“Nancy O’Connor. Funny running into you here,” Meg said.
Nancy stopped and looked at Meg quizzically. “I’m sorry. Do I know you?”
Meg kept up her friendly demeanor, acting like Nancy was an old friend. “Come on Nancy, don’t you remember me from the Dance Bandit fitness launch party last night?”
Nancy’s face said one thing while her mouth said another. There was fear in Nancy’s eyes when Meg mentioned the party.
Nancy wanted to try and disguise that by playing dumb. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really? I saw you chewing Jack out so much that he had to call security to drag you away.”
There were a number of ways Nancy could react to that. The best way was to come clean. She chose the worst way, avoidance.
“Excuse me. I really need to be going,” Nancy said.
Nancy was clearly hiding something. Meg was determined to find out her secret, no matter what it took. She had a good idea how to do that.
“In a hurry all of a sudden, huh? By the way, did you drop this?” Meg asked.
She pulled the pin out from her purse, eager to see if she could spot a glint of recognition in Nancy’s eyes when she saw it. Unfortunately, Nancy furrowed her brow when she looked at the pin.
Nancy shook her head. “I’ve never seen it before.”
Nancy then began walking briskly to her car.
Meg followed her. “You know, it is fitting that I ran into you at an employment agency, considering Jack fired you yesterday for stealing.”
Nancy stopped dead in her tracks. “I don’t know where you got your information from, but you don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Meg knew she’d found a nerve. It was time to see how many more buttons she could push. “Are you really going to pretend that you weren’t fired yesterday just hours before Jack was murdered?”
“Oh, I was fired all right, but not because I’m a thief. I’m a good Christian woman. I’ve never so much as taken a few grapes from the grocery store without paying for them first, no less stealing from my employer.”
Something didn’t make sense. Nancy’s story and the story Meg had heard didn’t match up. The truth was somewhere in between. It was up to Meg to dig it up.
“If you weren’t stealing, then why did Jack fire you?” Meg asked.
“He just wanted to make it seem like I was stealing so he’d have a legitimate reason to fire me.”
“There’s something you’re not telling me. Jack must have had some reason to fire you.”
“Jack didn’t want me around because he knew I was going to go to the labor board and file a sexual harassment claim against him. He tried to put the moves on me a few days ago, and naturally, being a good Christian woman, I refused. He knew if my story got to the labor board, he’d be in big trouble. That’s when he came up with the lie about me stealing from the gym, figuring it would ruin my case.”
“You know, that sounds an awful lot like a motive.”
Nancy scoffed. “You’re not seriously suggesting I might have murdered him, are you?”
“Like you said, he ruined your chance of going to the labor board, took your job away, and made you angry enough to chew him out at his own party. Is murder really that much of a stretch?” Meg asked.
“For me, it is. Thou shalt not kill. It says it right in the good book.”
“It says other things in the Bible, too, like thou shalt not lie. I guess the question is, where did you go last night after security threw you out of the party?”
“I went home, prayed for good luck finding a new job, and then went to bed.”
“Do you have anyone to verify that?” Meg wondered.
“I don’t need anyone to verify it. I take my commandments very seriously, and I assure you, I’m telling you the truth.”
“Unfortunately, with no one to verify your alibi, there’s no way to know you’re actually telling the truth. Just like there’s no way to corroborate your story about Jack sexually harassing you.”
“For the last time, I’m telling you the truth.”
“At least that’s your story,” Meg said.
Nancy sneered at her. “You know, you’re wasting your time with me. If you want to find the killer, you should be talking to that two-bit hussy, Carla Adamson.”
Talk about a twist. Meg didn’t expect Nancy to so eagerly point her finger at another suspect.
Meg had to dig further. “Why is that?”
“Carla was obsessed with Jack. We’re talking beyond head-over-heels in love with him. So when Jack promised he’d leave Lisa McGraw for her, she expected him to keep his word. But Jack kept dragging his feet. Carla began to wonder if Jack cared about her as much as he truly led on, or whether he was just stringing her along. You have to be careful with a woman that has a short fuse like Carla. You never know when they’ll blow,” Nancy explained.
“That’s another interesting story. Do you have any way to verify that either, or do you expect me to just take your word for it?” Meg wondered.
Nancy got fed up. She narrowed her eyes. “We’re done here.”
Nancy then dashed to her car and sped away.
Meg could have cast a spell to blow one of Nancy’s tires out. She decided against it. Not only would that call too much attention, it was clear she wasn’t going to get any further information from Nancy. Meg needed a confession, so staring down an angry, tight-lipped woman would just waste Meg’s time. Besides, Nancy had given Meg a good lead to follow up on, and Meg planned on doing just that.
Chapter Nineteen
Meg thought she’d be the only one to use sneaky tricks during this investigation. After the surprising way Kayla Maxwell was able to get Meg to flee from the hotel, and then Nancy O’Connor brushing her off, Meg was determined to find a way to outsmart the rest of the suspects.
Her next stop was Steven and Carla Adamson’s house. This could make for an interesting interview. Would Carla and Steven both be there, or just one of them? After the explosive revelation that Steven’s wife had been cheating on him with Jack Jensen, there was no telling what Meg was getting into.
When Meg turned onto Hickory Grove Road, she saw that Steven and Carla had it out in the driveway. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Who had such a heated spat outside where anyone could hear it? Apparently, they were so mad; privacy was the last of their concerns. Either way, it was clear their emotions hadn’t calmed down since the night before.
Meg decided to overshoot their house and park on the side of the road in front of a neighbor’s house. The last thing she wanted to do was jump into a dragon’s den like this. Meg needed the truth, not to get her head bitten off. She decided to hold back until the argument was over, then approach the suspects.
Besides, Meg didn’t need to be in earshot to hear what Steven and Carla were saying. That’s where a good spell came in.
Meg focused on Steven and Carla, then whispered in Latin. “Audire, audire, audire.”
When the volume amplification spell took hold, Meg was able to listen in on the conversation from the comfort of her car. It sounded like Meg cast the spell at just the right time.
Steven lost his temper with his wife, then shoved a full box of belongings towards her. “Take your stuff and get out of here. I don’t ever want to see you again.”
Carla looked like she wanted to plead with him, but he wasn’t going to listen. Steven cut her off the moment she opened her mouth.
“Go!”
Carla hung her head low, then turned around, and moved to her car.
As Carla loaded the box into the backseat of her car and got ready to drive off, Meg was suddenly faced with an interesting decision. She could only follow one person. She decided to tail Carla.
Steven just seemed too volatile right now. He was in serious need of cooling off. He had no trouble barking at his wife. If Meg approached right now, he could completely blow a gasket.
At the same time, Meg wanted to keep t
abs on the guy in case he decided to go anywhere.
She focused on Steven, then whispered to herself in Latin.
“Semita, semita, semita,” Meg said.
The tracking spell she just cast would keep a firm eye on Steven’s location while Meg tailed Carla.
***
Meg didn’t have to tail Carla’s car for long. Carla drove fifteen minutes over to Oak Street, then pulled into the parking lot of The Enchanted Bay Motor Lodge. Meg parked in the space beside her and confronted Carla as she grabbed the box from her backseat.
Carla looked startled that Meg had pulled up behind her.
Meg wasted no time getting to her questions. “Rough day, huh?”
“Were you just following me?”
“Yeah. I need to ask you some questions--”
Carla was outraged that she’d been followed. She snapped at Meg. “Who are you?”
Meg wouldn’t let herself be thrown off. “This isn’t about me. It’s about the murder of Jack Jensen. Now, I want to know what happened last night after your husband found out you were cheating on him with Jack.”
“This is none of your business. I don’t have to talk to you.”
“Actually, you do.”
Carla had forced Meg’s hand. Luckily, Meg had learned from the mistakes of her confrontations with Kayla Maxwell and Nancy O’Connor before. She had a new plan.
Meg whispered “insignie, insignie, insignie” under her breath, then held out her hand. The truth was, her hand was empty, but the spell she’d cast made it look like she was holding a police badge.
Carla’s eyes opened wide. “You’re with the police?”
Meg lied and gave Carla a nod.
“But, the Enchanted Cove police already asked me a bunch of questions,” Carla said.
Meg was in a little bit of a pickle now. She improvised. “I’m a detective with the Shasta police department.”
Carla was confused. “Shasta?”
“Jack’s former hometown. This is a dual investigation between both of our police departments,” Meg said.
“Oh, ok,” Carla replied.
Phew. Carla bought Meg’s story. Now, Meg could get down to the real business at hand.
“I didn’t kill Jack,” Carla blurted out.
Meg hadn’t even accused her of murder yet, and Carla was already on the defensive.
“You’re a little jumpy there. What’s the matter, do you have a guilty conscience?” Meg wondered.
“No. I just don’t like the tone of your questions or the fact that you were following me.”
“Trust me, if you’re innocent, you have nothing to fear.”
Carla snapped at her. “What do mean, if I’m innocent?”
“Where were you last night between eleven and midnight?”
“I was driving here to the motor lodge.”
“Is that because your husband kicked you out of the house?”
Carla tried to avoid the question. “That’s not relevant to what we’re talking about.”
“Jack was murdered a few hours after your husband found out you were having an affair with him. I don’t think my question could be any more relevant.”
Carla took a deep breath, then answered. “Yes, my husband kicked me out of the house, so I got a room here. Are you happy now?”
Meg didn’t let up. “Did you come here straight from the party?”
Carla nodded. “Yes.”
“You know, Jack Jensen was killed in the parking lot of the party.”
“I never went near the parking lot last night. I left the party and went straight to my car, which was parked on the street.”
“Do you recognize this pin?” Meg asked.
Meg pulled the pin out of her purse and Carla looked at it, blank-faced.
Carla shook her head. “No.”
Meg went with a different tact. “Did you leave the party alone, or was your husband with you?”
Carla averted her gaze. “We left the party separately.”
“So that means you have no one to verify your story then that you came straight here.”
Carla hesitated, realizing she’d painted herself into a corner. Something then dawned on her. She reached into her purse and pulled out a receipt. “Here’s your proof.”
The receipt was from Carla’s check in at the motor lodge last night. Meg looked the receipt over, then stared at Carla.
“This doesn’t prove anything,” Meg said.
Carla shook her head. “It proves everything. See, I was checking in at the time of the murder.”
Meg corrected her. “This receipt says you didn’t check in until twelve-ten. Jack Jensen died between eleven and midnight.”
Carla’s eyes opened wide. While she was stunned, Meg brought up another point.
“That isn’t all. I talked to Nancy O’Connor earlier. She told me if I wanted to find Jack’s killer, I should come to you.”
Carla narrowed her eyes. “That good-for-nothing floozy. She’s lying.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Isn’t it obvious? She’s trying to deflect the blame from herself.”
“You mean because she was fired for stealing yesterday?” Meg asked.
Carla had a completely different theory. “Because she wanted Jack for herself.”
“Wait a minute. Are you saying--?”
“Nancy had a thing for Jack. She wanted him so badly, but he didn’t give her the time of day. Nancy couldn’t handle the rejection, so she made up some bogus story about him trying to sexually harass her.”
There was a whole lot of finger-pointing going on all of a sudden. It was clear that someone was lying here. It would be easy to let Carla’s story take her off on a tangent. Only, given Carla’s version of the truth, there remained one very important question.
“All that is between Nancy and Jack. What does Nancy getting rejected have to do with blaming you for the murder?”
“Don’t you see? Ever since Nancy found out Jack was into me instead of her, she’s been looking for a way of sticking it to me. This was her chance,” Carla insisted.
Carla seemed awfully desperate to push the blame off on Nancy O’Connor. That raised a red flag in Meg’s mind.
“You seem to be going to a great length to convince me that Nancy O’Connor is a liar. But why should I believe you’re telling the truth?”
Carla played innocent. “What reason would I have to lie about this?”
“Maybe you’re lying now to deflect the blame from yourself.”
Carla shook her head and vociferously denied Meg’s accusation. “No.”
Despite all of Carla’s efforts to play the blame game, there was one key thing she was forgetting.
Meg was quick to point it out. “That story you just told me doesn’t change the fact that you have no one to verify your alibi.”
“I already told you the truth. Now, I’ve had an awful day, so unless you’re going to arrest me, we’re done here.”
Unfortunately, Meg didn’t have the authority or the evidence to arrest Carla. If Carla was determined to stay tight-lipped, there was nothing more Meg could do right now.
Chapter Twenty
After interviewing Carla Adamson, Meg went back to Steven’s house. His car was still in the driveway, so she knew he was home. The question became, would he answer? She was about to find out.
Meg’s last spell had worked out very well. Carla Adamson truly believed Meg was a detective. Meg decided to try a different spell with Steven.
She muttered quickly under her breath, “uniformis, uniformis, uniformis.”
Meg then knocked on Steven’s door. It took two rounds of knocking, but Steven finally opened the door.
Steven’s face went white when he looked at Meg’s clothes.
“Officer, what can I do for you?” Steven asked.
Meg knew right then that her spell had worked. In reality, Meg was wearing a red blouse and skirt. Her spell made it look to an outsider like she was we
aring an Enchanted Bay police uniform. Now that she knew Steven thought she was a police officer, she could approach this interview from a different angle.
“There have been some complaints from the neighbors about a possible domestic disturbance. I have to ask you a few questions, Mr. Adamson,” Meg said.
Steven sighed. “It was Mrs. Wallace that called, wasn’t it? She’s the snoop to end all snoops.”
Meg tried to straighten him up. “It doesn’t matter who called the complaint in. Tell me about this fight you were having with your wife.”
“You don’t have to worry about it. It’s over.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“No. I meant it’s over between my wife and me. Trust me, you don’t have to worry about us fighting again,” Steven replied.
“Were you two fighting about your wife’s affair with Jack Jensen?” Meg asked.
“That’s really none of your business.”
“You just had a very public break up with your wife the day after the man she was having an affair with was found murdered. It's very much my business.”
He groaned, then nodded. “Yeah, we were arguing about Jack.”
Meg pulled the pin out of her purse and held it up for Steven.
“Mr. Adamson, do you recognize this?”
He stared at it, then shook his head. “No. Why?”
“I was just curious. Speaking of, where were you last night between the hours of eleven and midnight?”
Steven got short with her. “I thought you were here about a domestic disturbance call. The detective already asked me about Jack’s murder.”
“Mr. Adamson, we can ask you where you were as many times as we’d like. Now, where were you?”
“Like I told the detective, I was at home,” Steven answered.
“Alone?”
He groaned. “Unfortunately.”
“Where was your wife?” she asked.
“It beats me. The last time I talked to her was when we had a big blowout in the parking lot after leaving the party.”
“Wait a minute. You two had an argument in the parking lot behind the gym?”
Steven nodded. “Yeah. When I saw the way she was looking at Jack at the party, I knew she loved him more than she loved me. That’s when I realized our marriage was over. Carla followed me to my car, pleading with me, begging me to take her back, but I wouldn’t listen. I just got in my car and drove away.”
The Witches Of Enchanted Bay (Witches Of Enchanted Bay Cozy Mystery Book 1) Page 6
