The one aspect of the case that Holly just couldn’t come to terms with was the flowers that had been sent to her office. The card had been handwritten and it was a woman’s scrawl, but that had likely been written by the florist and not the sender.
Evelyn wouldn’t have sent those flowers. Robert may have, but she didn’t know. She wanted to find out. Maybe they could go to the florist and ask questions. Then again, she wasn’t sure she would want to know if Robert had sent them. If he had, it would ruin cut flowers for her, forever.
As she stood in the hallway outside of the interrogation room, her body started to shake. Ty wrapped his arms around her from behind.
“You’re going to be alright,” he cooed, as though he understood. “You’ve been through a lot today and your body is just adjusting to the stress of the environment. Sometimes I get the shakes, too. You’ll be okay, though. I’ve got you.”
He brought her so much comfort.
She turned to face him, without breaking from his embrace. “Someone sent flowers to my office with a note that read ‘I’m sorry.’ They showed up the day after Moose’s murder. I have no idea who they were from, but I need to know.”
Ty nodded.
“I know I shouldn’t be worried about such a trivial thing, but it’s the one point I just can’t make sense of. It could have been Robert, but he was never one to apologize to me for anything. If anything bad happened, it was always my fault. And he had to have sent them before the time of his death. Which means he may not even have known about Moose’s death or what Evelyn had done.”
Ty gently rubbed his thumb over her back. “What you’re experiencing is totally normal. It’s part of that stress response, kind of like your shaking. You’re myopically focused on a detail. But don’t worry, we’ll get it solved. It will be easy enough to figure it out. All we’ll have to do is talk to the florist and track down financial records.”
She appreciated that he didn’t make her feel wrong for what she was feeling and how her body was reacting. He was such a kind man. And she appreciated that he wasn’t pressuring her to feel a certain way or respond a certain way. He just accepted her for who she was and what her body was capable of handling.
“Why don’t I go in and talk with Valerie. I need to get to the bottom of everything that she’s played a role in here, if she sent her sister out on that mountain she should be up on charges.” He pulled her into his arms and took a deep breath like he was smelling her hair. The simple action helped her stop shaking. She caught her breath as he just stood there and held her.
It was so easy to love him. And now that this was all bottled up maybe they could have a real relationship. She would leave that ball in his court. This was his job that was at stake, and she certainly understood the upheaval that was occurring within his department right now thanks to the evidence tech’s role in these two deaths in the community. The only good news was that it didn’t appear that Valerie had actually pulled any triggers, figurative or otherwise. That had all been Evelyn.
Calming, she looked up into his eyes. “Go get this done so we can really start our lives together.” Maybe she wasn’t gonna leave it in his court after all. She had changed, but she’d never silently stand by when she wanted something, especially something as important as him.
As she spoke, he threw his head back with a laugh.
“Our lives together?” He gave her a cheeky grin. “You haven’t even told me you love me yet.”
Her face flamed with embarrassment.
“Just get your butt in there.” She giggled. “Before anyone can say anything, we need these answers.”
He rounded his shoulders and looked like a dejected schoolboy. He sent her a wide grin over his shoulder as he made his way into the interrogation room where Valerie sat waiting. The door closed behind him, and as quickly as the door closed his smile disappeared. She was amazed by how quickly he could go from laughing to all business. It had to come with the job.
He sat on the sofa of the soft interrogation room. The room was far more decorated than the one her sister was currently occupying; Valerie was sitting on a leather sofa that had a coffee table in front of it complete with a stack of magazines and two boxes of Kleenex.
She watched from the other side of the mirror as Valerie reached forward and grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her nose. A fresh stream of tears poured down her face. “I’m so sorry,” Valerie said, sobbing.
“So, your sister was very forthcoming with information. Do you wish to tell us your side of the story?” Ty asked.
Valerie sobbed harder.
“I know how hard this is, Valerie. But I also know that you understand how important it is to tell us the truth. Especially now, after you’ve been less than forthright throughout this investigation.” He sighed.
As she watched him work, Holly realized how much this had to bother him. She’d been so concerned about her own feelings and the effect talking to Evelyn had had on her, but she hadn’t even considered how he would feel going into that room with his coworker. Yet, if anybody was going to interview her it did make sense that it was him. No doubt the other detective would get his chance, but Valerie had always seemed to like Ty.
Unfortunately, it seemed that she had loved her sister more.
“Evelyn was using my computer, and I had no idea. She was all over that call with Holly when she went missing. She asked me a ton of questions.” Valerie hiccupped and dabbed at her nose. “I didn’t know Robert’s relationship with Holly. Well, not until I got home that night. Evelyn had gone off the rails. She was screaming and yelling, and she was covered in blood. I forced her to tell me what had happened, and when she told me about Moose...” Her body was rattled by sobs.
“I was so angry with her.” She gulped for air. “I told her I never wanted to see her again.”
“Did you have any role in Moose’s death?”
“No!” she said, looking up at him through tear-filled eyes. “Absolutely not. I loved him. I think that was part of the reason Evelyn killed him. We were talking about getting married.”
Ty put his hand on Valerie’s shoulder like he wanted to comfort her in some small way. “If you knew Evelyn had been snooping on your computer, and you knew that she had played a role in your future fiancé’s death, then why did you not turn her in?”
She fell forward, cupping her face in her hands in shame. Her shoulders were curled, and sobs rattled through her. “I should have. I wanted to. I just...” She sobbed. “I’m so sorry.”
“Is that why you sent the flowers to Holly?”
She nodded. “I planned on turning Evelyn in. I felt horrible for your loss and what my sister had done. That’s when I made the order, but I couldn’t turn on my sister like that and by the time I changed my mind, they had already been delivered.” She ran the back of her hand under her nose, giving up on her tissues. “I mean, I know I should have turned her in, but the damage was already done. I didn’t want to lose my sister, too. She and Moose were the only people I really had in my life...in my corner.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t sound like your sister was ever in your corner. In fact, it could be pointed out that your sister seems to be your worst enemy. Not only has she cost you your job, your pension, your integrityand the man you love—but she may have cost this entire department millions. Every case you’ve ever worked on will now come under scrutiny.”
Valerie gasped. “Oh, my God.”
She covered her face and succumbed to her tears.
Holly had liked the woman, she really had. She was pleasant and sweet when they’d met earlier this week. To think this woman had basically undone all the good work of the department—even if she had done it all in the name of the love for her sister.