Vindicated (A Jenny Watkins Mystery Book 6) Read online

  “I don’t remember. It was a long time ago.”

  Kyle jotted the information down and closed his notebook. Standing up, he extended his hand, which Colin shook. “Well, Mr. Barrymore, we may be back in touch if any information warrants.”

  “Hey…let me ask you something,” Colin said. “What makes you think the guy next door didn’t do it?”

  Kyle curled his lip into a half a smile. “A little birdie told me.”

  Jenny turned to Kyle as they drove back to his office. “I have a difficult time believing it was him,” she confessed. “He just seems far too naïve to be a murderer.”

  “You’d be surprised,” Kyle replied. “I’ve seen some strange things in my years as a private investigator.”

  Jenny thought back to some of her earlier cases and was once again reminded that looks could be deceiving. Still, she just couldn’t see Colin doing something so horrific. “What do you make of that phone message? Do you think Katherine Burke heard it?”

  “We may have to ask her,” Kyle said, glancing at Jenny out of the corner of his eye.

  “I’m with you on that. As much as you didn’t want to drag her into this, I think we might need to.”

  “I’d like to catch her at a time when she isn’t with her husband, though. I don’t want him interfering with the questioning or influencing any of her answers. I would also like to avoid telling her in advance that we’re coming, for the same reasons I wanted to avoid telling Colin. This may take a little research on my part. I have to figure out if she has any routines that would let us be able to anticipate her whereabouts.”

  Jenny leaned back in her seat. “Let’s just hope that she does.”

  Jenny approached Rob’s house to find Zack struggling with his end of an auger. She could tell the ground was hard as a rock; both Zack and a large misfit contractor were having a difficult time getting the machine to bore the hole that would soon house the footing for the handicapped ramp. As Zack maneuvered the machine, his triceps bulged out from under his shirt, which was drenched in sweat. Suddenly, Jenny found herself having another one of her urges.

  She placed her hand on her belly; was this really evidence that she was having a boy? Was this what testosterone did to people? Did men really feel like this all the time? She stopped to consider how difficult that must have been to deal with. Perhaps she’d been a little tough on the guys she’d known throughout her life. Maybe they couldn’t help their juvenile, sex-obsessed behavior.

  At that point, Zack saw her and gestured a hello with his head. She smiled and waved in return, trying to tuck her poorly-timed attraction into her back pocket. Once he and his partner had stopped digging the hole, he set the auger down and walked over toward Jenny.

  “How’s it going?” she posed.

  “Great. You should go inside and sneak a peek at the hardwood; it looks really good.”

  Jenny smiled lovingly at him. “I’ll definitely do that.”

  “Did you get anywhere with the investigation?”

  “Well, we found out that Colin had not only chewed Doctor Burke out in the ER, but he also left a message on their home answering machine in an attempt to tell Katherine about the so-called workplace sexual harassment. It’s distinctly possible that his wife had discovered the little affair just before Stella was killed.”

  “Wow. That’s pretty telling.”

  “That’s what we’re thinking. Kyle is trying to figure out her schedule so we can find a time to interview her when she will be by herself.”

  “Good work,” he said with a smile that sent a tingle throughout Jenny’s body. He wiped the dripping sweat from his forehead with his shirt, forcing her to look away before the feeling got out of hand.

  “Well,” she said uncomfortably, “I think I’ll go inside and check out that hardwood.”

  “It’s purdy,” Zack said. “The guys did a good job.”

  She didn’t look at him as she headed up the front steps, nor did she knock when she got to the front door. Upon looking through the glass, she noticed the chair-lift workers were in the foyer, and presumably they’d been in and out all day. One more person coming in shouldn’t have been a problem, and she didn’t want to interrupt Rob while he was working.

  She headed up the stairs, smiling at the workers as she squeezed her way through. When she got to the top, she was greeted by a beautiful and shiny dark brown hardwood floor. The color resembled that of the carpet that was present while Stella lived there, and the sight of it elicited an undeniable wave of familiarity within Jenny.

  She closed her eyes and the carpet returned, along with the floral couch and the overturned coffee table with papers sticking out from underneath. Stella lay on the floor as Jenny knelt next to her, grabbing her shirt, looking as if she was desperate to speak. Pulling Jenny in close, she was able to muster a few whispery words.

  “Look for the son.”

  Chapter 11

  “The way I see it, it could mean two different things,” Jenny told Zack, who sat in the shade on the front steps with a glass of ice water. “She could either be referring to a child of the Burkes, or she might even be talking about Ed Pryzbyck.”

  “Ed Pryzbyck? Why would that mean him?”

  Jenny sat next to Zack to avoid the heat. “Ed had mentioned that his father had been Stella’s professor at Braynard College. They discovered that little tie-in during the cookout, when she was drunk and talking to Ed. If she was anything like me, she’d probably forget that his name was Ed, but she’d remember that he was Professor P’s child, which is why she would have told Nate to look for the son.”

  “Holy shit,” Zack said before taking a big gulp of water. “That would be crazy, wouldn’t it, if it was him?”

  “It’s crazy no matter who did it.”

  “Let me ask you this,” Zack began. “What motive would Ed have had?”

  “Maybe the same motive they claim Nate had. Maybe he had come over her house to get…” Jenny wasn’t sure how to finish the sentence considering there were other people within earshot.

  “Lucky?” Zack suggested with a smirk.

  “Yes…he wanted to get lucky, and when she said no, he snapped.”

  “Okay,” he replied, “but let me play the devil’s advocate here. Ed was dating Renee at that point. I would think that if he wanted to go on a booty call, he’d have gone to her house.”

  “Well, Renee said they were new back then. Perhaps they hadn’t reached that point in their relationship yet.” Jenny thought of her own hard-to-ignore, deep-rooted urges the past few days. “Maybe Ed’s libido got the best of him, and he thought Stella would be the way to go.” She hated to admit this next part, but she had no choice. “After all, Stella had slept with two men in the same afternoon while Ed was there that day. Perhaps he thought she’d be an easy score.”

  Zack thought about it while he drained the rest of his water. “That’s fair. You should look into his criminal record…see if he has a history of violence.”

  “Actually, Kyle should look into his background,” she replied with a smile. “I was also thinking he could find out if our friend Doctor Burke and his wife have a son. Maybe he heard the answering machine message and decided to take matters into his own hands.”

  “Or the wife could have put him up to it.”

  Jenny nodded slowly. “Or Katherine could have put him up to it.”

  Commotion from inside the house caused Jenny and Zack to both turn around. Through the glass door, they could see Rob’s two little girls cheering as the chair went up and down the metal railing. Zack looked over at Jenny. “I guess the chairlift guys are done.”

  With that, they both stood up and walked through the door into the foyer. One of the workers was telling Rob how to work the lift. “You just push this button here, and the chair will go down. Push this button, and it will go up.”

  Rob nodded in acknowledgement before turning to his bright-eyed children. “You two want to ride on it, huh?”

  Bo
th girls jumped and cheered excitedly.

  The worker laughed and said, “They always do. It loses its appeal quickly, though, when they figure out how slow it goes. It’s faster to sit on the top step and slide down on your bottom.”

  “Like this?” the older daughter asked, sitting down and scooting down the stairs at lightning speed, making a thud every time her rear end hit a stair. Jenny’s butt hurt just watching her.

  “Yes,” the worker said pleasantly, “like that. You’ll be able to go down the stairs much faster that way than anyone who uses the chair.”

  “Can we still do it, Daddy?” the younger one asked with wide eyes. The older daughter eagerly climbed back up the stairs.

  “Sure thing. Hop on in.” Both girls managed to sit in the chair together, but they argued over who got to push the buttons. Rob settled the dispute by telling one daughter she could push the down button and the other girl could press it on the way up.

  Jenny smiled inside. These were the kinds of squabbles she’d hopefully have to address in a decade’s time, and she couldn’t wait.

  The girls giggled and squealed as they traveled at a snail’s pace up and down the stairs. The worker turned to Rob and said, “Don’t worry. There’s a call button at all three levels…the top, bottom and middle. If your girls decide to take the chairlift downstairs and you’re upstairs, you can just press this button right here…” The man referred to a small green circle at the top of the steps. “Then you’ll be able to bring the chair to you.”

  The smile on Rob’s face spoke volumes. “This is amazing, thank you.” He turned to Zack and Jenny. “And thank you. This will make my life immeasurably easier.”

  Jenny smiled genuinely. “Glad we could help.” Then she looked at the sweaty man next to her who had been doing all the work, and suddenly she felt bad about being the one to reply. She patted Zack on the back, quickly regretting that decision when her hand became wet from his sweat. She wiped it discretely on her shorts.

  Just as the man had indicated, the girls quickly became bored with the painfully slow chairlift and resumed the game they had previously been playing, which was to see who could slide the farthest in their socks down the new hardwood hallway. At that point, Rob took his inaugural ride on the lift; he nearly looked moved to tears.

  Between the giggling girls and the clearly touched man, Jenny was finding this to be too much to handle. Tears were threatening, so she excused herself and made a phone call to Kyle on the front steps.

  She described her latest vision to him. “Wow,” he said. “I’ll have to see if the Burkes have any sons, and if they do, how old they would have been at the time of the murder.”

  “Good point,” Jenny said. “I don’t think an eight-year-old would have committed this crime. We might also want to focus a little more on Ed Pryzbyck.” She explained the connection between Stella and Ed.

  “This is all very good stuff,” Kyle said. “I think you may have just narrowed down the suspect pool substantially.”

  Jenny noticed a car pulling up to the house. “Let’s hope so,” she replied as she squinted to get a better look at the driver.

  “I’ll get on this right away. Oh, but before I go, I should tell you that Katherine Burke belongs to a few charitable organizations that have regular meetings. We ought to be able to contact her outside of one of those.”

  “Perfect,” Jenny said, although she was only half paying attention. She was too busy focusing on the newest guest, whose identity was now known to her but whose welcome remained questionable.

  She finished her phone call with Kyle and headed down the front steps, being careful to avoid the freshly-dug holes. “Andy, I’m surprised to see you here.”

  “I’m sure Zack will be, too,” Zack’s father said as he approached, glancing at the upturned soil. “Is this for a handicapped ramp?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He looked at the front steps and back at the holes. “He’s not making it long enough.”

  Oh dear, Jenny thought, and so it begins. Unsure of what to say, she remained quiet.

  “Is Zack inside?” Andy posed.

  “Yes, sir. He’s in there wrapping things up with the chairlift guys.”

  Without another word, Andy walked into the house.

  Jenny didn’t know what to do. She hated the idea of Zack being ambushed by his father, but her presence inside wouldn’t have done anything to prevent that. Would Zack have felt better if she were in there giving him silent support, or would he have preferred that she not see the inevitable bickering that was about to ensue? She chewed on a fingernail as she considered her options.

  It turned out she didn’t need to decide. The front door opened, and Zack walked out telling his father, “That’s because I’m not done digging yet, Dad. I took a break when Jenny got here. I’m perfectly aware of the code, and I promise the ramp will be long enough.”

  “What material do you plan to use?”

  Somehow Jenny knew there was no correct answer to this question.

  “Composite,” Zack replied. “It’s less maintenance than wood.”

  “Seems like there’d be less traction, don’t you think?”

  Zack looked at Jenny with eyes that said I’m going to kill him. Turning to his father he asked, “How did you know I was here?”

  “Your mother told me.”

  “Remind me to thank her for that when I get home.”

  Jenny bit her lip to keep from laughing.

  “I thought you might want a little help; that’s why I came out.”

  “Well, I’m actually fine. We’re making good progress, and I think Rob is pleased with the results so far.”

  Jenny heard her phone chirp, so she pulled it out of her pocket and looked at the screen. The message was from Kyle.

  The Burkes have a son named Trevor who was 23 at the time of the murder.

  She looked up at Zack and waved her phone back and forth. “I think I may have to get going.”

  Eager to get away from the bickering Larrabees, Jenny made the return phone call from her car. “So, what do you think is our best plan of attack?” she asked Kyle.

  “Well, Trevor lives about an hour away from here. We could make a little trip and surprise him with a visit if you’d like.”

  Checking the time on her dashboard, Jenny noted she’d most likely be back in time for dinner if they left right away. “That sounds good. Won’t he be at work right about now?”

  “Maybe. I know he works as a manager of a home improvement store, so he may not work your traditional nine-to-five. But if you have the time, we can try both his workplace and his home and hopefully he will be at one of those two places.”

  “As it turns out,” Jenny replied, “I’ve got nothing but time.”

  A man with salt-and-pepper hair answered the door of his well-maintained, average-sized home. Jenny assumed this was who they were looking for due to his striking resemblance to Shane. “Can I help you?”

  Kyle showed his identification. “My name is Kyle Buchanan, and this is my partner Jenny. I’m a private investigator looking to speak with Trevor Burke, if he’s available.”

  The man looked confused and apprehensive. “I’m Trevor Burke.”

  “Great,” Kyle said professionally. “I’d like to ask you a few questions about a murder that happened in Mumford Springs back in 1988, if you don’t mind.”

  Trevor’s expression didn’t change. “You mean that nurse who worked with my father?”

  “That’s the one. Would you be willing to speak with us for a little while?”

  “Sure,” Trevor said as he stepped back and gestured with his hand. “Come on in.”

  Jenny and Kyle walked through the front door, where she immediately noticed that, in contrast to his parents’ house, Trevor’s place wasn’t very extravagant. It was nice, certainly, but rather understated; in her mind, this place felt more like home.

  Once they were situated at the kitchen table, Kyle opened his notepad and be
gan his series of questions. “The woman who was murdered was named Stella Jorgenson. Had you ever met her?”

  “A few times,” Trevor said plainly. “I think she was dating my father.”

  With that, Jenny looked over at Kyle, who in turn raised his eyes to meet Trevor’s. “What makes you believe that?”

  Trevor smiled and shook his head. “Because my father was very bad at being secretive. That, and he pretty much made a career out of dating every attractive twenty-something he could.” The look on his face reflected a hint of disgust.

  This was new to Jenny; she silently questioned whether Katherine Burke would have targeted Stella if she was only one of many mistresses.

  Kyle remained focused on the issue at hand. “When did you meet Stella?”

  “I ran into her a few times, so it’s hard for me to say which of those meetings was the first. I know there was one time when I was irritated with my roommate, so I decided to stay at my parents’ house for the weekend…unbeknownst to them. I walked through the front door to find my dad and Stella all cozied up on the couch together, drinking wine in front of the fireplace. They claimed they were just discussing work-related things, but I knew better.” Trevor let out a laugh. “Any idiot would have known better.”

  Kyle scribbled furiously. “What happened at that point?”

  Trevor smiled with only one side of his mouth. “I decided to be a jackass. I popped some popcorn in the microwave and cracked open a beer, joining the two of them in the living room. I turned on the TV, sat in the recliner and put my feet up, knowing full well I was being a third wheel. I didn’t feel bad about that…don’t to this day. What kind of son would I have been if I made myself scarce so that my father could cheat on my mother?”

  “I’m certainly not judging,” Kyle said in his typical cool demeanor. “What was their reaction to your presence?”

  “They scooted a little further from each other on the couch and pretended to talk shop.” Trevor shook his head. “I think they were under the impression that they had actually fooled me. I’m not quite sure how stupid my father thought I was, but apparently he didn’t give me very much credit.”