Arresting Developments. Lena Diaz
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flipped the few pages in the folder and shook his head. “Nope. She must have disposed of it. But the CSU team tested the glass beside his bedside table and found peanut oil residue.”
“What did she have to gain by killing him?”
“Plenty. Since he founded Mystic Glades, he pretty much owned the town and leased most of the property to others. Very few of the residents actually own the land or the buildings on them. He was quite wealthy in his own right—old money that’s been in his family for generations.”
“And Amber is the only heir?”
“Her and her aunt Fredericka. But Amber got the lion’s share.”
“Is the estate still in escrow?”
He tapped one of the pages. “No, but it might as well be. As soon as Miss Callahan was charged, the courts put holds on both her accounts and her grandfather’s accounts. She can’t touch a penny without going to court to release the funds.”
“Which of course she wouldn’t do if she’s worried about being arrested for murder.”
“Exactly.”
Dex blew out a long breath. “I just can’t picture her purposely killing her grandfather even if she did want his money. She seems so—”
“Sweet? Nice?”
“I was thinking intelligent, actually. How old was her grandfather?”
“I see where you’re going.” He thumbed through the report, then flipped to the beginning and ran his finger down a paragraph. “Let’s see. Amber was twenty-two, her grandfather was just shy of eighty at the time. He wasn’t in the best of health, either, even without having the flu at the time he died. You’re thinking she could have just waited and inherited.”
“Seems like the logical thing to do. Does that report say why she might have needed the money? Had she planned on leaving Mystic Glades?”
He closed the file. “The report doesn’t really say much more than what I told you. Everything I’ve said was available through old media reports or word of mouth in Mystic, so I haven’t given away any secrets. But the rest of the file is confidential and I can only release it to her attorney.”
“Fair enough. I’m curious about one thing, as long as it’s not one of those secrets you mentioned.”
“Doesn’t hurt to ask.”
“You said the grandfather lived in a mansion. What happened to it?”
“The court apportioned some of the estate for the house’s upkeep and appointed a trustee to look after the house. And before you ask, no, I can’t share the trustee’s name because I don’t know if that’s common knowledge.”
Dex raised a brow. “I imagine it takes a lot of money to maintain a large house, especially in an environment like the Everglades. That trustee probably has access to a very generous bank account.”
Holder shrugged. “Your words. Not mine.”
“I know what it costs to maintain a large estate. I don’t guess I really need your answer to that question. It does, however, make me wonder if the trustee could be culpable in the murder.”
“In a normal murder case, I might agree with you. But in this one, there’s one fact you can’t explain away.”
“Which is?”
“Amber herself, in the interview the morning her grandfather was found dead, admitted she was the only other person in the house. She said no one else had been there for weeks. Kind of hard to argue that someone else might have killed the old man when she swore no one else had been there.”
Dex was inclined to agree with him, but somehow saying that out loud would have made him feel like a traitor to the woman who had worked so hard to save him. He owed her the benefit of the doubt and was determined to keep an open mind.
The door to the interview room popped open and Garreth stepped outside, closing the door behind him. He stopped in front of the desk. “Miss Callahan has decided to retain my services until I can help her interview and hire a criminal case attorney. I’ll need a copy of the original police report.”
Holder held the folder up. “I figured you might. Keep it. I’ll print myself a new copy.”
“Thank you.” He turned to Dex. “Assuming you still plan to foot the bill—”
“I do.”
“Excellent. Then the calls I made in the interview room weren’t a complete waste of time. I started the ball rolling to arrange bail. Now we just have to wait for a judge to call us back.”
Holder shook his head. “Not going to happen on a Saturday. Miss Callahan will have to cool her heels in jail until Monday, and even then, I highly doubt a judge will grant her bail. She’s a proven flight risk.”
Dex exchanged an amused look with his lawyer. “I think you underestimate Garreth’s abilities, Detective.”
Holder shrugged. “Maybe. I doubt it. I guess we’ll see. But I—” The phone on his desk rang. When he saw the number on the display, he shot Garreth a frown and took the call.
Garreth gave him a smug look and turned to Dex again. “When you’re done here, Miss Callahan has requested to speak with you.”
Dex immediately stood but Holder signaled him to wait.
When he hung up the phone, he shook his head. “I can’t believe what I just heard.” He filled them in on the details.
Dex laughed and clapped Garreth on the shoulder. “You’ve still got it, my friend.”
“I suppose this means your answer is yes, to both conditions?” Holder asked, not sounding happy at all.
“Are you kidding? This is the coolest thing to happen to me in ages. I’m all in.”
“This is ridiculous,” Holder muttered as he shoved out of his chair. “But I don’t guess I have a choice. Hold up your right hand, and repeat after me.”
Amber clasped her hands beneath the table as Dex stepped into the tiny room and closed the door behind him. Her relief at seeing him, apparently unharmed, had her letting out a relieved breath.
He sat in the chair across from her and leaned his forearms on the table. “I’m surprised that you wanted to see me. I figure you have to blame me—”
“For my arrest?” She shook her head. “I was angry, at first. But I knew this day would come eventually. And I couldn’t exactly expect a stranger to want to stick his neck out for me.” She grabbed his hands in hers. “That’s not the point, and not why I wanted to talk to you. You’re in danger.”
His brows arched as he looked at their joined hands before meeting her gaze. “You wanted to talk to me to warn me that I’m in danger?”
“Yes. I’ve only just now really put everything together in my mind and I wanted to tell you my suspicions. After I took you to Mystic Glades, I went to the crash site to erase any signs of me having been near there.”
“To wipe out your footprints.”
She nodded. “I didn’t know what exactly you would tell everyone about how you got to town, but if you did keep your word, I didn’t want any signs to prove otherwise.”
“Let me make sure I understand. You came to my room every day of my fever and put cold cloths on my head and made sure that I was comfortable.”
“What? That’s not what I—”
“Wanted to talk about? No, obviously you didn’t want me to know. But I remember