“Sorry, dear. I just wanted to be part of the big moment.” Aunt Lydia sounded mildly offended. She waited— likely for an apology. When none was forthcoming, she sighed and went on. “In August, she went to one of the police fundraisers. You remember the one at the skating rink? She went to that one.”
Rowen didn’t remember the police fundraiser at the skating rink. She didn’t remember any fundraisers ever. She didn’t keep up with that sort of thing. “And?”
“And they… Well, they did something together there that she described in great detail.” Aunt Lydia cleared her throat. “Anyway, they were nearly caught in the bathroom because someone came in to find J. He was about to give a speech.”
“That’s great,” said Rowen. “I mean, that’s not great, but… That’s something! That’s probably who killed her. Keep reading! Tell me if you find anything else.”
Aunt Lydia started to say something else, but Rowen had hung up. She ran toward the front of the police station and burst through the front doors. The receptionist jumped and gave a startled shriek. “Hey!” she called after her as Rowen rushed past. “You can’t just− Hey!”
Rowen found Eric and grabbed him by the arm. He was just ending a phone call. Before he could make another, she started back toward the door, pulling him along behind her. “Come on,” she said, “this is important.” She glared at the receptionist, who had gotten up from her desk specifically to come over and yell at her to leave. “I’m going!” Rowen snapped before the receptionist could have the pleasure.
Eric was absolutely baffled by the time they got out the door. “Rowen, what the−”
“It was someone who worked at the police station,” Rowen blurted.
“What?”
“They just found it in the diary. The man Lindsay was having an affair with worked at the police station. I would bet you anything that the man she was having the affair with was the man who killed her.” Rowen realized she was speaking rather loudly. She tried her best to lower her voice. Talking about a murderer, who was also a policeman, was probably not best done right outside of the police station. “I’m thinking Lindsay and this man had been having an affair for a while. Her marriage was on the rocks. She was about to leave him. Maybe this other guy got cold feet or maybe she didn’t want him, after all. Maybe they broke up. Maybe she moved on. Maybe they were never even exclusive, but he wanted them to be. Anyway, I’m thinking he saw her flirting with your brother. He got jealous. There was a fight in the bathroom. Bam! He shoves her. Glass breaks, her arm bleeds. She’s more determined than ever to go home with David.”
“Why didn’t she?” asked Eric, sounding very interested in this theory now that she had gotten through most of it.
“Maybe he saw her. This jealous lover sees her about to leave with David.” Rowen was thinking all of this up as she said it, but it still made sense to her. “David is trashed, so he’s not going to fight back. Heck, maybe Lindsay even changed her mind. Maybe he started driving off and she had second thoughts. Lindsay’s ghost seemed pretty confused about how things played out in the end. I haven’t looked at the toxicology report or anything, but there’s a good chance that she wasn’t all there, either.”
Eric was silent for a little while, taking some time to digest all of that. “That’s a… Well, that’s a big find. Good job.”
“Thank you.” After the fight they had had before, Rowen was glad to hear some praise.
“What now, though?” asked Eric— which was a valid question.
Rowen hadn’t gotten that far. “Hmm.” Rowen looked at her car. She looked down at her phone. She looked back at the police building. She didn’t want to say she had no idea, but… Well, she had no idea. Suddenly, she remembered what Ben had said. “I should get Ben.” He had told her to come to him when she had some actual information, after all. She began to move for the front doors of the police station again, but Eric caught her by the arm.
“What if Ben is the killer?” he asked.
“Ben couldn’t kill anyone.” Rowen thought she knew him a little better than that. “Besides, the name of the man she was sleeping with started with a ‘J.’”
“And what does Ben’s middle name start with?” asked Eric.
Rowen thought back. “His middle name is Jay.” She mulled that over for a moment. “But that’s beside the point. He’s not the murderer. I’m going to go get him.” She ran for the front of the building.
“Rowen!” Eric called after her, sounding exasperated.
“Sorry! I just want to solve this thing as quickly as possible. You can yell at me later!” Rowen burst through the front doors again, much to the receptionist’s chagrin.
“Oh, for crying out loud…” The receptionist threw her pen to her desk as Rowen whizzed past.
“Ben!” Rowen called, moving between the desks in back.
Ben looked up from his desk. He stood. “Rowen, what the−”
“No time to explain.” Actually, there probably was time to explain, but Rowen didn’t want to. She motioned for Ben to follow her.
Ben did so, his face burning red. No doubt he regretted even inviting Rowen to help with the case. This probably wasn’t what he’d had in mind. “What’s gotten into you?” he asked, the moment they were outside again.
“You told me to come back to you when I had evidence,” Rowen said with a grin, leading the way back toward Eric and her car.
Ben hurried to catch up with her. Talk of evidence had gotten his attention. “That was fast.”
“I know, right?” She stopped outside of her car, just beside Eric. “Ben, how many officers do you know here with the first initial of J?”
Ben shrugged. That wasn’t sufficient, though. He soon realized that Rowen was looking for a more exact number. He looked up, murmuring numbers to himself. “Five, I guess? No… No, there are six. Why?”
“Get in.” Rowen opened the car door for him. “We need to go back to my place.”
“No,” Ben said immediately, giving her a look that said he thought she had flat out lost her mind. “I’m working here.”
“And you can do more important work at my house.” Rowen motioned emphatically to her back seat. “Come on. Call them on the way. Tell them you’re taking a lunch break.” Rowen looked to Eric, hoping he would back her up on this.
Eric glanced away the moment Rowen looked at him. Apparently, he wanted nothing to do with this. That shouldn’t have been a surprise. He had openly disapproved of telling Ben in the first place.
“Please?” asked Rowen. “You know me, right Ben? I know we’ve had our differences, and I know I can be hard to deal with, but I mean well, right? You trust me, right?”
Ben stared at her. “Not really,” he said— but he climbed into the back anyway.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Eric, as Rowen went around to the driver’s side.
“No,” said Rowen. “But I’m never sure of much of anything. Are you coming?”
Eric rolled his eyes. “Of course,” he said, opening the passenger side door and climbing in beside her. He wasn’t about to let Rowen do this alone— not after they had come so far together.
Chapter Fifteen
Everyone was surprised when Ben came into the house with them. No one was more surprised than Aunt Lydia. “Oh, my gracious,” she exclaimed, looking him up and down. “Little Benjamin! You grew up.” She went over and gave him a hug, like it had only been a few weeks since he had taken her niece to prom and not a matter of years.
“Good to see you again, Lydia,” said Ben, forcing a smile as she hugged him.
Aunt Lydia held onto him for longer than was necessary. “You always were my favorite.” She hugged him a while longer before seeming to recall what it was she had said. Aunt Lydia raised her gaze to meet Eric’s. “Except for you,
dear,” she added, a little too late.
“So, what’s this evidence you brought me all the way here to show me?” asked Ben, pulling himself away from Lydia.
Willow looked uncertain. Rowen gave her a nod though. She pulled the diary from where she had hid it away behind the table’s flower arrangement. She offered it to Ben.
Ben took the book. He flipped it over in his hands a few times, trying to figure out precisely what it was. It didn’t take long. “Is this Lindsay Martel’s diary?” He nearly dropped the thing. “Where did you find this thing?”
“Around,” said Willow.
“I found it in Lindsay’s room,” said Rowen, seeing no point in lying to him at this stage. That could only serve to make things worse. “He let us go into her room to find pictures for a story, and we happened across it then.”
