“You think she’s innocent?”
Maddie’s brows shot up.
“You don’t? Are you starting to have doubts?”
“No, I don’t think she killed Marty. I don’t think she’s a killer. I just wasn’t sure if you were sure.”
“I’m sure,” Maddie replied. “I’m not a cop and I don’t have Logan’s famous gut for decisions, but there is nothing about Abby that strikes me as a murderer. I think she really did love Marty.”
“People do kill people they love, but I think you’re right. Abby didn’t do this.”
But he still didn’t know who did. Would Andrew Parnham have any answers?
Maddie was pouring her first cup of coffee of the day, but she wasn’t the first one up this morning. Tanner and Logan were already sitting at the kitchen table, heads down over a laptop. Neither one of them looked all that happy. Whatever they were looking at wasn’t good news.
“You look like your hamster died,” she said. “What’s going on?”
“Logan came over to let me know what Jared has found.”
“And it’s not good?”
“It’s not that it’s bad,” Tanner replied, frustration in his tone. “It’s just that it doesn’t help. Jared was able to get some doorbell video from Drew Parnham’s neighbor from the night of the murder. He arrived home at five in the morning just like he said. He unloaded his bags and went into his house. Jared also checked the airline database. He was on a plane at the time of the murder.”
“So he’s off the list?”
“He may have had motive,” Logan remarked. “But he didn’t have opportunity.”
“But you still have other suspects,” she said. “What about the neighbors that were suing Marty and Abby?”
“Funny you mention them,” Tanner said with a grimace. “It turns out that they have sued a lot of people. And when I say a lot, I mean a lot. Mostly frivolous lawsuits that get thrown out of court eventually. Plus, they did try and buy Marty and Abby’s house several times. It looks like they might be making up the story about the wild parties.”
“I have to say after talking to the members of that swinger’s club, I believe them,” Logan declared. “They seemed above board and honest. And they made an excellent point. Why on earth would they run around naked playing loud music when they’re trying to be private about their hobby? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Then how do you think they found out it was a swinger’s party?” Maddie asked.
“Probably they asked someone,” Tanner replied. “Maybe one of the guests or even Abby or Marty. But Jared also said that the other neighbors don’t have any complaints about wild parties and loud music. They thought Marty and Abby were pretty decent neighbors. So unless they’re in the club, too, I think we’ll have to side against the neighbors crying wolf.”
“That still leaves Janice Gates,” Maddie said, taking a sip of her hot coffee. Neither she nor Tanner had slept well last night, and she needed the caffeine. “She could have killed Marty. She had motive.”
From their twin expressions, she couldn’t be more wrong.
“Okay,” she sighed. “Why can’t Janice Gates be the killer?”
“Sam sent a message this morning that someone came forward to give Janice an alibi,” Logan explained. “It looks like she was meeting someone. A married someone, which is why she lied and said she was home. She stayed the night with him so she couldn’t have shot Marty.”
“That means you don’t have any suspects left,” Maddie said. “And all in one fell swoop. Unless you’ve added someone to the list that I don’t know about.”
“We haven’t,” Tanner said. “But there is still one person on the list.”
She didn’t have to ask the person’s name. She already knew.
“Abby,” she replied. “Abby’s still on the list. What do you do now?”
“We talk to Abby. Again. Maybe there’s something she’s not telling us,” Tanner explained. “She needs to know that she’s the only one left on the list.”
“What does Sam say?” Maddie asked. “I assume you’ve let him know about all of this.”
“I did,” Tanner said. “He’s about as happy as we are.”
Maddie placed the coffee cup on the kitchen counter.
“Seriously, what do you do now?”
“We’ll get all the guys together and go through the evidence and crime scene one more time,” Tanner replied. “Maybe we’ll see something we didn’t see before.”
Maddie hoped so, or Abby just might end up in prison for a murder she didn’t commit.