“Yeah, well, this murder is connected to the Washington case.”
“What?” Ten and Ronan said at the same time.
“Who was killed?” Ronan asked.
“Jennifer Blake. Her husband came home after a late business meeting and found his wife dead on the kitchen floor.” Cisco yawned. He tried covering it up with a cough, but Ten knew what he heard.
“Last night?” Ronan looked gobsmacked. “Jennifer came in to see us around lunchtime yesterday. We spoke to her about the murder of Skye Washington.”
Even with his gift, Tennyson hadn’t seen this coming. He’d seen a vision of a gorgeously decorated Christmas tree stacked high with presents when he shook her hand yesterday afternoon.
“Did she give you any evidence we didn’t already have?”
“She mentioned a boyfriend, Kyle Danner. Said something about Skye making plans to run away with him. Ten picked up on the fact that Kyle dated Jennifer after Skye was murdered. She also said Kyle was never the same after the murder. We did a bit of research on him last night, and he had a lengthy criminal record before he went to rehab and changed his entire life. He runs a food bank named after Skye.”
“That sounds fishy.” Cisco paused. “I know it’s not your thing anymore, but do you and the others want to come down and take a look at the crime scene?”
Ronan looked up at Ten who nodded. “I’ll get with Jude and Fitz, text me the address and we’ll be there as soon as possible.”
“Thanks, Ronan. You must have hit some sort of nerve yesterday.”
“I was just thinking the same thing.” Ronan hung up the phone. He pulled off his towel and headed for the closet. “Hello, beautiful!”
“Dada!” Everly was lying against Ronan’s pillow looking as if she were about to fall back to sleep.
Ten rushed to pull her tights up the rest of the way. “Before you ask, no, I did not see this coming.”
Ronan snorted from inside his shirt. “I know that. You would have told me if you’d seen something.”
“You know I’m not a big believer in coincidences, but this could have been just that. A home invasion gone wrong. Domestic violence.” Ten shrugged. He’d run out of suggestions.
Zipping up his suit pants, Ronan turned to his husband. “This case has lain dormant for decades. Even when Butch Washington was calling Cisco once a year, nothing was really being done to solve this case once and for all. It’s no secret we’re on the case now that we’ve met with the Washingtons and have been calling Skye’s siblings and friends, not to mention the interview with Channel 5. A quick Google search would tell the killer who we are and how good we are at what we do.”
Ten’s eyes moved to the bed where Everly was singing to herself. “Do you think we’re in danger?”
Ronan opened his mouth to answer, but shut it again and was silent for a few seconds. “I’ll make sure to have Cisco put extra patrols on this street. We’ll tell Kaye not to open the door to anyone unless she knows them personally. We have a lot of precious cargo in this house during the day, and Kaye is their only line of defense. I’ll call my father and see if he can come and hang out with your mom and the kids.”
“I was just going to suggest that very thing.” Ten noticed Ronan punching buttons on his phone. He knew his husband was getting in touch with Fitzgibbon and Jude. “Come on, lovebug. Let’s go have some breakfast.” Ten had a feeling it was the last meal they were going to have for a while.
Twenty minutes, a bowl of oatmeal, and lots of Everly kisses later, Fitzgibbon was driving everyone to the crime scene.
“I hate to say it, but it feels like the old days,” Kevin said from the driver’s seat.
“I’ve been thinking the same thing since Cisco called at the ass-crack of dawn,” Ronan grumbled.
“I’m guessing, Ten, that you don’t have any inside information on what happened to Jennifer?” Jude turned around to face the backseat.
“I don’t know anything. When I shook her hand yesterday, I saw a happy Christmas. Something changed after that moment.” Ten was hoping he’d get more information from the crime scene, and the body if it were still in place.
“This is it here, Cap.” Ronan pointed to a gated driveway and the large white house on the hill behind the wrought iron.
Kevin spoke briefly with the officer on duty and the gates opened, allowing them to drive up to the front door. Cisco Jackson was standing in the driveway when Kevin parked the black SUV.
“We didn’t move anything,” Cisco said as Ronan hopped out of the backseat.
“Start from the beginning,” Ronan said when the other’s gathered around.
“The husband, Charles, came home last night around nine and found the house dark. According to him, Jennifer always leaves the light on for him to welcome him home. According to what he told us between bouts of sobbing, they were still madly in love with each other after thirty years of marriage.”
“That remains to be seen,” Ronan said. “Jennifer left West Side Magick around two yesterday afternoon. She mentioned having work to do and blew out of the shop like she had somewhere important to be.”
“She did, according to the husband. Yesterday was the second to last meeting of the Salem Women’s Auxiliary. They’ve been in charge of handing out food baskets and presents to Salem’s less fortunate for the last sixty years. This meeting was important because with two weeks to go until Christmas, the wealthy ladies of the Auxiliary purchase the remaining toys on the Secret Santa list and organize the toys for distribution.”
“I’m guessing she was at that meeting?” Fitzgibbon asked.
“Right,” Cisco agreed. “According to the meeting minutes, it wrapped up at twenty minutes to five and Jennifer was seen in the parking lot talking to Esther Perkins, another member of the Auxiliary, until five. Esther walked Jennifer to her car, and she drove off.”
“So the ladies were the last to see Jennifer alive?”
Cisco shook his head. “McDonald’s take-out was sitting on the kitchen table. Double Quarter Pounder, large fries, and a water.”
“Sounds like she picked up dinner for her husband. I can’t imagine a tiny woman like her eating like that,” Jude said.
Tennyson shook his head no. He knew what that meant. “She’s bulimic. Cassie got Jennifer settled with a latte before we got back to speak with her, but she refused anything to eat.”
“Okay, so she stopped at the Golden Arches and came home to eat. Was the food touched?” Kevin asked.
Cisco nodded. “There were a few bites out of the burger and most of the fries were gone. The attack happened in the dining room.”
“At least she had a halfway decent last meal.” Jude rocked back on his heels.
“You think shit from McDonald’s qualifies as a good food?” Fitzgibbon rolled his eyes.
“She was a slim lady. I assumed her dinner would be three watercress leaves and a large gin and tonic.” Jude blushed down to the roots of his hair.
“Let’s get in there. It’s no use standing out here conjuring facts out of thin air.” Ronan had his game face on.
“Follow me,” Cisco waved them forward.