The Secret Ingredient to Murder, page 23
Adam made a note. “We should check with Joe Gray and Jennifer Martin. Maybe one of them has seen her.”
“Already done. I struck out with Jennifer, but Joe had seen her and Quincy together.”
“Guy’s better than a security camera,” Adam snickered.
“You’re right. Not only had he seen Veronica, but he knew about her past, including her troubles with the police before they moved here. He also said that when she was with Quincy, she was, and I quote, ‘all googoo-eyed’ over him.”
“It certainly sounds like she wants something more than just friendship from that relationship. But how does that help us?”
“On its own, it doesn’t. But when I talked to Isabelle, she said she’s concerned about Quincy’s relationship with Veronica. She’s noticed how he’s paying less attention to his duties at the store and seems more distracted lately.”
“Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? Isabelle’s not exactly one hundred percent in the cognition department.”
“Yes, but Isabelle has a medical condition that’s causing it. Quincy, on the other hand, has no real excuse other than being distracted by someone or something. If he is truly being manipulated by Veronica, it could explain the sudden change in his behavior. Maybe he’s denying his interest in her because that’s what she wants him to do.”
“So you’re seeing Veronica as some sort of puppetmaster? Seems like a stretch.” Adam scribbled some notes on the notepad. “Do you think I should add her to the list as a possible suspect?”
“I don’t know. Not yet. But if Quincy is interested in her romantically, it could mean he’s doing her bidding.” Rick slumped down a little in his chair and rested his chin on his knuckles. “We know how much Veronica seems to have hated Gideon Styles. So I wondered if maybe she’d convinced Quincy to kill him.”
“Great. Ripped from the headlines. Another boyfriend commits murder to impress his girlfriend. Maybe I should take a photo of him and add him to the wall.”
“You mean the murder board,” Rick smirked.
“I don’t think three or four photos classify as much of anything. Let’s just stick to calling it what it is—a wall.”
“Whatever you say. You’re the Chief of Police. Anyway, I had the same idea about Quincy when I talked to Veronica at the harbor. I figured before I got too carried away, I’d find out if he had an alibi. Turns out he does. According to Isabelle, he was working at the time of the murder.”
“Doing what?”
“Picking up supplies in San Ladron.”
“So he was an hour away. Makes it hard for him to be our killer.” Adam groaned.
“Right. And neither is Veronica because she was with me at the time someone shot Styles.”
Adam shook his head, planted his elbows on his desk, and huffed. “So what exactly was your point in all this? You came here to tell me that two people we didn’t consider suspects aren’t?”
“Not at all. I still think Veronica is involved. I just think we had the wrong accomplice.”
“Feeney,” Adam said. “The one person with the most to gain from Styles’s death.”
“Exactly. And if she’s the killer, that means she’s been lying to us this whole time.” Rick rubbed his temples. “The big question is, how do you get an accomplished liar to suddenly tell the truth?”
“By boxing her in with evidence. It’s our job to follow every lead, no matter how unlikely it may seem,” Adam parroted back the message Rick had drummed into him since their first case.
“Are you mocking me?” Rick snickered.
“Not at all. Well, maybe a little.”
Rick let out a frustrated huff. “I hear you. And you’re right, but it does feel like we’re going in circles sometimes.”
As the two men continued to discuss their findings, Rick felt like a dog chasing its tail. When Adam’s gaze went past him, he turned to see what had caught Adam’s attention. Isabelle Murdoch was talking to Deputy Kama. Isabelle had a piece of paper in her hand and was shaking it as she talked.
Deputy Kama stood and escorted Isabelle back to Adam’s desk. “Sorry to interrupt, Chief, but Mrs. Murdoch has something she wants you to see.”
“That’s right,” Isabelle said adamantly.
Rick’s eyes widened at how fired up Isabelle seemed. She was five-foot-two and heavyset, and Rick typically thought of her as the friendly grandmother type, but right now, she reminded him of a bulldog on guard as she practically shoved the paper into his face.
“Is everything okay, Isabelle?” Rick asked.
“After our conversation, I couldn’t let it go. You need to see this. It’s a receipt for the supplies Quincy picked up in San Ladron. This proves what I told you is true.”
“Isabelle, I didn’t doubt you.”
“It didn’t sound that way to me.” She jabbed a pudgy finger at the paper. “That’s Quincy’s alibi. It proves he was in San Ladron at the time of your murder.” She shook her head defiantly. “I thought it might be important for your investigation.”
Rick and Adam quickly scanned the document. “Thanks for bringing this in, Isabelle,” Rick said. “I apologize for upsetting you. But you really didn’t have to do that. Honestly, I believed what you told me.”
“Oh.” Isabelle’s expression softened, then she said, “Well, I didn’t want you having any doubts about Quincy. He might be naive, but he’s a good boy. It’s that girl who is the bad influence. She’s trouble, I tell you.”
“Thank you, Isabelle,” Adam said gratefully. This helps narrow down our suspect list. You can be assured that we’re looking into all possibilities here.” Adam gestured behind him at the wall. And, as you can see, Quincy’s not even on our murder board.”
Isabelle squinted at the wall for a minute, then said, “That’s a murder board? Chief, the mayor should give you a bigger budget.” Suddenly, she stopped and looked closer at the wall. “Who’s that man in the middle? Is that your victim?”
“Yes. Gideon Styles.”
“He looks familiar,” Isabelle said as she tapped her chin with her finger. “Hmmm…I’ll think of it. Well, I have to go.”
Isabelle said a polite goodbye and left. When she was gone, Rick felt a sense of relief. “I think this clinches it, Adam. Quincy and Veronica both have solid alibis. That only leaves us with one suspect.”
“I disagree,” Adam said. “I think maybe we have two. I haven’t ruled out Tyler Winkle.”
“I suppose you’re right. I guess I just don’t want it to be him. The guy’s been through so much.” Rick paused and pointed at Adam’s yellow notepad. “You were making notes when I walked in. Anything you care to share?”
“Like you, I think there’s something here that doesn’t make sense. We’re sure Feeney stole the recipe, but when you think about it, she stopped talking after she told us she conspired with Gideon to steal it. She never actually said she had it.”
Rick now understood where Adam was going with this. “So maybe she wasn’t the one who actually stole it? Is that where you think Tyler comes in?”
“What if he removed the recipe from the safe?”
“Why wouldn’t he have told us when we were there about the break-in?”
“It could be he wanted everyone to think it had been stolen. And now that he’s forgotten what he did, it really is lost.”
Rick considered Adam’s theory. It was no worse than the others they had. And maybe better. Other pieces fit with the scenario. “So Penny broke in to steal the recipe, realized it was gone, and trashed the house. Then, when she reported back to Styles, he blew up, they argued, and she killed him.”
“She confesses to the break-in and the theft of the recipe because the penalty’s a lot less than it is for murder.”
It was clear that there were still many unanswered questions surrounding the theft of the recipe and the murder of Gideon Styles. Rick and Adam continued to brainstorm, trying to piece together all the information they had gathered. At one point, Adam stopped, made a note, and tapped his pen on the pad of paper.
“I wish we’d have found Feeney right after the shooting. At least then we could have tested for gunshot residue.”
Rick rubbed his neck as he spoke absently. “That would have been nice. It would have made things pretty simple. It’s not necessarily too late now.”
Adam frowned as he looked at Rick. “Typically, the window’s only four to six hours. There have been cases where there’s been residue present up to five days after someone’s discharged a firearm, but that’s the rare exception. I’m sure you already know that, though.”
“True. But if it’s present, we know she’s our killer.”
“And if it’s not, it doesn’t prove a thing.”
Rick gave Adam a crooked smile. “Maybe she doesn’t know that.”
Adam’s green eyes reflected a mix of amusement and seriousness. “You’re right. I’ll bet she doesn’t. I’ll have Kama conduct the test.”
47
Rick
Standing outside the interrogation room watching Deputy Kama swab Penny Feeney’s hands, Rick whispered under his breath, “She’s never going to fall for this.”
Adam whispered back, “What was that?”
“Sorry. I didn’t realize I said that out loud. This is such a long shot. Maybe one in a million chances that it will work.”
Adam’s expression turned serious. “I know, but it’s the only shot we have without any solid evidence against her.”
“What if she’s not our killer?” Rick asked.
“Then who is? She’s the only one who makes sense. She had a motive—”
“We think.”
“What? Are you on her side now?”
“No,” Rick said and grimaced. “I’m just getting worried that we’ve missed something.”
“We’ve looked into everyone else involved, and they all have alibis or no motive.”
“I don’t know, Adam. I still think we’re missing something.”
Rick looked over his shoulder at the photos on the wall. He spoke faster as he realized that, indeed, they had missed an entirely different motive. “What if this murder had nothing to do with the stolen recipe? What if the burglary is unrelated to the murder?”
Adam gazed at the photos as Rick continued, his mind racing with the new possibility.
“We’ve been so focused on these guys as suspects that we haven’t even considered any other possibilities.”
Adam’s expression was thoughtful. “Could be. You’re suggesting we try looking at it through a different lens. You could be right. Maybe we’ve been focused on the wrong motive.”
“Exactly. Let’s get back in there and finish this interrogation. We’re not ruling out Penny just yet, but we’ll also start exploring other leads,” Rick said with determination.
They entered the interrogation room. So far, they’d been lucky because Penny hadn’t asked for an attorney. Both Rick and Adam were reluctant to push her too hard. If they did, she might decide to take the easy out, which was an option neither wanted to consider. As they sat, Rick watched Penny’s face. She was a tough one to crack, that’s for sure. But he sensed something in her eyes, some deep-down reluctance to tell the truth. Almost as if she were holding back to protect someone else.
“Look, Penny,” Rick began, his tone serious yet empathetic. “We know you were close with Gideon. We won’t have the results of the gunshot residue test until later today or tomorrow. The Chief and I don’t really think you killed Gideon, which leaves us with the question of who did. How many enemies did he have? Would they hate him enough to commit murder?”
Instead of avoiding his eye contact, Penny suddenly turned a laser-focused gaze on Rick. “That baker, for one,” she shot back. “There were plenty of others, but most wouldn’t know how to find him.”
Adam placed his hand on the yellow notepad and slid it across the table. “Let’s be more specific, Ms. Feeney. How many others? Why don’t you help your case and write down some names?”
The intensity in her voice that had been there before suddenly softened. She hesitantly took the pen and scribbled down a few names before sliding the notepad back across the table.
“I don’t know if any of them could have done it, but they all had grudges against Gideon for one reason or another.” She focused on the boxes stacked in the supply corner of the room for a few seconds, then shook her head. “I never thought anyone could hate him that much.”
The list consisted of four names, none of them familiar. Rick scanned the names again. They were common. It was the kind of list that could take them at least a week to weed through. On a hunch, Rick pushed the list back at Penny. “That’s not enough. We need to know how to contact these people. And what their connection is to Gideon.”
The crowsfeet around Penny’s eyes crinkled. She cocked her head to the right and twirled a lock of near-black hair around her finger. She inched closer to Rick and smiled. “What’s in it for me?”
“A chance to walk out the door free,” Rick replied cooly.
To his side, Rick could tell that Adam wasn’t comfortable with the answer, but Rick had a feeling he now understood Penny Feeney. He’d dealt with people like her before. The players. The manipulators. The confident liars. He fully expected her to spin a tale and let her words flow freely. Each sentence might be punctuated with a laugh, a knowing look, or a coy shrug. She’d weave in small anecdotes to ensure her listeners would be captivated by her story. She’d be so convincing that even if they knew she was lying, they’d want to believe her.
She held Rick’s gaze, her blue eyes locked onto his. He recognized the move. It was intended to make him feel seen, heard, and understood. What he hoped she didn’t realize was that he’d seen this game play out many times and knew how to deal with it.
“Hang on a second, Rick, I have an offer for Ms. Feeney,” Adam said.
“Okay,” Rick said tentatively. He supposed that if he could go off script, Adam could do the same. “What did you have in mind?”
“Ms. Feeney, I’m pretty sure this list of names is nothing more than a wild goose chase. So, before we let you start telling us a fairy tale about all these people and how your ex-boyfriend wronged them, here’s my offer. You stop playing games with us and tell us the truth about what happened on the day of Gideon Styles’s murder. In exchange, I don’t start digging into your past. You see, this is a small town PD, and we don’t have much to do other than hand out parking tickets to tourists. So if you don’t want me digging into your past and finding crimes other law enforcement agencies will want to question you about, I’d suggest you start being straight with us.”
Oh, man, was Adam laying it on thick, but Penny didn’t seem to know whether he was telling the truth or lying. Why not add a little more fuel to the fire? “The Chief is right, Penny. As you can see, I’ve got plenty of time to sneak away from the B&B to help out here. I’ve got a lot of contacts from my old newspaper days. For instance, there’s your ex’s claim that you stole a painting from him. We could contact the Pokerville PD and have them reopen the investigation.”
“That’s right,” Adam said confidently. “By the time we’re done, we’ll know every detail of every crime you were ever involved in.”
Penny’s smug facade faltered, her eyes darting between Rick and Adam. Rick admired Adam’s bluster. It might have been just what they needed. And bringing up Tom Reynolds showed that they had done some digging into her past. She had to be wondering how deep they’d be willing to dig. Either she could take the deal to avoid having them dredge up something incriminating in her past, or she could continue playing games and risk getting caught in even more lies.
“Sounds like a good offer to me,” Rick said, trying to keep his tone neutral. He didn’t want Penny to think he was on her side just yet.
Penny’s eyes narrowed, and she chewed at her bottom lip before finally speaking. “Fine. You want to know what happened that day. I’ll tell you if you give me immunity from the murder charge.”
“I thought you said you didn’t kill Styles. Why would you need immunity?” Adam’s voice grew in intensity.
“I didn’t kill him!” She buried her face in her hands and shook her head. “Gideon always thought he was so smart. I told you before. From the beginning, he never planned on paying for the recipe. He had me go to the house because that idiot baker told him he was keeping the recipe under lock and key in his bedroom. How stupid do you have to be to tell a guy like Gideon right where the safe is?”
Rick ignored the question and responded with one of his own. “You keep saying you were in the house to steal the recipe, but what about all the damage? That place looked like it had been hit by a hurricane.”
“It wasn’t me,” Penny said. “When I got there, the place was already ransacked.”
Adam responded by resting his elbows on the tabletop and focusing intently on Penny. “You’re saying someone else broke in before you?”
Penny’s eyes flitted around the room, and when they settled back on Adam, they were large and pleading. “I swear, I didn’t do it! I just wanted the recipe. That’s all.”
“Okay, let’s say we believe you,” Adam said, folding his arms across his chest. “If it wasn’t you, who broke in and vandalized the place?”
Penny’s eyes darted around the room. “I don’t know. I really don’t. That was the other thing about Gideon. He kept things compartmentalized.”
Rick leaned forward, his curiosity piqued. “You know this because he’s done it before?”
“Yes. He’d hire one person to do one thing and someone else to handle another. He figured if either one was ever caught, they couldn’t implicate anyone but themselves.”
“Unless they told the authorities who hired them.”
Penny smirked. “It would never happen. Gideon made sure everyone was loyal to him. He had dirt on everyone.”
Rick had learned a long time ago that if you dug deep enough, you could always find something in a person’s past. Sometimes you just needed an excavator. If what Penny was saying was true, it meant Gideon was one of those people who knew how to do the digging. “So you’re saying someone trashed the house before you got there, and you have no idea who it was. Sorry, Adam, but I don’t think that’s enough. She’s admitted to being in the house. I think you should charge her with breaking and entering, theft, and vandalism. Even without the murder, she could be facing a long prison stretch.”
