Page 52 of Little Empty Promises

“Don’t be.You tried, and that’s all you can do.”

“How’s your day been going?”

I told her about my visits with Cordelia’s neighbors and about the notes I’d found.

When I finished, she said, “Wow, I can’t believe it.You have amazing luck.You always have.”

“Not luck, skill.”I winked, and she laughed.

“Noted,” she said.“So, what are you thinking now, about the case in general?”

“I want to believe there’s a connection between one of Cordelia’s neighbors and her murder.Now, I just need to prove it.”

21

I sat on the back deck, with a blanket draped over my shoulders, and a glass of pinot noir in hand.As I listened to the sound of ocean waves crashing onto the rocks below, I reminisced about everything I knew about the case so far.The note Whitlock found the night of the murder had been on my mind a lot tonight.

Was it connected to the murder or was I pulling a connection out of thin air because I wanted to believe it meant something when it didn’t?

And why was Samantha acting so strange?

Was it paranoia or grief over Cordelia’s death?

Or was it something else?

Per my usual at the start of most of my cases, I was left with far more questions than answers.After reading through the dated entries Cordelia had tucked within the pages of the book, I’d started to form new theories.Perhaps one of her neighbors was being abused, as she’d suggested.Perhaps she’d gathered up enough courage to confront the man or the woman or both.If one of them thought there was a chance she’d tell someone else, and they wanted to keep her quiet, it was the perfect motive for murder.

I thought about my earlier conversations with the neighbors.Rosalyn had tried to point a finger at Kayla, and Kayla seemed confused about it all.But was she?

As for either Seth or Eddy being an abuser, Seth was a slender individual, but he was fit, which suited his profession.I didn’t know what Eddy looked like, and I also knew nothing of his demeanor, except for what I’d been told.When I’d glanced around their house, I didn’t see any photos of the couple anywhere.There had been a collage on one of the walls, but every photo was of their dog.

Giovanni stepped outside, giving my thoughts a brief reprieve.

“Does your wine need to be topped up?”he asked.

I looked up at him and smiled.“I’ve been so caught up in what happened today, I haven’t even had more than a few sips from the first glass you gave me.”I lifted the wineglass in the air and shook it.“Still working on it.”

He nodded, turned back toward the kitchen, and whistled.Luka, our Samoyed, came trotting outside and nestled across my feet.

Giovanni sat down next to me and wrapped his hand around mine.“Do you feel like discussing your day?”

I did, and for the next several minutes, I did just that.Hearing myself talk about it out loud was therapeutic, and it helped me to piece things together.

When I reached the end, he said, “Of all the people you’ve spoken to so far, if you had to point the finger at one person right now, who would it be?”

“I don’t even feel I can make that call yet.”

“Oh, I’d be willing to bet you’ve leaned on someone as your prime suspect, haven’t you?”

He knew me all too well.

“I keep thinking about Eddy, which doesn’t seem right, given I haven’t even met the guy yet,” I said.

“Why him?”

“I have no reason to believe the notes Cordelia took weren’t real, which means, someone she was keeping an eye on was getting abused.Seth may have been a jerk to me today, but I don’t see him as the type of guy who’d hit Kayla.I could be wrong though.”

“Did Rosalyn show any signs of abuse?”

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