Page 28 of She Doesn't Have a Clue
Nobody ever believed her, most especially Kate herself. Even when she was positive she was right about something, there was a nagging voice in the back of her head telling her she was crazy, and everyone would finally see her for the mess she was. But here was Jake being a Blake—a character who had little to no real-life resemblance to him, obviously—supporting her wild theory. It did itchy, tingly things to her skin that had nothing to do with the sleuthing sweater.
“I do believe you,” Jake said again with a nod. “Which is why I’m going to find a phone and call the police.”
“Oh, you can’t,” Kate said, turning back to her murder wall. “Phones are all down, too, and there’s another storm cell on the way. We’re completely stranded.”
“Again, so gleeful,” Jake said, coming to stand beside her and survey the suspect sheets.
“Becausethatwas the exact plot of Loretta Starling book two,A Dark and Stormy Murder. Loretta got stranded at the bar during a hurricane and one of the patrons ended up stabbed. She had to figure out who the murderer was before they could escape after the storm.”
“Alright, so what are the itchy dragon penises telling you about who poisoned Kennedy?” Jake asked, standing close enough that their shoulders rubbed together. Kate wouldn’t think about how firm his muscles felt beneath the soft slide of his sweater, or the thin, nearly transparent weave of the ancient T-shirt she wore beneath her sleuthing sweater. She definitely wouldn’t think about how she hadn’t bothered to put on a bra since last night. What shewoulddo was casually bring her arms around her chest, one hand thoughtfully cupping her chin, so her nipples wouldn’t show through the sheer fabric.
“Oh, uh, hmm.” Kate cleared her throat, trying to bring her attention back to the more pressing matter at hand. “So, I have a couple of the most likely suspects. Juliette Winters, because she’s got a great motive and she’s scary. She lost out on a big promotion to Kennedy recently and was pretty upset about it. She and Simon had a big fight in his office after the announcement. And I saw her breaking into someone’s room last night, when she said she was close to getting everything she wants as soon as she gets someone out of the way. Plus, she was the first one to notice the setup from my book last night, before I even could. Like she wanted everyone else to notice it, too. So maybe she thought if she killed Kennedy and pinned it on me, she’d get the promotion and I’d be on the hook for Kennedy’s murder.”
“That’s a hell of a way to get a job,” Jake murmured, lifting up the sheets to read them more closely. “What about Serena Archer? She certainly seems dramatic enough to pull off something like this, but what’s her motive against Kennedy?”
“I talked to her at the bar last night,” Kate said, pacing like all good detectives do when working their list of suspects. “Well,shetalkedatme. She was really pissed about the marketing job Kennedy did for her last book. Apparently, her sales tanked. And she mentioned that Spencer and Simon have both been dodging her about renewing the option on her contract. She said she thought Kennedy had poisoned them against her. Andthenshe made some mysterious comment about something big going down at midnight, and that’s exactly when I found Kennedy’s body! So maybe she thought Kennedy was responsible for ruining her career, and she wanted to get revenge.”
Jake lifted another paper, jerking back in surprise. “Hang on, you’ve got Rebecca Hempstead here? Why in the world would she want to kill Kennedy?”
“Yeah, she’s kind of a long shot. She was obviously furious with Kennedy about this whole wedding business. And last night during her speech, Kennedy made the comment that she wanted to keep the Manor and the island in the hands of those who would love it and care for it. So, maybe Rebecca thought Kennedy might pull another fast one on her, and decided to take her out of the equation instead.”
“You’re missing something,” Jake said, crossing his arms.
“Mug shots, I know! I couldn’t find the photographer this morning, though. I thought about doing some illustrations, and then I remembered that my second-grade art teacher called my stick figures ‘questionable.’ So, we’ll just have to use our imaginations.”
“You’re missingsomeone,” Jake said. “Where’s Spencer?”
“I don’t know. Probably getting ready for the wedding or something.”
“I don’t mean right now, I mean on your murder wall. Why isn’t Spencer a suspect?”
“Oh,” Kate said, suddenly uncomfortable. “Well, because… Why would he be?”
“Because he’s the spouse,” Jake said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “It’s always the spouse.”
“He’s not the spouse yet,” Kate said, wondering why in hell she was defending Spencer, of all people.
“You have to admit, he was acting all out of sorts last night, even for Spencer. He seemed upset with Kennedy.”
Kate didn’t have to admit anything, certainly not to Jake, but it was harder to lie to herself when she’d noticed the same thing. Spencer had been cagey, and seemed distant with Kennedy. And he’d obviously been hiding something, but Kate didn’t know what. Still, she wasn’t going to give Jake any more ammunition in his campaign against Spencer.
“What’s his motive? Can’t be money, since he won’t get any if she dies before they’re married. And it’s not an affair, because he’d have to be crazy to blow a sweet thing like this.” Kate counted off the routine motives on her fingers. “And he’s obviously not in the habit of poisoning fiancées because I’m still here. It doesn’t fit.”
“But he wasn’t there last night, was he?” Jake pressed. “When we found Kennedy. He’s the groom and yet he was nowhere to be found when his bride nearly died? And he certainly had motive after the way he was looking at you last night.”
Kate drew back in surprise. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means he didn’t look like somebody who had moved on. He looked jealous as hell. It’s half the reason I put my arm around you, just to set him off. He’s still got feelings for you.”
Kate wheezed in surprise, doubling over in laughter. “That’s… that is… I can’t breathe. I really can’t breathe. That’s the mostridiculousthing I’ve ever heard. You’re crazy.”
“Am I? What about you? What was that little scene, running out of the rehearsal dinner like that? You think I didn’t recognize the speech he read? That big, ridiculous monologue Loretta gives in the middle of the hurricane, trying to prove she really loves Geoff when she was obviously still hung up on that kiss with Blake? Don’t tell me Spencer didn’t pull that stunt on purpose. And in murder mysteries, it’salwaysthe spouse, isn’t it? Even the almost spouse.”
“Not in Loretta book three,” Kate said defiantly, crossing her arms.
Jake put up a hand. “I told you I’m only halfway through. No spoilers.”
“It was the sister,” Kate said petulantly.