“Good.” Mary-Ann rolled out her pastry. “Anything interesting?”
“There is nothing here that I can find that proves all three of the murders are linked, which means I don’t think they are. I think the P.I. was telling Theo what he wanted to hear.”
“I thought you said you knew him and he was a good guy.”
“He is, but if someone was pressuring him for results… I don’t know. I can’t help wondering about the choices Theo might have made.” He sighed. “I’m going to spend some more time here, to see if I can find anything useful, but if I can’t then we’re right back at square one.”
“Okay.” She nibbled her bottom lip. “It honest doesn’t sound like Theo to push someone. Maybe the P.I. did find something and took the evidence with him.”
“I believe he would have left copies here. There are a couple of external hard drives I can check, but it’s not like him not to leave a had copy.”
“Unless it was stolen.”
“There’s been no breaking and entering.”
“If someone took his keys they wouldn’t have needed to break and enter, Alex. They could have taken the hard copy you’re looking for, if they really didn’t want to get found out, and considering how long it’s been I wouldn’t be surprised if they wanted to stay out of prison for as long as possible.”
“You might be right. I’m not going to say one way or another until I find the evidence I need, because right now it doesn’t look good. Theo’s dead. The P.I. is missing and there no hard copy of whatever evidence he said he had. Another option, one I hope isn’t right, is that the man I thought of as a friend might have made all the wrong choices.”
“Anything is possible, but I trust your judgement. If you say he’s a good person I believe you.”
***
There was a knock on the door. Mary-Ann went to open it. When her eyes met with those of someone she knew she’d never met before she studied him. “Did you need something?”
“I’ve heard Theo’s dead.”
“How did you know Theo?”
“You really don’t want to ask the question, but I was told to bring everything I had here if I found out something had happened to him.”
“Who are you?”
“A friend.”
“Do you know Alex O’Connor?”
“Tell him not to look for me.”
“He’s already looking for you.” She took a step backwards. “Come in. I’ll call Alex and you can talk things through with him, because he’s not the sort of person who’s ever going to give up.”
“No, he’s not.” The man sighed. “It’s not safe.”
“Looking for Theo’s killer isn’t safe either, but that’s not going to stop me.” She breathed a sigh of relief when he stepped into the apartment. “It shouldn’t take Alex long to get here.”
“Good. I can’t stay for too long. There are people out there looking for me and I’m not safe right now. Neither are you, because you were stupid enough to ask me to come in, and it’s likely they have followed me here.”
Mary-Ann shook her head. “I don’t know if you’re paranoid or telling the truth.”
“Normally people just think I’m paranoid, but then I’ve spent a lot of time looking into murders the police can’t solve.”
***
Alex stepped into the apartment. “Hello, David.”
“I know you were at my place today.”
“I didn’t find anything.”
“You wouldn’t. I haven’t been staying there for a while. There are people looking for me.”
“People related to this case or to another one.”
“Another one. It’s not something you need to be worrying about.”
“David, I am worried.” Alex shook his head. “You’re family. If you’re in trouble you’re meant to come to me and I deal with it.”
“Not going to happen. I’ve already made a bad decision when I let your friend convince me to step into her apartment. The last thing I want is to make things harder for you here, okay?”
Sighing, Alex brushed a hand through his hair. “For now I’m not going to push it. I want to know why you’re so scared, but if you aren’t willing to tell me there’s nothing I can do to force you.” He sat down at the table. “Tell me what you know about Theo Walters.”
Nodding, David put the file he’d held tight onto on the table. “Theo called me not long after Steven’s death. At the time he didn’t have the money to pay me for my time, but he said he was going to earn enough and then get back to me. I didn’t think he would. However he called about six weeks ago to ask me to look into the unexplained death of his brother and had the money he needed in order to pay for a month of my time. When I first started I thought it was going to be a simple enough case. I didn’t talk to anyone. Instead I focused on learning everything I could about Green Springs by watching the town. You’ve been dealing with a lot recently, haven’t you?”
Mary-Ann nodded. “Unfortunately, yes, we have. A month ago I was in New York.”
“Your sister took over Perfect Pies while you were gone. I spent a bit of time in there. You might have seen me.”
“I might have done, but I get so many customers they all end up blurring together, especially recently. I’ve seen all sorts of new faces.”
“That was good for me. It meant I didn’t stick out too much. They didn’t know anything about Green Springs either, so I didn’t seem like a total idiot, and people were willing to talk to me. If I asked the wrong question they’d get quiet and I’d move on to another subject. Steven, surprisingly, was one of the thing they were willing to talk about, but I soon realised that was because a lot of people here believe it was a suicide. People don’t want to believe murders happen in places like this, even though they do, which is becoming more and more obvious. Of course from Steven they were on to talk about the other two deaths at Mrs Rosen’s cafe and how that had an effect on people who might have wanted to buy the place.”
“When Phil was killed I was twenty. It was after I’d gone to New York and I remember hearing about it, but I didn’t really care back then. Green Springs was in the past. I wanted it to stay there, because I was still hurting, and it wasn’t until later on I came to realise I wanted to be here. George was killed not long before Mrs Rosen sold up. I didn’t pay a lot of attention to that either. I think it was around my birthday. Darren called me, the way he always did, and I thought he was going to mention George, but he didn’t. He knew I was keeping my distance from Green Springs and didn’t force me to listen to him talk about the people here. Keeping that distance was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done.”
Nodding, David almost smiled. “I like the city because I know I’m anonymous. People don’t see me. It wasn’t until I came to Green Springs I realised how much I needed that, and being here hasn’t been great for me. However I don’t regret taking the case on. As there was a lot of time between the murders no one seemed to think they were connected. I can understand that. Until I started looking into them I didn’t think they were connected.”
“How are they connected?”
“The cafe. They all happened in the same place and they all happen in the same place for a reason, Alex. I really thought you would have got that.”
“I’ve only been on the case for a day, cousin, so I haven’t had the time to look into them in much detail.”
“Everyone here, even though they love Mary-Ann, believes the cafe is full of bad luck. They’ve believed that ever since the first two murders and everything that’s happened to Mary-Ann just makes them more certain of that. They believed that long before Mrs Rosen took it over however. If you go deep into the history of Green Springs you start learning things about the place you never thought were possible. At one point in the distant past there was another cafe there, one that was burnt down in a fire and took the entire row along with it. Both of the owners died in the shop. Ghost stories have been passed down from one generation to the ne
xt and that makes the cafe a great place to kill people, because there are enough people here who believe it could be the ghosts of those two people committing the murders. Others say it’s the ghosts convincing those in the cafe for long enough to kill themselves.” David shrugged. “I don’t know why you have no idea of that story, Mary-Ann.”
***
“Mom didn’t believe it. She told me it was nothing more than a superstition, and I accepted that. I never had an issue with owning a place where there are ghosts as I don’t believe they exist.”
“Other people do.” Alex looked at the file David had left behind. “Rob would know more about it.”
“Probably.” Mary-Ann sighed. “What else did David find out?”
“He doesn’t know who the murderers are, but he truly believes the link is the cafe. All of the murders happened after hours. Steven had a key. Neither Phil or George, as far as I know, did. Only Mrs Rosen and her assistants had keys.”
“Who just happened to be one of Theo’s friend. Harry was one of Mrs Rosen’s most trusted assistants and he had a key. I remember him talking about it. I can’t see Harry being a murderer, but I can see him lending the key to people for them to do something stupid, like go in for a seance.” She nibbled her lip. “Or for the stoners to go in there when it was wet, as long as they made sure no one knew they were there. If Harry had lent his key to Phil… it makes a lot of sense. Harry and Phil would spend time together occasionally, because Harry wasn’t against getting stoned. We’re going to need to talk to him.”
“That means there is a chance Harry was the one who killed Theo.”
“What did the autopsy say?”
“Poison in the pie.”
“If anyone else uses my pie for a weapon I’m going to kill them myself.” She shook her head. “I can understand why. The pie would definitely hide the flavour of whatever was put in it.”
“What do you think the poison was?”
“Something slow acting, although I now have to ask why Theo in the alleyway outside of my shop.”
“You got lucky, Mare. He had a key to the kitchen in his pocket. If you’d been really unlucky you would have been the one to find him. There’s a chance he might have been looking for evidence of some kind, or maybe he just wanted to see if he could talk to his brother. I don’t know.”
“Maybe his murderer wanted to put him in the shop and couldn’t for some reason.”
“Why would the murderer have put the key in Theo’s pocket?”
“To put us off the scent. It seems like the most likely explanation. They don’t want to be caught. If we’re right they’ve been able to keep themselves out of jail for years, which means they’re clever. They know not to leave any evidence lying around.”
“I’ll get the key checked for finger prints, just in case.”
“Sounds like a good idea. The key is one I didn’t know existed, and there’s a chance it was cut a long time ago, from Harry’s key.”
“I don’t want you talking to Harry. I think there’s a chance he might be involved and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Chapter 6
1am. Mary-Ann sighed. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to get to sleep and that left her with one real option. Quietly, not wanting to wake Hannah, she slipped out of her bed, wrapping her gown around her before she made her way into the living room. As she turned the small lamp on she waited to see if Hannah was stirring, but there was nothing. She picked up a notebook, and a pen, and started scribbling down notes about the relationships Steven, Phil, and George had in school. George was harder than the other two, because he was the one who’d been a loner, but she did remember him having a connection with a couple of other people. Harry was one of those people. Harry seemed to be the one person who linked the three of them, although she still couldn’t see Harry being a killer. He just wasn’t that sort of person.
There was a chance she was very wrong about Harry. Mary-Ann shook her head. She wasn’t wrong about him. Not Harry. There was someone else. There had to be another connection and all she had to do was find it. As she was the one who knew everyone she was the one who was most likely to find it… which might mean they were going to leave Theo in the shop as a warning to her to keep her nose out of things. If she didn’t she might end up dead, like Theo. Theo, however, didn’t have Alex by his side.
***
“Harry’s gone missing.”
Mary-Ann shook her head. “What do you mean missing?”
“No one’s seen him since the day Theo was found.”
“Then we need to find him.”
Alex sighed. “We both know there’s a chance it might have been him.”
“I knew Harry. He wasn’t the sort of person who could kill anyone.”
“You say that, but how well did you really know him? How well does anyone know anyone?”
“We went to school together. I used to help him with his Math homework.” She shook her head. “Just last night he was talking about us having a reunion and I know how much Theo meant to him. I can’t imagine him being willing to kill Theo for any reason.”
“Could you have imagined Kevin’s dad committing murder?”
For a few seconds Mary-Ann was silent. “No.” She ran her tongue over her dry lips. “Okay. I know I need to stop seeing Harry as the person he was when we were at school. I just can’t see him changing that much.”
“Do me a favour.”
“What?”
“Look into the three murders we think might be linked to Theo’s. Read articles. Read the files. I’m going to look for Harry and if I find him I need something to be able to tie him to Theo’s murder, because I really do think he was the one who did it. Why else would he disappear?”
“Maybe he’s dead too, because he knows who he lent the key to.”
“How do we know he lent the key to anyone?”
“Surely he would have been questioned at the time, along with Mrs Rosen and the other key holders.”
“It seems likely he would have. Go over what he’s said. See if there’s anything he’s said that might connect the murders. As there was no connection between them before it’s likely whoever went through the files before wouldn’t have looked to see if there was something like that in them. We are connecting the murders. We might be wrong, or we might now.”
“Okay.” Mary-Ann stood. “I have Steven’s file here. I’ll drop by the station to pick up the other two and then spend the rest of my day in the library.” She made a face. “Doesn’t that sound exciting?”
“Thank you. I know you didn’t want to be a part of this and you wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for Mrs Walters, but I really do appreciate all the help.”
“You’re welcome.” She pulled her coat on with one hand. “I won’t be long. Then you can go looking for Harry.” She nibbled her bottom lip. “No matter how many times I see what could have happened to Theo I can’t see Harry having hurt him… or anyone of the others. He definitely isn’t the sort of person who’d be able to pretend to hang someone.”
“Mare, you don’t know what someone might be capable of when they’re at their most desperate. Even you might be willing to kill someone when you’re at rock bottom.”
***
Rob was by the microfiche machines. “Hey.” He smiled. “This brings back memories.”
“It does.” Mary-Ann smiled. “I take it Alex has got you looking into the other murders too.”
“He has. He thinks the two of us working together should be able to find what we need, but I have a feeling it’s not going to be that simple.”
“You were three years above me.” She studied him. “I know I saw you about at school.”
“I was.” He brushed a hand through his hair. “I’ll be honest. I never noticed you, although I was focused on getting into the journalism course I wanted to do. Back then I didn’t notice anything that wasn’t something I could write about and you never did anything that interesting.” He shrugged. “Not u
ntil recently anyway.”
“Now I’m the pie making detective.”
“Two things you’re very good at. I take it you have the files for all three of the murders.”
“Steven’s I’ve already been through. Harry wasn’t questioned about that one, because, obviously, Steven had a key. The theory was that someone else went with him and it was that someone else who killed him, although there was one officer who seems to have believed it was a suicide.”
“Which officer?”
“D.C. Harris.”
“It might be worth talking to him to see if he’s changed his mind on that. He might have done, especially considering the fact Theo Walters is now dead too.”
***
“Is that D.C. Harris?”
“It would have been three years ago. I’m a D.I. now.”
“I’m sorry to have got that wrong, and congratulations on the promotion. Are you still in homicide?”
“No, I moved away from that mess a long time ago.” There was a second of silence. “Why are you calling?”
“My name is Mary-Ann Lennon and I’m looking into the murder to Theo Walters.”
“Ah, you’re O’Connor’s friend. We all know about you and there was a time when we thought the boss might say something about you getting too involved in the cases you’ve been helping with. Fortunately for you the boss doesn’t care, as long as the cases get solved.”
“You were involved in the case of Steven Walters.”
“I was the only one who believed it was a suicide, and I still think that. There may not have been a note, but there was a lot going on that the family didn’t know about, which is something you must know about if you’ve read the case file.”
“There wasn’t anything that made me think Steven would have committed suicide.”
The Alpha Billionaire's Unexpected Baby: A Billionaire BWWM Pregnancy Romance Page 66
