David stepped in. “We’re just trying to collect as much information as we can. So please, just answer the question.”
“I still don’t understand why you’re wasting your time talking to me in the first place. I’m sure there are far more important people you could be speaking with right now,” Clarissa said.
“Ms. Arnold, stop trying to deflect. We’re here to get answers from you, and we’re not leaving until we get them,” David replied.
Clarissa stared David down. “Wait a minute. You don’t think I might have had something to do with Jessica’s death, do you?”
David didn’t flinch. “This is the last time I’m going to say it. We’re the ones asking the questions here. Got it?”
Clarissa threw her arms out. “This is ridiculous. What reason would I have had to kill her?”
I couldn’t stay quiet any longer. “You had just broken up with Walter Mitchell.”
Clarissa shrugged. “So what?”
“Going through a breakup can be a very lonely and emotional time. It’s easy to get nostalgic for the past. Especially when you run into one of your old boyfriends,” I said.
Clarissa scoffed. “You’re just making wild speculations now.”
I shook my head. “Not quite. Ryan Davidson told us about the conversation you had with him a few days before my sister’s disappearance. He also revealed to us how you showed up at his house a week after Jessica’s disappearance and tried to kiss him.”
“Neither of those encounters had anything to do with your sister going missing,” Clarissa replied.
“So you say,” I replied.
“It’s the truth,” Clarissa replied.
David gave her a wary look. “You have to admit, the timing of those conversations is very suspicious.”
“So it is. But I didn’t kill Jessica,” Clarissa replied.
“You clearly still had feelings for Ryan. But he was in love with my sister. So why should we believe that you didn’t kill Jessica to give yourself a better shot at winning Ryan back?” I asked.
Clarissa looked outraged. “Because that’s psychotic.”
“Killers usually are,” David said.
“Do I look like a psycho to you?” Clarissa asked.
Before David had a chance to reply, Clarissa spoke up again.
“Actually, don’t answer that question. I’m not some homicidal maniac,” Clarissa said.
“We never said you were. Sabrina just brought up a theory,” David replied.
“An absolutely ridiculous theory,” Clarissa said. “By the way, I hope that’s not the best you’ve got. Because as you can see, I didn’t win Ryan back.”
“You also didn’t try to win him back until my sister was already out of the picture,” I said.
Clarissa shot me a glare. “You have a lot of nerve to talk to me that way.”
“Sometimes you have to be bold to uncover the truth,” I said.
“And sometimes you’re completely out of line,” Clarissa replied. “You know, you said you talked to Ryan. But did you ask him about the troubled look that he had on his face the night before Jessica’s disappearance?”
My forehead wrinkled. “What are you talking about? Ryan was camping the night before Jessica disappeared.”
Clarissa shook her head. “No, he wasn’t.”
I scrunched my nose. “How do you know that?”
“Because I saw him that night,” Clarissa said.
“Where?” I asked.
“Walking on Ocean Boulevard,” Clarissa said.
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Of course. I know what my ex-boyfriend looks like,” Clarissa said. “I was sitting on the patio at McMillan’s restaurant when I spotted Ryan across the street, exiting Luigi’s Pizzeria with a very troubling look on his face.”
“Did you go over and talk to him?” I asked.
Clarissa shook her head. “No. He walked straight to his car and drove away in a hurry.”
“You’re not lying to me, are you?” I asked.
“Why would I make up a story like that? The person who is lying to you is Ryan. I don’t know why he pretended that he was out camping that night, but I’d sure be curious to find out,” Clarissa said.
“That’s awfully strange,” I replied.
“I’ll say. It makes me wonder what Ryan is trying to hide,” Clarissa said.
“No. I meant it’s strange that you remember seeing Ryan the night before my sister’s disappearance, yet you can’t recall where you were the morning that Jessica went missing,” I replied.
Clarissa had trouble formulating an answer. “Well, I—”
“You what?” David asked.
“I can’t help what I remember and what I don’t,” Clarissa said.
“Or maybe you just refuse to admit how much you truly remember,” David replied.
Clarissa folded her arms. “I already answered your questions. Now I have some work to get back to.”
David looked around the retail boutique. “What are you talking about? The place is empty.”
“I have some things to do in the back,” Clarissa said.
David shook his head. “We’re not done here.”
“Are you going to arrest me?” Clarissa asked.
David stared her down. “No. Not at the moment.”
“Then I have nothing more to say to you. Now please let me get back to work,” Clarissa replied.
***
As David and I walked back to the car, my eyes were as wide as saucers. I wasn’t the only one. David was wide eyed as well.
“You know, at first, I thought she was a long shot of a suspect,” David said.
“And now?” I asked.
“There’s no doubt that she belongs on the suspect list,” David replied.
“I agree,” I said. “Do you know what the craziest part is?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. It all seems pretty crazy to me.”
“I can’t argue with that. But there’s a particular irony in Clarissa’s case.”
“How do you figure?”
“Say she was the one who killed my sister. Clarissa’s only reason for wanting Jessica dead was to win Ryan back. Only Ryan never had any interest in getting together with her again.”
“So she might have killed your sister for nothing.”
I nodded. “Exactly.”
“That is pretty crazy to think,” David replied.
“It sure is. Although, there seems to be plenty of insanity to go around.”
“Let’s just hope it’s not contagious,” David deadpanned.
“Yeah,” I replied. “In the meantime, a trip to the pizzeria is in order.”
Chapter Twenty-One
David and I stopped in at Luigi’s Pizzeria, where we had a very interesting conversation with the owner. After we finished up there, we also popped into Wendy’s Wardrobe, a retail boutique on Cypress Road.
Once we had gathered the information that we were looking for, we headed over to Alyssa’s Athletic Apparel, a fashion label specializing in women’s clothing.
Alyssa Carpenter was the thirty-year-old, tall, lean, redheaded, angular-faced owner of the company. David and I walked through Alyssa’s warehouse, where rows of workers sat in front of sewing machines, stitching together golf shirts, yoga pants, and other athletic apparel.
When we finally arrived at Alyssa’s corner office in the back of the warehouse, David pulled out his police badge and explained that he needed to ask her some questions.
Unlike most of our interviews with suspects, where David and I tended to force the issue early on, I decided that a slow build would make for a better approach.
“Look at you, running your own company,” I said.
“You don’t have to sound so surprised,” Alyssa replied.
“I’m not surprised,” I said. “I’m impressed. I remember when you were working for minimum wage at Wendy’s Wardrobe.”
“That was a long time ago,” Alyssa
replied.
“You’ve come far in eleven years,” I said.
“That’s the power of hard work,” Alyssa replied.
“Don’t forget. You did have some help,” I said.
She gave me a baffled look. “What are you talking about? I built this place from the ground up.”
“I was referring to the fellowship that you got back during your school days,” I said.
The fellowship was granted by Kyra Feldman, the most successful female entrepreneur to ever come out of Treasure Cove. Kyra was the owner of Kyra Cares Clothing Company, a San Francisco-based fashion label that sold dresses, blouses, skirts, pants, and other clothing.
As a way of giving back to her hometown, Kyra established a fellowship for college-aged women who were interested in becoming entrepreneurs. Eleven years ago, Alyssa, my sister, and fifty other women applied for the fellowship. Two finalists were picked—Alyssa and my sister. But there would only be one winner.
Kyra was going to announce the name of the winner in early September. My sister prayed every night that it would be her. Then Jessica ended up going missing in August.
Suddenly, the fellowship became the last thing that anyone in my family cared about. The focus was solely on finding my sister.
But life went on for the rest of the world. And when September rolled around, Kyra announced that Alyssa was the winner of the fellowship. Alyssa ended up learning a great deal under Kyra’s tutelage.
Although, Alyssa seemed to have no interest in discussing the past.
Alyssa’s forehead wrinkled. “What made you even think about that?”
“Because my sister was a finalist for that fellowship,” I said. “Jessica was sure that she would win. Who knows? Maybe if she hadn’t gone missing, maybe she would have.”
“Sabrina, I’m very sorry for your loss. Really, I am. But I’m not sure what any of this has to do with me. I don’t know anything about your sister’s disappearance,” Alyssa said.
David spoke up. “That remains to be seen.”
Alyssa narrowed her eyes. “Hey. What’s that supposed to mean?”
“After Jessica went missing, you were a shoo-in to get that fellowship,” I said.
Alyssa’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute. Are you accusing me of—?”
It would be easy for this conversation to get out of hand. Before it did, I tried to keep Alyssa from flying off the handle. “I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m just stating the facts. You and my sister were both finalists. Then Jessica went missing. A month later, you won the fellowship. Are you going to deny that?”
Alyssa took a dismissive tone. “No. But I will say that I had nothing to do with your sister’s disappearance.”
“Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you didn’t get that fellowship? How your life might be different right now?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No.”
“Who knows? Maybe you would have never started this business,” I replied.
Alyssa looked insulted. “That’s not true. My dream was always to start my own business. And let me tell you, this company only exists because I worked my tail off to make it happen.”
“It also helped that you learned some valuable business skills from that fellowship,” I said.
“True. But I could have learned those skills elsewhere,” Alyssa replied.
I threw my arms out. “Come on. Are you really going to stand here and pretend that the fellowship didn’t teach you some life-changing skills?”
“I think you’re overstating the effect that fellowship had on my career,” Alyssa replied.
“And I think you’re understating things. Don’t pretend that winning that fellowship wasn’t important to you,” I said. “You and Jessica were bitter rivals. When it came to lacrosse. When it came to men. And when it came to that fellowship.”
There was no denying that. Even though they had played on the same lacrosse team in high school, Alyssa and my sister had constantly competed to see who could score more goals. Their rivalry didn’t stop there. Before Jessica started dating Ryan Davidson, Alyssa had made a play for his affection as well. In both cases, Jessica had come out on top. Had Alyssa decided to take matters into her own hands when it came to the fellowship?
“Do you really think that I would resort to murder just to get a fellowship?” Alyssa asked.
“You tell me,” I said.
Alyssa scoffed. “Of course not.”
David spoke up. “There’s an easy way to prove that.”
“How?” Alyssa asked.
“By telling us where you were the day Jessica went missing,” David said.
“I can’t believe you’re even asking me that,” Alyssa replied.
“Please just answer the question,” David said. “August tenth, eleven years ago. Where were you?”
Alyssa searched her mind for an answer.
“And don’t try to tell us that you were at work. We’ve already talked to your old boss, Wendy Schultz. There’s no record of you working the morning of my sister’s disappearance,” I said.
Alyssa shrugged. “I guess I was at home then.”
“Is there anyone who can verify that?” David asked.
Alyssa lowered her head. “My mother could. Unfortunately, she had a heart attack a few years ago.”
“I’m very sorry about that,” I said.
“Yeah. It came out of nowhere.” Alyssa sighed. “I still can’t believe she’s gone.”
“Ms. Carpenter, while I extend my sympathies about your mother’s passing, I still need an answer to my question. Is there anyone who can verify that you were at home that morning?” David asked.
Alyssa became exasperated. “Look. I was at home with my mother.”
“So you say. Unfortunately, your story is only as good as my ability to verify it,” David said.
“I don’t know what else to tell you. I was at home,” Alyssa replied.
I decided to take the conversation in a different direction. “Your mother’s old house isn’t too far away from Route 32, is it?”
Alyssa shot me a glare. “Now wait a minute—”
I continued. “It’s probably only a five minute drive from where my sister went missing.”
“I’m warning you to stop,” Alyssa snapped.
I ignored her request. “Your mother’s house is also pretty close to Monroe Street, where Jessica’s body was found—”
Alyssa cut me off. “A number of people live out there.”
I shook my head. “Not as many as you seem to think.”
Alyssa folded her arms. “You’re just throwing around wild speculation.”
“Actually, we’re just stating facts,” David said.
“There’s only one fact that matters. I didn’t kill Jessica,” Alyssa replied.
“At least that’s what you want us to believe,” David said.
“You can believe whatever you want. I just told you the truth. I’m not saying any more,” Alyssa replied.
“We’re not done yet,” David said.
Alyssa nodded. “Yeah, we are. If you have any more questions, you can talk to my lawyer. In the meantime, I need to get back to work.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
That was certainly a frustrating way to end an interview. Equally irritating was the fact that David had not received a hit on the all-points bulletin that he had put out on Eric Tilden. Unfortunately, Eric was still at large. But that didn’t mean David and I had run out of leads.
Just the opposite, actually. I was now staring down an uncomfortable follow-up discussion with Ryan Davidson. It pained me to have to question Ryan again, but after the suspicious details I had heard about him throughout the course of this case, a second interview was unavoidable.
Once again, despite David’s protests, I convinced him to stay in the car while I spoke with Ryan alone. In a twist of bad luck, when I arrived at Ryan’s office, his assistant informed me that he had left work and had headed home for the day a
lready.
It was hard to hide my disappointment. The last place I wanted to talk with Ryan was at his house. What if Ryan’s pregnant wife answered the door? That would make things infinitely more awkward.
As David drove me over to Ryan’s house, I prayed for the best.
A few minutes later, I stood on the doorstep to Ryan’s house, waiting for him to answer my knocks.
Much to my relief, Ryan was the one to answer the door and not his wife. With that hurdle having been cleared, I could move on to the meat of the matter.
Or at least I thought I could.
Ryan had something else on his mind. “Sabrina, what are you doing here? Have you cracked the case? Have you found out who killed Jessica?”
I shook my head. “No. Not yet.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ryan said. “I have been thinking about your sister all day. Do you at least have any updates?”
“Actually, yes,” I replied.
Excitement came to Ryan’s eyes. “What have you got?”
“That’s the thing. I heard something really disturbing.”
He immediately became deflated. “What is it?”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
“Sabrina, you can tell me,” Ryan said.
He might have felt differently if he knew who was standing behind him. At the worst possible time, Ryan’s pregnant wife, Jocelyn Davidson, emerged in the hallway.
The twenty-eight-year-old had pulled her long red hair back into a ponytail. But what stood out the most about her was her baby bump. Jocelyn was four months into her pregnancy, so her belly was rather pronounced.
If I weren’t busy trying to question her husband about murder, I would have happily talked about her baby. But since there were some very serious topics that needed to be discussed, I wanted Jocelyn to move along as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, Jocelyn appeared to have other plans. “Sabrina. I heard about your sister. I’m so sorry.”
“So am I,” I replied.
“Do you know who did it?” Jocelyn asked.
“David and I are working on that,” I said.
“I hope you make them pay,” Jocelyn replied.
Daley Buzz Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 63
