by Raven Snow
Ben shook his head sadly. “I’m sorry about your wedding, Rowen. I really am. You’re a good person. You deserved a beautiful wedding. I hope you have one.”
“I will,” Rowen assured him, unable to keep from smiling. “And you’ll be invited to it after the way you handled things last night. I mean, you would be invited regardless, but I really appreciated the way you handled that last night.”
Ben looked at his computer screen. He made a face like there was something on it he didn’t care to see. “You’re one of the only ones,” he said. “I’ve got a lot of complaints about abusing my power. Some of them are from my own men which is…” Ben trailed off. He didn’t have to say it. It was written on his face. It was devastating.
“It’ll blow over,” said Rose. She was fidgeting a bit, her eyebrows drawn together in sympathy. “You’re a great police chief.”
“I appreciate that.” Ben looked up and smiled at her. It was a genuinely happy smile. Rose saying that to him clearly meant a lot.
“Oh, wow,” said Rowen, realization hitting her like a truck. “I am so stupid.”
Both Rose and Ben looked at Rowen. “What?” asked Rose.
Rowen looked at Rose and motioned to Ben. “It’s him, right? He’s the guy you’ve been seeing. You’ve been dating Ben.”
Rose didn’t respond, but her face did go very red. That was answer enough.
Rowen looked to Ben for an explanation as to why this was kept from her. Ben just stared, looking very uncertain. “Don’t look at me. I was fine with telling people. Rose was the uncomfortable one,” he said.
Rowen turned to Rose. She was currently glaring at Ben but turned an apologetic look to Rowen when she realized she was being stared at. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I just… with your wedding coming up, I didn’t know how to tell you. It seemed so rude.”
“Rude?” Rowen asked, baffled.
“He used to be your boyfriend,” said Rose, like her reasons should be obvious.
“In high school,” Rowen pointed out. She looked at Ben again. He only shrugged.
“That’s horrible, though,” said Rose, looking down at her feet. “You’re not supposed to date the ex of a friend, much less someone’s who is, your best friend and family.”
Rowen smiled. “I’m your best friend?”
Rose groaned. “Then it was too late to tell you. I just… I feel so dirty. It just seems so sleazy.”
Rowen pulled Rose into a hug to shut her up. “Chill out,” she said. “It’s fine. I’m happy for you.” It was kind of weird, but she wasn’t about to mention that. Rose would just dwell on it.
Rose was staring when they parted. “Are you sure?” she asked. “I can leave him if you want me to.”
“Excuse me?” said Ben from his desk.
“That’s okay,” said Rowen. “Really. Good for you. Good for both of you.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Rose breathed. “Because I really, really like him.”
“I really like you, too,” said Ben. “Though, I’m a little hurt that you would leave me on the off chance that it made your cousin uncomfortable.”
“Sorry,” said Rose. “I panicked.” She went to Ben and gave him a brief kiss before taking a seat on the corner of his desk. “Anyway, we think we know who murdered Jeana McCormick.”
That was a bit of mood whiplash for Ben. “You what now?” He held up his hands. “Slow down and go back for a second. Jeana McCormick is dead? Did you contact her spirit?”
“Not exactly,” said Rowen. “I saw the murder.”
“You saw the murder?” Ben quickly lowered his voice. “And you’re only telling me this now?”
“I just saw it today,” Rowen said in her defense.
Ben leaned back in his desk chair. “I’m lost,” he said flatly.
“My uncle helped me,” said Rowen, trying to explain. “I sort of mentally went back in time and went to the crime scene. It was sort of foggy, but I think I saw her being strangled.”
“Who was it?” asked Ben.
Rowen hesitated. She hated naming a murderer she had only seen in a vision. What if she was wrong? She didn’t want to ruin an innocent man’s life with a rumor after the way Lainswich had gone after Norman. Then again, she felt pretty certain about what she had seen. “Peter Jacobi,” she said.
Ben didn’t look terribly surprised. His expression remained impassive. He didn’t even raise an eyebrow. “He seemed like a likely suspect,” he said. “We looked into him for a long time, but nothing turned up.”
Rowen’s heart sank a bit. She hadn’t planned for that. It seemed so obvious now, though. Of course, they had looked into Peter already. She had helped him. There wasn’t much anyone could do if there was no evidence. The fact that she had “psychically seen” the crime didn’t mean a whole lot.
“I believe you,” said Ben. “I know your family has…gifts.”
“Not me, really,” muttered Rose. “I’m, ya know, adopted.”
Ben gave her a wink. “You’re plenty gifted.”
Rose gave an uncharacteristically girly giggle.
“Okay,” said Rowen, cutting them off before they could get too flirty. “So, is there anything we can do?”
“We can go question him again,” said Ben. “But that’s about it. I’m certainly not going to bring him back in. That would look bad, and I’m already under a lot of scrutiny.”
Rowen nodded. “Fair enough.”
“I’d like you to come with me,” said Ben.
Rowen was surprised by that. “Won’t that look bad too?” she asked.
“Maybe,” said Ben. “Probably,” he amended. “But I want to solve this thing. If we solve it, I have a feeling a lot of these problems I’m facing are going to solve themselves.”
“I’d be happy to come then,” said Rowen.
“I’m coming, too,” said Rose. “In case that wasn’t clear. Let me just swing by the bathroom first. This might be a long trip.” She hurried from the room, leaving Rowen alone with Ben.
The silence was a bit awkward. Rowen was the one to break it. “You know,” she began, keeping her voice down just in case Rose came back. “If you’re under a lot of scrutiny, it’s really not going to look good if it comes out that you’re dating Rose. I bet it already looks bad enough that you used to date me.”
“Julia Martinez is trying to run with the fact that we used to date in high school,” said Ben. “Watch out for her. But, yeah, I know. I figure it’s worth the risk.”
Rowen smiled. She couldn’t help it. “You care about her a lot, huh?”
Ben nodded. “I really do. This is one of the better relationships I’ve had in a while. She’s my favorite person right now. I’m happier just being around her. I’d rather not lose that.”
Rowen nodded. She understood. That was how she felt about Eric. “I’ll meet you outside,” she said, getting the sudden urge to give him a call. He was past due for an update anyway.
Rowen left Ben’s office and headed outside. She pulled Eric up in her contacts and called him.
“How’s it going?” Eric asked, picking up after the first couple of rings. “I hope your day is going better than mine.”
“I might have solved a murder, so I’ve got that,” said Rowen. “Why is your day going poorly?”
“The flight was delayed,” Eric said quickly. “But back to your thing. You solved a murder? Is this Jeana McCormick you’re talking about? She was murdered?”
“Don’t shout that in the airport,” Rowen hissed. “It hasn’t been announced or anything yet, but yeah, I guess so. That’s the working theory, anyway.”
“Well, that’s good, I guess… except not really.”
“We’re going to confront the guy we suspect now,” Rowen explained, getting to the point.
Eric was silent for a moment. It was a given that he would have some mixed feelings about that. “So, like, what? You’re just going to go to the killer and accuse him of murder? Who is it anyway?”
&nb
sp; “Peter Jacobi,” Rowen divulged. “I’m following Ben’s lead on this one.”
The sigh of relief Eric gave was audible over the phone. “That’s good. Okay, that makes more sense.”
Rowen lowered her voice. She saw the doors to the police station open. Ben and Rose were coming out. “Guess who Ben’s dating now?”
“Officer Dave?” guessed Eric.
“What? No? Who is Officer Dave?”
“I don’t know,” said Eric, sounding sheepish. “He brought Ben coffee while I was in the station yesterday. I thought they had good chemistry.”
“Why would I be quietly confiding in you that Ben is dating Officer Dave?” Rowen asked.
“I don’t know!” snapped Eric. “You said to guess.”
“It’s Rose,” said Rowen.
“Ah!” said Eric. “That’s great.” He didn’t sound quite like he meant it, though. It sounded a bit like he was still rooting for Officer Dave.
Meanwhile, Ben and Rose had already reached the police car. Neither of them said anything, but they were staring in Rowen’s direction while they waited.
Rowen said her goodbyes and steeled herself for whatever was about to come next.
Chapter Eleven
The library wasn’t very crowded; that was a small blessing. Out of the people who were there, a couple did throw Ben and his entourage some puzzled looks. Rowen could only hope that her hunch proved right and they solved this thing today. Otherwise, things were going to be awfully strained for Ben for a while, not to mention for her family.
Tina was doing something on the computer at the front desk. She did a double-take when she finally looked up. “Rowen! Rose!” She paused, realizing who else was there. “Ben? What’s up?”
Ben took the lead. “We need to speak with Mr. Jacobi. Is he around?”
Tina’s eyes grew wide, like her mind was working hard trying to determine what all this was about. “Yeah,” she said. “He’s in the back. Let me ask if it’s okay if you go back there.”
Tina stood from her stool and headed into the back. She returned a moment later, still looking puzzled. “He said it’s… fine.”
Rowen gathered that those hadn’t been his exact words. She followed Ben into the back anyway.
Peter stood in the back, sorting through books from boxes. These were probably ones that hadn’t sold at the Fall Festival. He stopped when Ben approached. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” he asked, trying a little too hard to sound casual in Rowen’s opinion at least.
“We just had a few questions,” said Ben. “Do you have somewhere we could sit?”
“Here is fine,” said Peter. It seemed like he was trying to display some dominance and take charge of the situation.
Ben rolled with it. “We have some new evidence that suggests Jeana McCormick might be deceased.”
Peter’s eyes widened. “What?”
Ben continued. “We have further evidence that suggests you might be our culprit.”
Rowen was surprised he had just come out with it like that. It was probably the best way to disarm Peter. Rowen just hoped it didn’t backfire for Ben.
It did disarm Peter. He stumbled as his legs seemed to give out beneath him just a bit.
“Are you sure you don’t want to find somewhere to sit?” asked Ben, reaching out a hand to steady Peter.
Peter sat down on one of the nearby boxes. “I didn’t murder Jeana.”
Ben glanced back at Rowen who bit the inside of her mouth. It seemed like Peter was telling the truth, but she still felt confident about what she had seen. “There’s a witness,” said Rowen.
“What?” Peter looked at her now.
Ben stepped in. “There’s a new witness who’s come forward—one who can put you with Jeana that night; one who saw the crime.”
“Who?” asked Peter. “Tina?”
“It doesn’t matter who,” said Ben. “But it was a new witness.”
“I didn’t murder her,” said Peter.
“But you were there that night?” Ben prompted.
“No,” said Peter. He groaned. “I mean, yes. This isn’t worth it anymore. I’m sorry I ever lied.”
Rowen’s heart beat a little faster in her chest. Was this it? Had they solved it?
“I didn’t hurt Jeana,” said Peter. He lowered his voice considerably. “I mean I did, but… I love Jeana. What we have going is just a casual thing. We’re good friends with, you know, with benefits. It’s been that way for years. We had a good thing going.”
“And then my uncle came back into town," Rowen prompted when Peter grew quiet. “You got jealous.”
“No,” Peter said immediately. “I mean, it did come up. She saw him, and she told me about it. She told me he came back into town and that the two of them hooked up.” Peter sighed. “I guess I was jealous. The idea of her with someone else made me uncomfortable. I just liked what we have… What we had so much. She never wanted it to turn into anything more than what we had, but I don’t know. I wanted more, I guess. I knew she had dated Norman openly. I guess I was afraid it would go back to that. I was afraid he would get the relationship with her, and I would have nothing.”
“So, you confronted her,” said Ben.
Peter slumped his shoulders and nodded miserably.
“You attacked her,” said Ben.
“No,” Peter said quickly, sitting up straight. “I mean, yes, sort of, but…” He trailed off. His face went a bit red. “That’s the sort of thing she likes.”
“What?” asked Ben.
Rowen was trying to sort that out herself. It hit her suddenly. “Oh,” she said. That would definitely explain what she had seen.
“I don’t get it,” said Ben, glancing back at Rowen.
Rose’s face had gone a bit red as well, but she came forward and whispered something in Ben’s ear anyway.
“Oh,” said Ben.
“We had just finished… ah, having some fun when Tina saw us. I had gone to get some cleaning supplies. I mean, we’re not animals. This is a public library. I make sure everything is disinfected.”
“Go on,” said Ben, waving a hand for Peter to get to the parts that actually mattered.
“I guess Tina walked in on her before she’d had a chance to really recover. She freaked out and ran.” Pete was looking at the floor. His face had yet to go back to its normal color. “Jeana was pretty humiliated.”
“She didn’t say anything to Tina before she ran off?” asked Ben.
Peter shrugged. “I guess not? I mean, would you? Besides, I think she was pretty out of it.”
“What happened next?” Ben asked.
“We cleaned up and got out of there as quickly as possible,” said Peter, giving them a look that implied that should have been obvious. “I saw her to her car.” Peter swallowed, his expression growing sad. “That was the last time I saw her.”
“We must have interviewed you six different times,” said Ben. “Why didn’t you tell anyone this?”
Peter spread his hands helplessly. “I thought about it. I almost told the police several times during the beginning. How would I explain it without it sounding humiliating, though? Besides, sleeping with a coworker is against the rules. I love this job. Jeana loved this job. When she came back, I wanted her to still have it. By the time I realized she wasn’t just coming back, it felt like it was too late to tell anyone the truth. I’d just get in trouble.”
Rowen crossed her arms over her chest and mulled over all they had just learned. This was interesting new information, sure. Rowen wasn’t sure they were much closer to an answer, unfortunately. It would have been simpler if Peter had done it, but now Rowen had her doubts. This man seemed to be telling the truth. “What about Debra?” asked Rowen, running with the only other idea she had.
“What about Debra?” asked Peter.
“What is she to you?” asked Rowen right back.
Peter shrugged. “She’s Jeana’s sister. What else should she be?” He looked from Rowen to Ben,
then back again, like he wasn’t sure if he was actually supposed to be answering Rowen’s questions or not. “I mean, I guess she hits on me sometimes.”
“Really?” asked Ben, sounding just a little too skeptical, like he couldn’t believe two women would be vying for the attention of a man like Peter.
“She’s jealous of her sister,” said Rowen, filling Ben in on what she had learned about Debra. “She wants everything she has.”
