“Tammy, who is that woman over there?” I motioned with a tilt of my head.
Tammy squinted as if that would help. “I can’t see her. It’s too dark.”
It wasn’t as if I could shine a light on the woman’s face. That might be a little obvious. We’d have to move in closer so that Tammy could get a better look.
Chapter 9
The anxiety oozed off the woman in waves. Like a tidal wave, the energy hit me from all the way across the room. I couldn’t take my stare off her. It seemed as if she really wanted out of here. Was that because she was the killer and she knew the police would talk to her soon? Maybe I should point out her strange behavior to Brannon.
Then again, she could just be nervous because of everything going on tonight. I certainly felt that way. I hated to call her out if there was absolutely no reason to other than her being anxious. Nevertheless, there was just something about her that rubbed me the wrong way. I wanted to know her name. If Tammy didn’t know, then why was the woman a guest at the wedding? Was she with the groom’s family and friends?
Just as I started to suggest we move, the woman moved to her right just a bit. I had to make a move before she got away. Though I doubted the police would let her go anywhere.
“What are you thinking, Rip?” Tammy asked.
“She looks like she might run. Can you see her face now?” I asked.
Tammy shook her head. “Not well enough to guess who she is. I don’t think I know her though.”
I sighed. “Do you know why anyone would want the wedding planner dead?”
“No, absolutely not,” Tammy said. “I mean, these are all friends and family. They’re not murderers.”
“I assume that none of your friends or family murdered the wedding planner, but I wonder about perhaps the homeowner or that woman in the corner. We don’t know who she is yet.”
Tammy rubbed her arms. “It gives me chills every time I think of it.”
“Who else would have had access to the wedding planner and would have wanted her dead?” I asked.
“What are the reasons for murder?” Tammy asked.
“We have to assume that maybe it was because of love. Maybe a boyfriend or a love triangle.”
“Oh, maybe it was for money, like a debt she owed,” my mother added.
“Or it could have been jealousy perhaps another wedding planner or maybe it was just a crazy psycho,” Tammy said.
Now I had my mother and Tammy thinking like me.
“Yes, that was my last option. I prefer to think it was someone she knew. Because if there’s a crazy psycho here then he wouldn’t hesitate to kill other people too.”
“We could be like a scary movie,” Tammy said. “You know, where the killer just starts offing everyone.”
“Who will survive to the end?” I asked.
“I think I know who’ll survive,” she said. “Rip. The rest of us are going to die here.” Tammy’s voice shot up. Like she had just truly realized that the killer could strike again.
“You have to get a hold of yourself. This is not a scary movie and no killer is going to start killing everyone. And furthermore, I highly doubt I’d be the one to survive a killer.”
“Oh, please,” she said with a wave and her hand. “You’re smart and you solve investigations. Of course you’d find the killer and be able to get away from him.”
“Well, let’s hope I find the killer. Before he starts killing even more.”
“As usual you two are talking crazy, just like you used to when you were kids,” my mother said.
“Well, it’s what we do,” I said.
“You don’t have to do it.” My mother placed her hands on her hips.
I hated to think about the killer as much as anyone else in the mansion, but I had to assume that the murderer was still here. Which meant I had to try my best to lure them out of their hiding place. Not that they were actually hiding, but metaphorically they were hidden right in front of our eyes. I suppose I had no way of knowing for sure. The killer could’ve left right after murdering Tabatha. Was there a way to find out if anyone had left around that time frame? Did the owner have a camera in the house for security? I needed to ask her more questions.
Brannon and the other officers had spoken with a lot of the guests. They were even letting some people go now. I held out hope that it wouldn’t be much longer until we all could get away from the murder scene.
Tammy had stepped away with Judy to discuss rescheduling the wedding for just a couple of days from now. I’d suggested to Tammy that maybe she should just go to the courthouse and get married. Then go on her honeymoon and forget all this happened, but ultimately, she wanted the wedding. All I could do was make a suggestion. I worried that having a big wedding would just bring up these memories for her.
As I waited for things to settle down, I glanced to the right and noticed an envelope that had fallen behind the table in the corner of the room. Normally, I would have minded my own business and left the note right there, but under the circumstances, I had to take a peek. In my defense, this was a murder investigation, and anything could possibly be a clue. I reached down and picked up the envelope.
Tabatha.
All that was written on the front of the envelope. This discovery sent a shiver down my spine. Maybe it was nothing or maybe it had something to do with the murder.
Glancing around the room, I checked to see if anyone watched me. I didn’t want anyone to be suspicious or take the letter from me before I had a chance to read it. Mainly one of the police officers. I was surprised they hadn’t noticed the paper already.
I pulled the letter from the envelope. On the inside was a note to Tabitha asking her to meet the author upstairs in the bedroom where she had been murdered. This was a huge clue. Obviously, this had to be the killer. What was it doing behind the table? I bet someone had placed it on top and then it had just fallen off behind it. Maybe Tabatha had set it down before going upstairs. I had to tell Brannon about this. Maybe he could get fingerprints from it.
I held my flashlight light up closer to the paper to see if I had missed anything. The indentions in the paper were noticeable right away. Someone had written on another sheet before they pulled this sheet from the pad.
I studied the page closer to find out what was written on the page. After several seconds of scrutinizing the faint writing, I realized it was an address. I quickly snapped a photo of the address before I had to hand over the sheet. Of course I would go there and find out who lived there and how they knew Tabatha.
Chills prickled along my skin. It felt as if someone watched me. I looked over and saw Brannon headed my way. He hadn’t caused that strange sensation. Not that I didn’t get goosebumps at the sight of him, but this time the feeling hadn’t been a good one. The feeling had caused an uneasiness that still gripped me.
Quickly I put the paper back into the envelope as Brannon walked up.
“What are you hiding?” he asked with a suspicious eye.
I handed him the paper. “I found this behind the table just now.”
“And I assume you looked to see what was inside?” He took the envelope from my outstretched hand.
“Of course I looked. You know I couldn’t resist that. As you can see the outside has Tabatha’s name written on the front. I think it’s a note from the killer.”