Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 Karen Whiddon (best fiction books to read TXT) 📖

She said he was a creep. We went to school together but didn’t socialize much.” She paused a beat and added, “I feel guilty about what happened to her, what she became.”

“Why is that?” Julia asked.

Bethany’s voice was low. “Her father abused me once. I knew what he did to her and I never told a teacher or anything. My parents knew but they were only worried about me.”

“Did you help Darcy Owens kill her parents?” Luis asked.

“No,” said Bethany. “I’ll admit that I wasn’t upset when Uncle Frank turned up dead, but my parents cut off all ties with her family after what happened to me.”

That didn’t fit with the information provided by Robert Carpenter. Yet, Luis knew there was a very thin line to be walked while questioning Bethany Edwards. Right now, she was cooperating. He also knew that she could stop at any moment—or worse, ask for a lawyer. “What about at school?”

“What about it?” Bethany asked.

“You and Darcy attended the same high school. You were even in the same grade. You never spoke to her in class?”

“If we had a class, I spoke to her, but we weren’t friends. Darcy wasn’t really close to anybody at school.”

“What about Robert Carpenter?”

“Who?” Bethany asked.

“Your date to homecoming after you gave Darcy a haircut that left her head bloody.”

“I never.” She drew her eyebrows together and looked around the room as if an answer was somehow hidden in a corner. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” Bethany stood. “I’ve left my kids for too long. I need to get back outside.”

Julia stood, too. Like him, she knew that the interview was over. Bethany opened the front door and waited for them to exit. She followed, closing the door behind her. They stood in the breezeway as Bethany walked down the steps without a backward glance.

CHAPTER 10

They remained on the stoop between Bethany’s apartment and the one belonging to her neighbor, Candace Johnson. Luis lifted his hand and knocked.

“Hold on,” a woman called out.

A moment later, the door opened. Julia held up her badge. “Candace Johnson? I’m Sheriff McCloud from Pleasant Pines. This is my colleague, Luis Martinez. We have some questions.”

The woman, in her midtwenties with short brown hair and a snake tattoo wrapped around her wrist, stepped back. “Questions? What’s this all about?”

“We need to know your whereabouts on Saturday evening between ten o’clock and half-past twelve.”

“That’s easy,” she said. “I was out with friends—actually, at the pub in the Pleasant Pines Inn. Is everything okay?”

“Can you tell us how you got there?” Julia asked.

“I drove,” said Candace. “But I borrowed a friend’s car. Mine’s in the shop.”

“Does your friend have a name?”

“Bethany Edwards.” Candace pointed to the door across the landing. “She lives right there.”

Julia removed a pad of paper and pen from her pocket and held them out to Candace. “Can you give us the names and numbers for the friends you were with on Saturday?”

She took the paper and pen. “Sure,” she said while writing. “Here you go.” She handed the pad and pen back to Julia.

“One more thing before we let you go,” said Luis. “Any idea where Bethany was while you were out?”

“She had a date stopping by after the kids went to bed. That’s why she didn’t need the car. Then again, she really doesn’t go out that often.”

Julia tucked the notepad back into her pocket. “Thanks for your time.”

With Luis at her side, Julia turned for the stairs. Once they were back in the parking lot, Julia cursed. “Well, that was a complete dead end.”

“Not necessarily,” said Luis, rounding to the passenger side of the truck.

“How can you say that? Bethany not only has an alibi—she was home with her kids—but she was also without a ride. Still...” She pulled open the door and slipped behind the steering wheel. “I’ll contact the people Candace listed and maybe we can get another look at the hotel video.”

“I don’t think there are many more answers on the video than those we’ve already gotten,” said Luis. “It’s like what Wyatt said. Whoever killed Tom Dolan knows Darcy well, and probably during her formative years. Her ex-boyfriend and her cousin are likely candidates to know all her secrets.”

“I agree, but how do we figure out which one? We should talk to Robert Carpenter again, don’t you think?”

Luis nodded. “There’s something I’d like to do first, though.”

“Yeah, what’s that?”

“We have to go where it all started.” Luis paused. “We have to go to Darcy’s childhood home.”

Julia knew Luis was right. They’d have to visit the place where Darcy grew up...and her need for murderous vengeance was born.

* * *

Luis sat in the passenger seat as Julia steered the big truck out of the apartment complex. If the GPS was right, the trip would take less than two hours.

The drive passed in complete silence. For Luis, it was a chasm he didn’t know how to cross. And Julia seemed focused on the road and her thoughts. Finally, as they pulled off the main road and onto the gravel drive, the sun started to peek through cracks in the cloud cover. Beams of light slanted down on the woods that surrounded the property.

The truck crested a small rise and the house came into view. It was a white two-story home with a sagging porch and shutters that hung askew. Otherwise, the structure looked to be intact. But he couldn’t help but wonder how many secrets the house held.

Luis had been at the hospital with Julia when Darcy Owens had been apprehended at this very same home. All the same, he’d been briefed about the episode and recalled the details.

“The second story consists of four rooms and a bath. I say we start with Darcy’s bedroom. It’s been searched already, but you never know what we might find. Besides, it’s probably best to start at square one.”

Julia nodded. “Okay,” she said.

They exited the car and strode to the front door. The boards of the porch sagged