The Heart of Lies

chapter 21



“Hey, Ernie.” Colin gave a friendly clap on the older detective’s back, catching Ernie standing in the office building’s main hall, staring into the taped-off crime scene. “We hoped we’d catch you here.”

Ernie turned and noticed Emily coming up behind Colin. “Hello, Emily. You’ve been with this clown all day?” Ernie asked with a smirk, hiking up his pants.

“We were wondering if you found anything new,” she said, staring up into the face of the tall, burly detective.

“Like a bloody paperweight?” Ernie asked. “Sorry, no. I had the CSI team comb this place from top to bottom.”

“What about the dumpster out back?” she asked.

“Yep.”

“Under the stairs?” Colin asked.

“Got it covered.”

“You went through Fiona’s desk, too?” Emily questioned.

“They did.”

“That could only mean one thing,” she said.

“What’s that?” Ernie asked, rubbing his chin.

“The killer took it,” she answered.

“No, really?” Ernie asked sarcastically, raising his eyebrows and dipping his chin. “Nothing like the obvious.”

“So who are you going to search next, Detective?” she asked.

“I don’t want to say just yet, but I have a search warrant in the works. It should be ready within the hour. If nothing turns up at the first place, then we’ll go down the list.”

“And what list would that be?” Emily arched an eyebrow at him.

Colin seemed amused by the banter between the two of them.

“Well, little lady, who do you think should be on that list?”

“As much as I hate to say it, I think you’ll have the mayor at the top of that list.”

“Well, yes. He is Maggie’s brother and he might have been defending her honor,” Ernie agreed. “Then again, he was the first to invest in the new resort, and we know he was here about the time Josh was.”

“How do you know that?” Emily asked.

“Turns out, he was on the security tape coming in, but not leaving.”

“Did you interview him?”

“Not yet. I’ve left messages at his office and his home, but no response. I even stopped by his house, but no one answered the door. I won’t need his permission to search his house, though, once I get the search warrant.

“Okay, then there’s Fiona,” Emily added to the list.

“Fiona? The assistant?” Ernie’s voice rose with surprise. “Why would she be on the list?”

“When Colin and I interviewed Josh he said he heard her coming down the stairs as he left. He hid under the stairs over there,” Emily motioned down the hall toward the alcove under the central staircase, “and watched her pass by and go into the office. Josh said he made sure Lucas was still breathing before he left, so she would have been the last one to see Lucas alive.”

“That’s assuming he was telling the truth,” Ernie shot back.

“Did he tell you about Fiona when you questioned him?” Colin asked.

“He did, but I figured he was just trying to cover his six, you know.”

“His butt, Emily. It’s a military term,” Colin explained.

“Yes, I know. You use it all the time.” She grinned at him. “Are you already forgetting all the time we spent together?”

She turned back to Ernie. “Well, Ernie, did you know Lucas and Fiona were having an affair?”

“I might have heard something about that. Doesn’t mean she killed him. Besides, she never showed up on the security video,” Ernie said.

“You do know there’s a back door to this building, right? And there’s no camera out there?” she asked. “Anyone who knew that could have come and gone without being caught on tape.”

“Yeah, but I can only work with what I have. Josh Sullivan is who I have admitting he was in a knock-down, drag-out fight with the victim and he’s on tape coming and going around the time of the murder.”

“Doesn’t mean he killed him.” Emily used Ernie’s words against him and he winced. “Fiona could have been jealous of Maggie, that Lucas was choosing Maggie over her.” Emily planted her hands on her hips. “Josh might be the easiest suspect, Ernie, but he can’t be the only one.”

“All right, who else is on your list?” Ernie asked, crossing his arms over his girth.

“Just about anyone who invested in the Whitetail Resort.”

“Yeah, I had a whole passel of folks storming the police station yesterday morning, wondering where their money was,” Ernie said. “How was I supposed to know where their money was? That job’s far above my pay grade.”

“I’d say start with the short list first, Ernie,” Colin recommended. “Then, if the murder weapon doesn’t turn up at any of those places, I’ll help you narrow down the investor pool to possible suspects.”

“The police chief isn’t going to like me burning through city funds chasing after all these potential suspects,” Ernie waved his arms as he spoke, “when we already have our prime suspect under arrest—especially ones like the mayor and some of our wealthiest citizens.”

“Just tell him Doc Walters has identified the murder weapon and you’ll leave no stone unturned in this town to find it. Besides, you’re on the payroll whether there’s a case or not, so you might as well be working for your pay. He’ll understand that,” Colin encouraged him.

Ernie nodded in agreement.

“You don’t think anyone’s gotten into this office since the murder, do you?” Emily asked, stepping past Ernie, peeking into the office from the barrier of the yellow crime scene tape.

“I can’t imagine how. I used Lucas’s key to lock it up. It’s here in my pocket,” Ernie replied, digging the key out.

“What about Fiona? Wouldn’t she have a key?” Emily scanned the room.

“She swore to me she didn’t have one, claimed Lucas was very private about the project, and didn’t want anyone in the office when he wasn’t here.” Ernie shoved the key back in his pocket.

“And you believed her?” Emily asked pointedly, as she turned her attention back to him.

“Why shouldn’t I?” Ernie asked, cocking his head and knitting his eyebrows together.

“Think about it, Ernie. If she does have a key, she could easily have gotten in and taken whatever she wanted since the murder. She probably has access to the files on Lucas’s computer, too.”

“I guess I could post an officer here, night and day, but I doubt the police chief would approve that,” the detective suggested, pushing his hands into his pants pockets.

“My guess is that if she wanted something out of this office, Ernie, she’s already been here and taken it.” Emily scrunched her lips sideways in exasperation.

“She’s right, Ernie.” Colin crossed his arms, shifting his weight to one hip. “Are you having a techie go through his computer? There may be clues there—emails, banking information, documents—who knows.”

“Well, I can tell you the CSI team took both Lucas’s and Fiona’s computers with them this morning. They said they’d let me know if they found anything.” Ernie hiked his pants up by the waist again. “I hope there’s a clue to where all that money went.”

At the word money, Emily’s thoughts immediately darted to Sully Sullivan and the hundred thousand dollars he desperately needed back. She wondered if Lucas had kept any incriminating notes in the computer about the mayor’s indiscretion.

“If there isn’t a clue,” Ernie predicted with a slight shake of his head, “there’ll be hell to pay.”

~*~

“Why don’t we stop at Moxie Java, Emily? I could use some coffee,” Colin suggested as he drove down Main Street on his way to drop her off at home.

“Mmm, that sounds good. I could use a pick-me-up right now. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Why not?” His voice showed concern, as he glanced in the rearview mirror, then took a quick look at the side mirrors.

“Just a lot on my mind,” she watched him, “with the murder, and Maggie and Josh, and Jethro, and you—” she noticed him checking the mirrors again, “—is something wrong?”

“Don’t look, but I think we’re being followed.”

She spun around and looked out the rear window.

“Hey, didn’t I say don’t look? Why do people always do that?” he grumbled.

She whipped back forward, eyes staring straight ahead. “Is this better?”

“I’m serious. Why is someone following us?” He looked in the mirror again as he pulled into a parking space in front of the coffee shop. This time the car was gone.

“Maybe it was nothing,” she said.

“I guess when you turned around and looked, he saw he was made and turned off.”

“What kind of car was it?” she asked.

“Black, mid-size sedan, late model, not sure which make—he was several cars back, and they’re all starting to look the same these days.”

“What makes you think he was following us?”

“I saw the car behind us at the courthouse, then again when we left the hospital.”

“Did you get a look at the driver?”

“No, he was too far away.”

“Then how do you know it was a man?” she asked.

“I don’t, just assumed.”

“It could be a woman then, right?”

“Could be,” he conceded.

“Well, they’re gone now. Let’s go inside.” She gave his hand a light press.

He caught her before she could draw her hand back, and he held it firmly in his, turning his head to catch her gaze. “You were talking about not being able sleep last night? You rattled off a laundry list of things on your mind, and you probably thought I wasn’t listening, but I was. You tacked me on the end. What did you mean?”

Emily lowered her eyes, a little embarrassed as the memory of her dreams flashed back to her, feeling a warm sensation rush over her core. She wasn’t sure how much to tell him. The dream, as much as she could remember, was romantic and sensual.

The unsettling thing about the dream was that she was with Colin, sitting on her sofa, talking, then kissing passionately—she could clearly see his face, like watching a movie—but suddenly the scene changed and he became Evan, and they were in bed.

She remembered being thrilled Evan had come back to her. He’d made glorious love to her in the dream—as if he was still alive, still her husband—and she’d felt the full pleasure of it.

In the afterglow, he lay next to her in their bed and held her in his arms, pressing his warm lips to her temple. She’d felt loved and protected, the way she had always felt with him.

Then he morphed back into Colin, who was now the one holding her and kissing her forehead, assuring her everything would be okay, sitting on the sofa. Even though her feelings for Colin were strong, she had to admit, part of her longed to have Evan back.

She had awakened from the vivid dream in a sweat, feeling confused and wrung out. How could she possibly explain that to Colin? She decided to keep it short.

“Only that you were one of the many things on my mind last night.” Her lips curved with mischief, as she gazed into his sexy hazel eyes. “I’ve missed you and I’m glad to have you back, if only for a little while.”

Emily was never one to read much into the interpreting of dreams, but she wondered if this dream meant something. Maybe it was just that she hadn’t totally let go of Evan yet, as she thought she had.

She hoped learning who Evan really was would help her move on, and finally shut the door on that chapter of her life. How could she ever be happy with anyone else if Evan kept sticking his size eleven shoe in the closing door and reeling her back in?

“Just so you know, you’re often in my dreams too.” He lifted his hand tenderly to her cheek as he leaned over and kissed her. “Often.”