by Cindy Bell
“Oh, looks like she might have been lying to you,” Stacey said as she pointed to the date of arrival she had written down. It was the day before Josh was killed.
“So, why would she have flown in before he died?” Bekki asked no one in particular. “Why would she pretend that she had only come for the funeral?”
“I don't know, but it's obvious she was here before Josh was killed,” Stacey said with hope in her voice. “Do you think that will help Dave's case?”
“It's too soon to say yet,” Bekki admitted. “But I will talk to Nick about it.”
“Nick,” Stacey nodded. “Sure.”
“I know you're angry at him right now,” Bekki said softly. “But Nick is dedicated to his job, and he is going to investigate this crime until he is absolutely certain that he has the right person.”
“I hope so,” Stacey said with a frown. “Because I know it's not Dave.”
“Don't worry,” Bekki assured her. “It won't be long until he is home.”
Stacey walked Bekki back to the door. “Listen Bekki, if there's anything I can do to help the case, just let me know,” Stacey said firmly. “I want to do everything I can to help get Dave out of jail.”
“Well, you've already helped a lot,” Bekki said. She hesitated a moment and wondered if she should ask about the rumors of Stacey and Josh having an affair. It certainly gave Dave a motive, and possibly even Stacey. But Bekki didn't want to offend her any more than she already had. At least not until she looked a little deeper into Claire's possible involvement. As she walked back to her car she checked her phone to see if she had missed a call or text from Nick. Her call log was clear.
***
The drive home was a rough one. Bekki's mind kept flicking back to the look that Claire had given her when Claire said she had accused Janet of murdering Josh. When she pulled into the driveway she noticed Nick's car was already there. She unlocked the door quietly, assuming that he might be trying to catch a few hours of sleep. Instead, she found him preparing dinner for them in the kitchen.
“Hi, babe,” he called out as he pulled a pan of chicken out of the oven. “I was hoping you'd be home soon.”
“You didn't need to make dinner,” Bekki said apologetically. “You must be exhausted.”
“I'm not so much exhausted as I am frustrated,” Nick clarified as he sat the pan down on the top of the stove.
“I'm sorry I wasn't home earlier…” Bekki began.
“Oh no, not because of you,” Nick said quickly and then hugged her. “You're the only thing that makes sense to me right now.”
“Thanks?” Bekki asked with a raised eyebrow. “What's going on?”
Nick hesitated a moment as if he wasn't sure if he should discuss the case.
Bekki smiled faintly. “I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours.”
“Hmm,” he narrowed his eyes slightly. “I don't think it would be wise of me to turn that down.”
“So, tell me what's going on?” Bekki asked.
Nick turned back to the chicken and began putting it on two plates for them, along with steamed broccoli and a side of pasta.
“Dave had motive, because it seems likely that Stacey was having an affair with Josh and he found out. Also, the murder weapon is obviously his,” he sighed as he carried the plates to the table. Bekki grabbed them some drinks and followed after him.
“But he's innocent,” Bekki pointed out.
“I'm not saying that,” Nick warned as he pulled out her chair for her. Bekki sat down, and Nick took the chair across from her. “I don't decide who is guilty or innocent, the evidence does.”
Bekki frowned. It was fairly clear that the evidence pointed directly to Dave. “This is delicious,” she said after taking a bite of the chicken. It was an attempt to diffuse the tension that was building between them.
“But there are a few little problems that are just bugging me,” he sighed.
“Like?” Bekki prompted him.
“Like, Dave had a prescription called in. If you're going to pretend to be sick, so that you can commit murder, would you really go so far as getting a prescription?” he shook his head slightly. “It would have to be very premeditated to think of that.”
“It would,” Bekki agreed and did her best not to voice her opinion. This was Nick's turn to share, and she wanted him to feel secure doing so.
“But the preliminary results of the autopsy confirm what I suspected and show that this was a crime of passion. The medical examiner said that from the force of the blow and the placement of it, it was a wild, desperate swing,” he shook his head and took a sip of his drink. When he put his glass back down he looked back into Bekki's eyes. “Premeditation and crimes of passion do not go together.”
“That's a good point,” Bekki said with a frown. “So, maybe he really was sick?”
“But if he really was sick, why would he be out on that golf course? Why wouldn't he wait until he felt better?” Nick growled low in his throat.
“Has he given you any information you can work with?” Bekki asked.
“No, nothing. He had a lawyer before he was even questioned,” Nick admitted with a frown. “I feel like I'm getting nowhere. If he would at least tell me his side, I might have something to go on,” he sighed and glanced back up at her. “So, what is yours?”
“Well, remember that woman who came in while we were talking at the salon?” Bekki asked.
“Sure,” Nick nodded.
“That turned out to be Claire Louis, Josh's sister,” Bekki explained. “She claimed she was here for the funeral.”
“Okay,” Nick furrowed a brow. “That's not very shocking. I would assume his family would come into town for the funeral.”
“But the thing is she arrived the day before Josh was killed,” Bekki explained.
“Are you sure about that?” Nick asked as he narrowed his eyes.
“I'm sure,” Bekki nodded. “I confirmed it with Stacey.”
“You what?” Nick's eyes widened slightly. “You talked to Stacey about this?”
“She's a travel agent,” Bekki reminded him. “She was able to check what flight Claire actually came in on.”
“You could have asked me,” he pointed out.
“I just wanted to see if the lead was worth anything before I brought it to you,” Bekki frowned. “I'm telling you now, right?”
“Right,” Nick nodded and then pulled out his phone. “Excuse me one minute, and I'll get an investigation going into Claire's background.”
As Nick sent a text requesting the investigation, Bekki felt a small thrill. She did enjoy investigating with him, even if he preferred to avoid it. Nick tucked his phone back into his pocket and then looked across the table at Bekki.
“That was a good catch,” he said. “But remember…”
“I know, I know,” Bekki held up her hands in surrender. “Don't get too involved in the case.”
“Janet contacted me today to let me know that the funeral is going to be on Tuesday,” Nick said with a sigh.
“Speaking of Janet,” Bekki said quickly. “Did she ever tell you what Josh was doing at the country club so early when it was closed?” Bekki asked.
“She said they had a bit of a spat and he wanted to head to the game early. Since it appeared that Dave and Stacey weren't going Janet wanted to stay home,” Nick shrugged a little. “It seemed as if he just went there to blow off some steam.”
As they finished dinner Bekki did her best to avoid talking about the case any further. She could see the exhaustion in Nick's features.
“Nick, you should get some sleep while you can,” Bekki said as she cleared the dishes from the table. “I'll clean up.”
Nick yawned and nodded. “I might be able to get a couple of hours. Tomorrow is going to be a long day of interviews.”
Chapter Seven
The next day Bekki and Sammy worked together in the salon. Marie was one of their first customers.
“How are you doing, Mama
?” Bekki asked after hugging her.
“I'd be doing better if your father would calm down,” Marie sighed as she settled into Bekki's chair. “All he's been doing is pacing and pacing. He keeps talking about Dave being locked up and how unfair it is.”
“I'm sorry, Mama,” Bekki frowned.
“It's not your fault, Bekki. It's not Nick's either. Somehow Dave's long iron was at the scene, no one put it there,” she pointed out. “It must have been an unfortunate coincidence of some kind.”
Marie's words stuck in her mind. No one put it there. But what if someone had? What if everything she had seen at the crime scene was put there to be seen? If someone had taken Dave's golf club and placed it at the scene, then it was an obvious attempt at framing Dave. But why would anyone want to frame Dave? Then again with all the rumors flying around the country club about Stacey and Josh having an affair, maybe Dave seemed like the perfect person to frame for killing Josh.
It was difficult for Bekki to sort through the jumble of information in her mind, but as she worked on styling her mother’s hair she began to relax. She knew that whatever had happened out on the golf course was going to come to light. She just might need to encourage it a little. The perfect place to do that, was at the funeral the next day. Funerals were full of people grieving, but Bekki suspected there would be one other person there, a person trying their very best to remain under the radar.
“Hopefully this whole mess is over soon,” Marie mentioned quietly as Bekki finished her short, black hair. “I feel badly for Janet, and Josh's family. But this town needs an answer about how this happened, before they begin to believe there's a serial killer on the loose.”
“I know what you mean,” Bekki nodded. The rumor mill was running strong and stories that were passed around tended to be embellished more and more each time. “Nick has been working some very long hours trying to figure this one out.”
“I guess what it comes down to,” Sammy said as she walked up to them, “is who other than Dave would want to kill Josh?”
“Why would Dave want to kill Josh?” Marie asked innocently.
“Mama, there are a lot of rumors that Stacey and Josh were having an affair,” Bekki explained.
“Nonsense,” Marie said sharply. “Stacey would never do that to Dave.”
“Mama, sometimes we think we know people…” Bekki began.
“No,” Marie said sharply as she stood up from the chair. “Not Stacey. She would not cheat on Dave any more than I would cheat on your father, Bekki.”
Bekki stared at her mother. It was unlike her to become so angered by something. She was certain that her mother fully believed that Stacey would never cheat on Dave. Bekki was inclined to believe her mother since she and Stacey had been friends for a long time. But if that was the case, why were Stacey and Josh seen together? Rumors didn't often come from nothing, there was usually some grain of truth within them.
“Is Dad going to the funeral tomorrow?” Bekki asked casually.
“Yes, we'll both be there,” Marie replied.
“I will see you there then,” Bekki said as she hugged her mother goodbye.
“I've never seen her so riled up,” Sammy said as the door closed behind Marie.
Bekki grimaced as she realized that if Dave went to prison for murder, her parents might never forgive Nick. Before she could dwell on it too much, more customers arrived. Bekki lost herself in clipping and washing.
***
When Bekki arrived home that night Nick was just arriving as well.
“Anything on Claire?” she asked as they entered the house.
“Well, I did confirm that she arrived a day early. She also has a record. She's been arrested for assault in the past,” he paused a moment. “So, I brought her in for questioning,” he continued when Bekki turned to look at him.
“And?” Bekki asked.
“She claims she was in town to confront her brother about his marriage to Janet. She said that Josh knew she was coming into town, and that she suspected that Janet had found out. She presumed that Janet had killed him because she was angry that Josh was meeting with Claire,” he rubbed his forehead lightly. “And of course she has no alibi to speak of, since she was at her motel with no one to witness whether she came or went.”
“So, back to square one on Claire, too,” Bekki said with frustration. “But I do think Claire is acting suspiciously. The way she talks about Janet, you'd think Janet was a crazed killer. She's never been anything but nice to me.”
“There's nothing in Janet's background to indicate any violent behavior in the past,” Nick said. “I can't get Dave to breathe a word to defend or incriminate himself. My boss is pressuring me to provide more evidence, but the evidence I do have is flimsy at best.”
“That has to be frustrating,” Bekki said and walked behind him to rub his shoulders. “Sometimes you just have to shut your mind off to it all, and let the answer come to you.”
“I hope I find the answers soon,” Nick sighed.
***
When Bekki opened her eyes the next morning, there was a streak of sunlight filtering through the window. It painted the carpet with a strange patch of yellow. It almost looked like an arrow pointing at something in particular. She climbed out of bed, leaving Nick to sleep a little longer while she made them breakfast. She could feel the somberness in the air all around her. She knew that most of the town was waking up feeling the same way. But there was one person waking up feeling as if they had gotten away with murder.
“Smells good,” Nick said as he walked into the kitchen. Bekki smiled a little at his sleepy expression. For an unshakable detective during the day he had the sweetest, sleepy look in the mornings.
As they sat down to eat, Bekki tried to savor the time they had together. Even though it was a sad morning, it was still a morning that they were spending together.
“I sure hope that this goes smoothly,” Nick said as he finished his breakfast. “For Janet's sake.”
“Me, too,” Bekki nodded. “But you never know with funerals.”
Nick wiped his lips and then tipped his head towards the bedroom. “I'm going to take a quick shower.”
While Nick was in the shower Bekki got dressed and began applying her makeup in the mirror over the dresser in their bedroom. She heard the bathroom door open and Nick stepped out already dressed. He walked up beside her.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked as he looked through the mirror at her. Bekki straightened the navy blue blouse she was wearing paired with a simple, black skirt. She wasn't sure how to answer the question.
“It's not going to be an easy day,” she replied sorrowfully.
“I know,” he agreed and wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders. “I think it's good that you're going, though.”
“Well, I might not have known Josh very well, but my father knew him. I don't know how he's going to hold up today,” she added quietly.
“I understand,” Nick said with a frown. “I'm sure he won't be eager to see me.”
“He knows that you're just doing your job,” Bekki explained in a diplomatic tone.
“I know he knows that,” Nick replied with a slight edge to his voice. “But I also know that I'm the one who arrested his friend, and he's going to have difficulty seeing passed that.”
“He will when we prove that he's innocent,” Bekki said with confidence. When Nick met her eyes in the mirror, she smiled faintly. “I mean when you prove he's innocent.”
“We have to be careful with this one, Bekki,” Nick warned her and kissed her cheek. “Especially with your Dad being such good friends with the main suspect. If I do anything that looks like favoritism it could jeopardize the whole case.”
“I understand, I do,” Bekki promised him. “I'll be out in a minute, I just want to finish touching up my makeup,” Bekki said with a small smile.
“Okay,” he nodded and kissed her lightly on her lips. Bekki watched him walk out of their bedroom. She would neve
r want to do anything to strain their relationship, but circumstances were circumstances, and she was not going to let Dave go to prison. She was being careful not to cross any lines, but she knew that Nick might not see it that way if he knew everything she was up to. She could only hope that in the end all of her attempts at trying to find out the truth would pay off.
She checked her purse for the essentials. Extra tube of lipstick, hairbrush, small voice recorder, a little plastic bag for evidence collection, and of course a compact. It might not be the contents of every woman's purse, but Bekki was hoping to overhear or find something that might help with the case. Bekki wasn't sure if Stacey would attend considering the fact that her husband was being charged with Josh's murder.
***
When Bekki met Nick out by the car he was talking on his cell phone.
“Let's put some extra uniforms around the church then,” he was saying as he opened Bekki's door for her. “Sure, I don't want anything getting out of control,” Nick continued as he closed the door and then walked around to his side. When he opened his door, he was hanging up the phone.
“What was that about?” Bekki asked curiously.
“Looks like Stacey has already arrived at the funeral which has ruffled a few feathers. I'm just putting a little more security around. Nothing worse than a funeral turning into chaos,” he shook his head as he started the car.
On the ride to the church Bekki once more tried to think of anyone who might have a motive to attack Josh. The only person she kept coming up with was Dave. Of course that was not the answer she wanted.
“You're quiet,” Nick said as he turned down the road that led to the church. “Are you doing okay?” he asked.