Chapter 38
“Albert, do you recall what you were doing on the day Caskie Lemon-Hogg was killed at the bed-and-breakfast?” Hayley asked as they descended the creaky steps back down to the foyer of the Knoxville home, clutching the bottle of honey-scented body lotion Albert had agreed to let her take with her.
“Was that a Tuesday?”
“I believe so, yes.”
“Let me think . . .” Albert said, struggling to remember. “The days seem to blend together now that I’m retired, but I’m pretty certain I was right here, because I remember I had just watched the evening news and was getting ready to make myself some dinner when one of Regina’s friends, Carol Wincott, called here asking if we had heard a body had been discovered downtown, although none of us knew who it was yet.”
“Was Regina home with you at the time?”
“No, she wasn’t. She had a book club meeting that night. I remember because usually the group gathers to discuss whatever they’re reading on Thursdays, but for some reason, they decided to move it to Tuesday.”
They reached the bottom of the stairs and Hayley stopped before opening the door to leave. “Who else is in Regina’s book group?”
“I know Caskie Lemon-Hogg was in it because she was the one who got the whole thing started. She’s an avid reader, always recommending books for Regina and me to read . . . Poor thing never made it to the meeting that night . . .”
“Anybody else you can think of?”
“Let’s see, who else?” Albert suddenly gasped. “Come to think of it, Carol Wincott was a member of the book club too. Now why would she call here asking if Regina had heard about a murder in town if she was already with Regina? I guess I never thought about that at the time.”
“Thank you for all your help, Albert,” Hayley said as she reached for the door handle.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for some tea, Hayley?”
Hayley hugged him again. “I’m sorry, I really have to go, but I promise to stop by later this week.”
He nodded, not sure if she meant it or not, but appeared grateful that she was at least being nice to him. Hayley suspected Regina had found few occasions to be kind to her adoring and devoted husband other than toward the end when she mentioned planning that out-of-the-blue trip together.
Hayley dashed down the sidewalk to her car, and once she was in the driver’s seat with the motor running, and had tossed the bottle of body lotion into her bag, she scrolled down the list of contacts on her phone and called Carol Wincott.
Carol answered on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Hi, Carol, it’s Hayley Powell.”
“Hayley, I must say this is a pleasant surprise. I hardly ever hear from you.”
She was right.
Hayley usually didn’t reach out to Carol, as they had very little in common. Although Carol was friendly and sweet, they just ran in different social circles. Hayley didn’t want to come off as rude or self-serving, so she said in a sing-songy voice, “That’s why I’m calling! I’ve been thinking about you, and I’ve been meaning to call and catch up, and I’m finally doing it! So let’s do it! Let’s catch up! How are you? How’s the book club?”
Okay, so it wasn’t the height of subtlety, but she didn’t have a lot of time.
“The book club?” Carol asked, confused.
“You know, the one you’re in that meets every Thursday . . .”
“Well, we’ve recently lost two members, so we’ve been on kind of a break . . .”
“Oh, that’s right, I heard Regina Knoxville and Caskie Lemon-Hogg were members. I’m so sorry . . .”
“No, it’s all right. If you’re looking to join, I’m sure the other ladies would be happy to have you. When we do reconvene I’ve recommended the new Sally Thorne novel, even though Kate Addison is pushing for that new E. L. James piece of trash. I swear every time it’s her pick, we have to slog through another one of those filthy Fifty Shades–type books that are dripping with sex and bad behavior.”
Hayley refrained from mentioning that she had read them all. “I’m definitely interested, although I know sometimes you meet on Tuesdays, and Tuesdays don’t work for me because that’s my date night with Bruce.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Hayley, we always meet on Thursdays.”
“I heard you met a few Tuesdays ago, the night Caskie Lemon-Hogg was killed, in fact.”
“We certainly did not meet on that day.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. We’ve never in the history of the book club ever had a meeting on any day but Thursday,” Carol said flatly.
Hayley’s suspicions had been confirmed.
Regina had lied to Albert about where she was on the day of Caskie’s murder.
“It’s been great catching up with you, Carol! Let’s do this again real soon!”
“Wait, what about the book—?”
Hayley ended the call, tossed her phone on the passenger’s seat, and peeled away from the curb. She felt bad about hanging up so abruptly on Carol and made a mental note to call her again in a few days to sincerely catch up, but she had to concentrate on pulling together all the information she had just learned.
Why would Regina lie to Albert? More than likely it was to cover up a secret rendezvous with Julio. But according to Julio, he was at his salon training his cousin Juan and had even answered a few calls on the landline from customers who wanted to make appointments. He supposedly didn’t go anywhere all night. It wouldn’t be hard for her to find the women who had called and spoken to him personally, to corroborate his story. So did Regina come to him? That was a possibility, but if Juan was truly there, then that would make a romantic rendezvous rather awkward. Julio could be lying about Juan being there. But what kept nagging at Hayley was what Albert had just told her. He had gotten the impression that Regina’s affair with Julio was over. And what about this mysterious money that Regina had mentioned to Albert that she was going to use to pay for their vacation cruise?
Hayley tried hard to piece together a plausible theory. It might be reasonable to believe that Julio had broken it off with Regina, and she was angry and vindictive, and perhaps she threatened to spill everything to Jeanette if he didn’t pay her off? That would explain why Regina was expecting an influx of cash, and it would also give Julio a clear motive to want to somehow silence her. And maybe he succeeded in getting rid of her permanently with the lotion and beehive and Regina’s bee allergy. But then there was the beard she had found in the closet at the Garcia home. If Julio’s alibi the night of Caskie’s murder was airtight, then the bearded man who showed up at the bed-and-breakfast and killed Caskie could have been his cousin Juan! But why? Why kill Caskie?
And then she had a eureka moment.
Of course!
The answer had been in front of her all along!