“How do you know?” Heather asked.
“It was on his nametag.”
“He had a nametag?” Heather typed the full name into the search bar and pressed enter.
“See, this is why you need me. I notice things you don’t.”
The first few results listed Facebook pages. Heather checked out the description beneath each, then clicked on the one which had Key West as a location. Jared’s Facebook page opened up on the screen.
“Poor dude,” Heather said and pointed to the profile picture – an image of Jared and Daphne sitting arm in arm on the edge of the pier.
She scrolled down his wall and checked out the posts which were visible to the public. A video played, and she frowned. “I don’t get why they do this,” Heather said. “They don’t even give you the option to press play anymore. The videos just play by themselves. It drives me crazy.”
“Heather, look!”
She focused on the screen again.
The video focused on Daphne Wilder out on a Key West street, blue sky on the horizon. A man approached her – it was Jared. He hugged her, then pulled back and dropped to one knee.
“Oh my goodness,” Amy said. “Is he –?”
“Proposing.”
Jared brought a ring box out of his pocket, popped it open, then offered it up to Daphne. The woman stood frozen on the screen, expression unreadable.
“I can’t watch it. It’s too awkward,” Amy said and buried her face in her pillow.
Daphne Wilder shook her head, once, twice. She pushed past her boyfriend and darted down the street. Jared remained in place, staring up at the spot Daphne had been seconds before. Slowly, he bowed his head.
The video cut out.
“Oh wow,” Heather said. “That’s just horrible.” She brushed her fingertips across her forehead. “That must have been so embarrassing.”
“Yeah,” Amy said, and finally lifted her head. “Which begs the question, who would upload something like this to his wall? And why hasn’t he deleted it?”
Heather licked her lips. “Now, I’m no expert on Facebook, but it looks as if he hasn’t been active in a while. Maybe he doesn’t know it’s up. And as for who posted the video,” she said and scanned the names at the top of the post.
“Who is it?” Amy squished forward.
“You’re not going to believe this,” Heather said and met her bestie’s gaze. “It was Lenny Lorde.”
“No. Way.”
Heather shook her head and scrambled into a sitting position. “What does this mean? Why would Lenny take a personal interest in Jared and Daphne’s love life?”
“Unless he was friends with Jared? Maybe, he uploaded the video as, like, a reminder of how bad Daphne was?”
“What are you saying?” Heather asked.
“That Jared and Lenny might’ve worked together.”
“I don’t – ”
“Hear me out,” Amy said. “Jared’s in love with Lenny, who doesn’t agree with their relationship for whatever reason. Jared wants to record the moment he declares his love for Daphne and Lenny agrees to help him out.”
“But it goes South.”
“Lenny doesn’t want Jared to forget how Daphne hurt him,” Amy replied. “He uploads the video.”
“And what, they kill her for breaking it off with Jared? I don’t think that makes sense,” Heather said.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Amy said. “I don’t suppose his page lists an address.”
“People usually make that information private,” Heather said and clicked on the About tab on Jared’s Facebook page. She scrolled through the information and arched an eyebrow. “Well, that makes things easier. He’s listed it.”
“Let’s go have a chat,” Amy said and sat up. She groaned and gripped her tummy. “I need to work off these calories, anyway.”
Chapter 13
Jared Brown lived in a rundown shack at the end of a winding dirt road near the beach. It was surrounded by sand, soft waves upon them, and the ever-present palm trees which decorated everything from the walls to the streets in Key West.
If Heather never saw another palm tree after this visit, it’d be too soon.
She knocked on Jared’s front door, and the thing creaked open of its own accord.
“What in the name of –?” The young man rushed toward the door, clad in a pair of board shorts and a sleeveless shirt. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock first?”
“That’s exactly what we did,” Amy said. “Not our fault that your door doesn’t close properly.”
Jared scuffed his bare feet on the worn floorboards in the living room. Or was it a bedroom? A kitchen? Counters and a mini-fridge rimmed the far wall, a double bed sat right beside them, and on the other end, a book shelf gathered dust beside a two-seater.
“What do you want?” He asked.
“May we come in?” Heather asked, and restrained herself from peering past him again.
“No,” Jared replied. “But if you want to talk, I’ll come out there.” He marched past them and around the corner.
Heather and Ames had no choice but to follow all the way down to the beach front. They kicked off their shoes, and Heather relished the sensation of sand between her toes.
Jared plonked down on the beach, above the wet line which graced the sand. Waves whispered instead of roared, here, and the wind soughed between the trees behind them.
“What do you want to talk about?” Jared asked. “Let me guess, Daphne.”
“I can’t let it go,” Heather said and sat down beside him. Amy took up a position on her other side. “I need to know what happened to her and why. I thought you might have some answers.”
Jared’s brow wrinkled. “Why would I have answers?”
“Why did Lenny tag you in that proposal video on your Facebook page?” Heather asked.
Jared’s jaw dropped. “You looked at my Facebook page?”
“Were you and Lenny friends? Did you plan this together?” Heather asked, and hardened her tone. “This will be much easier if you just tell us the truth, Jared.”
Outrage crossed the man’s features then dissipated as quick as it’d arrived. “No. Lenny and I weren’t friends. I despise that guy.”
“Then why did he record the video?” Amy asked.
“I have no idea. I didn’t know anyone had recorded what happened,” Jared said. “I just know that my heart was broken at the time.”
“Did Lenny hate you as much as you did him?”
“Clearly,” Jared replied, and ran his hand through his hair. “I’m going to have to take that video down. Heck, I’ll take the whole page down. No use for it now.”
“Why not?”
“There’s no use for anything with Daphne gone,” Jared said.
“So, you expect us to believe that Lenny just happened to be there, recording, at the moment you –”
Jared scrambled to his feet and kicked sand everywhere. “Wait here,” he said, then rushed off toward his little shack.
Heather dusted sand off her jeans and looked back at his home. “That was unexpected,” she said.
“He’s lying,” Amy said. “They worked together. I’m telling you.”
“We can’t possibly know that without more evidence, Ames.” Gosh, it hurt to say the word evidence, now. She didn’t have any of it. “If it’s not Jared, then maybe it was Lenny. There’s got to be a link between Daphne and what happened to his wife years ago.”
“You don’t think Daphne killed her?”
“No. I don’t know. We don’t have any information about that either.” Heather’s frustration reached new heights. How was she supposed to do this, stick within the bounds of normal social behavior and the law, and keep calm?
“Here he comes,” Amy said.
Jared thundered up behind them, then dropped to his butt in the sand, once again, showering them in the stuff. “Here,” he said, and handed Heather a letter. “This is from Daphne. She gave it to
me at the animal farm after she ran off.”
Heather scanned the words on the page.
I didn’t mean to hurt you, Jared. I just needed some space. There have been some things on my mind lately, and I had to sort through them before I could commit. I want you to know that I love you. I still want to be with you. I know we can make this work if you just give me a second chance.
“She wanted to get back together,” Amy said, who’d read over Heather’s shoulder.
“Yeah,” Jared said, and took the letter back. He folded it up and tucked it into the leg pocket of his board shorts. “I messed up.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was so angry that she’d left me like that. I – yeah, I didn’t take her back. I didn’t reply to the letter. I didn’t want to meet with her,” Jared said.
“And that was when she started hanging around the animal farm?” Heather asked
“Yeah. My boss got so frustrated with it. He kept talking about how uncomfortable it made him and his wife,” Jared said. “I didn’t have the guts to tell them the real reason she was there.”
“Why?”
“I was afraid he’d fire me,” he replied. “I don’t have much money. I come from nothing, man, nothing. If I get fired from the scummy job, who else will take me?”
Heather chewed the corner of her mouth. “What about Lenny? Did Daphne ever mention anything about him?”
“Only that he treated his employees like dirt,” Jared said and stared out over the ocean. “Oh and that she was sure he’d killed his wife. She woke up with nightmares most nights because she found Kara’s body.”
Heather’s heart skipped a beat. “She thought Lenny killed his wife.”
“That’s right.”
“Did she ever tell him that?” Heather asked.
“No way,” Jared replied. “She needed to keep her job just as much as I did.”
Chapter 14
Heather banged on the hotel manager’s office door, mind burning with the determination which had seen her past cases solved. She’d avoided interviewing this guy for a reason – she didn’t want to gain attention from Detective Smith – but she couldn’t put it off any longer.
The Facebook video, coupled with the information that Daphne had believed Lenny had murdered his wife required further investigation.
Only the manager himself could provide those answers.
“Maybe he’s not around,” Amy said.
Heather knocked again, louder this time.
“Who is it?” Lenny yelled from inside. “I’m busy.”
Heather turned the doorknob and let herself into his office. He wasn’t too busy to talk ill of a woman who’d needed help. Or too busy to hide from the truth.
“Who on earth are you?” Lenny asked, and planted his fists on his desk. He rose from his seat. “No, I’ll do you one better. Who the heck do you think you are, barging into my office like this?”
“Mr. Lorde,” Heather said. “I’m one of the guests at the hotel.”
Lenny slipped the anger from his expression and replaced it with an obsequious smile. “Ladies, please, take a seat. What can I help you with?”
“Wow. My head’s spinning now,” Amy muttered.
They crowded into the hotel manager’s office. Amy shut the door, and they made for the chairs in front of his desk.
Lenny sat down and gestured for them to do the same. “Is there a problem with your room? I believe the crime scene tape has finally been removed from around the pool. You should be able to use it, now.”
Heather wouldn’t have taken a dip in that pool if the man had paid her. “We’re not here for the pool or the room.” They’d fixed the air conditioning at last. “We wanted to talk about Daphne. And your wife.”
Lenny gripped the edge of his desk. “Pardon?”
“Your wife. We heard she was murdered and the body found by Daphne,” Heather said.
Amy slipped her cell out of her pocket and unlocked the screen. They’d purposefully searched the Facebook video and left the tab open for this moment. Ames placed the cell front and center on the desk, then pressed the play button.
“Can you explain why you took this video?” Heather asked.
“What are you talking about?” Lenny said. “I didn’t take any video.” He refused to look down at the phone.
“You tagged Jared in it. There a reason for that? There a reason you didn’t want Daphne to stay in the hotel room anymore? There a reason Daphne thought you murdered your wife?”
“I had an alibi for that!” Lenny exploded and rolled back in his seat. “How dare you –?”
“I’ve got a lot of evidence stacking up against you,” Heather said. “And I’m more than happy to take it to the police.”
The door creaked open behind them. “Mission accomplished,” a deep voice said.
The skin on the back of Heather’s neck prickled. She didn’t say ‘uh oh’ out loud, and neither did Amy, but the words were practically written on her bestie’s forehead.
Detective Smith strode into view and stopped next to the desk. He lifted the cell and watched the video.
“Detective, I can explain,” Lenny said and switched back to his jovial, hotelier tones.
“You’d better do that,” Smith said and put down the phone. “And that goes for you ladies, too.”
“We’re just concerned citizens. Guests of the hotel, I mean. We wanted to make sure we weren’t staying in a murderer’s hotel,” Heather said, with as much bravado as she could manage.
“I’ll get to you in a moment,” Smith said. “Explain this, Lorde.”
“It’s Len –”
“Explain.”
“I was in love with her,” Lenny thundered. “I was in love with Daphne, and I followed her to the beachfront that day. I recorded her because I thought she was beautiful.”
Heather’s skin crawled. The man was a stalker. She’d figured Rodney Roadkill was the type for that, but boy, had she been wrong.
“You stalked the victim,” Smith said.
Had he not found the video online? Hadn’t he checked out Jared? It seemed like the first lead he should’ve followed.
“I didn’t stalk her in that way. I just wanted her to realize that we were meant to be together,” Lenny said. “But she didn’t want to see it.” His face crumpled into rage. “She loved that dumb kid, instead.”
“And that was why you killed her,” Heather said.
Smith shot her a look, and she quieted.
“What? No,” Lenny replied. “I wouldn’t hurt her. I loved her.”
“But you didn’t want her to stay in the hotel room, anymore,” Smith said.
“I – uh – I wanted her to move in with me. I figured if I kicked her out, she’d have no choice but to move in with me.”
Oh gosh, what an absolute sleazebag. Heather pushed back in her seat and Amy followed her example.
Detective Smith held out his hand. “Stop right there, Mrs. Shepherd. You and I need to have a serious talk.”
“But what about this guy,” Amy said and jerked her thumb toward Lenny. “He’s just admitted he was a psycho stalker.”
“Hey!” Lenny lurched out of his chair.
Tensions had reached all new levels.
“Mr. Lorde, my partner is going to come in and interview you about this. If you leave the room or the hotel, you will be detained and taken to the station,” Smith said. “And Mrs. Shepherd, you and I are going to take a seat in the lobby outside. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
Oh boy. She’d truly put her foot in it this time. Perhaps, the lack of help from Ryan had exposed just how useless she was at investigating without him.
Then again, she had just given Smith a lead which could blow the case wide open.
“Now, Mrs. Shepherd,” Smith said, and strode to the door. “Bring Miss Givens with you.”
Chapter 15
Once again, Heather couldn’t sleep. The air con clicked and hummed against the wall and po
ured coolness over her skin, but it didn’t help.
Detective Smith had quizzed her for all her knowledge, and judging by his reactions, he’d known most of what she’d told her. Why had she even investigated this?
She’d wasted precious time worrying about leads when she should’ve spent time with her assistants. After all, they had to travel back in the morning. They’d told her she should investigate but she’d known better.
Heather bit her lip and fought back tears of frustration. Not only would she leave after a less than relaxing vacation, but she’d still didn’t have an answer as to who had actually murdered Daphne.
Thoughts flitted through her mind. Still images of what’d happened over the past few days.
There was Exotic Eric in his store. Brittney hovered in the background. Again, outside the aquarium, showing off the animals to drum up help. Rodney Roadkill stood, staring on the morning of Daphne’s murder. Lenny stormed through the lobby, red in the face. Jared wept beside the empty alligator pit.
“There’s got to be an answer to this,” she whispered.
It was simple. The murderer had to have had access to the Man O’War tank at the animal farm. They drove a silver Kia.
From what she’d seen neither Lenny nor Eric had a Kia. Rodney and Jared didn’t have cars. What had she missed?
“Ugh,” she muttered.
“You’re talking in your sleep again,” Amy said.
“I wish I was asleep.”
Ames rolled over in the darkness and Heather did the same, and faced her bestie. She widened her eyes to catch a glimpse of her.
“You did everything you could, given the circumstances,” Amy whispered. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. By tomorrow morning this will all be in the past, and we can focus on making donuts again. And maybe some good old fashioned Hillside crimes.”
“What, making them or solving them?” Heather asked.
“You know what I mean,” Ames replied.
They descended into silence, and Amy’s breathing deepened and evened out after a few minutes.
Heather turned to the door instead and shivered. She was on edge tonight. No amount of chatting would remove the fact that Heather had failed. For the first time in months, she’d failed to solve a case. Did that mean she wasn’t a good investigator?
Kiwi Lime Surprise Murder: A Donut Hole Cozy - Book 40 (Donut Hole Cozy Mystery) Page 5