Mattress Mart Murder (8 page)

Chapter Nineteen

Just as Chloe’s patience for belligerent suspects was growing dangerously thin, it was time to pay Lucy Lemke a house call.  When Chloe turned onto Lucy’s street however, she realized Lucy had company.  Lucy was in the front yard of her clapboard cape, standing in the driveway with her boyfriend Stewart Diamond. 

Chloe wished she could get closer to hear what was being said, but that would blow her cover.  Instead, Chloe held back and remained in her car, parked on the sidewalk a little ways down the street from Lucy’s house. 

As much as Chloe wished she could eavesdrop on the conversation, Lucy and Stewart’s body language said plenty.  It was quite eyebrow-raising.  The day before, it looked like Marty Diamond’s threat to take away Stewart’s inheritance had the couple of the brink of breaking up.  But now, just sixteen hours after his father had been murdered, Stewart looked as happy as could be. 

Lucy and Stewart were being lovey with each other, kissing like crazy, neither wanting to let the other out of their arms.  They looked as happy as could be.  That raised a whole slew of red flags in Chloe’s mind.

Chloe knew they had to let go sometime, which would bring up a crucial decision for her.  She could only confront one of them now.  The problem was, the moment Chloe was done interrogating the first suspect, they would no doubt call their significant other to warn them about Chloe.  That meant Chloe needed help. 

***

Chloe called Kristina immediately. 

“How are things going?” Kristina asked, picking up the phone. 

“I need an emergency favor,” Chloe replied. 

“What is it?”

“Drop everything and get over here to Maple Street.  I need you to follow Stewart Diamond while I confront Lucy Lemke.”

“I’m on my way now.”

Luckily, Kristina only lived a few blocks away.  Even more, after pulling back from a kiss, Lucy and Stewart seemed to get into a whole new mini conversation.  What a stroke of luck.  This gave Kristina enough time to drive over to Maple Street. 

***

A few minutes later, Stewart finally gave Lucy a kiss goodbye before getting into his car.  Thankfully, Kristina’s car had just pulled onto Maple Street.  This gave Kristina the ability to follow Stewart while Chloe set her sights on Lucy. 

Stewart’s girlfriend was so focused on watching Stewart’s car drive away to her left that she didn’t even notice Chloe approaching on her right.  It was the perfect distraction for Chloe to use to get a leg up on her.  It also helped that Lucy was in a love daze.  This all played into Chloe’s hand. 

“Lucy, just the woman I want to talk to,” Chloe said. 

Lucy snapped out of her daze in a hurry.  The moment she saw Chloe, she took a few steps back. 

“What are you doing here?” Lucy asked. 

With Lucy already on the defensive, Chloe didn’t have time to ease her way into things.  She had to get straight to the point. 

“I’m trying to find out the truth about Marty Diamond’s murder.”

“Then you’ve come to the wrong place.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Chloe insisted. 

“You’ll be the judge of nothing.  You sell cosmetics,” Lucy snapped. 

“First of all, never underestimate a saleswoman.  Second, stop trying to deflect.”

“What am I deflecting from?”

“From the fact that you gained the most from Marty’s dead.  Judging by what I just saw, you’re reveling in the fact that you get to be with Stewart without his father’s interference, while also getting access to a chunk of Stewart’s inheritance,” Chloe explained. 

“You’re unbelievable.  Now get off my lawn, you’re trespassing.”

“We’re not done yet.”

“Yeah we are.”

“Not with that flimsy motive of yours.”  Chloe scoffed.

“You’re pretty confident for someone who is dead wrong.  I was at a movie.  I told the police as much.  And if it was good enough for them, it should be good enough for you too--”

“But it wasn’t good enough for the police,” Chloe argued. 

“I’ve said all I’m going to say about that.” Lucy then bolted towards her front door.  “Now I’m warning you for the last time, get off my lawn.”

“You know this only makes you look guiltier,” Chloe insisted. 

Lucy just ignored Chloe and went back inside her house, slamming the door behind her. 

Chapter Twenty

Chloe didn’t have much time to linger on another door being slammed in her face.  She knew the first thing Lucy would do would be to call Stewart to warn her about Chloe. 

Knowing that, Chloe rushed back to her car and called Kristina for a status update. 

“Where is he?” Chloe asked. 

“In line at The Salty Sea Dog,” Kristina replied. 

The Salty Sea Dog Restaurant was a local favorite.  They had amazing lobster rolls, crab cakes, and clam chowder.  They also had fish and chips that were to die for.  Because of their great food, the restaurant was always jammed.  Even the line to order carry out food was fierce.  The long wait was bad for Stewart Diamond, but perfect for Chloe.  She made her way over to the restaurant, then spotted Stewart at the pickup window as she pulled into the parking lot. 

Chloe approached Stewart and immediately went to work.  She sneaked up behind Stewart as he grabbed his carryout food. 

“Don’t you just look as happy as a clam?” Chloe asked.

When Stewart turned around and saw Chloe, he immediately recognized her from the lineup, and had zero interest in making small talk.  He snapped at her. 

“Oh no you don’t,” Stewart replied. 

“What?  It’s hard to resist the lure of fish and chips from The Salty Sea Dog.”

Stewart stared her down, then shook his head. 

“Lucy warned me about you.  Don’t even start with me,” Stewart warned. 

“There’s no fooling you, is there?”

“Don’t even try.”

“Fine.  I’ll just get right down to it then.  Looking at you, it’s almost hard to believe that your father was murdered just last night and that you’re a suspect,” Chloe said.

Stewart blew his lid.  “I told you not to start with me.  I ought to--”

“You ought to what?  There’s twenty-five people in that line.  Are you really stupid enough to make a violent scene in front of all these people when you’re a murder suspect?”

“You know what?  I’m out of here.”  Stewart then turned to move back to his car.

Chloe tried to provoke him.  “Headed back to the love nest?  Things seemed to have worked out pretty good for you and Lucy.  With your father dead, you get to keep both your girlfriend and your inheritance.”

“I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work.” 

Stewart then kept walking back to his car. 

Chloe followed him. 

“I’m just pointing out that your life is much better now with your father dead.  So I’m wondering, am I supposed to believe it’s a coincidence that someone killed him, when really it’s much more likely you did it yourself?  I mean, you told the police you were just out taking a drive last night.  It’s not really a stretch to believe you stopped by the mattress mart and killed your father,” Chloe said. 

Up until that point, Stewart had done a relatively good job of keeping his emotions from getting the best of him.  With that statement, all bets were off.  He lost control and got a crazed look of rage in his eyes. 

Chloe would definitely get to test how much she learned in her self-defense classes.  As Stewart made a move to tackle her, she moved out of the way, grabbed his arm, and used his momentum against him, flipping him to the ground. 

The moment Stewart’s body hit the ground with a big thud, the crowd of customers turned his way.  Kristina Miller especially looked on in horror. 

Chloe meanwhile kept badgering Stewart. 

“If you’re trying to look innocent, you’re doing a horrible job of it,” Chloe said. 

Stewart looked around and saw that all eyes were on him.  His face went white.  He got back up to his feet and ran away like a scared little kid, even forgetting to grab his food. 

While Stewart darted off to his car and fled the scene, Kristina approached Chloe. 

“That was insane,” Kristina said. 

“I know.  I mean, it’s like he was trying to go out of his way to look as guilty as possible,” Chloe replied.

“I meant it was crazy how you flipped him like that.  It was incredible.  I didn’t know you had those kinds of crazy moves.”

“Honestly, neither did I.”

“Are you alright?”

“I’m not injured, it’s that’s what you mean,” Chloe said. 

“You should sit down.  I’ll get you some food.  I have a feeling we have a lot to talk about,” Kristina replied.

“Don’t get me wrong, the fish and chips here are killer, but I have one more suspect left to question.”

“Who?”

“Jason Diamond.”

Kristina grimaced.  “I feel bad that you’re going through all this because of me.”

“Hey, friends take care of each other.”

Kristina reached into her purse.  “Friends don’t let friends comfort ex-convicts without mace either.”

Kristina then handed Chloe a can of mace from her purse. 

Chloe looked surprised.  “Do you have any other surprises in that purse I don’t know about?”

“No.  It turns out you’re the one who is full of surprises today.”

“Let’s hope I have a few more surprises up my sleeve.”

Kristina smiled.  “Are you sure you don’t want to take a few minutes to relax before you confront an ex-convict?” 

“Actually, I think the adrenaline might do me good.”

“Alright.  Well, be careful.”

“Don’t worry.  I can take care of myself,” Chloe said. 

Chapter Twenty-One

Chloe saved Jason Diamond for last.  Their previous encounter hadn’t exactly ended well.  He proved to be just as much of a wild card as Chloe predicted.  Chloe hoped for better results this time.  With Chloe confronting Jason at his apartment, it would be much harder for him to run.  Her bigger concern was the fact that she was going to the apartment of an ex-convict. 

Chloe approached Jason’s door with caution and prayed for the best.  She knocked on the door and took a deep breath.  Half a minute later, Jason opened the door. 

“Surprised to see me?” Chloe asked. 

“That’s not the word I’d go with,” Jason replied. 

“Do I want to know what word you’d go with?” she wondered. 

“I’m impressed,” he said. 

“Wow.  What a surprise.”

“You know, I’ve had my eye on you,” Jason said. 

“I meant it was a surprise because I thought you would have closed the door in my face by now.”  Chloe had been so focused on her own thoughts that Jason’s statement didn’t sink in until right then.  “Wait a minute.  What do you mean you’ve had your eye on me?”

Jason’s answer was the last thing she ever expected.  “We both want the same thing.”

Chloe shook her head.  “I highly doubt that.”

“It’s true.  We both want to find Marty Diamond’s killer.”

“You say that, yet I saw you running away from the crime scene this morning.”

“You went to that crime scene for the same reason I did,” Jason insisted. 

“That would be a lot easier to believe if you didn’t hightail it from the scene the minute you saw me.”

“I know what it looks like.”

“That you were trying to remove evidence pointing to your guilt before someone else found it.”

Jason was vehement in his denial.  “That’s not what happened.”

“Fine.  You were trying to remove evidence, but the police found it first,” Chloe said. 

Jason shook his head.  “I was trying to find evidence that would lead me to the real killer.”

“Did you find any?”

“No.”

“I wonder why,” she joked. 

“Look, this isn’t what it looks like.”

“Oh really?  You have a killer motive, a shaky alibi, and you returned to the scene of the crime before mysteriously running away.”

“The problem is, a key part of your theory is wrong,” Jason pointed out. 

“What are you talking about?” Chloe asked. 

“I had no reason to want Marty dead.”

Chloe scoffed.  “Are you kidding?  You had the most killer of motives.  Marty was the one to put you in jail after you broke into his house, all strung out.  The man ruined your life.”

Jason shook his head.  “No.  He saved it.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?”

“Only if you care about the truth.”

“Except, your explanation doesn’t make the slightest bit of sense.”

“That’s because you’ve never been an addict staring down rock bottom.  Before I got sent to jail, I was a complete grease fire.  A loose cannon.  It was only a matter of time before my misdeeds caught up with me.  As it was, I was such a junkie that I thought breaking into my uncle’s house was a good idea.  Things change when you’re in jail,” Jason explained.  

“I’ll bet,” Chloe said. 

“You have a lot of time to think about what you’ve done, where your life is headed, or if it’s headed anywhere.  I knew once my sentence was up that I never wanted to go back to jail.  So I kicked the drugs and cleaned up my act.  When I got out of jail, Marty was gracious enough to give me a second chance, not to mention a job at the mattress mart.  I owe him everything.”

“That’s an interesting story.  It’s also a hard one to believe.”

“I knew it would be.  Just as I know being an ex-con would put me at the top of the suspect list.  If I find the killer however, I can exonerate myself and make sure that justice is done.”

Chloe remained critical, but played along for the moment.

“So, have you found the killer?” Chloe asked. 

“No.  Have you?” Jason replied. 

“I’m still yet to be convinced that I’m not looking at him right now.”

“I’ve told you the truth.  If you don’t want to believe it, that’s your problem.”

“Last time I checked, you’re the one with the problem.”

With that, he became fed up with her. 

“We’re done here,” Jason said. 

He then slammed the door in Chloe’s face. 

That was becoming a disturbing trend.  One she couldn’t wait to bring to an end.  Unfortunately, nothing today was going as she planned it.