Chapter 252

While waiting on the whiteboard, I dug my phone out of my pocket and called Amy.

“What’s up, Daisy?” She sounded cheerful.

“Are you busy today?” I asked. “I’m starting a whiteboard and want to start questioning suspects.”

“A whiteboard?” Amy sounded confused.

“You know. It’s a dry-erase board, so I can diagram evidence to keep it straight in my mind,” I explained.

“Oh, yeah,” Amy chirped. “I’ve seen them used on real-crime shows.”

“Yep. That’s what I mean. Amelia sent me her list of suspects with their names and addresses. I’m going to start talking to them and crossing them off the list. Do you want to go along?”

“I can’t go until later,” Amy replied. “I’m going to a restaurant equipment auction with Dad. We won’t be back until about four o’clock.”

“I need to find somebody else to go with me,” I said. “I promised Victor I wouldn’t do this alone.”

“I’m sorry I can’t go, Daisy, but I promised Dad last month I would go to the auction with him today. I feel bad that you’ll be doing it without me.”

There was silence for a moment while we thought about a solution.

“Hey, I know who can go with you,” she said. “Justin doesn’t have any classes until this afternoon. Why don’t you take him with you?”

“Can you ask him and let me know,” I said, and we hung up.

I’m sure Victor would be satisfied if I had Justin with me. I had to admit, it was a little scary to be going into people’s homes that I didn’t know.

My phone vibrated. It was a text from Amy. Justin said he would pick me up in a half hour.

I was freshening up to go when there was a knock on my bedroom door.

It was Jennifer and Jimmy, one of the footmen. Jennifer had a box of dry-erase markers, and Jimmy carried an easel and a large whiteboard.

“Where do you want them set up, Miss?” Jennifer asked.

“Put them in the corner on the other side of the bed, please,” I replied. “Thank you very much for bringing them up to me.”

After they left the room, I went to the board and wrote down Amelia’s list of names, but I put her sister, Amanda; her mother, Pat Archer; and her grandmother, Martha Archer, at the top of the list.

From things I’ve seen and witnessed, Pat and Martha were my top suspects. Amanda was acting strangely toward Amy and me, and I planned on stopping to see her this morning.

However, I wanted to do this investigation right and would try to keep an open mind. Sometimes things were not as they seemed.

Then I went downstairs to wait for Justin. I hurried outside when I saw his Lexus SUV coming down the driveway toward the house.

I climbed inside as soon as he stopped the car.

“Amy told me I get to play detective today,” Justin said.

I buckled my seatbelt. “I hope you don’t mind. Victor doesn’t want me going into stranger’s homes alone, and I haven’t taken my driver's test yet.”

“No problem,” he said. “I didn’t have anything to do this morning. Where are we going first?”

“701 Parkview Circle,” I replied. “I want to speak to Andrew’s younger sister, Amanda Devins.”

Justin snorted. “She’s not going to be happy to see you. I heard she ran out of the Brown’s cocktail party to avoid you and Amy.”

“She’ll have to get over it,” I declared. “Snobs and bigots annoy me.”

“I can tell.” Justin chuckled. “I can see why you and Amy are best friends.”

Justin pulled in front of Amanda Devin’s home, and we followed the brick sidewalk to the front door. I pushed the doorbell twice before Ava opened the door.

Ava checked out Justin before winking at me. “Mom, you’ve got visitors!” she yelled and motioned us into the house and to the living room. “Have a seat. She’ll be here in a minute.”

Then a grinning Ava left the room, but I’d bet she didn’t go far.

I was admiring the cream and slate blue decorating scheme when Amanda Devins stomped into the room.

She was in her late thirties and thin, with lovely red hair and brown eyes like her daughter. She would have been pretty if she wasn’t wearing a horrible scowl and squinting at me.

“Why are you here?” she demanded.

“Good, you know who I am,” I said, feeling the moonstone necklace growing warm.

“Of course, I know who you are,” Amanda snapped. “You’re best friends with that Omega-hybrid troublemaker.”

“Amy isn’t a troublemaker,” Justin told Amanda in a tone that dared her to argue. “She isn’t doing anything to you.”

I jumped in before Amanda made Justin angrier. “Amy received an anonymous note informing her that her mother was murdered, along with a disturbing photo that makes us think it’s true. What do you know about it?”

“I don’t know anything about it,” Amanda insisted. “But Deirdre caused my family a lot of problems, and I wouldn’t care if she was dead.”

“What did Deirdre do besides fall in love with your brother?” I asked.

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Girls like Deirdre don’t know what love is. She was looking for a sugar daddy, and my brother fell for it. Thank goodness Granny put a stop to it.”

“How did she put a stop to it?” Justin asked.

“She cut Andrew off,” Amanda replied. “Since he had no money, Deirdre dumped the baby and took off. And before you ask, no one in my family harmed her.”

Amanda stood. “Now, I want you both out of my home.”

“Sure,” I said. “But tell me one more thing: where is Martha’s gun?”

“Get out!” Amanda demanded.

“That’s the first time I’ve been thrown out of anywhere,” Justin said with a grin as we climbed into his car.

I laughed. “We’ll probably need to get used to it.”

“Where to next?” Justin asked.

“14 Laurel Lane,” I replied. “It’s about a half mile from here.”

Justin knew where it was. He pulled into the short driveway, and we stared at the old mansion badly in need of repairs.

“This could be such a nice home,” I said. “They have enough money for its upkeep.”

“I’ve heard stories about these people,” Justin said. “He spends all his money on mistresses, and she drinks.”

“It looks like a sad place,” I observed. The house gave off negative vibes. Unhappy people live here.

But when Amelia’s suspect, Clarissa Lang Farver, opened the door, she was way too happy.

She grinned at Justin. “Hey there, cutie, come on in,” she slurred. “Anybody wanna have a drink with me?”

Clarissa was drunk at ten o’clock in the morning. She motioned for us to follow her and staggered into her living room in her housecoat and high-heeled mule slippers.

“Mrs. Farver, we’d like to talk to you about Deirdre Brady,” I said.

“What about her?” she snarled. “That Omega trash is why I’m stuck here,” she flapped her arms, “in this dump with a loser for a husband.”

“How is it Deirdre’s fault you’re unhappy?” I asked.

Why was this woman punishing herself with alcohol? What she was doing couldn’t be fun. It looked like slow suicide.

“I was engaged to Andrew when he suddenly fell in love with a woman who washed dirty underwear for a living,” she explained.

“That had to hurt,” I said. “But I don’t think they fell in love on purpose. Andrew told me they were fated mates. They had no control over it.”

“Who cares? My family didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of Alpha Society.” Clarissa was close to tears. “So they arranged a quick marriage between me and a friend’s son.”

Clarissa took a big swig of her drink and sat back in a chair. “I hate the jerk they made me marry. He treats me like garbage. And I hate Deirdre. I hope she’s suffering in the afterlife.”

“What makes you think she’s dead?” I asked.

“Pat Archer told me at the club years ago,” she said. “We were having a few drinks, and I wondered what happened to Deirdre. Pat told me she was dead.”

Before I could ask anything else, Clarissa closed her eyes and began snoring.

We left Clarissa to her nap and discussed our next move in Justin’s car.

“I need to know why Pat Archer told Clarissa that Deirdre was dead,” I said. “But I promised Lana Klein I wouldn’t return to the Archer home without her.”

“We can go to Lana’s and pick her up,” Justin suggested.

Before I could answer him, my phone rang. It was a private number. Curiosity made me answer it.

“Hello,” I said.

“Stop dredging up the past,” a strange, shaky voice said. “Or your grave will be next to Deirdre’s.”