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“I HAVEN’T TOUCHED A thing and no one has been in the apartment since her death,” Mr. Terrence said to Detective Troy as he and Dana stood outside Lichelle’s apartment door while he opened it with the key.
“That’s good,” Detective Troy said.
Mr. Terrence is lying. Dana remembered what Kerry said at the Town Square about Mr. Terrence and Lichelle’s brother Thomas being at the apartment the morning after her murder. She would have to tell Troy her findings later when she was away from earshot of Mr. Terrence.
She drew in a deep breath.
“Hey, no pets allowed,” Mr. Terrence eyed Truffles in the kitty stroller with contempt.
Truffles hissed loudly.
“Oh, I won’t let her out of her kitty stroller. I promise. We’re only here for a little while. Please.”
“Fine,” he grunted. But if I see any cat hairs around here...” He pointed his finger to Dana.
“Oh, you won’t.” Dana swallowed hard. She was hoping to let Truffles out of her stroller to roam the apartment to pick up any clues but she changed her mind. The last thing she wanted to do anyway was to complicate the scene of the murder with cat DNA from Truffles’ loose hairs.
Dana’s eyes then travelled to Mr. Terrence’s left arm. It had a large bandage on it.
“Is everything okay with your arm?” she asked him, pointing to his arm.
He seemed aloof at first. Then as if on autopilot he said without looking at Dana. “Yes, everything’s just fine now.”
Everything’s just fine now?
Her heart raced in her chest. What did he mean by that? That he was fine now that Lichelle was out of the picture? What really went on between Lichelle and Mr. Terrence? Dana’s mind began to spin with questions. Did Lichelle try to blackmail him? Did he bump her off? Why was he speaking with her brother? Did they have a struggle and she scratched him while he wore the blue shirt? Did blood get on the shirt after a fight with Lichelle? Dana wondered.
Earlier, Dana had noticed the run down appearance of the Maison House exterior—and the need for repairs. Was Mr. Terrence badly in need of funds? Did Lichelle promise to cut him in on the inheritance thing only to renege later?
The Maison wasn’t exactly full. It still had vacant apartments. There were three apartments on each of the three floors and only half of the apartments were filled.
“Let me know when you’re done so I can lock up,” Mr. Terrence said sternly before walking away. He then walked across the corridor to his own suite, which was near to Lichelle’s and closed his door.
Funny, how Mr. Terrence didn’t care to stick around. But that worked out in Dana’s favor. At least he wouldn’t know what else she was looking at. Still, he probably removed all the incriminating evidence when he and Thomas went through the apartment after Lichelle’s murder.
“Oops,” Dana said as she stumbled inside. She didn’t see the extra step that was at the doorway. “Well that’s dangerous.”
“I’m sorry, I forgot to mention there’s an extra step,” Troy said, moving over quickly to Dana and holding her arm. A slight zing of electricity pulsed through her from his sweet touch. “Some of the guys tripped up here when they first came to investigate.”
“I bet they did. Mr. Terrence should get that fixed.”
When they entered inside Lichelle’s apartment, Dana’s jaw fell open.
Holy crap!
And she really meant it, too. There were tons of crap in the apartment!
There were clothes strewn about on the floor, papers and garbage thrown about. Food left out in half-empty take out cartons and just mess everywhere. You could hardly walk without stepping onto—garbage.
“They really did a number on this place—whoever killed Lichelle.”
“According to the landlord, this was how she kept the place,” Troy said casually.
Dana froze.
“Really?” she asked incredulously. “All this from a rich kid who went to an expensive boarding school?”
Troy shook his head. “You would be surprised at what I see everyday, Dana. Not everyone’s neat and tidy like you.”
Dana’s heart fluttered in her chest. “Thank you,” she gushed.
Of course, Troy had visited Dana at her Grandma’s Victorian house many times and noticed whenever he stopped by without warning, her place was always in tiptop shape. Not a crumb on the counter. Everything neatly organized. Call it the OCD in her, but she always liked to be clean and tidy and organized. It helped her organize her thoughts. If there was much clutter, she just couldn’t think.
Besides, as Grandma Rae would say, “Cleanliness is next to godliness.” Dana wasn’t exactly a domestic goddess or anything but she tried her best to keep up with Grandma Rae’s tradition of keeping it together.
So he likes that I’m clean and tidy, does he?
Dana tried not to let it get to her head. Her ex-fiancé was the total opposite and would just throw his clothes on the floor whenever he came in from work. She would end up picking up after him like a toddler—and cleaning up the mess he would always leave in the kitchen and the bathroom. It was insane! No matter how much she told him to clean up after himself, it fell on deaf ears. She ended up working like a maid at home after coming home from work at the office—from her old job in New York.
It was probably a good thing her ex-best friend took him off her hands by sleeping with him behind Dana’s back. That two-timing messy guy was her problem now, not Dana’s.
“Troy,” Dana said, after they were left alone in Lichelle’s apartment.
“Yes, Dana,” he said, while going over some notes by the computer.
“I need to tell you something about Mr. Terrence.”
“What is it?”
“Well, before you arrived, I came and saw Mr. Terrence throw out a blue shirt in the dust bin outside.”
Troy glanced at Dana. “He threw away a shirt?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure I’m sure.”
“Well, I’ll ask him about that. But as you know, the forensics team already combed the area for evidence with a fine tooth comb. And we did a thorough search of all the apartments on the premise.”
“Oh,” Dana swallowed hard. Of course, they did.
“And throwing out a shirt is not a crime, Dana,” Troy added, arching a brow.
“If it’s evidence, it is,” she said, raising her eyebrow to match his expression.
“Dana, do you really think he would just throw out evidence in the garbage without destroying it?”
“Maybe, maybe not...I...” Dana’s eyes darted to a large piece of paper by the computer. She walked over to it. “What’s this?”
Truffles made a hissing sound while sitting up in the cat stroller.
“We saw that yesterday. Looks as if she was planning on travelling to Europe after collecting whatever inheritance money she was looking at getting.”
The note simply read: SWITZERLAND BRIGHT BLUE
Dana’s heart leaped in her chest. “Bright blue?” The words Bright Blue were written on the bottom of the page while Switzerland was written on the top of the page.
Dana gasped. “Mr. Terrence threw out a bright blue shirt, Troy. Not just any shirt.”
“He did?”
“Yes, he sure did.”
“Okay, when we’re done here, I’ll go take a look in the garbage. Show me which bin.”
“I will.” Dana’s heart leaped in her chest. He trusted her instincts and her observations. Good. He was going to check out what Mr. Terrence threw away and why.
She didn’t mention the red mark on the shirt. Since she really wasn’t sure what it could be. The last thing she wanted was to appear foolish.
Dana frowned. She then remembered something. “Kerry said that Mr. Terrence and Lichelle’s brother Thomas were both here after Lichelle’s murder, searching through her apartment. Kerry heard the commotion and the two men talking from her apartment below.”
Troy looked annoyed. “Is that so?”
“Yes, I’m afraid.”
“Well, it looks as if I’m going to have to have Mr. Terrence back in for questioning.”
Troy made a note on his note pad before searching around for some other evidence at the apartment.
“Oh, and just so that you know, Lichelle used to live in Switzerland,” Dana added as she glanced carefully at the counter top with Lichelle’s effects. It was so weird that the term effects was used after someone left for good. Belongings became effects, didn’t they? Dana tried to sweep that thought out of her mind.
Troy paused for a moment. “She used to live in Switzerland? Dana how did you know that?”
“Oh, just talking with people.”
Troy frowned. “Dana!” he said, nicely.
“Troy, you know me already, I talk casually with people. That’s all. You see now why it’s a good idea to have me around,” she teased him.
Just then her eyes locked with his. Her heart pulsed in her chest. Butterflies tickled her tummy.
Stop that, Dana. Focus on your mission.
The air between them was palpable. There was a strong chemistry that was undeniable. She was inches from his lips. There was a magnetic pull between them that was strong.
She almost lost her breath. She was inches from his lips. She couldn’t breathe or think. This was crazy.
This is so wrong. We’re at the scene of a crime!
Dana’s heart kept racing like mad in her chest. Was he going to kiss her? Now of all places?
Troy’s glance then turned to the window.
Oh, crap. Of course that was all in her mind.
He then turned to face her again and grinned. “All right. As I’ve said before, you’re a great help, Dana. And we...especially I appreciate your wonderful skills and abilities.”
She flushed. “Thanks, Troy.” Dana cleared her throat to get back on topic—and to ease the embarrassing miscommunication. Maybe he felt something too, but he knew he was there on police business and didn’t want to mess anything up. That was Troy—ever so professional. He was a detective after all. He knew how to control his emotions in any circumstance. He was always cool, authoritative and professional, right?
Okay, Dana. Back on track. Back on track. That was just a distraction. And that will never happen again.
Oh, boy was she always reading men wrong. She really had to get a hold of herself.
“Anyway, it was something that Gerdie Sue said,” Dana continued walking over to the computer table in the living room.
“What did she say?” he asked gently. His voice sent shivers of delight up her spine. Why on earth was he having that kind of effect on her now?
This was a crime scene not a love scene, she mentally scolded herself.
“Only that Lichelle’s father sent her to an expensive boarding school in Switzerland for three years before she was expelled for misbehaving.”
Troy pulled out his notepad again and began taking notes. “Really now?”
“Yes, really.”
“Well, we’ll have to look into that. I wonder if she had any connections there or if she knew anyone there now,” he said almost to himself. “I’m going to have my contacts look into that.”
“You have contacts there?”
“I have contacts almost everywhere, Dana.”
Truffles hissed loudly just then.
“Truffles, what is it, sweetie?” Dana said kneeling beside the kitty stroller. She seemed to be agitated. “Look,” she turned to Troy, “I’d better get going soon. It’s almost time for her snack and her nap. I think she feels restless here.”
“Hey, no problem.”
* * *
TROY WALKED DANA OUT of the Maison House after Mr. Terrence closed the door behind them. Mr. Terrence seemed to avoid Dana’s gaze for some reason but Dana shrugged it off.
“Oh, Troy. Don’t forget, we need to look in the garbage bin.”
“You mean, I need to do that. I’m not letting you go searching through a dirty bin.”
A warm feeling centered on Dana’s heart. She gushed. Of course, Troy wouldn’t let her do any of the dirty work.
She stood by while Troy opened the bin and looked inside. He didn’t reach his hand inside.
“Don’t you see it?”
“See what, Dana? There’s nothing in here.”
“But...?” Dana rushed to Troy’s side and sure enough, there was nothing there. Nada. Zilch. Zip.
“But...how could that be? I...I just saw him place a shirt in there.”
“Are you sure, Dana?”
“Troy! Do you really think I have an overactive imagination?” She placed her hands on her hips. “Okay, don’t answer that question. Maybe I do. But not in this case. I know what I saw.” She glanced at Truffles. Oh, why couldn’t her feline talk to back her up? Her only witness is a four-legged friend with the most adorable little face and cuddly ginger fluffy hair. She sighed deeply.
Then Truffles meowed as the sound of a truck screeched down the street. “Oh, great. It’s the garbage truck.” She threw up her hands. “Troy, we have to search it. It looks as if they just came an emptied the bin.”
“Dana, that’s not my jurisdiction. I just can’t go searching garbage trucks like that without a search warrant.”
“But...?”
He sighed deeply. “I’ll let my superiors know and we’ll see what we can do. We have to follow procedure, Dana.”
“Fine,” she huffed. She only hoped it wouldn’t be too late.