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“But if he shot at her, wouldn’t Janey have been upset when she met Marcus? Why would they hang out and swim if someone had just tried to kill her? Marcus would have taken her right to the police station to report the shooting.” Holly shook her head. “Something’s off. Either Caleb is lying and living in a fantasy world. Or...”
“Or the woman he saw and shot at wasn’t Janey. It was her sister.” Rarity ended her thought.
“Whoa. He shot at the wrong twin?” Malia nodded. “It could work.”
“But it doesn’t tell us who killed Janey,” Shirley countered. She got up and refilled her coffee cup. “I’m going to regret this cup when I get home, but I’ve got some quilting to do ifI can’t sleep.”
“Well, it might. If Trish was shot at. And if Trish knew Janey was meeting Marcus that morning.” Rarity felt everyone’s gaze on her. “And if Trish killed her sister.”
“That’s a lot of ifs. Typically, investigations take one piece of evidence and try to build a case. I think in this situation, we need to find something on the trail that proves Caleb isn’t just making stuff up. Or proof that Trish went out to the trails that day. We know she didn’t get her hair done. That’s all we can prove. And if you can’t prove it, it didn’t happen.” Jonathon stood and got another cookie. “We should see what else we have going on or who else has information. Maybe there’s a clue insome of that.”
Then Shirley told them what she’d heard at church. “Janey and her sister were orphaned just before they started college. Their mom was involved in all the local charities, even some here in Sedona. She had lost her husband years before, and she’d set money aside for the girls out of an insurance settlement.”
“Okay, so we know where the trust money came from. And each girl handled the money differently. Trish went down the same road as her mom, doing charity balls and such. Janey decided to be a perpetual student.” Holly looked up from her notes. “But that doesn’t give us any clues to Janey’s death, does it?”
“It shows a divide with the two women. At least in interests and opinions,” Shirley said. “There’s one more thing I heard. It’s not flattering, but the rumors said Trish had been having an affair with Allen Holbart. He had a really messy divorce a year ago, and Trish’s name came up several times in the court case.”
“I knew that guy felt slimy,” Malia said.
“He’s got to be twenty years older than her.” Rarity stared at Shirley.“Are you sure?”
“It’s rumor, but yes. That was why his wife was so mad. When the affair started, the girl was maybe twenty.” Shirley looked around the room. “I know it’s legal, but it still feels wrong.”
“If he was their family lawyer, it’s manipulative at the least.” Rarity rolled her shoulders. “And it may explain why Janey felt the need to get a new lawyer and take her money out from under his control.”
“Before we end tonight, I want to tell you what I heard.” Malia glanced at her watch. “I don’t think it’s earth shattering, but several of the women on campus substantiated the fact that Caleb was stalking Janey. They’re all sure he’s the killer and the cops just aren’t pursuing it.”
Jonathon sighed. “People like that always think they know exactly what’s going on. It doesn’t matter what the cause is, the mob knows better than the authorities.”
Malia looked at him. “Sometimes people protect the status quo.”
“True, but I guess the question then comes down to the people in charge. Do you know and trustmy son, Drew?”
Malia blushed, but she nodded. “I do trust Drew. Butwhat about...”
“What about the people who are working the case that you don’t know?” Jonathon finished her sentence. Malia nodded. He looked at the group. “What I’m going to say may be old-fashioned, but what if we gave people the benefit of the doubt? That most people are trying their best and doing what they think is right?”
Holly nodded. “I was always an us-against-them type until I started working at the city. Getting to know people and the rules they’re working under, that helped a lot with my distrust.”
“Jonathon, I don’t think Malia was saying that she didn’t trust Drew,” Rarity added. This discussion was getting personal. She realized maybe Sam had the right idea. When it was too close to the people you know and love, objectivity goesout the window.
“I definitely wasn’t saying anything against Drew and the investigation he’s doing.” Malia met Jonathon’s gaze head-on. “But the women on campus are feeling unsafe and think that Caleb is not only a stalker but also a killer. I think getting this case solved sooner rather than later will help.”
Rarity agreed with Malia, but she wasn’t sure the investigation was ending anytime soon. “Let’s go back and look at our suspect list. We need to know if Caleb was telling the truth aboutthat morning.”
Shirley scribbled that on the to-do list they made at the end of each meeting.
“And we need to know where Trish was that morning,” she added as Shirley nodded,still writing.
Malia held up a hand. “And we need to know if Trish knew about Janey pulling the money out of the trust. Have we totally ruled out Cara yet? She’s the one with the most to gain from Janey’s death, at least withthe new will.”
“I think someone should talk to Cara again. Maybe see if she has an alibi for Saturday.” Holly looked at Jonathon. “I know Drew probably already has, but we don’t have access to the actual investigation. Unless someone wants to sneak into the police station and get copies of the case file. I’m telling you right now that I’m not doing it. I need my job. And I kind of like it.”
Jonathon held up his hand. “I’ll see what I can find out, but Drew’s already giving me warnings about eavesdropping on his conversations. Maybe if he accidentally leaves the case file at the house, I might be able to see something. But that’s a long shot.”
“And I’ve got to have someone with me at all times, which makes me less of a covert interviewer.” Rarity glanced around the group. “Malia? Do you want totalk to Cara?”
She nodded. “I can do that. Especially if I use the campus safety angle. If Caleb was stalking her roommate, Cara should be open to talking about it. I could say I was writing an article about women’s safety on campus.”
