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Just how actively was Felicity looking into the Chapman case? What had started off as a hunch was becoming a far more valuable lead than she could have imagined. It would seem that when Felicity set her mind to getting facts, nothing could stop her—unless something had. “Did she ever tell you who she suspected killed Chapman?”
“No, but I could see that she was becoming obsessed. I warned her to step back, go home, and leave playing detective to her books.”
Too little, too late… It also hit a sore spot for Amanda. Her niece had recently poked her nose into a murder investigation, and it had almost gotten her killed. Dennis’s assessment was that Felicity was obsessed; Felicity’s friend, Celeste, had commented on how focused Felicity had been, more than usual. Was it simply because the cold case had distant ties to her publisher, Garrison & Marrow? Or was she honestly trying to solve a murder with the skill set of an armchair sleuth?
THIRTY-ONE
Amanda thanked Dennis for his cooperation to which he grunted. They’d never gelled, and that was more obvious than ever, but at least he had spoken with them.
The car was a humid, stagnant cesspool by the time they returned to it. Trent turned the vehicle on and got the air conditioning running. He lowered all the windows and looked over at her. “You said one of Bishop’s conditions was we keep him out of it. How can we do that if Felicity’s nosing around Chapman’s murder factors into hers?”
“We’ll deal with that if it comes down to it.” Amanda hadn’t heard enough to convince her Naomi Chapman had been intentionally targeted, murdered, and the invasion staged. Though currently, her knowledge of the case was limited. But there was the fact Felicity had shown excessive interest in the case and now she was dead. Was that merely a coincidence?
“You don’t believe the Chapman case is connected in some way to Felicity Kelley’s murder?”
“Not saying that. We just need to learn a lot more. I suggest we sign out the evidence from lockup, read the interviews and case notes, look at the crime scene photos, and go from there.”
“Seems reasonable. We should also see if there’s any link between Sheldon Lowe and the Chapman case.” He shrugged. “Just while we’re at it.”
“Logical to me. There’s something else weighing on my mind. If Felicity already had a contact in the police department, then why did she ask if I’d help with procedural questions? And why did she call me the day of her murder?” She suddenly linked the two questions. “Did Felicity find evidence that the cop killed Chapman? It would explain why Felicity called me and not nine-one-one. She trusted me. Or am I seeing killers everywhere now?”
“I think you’re just trying to think through all the angles. Killer or not, we definitely need to find out who this cop is.”
Fred Hudson immediately popped into her head. After all, he certainly wasn’t too happy to hand over the Felicity Kelley investigation. Tag on the cold shoulder he was giving her and Trent, that only backed that up. He’d also made a huge deal about Amanda knowing Felicity as if her working the case would be a blatant conflict of interest. Was it because he was trying to take the attention off his own connection? She wasn’t going to share her suspicions with Trent, but she said, “We can check Felicity’s call history to see if we can ever put Felicity in touch with any officers working with the Prince William County PD.”
“And short of that, considering it sounds like she had this contact some time ago, Felicity’s agent might know this officer’s identity.”
“She could. As you mentioned, their contact dates prior to our meeting, before she sought out Dennis a year and a half ago. Felicity and this cop could have fallen out of touch. They could have retired or moved on…”
“That might help us narrow things down within the department.”
“Only thing with that is we’ll need to clear such an inquiry past Malone. We’d need to mention Dennis Bishop.”
“So be it, Amanda.”
She hated breaking her promises as much as she hated being in this position. But a person’s word was paramount. That’s what her parents taught her; it’s what she tried to instill in Lindsey and now Zoe. “Just think of it this way, Dennis technically isn’t an officer of the law anymore—and, yes, I realize that’s a loophole. If the Chapman case does factor into Felicity’s murder, that will stay on Dennis’s conscience for the rest of his life.”
“Little good that does Felicity.”
“Agreed, but I’m not sure what can be done within the confines of the law. It’s not like he’s on the department’s payroll.” She balanced her words with her own internal judgment. Dennis should be held accountable. Same too for this mystery cop. “Dennis’s possible role aside, I can understand Felicity’s draw to write a story based on Chapman’s murder. She was wealthy, had it all, and was taken down just as her life was really starting…”
“Laid out like that it does sound convenient… orchestrated. And Dennis mentioned that one of the things that hadn’t settled with Felicity was the timing. How it came the same day as her promotion.”
“Right, and then there’s what she found out from the neighbor. The woman told Felicity she saw Chapman’s front light come on that fateful night. I really don’t think it’s a lead that Dennis followed up on.”
“It didn’t sound like he even knew about it.”
“Or he didn’t remember.”
“It sounds like it’s time to get back to Central and work our way through the evidence.”
“Soon enough, but I have another stop in mind first. I’d like to talk to this neighbor for myself.”
“Before we read the files?”
“Why not?” She desperately wanted to get a feel, boots on the ground, whether it was worth their time to continue pursuing this avenue. Either this cold case factored into Felicity’s murder or it didn’t, but the sooner they figured out that answer the better.
Trent got the address from the onboard computer and got them on the road. He looked over at her. “You know what’s eating me is Felicity had a killer in mind for her novel but then switched it up. Did she plan to expose the real killer’s identity?”
