When Clay pulled up into the driveway in front of the garage apartment, his brother-in-law greeted him. Fred walked up to the driver’s side of the police car as Clay got out of the vehicle.
“I was hoping we could talk,” Fred greeted.
“Sure. What about?” Clay slammed the car door shut.
Fred glanced up to the garage apartment and then back to Clay. “Robyn’s up with Debbie and the boys, telling them about the Easter egg hunt.”
“What Easter egg hunt?” Clay asked.
“Robyn read about it in the newspaper this morning. She wanted to ask Debbie if you all wanted to go tomorrow morning before we come back here for Easter dinner. From what the article said, there’ll be a lot of activities, along with an Easter egg hunt. It would be a way for the boys to meet some kids.”
“I imagine the boys would like to find some friends here. But I’m not sure what they’ll think of an Easter egg hunt.”
“Well, we can let the girls talk to them about it. I was hoping you and I could speak privately. We can go back to my house. I don’t want to discuss this around them.”
A few minutes later Clay sat at the breakfast bar in the Lyonses’ kitchen as Fred poured them each a cup of coffee.
“I wanted to talk about this murder.” Fred set a mug of coffee in front of Clay and then sat down next to him with a cup of coffee for himself.
“Certainly. What do you want to ask me?” Clay took a sip of his coffee.
“When I heard you had already arrested someone for the murder, I told myself I had made the right decision bringing you here. But then I found out they had dropped the charges.”
“Do you regret hiring me?”
Fred shook his head. “No. No. Not at all. But I am concerned. If the person you arrested isn’t the killer, does this mean we have a serial killer out there, and they’re just getting started? I need to find out what steps you plan to take to find whoever murdered Camilla Henderson before someone else is killed.”
“I’m confident I arrested our killer.” Clay set his coffee mug on the breakfast bar. “Unfortunately, the DA isn’t convinced we have enough evidence to indict, so it’s my job to gather more evidence. Which I intend to do.”
“You’re convinced Heather Donovan is guilty?” Fred asked. “I’ll confess, I’m having a hard time seeing her as a cold-blooded killer.”
Clay frowned. “Do you know her?”
“Somewhat. I’ve met her several times. She’s a little odd, I’ll grant you that. But I never considered her dangerous. Why do you think she’s the one who murdered Camilla Henderson?”
“To begin with, Camilla is the ex-wife of Brian Henderson, who is Donovan’s boyfriend.”
“I can’t even imagine how Henderson is dealing with all this. His ex getting murdered and his girlfriend getting arrested. I don’t envy you having to deal with all this since he’s one of your officers. But to be honest, I never understood what someone like Henderson saw in a woman like that. I just figured he was going through some mid-life crisis.”
“One way I’ve handled it, I’ve made it clear to Henderson he is to stay away from this case. If I could, I would keep him away from Donovan, but I don’t seem to be able to do that at this point.”
“So why are you convinced she’s the killer?”
“She was not happy when she learned Brian’s ex returned to town. She probably felt threatened, so much so that she attacked Camilla at Homer Carter’s funeral.”
Fred set his mug on the breakfast bar. “Robyn and I went to the funeral, and someone told us about the two having an issue. We didn’t see anything. From what I was told, Camilla accused Heather of hitting her, but no one saw it.”
“That’s not true. Camilla’s sister saw it. And then Donovan lied about it. I did a little digging. Camilla and Brian were married for twenty-five years. I suspect he never got over her leaving him, considering some of the women he got involved with after the divorce. I found out he hooked up with a married woman, who ended up being a murderer. In fact, he even got arrested for her murder.”
“Yes. Darlene Gusarov.”
“And then he got involved with a widow who killed her husband.”
“Beverly Klein.” Fred shook his head at the memory.
“And now Donovan. It’s like Brian’s a magnet for women with homicidal tendencies.”
“Perhaps that describes Brian, but I am not sure why that proves Heather murdered Camilla.”
“A couple of days before the murder, Camilla stopped in the station and talked to Brian. Brian told me about it when I interviewed him after we found her body. He said she wanted to extend an olive branch. She wanted to be friends. In my opinion, he saw that as a chance to get her back. It’s entirely possible he never got over her. After all, he never remarried. Plus, Camilla’s sister said Camilla still had feelings for Brian.”
“Really?”
Clay nodded. “From what I’ve learned about Donovan, she’s volatile. I suspect Brian might have mentioned something to Donovan about talking with Camilla at the station. Perhaps he even admitted having feelings for his ex. Donovan felt threatened. And then she ran into Camilla the next day, twice. The first time was at Pier Café, and according to what Camilla told her brother and sister after the encounter, Donovan was hostile. And then the second time was a little later that morning, down on the beach. I doubt Donovan expected to see her again during her jog, but when she saw her coming out of the bathroom, I suspect something in her just snapped. Or perhaps they had words. Camilla turned away, and Donovan attacked her.”
Fred let out a heavy sigh. “I can see why you suspect her.”
“Plus, she lied about seeing Camilla. She told Brian that Camilla had stopped by her house on Friday morning.”
“That’s the same day you found the body.”
Clay nodded. “Exactly. The coroner says Camilla had been murdered hours before we found the body. Hours before Donovan claimed to see her on Beach Drive.”
“Why would she say that if she killed Camilla and knew she was already dead?” Fred asked.
“There’s few people on the beach right now. Donovan knows that, because according to Morelli, Donovan jogs along the beach every morning. I suspect she just wanted to confuse the autopsy results after the body was found. If you can’t accurately determine the time of death, she probably figured it would be harder to convict her.”
“Hmm… Interesting. Did you find the murder weapon yet?” Fred picked up his mug and took another sip of coffee.
“No. I suspect she threw it in the ocean. The victim’s phone was also missing. But it seems nothing was taken from her wallet. Her credit cards were still there, along with a couple of hundred in cash, which tells me this was personal.”
Fred looked at Clay. “From what I understand, the coroner believes she was killed with a knife. Your theory seems to be Heather came across her a second time during her run and snapped. If true, where did she get a knife?”
Clay shrugged. “I assume she carried some sort of switchblade with her, for protection. She routinely runs alone on the beach. It’s not uncommon for a woman to carry some type of protection.”
“I wonder what the Glandon Foundation thinks about all this. Even with the charges dropped, that doesn’t mean she’s innocent.” Fred set his mug back on the breakfast bar.
“What do you know about the Glandon Foundation?”
“They moved their headquarters here about five years ago, after buying Stoddard Gusarov’s mansion. Eventually, they moved their corporate offices here, but I understand many of their employees work remotely and live all over the globe. They donate a lot locally. You can Google them.”
“I did. From what I read, the owner of the company, Chris Glandon, travels all over the world. But according to Donovan’s attorney, Chris Glandon was willing to pay Donovan’s bail—no matter the cost. I found that odd.”
Fred chuckled. “I imagine that was Chris Johnson’s doing.”
“What do you mean?”
“Chris Johnson runs the show over there. There are some rumors around town that Chris Glandon and Chris Johnson are the same, but I don’t believe that. From what I’ve read about Glandon, he has a lot of issues. He was adopted at an older age. Went from poverty to Richie Rich. After his parents died in a boating accident, his uncles tried to steal his inheritance. In fact, he came to Frederickport one Christmas, stayed at Marlow House, and his uncles tried to kill him.”
“Wow.”
“I’ve never met him. But because of everything he’s been through, he likes his privacy and is comfortable with Chris Johnson running things here.”
“How did Donovan land a job with them? From what I’ve dug up on her, she doesn’t have prior work experience or the education to explain how she got the job as assistant to Chris Johnson.”
Fred laughed. “The story someone told me, she ran into Chris Johnson’s new car. Not sure if she didn’t have the money to pay her insurance’s deductible, or if she didn’t have adequate insurance, all I know is she needed money to pay for the repairs on Johnson’s car and her own. He ended up hiring her, supposedly to help her pay for the repairs. But apparently, she did a fair job, so he kept her on.”
“I wonder what Glandon would think if he knew what Heather Donovan is really like,” Clay asked.
Fred shrugged. “While Glandon’s come to town a few times over the years, I’ve never met him, but I assume he’s met Heather. So what now?”
“I have to find enough evidence to convince the DA to pursue charges against Heather Donovan.”
“In the meantime, we have a killer on the loose, which does not make me comfortable.”
“Even if the DA hadn’t dropped the charges, Donovan would probably be out on bail anyway,” Clay reminded him. “Fortunately, I don’t think she is a major risk to the community right now.”
“I’m assuming you’ve already checked with the houses along the beach. It’s possible a security camera caught something,” Fred suggested.
“I’m on it. I have a question for you.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you know of anyone named Eva who lives in Frederickport?” Clay asked.
Fred frowned. “No. Why?”
Clay shrugged. “Just a lead I’m following up on.”
“No. The only Eva I know around here is Eva Thorndike.” Fred grinned.
“Who?”
“You don’t remember Eva Thorndike? She was that silent screen star whose parents had a vacation home here. Her portrait’s at the museum. Certainly, you’ve seen it. Of course, the museum wasn’t open when you used to live here.”
Clay shrugged. “I may have heard the name.”
“Which reminds me, one of Heather’s grandfathers—or great-grandfathers—helped steal the jewels out of the original Missing Thorndike. Surely, you remember the Missing Thorndike?”
Clay shrugged again. “Yeah, I remember now. I also remember reading how they found it a few years back behind some wall paneling or floorboard at Marlow House.”
“Apparently, this ancestor of Heather’s was in cahoots with Eva’s ex-husband and helped steal the diamonds and emeralds from the necklace. Heather found one of the stolen emeralds in her grandfather’s things and gave it back to its rightful owner.” Fred paused a moment and then added, “Which could say something about her character.”
“It might prove Donovan isn’t a thief, but it doesn’t prove she’s not a murderer.”
“Back to this Eva you’re looking for regarding this case. How does she fit in?”
“I don’t want to say where I heard it, but I was told someone brought Donovan a phone to her cell last night, and she called someone named Eva. I’d like to find out why.”
“Have you asked Heather?”
Clay smiled. “I don’t want her to know what I know. With me stepping into this position, I must tread carefully. Many, such as Joe Morelli, have loyalty to Brian and might not be candid when it comes to Donovan.”
“My experience with Joe, he is straight by the book. And he doesn’t let personal feelings interfere with the job.”
“Maybe that’s true. But someone slipped a cellphone to Donovan, yet according to the logs, no one visited her, which tells me one of the people who was on shift last night intentionally defied my orders. I can’t ask her about the phone.”
“Because it will expose your inside source?” Fred asked.
Clay nodded. “Exactly. I used to have a lot of respect for MacDonald. But he seems to have changed since losing his wife. I don’t believe he’s paying attention to what’s going on in his department. I hate to say that, but it’s the truth.”