No Place to Deceive Read online

  Christine’s question took Olivia aback. “I don’t know,” said Olivia truthfully, as she looked over and saw Justin gazing at her.

  “You’d want to kill the bastard, too, wouldn’t you? Anyone would.” Christine’s face was flushing.

  “I might have that feeling,” Olivia continued, “but I wouldn’t do it.”

  Christine laughed.

  “Did you kill him, Christine?” Olivia asked forthrightly.

  The question obviously took Christine by surprise. “Of course I didn’t kill him.”

  A deep silence suddenly swept through the police station.

  Olivia stood up and walked closer to Christine. “But you just said you wanted to.”

  “It wasn’t only the second family either,” Christine went on, her rage intensifying. “I begged him over and over to get Andrea out of our lives. I couldn’t stand her. And he wouldn’t! He could have, but he didn’t.”

  “How could he have gotten Andrea out of your life?” asked Olivia.

  “He could have told her to get the hell out of our home,” Christine thundered.

  “Wasn’t Andrea your daughter’s best friend?” Olivia plunged forward. “Didn’t she come over to see Penny?”

  “Andrea’s a miserable creature who was after my husband.” Christine was emphatic. “She wouldn’t leave us alone. She stalked us.”

  “You felt she wanted to take Mort from you?” Olivia wanted to be precise and clear.

  “Andrea wanted everything I had,” Christine breathed. “She’d give us the sob story that she had no father, but she didn’t want a father. She wanted my life.”

  Dowl took a few steps closer to Olivia and Christine. “Andrea should have been here half an hour ago,” he said.

  “Good.” Christine looked half wild. “When she comes in she can tell you how she blackmailed Mort and when he didn’t pay up, she came and told me what was going on. She’s a poisonous snake in the grass.”

  “Where is she?” Wayne asked Dowl then.

  “Damned if I know.” Dowl was disconcerted. “They’re looking for her right now as we talk.”

  “She’s probably out somewhere killing someone else!” Christine shouted.

  “Or maybe someone’s got her?” Justin joined in now, looking at Christine oddly.

  “Got Andrea? I’m the one they called warning, not Andrea.” Christine went on the attack. “I’m the one to be worried about, not her!”

  “And maybe you’re after her now, defending yourself?” Justin was vigorous and held nothing back.

  Christine stopped and stared at him strangely. “You’re young and you’re smart,” she hissed. “Maybe I am?”

  “Maybe it’s you who wants Andrea dead?” Justin moved closer.

  “Of course I do.” Christine flared up uncontrollably. “Why shouldn’t I? Wouldn’t you?”

  Dowl put his hand on Justin’s shoulder to pull him back. Justin shrugged him off and moved closer.

  “There’s a lot of people you want dead, aren’t there, Christine?” Justin moved in for the kill.

  “I do, I do.” Christine started shouting. “Get the hell away from me, you little monster, or I’ll get you too!”

  Justin threw a quick look at Dowl then. Dowl nodded harshly.

  “We’re going to have to hold you here, Mrs. Townsend,” Dowl suddenly said.

  “Hold me, why?”

  “Under suspicion of murder,” Dowl replied.

  “You just try it,” she blasted.

  “We have to,” Justin responded matter-of-factly. “You’re a danger to yourself and others.”

  *

  “That’s it,” Dowl said as Christine was taken from the room. “We’ve got what we need.”

  “Definitely looks like it,” agreed Justin.

  “Not so quick.” Wayne took him on abruptly. “We can’t discount Andrea. Where is she? Why didn’t she show up? We’ve got to take her in anyway as she clearly confessed to blackmailing.”

  Justin shrugged. “Big deal,” he quipped. “Christine is obviously the killer. She hated her husband. She found out about his second family and confessed to wanting to kill him.”

  “He denied it though,” Olivia jumped in. “And Christine believed him.”

  “She believed that he wasn’t actually married to Heidi, but there’s no denying he cheated on her for a long time.”

  “We need hard evidence, though.” Wayne spoke to Justin as if he were a newcomer.

  Justin didn’t like it. “I’d say this is as hard evidence as you can get.”

  “Hold on, hold on.” Dowl got between them. “Both of you are right. Christine is loaded with motive, but we can’t discount Andrea. It’s not good that she didn’t show up, either. If we don’t locate her in a little while we’ll put an all points alert out on her.”

  The idea of that frightened Olivia. “If Andrea’s on the run, an all points alert could push her over the edge,” she said. “I think it’s best to search for her quietly.”

  Justin smiled at Olivia warmly. “We might not have the luxury of that,” he said. “Right now time is of the essence.”

  “Olivia is right,” said Wayne, bristling and wanting to put a wedge between her and Justin. “If Andrea sees we’ve got an all points alert out, it might drive her into real hiding.”

  “Let’s calm this down for a minute.” Dowl jumped in again. “All likelihood, Andrea will show up any minute. The good part is that right now we have two definite persons of interest, Christine and Andrea. From here on in, we’ve got to focus all our attention on both of these women. For all intents and purposes, outside of them the case is closed.”

  Closed? Olivia was dismayed. “Not yet,” Olivia insisted.

  Wayne looked at her carefully. “They’re not saying it’s totally closed,” he reminded her, “just that we know where to focus now.”

  Everyone in the room was then given assignments about what to look into. All eyes would check out every aspect of both these women. There would be a definite conclusion, they felt, in no time.

  *

  Olivia and Wayne headed back to the hotel for lunch before embarking upon their individual

  assignments. Olivia was to talk to all of Andrea’s friends and acquaintances, in the effort to find out more about her life and background. Did she have a secret record that no one knew about? Wayne was teaming up with a few other officers to dig more fully into Christine’s marriage, family, and finances.

  “Justin’s an impulsive, brash kid,” Wayne commented as the cab pulled away. “And not that bright, if you ask me.”

  Olivia smiled. She knew Wayne was threatened by Justin and she liked that.

  “He’s okay,” Olivia said blandly. “I’ve seen better and I’ve seen worse.”

  “Who’s better?” asked Wayne.

  “I’ll give you three guesses, Wayne,” Olivia remarked.

  “You’re talking about me?” asked Wayne, laughing.

  “Yes I am,” Olivia reassured him. “Who else?”

  *

  When Olivia and Wayne arrived back at the hotel, Olivia felt tired. She wanted to go up to her room to freshen up a little and said she’d meet Wayne at the coffee shop in a few minutes. Naturally, Wayne agreed. Olivia also needed time alone to go over everything. She decided to take a quick shower, change, and try calling Andrea on her own. Olivia was concerned about her. Perhaps she’d get an answer and find out where she was easily.

  The shower felt warm and wonderful, washing the tiredness away. Olivia stood under the pouring water, realizing how uneasy she felt about the case. There were too many loose threads dangling to be anywhere near declaring it closed.

  When she got out of the shower, Olivia slipped into a lovely lemon silk, summer dress and brushed her hair for a long time. Her grief over Todd’s death was fading and Olivia felt the time was coming to move forward in her love life again. Her closeness to Wayne was definitely growing and it was fun that Wayne felt jealous of Justin, but what did it
mean actually? Although they worked so beautifully together, Olivia realized that she didn’t know Wayne personally so well. Who was he as a man? What was important to him? So far their work as detectives had consumed both of them. It was definitely time for both to open up and learn more about each other.

  Just as Olivia was about to go down to meet Wayne in the coffee shop for lunch, her phone suddenly rang, stopping her.

  CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

  “Hello?” said Olivia, picking up her phone quickly, hoping that Andrea might be on the other end.

  But to her surprise it was Nate calling.

  “Olivia, Olivia,” Nate spoke hurriedly, “I just heard the news.”

  “What news?” asked Olivia, confused.

  “We’re back in Nashville now and got a call from the police,” Nate went on. “I heard they think Christine’s most likely the killer.”

  Olivia was horrified. “Why would the police tell you that?”

  “My mother begged them to keep her updated.” Nate’s voice got lower. “One of the cops on the force took a liking to her. He feels badly for her and said he would.”

  “Which one?” asked Olivia, startled.

  “I don’t know his name.” Nate became rattled.

  “Was it Justin?” asked Olivia.

  “I told you I don’t know,” said Nate.

  “Well, okay, thanks for letting me know that,” said Olivia.

  “That’s not all.” Nate seemed scared that Olivia was about to hang up. “Listen to me!”

  “I’m listening,” said Olivia, agitated by the call.

  “Christine didn’t do it. I know that for a fact,” Nate went on.

  “How do you know that for a fact?” Olivia was riveted. “Give me the details.”

  “Just listen to me and don’t ask any questions.” Nate was insistent. “You’ve got to come up to Nashville immediately. I’ll give you an address to visit. Go there as soon as you arrive. You won’t be sorry.”

  “Nate, please, talk to me straight,” Olivia pleaded. “Whose address is it?”

  “I am talking straight. I couldn’t be straighter.” Nate breathed heavily. “And come fast. That stupid Andrea is down here now, bugging my mother.”

  “Andrea’s at your home?” Olivia was amazed.

  “You said it.” Nate didn’t like it one bit. “She keeps telling my mom that she never had a father, and Mort was the father she always wanted.”

  Olivia was appalled. Now Andrea was stalking Mort’s other family. “What does Andrea want from your mother? Money?”

  “I’m not sure,” said Nate quickly, “but whatever she wants, she’s not going to get it. I’ll see to that.”

  Olivia began trembling. Was Andrea totally insane or was she a master manipulator, and possibly a killer? Was she hiding out in Nashville now?

  “I’m texting you the address I want you to go to,” Nate went on. “After you go there, you can come to our house and deal with Andrea yourself.”

  “Okay, I’ll be there shortly,” Olivia swiftly replied.

  “You will?” Nate sounded overjoyed.

  “Yes, definitely,” said Olivia. “If Andrea’s down there, I have no choice about it.”

  “And even if she wasn’t,” Nate went on, “you’ve got to go to the address I send you first.”

  “You won’t tell me who lives there?” Olivia asked one more time.

  “I can’t,” said Nate. “You’ll find out yourself soon enough. Just get up here as fast as possible.”

  Olivia hung up the phone, agitated. What was Andrea really doing in Nashville now? For

  all they knew she was the one who’d made the threatening call to Christine. Did she now have designs on Heidi as well? It certainly seemed possible.

  Olivia couldn’t wait to get downstairs to talk to Wayne about this. She walked to the door quickly, when suddenly her phone rang again.

  “Yes, what is it?” Olivia answered, disconcerted.

  “Olivia, this is Calia,” a shaky voice sounded on the other end of the phone.

  “How are you, Calia?” asked Olivia, strangely relieved to be hearing from her. “And how is your family? Are all safe and well?”

  “Safe, yes, definitely. But are they well? That I don’t know,” Calia responded. “My brother just told me that he was going to call you. Did he?”

  Olivia became silent. “Why do you ask?” she replied.

  “Please, whatever Nate says, don’t believe a word of it,” Calia went on in a hurried tone. “He’s totally cracking up and dreaming up wild scenarios. And he’s trying to pull everyone in. This happens to him from time to time. He’s freaking out now because my father died and is blaming everybody.”

  “He sounded fine to me when I talked to him.” Olivia felt driven to defend him.

  “Nate’s not fine though, and he never was,” Calia insisted.

  “Is there anything else you have to tell me?” Olivia asked then. “Something you might be leaving out?” Olivia wondered why Calia was really calling.

  “Leaving out? Nothing.” Calia sounded offended.

  “Is Andrea there with you, too?” Olivia had to know more instantly.

  “Yes, what of it?” Calia replied casually.

  “What’s she doing there, Calia?” Olivia’s sense of urgency intensified.

  “Nothing much,” Calia replied. “Andrea’s sad and says she came down here to comfort me. She’d love to have me as a second sister.”

  “You can’t be that to her!” Olivia was appalled.

  “Why not? What’s so bad about it?” asked Calia.

  “Be careful,” Olivia breathed. “Andrea’s behavior is not normal.”

  Calia laughed. “It’s my brother who’s not normal,” she insisted, “and I’m calling to warn you about that. Tell me what he told you over the phone.”

  Olivia instantly decided not to say a thing about her conversation with Nate to Calia. Olivia would go to Nashville immediately and talk to everyone there herself.

  “I’m coming to Nashville in a little while,” Olivia said to Calia. “Make sure Andrea stays there with you. I need to talk to her, too.”

  *

  When Olivia finally got to the coffee shop, Wayne was on his third cup of coffee.

  “You took such a long time,” he commented as she quickly slipped into the booth.

  “I’m so sorry, Wayne,” Olivia replied. “I got two unexpected calls I had to answer.”

  “From who?” Wayne was interested.

  “First from Nate and then his sister, Calia.”

  “Interesting,” Wayne agreed. “Nice that they stay in touch with you.”

  “More than interesting, a bit alarming,” Olivia went on. “First Nate said he was positive that Christine did not commit the murder.”

  Wayne raised his eyebrows skeptically. “Positive?”

  “Then he told me he wanted to give me an address in Nashville that I had to visit immediately,” Olivia continued.

  “Whose address?” Wayne didn’t like that.

  “He wouldn’t say who,” Olivia answered, “but he said I wouldn’t be sorry.”

  “There’s no end to the amateur detectives floating around,” Wayne replied. “When they don’t give you specifics, it’s meaningless. It’s some kind of game they’re playing.”

  “There’s more than that,” Olivia spoke over him. “Nate said that Andrea was with his family in Nashville right now.”

  That definitely stopped Wayne cold. “Andrea’s in Nashville? You’re sure?”

  “Yes, and then Calia called right after and corroborated it.” Olivia declined mentioning to Wayne what Calia had said about Nate.

  “What’s Andrea doing with the family in Nashville?” Wayne didn’t like it.

  “Calia said Andrea told her that she’d love to have Calia for a second sister,” breathed Olivia.

  “That is weird.” Wayne shuddered.

  “More than weird,” said Olivia. “Andrea’s definitely patholo
gical.”

  “Looks like it,” said Wayne conclusively.

  “I’m going to Nashville as soon as possible,” Olivia continued, “both to visit the address Nate gave me, and to talk to Andrea.”

  Nate shook his head slowly. “Wrong move, not necessary,” he remarked. “We can get the police to bring Andrea back down here. There’s no need to track her in person.”

  “I also want to visit the address Nate gave me,” Olivia repeated.

  “That doesn’t make any sense at all.” Wayne wouldn’t go along. “And you can’t do it alone anyway.”

  “I can call the Nashville police for backup,” said Olivia.

  “Absolutely not,” Wayne objected. “What’s the point of it? Why won’t Nate tell you whose address it is? You can’t go running around following all kinds of false leads and fantasies. This is a time for focus.”

  “How do you know it’s a false lead?” Olivia objected. “Nate led me right to Andrea, didn’t he?”

  “If she’s really there,” Wayne grumbled. “Let’s call her and see.”

  Olivia didn’t want to do that. “No, I want to catch her there unaware.”

  “It won’t work. I can’t go with you now.” Wayne’s voice grew deeper. “We’re all zeroing in together here on what’s at hand.”

  “Well, my assignment was to find more about Andrea.” Olivia was adamant. “So, this fit right in.”

  “Your assignment is to talk to all kinds of people and acquaintances in Andrea’s life,” said Wayne. “You need to get undercover, secret information, not talk to her again.”

  “Who knows what else is in Nashville, waiting to be discovered?” Olivia wouldn’t budge now.

  “Olivia, when a case comes to a boil it’s very common for all kinds of false leads to come out of the woodwork,” Wayne declared. “I’ve seen this happen time and again.”

  “Finding Andrea is not a distraction,” Olivia retorted.

  “If you really find her, even,” said Wayne.

  “Nate’s wired in, he knows something.” Olivia had to defend him again. “Someone on the police force even told him that they feel Christine is the culprit.”