“Scott, stop arguing with us,” I said. “We know you killed Ryan.”
“You have a lot of nerve coming into my business and accusing me of a crime that I didn’t commit,” Scott said.
“The way I see it, you’re the one with the nerve. Not only did you kill Ryan. You went one step further and attempted to frame your own girlfriend for the crime,” I said.
Scott’s eyes shot daggers at me. “I see through your little game. This is all just a bluff. There is probably no footage on that camera.”
“You’re dead wrong,” I said.
Scott folded his arms. “Fine. If you have such incriminating footage, I demand to see it.”
“All right,” David said. He pulled out his smart phone and loaded a clip on it. “I took the liberty of transferring the footage from the camera over to my phone. Prepare to eat your words.”
Scott’s eyes widened as David played the clip.
In the video, Scott was seen approaching Megan’s garbage can carrying a knife in his hand. He lifted the lid of the can, dropped the knife into it, and then darted away from the scene.
As Scott watched the video clip, he was speechless.
David, meanwhile, didn’t have any trouble formulating a response. “What do you have to say for yourself now?”
Scott didn’t say a word. When his silence dragged on a few seconds longer, David spoke up.
“That’s what I thought,” David said.
“Like I said before, we’ve got you,” I added. “You made a huge mistake and it’s going to cost you everything. But that’s what happens when you panic. You could feel the walls closing in on you. You knew it was only a matter of time before we figured you out. And if that wasn’t bad enough, we weren’t the only ones who had suspicions about you. Even your own girlfriend was beginning to doubt your innocence. So, you tried to frame her. You placed the knife in Megan’s garbage can and called 9-1-1, thinking that would be enough to pin this murder on her. But you were in such a hurry to try and point the finger of blame elsewhere that you slipped up. While you were dropping the murder weapon in the trash, you didn’t notice the security camera on her neighbor’s porch.”
Scott remained dead quiet.
I continued. “Face it, we’ve got you, Scott. You’re going to spend the rest of your life behind bars.”
David stared Scott down. “Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
Scott was unable to keep a lid on his emotions any longer. “I gave Ryan all the chances in the world to sell his company. I offered him the kind of money that only a fool would turn down. And do you know what he told me? That the only way he’d sell his landscaping business was over his dead body.”
I shook my head in disgust. “You greedy psychopath. I can’t believe you killed someone over a little bit of money.”
Scott held his pointer finger up. “That’s where you’re wrong. It was a lot of money. Do you have any idea how rich I would have become if I owned the two biggest landscaping businesses in town?”
“I guess we’ll never find out now,” I said. I then shook my head in disgust. “I hope you rot in jail.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Three Months Later
There was always an adjustment period after a case ended. But it was especially difficult to make a transition back to normal life after this particular investigation. It was just such an emotional time that entire months went by before I truly felt like myself again.
As hard as things were for me, they were infinitely worse for Nicole Davidson. That said, she managed to hold herself together with the help of her grandparents and her friends. Even so, some days were harder than others. Take the afternoon of her high school graduation, for example. It should have been a day of great celebration. But without her father there, it was emotional for an entirely different reason.
That wasn’t the only milestone of the summer, however. There was also the morning toward the end of August when she showed up unexpectedly at my house holding a medium-sized square box in her hand.
My eyes were wide as I stood in my doorway and looked at her standing on the front porch.
“Nicole. What are you doing here?” I asked.
She held out the box she was holding. “I wanted to give you this.”
“What is it?” I asked.
“Open it and see for yourself.”
When I opened the box, I saw chocolate fudge cake inside.
My eyes bulged. “Wow. Cake.”
Nicole held her pointer finger up. “It isn’t just any cake. It’s from Mitchell’s.”
I smiled wide. “Thank you so much for this.”
“Are you kidding? It’s the least I could do. I mean, if it wasn’t for you and David, my father’s killer would still be out there. I owe you two so much.”
“I’m just glad the case is over.”
She took a deep breath. “So am I.”
“Do you want to come in and have a piece with me?” I asked.
“Actually, I can’t.”
“Oh. Okay. Maybe some other time then.”
Nicole bit the corner of her lip. “Actually, that’s the other reason I’m here.”
My nose crunched. “I’m confused.”
She pointed back at her car, which was filled with boxes. “I wanted to say good-bye.”
“Wait a minute. Is this the big day?” I asked.
Nicole nodded. “I’m heading off to college in a few minutes.”
“I’m so excited for you.”
“Thanks. I’m really looking forward to this.”
“Of course you are. And why wouldn’t you be?” I said. “Good luck with all of your classes. I wish you all the best.”
I put the cake box down on a table in my entryway and then leaned forward to give Nicole a hug. That was when I felt her body trembling a little bit.
“Are you nervous?” I asked.
She nodded. “A little.”
“Don’t worry. You’ll do great.”
Her nose crinkled. “What makes you so sure?”
“You’re a really smart kid.”
“Thanks for saying that, but it’s not just the classes I’m worried about.”
“I know,” I said. “Just like I also know how hard it is starting over in a new place.”
She grimaced. “It sure is. That said, I don’t know how much longer I could stay in Treasure Cove, anyway. I mean, everywhere I turn, I’m reminded of my dad.”
“Again, I’m so sorry.”
She got a faraway look in her eyes. “Even though I’m nervous about starting college, I keep telling myself it’s good that I’m getting out of this town. This could be exactly what I need to help me move on.”
“I hope so. And look, if you have any trouble when you get to Cedar Creek, don’t hesitate to call me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Nicole gave me another hug.
“Take care,” I said.
“I’ll do my best,” she said. “Let’s hope that things work out for both of us.”
I nodded. “I’m going to pray that they will.”
The End.
Murder and Layer Cake
Chapter One
“Have you figured out who killed my brother?” Melissa Maxwell asked.
By that point in the investigation, I really thought the answer would be yes. Unfortunately, I did not have good news to share with my old friend.
It wasn’t due to lack of effort. I had conducted five suspect interviews that afternoon. Yet all I had to show for it was frustration.
While I talked on the phone, my detective husband, David Carlson, stood beside me looking equally exasperated. This wasn’t the first case that had failed to go our way. In all candor, it probably wouldn’t be the last. What made this particular case stand out was the added pressure associated with it. Typically during a low point in our investigation, David and I didn’t find ourselves fielding a frantic phone call from the grieving sister of the murder victi
m.
That said, my heart went out to Melissa. I knew what it was like to lose a loved one. It was an awful enough experience when death came from a natural cause. But for Melissa’s brother to have been murdered was tragic beyond words. Adding salt to the wound was the fact that the killer was still on the loose. If that wasn’t a recipe for a panic attack, I didn’t know what was.
“David and I are working on it,” I said.
Melissa’s voice cracked as she replied, “What if the killer gets away?”
“That isn’t going to happen.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“I promise—”
“Sabrina, don’t make a promise you can’t keep,” Melissa said.
“I promise that we’re going to do everything in our power to catch the person who did this,” I said.
Melissa groaned. “I still can’t believe he’s gone. That someone murdered him. What kind of a monster would do such a thing?”
“That’s what we’re trying to find out.”
“Are you leaning toward anyone at least?”
“Melissa, when we have answers, trust me, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Is that a no then?”
I knew what she wanted me to say. That we were close to wrapping this investigation up. That the killer would be behind bars by the end of the night. But that was just wishful thinking. I didn’t want to give her false hope.
I also wasn’t about to tell her the brutal truth. In her fragile emotional state, she didn’t need to hear that the killer’s identity was just as much of a mystery to us now as it was when the case began.
“We have our suspicions, but nothing conclusive,” I said.
Melissa groaned. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
I grimaced. “Look. I hate to cut this conversation short, but David and I really need to get back to work.”
“Right,” Melissa said. “Of course.”
“I’ll let you know when I have any more news.”
“I hope it’s soon.”
I hung up the phone and muttered to myself, “So do I.”
Chapter Two
I stood silently, gritting my teeth as I put my phone back in my purse.
My forty-seven-year-old husband leaned against his car, patiently waiting for me to collect my thoughts. He was five-eleven and muscular, with short black hair and a square, clean-shaven face. But what I noticed most about him right then was the concerned look in his soulful brown eyes.
When I didn’t utter a word for nearly ten seconds, he decided to break the silence. “You look like you need a hug.”
“What I really need is for us to find Mark Wilcox’s killer,” I said.
“Eventually we’re going to uncover the murderer. For the time being, I can offer you a hug.”
I took him up on his offer. He pulled me in close and held me tight.
“Melissa isn’t as convinced that we’ll be able to catch the killer,” I said.
“We’ll figure it out,” David said. “We always do.”
“I just can’t help but feel awful for Melissa. She’s in really rough shape.”
“That’s understandable, given the circumstances.”
“Absolutely. If I were her, I’d be a basket case too. I mean, when my sister…”
I trailed off, unable to finish my sentence. It was difficult for me not to get choked up when I spoke about my sister. With good reason. A number of decades ago, my older sister Jessica was murdered. She was only nineteen-years-old at the time.
Even though over a quarter of a century had passed since I lost my sister, her death still stung. I didn’t talk about her much, as doing so made me weep, but I thought about Jessica every day.
This was one of the rare instances when I referred to my sister in a conversation. Although, with the nature of this current investigation, it was almost inevitable that Jessica’s name would come up sooner or later. Cases involving the death of a sibling always got to me the most.
The one key difference was that Jessica’s killer was behind bars. Mark Wilcox’s killer, meanwhile, was still out there somewhere.
I had to find a way to muster enough resolve to keep my emotions from getting the better of me.
David had a concerned look on his face as he gazed at me. He reached into his pocket. “Do you want a tissue?”
“No,” I said.
“Are you sure?”
“Thanks for asking, but now is not the time to cry over the past. It’s time to hunker down. The pressure is on.”
David exhaled and replied sarcastically, “Just what we need.”
“I know. As if there wasn’t enough pressure on us already.”
“Melissa knows that murder investigations take time, doesn’t she?”
I nodded. “I told her that earlier. But it doesn’t matter. She’s not in a position to listen to reason right now. She just lost her brother. She doesn’t care how we find the killer—just that we find the person who is responsible for his death.”
David groaned. “Cases like this make me consider early retirement.”
“I hear you. The problem is, if it wasn’t us out here tracking down this killer, it would be someone else. And you have to admit, we’re the best this town has,” I said.
“True,” David said. “Yet here we are, stumped.”
“We have to find a way to come through for her. She’s depending on us.”
In truth, Melissa wasn’t the only one relying on us. The entire town of Treasure Cove was banking on us being able to nab the killer. More specifically, my ten-year-old daughter. Ever since I became a parent, I had developed a heightened sense of urgency. It unnerved me knowing a killer was on the loose in the same town that my little girl called home. A shiver went down my spine as I thought about it.
I wanted my daughter to have the happiest childhood possible. I was also in no hurry for her to become an adult. There was plenty of time for her to grow up. At this stage of her life, she didn’t need to know about the seedy underbelly of the world. I was determined to shield her from that for as long as I could.
“We will come through,” David said. “We’re just off to a rough start.”
I stared off into the distance. “The answer is out there somewhere. But where?”
“I wish I knew. But I can say this. Now is not the time to get frustrated,” he said.
“Really? Because now seems like exactly the time,” I said.
“It’s still early in the case.”
“That’s part of the problem. It’s too early to be out of leads,” I said. “Yet we are.”
David held his pointer finger up. “I know what you need.”
“A big break would be nice,” I mumbled.
“I was going to say cake, but a break would work too.”
“Although, a break in the investigation followed by some celebratory cake would be the best.”
“In that case, I’m ready to put this case to bed more than ever.”
“Don’t get too excited. I don’t actually have a genius hunch. I was just speculating about how great it would be if I did.”
Disappointment came to David’s voice. “Way to get my mouth watering for nothing.”
“That said, maybe getting some cake would spark an idea,” I said.
“Sounds like wishful thinking,” he said.
“You’re probably right. Staying focused on the investigation is probably the best course of action.”
David scrunched his nose. “If you believe that then why do you have such a deflated look on your face?”
“Because I’m completely worn down. I mean, despite everything I just told you, another part of me just wants to go home and get some rest and relaxation.”
“I certainly can’t blame you for being exhausted.”
“So it’s safe to say that I’m torn.”
“I’m right there with you.”
“It’s just so tough to know what the right decision is,” I said.
&n
bsp; “Is it? Or are we just letting our taste buds get the better of us?”
“Are you saying we should get back to work?”
“Can you argue with that decision?”
I shook my head. “No. The problem is, we’ve already questioned each of the suspects once. So where do we go from here?”
David remained quiet for a few moments.
It quickly became clear that he wasn’t just being pensive. Whether he was willing to admit it or not, he didn’t have an answer to my question.
“So?” I said.
He shook his head. “I’m drawing a blank. How about you?”
“My vote is for cake,” I said.
“Didn’t we just talk about this?”
“Yes. But you know how hard it is to think on an empty stomach. Maybe a piece of cake is just what we need to get the creative juices flowing.”
Chapter Three
In my years investigating, I had learned a lot. Some wisdom was harder earned than others. One kernel of truth was so basic that it would never be put in any field manual, yet it was crucial. While it seemed counterintuitive, taking a break often yielded the biggest dividends. Especially when I used that break to grab some brain food.
The time away from the case allowed me to pull back and look at things with a wider lens while the food gave me the chance to reenergize. That proved especially true when David convinced me to get a full meal rather than just dessert.
With the cake shelved until later, my mouth found something new to water over—a sausage, pepperoni, and mushroom pizza. It was David’s fault. He put the idea in my mind. Once it was there, it refused to leave.
I couldn’t help but say yes. After all, I only had so much will power. Especially when it came to pizza.
I knew the treadmill at the gym would make me pay for this decision later, but that was a choice I was willing to make.
There was one definitive place to get pizza in town—Luigi’s. That was where we headed. On the drive over there, we passed by the Pacific Ocean. Even though I had lived in Treasure Cove my entire life, one thing really struck me—my hometown was still as beautiful as ever.
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