Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57502 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 288(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57502 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 288(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
“How does this connect with Hannah?” Jane asked, only a little—lot—envious over Ashley’s amazing title. “Also, I should probably mention I’m a writer now, and penning a similar story from a different angle. Currently, there’s a sexy ghost berserker in the mix. I just wanted you to know. So please, do continue.” Bonus: maybe something the other woman said would spark Jane’s imagination, and she’d finally figure out her book’s ending.
Ashley waved a hand through the air. “I’ll deal with your toe dip into writing later. My story deals with real people going after other people’s money. Hannah—” She used a pen to specify the teashop owner “—is a focal point. The morning of her death, she returned a text I’d sent the night before, agreeing to be interviewed at the shop. But when I got there, she pretended to be surprised by my presence and my questions about her attempt to get a cut of her ex-husband’s inheritance.”
Wow, wow, wow. Information bombs exploded, one after the other. Motives abounded for both Abigail and Mason. And he did fit Lucy’s description of the killer. Perhaps Jane was right in the beginning, and he and Abigail had worked together, both getting revenge against their enemies. But were they capable of hunting Lucy? And what had kept Lucy from calling Jane with the killer’s details? Why arrange an alley meetup?
Okay, she would ponder Lucy later.
Why hadn’t Abigail and Mason attempted to frame Jane for Hannah’s murder? Wouldn’t that be true revenge? Abigail got rid of a potential romantic rival and pinned it on the girl she’d viewed as a pest since grade school. Also, how was playing cat-and-mouse like this revenge? Unless the game was meant for Conrad, while he mourned Jane’s death after she’d succumbed to her injuries? An idea she had dismissed after opening the red envelope. Exactly what the killer hoped?
“I’d like to check your phone,” Conrad told Ashley.
The reporter keyed up her cell and showed him the exchange.
He made a notation on the pad after eyeing the screen. “That isn’t Ms. Thorton’s number.”
She gaped. “I communicated with someone pretending to be Hannah?”
Score another point for the killer.
Conrad ignored Ashley’s question and returned to his own track. “Detail Ms. Thorton’s response to your questions for me.”
“After an initial breakdown, Hannah admitted the Treasure Room had been hemorrhaging money for a while, and her ex was blowing his inheritance on a quote unquote cash stealing cow. Hannah felt he owed her for all the wasted years she’d devoted to their marriage and thought she had good legal standing for a case.”
Hannah had confessed to all that? To a reporter? Jane wasn’t convinced. Could Lucy verify? “Was anyone with her?” Had Ashley spotted the former bank loan officer?
“No, she was alone, as far as I could tell. And when I left, she was alive. Security footage will prove this. She walked me to the door and locked up.”
Locked up? And yet, Jane had strolled right in.
Conrad made another notation. “How did you originally discover Hannah’s intention to gain access to her ex-husband’s money?”
“An anonymous source alerted me. And no, I’m not just saying that. I don’t know their identity. They kept it a secret.” Ashley’s gaze shot to Jane. “Why did you visit Ms. Thorton?”
“I was invited to the book club.” Jane scooted to the edge of her chair. “How did the source keep their identity secret?”
“Some kind of voice disguising device.”
Ding, ding, ding. The same device used by the murderer, who then called the authorities to report Jane’s injuries?
“Have you spoken with Mr. Thorton or Abigail Waynes-Kirkland regarding your story?” Conrad asked.
“No, actually.” Ashley shook her head. “I haven’t spoken to either of them. Yet.”
Wow. Another surprise. Had Mason and Abigail not known of Ashley’s story? Or had they heard the rumors and decided to strike while they had plausible deniability?
Say neither of them was the whistleblower. Who was? Someone attempting to set them up? Or someone they’d paid?
Paying a source allowed the pair to distance themselves from the reporter. Or was the informant genuine? Ohhh. That line of thought had fuel in the tank. The mayor or his son, Jacob, were ideal candidates. Didn’t Jacob sit on the Headliner’s board of directors? He could’ve learned of Ashley’s work-in-progress story and called with a tip to help her out. And he’d already proven he might be callous enough to deprive book club members from hearing Jane’s speech by blocking her hiring, so. He was obviously a monster. Not to mention a co-stalker with his dad.
Jane really, really wanted to observe Ashley with the book club members. Would anyone be observing the reporter in kind? “You should come to the book club memorial for Hannah tomorrow evening. I’ll text you the address. I can’t say the killer will be there, but I can’t say the killer won’t be there, either.”