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“It’s not a stakeout,” he said as they returned to the car. “Not for me, anyway. It’s a Q and A. You’ll wait in the car.”
“Of course.”
They hit the road. Each mile closer to their destination, Conrad grew more serious and professional. And unfortunately, more tight-lipped as well. Finally, he drew into a lot with few cars, in front of an old, dingy building.
Guess Mr. Belfry’s internet fame didn’t translate to money making.
A tall woman with a straight inverted bob emerged from an already parked sedan as Conrad killed the engine. Hightower. As he reached for his door handle, Jane’s phone buzzed, alerting her to a new text message.
“I’m going in to speak with Mr. Belfry,” he said. “Lock up after me. And do not leave this car for any reason.”
“Promise. Maybe. Probably.”
“Lord save us all,” he muttered. “Also, don’t eat my chips.”
What! He still had half a bag in the basket, while she had none. “Really?” She batted her lashes again. Why mess with a sure thing? “You won’t share even one?”
He snorted. “Go ahead and have them all. It seems I can deny you nothing.”
She beamed at him, and he shook his head at her, clearly fighting a grin as he exited. But his expression went blank before he turned on his heel and strode toward the other agent. Jane had to admit she enjoyed watching him walk away. A treat in itself.
Great! Time for a distraction. She grabbed her phone and read the message.
Beaudyguard:I hacked into private conversations on the Headliner. Found out some things. GBH interviewed Dr. Frederick Price, who claimed he recognized Tony at the party. Said Tony harassed nurses at Pinetum, so P followed T just in case “the drunk tried to hurt someone.” But. P lost sight of T before Fee’s scream and proved it with a time-stamped live video he sent two of his staff members. I’m still working on obtaining that video.
Well, no wonder Dr. Price had been ruled out by GBH. But was his alibitootidy?
Beaudyguard:But wait, there’s more. Are you ready to have your mind blown?
Jane:Always!
Her phone rang, and she smiled as Beau’s number popped on the screen.
“It’ll be easier to speak this particular conversation,” he said without preamble.“This part, I learned another way. Don’t ask me how. So get this. Tony had a knife and two burner phones in his possession. He’d used one cell to search for the best places to stab someone for the most painful death. Using a refillable gift card, he also purchased a ticket to the party under the name Chris P. Bacon, which GBH believes he mailed to Reggie Belfry in secret. Belfry was never able to confirm who sent it to him. With the second cell, Tony bought an additional ticket under the name Al Dente. Mailed in a different envelope on a different day. Which doesn’t make sense. Why use two phones? Why buy two tickets for one person?”
“Good gracious.” So much to absorb. Shedidremember seeing Dente on the guest list, just like Bacon. While the first had struck her as odd, the second had soared right past her. But hearing the name spoken aloud…super odd. “Do you think Tony planned to kill Belfry, the man dating his ex-wife? Maybe he sent the second ticket to double the chances of tempting the chef to attend?”
“He might have planned to kill Emma and blame Belfry.”
“Or he hoped to kill them both.” Whatever he’d set out to do, someone had gotten to him first.
What if Tony attacked Belfry, but the chef fought back and killed the attorney instead? Then, Belfry heard Fiona’s approach, panicked and fled the scene. A scenario that made tons of sense. But why not stick around to prove he’d acted in self-defense? Fear?
Feardidmake people do foolish things.
“I can tell your mind is racing in a million different directions,” Beau said. “Let’s talk again tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” she echoed, and they hung up. What did Conrad think of all this?
Her gaze flipped up. He and Hightower hadn’t yet entered the restaurant. They stood together, discussing something.
Jane waved when the female agent glanced over, but she was ignored. Still irritated because a cemetery owner had solved the last two cases? Yeah, that tracked.
Finally the agents headed inside. With Beau’s info front and center, she grew desperate to listen to Belfry’s informal—formal?—questioning. What if the chef worked to frame Fiona and Beau even now?How could Janenotlisten?
Staring at the entrance, she ran through her options. Call in a to-go order on the off chance she’d overhear their conversation in the background? No. The likelihood of success was too low. But there was only one other route to choose…
Guilt pooled in Jane’s stomach as she opened a specific app on her phone. The one she and Conrad had downloaded during the second murder investigation…the one he and Beau had used to listen to her conversations at the party. It allowed them to activate her cell’s microphone…and Jane to activate theirs.
