Ben was short with her. “I don’t have to talk to you.”
“No, but I can tell the police about the heated conversation you just had with your ex-wife. I’m sure they’d like to hear about two suspects arguing with each other. The question is, would you rather talk to me, or the police?” Chloe wondered.
Ben looked down, took a deep breath, and then stared back at Chloe. “What do you want to know?”
“What happened last night?” she replied.
“I already told the police. I was at home, soundly asleep.”
“You didn’t tell the police you were at the club earlier in the evening. You brought Victoria flowers in a desperate attempt to win her back. Only, she stopped you cold. When you were rebuffed, you lashed out at her, condemning her for trying to chase after Noah Bryant. Rejection is hard to take, but being traded in for a younger model was the stuff bitter jealousy is made of,” Chloe explained.
Ben got very defensive. “I know what you’re implying, and I didn’t kill her. I loved her.”
“Come on, Ben. We both know that loving her only makes you more of a suspect, especially since she didn’t feel the same way about you. Unrequited love and jealousy make for a dangerous combination.”
“No. You have it all wrong. I told you; I’d never do something like that.”
“I don’t know; desperate people do desperate things. Take your ex-wife.”
Ben seemed taken aback by the mention of Leah. “What about her?”
“Leah still pines for you, just as much as you pined for Victoria. You’re still hung up on a woman who didn’t want you, that you pushed away a woman who does want you. Now, are you still going to tell me that love doesn’t make people do crazy things?”
“I didn’t do anything crazy. Leah’s the nutcase. She’s the one who showed up on my doorstep at twelve-thirty last night,” Ben blurted out.
Chloe had been waiting all day to get a break in this case. She finally might have gotten one.
“Did you just say last night? How long was she here?” Chloe asked.
“She got here at twelve-thirty, and I managed to get rid of her at around twelve-forty-five. The woman has a thick skull, but I thought I finally got her to realize that we were never getting back together,” Ben explained.
“Twelve-forty-five, huh? Interesting.”
“If it’s so interesting, why don’t you talk to her about it? We’re done here,” Ben insisted.
Chloe had a number of other questions for Ben, but she wasn’t going to have a chance to ask them. Before she could get her next word out, Ben shut the door in her face.
***
Chloe’s mind was running wild now. Whether he realized it or not, Ben had just poked a major hole in Leah’s alibi. Chloe was determined to follow up with Leah.
Unfortunately, when Chloe arrived at Leah’s house, she didn’t see her car anywhere. Chloe also received no answer after knocking on the door. She called Hope Callahan on the off chance that Leah had been dumb enough to post her whereabouts on social media. That also yielded no results.
Suddenly, Chloe was left with one really big question and no answer. Earlier, Leah said she returned home after her argument with Victoria outside the club yesterday, watched some reality TV, then went to bed by midnight. Ben Harrington let it slip out that Leah came to his place last night and didn’t leave until after twelve-forty-five.
If that was true, Leah certainly hadn’t watched reality TV and gone to sleep by midnight. The question became, why did she lie about her impossible-to-confirm alibi? Chloe had a theory. If Leah had revealed to the police that she’d argued with Victoria about her ex, then went over to Ben’s only to find out that he was still hung up on Victoria, it would make her look guiltier than ever.
None of this was enough to prove Leah committed murder, but it did make her look more guilty than innocent. Unfortunately, once again, Chloe was left with plenty of questions. She’d have to wait on finding out the answers.
Chloe couldn’t just hang out in front of Leah’s house all day waiting for her to return. She still had more interviews to do, so she set off to question the next suspect on her list.
Chapter Eighteen
Before Chloe headed off to Noah Bryant’s place, she got a call from Hope Callahan.
“How are things going?” Chloe asked.
Hope’s voice didn’t sound too promising. She was completely lacking in enthusiasm, which meant there was most likely no good news to report.
“They could be better,” Hope replied, over the phone.
“Yeah, there’s a lot of that going around.”
“Is the investigation not going well?”
“I’ll fill you in on all the details later. How about you, have you dug up any dirt on the suspects online?”
“Surprisingly, no. I did just get a very troubling phone call from Noah Bryant, though.”
“What did he say?”
“That he wanted to cancel our date.”
“I’m sorry Hope. But in a strange way, maybe that’s for the best. After all, he is a murder suspect,” Chloe explained.
“True. Then again, according to the police, so am I,” Hope answered.
“Normally, I don’t say corny lines like this, but there are other fish in the sea, and in this case, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.”
“I think you might be right.”
“Why, what do you mean?” Chloe wondered.
“He sounded really weird on the phone. I mean, it’s odd enough that he didn’t wait until after the murder investigation was over to cancel our date. On top of that, he just sounded really shifty, which is especially strange, since I’ve always Noah to be so smooth,” Hope revealed.
Chloe furrowed her brow. “Interesting. It sounds like I have a bunch of things to talk about with Noah.”
“You are being careful out there, aren’t you?”
Chloe wasn’t about to tell her friend about getting the door slammed in her face and having her foot almost run over. Now was not the time.
“As careful as can be,” Chloe answered. “Do you have anything else for me?”
“Not yet. I’ll keep you posted if I do,” Hope replied.
***
Chloe planned on making Noah Ryan’s place her next stop. Life had a change of plans for her. The club was on the way to Noah’s place. As Chloe drove past the comedy and magic club, she noticed something odd. Strangely, the light seemed to be on inside.
Who would be at the club at a time like this? Chloe was determined to find out. She wouldn’t have to wait long to get an answer. Before she had a chance to pull into the parking lot, she saw the front door to the club open.
Tony Ryan shook hands with Andrew Brown in the doorway, before the two parted ways. Andrew went back inside the club while Tony headed to his car that was parked out front.
Chloe quickly pulled her car up beside Tony and rolled down her window.
“We meet again,” Chloe said.
Tony did not look very happy to be running into her again. “So it seems.”
“How’s your investigation coming?”
Tony got a confused look on his face, almost as if he’d forgotten that he’d told her that he was doing his own separate investigation earlier. “Uh, all right.” He deflected as quickly as possible. “How about you?”
“The plot keeps thickening.”
Tony grimaced. “Well, I should be going.”
Chloe knew Tony was itching to get out of the conversation. She had to get a little more from him before he scooted off. “By the way, I talked to Isaac Hunter.”
“Didn’t I tell you he was the killer?”
“He has a different story. He told me you were the most likely to have done it. That you gained the most from your mother’s death.”
Tony lost his temper. “What do I care what he thinks? He’s a liar and a thief.”
“Uh huh.”
“I’m not going through this again with you.”
“Fine. Why don’t you tell me what you were just doing with Andrew Brown?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“By the looks of it, you seemed to be doing some business of your own. Why else would you be talking to your mother’s business partner?” Chloe asked.
“You know what? I’m done with this conversation.”
Tony got into his car and drove away.
If it was possible, Tony managed to be even more secretive and evasive than he was the last time he and Chloe spoke. With Tony darting away, all hope was not lost. Chloe could still approach Andrew Brown and get his side of the story. That’s exactly what she did.
***
Tony Ryan had been very evasive regarding his conversation with Andrew Brown. Would Andrew be the same?
Chloe approached the front of the club, then turned the door knob. Just as she suspected, Andrew hadn’t locked the door behind him after his meeting with Tony.
Chloe was able to waltz right in. Once inside, she found Andrew Brown staring at the stage.
“Andrew, how interesting to find you at work today,” Chloe said.
Andrew was completely startled. He spun around, shocked to see Chloe behind him. At first, it didn’t seem like he recognized her.
“The club isn’t open right now,” he replied.
Chloe ignored his statement and went right at him. “I know the business world is cutthroat but isn’t it a little too soon to pretend things are back to business as usual?”
As Andrew looked closer at her, a glimmer of recognition came to his face. “Wait a minute. I saw you at the crime scene earlier. What are you doing here?”
“I think the better question is, what were you doing here…with Tony Ryan…the afternoon following his mother’s murder? It didn’t look like you two were mourning Victoria’s death.”
Andrew became outraged. “That’s none of your business. Get out of here before I call the police for trespassing.”
“Go ahead.” She pulled out her phone. “I’ll call them myself. I bet they’ll have more questions for you than me, though.”
Andrew remained defiant. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I? You were just making a business deal with Tony Ryan, weren’t you? What, did you offer to buy out his share of the club?”
It didn’t matter what Andrew’s lips said, Chloe could tell from the look on his face that she was spot-on.
Andrew tried to deflect. “I’m going to ask you one more time to leave.”
“I’ll be happy to leave.”
Andrew breathed a sigh of relief.
Chloe continued. “When you tell me the truth. If you’re innocent, you have nothing to worry about.”
“Fine, you want the truth? Yes, I bought out Tony’s share of the club, for cash and the guarantee that he has a permanent slot on the schedule whenever he wants one. There, I told you what you wanted to hear, now get out of here,” Andrew insisted.
Chloe shook her head. “No. You told me the truth about today, which I already suspected. I want to hear the truth about last night.”
“I already told the police; I was in my office.”
“I know what you told the police. The truth I’m talking about is how Victoria refused to listen to your ideas. She wasn’t about to make any of the changes you wanted for the club. And there was no chance she was willing to sell her share of the club to you. Now here you are, with Victoria out of your hair and one hundred percent ownership of the club,” Chloe explained.
“I know what it looks like, but I didn’t kill her.”
“So, her murder was just a lucky break for your business plans, then?”
Andrew got really angry with her. “This conversation is over.”
He grabbed the microphone stand from the stage and looked prepared to use it as a weapon.
Chloe took a few steps back. “If you’re trying to look innocent, you’re doing an awful job of it.”
“Get out of here. Now!”
There was a fire in Andrew’s eyes. Chloe could have grabbed the can of pepper spray from her purse and fought back, but that wouldn’t do any good. What she needed was a confession, and at this point, the only words out of Andrew’s mouth were going to be insults.
Knowing she couldn’t push him any further, Chloe backed away and left the club. The minute she was outside, Andrew slammed the door behind her. Chloe then heard the sound of the door locking.
When Chloe made it out to her car safely, she took a deep breath. That escalated far quicker than she anticipated. She knew with the next suspect; she’d have to have her can of pepper spray ready at a moment’s notice.
Chapter Nineteen
Chloe was not looking forward to questioning this last suspect. To start, she’d had a very rough day of interviews up until this point. On top of that, now she’d be confronting Noah Bryant. When Noah called Hope Callahan up to cancel their date, Hope said he sounded shifty. The last thing Chloe needed at this moment was another emotionally unstable suspect. Still, she had to power through.
Chloe pulled into the driveway of Noah’s rental home, approached the front door, and then rang the bell.
Shortly after, Noah answered. There was a distinct lack of enthusiasm in his voice when he spotted her.
“Chloe. I’m surprised to see you here,” he said.
“There are some questions I have to ask you,” she replied.
“Is this about me canceling my date with Hope?”
Noah had unknowingly given Chloe a nice opening. She decided to run with it.
“Yeah. It’s all very confusing. I mean, last night you seemed so interested in her.”
“A lot can change in one night.”
That was probably the most understated thing Chloe had heard all day.
“Very true. But what made you change your mind?” she asked.
“I got a call this morning from a Hollywood talent agent. The guy had seen a bunch of videos of my sets. He said he wants to represent me. He’s flying me out west and getting me a bunch of gigs in Los Angeles,” Noah revealed.
That was not the answer Chloe was expecting. “Are you serious?”
Noah nodded. “So you see, it would be a waste of time starting something up with Hope when I’m going to be moving to Hollywood.”
“If that’s your reason for canceling the date, why didn’t you just tell Hope that?”
“I was still in shock. I’m still trying to process it. This is my big break. The one I’ve been waiting my whole life for.”
Despite his answer, it still seemed weird to Chloe that Noah wouldn’t have just told Hope that on the phone. She didn’t have time to linger on that point. There were more serious issues to get to.
“So you’re leaving town then?” she asked.
“Yup. I fly out tomorrow.”
“Does Detective Thicke know that?”
Noah gave her a critical look. “Why would that matter?”
“Because you’re a murder suspect.”
Noah scoffed. “Not for long. I mean, I had no reason to kill Victoria.”
“How about the fact that she threatened to ruin you?”
“Do I look ruined to you? My career is on a better track now than it has ever been.”
“You didn’t know that yesterday. Like you said, you just got the call from this agent a few hours ago. Last night, your only claim to fame was being a headlining act at Victoria’s club. When you rebuffed her advances in favor of being with Hope, Victoria was as angry as I’ve ever seen her; and you looked completely panicked,” Chloe said.
Noah remained calm. “Yeah, for about five minutes. Then I realized her threat was ultimately empty.”
“How do you figure?”
“Victoria cared about money more than anything, and no one made her more cash than me. If she gave me the boot, all she’d have left would be second-rate acts. What was she going to do, put Ben Harrington or Tony Ryan’s name on the marquee? They’d sink th
e club.”
“You say that, but I think there was one thing Victoria cared about more than money; her ego. You bruised it more than anyone ever had before. I think she would have gone through with her threat. After all, she went through with her threat to fire Hope.”
“I’m sorry about that. Look, you wanted the truth, and I gave it to you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some packing to do,” Noah said.
Noah then closed the door.
Chloe couldn’t remember a conversation with a suspect that didn’t end in hysteria; until now. Noah hadn’t even raised his voice. At the same time, Noah seemed almost too calm. Murder suspects were never that easy going. Had it all just been an act?
Chapter Twenty
Chloe figured at some point in her investigation; she’d run into Detective Thicke. As she returned to her car, she was proven right. Thicke stood there waiting for her, looking like he hadn’t smiled in days.
Oh dear. This should be interesting.
“It’s a cold day to just be waiting around at someone’s car,” Chloe said.
“The cold doesn’t bother me,” Detective Thicke insisted.
Why did that not surprise Chloe? The weather outside matched the detective’s chilly personality.
This conversation was in serious need of lightening up. Chloe tried to thaw the detective’s icy demeanor.
“That makes one of us,” she joked. “I’d much rather be at home right now sipping hot cocoa while reading a good book.”
“Then why aren’t you?”
“You already know the answer to that.”
“I was just making a suggestion. You know how I feel about you interfering with my investigations,” Thicke said.
“You’ve made that very clear. Except, here’s the problem with that. If I hadn’t had ‘interfered’ with your last two investigations, there would still be two murderers on the loose,” Chloe replied.
As much as he wanted to, the detective couldn’t dispute that. Chloe had saved his bacon twice in a row and was primed to make it three.
Chloe Cook Cozy Mystery Bundle Page 24