“You told me earlier that not all the employees here at the store got along with Jim. Who was having problems with him?”
“Well technically, Steve Willingham is a former employee—”
David interrupted Larry. “What do you mean, technically?”
“Jim fired Steve the other day.”
David’s eyes widened. “Why?”
“Jim caught Steve taking money from the register,” Larry said.
“Is that so?” David asked.
Larry nodded.
“How about the other employees here? Was Jim having problems with any of them?” David asked.
Larry shook his head.
“Really?” David asked.
“Just Steve,” Larry said.
“All right,” David said. “Now outside of Steve and Trevor, can you think of anyone else who might have had a reason to want Jim dead?”
“No one comes to mind,” Larry said.
David took a deep breath.
Larry began to get jittery. “Detective, are we done here?”
“What’s the matter? Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?”
“No. I just don’t want to be here anymore. It has been a terrible morning and I’d really like to take a breather.”
“I understand. But before I can let you go, there’s something else I need to ask you,” David said.
Larry shrugged. “What’s that?”
“I need to know your whereabouts this morning—” David started to say.
“I already told you. I got here about half an hour ago,” Larry said.
“I’m talking about before that—”
Larry cut David off a second time. “Hold on a second. Why do you care about that?”
“I need that information for my records.”
Larry narrowed his eyes. “You don’t think I’m a suspect, do you?”
“At this moment, I can’t rule anyone out,” David said.
“Sure you can. I had nothing to do with this,” Larry said.
“I would love to believe you—”
“Good,” Larry said. “Now that we’ve settled that, can I go?”
David shook his head. “You didn’t let me finish. I’d love to believe you, but I need proof first.”
“How can I convince you that I’m telling the truth?” Larry asked.
“By telling me your whereabouts for the last twenty-four-hours,” David said.
***
Considering how worked up Larry was getting, I was surprised to find out that he had an ironclad alibi. All told, multiple people were able to verify his location last night and this morning. Which meant that David and I had no choice but to rule Larry out as a suspect.
That said, there were still a number of other suspects on our list. David and I definitely had a number of interviews to conduct. But there were other matters to attend to first.
To start, we wanted to see what the medical examiner had to say about the scene. It didn’t take long to get answers. The forensics team arrived a few minutes after we finished speaking with Larry.
Unfortunately, after doing a thorough sweep of the crime scene, the forensics team wasn’t able to produce any game-changing evidence or clues. In addition, the medical examiner was only able to tell us the cause of death and the time of death.
According to the examiner, Jim died from the stab wound in his chest. The examiner approximated the time of death to be between nine and ten o’clock last night.
That wasn’t a whole lot of information to work with. But it was better than nothing.
Chapter Six
Before David and I began interviewing any of the other suspects, we headed over to Treasure Cove Elementary School and pulled our daughter out of class. From there, I called my parents and had them get some travel bags ready.
If David and I were going to crack this case, we would have to give it our undivided attention. But until we knew that our family was safe, we would be distracted. So, my parents were going to drive Jessica to the cabin that we owned near Lake Ashford. Once they were out of town—and far away from any potential danger—David and I could breathe easily.
After loading Jessica up in the backseat of David’s car, we drove over to my parents’ house. By the time we arrived at their green Victorian-style home, their car was packed with travel bags.
As David, Jessica, and me got out of the car, my stepfather, Luke, greeted us.
“We’re all set to go,” my stepfather said.
“Good. That was quick,” I said.
“It turns out this isn’t the first time we’ve had to do this,” my stepfather said.
“Don’t remind me,” I said.
“It’s hard not to. I can’t believe tragedies like this keep happening.”
“I wish that would change.”
“I will pray that it does.”
I let out a sigh. “In the meantime, thank you so much for doing this.”
“No problem,” my stepfather said. “You know we’d do anything for Jessica.”
“I sure do.”
When I looked over at my mother, I saw that her face was filled with concern.
“Mom. What’s on your mind?” I asked.
“I just had this crazy thought,” my mom replied.
“Do I even want to hear it?”
“Probably not, but I can’t get it out of my head.”
My eyes widened. “Now you have to tell me.”
“I was just thinking that we spend more time at the cabin hiding from murder suspects than we do on vacation,” my mom said.
I grimaced. “You’re right. That is a crazy thought. Unfortunately, I also think it’s the truth.”
“It’s never going to stop, is it? The murders?” my mother asked.
“Mom, are you sure it’s the best time for this discussion?”
“Sorry. It’s just on my mind. I mean, the first time I heard about someone being killed in town, I thought it was a rare exception. But now here we are, dozens of murders later. And just when you think that things have quieted down for good, life pulls the rug out from under you again.”
“Trust me. I’m just as disturbed by that fact as you are. But we don’t have time to linger on that point. We need you to get Jessica out of town—and fast,” I said.
Resolve came to my mother’s face. “Right. I’ll give you a call when we get there.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Of course.”
I gave my mother a hug. “I meant, thank you for always being there for us. For being so supportive. I know that I can always count on you. And that means the world to me.”
My mom gazed deep into my eyes. “Of course I’m always there for you. You’re my daughter. I’d do anything for you.”
I swelled with emotions. “I love you so much.”
Chapter Seven
As my mother got in the car and buckled her seatbelt, there was only one person left to say good-bye to—my daughter. In the past, Jessica had put up resistance to being rushed off to the cabin. I didn’t blame her. She really enjoyed her life, so being uprooted and whisked away at a moment’s notice was an understandably jarring experience. In addition, when a case began, there was no telling how long the investigation would last. It could be just a day. At the same time, it could also easily turn into a week.
Perhaps if she understood how grave this situation was, she’d put up less of a protest. But she was just a little kid. Besides, I wanted to spare her the disturbing details. That said, she was growing up fast. It wouldn’t be long before she demanded answers.
As I looked at the annoyed expression on her face, I wondered if that moment had arrived.
“Mom, are you going to get all mushy on me?” she asked.
It turned out I had every reason to worry about my daughter growing up on me. But not because of the questions she might throw my way regarding the case. Instead, the biggest concern on Jessica’s mind was preventing me from embarrassing her.
She fa
iled to realize something about me, however. I wasn’t just stubborn when it came to investigating murders. My sense of determination extended into other areas of my life as well. And when it came to those closest to me, I was shameless about my emotions.
“Absolutely I’m going to get mushy. And there’s nothing you can do to stop me.” I threw my arms around her.
She let out a sigh and pulled back from the hug. “Mom, you don’t have to worry. I’m going to be fine.”
My eyes widened. Jessica had always been a confident little girl. But she was suddenly displaying a whole new level of conviction than I had never seen from her.
Unfortunately, that confidence was misplaced. She didn’t quite realize how hairy of a situation this was. But I did. Although, I wasn’t about to argue with her right then.
Instead, I gazed deep into her eyes. “I’ll feel a lot better when you’re safely at the cabin.”
“Mom, I know you’re worried about me,” Jessica said. “But I’m much more concerned about you and dad.”
I tried my best to assure her. “You don’t have to worry about us.”
She squinted. “Why not? I know what goes on. You think I don’t, but I read detective books.”
“Honey, real-life is a lot different than the things you read in those Daisy Clue books of yours.”
“I know,” Jessica said. “It’s much worse because it’s really happening. You’re going to spend your whole day talking to suspicious people. And one of them is a killer. That doesn’t make me feel good inside.”
“Let me ask you this. In your Daisy Clue books, doesn’t Daisy always solve the case and return home safely?”
“Mom, I see what you’re doing—”
“Pointing out that Daisy Clue always gets away without a scratch,” I said.
“True. But you were the one who just told me that books and reality are much different. So, it seems weird that you would use an example from a book to make me feel better about what’s happening in real-life.”
Talk about seeing right through me.
All I could do was shake my head. “You really are growing up.”
“I’ve just been realizing a lot lately about this town…and all the cases that you and dad work on,” Jessica said.
David came over and spoke up. “Honey, I can understand why you’d be worried, but everything will be fine. I’m trained for things like this. I’m prepared for anything that might go wrong.”
Jessica held her pointer finger up. “But—”
“Honey, I hate to cut this conversation short, but you really need to be going.” I gave Jessica a big hug. “I love you, though, with all of my heart. Take care.”
Chapter Eight
David and I watched our daughter get into the back of the car. Once she was buckled up, my stepfather drove away.
When the car was out of our view, my husband and I walked back to our vehicle. Normally, in that instance, I would turn my focus right back to the case. This time, I had lingering thoughts about my daughter.
“That got interesting,” I said.
“Don’t you mean concerning?” David asked.
“That too,” I said. “She’s really growing up fast, isn’t she?”
“Too fast.”
“I couldn’t agree more. It’s getting a lot harder convincing her that everything is going to be all right.”
“Part of that is because we’re never really sure of that ourselves.”
“Right. Although, I don’t want Jessica to know that.”
“Of course not. If she realized that, she wouldn’t be able to get any sleep at night,” David said.
“Which is why I’m going to continue to fudge the truth for as long as I can,” I said.
“Unfortunately, time is ticking.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“It’s hard not to focus on that fact. Both as it relates to Jessica, and this case.”
“As if we’re not under enough pressure.”
“Whether you like it or not, it’s the truth.”
I took a deep breath. “Times like this, I wish life really was like one of her detective books.”
David laughed. “Wouldn’t that be great?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Then I could just flip ahead to the part where the killer is behind bars and the sleuth is eating some cake.”
“There’s an ending I can get behind.”
“Which part? The killer being behind bars, or the sleuth eating cake?”
“Both.”
“I like where your mind is,” I said.
“Unfortunately, reality is far different,” David said.
“It sure is. I mean, here we are, with no clue how this case will turn out.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” David replied. “Although, I can say this. It’s time to get to work.”
Chapter Nine
I took a moment to compose myself in the car on the way over to our first suspect interview. Unfortunately, this had the makings of being an explosive one. Granted, questioning a suspect was never easy, but this particular interview would be especially difficult. How could it not when we were heading over to Kaitlin Anderson’s place?
Things could easily turn ugly. After all, I didn’t even know if she had heard the bad news about her boyfriend yet. There was a good chance that she was in for a real shock.
My mind was wrestling with so many different thoughts that I remained quiet on the drive to the Northwest side of town.
Kaitlin lived in a blue Victorian-style home that had a big leafy tree out front.
About thirty seconds after David knocked on her wooden door, Kaitlin answered.
“Sabrina. David. What are you doing here?” Kaitlin asked.
“Can we come inside?” David asked.
Kaitlin stared at David. “Why do you have that look in your eyes?” she asked. “What’s going on?”
“It’s probably better if we all go inside. I have a feeling that you’re going to want to sit down,” David said.
Kaitlin’s eyes widened. “Uh-oh. What’s wrong?”
David grimaced. “I’d really prefer not to do this outside.”
Instead of inviting us in, Kaitlin forced the issue. “Did Trevor do something wrong?”
“We’re not sure,” David said. “But there’s something that we need to speak with you about first.”
Kaitlin continued to dig for information. “Tell me what you think Trevor might have done.”
“Kaitlin, there’s a lot going on right now. So, if you could just let us say our piece—”
She folded her arms. “Just tell me. Is my son in trouble or not?”
“We’re trying to get to the bottom of things,” I said.
“That wasn’t a no,” Kaitlin replied.
David’s patience wore thin. “Ms. Anderson, are you really not going to invite us in?”
Kaitlin squinted. “Why haven’t you told me what you suspect Trevor of doing?”
I grimaced. “Because this matter is very complicated.”
“Would you care to elaborate?” she asked.
“Just so you know, this isn’t easy to say,” I replied.
Kaitlin threw out her arms. “Will you please just tell me what’s going on?”
David took a deep breath before responding, “I hate breaking bad news like this, but your boyfriend is dead.”
Kaitlin’s jaw dropped. “Wait a minute. Jim is…” She couldn’t finish her sentence.
“I’m afraid so.”
Kaitlin broke into tears. As she began to sob, I reached into my purse, pulled out a tissue, and held it out for her.
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” I said.
Kaitlin took the tissue and wiped her eyes. She remained quiet for a number of seconds while she processed the news.
“Are you sure you don’t want to sit down?” David asked.
Kaitlin ignored David’s question and asked one of her own. “How did it happen?”
“This is where thi
ngs really get messy. Jim didn’t die of natural causes. He was murdered,” David said.
“You can’t be serious.”
“Unfortunately, I am.”
Kaitlin’s nose scrunched. “Did someone break into his house?”
“No. He wasn’t killed at home.”
“Then where was he murdered?”
“At work.”
Kaitlin began trembling. “I can’t believe it. This is so terrible.”
“Again, I’m so sorry. This is such a tragedy,” I said.
“It really is.” Kaitlin took a deep breath. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know this is a lot to wrestle with. But just know that we’re going to find out who is responsible for this,” I said.
“Does anyone stand out in your mind?” she asked.
David grimaced. “Actually, that’s the other reason why we’re here right now.”
Kaitlin’s nose crinkled. “What are you talking about?”
“Is Trevor home?” David asked.
Kaitlin’s eyes bulged. “Wait a second. Is that why you wanted to talk to Trevor earlier? I mean, you couldn’t possibly think that he might have had something to do with Jim’s death, could you?”
“Look. We just need to ask him a few questions,” David said.
“About his possible involvement?” Kaitlin asked.
Talk about an awkward spot to be put in. Kaitlin was already dealing with so much. I didn’t want to make things even more difficult for her.
That said, Trevor had some explaining to do.
Normally, David was able to keep a level head about him. This time, even he was having difficulty answering Kaitlin.
When a few seconds went by without a response from me or David, Kaitlin spoke up. “Guys. After everything we have been through over the years, don’t you think you owe me the truth?”
“Don’t get me wrong. I hate having suspicions about your son. But we have it on good authority that Jim and Trevor did not get along,” I said.
“Detective, there’s a big difference between not getting along and committing murder.”
Mysteries of Treasure Cove Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 48
