“Don’t you see, Dee?” Tommy whispers as he leans his forehead against mine. “Whoever killed Brock saw those photos.”
“So whoever killed Brock knew Brock was loco? What does that have to do with me?” I lean away from Tommy and shake my head.
Noel clears his throat. “We have no idea why Brock was killed.”
“Whose fault is that?” Rose asks. Her voice is laced with steel and I expect her to lay into Noel, but she just leans back and levels her gaze on him.
Noel’s face turns a lovely shade of pink. “I don’t deny that this case is being handled completely wrong, but there’s not much I can do to change that until we have some concrete evidence.” He returns Rose’s stare until she nods. “In the meantime, we don’t know why Brock was killed. We don’t know if Dee’s in danger.”
I scrunch my face at him. “You seriously think I’m in danger?” He nods. “And not just from facing the death penalty for a false conviction of murder?” He grimaces but nods again. “Shit.”
Tommy squeezes me and places his chin on my shoulder. “That’s why you’ll stay with me. I can keep you safe.”
“She can stay with me,” Grandma says before I have a chance to shoot Tommy down again. I send her a grateful look and she smiles at me.
“Sorry,” Noel says. “But I won’t allow you to put yourself in danger, Rosemary.”
Grandma laughs and waves his concern away with a flick of her hand. “I’m old. I’ve had a full life. I’m not afraid.”
“Maybe not,” I say. “But there’s no way I could live with myself if something happened to you because of me.” Grandma’s face deflates and I realize I’ve won, but what have I won? I can’t stay with Tommy.
“You’ll stay here,” Noel states as if there’s no question at all about where I’ll lay my head at night. “I have a state-of-the-art security system I installed when Izzy got pregnant and I can have a patrol car do extra drive-bys when I’m working.” Noel stares at Tommy until he nods his agreement. So Tommy gets a say in where I’m staying, but I don’t? I want to argue, but how do you argue with people who just want to make sure you’re safe?
“Now that we have Dee’s safety sorted, what are we going to do with the case?” Betty’s like a dog with a bone.
Noel looks to Izzy. “I took pictures of the room with my phone. Can you blow up the pictures so we can see the faces of everyone?”
Izzy nods and Noel hands her his phone. She quickly opens the images and sends them to her email. “I’ll have them printed out tomorrow.”
Betty nods. “We’ll meet here tomorrow and go through them then.”
“Make sure Jack and Damien are here as well,” Rose adds. “There may be some customers from the store in there.”
I look around and notice for the first time that Jack and Damien are nowhere to be found. That’s weird. Normally, Jack and Izzy are inseparable. “Jack had a meeting with his accountant today. He couldn’t miss it,” Tommy whispers into my ear. I concentrate on his words instead of the chill that is caused by his whispering in my ear. I seriously need to get my hormones in control when I’m around Tommy. Mental head slap. You buried your husband this week, Dee. I just need to keep reminding myself of that.
With thoughts of my husband’s burial in my mind pushing me, I manage to stand and escape Tommy’s grasp. “I need to get back to work.” Of course, I realize I don’t have a car with me after I start walking towards the front door.
“Wait up,” Tommy yells as he catches up to me. “I’ll drive you.”
Of course he will. Ignore the tingles the words ‘drive you’ cause, Dee. Ignore them.
Chapter 22
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas A. Edison
It’s nearly closing time when Izzy shows up at Fabulous, Darling. She walks right up to me and says: “Don’t be mad.”
I sigh. “What am I going to be mad about now?”
“I’m here to make sure that you get your stuff and move out to our house tonight.” I raise an eyebrow at her. “Be glad it’s me. Noel wanted to come, but I told him you’d be pissed. But you won’t get mad at a pregnant lady, will you?” She bats her eyelashes and rubs her hand over her baby bump.
I narrow my eyes at her. “That’s low.”
She shrugs. “Work with what you got, girl. Come on. Let’s get going. I’m hungry.”
“When aren’t you hungry?” I ask under my breath, but she obviously hears me because she shouts as she walks away. “Don’t get the pregnant lady mad.”
Since I don’t drive to work and Izzy won’t let you forget she’s pregnant, we drive Noel’s car to my apartment. It’s not much of a hardship. I’ll never admit it aloud, but Noel’s car is awesome. After we climb the stairs to my apartment, Izzy promptly drops into the recliner in my reading nook. I shake my head and dig through my closet to find an overnight bag. I finally manage to find a barely used gym bag and quickly fill it with clothes and toiletry items. My Kindle, which is the most essential item I own, is already in my purse. I don’t leave home without it.
Izzy stands when she hears me zip up the bag. “I told Noel you didn’t need help.” She shakes her head. “I think he expected you to pack your house or something.”
We walk outside and I throw my bag in my car and follow her to their house. I’m nervous about staying with people who were essentially strangers just a few weeks ago, but Izzy quickly puts me at ease. She gives me my own set of keys and then shows me to a guest bedroom. It shares a Jack-and-Jill bathroom with the nursery, but as the baby is still gestating in Izzy’s growing tummy, there’s no need for sharing.
Izzy gives me the grand tour and I’m shocked by how large the house is. They recently remodeled so everything is up-to-date and modern. There’s even a man cave although Izzy assures me that I’m welcome to use it whenever I want. There’s a big laundry room as well. I’m welcome to use that as well, but I’m really hoping that I won’t be staying long enough to need to do laundry.
Noel arrives just as Izzy finishes with the tour carrying pizza boxes and a six-pack of beer. “We usually don’t have much beer in the house as someone can’t drink at the moment.” He winks at Izzy, who giggles like a school girl. “But I thought you might like some.”
We settle into the man cave to eat. Afterward, I escape to the guest bedroom and my Kindle. I’m not used to being around other people so much and need my down time to recharge.
♥♥♥
I’m surprised to see Izzy and Noel’s driveway full when I finish work and return to their house on Thursday evening. I park on the street and quickly go inside, moving to the kitchen where I’m sure everyone’s gathered. “Hey, Izzy,” I say when I find her parked on a kitchen chair with her feet up. She’s shoveling pie in her face and can’t answer with her mouth full. She smiles instead, and I giggle at the vision of her with her cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk.
“Hey, baby,” Tommy says from behind me. I quickly turn around and nearly take out the blond god with my elbow.
“What are you doing here?” I may sound a bit snippy, but I don’t like the way my heart nearly beats out of my chest when I catch a glance at his magnificent body. Nope, I don’t like it. At all. Just keep telling yourself that, Dee.
Tommy doesn’t take offense. He leans forward and kisses my forehead. “We’re going over the pictures from Brock’s bedroom, remember?” I do, but can anyone blame me for pretending I didn’t see that room? That it was all a dream? I know what a bastard Brock was in person, I didn’t need to see the physical proof.
Tommy just smiles at me and grabs my elbow. “Come on, the ladies made chili and cornbread. Grab a plate and join us outside.” He leans down and whispers into my ear. “If you hurry, there may even be some pie left, assuming Izzy doesn’t eat it all.”
“Hey!” Izzy shouts with her mouth full of food. “I heard that.”
“That’s the idea, darling,” Tommy responds, but he doesn’t bother turning t
o her or stopping our progress. He grabs two bowls and fills them with chili. Then, he signals for me to proceed him outside where I discover the grandma gang eating and gabbing away.
I just manage to finish my chili and some really delicious corn bread before Izzy appears carrying several large pieces of paper. Noel jumps up to grab the papers from her hands. She smiles at him and immediately runs into a chair when she’s not looking where she’s going. Luckily, no one’s in the chair and it tips over and out of her way without further incident.
Tommy rushes to clear the table of the dishes and then helps Noel lay out what I now see are blown-up pictures of Brock’s creepy stalker bedroom. Izzy hands out magic markers to everyone. “Cross out every face you see that is of someone here tonight,” she instructs.
I grab the purple marker Izzy hands me and walk to the picture closest to me and start crossing out faces. In just a few minutes, we’ve gone through all the pictures and crossed out the faces of Izzy, Noel, Tommy, Damien, Jack, and the grandmas. It doesn’t look like there’s anyone left. Noel motions for everyone to take a seat and he studies the pictures.
“There are a few faces in the background. Let’s see if we know them,” he says as he points to the first picture. “Dee, you first.”
I stand and lean forward to study the image. “That’s Danny. He’s the floor manager at Jack’s store.” I look at the other pictures. “He’s in a few of the pictures that were taken at Fabulous, Darling.”
“Jack,” Noel calls after I finish crossing Danny off of each picture where his face appears. “Do you recognize the other people in the pictures taken at the store?”
Jack stands and studies the pictures just as I had a few moments before. “Yeah.” He points. “These ones, here, here and here are all employees. They’ve each worked at the store for several months longer than Dee.”
Noel nods and crosses out the faces. “That only leaves this picture.” He points at a photo of the group taken on the Friday two weeks ago when I filed the restraining order against Brock. Was it really only two weeks ago? We’re standing outside the diner having just eaten and heading towards the courthouse. Grandma stands and looks at the picture. “That’s Dolly. She’s a waitress at the diner and that’s her husband.” She turns to Rose. “What’s his name again?”
The ladies start to debate what Dolly’s husband’s name is, but Noel’s attention is elsewhere. He’s studying the pictures with a disappointed look on his face. I stand and walk to him. “This was a dead end, wasn’t it?” I think I whisper but by the sudden stop of the grandmas arguing, I’m guessing I spoke louder than I thought.
Noel stares at the ground with his hands on his hips. “Sorry, Dee.”
I nearly collapse as I realize that this is one more nail in my coffin. It seems more and more likely that I’m going to at least be arrested for a murder I didn’t commit. Tommy’s there before I know it. He picks me up and walks to a chair. He sits and places me in his lap. “We’ll figure this out, baby. There’s no way you’re going to go down for Brock’s murder.”
I snort. “Yeah, right.”
Betty doesn’t even let me start my pity party. “Okay, what can we do now? What’s the next step?” She looks at Noel. “You said a detective looks for means, motive and opportunity, right?” He nods. “What’s Dee’s motive for killing Brock? Or at least why does that dumb detective think she did it?”
Noel starts pacing with his arms behind his back. “Detective Smith thinks there are several reasons. First of all, Dee was abused.”
“That’s why I left him,” I nearly shout. “I could have killed him easier in the city.”
Noel nods. “Then there’s the fact that Brock was stalking Dee.”
“I didn’t even know he was stalking me until yesterday,” I pipe up again. “I would have just run if I knew he was stalking me.” I grimace when I realize what I’ve said and sneak a peek at Grandma, but she just shakes her head at me sadly. I’ll be hearing about that later.
Noel takes a deep breath. “He was cheating on Dee as well, according to Smith.” He gives me a meaningful look and I just know he remembers what I said in the interrogation room, but I’m not getting into that now. Not ever, but he doesn’t need to know that.
I shrug as if Noel and I didn’t just have this whole weird silent discussion. “Again, I didn’t know that.”
“Well, what did you know about your husband, Dee?” Betty asks in exasperation.
I should probably take offense, but Betty’s just frustrated on my behalf. “He was wealthy. Detective Jerk-A-Lerk mentioned that as well. Said I was gonna be a rich widow.”
Rose claps her hands. “Finally, something we can work with. Did you have access to his internet banking?”
“No,” I shake my head and collapse against Tommy’s hard body. “I wasn’t allowed to deal with any of the finances. I got a monthly allowance for household expenses and a credit card for buying clothes and such.”
“Damn, another dead end.” Betty’s swearing almost pulls me away from a prickle of an idea in the back of my head.
“I do know where Brock banks and I’m his widow. Maybe they’ll give me access if I show up and prove that I was his wife?” I think out loud, but Noel quickly shuts down that idea.
“All his accounts are frozen because of the murder. I doubt they’ll be very accommodating.”
Just as I’m about to start arguing with Noel, Izzy shouts. “What about that list of passwords?”
“What list of passwords?” I have no idea who asked that because I’m already climbing off of Tommy’s lap and heading for the house to find my purse. I quickly grab my bag from its spot in the mud room and return to the group. I dig around for a bit before finding the piece of paper I discovered in Brock’s office. I look through the list and sure enough there’s the name of our bank with a corresponding password.
“Do you think we can look at the account online?” I ask Noel.
He nods. “You should be able to. You just can’t do any transactions.”
Rose clears her throat. “Do you mind if I have a look?”
Betty doesn’t give me a chance to answer. “So, that’s settled then. Rose will have a look through the bank account tomorrow and we’ll meet here again tomorrow evening to discuss anything Rose finds out.” And just like that the meeting is over. The grandmas stand and start clearing away the dishes that Tommy had piled on a side table. Jack and Damien clasp hands and shout their goodbyes.
I stand and Tommy immediately pulls me into his arms. “I’ll see you tomorrow, baby,” he says against my forehead as he gives me a soft kiss. I’m starting to think that Tommy knows the effect he’s having on me.
Chapter 23
“Money's a horrid thing to follow, but a charming thing to meet.” Henry James
Rose calls me Friday afternoon while I’m still working. I’m surprised when she asks me to come over to her house to discuss Brock’s finances, but I quickly agree to meet. My hands shake as I steer my car to Rose’s home. Why the heck does Rose want to see me – alone? So far, the gray-haired knitting detectives have always worked as a cohesive unit. What does this new development mean? And now I’m calling the grandma posse a group of detectives. Mental head slap!
I rush up Rose’s porch. She’s already standing with the door open waiting for me. She motions me in and I follow her to the kitchen table. I startle when I see a new-fangled laptop on the table. Rose sees me looking and blushes. “Izzy bought me that,” she nods to the laptop. “And Jack showed me how to go on the line.” I can’t help my smile.
“Sit,” Rose says and moves off to the kitchen. “Coffee?” She asks, but it’s really just an indication of what she’s doing. It’s not like there is even a remote possibility of declining drink or food from any one of the members of the grandma group. I relax into a chair and have a look around the table. It’s surprisingly messy.
Rose brings in a coffee tray and sits across from me. I drink my coffee and wait for Rose t
o start whatever she brought me here for, only she remains quiet. I give her another minute, but my curiosity is too peaked to wait any longer than that. “Okay, Rose,” I say with a sigh. “What’s going on?”
Rose sets down her coffee cup and I notice her hands trembling a bit. “I didn’t want to tell you this in front of everyone else.”
Fiddlesticks! This can’t be good. I take a deep breath. “Go on then. Tell me.”
Her face pinks a bit, but she trudges on. “I don’t think your husband made as much money as he spent.”
I tilt my head at her. I always knew Brock was a big spender. He found appearance more important than substance. I shrug. “That’s not surprising.”
Rose shakes her head. “No, you don’t understand. His salary wasn’t that great at all. There’s no way he could even pay for your penthouse apartment with his salary.”
Now I’m confused. “Well, he used to make a lot more money when we first married – bonuses and such.”
Rose nods slowly. “But he wasn’t getting those anymore. Not from his company, anyway.”
I look up in shock. “What do you mean? Not from his company?” Was there other money I wasn’t aware of?
Rose hands me a print-out. It’s a list of amounts, which means absolutely nothing to my non-mathematical mind. “What am I looking at?” She stands and moves over to sit down next to me. “These are the deposits in the account.” I nod and wait for her to continue. “This is his monthly salary. See here? You can see the investment company’s name here. Notice anything else?”
I stare at the piece of paper. There is a deposit from Heritage Wealth Management on the 25th of each month, but the amount is significantly lower than I expect. It’s not anywhere near enough to pay our rent. Frankly, I doubt it’s enough to pay our monthly service fees and utilities. Is that what Lily was hinting at when she told Damien the company was only maintaining appearances? I shake my head and try to focus on the other deposits. In addition to the monthly salary deposit, there are one or two deposits each month. Some deposits say cash while others say check. Each deposit is for the exact same amount, $9,999.
The Gray-Haired Knitting Detective Series: (Books 1 - 3) Page 40