Page 5 of Little Shattered Dreams

“You've got this all wrong,” I said. “I didn't do anything. I'm telling you the truth. If you could give me a moment to explain, I—”

“You didn'tdoanything? Save your lies for the cops. I’m not interested.”

She was in shock, and why wouldn't she be?

Clara was as suspicious of me as I was of her, and I didn’t blame her.

“Before you make a call, give me a second to explain,” I said. “I was asleep in my room, and I heard a noise.”

“You said that already. What time?”

I glanced at my watch. “About ten minutes ago.”

“What kind of noise?”

“A pop, and then it sounded like something slamming into the wall. After a couple of minutes, I decided to come over and make sure she was all right. I knocked on her door, but she didn’t answer.”

Clara was shaking, her eyes fixated on the wound at the back of Quinn’s head. “How did you get in here if she didn't let you in?”

“It wasn't hard. The sliding glass door was open, and I showed myself in.”

“What you mean to say is you trespassed. Right?”

I'd only been at the retreat for two days, and in that time, I'd had a few interactions with Clara. Until now, I’d found her to be an accommodating woman who seemed to have found a job that suited her personality. Now, I was seeing a different side of her, one that was much more aggressive. It gave me pause, leading me to wonder whether her actions were out of concern for Quinn or something more … like a woman with a secret.

“I guess you can say I trespassed, but it was with the best of intentions,” I said. “I just wanted to see if she was okay. I had no idea I’d find her like this, and I had no idea she was dead.”

“Someone was here tonight, in this room, with Quinn. Look at her. It's obvious she didn’t do this to herself.”

“I didn’t do it to her either.”

“I bet that’s what all killers say when they’re caught.”

I was growing weary of the insinuations. “Look, I'm a private investigator who specializes in homicide cases. I came to the retreat with my friends and family because I struggle to unwind. Not that it’s any of your business, but it’s the truth. Now I’m thinking it was all a mistake. I don’t belong here.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“I don’t care whether you believe me or not. You want to call the police? I’ll get Rex Foley on the phone right now.”

She moved a hand to her hip. “Who’s he?”

“The new chief of police in San Luis Obispo. We’ve worked a couple of cases together in the past. He’ll vouch for me.”

“Even if he does, it doesn’t mean you’re not capable of murder.”

If she didn’t stop squawking, Iwouldbe capable of murder.

Hers.

I spread my arms, taking my time as I spun around. “Take a good look at me, Clara. I’m dressed in white. I have no blood on me. No bruises. No defensive wounds. No markings of any kind.”

She narrowed her eyes, eyeballing me from top to bottom. “Yeah, well, this kind of thing doesn’t happen here. And I don’t need your help making a call. I can do it myself.”

CHAPTER4

What had started out as a brilliant idea several months earlier was now turning into a nightmare to the millionth degree. To celebrate the one-year anniversary of opening the Case Closed Detective Agency with my sister-in-law, Simone Bonet, and my friend, Lilia Hunter, both former detectives, I’d booked us in for a week-long retreat. I convinced myself it would be nice to get away from it all. I thought I’d be able to let loose, take a break from the hustle and bustle of life, from our recent homicide cases, and go to a place where we could shut out the world in general.

Given what had just happened to Quinn, I was certain nothing about the remainder of our week was going to be relaxing. And not just because a murder had taken place, but because aside from Simone and Hunter, I’d also invited my mother, sister, and Aunt Laura to join us.

---