“Confronting Vikki,” Justin said.
David’s nose scrunched. “Why?”
“I think she is behind Rick’s murder,” Justin said.
“What makes you say that?” David asked.
“It’s just this feeling I have,” Justin said.
“You don’t happen to have any evidence then?” David asked.
“Well, no. But the feeling in my gut is strong,” Justin said.
“If your feelings were so strong then why didn’t you come to us with your suspicions?” David asked.
“I was hoping to dig up some dirt on Vikki first,” Justin said.
David gave Justin a wary look. “Is that so?”
Justin nodded. “Yes.”
David paid less attention to Justin’s words and focused more on his body language. Justin looked awkward and uncomfortable as he spoke. He was also sweating pretty heavily.
Just as David opened his mouth to reply, Vikki’s front door swung open.
Vikki stood in her doorway and called Justin out. “He’s lying.”
Justin whirled around and stared daggers at Vikki. “Shut your mouth. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Vikki held her ground. “Detective, I’ll tell you the real reason Justin is here.”
Justin’s voice cracked as he replied, “Don’t listen to her.”
David put his hand up. “Let her talk.”
“Justin is trying to intimidate me. He doesn’t want you to know what I saw,” Vikki said.
“Which is?” David asked.
Vikki pulled up a photo on her phone. “This.”
As I looked at the photo, my eyebrows rose.
How could they not when Vikki had captured a snapshot of Justin Peterson and Melinda Bagley kissing?
No wonder Justin had been frantically pounding on Vikki’s door. He didn’t want that image to get circulated.
Suddenly, he found himself on the hot seat.
David turned to Justin and stared him down. “You have some explaining to do.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
David and I decided to pull Justin aside and speak with him privately. We would talk to Vikki later. For the moment, we wanted to be out of her earshot.
Not surprisingly, Justin looked like he wanted to run away. He wasn’t going anywhere, though, until we got the truth.
David folded his arms. “Are you going to answer my question?”
“This isn’t what it looks like,” Justin said.
David scoffed. “You must think we’re stupid.”
Justin shook his head. “I didn’t say that.”
“You are certainly treating us like fools,” David said. “I know what I saw—”
“That photo was misleading,” Justin said.
“Really? In what way? Because it seems pretty clear to me that you and Melinda are romantically involved,” David said. “Are you going to tell me I’m wrong?”
Justin opened his mouth to reply.
Before he was able to respond, David spoke up again. “I want you to think carefully about your answer. I also want to remind you that it is a crime to lie to a police officer.”
Justin took a deep breath.
David waited a few seconds for him to reply. When Justin didn’t say a word, David prodded him. “So, what do you have to say for yourself?”
“I feel like you’re getting the wrong impression—”
David cut Justin off. “Why do you keep avoiding my question? Don’t you realize how suspicious that looks?”
“I assure you, I’m not trying to be evasive,” Justin said.
“I’m going to make this next question as clear as possible. Are you and Melinda dating?” David asked.
“Yes, but—”
David cut Justin off. “That was a yes or no question. Now, how long has this been going on?”
“About a month.”
“Did Rick know about you two?”
Justin shook his head.
“Do you expect me to buy that?”
“Yes. Because it’s the truth.”
David scoffed.
“I’m serious,” Justin said. “We never intended for things to happen this way. It’s just that Rick worked such long hours. And Melinda would get really lonely. Besides, Melinda and I have a lot more in common than she and Rick ever did.”
“You realize how this looks, don’t you?” David asked.
“Melinda was planning on breaking things off with Rick. But she never got the chance to,” Justin said.
“I can’t believe you kept this from me. That was such a foolish mistake,” David said.
“I know. And I’m sorry. I admit that I could have handled the situation better,” Justin said.
David broke into laughter. “Talk about an understatement. As far as I’m concerned, you couldn’t have handled it any worse.”
“Even so, I didn’t have anything to do with Rick’s death.”
David folded his arms. “You’re still sticking with that story, huh?”
“Detective, he was my brother—”
David nodded. “True. Which makes it all the more disturbing that you’ve been sleeping with his girlfriend.”
Justin lowered his head. “I’m not proud of my actions. But I will tell you again. I didn’t murder Rick.”
“It would be a lot easier to believe that if you didn’t have a killer motive,” David said. “Or if you had a verifiable alibi.”
I piggybacked on David’s point. “By the way, since you and Melinda are a couple, why didn’t you spend the night together on the evening that Rick was killed?”
“We had other plans,” Justin said.
“What plans? You said you were at home watching sports,” I said.
“Melinda told me she had a stressful day at work and that she just wanted to go home, take a bath, and call it an early night.”
“Or maybe you two don’t have alibis because you were the ones who killed Rick,” I said.
Justin vehemently shook his head. “No.”
“It’s a shame you don’t have any proof that you’re innocent,” David said.
“By that token, you don’t have any evidence that I’m guilty,” Justin said.
David opened his mouth to reply, but Justin was determined to finish his thought.
“Besides, there’s something else you need to be thinking about right now. You need to ask yourself, why was Vikki following Melinda and me around in the first place?” Justin asked.
“Justin, I know what you’re doing. You’re just trying to take the spotlight off of yourself,” David said.
“No. I’m being dead serious. You can ask me as many extra questions as you want. But none of them will be more important than finding out why Vikki was tailing Melinda and I,” Justin said.
Chapter Thirty
David and I asked Justin a few more things, but we weren’t able to make any headway with him. Unfortunately, with no concrete evidence against him, David was forced to let Justin go. But first, David assigned a deputy to tail Justin and keep tabs on his movements.
Deputy John Mixon followed Justin down the street as Justin drove away from the scene. Once both of their cars were out of sight, David and I turned our attention to Vikki Delaney.
The forty-one-year-old brunette was outraged. She scowled as she criticized my husband. “Why didn’t you arrest Justin?”
David’s nose wrinkled. “On what grounds?”
“How about murder?” Vikki asked.
“I can’t book him without proof. And I don’t have any evidence that he’s guilty,” David said. “Do you?”
“I think that photo I took is pretty telling.”
He held up his hand. “Speaking of that picture, we need to have a few words with you.”
Vikki squinted. “Why?”
I spoke up. “Because I can’t help but wonder what you were doing on Melinda’s street in the first place.”
Vikki narrowed her eyes. “I don’t like th
at tone you’re taking with me.”
“Will you please just answer the question?” I said.
Vikki put her hands on her hips. “Why do I feel like I’m on the hot seat all of a sudden?”
David groaned. “Ms. Delaney, I’m really not in the mood for diversionary tactics. Now, please answer the question. What were you doing on Melinda’s street?”
Vikki folded her arms. “Why does that even matter?”
“Because you live clear across town from her. In addition, her house is on a residential street with no businesses around. Which leads me to believe that you were there spying on her—”
Vikki cut David off. “That’s a really big assumption.”
“You’re welcome to prove me wrong,” David replied. “So, what do you have to say for yourself?”
She shook her head. “This is ridiculous. After that photo I took, you should be thanking me. Not questioning me.”
David groaned. “Ms. Delaney, don’t make me ask the question again. Just give me an answer already.”
Vikki took a deep breath before responding. “All right. I had a feeling that Melinda was trouble. And it turns out I was right. I mean, the woman is sleeping with Rick’s brother. How low is that?”
David’s nose crinkled. “But if you had such a strong feeling about Melinda, why didn’t you contact us?”
“I was going to,” Vikki said.
He gave her a wary look. “Really?”
Vikki nodded. “I was just waiting until I had something more to work with than a gut feeling. So, I followed my hunch. And look where it led me—to snapping that picture.”
“You do realize that there is another way of looking at all this, right?” David asked.
Vikki’s forehead wrinkled. “What are you talking about?”
“Your behavior just adds fuel to the fire that you never stopped having feelings for Rick. That you’ve never really gotten over him breaking up with you. Of all the people you could have followed, you picked the woman that Rick dated after he dumped you,” David said.
“You’re looking at this all wrong,” Vikki said.
“Am I?” David asked. “Are you saying that you didn’t still have feelings for Rick? Because if you are, then stop right now.”
Vikki groaned. “We’ve gone through this already. I had nothing to do with Rick’s murder. End of story. Now, I’m going back inside.”
David held his hand up. “Wait a minute. You don’t get to decide when we’re done here.”
“Really? Because last time I checked, you don’t have any evidence that I did something wrong,” Vikki said.
Chapter Thirty-One
So much for getting answers. Instead, David and I seemed to have more questions than ever. Clearly, Vikki wasn’t going to help us out. At the same time, David couldn’t force her to talk. So, once Vikki went back inside her house, my husband and I elected to drive across town to speak with Melinda. Perhaps she could enlighten us.
Unfortunately, we didn’t have the element of surprise on our side. When we pulled into the driveway of Melinda’s green Victorian-style house, I could see the black-haired forty-two-year-old staring out her living room window. The minute she spotted us, she moved away from the window.
I briefly worried that she would try to run out the back of her house and attempt to flee from us. That could potentially be disastrous. The last thing I wanted was to chase after her on foot. I prayed that she wouldn’t go that route.
As David and I got out of the car and approached the front door, it became clear that Melinda had a different plan. One that was much more confrontational. Before David had a chance to knock, Melinda swung her front door open and stared my husband down.
“I know why you’re here, and I just want to say, I had nothing to do with Rick’s death,” Melinda declared.
David folded his arms. “Justin called you, didn’t he?”
Melinda nodded. “As a matter of fact, he did.”
“Good. Then I can just get right to the point,” David said.
“How about you just turn around and leave?” Melinda said.
David shook his head. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Why not?”
“Because there are some things that I need to ask you.”
Melinda groaned. “I don’t know why you’re wasting my time. After all, I’m innocent.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” David said.
Melinda didn’t back down. “Fine. Go ahead. Ask me anything you want. It’s not going to change the facts.”
“You seem awfully confident for a woman with ample motive yet no alibi,” David said.
“I don’t need an alibi because I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“That is still yet to be determined.”
“I also didn’t have a motive,” Melinda said.
David scoffed. “Are you kidding? You’ve been fooling around on your boyfriend for a month. With his brother, of all people.”
“Hey, cheating on Rick and killing him are two very different things,” Melinda said.
David shook his head. “Not if Rick discovered you were unfaithful to him.”
“He didn’t know.”
“You’re not lying, are you? Because if Rick did find out you were sleeping with his brother, I’m sure he would have been really angry with you. It could have led to a huge fight. And maybe, during that fight, you grabbed a knife and stabbed him with it.”
“No. That didn’t happen.”
“What did happen then?”
“I already told you. Rick had no clue that Justin and I were sleeping together.”
“Unfortunately, there’s no way of verifying that.”
“Yes, there is. Just believe me. I’m telling you the truth.”
“Melinda, I’m not going to blindly take the word of a murder suspect,” David said.
“I shouldn’t be a suspect,” Melinda said. “I would never murder anyone.”
I decided to take the conversation in a different direction. “How about Justin? He had a reason to want his brother dead. And he doesn’t have anyone to verify his alibi. So, just how well do you know your new boyfriend?”
Melinda shook her head. “Justin wouldn’t do something like this. He loved his brother.”
“Really? If he cared so much about Rick, then why did he jump into bed with you? That doesn’t seem like a loving thing for a brother to do.”
Melinda stared me down. “I know what you’re trying to do.”
“To find out the truth,” I said.
“No. You’re trying to get me throw Justin under the bus. Well, I won’t do it,” Melinda said.
“You must really care about Justin,” David said. “Do you think he feels as strongly about you?”
“Stop trying to get us to turn against each other,” Melinda snapped. “Why don’t you just leave us alone?”
“I know you think I’m treating you unfairly. But I’m just trying to find Rick’s killer,” David said.
“You’re looking in the wrong place then,” Melinda said.
“What is the right place?” David asked.
Melinda shrugged. “I don’t know. Now, are we done here?”
David looked deep into her eyes. “Are you in a hurry to get rid of us or something?”
“No. You can stand on my porch as long as you want. But I’m leaving,” Melinda said.
“Where do you think you’re going?” David asked.
“I’m going out to dinner with my boyfriend,” Melinda said. “Feel free to follow me if you want. I assure you, though, it will just be a big waste of your time.”
***
David wasn’t about to let Melinda walk away without some form of supervision. He radioed dispatch and had a patrol car assigned to track Melinda’s activity. True to her word, Melinda drove off to meet her boyfriend for dinner. If she did anything peculiar, the deputy would notify David right away.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Yikes.
> That conversation certainly could have gone better. Then again, the same could be said for the interview that came before that. Talk about a maddening day. If that wasn’t bad enough, there was no sign of things improving.
Given everything that had just taken place, I needed a few moments to decompress. I sat in the passenger seat of David’s car and stared out the window, desperately trying to make sense of things.
David had a different approach. He was anxious to blow off some steam. “That could have gone better,” he deadpanned.
My husband waited for a response from me, but he didn’t get one. I was too lost in thought to reply.
When a few seconds ticked by without me opening my mouth, David continued ranting. “At the same time, that’s pretty much how this entire case has gone.”
Once again, I remained quiet. That didn’t sit well with David. He was determined to get to the bottom of things.
“Sabrina. What are you thinking?” he asked.
I pulled my head out of the clouds and replied, “Something isn’t right about all this.”
“Something?” he said. “Don’t you mean, everything?”
“I’m specifically talking about that photo Vikki took,” I said. “My mind just keeps going back to it.”
“Is there any particular reason for that?”
“I just keep asking myself, why was she following Justin and Melinda in the first place?”
“You know what Vikki’s answer is. She thinks they are responsible for Rick’s murder.”
“Yeah. But do you believe Vikki’s explanation? I mean, she’s not exactly a reliable source.”
“I’m not sure what to believe,” he said. “What about you? Which way are you leaning?”
“I think there’s more to the story than she’s telling us.”
“Let’s say you’re right. You can’t prove that Vikki is hiding something.”
“At least, not at the moment.”
He took a deep breath. “If you have any ideas about how to get the truth out of Vikki, I’m all ears.”
Sabrina Carlson Cozy Mystery Anthology Page 8
