* * *
Over the next few days, a DAI team helped obtain Kaelyn’s phone records, and Roman had spent another day going through those around the time of her death. He confirmed what he already suspected. Vikki had told the truth. Kaelyn had phoned her from her home line. She’d also phoned Glenn’s mobile number. She must have been on her way to Chesterville by then. He’d lied about not speaking with her prior to her death.
Now, on a rainy morning, he and Kendra listened to him lie all over again to police. The phone records and new evidence proving the body had been moved had ramped up the investigation. Detectives in Toledo were working with detectives in Chesterville, who also worked with Roman. They treated him like part of the team and everyone had one common goal—to catch Kaelyn’s killer. When Roman found new information he’d agreed to share, the team of other detectives had agreed to do the same. Roman would continue to work alone, as was his preference and the main reason he’d gone to work for DAI.
Who had masterminded the crime? It had taken a lot of premeditation to run someone off the road, kill them by strangulation, put them in the trunk, drive them back to their home and stage a suicide. Whoever had committed the murder had a big motive to keep a secret. What was the secret? The killer had known Kaelyn was driving to Chesterville. Alex hadn’t known. Her mother hadn’t known. Glenn and Vikki had both spoken with her just prior to her death. One of them had to have either leaked the information to the killer or one of them had done the killing. Vikki could be putting on a show to cover her guilt. Had she killed Kaelyn in a rage after learning her husband had been sleeping with her? Or had Glenn killed Kaelyn to keep her from delivering her warning? Or had they both worked together? Maybe he’d misinterpreted their nervousness.
“We obtained copies of your phone records and found that Kaelyn called you the day before she was killed,” the detective said. “You spoke for five minutes.”
Glenn stared at the man without flinching. “I don’t recall talking to her that close to her death.”
“But you did talk to her.”
Glenn said nothing.
“Did you leave your house the morning of Kaelyn’s murder?” the detective asked.
“No. As I said before, I was sick that day.”
“Can anyone confirm that?”
“I’ve already told you all of this. My wife might be able to. I don’t remember if she was home that day.”
“Did Kaelyn discover anything about you that might have threatened you?”
Glenn scoffed as though he thought that a ridiculous question. Why would he tell the detective anything like that?
“Remember whatever you say will go on record,” the detective said.
Glenn’s condescension faded. “No.”
“What about your wife? Would she have any reason to want to kill Kaelyn? Jealousy over your affair, perhaps?”
With that, Glenn sobered further and contemplated his answer before he said, “No. Vikki isn’t capable of killing anyone. She was forgiving, more forgiving than I expected.”
People who bottled up their emotions could hide a darker side that was, in fact, capable of killing.
“Do you know of anyone else who might want to harm Kaelyn?”
Glenn shook his head. “No.”
“Did she ever talk to you about anything unusual, anything that she might have been afraid of?”
“No.”
With no evidence to prove Glenn murdered Kaelyn, the detective had to let him go.
“Well, he stuck to his original story,” Kendra said, disappointment dripping from her tone.
“Didn’t talk to Kaelyn. Doesn’t remember talking to her,” he said.
The detective who’d questioned Glenn entered the observation room. Six-four with dark hair and blue eyes, he had a Michael Fassbender look going for him. And his name was Calum.
“He knows we’re onto him,” Calum said.
“I want to see what he does now,” Roman said.
The other detective nodded. “Let’s coordinate a surveillance plan. Meanwhile, we’ll keep chasing leads as they come along.” He looked at Kendra. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you.” Kendra smiled as though liking that she’d just discovered he was a perfect gentleman.
The spurt of jealousy that followed flustered Roman.
Chapter 12
Now that this was officially a homicide investigation, Roman could get information from doctors on Glenn’s first wife’s death. A few more days passed before he had all the information he needed. Deidra had gone to see the doctor the week before complaining of flu-like symptoms. Then she’d been rushed to the hospital with the heart attack. The hospital hadn’t had the capability to perform a blood test that would have identified poisoning. They had only her physical symptoms, and because Deidra had been found to have an irregular heartbeat along with a heart murmur during her autopsy, they hadn’t looked any further.
Deidra’s death had been ruled natural.
But Roman would bet her family had some reservations over that. Her father was a retired army colonel and her mother was a retired nurse, which fit Glenn’s family heritage and likely satisfied his parents enough for them to approve his marrying her. Deidra went to college for a law degree but didn’t practice as an attorney. She had died seven years ago. He had been married to Vikki for six years. Kaelyn had been younger than Vikki, which may have accounted for at least some of Glenn’s attraction to her.
On another rainy morning, Roman stepped up behind Kendra onto th e porch of Bob and Regina Saunders’s two-story Colonial. He had phoned ahead to arrange this meeting, so when a gray-haired man with black-rimmed glasses opened the door, he smiled and shook his and Kendra’s hand. This must be Bob.
“Come in.”
Roman entered behind Kendra as thunder rumbled and the sound of rain pattering to the ground intensified.
“Looks like we’re in for a gully washer,” Bob said.
Kendra stomped her damp feet and removed her rain jacket. Roman removed his jacket, as well, and Bob took them and hung them on hooks above a vintage bench. Trimmed in dark, half-walled paneling, the boxed-in entry had wood floors and a staircase on the left. A small vintage wood table held a vase of flowers next to the bench.
“Regina is waiting in the living room. She made some tea and scones.”
“You have a lovely home,” Kendra said.
“Thank you.”
They seemed like wholesome people, happy to be part of a community and to live in the home they had built together. Roman wouldn’t say homebodies, but he had the impression they enjoyed just being at home.
Down a narrow hall, Roman followed Kendra into a living room where part of the kitchen was visible but still separated by a wall. The living room had a very English look to it, with more dark paneling and wingback chairs and an arching sofa. Bookshelves on one wall and a brick fireplace cozied the room.
Regina stood from one of the chairs, wearing jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt and a pair of tennis shoes. Bob had on jeans, as well, and a black Henley. The two had gray hair, both cut short, and both wore black-rimmed glasses. Neither was overweight, healthy and happy aside from the somberness Roman saw in both of their eyes. Both smiled with straight teeth, but their expressions didn’t brighten. They carried their loss heavily.
“Please, have a seat.” Regina indicated the seating area, and then the tea and scones.
Kendra sat on the pretty sofa and Roman sat beside her, ever aware of her closeness.
Bob took the chair beside the one his wife had vacated.
Regina indicated the tea and scones. “Tea?”
“I’d love something warm on this rainy day,” Kendra said.
Regina put a tea bag into a flowery teacup and lifted a matching teakettle to pour hot water.
“None for me,
” Roman said.
Regina poured a cup for herself and Bob, and then, after placing Kendra’s in front of her, put the other two on the table between the chairs and took a seat.
“Help yourself to the scones. They are quite delicious.”
“Regina’s favorite place to vacation is London,” Bob said with a fond smile at his wife. She responded with equal warmth but there was still that element of dullness lingering in their eyes.
“We were glad to learn someone other than us thinks our daughter didn’t die of natural causes,” Regina said.
“We’re exploring the possibility,” Roman said. He didn’t want to bring their hopes up only to shatter them later.
“We’ve often wondered if someone poisoned her,” Bob said.
“That’s one area we plan to explore,” Roman said.
“We’ve read that arsenic can cause flu-like symptoms,” Regina said.
“So can antifreeze,” Roman responded, seeing the anger and pain cloud both their eyes.
“We never really liked Glenn.” Bob crossed one leg over the other. “He was always so pompous, just like his parents. Deidra had a law degree but she didn’t want to litigate. Glenn always belittled her for that, as though he thought she wasn’t capable. Deidra wanted to help people, not fight in court. She was active in charities and worked as general counsel for Habitat for Humanity. She was a good person and extremely health-conscious.”
“She didn’t smoke or drink alcohol,” Regina said. “She jogged every day.”
“No heart disease runs in our family, either,” Bob added. “But police could find no motive. Deidra’s life insurance was typical and had been in place ever since they married. Besides that, Glenn already had money. His parents had a trust fund for him. He had no reason to kill her.”
“None that anyone can see,” Roman said. “What can you tell us about Glenn?” Other than the fact they didn’t like him because he was pompous.
“His father is a city prosecutor.”
Roman nodded, already knowing that.
“Hudson’s got a tough reputation. Criminals who go up against him don’t leave free if he’s on the case.”
Did he send innocent people to jail? What prosecutor didn’t? “What about personal details. How’s his marriage to Melody?”
“Several years back, there was a scandal involving him and the mayor’s wife. It was rumored he had an affair with her. Nearly ended his marriage. But his wife, Melody, likes money and Hudson comes from a long line of it. She forgave him eventually.”
“No one found out for sure?” Kendra asked. “It was just a rumor?”
“No one ever saw them together other than in public, and neither would admit to it.”
“Did you know Glenn was having an affair with Kaelyn?” Kendra asked.
“No. We weren’t involved in Glenn’s life after Deidra died,” Bob said, “but I suppose I’m not surprised. Glenn never struck me as a gentleman, much less an honorable one. He cares about money and reputation the way his parents do.”
“What about the mayor’s son, honey?” Regina said. “When he was arrested for drugs?”
“Ah. He was arrested and released and he never went to court. Some say Hudson dropped the charges as a favor to his mistress.”
“We saw someone accuse him of only caring about winning,” Kendra said. “Right on the courthouse steps. Are you suggesting he’s crooked?”
If all he did was fix a drug charge then he wasn’t highly corrupt, but it certainly showed capability.
“Seems that way to me.”
Bob told them a little more about the Franklins from what he’d seen at family functions. Elaborate parties. Holidays. Town events like the annual Bluegrass Festival and political fund-raisers. Nothing that raised Roman’s antenna.
He thanked them, and he and Kendra left.
“Do you think there’s more to that drug charge Hudson dropped?” Kendra asked when they were outside.
“Let’s go find out.”
Just then, a car drove by and someone in the back seat with the window down threw something at them. Before he hooked Kendra around her waist and dived with her to the grassy front lawn of the Saunderses’ house, Roman registered a dark blue Toyota Camry and the ski mask the thrower wore. Something hard shattered the driver’s side window of Roman’s rental car. The thrower’s car’s tires screeched as it swerved around the corner down the street.
Roman looked down at Kendra, her eyes round with fear and ready for a flight for life. “Are you all right?” He’d tackled her pretty hard.
She nodded.
Then he grew aware of every part of her underneath him. No time for that now. Despite the awakening it caused him, he stood. “Come on!” He took her hand and pulled her up with him.
Kendra ran to the passenger side of his rental and he raced into a U-turn to chase after whoever had thrown the object. He sat on shattered window glass. Kendra held up a rock that had something fastened to it with a thick rubber band—a piece of paper.
He drove into the turn at the street corner. The other car was nowhere in sight. He searched side streets as he passed and saw no dark blue Toyota.
“‘Back off or die,’” Kendra said, having removed the rubber band and read the paper.
Someone had written the warning in black Magic Marker.
“Don’t handle it anymore. We’ll have Calum run some forensics on it.”
Kendra dropped it back to the floorboard, where she’d picked it up.
* * *
Calum dug out the file on the drug dealer Hudson let go. After reading the case, the prosecution hadn’t had much evidence. All they’d had was possession and the defendant claimed it wasn’t his.
“Can we hack into Hudson’s accounts?” Roman asked.
Across from him at the conference room table in the Chesterville Police Department, Cal looked up and over the top of his laptop at Roman. “I can’t, but you can.”
Roman grinned. “I’ll pretend I didn’t just hear you say that.”
“Say what?” Kendra entered carrying three coffees. It was almost eleven at night. The rain had stopped but it was still damp outside and she wore a long black jacket with black boots and pale blue jeans. Every time he saw her, she made him want only to stare at her beauty. That red hair was up in a ponytail and her green eyes smiled from him to Cal.
“Roman’s got a lead.”
Roman saw how Kendra eyed him, having picked up on Cal’s joking tone. She put down the coffee.
“You’re an angel.” Cal took his cup and sipped. “Where did you find her?”
“She found me.” He met Kendra’s eyes as she sat with her cup and put her feet up on the table, leaning back, looking tired but intrigued by his choice of words.
“I had a relationship with a coworker once. It didn’t last.”
What had prompted him to say something like that? He watched Cal look from her to him with a knowing glint.
“We don’t work together. She’s my client,” Roman said.
“You’re working with her on her case.”
“I’m right here,” Kendra said as they continued to talk as though she wasn’t.
“What’s your deal with women you work with?” Roman asked. He’d become something of a pal with the man and he sensed he must have had a bad experience with a woman he worked with.
“No deal. I just have a policy not to get intimately involved with them.”
Roman could tell there was something troubling to Cal about the woman he’d had a relationship with on the job. He claimed he had no issue with that, but Roman bet he did, maybe a big one.
“Do you have a girlfriend right now?” Kendra asked.
“I did.”
“Let me guess...it didn’t last?”
“Nope. I started a new case and basical
ly wasn’t home for two weeks. I couldn’t see her. She got sick of that and told me see ya later.”
Roman understood the challenges of balancing a personal life with detective work. Not only did he require something real with a woman, he had the added difficulty of finding someone who would be able to go long hours and days between seeing him and spending family time together.
He glanced at Kendra, whose eyes drooped even with her coffee. He couldn’t help wondering if she’d be the kind of woman who could handle a relationship like that. She ran a successful business so maybe she could. But then that same doubt entered his thoughts. Her world was too perfect. She’d come home to him and his dark world, one filled with murder every day. Would that dim her cheery light? How could it not? He didn’t think she’d be happy with a guy like him. She might be fooled into thinking she was at first, with all this hot passion they had going for them, but eventually the everyday grind would infiltrate the spritely bubble.
She yawned and he grew flustered that even watching her do that turned him on.
“Let’s pick this up tomorrow.” Roman shut down his computer. “I’ll get a team of investigators on the Franklins. They’ll be able to find out things you and I can’t with the resources here.”
“Great. I get to go home to my lonely house and you get to go home with that.” Cal looked at Kendra. “I mean that as a compliment.”
“I’m too tired to be insulted. Besides, I have my own lonely house to go home to. Roman has his lonely hotel room.” She stood up.
Reminded of the rock, Roman didn’t think her going to her lonely house was such a good idea.
“Until we get forensics back on that rock, maybe you two should consider staying together.”
Roman almost grinned again, it was so uncanny that Cal was the one to bring that up. “He does have a point.”
Kendra sort of froze and stared at Roman.
“We can go by your house so you can pick up a few things. I also have a pullout bed in the room. I can sleep there and you can have the bedroom.”
“I won’t call myself a matchmaker yet.” Smiling, Cal stood as Roman packed up his computer.
“You must need a good night’s sleep,” Roman teased as he went to the door, Kendra still quiet. She may not have decided to stay with him, but he’d make sure she did.
Hometown Detective (Cold Case Detectives Book 6) Page 12