Chapter 253

“Who is this?” I demanded. But the caller had hung up. “What a cowardly thing to do,” I mumbled.

“Who was that?” Justin inquired. “You look upset.”

“Somebody who’s not happy I’m asking questions about Deirdre.” I groaned. “But the cowards are resorting to anonymous notes and creepy phone calls.”

Justin started his car’s engine. “What did the caller say?”

“It was a shaky, whispering voice. They said to stop digging up the past, or my grave would be next to Deirdre’s.”

“Daisy, you should go to the cops.”

“We did go to the cops, and they wouldn’t do anything,” I explained. “I don’t have any real proof of any crime yet. When I find some, I’ll run to the police with it.”

“I don’t want Amy involved in this,” Justin said. “And I’m sure Victor would feel the same about you if he knew about the phone call.”

“Victor knows I’ve been threatened, and he’s been showing me some self-defense moves.”

I turned in my seat. “Justin, knowing what happened to her mother is important to Amy, and it’s become important to me too.”

Justin sighed. “Then let’s go to the Klein’s and get Lana.”

But Lana wasn’t home. Saunders told me she left in the Bugatti and wouldn’t return until evening.

“I may as well go home and think,” I said.

“Want something to eat first?” Justin asked. “I’m starving.”

We stopped at a burger place and had lunch before Justin took me home.

I went straight upstairs to the whiteboard and added what I had learned behind Amanda and Clarissa’s names.

Near the bottom, I wrote: the suspect knows my cell number, and the suspect’s voice is most likely female.

I couldn’t think of anything else to write on the board, so I took a walk in the gardens. Maybe it would help me record anything I may have forgotten.

I strolled around the fragrant rose blooms. “Diana, what did you think about Amanda and Clarissa?”

“I think they’re both suspicious,” Diana replied. “They both hated Deirdre. That means they both had a motive to kill her.”

“I think you’re right,” I said. “Let’s go for a run. It should help me think.”

Diana and I ran around the field several times before I returned to my room.

Sprawled across my bed, I tried to remember every detail of my talks with the two suspects that morning. But before long, I fell asleep.

Jennifer woke me an hour later. “Miss, it’s after five. Mr. Klein will be here in an hour and a half to pick you up for dinner.”

I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. “I need something nice to wear. We are going to Moonglow.”

“How wonderful,” Jennifer said. “What about your new sage green cocktail dress? And I’ll arrange your hair up.”

“That sounds marvelous,” I agreed. “I’ll shower and wash my hair.”

I was ready on time and went downstairs to see Alex for a few minutes before it was time to leave.

But he wasn’t alone. Cassidy was with him in the living room.

“You look nice, honey,” Alex said. “Do you want to watch the news with us?”

“Another time,” I replied. “Victor is picking me up in a few minutes. We’re going to Moonglow.”

I said my goodbyes and went to the foyer to wait for Victor.

He was on time, and we were soon on our way to the restaurant.

Moonglow was just as unique as I remembered. It was crowded, but our table was waiting.

The waiter brought Victor’s champagne and my carbonated fruit juice along with two menus. After ordering the surf and turf, Victor took my hand, and we went to the dance floor.

“Did you have a successful day?” Victor asked.

“I learned a few things about two of the suspects,” I replied.

“Did anything else happen?” I could tell by Victor’s eyes that he knew about the phone call.

“Justin told you, didn’t he?”

“He’s worried about Amy,” Victor admitted. “And I don’t blame him. I’m worried about you too.”

“I can’t stop my investigation,” I said. “Please don’t ask me to.”

Victor pulled me closer and kissed my temple. “I had something else in mind. I know an ex-police detective who is willing to be your mentor.”

“What do you mean?” Is Victor going to pay somebody to take over what I started?

“It means that he’ll help you decipher clues and go along with you when you question people.”

“That sounds okay,” I said as I nuzzled his neck. “Thank you.” I looked into his eyes and kissed his warm lips. “I’m so lucky.”

“Yes, you are.” He grinned and kissed the tip of my nose. “And so am I.”

Our dance ended, and we returned to our table. But before I sat down, I excused myself to go to the ladies’ room.

I entered the women’s lounge and stopped at a mirrored vanity table. There was a clump of mascara on the lashes of my left eye that I noticed while I was dancing with Victor.

Using a tissue, I began dabbing at my eye when a voice startled me.

“Daisy, I thought that was you,” the woman said.

I looked up in the mirror and saw Amelia Archer standing behind me. She had a friendly smile on her face and was carrying a five thousand dollar handbag.

I turned around to face her. “Hey, Amelia. That’s some handbag you’ve got there.”

“I don’t think they’re the most attractive, but they hold everything I could need to take with me.”

“I was going to stop by to see you today.” I went to a sink and began to wash my hands.

“Did you find out something about Deirdre?” Amelia asked.

“I’m working on it,” I said. “I’m talking to the suspects, and I started a whiteboard in my room.”

“What do you mean?”

I explained once again the function of a whiteboard in a criminal investigation.

“How clever you are,” Amelia said. “And you say you have several clues. I bet you’ll crack the case before too long.”

“I hope so,” I said. “I’d like to stop by tomorrow and speak to you and Pat, but I must get back to Victor right now.”

“Call me in the morning to see if I’ll be home,” she advised. “I’m not sure of my schedule.”

“Talk to you then,” I said and went out the bathroom door.

“There you are,” Victor said. He helped me push in my chair. “Would you like to meet the detective I want to hire for you before I take you home?”

“Yeah, I can’t wait to meet him.”

After eating juicy steaks and succulent lobster tails, Victor drove me to a middle-income neighborhood and parked in front of a big ranch-style home.

Before we could knock on the front door, it swung open, and a tall, dark-skinned man stood there smiling at us.

“Victor, please come in,” the man said.

Victor led me inside the house. “Jayden, I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Daisy Wilson.”

Jayden extended his hand and shook mine. “It’s nice to meet you, Daisy.”

“You too, Jayden.” I liked his genuine smile that reached his eyes. I immediately sensed I could trust him.

“Come sit down in the living room,” Jayden said. “Daisy, will you tell me about the case you’re working on?”

He listened intently while I filled him in on what I learned so far and about the two threats I had received.

“That means you’re making the killer nervous,” Jayden said. “You must be closer than you think to discovering the truth.”

I nodded. “I didn’t think about it that way.”

“I’ll pick you up tomorrow, and we’ll talk to more suspects.” He winked. “I still have my badge. It will get us into the Archer house to talk to them.”

Victor and I left, and he drove me home. We kissed in his car for several minutes.

“I have to get a full night's rest tonight, sweetheart, so I’m sleeping by myself without your tempting body next to me,” he said. “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow night.”

“I’m counting on it,” I said seductively and entered the mansion.

With my mind full of Victor, I went up to my bedroom. He was always supportive of everything I wanted to do.

I liked Jayden. I should go over my whiteboard before I show it to him.

But when I opened my bedroom door, the first thing I noticed was the whiteboard had been erased and thrown to the floor.

That’s when a strong breeze hit me, and I saw the balcony doors were wide open.

I took two steps toward them when I saw a wolf with a reddish coat leaping from my balcony.