A Killer Column (28 page)

In ten minutes, they were both gone.

“Are you all right?” I asked.

Jenny was staring at Charlie’s house, noticeably shaking. “It’s just so creepy. He was living right there, watching me the whole time, and I didn’t even know it.”

“It puts a bad twist to the concept of a Neighborhood Watch program, doesn’t it?” Zach asked.

“You’re not helping,” I said to my husband.

“Sorry. Why don’t we go inside?”

“In a minute,” Jenny said.

I motioned for Zach to go on, and he nodded in understanding. Jenny and I stood out there for a minute, both our gazes on the house next door. “Did you have any idea he was just renting the place?”

“Not a clue,” she said. “I can’t believe I didn’t suspect a thing.”

“The man is nuts,” I said. “He fooled all of us.”

“I suppose,” she said. “But on some level, I don’t think he fooled you or your husband.”

I hugged her, and then I said, “Let’s go make some hot chocolate and do our best to forget about this.”

She smiled slightly at the suggestion. “Now that I think about it, I don’t believe I’ve had any since college.”

“Then it’s high time we brought back an old tradition, isn’t it? We’ll send Zach out to the store for some, and we’ll make it a party.”

“I’m not sure I’m up for that.”

I laughed. “Jenny, by party, I mean we make a long grocery list of food we’ve sworn off for ten years and make pigs out of ourselves. We can even tell stories from our dorm days and torture Zach with them. What do you say?”

“It sounds wonderful. I’m so glad you’re here. I just can’t believe it’s finally over.” A frown crossed her lips. “Not that it’s really over. There will be sworn statements, and I’ll have to testify. You will, too. I’m so sorry about dragging you into this.”

“Come on, I pulled you into a murder investigation. Testifying on your behalf is the least I can do. You can consider it a down payment on the legal fees I’m sure to amass.”

“Don’t worry. I’m worth every penny you’ll have to pay me.”

“I hope you’re worth more than that,” I said, and Jenny laughed again, this one full and genuine. It wasn’t much, but it did prove that she was going to get through this, and that was enough for me.

A
FTER WE’D ALL HAD OUR SHARE OF HOT CHOCOLATE, Doritos, and fudge ripple ice cream, Zach said, “I can’t believe you two used to eat like this.”

“Come on, this was lightweight compared to what we used to do,” Jenny said.

“It’s true. I don’t have the stamina for it that I used to,” I admitted.

“I’m glad about that,” Zach said. “If we’re finished gorging, can we discuss where we are now in the case?”

I sighed. “Zach, can’t we take one night off from our investigation?”

Jenny shook her head. “He’s right. We can’t afford to let up just because we found out who was stalking me. Derrick Duncan’s murder case is more important than that.”

“Fine,” I said, pushing the empty bowl away from me. “Let’s talk about it. That termination letter certainly changes things, doesn’t it?”

“Does it?” Zach asked. “We know Derrick wrote it, but we can be fairly certain that he didn’t deliver it. There’s a good chance Kelsey didn’t even know she was about to be fired.”

“If he was even going to pull the trigger and do it,” I said. “Derrick loved to threaten people, we know that.”

“So, you’re saying we’re right back where we started from?” Jenny asked.

“No, it definitely adds another layer to our investigation,” Zach said.

Jenny bit her lower lip, and then said, “Maybe it would help if we made a list of our suspects. If we have motives, that might help clarify things as well.”

Zach nodded his approval. “That’s a great idea.”

“Let me get something from my office. I’ll be right back.”

When she left, Zach asked softly, “Is she going to be all right?”

“She’s shaken,” I replied, “but she’s tough. That was brilliant, taping the porch. You saved the day.”

Zach shrugged. “I’m just glad it worked.”

Jenny came back in carrying an easel and an enormous pad of paper. “I use this when I’m prepping for a trial,” she said. As she handed Zach a thick black marker, she asked, “Would you care to do the honors?”

“Sure,” he said. He drew a vertical line down a third of the way over on the paper, and then divided it horizontally into six sections.

“Why six?” Jenny asked.

“Six lines for six suspects,” he said as he started filling in the names. After he’d written Cary Duncan, Kelsey Hatcher, Mindi Mills, Brady Sims, Sylvia Peters, and Frank Lassiter down the list, he moved to the open sections.

“Now we put down the motives,” he said as he added another line to the grid, making an elongated tic-tac-toe board with three equal vertical divisions.

“For Cary, we’ve got love and greed,” I said.

Zach nodded as he wrote that down. “Brady and Sylvia can be revenge for the firing,” he said.

“Mindi could be panic over being dumped,” Jenny added.

“And Lassiter has to be revenge,” I said.

Zach wrote it, and then drew a line through Frank Lassiter’s name.

“Hey, why did you do that?”

“I confirmed his alibi today. He was in Richmond when Derrick was murdered. Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I got the call while I was out shopping for your little binge.”

“You can mark Sylvia’s name off, too,” Jenny said. “We know she was in her room when someone tried to push Kelsey Hatcher in front of that bus.”

“Don’t be so hasty,” I said. “That might clear her for Kelsey’s attempted murder, but not for Derrick.”

“Are we going to assume the two things are unrelated?” Jenny asked.

“We aren’t even positive anything happened with Kelsey,” Zach said.

“But we have witnesses,” I said.

He shrugged. “Who saw anything except Kelsey and Brady? And what proof do we have that Kelsey was actually pushed?”

“You don’t trust anybody, do you?” Jenny asked.

“Not when it comes to a murder investigation,” Zach replied. “I can’t afford to.”

“Then Lassiter’s name is off our list, but the others are all still viable.”

I frowned. “We have alibis for some of them, but I don’t know how we can verify them. Brady said he was sitting in his car when Derrick was murdered, and Sylvia claimed to be in her room. I’m not sure how to confirm either one of those alibis.”

“What about Cary, Mindi, and Kelsey?” Zach asked.

I thought back to our conversation. “Cary told me that she got to town after Derrick was murdered, but how can we believe her? If she can kill, she can certainly lie.”

Zach wrote it down on the list. “Maybe we can prove she was here before she said she was.”

“How can we do that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she got a speeding ticket on the way down, or there could be receipts for gasoline purchases. There might be something.”

“But you’d need the resources of the police department to determine that, wouldn’t you?”

He smiled. “I might just have them. You heard him; Murphy owes me one. It just might be time to collect.”

“Just because you helped him tonight doesn’t mean he’s going to bend a single rule in an active police investigation,” Jenny said.

“I’m not asking for much.”

“Why don’t we see what else we can come up with before you start calling in favors?” I asked. As I stared at the sheet of paper, I asked, “Have we even heard Kelsey’s alibi yet? Don’t forget that Mindi acted honestly surprised when we told her about Derrick’s murder, but I suppose she could have been acting.”

Jenny shook her head. “I don’t think she’s that good.”

“And Kelsey was getting her own tray of food when I found Derrick.” I remembered that scream, and how genuine it had sounded.

Zach wrote it down, and then he said, “There’s still a great deal we don’t know, isn’t there?”

“How do we go about finding anything else out?” I asked.

“We keep digging,” he said.

“Tonight?” I asked, beginning to regret the amount of junk food I’d just consumed.

“No, I think it will wait until morning. I believe we’ve all had enough excitement for one day.”

“I agree,” Jenny said. As she started to clean up, I said, “You go on to bed. I’ll take care of that.”

“I’d love to fight you over it,” she said as she tried to stifle a yawn, “but I don’t have it in me.”

“I’ll give you a hand,” Zach said.

After Jenny went to bed, we finished cleaning up, and as I wiped down the counter, I asked, “Do you think we’re ever going to solve this?”

He nodded solemnly. “I do, and what’s more, I think it’s going to be soon.”

“How can you say that?”

Zach just shrugged. “Call it a cop’s intuition, but I think something’s about to break.”

 

 

T
HE NEXT MORNING, I AWOKE TO FIND THAT MY HUSBAND has slipped out of the bed at some point in the night. I threw on a robe and found Jenny already up and dressed in a handsome suit, sipping a cup of coffee and scanning the newspaper.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” she said with a smile.

I glanced at the clock. “It’s only seven thirty. Have you seen Zach?”

“He left an hour ago.”

Jenny handed me a cup of coffee. “Here, this will wake you up.”

I took it gratefully, inhaled the aroma for a second, and then drank deeply from the cup.

“Better,” I said. “Did he happen to say where he was going?”

“He went for a run with Shawn,” she said. “Those two are forming some kind of odd friendship, aren’t they?”

“They’re both cops, no matter what Zach’s current status is. With so much in common, I’d be amazed if they weren’t getting along.”

Jenny watched me for a few seconds before she spoke. “Have you two come to any conclusions about that job offer he got?”

“No, we’re both pointedly ignoring it for now,” I said, and then took another sip. “Why, do you want to discuss it?”

“Hey, I was just asking,” she said.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be so crabby about it. I’m sure we’ll talk about it at some point, but I’m guessing not before we’ve untangled this mess.” I glanced again at her suit. “Are you going into work today?”

She nodded. “I thought I might be able to work the phones and see if there’s anything going on with the investigation. Sometimes the courthouse is the best place to pick up on what’s happening.”

“I don’t want you going out on any limbs for me,” I said.

“What kind of friend would I be if I didn’t?” she asked as she rinsed her cup and put it in the sink. “I’m late. See you later?”

“Count on it,” I said.

After she was gone, I took a shower and changed. Where was Zach? If he was just going running, he should have been back at least an hour ago. I knew his heart was healthy enough for most things, but if he got into some kind of macho contest with Shawn Murphy, he might not fare so well.

I was about to call his cell phone when he walked in the door. He was sweaty from his run, but there was a broad smile on his face.

“Hello, sunshine,” he said as he leaned forward to kiss me.

“You are a mess,” I said as I limited it to a quick peck.

“Give me five minutes and I’ll be good as new.” He took a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the purifier on Jenny’s tap. After taking a long swallow, he said, “I guess you heard where I was.”

“Out with Shawn Murphy, unless your plans changed. Did you have a good run?”

“He tried to kill me,” Zach said with a smile, “but I managed to keep up most of the way.”

“I’m glad you didn’t fall over dead,” I said with a straight face.

“That makes two of us. I got some good information out of him as we jogged.”

“He actually told you something?”

Zach nodded. “I’ll tell you right after I get out of the shower.”

“You’ll tell me now,” I said, blocking his way.

“I can pick you up and move you, and we both know it,” Zach said, “but that’s going to get you sweaty, too.”

“Go,” I said as I moved out of his way. “And don’t take too long.”

“You could always join me,” he said with a wry grin.

“I could, but who knows if your heart can take it. If you can wait, then I can, too.”

Five minutes later he came back, well groomed and smelling a world better than he had before. “Wow, you clean up nicely.”

He bowed at the waist. “Thank you, ma’am.”

As Zach took a seat beside me, he asked, “Is there a chance I can get something to eat? I hate to ask, but I’m starving.”

“I’m sure I can whip up something for you,” I said. “What would you like, eggs or an omelet?”

“Scrambled eggs will be fine, with some toast and some orange juice.”

“Let me see what I can do,” I said as I started rooting around in Jenny’s kitchen. She had everything Zach had requested.