“With good reason. I mean, the thought that Kaitlin’s son might have killed anyone, much less Jim, is practically unfathomable.”
“And yet that’s exactly the situation she is dealing with.”
“As a mother, I can’t imagine a bigger nightmare than that.”
“That’s why it has hit me so hard. Ever since I became a parent, these investigations have affected me in all kinds of different ways. But this case in particular has shaken me to my core.”
“I understand. And if I was there, I would give you a big hug.”
“I know you would. But I’m glad you aren’t here. I’m so relieved that you and Jess and dad are safely tucked away from all of this.”
My mother held her pointer finger up. “Getting back to the case for a minute, do you think Kaitlin’s son is guilty?”
“I keep wanting to believe that Trevor is innocent…”
“But?”
“David and I weren’t able to verify his alibi.”
“That doesn’t necessarily make him guilty.”
“No,” I said. “But I do feel like he was hiding something from us.”
“What?” my mother asked.
I grimaced. “I just can’t put my finger on it.”
“That isn’t like you.”
“Like I told you before, this investigation has really got me rattled.”
“I’m sorry to see you this way.”
“Mom, you can feel as bad for me as you want, but it’s Kaitlin that I feel sorry for.”
“I know. That said, as your mother, I can’t help but wish that things were easier for you.”
“Keep wishing all you want. I just don’t see this case getting any easier. If anything, things could get much worse.”
“Before you get too negative on me, are there other suspects in the case?”
“Of course. I can’t tell you the last time David and I worked on a case where there was only one suspect.”
My mom nodded. “That is pretty rare.”
“Although, in this instance, having multiple suspects isn’t a bad thing. It means there is still a possibility that someone else killed Jim.”
“Do you believe one of the other suspects is responsible for this?”
“It’s too early to tell. That’s part of the problem. I’m not getting a great reading on things.”
“Maybe you just need some sleep. You always think better after a full night of rest.”
“That’s true. Perhaps an answer will be waiting for me in the morning. Then again, there’s also a chance that I might not like what I find out.”
“Dear, you need to stop this. You could drive yourself crazy going back and forth.”
“I understand that. But quieting my mind is easier said than done,” I said.
“I will pray that you find a way.”
“Thanks. Speaking of, I have a lot of praying of my own to be doing.”
“Let’s hope that God answers you,” my mom said.
Chapter Eighteen
I prayed a lot that evening. So when I woke up in the morning, I was really hoping that David and I would be able to find a way to break this case wide open.
Surprisingly, I got my wish. Although, this new development didn’t stem from anything I had done.
I ended up spending the majority of the morning at the police station, sitting across from David’s desk, desperately trying to make sense of this investigation. My husband was equally frustrated as he leaned back in his chair.
All that changed when David got a call from the front desk clerk.
According to the clerk, Kaitlin Anderson was in the lobby. She wanted to have a few words with David and me.
So my husband and I got up and walked over to Kaitlin’s location, unsure about what to expect.
When we got to the lobby, David squinted at Kaitlin.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I’m turning myself in,” Kaitlin said.
“What are you talking about?” David asked.
“Detective, I’m the one who murdered Jim,” Kaitlin said.
My jaw dropped.
I wasn’t the only one who was in shock. David was typically a pretty stoic guy. But even he was taken aback by Kaitlin’s admission.
That was saying a lot, considering all of the crazy things that David had seen during his time on the police force.
For a second, I thought I had heard Kaitlin incorrectly. But that was just wishful thinking on my part. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, Kaitlin had just confessed to murder.
A few seconds went by without a response from me or David.
Finally, David managed to untie his tongue. “I’m sorry. Can you say that again?”
Kaitlin did not hesitate with her response. “I killed Jim.”
Chapter Nineteen
David brought Kaitlin into an interrogation room. Meanwhile, I stayed behind and watched the action unfold via a computer monitor that was live streaming security camera footage from inside the room.
I was still in a state of disbelief as I stared intently at the computer screen. The room itself was as unwelcoming as you would expect. There was a table, two chairs, and not a whole lot else. The walls were gray while the floor was solid concrete.
David and Kaitlin sat across from each other at the table. While Kaitlin stared down at the ground, David grabbed a notepad and a pen from his pocket.
“Will you please repeat what you told me in the lobby?” David said.
“You mean, about how I murdered Jim?” Kaitlin asked.
David nodded. “Exactly.”
Kaitlin shrugged. “What else do you want me to say? I killed him.”
“Could you please elaborate?”
Her nose crinkled. “What more do you want to know?”
“Please describe how you killed him.”
“I stabbed him.”
“With?”
“A knife.”
“Where’s the knife right now?”
“Probably in the local landfill.”
David squinted. “Probably?”
“I wrapped it up and tossed it in a dumpster a few blocks away from the mattress emporium. But yesterday was trash day, so if you want to find it, you’ll have to search the local landfill.”
“I see,” David said. He wrote a note in his pad. “What time did you kill Jim?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“How could you not know?”
“I didn’t look at the time.”
“Can you give me an approximation?”
Kaitlin became pensive for a moment. She then responded, “Between ten and eleven.”
David scribbled down another note. When he was done, he stared at Kaitlin again. “Why did you do it?”
She threw out her arms. “What’s with all these questions? I confessed to the murder. Isn’t that enough?”
“This is all just standard procedure. I need to know exactly what happened for my report. Now why did you kill him?”
Kaitlin lowered her head. “I, uh, found out that he was cheating on me.”
“With who?”
“He didn’t tell me her name. Honestly, it doesn’t matter who she was. I was just so angry that he would betray me like that.”
“So you killed him out of revenge?” David asked.
Kaitlin nodded. She then fidgeted in her chair. “Can we stop talking about this now? It’s getting me all worked up.”
“I’m afraid we’re not quite done yet.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
David nodded. “There’s still a number of things that I need to ask you.”
“Like what?”
“To start, why didn’t you tell me this yesterday?”
“Because I didn’t want to go to jail.”
David squinted. “Yet here you are today, confessing to murder.”
“A lot can change in the course of a day.”
“What changed for you?” he asked.
/>
She squirmed in her seat again. “At first, I thought I might be able to get away with what I did. But then you and Sabrina began suspecting Trevor of the crime. As a mother, I couldn’t risk letting my son go to jail for a murder that I committed. So, I decided to come forward.”
David stared her down.
Before he was able to get another word out, Kaitlin put an abrupt end to the conversation.
“I’m done talking to you,” Kaitlin said.
Chapter Twenty
David elected not to press Kaitlin any further. After all, he already had a confession. His next move was to book her on murder charges. When that was done, a deputy led Kaitlin back to the cell block.
With Kaitlin behind bars, David returned to his desk and saw me staring out in disbelief.
“Talk about a crazy twist,” David said.
I nodded. “Crazy being the operative word.”
“Well naturally. A sane person doesn’t commit murder.”
“That isn’t what I meant,” I said. “I can’t wrap my head around this.”
“It is a lot to take in.”
“There’s an understatement for you. I mean, when was the last time a murderer just walked into the police station and turned themselves in?”
He scratched his forehead. “This is the first time it has happened since I’ve worked here.”
“And you’ve been with the department for decades.”
He shrugged. “What’s your point? That this is really rare?”
I shook my head. “It’s more than that. This is practically unheard of.”
“Yet it just happened.”
“It sure did. That said, just because I saw it take place doesn’t mean that I believe it.”
“I understand your sense of shock. But it did happen, whether you’re willing to believe it or not.”
I grimaced. “I hear you. At the same time, I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right here.”
“Let’s be honest. A lot isn’t right here. Starting with the fact that Jim was murdered—”
“David, you aren’t getting my point,” I said. “Usually, we have to chase down the killer. To flush them out—”
“Sabrina, I’m well-aware of what the investigative process entails. Not to mention the painstaking steps that must be taken to solve a murder.”
“Which is what makes it so difficult to believe that Kaitlin would just stroll in here and confess. I mean, usually a killer only admits to their crime when we have backed them into a corner. And some don’t even confess then. In those cases, we have to rely on a jury to convict them based on the other evidence we have obtained.”
He held his pointer finger up. “If there is one thing I have learned over the years, it is that every case is different.”
“True,” I said. “But those other cases added up. This one doesn’t.”
His nose scrunched. “Sabrina, normally I don’t question your instincts, but are you really going to argue with a confession?”
I took a deep breath. “I know that I probably sound crazy—”
“You certainly don’t sound like your usual self,” David said.
I squinted. “I just can’t shake the feeling that Kaitlin gave up too easily.”
“I admit that she isn’t the typical profile of a killer. But maybe that’s exactly why she cracked so quickly. Perhaps the guilt over what she did just started eating her up inside.”
I didn’t respond to David’s statement. Instead, I became pensive.
When I didn’t speak for a few seconds, David broke the silence between us.
“You can’t outright dismiss that as a possibility,” David said.
“I guess not.”
He stared into my eyes. “You don’t buy my explanation, do you?”
I shook my head.
“Seriously?” David asked.
“I know you don’t want to hear it, but something is just telling me that there is more to this story.”
“Would you mind elaborating?”
I winced. “I wish I could.”
“That isn’t very helpful.”
“I realize that,” I said. “But there is one person who can give me definitive answers. And I want to talk to them.”
Chapter Twenty-One
David led me back into the cell block so I could speak with Kaitlin. My husband wanted to stay with me, but I told him that it would be better if I talked to her alone. Thankfully, he didn’t argue with me.
As I approached the jail cell, Kaitlin’s eyes widened.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I think the real question is, what are you doing in here?”
She shrugged. “What are you talking about?”
“Your confession—”
She cut me off. “I’ve already said my piece. There’s nothing more to talk about.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“Why don’t you get out of here?”
I stared at her. “Your lips are telling me one thing, but your eyes are telling me something completely different.”
Her forehead wrinkled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“What if I said that I didn’t believe you?”
“I don’t care what you think.”
“Even if I told you that I believe you’re innocent?”
“Sabrina, I confessed to the murder.”
“I know—”
“There you go then. Case closed,” Kaitlin said.
I shook my head. “I don’t think that things are so cut and dry.”
“I already told you. I have nothing else to say on the matter.”
“Don’t you want to know why I believe you’re innocent?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
“Too late. I’m going to tell you anyway,” I said. “It’s the look in your eyes. You’re afraid.”
“Of course I am. I’m going to be spending the rest of my life in jail.”
I shook my head. “My instincts are telling me that you’re afraid of something else.”
She broke eye contact and stared at the ground.
“Why are you looking away?” I asked.
“Stop acting like you know me better than I know myself,” Kaitlin said.
“Do you know what I saw when I looked into your eyes?”
“A look of annoyance that you won’t just leave me alone?”
“No. I saw the look of a scared, innocent woman.”
“I gave your husband a confession. What more do you want from me?”
“The truth.”
“You already got it.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. You’re not a killer. You’re just pretending to be.”
She scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. Why would I pretend to be a killer?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet. But I’m going to.”
Kaitlin pointed at the door. “For the last time. Will you please get out of here?”
Before I walked away, I made my opinion as clear as day. “I just want you to know this isn’t over.”
***
When I left the cell block, David was quick to throw a question my way. “Do you still believe there is more to this story?”
I nodded. “Absolutely.”
“Really?”
“Kaitlin is innocent. And I’m not going to stop until I prove it,” I said.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It would take a lot more convincing before David shared my belief about Kaitlin being innocent. But I didn’t have time to try to sway his opinion right then.
David got word that another surprise visitor was in the lobby of the police station. It was Trevor Olson. He desperately wanted to speak with his mother—in private.
David granted his request.
A deputy led Trevor back to the cell block where he proceeded to speak with Kaitlin for close to half an hour. When their conversation was done, Trevor left the cell block and had the deputy escort him t
o David’s desk.
Trevor immediately began pleading his case. “You have to let her go.”
David shook his head. “That isn’t going to happen.”
“But she isn’t guilty,” Trevor said.
“You say that, but she confessed to the murder,” David replied.
“I know what she told you, but you can’t believe her.”
David shrugged. “Why not?”
“Because she’s innocent,” Trevor said.
David squinted. “How can you be so sure about that?”
“My mother is the kindest person I know. She would never kill anyone, much less the man she loved.”
“How do you explain her confession then?” David asked.
Trevor grimaced. “I can’t.”
“Or maybe you just don’t want to accept the truth.”
Trevor shook his head. “No. That’s not it.”
“I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t want to believe that my mom was capable of murder,” David said. “But you need to face the facts. Maybe you just don’t know your mother as well as you think you do.”
“Stop talking like that.”
“I’m just being honest.”
“No. You’re just talking crazy. You put the wrong person behind bars.”
“You seem awfully convinced of that. But do you have any proof to back up your claim?”
“I don’t need proof—”
David cut Trevor off. “Yeah? Well I do. You see, I deal in facts. So, unless you have some kind of evidence that proves your mother is innocent, she is going to remain behind bars.”
Trevor groaned. “You’re impossible to reason with.”
“On the contrary, I think I’m being very reasonable,” David said. “For example, if you have any additional information about this case that we don’t know about, I’d love to hear it.”
Trevor tensed up, but didn’t say a word.
David waited a few seconds and then broke the silence. “Well—”
Trevor lost his temper. “For the last time, my mother didn’t kill Jim.”
I stared deep into Trevor’s eyes. “Are you sure there isn’t something that you haven’t told us?”
Mysteries of Treasure Cove Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 52
