“Explain it to me, then,” David said.
“There was a time when I had big plans for that land,” George replied.
David’s nose crinkled. “What kind of plans?”
“My wife had always dreamed of opening up an animal rescue sanctuary. So when I saw that plot of land was for sale, I jumped at the chance of making her dream come true. It would have been an incredible sanctuary, too. But the universe had other plans for my wife,” George said.
His mouth remained open, but no words came out.
I reached out to him. “I’m very sorry about what happened to your wife. She was taken from you far too soon.”
Eleven and a half years ago, George’s wife was killed in a car accident. A drunk driver blew through a red light and plowed right into the driver’s side of Wendy Lipinski’s car. Ironically, the drunk driver ended up surviving the crash. He is now in the state penitentiary. Meanwhile, Wendy Lipinski is buried at Treasure Cove Cemetery.
George began to choke up while thinking about his wife. “Even after all this time, I can’t think about Wendy without tearing up a little.”
I glanced at him with sympathetic eyes. “I know a thing or two about that.”
George nodded. “I’m sure you do.”
David cleared his throat. “I hate to cut in at a time like this, but we still need some answers about the plot of land.”
George took a deep breath. “Right. Of course. Anyway, after Wendy was taken from me, I was too heartbroken to open the sanctuary. I was barely able to hold myself together enough to run my bistro.”
“I understand,” David said. “But in that case, why not just sell the land right away?”
“You don’t think I tried?” George shook his head. “Trust me. I made lots of attempts to get rid of that land.”
“You couldn’t find any takers?”
“It wasn’t that. I wanted to make my money back. I wasn’t in the financial position to just eat the cost of the land. So I decided to wait things out a little. Unfortunately, not too long after that, the economy went in the toilet,” George said.
“And if you couldn’t get your money back before the recession hit, you certainly couldn’t get it back during the lean times,” David replied.
George nodded. “Exactly.” He exhaled. “I held on as long as I could, but I was finally forced to sell the land at a loss or risk losing everything.”
“The recession took no prisoners,” I said.
“It certainly didn’t,” George replied. “Even now, the economy isn’t exactly doing me any favors.”
“How about your son—?” David started asking.
George narrowed his eyes. “What about him?”
“Did Kyle ever try to convince you not to sell the land?” David asked.
George shot David a glare. “Why are you dragging my son into this?”
David was careful to reply as calmly as possible. “I understand that this is a very difficult topic for you to think about, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t have suspicions about Kyle.”
George scowled. “My son didn’t kill Jessica.”
“You say that, but how do you really know—?”
George didn’t let David finish. “I know my son.”
Just as George was getting closer to flying off the handle, David made a conscious effort to keep as even of a keel as possible.
“No parent wants to believe that their child is capable of murder—”
George cut David off. “This isn’t about what I believe. I know Kyle didn’t kill Jessica.”
“Do you have any proof?” David asked.
“He drove me to the dentist’s office that morning.”
David nodded. “True. But he didn’t stay for your procedure.”
George’s nose crinkled. “How do you know that?”
“I just called the dentist’s office. Remember?” David replied.
“So?” George asked.
“So, Esther Murray worked for Dr. Kowalski eleven years ago. And she just told me on the phone that she remembered Kyle dropping you off at the office the morning of your root canal and not coming back until the procedure was done,” David said.
George scratched his forehead. “Right. I forgot. After dropping me off, Kyle swung by the bistro to make sure everything was going all right.”
“Or so he told you,” David replied.
“I have no reason not to believe him,” George said.
“I can think of one,” David replied.
George shot David a glare. “I told you. My son didn’t kill Jessica.”
David folded his arms. “By the way, you never answered my question. When you put that patch of land up for sale, did Kyle try to convince you to hold onto it?”
George shook his head. “No. He didn’t.”
David stared him down. “You’re not lying to me, are you?”
George scoffed. “This is ridiculous.”
“No. It’s deadly serious.”
“I meant that it’s ridiculous that you’d suspect my son,” George said. “What reason would Kyle even have for wanting Jessica dead?”
“That’s what I plan on asking him,” David replied.
“You’re wasting your time,” George said.
“I’ll be the judge of that,” David replied.
Chapter Fourteen
The interview with George proved to be a dead end, but my hope for a quick resolution to this case was not completely dashed. There was still another Lipinski to talk to.
George’s son, Kyle, was the manager of the Treasure Cove High School baseball team. The tall, lean, goateed thirty-year-old was doing paperwork in his office at the school when David and I arrived. Other than the brace that was on his knee, Kyle didn’t look much different from the elite athlete that he had once been.
It had to be difficult for Kyle to wake up every morning knowing that one freak knee injury while sliding into second base had kept him from possibly playing professional baseball. Although, that reality was nowhere near as harsh as the one I faced, knowing that my sister was gone forever.
It was safe to say that the interview with Kyle did not start out on the right foot. David showed Kyle his badge and explained why we were there, only for Kyle to immediately voice his disapproval of our presence.
Kyle groaned. “Do we really have to do this now?”
David nodded. “Absolutely.”
An exasperated expression came to Kyle’s face. “Can you make it quick at least? I have work to do.”
David stared him down. “Kyle. This is an official homicide investigation. We’re not going anywhere until we get answers. Now we can either do this here, or I can haul you into the police station. It’s your choice.”
Kyle exhaled. “Fine. Although, I don’t know what any of this has to do with me.”
I couldn’t restrain my emotions any longer. “My sister’s skeleton was found buried in a patch of land that was owned by your father at the time of her disappearance.”
“I’m very sorry for your loss, but I have no idea how it got there,” Kyle said.
“The obvious explanation is that either you or your father buried Jessica there,” I replied. “But we already know that your father didn’t do it. So that leaves you.”
I expected Kyle to become very tense. Instead, he completely surprised me by breaking into laughter.
For a moment, I was so stunned that I couldn’t even find the words to respond. During my time as an amateur sleuth, I had spoken with dozens of murder suspects. None had ever reacted that way before.
At first, I wondered if Kyle had done it to try to throw David and me off. But as I looked closer, Kyle’s laughter appeared to be genuine. Did he think I was joking? Or was he just so twisted that he took sadistic pleasure in being accused of murder?
I sneered at him. “What’s so funny?”
“The idea of me being a murder suspect,” Kyle replied.
David scowled at Kyle. “This is no l
aughing matter.”
“No. But the suggestion that I had anything do with Jessica’s death is completely laughable,” Kyle replied.
I narrowed my eyes. “How do you figure?”
“Do I look like an idiot to you?” Kyle asked.
I scrunched my nose. “I don’t know where that question came from.”
“Only a complete moron would be dumb enough to kill someone then bury the body on their own property,” Kyle replied.
David shook his head. “That’s not true.”
Kyle nodded. “Yeah, it is. If the body was ever found, you’d immediately become a suspect. I mean, that’s the only reason why you two are here.”
“Nice try, but you’re wrong. Some killers bury their victims on their own property specifically because they figure it’s the best way to keep the body from ever being found. Until their father sells that land, of course,” David said.
Kyle shook his head vehemently. “That’s not what happened.”
David kept the heat on Kyle. “I can see why you would have chosen that spot. It was a large plot of land right next to a forest. It was also not that far from the abduction site. You probably never thought the skeleton would be found. Who knows? Maybe it would have stayed buried if your father had held onto the land. But he didn’t.”
Kyle wasn’t laughing anymore. At the same time, he didn’t look panicked either. Instead, he managed to keep surprisingly calm.
“I didn’t do this,” Kyle replied.
“Oh yeah? If you didn’t, then who did?” David asked.
“There’s another explanation that you two haven’t brought up,” Kyle said.
“Which is?” David asked.
“That someone else buried Jessica’s body there in order to frame me,” Kyle said.
“Who would do that?” I asked.
“You should talk to Ryan Davidson,” Kyle said.
A shiver went down my spine when I heard Ryan’s name. Ryan wasn’t just Jessica’s boyfriend at the time of her disappearance. He also seemed like a peculiar person for Kyle to call out.
To start, I had always known Ryan and Jessica as a happy couple. But there was something else. Ryan had been out of town, camping, at the time of Jessica’s disappearance. So he couldn’t have killed Jessica.
While my mind drifted off, David spoke up. “Don’t try to point the finger of blame elsewhere. We’re talking to you.”
Kyle groaned. “Keep talking all you want. You’re just wasting your time.”
“I disagree,” David replied.
“Listen to me. You really should be talking to Ryan right now. The guy had it out for me,” Kyle said.
My forehead wrinkled. “Your logic doesn’t make sense. If he had it out for you, then why was Jessica the one who was murdered? Why wouldn’t Ryan have just killed you instead?”
“Maybe he had a beef with his girlfriend too,” Kyle said. “He could have killed Jessica, then buried her body on my dad’s property knowing if it was ever found that I would become the prime suspect.”
I scoffed. “That’s one of the craziest things I have ever heard.”
“It’s actually a pretty ingenious plan when you think about it. That way he could get away with murder while taking me down at the same time,” Kyle said.
My nose crinkled. “It still doesn’t add up. It’s been eleven years since Jessica’s disappearance. If Ryan really hated you that much, wouldn’t he have killed you at some point between then and now?”
“Because when I injured my knee, I was no longer competition for him,” Kyle said.
“Competition?” David asked.
“Ryan’s dream was to play pro ball. But he knew I was better than him. And that we played the same position. He was also keenly aware that the odds were very slim that two guys from such a small town would be able to attain baseball stardom. Ryan resented my talent. He genuinely believed that I was what stood between him and getting a shot at playing professionally. But he was wrong,” Kyle said.
“How so?” I asked.
“The fact was that he just didn’t have the talent to play pro ball. He refused to believe that, though,” Kyle said. “And since he couldn’t outplay me on the field, the only way to get rid of me would be to frame me for murder. But when my freak knee injury occurred a few months after Jessica’s disappearance, he didn’t have to waste time framing me for the crime. He could just stay quiet about the murder like he has for the last eleven years.”
“That’s a pretty salacious story,” David said.
“Just because it’s salacious doesn’t mean it’s not true. Talk to Ryan,” Kyle replied.
“We will—” David said.
Kyle cut in. “Good. Go do that.”
David held his hand out. “When we’re done with you.”
Kyle threw his arms out. “What else do you want from me?”
“Ryan Davidson aside, we still have a few more questions for you,” I said.
Kyle shrugged. “What kind of questions?”
“I know that you and Jessica were co-workers at your father’s bistro back then—” I started to say.
Kyle cut me off. “So what?”
“So how did you and my sister get along?” I asked.
“I didn’t have any problems with her,” Kyle said.
“You say that, but I remember that you two didn’t always get along,” I replied.
“I got along just fine with her. It was Ryan who I couldn’t stand.”
“I’m not talking about Ryan,” I said. “I’m referring to the frequent smoke breaks you would take with Tyler Stillwater.”
Kyle’s eyes grew as wide as saucers. “I don’t like where you’re going with this.”
“Do you know where Tyler is right now?” I asked.
Kyle folded his arms. “Tyler is his own man, and he made his own decisions.”
“Yes. Decisions that led to him being put behind bars for dealing drugs,” I said.
“None of that has anything to do with me,” Kyle replied.
“I’m not saying you were dealing drugs. Using them is another matter entirely,” I said.
“You better have proof if you’re going to throw accusations like that around,” Kyle replied.
“You’re awfully jumpy all of a sudden. Probably because we both know what would have happened back then if the baseball world had found out that you’d been doing drugs. That would have been the end of your career,” I said.
“I never touched drugs,” Kyle replied.
I put my hands on my hips. “Really? So you’re telling me you were friends with a known drug dealer, but you never did any drugs yourself?”
“That’s exactly what I’m telling you,” Kyle said.
“So Jessica didn’t happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time one night and stumble upon Tyler selling you drugs?” I asked.
Kyle shook his head. “No.”
David cleared his throat. “There’s one way to settle this.”
“How?” Kyle asked.
“By telling me your whereabouts the morning of Jessica’s disappearance. So, August tenth, eleven years ago, where were you?” David asked.
Surprisingly, Kyle didn’t skip a beat with his reply. “That morning, my father had a dentist appointment. I dropped him off, went to check on how things were going at the bistro, then picked my father up from the dentist’s office when his procedure was finished.”
David squinted. “You were awfully quick with your answer. Especially considering how I asked you about a day from eleven years ago.”
“I have a great memory,” Kyle replied.
I gave him a wary look. “Or maybe your father called you just before we arrived and told you to use that story as your alibi.”
Kyle scoffed. “That’s ridiculous.”
I stared Kyle down. “Is it? I mean, it is one thing to tell us that you dropped your father off at the dentist’s office then headed over to the bistro. But do you have anyone who can confirm that you
were really at your father’s restaurant that morning?”
“Yes,” Kyle replied.
“Who?” I asked.
“Lyndy Walsh,” Kyle said.
“And she’ll be able to confirm your story?” David asked.
Kyle nodded.
I bit the corner of my lip. “Weren’t you and Lyndy dating eleven years ago?”
“So what?” Kyle snapped.
“So maybe you have convinced her to lie for you,” I replied.
Kyle shrugged. “Why would she do that? We’re not dating anymore.”
“Is there anyone other than Lyndy who might be able to verify that you were at the bistro that morning?” David asked.
Kyle shook his head. “No. Not that I can think of. I mean, there were a number of customers in the bistro, but they just kind of came and went. Lyndy was the only employee working that morning.”
“That’s unfortunate,” David said.
“I already told you. Lyndy has no reason to lie for me. Just call her. She’ll tell you I was there,” Kyle replied.
***
David gave Lyndy Walsh a call. Just as Kyle had predicted, Lyndy verified his story that he was at the bistro that morning.
That put David and me in a tough position. Despite all the suspicions that we had about Kyle, we had no way of refuting his alibi.
Unfortunately, we had no choice but to move on.
As David and I made our way back to his car, my boyfriend’s frustration boiled over.
“What are the odds that Jessica’s body would be found on an old plot of Lipinski land only for both of the Lipinskis to have alibis for the time of the murder?” David asked.
I let out a sigh. “I know. It’s really frustrating.”
“Maddening is more like it. I really thought that talking to the Lipinskis would lead to a big break in the case.”
“Instead, we’re staring down some big trouble.”
He nodded. “You can say that again.”
I groaned. “I wish I could say that this case is closed.”
“Unfortunately, it is wide open. And not just the pool of suspects. I can’t even definitively tell you why Jessica’s body was buried in that spot.”
Daley Buzz Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 60