Part 23 (2/2)
”I don't know about that. We may have unearthed some new things, but I still have more questions than answers.”
”Well, throw them out there. Let's see what we can come up with.”
”Okay.” Stella took a sip of coffee and gathered her thoughts. ”First off, why was Weston at our house? And don't say to work on our well, because we all know Weston never did the work himself.”
”The only thing I can come up with,” Nick offered, ”is that he wanted to handle it himself in order to make a good impression.”
”We spoke to Hank Reid, honey. Does it sound like Weston was the type to go out of the way for a customer?”
”No, it doesn't.”
”So what other explanation could there be?”
”Might have been meeting someone there,” Mills suggested with a shrug.
”That was my thought too. And a meeting would explain the last-minute change in schedule. However, why our house? We've seen his house, and it's-” Stella caught herself, but it was too late. Mills stopped drinking his coffee in mid-sip.
”When did you see Weston's house?”
”Um, we drove past just to check it out. You know, get a lay of the land,” Nick explained.
Mills gave a doubtful frown.
”Anyway,” Stella continued, ”Weston lived on the top of a hill at the end of a long, private road. Alma met him there several times and no one ever saw them. If Weston needed privacy, he could have arranged a meeting at his place.”
”Maybe Weston was at your house to meet with Maggie. She lives nearby.”
”There are a few flaws with that theory. First, why not just meet Maggie at her house? She's told anyone who'll listen about the painting. If anyone saw Weston's truck in her driveway, they'd a.s.sume he was smoothing things over or asking her to leave him alone. Second, why did he need to meet with her at all? According to Maggie, she ran into Weston at the well office and the septic service shop last week. And by your account, Sheriff, she was at his house as recently as the day before his death. If there was something he needed to discuss with her, he could have done it then.”
”But instead he called the police.”
”Which raises another interesting question. Why did Weston suddenly feel the need to call the police? Maggie had been stalking him at work for weeks and he hadn't contacted the authorities.”
”There's a big difference between stalking someone at their place of work and stalking them where they live,” Nick said.
”Call me old fas.h.i.+oned, but stalking is creepy no matter where you do it. If the source of Weston's fear was Maggie herself, he would have gotten a restraining order weeks ago, but he didn't. Sooo ...”
Nick and Mills leaned forward in antic.i.p.ation.
”... what if what actually frightened Weston was that Maggie got too close to the painting or to something else he was trying to hide?”
”Great, now you're quoting Senora Psycho herself.”
”Because, as crazy as the rest of her story might sound, that part makes sense. Why else would he have such a sudden change of heart?”
”Guess it might be worth looking into.”
”Of course it is! Sheriff, do you think we could head over to Weston's house once we finish? I'd like to give it another look.”
”Another look? I knew it! I knew you two broke in there.”
”No, Stella broke in. I walked in the front door.”
”You broke in?” The sheriff was incredulous. ”What did you say you did in New York again?”
”I didn't say.”
”It's cla.s.sified,” Nick replied. ”Even I'm not allowed to know.”
Stella rolled her eyes. ”What does it matter if I broke in? I didn't take anything out. What does matter is that when I was there, I took a look at Weston's closet. It was filled with fancy suits and designer labels.”
”So?” Mills challenged.
”So, what was Weston doing in a no-name flannel s.h.i.+rt and bargain-bas.e.m.e.nt jeans?”
”Flannel s.h.i.+rt was brand new. I can only a.s.sume he bought it to work on your well.”
”Not a man like Weston. Not a man who put creases in his khakis. If Weston needed work clothes, he would have bought them from Orvis or L. L. Bean or, if he were slumming it, from Woolrich. Instead, what he was wearing was strictly Walmart. It makes as much sense as him moving his truck into the woods.”
”Maybe he was hiding?” Nick offered. ”The next closest house belongs to Crazy Maggie. I wouldn't want that all up in my grill.”
”Make up your minds! One minute you guys have Weston meeting Maggie; the next, he's hiding from her. If Weston wanted to hide from Maggie, he would sent one of his guys to our place to do the job. And he definitely wouldn't have driven past her place in a bright yellow truck with his name on it.”
”Well, I'm stumped.”
”Me too,” Mills echoed. ”Every time I think I have one question answered, another question pops up that my answer doesn't fit.”
”I know,” Stella agreed. ”And we haven't even gotten to Bunny's death yet.”
”What's so confusing about that? She was killed because she knew something about the murderer. Could be anyone, except for Alice. Oh, and Hank Reid.”
”I noticed you didn't mention Reid earlier. Did he have an alibi?”
”Yep. Bunny's voice mail and Hank's phone records support his story.”
”He lives just five minutes away from Bunny. Those phone calls mean nothing. He could have snuck over there between leaving messages.”
”Yeah, but he and Bunny were ...”
”Sleeping together?” Nick finished Mills's thought. ”In my opinion, that makes him an even stronger suspect. Not only did the intimate nature of their relations.h.i.+p give Bunny access to Reid's house and personal belongings-which, for all we know, could have included some d.a.m.ning evidence-but Reid might have made an offhand comment or let something slip during ... um ... the heat of the moment.”
”Eww,” Stella said in disgust.
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