“Not much. I know people asked me questions, but I can’t really recall what they looked like or what they said to me,” Juliet replied.

  “Do you remember where they were standing?”

  Juliet took a look around. “Um, maybe one was over there and one was right here. Is that what you remember?”

  “Vaguely. I think my brain shut down when we found the body. Was anyone else around?”

  “Besides the three people who asked us questions?” Juliet ran her hand over her forehead. “I’m not sure.” She watched her friend as she moved around the spot. “Is there something you’re looking for?”

  “Yes,” Shelly said. “I feel like there’s a clue here, but what it is and where it is, I just don’t know.”

  23

  Shelly went to bed feeling helpless and hopeless and before trying to sleep, she read a few chapters of a mystery to take her mind off the case. Justice curled up next to her, purring loudly, and the sound slowly comforted and relaxed the young woman. After reading for an hour, Shelly turned off the lamp.

  Once in a deep dream state, she began to feel as if she were floating. Shelly was at the edge of the woods where the mountain trail led into the park. She felt the ground under her feet, but she was able to move around without seeming to take any steps.

  She looked to the spot on the lawn where Barrett’s body had been, but there was only grass and the walkway. A cloud passed overhead and darkened the area for a few moments, and then the photographs began to fall again. Fluttering down from the sky, the pictures covered the grass. Shelly bent to pick some up and saw that each one was of people in the park.

  A shadow moved behind the trees near where Barrett’s body had rested. It was Lauren who stepped out of the woods, and when she made eye contact with her sister, Shelly’s heart swelled with warmth.

  Lauren touched her abdomen, then moved her hand to the back of her head. She glanced behind her to the woods, and turned back to Shelly. Lauren repeated what she’d done … looking at the woods, and then back to her sister.

  She stared into Shelly’s eyes, shook her head, placed her hand on her heart, and slowly faded into the air.

  * * *

  Before going to work, Shelly called Jay and Juliet to report the dream, and when they asked for her interpretation of it, she had no answer. “I don’t know what it means.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Jay reassured her. “Something might come to you during the day or maybe Lauren will appear again to clarify your thoughts.”

  Shelly couldn’t stop thinking about the dream. All day while she baked, her thoughts kept returning to the images in the dream … the woods, the photos falling from the sky, the park, the place where Mr. Barrett died, her sister emerging from behind the trees, Lauren touching her abdomen and her head.

  Did someone surprise Mr. Barrett? Did someone hide in the woods waiting for him to pass? Is that why he didn’t seem to hear anyone overtaking him on the walkway? Was the attack premeditated? What are we missing?

  * * *

  “Mrs. Daniels contacted me two hours ago,” Jay said to Shelly as she drove the car to a town forty minutes away. “She said she would only speak with me. I asked if I could bring my assistant along and she reluctantly agreed.”

  “What could Mayor Daniel’s wife have to tell you?” Shelly watched the pine trees flash by as they traveled along the country road, anxiety filling her veins. “She wasn’t at home on the afternoon the mayor got killed.”

  “No, she wasn’t, but maybe she knows something that hasn’t come out yet. Maybe someone made threats against the mayor. Maybe she noticed someone in the crowd at the community meeting.”

  “She was there?” Shelly asked.

  “She sat in the front row on the right side of the auditorium.” Jay turned the car into the parking lot of a small diner. “Mrs. Daniels sure picked an out of the way place. The woman clearly wants anonymity.”

  Heading inside, Shelly said to Jay, “Well, we’re about to find out what she has to say.”

  Mrs. Emily Daniels sat in the back booth of the diner. She wore jeans, a blue shirt, and a light jacket. She had her shoulder-length hair pulled back in a loose bun and she wore black-framed glasses. She gestured to Jay when she noticed the police officer come in.

  “Thank you for meeting me,” Mrs. Daniels said after introductions were made. “I appreciate you coming all this way. My friend owns the diner. I prefer this to be a private conversation.”

  “I understand.” Jay nodded. “How can we help?”

  “I hope I can help you.” Mrs. Daniels reached into her handbag and removed a phone which she placed on the table. “I found this in my husband’s things. I didn’t know he had a second phone. I found some interesting text messages on it.” She picked up the phone, turned it on, and handed it to Jay. “Go ahead and read some of them.”

  Jay spent a couple of minutes scrolling through the text messages. “Your husband was involved in an affair?”

  “So it seems.” Mrs. Daniel’s face was drawn and serious. Despite her carefully applied makeup, she looked like she hadn’t slept in days. “I was devastated when my husband was murdered. Now I have some different emotions to deal with.”

  “Did you have any hints that Mayor Daniels was having an extra-marital affair?” Jay asked.

  “I had no idea. But now, after finding this, I look back at things and realize some clues were right in front of me and I ignored them. I guess I preferred to believe my husband was honest and faithful.” Mrs. Daniels’s put her face in her hands for several moments. “This whole thing is a nightmare. I can’t believe what’s happened. I can’t believe my husband was a cheater. I feel like my entire adult life has been a lie.”

  Shelly could almost feel the woman’s pain and mental anguish.

  Mrs. Daniels took a long drink from her coffee cup. “After I discovered the phone and what was on it, I was so embarrassed and ashamed that Clay cheated on me that I wasn’t going to report it to anyone. But then I got to thinking, maybe this woman knows something about Clay’s murder. Maybe he confided things to her that he didn’t share with me. Maybe she can be useful in helping to find the killer.”

  The woman forced a smile. “Not because I want justice for Clay. Oh, no, I’m not a martyr. I want justice for Wilson Barrett. He was a kind man and he didn’t deserve to die, and certainly not like he did.”

  “I appreciate your help,” Jay said. “You told me the other day that you knew Mr. Barrett professionally, that you met him at a charity event. Did you and your husband socialize with him?”

  “We didn’t. We did work with him on obtaining several mortgages. Wilson was wonderful to work with, so intelligent, so knowledgeable. We were very impressed with him.” Mrs. Daniels looked down at the phone on the table. “Can you use the information on the phone to identify the woman who communicated with Clay?”

  “That depends,” Jay said. “These kinds of phones are very useful to someone who wants to go incognito, to people who wish to conceal their identities. The phones can be purchased with cash so there’s no credit card trail available. If your husband’s contact used a similar type of phone, it will be very difficult to find out who she is.”

  “I see.” Mrs. Daniel’s took a deep breath. “That would be unfortunate.” She seemed to be debating with herself over something. “Well, maybe I can point you in the right direction.”

  “Ma’am?” Jay asked. “Do you know who this woman might be?”

  “It’s possible. As you can imagine, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this. I won’t say why I suspect it could be a particular person, but I will tell you who I think it might be, if you keep what I say in confidence. I could be wrong, and I don’t want the woman to know I suspected her and reported her to the police.”

  “I’ll keep it in confidence within the boundaries of law enforcement and will only share the information with the members who need to know,” Jay promised.

  When Mrs. Daniels looked to Shelly for affirmation, the young woman nodded her head. “I will as well.”

  “Okay then. My suspicion points to Tina Barrett. She owns an accounting firm in town.”

  Shelly’s eyes went wide and she exchanged a quick glance with Jay.

  “You must know her,” Mrs. Daniels said. “She’s Wilson Barrett’s ex-wife.”

  “We’ve met her, yes,” Jay said while keeping her facial expression even.

  “That’s who I think was having an affair with Clay. If I’m correct, then maybe Tina can prove herself useful in determining who the killer might be, and in doing so, redeem herself a little for what she did to me and my family.”

  * * *

  With Justice wedged in between them, Shelly and Juliet sat on the sofa with cups of tea. Jay had just left after bringing Juliet up to speed on the latest twist and discussing the many different aspects of the case.

  Before leaving the bungalow, Jay had said, “I’ll see about getting some cell tower pings on Mayor Daniels’s secret phone. Then I’ll approach Tina Barrett about her relationship with the mayor … something I’m not looking forward to.”

  “Tina’s a busy woman,” Juliet said to Shelly while patting the Calico. “Maybe she didn’t want to spend any more time on Mike Meeks since he was in trouble financially. Tina may have preferred someone more successful, like the mayor.”

  “I don’t know where she finds the time,” Shelly said. “And all the energy to keep things secret. You’d have to be careful of everything you said, making sure never to let anything slip out about who you were with and when. It seems like it would be exhausting.”

  “I agree,” Juliet said. “There’s another thing that’s exhausting. Since you had those dreams about photographs floating down from the sky, I’ve been combing social media looking for pictures taken at the park on the day Mr. Barrett was murdered.”

  Shelly shifted to face her friend. “You have?”

  “There’s a ton of stuff to go through. I saved some of the pictures I found that could be interesting. I brought my laptop over to show you some of the ones I’ve saved.”

  Shelly was eager to see the photographs. “Let’s look.”

  Juliet took her laptop from her big shoulder bag and turned it on. When she opened the folder of pictures, she turned the screen so Shelly could see. “These were taken by people who were in the park on the day of the murder. Some were taken right after we found Mr. Barrett’s body, and some were taken at other times during that day.”

  Shelly leaned closer to the screen and scanned the pictures. Some showed the body on the ground. “Someone posted pictures of the body? Why? It’s so intrusive.”

  “Some people have no sense of what’s appropriate,” Juliet sighed.

  Shelly continued to look at the photos. “Wow, you’ve spent a lot of time on this.”

  “I don’t have dreams so I had to think of some other way to be helpful.”

  “Wait,” Shelly said. “Go back.” Staring at the picture of a crowd of people watching the police secure and process the crime scene, she noticed someone familiar.

  “Look here.” She pointed. “This guy in the back. See him? It’s Donald Chapel, isn’t it?”

  Juliet took a close look. “You’re right. It is him, the security guard.”

  Shelly turned to her friend. “Donald claimed he wasn’t in the park that day. I specifically asked him about it. He lied to me.”

  24

  Thinking over why Donald Chapel would lie to her about being in the park the morning Wilson Barrett’s body was found got Shelly wondering who else might be lying to them. When she finished baking in the diner’s kitchen for the day, she rode her bike from the resort to the center of town and stopped into the popular sandwich shop. Shelly ordered a hummus and vegetable wrap and took a table by the window. While she ate, she watched two of the shop’s delivery people coming and going, and when she was finished eating, she approached the counter.

  “Is Lewis Montero working today?” she asked.

  The man behind the counter looked up at the clock. “Lewis will be here in about fifteen minutes.”

  Shelly waited at the table until the young man arrived for his shift. The man behind the counter pointed Shelly out and said a few words to the delivery driver.

  Lewis eyed her, and walked slowly over to the table.

  “I’m Shelly Taylor. Do you have a couple of minutes?”

  “For what?” About twenty-years-old, Lewis was tall and slender with light brown hair and dark eyes. He wore jeans, a t-shirt, and a jean jacket.

  “I just want to talk. I need to ask a few questions about something.”

  “You a cop?” Lewis looked at her warily.

  “No, why? Did you do something wrong?” Shelly asked.

  “No, I didn’t.” Lewis’s tone was cheeky.

  “I’ll be glad to pay you for your trouble.” Shelly put a small stack of twenty-dollar bills on the table.

  Lewis looked at the money, moved his eyes to Shelly, and sat down scooping up the bills from the tabletop. “Make it quick. I gotta clock in to my shift.”

  “A police officer talked to you recently about a delivery to T.B Accounting. It was in the evening. You delivered food to a woman who worked at the business. Do you remember?”

  “Do you mean do I remember making the delivery or remember talking to the cop?” Lewis sat back in his seat.

  “Either. Both.” Shelly watched the man’s face.

  “Yeah.”

  “To making the delivery or talking to the officer?”

  “Both.”

  “Can you describe the woman you delivered the food to?”

  “Dark reddish hair, thin, average height. She had on a suit. She talked fast. I gave her the bag, she gave me a tip, and I left.”

  “Did she say anything to you?” Shelly asked.

  “Thank you?” Lewis said. “We didn’t have a conversation. She wanted her food and I wanted to make another delivery.”

  “What did she order?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t remember. Who cares?”

  “What time was it when you made the delivery?”

  Lewis sighed. “I only know because that cop asked me the same question. It was a little before or a little after 7pm. Why’s everyone so interested in this woman’s eating habits?”

  “Because we’ve got nothing better to do,” Shelly said. “Are you sure you were there at 7pm? You know if you lied to that officer, you’d be in trouble, right?”

  Lewis leaned across the table. “I didn’t lie.”

  “Did you get the time right? Could you be wrong about the time?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “Did anyone ask you to tell people who asked about the time that you were there at 7pm?”

  “No.”

  “Were you there a little earlier maybe?”

  “What? Like five minutes?”

  “More like an hour earlier,” Shelly said.

  “No.”

  “You sure?”

  “I’m positive. Look I gotta go to work. Why are you asking this stuff anyway? I told the cop the same stuff.”

  Shelly folded her arms onto the tabletop. “Because lately, I don’t believe everything I’m told.”

  Lewis got up and went into the backroom, and in a few minutes, came out wearing a shirt with the sandwich shop logo on it, picked up some items packaged for delivery, and headed for the door. He nodded to Shelly as he walked past.

  From the window, she watched him get into his car, but before he drove away, Lewis put his phone to his ear and spoke into it, taking an occasional glance at the store while he talked.

  Shelly wondered who he might be speaking to.

  * * *

  Outside at the bicycle rack, Shelly unlocked her bike. Feeling annoyed about the exchange with the delivery driver, she wasn’t sure if he was lying to her or not and she wondered if the call he made when he got into his car had something to do with her and her questions.

  Someone called her name and when she looked up to see Donald Chapel coming towards her, her heart dropped.

  Donald gave her a friendly greeting.

  “What are you doing in town?” Shelly asked.

  “I went by the police station. Officer Smyth wasn’t there. I’m applying for a dispatcher position. I wanted to ask how things were going and when I’d find out if I got it.”

  “Oh, that’s good.” Shelly could feel her blood begin to boil because Donald lied to her about not being in the park after Barrett was killed.

  “What are you doing in town?” Donald asked her.

  “I live pretty close. I stopped for a sandwich.”

  “It’s a good place. Their sandwiches are great. Listen, could you put in a good word for me about the dispatcher’s job? I mean if you have the time, and you wouldn’t mind.”

  Shelly blew out a breath. “I don’t know if I can do that.”

  Donald looked like he’d been slapped.

  Shelly stared into the young man’s eyes. “Why did you lie to me about being in the park on the morning Mr. Barrett’s body was found?”

  Donald paled. “What? What do you mean?”

  “You told me you weren’t there.”

  “Why are you asking me about this?” Donald stammered.

  “Because, I saw pictures from that morning. You are in one of them.”

  “Me? What picture? Who took the picture?”

  “Look, Donald. You told me you weren’t there, but clearly you were. I don’t like being lied to. Why did you do it?”

  “I….”

  “So you were there?”

  “I … I don’t remember. Maybe I was. I’d have to think about it.”

  Shelly rolled her eyes and climbed onto the bicycle. “Forget it.” She left Donald on the sidewalk blinking after her.

 

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