“I don’t know.” My hands flew in the air. “Maybe she was trying to make this look like a suicide, and things went wrong.”
“And let’s back up here, for a second.” Rhonda paused to lick her lips. “Why exactly do you think Candace is the murderer in the first place? Everyone around here likes her … everyone but you.”
Well, me and Grady. I couldn’t help but wonder why Grady hadn’t filled Rhonda in on his suspicions, but then again Rhonda wasn’t exactly good at keeping her suspicions to herself. Maybe he didn’t want to tip Candace off. “Well, Rhonda, I’m certainly not jealous if that’s what you’re implying.” I said, willing an immediate stop of all blood flow to my face.
“Are you willing to come back to the station and take a polygraph on that, Ms. Bloom?”
“Rhonda, you don’t have a lie detector machine,” I countered.
“So that’s a no?” she asked, scribbling away on her notepad.
I didn’t bother answering.
“But if it’s not jealousy, what is it?”
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. How did I answer that question? I was starting to believe I should tell Rhonda everything I knew. What the ladies had discovered about the development company. Tommy paying for his boat in cash. Even the part about spying on Tommy through his Webcam. Sure, that last part might be illegal, but it couldn’t be like superbad illegal. But again, it seemed Grady’s call whether or not to bring Rhonda in.
“Rhonda—”
Suddenly a new voice entered the mix. “Stop!”
The cabin door banged open.
In it stood Freddie, once again wearing Doc Martens, Hawaiian shorts, a shirt, and an overcoat.
“Not another word, Erica!”
Rhonda’s head whipped around.
“You get away from her, Rhonda Cooke.”
“Freddie Ng, this is a potential crime scene,” she said. “You need to leave. You’re probably stepping on blood.”
Freddie looked down. “Ew. Gross.” He slid the bottom of his boot a few times against the arm of a worn-out chair before looking up again. “Fine. I’ll leave, but unless you’re going to arrest her, she’s coming with me.”
Rhonda met my eyes. She paused before saying, “I should detain you for questioning.”
Freddie jumped in again. “Go ahead, Rhonda, but if you do, know that I’m hiring her the best lawyer money can buy! Like right now.”
She flicked a look at Freddie before turning back to me. “You’ll need to give a statement sometime in the next twenty-four hours.”
I nodded.
Neither one of us moved for a moment. She still had me pinned in her gaze.
“Erica! Come on!”
We both turned. Freddie was halfway out the door.
“We still on for beers next Tuesday?” Rhonda shouted to him.
“Wouldn’t miss it!” he shouted back.
I took one last look then hurried past Rhonda to catch up with Freddie, who was already disappearing into the woods.
“Hey!” I called out to him. “Freddie! That was pretty badass!”
He raised one fist into the air and vanished behind a tree.
* * *
“So Grady didn’t actually say that he thought Candace was guilty?”
I growled my frustration. “Freddie, I’m telling you! It was the look in his eyes.”
“Uh-huh.”
“No uh-huh. You should have been there!”
“If I wanted to watch a train wreck, I’d turn on National Geographic.”
I furrowed my brow. “National Geographic shows train wrecks?”
“You weren’t supposed to probe that too deeply.”
“Sorry.” I sighed and leaned back in my chair. I didn’t know how to convince Freddie about Grady, so I decided to drop it, temporarily. “Okay, so what do you want to show me?”
Light rain hit against the windows of Freddie’s office as thunder rumbled in the distance. Another dismal day. We had come straight back here, made a plate of bacon, and settled ourselves down in front of the computer.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk more about Grady?”
“Actually, you wouldn’t believe the other things he said last night … Oh, you were being sarcastic.” I should have picked up on it sooner given that Freddie’s eyes had rolled so high up into his head that his eyelashes were flickering. “You go.”
“Okay then. I found a way to record Tommy’s Webcam,” Freddie said with a satisfied smile. “So we don’t miss anything.”
“Seriously? You are a genius, but…” Thoughts raced through my mind.
“What?”
“I was trying to think if I saw the laptop at the cabin this morning.” My mind’s eye ran over the memory. “I think we’re good. It’s probably best the police don’t know we are … or maybe were … spying on Tommy.”
“Holy crap. Good thinking,” Freddie said, smacking me on the shoulder. “You know, we’re getting better and better at this. Maybe we should consider taking on some other cases.”
“Yeah,” I said, shaking my head. Wait … where the heck had that come from? Must have been all the happiness of bacon nitrates hitting my bloodstream. “How about for now, we just focus on keeping me out of jail … maybe by proving that Candace is a psychopath.”
Freddie rolled his eyes and sighed. “I’ll admit that what Tommy said to Laurie—if that even was Laurie he was talking to—could, could point to Candace. I’m telling you, though, my gut says she didn’t do it.”
“Let’s agree to disagree,” I muttered, all the while thinking, until I’m proven right. “But wait … so Tommy took his computer with him to commit suicide?”
Freddie looked at his own computer and opened the file manager window. “Well, he has been spending a lot of alone time with it from the footage I’ve seen, but it does seem unlikely.”
“If the murderer, i.e., Can—” Freddie put up his hand to stop me from saying her name. I huffed a breath, but let it drop. “If the murderer came to see him though, wouldn’t he or she take the laptop, just in case?” Then something else occurred to me, sending shivers racing over my body. “You don’t think the Webcam recorded what happened, do you?”
Freddie suddenly looked at his computer as though it might be dangerous. “I hadn’t thought of that. It records a new movie file every time the laptop is turned on. I watched the first few, but this one,” he said, moving the cursor over a file, “it’s new.”
We exchanged a questioning glance. A new round of thunder rolled its way toward the cottage.
“We should send this to Grady,” he said.
I nodded.
“Should we watch it first though?”
I shrugged sharply. “I don’t know.”
“It’s probably just Tommy watching more porn.”
I nodded again.
Freddie’s whole body suddenly jumped. “I clicked it! I didn’t mean to!” A new screen popped up on the computer. “My finger! It did it by itself.”
We watched a small hoop spin on the blank screen of the movie player as the video loaded.
“We could still turn it off,” I whispered quickly, leaning in.
“We could,” Freddie replied, eyes glued to the screen.
I waited, fully expecting Tommy’s face to fill the view. That didn’t happen. Somebody else appeared.
Freddie whispered, “Oh my God,” right as I screamed, “I knew it!”
A loud crack of thunder shook the windows as Candace’s adorably evil face filled our view.
“I told you! I told you all along it was Candace! And you were all like, Oh, no, my gut says it’s not Candace! Well, take that, gut! It’s Candace!”
“Sh! Sh! Sh!” Freddie said, frantically waving a hand at me.
I stopped screaming and leaned in again, trying to listen over the sound of blood rushing through my ears.
We both stared at Candace’s concentrated face. It was beyond creepy. It didn’t look like a recording. It f
elt live.
“What’s she doing?” I whispered.
“I don’t know, but, again, talk normally. She can’t hear you, and you’re creeping me out,” Freddie said before saying, “I think she’s snooping around Tommy’s laptop.”
Candace spoke, and we both jumped. “Tommy,” she mumbled. “Yeah, figures Tommy would leave his e-mail open.” Then the expression on Candace’s face changed. Her eyebrows gathered together, and her eyes suddenly looked abnormally sharp, almost shrewd.
“What the heck is this?” she muttered.
We watched her eyes travel the screen from side to side, reading. As she did, her expression changed even more. All the soft, cute curves of her face disappeared, leaving something much more hard and determined behind.
“That son of a bitch!”
I gripped Freddie’s arm and shook him. “She swore! I knew it! Everybody swears!”
“Hush!”
I could barely control my heart rate. This was it.
Go on, I willed her. Give me a little more.
Candace peeled back her lips, showing her teeth.
She was going to say something.
Freddie and I gripped each other.
“I’m going to kill him.”
The clip ended, freezing Candace’s face in a crazed expression.
Freddie and I stayed unmoving for a second, hands still gripping one another.
Lightning flashed through the room.
“We have to send this to Grady,” Freddie said quickly. “Like now.” I was already nodding in agreement.
Surely this had to be enough. While Candace hadn’t outright confessed to killing anyone, the clip proved she was at the cabin right before Tommy went missing. Not only that, I thought, eyes flicking back to Candace’s demented expression, the video clearly showed she was a maniac.
Thunder cracked above us.
“Hurry, Freddie,” I said, slapping him repeatedly on the shoulder. “Then I’ll call him.”
A bright flash of lightning exploded, making me blink.
Freddie’s fingers flew over the keyboard as light and noise ripped through the room.
“Wait … what is happening?” he shouted.
The computer made a loud ZAP!
“No. No. NO!”
“What?” I asked, watching Freddie jab the power button trying to load the computer back up.
We waited, but nothing happened.
“No!” Freddie slammed his palms on the desk.
“What? What is it?”
Freddie swiveled slowly in his chair to face me. “She’s dead,” he said, flicking his eyes to his computer.
“What? No! She can’t be dead! What happened?”
“Power surge … either that or Tommy gave her an STD.”
* * *
An hour later, we were still sitting in front of the dead computer. Freddie had tried everything he could think of to resuscitate her, but nothing had worked.
“It just goes to show you,” Freddie said, shaking his head. “You can’t watch that much porn and get away with it.”
I slumped even further into my chair. “I thought you said it was a power surge.”
“No, my power bar should have protected against that.” He kicked it with his toe. “I think someone up there,” he said, jerking a thumb toward the ceiling, “has a sense of drama.”
“But don’t you have antivirus software?”
“I had to lower the protection on my computer to establish the link with Tommy’s. I should have known.” He gently caressed the side of the monitor. “I should have protected you better. I’m sorry.”
“I can’t believe this is happening.”
Freddie’s eyes rolled up as he shook his head. “Even though I hate the thought of all those filthy police hands on my baby, we could still bring the hard drive into Grady. Maybe they can still pull something off it.”
“Yeah. I guess.” I sighed. “But can I be honest with you about something?”
Freddie smiled and leaned in. “This sounds promising.”
“I’ve kind of had this fantasy where I—I mean, we solved the crime and slammed down a bunch of evidence on Grady’s desk and then I tear out of town.”
“Right. Right. Little crazy, but right.” Freddie leaned back for a second with a faraway look on his face. Suddenly his eyes snapped to mine.
“What?”
“I just realized something,” Freddie said.
“What?”
“You’re happier. A little crazier too. But definitely happier.”
“Of course I’m happier,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. “It’s good to be right.”
He shook his head. “No, that’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
“You’re finally letting your crazy out at a steady rate,” he said. “You’re flowing with the Otter Lake current instead of against it.”
I made a face at him.
He chuckled. “You know it’s true. Oh, and I guess maybe I should finally say something else.” He paused dramatically. “You were right.”
“I’m sorry?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t catch that.”
“You were right about Candace.”
A small smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. “I’m not one to say I told you so.”
“I believe you said exactly that … a few times … while jumping up and down.”
“Can you blame me?”
“Nope.”
“She did look murderous,” I said, smile spreading all the way across my face. “Didn’t she?”
“Oh, yeah.”
A silence fell over us. It was a lot to process. At times this had all felt like a game. Then I would remember Dickie and Harry … and now Tommy.
“Do you think she killed him?”
Freddie’s smile faded with mine. “I don’t want to go there yet.”
“Me neither.”
I got up and walked to the window overlooking the lake. The storm clouds had moved off, but light rain still pattered against the glass. Even on a gray day, the lake was beautiful. Still. Peaceful. Not a soul in sight … except for the gaggle of ladies driving by in Red’s pontoon.
“Where are they going?” I asked out loud.
“Who?” Freddie replied, still giving his keyboard the occasional tap.
“I guess the women haven’t given up investigating.” The thought made me nervous, but then again, maybe they were having better luck than I was. That being said, I couldn’t take another brainstorming session. I wanted to figure out how best to handle this situation with Freddie alone before I talked to anyone else. “Hey, Freddie?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you mind if I spend the night here?”
“Going into hiding, are you?”
I nodded.
“That’s cool. We can order pizza and come up with Plan B.”
I walked over to the desk and picked up his spare boat keys. “I’m going to run over to the retreat and grab a few things while the ladies are out.”
“Sure. If I’m not here when you get back, it’s because I’m buying a new computer.”
“I’m really sorry about that, by the way.”
“Whatever. It will make a good story when I’m a best-selling author.”
* * *
A few minutes later, I was speeding across the lake, squinting through the drizzle that didn’t feel so drizzly anymore now that it was being driven into my face.
We had been so close!
Now we had nothing … and tomorrow was the Raspberry Social.
Right then, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.
Ever since Laurie had gone missing, I had made it a habit to follow a route between the retreat and Freddie’s place that went by Laurie’s trailer. It had yet to pay off … until today.
I squinted harder through the rain. It was hard to be certain, but it looked as though a woman was running from Grandpa Day’s cabin to the trailer. A woman who looked a l
ot like Laurie.
I cranked the wheel on the boat, fishtailing water.
Laurie was the key!
She knew the truth. If I could get her to come forward, this whole nightmare would be over.
I sped up to the dock, waiting until the last moment to cut the engine. I jumped out of the boat and rushed to tie it to the slippery dock.
She wasn’t going to disappear this time.
I ran toward the camper, skidding a few times over the slick grass.
“Laurie!” I shouted, banging on the thin door. “It’s Erica!”
I heard someone move inside, but she didn’t come to the door.
“I know you’re in there!”
The door whipped open, and I stumbled back.
Laurie stood before me. She had the door propped with her foot and her muscular arms crossed over her chest. I watched her eyes flick around behind me as though she expected to see someone there.
“What are you doing here?” Her voice wasn’t welcoming, but then again Laurie’s voice was never welcoming.
“Everybody’s been looking for you.”
“What business is it of yours?”
I wiped the rainwater from my face with both hands. “Listen. Let’s cut to the chase. I need you to come forward to the police and tell them what you know about the guys and their deal with Candace’s company.”
I could see the thoughts jumping behind Laurie’s eyes.
She licked her lips, and then said, “How—”
“It doesn’t matter. You could be in danger, but then you probably already know that, and that’s why you’re in hiding.”
“Seriously, Erica,” she said, taking one step down toward me. “What do you know?”
I wanted to say that I knew that Candace was the murderer, but accusing her out loud still somehow felt reckless. “Look … I know that Candace is losing it, and I know that she went after Tommy last night.” I licked rainwater from my lips. “And I know that you know the guys accepted money from the company to cause trouble around the lake. Am I right?”
She nodded tightly.
“You have to tell Grady.”
“No way in hell,” she said, jaw flexing. “And listen carefully, Erica, if you’re not careful, you’re going to get yourself killed.”
“Laurie, did you know I’m a suspect? I mean, they suspect Candace too, but—” I cut myself off. I didn’t want to get Grady in trouble. He never actually said Candace was a suspect. But I had Laurie here, now! I couldn’t lose this opportunity. She could disappear like Tommy! “Laurie, the cops aren’t going to care that you guys accepted money from Candace. Not when there’s a murderer on the loose. I’ll call my uncle. He’ll get them to cut you a deal. You tell them everything you know about Candace, and they won’t charge you.”
Skinny Dipping with Murder Page 21