by K. M. Morgan
“I do. If you didn’t notice, things were getting a little out of hand back there. I didn’t want you to say anything you might regret later.”
Eric scoffed. “Are you kidding? The only regret I have is that I’ve had to live under the same roof as my gold-digging step mother all this time.”
“Look, those days will soon be over. You’ll be getting your inheritance soon and we can get a nice big house of our own,” Sasha insisted.
Eric got gruff with her. “We? Are you already coming up with plans to spend my inheritance?”
“No, no. Of course not,” Sasha backtracked.
In the hallway…
Daisy could tell just by the sound of her voice that Sasha was lying. It seemed like the hidden gold digger in Sasha was coming out.
Back in the bedroom…
Eric wanted to make one thing clear. “Remember whose money it is.”
“I know. It’s all yours honey. It’s just that you were talking about how much you hate living in the same house as your step mom, so I wanted to point out that now you could buy your own place,” Sasha said.
Eric grew suspicious of his girlfriend. His father told him Sasha was nothing but a gold digger, but he didn’t believe him. Had his father been right all along? There was only one way to find out.
“Do you love me?” Eric asked.
“Of course I do,” Sasha replied.
Eric wasn’t finished with his sentence. “Or do you love my money?”
Sasha looked deep into his eyes and gave him a kiss. “I love you. Don’t you know that?”
He was still critical. “What if I didn’t have any money? Just say I was some penniless stiff, would you still love me? Would you even be with me?”
“Of course I would. You are the man of my dreams. I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Sasha declared.
In the hallway…
Daisy could tell Sasha was lying again. The woman was putting on a good show for Eric, but her words rang false. Sasha was a good faker though. She could fool a lot of people. Daisy just wasn’t one of them.
Back in the bedroom…
Eric apparently wasn’t nearly as perceptive as Daisy. The man couldn’t see through his girlfriend’s lies. She managed to fool him really good.
“You don’t know how happy I am to hear that.” He gave her a kiss. “I love you too. I don’t know why I even doubted you.”
“You have a lot going on is all. It’s been an emotional day. You just lost your father. That’s a lot of shock and grief to work through,” Sasha explained.
“Grief? No. It’s not that. I’m just tired of everyone in this house being against me. Everywhere I turn I have enemies,” Eric explained.
“You don’t have to feel that way around me. I’m on your side, every step of the way. Just tell me what you need and I’m there for you,” Sasha insisted.
“I’ll tell you what I need,” Eric said.
He then leaned in and gave Sasha a deep kiss.
“I like how your mind works,” Sasha said.
“There’s only one thing on my mind now,” Eric replied.
He then laid her down on the bed.
In the hallway…
Daisy realized there wasn’t any more information to glean from Eric and Sasha’s conversation. She’d already picked up plenty by that point. After overhearing their exchange, it was clear neither Eric nor Sasha could be ruled out as suspects.
Eric remained just as remorseless as ever. The man had a heart as cold as a jagged iceberg. He felt entitled to his inheritance, despite doing nothing to earn it. Daisy was convinced he was capable of anything to keep that inheritance from being taken away—possibly even murder.
Sasha meanwhile was hardly a sweet innocent bystander. She was lying about loving Eric. It was clear she’d come into his life with plans to dig for gold. The woman already had plans for his inheritance.
The intrigue was heating up in the Longwell estate. It seemed like this family was doing their best to give trashy reality shows a run for their money.
Chapter Eighteen
As Daisy searched through the rest of the house, she started to wonder about Kara. Where had she darted off to? Had her emotions caught up with her all at once?
Daisy made it to Kara’s bedroom at the end of the hallway and knocked on the closed door.
She heard Kara’s voice answer from inside.
“Who is it?” Kara asked.
“It’s me—Daisy.”
Kara sounded relieved. “Oh. Come in.”
When Daisy opened the door, she saw Kara sitting on her bed wiping her eyes.
“I was worried about you,” Daisy said.
“Sorry. I just needed some time to myself.”
“I understand. You’ve been through a lot.”
Kara couldn’t help but laugh at what a gross understatement that was. “You aren’t kidding. And not just today. Things have been a nighttime soap opera around here for a while. All I’m missing in some cheesy dramatic music in the background and for some long lost twin brother I never knew I had to show up sniffing around for money and my soap opera life will be complete.”
Daisy’s heart went out to her friend. “Well, hopefully all the drama will be over soon.”
“How about you, any news to report?” Kara wondered.
“The plot twists keep coming on ‘As The Longwell Estate Turns.’”
“Do you believe Matthew didn’t do it, even though the police seem to think he did?” Kara asked.
“The more time I spend here, the more I realize everyone had a reason to want your husband dead. Matthew, Bridget, Anna, Eric, Sasha—none are above suspicion,” Daisy explained.
“Great, I’m surrounded by a group of potential murderers. That gives me just the sense of terror I don’t need when I’m trying to give up morning martinis.”
“Look, I have a plan,” Daisy said.
“Does it involve chocolate? Because I could eat a whole quart of chocolate chip ice cream right now, straight out of the container,” Kara explained.
“Actually, I was thinking we should go shopping,” Daisy said.
Kara was confused. “At a time like this? Don’t get me wrong, shoe sales are in my blood. But as much as I was born to max out credit cards, wouldn’t your time be better spent snooping around for clues?”
“Who says you can’t do both?”
“What do you mean?”
“I was thinking this shopping trip could be about decorating—with a little digging on the side.”
“Daisy, forget about the parlor. The decorating can wait.”
“Actually, I disagree. You see, everyone is on high alert now. They’re looking over their shoulders. But it’s when they let their guards down that it’s easiest to get information out of them. I want to act like I’m getting back to business as usual. To lull them into a false sense of security by letting them think I’m just a decorator. That way they won’t see my sleuthing coming.”
“Ah, I get it now. That’s sneaky,” Kara said.
“Besides, while I’m out, I figure I can pay the cosmetics counter at Buystroms Department Store a visit. I’d be interested to see what Luke’s ex-wife has to say about her old husband’s murder.”
“I have to admit, I’d love to grill that miserable woman for information,” Kara said.
“Why don’t you come then?”
Kara shook her head. “You’ll lose the element of surprise if I come. Besides, I can’t promise I won’t make a scene. Things could get ugly.”
“Alright, it’s your choice.”
“Besides, I have some snooping of my own to do.”
“Be careful. It’s a hornet’s nest in here.”
Kara laughed. “You’ve only felt the sting of this place for two days. I’ve felt it for four years.”
Daisy pulled a chocolate bar out of her purse.
“In that case, I think you might need this more than me,” Daisy said.
Luckily, Dai
sy packed multiple bars that morning. She had a funny feeling even then that she’d need chocolate to come to the rescue at some point in the day.
Chapter Nineteen
As Daisy made her way out the front door of the Longwell estate, she saw Matthew Madsen out working in the garden. She figured it was time to pay him a little visit.
He had always been so full of charisma before. Boy had that changed. Now he kept his head down and minded his own business.
Part of that was obviously because he was on top of the police’s list of suspects. The fact that Luke Longwell was killed with a shovel that turned up in Matthew’s gardener’s shed didn’t exactly make him look innocent.
On top of that, his alibi was as flimsy as a house of cards in a hurricane. He knew the police were seconds away from arresting him before Bridget stepped in. Matthew was so panicked that he went along with Bridget Longwell blackmailing him for sex, when clearly she was the last woman he wanted to sleep with.
Matthew sure looked like he was hiding something. The question became, was it murder, or had he truly been framed like he said?
The only thing in his favor at this point was the element of overwhelming stupidity. Was he truly such a dunderhead to kill Luke, then not dispose of the murder weapon?
Daisy had a hard time imagining what kind of a lunk of a hunk could be that dimwitted. At the same time, Matthew didn’t strike her as a man of great intelligence either.
Just say she believed his story that someone was trying to frame him. Who had enough of a beef with him to do such a thing? Or did he just happen to be the easiest person to frame? There was only one way to find out.
“What a day, huh?” Daisy asked.
“Tell me about it. I knew I should have called in sick this morning,” Matthew replied.
“It could be worse.”
Matthew wasn’t quite so sure. “How?”
“You could have been the one who was murdered.”
Matthew stopped dead in his tracks when she said that. He was very slow to react, calculating just what he was going to say. Finally, he forced a smile.
“When you look at it that way, I guess you’re right.” He then tried to deflect from the awkward tension that was building. “Who’d want to kill me though?”
Daisy knew she couldn’t afford to take her foot off the pedal. Now was the time to keep pressing him.
“From what I heard you tell the police this morning, you seemed pretty convinced that someone was out to frame you,” Daisy said.
Matthew was short-tempered and abrasive with his answer. “Look, I didn’t do it.”
If he was looking to prove his innocence, he was sure doing a bad job of it. An innocent person would have no reason to fly off the handle. They could be calm and rational with their response. Matthew was anything but that. That didn’t make him guilty of the crime, but he wasn’t doing himself any favors.
As Daisy looked into Matthew’s eyes, she saw a man trying to hide something—she just couldn’t tell what it was. It was time for her to keep digging, only in a more roundabout way.
“I didn’t say you did. I just brought it up because I was wondering if you could think of anyone that would want to frame you for murder,” Daisy said.
“Oh.” Matthew exhaled and searched his brain, with no success.
It was taking way too long for him to answer. Only Daisy didn’t get the sense that he was trying to be evasive this time. He looked like a rugby player that had taken too many shots to the head. Daisy started to feel like she’d given him too much credit, intelligence-wise.
Matthew suddenly seemed like he may have been just dumb enough to kill Luke and not dispose of the murder weapon. Daisy felt ashamed about fawning over his hunkiness earlier. To be fair, Matthew was able to hide his dim wit behind ample charm then. With his back against the wall now however, his stupidity was shining through.
“I don’t know. I can’t think of anyone off the top of my head,” he finally answered.
Daisy kept pressing. “It’s a good thing Bridget corroborated your alibi then.”
Matthew got very defensive once again. “Why wouldn’t she? We were in bed together, just like she said.”
Matthew was lying through his teeth.
Daisy continued fishing for clues. “I find that really hard to believe.”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because I just saw you flirting with Kara yesterday.”
Matthew’s face went white. He tried to nervously deflect.
“Look. I was just being nice,” he said.
“Oh really? You don’t think I know what flirting is? Why don’t we ask Bridget what she thinks of you flirting with her step mom?” Daisy suggested.
“No, don’t. Please.”
“What’s the matter, are you worried Bridget will change her story for the police and no longer back your alibi?”
Matthew really started squirming now. “I don’t have to listen to this.”
“You’re right,” Daisy said.
Matthew exhaled.
Daisy then continued her thought. “I could just tell the police everything I know and let them come to their own conclusions.”
Matthew got desperate. “What do you want from me?”
“I want to know where you really were this morning.”
“I’ve already told you and the police, I was sleeping.”
“Not with Bridget you weren’t,” Daisy insisted.
“No. Fine. Not with Bridget. I was sleeping though.”
“You really expect me to believe that?”
Matthew wasn’t budging on his story. “Yes.”
Daisy wasn’t getting anywhere with that line of questioning. She had to take a different tact. It was time to throw him a curveball.
“By the way, did Luke know you were flirting with his wife?” Daisy asked.
Daisy didn’t think Matthew could look any more nervous. She was wrong. She had him on the ropes now.
He played dumb. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“You don’t? Why don’t I lay it out for you then? A temperamental man like Luke Longwell finds out his gardener has been flirting with his wife. I’m pretty sure Luke would lose it. He’d probably threaten to fire you over something like that,” Daisy explained.
Matthew was still squirming. “That’s a whole lot of speculation.”
Daisy pressed on. “When people have their livelihood threatened, they can do some crazy things. You’d be amazed what they’re capable of in the heat of the moment—when they are in a fit of rage.”
Matthew lost his temper. He tightened the grip on his gardening shears. “How dare you come over here and throw accusations at me.”
As Daisy saw the red in his eyes, she knew it would be best to back away.
“You can’t prove anything,” Matthew continued.
“Not yet. But that could change at any minute,” Daisy said.
Daisy then briskly walked away, looking over her shoulder sporadically to make sure Matthew wasn’t following her. She reached her car without incident.
Phew.
Things got really heated there for a moment. Daisy would have to be careful in the future. As much as she wanted to crack this case, she didn’t want to put her own life at risk.
After all, she was talking to murder suspects here. Someone had already killed once. Who was to say they wouldn’t do it again?
As for Matthew, it was all too clear that he not only had the temper to commit the crime, but he was also hiding something. Was it murder?
Daisy wished she could dig deeper. She regretted not being able to grill him more about Bridget blackmailing him. But for now, Daisy was happy to be leaving the Longwell estate.
She needed to give him some time to cool off. Matthew stared daggers at her the entire time she pulled out of the driveway. As Daisy got his glare out the corner of her eyes, one thought raced through her mind—that was one homicidal-looking hunk.
Chapter Twenty
As guilty as Matthew Madsen looked, Daisy couldn’t prove anything. Besides, there were a number of other people with reasons to want Luke Longwell dead. Daisy walked into Buystroms Department Store to see one of them.
As Daisy made her way through the store, she couldn’t believe she was at Buystroms with no intention of doing any shopping. It was so counterintuitive. That practically went against her DNA.
She resisted the call of a 50% off cocktail dress beckoning her from an adjacent rack. There was business to attend to. She took a mental note of the rack with the cocktail dress on it however. Maybe when she’d found the killer, she’d come back and buy a present to herself as a reward for sleuthing well done.
When Daisy reached the cosmetics department, she knew she had to focus. Luke’s ex-wife Quinn Longwell had flown under the radar during this investigation, but she had as strong of a motive to kill Luke as anyone.
First, there was the bitter acrimony of their divorce itself. There was no love lost between the couple. On top of that, thanks to the prenup she was forced to sign, Quinn got almost nothing in the divorce and now found herself working at the cosmetics counter. If that wasn’t enough, Luke was vehemently blocking a tell-all memoir that Quinn was shopping around about their marriage.
That was a whole lot of bitter baggage to be carrying around. Quinn wore her discontent on her sleeve. Quinn’s job forced her to smile at customers, but she could barely hide her misery. Her body language said it all—going to work was nothing more than drudgery to her.
As Daisy approached the cosmetics counter, Quinn greeted her with a fake half smile.
“Can I help you?” Quinn asked.
Quinn was a middle-aged woman with long blonde hair and a slender body.
Daisy was more struck by Quinn’s eyes however. They were so lifeless. Like a light had been dimmed in her soul that could never be re-ignited.
Daisy felt free to press Quinn for answers. Unlike her confrontation with Matthew earlier, there were no sharp objects around for Daisy to be threatened with. In a worst case scenario, all Quinn had was perfume to spray in Daisy’s face.