Killer Party. Lynn Cahoon
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left her more than comfortable. Too many people ignore the fact that death comes to all of us. Your boyfriend could take a lesson from his friend. I know he has an appointment set up for next month, maybe you should come in with him.”
“I don’t know. I’ll talk to Greg.” I paused, thinking about what Jimmy Marcum had said. “Did Jessica know that Levi had provided for her in case of his death?”
“Of course she did, she insisted on it.”
By the time I got back upstairs, the food had already been delivered and Greg was actually eating the Philly cheesesteak I’d ordered for him. It was one of his favorite lunch choices so I had guessed it might tempt him into eating. He waved a hand over the table set up by the window. “Did you order enough food?”
The window looked out over the ocean and I could see the waves crashing on the beach as I sat down next to him. I took the chicken parmesan sandwich and took a bite. Crunchy breading and a just right tomato sauce made me sigh just a little as I sat it down on my plate. “I wanted you to have choices.”
“Well, you accomplished that.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I’m sorry I was so down. I promise, I’ll deal with my emotional crap without affecting your day.”
“Your emotional crap is mine too. You are always the strong one. Let me be in that role for a little bit.” I nodded to the soup. “Which one do you want?”
“I’ll take the chicken one. I know you like your chowder.” He nodded to the view. “This is a great spot. We should come up here for the weekend more often. It’s crazy that it’s so close, yet it feels so far away.”
“You’re making small talk to make me feel better. Do you want to know what Jimmy Marcum said?”
He wiped his mouth and leaned back in his chair. “I guess so. How did you find out so fast?”
“He just told me. I guess he’s been expecting a call from law enforcement to help clear Jessica’s motives.” I took a spoonful of the soup, watching his reaction.
“You’re not in law enforcement.” His bluntness made me choke on a piece of potato.
After I got my breath back, I grinned. “Yeah, but I sleep with someone who is. He didn’t break any attorney-client privilege, but he did tell me that you can stop worrying. Jessica is well provided for.”
“So why did you mention it could be a motive?” He stirred his soup, absently. “Wait, it’s because she set up the will, right?”
“Exactly. How much do you know about this fiancée?” I dug into my sandwich. When I came up for air, I noticed he was staring at me. “What? It’s typically the spouse or a family member, right?”
“Have I told you recently that you’re kind of good at this investigation thing?” He ate some of his soup.
“Watch it, buddy, or I’ll forget you’re sensitive and throw this pillow at you.” Greg always teased me about my investigation skills, especially when he wasn’t trying to solve a murder. While he was in full cop mode, I believe he ignored the nagging concern that I was snooping around too.
“Not a dreaded pillow attack.” He held his arm up to defray the strike that never came. “I know he’s been living with her for a few years. Levi said she came from back east, some sort of model.”
“I wouldn’t have put her accent as eastern. But it’s not Southern, either.” Maybe she had a speech problem when she was younger and the residuals of that was what I was hearing?
“Maybe you could do some looking into her background. I’m sure Terrance won’t mind you poking around an open investigation.” He opened a soda. “At least until he finds out.”
“And it keeps you out of the limelight, right?” Greg was totally sneaky. I hadn’t seen this side of him before.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.” He nodded to my plate. “Finish up your food and we’ll plan out how you can get the information we need. And while you’re doing that, I’ll reach out to some of my old contacts in Iowa to see if there’s some skeleton left in Levi’s closet that I don’t know about. Maybe it will explain why Butch blew a gasket at the pool.”
“I could talk to Lois some more. Brenda thought she and Butch were in an abusive relationship. But I think it had more to do with the Levi thing.” I finished my soup and then opened a soda for me. I went to my tote bag and grabbed a pen and notebook, opened it to a new page and sat down on the bed. “Tell me what I need to find out. Maybe I can figure out more ways to get the information. Google is a great source, even if you don’t think so.”
“Investigation by Google. It could be a whole new line of business for you at the shop.” Greg sat down next to me, one of Sadie’s cookies in hand. “Let’s get started.”
When we got the call that it was our turn to talk to Terrance and the officers he had on the investigation, I had a list of to do’s in my notebook along with a list of questions to try and ask both Lois and Jessica. I figured I’d start with whoever was easiest to get alone.
When we arrived in the lobby, Terrance took me to one side of the hall and a uniformed officer whose name I didn’t know took Greg into a separate room. The room Terrance led me into was a small sitting room, decorated in the style of the early Middle Ages. We sat on large, uncomfortable pews facing each other. “Thanks for staying around to talk to us. I know you probably want to get back to your shop.”
“It’s closed. We stop opening on Sundays after Labor Day.” I wasn’t sure why I was telling him my shop business. Clearly I was nervous. It wasn’t like I hadn’t been questioned in the deaths of others before, but this felt personal. I realized he was watching me. Watching me think? Wondering what I could even know? Or wondering why I was blabbing. I decided to get right to the point. “Anyway, what can I answer for you?”
He looked down at his notes. “According to what I’m hearing, you hadn’t met any of these people before this weekend. Correct?”
“That’s right. These were Greg’s friends, not mine.” I relaxed a little in my chair. This should be over in minutes. I didn’t know anyone or anything.
“So why was that exactly? You and Greg have been a couple for what, two years now? And you’ve never met any of his friends before this weekend? How did that make you feel?” Instead of him leaning back, relaxing, he leaned forward and watched for any reaction. I wanted to slap him.
“We just hadn’t. Greg said the group was intense. I don’t know why Greg hadn’t invited me before this weekend. Maybe you should ask him?” I didn’t want to be argumentative, but how was I supposed to answer that question? “I’m sure there are friends of mine that Greg hasn’t met.”
“Do you always keep so many secrets from your boyfriends? Or is Greg special in that way?” He wrote something on the small notebook in his hands.
“I wouldn’t call them secrets. The information just didn’t come up yet. Like Levi and the rest of the crew. We just hadn’t talked about that part of Greg’s life.” I knew I sounded defensive, but I just couldn’t stay Zen when it felt like the guy was almost accusing me of actually killing poor Levi. He hadn’t asked those specific questions yet, but it was only a matter of time before they came up. I focused my gaze on Terrance as he wrote more in that stupid book of his. “Besides, when did you introduce your childhood friends to Althea? You know we talk at the county police get together trivia nights. I’ve heard her say you didn’t even share where you went to school before the two of you got married and she found your yearbooks.”
He squirmed in his chair. “It wasn’t one of my friends who was murdered, Miss Gardner. I think we should keep the questions on the matter at hand.”
“As long as you stop digging for an easy way out of this. Neither Greg nor I killed Levi. That’s probably all you need to know. Can I go now?”
He smiled,