A Classic Case of Murder: Detective Crime Mystery Suspense (Ben and Mark Detective Investigator Mystery Series) (2 page)

“You can’t really do that these days, can you?” Mark spoke up for the first time.

“Not really, no.” Amber shook her head.

“We’ll need to get her address.” Mark continued. “And I am sorry but we’ll need to get your information, as well, and if you have plans to go out of town, please don’t.”

Amber and Danny both nodded. “We understand.” Danny said. “We have a funeral…to plan.”

“Oh Danny there’s going to be so many people.” Amber broke down again, her tears streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry, honey. I’m sorry.”

Ben and Mark walked away from the couple after taking down the Joiner address and Carrie’s. They made their way through the scene back to the car and got in. Mark was driving again and he sat for a moment without starting it. “So no boyfriend. And you know almost personally that she was a well-liked woman. We have suspects but no real primary. Hmmm.”

“This doesn’t look like it’s going to be a very easy case to solve, sir.”

Mark looked at him while turning the key in the ignition.

“Things aren’t always what they seem, Keyes. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

Ben was sitting at the computer, staring at it and moving the pointer around on the screen. “She does have quite a few social media accounts, sir. I’ll search through them for the names on the list and see if there are any stalkers that might be threatening her but it could take a while. She had many fans and friends and followers.”

Mark looked at him from where he was standing in the foyer, flipping through Carrie’s unopened mail. “Did you have any trouble getting in?”

Ben looked back at him. “No. Amber was right. She had no password protection on her laptop. It was easy to access everything.”

Mark shook his head. “She was trusting. Says something about her character, doesn’t it?”

Ben clicked on several folders and browsed through the documents. “Looks like she was in the middle of a new book.”

“What was her most recent publication, Keyes?” Mark asked curiously, turning to look at him again.

“It was her autobiography.” Ben never looked up from the screen. His eyes moved rapidly as he scanned information. “It was called
Hope in the Journey
. She says in it that she was a saved Christian, who turned her life around about six years ago. But according to her own words, her childhood was better than most and everyone knew her as friendly and kind, even in high school. So what she had to turn her life around from remains a mystery.”

“Hmmm.” Mark contemplated what Ben had told him. “Well, regardless of her kindness and friendliness, someone decided to take that girl’s life. We need to find out exactly who that was.”

“Yes, sir.” Ben looked up at him. “Here’s something we might be able to use, sir. She has a database of her friends and family on here and it’s labeled…” He smiled. “With pictures and relationship statuses. Like Best Friends forever, here under Cindy Lockhart’s profile.”

Mark walked over to him, Carrie’s mail still in his hand. “That’s incredibly helpful.” He murmured. “It’s kind of sad when a murder victim is helpful in the investigation in to their own death.”

“I guess so, sir.” Ben just nodded. “I’ll make a printout of this database so we don’t have to write them all down. Would you mind turning that printer on over there, sir?”

Mark turned to look in the direction Ben was pointing. He hurried over to it and pressed the green “on” button. He gave Ben a nod and the Sargent pressed the print button on the screen.

“Do you think the sister or brother in law had anything to do with this murder, sir?” Ben asked, scooting the chair back and stepping away from it toward Mark. Mark looked up at him and shook his head.

“Everyone is a suspect, Keyes. But in this case, with those two, I think probably not. They both seemed genuinely distressed and were very forthcoming with information. They both apparently loved Carrie as a sister, as well. I saw nothing that would lead me to believe there was any kind of affair going on between Danny and Carrie nor did I see the signs of a feud between the sisters.”

Ben nodded. “I agree, sir.”

“I noticed you didn’t ask them where they were yesterday afternoon. I didn’t push the question because I happen to agree with your assessment of them and did then, too.”

Ben gave him a small grin. “Glad to hear it, sir.”

“Let’s have a look at this database printout. You take these pages and I’ll take these pages.” He sorted them into two piles and gave Ben one of them. There were three people to each page, with names, addresses, phone numbers, relationships and even a personal note on some of them. “She took detailed notes.”

“I suppose that’s what professional writers do, Keyes.” Mark sat down on a nearby couch and looked surprised for a moment when he sunk into it. “Good Lord,” He said and pushed himself up with one hand. “I can’t sit there. I think I might be too heavy.”

Ben laughed softly. “No sir. It’s the kind of couch it is. Very deep cushions. My sister has one like it. I hate it, too.”

They both chuckled and sat at a kitchen table that was sitting adjacent to the couch, pulling out the high-backed chairs and spreading the pages out in front of them.

“Here’s Cindy’s profile.” Ben took a yellow highlighter from the inside pocket of his suit and made a big circle around Cindy’s profile. “The two below specify that they are “business only”. Not sure what that means. What kind of business would she have to discuss besides anyone but her publisher?”

“That’s a good question, Keyes. Make a note of it.”

They continued looking through the pages, pulling out Melissa Gilmore’s, three that were first name “Jackie” and Tucker Campbell. They made two piles, one that had any kind of friend or family relationship status and the other all business.

“What do you suppose her business contacts had to do with her, sir? I mean, she was an author, right? I didn’t read anything about business in her autobiography.”

“When was that book released, Keyes?” Mark asked, running his eyes around the room, standing up and walking around. He moved pictures and touched knick-knacks with a gloved hand. It was unlikely they were going to dust Carrie’s home for fingerprints but Mark liked to be cautious.

“It came out this past May, sir.”

Mark nodded. “All right. I think we should start by…Ben, look at this. Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

Mark was standing next to a large globe that had gold trims around the edges and the globe section was etched glass.

“I saw that when we came in, sir.” Ben replied, standing up and approaching the Inspector. “It’s an amazing piece of craftsmanship.”

“It certainly is.” Mark agreed. “Look at this.” He lifted the globe so that the glass slid over to the side and revealed a marble and glass chess set underneath. Ben sucked in a breath of admiration.

“Oh my. That is very nice, isn’t it?” He exclaimed.

Mark nodded. “I think so, too. She had very good taste, didn’t she? Her home is nicely decorated. It looks calm and peaceful.”

“You can tell what she was like by the peace in this place.” Ben said, nodding and looking around the living room behind him. “I’m telling you, sir, it seems so strange that she would be killed like this.”

“I think what’s sad is that we are interpreting this to be something on her. How could it have happened to her when she was such a nice woman? It’s most likely
because
she was a nice woman. Let’s talk to her friends. Let’s see what else we can find out about our dear late Carrie Wellington.”

They left the house, leaving it in the hands of the patrol officers that were there to make sure nothing happened to Carrie’s things until the investigation was over and it was all claimed by the Joiners.

They headed to the publisher’s office, which, as Amber described, was on the outskirts of town and looked more like a large old house than an office building. They entered the building to see that the inside had been remodeled to look exactly like an office building, without the separation of walls and a wide open space to sit in while waiting for someone to pay attention.

Mark and Ben went to the receptionist’s desk, their IDs in their hand and exposed to the woman behind the counter. She smiled, her eyes shining behind her green-rimmed glasses. “How can I help you, detectives?”

“I’m Inspector Mark Bullard and this is Sargent Ben Keyes. We would like to see Frank Hayes, if you don’t mind.”

“I will ring him immediately, sir, if you would like to just wait here.”

He nodded and turned to Ben. “When we find out what time she left her meeting with him, we will have a clearer picture of what time the death occurred.”

“Sir? There are some policemen here to see you. Yes, sir. All right.” She hung up and put her hand on the small doorknob that would open the half-door and let her out. “Please follow me, gentlemen. Frank will see you right away.”

The men shared a look and followed after the young woman. Frank’s office was down a carpeted hallway at the very end. The receptionist opened the door and stepped into the office.

“Mr. Hayes, this is Inspector Bullard and Sargent Keyes to see you.”

“Thank you, Mary. Please close the door on your way out.”

“Yes, Mr. Hayes.” She stepped behind Mark and Ben and closed the door as she went out.

“How can I help you gentlemen?” Mr. Hayes stood up and leaned over his desk to shake their hands. They sat afterward and Ben pulled out his notebook, looking at Mark.

“We need to inform you, sir,” Mark said. “That your client Carrie Wellington has been found dead in her car.”

“What?” Mr. Hayes face drained white. “That is terrible news! That is just terrible news!” He turned in his swivel chair and put his head in his hands. “How did it happen? Was she in an accident?”

“No sir, we are treating this as a murder investigation.”

His eyes widened in shock. “Murder?! Who would want to murder Carrie? She was the sweetest woman I’ve ever met! She never caused harm to anyone!”

“So we’ve heard.” Mark nodded. “But we must ask the questions that are relevant to finding out how this happened to this woman. Please tell us, sir, what time did Carrie leave from here yesterday after your appointment?”

Frank clenched his jaw and appeared to be keeping himself under control and attempting to remember whatever he could. “I’d say she left here about…close to three. Her appointment was at one-thirty, she arrived a little bit late and we talked for about an hour. She probably left about 2:50 or 2:45.”

Ben wrote this down in his notebook. “Do you have any kind of security cameras on your building?”

Frank nodded. “As a matter fact, we do. Being out here in the country, we take extra precautions so that no wild animals come on the property…and that includes humans.” He tried to grin but his distress was clear. “I will get them to you right away.” He picked up his phone and told his secretary to retrieve the disc from yesterday’s surveillance. “I can’t imagine who would do something to sweet Carrie. May I ask…was she shot? Run off the road?”

“Sir, what did you do after she left yesterday?” Ben asked, dodging the question.

“I guess I…stayed here. You can ask Mary. She stayed out there until 5pm and then left. I was in here receiving clients all day or talking on the phone to them. I…can’t remember right now who my appointments were with after Carrie. I’m…in a bit of a fog. I have lost a major client. She made a lot of money for my agency. What a loss! What a loss!”

Ben and Mark glanced at each other knowingly. Frank was seeing dollar signs fading away.

“Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt Carrie?” Mark asked. “Anyone at all? Did she receive any letters from crazed fans or stalkers?”

Frank shook his head but looked thoughtful. “I…don’t think so. I don’t remember if we ever received anything like that. She just recently gave me a demo from a fan to listen to but I hadn’t gotten to it yet.”

“Would you know if someone was harassing her or stalking her?” Ben asked. “I mean, is this something that you would know about?”

Frank nodded. “Yes. If one of my major clients was being threatened, I would surely know.”

“All right.” Mark said. “Is there anything you can tell us about her state of mind when she left? Was she happy? Sad? Normal?”

“I…I would say she was normal. We didn’t have anything exciting going on, just more book signings for her and a radio interview coming up. She was on television last week, promoting her
Hope in the Journey
, not sure if you saw it.”

Ben nodded while Mark shook his head. Ben looked at his boss with a smile and caught Frank’s attention. “I did see it. She was lovely.”

“Yes, I thought so, too. That’s why I can’t believe this. She was such a nice woman.”

“We do appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Hayes. If we think of any other questions, we will be sure to let you know. And if you think of anything you might be able to add to this investigation, please contact me or Ben immediately at this number.” He pulled a business card from his wallet and handed it to him. “That’s my cell. You can even text me if you don’t feel comfortable calling.”

“Thank you, inspector Bullard.” Frank took the card, scanning it and nodding.

The two men turned to leave. Before they went through the door that Ben had pulled open, Mark turned back to Frank. “By the way, do you happen to have a copy of
Hope in the Journey
laying around the I could have?”

Frank pressed his lips together, giving Mark a look. “I do have one
lying
around you can have, as a matter of fact.” He reached into the top right drawer of his desk and pulled out a copy of Carrie’s book. He held it out and Mark came back to take it from him.

“Thank you very much.” Mark smiled at him.

“You’re welcome, Inspector. And please keep me as informed as you can. This is a tragic personal and business loss. I hope you find whoever did this to that wonderful lady.”

Mark nodded. “We are going to catch him or her. I promise.”

He turned and the two of them left the office.

He flipped through the book, noting the dedication was to Carrie’s sister and to the four friends Amber had mentioned, each by name. “So this is why she remembered the names of Carrie’s friends.” He mumbled.