Pie Peril and a Peculiar Murder Read online

  “What sort of details are you talking about?”

  “Information about the inner workings of his drug operation. The kind of stuff that could put him in jail for a long time. Although, now that Eric is dead, those details don’t carry the same weight that they once did.”

  “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”

  “Fine. What do you want to know?”

  As our conversation with Valerie continued, I remained amazed by how blunt Mrs. Hobart was. She answered every one of David’s questions without hesitation. Unfortunately, just like she had said earlier, the details she had about Eric’s drug empire didn’t pack the same punch now that Mr. Hobart was dead.

  Honestly, she mostly just confirmed things that we already knew. For example, who Eric’s second-in-command was. Also, the identity of Eric’s biggest rival. Not to mention, the steps that he took to traffic drugs throughout the area.

  Once Valerie revealed all of the operational details that she knew, David shifted his focus back to the murder investigation.

  “Thank you for being so forthcoming. Speaking of which, I have a few more questions for you,” David said.

  “Haven’t you asked me enough?” Valerie replied.

  “Mrs. Hobart, I haven’t even gotten to the most important question yet,” David said.

  “You mean, did I kill Eric?” Valerie replied.

  “I was going to phrase it differently, but yes, that’s what I was building up to,” David said.

  “Let me cut straight to the chase,” Valerie said. “I had nothing to do with Eric’s death. Now, are we done yet?”

  David shook his head. “Not quite.”

  “Why not?”

  “You said it yourself. You’re a woman who knows how to cover her back. It’s not a stretch to believe that you would do the same when it comes to this matter.”

  “Look, I get it. Eric was my ex, and we parted on really bad terms, so naturally I’m a suspect.”

  “I wouldn’t be very good at my job if I didn’t have suspicions about you.”

  “I understand that. Like I just told you, though, I didn’t kill Eric.”

  “Mrs. Hobart, I’m not just going to take your word for that.”

  Valerie shrugged. “Why not? I’ve been honest about everything else.”

  “Make no mistake. I appreciate your candor. That said, I can’t eliminate you as a suspect. Not without some proof that you are innocent,” David replied.

  “Where am I supposed to get that?”

  “The process is actually simpler than you’d think. Just answer one question for me.”

  “Which is?”

  “Where were you last night?”

  “I was here.”

  “Were you alone?” David asked.

  Valerie nodded. “Yes.”

  David grimaced. “That’s unfortunate.”

  “Maybe so, but it’s also the truth.”

  “I’d really like to believe that.”

  “I’m not stopping you.”

  “The problem is, your word is only as believable as my ability to verify it.”

  “I get that,” Valerie said. “But ask yourself this. If I did kill Eric, don’t you think I would have come up with a better cover story?”

  David shook his head. “Not necessarily. Perhaps you believed that a mundane alibi wouldn’t draw attention to itself.”

  Valerie’s nose scrunched. “There’s a big flaw in that logic. Like I told you earlier, if I know trouble is on the horizon, I like to cover my back. Yet, I didn’t do that in this case. Don’t you think that’s pretty telling?”

  “Mrs. Hobart, I deal in facts. And the fact is, you don’t have a verifiable alibi for the time of the murder.”

  “No, I don’t. At the same time it doesn’t change the fact that I had nothing to do with Eric’s murder,” Valerie said. “Now, are we done here?”

  David stared Valerie down.

  He then responded, “Before we go, I have one more thing to say.”

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “Don’t even think about leaving town,” David replied.

  Chapter Eight

  Not surprisingly, after finishing up with Valerie, David and I headed over to Javelin Circle. That was where Angela Thorne lived. The forty-one-year-old redhead was renting a split-level house that was situated at the end of the cul-de-sac.

  Angela’s pink sedan was parked in the driveway. When I glanced at the vehicle, I was reminded of how rare it was to see a car that was painted that color. Then again, it wasn’t every day that I saw a woman decked out in a head-to-toe pink outfit either. It was pretty clear what Angela’s favorite color was.

  As the square-faced woman opened her front door and scowled at us, my focus quickly shifted away from her color preferences. The more pressing question was, why did Angela look like she was in a hurry to get rid of us?

  It didn’t take long to get an answer. Before David had a chance to introduce himself, Angela made her opinion known.

  “I’m not interested in buying anything or signing any petitions,” Angela snapped. “So, why don’t you turn around and get back in your car?”

  For all of Angela’s bluster, she certainly was misinformed.

  David opened his mouth, ready to set her straight. “Ms. Thorne, we’re not here to sell you anything.”

  “Nor do we have a petition for you to sign,” I added.

  Angela’s eyebrows knitted. “Who are you then? And what do you want?”

  “I’d like to know where you were last night,” David said.

  “That’s none of your business,” Angela said.

  “Actually, Ms. Thorne, it’s very much my business,” David said.

  Angela put her hands on her hips. “How do you know my name?”

  “It turns out that I know a lot about you,” David said.

  Angela’s nose crinkled. “Who are you again?”

  David pulled out his police badge. “My name is Detective David Carlson.”

  Angela’s eyes widened. “You’re with the police?”

  David nodded. “I am. And I’m here to get answers. That brings me back to my original question. Where you were last night?”

  Angela threw out her arms. “Why is that so important to you?”

  “You’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me why are you being evasive with me?” David asked.

  “Me?” Angela replied. “You’re plenty evasive yourself. How about you answer my question first?”

  “Ms. Thorne, I’m the one dictating terms here. Got it?” David said.

  Angela stared David down, but she didn’t say a word.

  David waited a few more seconds for Angela to reply. When she didn’t, he spoke up.

  “Do you understand me?” David asked.

  Angela let out a groan and then responded, “Yes.”

  “Good,” David said. “Now, where were you last night?”

  “I was here.”

  “Alone?” David asked.

  Angela shrugged. “Why does that matter?”

  “Just answer the question.”

  “Yes,” Angela said.

  “That’s unfortunate.”

  Angela threw out her arms. “Why?”

  “I was hoping there would be someone who could confirm your alibi.”

  “Alibi? For what?” Angela narrowed her eyes. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Ms. Thorne, Eric Hobart is dead,” David said.

  Angela’s jaw dropped. “What?”

  David continued. “He was murdered.”

  She shook her head. “No way.”

  “I’m afraid so.”

  “I can’t believe it.”

  “It’s the truth.”

  “When did this happen?”

  “Last night.”

  Angela’s eyes bulged. “So, that’s why you were asking where I was. You think I’m a suspect, don’t you?”

  “Given your history with
Eric, we naturally have our suspicions about you,” David said.

  Angela folded her arms. “I don’t have a history with Eric—”

  David held his hand up. “I’m going to stop you right there. You’re not fooling us. We know you were sleeping with Eric.”

  Angela narrowed her eyes. “Who told you that?”

  “Valerie Hobart,” David replied. “And let me tell you, she had a lot of bad things to say about you.”

  Angela’s eyes lit up with rage. “Of course she did. That woman has it out for me.”

  “Can you blame her? After all, you broke up her marriage.”

  “Let me tell you something. You shouldn’t listen to anything that woman says.”

  “Why? Because she’s wrong? Or because she’s right?”

  “If you’re looking for someone who had a reason to want Eric dead, Valerie should be at the top of your list.”

  David stared the suspect down. “Angela, I know what you’re doing—”

  “I’m trying to help you.”

  David shook his head. “No. You’re attempting to take the focus off of yourself.”

  “Because the focus shouldn’t be on me.”

  “I disagree.”

  “I had nothing to do with Eric’s death.”

  “That’s what you say, but you don’t have any way of proving that.”

  “Detective, you’re looking at this all wrong. Take my alibi out of the equation for a second. I had no reason to want Eric dead. The same can’t be said for Valerie, though. Or Keith Hobart, for that matter.”

  “There you go, pointing fingers again.”

  “Are you going to tell me I’m wrong? My relationship with Eric was solid. Meanwhile, Valerie hated Eric’s guts. And so did Keith.”

  “Wow, you’re just throwing people under the bus left and right, aren’t you?”

  “No. I’m just telling it like it is.”

  “I wonder what Keith is going to say about all this.”

  “Why don’t you go and ask him?”

  “We will.”

  “Good. The sooner, the better.”

  David held his hand up. “Not so fast. We’re not done with you yet.”

  “That’s what you say. As far as I’m concerned, this conversation is over,” Angela replied.

  “You don’t get to decide that,” David said.

  “Go ahead. Keep asking me questions. But I’m telling you right now, you’re not going to get any answers out of me,” Angela said.

  Chapter Nine

  Angela was true to her word. David fired a few more questions at the suspect, but she gave us nothing to work with. Once it became clear that we were wasting our time, we moved on.

  At that point, a conversation with Keith Hobart was in order. The forty-seven-year-old lived in a ranch-style home in the southeast corner of town. His beige-colored house was located in the middle of the treeless street.

  After two highly confrontational interviews in a row, my husband wanted to do things a little differently this time. He planned on taking this slow with Keith. Perhaps that would yield better results. Then again, maybe not. But it was certainly worth a try.

  At the same time, David and I went into this interview knowing it had the potential to get very heated. There was a lot of bad blood between Eric and Keith. Sometimes, family drama had a way of cutting incredibly deep.

  Considering all the recent betrayals that had taken place between the brothers, I was really interested to see what Keith’s reaction would be to finding out about Eric’s death.

  Ultimately, the goateed, long-haired, muscular man looked like he was in shock. “What a terrible loss,” Keith said.

  Even though Keith was playing the part of a grieving sibling, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was just an act.

  David elected to play along. At least for the moment. “You seem really broken up.”

  Keith threw out his arms. “Why wouldn’t I be? Eric was my brother.”

  “True,” David replied. “That said, he wasn’t all that good of a brother to you.”

  A fire came to Keith’s eyes. “I don’t know where you get off talking that kind of smack about Eric—”

  “Where should I start?” David replied. “With the fact that Eric made Cliff Stanton his second-in-command? Or that Eric was sleeping with your girlfriend?”

  Keith folded his arms. “Where did you hear that from?”

  “Angela told us,” David said.

  Keith’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

  David nodded. “She certainly did. Then again, it’s not like she had much of a choice. Especially after the details that Valerie provided us with.”

  “It sounds like you two have had a busy day,” Keith said.

  “It’s safe to say that we’ve had a number of interesting conversations this afternoon. In fact, each one has been more eye-opening than the last,” David said.

  Keith’s nose crinkled. “What else did Valerie and Angela tell you?”

  “If you’re wondering if they both badmouthed you, the answer is yes,” David said.

  “I don’t like where this conversation is going,” Keith said.

  “And I don’t like the fact that a killer is on the loose. It doesn’t make it any less true, though. With that in mind, if you’re really broken up about your brother’s murder, you should want to do everything in your power to help us out,” David said.

  “What do you want from me exactly?” Keith asked.

  “The truth,” David said.

  Keith shrugged. “About what?”

  “To start, where you were last night,” David said.

  “I was here,” Keith said.

  “Was there anyone with you who can verify that?” David asked.

  “You mean, do I have an alibi for the time of the murder?” Keith replied.

  “Please just answer the question,” David said.

  “I know where you’re going with this, and I’ll just cut to the chase,” Keith said. “I didn’t kill my brother.”

  “Mr. Hobart, that wasn’t my question,” David said.

  “No, but I could tell that you were building up to that,” Keith said.

  “Rather than changing the subject, how about you just give me a straight answer? Is there anyone who can verify that you were here last night?” David asked.

  “No. I was alone. Now, are you happy?” Keith replied.

  David shook his head. “I won’t be satisfied until the killer is in jail.”

  “In that case, you’ve come to the wrong place,” Keith said.

  “I don’t suppose you know where the right place to find the killer is, do you?” David asked.

  “You might have already been there. I mean, haven’t you asked yourself why Valerie and Angela were both so eager to throw me under the bus?” Keith replied.

  “That’s simple. You had plenty of motive for wanting Eric dead,” David said.

  “That’s not true,” Keith said.

  “Mr. Hobart, I hate being lied to. Eric was sleeping with your girlfriend. Are you seriously going to pretend like that didn’t get under your skin?”

  “It did, at first.”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  “But I got over it pretty quickly.”

  “I find that hard to believe.”

  “You only say that because you don’t know the facts.”

  David folded his arms. “Fine. I’m all ears.”

  “In all honesty, Angela and I didn’t have the best relationship to begin with. Things had already started to fizzle out between us before I found out that Angela was cheating on me. So, even though it stung when I discovered that Angela was sleeping with Eric, I got over it,” Keith said.

  David scoffed. “Do you really expect me to buy that story?”

  “Yes,” Keith replied.

  “Nice try, Keith.”

  Keith threw out his arms. “What? It’s the truth.”

  David gave the suspect a wary look. “Uh-huh
.”

  “Hey, you wanted an answer. There it is.”

  “Mr. Hobart, you’re either the most forgiving person I’ve ever met, or you’re lying to me,” David said. “Especially considering the fact that Eric betrayed you a second time.”

  “Those are your words, not mine,” Keith replied.

  “Come on, Keith. Don’t tell me you didn’t feel burned by the fact that your brother made Cliff Stanton his second-in-command instead of you,” David said.

  “Of course it bothered me,” Keith said.

  “Finally, it feels like we’re getting somewhere,” David said.

  “Here’s the thing, though. The anger I felt, it didn’t last long. Besides, I would never kill my own brother over how he decided to run his dry-cleaning business,” Keith said.

  “Don’t you mean his drug-trafficking operation?” David asked.

  Keith shook his head. “No. My brother was a dry cleaner.”

  David shook his head in disbelief. “You must really think I’m a fool.”

  “I’m sorry. Do you have any physical proof that my brother was doing anything illegal?” Keith asked.

  “We have it on good authority that he was trafficking drugs—”

  “That’s not the same as possessing hard evidence,” Keith said. “Then again, as far as I can tell, you don’t have any evidence that I have done anything wrong either. And unless you get some, I’m done talking to you.”

  David stared at Keith. “You don’t get to decide that.”

  Keith didn’t back down. “Sure I do. I’m not saying another word to you.”

  Chapter Ten

  David could have dragged Keith back to the police station, but he wouldn’t be able to hold him there for long. As frustrating as that conversation was, Keith was correct about one thing. Despite our suspicions, we didn’t have any evidence that tied Hobart to the murder.

  So, rather than wasting any more time with Keith, David and I moved on. There were a couple more suspects left to interview. Perhaps one of them would provide us with useful information. We would certainly find out soon enough.

  After leaving Keith’s place, my husband and I drove over to Treasure Cove Dry Cleaning. That particular cleaning company was interesting for a number of reasons. To start, it was owned by Eric Hobart. Next, its primary purpose wasn’t to dry clean clothing. In reality, it was just a front for Eric’s drug trafficking operation. Finally, it was also where Cliff Stanton happened to work.