“Remind me to disable my app after we’re done,” Kerry said. She didn’t have any life-altering secrets, but she kept all of her secure banking links on her phone. With only the six-digit code to bypass, an experienced thief could drain her bank account and max out her credit cards before she even knew her phone was missing.

  Kerry swiped her finger across the screen until the phone app was open and the contact list filled the screen.

  Rachel’s contact list was filled with so many names and numbers, that it easily tripled the amount in Kerry’s phone.

  “I wouldn’t even know where to begin,” Kerry exclaimed.

  “When was the last time Rachel made a call from this phone?”

  “It looks like just over a week ago,” Kerry pressed the information symbol on the entry and a contact name and number opened on the screen. The lines on her face crumpled to the middle of her brow as she read the last few numbers on her phone.

  “What is it?”

  “Hope Ryan was the last person Rachel called.”

  Simon’s brows peaked over his eyes, “For someone who didn’t seem to know many people in Lake Pines, Hope knowing Rachel is quite a coincidence, don’t you think? What other calls did she make?”

  “She deleted most of her past calls,” Kerry closed the phone app and opened Rachel’s texts. “The last text she received was also from Hope.”

  “What did it say?”

  “Hope wanted to meet with her. She said she wanted to finish the issue with Marlow before she returned to Australia.”

  “That’s what she said?” Simon asked. “To finish the issue with Marlow?”

  Kerry nodded. “Rachel only began texting Hope just after Marlow died. Before that, she had been communicating with him directly.”

  Both Kerry and Simon thought of the image on the X-ray and wondered if the issue with Marlow was the baby Rachel was carrying.

  “It looks like Rachel first texted Hope right after Marlow died,” Kerry said. “One of the first messages was about Rachel wanting to explain everything between her and Marlow. She even claimed to have recorded proof of what they were doing.”

  “What did Hope say?”

  “She never responded.”

  “Well, at some point they connected, because if the last call was from Hope, then they definitely knew each other.”

  Kerry swiped the screen on Rachel’s phone and searched through the numerous apps she had downloaded, eventually finding an envelope symbol and the link to her email account. Kerry tapped the blue image and a restricted screen flashed on the phone.

  “Without access to her emails, there’s no way to know for sure what Rachel’s connection was to either Hope or Marlow,” Kerry tried several times but the email app required a separate password, and she regretted not checking that before Myra left her lab.

  “I don’t know anyone who has their email password protected on their phone,” Simon said. “That’s the one thing you can always get into easily.”

  It always surprised Simon what people had password protected and what they didn’t. He convinced most of his friends to remove their credit cards and saved bank account passwords from their phones. Knowing that a night of drinks and a friend looking to play a joke could lead to some random charges in the following days.

  Kerry opened the photo file and scrolled through the images, hoping to find some evidence of an affair between Rachel and Marlow, but only found pictures of lake scenery and wildlife taken over the last few months. Kerry almost missed a sub-file labeled ‘personal’ which was positioned near the bottom of the screen. A flurry of images of Rachel posing with groups of friends scattered across the screen. A bridal party, family dinners, and a high school reunion were all captured on Rachel’s phone.

  “Click that one,” Simon pointed to some pictures of the high school reunion.

  “These were taken almost a year ago,” Kerry read the banner that was stretched over the heads of the smiling friends in the pictures.

  Kerry magnified an image of a group of people sitting at a round table.

  “Is that who I think it is?” Kerry pointed to the man sitting next to Rachel with his arm draped over her shoulder. The flattened nose and the distinct scar on his lower lip were easy to recognize.

  Simon nodded, “That’s Ned Sutherland.”

  Ned Sutherland’s connection to the two dead women seemed more than just a coincidence. Especially since his relationship with Hope was acrimonious.

  “We need to find out how much Ned knew about his father and Rachel,” Kerry put the phone in her pocket. “But first we should go to Rachel’s house and see if we can find any evidence that might shed some light on this whole thing. Rachel and Marlow were doing something secretive and I have a feeling that it’s also the reason Hope was killed.”

  Chapter 24

  Rachel’s house was a small, charming brick home with a corner porch. It was well cared for, and the yard had been meticulously maintained before the winter snowfall. Imprinted raking lines ran diagonally across the front lawn, and small green sprouts were already poking through the garden that was nestled close against the brick. Warmed by the sun and protected against the stone, it was the ideal location for perennials.

  Envelopes had accumulated in the small black mailbox next to the door, and dried leaves and dirt were entombed by rolled-up faded newspapers that were piled in the corner. At least a week and a half’s worth of deliveries were waiting for Rachel’s return.

  Simon knocked on the door as a matter of procedure, although it was clear there were no other occupants at the house. The locksmith wiggled two thin metal prongs in the keyhole and stepped aside once the bolt was free from the frame. The alarm pad’s light blinked green and the first thing they saw was a ‘home sweet home’ message that was stenciled on the wall as they stepped through the door.

  Rachel’s absence from the home did little to extinguish the aroma of the scented candle that lingered in the kitchen. A small light glowed from under the exhaust fan and tinted the top of the white oven cooktop a pale yellow, and an unfinished bowl of chips sat on the edge of the table.

  Souvenir magnets held photos of friends, a shopping list, and a reminder for a follow-up doctor’s appointment that Rachel had already missed.

  A computer print-out of a hospital sonograph was positioned on the center of the fridge door, and Kerry looked away when Simon’s eyes ran over the image.

  “I’m going to check the living room for a laptop,” Kerry announced as she left the kitchen.

  Simon continued to search the kitchen drawers and then climbed the slim wood stairway to the second floor. Neither of them had found anything that could have pointed to a relationship with Marlow or why someone would have wanted to kill Rachel.

  Photos of Rachel with friends and family revealed two things. She was a happy person and loved to travel. Snapshots from various locations around the country, some with friends and others of Rachel alone, filled several frames on her tables, shelves, and walls. However, not one picture contained the image of Marlow or Hope. If Rachel knew them, it wasn’t evident by any of her pictures.

  They had both wanted to find a laptop or a video recording that would have had the information that Rachel referred to when she initially texted Hope, but they realized that they’d be leaving empty-handed.

  “If there was a laptop here before Rachel died, it’s gone now,” Simon ran his fingers through his hair and let out a sigh.

  “Maybe the neighbors remembered seeing something suspicious.”

  With nothing else to go on, Simon and Kerry canvased the people on Rachel’s street for information. They wanted to know the last time anyone saw Rachel, or if they remember hearing or seeing anything suspicious over the last few months.

  A spark of interest was ignited when they questioned Ruth Barnsby, the woman who lived across the street from Rachel. She was a stout woman in her seventies, with soft white curls cut close to her head. Her blue eyes still held the brightness of youth although the lines and curves that folded around them revealed years of focus. Once she began to speak, Simon was positive that she had crowned herself the unofficial neighborhood watch for the community. Although, he wasn’t completely sure any of Ruth Barnsby’s neighbors would have approved.

  Along with information on Joe Kravitz owning four dogs, one more than the local bylaw allowed, Ruth had information on her neighbors that proved she had an unhealthy attentiveness to those that lived on her street.

  Mr. Brown had been having an affair with the young blond neighbor two doors down and would usually visit her every Tuesday when Mrs. Brown was playing bridge. Keith Burrows curbed cars for a living, and she was sure he also sold drugs, although she never witnessed a transaction.

  Simon steered Ruth Barnsby back to his initial query, “I’m really just interested in anything that you may have seen at Rachel’s house.”

  Ruth wiped her hands on her pants and left two dirt streaks across the legs, “She used to socialize a lot, but once she found out she was pregnant that all settled down.”

  “She told you she was pregnant?”

  Ruth blushed, “Well, no, but I saw the change over the last few months.” Ruth patted her lower belly. “I had five myself, so I know the signs.”

  Simon thought back to the empty house and the pile of mail, “Do you know who the father is?”

  Ruth folded her arms across her chest, “I think there was a boyfriend, but I haven’t seen him in a long time.” Ruth rubbed her thumb and forefinger across the dimple on her chin, “Mostly it was just her friends who came around, except for one other man. He was an older man who came every now and again. But that was a while ago and I haven’t seen him since.”

  “You don’t happen to know what his name is, do you?”

  Ruth shook her head, more unimpressed with the fact she didn’t know who the man was as opposed to the idea that she couldn’t help Simon.

  Simon pulled up a photograph on his phone of Ned Sutherland and showed it to Ruth Barnsby.

  “No, that man is the same age as Rachel,” Ruth said in a chastising tone. “I said he was older.”

  The second picture Simon showed Ruth was of Marlow Sutherland and her eyes lit up, “That’s him!”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive,” Ruth beamed. “I remember him because he’d always wave to me before he climbed into his car.”

  Once Ruth had exhausted her stockpile of information, Simon and Kerry left Ruth to tend to her garden and they headed directly to Ned Sutherland’s house.

  Chloe was on the front lawn, her arms crossed and her brow crumpled. She was in deep contemplation as to where to place this year’s annuals when Kerry and Simon walked up behind her.

  “Ned’s not here right now,” Chloe’s tone wasn’t rude, however, was it welcoming either.

  “We wanted to ask him some questions about a woman named Rachel Daniels,” Simon showed Chloe a photograph taken from Rachel’s social media page.

  Chloe nodded, “Yeah, he knows Rachel.” Chloe’s eyes traveled from Simon to Kerry, wondering why they needed to speak with Ned about an old classmate. “They went to school together. What’s this about?”

  “Did Ned ever mention Rachel knowing Marlow?”

  Chloe folded her arms and shifted on her feet, “No, but he probably did. Marlow would have known a lot of Ned’s friends.”

  Simon explained that they found Rachel in the same crevice where Hope died. “We believe someone pushed her to her death a week or so before Hope was killed.”

  Chloe’s hand covered her mouth, and she shook her head, “And you think this has something to do with Marlow?” Chloe’s question hung in the air between them for an awkward amount of time, and she realized it could also be something worse. “Or do you think it has something to do with Ned?”

  “We just want to figure out what Rachel and Hope were doing in the days before they died. Hope had an argument with Ned before she died, and a neighbor saw Marlow at Rachel’s house before he died.”

  “That means nothing,” Chloe snapped in defense.

  “You’re right, but there is something suspicious relating to Marlow’s accounts.”

  “Like?” Chloe asked.

  “Did Ned ever mention any large payments that Marlow would have received while he was working in New Zealand?”

  “No, I told you before that Ned knew little about what Marlow was doing in New Zealand. That’s what led to a lot of their tension when he returned.”

  “I’m sorry to ask you this, but did Marlow ever forward any large payments to Ned over the last year?”

  Chloe dropped her arms to her side and her face reddened, “Follow me.”

  She pounded up the front steps and threw open the front door and walked directly into the living room and straight to an antique desk that was angled in the corner.

  An old lamp, framed pictures of their young son James, and a vase were creatively positioned in one corner of the desk. The polished mahogany illuminated the dark corner of the room, and intricate carvings decorated the legs and sides. If the desk wasn’t an expensive antique, it was at least an interesting piece of furniture.

  She reached across to the side of the desk and pressed the raised image that ran along the length of the leg, and a hidden drawer folded open on the side. She pulled out a file and inside were their private banking records and transactions over the last year.

  Chloe held out her arm and waved the beige folder in the air, “Here, see for yourself. Except for the two jobs I worked arranging flowers for weddings, the only deposits are from Ned’s firm. He’s incorporated, so he pays himself a regular salary and you can see it’s not much, but it’s enough to support our family.”

  Simon took the folder and scanned the entries, and he could easily see that Chloe and Ned hadn’t received a large payment from Marlow and they still held a sizeable mortgage on their home. But Kerry lost interest in the folder and was focusing on the side of the desk and the hidden drawer that still hung open. It was identical to the desk in Hope’s den, and it was large enough to hold a laptop.

  Chapter 25

  Kerry rolled down the window and inhaled a burst of fresh spring air. There was a warmth to the breeze in the air that she hadn’t felt since before the winter, and it seemed to come all at once. A cool stream of air filtered through the car vents, bringing relief to the warmth that built up behind the windshield. Buds that were tightly closed or non-existent days earlier were now slowly releasing their soft pink and bright white petals to the warmth of the sun. Bravely exposing themselves to the early days of spring.

  Lawns were changing color, and except for the keenest of homeowners who had already removed winter sand and salt, edges of grass were matted down with gravel where snowbanks were piled over the last six months. The strong browns and grays that colored the ground were slowly turning vibrant shades of emerald green, and whispers of color dotted the tree buds.

  Neither Kerry nor Simon noticed the car parked in front of Hope’s house when they pulled into the driveway. Kerry was more preoccupied with the growth that sprung to life on the branches over the last few days, quickly changing the shape of the trees and the mood of the town. Subtle changes in the green hues of the lawns signaled that spring was finally approaching. However, it was doing so slowly. Kids were oblivious to the slight chill in the shade as they ran through the neighborhood in pursuit of a game of tag on the first day in a while without a dark gray cloud shrouding their fun.

  Kerry wondered when the real estate agent’s sign would be placed on the front lawn of the house. It would seem now that the decision was up to Dale and Sybil Ryan and Kerry was certain that it wasn’t at the forefront of their minds.

  Warren Mills was embroiled in court with Ned Sutherland holding up the finalization of both estates. It would be up to the courts to decide which way the division of property would go, and Kerry didn’t envy the job that lay ahead for Warren.

  “I wonder what caused Marlow to change his Will just before he died?” Kerry asked as she pushed the door of the patrol car open and stepped onto the crushed gravel driveway.

  “Maybe Dale will have some insight once he reads the letter that Hope had delivered to him. Now that he’s the official executor of the estate, it’s going to be his decision how everything’s settled.”

  Simon’s hand was on the front door when he realized someone had pulled the police tape away from the frame. He lifted a finger to his pursed lips and Kerry fell silent. His grip remained on the handle and he turned it slowly and pushed the door open while he pulled out his weapon with the other.

  Kerry remained on the porch, glancing only slightly around the frame as Simon stepped inside the house. She saw the back of Simon’s shoulders as he rushed into the kitchen at the rear of the house, followed by the resounding noise of breaking glass. Protests and pleas laced with a panicked tone followed Simon’s yells.

  Kerry ran around the corner to see Ned Sutherland on his knees and his hands in the air. A shattered glass bowl and a collection of small stone sculptures lay scattered on the floor around him. Ned pressed his chin tightly against his chest and his arms shook nervously above his head.

  “Don’t shoot!”

  Simon slipped his gun into his holster and relaxed his shoulders, “Get up Ned.” Simon’s voice brimming with frustration. “I’m not going to shoot you.”

  Ned struggled to his feet and lowered his arms once he realized it was Simon and Kerry standing in front of him.

  “What are you doing here, Ned?” Simon asked. “You know we’re still investigating Hope’s murder? The police tape out front should have been your first clue that the house was off-limits.”

  Ned nodded his head and bit his lower lip, “I just wanted to get one thing, that’s all. I didn’t touch anything else. I swear.”

  All six eyes looked down at the shards of glass that glistened across the dark oak flooring. Stone sculptures lay amongst the sharp pieces of the bowl that moments ago held them safe. Kerry recognized the blue hue of the glass and realized it was the bowl that was displayed on the mantle. She couldn’t imagine that the contents were valuable enough to steal.

 

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