I was completely unprepared for what the dispatcher said next.
“Another body has been found.”
Chapter Fifteen
It turned out to be more than just any dead body. The corpse in question belonged to Michelle Dillon. To my investigative mind, this clearly had to be more than just a coincidence. A man and one of his mistresses, both dead within a day of each other. Things like that didn’t happen by accident. At the same time, how interconnected were Benjamin’s and Michelle’s deaths?
To start, was Michelle’s death even a murder? Had she died by her own hand? Or had her death been a complete accident? My mind conjured so many questions in quick succession that it was hard to keep track of them all.
Assuming that Michelle’s death was not accidental, one theory took precedence over all others—that the same person had killed both her and Benjamin Norton. That was far from the only theory. There was also the small possibility that Michelle had been the one to kill Benjamin. Then, overcome with guilt and worried that she was about to be caught, she had killed herself rather than spend the rest of her life in jail. The final, and least likely theory, was that Michelle’s death was completely unrelated to Benjamin’s at all. That, in fact, there were two killers on the loose.
As Joe and I arrived at Michelle’s vacation rental property, the coroner’s van was parked out front. My brother and I walked through the house to the backyard, where I saw Michelle Dillon’s body on the concrete. Her corpse was wet and had clearly recently been pulled out of her pool.
The coroner, Todd Kelty, was crouched down, examining the body, specifically Michelle’s neck area, when my brother grabbed his attention.
“Todd, I can’t believe we’re seeing each other twice in the same day. This is not a good trend,” Joe said.
“Trust me, the feeling is mutual. I’d rather be eating sweet and sour chicken in front of the television right now,” Todd replied.
“I thought you were on a diet,” Joe said.
“I am, but the job isn’t exactly cooperating with my calorie counting. Especially today.”
“Come on. Didn’t you have days like this at the Miami coroner’s office?”
Todd nodded. “That’s why I left the Miami coroner’s office in the first place.”
“If it’s any consolation, at least you’re getting overtime pay.”
I knew what Joe was doing. The stress and frustration of investigating a murder case were getting to him. To cope, he tried to tell some jokes to blow off steam, even if his barbs were drenched in gallows humor.
As much as the sight of another dead body made me uncomfortable, I didn’t want to stand there and ignore the body either. There was a lot of work to be done and not a lot of time to do it in.
I spoke up. “Guys, can we get to Michelle Dillon?”
“Oh, right,” Joe said. He turned to Todd. “So what have we got?”
“Michelle Dillon. Deceased female, early forties, found face down in the pool,” Todd said.
“Talk about deja vu,” I replied.
“I hate deja vu,” Joe said. “Let me guess—the cause of death first appeared to be drowning, but at second glance it was actually strangulation?”
“That’s correct, detective. The victim has the same thin red mark around her neck that Benjamin Norton’s body had,” Todd replied.
“This killer definitely has a distinctive style,” Joe said.
“If we’re to assume that this is the work of the same killer,” I argued.
“I would stake my reputation on that,” Todd said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that the same person killed both Benjamin Norton and Michelle Dillon.”
Joe wasn’t done with his questions. “Time of death?”
“I would say the last hour or so.”
“Right out here in the daylight? The killer is getting brazen. Any witnesses?”
“None that I know of,” Todd replied.
“Who found the body?” my brother asked.
“One of the neighbors heard suspicious noises coming from here and called 9-1-1.”
“Which neighbor?”
“They didn’t leave their name.”
Joe groaned. “Of course not. That would be too helpful. Have you been able to pull any prints?”
“Yeah, but if this killer was as meticulous as last time, all the prints will belong to Michelle,” Todd replied.
“Let’s hope the killer was sloppy this time,” Joe said. “Has your team found the murder weapon? Or any hard evidence for that matter?”
Todd shook his head. “No, but it’s early, and we’re still looking.”
“All right. Keep me updated.”
Chapter Sixteen
Joe and I let Todd continue with his forensics work while we walked to the edge of Michelle’s back patio to process all the information we had just been given.
“If this murder was only committed an hour ago, that rules out Landon Thorpe as a suspect,” I said.
Joe nodded. “It does. He couldn’t very well have murdered Michelle Dillon when he was being questioned by us back at the police station at the time of her death.”
“I’d say that still doesn’t rule him out when it comes to Benjamin Norton’s murder, but Todd is pretty certain that the same person killed both victims.”
“Exactly. I think we’re pretty safe in ruling Landon out as a killer.”
“Which means that the real killer is still out there.”
“Apprehending Landon wasn’t a total loss, though. He may not be a murderer, but we have him dead to rights on possession of stolen property and resisting arrest.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy for that. But that doesn’t help us in solving this case.”
My brother disagreed. “In a way, it actually does.”
I furrowed my brow. “How do you figure?”
“If you scratch Landon off the list, it means one less suspect to worry about. And with Michelle being murdered, we now have two fewer potential suspects to sort through.”
“True, but there is still an uncomfortable number of suspects left.”
“Of course it’s uncomfortable. It’s a murder investigation. Look, we’re getting there. I guess the question now is, what’s our next step going to be?”
“I don’t know about you, but when I think about who had a reason to want both Benjamin and Michelle dead, one name immediately comes to my mind.”
My brother knew exactly where I was going with my thought.
“Hank Dillon,” he said.
“Exactly. Benjamin and Michelle’s affair gave Hank ample motive to want both of them dead,” I replied.
“Motive is one thing. The question is, did Hank have the means and opportunity, too?”
“Let’s find out,” I suggested.
There had been little interest on Frank Dillon’s end in talking to us the first time around. If he truly had killed Michelle an hour ago, he would be in no mood to see us again. More importantly, if he felt that he had successfully gotten revenge, he could have tried to make a break for it.
Joe prepared himself for that scenario. My brother grabbed his police radio and spoke into it, desperate to get the word out.
“Dispatch, I need a patrol car sent to Hank Dillon’s residence at 4927 Breakwater Lane immediately,” Joe said.
A few seconds later, the dispatcher responded to Joe’s order over the radio. “Copy that.”
My brother wasn’t done. “Also, put out an all-points bulletin for Hank Dillon. He cannot be allowed to leave town.”
While Joe gave orders to the dispatcher, I stepped aside.
After all the driving around town, I wanted to take a moment to myself to catch my breath. Shortly, we would be off running again. I had to muster the energy to throw myself once more into the fray.
That’s when it happened. Just as I turned my head to look at the beautiful lilacs that were planted at the edge of Michelle’s back patio, I spotted a shiny object in the grass that glistened
in the sun. I looked down and became fixated on it.
My brother couldn’t figure out what I was doing and tried to rush me along.
“Hope, it’s time to go,” he said.
I stopped him. “No, not yet.”
Joe became curious. He walked toward me with a look of concern on his face. “What’s going on?”
I crouched down, still focused on the object. “I found something.”
“What is it?”
I grabbed a tissue from my purse and picked up the object. As I held it up for Joe, he became just as fascinated as I was. The object was a small metal lapel pin in the shape of a star. I knew exactly where I had seen it before.
“Is that what I think it is?” Joe asked.
I nodded. “This is the key to everything.”
Chapter Seventeen
After the discovery of the pin, Joe and I paid the forensics lab a visit, then drove to Hollywood Top Star Realty, where Teresa Loomis worked. We barged into her office, full of confidence. The same could not be said for Teresa. She reluctantly pulled her eyes away from the laptop on her desk and looked like she wanted to bite our heads off.
Before she had the chance to snap at us, Joe got the first word in.
“Ms. Loomis, we need a few more minutes of your time,” Joe said.
“Sorry, but I’m busy,” Teresa replied.
Joe laid down the law. “I think you mistook my statement. I wasn’t asking you, I was telling you.”
Teresa opened her mouth to reply, but I jumped in before she had the chance.
“Don’t worry. This won’t take long,” I said.
Teresa didn’t back down. “Don’t you get it? Not only did I already answer your questions, but I have nothing else to say to you.”
“That may be the case, but we have plenty to say to you,” Joe replied.
Teresa groaned. “What more could you possibly have to ask me?”
“I see you’re not wearing your real estate pin,” I said.
Teresa looked down at her blazer. “Uh, yeah. I forgot it.”
“Or you left it somewhere,” I suggested.
She tried to correct me. “No. I was just in a rush this morning. I probably just left it on my dresser.”
I pulled an evidence bag out of my purse and placed it on the desk in front of her. Teresa looked closely at the star-shaped pin that was inside the bag.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I said.
Teresa replied defiantly. “You found a pin. So what?”
“This isn’t just any pin. It’s a pin from your real estate company,” I said.
Teresa didn’t back down. “Okay. Well, all the agents here have them.”
“Except this one happens to have your fingerprints on it,” I said.
Teresa tensed up. “So you found my pin. Big deal.”
“It’s a huge deal, actually. Not just that we found your pin but where we found it. This pin was in the grass at Michelle Dillon’s house…a few feet away from where we found her body.”
Teresa began stammering. “I, uh, don’t know how it got there. That’s a big mistake.”
I shook my head. “The only mistake here is you trying to lie to us.”
She raised her voice. “You have this all wrong.”
“No. You killed her, just like you killed Benjamin Norton.”
Teresa flat-out denied the accusation. “I had no reason to kill Michelle Dillon.”
I corrected her. “Sure you did. Now, your motive for killing Benjamin was simple. He had betrayed you. Benjamin probably told you he was going to leave Andrea Fogerty for you, and you believed him—until you found out he was sleeping with Michelle Dillon, too. That changed everything. My guess is that you confronted Benjamin about Michelle only to find out that he had really planned on leaving his girlfriend to be with Michelle, not you. Knowing that Benjamin’s true love was Michelle was just too much for you to take, so you got your revenge on both of them. Am I right?”
Teresa folded her arms and pursed her lips. “I’m not saying another word without my lawyer.”
***
Teresa was true to her word and remained quiet, even after her lawyer arrived. She seemed content to let her defense attorney do the talking for her. What she failed to realize was that with the evidence we had found at the scene, she had sealed her own fate. This case was a slam dunk. Joe booked her for double murder, knowing that there wasn’t a jury in the world that would fail to convict her. Not only did I agree, but there wasn’t a single doubt in my mind that Teresa Loomis was staring down a life sentence behind bars.
Chapter Eighteen
With the case closed, I could finally breathe a sigh of relief. That was, until I spotted my boyfriend coming up my driveway carrying a big vinyl inflatable alligator pool toy. One of the reasons our relationship worked so well was because we knew how to make each other laugh. That being said, when it came to delivering a good punch line, timing was crucial. In my mind, it was a little too soon for alligator-in-the-pool jokes.
I didn’t want to be too much of a stick in the mud, so I halfheartedly played along.
“Nice try,” I deadpanned.
Daniel could tell his joke was bombing, but he made one last attempt to get a laugh out of me. “What? You don’t like Mr. Chompers? I was thinking if another alligator pays you a visit and sees this bad boy floating in the pool, they might leave your backyard alone and bother someone else.”
“I don’t think Mr. Chompers would scare a fly, no less another alligator.”
Realizing that his joke had completely bombed, Daniel dropped the act and tried to lick his wounds. “All right, so my alligator pool toy idea didn’t have the teeth I thought it would. In that case, I’m glad I brought you a backup gift.”
I scrunched my nose. “You did?”
Daniel held a bag out for me.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Open it,” he said.
He didn’t have to ask me twice. When I saw what was inside, I instantly forgave my boyfriend’s lame pool toy joke.
“A lemon bar,” I said.
Daniel nodded. “I made it fresh for you this morning.”
My boyfriend sure knew the way into my heart. I had a weakness for sweets. Especially lemon bars. This bar looked so good that I had to stop myself from gobbling it up in one bite right then and there.
“You’re so sweet,” I said.
“Actually, it’s the lemon bar that is sweet. I’m just a guy trying to make my girlfriend happy.”
“Well, you’re succeeding.”
“Speaking of, any plans to keep the good times rolling? What’s on the docket for today?”
“My plan for the day is to have no plans,” I replied.
“That sounds like a solid plan. Besides, after all you’ve been through, I’ll bet you could use some serious rest and relaxation.”
“Some? I’ll take all that I can get,” I said.
“In that case, Mr. Chompers aside, how about spending the day at the pool sipping drinks with little umbrellas in them?”
“Honestly, after what happened, I’m not sure that I can ever look at pools the same way again,” I admitted.
“Leave it to an alligator to ruin a perfectly good pool party.”
I corrected him. “Actually, I was referring to the two murder victims that were found in their pools, but now that you mention the alligator that made a playpen of my backyard, that’s all the more reason to stay out of my pool.”
Daniel came up with another plan. “Fair enough. How about I take you out for a spa day then?”
That time, my boyfriend was on to something. How could I say no to that suggestion? After all, a woman never grew tired of being pampered.
I gave my boyfriend a big smile.
“Now you’re talking.”
The End.
Murder of a Yoga Instructor
Chapter One
“Why are you doing this?” I asked.
I was staring death
in the face. One wrong move and it would all be over for me. If I was going to survive, I would need to stay calm. Unfortunately, that was nearly impossible to do knowing that my next breath could be my last.
As I looked at Zack Colton pouring a can of gasoline all over the room in front of me, I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Zack’s plan was to burn the whole building down with me still inside it. This was like something out of a twisted psychological-thriller movie. Only, in the movies, the woman being held captive was always saved in the end. I didn’t have the luxury of knowing if I was going to make it out of there alive.
While I tried to think of a way out of this, I also had to shake off the shock of how I got here in the first place. Earlier that morning I had been walking from the front door of my house to my car in the driveway when Zack had snuck up behind me, grabbed me, and smothered a rag doused in chloroform over my nose and mouth.
The scent of the chloroform made me pass out. When I regained consciousness, I realized that I was tied to a chair with my hands behind my back in this old abandoned warehouse. I recognized the place as the former home of Lundergard’s Upholstery Warehouse. The name Lundergard was still painted on the wall, although the paint color had faded significantly in the five years since the warehouse had closed.
The warehouse was dark and dirty and completely empty aside from Zack and me. Zack had no doubt picked this location because it was in an industrial area of town, so no one would be around to hear me scream for help, especially considering it was a Saturday.
Things certainly looked bleak for me. I had to find any way I could to delay him from lighting the match that would set this whole place ablaze. As far as I could tell, my only hope was to get him to keep talking.
Luckily, Zack was very slow and deliberate with his actions, wanting to make sure he poured just enough gasoline all over the warehouse to burn the whole place down. He also seemed to be relishing the moment a little, taking a certain sadistic pleasure in what he was doing. It was disgusting.
Sweets, Suspects, and Women Sleuths Cozy Mystery Set Page 17