by Sarah Fox
“I do.” She continued to sob in Sienna’s arms.
“We should get you home, Bailey,” I said.
“I can’t go home. I have to find proof.”
“We should leave that to the professionals.” I wasn’t oblivious of the fact that I sounded like Ray.
Bailey shook her head, adamant. Sienna released her from her hug and Bailey pulled a letter out of an envelope.
“I can take you to talk to the sheriff if that will make you feel better,” I offered, eager to get the girls out of the house.
“As soon as I find proof.” Tears still rolling down her cheeks—silently now—she tried a new password for the email account.
I was about to suggest she try getting into the account from another computer when the lock on the front door clicked.
Chapter 27
All three of us turned our heads toward the hallway. The front door opened and closed. Keys jangled and something clunked against the floor. I glanced around the room, desperately searching for a place for the three of us to hide. One of the girls might fit under the desk, but there were no other hiding places. Sienna and I stared at each other, horrified.
Footsteps headed along the hallway. I glanced at Bailey. She didn’t appear the least bit worried. Her face had taken on a fiercely determined expression, her blue eyes icy. She fixed her gaze on the doorway, and I turned my attention there too.
Jill strode along the hallway. She almost made it past the door before she glanced in the room and saw us. She did a double take, her brown eyes going wide.
“What the hell is going on here?” She noticed her cousin’s daughter sitting at the desk. “Bailey?”
My heart thudded in my chest. I stepped in front of Sienna, as if that would somehow protect her from the fury now radiating off Jill.
“And you!” Jill pointed at me. “What are you doing in my house?”
Bailey stood up. “We’re looking for evidence.”
Jill stared at her, angry and bewildered. “Evidence?”
“Evidence that you’re a murderer.”
Jill gaped at Bailey for another second before swinging around to face me. “You,” she spat out, jabbing a finger at me. “You put her up to this, didn’t you?”
“No,” I said, surprised but relieved to find I sounded calm and confident.
“Like hell you didn’t. Forrest told me all about you. You’re trying to throw him and Glo under the bus, to have them blamed for things they didn’t do.”
“That’s not true.”
“No?” She loomed over me, glaring down at me. “I’ve been watching you and I’ve asked around. Lisa Morales is a friend of yours. She’s a suspect, and you’re trying to get her off the hook by framing Glo and Forrest.”
“I’m not trying to frame anyone. If anyone’s being framed, it’s Lisa.”
Jill snorted, sounding unnervingly like an angry wild animal.
From behind me, Sienna grabbed my hand. I gave hers what I hoped was a reassuring squeeze.
Beside me, Bailey raised her chin. “We know you killed Wally on Mom’s behalf. You probably killed Chester too. And now you’re taking off for Costa Rica.”
“Costa Rica? Where did you get a crazy idea like that?”
“From the email you sent Chester,” Bailey said with a note of cold triumph. “And your suitcase is all packed.”
“I’m going to a bodybuilding competition in Chicago, and I never sent an email to Chester.”
“A likely story,” Bailey shot back.
“That’s it.” Jill produced a cellphone from her pocket. She pointed at Bailey. “I’m calling your mother.” She pointed at me next. “And then I’m calling the sheriff to deal with you. You’ll be arrested for breaking and entering.”
Bailey held up a key. “We didn’t break and enter.”
Jill grabbed the key from her. “Your mother will deal with you. The sheriff will deal with this busybody.” She glared at me with that last statement.
My stomach sank. It looked like I’d end up in handcuffs before Lisa did.
“If you call the sheriff, he might arrest you,” Bailey said.
“He has no reason to arrest me!” Jill shouted.
Bailey burst into tears again and some of Jill’s ire drained away.
“Bailey, I didn’t kill anyone and neither did your mom.”
Bailey sniffled. “But she had reason to kill Wally.”
“Yes, she did, and I’m not all that sorry he’s dead, but we had nothing to do with the murders.”
“Mom’s hiding something.” Bailey hiccupped and wiped at her tears. “I know she is.”
Jill heaved out a sigh. “She slashed Wally’s tires.”
“She did?” I said with surprise. Then I realized how much sense that made. “She slipped away from the ladies’ night at the hardware store to do it.”
Jill clearly still had no kind feelings toward me, but she nodded.
Sneaking away to slash the tires explained the dark smudge I’d seen Glo trying to rub off her hand after she came in through the store’s back door.
Bailey wiped away another tear. “But why didn’t she say so? She made me come clean about my shoplifting, so why didn’t she face up to what she did?”
“She was probably afraid it would make her look too suspicious,” I said.
Jill nodded again. “Your mom slashed the tires right around the time Wally was killed. She had motive and opportunity, and the tire slashing shows she was capable of taking out her anger on Wally, in some form at least. Your dad and I told her not to say anything. We thought it would be for the best.”
Bailey stared at her hands, now clasped in her lap. “So you and mom didn’t hurt anyone?”
“No. I swear we didn’t.”
Bailey raised her eyes. “Please don’t call the cops. Sienna and Marley are only here because I’m here.”
Jill addressed me, her eyes hard again. “If you and your little friend leave right now, I won’t call the sheriff. But if I ever see you with so much as a toe on my property again, the outcome will be very different.”
Sienna still had hold of my hand, so I tugged her toward the door.
“Bailey, do you want to come with us?” I asked. I wasn’t completely comfortable with the thought of leaving her behind.
She nodded and lowered her eyes. “Sorry,” she mumbled to Jill before following me and Sienna to the front door.
We hurried out of the house and down the street, not slowing until we reached the corner.
“Do you believe Jill?” Sienna asked Bailey as we came to a stop.
Her friend nodded. “I think so.”
She hugged herself and shivered, and I realized for the first time that she didn’t have a coat.
As if reading my thoughts, Sienna said, “She left her house in a rush after I told her about the email. She didn’t stop for a coat or anything else.”
I slipped out of my own jacket and put it around Bailey’s shoulders.
“Thanks,” she said through chattering teeth.
“We should get you home,” I told her.
She didn’t outright agree with the suggestion, but she also didn’t protest.
I led the way along a side street. We hadn’t gone far when an old and rusting car approached us from behind and pulled up to the curb, the front passenger widow lowering.
“Hey, there,” Justine said, leaning over from the driver’s seat to speak to us through the open window.
“Hi, Justine,” Sienna replied with a wave.
Justine’s gaze landed on me. “Isn’t it a bit cold to be going around without a jacket?”
“It is,” I said, without bothering to explain the circumstances.
She motioned us closer to the car. “Climb in. I can give you a ride if you’re not going far.
My daughter’s with my stepmom, but I don’t need to pick her up for another half hour.”
“I’d like a ride,” Bailey said, still shivering despite wearing my jacket.
“Thanks, Justine.” I opened the back door so Bailey and Sienna could get in.
Once I’d buckled up in the passenger seat, Justine pulled away from the curb.
“Where to?” she asked.
Bailey provided directions to her house. It only took a minute to get there in the car.
“Are you going to be okay?” I asked as Bailey opened the back door.
“I think so.” She handed me my jacket over the seat. “Thanks.” She directed the last word at all of us.
“I’ll text you later, okay?” Sienna said as her friend got out of the car.
Bailey nodded and shut the door.
Justine set the car in motion again. “Where to now? Home, Sienna?”
“Yes, please. And Marley lives near me.”
Justine turned onto Main Street and followed it northward.
My thoughts remained with Bailey. For her sake, I hoped everything Jill said was true. I believed her about the slashed tires. Hopefully that’s where Glo’s involvement ended. I thought there was a good chance that was the case.
That took me back to the Vicky-and-Chester-in-cahoots theory. Although I had trouble getting past the idea of Vicky’s grief being nothing more than a show, in other ways that theory made more sense than the one involving Jill and Glo, especially when it came to the suggestion in the email that Chester and the sender would enjoy a life of riches in Costa Rica.
Unfortunately, I didn’t feel any closer to actually proving anyone’s involvement in the murders. That wasn’t good news for Lisa or Ivan. I wasn’t looking forward to telling them that I still couldn’t prove their innocence and I was all too aware that time was running out.
“Do you think Bailey will be okay?” Sienna asked me as Justine turned onto Wildwood Road.
“I hope so. I think there’s a good chance Jill was telling the truth.”
“What’s going on?” Justine asked with clear interest.
I hesitated, remembering that Justine was a reporter, not sure how much it would be wise to tell her. Before I could decide what to share or hold back, Sienna spoke up.
“We thought Bailey’s mom and her mom’s cousin might have killed Wally and Chester, but that doesn’t seem like it’s the case anymore.”
“Really?” Justine glanced at Sienna’s reflection in the rearview mirror. “What made you think that?”
“I saw an email on Chester’s phone. It sounded like he and some woman had been planning to take off for Costa Rica with lots of money.”
“And you thought that woman was Bailey’s mom?”
“Her mom’s cousin,” Sienna said. “But it looks like we were wrong.”
I shifted in my seat, wondering how to get the message to Sienna that she probably shouldn’t share too much with Justine. Maybe Charlene wouldn’t let Justine print anything that would upset or humiliate the Hansfields, but I couldn’t be sure about that.
“Vicky’s the one who’s inheriting Wally’s money,” Justine said. “Could she be the one who sent the email?”
“That crossed our minds, but we really don’t know who sent it,” I said, hoping that would put an end to the conversation.
Justine gave no indication that she’d heard me. “I heard a rumor that Chester and Vicky had a romance going on. It seems likely that she’d be the one planning to take off to Costa Rica with him.”
Sienna leaned forward between the two front seats. “We thought about that too. Marley thinks Vicky seems genuinely sad about Chester’s death, though. But I figure maybe she’s just a good actress.”
“She is,” Justine said. “So I’ve heard, anyway.”
“I’m still not convinced,” I said.
“Lisa Morales is still a suspect.”
“It wasn’t Lisa,” I said with conviction.
“You’re probably right,” Justine conceded. “Lisa’s too nice to kill anyone.”
“Plus, she doesn’t have kids,” Sienna added.
“What’s that got to do with it?” Justine asked.
“Whoever sent Chester the email has the handle Juicy Mama.”
“I’m sure the sheriff will figure it out,” I said quickly, hoping to put an end to the conversation.
I didn’t like the expression on Justine’s face. I suspected she was already writing a story in her head, one that would include information that Ray might not want the public knowing at this stage of the investigation.
She smiled and tucked her hair behind one ear. “I’m sure you’re right.”
I was about to point out my driveway when icy fear shot through my veins.
Dangling from Justine’s ears were the earrings I’d seen Chester buy at the antiques shop.
Chapter 28
My heart rate jumped into overdrive as a string of thoughts rushed through my head.
“That’s Marley’s place.” Sienna pointed to the entrance to my driveway.
“Actually, keep going,” I said to Justine, forcing myself to sound calm and completely normal. “I’d like to talk to Sienna’s mom for a few minutes.”
That way the teen wouldn’t be left alone in the car with a murderer.
“She’s out,” Sienna said. “I don’t think she’ll be home until this evening.”
I scrambled to come up with a new plan. “Then I’ll get out near the Jepsons’ place. My boyfriend’s working there.”
Justine pulled to a stop across the street from the Murrays’ driveway and Sienna climbed out, thanking Justine for the ride.
“See you, Marley.”
I waved to her and watched as she jogged across the road. My fear lowered by a single notch once she was safely out of sight, but I could still barely breathe. My heart was thumping painfully hard against my rib cage. Time seemed to have slowed, each second ticking by sluggishly.
Justine drove forward again, but then she pulled back onto the shoulder of the road and stopped.
“Would you mind getting out here, Marley?” she asked with a smile.
“Um, sure.” I wasted no time opening the door, feeling equal parts wary of why she’d stopped and eager to get away from her. “Thanks for the ride.” I forced a smile and climbed out of the car. “See you around.”
I was almost ready to let out a sigh of relief when the driver’s door opened. The friendly smile had vanished from Justine’s face.
My heart nearly stopped, stuttering with fear, when she pointed a gun at me over the hood of the car.
“Sorry to interfere with your plans,” Justine said, her expression now cold, “but you’ll have to wait to see your boyfriend. Indefinitely.”
“What’s this about?” I had to force the words out of my dry throat.
“Oh, I think you know,” Justine said. “You figured it out, didn’t you?”
My gaze darted to the left and right, hoping to find that we weren’t alone. Aside from the two of us, the road was deserted.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said slowly, struggling to stay calm while my whole body trembled.
“Cut the act.” Justine practically spat the words across the hood of the car. “I saw it in your eyes. You figured it out just a moment ago. What tipped you off?”
“Your earrings,” I replied, not wanting to make her any angrier.
“How could my earrings tell you anything?”
“I was at the antiques store when Chester bought them. He bought a necklace at the same time and gave it to Vicky. I thought maybe he’d returned the earrings because Vicky’s ears aren’t pierced. But he didn’t, did he? He gave them to you.”
“He bought them here in town?” Her face flushed with rage. “That idiot! He r
uined everything!”
Shards of fear cut through me at her anger.
“Did you know he was seeing Vicky?” I asked, hoping to keep her talking until I could figure out a better way to keep her from harming me.
“He wasn’t seeing her. Not really. It was all part of the plan.”
“The plan to get her inheritance,” I said, the full picture becoming clearer in my head. “Or at least part of it. Did you really think Vicky would hand Chester a bunch of money because he wooed her with some jewelry?”
“It was a good plan. It just needed patience. Vicky was falling for Chester already. It wouldn’t have been long until she fell head over heels. It was easy to get her to provide Chester with an alibi. Once Wally was dead, Chester was supposed to ask Vicky for money for a business of his own. It’s not like she’s financially savvy. I’m sure she would have handed it over.”
That was likely true, considering what she’d done for Adam.
“And then you and Chester were going to take off for Costa Rica.”
She didn’t bother to confirm that statement.
“Come over here,” she ordered. When I hesitated, she snapped, “Now!”
Unable to tear my eyes away from the gun, I complied, moving around the front of the car with measured steps. When I approached Justine, she took two steps away from the car.
“Ditch your phone.”
I carefully pulled the device out of my tote bag and tossed it over the hood of the car. I felt sick as I let it go. My only possible lifeline was gone.
Justine nodded at the driver’s seat. “Get in.”
“Why?” I asked.
“You do realize I’ve got a gun pointed at you, don’t you?”
“Think this through, Justine,” I said as I slowly settled into the driver’s seat.
“I already have. Put your hands on the steering wheel where I can see them.”
Again, I obeyed the order.
“Don’t move or I’ll put a bullet through your head.”
She shoved the door shut with her foot and hurried around the front of the car, keeping her weapon pointed at me through the windshield. She yanked open the passenger door and slid into the seat beside me.