“But the police searched the cabins that night. They searched the whole lodge,” Cletus said matter-of-factly.
“Yes. Diane’s statement says that around 8:00 PM, which would be after the shooting, after they noted all the cars in the lot—hers included—but before they searched the cabins, she drove home with her phone off, and went to bed.”
“Again, are you serious?” Cletus seemed stunned.
“Yes,” Ashley confirmed.
“That’s her story?”
“Yep. And the thing is, it checks out—as far as they can tell. They didn’t have enough man power that night to keep an eye on all the parking lots, and tape off the crime scene, and question everyone in the barn, and search all the rooms and cabins of the lodge, and maintain a police presence elsewhere in the county. Diane had closed the lodge to outside guests for the whole weekend, so why would they use resources to watch empty rooms?”
“Is that why they’re outside her house now? Watching and listening?” Cletus tapped his fingers on the table lightly. “They don’t believe her story?”
“Oh now, see, that’s something Jackson wouldn’t talk about.” Ashley lifted her eyebrows, her eyes getting big. “Anything about the night of the murder and all the evidence and suspects, he was happy to answer all my questions. But when I asked where they were getting the money to keep Diane under that kind of watch—’cause you know the sheriff doesn’t have that in his budget—Jackson clammed right up. But he did say it was, uh, he said something like, ‘That’s not my jurisdiction.’”
“And they’re not making a secret about it either,” I piped up. “They wave to me every time I drive past. It’s like they just want to intimidate her or something. And none of them are from the sheriff’s department. I don’t know these people.”
Cletus’s gaze lingered on me, and I got the sense he didn’t want me to volunteer what he’d learned from his friend Alex, that the bugs in my momma’s house were FBI. He also looked like he was making a mental note of something.
“One thing at a time. Let’s get back to Diane.” His fingers ceased tapping and he lifted his chin toward Ashley. “Why else is she a suspect. She won’t talk, they don’t believe her story, but what else do they have?”
“They have a partial fingerprint on the car, where someone with bloody hands touched the door, and they think it’s hers.”
“Is that so?”
“Yep, but they can’t be sure because she won’t submit to being fingerprinted. And she won’t leave her house, so they can’t lift one off a discarded coffee cup, a grocery store cart, or something like that.”
“My momma’s fingerprints have to be all over the lodge. Why not take one from there?”
“The lodge is private property. Lots of people’s fingerprints are all over the lodge. Unless they can prove a fingerprint is hers one hundred percent, then they can’t link her to the partial print. Jackson seemed real frustrated about it. Also, Diane has the most obvious motive. Everyone knows their divorce was bitter and contentious, even though she was able to keep almost everything in the end except that vacation home, all that lawyering must’ve cost her buckets of money. Oh! And last year I guess Diane said she wanted to kill Kip? At least that’s what Elena Wilkinson told the police.” Ashley ticked each reason off on a separate finger.
“So Elena talked to the police?” Cletus seemed to find this surprising. “I thought she lawyered up that night too?”
“She did lawyer up at first. However, a day later, she went in and made a statement on her own.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Do you know what Elena told them?”
“I think so, or I can tell you what Jackson told me. Elena said Kip had been drinking that night, real sore he wasn’t invited. He got in the car and she was worried, ’cause he’d been drinking, right? So she got in the car and he drove them to the lodge. She said she tried to stop him from going in, but he was crazy, and she couldn’t talk sense into him. Elena made it real clear that Kip had every right to be there, since his daughter was getting married.”
I felt my heart harden with every word Ashley spoke. My father had no right to be there. He’d forfeited those rights the moment he’d lifted a hand to me. He’d forfeited them way before that, you just forgave him too easily.
Ashley stretched, grimacing. “Sorry, can one of y’all get me a soda water or a ginger ale or something? If I stand up, I get dizzy, and then sometimes I’ll be barfing again.”
“Yes, absolutely.” Cletus shot out of his seat, crossing to the fridge with quick steps. “Jenn, do you want anything?”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
“Oh, Jenn. This is important.” Ashley turned to me. “Elena also said, and I thought y’all should know this, she felt the restraining order last year against her and Kip was served just for the purpose of screwing him over in the divorce settlement. She felt like they would’ve gotten more money—more than just the vacation house and boat in Key West—from Diane if Jenn had dropped the charges. She blames Jenn for losing Diane’s money and the stake in the lodge.”
“I—” I shook my head, horrified. They’d assaulted me and that was somehow my fault? “What a—”
“Raging bitch,” Ashley filled in. “It’s fine. You can say it. You’re with family.”
I chuckled, feeling tired all of a sudden. My emotions were giving me whiplash. One minute I’m having a hard time talking about my father’s murder, now I’m having uncharitable thoughts about the man and his mistress. I didn’t understand myself.
“Anyway.” Ashley sighed. “We all know what happened next. Kip and Elena walk in, cause a fuss, blah blah blah. Jackson and the other deputy walked them back to the car. They leave. Then—”
“Wait.” Cletus twisted the cap off a bottle of ginger ale and set it down in front of Ash. “Who was driving?”
“What?”
“Who was driving? When Elena and Kip left?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Elena said Kip had been drinking, right? And he sounded like it at the party. I bet Elena was driving when they left. Jackson wouldn’t have let a drunk man drive.”
“That’s true.” I nodded. “I was thinking the same thing at the party, when my—when he was talking. He wasn’t just buzzed, he was drunk.”
“Do you want me to ask Jackson?” Ashley looked between Cletus and me. “I can call.”
“Yes.” Cletus reclaimed his seat and lifted the coffee cup. “But only if interacting with him won’t agitate your stomach.”
Ashley sent Cletus a glare. “Jackson is nice. Y’all need to stop treating him like an enemy. That stuff with us in high school is all in the past. And besides, I think it’s pretty obvious he told me all this stuff ’cause he wanted me to tell you.”
“Say again?” Cletus lowered his coffee cup, never taking a sip.
“Jackson can’t be seen or heard talking to you. He knows someone has Diane under surveillance—hopefully you’ve already figured that out. Anyway, he probably figures he can’t talk to you without someone listening in or it raising red flags. But, off the record, since we’re old friends, he can talk to me. I’m not being watched. He gave me a picture of the rope for hootenanny’s sake. What am I going to do with pictures of the rope?”