Chloe meanwhile kept badgering Stewart.
“If you’re trying to look innocent, you’re doing a horrible job of it,” Chloe said.
Stewart looked around and saw that all eyes were on him. His face went white. He got back up to his feet and ran away like a scared little kid, even forgetting to grab his food.
While Stewart darted off to his car and fled the scene, Kristina approached Chloe.
“That was insane,” Kristina said.
“I know. I mean, it’s like he was trying to go out of his way to look as guilty as possible,” Chloe replied.
“I meant it was crazy how you flipped him like that. It was incredible. I didn’t know you had those kinds of crazy moves.”
“Honestly, neither did I.”
“Are you alright?”
“I’m not injured, it’s that’s what you mean,” Chloe said.
“You should sit down. I’ll get you some food. I have a feeling we have a lot to talk about,” Kristina replied.
“Don’t get me wrong, the fish and chips here are killer, but I have one more suspect left to question.”
“Who?”
“Jason Diamond.”
Kristina grimaced. “I feel bad that you’re going through all this because of me.”
“Hey, friends take care of each other.”
Kristina reached into her purse. “Friends don’t let friends comfort ex-convicts without mace either.”
Kristina then handed Chloe a can of mace from her purse.
Chloe looked surprised. “Do you have any other surprises in that purse I don’t know about?”
“No. It turns out you’re the one who is full of surprises today.”
“Let’s hope I have a few more surprises up my sleeve.”
Kristina smiled. “Are you sure you don’t want to take a few minutes to relax before you confront an ex-convict?”
“Actually, I think the adrenaline might do me good.”
“Alright. Well, be careful.”
“Don’t worry. I can take care of myself,” Chloe said.
Chapter Twenty-One
Chloe saved Jason Diamond for last. Their previous encounter hadn’t exactly ended well. He proved to be just as much of a wild card as Chloe predicted. Chloe hoped for better results this time. With Chloe confronting Jason at his apartment, it would be much harder for him to run. Her bigger concern was the fact that she was going to the apartment of an ex-convict.
Chloe approached Jason’s door with caution and prayed for the best. She knocked on the door and took a deep breath. Half a minute later, Jason opened the door.
“Surprised to see me?” Chloe asked.
“That’s not the word I’d go with,” Jason replied.
“Do I want to know what word you’d go with?” she wondered.
“I’m impressed,” he said.
“Wow. What a surprise.”
“You know, I’ve had my eye on you,” Jason said.
“I meant it was a surprise because I thought you would have closed the door in my face by now.” Chloe had been so focused on her own thoughts that Jason’s statement didn’t sink in until right then. “Wait a minute. What do you mean you’ve had your eye on me?”
Jason’s answer was the last thing she ever expected. “We both want the same thing.”
Chloe shook her head. “I highly doubt that.”
“It’s true. We both want to find Marty Diamond’s killer.”
“You say that, yet I saw you running away from the crime scene this morning.”
“You went to that crime scene for the same reason I did,” Jason insisted.
“That would be a lot easier to believe if you didn’t hightail it from the scene the minute you saw me.”
“I know what it looks like.”
“That you were trying to remove evidence pointing to your guilt before someone else found it.”
Jason was vehement in his denial. “That’s not what happened.”
“Fine. You were trying to remove evidence, but the police found it first,” Chloe said.
Jason shook his head. “I was trying to find evidence that would lead me to the real killer.”
“Did you find any?”
“No.”
“I wonder why,” she joked.
“Look, this isn’t what it looks like.”
“Oh really? You have a killer motive, a shaky alibi, and you returned to the scene of the crime before mysteriously running away.”
“The problem is, a key part of your theory is wrong,” Jason pointed out.
“What are you talking about?” Chloe asked.
“I had no reason to want Marty dead.”
Chloe scoffed. “Are you kidding? You had the most killer of motives. Marty was the one to put you in jail after you broke into his house; all strung out. The man ruined your life.”
Jason shook his head. “No. He saved it.”
“Do you really expect me to believe that?”
“Only if you care about the truth.”
“Except, your explanation doesn’t make the slightest bit of sense.”
“That’s because you’ve never been an addict staring down rock bottom. Before I got sent to jail, I was a complete grease fire. A loose cannon. It was only a matter of time before my misdeeds caught up with me. As it was, I was such a junkie that I thought breaking into my uncle’s house was a good idea. Things change when you’re in jail,” Jason explained.
“I’ll bet,” Chloe said.
“You have a lot of time to think about what you’ve done, where your life is headed, or if it’s headed anywhere. I knew once my sentence was up that I never wanted to go back to jail. So I kicked the drugs and cleaned up my act. When I got out of jail, Marty was gracious enough to give me a second chance, not to mention a job at the Mattress Mart. I owe him everything.”
“That’s an interesting story. It’s also a hard one to believe.”
“I knew it would be. Just as I know being an ex-con would put me at the top of the suspect list. If I find the killer, I can exonerate myself and make sure that justice is done.”
Chloe remained critical but played along for the moment.
“So, have you found the killer?” Chloe asked.
“No. Have you?” Jason replied.
“I’m still yet to be convinced that I’m not looking at him right now.”
“I’ve told you the truth. If you don’t want to believe it, that’s your problem.”
“Last time I checked, you’re the one with the problem.”
With that, he became fed up with her.
“We’re done here,” Jason said.
He slammed the door in Chloe’s face.
That was becoming a disturbing trend. One she couldn’t wait to bring to an end. Unfortunately, nothing today was going as she planned it.
Chapter Twenty-Two
When Chloe walked out to her car, she saw that Detective Thicke was waiting for her with his arms folded.
Chloe was confused. “What are you going here?”
He didn’t waste any time going after her. “I was just about to ask you the same thing.”
“I just had a very interesting conversation with Jason Diamond,” Chloe replied.
“It seems like you’ve had a number of interesting conversations today.”
“What can I say? I’m a social person.”
“Am I supposed to believe it’s just a coincidence that all your conversations have been with murder suspects?”
“Marty Diamond’s murder has been on everyone’s mind,” Chloe said.
The detective stared her down. “Nice try, Ms. Cook. I know you’ve been interfering with my investigation, and I don’t like it one bit.”
“I’m just trying to find out the truth.”
“This is official police business. It’s my job to find out the truth.”
“And how close are you to doing that?”
“What part of official police business did you not understand? I�
�m not sharing details about a case with you,” Detective Thicke said.
“I see you haven’t arrested Kristina Miller or any of the other suspects. I guess that means you weren’t able to pull prints off of the murder weapon,” Chloe replied.
Detective Thicke became short with her. “That’s none of your business. Now stay away from this case before I have you arrested for interfering with an official investigation.”
And there it was, a fitting end to a wildly stressful day. Despite the detective’s warning, Chloe was determined to find Marty Diamond’s killer. But first, she needed to give her mind a break.
***
Chloe knew that stopping by her parent’s house would give her a much-needed change of pace. At the least, she could guarantee that a door wouldn’t be slammed in her face. What she didn’t anticipate was how dogged her mother Amanda would be in pushing her own agenda.
“Have you decided about the blind date yet?” Amanda asked.
Chloe never had to wonder where she got her directness from. Amanda Cook wasted no time with small talk. As it was, Chloe was barely able to take a seat at the dining room table, no less take a bite of her lobster roll before her mother peppered her with the first question.
Grandma Betty laughed and shook her head.
Amanda became self-conscious. “I didn’t know I said something funny.”
“Dear, everyone in this town is abuzz about the murder that just occurred, and you’re more concerned about a blind date with Dr. Foot,” Grandma Betty said.
“Maybe I prefer to talk about rosier topics than people being murdered,” Amanda replied.
So much for Chloe telling her family that she was investigating the case.
Chloe’s father Robert jumped in. “That’s my darling wife, alright. When she sets her sights on something, she refuses to take no for an answer.”
Grandma Betty nodded. “Politicians should thank their lucky stars that Amanda had no interest in public office. She’d wipe the floors with the lot of them.”
With true tunnel vision, Amanda brushed off the jokes and continued with her agenda. “Just so you know, Dylan’s last name is not Foot.”
“What a missed opportunity. Talk about a great name for a podiatrist that would be,” Grandma Betty joked.
“What matters most is that Dylan is a great guy,” Amanda insisted.
“So you keep telling me, but you and I have some differing opinions of what makes a great guy sometimes,” Chloe said.
“Not this time. Take my word for it, if you go on this date, you won’t be disappointed,” Amanda replied.
“Uh oh. There’s the hard sell. Good luck saying no to that,” Robert joked.
Grandma Betty could attest to that. “Tell me about it. I’ll never forget that blind date she set me up with Lance Messner a few months ago. What a mess he turned out to be. The man was as much fun as getting a mammogram.”
Amanda didn’t like anyone messing with her sales pitch. “Hey, don’t taint my daughter’s mind--”
“With the truth? Lance was a walking calamity. It’s not my fault that not all octogenarians are created equal.”
Amanda decided to ignore Betty’s statements and focus directly on Chloe.
She turned to her daughter and stared deep into her eyes. “Have you decided about the blind date?”
“Not yet,” Chloe answered.
Amanda groaned. “Well, why not?”
“I’ve been a little busy,” Chloe replied.
Amanda furrowed her brow. “Doing what?”
Now would be the time for Chloe to reveal that she’d taken up sleuthing. She decided that she didn’t want to draw that much attention to herself and get dragged into an inevitable lecture about how she was putting herself in harm’s way.
Chloe instead went in a different direction with her answer. “Just relaxing.”
“You mean sitting around? Love isn’t going to come to you dear. You have to go out there and grab it yourself. That’s why this date is going to be so good for you. You’ll see love is right there for the taking,” Amanda explained.
Grandma Betty laughed. “Love? She hasn’t agreed to even go on a date yet, and you’re already filling her head with delusions that love is in the air.”
“It’s not a delusion,” Amanda argued.
“Maybe, maybe not. But one thing is for certain. You’re putting her in a crazy bind, pressuring Chloe to go on a date she hasn’t expressed interest in, knowing I had a bad experience when you play matchmaker with me,” Grandma Betty said.
“Past missteps don’t ensure future failure,” Amanda replied.
“True, but think of it like this—if she doesn’t say yes, she’ll be disappointing her mother. If she does say yes, the date may leave her a different kind of disappointed. That’s what you call a no-win situation, and rarely do thing end well when people are backed into corners,” Grandma Betty declared.
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Chloe’s head.
“That’s it,” Chloe said.
Grandma Betty was confused. “What’s it?”
Chloe’s mind was racing like crazy. The answer to cracking the murder case had been right in front of her this whole time; she just couldn’t see it until now. Yet at that moment, things became crystal clear. “Everything makes sense now.”
“I don’t have the foggiest idea what you’re talking about,” Amanda replied.
Chloe turned to her family with a big smile on her face. “I know who killed Marty Diamond.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
The next morning, Chloe parked on the sidewalk a few houses down from Lucy Lemke’s place. Chloe waited patiently for Lucy to walk out to her car to head to work.
The minute Chloe saw Lucy leave her place and get into her car, she pulled into Chloe’s driveway and parked right behind her, blocking Lucy in.
That left Lucy briefly startled, which was just enough time for Chloe to get out of her car and approach Lucy’s driver’s side window.
“Just the woman I’ve been waiting for,” Chloe said.
Lucy became furious. “What do you think you’re doing? I warned you to stay away from my house.”
“It stinks being backed into a corner, doesn’t it? Although you should be used to it by now,” Chloe suggested.
“I’m telling you for the last time, get out of here--”
“Or what, you’ll kill me like you did Marty Diamond?”
“I didn’t kill Marty. I was at a movie,” Lucy insisted.
“Right, ‘Love Until It Hurts.’ About that, I don’t know about you, but it just wrecked me when Nate died at the end of that movie,” Chloe said.
Lucy had almost no conviction in her voice as she agreed. “Uh, yeah. Me too.”
Chloe smiled. “Gotcha.”
Lucy furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”
“Nate didn’t die at the end of Love Until It Hurts. If you had actually watched the movie, you’d know that. But you didn’t. After the first movie, you left the theater to kill Marty Diamond.”
Lucy went into full denial mode. “No. That’s not--”
Chloe pressed on. “Marty put you in a no-win situation. If Stewart stayed with you, you’d get to keep your boyfriend, but forever lose access to the money both you and your father had been craving from the Diamond family since Marty robbed your dad out of a hefty lawsuit settlement years before. At the same time, if Stewart chose his inheritance over his relationship with you, you’d lose both your boyfriend and the inheritance money you’d been eyeing. The only way you’d be able to keep both was for Marty to be out of the picture. So you waited for Marty to come out of the mattress mart, stabbed him in the back as he was walking to his car, then called in an anonymous tip to the police framing Kristina Miller, didn’t you?”
Lucy erupted with rage. “Yeah, I did it. I killed Marty.”
Lucy then swung the door of her car open with as much force as possible. The door hit Chloe and knocked her back.
Lucy rushed Chloe with her hands out, ready to choke her.
Chloe used her self-defense moves to sidestep Lucy’s attack, then grabbed Lucy’s arm, and flipped her on the ground.
It was then that Detective Thicke and a slew of deputies came out from the side of Lucy’s house, where they had been hiding all along.
As the deputies drew their guns on Lucy, Chloe got out of their way and joined the detective.
Knowing she was caught, Lucy let her emotions fly. “Marty Diamond has been the root of my family’s unhappiness for as long as I’ve known him. He took money out of my father’s pocket, and he was threatening to take even more from me, including the love of my life. He had to be stopped.”
“You stopped him alright, and now you’ll spend the rest of your life behind bars paying for what you did,” Chloe said.
Detective Thicke turned to his deputies. “Cuff her, boys.”
***
As the police deputies loaded Lucy Lemke into the back of a squad car, Chloe and Detective Thicke shared a moment alone.
“I told you my friend Kristina was innocent,” Chloe said.
“You sure went a long way to prove your point,” Detective Thicke joked.
“Hey, if you’re going to do something, do it well.”
“What’s your day job again?”
“I sell cosmetics,” Chloe said.
The detective’s eyes opened wide. “You don’t see that every day. Veteran detective upstaged by gumshoe cosmetics saleswoman.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
“After twenty years with the force, I thought my days of being surprised were over. After all, I’ve seen some crazy things on this job.”
“That being said, I think we should take a moment and focus on what’s really important,” Chloe suggested.
“You mean whether you have any other hidden talents other than solving crimes? Like, say, rocket science…or lion taming,” Detective Thicke joked.
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