Page 80 of Evidence of Deceit

“I didn’t want to get involved again. I do have a reputation to protect, you know. Besides, I wasn’t sure Hillary was serious until she called me an hour ago and told me she would handle it herself.”

Troy finished what he had to tell her and, with a click, hung up.

Sam punched the steering wheel. She sat back in her seat. Holy shit! Her Spidey sense hadn’t been off after all. Hillary was not only a first-class bitch but also a suspected murderer. She dialed Claire’s phone. No answer.

She pressed her hands to the side of her head and groaned—what a clusterfuck. She should call the police. And tell them what? There was a rumor that Hillary Marshall nee Santmeyer wanted to kill Claire Willis? What proof? What could they do? They could visit Hillary and talk to her, but she would deny everything. It was an empty threat at this point.

Troy Romano was emphatic that he wouldn’t get involved in this mess. He claimed he did enough when he went to bat for Claire the first time. He told her that he would deny everything if Sam dragged him into another visit. She gathered a lot of what Troy did was probably on the left side of legal. Not that it was any of her business.

She tried Hank’s phone. He answered the first ring, and she explained the situation and asked what he knew about Hillary.

Silence. “Crap. A while ago, I saw a legal document on her table with a Hillary Santmeyer’s name on it and it saidsomething about Claire leaving Hillary her house. Hillary laughed it off and told me Santmeyer was her maiden name. That she sometimes used one or the other.”

“A legal document? That’s weird.”

“Yeah, something about Claire asking her to look it over before she gave it to her attorney. I never thought anything about it, and then we broke up. She was obsessed with Claire, but I don’t know anything else.”

Damn. Hillary was planning to kill Claire right along.

“Okay, listen, I’m heading to Claire’s now. I want you to drive over and check out Hillary’s apartment, find out if she’s there.”

“Okay.” Hank hung up.

Sam looked both ways and then pulled her Jeep out on the road. She called Phil.

“Get me any information on a Hillary Santmeyer. She was Keith’s girlfriend, and I suspect she’s going to hurt Claire.”

“On it.”

Sam gunned the Jeep. The palm trees were a wavy blur of green as she sped toward Claire’s house on the beach. The chance Hillary was done biding her time and very close to Claire was a high probability. And she wanted to be there just in case. She was about five minutes away when Phil called back.

“Okay, I don’t have much, but in checking her background, she was not only his girlfriend but his administrative assistant. They demoted her, and she left the company. Just for shits and giggles, I checked the flights in Florida, and guess who booked a flight the day Keith was killed?”

“Crap, crap, crap. How did we miss this? I’m on my way to Claire’s right now. I’ve been trying to reach her, but she isn’t answering. I’m calling Joe.”

Whoops. She took a corner way too sharp and almost tipped over. She needed to be careful. No sense killing herselfbefore she could get to Claire’s. She inhaled several deep breaths. Let them out, repeated. Patted the gun at her hip. Prayed that Claire was safe.

She dialed Joe’s phone.

“Yeah.”

She repeated what Troy and Phil told her.

“She’s in trouble. I’m pulling into her driveway now,” said Joe.

“Wait for me.”

Silence. Damn.

She pulled onto Claire’s street, saw Joe’s truck parked sideways on the grass, door open. Dialed 9-1-1.

Damn,was she too late? Sam threw the jeep into park and jumped out, took a deep breath, and assessed the situation. The garage door closed. The front door kicked open. Voices.

Sam dashed around the house to the patio. The ocean was roaring in her ears, and salt spray clung to her body. She pulled her gun out and peeked through the open patio doors.

Shit. Hillary was here. She had a knife pointed at Claire’s throat. Claire was feebly trying to push it away. Sam could hear the sirens in the far distance. Joe was standing in front of Claire and Hillary, his eyes cold and flinty, his gun in his hand as he implored Hillary to put the knife down.

Hillary was screaming at him to go to hell. Hillary had Claire’s head in front of hers, so Joe didn’t have a clear shot. But she did.

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