She broke into a run. In the fifteen minutes it took her to reach Leo’s house, she was covered in sweat but her rage hadn’t subsided one bit. She was still almost out of her mind with anger when she strode through his gate, and pushed open his front door without knocking.
“Leo!” she called out. “Come out here, you bully!”
Silence greeted her call.
“Leo!” She called his name again, moving through room after room, slamming doors and stomping her feet. “Leo!”
Some part of her brain, a logical part that had been switched off because of the anger, suddenly came back to life. The open front door, the eerie silence - it all hit her at once.
Then, she saw him. He was seated in the kitchen, with his head slumped back. Even from a distance, she could tell he wasn’t breathing.
She moved closer, now covered in a sheen of sweat and shivering slightly. She didn’t enter the kitchen, but she took photos, both of his body and of the suicide note in front of him. He’d clearly been half out of his mind when he wrote it.
Everything I told you was a Lie!
Love made me do this!
Anyway I can’t bear it any more. I must confess!
I killed Jess, and it was all for Caro!
Nothing matters but you, Caro!
Everything I’ve done was for you. Please forgive me. I don’t want to live anymore!
Leo
*****
Chapter 15
Messy Days
Darwin stood in his uniform, looking around at the mess in the kitchen. Sheriff Mackenzie was next to him.
“Horrible, isn’t it?” she asked.
Darwin nodded. He’d never liked Leo much. As a matter of fact, he’d hated Leo. Leo had once, in a drunken fit, kissed Darwin’s wife, back when they were still married. In a way, Darwin supposed, that had been good. If Darwin hadn’t found out about her many affairs, he might still have been married to her. In a way, he probably owed Leo for helping him realize the truth.
That hadn’t made him hate Leo any less.
But it still made him feel disgusted and sad to see the body in front of him. Human beings were like moving art when they were alive. And, dead, all the poetry seemed to go out of them. Inevitably, they looked like deflated balloons, instead of the glorious animals they had once been.
“Darwin,” Sheriff Mackenzie snapped her fingers in front of him. “Still here? Earth to Darwin.”
“Sorry, Sheriff. Just a little lost.”
“Aren’t we all,” she sighed. “Two murders in less than a week. When it rains, it pours. Still, I suppose that this is the end of it. He confessed.”
“I don’t buy it,” Darwin said. “Not for a second.”
Sheriff shrugged. “I’ll keep that in mind. Let’s see what forensics thinks. Personally, I guess he was my second choice after Caroline. I have to admit, I was pretty sure it was her. That blood on her blouse, and the polaroid picture.”
“You know I had my doubts about that too, Sheriff. It just seemed too much of a set up.”
“And you were right.” The sheriff patted his shoulder. “You’re a smart cop, Darwin. One of the smartest I’ve known. You did tell me it was odd that the gun was never found. Now here it is. Leo killed himself with the same weapon that he killed Jess with.”
Darwin nodded, watching as a forensics expert placed the gun in a ziploc bag.
“How’s Dani doing?” the sheriff asked. “She was quite shaken when she called.”
“She’s tougher than she looks,” Darwin said with a smile. “Pretty brave of her. She didn’t shed a single tear. No hysterics, either.”
“It’ll surprise you, but us women are always tougher than we look.” The sheriff smiled. “Tougher than all you men, at any rate.”
“Sure, Sheriff<” Darwin grinned.
“Alright, I’m going to go notify the next of kin,” the sheriff said, taking a deep breath. “This never gets easier. Mona was fond of Leo. The two of them always had lunch together, didn’t they? Everyday I’d see them at Fanny’s Diner.”
“She’s going to have a rough time,” Darwin nodded. “No family left, now.”
“Leo!” A cry from the doorway as Mona entered. Darwin groaned. News traveled fast here in Innocence.
“Leo!” Mona cried again, falling to her knees. “My brother! My Leo!”
“Mona, hey now,” Darwin caught her and lifted her up. Her body was wracked with sobs.
From the other room, Dani emerged, still shaking a little. “Mona, I’m so sorry,” she said, putting a hand on Mona’s shoulder.
“No you’re not. You’re glad he’s dead! You’re entire family probably is! I hate you all!” Mona sobbed.
It took hours to calm her down. To Darwin’s surprise, Dani stayed throughout. Even as she cursed her, Dani seemed to be the only person Mona responded to. Everyone else, she just met with blank indifference. It was as though anger was the only emotion she could feel without falling apart.
Dani must have known it, but she took all the curses Mona laid on her without flinching. After a long time, Mona finally calmed down.
“He didn’t do it.,” she said. The words were firm. “I don’t care what you say, he didn’t kill Jess!”
“Your brother was often drunk and started quite a few fights,” Sheriff Mackenzie said gently. “Is it possible that in a fit of rage-”
“He hadn’t drunk a drop since…since he and Caroline broke up,” Mona said. “He knew what happened to our father and he didn’t want to follow in his footsteps. Leo was trying so hard to be good, Sheriff. Why would he do this? Why would he kill Jess?”
“I’m not sure,” the sheriff said. “The note didn’t say. It just said that he did it for Caroline.”
“Killed Jess for Caroline?” Mona sniffed. “It makes no sense.”
“Do you have a time of death?” Dani asked.
“We haven’t confirmed anything yet,” the sheriff said. “The investigation is ongoing.”
“Was it last night?” Dani pressed.
The sheriff shrugged. “Very likely. We think he got drunk, there’s a half empty bottle of whisky next to him. Perhaps he thought that he was close to being caught and got desperate.”
“It’s not possible,” Mona sniffed.
“Dani has testified that you were blackmailing your brother in the woods, the other day. Leo confirmed it himself,” Sheriff Mackenzie said. “Could you tell us a little about that?”
Mona looked up, her eyes black pits of fury. “What are you trying to imply?”
“Nothing.” The sheriff held up her hands in a gesture of peace. “I’m just asking about that conversation. Did he seem nervous when you said you’d seen Jess emerge from his house?”
Mona nodded. A single tear traveled down her cheek. She reached up to wipe it off and sniffed. “I don’t remember much. I was just teasing him. It will sound unlikely to someone else, but I didn’t mean anything by it. I needed the money, but he would have loaned it to me anyway.”
“Mona, you said something about Jess wearing your dress,” Dani said.
The sheriff gave her a glare for interrupting, but Mona was nodding already.
“Yes, I wanted to come tell the sheriff myself, but I didn’t find the time. I made that wedding dress. It’s one of mine.”
“I thought it looked a lot like what Caro chose,” Dani said.
“I guess I have a certain distinctive style,” Mona said.
“Did Jess buy that dress from you?” Dani asked. “Maybe last week?”
Mona frowned. “No. Actually, I think someone else did. But I can’t recall who it was. I’d have to check my files for a receipt.”
“Did we ever figure out why Jess was in a dress?” Dani asked the Sheriff.
“Dani, I appreciate your input, but perhaps you could leave this investigation to me and Darwin?” Sheriff Mackenzie asked.
Which, Dani thought, was a polite way of telling her to scoot. “I don’t mean to step on any toes, Sheriff.”
/> “No hard feelings. There’s procedures we all got to follow,” the sheriff shrugged. “If you’re ever looking for a job, though, come see me.”
Dani smiled.
“Mona, could you go find out about the dress?” Darwin asked. “We can talk to you later today once we’re finished here.”
“I’ll go to the boutique,” Mona said. “I left it open anyway. As soon as I heard about Leo I just ran.”
“I’ll come with you if you’ll have me,” Dani said.
“Thanks,” Mona said. “I’m not sure I can drive right now. My hands are shaking too much.”
Dani helped her to her car. Mona was, indeed, shaking all over. When they drove away, Mona began to sob all over again.
“It’s just so unreal!” She said. “My Leo was brave, and selfish, but he wasn’t the kind to ever take his own life. I could actually believe that he killed Jess in a fit of rage. But I just can’t believe he committed suicide!”
Dani couldn’t believe it either. The more she thought of it, the less she believed it. Yet she’d seen the suicide note with her own eyes. Suddenly brightening, she asked Mona, “You saw that note. Was that his handwriting, Mona?”
Mona sniffed. “It was,” she said. “He had a very distinctive scrawl. That’s definitely his. I guess I see what you’re saying. If he wrote that note, he must have done it after all.”
Dani bit her lip. “Let’s just get to the boutique. I need to know why Jess was in that dress. The more I think of it, the odder it gets.”
“I don’t really care,” Mona said. “Leo’s dead anyway, isn’t he?” She burst into tears again.
Mona had, indeed, left the boutique in a hurry. The lights were all on and the door was wide open. Mona shut the door gently behind her, dabbing at her reddened eyes. She made Dani wait as she went to her office in the back and bought out a box full of receipts. They were all tossed in haphazardly and Dani felt her heart sink. At this rate, they would probably never find out who had bought that dress.
“So, it’s one of these three,” Mona exclaimed, what felt like hours later. “I’m just not sure which it is.”
Dani looked down at the names. “Dorothy Grant, Olivia Warden and, she squinted at the last name, Mace and Cage Co?”
“They’re a local theater group.” Mona said. “They have a little setup down by Maple and Walnut Street. Never heard of them?”
Dani shook her head.
“I used to be a child actor there, back in the day.” Mona gave her a watery smile. “In fact, your mom was in one of the plays I worked in. Something about love.”
“I’m going to go talk to them,” Dani said. Something inside her was telling her that this was a real clue.
*****
Chapter 16
It’s All Theater
Mace and Cage Co. had a rather depressing office. It was a soundproofed, two-story house with a large space cleared out in the living room and a bunch of actors reading scripts out of lined notebooks. When Dani asked to see the head producer, a blonde with pink streaks in her hair gave Dani the once over.
“Pretty, but I’m not sure we need anyone right now,” she said. “I like your cheekbones, though. They’ve got a little edge to them. The rest of you, it’s just…meh. Pretty in a very forgettable way. Brown eyes, black hair, general air of tragedy.”
“Thanks. I think,” Dani grinned. “I wasn’t hear to audition, though.”
“Good, because we finished a month ago.”
“I was here about a dress,” Dani said.
“A dress?”
“A wedding dress.”
“Oh, great. You finally got the replacement? Hand it over, will you. Don’t waste my time.”
“There’s, no, I don’t have a replacement.” Dani thrust out the receipt. “I wanted to see who bought this.”
“Allie does purchases,” the blonde said. “She’s upstairs to the right. Watch the paint.”
Dani threaded her way through a kissing couple, a man brandishing a sword, and a woman practicing being shot. Upstairs, an artist was painting a background scene, his pallette lying on the ground. He impatiently nodded at her as she walked past him.
“Allie?” Dani looked into a room where a woman was arguing with a man dressed in a black turtleneck sweater. He was a funny looking man, all jutting teeth and bony nose, with long thin hands that seemed to dance in the air as he talked. He was listening intently to the woman.
“It’s the symbolism of it all, Dante. That’s what you never understand!” the woman was saying. “We can’t just have her die. Her death must have purpose. It must move the audience! Otherwise, it’s just-” she looked at Dani sharply. “What?”
“I’m looking for Allie.”
“This is she,” Allie said in a haughty voice.
“I’m Dante,” The man in the turtleneck sweater said. His eyes swept up and down Dani’s body and a flirtatious smile appeared on his face. “Can we help you?”
“I wanted to know if you bought this dress.” Dani handed her the receipt. Allie frowned at it, and then shrugged. “Maybe.”
Dante poked his nose in too, and said, “Oh definitely. This is for Color of Your Love. The wedding scene.”
“No,” Allie said. “I recognize it now. Lace gown. It’s for Love With The Man Who Broke Me. We had auditions for it just a few days ago.”
“Do you remember a girl named Jessica auditioning?” Dani asked.
“We only had three women audition, and only one of them fit into the dress,” Allie said. “I suppose that’s Jessica. Redhead?”
“That’s her,” Dani nodded.
“Great! If you’ve found her, tell her she has three days to pay us back for the dress before we press charges. She just ran away!”
“Allie, Jessica’s dead,” Dani said.
Allie stood frozen, and stared at Dani. “Are you sure?”
“Very. I think she was murdered the same night she auditioned,” Dani said. “She had the wedding dress on.”
“It figures,” Allie shrugged. “Was she on drugs? Halfway through the audition, she stared as though a ghost had possessed her. Then she bolted. I tried to stop her, but she had a pair of legs on her! Ran like a cheetah. Got away before I could do anything.”
“Did she-” Dani closed her eyes. “Can you do me a favor? Can you recreate the moment for me?”
“I’m not sure…” Allie said.
“Of course, we can!” Dante said, excited. “Allie, don’t you see, we may help solve her death!”
“I’d say a drug test would solve her death,” Allie muttered. “But alright. She was standing in front of me and suddenly in the middle of a line, her eyes got wide and she-”
“No, no!” Dante said. “This isn’t the right way. Come. We must go to the very room and we must recreate the scene in it’s entirety. All of it, Allie!”
Allie looked a little irritated, but intrigued, nonetheless. She allowed Dante to lead them to the basement and set up two little stools while asking Dani to go stand on the platform.
Dani felt a little self conscious and stupid. What exactly was she playing at? Then, the mood of the place seemed to infect her, too. She was playing at being Jessica. If she could only get inside Jessica’s head, see the world through her eyes, she could probably figure out why Jessica got so riled.
She looked around the room. The walls of the basement were plastered with stills from old plays. Some were professional plays, with broadway stars beaming down at their audiences. Others were clearly homegrown productions.
As her eyes traveled over the photos, Dani froze.
There were many beautiful women on the walls but one stood out. Those cheekbones, that smile, those eyes. It was her mother. Her mother was here, or rather, a very good photo of her mother was up on these walls.
“Very good,” Dante called. “You’ve got the expression on Jessica’s face exactly right!”
The door opened, and an irritated looking Darwin stood in it, with his badge in his
hand. “Sheriff’s department. Deputy Scholl here.” He looked up at Dani, and his eyebrows knit together in surprise.
“Darwin?” Dani looked confused.
Darwin’s jaw was clenched with anger. “We need to talk,” he said. Grabbing her elbow, he gently nudged her to a corner.
“What is it?” Dani’s mind was still on her mother’s photograph. She wanted so bad to look at it up close. So this was what had freaked Jess out. But why? What possible reason could she have? What was Dani missing?
“What is wrong with you?” Darwin hissed. “Mona called to inform me you’d grabbed a receipt from her and raced out.”
Dani shrugged. “I just got caught up in-”
“In what? Doing my job for me?”
“You and the sheriff seem pretty keen to declare the case closed,” Dani said. “It’s what’s most convenient, right? Leo did it, Jess is dead, now Leo killed himself. Circle closed.”
“If convenience is what you’re focusing on, isn’t this convenient for your family?” Darwin asked. “We’ll probably be dropping all charges. Caroline will be free and happy.”
“In this town?” Dani laughed. “Darwin, the police may as well hang a sign saying “Guilty” around her neck. The rumors will follow her forever.”
“I think you’re being a little uncharitable,” he said. “Innocence isn’t all that bad. Your family stayed behind even after your mother embezzled funds and they did fine.”
“Did they?” Dani shrugged. “My dad had problems with running his business for years afterwards. If it hadn’t been for Grandpa’s inheritance money…” She bit her lip.
“Whatever happened, I’m sorry about it,” Darwin said. “But I have to warn you. I don’t want to see you involved in police matters again. I’m not just being mean, Dani. If you stumble onto something important before us, a good lawyer may be able to throw that clue out of court. All because you found it instead of us. Do you see what I’m saying? There’s procedures we need to follow.”
Dani shrugged. “I’m just doing a mock audition for a theater group. I can’t see how that’s breaking any procedures.”
He sighed. “Fine. If that’s how you want to play it.”
Killer Dress: A Small Town Cozy Mystery (Shot & Framed Book 1) Page 11