Page 73 of Rebels and Roses

“In the meantime, I’m not sure we learned much about Tom or who might have been with him the night he died,” Jane said.

“We learned that Cassie and Erica don’t know about one another, or if they do, they’re excellent actresses.”

“And more forgiving than I would have been.”

“We also learned from Cassie and Amanda that Tom wants to spread his seed around.”

“Ick.”

“I can’t argue your eloquent point. In the meantime, we head back to Winslow Heights and the one person who is still on my suspect list - Erica. We need to circle back to the clerk at the hotel. Right now, she’s saying we’re wrong. We need to be sure.”

Had Erica come into town early? Was she the one that was having Tom followed? If - and that was a big if - he was actually being watched and followed? And if so, did she know about Cassie?

And did that even mean anything in the big scheme of things? Tom was perfectly capable of dying of an overdose with no help whatsoever.

Just what had truly happened that night?

19

Cooper and Jane met with Zack, Lucy, and Tate when they returned to town. Sitting in a corner booth, Cooper recounted their visit with Cassie. He also told them about his second visit to the hotel to speak to the clerk.

Erica was lying.

He’d been assured again that she’d checked in the night before. Theoretically, she could have been the one who called Tom that night when he’d been with Amanda. She could have been with him when he’d taken the drugs that had killed him.

“Her motive is weak,” Jane argued. “She’s pregnant with his child. She might be pissed at him if she knew about Cassie, but she’d still want him alive to pay child support.”

“Erica’s family is wealthy,” Tate pointed out. “She doesn’t need money. From what Cooper said, she can hire a team of nannies to raise the baby without a dime from the father.”

“To be fair, it doesn’t sound like Tom was worried about money either,” Jane replied. “He told Cassie that there would be plenty of money. He didn’t sound like a man who owed money to a loan shark.”

“He was paranoid,” Zack said. “He thought someone was following him. That doesn’t sound like someone who isn’t worried. Coop, did Tom say that he feared for his life?”

“No, he was questioning why someone would follow and watch him.”

“Maybe it was the daddies of these women,” Tate offered. “They had good reason to want to know more about him.”

“I doubt that they would have been the one that called him that night,” Jane said. “If so, I think Amanda would have seen a far different reaction from him.”

“Would one of their fathers try and poison Tom with fentanyl?” Lucy questioned. “If they were worried for their daughters, I would think they’d want Tom alive and kicking. Not dead.”

“From my experience,” Cooper said. “Rich men don’t do their own dirty work. Also, as pointed out before, they didn’t need Tom alive to support the babies.”

“Is that where we’re going with this now?” Jane asked. “We’re talking about murder and not a tragic accident? I’m not sure I’m ready to make that leap yet.”

“I get what you’re saying,” Tate replied. “Even if the person who called Tom that night was with him when he died, that doesn’t mean that it was intentional. It could have been an accident, but the person panicked. Didn’t know what to do. Now they’re scared to say anything.”

“We have to be prepared for the possibility that more is going on here than we can see,” Cooper argued. “Tom was on the wagon according to both Erica and Cassie. Then he comes to Winslow Heights, and he starts to party and drink. Then he starts on cocaine again and ends up dead. I know that anything is possible when it comes to addiction, but I can’t rule out that someone wanted him dead. Not yet.”

“I think we’re open to the possibility,” Zack said. “But I know that I don’t want to jump to conclusions. If Erica was here earlier than she said, she might have been the one watching Tom. She might have been the person who called him. She might even have been there when he died. But I can’t yet say that she helped him into the hereafter with a hit of fentanyl.”

“We don’t have any proof that Erica knows about Cassie, or anyone else,” Lucy said. “For that motive to work, she would have to have knowledge of Tom’s philandering.”

“How could she not?” Cooper asked. “Tom left all the time; he had a drug problem. Wouldn’t she be suspicious?”

“Let’s just say that a woman can fool herself completely if she’s in love,” Jane sighed.

“Men, too,” Tate replied with a nod. “Humans in general can convince themselves of all sorts of things to make themselves feel better.”

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