Jeremy jogged to the driver’s side and hopped in. He peeled out onto M-25 without ever looking in Kimberly’s direction. Was he mad at her because of Clare? Well, to heck with him. It was just stupid that he was that concerned about his precious ex.
When they arrived at Jeremy’s chalet, he simply handed the keys to Kimberly and made some excuse about having to head back to the office, which infuriated Kimberly. She led Weenie up the yard and stopped as he did his business, watching as Jeremy tore out of the drive with a scattering of stones.
“Why, I’ll be, Weenie,” Kimberly said, as her dog looked up at her curiously. She had half a mind to find Clare and try to smooth things over, even though she didn’t feel like it. “What should I do, Weenie?”
Weenie barked just then and it was settled. Kimberly walked to her car, tossing Weenie inside, before she swung her big belly behind the wheel of her car. “I can’t have everyone blaming me for ruining an entire perfume and lotion ad, Weenie,” she said, backing out carefully. She hoped that she could talk some sense into Clare before Clare made any attempts to press charges against her for real. Such accusations just might put a damper on Kimberly’s marriage, since Jeremy seemed quite upset about the whole ordeal.
Kimberly glanced at her radio clock and saw that it had been an hour since she had last seen Clare. Hopefully, that was ample time for Clare to cool off. Kimberly would simply explain to her again how it had all been an unfortunate accident; perhaps Kimberly had just overreacted and Clare hadn’t really intended to push her off the pier. The last thing Kimberly needed was for Clare to call the law on her, although why anyone would ever believe such an outlandish tale was beyond her.
Kimberly pulled up to the beach house where Clare was staying. The hot red sports car was parked up front and Kimberly threw her own car into park once it skidded to a halt. She gathered up Weenie and wobbled up the concrete drive. In the courtyard, there was a sizeable fountain that shot sprays of water high in the air. She walked under the brick archway and knocked on the red door. When no one came, she pushed the button for the doorbell, tapping her high-heeled shoe on the ground as Weenie lifted his tiny head and cocked his ears back. He began to bark up a storm, pulling against Kimberly’s hand that held his leash. She was so surprised that she lost her grip and Weenie and the leash took off, disappearing around the corner of the house.
Kimberly followed in hot pursuit around to the back of the house. She found Weenie pawing at the window of the patio door. Kimberly gasped at what she saw, dropping her pink purse so that the contents scattered across the deck as she raced toward the door.
The glass door was open a few inches, and Kimberly nudged it open the rest of the way, slipping inside for a closer look. Her heels clacked against the ceramic tile floor as she hesitantly made her way toward the grisly scene. Clare was lying face down on the floor, a puddle of blood near her head. Kimberly knelt next to Clare’s motionless body, not realizing at the time she had knelt in a puddle of blood until it oozed onto the hem of her dress as she felt for a pulse. She clamored to her feet, her stomach in knots, like someone had just twisted a fist in her belly. She wobbled back outside, taking a labored breath to calm her queasy stomach, and with a shaky hand, retrieved her cell phone from the ground to dial 911. She was then directed to another operator, who instructed her to begin chest compressions. “What? Why? She’s quite dead, I assure you.”
“So you’re refusing to help?” the operator asked.
“Well, if she’s been murdered, won’t that compromise the murder scene?”
“What makes you think the woman has been murdered?”
“I don’t know, but she’s on her stomach and there’s so much blood.” Kimberly narrowed her eyes when she spotted Weenie sniffing Clare’s body. “Stop that, Weenie!” she shouted.
“Is someone there besides you?” the operator asked.
“Just my dog, and I’m afraid he’s just put his paws in the blood.”
Sirens split the silence and cops hurried though the backyard, slipping into the house, and she hung up. They instructed Kimberly to contain the dog, who was now barking and growling. Kimberly grabbed Weenie and sat in a nearby plush chair as the cops began administering CPR. It didn’t take a genius to know that Clare was beyond help, thought Kimberly. She recalled all too well how cold and clammy Clare’s skin was when she took her pulse. It took a few minutes before Kimberly recognized one of the cops as none other than Deputy Danworth, the one who had threatened to ticket her not long ago for allowing Weenie on the beach, which was so unfair since he just got away from her.
Soon emergency workers arrived on scene and they worked for another forty minutes before they shook their heads at Deputy Danworth. They filed out, and Deputy Danworth led Kimberly from the room and outside. He stared at the blood staining Kimberly’s dress and the scattered contents of her purse as Kimberly took a seat in a patio chair. “Why did you do it?” the deputy asked.
“Do what?”
“Kill the woman inside?”
Kimberly laughed nervously. “You can’t mean me?”
“Yes, Miss Steele. You.”
“I’m a Mrs. now. I just married Jeremy Preston,” Kimberly informed him.
The deputy flipped open his notebook and jotted that down. Then he cocked a brow as he informed her, “I had an interesting call earlier today from a Clare Barnett from this address. I sure hope that’s not her body dead on the floor inside.”
Kimberly tugged absently at her hair. “It’s her, all right. I came here to talk to her, but found her lying in a pool of blood. I was quite shocked to find her like that.” Kimberly bit a fingernail. “It was just so unexpected. What do you think happened to her?”
“You happened to her. She filed an assault complaint about you earlier.”
“Assault? I’d hardly call her falling into Lake Huron an assault. She was trying to push me off the pier and all I did was push back, but not into the lake. She just lost her balance is all and tumbled in on her own. I never harmed a hair on her flaxen head.”
“What were you both doing at the pier?”
“We’re both spokesmodels for an upcoming lotion and perfume lines. You can contact Corrine Campbell, she’s the one launching the product lines.”
Deputy Danworth jotted that down. “I certainly will, but what I’d really like to know is why you have blood on your skirt?”
“I knelt in the blood when I checked her pulse, duh. If I had killed the woman, then why would I even call 911?”
“Killers do that all the time. They have some delusional idea that it makes them look innocent when the opposite is true. Is that also the contents of your purse scattered on the ground?”
“Yes, I got so scared when I saw Clare lying on the floor like that, I dropped it.” Kimberly shook her head, her blond hair swirling against her shoulders. “I just can’t get over that Clare is really dead. I thought that barracuda had made a bargain with the devil. I mean, she was so awful to me and was trying—” Kimberly zipped her lips just then, realizing that she might have put her foot in her mouth. “I should call my husband. I bet he’ll have a fit when he finds out Clare is dead.”
Deputy Danworth folded his arms across his chest. “I see. And what were you about to divulge before you clammed up? What was Clare doing to you and how does it involve your husband?”
Kimberly arched a brow. “I suppose I might as well tell you since you’ll find out anyway. Clare was trying to cause problems in my marriage. You see, my husband was involved with Clare before he married me, and I’m afraid that she just couldn’t accept the fact that he was lost to her.”
“So why are you here, then?”
“Because I wanted to smooth things over with Clare. After that terrible incident at the photo shoot earlier, I had hoped we could come to some kind of arrangement.”
“What kind of arrangement, exactly?”
“How should I know? We’re both models for the fragrance company and we need to learn to dea
l with each other better to keep things professional.”
“Which will be much easier now, since she’s out of the way,” Danworth suggested.
Kimberly didn’t dignify that with an answer. The policeman jotted down more notes and she waited patiently, finally asking, “Can I call my husband now. He’s an attorney and I think he should be here to counsel me.”
“Lawyering up so soon, eh?”
Kimberly shifted uncomfortably under Deputy Danworth’s glance from beneath his hooded eyes.
“Knock yourself out,” the deputy said. “I can’t wait to hear his side of the story.”
He led Kimberly around to the front and, despite her protests, slapped handcuffs on her, then ordered her to sit in the back of the squad car. He allowed her to have Weenie on her lap. She wasn’t sure whether this was to keep her company or because the dog was growling at him ferociously and he didn’t want to risk getting a nasty bite.
***
Ten minutes later, Jeremy swerved into the driveway and was led into the house after making eye contact with Kimberly and with Weenie, who was pawing at the window of the squad car.
Inside, Jeremy glared at the deputy as he was informed of Clare’s death and that his own wife might be responsible.
“Are you nuts? No way is my Kimberly involved here. In case you didn’t notice, she’s six months pregnant. How on earth do you think she could be involved?”
“That’s what we’re trying to determine. We received a call from Clare Barnett earlier, wishing to file a complaint about your wife. Kimberly might have found out about it and took matters into her own hands.”
Jeremy rubbed the back of his neck, trying hard to absorb what he was told. “If Kimberly knew Clare planned to file a report against her, she most certainly wouldn’t have done anything. That’s just a stupid assumption.”
“She might not have known.”
“She knew Clare was threatening to file a report, but I left my wife at home and had hoped she had stayed there.”
“But she didn’t, did she? Another nail in her coffin, so to speak.”
“How about we not talk about nails or coffins. Have you found a murder weapon yet?”
“We’re not done with the scene yet, but your wife is looking good for the murder.”
“Since you’re not done investigating, what makes you think a murder was the cause at all?”
“For one, there was quite a pool of blood, and two, I just have a feeling about this. I have experience with murder cases.”
Jeremy’s brows furrowed. “Oh, really? Here in Redwater?”
Deputy Danworth didn’t bat a lash as he said, “I used to work in Detroit as a cop, too.”
“Why the drastic change? Couldn’t hack it as a big city cop?”
Danworth’s face reddened. “Do you have anything else to add,” he asked stiffly. “Like, why you were involved with Clare and suddenly dropped her for a woman that’s far along with child? Rumor has it that the baby isn’t even yours.”
“Oh, and how do you know that?”
“Small town gossip.”
“Is that how you plan to solve this case?” Jeremy glared at the deputy.
“Of course not! And you never answered my question.”
“Because it’s none of your business. Clare is an embittered woman who just couldn’t accept the fact that I married Kimberly instead of her. She has gone out of her way to make Kimberly feel bad and went so far as to suggest that I’d soon be leaving my wife and go back to her.”
“What were your feelings about Clare, exactly?”
“She was just a woman I dated until I found the right one. That’s all of it.”
Jeremy knew Deputy Danworth would have said more, but Sheriff Clay Barry came around the house with Kimberly in tow. “Kimberly will be leaving with her husband, now.”
Jeremy nodded at the sheriff, who was recently elected sheriff in Redwater after he dropped out of the Iosco County sheriff’s race. He was the son of the flamboyant Mrs. Barry. For the most part, Jeremy hadn’t had enough time to formulate an opinion of the man, but he took the fact that he was allowing Kimberly to leave as a good sign.
Jeremy looked at his wife, whose face was tight and weary. He had to resist the urge to run to her and give her the hug that he so knew she needed. Even Weenie, who sat beside her, was quiet.
“Thanks,” Jeremy said to the sheriff. He took ahold of Kimberly’s elbow and led her back to her car. “See you at home, honey.” He pecked her on the forehead and tossed Weenie inside. Then he watched as Kimberly worked her way behind the wheel of her car and drove away in a rush.
Only then did Jeremy take a labored breath in. This was just too awful. Who on earth had killed Clare? He might not have been that close to her body, but through the patio doors he could see how it was positioned on the floor. Sure, Clare had been a real pain in the ass of late, but that wasn’t any reason for someone to want her dead. All he knew was that his sweet and innocent wife Kimberly had nothing to do with it. Of that he was certain. Kimberly was the most thoughtful woman he had ever met, and even though she was acting insecure lately, he just knew she wasn’t responsible for killing Clare—but who was?
Chapter Five
Kimberly was in the kitchen when Jeremy came through the door. She turned over the bacon she was cooking, ignoring him completely as he came up behind her. Weenie was hovering nearby, his nails tapping against the ceramic tile floor. Kimberly smiled down at the dog. “Don’t worry, boy. You’ll get your share.”
Jeremy pulled Kimberly into his arms, and only then did he notice her blood-stained skirt. “I-Is that Clare’s blood?”
“Yes, and if you watch the bacon for me, I’ll change.”
Jeremy took the tongs she handed him as she scooted away. In the bedroom, she sat on the silken pink comforter and kicked off her shoes and her shirt before she stood, squeezing herself free of the skirt. She kicked it clear, then slipped her nightgown on over her bulky body. It was pink and sheer so she opted to cover it with a robe that hung on the back of the door. She had moved her things in a few hours before her wedding with the help of her parents, who had jetted in from Florida, where they had moved a year earlier, leaving her to reside in their cabin on Lake Huron. The cabin was too small for her by far; this was one of the reasons Kimberly had even considered the whirlwind proposal from Jeremy.
Kimberly had been instantly attracted to Jeremy when he hired her, but she wasn’t sure when things changed between them. Somewhere along the way, she had simply fallen completely in love with him, and luckily for her, the feeling was mutual.
Kimberly carefully knelt on the carpeted floor when Jeremy cleared his throat from the doorway. “Are you okay?”
Kimberly swept her blond hair from her eyes. “Oh, sure. Just trying to pick up my dirty clothes.”
He strode across the floor and swept the clothing up, depositing them into a nearby hamper, then helped Kimberly to her feet. She blinked a few times and thanked Jeremy, who moved in for a quick kiss, but she whirled away, heading back to the kitchen. She found her bacon was positioned on a paper towel-covered plate. It was limp just like she preferred and she lifted a piece, making it disappear between her pouty lips. As she chewed, Jeremy came into the room, his rakishly handsome face with a full-on frown. “We need to talk about what happened today.”
She carried her plate to the table and sat squarely in the chair. “What part of today?”
He cleared his throat and said, “Well, for starters … what really happened at the pier?”
“I told you earlier.”
“Look, I might just have to represent you, so let’s go over it again.”
Kimberly stared at her husband, who from the looks of it was deadly serious. She sighed and said, “Clare tried to push me off the pier and I pushed back. Then, I’m afraid Weenie jumped up at her and the motion pushed her the rest of the way. He was just being protective.”
“Why would he need to be?”
“Because she was pushing me and I pushed back. We were arguing, too.”
“I see. What happened when Clare fell in the water?”
“Nothing much. She got back to shore pretty quick and boy, was she ever mad. Of course she blamed me for everything, and then you showed up fairly quickly afterward.”
“Well, my office isn’t that far from the pier. When Clare came in, she accused you of trying to hurt her.”
Kimberly shook her head. “She’s such an actress. I no more tried to hurt her than she tried to me. I’m pregnant, and I have the baby to look out for—or have you forgotten?”
Jeremy’s face darkened. “Of course not! But why on earth didn’t you stay home when I took you there?”
Kimberly took a hearty sip of her milk and then retorted, “What am I, some child that needs to be told what to do?”
“You’re pregnant. You should have stayed home and let me handle Clare my way.”
“Who’s to say you didn’t do that?”
His brown eyes darkened as he choked out, “So you think I killed her?”
“I don’t know what to think. All I know is that I showed up and she was already dead.”
“I had hoped to talk some sense into her about not filing a charge against you for battery.”
“Oh, really? Did you go out to the beach house?”
“No, but I had planned to later.”
In some small way that bothered Kimberly, that her husband would go to talk to Clare when she had already told him what had transpired between them at the photo shoot.
“No way that trumped up charge would have stuck when Corrine and Clive were there, not to mention the photographer and the wardrobe assistant. They all witnessed the incident,” she said.
Jeremy reached for Kimberly’s hands, but she jerked them away. “Go ahead and continue to interrogate me, husband.”
He expelled a hard breath. “I wish you’d see what I’m trying to do here. I’m trying to help you like any lawyer would his client.”
“Oh sure, but I’m not just your client, I’m your wife, unless you’re forgetting.”
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