They had not discovered any evidence of foul play on either of those items.

  But what if the couch was holding a secret?

  I decided to lift up the couch cushions. It was amazing what dropped between cushions sometimes.

  Unfortunately, after a thorough search, I was unable to find anything interesting in the couch.

  I wasn’t about to give up, though. I got down on my knees and looked under the couch.

  Perhaps something had dropped on the floor.

  While it was a good theory, it proved to be a false one.

  I didn’t find anything in the carpet.

  “Wow, you’re really being thorough,” Veronica said.

  “Yeah. I just wish it was paying off,” I said.

  “It will. Just give it time.”

  Once I got up from the ground, I headed into Alicia’s kitchen.

  I had to admit, it was pretty strange to be performing an investigation with my client following me around everywhere. I was used to having my space.

  That said, I didn’t have the heart to tell Veronica to wait outside. She had been through so much already. She was obviously incredibly interested in what was going on. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

  Besides, right then, having an audience wasn’t my biggest problem. Not by a longshot.

  Every room that I went into seemed to lead to a new dead end. Before I knew it, I had gone through Alicia’s entire apartment with nothing to show for my efforts.

  At that point, I really wanted a moment of quiet.

  Veronica had other ideas.

  “So, did you really not find anything useful in this apartment?” Veronica asked.

  I shook my head.

  “I can’t believe it,” Veronica said.

  “Don’t lose hope. There’s still a chance that there might be something interesting on your daughter’s laptop. Or her phone. Do you mind if I take them with me?”

  “Why don’t you go through them right now?”

  “Honestly, it’s going to take me a while to pour over that much information.”

  “True.”

  “So, can I take them?”

  “Of course.”

  “Thanks. Who knows? Maybe we’ll get lucky.”

  She crossed her fingers. “I sure hope so. We need to figure this out.”

  “Remember, this was just my first stop. I still have a lot of work to do before I come to any conclusions.”

  “It’s good to know that you have more options.”

  “In the meantime, keep your chin up. I know you’re new to this, but investigations can take some time. You need to be patient.”

  “That’s easier said than done.”

  “I didn’t say it was going to be easy. It’s just necessary.”

  Veronica took a deep breath.

  “Don’t worry. If I find anything, I will definitely let you know.”

  Chapter Four

  Before leaving Alicia’s apartment complex, I decided to talk to her neighbor. At least, I was going to attempt to. The man who lived next to her didn’t seem very eager to answer his door.

  It took multiple sets of knocks before I got any response. For a moment, I started to believe that no one was home. Then I heard a nerdy voice sheepishly reply from inside the apartment.

  “Who is it?” the voice asked.

  “My name is Melody Clue. I was friends with your neighbor,” I said.

  The door remained closed.

  “What do you want?” the voice replied.

  “Can you please open the door? It’s really awkward trying to have a conversation this way.”

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

  “I would just like to have a brief conversation with you about Alicia.”

  I waited for the neighbor to respond, but he didn’t say a word. Instead, I just stood in the hallway as an awkward silence hung in the air.

  After a few seconds, I spoke up.

  “Can you please just open the door? It’s really important,” I said.

  Once again, the neighbor did not respond to me.

  I let out a sigh and almost gave up. As I began to walk away, I heard the neighbor’s door open.

  I turned around and saw a scrawny guy with glasses staring at me.

  “What’s so important?” the guy said.

  “Thanks for talking to me. I really appreciate it,” I said. “What’s your name?”

  “Mike,” he said.

  “It’s nice to meet you. I just wish the circumstances were better.”

  “I’m really sorry about what happened to Alicia. She was a nice woman.”

  “She certainly was. She will be missed dearly.”

  “I’ll bet,” Mike replied. “Anyway, I don’t mean to rush this conversation, but what’s so important that you wanted to talk to me about?”

  “I want to ask you a few questions about the night that Alicia died.”

  He winced. “Really?”

  I nodded.

  “Why would you want to talk about that? It’s such a disturbing topic.”

  “I realize that. And if it wasn’t absolutely necessary, I would never bring up this topic again.”

  “What’s so necessary about it?”

  “There’s a chance that Alicia didn’t kill herself.”

  Mike’s eyebrows rose. “Are you serious?”

  “Right now, it’s just a theory. That’s why I want to get as much information as I can.”

  Mike squinted. “I’m confused. What do I have to do with any of this?”

  “As her neighbor, your insight might actually be crucial.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “To start, were you at home the night that she died?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Did you hear any strange noises that evening?”

  “What do you mean by strange?”

  “Did you hear any arguing coming from Alicia’s apartment?”

  “No.”

  “How about any sort of yelling in the hallway?”

  He shook his head.

  “What about suspicious activity coming from outside? Did you notice anything that stood out?”

  “Not at all.”

  “Okay. Forget about noises now. Did you see any suspicious activity in this apartment building that night? Someone odd coming or going down the hallway?”

  “I hate to keep answering no, but I didn’t see or hear anything unusual that night. Then again, I wasn’t exactly on the lookout for anything.”

  “I understand. I just figured that I would ask.”

  “Sorry I can’t help you more. I wish you luck with your theory, though.”

  I held my hand up. “One more thing before you go.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Did you talk to Alicia on the day that she died?”

  “No.”

  “Did you run into her in the hallway or anything?”

  He shook his head.

  I let out a groan.

  “Why?” Mike asked.

  “I was just curious what her mood was,” I said.

  “I imagine she was probably feeling really down and depressed. That’s usually how people are right before they kill themselves.”

  “Except that I told you, I’m not convinced that she took her own life.”

  “What makes you so sure that she didn’t commit suicide?”

  “Let me ask you something. How well did you know Alicia?”

  “We were pretty friendly, as far as neighbors go. But we weren’t close or anything.”

  “Things were different for Alicia and I. We were good friends. I have known her for decades. I just refuse to believe that she would do something so terrible.”

  “I know it’s a hard thing to come to grips with, but sometimes when a person is really depressed, they find a way to conceal the truth. Even from the people they care about the most.”

  “I’ve heard that before.”

  “Maybe there’s some truth to it.”

  “Perhaps. Or maybe something else happened.”

  “I definitely wish you luck,” Mike said. “Take care.”

  Chapter Five

  If I continued to operate under the assumption that some sort of foul play was involved in Alicia’s death, her ex-boyfriend, John McAvoy, would be at the top of the suspect list.

  Significant others, or jaded former boyfriends, were always suspicious. Especially when the relationship had ended fairly recently.

  That was definitely the case with Alicia and John. Alicia had broken up with John a week before her death. The question became, just how poorly had John taken the breakup?

  I was about to find out.

  As I approached the front door to John’s beige ranch-style home, I knew this conversation would be incredibly awkward. How could it not? I would be asking him some very off-putting questions. That was difficult enough to do with a stranger. John wasn’t just some random guy off the street. I knew him. I had hung out with him and Alicia a number of times before. I wouldn’t say we were close friends, but we definitely weren’t complete strangers either.

  The other thing that I wasn’t looking forward to was the fact that I would have to tread really carefully. I couldn’t just come right out and be direct. Even though that was my preferred method of questioning, it would only blow up in my face.

  With all of that in mind, I knocked on John’s front door.

  The round-faced thirty-nine-year-old answered his door after the first set of knocks.

  His brown eyes widened as he looked at me.

  “Melody. What are you doing here?” he asked.

  “Can I come in?” I replied.

  “Uh, sure. What is this about?”

  “I just can’t get Alicia off of my mind.”

  “Yeah. It’s terrible what happened to her.”

  “I couldn’t agree more. Mostly because it didn’t have to be this way. It shouldn’t have ended like that.”

  “I completely agree.”

  “I don’t know about you, but I just can’t make sense of it.”

  “I’ve actually been trying not to think about it.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it just hurts too much.”

  “I’m with you. Although, I feel like piecing together what happened is really important. If I can figure out what went wrong, maybe then it will make a little more sense.”

  “Good luck with that.”

  “Actually, that’s where you come in.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Until the moment you broke up, you were probably closer to her than anyone else in her life.”

  “Yeah. So?”

  “Did she seem suicidal to you?”

  “No.”

  “I’m not just talking about before the break up. I’m talking about after you two called it quits as well.”

  “You’ll have to ask someone else that last question.”

  I threw out my arms. “Why?”

  “When Alicia broke up with me, we stopped speaking.”

  “Wait. Are you saying that you didn’t talk to her at all in the days leading up to her death?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

  “You didn’t happen to run into her the day she died then?”

  “No.”

  “Where were you the night she died?”

  “Why are you asking me that?”

  “I’m just curious.”

  “If you must know, I was at the bar with some friends.”

  “Is that so?”

  “Yes. See for yourself.” John grabbed his phone and loaded a photo.

  There was a time stamp on the photo that caught my interest. According to the stamp, John definitely was at the bar with his friends around the time that Alicia died.

  If this was an official murder investigation, that photo would give John a rock-solid alibi. A police detective would have no choice but to cross John off of their suspect list.

  Since this was an independent investigation, I had even less leeway. There was no point in pressing John any further.

  John lost his temper. “Are you happy now?”

  I tried to calm him down. “You don’t have to yell at me.”

  “Sorry. This entire situation has me completely rattled. I’m not taking this very well at all.”

  “I understand. It has been incredibly tough for me as well.”

  “I just can’t figure out why you asked me that question about my location on the night of Alicia’s death.”

  “Like I said before, I’m just trying to piece together what happened to Alicia.”

  “Look. I know that you like solving mysteries, but this one has already been solved. She killed herself.”

  “Let’s say you’re right,” I replied. “That still leaves one mystery to solve.”

  “Which is?”

  “Why did she take her life?”

  He shrugged. “I have no clue.”

  “Don’t you have any idea?”

  “Maybe she wasn’t taking the breakup well. Or maybe it was work stuff. Perhaps it was a combination of everything. All it takes is one really bad night to send you into a deep spiral.”

  “Are you speaking from experience?”

  “Kind of.” He lowered his head.

  “John, is there something you want to tell me?”

  He shook his head. “No. I’d actually rather never discuss this topic.”

  “Okay. Fair enough.”

  I turned around to walk away.

  He spoke up. “Let’s just say that I know what it’s like to hit a low point. To question the meaning of my life.”

  “I’m sorry about that.”

  “Hey, I’m still here. I decided not to act on my depression, but I definitely know how miserable things can get.”

  “Well, I’m glad you decided not to do anything drastic.”

  “So am I. Even though my life is pretty terrible right now, things could get better in the future.”

  “I hope they do.”

  Chapter Six

  That conversation sure went differently than I thought it would. Not just because John had an alibi for the time of Alicia’s death. He also brought up the fact that emotions could spiral out of control in a hurry. In the end, it only took one truly awful moment to make a decision that would change things forever. Had Alicia done that?

  I wasn’t ready to give up on my investigation quite yet. There were still more people to talk to. Even though John was convinced that Alicia had killed herself, it didn’t make it true. What if someone at Alicia’s workplace had a different perspective? Or, other details to share?

  I headed over to the newspaper company where Alicia had worked. She had been an investigative reporter at the paper for over a decade. During that time, she’d uncovered a number of different scandals.

  As I entered the building, I asked the receptionist if I could speak with Alicia’s boss. A few minutes later, I was brought to Eric Mulvaney’s office. Eric was an editor at the paper. He was also a very busy man.

  From the moment that I sat down in his office, I knew that I had a limited amount of time to work with. I wasn’t about to waste a moment. I tried to get as much information from him as possible.

  Much to my surprise, he was very forthcoming with me. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any earth-shaking revelations to share with me. Certainly none that would confirm the theory that Alicia had been murdered.

  All told, Eric was only able to give me five minutes of his time. After that, he had to get back to work. Once I left Eric’s office, one of Eric’s assistants brought me over to Alicia’s desk. All of her stuff had been packed up and placed into two boxes.

  Apparently, the newspaper had put everything aside for Alicia’s mother to pick up. Veronica Templeton had just not stopped by the office yet. I volunteered to bring the boxes to Veronica’s house. Not just as a kind gesture. But also because it would allow me to go through the boxes and see if anything stood out.

  Before I grabbed the boxes and brought them out to my car, I spotted a thin man sitting at an adjacent desk. The man was pretending to type at his computer, but I could see him looking at me out of the corner of his eyes.

  I decided to walk over to him.

  “Hi there,” I said.

  “Hey,” he replied.

  I outstretched my hand. “My name is Melody Clue.”

  “I’m Luke Lafferty.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “What were you doing at Alicia’s desk?”

  “I’m here to pick up her belongings. Her mother wasn’t feeling up to it.”

  “That’s understandable. I’m sure she’s dealing with a lot.”

  “She certainly is. My heart really goes out to her.”

  “She has my sympathy.”

  “I’m afraid she needs a lot more than sympathy right now.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re a reporter, right?”

  He nodded.

  “Have you heard the rumor about Alicia’s death?”

  He shook his head.

  “There’s a chance that she didn’t kill herself.”

  “Then how did she die?”

  “I’m looking into the possibility that she was murdered.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Pretty wild, huh?”

  “Is that just a rumor? Or is there any truth to it?”

  “I was hoping that you could help me with that.”

  Luke’s eyes widened. “Me?”

  I nodded.

  “I don’t understand—”

  “You saw her every day. Was she having problems with anyone in the office?”

  “Not to my knowledge.”

  “How about with one of her investigative pieces? She has exposed some serious scandals in the past.”

  “Yes, in the past. There haven’t been any big bombshells recently.”

  “You know how people are. They can hold grudges.”

  “Sometimes. Although, that doesn’t seem terribly likely.”

  “Do you know what stories she was working on at the time of her death?”

  “No.”

  “Really?”

  “She liked to keep her work to herself. At least, until she had a story nearly completed.”

  I looked back at the box that contained Alicia’s belongings. “Maybe she left behind some notes.”