Camera Never Lies (16 page)

“No, he’s gone to town, something to do with the investigation.”

“I’m sorry he’s not here to be with you.”

She looked away, but I’d caught the hint of moisture in her eyes. I felt like a heel for hoping he wouldn’t have come yet. Were my true colors showing now that I faced pressure? Had I turned into a monster?

“Finding you in my closet like that was a shock. Especially after—”

“I know. I was there; you don’t have to remind me.” She released a slow breath.

“Hillary, I’m just glad you weren’t in the same condition as Alec. Did you see who it was?”

She placed a finger against her lips and motioned me to close the double doors. Her voice quivered. “I was in your room cleaning when someone hit me over the head.”

“But I didn’t see a cart outside my room.” And then it hit me. I hadn’t seen a cart outside the room when I responded to Hillary’s screams and saw Alec in the closet either.

“All right, I’m in deep enough already. I came to your room to talk to you. When you didn’t answer, I let myself in to wait for you. I’m sorry. It’s just that…I’m scared.”

Looking at Hillary now, I could see some resemblance between us. We were about the same height and had similar auburn hair. I wondered if I’d been the intended victim.

She sniffled and reached for a tissue. It seemed I had that effect on her. “Did you tell my husband about my affair with Alec?”

“No, I didn’t. But I might have. I had no idea that Ranger Jennings was your husband.”

A short laugh spilled from her. “That figures. In fact, I’m not sure it would make much difference to him. His career is all-important. He might even try to gloss over that little detail, once he learns of my affair, to protect himself. But…why didn’t you tell him?” Her eyes held gratitude, which made me wince at the truth.

“I gave him the photographs I’ve taken since being at the park. He’s probably smart enough to figure things out, don’t you think? Like the fact that you weren’t in Alec’s room to clean? But even if he doesn’t, I hope you’ll tell him.”

“I can’t. I won’t.”

“So, why did you need to see me?” I prayed silently that she had nothing to do with Alec’s murder.

She played with her tissue, her features steeped in a deep frown. “There’s a murderer out there, and I’m scared. I need your help. Since you’re trying to find out who it is on your own, I want to help. I’ll tell you everything I know. But I’ll deny every bit if you try to tell the authorities. If I can make it through this mess without my husband finding out…”

I sucked in a breath. Hadn’t I just encouraged her to tell the truth? There was more to the reason she was hiding the affair from her husband, I sensed.

“Alec had a diamond ring he claimed was worth twenty grand.” She dabbed at her eyes and spoke through tears. “I… thought he meant to propose, which was ludicrous. I’m still married. But no. He wanted us to travel to Europe!”

I snatched another tissue to replace the one she’d shredded and handed it to her.

“Thanks.” She took the fresh one and tossed the old one in the small receptacle next to the bed. “I’d already made up my mind to end the affair. In fact, that’s why I met with him that day. But he wouldn’t hear of it. My refusal to go with him made him crazy. I’d never seen him like that. He said he planned to leave the country and demanded that I leave my husband.” She covered her face. “I never meant for this to happen. For things to go this far.”

I held the box of tissues out to her. Once she regained her composure, she continued. “My refusal sent him into a tirade. He threatened to expose our affair. I told him it was over and tried to leave the room, but he overpowered me.” Hillary fell into sobs.

Unfortunately I believed her. It sounded just like the Alec I knew from years ago. My best friend had planned to break things off with him the very night he’d crashed his car, causing her death.

I patted her shoulder, unsure how to console her. I hated seeing her relive this. Should I be the one to hear this confession? Surely Ranger Jennings needed to hear it. But she’d already told me she would deny everything.

She blew her nose long and hard then took a deep breath. “At that moment, I thought he would kill me. You should have seen the anger in his eyes. I struggled and managed to grab a lamp. Normally it would have been fastened to the table, but we’d just replaced it, and maintenance hadn’t made it to that room yet. Thank God, or I might not be here. I hit him over the head, and he let go of me. I was so scared that I ran out of the room.”

“You left? But how did he get in the closet?”

She stopped crying and looked at me then shook her head before wincing again. “I don’t know how he got in the closet. I was frantic about what I’d done and went back to see if he was going to be all right. That’s when I found him in the closet. I remembered the ring and searched his pockets. I didn’t find anything but his handkerchief. I thought he was just unconscious and felt for a pulse. There wasn’t one.”

She’d looked for his ring to steal it? I let the question go for now. “And that’s when you screamed, and I came into the room.”

She nodded.

I covered my eyes. What a tangled mess. She’d just confessed everything to me so that I would have more to go on. Now I would be the one in trouble if I didn’t tell the rangers everything she’d told me. I would be facing her denial and a chief ranger who, according to Hillary, always protected his career and, on top of that, already thought I was trying to divert attention from myself.

My shoulders drooped. I turned my thoughts back to considering all she’d told me.

I didn’t need to look through my camera lens to see that she was telling the truth. That meant one thing. Whoever murdered Alec had the ring. In my limited experience at sleuthing, I figured: Find the ring, find the murderer. Alec had scammed Mom out of a large sum of money. Add the value of the ring to that, and he had enough to flee the country. I couldn’t help but believe he’d scammed more than Mom, though, because seventy thousand dollars wouldn’t last all that long.

Somehow I had to convince Hillary to go to the authorities. “Look, you’ve got to tell your husband all of this. Do you know how angry he’ll be when he finds out you kept this from him? I mean, even besides your affair—all this other information is vital to the investigation.”

“I can’t tell him any of it. Don’t you see? Telling him what really happened means I’d have to tell him about the affair. And if I tell them I hit Alec with the lamp, I’d be all but admitting to murder. What if they don’t believe me? All I was trying to do was make him let go of me. When he fell on the floor, I made sure he was alive—he was still breathing—and he wasn’t bleeding at all. Thank goodness I didn’t kill him. Still, I was afraid of him, afraid of what might happen if I called for help, so I left him there.” A sob escaped Hillary.

I touched her arm. “Think of it like this: You’re alive. God has given you a second chance to do the right thing. Tell your husband the truth.”

Voices sounded outside the infirmary, signifying someone could soon enter the reception area. Hillary quickly cleaned up the tissues, and I could tell she was trying to compose herself, but her eyes were red and swollen. “You’d better leave now. And…be careful.”

I nodded and opened the door.

Ranger Jennings loomed large in the doorway, anger growing in his features. Every time I saw him, he revealed a little more emotion.

Before he could speak, I said, “I came by to see how she’s doing.” Did he know I’d found her in my closet? Would he think I’d done it?

“I know what you were up to, and I doubt it has anything to do with my wife’s condition. I’m warning you to cease and desist your interference in this case. You’re going to ruin my investigation. Before I let that happen, I’ll cite you for obstruction of justice. Do you understand?”

I gulped and nodded then hurried past him. To my horror, he followed me, shutting the door behind him. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Oh, and don’t run too far. I’ll need to question you about finding my wife in your closet.”

“But…but someone already did that.”

“I know. But I still want to talk to you. Right now, I need to make sure she’s all right.” Something in his tone wavered. I suspected he was broken up about Hillary but didn’t want to show it.

She’d just given me the explosive compounds to make a very large bomb. That is, if I were making bombs. I hoped she would tell her husband, because if I didn’t, I feared that would be considered withholding evidence.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

I
rushed through the doors of the restaurant and dashed past the maitre d’, hoping I hadn’t stood Spencer up yet again. He sat alone at a table in the far corner, looking anything but relaxed. As soon as he spotted me, he smiled and rose, his concerned expression transforming into exuberance.

Always the gentleman, he pulled out a chair for me. “Good of you to come, Polly. I hope you got some rest.”

I wished I’d taken a moment outside the restaurant doors to steady my breath following my mad rush to meet him. After swallowing half the glass of water next to my table setting, I said, “Sorry I’m late.”

“I’m just glad you made it. I can’t help but notice this is becoming a habit with you.”

Uncertain how to tell him what I’d been up to and that it hadn’t been restful, I was glad when I remembered Mom. “There’s so much going on. But first, if you wouldn’t mind, I need to call Mom. I know you said you wanted to talk about something—just you and me—but I’d like for her to eat with us. I haven’t seen much of her.”

He gave a sympathetic nod. I made to stand.

Spencer gently grabbed my arm, indicating he wanted me to stay seated. I slid back into my chair, and he placed his hand over mine. The simple gesture sent my heart racing. Somehow, I had to control my emotions. I forced my thoughts back to the circumstances. “What is it, Spencer?”

“There’s something I’d like to tell you now. Earlier today when I came to your room, I had planned to tell you.…” He stared at his hand, still covering mine. “Not sure how to break this, but we went ahead with the rehearsal without you.”

“What?” Shame filled me. What was the matter with me? Why couldn’t I handle a murder investigation and being interrogated by the ranger as a possible suspect, all on top of wedding preparations? I had completely forgotten about the rehearsal, but then again, I was being questioned. Would they have released me to go to the rehearsal?

Spencer finally pulled his hand from mine. “When you dashed after the housekeeper, I waited and read my paper, watching the door you’d entered, waiting for you to come out. You were gone a long time, and I got worried. I was just getting up to follow you when I saw you come into the lobby and run into Ranger Jennings. You left with him. I presume he questioned you?”

Spencer gazed at me, waiting for a response. I nodded.

“When you didn’t return in time for the rehearsal, Rene decided to go ahead without you. She said you’d only be taking the photographs and weren’t a necessary part of the rehearsal.”

I drew in a deep breath, uncertain which I felt more—weariness or disappointment.

Spencer frowned. “I’m sorry, Polly.”

“It’s not your fault. I’ll live. Now, give me a minute to call Mom. I’ll be right back, I promise.” I shook my head as I got up. If only I’d actually had a chance to rest, maybe I wouldn’t feel so confused and overwhelmed. He was right, after all. There wasn’t a big need for me to attend the rehearsal.

“Uh, Polly. Where are you going?” Spencer tossed his cell on the table.

“Oh, right.” I slid back into the seat across from him and picked up his phone, wondering about the number to call. “What about Conrad and Rene? You could invite them to dinner. Or do they already have plans?”

“A guided tour of something. Not sure. They invited me, but I wanted to dine with you. It’s all a bit awkward, isn’t it?”

Unsure of what he meant, I gave him a questioning look.

“We’re here for them, but they’re never around.”

I sighed. “I’m not sure I could handle an investigation and entertaining a pair of almost newlyweds.”

He chuckled. “Right you are. Here, let me help you.” He took the cell from me and pressed a button, handing the phone back to me.

After connecting with the main number, my call was transferred to Mom’s room. With each ring, I worked to push aside my ire that she’d shared information about me with the ranger—after all, I only had one mother.

“Hello?”

“Mom, it’s—”

“Oh, Polly! How did it go? I’ve been so worried about you.”

How did everyone know I’d been questioned? I assumed Spencer had shared the news. “Mom, things went as well as could be expected. Listen, Spencer and I are in the restaurant for dinner. Would you like to join us?”

“Oh, heavens, no. I just came in from a jaunt not too long ago, and after the conversation with my lawyer—”

“What? When did you talk to a lawyer?” Panic swelled inside me. Had things escalated that much?

“Well, you don’t think I plan to sit around while my money is used on some scam by a person who isn’t even alive, do you? And I’m afraid all of this is too much for my stomach. In fact, I’ve got to let you go, or I won’t make it to the bathroom.” The phone line went dead.