Detective Thicke opened his mouth to answer, but Chloe finished her sentence first.
“I thought by now you’d be working with me, not against me.”
The detective folded his arms. “Are you still insisting that your friend is innocent?”
Chloe nodded. “Yeah, because she is.”
Chloe knew this conversation could get out of hand if she let it. That’s why she wanted to nip things in the bud. She was in no mood to get into another argument with the detective about Hope Callahan. They’d already done that, and gotten nowhere. What Chloe needed right now was to get a break in this case, not to keep getting caught in the same conversational quicksand.
She decided to bring up a new topic. “Now detective, it’s nice to know you’ve been checking up on me, but you’re wasting your time. You should be going after the real suspects.”
“What makes you think I haven’t been doing that, too?”
“In that case, do you have any new leads? You must have learned something. What about Isaac Hunter? He was sure in a hurry to get out of town.”
“My deputies have been keeping a close eye on him. It seems he decided not to flee after all once you talked to him.”
Chloe smiled. “And you tell me not to interfere with your investigation. Now, did you find anything else out?”
“Not on Isaac. He’s kept a low profile all of a sudden.”
“He sure went from one extreme to another in a hurry. Interesting.” She then switched gears. “By the way, Noah Bryant told me he’s skipping town tomorrow. He said some Hollywood talent agent is flying him out to Los Angeles.”
“I’m going to need to have a talk with him about that.”
“Have you been able to find out anything else?”
“Normally, I wouldn’t share this kind of information with you, but since you were the one to call the station and give me the heads up, I’ll let you know that my deputies tracked down Leah Manning,” Thicke explained.
“And?”
“She admitted she’d lied about her alibi of watching reality TV, then going to bed by midnight. She confirmed that she paid Ben Harrington a visit last night.”
“Did she tell your deputy why she lied to you in the first place?” Chloe asked.
“Apparently, she was worried if she mentioned that she paid Ben Harrington such a late night visit only to get rejected by him, that it would make her motive seem even stronger.”
“It does.”
Detective Thicke nodded. “Unfortunately, she’s still insisting that she’s innocent.”
“Did your team dig anything else up?”
“As you suspected, my team found no fingerprints on the murder weapon,” the detective replied.
“Of course not. The killer obviously wore gloves or wiped the prints off.”
“Strangely enough, my team couldn’t pull any prints from the name tag, either.”
“Actually, that doesn’t surprise me at all.”
“Really? It was Hope’s name tag. I at least expected to find her prints there,” Thicke reasoned.
“Yeah, if she had committed the murder. But this goes to show she was framed.”
“How do you figure?”
“The killer knew the name tag would be perfect to frame Hope with. The problem was, by picking up the tag, the killer’s prints would show up on the tag, too. In order to keep that from happening, the killer had to wipe all the prints from the name tag so they wouldn’t be incriminated,” Chloe said.
“That’s an interesting story.”
She corrected him. “A true story. Either way, I guess you’ll need a confession then?”
“Not necessarily. The evidence is still pointing to Hope being the murderer. That’s why I came to you.”
“She’s not going to confess to a murder she didn’t commit,” Chloe insisted.
“That wasn’t what I was going to say. I came here because I was hoping you’d have turned up something to prove my hunch wrong. Unfortunately, you haven’t,” Thicke said.
“Not yet, but I will. I just need a little more time.”
“What makes you so sure that is what you need?”
“We both have our hunches.”
“I just want you to know the only reason I haven’t arrested your friend yet is because you helped me solve the last two cases. I’m going to warn you, though, I can only hold out so long before I go with my own hunch and put Hope behind bars,” Detective Thicke revealed.
Chloe gulped.
“Right. No pressure then,” she deadpanned.
Chapter Twenty-One
It had been a long day, but not as fruitful as Chloe hoped for. She’d been racing against the clock ever since Hope Callahan had been named as a suspect. After Chloe’s discussion with the detective, the crunch was really on. Chloe wanted to pretend that the pressure wasn’t getting to her, but it was. Her friend’s freedom was at stake here. Chloe knew the answer was out there somewhere; she just needed to find it.
The suspects weren’t making it easy for her. She figured that by now, she’d be able to eliminate at least one of the suspects, if not a couple. Instead, each one looked guiltier than the next. Cutting through the finger-pointing, twists, and outright lies to get to the truth was proving more difficult than she’d anticipated. At the same time, she knew she was just one break away from blowing this case wide open.
That being said, Chloe’s brain was fried. She needed a break from this case. Sometimes it was best to take a step back and give her mind a rest. Then she could re-examine the situation with a fresh perspective later.
When Chloe needed an escape, there was usually no better place to turn than to her mother. For a retiree, Amanda Cook had a lot of balls in the air. Amanda was a woman with a big personality. She had retired early from her career in cosmetics sales but remained as fast-talking as ever.
Amanda wasn’t the kind of woman who took her retirement laying down. Her forty-hour work schedule became a forty-hour a week social calendar, filled with groups, clubs, and get-togethers that made her mid-sixties just as happening as her mid-twenties were.
With all the frenetic activity in Amanda’s life, she had little time to pay attention to hard news stories. That suited her just fine, as she firmly believed that retirement was a terrible thing to waste, especially on things that didn’t bring her joy.
Considering all that, Chloe had a good feeling the murder of Victoria Ryan wouldn’t even get mentioned during their conversation.
“You’re not really investigating the Victoria Ryan murder, are you?” Amanda asked.
What a time for Chloe to be wrong. Apparently the rumor mill was alive and well in Cape Cod and had paid Amanda Cook a visit.
“Hope Callahan is in trouble. I can’t let her go to jail for a crime she didn’t commit,” Chloe insisted.
Amanda sighed. “Oh, dear. How did you get to be so headstrong?”
Chloe wasn’t sure what to say. That would have been a perfectly valid question, were it not asked by the most headstrong person Chloe had ever met.
“What can I say? I learned from the best,” Chloe deadpanned.
Amanda was in disbelief. “Me? Nice try, but you’d never catch me sticking my nose in other people’s business.”
Chloe had to call her mother out on that one. She raised her eyebrow at Amanda.
Before Chloe had the chance to speak up, Amanda revised her statement.
“Not in the business of homicidal maniacs, at least. Some things should be left to the police,” Amanda said.
The last thing Chloe needed was a lecture from her mom. She quickly decided to change the subject. After all, she was visiting her mother to get away from this investigation, not to dive right back into it. Luckily, her mother was known for being easily distracted, especially when the conversation was about her.
Chloe used that knowledge to her advantage. “So, I heard about your new initiative.”
Amanda took the bait. She got as excited as a little kid. �
��Let me tell you, this is going to be a real game-changer. By the time your father and I are done, you won’t even recognize us.”
“Those are some pretty strong words.”
“Desperate times call for desperate actions. Our bellies have been fighting a losing battle against love handles for too long. It’s time we fight back, and we’re not going to stop until the scale has tipped back in our favor.”
“Uh huh.”
“You don’t sound so convinced.”
Chloe treaded lightly, trying to find the gentlest way to put this. “It’s just, I’ve heard that before.”
“Yeah, but those other diets were half-hearted at best. This one is going to be transformative. Trust me, you’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Chloe hoped so, but she still wasn’t convinced. Her mother was a very excitable person, but her enthusiasm had a tendency to fade rather quickly. Chloe had seen a number of her mother’s previous diets flame out after the first week.
Chloe offered her mom words of encouragement. “That’s very admirable. I wish you luck.”
Amanda got resolve in her voice. “Don’t underestimate your mother. This has nothing to do with luck. It’s about sheer will.”
“It sure is. Unfortunately, willpower is a hard thing to come by.”
As Amanda kept talking, she seemed to be trying to convince herself as much as her daughter. “If you’re going to do something, do it well. I’m doing this for real this time. The question is, do you want to join us?”
Chloe shook her head. “I’ll pass. I’m kind of busy right now.”
“Right, with putting yourself in harm’s way and all.”
Chloe steered away from talk of the investigation again. “So, when does this new initiative or yours start?”
“It already has. The fitness train has left the station, and I’m going full speed ahead,” Amanda insisted.
What a curious answer. “Oh, really? Then why was dad out jogging alone this morning?”
“I found it too hard to resist the call of buttery, warm, pancakes.”
“It sounds like your new health initiative got off to a rather inauspicious start.”
“There will be plenty of time to banish my belly. This morning was one last hurrah of indulgence, and it was deliciously worth it,” Amanda explained.
“I’ll bet.”
“When you’re done with your snooping around, you really should join us. We all have room for improvement, you know?”
“You don’t have to remind me of that.”
Amanda decided to remind her daughter anyway. Chloe’s mom had a tendency to nag relentlessly. Some people referred to it as badgering into submission. When Amanda got excited about something, she wanted everyone to feel the same way.
“We’re all works in progress, but you can still reach your potential. It’s not too late to be the person you’ve always wanted to be.”
Chloe responded with considerably less enthusiasm. “Yes, mom.”
Amanda could tell this new diet plan was a hard sell for her daughter to buy into. “You’re still not convinced, are you?”
“Like I said, you and dad have been talking about losing weight for a while. I really hope you stick with it this time.”
“I will. I’m tired of excuses. I’ve been doing the same old things for years, with the same old lousy outcomes. That’s why I’m taking a new approach this time. After all, you can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results.”
Sometimes, the most unlikely of phrases had the biggest impact. Amanda was talking about her new fitness plan, but she might just as well have been referring to this murder case.
As Chloe listened to her mother, suddenly a light bulb went off in Chloe’s head. At that moment, everything clicked. The answer Chloe had been looking for all day was now crystal clear.
“That’s it,” Chloe said.
Amanda furrowed her brow. “What are you talking about?”
Chloe smiled. “I know who killed Victoria Ryan.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The next day, Andrew Brown asked Ben Harrington to come to the club for a meeting. Ben didn’t know what this was about, but as he entered Andrew’s office, he looked curious to find out.
“Ben, there you are. It’s good to see you,” Andrew said.
“I have to admit, I was surprised to get a call from you,” Ben replied.
“I’ll bet you’re wondering what this is all about.”
Ben nodded. “I sure am.”
“Noah Bryant has been offered representation and is moving to Hollywood, which means I’m looking for a new headlining act.”
Ben’s jaw dropped. “Wait a minute. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“I’d like to offer you the spot. If you’re not in jail, that is.”
Ben furrowed his brow. “Jail?”
Just then, Chloe entered the office from the hallway. She came up behind Ben with a snow shovel in her hands.
“That’s usually what happens when you kill someone,” Chloe said.
Ben was so startled; he nearly jumped out of his chair. “What are you doing? You scared me half to death.”
“How do you think Victoria Ryan felt when you snuck up on her from behind?” Chloe then turned to Andrew. “Thanks for calling Ben in. I’ll take it from here.”
Andrew nodded, then leaned back in his chair and watched.
Ben was in a complete panic. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“What’s the matter? Does seeing this shovel hit too close to home? After all, it’s the same kind you used to kill Victoria.”
“Stop saying that.”
“I have to admit, you almost had me fooled. I wondered why you were so eager to poke a hole in Leah Manning’s alibi by telling me she’d come by your place at twelve-thirty the night Victoria was murdered. Then I realized, by pointing the blame at Leah, it made you look more innocent.”
Ben lashed out. “This is all just wild speculation.”
“True, until I thought about one crucial thing. Do you know what gave you away?”
“I don’t have to listen to this.”
“There’s an old saying about how you can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results. That’s just what you were doing with Victoria. You kept trying to get her back; you begged for your headlining spot back, but being Mr. Nice Guy got you nowhere. So the other night, you took a different tact. You came back to the club that night after Leah Manning left your house, determined to get your way with Victoria, but obviously she didn’t budge. So you flew off the handle and killed her. As a bonus, you saw Hope Callahan storm out the backstage door, throwing her name tag in the dumpster. The name tag gave you the perfect thing to frame Hope. Isn’t that right?” Chloe asked.
If Chloe thought Ben was on edge before, she hadn’t seen anything yet.
He completely lost it. Ben focused his hate so squarely on Chloe that he forgot Andrew Brown was even still in the office with them.
Ben erupted. “Yeah, I did it. I killed her, and thanks to your nosiness, you’ll be next.”
Ben went to grab the shovel from her, with no luck.
Chloe pulled the shovel back and yelled into the hallway. “Detective, did you get that?”
Just then, Detective Thicke emerged from the hallway. He stood in the doorway with a tape recorder in one hand and his gun in the other. The detective pointed his gun at Ben.
“Freeze,” Detective Thicke said.
Ben saw the gun pointed at him and realized he was done for. At that moment, he blurted out his true feelings.
“I loved Victoria so much, enough to leave my wife for her. When we were together, I was at my happiest. Then, she took everything away from me; my heart, my career, my dignity. A man can only be rejected so much before he snaps,” he explained.
“Well, you snapped, all right. Now you’re going to spend the rest of your life in jail paying for what you did,” Chloe insisted.
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***
“Take him away boys,” Detective Thicke said.
The police deputies hauled the killer off to one of their squad cars, leaving the detective and Chloe with a moment to themselves.
Chloe was interested to see what the detective’s reaction would be to her solving the murder. She’d now cracked three cases in a row. In her mind, she was due for some serious kudos. Then again, she hadn’t gotten any from the previous cases.
The detective had conveniently written off her performance on the last two cases as nothing more than flukes. Who knew congratulations were hard to come by? The major culprit was Detective Thicke’s ego. He’d been quick to point out that she’d done a pretty good job, for a makeup saleswoman. This time, was Thicke willing to shelve his ego and give credit where it was due?
Chloe waited for her answer. The detective sure was quiet. Finally, he turned to her and laughed to himself as he broke the ice.
“I have to say, I did not see that coming,” Detective Thicke remarked.
“Frankly, neither did I at first. This case nearly stumped me,” Chloe admitted.
The detective continued. “The key word there is nearly.” He shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it, but you keep finding ways to pull magic out of your hat. Good job.”
Chloe’s eyes opened wide. “Wait a minute. That almost sounded like a compliment.”
“I know those have been hard to come by from me in the past, but you have a keen investigative mind.”
“For a makeup saleswoman, you mean.”
He corrected her. “For anyone.”
Chloe was impressed. “That’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“What can I say? I owe you a debt of gratitude. A murderer is off the streets because of you.”
“It sounds like you’ve turned over a new leaf. I’m glad we’re finally seeing eye-to-eye.”
Detective Thicke chuckled. “I don’t think we’ll ever see eye-to-eye. I’m by-the-book, and you’re setting the old rulebook on fire.”
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