Unfortunately, the same problems began weighing down her mind that plagued her the night before. She was worried about her friend, Lisa McGraw. Meg hadn’t received any texts from her overnight or this morning. That wasn’t like Lisa.
Meg knew what it was like to be cheated on. Trying to go it alone was a lonely road to travel. Meg wanted to do everything she could to help. She texted Lisa, hoping to get a response. None came.
A few hours later, Meg had still received no word from her friend. A bad feeling suddenly crept into her gut. Meg suddenly feared the worst. In her mind, she’d waited around long enough. She decided to pay Lisa a visit to check up on her.
***
When Meg arrived at Lisa’s house, she was in for a shock. There was a police cruiser parked in her friend’s driveway.
Meg’s heart sank. Her mind began racing. What had happened? There were so many terrible possibilities. The police only showed up when there was trouble. Meg knew good news was not waiting behind Lisa’s front door. The question became, how bad was the news? Meg hoped for the best but feared the worst as she knocked on Lisa’s door.
Shortly after, Lisa answered with a deer-in-the-headlights look on her face. Just as Meg was about to launch into her first question, she came face-to-face with another surprise. There wasn’t just any police deputy in Lisa’s living room, but rather Detective Connor Smith.
Meg gulped. She could sense the ominous tension in the air.
In addition, both Lisa and Connor looked somber. There was no doubt about it now. Something terrible had occurred.
“What’s going on here?” Meg asked.
Connor stepped in. “This is official police business.”
Despite the fact that Meg, Lisa, and Connor all grew up together, Connor took a less than friendly tone. He was all business right now.
That only made Meg want to get to the bottom of this even more. “If it involves one of my best friends, it’s my business too.”
“Jack is dead,” Lisa blurted out.
Connor corrected her. “He’s not just dead. He’s been murdered.”
Meg’s jaw nearly dropped. This wasn’t just bad news. It was now a worst case scenario. Murdered? Words like that just didn’t get tossed around Enchanted Bay. It was a sleepy small town. A tranquil place. When Meg thought back on her entire life, in thirty-two years, she couldn’t remember ever hearing about a murder taking place in town.
Now, not only had one occurred, but she actually knew the victim. Suddenly, Meg realized why Connor was at Lisa’s house. It wasn’t just to tell her the bad news. It was also to question her, possibly as a suspect.
Meg wished her hunch was wrong, but judging by the tight-lipped look on Connor’s face, she had a bad feeling she was right. There was one way to know for sure.
“Are you here to notify her, or to question her?” Meg asked.
Once again, Lisa answered before Connor could get words out. “I wish he was just here to notify me.”
“I’m a homicide detective. It’s my job to find out what really happened.”
Meg knew where this was going. She gave the detective a stern look. “Not to mention, who did this.”
Connor reluctantly nodded. “Yes. Look, there are a number of loose ends in this case that need to be tied up. I’m just trying to gather the facts.”
Lisa had a different take. “That’s not how it sounded to me. With the questions about where I was between eleven and midnight and whether I had an alibi, it made it sound like you thought I was a suspect in this case.”
Connor was clearly uncomfortable with the direction this conversation was headed in. Still, he had a job to do, and he wasn’t going to let the fact that he had a history with Meg, keep him from doing it.
“It’s like I said, my job is to find out who killed Jack Jensen,” Connor stated.
Meg was tired of the detective talking circles around this issue. She cut right to the heart of the matter.
“Wait a minute. Connor, do you actually think she’s a suspect in this case?”
Connor took his time answering. His hesitation spoke volumes.
Meg took a deep breath, seeing the struggle in his eyes.
“Oh, dear. You do, don’t you--”
Connor cut Meg off before she could finish her thought. “Meg, why don’t we talk outside for a moment?”
Meg saw how shell-shocked Lisa was. She then looked at Connor’s pleading face.
Meg sighed. “Yeah. That’s probably best.”
Chapter Eleven
As Connor stepped outside with Meg, the tension in the air was thick. Their romantic involvement in the past made their present predicament so much more awkward. Meg hated being on the other side of the fence from Connor, but when it came to Lisa McGraw, it was clear they didn’t see eye-to-eye.
Emotion levels were running high for all three of them, which made it hard not to take things personally. That was no doubt why Connor had decided to pull Meg aside.
As Connor and Meg stood on Lisa’s lawn, Meg could see a sudden emotional tug of war occurring inside Connor. Turmoil was all over his face.
“Look, this isn’t easy for me, but I have a job to do,” Connor insisted.
Meg understood Connor was caught between a rock and a hard place. Trying to keep his personal feelings out of this case and staying completely objective would no doubt be very difficult. That being said, Connor knew Lisa. They’d gone to school together. The woman didn’t have a violent bone in her body. Meg figured Connor knew that much about her at least. Apparently, she was wrong. So while Meg conceded how difficult this must be for Connor, it was just as hard for Meg as well.
She pleaded her case. “Come on, Connor. Lisa McGraw doesn’t even watch violent television shows because it makes her queasy. It’s ridiculous to think she could have done something as violent as committing murder.”
“Remember, as a detective, it’s my job to look at the facts. The fact is, Jack Jensen was murdered last night, and just hours after Lisa McGraw discovered that he was cheating on her. Murder is often a crime of passion, and in cases like this, more often than not, it’s the bitter girlfriend or spouse that committed the crime,” Connor explained.
“This time, that’s not the case,” Meg stated.
“You don’t have any proof of that, nor does she. Lisa doesn’t even have a verifiable alibi.”
“That doesn’t mean she did it.”
“I never said I thought she was guilty, just that she’s a suspect in this case,” Connor replied.
Meg groaned. “There’s nothing I can say to convince you to take her off the suspect list, is there?”
“Think of it from my perspective. Take away the fact that Lisa is the suspect here. If anyone else’s boyfriend was found murdered the morning after it was revealed he’d been unfaithful, that woman would be under obvious suspicion.”
“Only, here’s the problem; I can’t take away the fact that Lisa is the suspect. This is one of my best friends we’re talking about, and her freedom is at stake.”
“I know that, which is why I’m being especially thorough and cautious with this case. On a personal level, I hope Lisa didn’t do this, but until I find concrete evidence of her innocence, I can’t rule her out as a suspect,” Connor explained.
By that point, Connor and Meg had reached a stalemate. They were both visibly frustrated. It was clear things would only become more heated the longer they talked about it. So instead of belaboring their points, they decided to go back inside.
Chapter Twelve
When Meg and Connor returned from the conversation outside, Lisa McGraw was shaking like a leaf as she sat on the couch.
Lisa looked up at the detective with eyes as wide as saucers. “Are you going to arrest me?”
“I’m waiting on a number of test results, and still have some other suspects to question, so no, I’m not arresting you now. Don’t leave town, though,” Connor cautioned.
The prospect of Lisa skipping town seemed
to be nil, considering she seemed to be paralyzed by her fear. “Leave town? Where would I go?”
“It’s just a formality that I have to say to all the suspects,” Connor explained.
Meg took a seat on the couch beside Lisa and gave her a hug, hoping to stop her trembling.
With so much more detective work left to do, Connor got ready to make his exit.
“All right, I’ll leave you two alone,” Connor said.
Meg gave the detective a nod. Connor then exited.
Once the detective was gone, Lisa breathed a huge sigh of relief. She was still far from calm. Lisa looked like she could burst into tears at any moment.
“This is a nightmare,” Lisa said.
Meg pulled back from the hug and stared deep into her friend’s eyes. “I promise you, I’ll get you through this.”
Lisa grimaced. “You’re such a good friend, Meg. Unfortunately, there’s only so much you can do. You heard Connor; he actually thinks I could have done this.”
“I know he’d like to rule you out as a suspect, but given the circumstances, it’s hard to do that.”
“Meg, I didn’t do this. I’m not a killer,” Lisa insisted.
“I know. You could have never done something like this. The problem is, I’m not the one who needs convincing.”
Lisa started emotionally beating herself up. “I always choose the wrong guy. How do I end up with all these sleaze balls?”
“Hey, we’ve all kissed a lot of frogs on the road to trying to find a prince.”
“Yeah, but this time, my dating decisions have really bit me in the behind.”
“I’ll tell you what, when all this is over, I’ll take you on a girl’s night out that will make you forget all about your dating troubles,” Meg insisted.
Lisa was skeptical. “It’s nice of you to say that, but what if things get worse instead of better?”
Meg couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be in Lisa’s shoes. In just under twenty-four hours, Lisa had gone from finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her, to Jack turning up dead, to being wrongfully suspected in his murder. During times of crisis like this, positivity did not come naturally. At the same time, sinking into the depths of despair wouldn’t do her any good either.
Meg was determined to lift her friend’s spirits up.
“Lisa, I already told you, you’re going to get through this.”
Disbelief was all over Lisa’s face. “You keep saying that, but how can you know that for sure?”
“Because you’re innocent.”
“Yeah, because people never go to jail for crimes they didn’t commit,” Lisa replied, sarcastically. “The problem is, I have no hard facts to prove I’m innocent. The only thing I have going for me is my word.”
Meg nodded. “For now, at least. That could change sooner rather than later.”
Lisa then saw the determination all over her friend’s face. “Meg, you have that look in your eyes. What are you thinking about?”
Meg let her thoughts spill out. “The only way to conclusively prove you’re innocent is to find the guilty party.”
Lisa stopped her dead in her tracks. “Wait a minute. Are you suggesting what I think you are?”
“I’m going to find the real killer,” Meg declared.
Lisa was suddenly caught between competing emotions. One part of her was incredibly touched that her friend would do something so bold. The other part of her was concerned, not just for Meg’s safety, but her ability to actually solve a murder case.
Lisa’s jumbled psyche made her stammer as she replied. “Are you sure about this?”
Meg nodded. “I’m not going to let you go to jail for a crime you didn’t commit.”
Lisa was still in a state of disbelief, but she couldn’t help but smile at Meg’s confidence. “You’re really going to do this?”
Meg corrected her. “No, we’re going to do this.”
Lisa furrowed her brow. “What do you mean?”
“I need your help.”
Lisa was taken by surprise. She proceeded with caution. “Oh, ok. What do you need from me?”
“I need you to work the internet for all it’s worth. Dig up all the dirt you can find on the other suspects. Hit their social media accounts hard. Who knows, you might be able to find a break in this case.”
“Right. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to question the suspects.”
“In person?”
“That’s the plan.”
Lisa’s eyes opened wide. “Really?”
“If I want to get to the bottom of this, I don’t see any other way.”
“In that case, you might want to take this.” Lisa reached into her purse and pulled out a can of pepper spray. “Let’s hope you don’t need it.”
Meg wanted to tell her friend she had plenty of spells at her disposal to defend herself with, but Meg had kept her identity as a witch under wraps until now, so there was no reason to let that cat out of the bag right now. Especially since Lisa had enough on her plate as it was.
It was a sweet gesture from her friend, so even though Meg didn’t need the pepper spray, she took the can and put it in her purse.
“Thanks,” Meg said.
“No, thank you. I still can’t believe you’re doing this for me.”
“Don’t thank me just yet. I have plenty of investigating to do. Wish me luck,” Meg insisted.
Lisa gave Meg another hug. “Knock them dead.”
Chapter Thirteen
When Meg left Lisa’s place, Connor was standing at her car in the driveway. Even though Meg and Connor were old friends, she had no intention of telling him that she planned on investigating this case. He would no doubt try to stop her, which would do no good as Meg’s mind was already made up.
As she looked into his eyes, she couldn’t help but think about how timing truly was everything in life. A decade before, just as Meg had finally realized how strong her feelings for Connor were, he told her he was moving to the city. Now, Connor had finally returned home, only to have their possible happy homecoming torpedoed by this murder investigation.
Instead of catching up on old times, their conversations were about motives and alibis. During moments like this, it was hard not to notice how surreal life could sometimes be. She prayed this conversation would be light on conflict.
“What are you still doing here?” Meg asked.
“You parked behind me,” Connor replied.
Meg breathed a sigh of relief. She was convinced he’d stuck around to make a stink about her sticking her nose in this case. “Oh.”
Connor bit the corner of his lip. “I also wanted to say I’m sorry for how things have turned out today. This whole business with Lisa McGraw isn’t easy for me either.”
“I know. Like you said, you’re just doing your job. It just happens to be a real tough day to be a detective.”
Connor snickered. “That’s an understatement. I left the city to get away from things like this.”
“It looks like trouble followed you.”
“Yeah. Some people have all the luck. Unfortunately, I’m not one of them,” Connor bemoaned.
“Everything is relative. As bad as you may think your luck is, would you want to trade places with Lisa right now?”
Connor shook his head. “Good point. What a poor woman. It’s a shame things have turned out this way.”
“It’s early still. You have no way of knowing how this will turn out,” Meg argued.
“True, Jack Jensen sure didn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“I shouldn’t really be talking about this with you. It’s police business.”
“Connor, this is me you’re talking to. I’m like a vault for secrets. To this day, I still haven’t told anyone about a particularly embarrassing moment of yours from the police academy,” Meg hinted.
Connor’s face went white. “You promised you’d never tell anyone about that.”
; “I haven’t, and I won’t. My lips are sealed. The point is, if you can’t tell me, who can you tell?”
Connor waffled.
Meg pressed him for information again. “Now, what’s this about Jack Jensen having no way of knowing how things would turn out?”
“It’s just ironic that he ended up getting strangled by one of his own resistance bands in the parking lot of his gym,” Connor revealed.
“Yeah. What a way to go. Did you end up finding any fingerprints on the resistance band?”
“Why do you ask?”
“You know I’ve always been a huge fan of detective shows. I love a good, feisty detective dishing out justice while spouting quotable one-liners.”
“You shouldn’t believe what you see on TV. Real detective work isn’t like that.”
“Come on, will you just indulge my curiosity? I make donuts for a living. Getting some dirt on a real-life murder case is the most exciting thing I’ll hear all month,” Meg insisted.
Connor finally gave in. “My forensics team is running a battery of tests, but the resistance band did appear to be clean of fingerprints.”
“Interesting. I guess that means the killer was either wearing gloves or wiped the prints off the band.” She then switched gears. “Did you find anything else at the scene?”
“No, just the resistance band and the body.”
“Wow, you didn’t really have all that much to go on, do you?”
Connor laughed. “What do you expect, a smoking gun? If being a detective was easy, everyone would do it.”
Meg gave the detective a courtesy laugh, all the while getting a nervous feeling on the inside. His comment hit a little too close to home for her. She’d done a good job of keeping her intentions of investigating this case from Connor. She didn’t want to spill the beans now.
Meg decided to make a quick exit from the conversation before Connor became suspicious about her sleuthing-related questions. Besides, at this early stage in the case, the detective didn’t seem to have anything other than insider information.
The Witches Of Enchanted Bay (Witches Of Enchanted Bay Cozy Mystery Book 1) Page 4