These interviews were going to be hard enough already. I knew how important it was to keep an even keel when trying to get the truth out of a suspect, so I took a few deep breaths to make sure I was as calm as could be before the questioning began.
David decided that it would be best to start with Kenneth first. That was fine by me. The angular-faced fifty-three-year-old looked like he was in bad shape as David and I approached him. The police deputy had detained Kenneth in the back of his squad car, so it was no surprise that Kenneth was so on edge.
“Mr. Franklin, you have some serious explaining to do,” David said.
“Why am I in the back of a police car? I didn’t do anything wrong,” Kenneth replied.
“Kenneth, it has been a very long day. I’m warning you, don’t mess with me.”
Kenneth shook his head. “I’m not messing with you. I don’t even know what this is about.”
“Either you’re playing dumb, or you are dumb. Whichever it is, I don’t have the patience for it. Do you have any idea how serious of a crime it is to lie to a police officer?” David asked.
Kenneth trembled. “Wait. You think I lied to you?”
“I think you have been very selective about what have and haven’t told me. Now I’m going to remind you how important it is to tell the truth. Your freedom depends on it.”
He squinted. “Freedom?”
David nodded. “If I catch you lying to me, don’t think I’ll hesitate to throw you in jail.”
His muscles tensed up. “But I haven’t lied to you.”
David moved uncomfortably close to him and stared him down. “That may be the case, but I also know that you haven’t been entirely truthful with me. For example, the first time we spoke, you didn’t disclose that you and Erin were in a relationship.”
“You didn’t ask.”
David’s eyes lit up with rage. “I warned you not to play games with me. You didn’t think that was a relevant detail? Go ahead, keep messing with me. See where it gets you.”
Kenneth gulped.
David continued. “Now where were you between ten and eleven o’clock on Friday?”
“I already told you. I was with Erin.”
“You’re sticking with that story?”
“It’s not a story. It’s the truth.”
“So you and Erin were alone at your place having a listing meeting?”
Kenneth nodded. “Yes.”
“That’s a shame. It would have really helped your case if there was another person with you.”
“You said you wanted the truth,” Kenneth replied.
“And if you were dragged into court, you’d be willing to testify under oath that Erin was with you until eleven that night?”
He hesitated then nodded. “Yes.”
I scrunched my nose. “If you two really had a listing meeting, there should be paperwork and contracts, not to mention an actual real estate listing to show for it.” I held out my phone. “I looked up your house. The Internet has no record of your place being for sale.”
“That’s because it was a meeting about whether to list my house, not to put up the actual listing. It was all very preliminary,” Kenneth replied.
“Are you still planning on selling your place?” I asked.
Kenneth nodded. “Yes.”
David’s eyebrows arched. “Are you going to move into Erin’s place?”
“That’s none of your business,” Kenneth said.
“Your girlfriend is a murder suspect, and you are the only one who can verify her alibi,” David replied. “This is very much my business.”
Kenneth broke eye contact.
“Answer the question,” David said. “Are you going to move into Erin’s place?”
“I’m not quite sure,” Kenneth replied.
“But you’ve talked about it?” I asked.
“It has been brought up,” Kenneth said.
David stared deep into his eyes. “You must really care about Erin.”
“I don’t see how that’s relevant to your case,” Kenneth replied.
“Do you care enough about her to cover up for her?” David asked.
“I don’t know where you got the crazy idea that I’m covering up for her,” Kenneth said.
“Kenneth, doesn’t it bother you that you might be in love with a murderer?” David asked.
Kenneth shook his head. “No.”
“Why not?” David said.
“Because she didn’t kill her sister,” Kenneth replied.
“What makes you so sure?” David asked.
“Because she was with me that night. She couldn’t have done it.”
“So you say,” David replied.
“Now can I go?” Kenneth asked.
“Not quite.”
Kenneth groaned. “I answered all of your questions. What else do you want from me?”
“A handwriting sample,” David said.
Kenneth shrugged. “Why do you want that?”
“Don’t worry. If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. So are you willing to give us a sample?”
Kenneth nodded. “Sure. Whatever it will take to get me out of here.”
David called the deputy over to get a handwriting sample from Kenneth while David and I moved to Erin’s front porch to question her.
Chapter Thirty-One
As expected, Erin did not give the detective and me a warm welcome. Erin scowled as she sat on her porch.
“You have a lot of nerve,” she said.
David narrowed his eyes at her. “So do you. Are you still sticking with your story?”
“It’s not just a story. It’s the truth,” Erin replied.
“According to you,” David said. “Your boyfriend seemed a little shaky when we questioned him.”
She shot David a glare. “I know what you’re trying to do.”
He stared her down. “To figure out who killed your sister.”
Erin snarled. “You can try to get us to turn on each other all you want. It’s not going to work.”
David folded his arms. “You and Kenneth may stand in solidarity with each other, but that doesn’t change the fact that your alibi looks very flimsy all of a sudden.”
Erin narrowed her eyes. “Says you.”
“The only person who can verify your story is the man you happen to be dating. By definition, that makes your alibi shaky,” David replied.
“It doesn’t change the fact that I do have an alibi, though.”
“You could have had Kenneth falsify your story.”
“That’s a serious accusation. Do you have any proof?” Erin asked.
David hesitated.
A smug look came over Erin’s face. “That’s what I thought.”
“Are you really going to take that tone with me? You’ll need more than just your boyfriend’s words to prove your innocence.”
A fire came to Erin’s eyes. “And you’ll need a lot more to prove I’m guilty. Especially since I’m not.”
“That is yet to be determined.”
She folded her arms. “You’re wasting your time. I already told you everything I know.”
“You also omitted a really key detail,” I said.
She opened her mouth.
I wasn’t done. “Don’t try to downplay the fact that you didn’t tell us about your romantic involvement with Kenneth.”
“So I withheld that detail from you. It doesn’t change the fact that I didn’t kill my sister,” Erin said.
“That’s your take,” I said. “After learning about that omission, it makes me wonder what else you might not have told us.”
“I have told you everything else.”
“Excuse us if we don’t just take your word for it.”
“I don’t know why you’re coming so hard at me. You should be talking to Rick Lutz.”
“We did speak with him,” I said.
Erin threw her arms out. “Tell me he’s not guilty.”
“Y
ou seem quite determined to point the finger of blame in his direction.”
“Because he’s practically drenched in motive.”
“So are you, but you insist that you are innocent,” I said.
“Because I am,” Erin replied.
David spoke up again. “If you’re so innocent, then you shouldn’t have any problems providing us with a sample of your handwriting.”
Erin’s forehead wrinkled. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“It just may be the key to finding your sister’s killer,” David said. “Now, will you give us a sample?”
Erin groaned. “Fine. Although you’re just wasting your time. I didn’t do anything.”
“We’ll see about that,” David replied.
Chapter Thirty-Two
I was trying my best not to get frustrated, but I was failing miserably. David got a writing sample from both Kenneth and Erin for the handwriting expert to analyze. He then let them go with a strict warning to stay in town. To be sure they actually did, David made sure that a few patrol cars continued to keep tabs on them.
It was going to take a while for the handwriting expert to analyze the samples. That meant that David and I would be left in suspense for an undetermined amount of time.
I knew that if I headed back to the police station with David, I would only end up pacing back and forth in the hallway, nervously waiting for any update. That kind of jittery behavior wouldn’t win me any friends at police headquarters, so I had my boyfriend drop me off at Daley Buzz instead.
The moment I arrived at the coffee shop, I fired up a latte. After taking a few sips of my drink, my eyes caught sight of a delicious treat. There was a container of individually wrapped caramels beside the register that was meant to entice impulse buyers.
When I was working, I often forgot that the container was even there. So naturally I spotted the caramels while I was in the middle of the most stressful day that I’d had in months. As I stared at the caramels, they proved to be too scrumptious to resist. I reached for one, unwrapped it, and gobbled it right up.
Mmm.
So good. The caramel was soft, creamy, and mouth-wateringly good. Sweet treats like this delectable were practically addictive. If I wasn’t careful, I could easily plow through the entire container. That was why I told myself that I would stop at one.
Three caramels later, I found myself in the middle of a binge. My taste buds were delighted by my complete lack of restraint, but I was horrified to discover just what little willpower I had. Not horrified enough to stop devouring caramels, mind you, but wildly disturbed nonetheless.
When I grabbed another caramel, my stepfather spoke up.
“You know those caramels are for customers, right?” Luke asked.
“We can always order more,” I replied. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“Things must be really desperate, then.”
I nodded. “Oh yeah. This is a caramel emergency. You know how it is.”
He shook his head. “I can’t say that I do. I’ve never had a caramel emergency.”
“Be thankful for that. They can get pretty brutal.”
“I can see that. Now why don’t you give those caramels a rest?”
I unwrapped the caramel that was in my hand. “Times like this, I can’t be held responsible for my lack of willpower.” I gobbled up the delicious treat.
Luke grabbed the container and tucked it away on a shelf under the counter. “It’s a good thing that your mother isn’t here. She is worried enough about you already.”
“You’re not going to tell her about this, are you?”
“You know that I try not to keep secrets from your mom.”
“But like you said, she’s already worried enough. There’s no need to throw her over the edge.”
Luke put his hands on his hips. “Sabrina, you know this is a terrible place to put me in.”
“Trust me. I’m in a much worse place,” I replied.
“If the case is getting to you this much—”
“Don’t even say it. I’m not giving up.”
“That wasn’t what I was going to say.”
“Good.”
“I have known you long enough to realize that you won’t give up.”
“Tell that to my mother,” I said.
“Oh, she knows. Why do you think she worries about you so much?” he asked.
“I know why. Trust me, this isn’t easy for me, either.”
“Clearly. It doesn’t take five empty caramels wrappers to be able to see that. Just promise me that you’re being careful. I don’t know what your mother and I would do if something happened to you.”
“I am taking every precaution that I can,” I said. “Feel free to tell Mom that.”
“I will. Although I don’t see her breathing easy again until this case is closed.”
I gritted my teeth. “Unfortunately, I’m not sure when that will be.”
“Sometimes it helps to talk things over.”
“Thanks, but I don’t want to talk about the case. I just want to solve it.”
“If you change your mind, I’m all ears,” Luke said.
I stared out into the distance, trying to make sense of all the different aspects of this case. As my mind raced, I had fully intended to keep my thoughts to myself.
“Sabrina, are you all right?” Luke asked.
I exhaled. “No.”
“I know you said that you didn’t want to talk about the case, but maybe it will help you to get things out in the open instead of letting them eat you up inside.”
“I know that every family is different, but the Baxter family…” I took a deep breath. “I just don’t get how they seem to care more about money than each other.”
“There’s a reason that greed is one of the deadly sins. Family members have been betraying each other for money since Biblical times.”
“It’s more than that,” I said. “Terri and Erin Baxter were sisters, but you’d never know it by talking to Erin. They certainly weren’t like any pair of sisters that I know. When I think about my sister…” I lowered my head. “I would give anything to see Jessica again. But Erin, she doesn’t even seem to miss her sister.”
“I would give anything to have Jessica back, too, but unfortunately, not all families operate like that.”
“I know. It just makes me so sad to think about sisters not getting along.”
“I’m sorry this case is really getting to you.”
I nodded. “As if investigating a murder isn’t hard enough already.”
“As sad as it is to know that everyone in the Baxter family wasn’t on the best of terms, it does make you appreciate that everyone in our family gets along.”
I smiled at Luke. “That’s true.”
“See, there’s a silver lining to everything.”
“Thanks for cheering me up.”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
“In that case, how about letting me have another caramel?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nice try.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
I was hoping that when I woke up the next morning, David would call me with an update. When he didn’t have one, I headed off to the coffee shop. Two hours into my work shift, David entered Daley Buzz.
I didn’t hesitate to try to get information out of him.
I gazed at David with wide eyes. “Did you get the results back?”
David glanced around at the half-filled room. “Why don’t we talk about this outside?”
David and I headed out front, where I studied his face.
“You don’t look very excited. Do you have bad news?” I asked.
David groaned. “Times like this, it would be nice if you weren’t so perceptive.”
My heart sank. “How bad is the news?”
David grimaced. “The handwriting expert analyzed the samples.”
“And?”
“According to him
, neither Keith’s nor Erin’s sample matched the letter we received at the station.”
“I’d like to say that’s surprising, but it isn’t. That would have been too easy.”
“Yeah. The killer went to too much trouble in covering their tracks to slip up with a simple handwriting sample.”
“I guess you’re right,” I said. “So what now?”
“We just have to keep on digging.”
“No wonder you look so grim.”
David tried to put on the best face that he could. “The killer is out there. We’ll find them.”
“David, I know you. I can see the desperation in your eyes. You don’t have to put on a good face for me.”
“I’m not,” he replied. “I’m doing it for me. If I’m going to crack this case, I need to keep my head up.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
David grabbed a cup of coffee then headed back to the police station to resume work. The rest of my day involved far less detective work—at least on the surface. Even as I made espressos and lattes for customers, the case remained at the back of my mind. All that changed when Ryan Davidson entered the shop.
The five-foot-nine twenty-eight-year-old still had the body of a lacrosse player even though he hadn’t played the sport in nearly a decade. He had short brown hair, hazel eyes, and an oval face. He also had a very strange sense of timing. I hadn’t seen him in months. Normally that would have really bothered me, but since our last conversation had been quite awkward, the break in time between seeing each other wasn’t such a bad thing.
I got the sense that another round of awkwardness was inevitable. How could it not be? After all, Ryan was my sister’s old boyfriend. Every time I saw him, I was reminded of Jessica. Only recently a new wrinkle had been added to complicate matters even further.
The last time our paths had crossed, he had been with his new fiancé. Even now, months later, I was having a hard time grappling with the idea of Ryan being romantically involved with anyone other than my sister. At the same time, it had been ten years since Jessica’s disappearance. Ryan had a right to move on. At least that was what I tried to tell myself.
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