Little Empty Promises (Georgiana Germaine #10)

Chapter 12

12

I was back at the office, sitting on a sofa with Simone and Hunter. Today, Simone was wearing a Pet Shop Boys T-shirt beneath a black blazer. Her curly, black hair was styled into box braids and pulled back into a bun on top of her head. Her look was a sharp contrast to Hunter’s long, red pigtails and bohemian-style wide-leg jumpsuit.

Hunter kicked off her moccasins and leaned back on the couch, crossing her legs in front of her. “It’s sad. The poor lady lived a long, happy life, save for the loss of her husband, only to have it end in murder.”

“I’ve been hoping we’d be able to get involved in her case,” Simone said. “What can you tell us about it?”

Not much.

“Cordelia was shot once in the chest, but once was all it took to kill her,” I said. “I found a gun on the ground not far from her body. It was registered to Cordelia, and it wasn’t the murder weapon. I’m thinking she knew someone was in the library with her, and she knew she was in danger. She may have been trying to defend herself, but she didn’t get the chance before she was shot.”

“Do the police have any suspects yet?” Simone asked.

“They don’t, and we’re still not sure what the motive was, but I believe it was a targeted attack.”

“Why?”

“There are a few things I should mention. Whitlock found a note on the floor the night Cordelia died. On it was a physical description—short curly hair, seventies, glasses—which is a perfect description of Cordelia.”

“Doesn’t seem like a coincidence.”

“I don’t think so either,” I said.

“The killer may have dropped the note and left it behind on accident.”

“It’s possible, and there’s one other thing about the note that I should mention. The note could have been referring to Cordelia, but the description on it also matches the woman who manages the library, Samantha Swan. Samantha was supposed to be closing the library the night of the murder, but Cordelia offered to stay in her place so Samantha could attend her granddaughter’s volleyball game.”

“Do you think the wrong person was murdered?” Simone asked.

“It’s one of the things we need to figure out. If the note is connected to the murder, it could also mean someone was hired to kill Cordelia.”

“Ooh, murder for hire. We haven’t dealt with that before.”

Hunter opened her notebook and began taking notes.

In our murder investigations, Simone and I chased down leads and interviewed people associated with the crime, and Hunter worked behind the scenes, gathering information at the office. She preferred it that way, remaining in the background, by herself, away from people.

“Is there anything else we should know?” Hunter asked.

I stood, walked over to my desk, and grabbed the letters Claudette had left with me. I returned to the sofa, handing one letter to Hunter and the other to Simone.

“Our client left those with me. As you know, Claudette and Cordelia were sisters. Cordelia sent two letters to her sister before she died,” I said. “Hunter, I gave you the first letter. Go ahead and read through it.”

She nodded and unfolded the letter, her eyes scanning over it until she was finished. “There was bad blood between the sisters. Did they ever work through their issues before Cordelia died?”

“They did not.”

“Do you think it’s the reason Claudette hired you?”

“I do. There’s an element of guilt, regret there—that they hadn’t resolved matters before Cordelia’s death.”

“Why was there bad blood between them?”

“They were both in love with the same man. In the end, he chose Cordelia, and they got married. Claudette never forgave her for it.”

“Talk about sibling rivalry at its finest,” Simone said.

“Your letter is similar, Simone,” I said. “But there’s one big difference.”

“I’m intrigued,” Simone said. “Let’s get right to it,”

She read the letter aloud.

As she neared the end, she gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth.

“What is it?” Hunter asked.

“At the end of this letter, Cordelia says she fears for her life,” Simone said. “How long was it between the time Cordelia sent this letter and her death?”

“A few days.”

“If someone was planning to murder her, it looks like she had good reason to be concerned,” Simone said.

“I saw Phoebe earlier today, and she told me something interesting,” I said. “About a month ago, she was at our mother’s house. Cordelia lives across the street. While Phoebe was in the car, waiting for our mother, she saw Cordelia fighting with the next-door neighbor, a woman named Rosalyn Westwood.”

“Did she know what the fight was about?”

“She couldn’t hear their conversation, but Cordelia was crying at the end of it. When Phoebe found out Cordelia had been murdered, she told Foley about the conversation she’d witnessed. He talked to Rosalyn, and she told him their interaction wasn’t a big deal. According to her, they had a disagreement over Cordelia’s cat coming into the yard and riling up her dog.”

“I don’t see how that would lead to murder,” Simone said.

“Truth is, Rosalyn could have given any reason for the argument,” I said. “As far as I know, no one else witnessed what happened or heard their conversation.”

“Do you think Rosalyn could be lying?”

“I’ll have a better idea after I speak to her again. I’m going to stop by and see her in the morning.”

I heard a strange clicking sound and then all went quiet.

“Hang on a minute,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”

I walked to the kitchen. Popping my head inside, I noticed nothing was on—the refrigerator wasn’t running with its usual hum, and the time wasn’t displaying on the microwave.

I returned to Simone and Hunter. “Looks like the power is out.”

“Hope it won’t be for long,” Hunter said.

“I guess we’ll see,” I said. “Where were we?”

“What can we do to help you get things started in the investigation?” Simone asked.

“There’s not much to go on so far, but I was thinking we should circle back to the people Cordelia was with right before she died. There are two employees who worked with her at the library, Samatha Swan and Johnny Mansfield. I’ve spoken once with Samantha, but I haven’t talked to Johnny yet. Simone, I’d like you to speak to them both tomorrow.”

“Sure thing. Anything in particular you want me to say or ask?”

“If you can, talk to them one on one, not together. Ask them about their relationship with Cordelia. I want to know if she ever mentioned anything to them about fearing for her life, or whether either one of them noticed any changes in her demeanor prior to her death.”

“What can I do?” Hunter asked.

“For now, I’d like you to run background checks on Rosalyn Westwood and her husband. It may be irrelevant, but it’s a start. By this time tomorrow, I’m hoping we have a direction to go in, and some good leads for tracking down our murderer.”