She decided to stage Meredith Joste’s house and then come back to paint.
On her way out, after updating Jared of her plan, she poked her head into Dean’s office. She had heard him greet the receptionist on his way back in, and the thought that Meredith was the real killer was nagging her so badly, she needed to bounce the notion off of Dean to see if she couldn’t gauge his reaction. After all, he knew who the woman had been that got into an argument with Clifford.
“Got a second?” she asked, knocking on the doorway.
Dean lifted his eyes, though he was gripping his desk phone to his ear. He held up a finger for her to wait and then proceeded to leave a voice mail message for whoever he was calling, which to Kate sounded like Bonnie in the permits department two floors below.
“What’s up?” asked Dean, returning the phone to its cradle.
“What do you think of Daisy’s arrest?”
His eyebrows sprang up to his forehead. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”
“I doubt she was the woman who got into an argument with Clifford,” she pointed out.
“And like I said, an argument doesn’t indicate a precursor to murder, Kate.”
“I think it was Meredith Joste,” she said bluntly.
“Kate,” he said, repeating her name, but this time in a warning tone, “you need to stay out of it.”
“Corey—”
“The cabinets guy?”
“The furniture store guy,” she corrected before finishing her point, “said Meredith had a lot of cash, enough to manage her mortgage and pay rent down in Florida. Was she the one who made a huge donation?”
Dean sighed, and to Kate, it was enough of an indication she was right.
“If Scott arrested Daisy,” he finally said, “then you have to trust she did it. Not Meredith.”
“Then why is Meredith packing up and getting the hell out of dodge?”
“Look, you got it out of me. That’s all I know. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a heck of a lot of work to manage today since your son never showed up at the amusement park.”
“For the record, no one is going to come to Rock Ridge for your amusement park if murderers are running free.”
“Which is why I’ve paid every major news outlet in this county not to print anything,” he stated. “Again, thanks to Meredith.”
“So she kills people, then pays others to keep quiet?” she challenged. When he didn’t answer, she stopped pushing and said, “Don’t go in Jared’s office. The paint fumes with knock you out. I’ll be back later today to do a second coat.”
As Kate drove through Rock Ridge towards Meredith’s house, she didn’t know what she was hoping for more, that Meredith would or wouldn’t be home. The idea of being alone in a big house with a woman who very well could’ve shot Clifford in the chest was unnerving, but strangely, not as much as sensing she had also slashed Kate’s tires. Why come after Kate? And what the hell was so precious about that cracked tile?
Then an even more daunting prospect crossed her mind. By now Meredith would’ve surely noticed that Kate had gone ahead and replaced the tile anyway? Would she be irate? Would she yell and advance on Kate as she had on the patio? Would she attempt to do something worse than slash her tires?
As a precaution, Kate sent Scott a text message the second she parked in Meredith’s driveway, which stated: Finishing up at Meredith’s. If anything happens to me, she did it.
Two seconds later she got his reply: Katydid, I love you, but you’re out of your freaking mind.
For some reason, it made her smile. She wished she were out of her mind. But she knew she was dead on and no one believed her.
The front door wasn’t locked so she called out, “Meredith? It’s Kate!”
She thought she heard footsteps on the second floor, but Meredith didn’t reply. Nevertheless, she rounded through the foyer, entered the garage, and took stock of the furniture she had left there. Eyeing the doorway, she made a few mental notes about how she might get the bigger items through. Staging the living room wouldn’t be the worst of it, but getting Corey’s bed frame up a flight of stairs would be no easy task.
Reminding herself that thinking about it too much would only make her dread the long hours ahead, she began carrying the smaller living room items through the house and placing them where she saw fit.
Much to her surprise, arranging the living room was easy and the hours flew by. At times, she glanced through the sliding glass window, wondering about the patio and Meredith’s possible reactions to it. As soon as the living room was finished, she felt a surge of adrenaline kick in. She wanted to poke around outside. Meredith was still upstairs. It would be now or never.
But as soon as she worked up the nerve, Meredith padded down the stairs and found her standing in front of the couch.
“Look, Kate, I have to apologize?”
For yelling at her? For slashing her tires? For murdering an ex-con?
She wondered all of these things, but only said, “Yes?”
“Moving is very stressful. My money has been stretched too thin, and I felt I couldn’t afford the extra minutes it would have taken you to fix the tile.”
It sounded like a lie, but she held her tongue.
“I shouldn’t have reacted so strongly. I’m sorry.”
“I appreciate the apology,” she offered, though it wasn’t easy. “I’m not sure you heard, but my tires were slashed yesterday.”
As soon as she said it, Kate didn’t dare blink she was so poised to read Meredith’s expression. But when her jaw dropped and she started stammering, Kate felt suddenly thrown. Was Meredith the world’s greatest actress, or was she genuinely shocked?
“When?” she asked, stammering. “Why? Not here, did it happen here?”
“I drove up your driveway just fine, but when I went to leave I had two flat tires.”
“I’m stunned,” she said finally.
Kate’s responding tone was a dry one. “I can see that.”
“Well,” said Meredith, clapping her hands as if this conversation would conclude so easily. “All the more reason for me to get out of this neighborhood.”
The neighborhood isn’t the problem, thought Kate. Meredith is.
“Did you know Clifford Green?”
“Excuse me?” she asked, taken aback.
Embellishing the truth to get a rise out of her, Kate stated, “A number of people saw you two arguing. Then Clifford’s tires were slashed. Then he was found dead. Should I be worried?”
Meredith’s eyes widened with such offense that it looked as though she had stopped breathing. When she finally spoke, her tone was shrill. “Maybe you haven’t heard, but Daisy was arrested.”
“I heard. Sometimes the Rock Ridge Police gets it wrong though.”
“Are you accusing me of murder?”
Kate lifted her brows to confirm.
“How dare you?”
“Why were you two arguing?”
“I don’t have to answer this!” Abruptly she started for the stairs, then turned on her heel. “Leave. Now. You’re fired.”
“Who’s going to stage this house?” she demanded.
“Anyone but you!”
By the time Kate reached her truck, she knew she had blown it. Why had she been so pushy? Frustration? The headache that should’ve disappeared with her cup of coffee? She climbed in behind the wheel and realized she had been putting so much energy into making sure Jason felt well and Scott felt supported and the Langleys felt they wouldn’t be alone in all this, that she hadn’t taken time for herself. The thought of doing so only made her feel guilty, if she was being honest with herself. But she had been working long hours, poking around a murder investigation in her spare time, and feeling overwhelmed that there wasn’t a thing she could do to get Becky back, not to mention the severe conflict that had been burning inside her chest at the thought she could’ve sworn she saw Becky outside of Daisy’s Luncheonette, which only made her feel more guilty.
Starting her truck, she eased out of the driveway then hit the gas, eager to get to Sunshine Florist where she was sure Carly would be working with a fresh pot of coffee at arms’ length.
She was right.
As soon as she stepped through the door, she smelled the rich aroma of hazelnut dark roast wafting in the air. Carly was behind the counter, ringing up a customer who was marveling over a giant bouquet of white roses. Kate hung back until the customer passed through the store and left.
“There’s so much to tell you,” she said, nearly collapsing, elbows to counter, in front of her friend.
“Jesus, you don’t look so good.”
Like a trauma surgeon, Carly poured a mug of coffee and placed it in front of Kate as though it would save her from certain death.
“I’m coming apart at the seams.”
“I thought things were going better?” asked Carly, concerned. “Jason got hired. Daisy’s in jail. Are you having some lingering anxiety?”
“Overwhelming is more like it.” Kate straightened up from the counter and gulped down as much coffee as she could. It helped, but only by a fraction. “What I’m about to say, you can’t tell anyone.”
“I won’t.”
“I mean it, Carly. You know how rumors fly.”
“I would never. Come on, you can tell me.”
“The Langleys got a ransom note for Becky.”
Carly gasped.
“And poor Lance is supposed to go all by himself.”
“Scott knows, of course?”
“Yes, of course, but I have a bad feeling about it. And on top of that, I think he’s been too preoccupied with finding Becky to do an effective job with Clifford’s killer.”
“You don’t think it was Daisy?”
“I don’t.”
“Kate, you have to let that go. You’re scattered. If you focus on anything, it should be your family and this exchange to get Becky back. When is it happening?”
“Tonight. Don’t ask me more, though, because I shouldn’t tell you.”
Carly sighed and placed her hand on top of Kate’s.
After a moment of finishing her coffee and waiting for Carly to pour her a second cup, Kate asked, “How come you never told me about Clifford?”
“What about him?”
She was deflecting. Kate could tell.
“I spoke with Clara. She told me you were the reason Clifford went to prison. That you drove over to Philly to testify about what you had seen him do here in Rock Ridge.”
“I did. It wasn’t easy. And as you said, rumors fly in Rock Ridge. I didn’t tell anyone.”
“What else didn’t you tell me?”
“Let the whole Clifford thing go,” she suggested. “For your own sake. Scott arrested the right person. Daisy knew Clifford.”
“My gut’s telling me Meredith did it.”
Again, she sighed. “I don’t know the extent of their relationship, but Daisy paid his bail back then.”
“I heard he was also living with Daisy,” Kate supplied, desperate to convince herself it wasn’t Meredith—even though every cell in her body was screaming that it was.
“Is there any way you can focus on your work? Try centering that way? Keep it together until tonight so that you don’t waste your time and energy chasing red herrings that will only get you nowhere?”
“But that’s what I do,” she said with a humorous smirk that felt more heavy than comical.
“That’s what you used to do, years ago, and you were good at it. But it ran you ragged. And you can’t afford to be stretched so thin, not with your family in crisis.”
“You know why I can’t let it go? Because I sense they’re connected.”
Carly furrowed her brow, curious.
“It’s crazy and devoid of logic, but I sense it.”
“Then you shouldn’t be here talking to me. You should talk to Meredith if you think she did it.”
Kate snorted a laugh.
“You already tired?” asked Carly.
“And then some.”
“Then talk to Daisy.”
Kate searched her friend’s eyes and decided it wasn’t a bad idea.
Checking the time on her dashboard as soon as she climbed in, Kate figured she had at least an hour before she could paint another coat onto Jared’s office. She turned the key in the ignition, but her other son came to mind so she gave him a quick call.
Luckily, Jason picked up though he sounded like he hadn’t rolled out of bed yet. “Mom?”
“Just checking in. How are you?”
“I’m not getting up until tonight. If I’m not asleep, I’m a nervous wreck.”
“Would you let Jared and me come over for lunch?”
He groaned.
“In a few hours?”
He made a noise that could’ve been a cough or agreement so she decided it was the later.
“We’ll see you in a few hours then.”
He grumbled, “Christ,” under his breath then told her to bring pizza.
When she got off the call, she texted Jared right away to make sure he would be available for her impromptu plan. He was, she discovered as soon as she swiped her cell phone to view his responding text.
Good, she thought. They’d all be together.
The drive to the precinct jail went quickly, and as she pulled into a parking spot, she reminded herself to avoid Scott’s office and the entire missing persons floor where he would surely be.
The first floor was remarkably quiet as she passed through to the jail cells at the back of the corridor. The guard recognized her as everyone else did these days, as Scott’s wife and not Mrs. Fit It, but she let it slide, eager to confront Daisy.
But as soon as she passed through the doors, she saw Meredith Joste angling into the bars at the back of the row of cells. Meredith seemed to be seething and talking through her teeth, every word a threat. When Kate saw who she was trying to intimidate—Daisy—she startled and kept back, hoping to overhear something incriminating.
“I’m leaving,” she sneered. “You can’t stop me. I hope you rot in here.”
“You think you won? This isn’t over. I won’t go to prison for this.”
“I can make sure you do,” she threatened. “You think I don’t know what you’ve done? It doesn’t matter what happened. It matters how it looks, and right now the look of things are in my favor.”
The second Meredith turned from the bars, she locked eyes with Kate, taking her breath away.
As she passed Kate, rounding through to the exit doors, she spit her words through her teeth. “You didn’t hear nothing.”
The second she was gone, Kate rushed to Daisy’s cell. The diner owner looked exhausted and though she was about to sit back down on the bench, she returned to the bars.
“I didn’t do it, Kate.”
“I know. What was that with Meredith?”
“Meredith killed Clifford!”
“How do you know?”
“I would never hurt him. I was only eight years older than him when he started getting into trouble in high school. I took him in. I never gave up on him. I was his first call when he got out of prison, and it wasn’t only because I’d stayed in his life no matter what. He was afraid of Meredith.”
“But why?”
Daisy pressed her face between the bars. “They were her drugs.”
“What?”
“How do you think Meredith has so much money? Have you ever seen her working? She’s a dealer. She’s high up on the totem pole. Clifford was just a street thug, bottom of the food chain. When he got out and came back to Rock Ridge, she wanted to suck him back in. He refused so she killed him.”
“How do you explain the gunshot that happened that morning at the diner? Your hostess told police no one else was around, but you. And then you drove off.”
“I don’t know why she said it. I don’t know what’s going on. Meredith basically bought Dean. She can buy anyone.”
“D
id you tell Scott?”
“I told my lawyer everything, and he said it looks so bad for me that I shouldn’t say anything. He only lets me answer certain questions.”
“Tell me how I can help.”
“I’m afraid to,” she said.
“Don’t be,” she said, encouragingly.
But Daisy clammed up.
Despite this, Kate suddenly knew what she needed to do and it had everything to do with Meredith’s patio and the cracked tile she had flipped out over.
Chapter Nine
Kate parked her truck three blocks from Meredith Joste’s art deco house and glanced up and down the street before climbing out. It was quiet. For the early afternoon, there was no one around. If Meredith had just been at the jail, she could very well be back by now. She could also be making further arrangements around town to fly out of Rock Ridge in a few hours. Or, God forbid, already on her way to the airport. Kate would have to hurry.
She walked briskly up the street, checking over her shoulder every few seconds to make sure she wasn’t being watched.
When the art deco house came into view, she didn’t see Meredith’s vehicle in the driveway, and with the bedroom furniture still in the garage, Kate doubted Meredith would be hiding her car in there. There hadn’t been enough time for her to be at the jail and move the furniture items to the upstairs bedroom. It looked as though no one was home.
Trusting no one was, she eased onto the lawn and started around the back of the house. She was momentarily blinded, as she stepped into a patch of sunlight.
The patio looks good, she thought to herself, wondering who in the world would ever buy this house.
Meredith was a drug dealer? It was alarming. She’d known Meredith for years. How could a drug dealer be hiding in the midst of such a quaint town for decades? It was unheard of.
Moving quickly, she crossed the patio and dropped to her knees in front of the new tile she had laid to replace the cracked one. She pulled a palette scraper from her overalls and used it to pry the tile up, which took more muscle than she had expected. She had sealed it on good and it did not want to buck up and away from the thick layer of putty she’d set.
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