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POLICE CAUTION TAPE surrounded Shags’ upscale bachelor apartment that she’d rented on the East side of town. Detective Troy spoke to the cops at the scene and they let him through along with Dana.
She was ever so grateful that he’d allowed her to tag along to help out, especially since she’d discovered clues that his boys had missed at the last investigation.
Dana gaped around the open concept apartment. There was a massive queen sized bed in the far corner. A living room area with a black leather couch and matching leather loveseat, covered in satin red pillows. A red faux fur rug in the center of that living area. Over by the other far corner was a kitchen area and near there was what looked like a make-shift office with a computer desk and a file cabinet along with some files on top of that.
But it also looked as if the place had been ransacked. Things were turned over, drawers were opened. Somebody was looking for something. Was it incriminating evidence they were looking for? Either way, it looked as if that person had been interrupted and didn’t get a chance to finish the job. Half the place looked untouched.
“Hey, what’s this?” Dana said noticing some white furry hairs all over the place.
“The landlord said earlier that she has a white-haired cat that sheds like there’s no tomorrow.”
“Aww. Well, isn’t that sweet.”
Dana then spotted the furry friend sleeping in her kitty bed looking cozy, oblivious to what was going on. Her heart squeezed in her chest. Did the kitty even know her mommy was...gone? She hoped that somebody kind would be able to take care of the kitty now that Shags was no longer around.
“Did you guys check out the guy that she came in with at the party?”
“He checks out fine. He was just a hired date for the evening. Nothing unusual with him. He wasn’t anywhere near Shags when she died.”
“So you confirmed with the images from Frank the photographer.”
“You do ask a lot of questions, Dana.”
She flushed.
“To answer your question. Yes. I checked the images from Frank’s camera. The only people near Shags at the time were Katie, Bea, and a few other guests.”
“I see.” Dana felt her heart plummet in her chest.
Dana also observed there were some boxes scattered around the area. A box by the bed, one by the kitchen and other large packing boxes.
“That’s interesting.”
“What is?” Detective Troy asked.
“The packing boxes,” Dana said walking over to the one by the home office area.
“She just moved here, remember?”
“But that was a few weeks ago.”
“Sometimes, it takes people a while to unpack,” he said.
“That’s true,” Dana said, looking closely at the boxes.
“Remember now, don’t touch a thing, Dana. If you see anything, just let me know.”
“Sure thing, Troy.”
Dana’s heart was still giddy over what he’d said earlier when he’d found her searching through the trash in the back alley at Town Hall. That was so sweet of him.
Of course, now, she wasn’t wearing her black dress that was covered in trash and goodness knew what other liquid waste had been dumped on her. She was freshly showered and shampooed and was all dressed up in her sexy black soft leggings, knee high leather riding boots and her long curve hugging turtle neck jumper that reached her thighs and accentuated her figure. She also donned her other winter coat—she’d already tossed her previous coat into a bag to give to the Berry Cove Dry Cleaners tomorrow when they re-opened.
Troy took his time sifting through some notes on Shags computer desk.
“You know Troy, as a journalist she probably had a file cabinet somewhere with some private paperwork.”
“Wouldn’t that be on her computer?”
“Not necessarily”
“Not necessarily?” Detective Troy arched his brow.
He looked positively gorgeous whenever he did that. She liked the way his chiseled features were highlighted on his face. Strong jawline, beautiful ocean-blue eyes, thick black lashes and shapely eyebrows.
Okay, stop ogling the guy’s features, Dana. Focus.
“Dana, storing things on cloud storage and on computers would be the most logical thing for reporters,” Detective Troy continued while flipping through some pages in the brown file folder.
“In this day and age of hacking?” Dana arched her brow.
Detective Troy melted into a smile. “You do have a point, Dana.”
Dana tried not to gush. Goodness, she hoped her cheeks weren’t turning red—again. “Thanks,” she said, quietly.
“What makes you think she keeps a secret file offline?” Detective Troy questioned Dana after moving to another file folder. He probably didn’t want to miss anything all the same.
“Well, I know I keep some stuff offline that I wouldn’t want anyone else to see. For instance, if she was in fact working on some stories that could be her pay day or nest egg retirement fund, she wouldn’t want to risk it being leaked.”
“No, she probably wouldn’t.” He frowned. “You’re right, Dana. Sure you don’t want to join our special services unit on the force?” He grinned.
“I would um...love to...but...I think I’ll hold off for now, thanks. Managing Grandma Rae’s café is the sweetest thing I could do right now and the safest.” A grin curved her lips.
Troy shook his head and smiled. “I don’t blame you. To be honest, I rest easier at night knowing that you’re working in a safer environment than trying to catch murderers in our homicide division.” His voice was low and soft when he said it.
Butterflies fluttered inside Dana’s tummy again.
He rests easier at night knowing that I’m working in a safe environment? Oh, my gosh! Is Detective Troy saying that he thinks about me at night? Okay, calm down Dana. He was just saying. That’s all.
“Wait a minute.”
“What is it?” Detective Troy said as he turned around. He had a brown file folder in his hand from the filing cabinet by the computer.
“The bed.”
“What about it?”
Dana got down on her knees and knelt down by the bed. She lifted up the bed skirt. “Troy, there’s some sort of clothes storage unit under the bed.”
“Yeah, she probably stores her off season clothes in there like a lot of people do.”
“I know but...I think that might be a good hiding place to store some documents she didn’t want anyone else to see.”
Dana pulled out a box filled with envelopes.
Detective Troy went to Dana’s side and crouched down. “Let me see that.”
As Detective Troy took hold of a large brown envelope and opened it, he sifted through some letters and notes in it.
Dana also looked at another box near the bed. “Troy. I don’t think these boxes are from New York.”
“What do you mean?”
“It looks as if Shags was planning to buy another place in Berry Cove and upgrade from this fancy bachelor apartment into something more upscale if you know what I mean. “
“Are you sure about that?”
“I’m almost positive. Bea and Inga mentioned that Shags was looking into buying real estate here. Never mind renting.”
“Oh, she was, was she?”
“There’s one thing about the gossip mill at Bea’s Salon is that sometimes there’s a little truth in there. A little. And only sometimes, of course.”
“Hmm.”
“You see a realtor had confirmed that she was looking into some fancy properties.”
“I see.” Detective Troy sifted through some papers and found some stashes of money and money orders. He frowned.
“What is it?”
“You’re right, Dana. There’s a lot of what appears to be payout money in here. Looks as if she’s been collecting her funds. Maybe she was going to deposit the money soon.”
Detective Troy placed all the pages on a table near the living area and spread them out. He then called in the forensic photographer to take a snap shot of the items.
There was a list with names on it and check marks beside some names. Mayor Jones name was also on that list.
Detective Troy pinched his lips together. She could tell he wasn’t happy to see that. It looked as if his boss was being blackmailed which would give him a really good motive and the opportunity to see Shags vanish. An envelope with Katie’s name on it also lay on the table.
Dana gasped.
Detective Troy opened the envelope. It contained a note.
“Sorry about what happened between us. Hope there’s no hard feelings.”-Shags M.
Dana’s heart melted. “Oh, no. Shags was trying to make amends with Katie. She knew she would be moving here and she’s no longer seeing Katie’s ex-husband, so she probably figured it would be a good idea to be friends.”
Dana felt sadness flood over her.
“It would seem that way,” he agreed, “Looks like Shags had some unfinished business she was taking care of.”
“Well, Troy, Shags had a lot of dirt on a lot of people. Anyone of them could be the killer. But definitely not Katie. That note proves that Katie wouldn’t have a motive!”
“But Katie didn’t see the note yet, Dana.” Troy ached his brow.
Dana frowned. “I guess you’re right. She didn’t see the note.”
There was also an envelope with Bea’s name on it. It also had some money attached to it.
Was this from a previous payoff?
Then there was the Mayor’s envelope. “Colorado. Brandon Jones.”
Dana gasped again.
“Dana, what is it? You know something about this, don’t you?”
Dana reached into her handbag and pulled out the notes. “Yes, I do. Troy, it looks as if the mayor had some letters addressed to him from Colorado. It was torn up and thrown out in the trash.”
Troy frowned. He called one of the uniformed cops to go to the Mayor’s home. “Dana, I’m taking you home now. I need to speak with my boss.”
* * *
“WHAT IS THIS ABOUT, Headly?” Detective Troy interrogated Mayor Jones. The mayor had consistently denied any rumors of seeing Shags earlier in the day.
“I...well, I don’t know what to say. That woman was crazy. You know how some tabloid reporters are. Always digging for dirt. I’m a respected politician, Troy and might I remind you, I’m your boss.”
Detective Troy tried hard not to back down. But he trusted Dana’s instincts—and he trusted his own. His boss was hiding something. But what?
Detective Troy paced with his hands in his pockets. Some torn pieces of letters that Dana had found in the garbage were in an evidence bag on the table.
The mayor glanced at the torn letter in the bag.
“That bag was found in your garbage bin at Town Hall.” Detective Troy tried to contain himself. If there was one thing he didn’t like was someone lying to him point blank. He was willing to risk his job just to prove his point.
“There must be some misunderstanding, Troy.”
“Headly, how long have we known each other? Come on. It’s me you’re talking to.”
“Okay, all right.” Mayor Jones frowned and walked over by his bar and poured himself some brandy and took a drink. “Can I get you a drink?”
“You know I don’t drink on the job, Headly.”
“Fine. Good.” Mayor Jones finished the contents of the glass and placed it on the counter top. He then wiped his mouth with his hand and sighed deeply.
He walked over by the landing to check that the lights were still off. Probably wanting to make sure that his wife was still asleep.
“Let’s go into the study,” Mayor Jones said, looking around.
When the two men walked into the study, Mayor Jones closed the sliding French doors shut behind them.
There was a tall seven-foot Christmas Tree by the fireplace that had sparkling lights flashing on it. A star was atop the tree. Detective Troy noticed there were probably hundreds of Christmas cards around the study. Decorating the tree and also strung up on the wall and atop the fireplace mantelpiece. The Jones were certainly very popular. But then again, most wealthy socialites were. And that was what his wife was—a wealthy socialite.
A grand portrait of his wife hung above the fireplace.
“Mrs. Jones looks fabulous in that portrait.”
“Yes, she does,” Mayor Jones agreed. “She’s from a long line of jewelers dating back from the 1750s. The Lyons family. Her maiden name.”
“Of course. Yes, I remember reading about her family background.” Mrs. Jones had inherited the entire estate from her grandfather worth over billions. That was before she met and married Headly Jones. It had been the wedding of the century then.
“That’s why you didn’t want her to know about your...affair?” Detective Troy said softly, getting down to the truth.
“Yes,” Mayor Jones admitted. “You know how it is, right?”
“No, I don’t, sir.” Again, Detective Troy’s voice was soft and non-judgmental, and as much as he felt sorry for his boss, Troy could never relate to a man cheating on his wife or girlfriend.
Troy was and always had been a one-woman man, that was why he almost lost his mind when his ex-fiancée pulled a number on him and slept with his cousin who happened to be his best friend at the time. It almost killed him. That was why he found it hard to trust another woman. His ex fiancée had been the love of his life at the time—or so he thought. She was supposed to be his best friend and life long partner in everything. How could he trust a woman again?
Still, that was history now. He needed to focus on the murder investigation at hand.
“Well,” Mayor Jones said, pretending to fix something on the Christmas Tree, avoiding Troy’s gaze. “My wife comes from a long line of successful jewelers. Many thought I married her for her money, but I did not. Well, okay, maybe that was a plus, but I do love her. I really do. And it works both ways. She never really had to work in her life either. So she was happy to be a politician’s wife, instead of just the daughter and granddaughter of a magnate.”
“Okay.”
“Well,” Mayor Jones sighed deeply as he continued. “We started having trouble in the marriage decades ago when we first married when she found out she couldn’t...have any children.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. But you’ve been married now thirty years, is that correct?”
“About that. But don’t tell Mrs. Jones, I forgot the year we got married.”
Detective Troy resisted the urge to grin. “I won’t.”
“Anyway, I’d met Shags back in New York and we...well, we had a moment of indiscretion. It was the first time I had ever cheated on my wife, I swear. I had never done it before. But that was in New York. I’d never even been to her place in Berry Cove. I stopped seeing her back then.”
“And you wouldn’t want your wife to find out about the affair because of the prenup agreement, right?”
The mayor turned to Detective Troy stunned. “What? How did you hear about that?”
“Seems like Shags already had the information on you, Mayor. She was blackmailing you, wasn’t she?”
The mayor turned his head away and looked out at the multi-paned window where the snow flakes fell heavy outside. “She tried to.”
“Is that why you killed her, Mayor?”
“What? No. I swear to you, I did not kill Shags! Why would I?”
“Because she threatened to destroy your marriage and your retirement nest egg, sir. She had too much information on you. And including that letter. I pieced it together. It wasn’t the first time you had cheated on your wife, sir. You cheated on her about twenty-three years ago, didn’t you?”
The mayor swallowed hard. He looked down. “Yes. I...I did. You’re right.”
“Why did you lie to me, Headly?”
“I...” He clasped his hands together. “She would kill me if she found out I had a son.”
Detective Troy’s eyes opened wide. So it was true then. If Dana hadn’t showed him those pieces of paper from the garbage bin, letters from the mayor to his son asking him to come and stay with him in Berry Cove so that he could get to know him better, Troy would never had known. He really owed Dana a lot for this. A lot.
“You see, I travel quite a lot, visiting other mayors in other cities. And well, I met this nice waitress back in Colorado on one of my trips and the last thing I know, we had an affair. Then she told me about my son years later.”
“So you only found out about him recently?”
“Yes, that’s right. I found out about him very recently.”
“And so did Shags.”
“Yes. That’s why I hated that witchy woman. Okay, I admit it. She had no right meddling in my personal affairs. She had been blackmailing me into keeping quiet about my affair with her. Then she somehow intercepted my calls and found out about my past dealings with Becky, my son Julian’s mother.”
Detective Troy sighed and wiped his brow. “Okay, so let me get this straight. She decided to up the price and charge more for her silence when she found out the living proof that you’d been unfaithful to your wife?”
“Yes, she wanted five million dollars. How on earth would I take that out of my wife’s account without her knowing it? Then Shags told me to buy an expensive property and pretend it’s an investment but put it in her name. In Shags’ name. That woman was crazy, she was. But I did not kill her. I’m not going to lie to you, I thought about it, fantasized about it. But I didn’t do it, Troy. You have to believe me.”
“It’s hard to believe you, boss when you keep lying to me like a bad habit.”
“But I’m telling the truth now.”
“You didn’t go to her home and threaten her—or go through her things?”
“No. I’ve never been to Shags’ apartment. I swear to you.”
“All right. Where is your son now?”
“I’d rather not say. I don’t want him to be involved in this.”
Detective Troy ran his fingers through his hair. “Headly, this is a murder investigation, sir. No need to tell you the seriousness of this case.”
“All right. All right, but please, I don’t want the media to get wind of this. I really don’t want my wife to find out. Not this way. I’ll have to break it to her gently.”
“I’m listening.”
“His name is Julian and I got him a job catering the Christmas party as a waiter.”
Detective Troy froze.
“As a waiter?”
“Yes, I wanted to get to know him better. He had dropped out of college and was living with some friends in a run down place back in Colorado. I paid his air fare and offered to take care of him here.”
Detective Troy wrote down some more notes and combed his hair again with his fingers, a nervous habit he had to learn to get rid of. But right now, he couldn’t believe how this night was unfolding.
“Sir, I’m going to ask you to surrender your passport and make no plans to leave town. You know the procedure.”
“Yes, I know. But where would I go now anyway?”
“I don’t know. But just make sure that I can find you. I’ll be back.”
Detective Troy had interviewed a few waiters after Shags was found murdered at the party but now he had to go back and speak to Julian.