Bubblegum Blonde (11 page)

I pulled my hair into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic tie I had around my wrist. The fresh air against the back of my neck felt like heaven on earth.

"Call me crazy but yeah. I do," I answered. "There's something about him. I just couldn't bring myself to picture him as a murderer."

"I agree," Kelly said. "But let's not forget. He is an agent. He plays hardball for his clients every day. That whole teary-eyed business up there all could've very well been an act."

She wasn't telling me anything I didn't already know. Even still, I didn't believe that Robert killed his wife.

"I know you're right, but I don't see it. I don't think he killed Lydia."

Kelly blew a tress of thick, black hair out of her eyes and nodded. "I was hoping you'd agree with me because to be perfectly honest with you, I can't see him killing a fly, much less his wife."

"So as far as I'm concerned, we can wipe Robert Hatchett off our list of suspects."

"We have a list?" Kelly asked, surprised.

"Well, no. Not really," I admitted. "Which means I need to get my rear in gear."

I pulled out into traffic and pointed the car in the direction of the office.

I replayed our conversation with Hatchett in my head as I wove in and out of traffic. I wanted to get back to the office as soon as I could. I needed to call Jason in and find out the truth about what was going on between him and Lydia Hatchett. I also needed to get a better look at the address on the receipts I'd found in Lydia's nightstand and pay that motel a visit.

I thought back to what little I knew about the town of Trinity Grove or the Grove, as people often referred to it.

It was about a forty-five minute drive from the city and was a small, yet booming, tourist town. That was about the extent of my knowledge of the Grove. Even as a child, I'd never vacationed there.

As much as I wanted to believe that this was simply a case of husband-kills-wife-over-affair, I knew that that wasn't the case. Robert Hatchett didn't kill Lydia. I felt it in every fiber of my being.

On the other hand, as much as I hated to admit it, even though I didn't think he killed Lydia, I did have some mixed feelings about Jason King and had ever since he stepped foot into my office.

"So, what's next?" Kelly leaned back in her seat and stared blankly out the windshield.

I glanced over at Kelly then back at the road.

"I need to pay a visit to the motel listed on the receipts and see if the owner or the night manager can tell me something. Like if they remember Lydia or Jason. Then in the morning I'll call Jason and have him come in. He's hiding something, and it's about time he tells me what that something is."

If Jason admitted to the affair with Lydia, but not meeting her out in Trinity Grove, his admission could be a lead in the case that I desperately needed. If they weren't meeting in the Grove then Lydia was meeting someone else, and that someone else could very well be the murderer we were looking for.

When we reached the office after about fifteen minutes, Kelly's on-again, off-again boyfriend, Matt, was waiting to take her out to a late lunch. I told her to go and to have fun. There really was no reason for her to stick around. There weren't any clients scheduled for the rest of the day, and I could question the motel manager on my own.

Besides, who was I to deny on-again, off-again true (maybe, but not likely) love?

Mandy was on the phone when I entered the office, so I left her to her business and closed my office door behind me.

There were still a couple of hours left until closing time, so I settled in behind my desk and rummaged through the case file I'd put together. The file hadn't left my desk since I'd taken the case and was now full of financial records for the Hatchett's and Jason King, along with background information for Jason, Lydia, and Robert, along with the receipts I'd found in Lydia's bedroom.

I thought I'd have better luck talking to the motel's night manager seeing as all of the receipts were time-stamped after ten o'clock, which only solidified my suspicions that Lydia Hatchett was in fact having an affair. Why else meet at a motel late at night?

The question was, was she meeting with Jason, and if so, did something happen to give him a reason to kill her? I hated the fact that Detective Black had planted that question in my mind. Jason wasn't a killer. I knew it in my heart. He was a douchebag but not a killer.

I was leaning toward the idea of Lydia meeting another man who we had yet to discover. I just hoped that after paying a visit to the motel I'd be able to change that idea from suspicion to fact.

"Any luck?"

The door to my office opened. I looked up and pushed the hair out of my face as Mandy crossed the room and took a seat across from me.

She pushed a steaming cup of coffee across the desktop in front of me then sat back and took a sip of her own.

"Some." I stacked the papers and put them back in the file. "We found out that Lydia was well-liked among the few people she actually did talk to. Turns out she was a bit of a homebody."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Robert said she didn't really have friends and preferred being at home."

"Wow. I didn't expect that. In the pictures I've seen, she looked perfectly comfortable amongst all the people around her."

"Who knows? Maybe she was a good actor." I sighed and waved a palm in the air. "After we questioned Robert, I can't really bring myself to believe that he killed his wife."

"A nice guy?"

I nodded then rested my forehead in my palm. "The nicest, but not only that, he seemed…
genuine
. I have no doubt that he loved Lydia even though he suspected she might have been cheating on him. My gut is telling me that he didn't do it. Everything in me is telling me that he is completely innocent."

I picked up my mug and took a sip. "Thanks for the coffee, by the way."

She smiled and tilted her head as she took another sip.

I filled her in on the rest of what Robert Hatchett told us and how he'd acted.

Mandy leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. Her black ballet flat dangled from the tip of her big toe.

"Is it possible that he was lying? Acting like the grieving husband to throw you off track? Like the way we suspect Lydia of acting comfortable around the people in the newspaper pictures?"

"Of course it's possible." I nibbled my bottom lip and thumbed through the mysterious motel receipts. "But I don't think that's the case. You should've heard Hatchett. How he talked about Lydia. I can't put my finger on why exactly, but I know that he's innocent. It's a feeling that I can't shake."

"And your gut instinct has never been wrong," Mandy mused. "So I guess the question remains. Who killed Lydia Hatchett and why? Do you think that there's a possibility that the detective is right and Jason hired you to throw off the cops?"

"Honestly?" I stacked up the receipts and secured them with a paperclip. "The thought has crossed my mind, but I can't bring myself to believe it. Jason has never been a violent man. A cheater? A liar? Certainly. But never violent," I said. "I'm hoping to get some answers tonight when I go out to Trinity Grove and try to speak to the motel's night manager." I held up the bundle of receipts and waggled them back and forth. "All of these receipts are from the same motel and are all time-stamped after ten o'clock. I figured I'd have a talk with the motel's night manager and see if they remember anyone fitting Jason or Lydia's description."

"Do you think Jason is lying? That he and Lydia were having an affair?"

"I don't have any solid evidence, but yes, I think so. All I know for certain is that Lydia was up to something, and I'm going to find out what that something was, if it got her killed, and whether or not Jason was involved. My hopes are that Lydia was meeting another man at the motel. That would give us another suspect to track down, because at this point, I've got bupkis."

I'd originally intended to wait until morning to talk to Jason about his and Lydia's relationship, but I needed some answers. Like were he and Lydia meeting out in the Grove?

"Before I head out to Trinity Grove tonight, I'm going to give Jason a call. I need to know for certain if he and Lydia were having an affair and whether or not he was meeting her out in the Grove."

Mandy nodded. "That would be good to know before you make the trip. If they were meeting at the motel, then there's no reason to talk to the night manager."

"Exactly." I nodded.

"Well, I have a few calls to return before closing time. I'll let you get back to business." Mandy stood. "Good luck." She smiled.

"Thanks." I smiled back at her as she left the room.

As soon as the door closed behind Mandy I grabbed my phone and dialed Jason's number. I needed honest answers from him in order for me get to the bottom of what Lydia was really doing out in the Grove and whether or not whatever it was she was up to could have possibly gotten her killed. I didn't want to hear him admit that he'd been lying to me. I really didn't want the embarrassment of going through that process again, but what could I do?

Someone knocked on my office door.

"Come in," I called as the phone continued to ring.

Jason walked in.

I disconnected the call and tossed the cell phone onto my desk.

"I was just trying to call you."

"I know. I was already walking into your office, so I didn't answer. Your girl waved me to go on to your office. She was on the phone." He smiled.

"Mandy knew that I needed to speak to you," I said. "What are you doing here?"

"I was heading home from the office and saw that you were still here. I thought I'd stop by and see how far you've gotten on my case. Have you found anything that could help?"

"Well, that all depends on how you answer my questions," I admitted. "There're a few things that we need to discuss. Have a seat."

I pointed to the office chairs, then stood and made my way to the side table and the full coffeepot waiting there. This discussion definitely called for coffee. To be perfectly honest, my entire life up to this point called for coffee.

Jason took a seat. His expression was one of worry and curiosity.

Despite our bumpy past, I had to admit that he was still as handsome as ever. His blond hair wasn't as immaculately combed as usual, and was slightly shaggy instead of his usual close-cropped cut. He wore jeans and a T-shirt instead of his usual business suit. He appeared much more relaxed. He'd changed some, but I wasn't dumb enough to believe he'd changed much.

I turned back to him and handed him a cup of coffee. I knew exactly how he took it. Two creams, one sugar. He smiled and took the mug, sipped, and then rested it against his knee.

I wasn't sure how to start the conversation off, so I figured I'd approach it like a Band-Aid.

Rip it off quick.

"I'm just going to cut right to it." I settled back into my chair. "I know that you and Lydia were having an affair."

He had the audacity to look ashamed and stare down at the floor.

"You lied to me…again."

In all honesty, I didn't have a single, solid piece of evidence that proved whether or not Jason and Lydia Hatchett were having an affair, but Jason didn't know that. The idea was for him to tell on himself.

And he did with his expression alone.

"I should've known you'd find out." He threaded his fingers through his longer-than-usual hair. "Look, it just happened. I wanted to tell you the truth when I first came to see you about taking the case, but I was afraid if I told you I was sleeping with her you'd refuse to take my case, and that wasn't a risk I could take. I need all the help that I can get right now. It's just a matter of time before the cops arrest me."

I could see where he was coming from. He was desperate, but that didn't negate the fact that he'd lied to me. If he'd lied to me about something as pertinent as his affair with Lydia, what else would he lie to me about?

 "I'm not even going to say what I'm thinking. I don't have time for it right now, Jason."

He tapped his knee with the knuckles of one fist. "I'll answer anything you ask. Just don't drop my case," he pleaded.

"Then stop screwing around, and tell me the truth for once in your miserable little life," I snapped with irritation. "How long had you and Lydia been seeing each other before she was killed?"

He leaned back in his chair and blew out a breath. "A while. She came on to me one night after one of her charity events about six months ago. Robert had been out of the country with some of his clients on business. We'd been seeing each other on and off ever since."

I stirred my coffee with a skinny straw.

"Did she ever talk to you about wanting to leave Robert?"

"No." He shook his head. "She made it perfectly clear that I was simply a side piece, and when she decided it was over, it would be over. No strings attached. No attachments, period."

"And you were okay with that?" I asked skeptically. I found it hard to believe that he would be. The Jason I knew liked to call the shots. Most men would have a problem with a woman setting all of the ground rules in the relationship or affair.

"I was fine with it." He waved a hand in the air. "Now, if you're asking whether or not I had feelings for Lydia"—he leaned forward slightly—"then the honest answer is yes, I did, and I know that she had real feelings for me in the end." He looked me in the eyes. "But I'm not looking to settle down right now, and she had no desire to leave her husband. We were happy with the way our relationship was set up. I knew the scandal that would ensue should Lydia leave Robert for me. My career comes first right now. I had no desire to jeopardize it. I know that it sounds crazy, but that's just the way things were."

"And you don't consider sleeping with the boss's wife a danger to your career?" I asked in a disbelieving tone.

Call me crazy, but I thought having an affair with your boss's wife was a huge career risk.

"No. Neither Robert nor Lydia would have said anything about the affair because it would've harmed their reputations. Their charities and businesses would have suffered under the scandal, which means my career would suffer, and none of us would want that."