The Betrayal of Lies (19 page)

“That’s all we’ve got for now,” Emily said to Isabel when she noticed Colin approaching. “Keep me posted if you dig up anything else.”

“What are you two up to in here?” Colin asked.

“Not much.” Emily grinned at Isabel. “Just girl talk.”

“I’ll bet,” he said.

“I think I’ll go see if anyone wants some coffee.” Isabel took her leave and headed for the family room.

“Seems Elise’s funeral is tomorrow at two,” Emily said, watching her friend walk away. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and Mr. Murphy will give something away.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, Babe.” Colin slipped his arms around her waist. “That man is like a steel trap.”

She slid her hands up his well-muscled arms and enjoyed the strength of them around her. “Perhaps I can figure out what will unlock it and get him to sing like a canary.”

Colin gave a deep laugh. “If anyone can, it’d be you, Babe.”

Emily pushed up on her tiptoes and kissed him sweetly.

“Hey,” Peter said, walking in on them, “what’s so funny?”

~*~

The next day, at a few minutes before two, Colin and Emily entered the sanctuary of the Cathedral of the Rockies as soft music played. He wore his black suit and she chose a sleeveless black dress with pearl buttons down the front.

She glanced around the spacious and serene room, with voluminous ceilings and walls of stained glass, looking for Camille, Maggie, and Peter. The front of the auditorium was overflowing with fragrant and colorful floral arrangements, and a beautiful mahogany casket sat in the center with an elaborate spray of pink roses laid on top.

Emily squeezed Colin’s hand as her chest tightened, visualizing Elise’s dead body lying inside. After the way she was murdered, Emily wondered if the casket would remain closed. Goose bumps rippled over her bare arms.

“Are you all right?” Colin whispered.

She nodded as she drew in a deep breath. “It feels cold in here to me.”

A stunning painting of Elise was perched on a brass easel to the right of the casket and an elaborately carved oak podium stood on the left. A choir in deep purple robes with gold neck sashes filed into their pews across the back of the platform.

Emily spotted Camille in a summery navy blue dress, setting off her shock of short red hair. She was standing and waving them over, then pointing to the empty space at the end of their pew that they had saved for them. Their pew was on the right, five rows back from the front.

As they made their way down the center aisle, Emily noticed Patrick’s assistant Kara, dressed in a collarless black suit buttoned up to her neck, her blonde hair pulled neatly up in a twist. She was seated next to the Murphys’ attorney on the second row directly behind where Emily assumed the family would be seated.

On the second row across the aisle sat the Governor and his wife, alongside Maggie’s brother Sully, who was the Mayor of Paradise Valley, and his wife. Chief of Police Nelson slid in beside them, wearing his dress uniform. He gave Emily a quick smile when he saw her looking his way.

Camille hugged Emily briefly as she and Colin worked their way past their friends to reach their saved seats. Maggie remained seated, her arms crossed, apparently still miffed at the two of them, but Peter extended his hand to Colin as they passed by.

“Did we miss anything?” Emily quietly asked Peter, seated between him and Colin.

“Not yet.”

A side door opened and an older man in a dark gray suit emerged, presumably the pastor, followed by Patrick, then a young redheaded woman who was likely Kaitlyn, and a few other women Emily didn’t recognize—maybe sisters or cousins she assumed. The pastor went to the podium, as the others took their places on the front row, signaling the service was about to begin.

Emily remembered back to the last funeral she had attended—Evan’s. The grief was so overwhelming that the service was a blur in her memory. What was Patrick thinking now, knowing his bride was lying dead inside that expensive ornate box? She was seated too far behind him to observe his expression, read his face, to know if he was sincerely grieving for her.

Perhaps she could tell more at the graveside service.

~*~

After the funeral was over, Emily stood in the large foyer of the church with Colin and their friends. The girls reminisced about what a genuinely kind woman Elise had been and how much they were all going to miss her.

“Did anyone see Isabel here?” Camille asked, looking around at the crowd.

“I got a text from her earlier that she was stuck at work,” Emily said.

“Well, she didn’t really know Elise anyway,” Camille replied.

“Are we all heading to the cemetery for the graveside service?” Peter asked. “I’d like to go just to see who shows up—you know, those closest to the family, for my story.”

Camille fluffed her spiky hair. “Sorry, but I need to get back to work. I’ve been gone too long already. I’m catering an event late this afternoon.”

“I’d like to go,” Emily said, looking up at Colin, hoping to get a minute with Kaitlyn after it was over.

Colin nodded.

“Let me make a quick stop in the ladies room first.” Emily’s attention shifted to Maggie. “Maggs, would you like to come?”

“No thank you.”

~*~

While Emily was in one of the six stalls, she heard a toilet flush, then the click of high heels on the tile floor, followed by running water.

When she emerged from her stall, she noticed it was Kara St. James in the reflection of the mirror. Her suit jacket was draped over her arm as she dried her hands, exposing the white silk tank top she wore.

“Hello, Kara.”

Kara slipped on her jacket as her gaze raised to the reflection in the mirror. She quickly began buttoning it up. “Emily, isn’t it?”

But Kara wasn’t fast enough. Emily had already seen it. The red garnet necklace hung around Kara’s neck.

Had Patrick Murphy given it to her? Was she more than just his assistant? Was she his mistress?

“Lovely service, wasn’t it?” Kara asked. “Elise Murphy was a wonderful woman.”

“Yes, she was.” Emily offered a pensive smile as she washed her hands. “How is her husband handling the loss?”

“As well as can be expected.” Kara opened the washroom door, but stopped to face Emily before she stepped out. “Especially with you people accusing him of killing her.”

“We’re simply following the evidence.” Emily’s words trailed behind the woman as the door swooshed closed.

Emily stared into the mirror as she debated what to do. Should she mention the necklace? Or could she use what she just saw to expose the murderer? Kara obviously had some kind of relationship with Patrick. Had he given her the jewelry after ripping it from his dead wife’s neck?

On the other hand, Kara had admitted that she was acquainted with Jake through their connection at the Serenity Health Spa, so the two of them could easily have been in a relationship of some kind. Although, it couldn’t have been Jake who gave the necklace to Kara, not unless she had been at the cabin and escaped before Emily and Colin showed up, because he’d been in the hospital all this time.

No matter how she spun it, it still did not point clearly at either Jake or Patrick. Unless…

Emily watched her reflection as her own eyes flew open at her next thought. Could Kara have been the one who tore the necklace off Elise in a jealous rage? Maybe even shot her?

She shook her head. Doubtful. She was still at Patrick’s office when Emily had followed him to the cabin. Or was she? Could she have managed to sneak out a different exit while Emily kept her eye on the silver Audi?

Emily decided to keep quiet about what she saw—for now. There were too many unanswered questions. She and Colin would have to figure out the best way to discover how the garnet necklace came into Kara’s possession and how they could use that information to find the real killer.

~*~

Peter hitched a ride to the cemetery with Emily and Colin. On the drive, Emily told Colin about seeing the necklace around Kara’s neck when they were in the restroom.

“She rushed to button up her jacket when she saw me, like she was trying to hide it,” Emily explained. “I thought it was odd she would wear a black jacket with a high collar on such a warm day.”

“Maybe it’s the only black outfit she owns,” Peter offered from the back seat.

Colin stopped at a red light, waiting to pull the Jeep onto the road that headed to the outskirts of town where the cemetery was located. “Wouldn’t Elise’s necklace have broken when it was pulled off? Are you certain it was the same necklace?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Emily said. “That pendant is very unique. Maybe she had it repaired—I don’t know. You can check the ATM video again, if you want.”

“I believe you.” Colin rested his forearm on the top of the steering wheel. “So, she’s wearing Elise’s jewelry, yet she covered it up.” He paused as he considered the implications. “That tells me the necklace meant something to her, but what?”

“Maybe it made her feel important,” Peter suggested.

“Or loved?” Colin supposed. The light changed and he accelerated.

“Or that somehow she had triumphed over Elise, like maybe it was a sign she would be the next Mrs. Murphy.” Emily twisted in her seat toward Colin and glanced back at Peter. “But hiding it like she did, that says no one was supposed to know she had it, except maybe the man who gave it to her.”

Colin shifted into a higher gear. “The killer.”

Emily crossed her arms and sat back in her seat. “Kara screwed up and now we’re going to find out who that man is.”

Peter leaned forward and stuck his head between the front seats. “I want to be there when you do.”

“We can’t promise that, Peter,” Emily said.

“Can’t blame a guy for trying.”

“We’ll have to question Kara,” Colin said.

“After the service,” Emily advised. “Out of respect for Elise.”

“As soon as the service is over,” Colin said. “That woman is not leaving with that necklace.”

“She’ll lawyer up as soon as we have her,” Emily said. “My guess is that Mr. Gray will offer his services and she’ll clam up.”

Colin’s brows knit together as he paused to think about that one. “Then we’ll have to come up with a way to separate her from Murphy and Gray.” Colin phoned Ernie to meet them at the cemetery to take Kara St. James in for questioning.

“Don’t we need a search warrant to take the necklace from her?” Emily asked.

“Maybe there’s a way we can get her to hand it over.”

Chapter 21

Family and close friends were gathered in a loose semi-circle around the casket as it hovered on a stand over the open grave, with the minister positioned on the other side of it. At the front of the small crowd stood Kaitlyn to Patrick’s right. Kara was on his left, standing between him and his attorney. Thank goodness for the light breeze and the shade from the tall trees or the mourners would have been baking in the hot summer sun.

Not being part of the family or friends, Colin, Emily, and Peter remained off to the side a short way and observed the service, as well as the attendees. Peter stealthily captured photos of the mourners, particularly those standing in the front row.

Kaitlyn dabbed at her eyes several times with a cloth hanky, as the minister said a few words over her mother’s remains. Her auburn hair hung around her shoulders, looking much like her mother’s.

Patrick’s expression was somber and he wiped his hands over his eyes at the end. He looked older than when Emily had seen him at the house during the initial search for Elise, which had been less than a week ago. Maybe it was her imagination, but his hair appeared to have more gray in it and the delicate skin around his eyes more wrinkled. Perhaps he really had loved her.

Kara and Russell stood serious and expressionless, both dressed in well-tailored black suits, obviously doing their duty to be there to be there to support Patrick. Emily noticed Kara pull a tissue from her purse. But rather than dabbing tears from her eyes, she blotted sweat from her forehead and upper lip, then she fanned her neck with the memorial program.

The casket was lowered and each person took a white rose from a crystal vase that had been placed on a small round table. As they walked by, they each threw it on the casket, a symbol of their final good-byes to Elise.

After the rose ceremony, a number of people approached Patrick and Kaitlyn, shaking hands and giving hugs, offering condolences. Kara and Russell patiently stood, waiting for them to finish.

From their vantage point off to the side, Colin and Emily, along with Peter, continued to observe the players, looking for a chance to divert Kara away from the others. They assumed Patrick and his circle would all ride together back to the house in the black stretch limo they had arrived in, so the window of opportunity would be small.

While Kaitlyn was still speaking with a couple of older women, who Emily thought might be relatives of Elise’s, Patrick joined Russell and Kara. Peter took that opportunity to cut in and introduce himself to the group before focusing on Kara.

“Miss St. James, could I have a word with you?” he asked. “It’ll just take a minute.”

Kara looked at Russell and then at Patrick.

“Just be careful what you say,” Russell muttered. “You know how the press is.”

“Understood. I won’t be long,” she assured him. “See you at the car?”

The men nodded and walked away, then Kara spun back to Peter. “All right, if you keep it short. We have to get back to the house.”

“As I said, I’m a reporter for Channel Four News in Seattle, and I’d like to get an interview with you, on camera of course.”

“Why me?”

“Well, Patrick Murphy is pretty well known around the country and with you being his assistant and having known his wife, my boss thought you could bring an interesting insight into what happened to Elise Murphy.”

“He did? On camera?” Kara’s face lit up at the opportunity to be on television.

While Peter kept Miss St. James engaged in conversation, Emily kept an eye on Kaitlyn, who was moving toward the limousine. With long strides, Emily rushed to catch up to offer her condolences before she reached the car.