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THE NEXT MORNING, DANA found herself seated in a room at the police station opposite Henrietta.
“Thank you for seeing me,” Henrietta said.
“Hey, no problem. I’m really sorry about the situation. I...I don’t know what to say.”
“Neither do I, Miss Dana. I can’t believe they arrested me. I didn’t do it. I didn’t kill Miss Brenda. Why would I?”
Dana kept the reasons that would lead her to be a prime suspect to herself. The last thing Henrietta needed to hear was that she looked guilty as sin. She was the original heir to Mrs. B’s estate until her niece, who had been less than kind to her, came into the picture.
“Henrietta, did you manage to get a look at the guy, Luke?”
“No, ma’am. I didn’t. I only heard a man’s voice arguing with her about his money. And about her spending ways.”
“Do you think it could have something to do with the credit card?”
“Could be, ma’am.”
“Well, here’s the trouble, Henrietta. The police didn’t find the credit card.”
“Maybe he took it back after he killed her, so that it wouldn’t lead to him.”
“You know you’ve made a good point. I will let Detective Troy know that.”
“Thank you, ma’am. Oh, and another thing...I think she met some guy at the Steak Bar. I don’t know if she was seeing him, too. It came up in the argument with the guy and he accused her of cheat...”
“She’s not going to answer any more questions,” her attorney who was seated beside her cut her off mid sentence.
Dana felt dejected. Just when she was getting close to finding another clue. “No problem,” Dana said, trying to hide her disappointment as she got up to leave. So Brenda had been seeing a guy at the Steak House, too? Hmmm.
Henrietta then turned to her attorney to speak.
Dana thanked them for her time and left the room with another officer.
“You okay?” the officer asked Dana.
“I am now,” Dana said, reaching for the pen in her pocket. “I really do believe she and Garth are innocent and I think I can prove it,” she said.
She then walked out of the station and towards her car. She reached into her bag and took out her cell phone.
Why didn’t she think of it before? Whoever ordered the pen specially made for them must have had a purchase order made, complete with delivery address and full name.
She made a call to the company whose logo was on the pen.
“Custom Pens Ink,” a cheery receptionist answered.
“Hi,” Dana said, unsure of how to pursue without breaking any privacy laws. “A friend of mine gave me his pen and I really wanted to have some done for my company. They’re really neat. I hope they can get a referral bonus.”
“Sure thing. I can help you with that? Which of the designs are you looking at?”
Dana glanced at the pen and drew in a deep breath...
* * *
LATER THAT EVENING, Dana arrived at the Berry Cove Steakhouse & Bar with Troy. She was a bit disappointed with the Custom Pens Ink company as they weren’t able to give her too much information. Still, she’d been chatty with the guy who did the order and he told her that he would try to track down some information about the owner of the pen for her. But she wasn’t going to hold her breath. She still had to get more information about Luke Roberts. But for now, she would push that thought from her mind and try to enjoy the evening with Troy.
The evening air felt warm and breezy for this time of the year.
The music blasted from the speakers and the sound of laughter and chatter filled the air around them.
“I’m surprised you chose this place. It’s not exactly quiet,” Troy commented as he pulled a chair for Dana after the waiter showed them to their table.
“Thank you,” she said, sitting down. “I just thought we’d try something different tonight.”
“Can I get you two something to drink in the meantime?” he asked politely.
“Sure, I’ll have a ginger ale today, please.”
“I’ll have a beer,” Troy said, not taking his eyes off Dana.
She felt flustered.
“Sure thing. Today the special is Sirloin Steak and Lobster.”
“I’ll just have a Sirloin, well done please with mashed potatoes and mushrooms,” Dana said.
“I’ll have the special,” Troy said. “Haven’t had anything today.” He turned to Dana.
“No problem. I’ll be right back,” the waiter said after taking their orders and the menus from the table.
“Troy, that’s not good,” Dana said, alarmed. “You can’t go through the day without a proper meal.”
“I know.”
“You know you need to fuel up for the type of job you have. Food is fuel. You can’t forget to feed your brain cells and your body.”
“I’ve had that lecture before, Dana,” he grinned. “We’re still short-staffed at the station and the desk has been crazy lately.”
“I know what you mean,” she said, quietly. “Which brings me to why I chose this place.”
“Uh-oh. Now how did I guess there was something more to wanting to go somewhere a little different?” He gave her that look, his brow was raised and everything. Truth be told, he looked sexy whenever he did that.
“Oh, Troy. Please don’t be upset with me, but it’s just something Henrietta said this morning that got me thinking.”
“Dana.”
“Troy.”
“What was it that she said that got you thinking?”
“Well, she said that Brenda met this guy at a the Steak Bar, right in here. She thinks he works here part time. So I figure maybe someone knows something.”
“And what if he’s here tonight? Are you planning on confronting him, Dana?”
“You’ve got a point. I just want to find out what happened that night.”
“Dana, we already have our two lead suspects in custody. They each had the motive and the means and the opportunity.”
Dana frowned. “Okay, it doesn’t look good for them.”
“No, it doesn’t. And if you ask me, I think they’re both just trying to deflect attention away from themselves. They keep changing their story and adding in other characters. Like this Luke guy. We didn’t find any Luke Roberts around here.”
“But Peter, the guy Brenda was supposed to see in Toronto confirmed that Brenda’s ex’s name was Luke Roberts.”
“Oh, right.” He rubbed his sexy groomed stubble.
The waiter returned shortly after with their drinks. He handed Dana her ginger ale and Troy his beer.
Troy then got a call on his cell phone. The music was too loud so he excused himself from the table to answer it.
“I’ll be right back,” Troy said.
“Sure. I’m right here.” She would have to get used to Troy’s crazy unsociable life as a small town cop always on call. It wasn’t easy but that came with the territory, she guessed.
She took a sip of her ginger ale, before the waiter left the table, she asked, “So is Luke working tonight?”
“Nah, he’s off,” the waiter said.
Dana’s heart pounded in her chest. So a guy named Luke did work there!
“Oh, no. He told me he’d be here.”
“Really? He’s definitely off. Probably showing some houses.”
“That Luke Roberts is really something isn’t he?” she bluffed, trying to fish out some more information casually.
The waiter looked puzzled. “You mean Luke Demeranto.”
“Luke Deme...what?”
“Luke. He works part time here and moonlights in real estate.”
“Ah, right. I got his last name mixed up.” She was thankful that Troy wasn’t at the table to witness her faux pas. But he would be back soon.
“Your meals should be ready soon,” he said and smiled politely.
“Thank you,” she said bashfully.
Oh, great. Now she was back to square one. So the Luke she’d met was probably the same guy she promised to give the sales commission to and then changed her mind again.
Then another thought struck Dana. Did Luke Deme...whatever-his-name kill her? Was he royally peeved because she changed her mind and allowed Rebecca to sell her house after all?
Dana, don’t be silly. That would not be a strong enough motive to kill someone for. Besides, he has his cozy part time job as a waiter here. He wasn’t exactly starving for dough now was he? Not like Rebecca who relied solely on her real estate gig to pay her bills.
She sighed deeply.
So much for that.
* * *
TROY HAD A SINKING feeling in the pit of his stomach about dropping off Dana in a quiet house. They’d enjoyed their dinner at the steakhouse and bar but he had to call it an early night as soon as they’d finished their meals. He had to be up earlier than usual the next morning.
He knew that Katie was out on a date with one of his pals at the precinct, he wished he could have stuck around later to make sure Dana wasn’t alone.
“You sure you don’t want me to come in?” he asked again, as they both sat in his car.
“I’m good, Troy. I’ll be fine. Katie will be home soon.”
“You sure about that?” He arched a brow.
“No. But Truffles is here to keep me company.”
He sighed heavily.
“Troy. Really, I’ll be fine. I’m a little behind on my blog entry and I want to focus on the mystery I’m writing right now.” She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
He then pulled her closer to him and stroked her chin and brushed his lips against her sweet lips.
Man, he was really falling for her. She was sweet in every way, pun intended. He worried about her, but he didn’t want her to feel as if he were taking over her life either.
“Fine. You have my cell number, please call me if you need me. Doesn’t matter what time of night.”
“I will. But you need to get some sleep, too. You have to be up at four in the morning, right?”
He grimaced. “Right.”
He got out of the car and went to the passenger side and opened the door for Dana. Troy, on autopilot looked around to make sure the coast was clear and no suspicious characters were around.
He then walked her up to the door.
“I’ll be fine, really.”
“You sure you don’t want me to come inside and look around to make sure you’re alone.”
She tilted her head back and chuckled. “Troy, I’m not a fraidy cat. I’ve lived in New York, remember? I can handle this small town.”
He grinned. “I’m just looking out for you.”
“You’re sweet, but I’ll be okay.” She then turned the key in the lock and turned on the passage light.
“See, I’m all alone.”
He noticed Mrs. Brunes’ light was on at her house and a woman was staring out the window peeking behind the blinds. He shook his head. “Well you’ve got neighborhood watch.”
She also glanced up and giggled. “Good old Mrs. Brunes. She’s always watching everybody’s house. I’m surprised she’s up at this time.”
Wish she was up when Brenda’s attacker came visiting, he thought to himself. Again, he didn’t want to alarm Dana, so he kept his thoughts to himself.
“Well, good night,” she said.
“Good night,” he said and brushed his lips against hers sweetly before leaving her once he made sure she was inside safely.
* * *
DANA THREW HER KEYS on the counter.
She peeked into the living room and saw Truffles fast asleep in her kitty bed. A warm smile curved her lips.
“Sweet dreams, Truffs,” she whispered.
Just then Dana heard a sound coming from the basement.
“Katie, is that you?” she called out, even though she thought Katie should still be on her date.
Dana then walked over to the door and opened it. She listened to see if she heard that sound again, wondering if it was just her imagination running away with her again.
A second later, the lights went out and she was in total darkness. Her heart jumped in her chest.
Dana felt a push from behind her and fell down the steps, screaming. Her arms banged as she hit the hard steps of the basement stair well.
It was complete darkness. She passed out...