Shaded Light: The Case of the Tactless Trophy Wife: A Paul Manziuk and Jacquie Ryan Mystery (The Manziuk and Ryan Mysteries Book 1) (39 page)

He stood and she followed him into the house and up the stairs. They met Nick on his way down with a bundle of clothes.

“Where are you going?” Nick asked.

“She wants Lorry,” Kendall replied. “Don’t ask me why. I suppose they think she did it.”

His voice sounding annoyed, Nick said, “That isn’t funny.”

Kendall turned to look at the policewoman behind him. “What’s with him?”

“Maybe he doesn’t like jokes about murder.”

Ryan accepted the clothes and put them into two bags she’d picked up from one of Ford’s men. “Shoes, too,” she ordered.

“Sorry.” Nick turned to go back upstairs. The others followed. After getting and bagging the shoes, Ryan had Kendall take her to Lorry’s room.

“I wish I knew what’s going on,” he complained before rapping on the bedroom door.

“Thanks for coming back to talk, Miss Preston,” Manziuk said in a fatherly voice. “I know this must be difficult for you.”

“I’m okay. It’s been hard on everyone, but especially Mr. Martin and Mrs. Winston.”

“Yes. Just a couple of questions. What was Nick Donovan wearing yesterday afternoon when you went for the walk with him and Kendall?”

She looked at him as if she thought he’d lost his mind. “What was he wearing?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not sure. Does it matter?” When he nodded, she said, “We saw him coming from the rose garden. Oh, yes. He had on white shorts and a red knit shirt. And sandals, I think. And he had on sunglasses.”

“Would these be the shorts and shirt?” He held them up.

“Yes, I think so.” Her voice was clearly puzzled. “Does it matter?”

“Maybe not. So, you think these are the clothes?”

“Well, I can’t be certain, but I believe so. There was a small logo on the shirt—a crest. Yes, that’s it.”

“Just as a matter of record, what were you wearing?”

“A teal sundress and beige sandals.”

“Thank you. That’s blue, isn’t it?”

“Blue-green.”

“And Kendall?”

“He had on gray shorts and a striped shirt. Pink and white and gray.”

“Was he wearing sandals?”

“I don’t think so. I think he had moccasins or loafers. Something like that.”

“Okay. Enough about clothes. Miss Preston, would it surprise you to learn that Nick Donovan was once romantically involved with Jillian Martin?”

“Jillian and Nick?” She seemed to be working to fit the two names together. “Yes, I guess it would. Neither of them mentioned it.”

Manziuk thought she had lost some color.

“Would you be surprised to know that Nick Donovan is our prime suspect?”

This time her face definitely lost some color. “You think Nick killed them?”

“There’s some reason to think that.”

“I don’t believe it,” she said after a moment. “You weren’t there when we found Jillian. Nick was the one who discovered she was dead. He couldn’t have faked it.”

“He couldn’t have faked what?”

“His astonishment. He was very upset. I thought so at the time. It sounds crazy, because anyone would have been upset at finding her like that. But if they’d been close once, that would explain it.”

“So you think he was surprised by her death?”

“I’m sure he was.”

“And I’m sure that given the need, Mr. Nick Donovan could do a very fine job of acting.”

Her large green eyes stared at him. Slowly, she nodded.

“Miss Preston, do you want us to find the murderer?”

“Yes, certainly.”

“No matter who it is?”

“Yes.” Her reply was firm.

“Will you give me some help?”

She stared at him. “But I don’t know anything!”

“You are the one person in this house who is reasonably objective. You’ve never met most of these people before this weekend. You don’t even know your relatives well. But you’ve been here the whole time. I’m restricted to what I can learn from people who may be lying or trying to cover up. You were here. You’ve seen them as they ate supper or played a game of pool or tennis. Do you get what I mean?”

“I think so. But I really haven’t noticed anything.”

“Okay. We’ll leave it for now. How is Shauna Jensen?”

“I think what happened Saturday did something to her. She’d never before questioned Jillian’s wisdom. And when Bart talked her into getting the dress and changing her hair and makeup and everything, she realized Jillian had been, at best, wrong. And then Jillian’s anger—Shauna didn’t understand. It was as if Jillian was angry because Shauna had taken the attention from her. And Shauna wasn’t sure how to deal with it. I think she’s dealing with a lot of guilt and confusion and anger.”

“She hasn’t said anything to you that leads you to believe she could have been angry enough to kill her sister?”

“Nothing like that. She’s very mixed up. As I said, it’s almost as if a spell had been broken, as though she’d just wakened from an enchanted sleep, and now she isn’t sure how to evaluate the past or what to do next.”

“Has she told you about her drawing?” Manziuk asked.

“Drawing?”

“Yes. She has a book of sketches in the room. According to Forensics, they’re quite good. And there’s a brochure from an art school. Looks like she was thinking about taking lessons.”

Lorry shook her head. “She didn’t say anything to me.”

“Could be she was getting ready to sprout her wings before this weekend.”

“So you think she might have planned this? To kill Jillian so she would be free of her?”

“It’s within the realm of possibility.”

“I don’t believe it.”

“Perhaps you aren’t looking at it the way I am.”

“What do you mean?”

“It has to be one of the people in this house.”

She stared at him for a long moment. “It has to be?”

“Yes,” he said. “So if you notice anything, or if you remember anything, tell me or one of the officers who will be here.”

She nodded.

“And don’t forget.”

Her eyes locked on his. “You think Crystal knew something.”

“I do.”

“Something she didn’t tell you.”

“And now she never will.”

“If I know anything, it’s something I don’t know I know.”

“Yes, I believe you.”

“What about Bart Brodie?” Ryan interjected. “Has he been in contact with Shauna Jensen since supper last night?

Lorry shook her head. “She’s been in her room all morning. I took her a tray with tea and some sandwiches at about eleven o’clock. Crystal’s death has really shaken her.”

“What about last night?”

“I think they may have talked for a little while right after supper. I don’t know what it was about, but Shauna said something to me later about how some people couldn’t be trusted. I’m not sure, but my impression was that she was talking about Bart.”

“Okay,” said Manziuk. “One last question. Where were you last night between midnight and five this morning?”

She thought for a minute. “I came up about fifteen minutes after midnight. Shauna was sound asleep. I wasn’t feeling tired for some reason.” She hesitated. “To be honest, the whole thing sort of got to me. I had a hard time going to sleep. I finally decided the best thing to do was just pray for everyone here.”

He nodded. “That put you to sleep?”

She smiled. “No, but I felt better afterwards.”

“So what time did you go to sleep?”

“The last time I looked at my watch it was twenty-five after two.”

“So you could swear on oath that Shauna didn’t leave the room up until then?”

“She was sound asleep.”

“And you didn’t hear anything? The sound of a door? Footsteps in the hall or on the stairs?”

She shivered. “No. I didn’t.”

“Okay. Thank you, Miss Preston. This has been a very hard time for you. The events may come back to you often. Especially finding the body. You may want to talk to a professional. We can make arrangements at the station.”

“Thank you very much, Inspector, but I don’t think that will be necessary.”

He escorted her to the door.

He put his hand on the doorknob, but paused without turning it. “Miss Preston?”

“Yes?”

“I think this is probably very far fetched. But there is a slight chance Mrs. Martin’s murder may be connected to a series of four murders we’ve had in this city. All of the young women, who were about your age, had red hair.”

Lorry’s hand moved upward. “You think…?”

“No, not really. Jillian Martin’s hair was blonde, not red. But whether it’s the same person or not, you still have red hair. So take good care of yourself. You may be at risk here in this house; you’re definitely at risk when you leave here and go downtown. Don’t go out on the streets by yourself at night. Even in the daytime, it’s risky for you to be alone until we catch this person.”

“Thank you. I’ll remember your advice. But I also believe God will take care of me no matter who might try to harm me.”

“Believe in God,” he said, “but watch your back just the same.”

She went out and Manziuk turned to go back to his chair.

“Cold-blooded piece,” said Ryan.

“You think so?”

“She finds a murdered lady one day, and she’s as cool as a cucumber the next.”

“Maybe.”

“So, she identified the clothes. Hildy Reimer was also pretty sure these were the ones. Recognized the insignia on the shirt.”

Ten minutes later, Ryan brought Shauna Jensen to the study. The girl was wearing normal glasses and Manziuk could clearly see the bruising under her left eye. Her hair was unkempt and her naked face pale. Her clothes were untidy, too, as though she’d thrown on the first blouse and skirt that came to hand. She slumped into the chair across from Manziuk and stared at the floor.

“Just a couple of questions, Ms. Jensen,” Manziuk said. “I know this isn’t easy for you, so I’ll try to be as quick as I can.”

She shrugged her right shoulder.

“Last night, when did you go to bed?”

“Ask Lorry,” she said so quietly he had to strain to hear the words. “She’d know. I was too out of it.”

“You were distraught because of your sister’s death?”

“I guess.”

“So much that you didn’t notice the time?”

“I wasn’t in the least thinking about the time!” Her voice grew in volume. “Would you have been caring what time it was when your sister had been murdered like that?” Her eyes came up to meet his. “I said to ask Lorry. She was looking after me. She’s the only one here who cares how I feel.”

“I’m glad you had Ms. Preston’s assistance. Are you feeling better today?”

She had become much more animated. “Another girl is murdered and you think I should be feeling better? How do you know I’m not next?”

“Well, I certainly hope no one is next. I hope—”

“Well, you didn’t do anything to help Crystal, did you? I heard your policeman was asleep.”

“Drugged, not asleep.”