“That’s the plan.”
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Brian came up with their first break.
“I think I found something.”
Jack shifted his eyes to his partner. “What?”
“Priestley and Shannon texted at least ten times a day.”
“Do we have copies of the texts?”
“Yeah. Most of them seem to be business related but others, well, others are something else.”
“Can you give me an example?”
“Sure.” Brian tapped a key on his computer. “Here’s this one. Priestley asks what she’s doing and if she plans on coming back to the office. She says she’s done with the clients but doesn’t want to go to the office. He asks if she wants to meet at their regular spot and she agrees.”
Jack cocked an eyebrow. “Regular spot, huh?”
“Yeah. I know. That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
“I didn’t say what I was thinking, but that does sound odd,” Jack said. “I guess, in theory, they could be talking about a lunch spot.”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t feel right.”
“No, I agree. Priestley was squirrely when we asked him about his relationship with Shannon. He was defensive and rambled on about gossip, but he did it in a way that left me questioning exactly what it was he was trying to hide.”
“From his perspective there would be no reason to hide the relationship at this point,” Brian noted. “Shannon is dead. He was out of town at the time of her death. He shouldn’t be considered a suspect. So, if he really was sleeping with her, why not own up to it?”
“You said it yourself, maybe Shannon was holding something over his head. Maybe she told him she was pregnant and he felt as if she was trying to trap him.”
“It’s a decent hypothesis, but there are some holes in it,” Brian said. “Even if Shannon was pregnant – which she wasn’t, but let’s say she was – wouldn’t Victor have just as much of a shot of being the father as Priestley?”
“Unless Victor and Shannon weren’t intimate.”
“That’s not the picture Paige painted. She made it sound as if Shannon and Victor were practically doing it standing up in the office they were so in love.”
“That’s not exactly what she said,” Jack hedged. “She said Victor kept showing up and essentially showering Shannon with love. Now, if you look at that from a romantic perspective, it sounds great. If you look at it with a cynical eye, though, it almost sounds like a man who thought he was going to lose his wife.”
“Good point.” Brian furrowed his brow. “What if Victor kept showing up at the office because he suspected his wife was having an affair and he wanted to catch her in the act?”
“I don’t see how that would work. I mean … Shannon and Priestley wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave the business door open and get it on in the lobby.”
“That’s another good point. Something might have happened to make Victor suspicious, though. Shannon seems like the type to cover her tracks. Someone must have known, though. Maybe that person tipped off Victor to what was going on.”
“That still doesn’t answer the obvious question,” Jack pointed out. “If Shannon and Priestley were involved, why not simply tell Victor and end the marriage? It’s not as if there were children to consider and I couldn’t find any references to Shannon being overly religious so she shouldn’t have fought the idea of divorce on those grounds.”
“Maybe Priestley didn’t want a real relationship. Maybe he was only interested in a physical relationship and Shannon was okay with that at the beginning but made the mistake of falling in love with him.”
“And maybe Priestley tried to let her down easy and Shannon refused to be brushed off,” Jack suggested. “I can’t get over the fact that Priestley just happened to be out of town at the time of the murder. That’s either incredibly coincidental or incredibly planned.”
“I’ve been over Priestley’s bank account. There are no big withdrawals in the past four months. I didn’t go back more than that because I figured it was unnecessary. All the money he’s spending is for legitimate reasons, like his mortgage and insurance. There are a few cash withdrawals, but the most is for four hundred bucks in one day and I doubt very much that’s enough to hire a hitman.”
“So if Priestley wasn’t here to do it personally and hasn’t paid anyone to do it, that would seem to indicate he’s not involved despite the timing of his trip.”
“Which leads us back to Victor,” Jack said. “Maybe we haven’t looked at him hard enough. I mean … I know I didn’t want to focus on him at the beginning because he seemed so heartbroken, but maybe that was a mistake.”
“I think you were projecting with that.”
“Projecting how?”
“All you could think about at the time is how you would feel if Ivy was the one found dead in the driveway,” Brian replied. “You couldn’t get past that. You knew you would have a broken heart and Victor looked as if he had a broken heart so you identified with him.”
“What if he was only acting, though?”
“Let’s look at his phone records.” Brian hit a couple buttons on his computer and leaned forward to study the screen. “It looks like he called Shannon at least twice a day, mostly at work. There are a few calls here at night, which makes me wonder if he assumed she was with Priestley instead of clients. She met you guys at night a few times, right?”
Jack nodded, searching his memory. “She did and she did receive a few calls during each meeting. I didn’t think much about them at the time – I figured she just had someone waiting for her or something – but she always looked agitated when she checked her phone to see who called or texted.”
“It was probably Victor.”
“He was probably desperate to keep her and the clingier he got, the more she wanted to pull away,” Jack deduced. “The marriage was on the brink of failure. If Victor was worked up enough about it, he might have decided to remove Shannon from his life rather than divorce her.”
“It would be cheaper to do that.”
“It would,” Jack agreed. “Perhaps we should have another chat with Victor.”
“That sounds like a plan to me.”
IVY WAS IN AND OUT of the greenhouse so many times she barely looked up as she crossed the threshold. She was dirty and grimy from the work she was putting in and yet she felt great, almost energized really. For some reason, knowing Holly was in jail made her feel better.
She understood – at least on a base level – that Holly might well be innocent. Ivy couldn’t fathom anyone else being guilty, though, so it was easy to shove her worries to the side and focus on her work. She continued down that emotional path until she finally noticed the shifting shadow standing in the open circle in the middle of the nursery grounds.
“Oh, you scared me.” Ivy giggled a bit as she touched her hand to the spot over her heart. “I didn’t see you there. Do you need something?”
The interloper’s head shifted from side to side.
“Are you lost?” Ivy furrowed her brow. She didn’t recognize the person, was almost certain she’d never laid eyes on that face before. Still, there was something off about the way the figure stood and stared. It made Ivy uncomfortable. “The nursery isn’t open yet. It will be in a few weeks. You can come back then.”
The visitor remained still, not so much as a muscle twitch, causing Ivy’s stomach to twist.
Something was very wrong here.
VICTOR OPENED THE FRONT door of his house after the third knock, his eyes red-rimmed and his shoulders slumped.
“Did you find who did this?”
Jack was taken aback by the man’s appearance. He didn’t look as if he’d showered in days – which was quite possible – and he smelled like a bottle of bourbon that had been left out next to the garbage receptacle for far too long.
“You don’t look so good, Victor,” Brian offered.
“My wife is dead. How am I supposed to look?”
“We have a few questions.” Jack worked overtime to tamp down his sympathy. “We need to talk to you about a few things.”
Victor glanced between the two men, resigned. “You know, don’t you?”
“Know what?”
“That Shannon was seeing someone else.”
Brian nodded gravely. “We know.”
“I guess that’s what you’re here to talk about.” Victor pushed open the door to allow the police officers entrance and trudged toward the kitchen. “I have coffee if you’re interested.”
“Coffee sounds good.” Jack kept Victor in his sights at all times as he followed the man to the brightly-lit kitchen. Victor didn’t seem as if he was nervous, or worried about going down. He merely seemed beaten and broken. “When did you find out Shannon was cheating on you?”
“Technically I never found out,” Victor replied. “I had suspicions and I confronted her with them. She denied them, of course, but I knew.”
“How did you know?”
“The office assistant called and told me.”
Jack made a face. “Paige? Why would she call you?”
“She said she thought Shannon was making a terrible mistake with Cole and that I could still save my marriage if I confronted Shannon. That’s what I did, but it didn’t work out like Paige said it would.”
Jack was confused. “So Paige called you and shared word of the affair. When?”
“Um … I guess it was about six weeks ago.”
“Is that when you started going to the office with flowers and lunch several times a week?”
Victor was sheepish. “Yeah. I know it sounds pathetic and weak, but I really wanted to save my marriage. Shannon and I have been together since we were in high school. We loved one another a great deal.
“I just knew she would get over this thing with her boss – I think she wanted to try something new without hurting me – and we would get back on track,” he continued. “I wanted us to go to counseling, but she kept saying no and denied she was having an affair.”
“Did you confront Cole Priestley about it?” Brian asked.
“No, although I hadn’t ruled it out. I wasn’t sure it was the right move. I wanted him to stay away from my wife, don’t get me wrong, but I was afraid that if I picked a fight with him that she would be forced to make a decision.”
Jack felt mildly sick to his stomach. “And you thought there was a very real chance Shannon wouldn’t choose you.”
“Pretty much.”
“That sounds terrible.”
“It wasn’t my proudest moment,” Victor admitted. “I know you see me as weak. Heck, I know I was weak. I didn’t want to lose her, though. I wanted things to work out so I decided to wait a bit. I thought Shannon would see the light and realize she made a mistake. Unfortunately that never happened.”
Jack and Brian exchanged a weighted look, something unsaid passing between them.
“Victor, someone killed Shannon,” Jack prodded. “Someone picked a spot in the woods and shot her. And then, because she didn’t die straight away from the first shot, whoever it was walked close enough for Shannon to see who was about to end her life before pulling the trigger a second time.”
Victor’s mouth dropped open. “That sounds terrible.”
“It sounds calculated,” Brian corrected. “Someone went after your wife for a very specific reason. Who would do that? You’re saying it’s not you, but someone had to hate her enough to make her want to pay. Cole Priestley was out of town at the time and we can’t quite pin down a motive for him. Do you know anyone who hated your wife enough to do that?”
“I only know one person who hated Shannon. She was too nice – even when she was doing something wrong – to make people hate her. That was one of her gifts.”
“So, who hated her?” Brian asked, casting a sidelong look to Jack when his partner began rubbing his stomach and leaning to the side. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Jack waved off the question and rested his hip against the counter. “I just feel a little sick. It’s probably the diner breakfast. It was swimming in grease.”
Brian wasn’t convinced but he focused on Victor all the same. “Who hated her?”
“Paige.”
Brian’s eyebrows winged up. “Paige? But … why? Is it because she had a crush on you and thought Shannon was mistreating you?”
“Quite the contrary. She had a crush on Cole Priestley and was infuriated he stopped sleeping with her so he could start sleeping with Shannon. She told me everything when she called to give me a heads-up about the affair.”
And just like that things slipped into place for Brian. At the same moment, Jack’s knees buckled and he was forced to kneel as he gripped his stomach.
“What is it?” Brian asked, legitimately concerned.
“Ivy. It’s Ivy. She’s in trouble.”
“Well, crap. That just bites the big one … again.”
Nineteen
Ivy didn’t recognize Paige right off the bat. She knew the woman looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place her. That didn’t stop her inner danger alarm from dinging up a storm.
“Do you need gardening advice for your yard this spring?”
It was an absolutely idiotic question, but Ivy had no idea what else she was supposed to say.
“You don’t know who I am, do you?” Paige sounded more annoyed than evil. Ivy knew better than letting her guard down, though. “You have absolutely no idea who you’re dealing with.”
Ivy searched her memory for a hint of recognition. And, when it came, she was more confused than when she didn’t recognize the woman’s face. “Paige. Your name is Paige. You work in the design office with Shannon.”
“Oh, yes, everyone remembers Shannon,” Paige drawled sarcastically. “No one ever had a problem remembering her. Me? I was just tossed out like yesterday’s garbage because she was the center of everyone’s universe.”
Ivy struggled to understand what the girl was blathering about. “You killed Shannon?”
Paige merely smiled. “Did I say that?”
“You don’t have to say it.” Ivy licked her lips as she attempted to put her thoughts in order. “I already know it.”
“And how can you possibly know that?” Paige drifted a bit next to the wheelbarrow Ivy left out in the circle. It was empty and Ivy planned to move it to the smaller greenhouse so she could transport plants when it came time. For now, it made a nice barrier and allowed Ivy to breathe easier. “You don’t know who I am so how can you know what I’m capable of doing.”
Ivy didn’t see a weapon but that didn’t mean the young woman was unarmed. Since Shannon was shot, it would serve to reason that Paige owned at least one gun. She clearly wasn’t carrying a rifle – Paige’s snug jeans and tight jacket wouldn’t be capable of hiding the weapon’s girth – but that didn’t mean there wasn’t something tucked away in her coat pocket.
“Why would you want to kill Shannon?” Ivy wanted to keep the woman talking until she could figure out a way to extract herself from the situation. “What did she do to you?”
“What didn’t she do to me?” Paige sounded like a petulant teenager. “She was the queen of the office. She waltzed in late every single day and people fell all over her because she was so freaking gifted and special. Do you have any idea how annoying that is?”
“I … um … .”
“Of course you don’t,” Paige continued. “Everyone thinks you’re special, too, don’t they? Oh, don’t bother denying it. I’ve kept my ear to the ground since this all went down and I’ve heard the whispers about you. You’re so fantastical people think you’re a witch. Can you believe that?”
Ivy swallowed hard. “Who told you that?”
“I believe her name was Ava, and she wasn’t talking to me when she said it. She was in the bar downtown and chatting with some idiotic blond who talked to hear herself talk. She was a moron.”
“Holly.” Ivy worked the timeline through her
head. “You were in the bar yesterday and you overheard Ava and Holly talking. How is that possible, though? I didn’t see you.”
“You were too involved with your boyfriend to pay attention to me. Don’t worry, I didn’t take it personally. That’s the story of my life. I was a little agitated that the two cops didn’t so much as look at me – I just saw them in the office after the murder and they asked me a bunch of questions, after all – but they didn’t look and I didn’t have to come up with an excuse for why I was there.”
“So you listened to Ava and Holly talk and heard something that set you off,” Ivy mused. “Obviously that something has to do with me.”
“It does,” Paige agreed, her hands roaming free as she walked back and forth next to the wheelbarrow. “They said some interesting things, although it took me a few minutes to catch on. Ava is obsessed with you, by the way. She’s jealous and thinks you’re a witch.”
“Ava has never been overly bright.”
“She wants your boyfriend. I don’t blame her, of course, because he’s nice to look at. She wants him for herself. The other woman acted like she wanted your boyfriend, but something else was going on with her. I’m not quite sure what.”
“She’s broke and needs money,” Ivy supplied. “She dated Jack a long time ago and thought he might give her money and ease her financial burdens. That’s why she’s here.”
“And you guys were focused on her because of that,” Paige mused. “She was a suspect in Shannon’s death. I didn’t get that until I heard the conversation yesterday. I thought the cops would focus on Shannon’s history and go after Victor because she was cheating on him. That was the assumption anyway.”
“Victor is innocent, though. You’re the one who killed Shannon.”
“I am.” Paige puffed out her chest, proud. “I shot her before she even knew what was happening. I thought I killed her with the first shot, but then I saw she was moving. I thought that was a bad thing until I got to look her in the eye. You should’ve seen her face when she realized it was me.”
“Did she say anything?”
Wicked Wishes (An Ivy Morgan Mystery Book 10) Page 18