Honeysuckle Homicide (Trash-to-Treasure Crafting Mystery) (15 page)

Would he really find out why Charity’s license had been outside my window
?

Later that day when I picked up my ringing phone, I saw that it was Claire Ann’s number.

“You’re being kind of quiet,” she said when I answered.

I picked at the edge of a chocolate chip cookie. I knew something was wrong when even a chocolate chip cookie didn’t sound good. “It’s just that I’m trying to figure out who murdered Luke and Darcy.”

“You’re letting this get to you too much. Just let the police handle it.”

“That’s easier said than done. You know I can’t let a mystery go,” I said.

“Yes, Nancy Drew, I know how you are. So what can I do to help?” she asked.

I tapped my fingers against the kitchen island. “Well, I would love to know where Luke kept his awards. And if maybe there was a clue in his office. But I don’t have a way to get in there.”

“
Don’t you think the police got all the evidence out of there?”

I sighed. “You’re probably right, but I’d just like to see for myself. How would I get in there though?”

Claire Ann was silent for a moment and then she said, “I know someone who cleans that building. I bet they would have a key.”

“Yeah, but would the person let you use it?”

“That’s what I’ll have to find out.”

After about twenty minutes Claire Ann returned my call. “We’ve got the key,” she said.

“You are kidding,” I said.

“I’ll be by to pick you up.”

Within another fifteen minutes, we were on our way to the office. I wouldn’t lie and say I wasn’t nervous about going into the office, but I would have to suck it up and do it. We met the woman outside of the office and she handed Claire Ann the key.

“You didn’t get that from me,” she said.

Claire Ann nodded. “Never saw you today.”

Claire Ann motioned for me to follow her as she approached the door. I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone watched. I was afraid that we’d get caught. It was like we were breaking in, even though we had a key. Claire Ann shoved the key into the lock.

“Hurry,” I said, glancing back again.

“Don’t panic.”

“I’ll be fine once we get inside.”

Okay
, that wasn’t true, but I would feel a little better when we weren’t out there in the open for everyone to see. Claire Ann opened the door and I practically shoved her through the door.

The office was mostly as it had been when I saw it that day. Minus the dead body of course. There wasn’t even one of those chalk outlines on the floor.

“His desk is over here on the left,” I said.

Claire Ann followed me as I stepped into the space. I avoided the area where his body had been. It was like stepping on a grave or something. It just didn’t seem right.

“What are we looking for?” she asked.

“I want to see if he has other awards in his office. That would mean he probably kept the other one here too.”

Claire Ann stepped across the room and then motioned for me to join her. “Over here. There are other awards.”

I hurried over beside her. “Wow, he had a lot of awards.”

“I guess he was good at his job.”

“So that means the award was probably here. The person who killed him got the weapon here in his office. That means it probably wasn’t premeditated.”

“You have been reading a lot of those novels,” she said with a little grin.

“They’re for more than just enjoyment,” I said with a wink.

“That makes sense to me,” Claire Ann said.

I moved over to the big wood desk, unsure of what I was looking for.

“Oh, I can’t believe I forgot to tell you.”

“What?” I asked.

“The woman who gave me the key said she saw Ross that day of the murder. He was outside the office.”

“Well, I already knew that because he was here and found the body.”

“I think it was before the body was found. She saw him walking away. He had dropped some keys.”

My eyes widened. “Keys? My keys were found next to the body.”

“That’s right. I almost forgot.”

“What else did she say?” I asked. I couldn’t believe that Claire Ann was just now sharing this with me.

“I guess she couldn’t catch up with him to give him the keys.”

“Yeah, so what did she do?” I asked.

“She gave them to Connie.” Claire Ann nodded.

She knew what I was thinking.

“So Connie had the keys that were found next to the body?”

This was not a coincidence.

“Are you sure they were your keys?” Claire Ann asked.

“Well, of course not, but that is a coincidence, no? I mean, they found my keys at the murder scene and they had been in the desk at my house. Just so happens Ross was there the night before. I think he took the keys.”

“Are you sure they didn’t fall out of your pocket when you checked the body?” Claire Ann asked.

I shook my head. “No, I didn’t have the keys with me.”

“That must mean he had them then and then Connie got ahold of them. But did Connie know they were your keys?”

“Well, they had my name on them, so yes, I guess she did.”

“Listen, I don’t think we’re going to find anything else here and this place is giving me the heebie-jeebies.” Claire Ann rubbed her arms. “Let’s get out of here.”

I nodded. “Fine. We’ll go. My amateur sleuthing isn’t over though. Not until I find answers.”

After we stepped out of the office, Claire Ann locked the door behind us.

“Do you think anyone saw us?” Claire Ann asked.

“I don’t think so, but then again, we watched Julian and Connie. They didn’t know we were watching them, right?”

I couldn’t let the fact that Connie and Julian had met twice at the distillery go without saying something to Kent.

He picked up after one ring. “I was just g
etting ready to call you.”

That made me smile. “Is everything okay?” I asked.

“Sure, I just wanted to say hi and see how you were.”

“I’m okay.”

“You hesitated. What’s on your mind? Did something else happen?” I heard the concern in his voice.

I opened the front door and stepped outside.
“Maybe it’s nothing, but I just thought I should say something.”

“I’m listening,” he said.

I felt a little silly for admitting that Claire Ann and I had been snooping. I sat on the front porch step. “Okay, here goes. Now I know you’ll probably be upset for me getting involved…”

“
Uh-oh,” he said.

“
Yeah, anyway, Claire Ann and I followed Julian.”

“Why would you do that?” he asked.

“Let me finish. It gets better.”

“
I bet it does.”

“
We followed her to the old distillery. She met with Connie Dayton. Of course Connie has been asking a lot of questions about the murders. This happened not once but twice.”

“
So you followed her twice?”

“
Well, yes, but we had to.”

“
Raelynn, I appreciate that you want to help, but I don’t want you to be in danger.”

“
So you think Julian and Connie are dangerous?” I asked.

“
No, I didn’t say that.”

“What are you g
oing to do? Are you going to question them?”

“
I can’t do that, Raelynn. I have to have a reason. I promise I’ll look into it though.”

Did he mean he could
n’t go after them or wouldn’t go after them? Maybe he didn’t believe me. I’d never lied to him before. Sure I’d withheld information out of necessity, but I hadn’t lied.

“I guess that’s all I can ask for,” I said.

“You’re not disappointed?” he asked.

“Of course not.”
Okay, that was a lie. So I guessed I had lied to him.

If Kent wasn’t going to look into it then I wou
ld have to find out on my own. I wasn’t sure how I would do that but there had to be a way. It would take some brainstorming, but I would come up with something.

“Is it all right if I come by later to talk with you about something?” he asked.

So he had been calling me for a reason. It sounded serious.

“Sure. I’ll be here.”

I’d be home if I wasn’t out looking for clues against Julian and Connie. I hung up the phone and stared blankly ahead.

I couldn’t just sit there. I had to do something so I decided to drive to town. I’d go back to the scene of the crime. Maybe just looking
at the location would spark an idea. It was a long shot, but that was all I had. I grabbed my purse and keys and pulled the Mustang out of the driveway. I didn’t drive it often, but it was always fun when I did. Plus, it was a reminder that Ross couldn’t always get what he wanted. I had deserved the car for putting up with him and his mother.

Once I made it to downtown Honeysuckle,
I pulled up near the office of Luke Lexington and shoved the car into park. From this location I had a view of Darcy Parish’s office too. How would I find out if they really were seeing each other? Apparently the police didn’t suspect Julian because they weren’t even talking to her about the murders. Well, as far as I knew.

As I sat there I glanced in the direction of Coco’s. That was when I saw Connie walk out the front door. She wasn’t alone either. Charity was with her. Doreen would be happy to know that Ross and Charity were back in town. But why was Charity talking with Connie?
I hadn’t known that they even knew each other. Since Charity wasn’t from Honeysuckle I thought it would be unlikely that they would know each other.

The women talked for a couple minutes and then Connie walked b
ack into the store. Charity started walking down the sidewalk in my direction. She would most likely pass right by my car. I knew she would see me. Of course I had to stop her and ask why she was talking with Connie. I preferred not talking to her, but this was something I really needed to know. I climbed out from behind the wheel and made my way around the front of the car. Charity still hadn’t noticed me.

Once I stepped onto the sidewalk,
Charity glanced my way. I was almost positive that she had seen me, but she hadn’t acknowledged me yet.

“Charity,” I called.

She didn’t stop and I was sure she had heard me. I stepped out in front of her on the sidewalk. She stopped and glared at me. I wasn’t expecting that reaction.

“What do you want, Raelynn?”

“I wanted to speak with you about Connie Dayton.” I pointed toward Coco’s.

“Yeah, right,”
Charity said.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

Charity crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I know why you’re really stopping me.”

“And why is that?”

“Because you’re jealous that I am dating Ross now.”

I snorted. “That couldn’t be farther from the truth. I really just want to know why
Connie was talking with you.”

Charity
stared for a moment. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“I heard you saw Ross and me at the park,” she said.

“Unfortunately, that is the truth.”

She shifted from one foot to the other. “I guess I should tell you the truth too.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “What is the truth?”

“I’m not a lawyer. Doreen sent me to your house so I could spy on you.” She rushed her words.

That made my blood boil
, but it didn’t surprise me. “Did you leave the realtors’ award in front of my house?” I asked.

She looked at me as if I had two heads. “No. I don’t know what you are talking about.”

I wasn’t sure why I’d asked. It wasn’t as if she would tell the truth.

“There is something else I should tell you,” Charity said.

“I’m listening.”

“Ross and I are going to get married. Sorry to be the one to tell you.”

Why was she sorry? I was sorry for her. She had no idea what she was getting herself into.

“Congratulations and best wishes, Charity. I hope that you will be happy with Ross.”

She would need much luck dealing with Doreen.

“How long have you known Ross?” I asked.

She looked down at her gold sandals. “
We met about four weeks ago.”

I had to control myself from rolling my eyes. That was hardly long enough to know someone before getting married. Although I knew a couple who had gotten married after knowing each other for only two weeks and they’d been married for many years
, so I guessed it was possible. Charity had to know that Ross was a flight risk. He was a cheater and a liar. But it wasn’t my place to say anything to her. I wanted to help her make an informed decision though.

“
Have you met Ross’ mother Doreen?” I asked.

Sure there was probably a gleeful smirk on my face just knowing that she was no longer my mother-in-law. Good for me, bad for Charity.

“I’ve met her and she seems very nice. Doreen said we could go to lunch soon.”

Oh, poor Charity
, that was how it all started for me too. But maybe I was being too negative. Things could be different for Charity. She could be Ross and his mother’s soul mate.

“
Just make sure to let her pick out the restaurant,” I mumbled.

“
What did you say?” she asked.

I waved my hand.
“Never mind. So where are you living?”

“We will be living at my house in Belleville,” s
he said with a smile.

Tha
nk goodness they wouldn’t be staying in Honeysuckle. I could handle seeing Charity around, but not Ross.  Charity actually seemed nice. Maybe she wasn’t so bad after all. I hoped she could be the one to change Ross. She might want to think about putting more distance between her and Doreen though. Belleville was a short drive from here.

“
Ross thinks he may have a job lined up in Belleville,” Charity said with hope in her voice. “We met and it clicked, you know? I just know that he is the one. It feels funny telling you this since you are still in love with him.”

I coughed. “
Wait. What? What makes you think that?”

“Ross said that you are still in love with h
im.”

I chortled.
“That is absolutely not true. We’ve been apart for a while now and that part if my life is over,” I said.

She nodded.
“That’s good to know because I don’t want to lose him.”

“
I’m sure things will work out just fine for you all,” I said.

I felt like telling Charity that she should run far away from Ross. But obviously she was in love with him. Why else would she marry him? She was blinded by his charm
too. He had a way of making a girl feel like the only person in the room. If a girl had never had that kind of attention before then it could be easy to fall into his trap. Once you were in that web it was almost impossible to free yourself. Almost. But it could be done. You just had to fight your way out and not let that spider get the upper hand.

I didn’t want to be rude, but I couldn’t waste any more time talking about their relationship. “Anyway, back to the question, why was Connie
talking to you?”

Charity glanced over her shoulder.

“I don’t know exactly. She kept asking me questions about you actually. About the murders and the fact that Ross was wrongly charged with them. I think she is convinced that you did it. She thinks the sheriff would cover up for you.”

My mouth dropped
open. “Is she serious? That is crazy.”

Charity was lo
oking at me kind of strangely. I wondered if she believed it too. No wonder everyone in town was looking at me like I was a killer. Doreen had been telling them I was and apparently so had Connie. What was wrong with them?

I felt eyes on us. When I looked toward Coco’s I spotted Connie. She wa
s watching us from the front window. She knew we were discussing her. Now that I knew how she felt about me I was creeped out and angry at the same time. I should tell her how I felt about her accusations. Of course I had my suspicions that she was the killer, but at least I hadn’t gone around town telling everyone that I thought she was guilty. I had no reason to kill Luke or Darcy because I hadn’t known either one of them.

“
Well, I guess I’d better go. Ross is here to pick me up.” Charity pointed over my shoulder and I spotted Ross walking up the sidewalk.

It was definitely time for me to get out of there. He waved as he approached.

“He really is sorry about what happened between you two.”

“
Yeah, I’m sure,” I said, trying not to sound too sarcastic.

Charity stepp
ed around me and met up with Ross. He waved goodbye. I nodded and gave a little flip of my hand. I noticed that he looked over at the shiny red Mustang. I flashed a knowing smile his way. That was mean of me, sure, but it felt so good. I’d read about Ross and Charity’s divorce in the newspaper in a year or two. That was if they actually made it down the aisle.