Sheriff Miner looked at Suzette’s form fitting black dress. He sighed. “I guess you’re right. She couldn’t have hidden a gun in that dress.”
“She could have hidden the gun in one of those pots of flowers on the terrace,” Deidre said.
“But how could I have reached it from where I was standing without Mitch feeling me move?” Suzette said reasonably.
“I’m sure that someone as smart as you claim to be could have figured out a way. Sheriff, he must be in it with her.” Deidre added.
Taking a deep calming breath, Sheriff Miner turned to look at her, “Now, missy, why are you so eager to have her arrested?”
“I want her arrested because she did it!” Deidre snarled.
Sheriff Miner looked at Mike and Verlynn, “Can you verify what Scott said?”
They both nodded. “Of course we can and we do,” Mike said firmly. “We’re both sworn officers of the law as you know and we’d be in big trouble if we lied.”
“Yea, right.” Miner snorted.
Verlynn added, “I looked down and saw what looked like a short black pipe. I didn’t realize that it was the barrel of a gun until after the shot was fired. I think that the doctor will find that the bullet went into Derek’s body at an acute upward angle.”
Rainwater reached into his side pocket and pulled out a black leather folder. He handed it to Verlynn. She flipped it open to show a card with her picture that identified her as a member of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force. “We received a death threat this morning. It wasn’t very specific but our informant is very reliable so I got into the party as Mike’s date.”
“Can you tell me who it was against?” Miner honestly looked puzzled.
“We were told that it was a woman and she had dark hair. We knew Ms. Bishop was here investigating the fire and the murder so my boss figured she had ruffled some feathers and was the target.”
Deidre snarled, “If you’re so sure that you saw the weapon that shot Derek why didn’t you turn around and see who did it?” Her face was as ugly as her tone of voice.
“That’s a good question,” Verlynn said, “And one my boss will be asking. All I can say is that the noise caused me to freeze and then my attention was focused on Derek.”
Silently, Miner reached in his pocket and pulled out his keys. He selected one and took the handcuffs off Suzette. When she was loose, he growled, “I sure as hell hope that you didn’t do it, but if you did, I’ll get you. No one makes a mockery of justice in my county.”
“Except you,” Cordelia muttered, just loud enough for him to hear.
Ignoring her, he turned to his men. “Get everyone’s name and address. Once you have that, everyone can leave except for these five people.”
He raised his voice. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you will leave your name and address with one of my men, you may leave. Someone will be around tomorrow to take your statements. No one is to leave town until one of my men talks to you.”
He pointed to several people, including Suzette and those with her, Cordelia and Deidre. “I want to talk to you tonight. Go into the library and wait until I come. Jim, I want you in the library with them. No talking.”
Sheriff Miner turned to Bailey, “Now, what was so important that you had to interrupt my interrogation?”
“Sorry sir, but I thought you should know that there are finger prints on the gun, but they appear to be very old and they are smudged like someone wearing gloves handled the gun recently.”
Miner growled, low in his throat. “Next time, Bailey, tell me that it’s important. I don’t need to make mistakes in front of men like Mitch Scott.”
Chapter 17
The next morning, Suzette lay in bed thinking about the fiasco the night before. Sheriff Miner had insisted that Suzette, Mitch, Mike and Verlyn be tested for gun powder residue. He even had Deidre tested, even though she had hysterics all over the library. All of them came up negative. The sheriff had interviewed everyone separately and together. He’d asked the same questions over and over again until Cordelia had finally said, “That’s enough. We’ve been over everything at least three times. Unless you’re ready to arrest me, I’m going to bed.”
The questions he’d asked revolved through her tired brain, over and over again. Where did the perp get my gun? When did it disappear? Why shoot at Derek? Why does Deidre hate me and the biggest why of all, why do I feel like I was set up last night? She twisted uncomfortably in the bed, winding the sheets around her.
Would Sheriff Miner have arrested me because my prints were on the gun even though they couldn’t possibly be fresh? I don’t remember seeing the gun since my divorce, which was years ago and I wasn’t wearing gloves last night. Besides, there was no gun powder residue on my hands. If Mitch hadn’t been with me at the time of the shooting and pointed all this out, I think he would have arrested me. Why is Miner so against me? He was against me before he even met me. What’s going on? And why?”
A few hours later, Suzette joined Cordelia and Hallie in the breakfast room. The French Doors were wide open. The fresh air and the sounds of the waves breaking on the beach were calming to Suzette’s heart. “Good morning, everyone,” she said, cheerfully or at least, she hoped she sounded cheerful.
“Are we the first ones down?”
“I guess everyone else slept better than I did,” Hallie said with a yawn.
“Good morning, Suzette,” Cordelia responded. She looked and sounded exhausted. “How did you sleep after all our late excitement?”
“Okay, I guess. My brain must be on overload because all I can think about is why someone would shoot at Derek but try to incriminate me. I can’t think of anyone who hates me that much.”
“Could it be the San Francisco Stalker?” Hallie asked. “I would think that he would hate you after you proved he killed all those women.”
“No. He’s in a jail for the criminally insane. There’s no way he could get out.”
“What about another case. How many murders have you solved?” Cordelia asked.
“Most of my cases have been arson or weather damage, general insurance claims. I’ve only had two other murder cases. Those perpetrators are still in prison, as far as I know.”
Mike came through the sliding glass door. “I think it would be a good idea if you called your friend in Vegas and asked him to check to make sure they are still in jail. I could call the Captain, but I think it would be faster if you called your friend.”
“I will, but how could he have gotten my gun?”
“There are any number of ways to steal someone’s gun and it would be really easy while everything was torn up from your move.”
“Could your ex-husband have taken it?” Cordelia asked.
“I think that I saw it in my new apartment, but its been so long ago that I don’t really know for sure. Even though I moved several months after my divorce was final, James did come visit me a couple of times. I finally had to get a restraining order to get him to leave me alone.” She thought for a few minutes, “Besides, framing me for a murder I didn’t commit seems much too subtle for my ex. His idea of getting back at me is to stomp on my wounded feet or shoot me instead of Derek. I just don’t think he’d have the guts to try to kill me.”
“I wish I knew who the man was that was staring at you at the airport. I just don’t have a good feeling about him. I’m sure he was involved in this,” Cordelia said.
“It will be hard to find him since you only saw the back of his head.”
Lizzy stomped into the room. She looked at Mike. “The sheriff is on the phone. He wants to talk to you right now. I told him you were at breakfast, but he told me he didn’t care if you were having sex. I was to get you on the phone. He is the rudest man in the whole state.”
Mike sighed. “This is a lesson in how not to conduct an investigation. Alienating all of your witnesses isn’t a good idea.” He sighed. “I’ll be there as soon as I finish my bacon.”
As Mike left the room, Hallie
said, “Suzette, what were you doing at the university yesterday and why didn’t you say ‘hi’ to me?”
Suzette frowned, “I wasn’t at the university yesterday. I was working on my investigation. I talked to the Fire Marshall and Sheriff Miner. Then Mitch and I had lunch together. Then we went to FBI headquarters to try to find if any known killers fit the profile of Jeannette’s killer, you know, someone who sets fires and kills, but no one who fits that profile is out of jail or known to be in this area.”
“Whoever it was, sure had me fooled. I even called to her but she didn’t answer.”
Suzette’s heart began to beat faster. “She looked just like me? What was she wearing?”
“She was in a black suit with two collars. One was black like the suit and the one on top was white. It had white buttons. I think it might have been silk or a silk blend. It was gorgeous.”
Suzette shook her head. “I don’t own a suit like that. I was wearing a forest green shirtwaist dress yesterday.”
Sensing Suzette’s excitement, Cordelia turned to Hallie. “Where did you see this woman?”
“I had just finished class and was walking toward the student parking lot.”
Mike trudged back into the room. “Miner wants us down at headquarters in 30 minutes.”
Ignoring him, Suzette asked, “Could she have been a student?” Suddenly, Mike began studying Suzette.
“No. Students don’t dress like that, I mean, this suit was really expensive. Besides she was too old. She looked just like you, but maybe a few years older. I’m not sure about that, though.” Hallie looked closely at Suzette. “Why are you so interested?”
Suzette took a deep breath. “I was orphaned when I was under a year old. My parents were in an explosive head-on crash with a loaded gas truck. Both the car and the truck went up in flames. The fire was so hot that the asphalt under the cars actually burned. Even the license plates melted. As far as the police could tell everyone in the car was killed instantly. I was found a few hours later by a hiker in the woods. Evidently, the seat belt holding my car seat came loose when the car slid around and I was flung free of the crash. I’ve always wondered about my family. Since everything was burned to nothing, the police had no way to find out who I really was. I was given the name Suzette by one of the social workers. I got Bishop from a foster family.”
“So maybe this woman could be some kind of relation since she looks so much like you?”
Suzette nodded her head. “Yes. I mean, doesn’t it sound logical that two people who look that much alike would be related?”
Hallie smiled her rather feline smile, and said, “I think I’ll see if I can’t find her for you.”
Suzette grinned, “I’d love to go with you.”
Mike said sternly, “No, you won’t, unless you want to be thrown into jail for failure to appear or contempt of court or whatever other excuse Miner can find to put you in the slammer.”
Hallie looked at Cordelia, “I think I could be as good an amateur detective as you are. I think I’ll get my friends that were with me yesterday to help, too. We could cover a lot of territory that way.”
Cordelia smiled. “Good idea. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were a much better detective than I am.”
After they had discussed where Suzette would be and what she would be wearing, Hallie said, “I’d better get to class. I have a test that I’d better not be late for.”
As soon as the front door slammed Cordelia leaned forward and whispered to Suzette, “Maybe that will give her something to think about other than those blasted turtles.”
Suzette laughed. “I was wondering what your ulterior motive was.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I hope she finds your double and that she is a relation but I really don’t think I can stand any more pirates or turtles for a while.”
Both Mike and Suzette laughed, then Mike said, “Let’s not keep the good sheriff waiting. It might be bad for his blood pressure.”
“Maybe he’ll have apoplexy and relieve us of his space on the ballot in November.” Suzette couldn’t tell if Cordelia was kidding or not.
Chapter 18
“Oh no, not more construction,” Mike said as they turned right onto A1A. “Chief Miner isn’t going to be happy when we’re late.” There was a long line of cars ahead of them, all waiting for the flag man to move them along. A lot of people had gotten out of their cars and were standing in groups visiting or enjoying the sun. Suzette stepped out of the car and walked over to the nearest group. “Do you know how long we’ll be stopped here?”
The man looked at his watch. “Well, the flagman told us that it would be about a 35 minute wait, but we’ve been here 45 minutes and it looks like it could be 45 minutes more.”
“Thanks,” Suzette said as she turned to walk back to Mike. Quickly, she explained what the man had said. She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and handed it to Mike. “You call Chief Miner and tell him we’ll be awhile. If I call him, he’ll probably reach through the phone and strangle me.”
Suzette turned away from him to walk across the road to look at the Banana River. After a few minutes, he joined her. “He’s not happy, but he’ll live.”
“I’m amazed at the size of the rivers out here,” she said. “Back home, these would be large lakes.” She was wringing her hands as she looked out over the blue expanse of water.
Mike put his arm around her. “Suz, what’s the matter?”
“I don’t know.” She turned to look up at him. “I feel like we’re being manipulated and distracted. Manipulated so that we can’t spend the time on the important things in this case and distracted so that we can’t think straight. Mike, we haven’t a clue to finding Justin and he’s been gone three weeks. Another day or two could mean the difference between life and death and yet we have to go talk to Sheriff Miner who’s a Cretan as well as a moron studying to be an idiot and failing. Why is it happening like this?”
“I don’t know.” Mike looked around. He looked out over the deep blue water. “Lately, since I got down here, I’ve felt more like a puppet than a detective. I never felt this way in San Francisco even on a case as difficult as the stalker case.” He shook his head. “I feel like there are many evil spirits against us, not the disembodied type, but flesh and blood bad guys. I haven’t felt this hopeless since my aunt’s murder.”
He looked up at the line of cars. People were scrambling to get into their cars. “It looks like they’re moving. Come on, let’s go.”
As they got in the car, Suzette said, “Mike, we need a plan and we need one now. We can’t go on in this haphazard fashion. Justin could be dead by the time we get our act together.”
“If he’s not already dead.” He shook his head. “Suz, I can’t see Justin staying captured this long.”
She reached over and gripped his knee. “I’ve thought about that myself, but, for some reason, I know he’s not dead. I think he’s injured, but not dead.”
Mike shook his head. “Well, you and Justin seemed to be able to read each other’s thoughts during the stalker case. I just hope you are right.”
********
A short time later, they stopped at the glassed-in receptionist’s window. Mike said, “We’re here to see Chief Miner at his command.”
The girl behind the window picked up the phone and spoke into it. Before she could put it down, a uniformed cop tapped Mike on the shoulder. “This way, please.”
He led them through a series of corridors, then knocked on a door. He opened it, and motioned for them to precede him. Two men in plain clothes met them as they came through the door. “Mr. Rainwater, I’m Lt. Horsley. If you’ll come with me, I have a few questions I need to ask you. Mrs. Bishop, if you’ll go with Lt. Raines. He has some questions he wants to ask you.”
Lt. Raines motioned toward a small room with a large plate glass window. He opened the door for her and motioned for her to sit down. A woman in uniform was sitting in front of a laptop computer. “Alyssa will type
our conversation word for word. When we’re done, I’d like to have you read it over, then if it’s correct, I’d like you to sign it, okay?
“Yes,” Suzette stated, calmly.
“First of all, would you give me your full name, address, and occupation?”
Quickly, Suzette gave him the information.
“Now, Ms. Bishop, would you tell me why you came to Cocoa Beach?”
“I was hired by Jeremy Stewart to investigate the fire that killed his mother and destroyed the gazebo, although the family thinks I came down to help Cordelia as a favor.”
“But his mother wasn’t killed in the fire.”
“True, but at that time, he thought that she had died in the fire. The papers in San Francisco reported it incorrectly.”
“Mr. Rainwater came with you?”
“No. I didn’t know that Lt. Rainwater was in Florida. I met him two days after I arrived.”
Raines sighed. “But you did come to Florida to prove that Justin Malone didn’t kill his mother.”
Suzette shook her head. “Lt. Raines, I told you why I was hired. I didn’t know that the police thought Justin was involved because Jeremy Stewart didn’t tell me that Justin was his half-brother. I didn’t know that Justin was here or that he was related in any way to Cordelia Campbell or Jeannette Stewart.”
“Didn’t you date Malone at one time?”
“Only as part of the previous case we worked on together.”
“So you don’t have a personal interest in finding Mr. Malone? You just wanted to come to Florida for your health?”
Mentally, Suzette began to count to ten. She couldn’t let him goad her into saying more that she should or worse, saying things she didn’t want them to know.
“Why don’t you answer?” His tone matched his hostile expression.
Her voice hissed. “Because I’m counting backward from a thousand in Swahili in fractions,” she said through gritted teeth. When he laughed, she added, “And if you weren’t a cop, I would have probably flattened you.”
Sun, Sand and Murder: A Suzette Bishop Mystery (Suzette Bishop Mysteries Book 3) Page 11