“By who?”

  “Who do you think?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “To be honest, that part isn’t important,” I said. “The only thing that really matters is the truth. For example, I know that you and Connor were sleeping together.”

  “No. That’s not true.”

  I reached into my purse and pulled up a photo on my phone. “This picture says otherwise.”

  Betsy’s eyes widened. “Hey, where did you get that from?”

  I had actually taken that photograph myself during a previous investigation.

  “Like I said, Ms. O’Dell, I’m an investigator. Getting information is what I do. Let me tell you. Things don’t look good for you right now. Not only were you sleeping with the victim, but you also don’t have an alibi for the night that he was murdered.”

  “Like I told the detective a few days ago, I was here watching TV the night that Connor was murdered.”

  “And according to your statement, you were alone. Which means that there’s no way of verifying your story.”

  “It’s more than just a story. It’s the truth.”

  “If that’s truly the case, then help me out.”

  “How am I supposed to do that?”

  “Give me a reason to believe you.”

  “Being innocent isn’t reason enough?”

  “It’s hard to believe that you’re innocent if you can’t prove it.”

  “Last time I checked, people in this country are innocent until they are proven guilty.”

  “Yes, in court. But if you didn’t have anything to do with Connor’s murder, you should be hoping that things never get to a court of law.”

  “Look. I don’t know what you want from me.”

  “The only thing I care about is finding Connor’s killer.”

  “Then talk to someone else.”

  “Do you have anyone in mind?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Take your time and really think about it. If I can prove that someone else is guilty, then by default, it will also prove that you’re innocent.”

  “I’m sorry. I have no clue who might have done this.”

  “That’s really unfortunate.”

  “It’s also the truth.”

  “Maybe so, but it also means that I can’t help but be suspicious of you.”

  Betsy gritted her teeth. “You’re maddening, you know that?”

  “No. What’s maddening is the fact that there’s a killer on the loose,” I said.

  Chapter Six

  I spoke with Betsy for a little while longer, but I didn’t get anywhere. When it became clear that I wouldn’t get any useful information out of her, I elected to move on.

  As I drove away from Betsy’s house, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated by the fact that another conversation had gone nowhere. I was hoping that my third suspect interview would go a little better. I certainly hoped so. Julie McIntosh was the final suspect on my list.

  I drove over to Tilden Road, where Julie lived. After I parked in her driveway, I didn’t immediately approach her split-level home.

  I needed to take a moment to myself. After all, it had been an awfully rough afternoon for me. I really wanted this next conversation to go off without any fireworks. Would I get my wish? I said a quick prayer and then got out of my car.

  From there, I went up Julie’s walkway. I then knocked on her front door.

  Things certainly didn’t get off to a good start. Much to my chagrin, Julie didn’t answer her door. I waited a few seconds and knocked again.

  Once more, I didn’t receive an answer. I then rang the doorbell.

  That also got me nowhere.

  I began to worry. I knew that Julie wasn’t at work. To start, it was Saturday. Her office wasn’t even open then. There were a number of other places that she could be, though. She could be out running errands. Or having a good time. Or relaxing at the beach. Perhaps she was even out of town. All of those possibilities scared me.

  Tracking people down was not something that I enjoyed. Of course, if it was necessary, I would do it. I just didn’t want things to come to that.

  My gut was telling me that Julie was still at home. After all, her car was still in the driveway. Of course, someone could have come by and picked her up. Or she could have walked somewhere. Then again, perhaps she was hiding inside her home, avoiding coming to her door at all costs.

  On the flip side, there was one final option. What if she was in her backyard? That was an easy enough thing to check up on.

  I headed around the side of her house and checked out her backyard.

  When I reached her yard, a sense of relief washed over me.

  I saw Julie leaning back in a lounge chair reading a book. There was a glass of alcohol next to her on a table.

  She looked incredibly relaxed.

  I spoke up to get her attention. “Excuse me.”

  Julie nearly jumped out of her chair when she heard my voice. “Who are you?” she asked. “And what are you doing sneaking up on me like that?”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you,” I said.

  “Whether you meant it or not, you scared the absolute daylights out of me.”

  “Again, I apologize.”

  “How about this? Would you mind telling me who you are and what you’re doing in my yard?”

  “You didn’t answer your front door when I knocked.”

  “I didn’t realize someone was at the door,” she said. “What do you want?”

  “I’d like to ask you some questions.”

  “About what?”

  “About the murder of Connor Taggart.”

  “I don’t know anything about his murder.”

  “If that’s the truth then this should be a quick interview.”

  Julie’s eyebrows knitted. “Interview? Who are you again?”

  “My name is Melody Clue. I’m an investigator.”

  “And what are you investigating? After all, Connor’s murder has already been solved.”

  “Actually, his killer is still at-large.”

  “Is that so?” Julie asked.

  I nodded.

  “That’s unsettling,” Julie said.

  “Imagine how I feel, knowing that a murderer is walking the streets.”

  “It’s enough to send a shiver down your spine.”

  “That’s why I’m praying that I can wrap this case up sooner rather than later.”

  “Well, I wish you luck.”

  “I was hoping for more than luck. That’s where you come in—”

  She put her hand up. “I hate to interrupt you, but I don’t understand what any of this has to do with me.”

  “Like I said before, I have some questions for you.”

  “What sort of questions?”

  “It’s my understanding that you and Connor worked together.”

  “Yes.”

  “How did you get along?”

  “We were friendly with each other.”

  “How friendly are we talking?”

  “We were strictly co-workers.”

  “All right,” I said. “Now, let’s talk about the management position that you were both up for.”

  “Okay.”

  “You really wanted that promotion, didn’t you?”

  “Of course, I did. Who wouldn’t want to get paid more?”

  “I guess you’re right,” I said. “That promotion ended up going to Connor, though, didn’t it?”

  “Ms. Clue, I think I know where you’re going with all of this.”

  “Do you?”

  Julie nodded. “You think that I might have murdered Connor over the management job, don’t you?”

  “Since you put it so bluntly, I do have my suspicions.”

  “I understand.”

  My jaw dropped. “You do?”

  “Yes. But let me tell you something. I would never kill someone over a promotion.”

  “I wish I could tell you that things like that never happened. The sad fact is that people have been killed over far less in the past.”

  “I’ll bet. Not in this case, though.”

  “I have to say, you are staying surprisingly calm.”

  She shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “The other suspects that I’ve questioned have all freaked out.”

  “I think that’s very telling.”

  “How so?”

  “Generally, people don’t freak out unless they have a reason to.”

  “I can’t argue with that.”

  “Since I’m not guilty of anything, I’m as calm as can be.”

  “Don’t get me wrong. It’s refreshing to see you keep an even keel. That said, I still have my suspicions.”

  “Why?”

  “With Connor dead, isn’t it true that you got promoted to manager?”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s a pretty interesting turn of events, isn’t it?”

  “I can see how you’d feel that way.”

  “How could I look at things any other way?”

  “Did Connor’s death lead to me getting the promotion? Yes. Did I kill Connor so that I could get promoted? Absolutely not.”

  “I wish there was a way of proving that. Unfortunately, according to my source, you don’t have a verifiable alibi for the time of the murder.”

  “That’s true. I was all by myself at the time. But I was taking a walk at the beach.”

  “So you say.”

  “That’s my story.”

  “And you’re sticking to it?”

  “I sure am.”

  “You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe you.”

  “Trust me, I get it.”

  “You do?” I asked.

  “Hey, if I was in your position, I’d have my suspicions too.”

  “Aren’t you the least bit nervous right now?”

  Julie shook her head.

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “Because like I said, I didn’t do anything wrong. And you can’t prove otherwise,” Julie said. “Unless that changes, I have nothing to worry about.”

  Chapter Seven

  That was probably the weirdest interview I had ever conducted. Julie didn’t sweat for one second. Nor did she raise her voice. She kept her cool as she answered my questions.

  Normally, that was exactly what I wanted to see from a suspect. It was amazing how rarely that happened. Even if an interview started off on a calm note, at some point, it would typically take a turn for the worse.

  In this instance, Julie remained completely steady.

  Rather than feeling good about that, I found the experience really unsettling. Not just because it happened so infrequently. I just didn’t trust Julie. She almost seemed too calm. Too polished. Like she had anticipated my arrival and had rehearsed all of her answers ahead of time.

  Of course, I couldn’t prove any of that. It was just a suspicion of mine. It turned out that I had plenty of those. I just didn’t have any answers.

  As I drove away from Julie’s house, I decided to head back to my office. I had a lot to think about. Even though I could have headed home to reflect on the events of the day, I knew that my co-worker, Lisa, would be back at our detective agency. It would probably be really helpful to discuss things with her. Perhaps she could bring a new perspective to the situation. Even if she didn’t, I always found that it was beneficial to run ideas by someone.

  As I pulled into the parking lot of my office building, a surprise awaited me. Detective Scott Webster stood in the lot, leaning against his police car. Was he waiting to talk to me?

  That seemed like the most likely explanation. The question became, what did he have to say? Also, would this be a pleasant conversation, or an awkward discussion?

  By that point in the day, I had been yelled at enough. The last thing I wanted was more trouble. The good news was that Scott didn’t appear to be in a foul mood.

  I parked my car, got out of the vehicle, and approached the detective.

  “Afternoon, stranger,” I joked.

  “Has it been a good afternoon?” he asked. “Or a bad one?”

  “It definitely could have gone better.”

  Scott grimaced. “Did the suspects give you a hard time?”

  “They certainly didn’t take it easy on me.”

  “Did you really expect them to?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  “You know, in my experience, they seem to like to make things as difficult as possible.”

  “I can’t disagree with that.”

  “Does that mean that you had your hands full?”

  “You sure have a lot of questions for me.”

  “I’m just curious about how things went.”

  “Are you asking as a friend, or as a police detective?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “I guess not.”

  “I will say this. As a friend, and as a detective, I’ve been worried about you. From what I’ve heard, you were running around like crazy today.”

  “Who did you hear that from?”

  “Who do you think?”

  My eyes widened. “Have you been keeping tabs on me?”

  “Of course, I have. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

  “Wow. So, you had me followed all afternoon?” I asked.

  He nodded.

  “I can’t believe it,” I said.

  “I did it for your own protection. After all, you rattled some cages. That can lead to dangerous consequences.”

  “That wasn’t what I was referring to. What I can’t believe is that someone from your department tailed me all day without me spotting them. Usually, I’m incredibly perceptive. Am I not as sharp as I thought? Or was I just so focused on this case that I lost track of my surroundings?”

  “That could be it. Solving a case requires a lot of time and energy,” he said.

  “It sure does.”

  “Which is why I’m really glad that I assigned that deputy to keep tabs on you. It sounds like you can use all of the help that you can get.”

  “Do you know what I can really use right now?” I said. “A break.”

  “You realize that there’s a very low probability of that happening, right?”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  “I didn’t say it to rub it in. I mentioned it because it’s worth repeating. All of this work that you’re doing might not amount to anything.”

  “Scott, if this is your idea of a pep talk, you really need to work on your motivational speeches.”

  “Melody, I know you don’t want to hear this, but with Amy behind bars, this investigation of yours is probably going to end without producing any tangible results.”

  “Do you still believe that Amy is guilty of murder?” I asked.

  “Have you uncovered any evidence to convince me otherwise?” he replied.

  I shook my head. “Not yet.”

  “Well, there you go.”

  I put my hand up. “It’s still pretty early in my investigation, though.”

  “Do you still think that you’re going to unmask someone else as the killer?”

  I nodded. “I sure do.”

  “In that case, you really need to watch your back. More than ever before.”

  “Are you trying to scare me again?”

  “No. I want you to know what you’re up against. When people get desperate, they often do extreme things. And nothing makes people more desperate than when someone is breathing down their neck.”

  “I can’t argue with that.”

  “Does that mean you’ll be really careful?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good.”

  “That said, by your own logic, if Amy really is the killer, then I shouldn’t have anything to worry about because she’s already in jail.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “One of the other suspects might not be a murderer, but they still could have secrets that they don’t want getting out,” Scott said. “No one likes to be pushed to the brink.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “I’m happy to hear that. I just want you to be careful.”

  “I will,” I said. “And I’ll let you know when I uncover enough evidence to arrest the real killer.”

  Scott threw out his arms. “When? Don’t you mean if?”

  “No. Like I’ve told you before. You arrested the wrong suspect. And I’m going to prove it,” I said.

  Chapter Eight

  As Scott got back into his car, I could tell that he expected our conversation to go much differently than it had. I was probably the most stubborn friend that he had. Although, he was a pretty head strong guy himself.

  When it came to this particular subject, we just couldn’t come to an agreement. That would change. I just needed to uncover some evidence of Amy’s innocence first.

  It turned out that was much easier said than done.

  After Scott drove away, I went inside my office. As expected, Lisa was there. My co-worker was anxious to hear an update from me. I gave her a rundown of my entire day.

  Rather than talking about my suspect interviews first, Lisa seemed more interested in discussing my conversation with Scott.

  “I think it says a lot about the state of this case that a police detective is worried about you,” Lisa remarked.

  I nodded. “Scott is a good friend.”

  “Melody, I don’t think you’re understanding me. As a detective, Scott has seen a lot of crazy things on the job. So, for him to warn you to watch your back is really telling. I hope you’re going to proceed with caution.”

  “You know that I’m always as careful as possible.”

  “I realize that. But you can never be too cautious when a killer is on the loose. Or when you happen to be staring a murderer in the eyes.”

  “Are you trying to scare the daylights out of me?”

  “No. I’m just discussing the facts. Whether you thought about it at the time or not, you spoke with Connor’s killer today. You just don’t know which of the suspects is the guilty party.”

  “When you put it that way, it makes me look at my afternoon in an entirely difficult light.”

  “Put yourself in the killer’s shoes. They murdered a man and went to great lengths to cover their tracks. A few days later, they breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that someone else was arrested for the crime. Then, just when it looked like they were going to get away with murder, a private investigator showed up at their door asking a whole bunch of personal questions. Wouldn’t that put you on edge?”