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“Robert, this is Brooklyn Sloane,” Lorelei introduced as she came to a stop next to her husband’s side. “As you know, her firm comes highly recommended by Jordan Miles.”
Lorelei had made it appear as if she had been the one to make the decision to bring in an outside agency to solve her sister’s murder.
“Jordan and I spoke at great length about your successes. He is the sole reason why we hired you and your firm to get results.”
Robert’s recent statements disputed what Lorelei had so successfully implied during several meetings. Brook sidestepped another dancing couple, briefly losing sight of Sophia. The art curator and Maxwell Vanderbilt had specific knowledge regarding Lorelei that needed to be confirmed before Brook took the next step.
“I apologize for my appearance. There was an outside plant that I’d brought in before winter that had outgrown its pot. My manicurist isn’t going to be happy with me come tomorrow morning.”
The dark substance underneath Lorelei’s fingernails hadn’t been soil from a potted plant. It had been black paint.
“Bella is a lot like my mother in that way.”
“Both of you are, dear. Bella dabbled in painting, which was why...”
Brook had assumed at the time that Robert had been talking about Bella and Lorelei’s personalities, but he’d been referring to the fact that their mother used to paint as a way to relieve stress. Lorelei painted, and Brook figured there would be some type of art studio in one of the rooms of the Jamesons’ residence.
As Brook stepped off the dance floor, she caught sight of Sophia about to walk away from the small group of people still engaged in conversation.
“Ms. Delacroix?”
“Did you not hear me before, Ms. Sloane?” Sophia’s tone was sharp, but Brook had no time for theatrics. “I’m not answering anymore of your—”
“Who told you that Rachel Lee was bothering Bella Kadel? Was it Bella herself or someone else?”
Sophia hadn’t expected Brook’s inquiry to be about Rachel Lee, which was probably the only reason that the art curator remained standing in front of Brook instead of walking away.
“Why are you so interested in Rachel Lee? Did something happen to her?”
“Did Bella tell you that Rachel was calling her? Bothering her? You mentioned to my colleague that Rachel was just being Rachel, but I don’t know what that means. I’d really like some clarification, Ms. Delacroix.”
“I don’t know Rachel that well, but I’ve heard that she can be clingy.” Sophia shook her head, as if she was still confused about their conversation. “Bella had been avoiding her. That’s all I know.”
“It’s important for me to know who told you that Rachel was so insecure,” Brook urged, wondering if Theo was having better luck with Adeline. Adeline had mentioned that nothing unusual had stood out in the week’s leading up to Bella’s murder, but no one ever thought to ask if Robert Jameson had paid his sister-in-law a visit. “Was that known when you were in high school? Did the girls talk about it? Did Bella mention it directly to you? Or did you hear it from someone else?”
“I suppose I first heard it from Bella’s sister,” Sophia said in such a way that she obviously didn’t believe it was important. “Lorelei had stopped into the gallery right around the time that Bella mentioned receiving a phone call from Rachel. Something about layoffs, and how she was worried that she’d lose her job. Lorelei commented about how smothering Rachel had been back in high school. Bella agreed, and that was the end of it. I still don’t understand why that would matter when—”
“Thank you,” Brook muttered, cutting off whatever else Sophia was about to add to the discussion. Brook walked away in search of Theo. “Bit, can you—”
“Already on it, Boss. A warrant has been requested for Lorelei Jameson’s phone records. Once I am granted access, I’ll see if I can’t find out her locations in the weeks leading up to her sister’s death. Same for Robert Jameson.”
“If we’re right about this, then Lorelei has planted those paintings somewhere where it would look as if they belonged to Rachel Lee.”
Seeing as how Rachel was currently staying with a friend, it was doubtful that Lorelei would have hidden the paintings at the apartment. Lorelei would have been afraid that the canvases would be discovered by Rachel, defeating the purpose of having the police locate them when they mistakenly made an arrest.
“I found a storage unit leased to Rachel Lee across town,” Bit said, his voice somewhat muffled.
“Text the information to Detective Hartley.”
Brook was still scanning the area for Theo where Adeline had last been seen. They weren’t near the dinner table, so Brook continued around the dance floor until she spotted Hartley. She lifted a hand to catch his attention. Seeing as he paused before advancing her way to pull his cell phone out of his pocket, she figured Bit had done as she’d requested regarding the address of Rachel Lee’s storage unit.
Unfortunately, Chief Rogan appeared glued to the detective’s side.
“Ms. Sloane, would you care to tell me what is going on?” Chief Rogan asked gruffly, keeping his voice low enough so that it wouldn’t carry. “I realize that this case is now in the Bureau’s hands, but you can’t just claim that an arrest is being made without justification. These are good people, and I won’t stand by and be a witness to you harassing them.”
“Let’s be clear on something, Chief Rogan,” Brook said evenly as she finally caught sight of Theo making his way toward them. She could tell from his expression that Adeline Murphy had spotted Robert Jameson at Bella Kadel’s cottage in the weeks leading up to her death. “My team and I have not harassed anyone. This investigation has been above board the entire time, as Detective Hartley can attest. There will be an arrest made within the hour. If you’re concerned about the Kingston family, you can rest assured this case has nothing to do with them. With that said, I would like your assistance. I need Detective Hartley to drive over to Rachel Lee’s storage unit. You’ll most likely find a painting that mimics Bella Kadel’s crime scene. You might even discover one similar to that of Piper Zimmer’s crime scene.”
“Rachel Lee? Simon’s daughter?”
