Liquid Lies Part 23

"Ms. Coe, you fell into the lake and nearly drowned. You were saved by Mark Stevens. You did not go to just visit Dr. Ken Wilson, rather, he examined you and ordered a CT. Isn't that more accurate?" He scowled.

"Well, you're certainly thorough. Hey, did you find my Maui Jim sungla.s.ses? I lost them in the lake that day," I said half kidding and half seriously.

"No." He pursed his lips, and pulled at his moustache. "When was the last time you saw Mr. Elmore with the necklace on?" Detective Wurkowski flipped to a new page in his notebook.

"Let me think out loud. I saw him with it on the path. After that I went home and chatted with Estelle. Did you know the hospital is going to tear down her house?" I asked.

"Yes." He sighed as he drummed his pen on the table. "Back to Mr. Elmore's necklace."

"Okay, when did I last see it? Let me think. Later that evening I met Mark for dinner. We ordered. Did you ever have the crispy chips and Reuben?" I asked.

"Back to the story." He stared at me.

"After we ordered. I had to pee, I mean use the ladies' room," I said. Pee did not sound professional.

"And then what happened?" He raised an eyebrow.

"On the way to the restroom I ran into Jacob. I literally ran into him. I mean what a dork banging into him like that. I hit my head on the fire extinguisher." I smiled as I thought about the first kiss he gave me. "Anyway, I was all nervous and babbling and said something to him about his nice nail necklace."

"So he had it on then?" He verified and made a note.

"Yes, he did," I said.

"To clarify, Mr. Elmore was wearing the necklace at this time?" he asked.

"Yes."

"What time was this?" He asked.

"Let me see. We got to H&K's just past eight. Right after we ordered dinner I went to the restroom," I said.

"Okay. Let me get the time narrowed down. Am I correct that you would say it was a little after eight when you went to dinner with Mr. Stevens? Shortly after your arrival, you left Mr. Stevens to use the ladies' room. On the way there, you ran into Mr. Elmore, who had the necklace on. Right?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"Since then have you seen him wear the necklace?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure. Come to think of it, no," I said. "That was the last time I saw him with it on. Why?"

"That's all I need to know. You've been very helpful Ms. Coe." He stood.

"But I have a question. Why's Jacob's necklace so important? What's going on here?" I said as I rose. "Are you designing jewelry for your staff? If I worked here, I'd wear that necklace."

He opened the door. "You know the way."

"So you're not going to tell me, huh?" I asked.

But he was already out the door and heading down the hall.

Chapter Thirty-Two.

Leaving the station, I couldn't help wondering why Jacob's necklace was such a big deal. I'd try to figure that out later. Right now, I needed to go to City Hall. It was almost noon, and I hoped that I'd catch the mayor before he left for lunch. I made a quick call to his office. They said he could see me now.

I had a ten minute walk to City Hall. It was a warm sunny day. The city seemed busy, with some people strolling along the paths and sidewalks. Others sat on benches with ice cream cones or threw popcorn out to the waiting birds. The air smelled of suntan lotion and cookouts. Screams of children laughing and splas.h.i.+ng at the beach filled the air. The sounds of boats engines echoed as they weaved on the water while skiers zipped over the waves. Summer in all its glory.

I trudged up the marble steps to City Hall, opened the heavy gla.s.s and wood door and entered the lobby. I took the elevator to the top floor.

The receptionist greeted me and led me into the mayor's office suite. In the corner were campaign posters and four boxes. One of them was open and I saw it contained red white and blue 'Pike for Governor' b.u.t.tons.

Mayor Pike wore a dark suit, with a white s.h.i.+rt and patriotic red white and blue tie. He waved to me with one hand, as the other hand held a phone to his ear. "No, this is great news. Yes, I appreciate you keeping me in the loop. Okay. Take care," he said before he hung up.

"CiCi, how are you?' He gave me a hug. "Thank you for the great eulogy. It was perfect. I know Francesca loved it."

"You're welcome." My stomach flipped. I still can't believe she's gone. "By the way how's Vivian doing?"

"You didn't hear?" He motioned for me to sit. "She left this morning. She said to say goodbye to you."

"I enjoyed seeing her again. Did she recover from last night?" I dropped into a chair.

"I'm sure she did. She certainly was distraught. We all are. It's just that she took my daughter's death very personally. As though Francesca was her own child."

I coughed. "We all seem to be taking her death personally." If he only knew how personally I took Francesca's death, I think I caused it.

His eyes were swollen, and he looked as though he hadn't slept.

"Let me get you some water." He poured a gla.s.s of ice water from a crystal pitcher on his conference table. "Here, drink this."

I took a sip.

"Somehow we'll all get through this." He sat next to me, and put his hand on my shoulder.

"I hope so," I said.

"Me too." He hung his head. "I haven't slept in days, and work is the only thing I know how to do. I'm a mess."

"I'm so very sorry." I choked. A tear spilled down my cheek.

He got up and walked to the big picture window behind his desk. His back was turned to me as he looked out the window. He said, "It's been as devastating as losing my beloved wife."

I remembered that she had lost her battle with breast cancer several years ago, a few years after I lost my parents. Thankfully, Francesca and I had each other to navigate through the pain.

"I have had an abundance of grief. But I had to learn to focus on the positive. Turn bad situations around," he continued.

"I know, Vivian told me how you've pulled through some rough times," I said.

He spun around, his eyebrows creased, voice low and deep. "She did?"

"Just about what happened to your cousin Don," I answered. I wondered why he sounded angry. Maybe it brought up brought bad memories from his childhood.

"It was a tragic accident that I couldn't do anything about. Poor Donny, may G.o.d rest his soul. Such misfortune." He combed his fingers through his hair as he came over to me. His face twisted into a tight pained look.

"Yes, that's what she said."

"As you saw last night she can drink a lot, and sometimes her memory gets jumbled." His face relaxed.

"Again, I'm so sorry about everything. Really I am," I said.

"Listen, I have a lunch meeting in a few minutes. Is there anything else I can do for you?" he asked as he straightened his tie.

"Actually I have to meet someone for lunch shortly too. But can I ask you something about Sat.u.r.day night?" I asked. I drank the rest of the ice water.

"Sure," he said.

"Mr. Kincaid said you were at the funeral home that evening, after hours," I said. I still wasn't sure how to formulate the next part but I went ahead, "From what Mr. Kincaid told me, Mark was there to let you in. I know it's none of my business really, but I wanted to know if anything unusual happened during the time you were with Mark." I took a deep breath.

He cleared his throat. "Excuse me for a minute." He went to the conference table and poured a gla.s.s of ice water. "What specifically do you need to know?"

"Just what happened. You know, he was. .h.i.t over the head outside the funeral home that same night. I'm trying to figure out anything I could. When you left, did you see anyone outside the building? Were there any cars parked nearby with someone sitting in them, anything abnormal at all?"

"Not that I can think of. I just finalized some arrangements, and then left," he said.

"May I ask something else, I heard the police may have found something on the case?" I asked.

"The police thought they discovered the murder weapon in my daughter's death." He pulled his shoulders back.

"Did they?" my voice rose.

"I'm not at liberty to disclose that. But more importantly that phone call I was finis.h.i.+ng up when you came in was the police. They think they have identified her killer." He took a deep breath.

"Who?" I was stunned, but happy. Finally. This will all be over.

"All I can say is that the killer left something behind. They now have the evidence they need," he said.

"That's great."

"Listen, CiCi, I'm sorry to cut this short now, but I have to leave. Can I walk you out?" He guided me to the door. He pulled a campaign b.u.t.ton out of the box, and handed it to me.

"Thanks," I said. I put the b.u.t.ton on as I left his office.

The killer left something behind.

The police had just questioned me about what Jacob wore.

Oh no. Did Jacob leave his necklace at the scene of the crime?

Was he the killer?

Chapter Thirty-Three.

Jacob waved to me from a booth at H&K's. He stood to kiss me before I sat down.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. A waitress set down two ice waters and menus then left.

"Can I help?" he asked.

"Do you remember I said that I liked your necklace?" I flipped through the menu. Actually, I had it memorized, but I tried to act blase.

"Why are you asking about it? Did you find it?" he asked.

"Did you lose it?" I responded. When you killed my best friend.

"No. I put it in my locker at work a couple of nights ago."

"What locker?" I asked.

"On the job site, there is a mobile home for the site manager, as well as a handful of lockers for the crew. I put my necklace in there."

"When was that?" My heart raced. Please don't be a killer.

"After you ran into me here." He unfolded his napkin.

"Friday night, in the hallway by the washrooms?" I confirmed.

"After you plowed me over." He smiled. "I went to my locker and changed."

"Why?" I asked.

"I had some personal business to take care of," he said.

"And the necklace?"

"I took it off and put it in my locker. I haven't seen it since." He closed his menu. "She's heading over. Are you ready to order?"

She took our orders.