“Look. I know you’re down, but—”
I went off on a tangent. “This is just so crazy. And unfair. I’m only forty-seven. I’m too young to have lost so many friends.”
“I know what you mean. I never thought I would have gone to so many funerals at this stage in my life. But that’s just the way things have shaken out.”
“It’s not supposed to work this way. Not for us. Or for Wally. I mean, talk about someone who died before his time.”
David nodded. “Yeah. He was our age.”
“He had finally gotten his life on track. He was married, had a good job, and what seemed like a bright future,” I said.
David reached over and took my hand.
I continued. “And if it isn’t already sad enough that he’s gone, I didn’t even get a chance to say good-bye to him.”
“That is particularly heartbreaking.”
“I mean, when I spoke to him this afternoon…if I had known that would be my last conversation with him, I would have said so many other things to him.”
“But here’s the thing. You didn’t know this would happen. How could you predict something like this?”
“You’re right. It’s just that I can’t help but feel like there’s something I could have done.”
“Sabrina, you’re not psychic. And neither am I,” David said. “Now don’t get down on yourself. There is only one person responsible for this—Wally’s killer. And we’re going to find them.”
Chapter Eleven
When we arrived at the Tuttle residence, Diane was sitting on the steps of her porch with her head in her hands. David and I got out of the car and approached the green Victorian-style house.
I addressed Diane with a tender tone in my voice. “Where’s Wally’s body?”
Diane sobbed as she replied, “In the living room.”
David and I rushed inside and spotted Wally’s corpse on the floor. There was a stab wound in his chest. But curiously enough, there was no murder weapon in sight.
David took a closer look at the scene while I turned away. The sight of blood always made my skin crawl.
Normally, after taking a few deep breaths, I was able to regain my composure.
Unfortunately, that didn’t work right then.
Instead, I felt so uncomfortable that I left the living room and rushed back outside.
My breathing restored to normal when I reached the front porch.
I then took a seat beside Diane and gave her a hug. As I held her, it was tough to hold back tears. But I knew that I needed to stay strong for Diane’s sake.
***
A few minutes later, the medical examiner, a forensics team, and a number of deputies arrived on the scene. They immediately went to work, dusting for prints and searching for any clues that could identify Wally’s killer.
While they were doing that, David and I focused on Diane. As tough as this situation was for her, there was some information that only she could give us. After all, she was the one who had found Wally’s body.
Unfortunately, given her fragile emotional state, the timing of this discussion was far from ideal. But it was also necessary.
“First, I would like to extend my sympathies. This is an absolute tragedy,” David said.
“It’s more than that,” Diane said. “It doesn’t make any sense. He’s gone. He’s really gone.”
“My heart goes out to you,” David replied. “That said, there’s a killer out there somewhere. And the clock is ticking. So I really need to speak with you right now.”
“Okay. But can we at least make this quick? I’m falling apart here,” Diane said.
David nodded. “I will keep this as brief as possible.”
“Good. Now what do you need from me?” she asked.
“I know it’s going to be traumatic to talk about, but it’s important that you walk me through the events leading up to you finding Wally’s body,” David said.
Diane took a deep breath and then replied, “Okay. Well I worked late at the photo studio tonight. As a matter of fact, I only got home about half an hour ago.”
“So when you arrived home, did you just open the front door and spot Wally’s body on the ground?” David asked.
Diane nodded.
“Was the door locked when you got here?” David asked.
“No.”
“Interesting.” David scratched his chin. “Back to Wally for a second. Was he already dead when you got here?”
“Unfortunately,” Diane said. “I went over to check on him and yelled his name, but it was no use.”
“Let’s talk about your surroundings for a second. As you pulled up to the house, did you happen to see anyone suspicious around?” David asked.
David’s question prompted an abrupt change in Diane’s mood.
The look of sorrow disappeared from her face and was replaced by rage. “I’ll bet Jennifer Hollenbeck did this. I still can’t believe the parole board let her out of jail. She probably came here to get revenge.”
“Diane, did you see Jennifer here tonight when you arrived?” David asked.
“No. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t her,” Diane said.
“Let’s just focus on the facts. Did you see anyone around when you returned home this evening?” David asked.
She shook her head.
“How about noises?” David asked. “Did you happen to hear anything suspicious? A voice, or a car?”
“No,” Diane said.
“All right. Now is there anyone you can think of who had a reason to want Wally dead—?”
Diane cut David off. “Jennifer, of course.”
David held his pointer finger up. “If you had let me finish my sentence, I was going to say, other than Jennifer?”
“Oh.” Diane became pensive. Her eyes then widened. “Yes.”
“I need names,” David said.
“Matt Gibson,” Diane said.
“Why him?” David asked.
“As you both know, a couple of months ago, Wally got promoted to a management position at the hotel,” Diane said.
“Yes. And?” David asked.
“Matt was also up for that promotion. But Wally beat him out,” Diane said.
“And let me guess. Matt thought that he should have gotten the manager job,” I said.
Diane nodded. “Exactly.”
“We will definitely be speaking with Matt,” David said. “But before we do that, can you think of anyone else who might have had a motive to kill your husband?”
Diane took a deep breath as she searched her mind. A few seconds later, she shook her head. “No. Just Matt and Jennifer.”
David’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”
“You sound surprised,” Diane said.
“Usually with a case like this, there are more than just two suspects,” David said.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” Diane said.
“You’ve already told us plenty,” David said. “Thank you for your time. And again, I’m very sorry for your loss.” David then took a step toward the medical examiner.
But Diane wasn’t done quite yet. She held up her pointer finger. “Actually, there’s something more I want to say.”
David squinted. “What is it?”
Diane narrowed her eyes. “I want you to find out who did this and make them pay.”
“That’s the plan,” David said.
“Good,” Diane replied.
Chapter Twelve
A few minutes later, Diane’s sister Stephanie arrived at the house. Not just to comfort Diane, but also to give her a ride. For the immediate future, Diane would be staying at Stephanie’s townhome on the south side of town. After all, the Tuttle residence was still an active crime scene.
As for the investigation, David remained at the scene, gathering as much information as he could. Meanwhile, I had different priorities. Before I could dig into the investigation, there was something important that I needed to tend to. Whenever a murder took
place in town, I always had my daughter and my parents head out to our cabin by Lake Ashford. That way they would be out of the line of fire.
With Wally’s killer on the loose, I knew I couldn’t take any chances with the safety of my family. I called my mother and told her to bring Jessica and our corgi Sebastian back to her house. I would meet up with her there in a few minutes.
After getting off the phone, I had David give me the keys to his car. I then headed over to my parents’ house.
By the time I reached Sycamore Grove Trail, my mother and my stepfather had already loaded their emergency travel bags into the trunk of their sedan. It said a lot about the state of our lives that my parents felt that it was necessary to keep two bags packed at all times in case of a crisis. But on an evening like this, I was glad that they were well-prepared.
I walked over to Jessica and said a quick good-bye to her. “I just want you to know that I love you with all of my heart.”
Jessica had a sad look on her face as she replied, “Do I really have to go?”
“Honey, why the long face? I thought you loved the cabin.”
“I do. But I’ve been spending a lot of time there lately.”
“I know. And I’m sorry about that. But it’s important that you’re safe.”
“How long am I going to be at the cabin?”
“I wish I had an answer for you.”
Jessica grimaced.
I kissed her on the forehead. “Just know that I’m going to do my best to get you home soon.”
“Okay,” Jessica said. “Love you, Mommy.”
Jessica then got into the car.
***
The good-byes weren’t over yet.
My mother, Elizabeth Daley, approached me. “We’ll take good care of her.”
I nodded. “I know you will.”
She hugged me. “I’m so sorry to hear about Wally.”
“So am I. That said, no matter how much I pray for peace, trouble always finds its way back to Treasure Cove eventually.”
“True. But this isn’t just any trouble. Or some stranger who was murdered. This is Wally we’re talking about. You’ve known him since high school.”
I got choked up. “Mom, this is already emotional enough. As it is, I’m doing my best to keep it together. So can we not go over the past?”
“Honey, I was just trying to comfort you. I didn’t mean to upset you even more.”
“I understand what your goal was, but I can’t really talk about Wally right now. I just need to treat this like it’s any other case.”
“Sabrina, this is me you’re talking to. Not David. Or someone else from the police force. You can be brutally honest with me. Let your emotions hang out.”
“Mom, you don’t get it. I’m not just trying to put on a good face here. If I’m going to hold myself together, I’m going to have to try to stay as emotionally detached as possible.”
My mother’s forehead wrinkled. “That’s the thing, though. How can you do that?”
“I’ll have to find a way.”
“I know I say this with every case, but maybe you really should leave this one to David.”
I shook my head. “I’m not sitting on the sidelines. Not while Wally’s killer is out there.”
“You’re ridiculously stubborn, you know that?”
“Yes. But that’s exactly why the killer should be very afraid right now,” I said. “Because I’m not stopping until I find them.”
My mom stared deep into my eyes. “I need you to promise me something.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of myself.”
“Good,” my mother said. “But I want you to promise me something else.”
“What is it?”
“I want you to make the person who did this pay.”
I nodded. “I will.”
Just then, I heard footsteps behind me.
I had no idea who they belonged to.
As a defensive mechanism, I immediately feared the worst.
I reached into my purse and pulled out my can of pepper spray.
As I whirled around, I discovered that it wasn’t an attacker who was approaching me, but rather my parents’ thin, bespectacled, seventy-two-year-old neighbor, Christine Horton.
“Whoa. Calm down. No need to point that at me,” Christine said.
I took a deep breath and put the pepper spray back in my purse. “Sorry, Christine. I didn’t know it was you.”
“Is everything all right with you?” Christine asked.
“Things are a little stressful right now,” I said.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Christine said. “Anyway, I was just going to check my mail.”
“Right. Well it’s good to see you,” I said. “Have a good rest of your night.”
“Will do. I hope things get better for you,” Christine said. She then scooted down her driveway, checked her mail, and headed back inside her house.
Once Christine’s front door was closed, my mother turned to me with a look of grave concern in her eyes.
“Are you sure you’re okay to investigate this case?” she asked.
“I’ll be fine,” I said.
“Because you seem really jumpy.”
I gave my mom another hug and changed the subject. “Just drive carefully and get to the cabin safely. All right?”
My mother nodded. “Sure thing.”
Chapter Thirteen
With my daughter and my parents headed off to the cabin, I could focus on the case once again. I drove back over to the crime scene, where David was still looking for clues.
Unfortunately, David, the forensics team, and the medical examiner had nothing to show for their efforts. No clues, no murder weapon, and no unusual fingerprints were found at the scene. So just like so many cases that had come before this, it looked like Wally’s murder would have to get solved the hard way.
From an investigative standpoint, I wanted to begin interviewing suspects immediately. But logistically, that wasn’t going to happen. It was already really late at night. And I was emotionally exhausted.
David wasn’t exactly full of energy either. The smartest move was to head home, get some sleep, and tackle the case in the morning.
***
The next day, David and I woke up refreshed and eager to interview suspects.
One particular person stood out in David’s mind—Jennifer Hollenbeck. I had plenty of suspicion about her as well. So David and I headed over to her place. As we turned onto Orchard Drive and pulled up in front of her apartment complex, it became clear that we had some good timing.
Jennifer was standing at her car as we entered the parking lot. She was fiddling with some bags in the backseat and didn’t notice us until we were about twenty feet away from her.
The moment she spotted us, she closed the back door to the car and hopped into the front seat. Just as Jennifer was firing up the ignition of her sedan, David pulled right behind her so she couldn’t back out.
David turned off his car, got out, and walked over to the driver’s-side window of Jennifer’s sedan. I followed suit and stood beside David.
David stared Jennifer down. “Going somewhere?”
Jennifer shot him a glare. “Will you just leave me alone?”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” David said.
“You better have a good reason for blocking me in. Otherwise, this is harassment.”
“Trust me. This isn’t some courtesy call.”
“Then what’s it about?”
“Wally Tuttle.”
Jennifer groaned. “I told you yesterday. I plan on staying far away from Wally and Diane.”
“You don’t understand,” David said. “This isn’t about the restraining order—”
“Then why are you hassling me?” Jennifer asked.
“Because Wally Tuttle is dead,” David said.
Jennifer’s jaw nearly dropped. “No way.”
“You didn’t know?” David asked.
“Of course not,” Jennifer said.
“So this is all news to you?”
“Why would you ask me that?” Jennifer’s eyes widened. “Unless. Wait a minute. You don’t think I had anything to do with his death, do you?”
“Can you blame us?” David asked.
“Yes,” Jennifer said.
“Miss Hollenbeck. You have to admit. It isn’t the craziest of assumptions.”
Jennifer was adamant with her reply, “I didn’t kill him. As a matter of fact, I didn’t even know he was dead until you just told me.”
“If that’s the case then there’s an easy way to prove your innocence. Where were you last night?” David asked.
“I went to a movie,” Jennifer said.
“Which one?” he asked.
Jennifer shrugged. “Why does that matter?”
“Just answer the question,” he said. “What movie did you see?”
“Garrett’s Irreplaceable Love.”
His eyebrows rose. “Really?”
She put her hands on her hips. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“Yes. I figured you would have chosen something a little edgier.”
“Why? Because I just got out of jail?” Jennifer asked.
David nodded.
Jennifer continued. “Has it ever occurred to you that maybe there has been more edginess in my life than I am comfortable with?”
David gave her a wary look. “Or maybe that’s just what you’d like me to believe.”
“Whether you believe it or not, I was at the movie,” Jennifer said.
I held my pointer finger up. “Garrett’s Irreplaceable Love is a date movie. Who did you go with?”
Jennifer replied softly. “I went alone.”
David folded his arms. “Is that so?”
Jennifer nodded. “I’m telling you the truth. I went to the movie.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a ticket stub. “See for yourself.”
David read the stub aloud. “One admission for the seven-thirty showing of Garrett’s Irreplaceable Love at Treasure Cove Centennial Theater.”
Mysteries of Treasure Cove Cozy Mystery Boxed Set Page 31