A Killer Stitch (9 page)

Jennifer and Kelly exchanged glances. “Do you remember what it looked like?” Kelly asked.

Diane shook her head. “It was pitch-black outside, so all I really noticed were the headlights. But it might have been a dark color. And I think I remember another car parked on the side of the road as I drove off.”

“Did you see anyone you recognized?” Jennifer pressed, leaning closer to her friend.

A disgusted expression passed over Diane's face. “No, I didn't get a good look. I figured it was another one of Derek's girls.”

Kelly leaned back in her chair and sipped her coffee, her brain sifting through the tantalizing information. There was another car coming up the driveway. Someone else was coming to see Derek that night. Who was it? Was it another girlfriend, or was it that angry guy from the bar, Gary? Apparently he had encouraged Diane to visit Derek that night. Did Gary recognize Diane's late-night visit as an opportunity to take revenge on the double-crossing Derek? Was Gary in the car that passed on the driveway? Maybe he figured Diane and Derek would be so engrossed in each other, they'd never hear his car approach. If so, he must have been surprised to see Diane drive past him.

Taking another deep drink, Kelly felt the caffeine rush in her veins while her brain buzzed with scenarios. Maybe Diane was set up by this Gary. Maybe he killed Derek, knowing he'd never be suspected because everyone knew Diane was going up there. Maybe, maybe. And maybe Diane was lying to throw Kelly off track. After all, Diane hadn't remembered a car until Kelly asked about someone else being at the ranch. Maybe Diane was a clever liar and was deceiving them.

Jennifer began asking Diane questions about the bar regulars. Was there anyone there who'd ever given her trouble? Any of the girls gotten jealous when their boyfriends paid too much attention to Diane?

Kelly let them talk while she sipped her coffee and let the buzzing thoughts settle. Yes, it was possible that Diane was lying, but Kelly didn't think so. Again, she had nothing substantial to account for that belief, except…

These last few months had taught Kelly to be careful about jumping to conclusions when it came to murder. Since she'd returned to Fort Connor, Kelly had involved herself in three separate murder investigations—without police permission and despite Burt's warnings. All of those investigations had one startling fact in common. None of the “obvious suspects” turned out to be guilty. The real killers had each cleverly concealed his or her role in the crime. Now Diane Perkins was the obvious suspect in Derek Cooper's death. Was Diane being set up by a clever killer?

There was another question Kelly wanted to ask. Looking Diane in the eye, she said, “Your story makes sense, Diane. So I'm wondering why you lied to the police when they questioned you. Jennifer said you didn't tell them you went to Derek's ranch that night. You said you were at home asleep. Why did you lie?”

Diane's sea green gaze wavered, and she stared at the table once again. “I-I was scared,” she whispered. “I was afraid they'd think I killed Derek. It was stupid, I know, but…but I couldn't think straight at the time.”

“Had you been drinking?”

Her head dropped lower. “Yeah, I was still asleep on the couch that morning when they came. Their knocking woke me up.”

Jennifer leaned closer to her friend and placed her hand on Diane's arm. “Diane, please listen to me. You need to get help with the drinking. That's the reason you're in this mess right now, you know that, don't you?”

“I know,” Diane admitted, her voice so soft Kelly could barely hear her.

“I can check into some programs, if you'd like me to,” Jennifer continued in a solicitous tone. “I'd even go over there with you.”

Diane seemed to flinch. “I don't know, Jen…I don't know. They put you away, and…”

“Let me check, anyway. Meanwhile, promise me you'll stop drinking for now. Just for now, okay?” Jennifer pleaded. “The cops could show up anytime to question you again, you know that.”

Diane looked up with a panicked expression. “Oh, God…”

If there was ever a time to strike a blow for sobriety, this was it. Kelly spoke up in a firm voice. “Diane, you lied to the police. They know you lied. They had plenty of witnesses at the bar tell them you were headed to Derek's ranch that night. You'd better believe the police will question you again. You have got to stay sober, or you won't have a prayer of convincing them you're innocent.”

Diane blanched. Kelly figured either she was an excellent actress or had been in deep denial until now. “I'll try…I promise,” she whispered.

“Good girl,” Jennifer said, patting Diane's arm. “That's the first step.”

Kelly pushed back her chair. This had been one intense lunch, and she was glad it was over. “I've got to go back to the computer, guys,” she said as she rose. “Diane, I'm sorry if I was hard on you with all those questions, but I thought it might help you to go over your story again before…well, before the police come for another visit.”

Diane looked up at Kelly with undeniable gratitude. “Thank you, Kelly. Thank you for believing me.”

Kelly gave her a warm smile. “See you two later,” she said as she turned to leave, wondering how she would explain all this to Burt.

Steve
reached down to the gritty claylike surface of the indoor tennis courts and retrieved Kelly's racket cover. “How we managed to pull that one out of the toilet, I'll never know,” he joked as he handed her the cover.

Standing on the sidelines, Kelly watched the next four players take the court and begin to warm up. The balls whizzed over the net, again and again, as the players rushed the net and raced across the court. “It had to be dumb luck,” she said ruefully, watching the much better players charge the ball. “We happened to draw a couple that were worse than we are, that's all.”

“That's happened twice,” Steve said as he snatched their jackets from a nearby post. “I've got a feeling we're gonna get our butts kicked real soon.”

“Oh, yeah,” Kelly agreed as they headed toward the exit. Stopping for a second, she stretched high over her head and side to side. “Brother, every muscle in my back hurts. I'm heading straight for the tub after dinner.”

“I give a mean back rub.” Steve tempted with a sly grin.

She returned the grin. “I bet you do, but I'll take a rain check. I'm heading for the tub and an early night. I need to get up really early tomorrow so I can catch Burt.”

“What's up? Jayleen need more help with the kids' party? I told you I'll be there, didn't I?” Steve helped Kelly slip into her winter jacket.

Wrapping her chunky wool scarf around her neck, Kelly snuggled into the warmth as they stepped outside and into the rapidly dropping temperatures. Below freezing tonight. Winter was definitely here to stay.

“Yes, you did, and Jayleen thanks you. But it's not that. I need some quiet time with Burt alone so I can ask him a few questions.” She put her head down as they walked through the darkened parking lot toward Steve's truck. The chill wind whipped the colorful scarf so it flapped like a pennant beside her.

Steve halted in the middle of the parking lot. “Uh-oh,” was all he said.

Kelly looked at him quizzically. They were only halfway to the truck. “What's wrong? Did you forget something?”

“Nope. I just figured out what you're doing. You're using Burt to find out about that alpaca rancher's murder, aren't you?”

“Uhhhh…” Kelly hesitated, caught off guard.

“That's a nondenial if I ever heard one,” Steve said with a wry grin. Taking her arm, he headed them toward the truck. “What's up, Kelly? You told me that little spinner at the shop was dating this guy, but that doesn't strike me as enough reason for you to go nosing around. You didn't even know this guy.”

“Well, something new came up,” Kelly admitted, realizing she'd have to tell Steve the whole story or she'd never get dinner tonight. He'd park in front of the Jazz Bistro and idle the engine until she talked.

“Gotta do better than that,” he said, opening her door and tossing both rackets behind the seat.

“Okay, it involves a friend of Jennifer's. I promise I'll tell you everything, but let's get to the restaurant first. I'm starving,” she said as she climbed up into the seat.

Steve slammed her door and raced around to the other side of the truck. Climbing in, he started the engine, and a deep throaty rumble shook the vehicle. He revved the engine a couple of times before he backed out of the lot, then turned to Kelly. “Okay, what about Jennifer's friend? I don't want to wait until we drive across town.”

Kelly stared into the December night. “It looks like Jennifer's friend—Diane—will be a suspect in Derek Cooper's murder,” she said bluntly.

Steve turned his attention back to traffic. “Whoa,” was all he said as they drove off into the darkened streets.

Burt
shook the snowflakes off his jacket and slipped it behind a chair before he accepted the cup of coffee Kelly offered him.

“Cream and sugar, as usual,” Kelly said with a smile as she led the way into the cottage living room.

“Okay, Kelly, what is so important that you needed to see me this morning?” he said as he settled into Kelly's black leather sofa.

“Well, I was wondering how the Derek Cooper investigation was going,” she said, choosing the armchair for herself.

Burt smiled. “I figured it was something like that. All I can tell you is they're still investigating, still interviewing people who knew the victim. Friends, business associates. In other words, the investigation is proceeding.” Burt sipped his coffee, watching Kelly from beneath his bushy gray eyebrows.

“Any suspects yet?” she probed. “Anyone look interesting?”

“There may be.”

Kelly took a deep drink of coffee. Not as good as Eduardo's but it would have to do until she could get to the café.

“What's up, Kelly?” Burt queried. “I sense there's another reason you're asking. Is it about Lucy? I know she's still pretty shaken, but I think she's getting better. At least she hasn't broken down in class again.”

“No, it's about someone else. Someone Jennifer asked me to meet. Someone who may have already appeared on the police radar screen.”

Burt's bushy brows arched. “Oh, really?” was all he said, then he returned to his coffee.

“Yes, her name is Diane Perkins.” Kelly waited for a sign of recognition from Burt. It came quickly.

“Do you know this Diane Perkins, Kelly?”

“Well, I'm beginning to.” Kelly gave a good-natured shrug. “The three of us met for lunch yesterday so she could tell me about her, uh, her volatile relationship with Derek Cooper.”

“Jennifer asked you to meet this woman?”

“Yes, Burt, she did. She's concerned about her friend. Apparently the police have already questioned her about Derek.” Kelly released an exasperated sigh. “Diane did a stupid thing. She lied to the police when they questioned her. She didn't tell them she went up to his ranch that night.”

“She told you this?” Burt's eyes narrowed.

“Yes, she did. Diane went up there to tell him off and end the relationship.” Kelly watched skepticism flash through Burt's gaze. “I know what you're thinking, Burt. Yeah, she went up there to tell him off, they got into a fight, and she killed him. I admit, I was thinking the same thing until I spoke with her. Diane said she didn't kill Derek Cooper, and I believe her, Burt. She drove right out of the canyon, and—”

“Then why did she lie?” he interrupted.

Kelly took a deep breath and calmed the caffeine rush. She needed a cool head to convince Burt. “Because she was scared. Suddenly a policeman is knocking on her door one morning—”

“It was noon.”

“Well, he was asking all sorts of questions. I'd be scared, too.”

“No, you wouldn't, Kelly. You've already been in that situation with the very same detective. Lieutenant Peterson didn't scare you. He said you were cool as a cucumber.”

Kelly searched for some plausible comparison. “Well, he wasn't waking me up and banging on my door, either. That would definitely get me out of sorts—”

“She was drunk, Kelly. Or sleeping it off. Peterson said her speech was slurred, she was disoriented, and empty vodka bottles were lying on the floor. Her friends at the bar say she does that regularly. Gets drunk and sleeps it off.”

Kelly stared back at Burt, who was eyeing her over his coffee mug. She had no comeback to that comment. Kelly let out a sigh. “Yeah, she's got an alcohol problem, for sure. Jennifer and I did our best to convince her to stay sober. Peterson is bound to question her again.”

“I'd say that's a strong possibility.”

Kelly shook her head. “I know this sounds absolutely crazy, Burt, but I listened to that whole story, and I agree with Jennifer. Diane did not kill Derek Cooper.”

“How can you be sure, Kelly?” Burt said, placing his mug on the table. “Maybe she doesn't even remember killing him. There are witnesses at the bar who'll testify she's had blackouts before, when she doesn't remember what she's done. She's a drunk. And she threatened Derek Cooper in front of witnesses. Lots of witnesses.”

“So I'm right, then,” Kelly said ruefully. “Diane is smack-dab in the middle of Peterson's radar screen.”

Burt smiled. “You'll have to ask Peterson that question. But, yeah, she's definitely a person of interest. She had motive and opportunity. Apparently Derek had been dumping on her for years. She finally got tired of it. Sounds like she was already drinking too much when she went to his ranch. Maybe they got into a fight, and
bam
! She let him have it.”

Kelly remembered Diane's use of that same phrase, and a little shiver ran over her. Perhaps she and Jennifer were mistaken. Diane was definitely an alcoholic. Maybe she killed him in a drunken rage and couldn't even remember it. Maybe. Then how did she drive out of the canyon without running off the road? If she was so drunk she couldn't remember killing a man, she'd surely be too drunk to drive. Wouldn't she? Maybe. Maybe the murder itself sobered Diane on the spot. Hell, that would sober up anyone. Wouldn't it?

“Add to that, she has no alibi,” Burt continued relentlessly. “She told Peterson she was at her apartment the night Cooper was killed, and there are plenty of witnesses who saw her drinking at the bar before heading to Cooper's ranch. On top of that, she lied to the police. That makes it look even worse.” Burt wagged his head. “Not good. Not good at all.”

Kelly felt the grimness of Diane's situation sink over her like a dark cloud. She could see her observations about Diane's story hadn't impressed Burt at all. Even so, Kelly felt obligated to pass along the other piece of information that might be relevant. “Yeah, it looks bad, that's for sure,” she admitted. “There is one thing, though. Diane swears she saw another car driving up to Derek's ranch as she was leaving that night.”

Burt's eyebrows arched again in obvious skepticism. “Really? Now, I wonder why she'd say that? Maybe she's trying to deflect suspicion from herself. Have you thought of that?”

Kelly gave a resigned sigh. She was getting nowhere, so it was time to throw in the towel. For now. “Okay, Burt, I know it sounds flimsy, but I'd like you to pass it along to Peterson anyway, okay?”

Burt looked at Kelly with that familiar fatherly expression she'd come to appreciate. “Sure, Kelly. I'll pass it along, for what it's worth. But I want you to promise you'll be more skeptical of this Diane from now on, okay?”

Skepticism was Kelly's second nature, so she could easily agree. “I promise,” she said, crossing her heart.

Kelly
tabbed through the spreadsheet, deftly adding numbers, transferring numbers. Numbers, numbers, numbers. Thank goodness for numbers in her life. Numbers were straightforward. Either right or wrong. Numbers didn't lie—unless someone made them. People could make numbers lie. Deliberately twisting numbers until they concealed the truth.

She drained the last of her coffee. Is that what Diane had been doing at lunch yesterday? she wondered. Twisting the truth, so that Kelly and Jennifer would believe her and maybe convince others? Had Diane killed in a drunken rage, then sobered up enough to realize what she'd done? Was she drinking herself into a stupor every night to escape her guilty conscience?

The cell phone jangled and she flipped it open while she continued entering figures. “Kelly here.”

“Kelly, it's me. I'm over at Diane's apartment.” Jennifer's voice was breathless. “She's going off the deep end. Her boss called this morning and fired her. And if that wasn't bad enough, who shows up at her door then? Peterson. And he brought another detective with him this time. She's a basket case, Kelly. She's crying and whimpering, almost hysterical. She has no money and no job, and now the police are after her. She's falling apart. I left Pete's as soon as she called me. But I don't know what to do now. I'm afraid to leave her alone.”

“Is she sober, Jen?” Kelly asked, wondering if this was fear or a calculated response by Diane to get Jennifer's sympathy.

“Ohhhh, yeah. She's so sober she's shaking like a leaf. Says she hasn't had a drink since we had lunch together, and there's no liquor in the apartment.”

“Well, thank God for that,” Kelly breathed. “At least she was sober for Peterson's questions.”

“Maybe so, but he scared her senseless. Told her not to leave town. Told her they knew she'd lied to them before. Stuff like that. I'm not sure she was too rational when she talked to them.” Jennifer swore softly. “Damn it, Kelly, what do we do with her? We can't just abandon her, but…but I don't know what to do. Should we forcibly take her over and put her into a facility or something? I haven't had a chance to even ask how that works. She may freak out entirely if we take her there.”

Kelly stared at the blinking cursor on the computer screen, her mind whirling. What should they do? How could they help Diane? Suddenly a face appeared in the back of Kelly's mind. A familiar face. Someone who'd been in this situation herself. Jayleen Swinson. Jayleen would know what to do.

“Jennifer, let me make a call,” Kelly blurted. “Can you stay there with Diane for a while?”

“Yeah, for an hour or so, but I've got clients at two this afternoon. Who are you going to call?”

“Jayleen. She'll know what to do. I'll call her right now.”

“Great idea, Kelly. Let me know as soon as you hear from her. I'll try and calm Diane,” Jennifer said before clicking off.

Kelly found Jayleen's number and punched it into the phone, praying that voice mail didn't answer. Blessedly, Jayleen's voice came on instead. “Thank God you're there, Jayleen. Jennifer and I need your help.”

“Hey, Kelly, are you all right?” Jayleen sounded alarmed. “Did you two have an accident or something? Tell me where you are, and I'll be right over.”

“No, it's nothing like that, Jayleen. It's someone else who needs your help, a close friend of Jennifer's. She's in bad shape.”

“My help? Is it someone from the shop? Anyone I know?”

“No, it's…it's one of Jennifer's girlfriends, a drinking buddy. She's, well, she's in real bad shape. Jennifer and I want to help her, but we don't know how to handle this. Right now, she's nearly hysterical. She's been trying to get sober, but this morning really pushed her over the edge. Her boss fired her, and the county police showed up at her door.”

“Whoa…” Jayleen breathed. “A double whammy.”

“Yeah, that's what we thought. We're the ones who encouraged her to stay off the booze, so we want to keep helping her, but I feel like the whole situation has been kicked up a notch.”

“You're right, it has.” Jayleen paused for several seconds. “Why don't you start at the beginning of this sorry tale and fill me in on how she got where she is now. What's her name?”

“Diane. Diane Perkins,” Kelly said, then began to relate everything that had happened these last few weeks. Diane's drinking, her stormy shared relationship with Derek, her drunken threat at the bar, his death, lying to the police, bar stories, blackouts, Diane's story, and Burt's reaction. Kelly didn't leave out anything, and she did not varnish over anything either. Diane's behavior spoke for itself.

Jayleen was quiet for a full minute after Kelly finished. “I have to say, that brings back a lot of memories,” she said at last.

“I hate to say it, but that's why I called,” Kelly admitted. “I thought you'd know what to do. Should Jennifer take Diane somewhere? A treatment center or something?”

“Does Diane have family anywhere around?”

“No one, according to Jen.”

“Well, then, it looks like it's up to us to pull this girl out of the cesspool she's fallen into. Better yet, give her a helping hand so she can pull herself out.”

“Hey, Jayleen, Jennifer and I don't expect you to get involved. We simply needed some advice. We can handle it—”

“Begging your pardon, Kelly, no, you can't. Neither can Jennifer. Neither one of you has any experience with drunks, but I do. I was one. So I'm joining this rescue.”

Feeling guilty now, Kelly tried again to dissuade good-hearted Jayleen's intentions. “Jayleen, you've got too much on your plate right now, you told me so the other day. We cannot impose on you.”

“Trust me, Kelly, some things are more important than others. And this is one of them. Diane sounds like she's sinking fast. I remember when it was me, and my cousin Vickie was there to rescue me. I could never repay her when she was alive…” Jayleen's voice drifted off for a second. “But maybe this is a way I can give back. By being there for someone else the way Vickie was for me.”