Jude didn’t speak. Instead he deliberately fixed his gaze on the wall behind her.
“I get that you’re skeptical but let’s see if I can ‘wow’ you,” she said, then went for it. “I’ve changed my theory of what happened to Scott Newhouse. I think you two were in on it together, but now I’m guessing it was Bridget’s idea, kind of a Double Indemnity situation. She tells you that she’s not in love with him anymore. He’s battling depression. Maybe she even tells you about some of his…performance issues and how he can’t satisfy her like you do. She says that she’s fallen for you. But then she talks about how she can’t divorce him because his lawyers would crush her.”
She watched Austen’s face as she spoke and could tell she was hitting pay dirt. He was struggling not to look at her and his whole body had tensed up. She kept the pressure on.
“But if he died, she’d get everything,” she went on, “So she hatched a plan to kill him while they were here on a couple’s retreat. And you went along with it because you really have fallen in love with her. But when it came down to it, you couldn’t go through with it. You backed out at the last second and she had to kill him herself.”
He was looking at her with wide eyes now, as if she’d been reading his diary. But he said nothing. That was okay. She wasn’t done.
“But after she did it, you two couldn’t connect because she was constantly surrounded by people. You didn’t know what to do. And when she finally managed to get to you this morning, whatever you said or did made her seriously doubt your resolve. First you chicken out on the murder. And now you sound shaky when she tries to lock things down. She realizes it’s only a matter of time before you crack and decided to bail before you spill everything.”
Jude Austen was shaking slightly in his chair and the handcuff attached to his wrist and the table was rattling softly. He looked like he might be sick. She pressed on.
“But even then, when we confronted you and you finally grasped that she was gone and you were in trouble, you said nothing because you still love her and couldn’t bear the thought of turning on her. I don’t think you were trying to escape us when you ran toward that cliff, Jude. I think you were trying to escape the truth of how the woman you love abandoned you. You were willing to jump off that cliff to the rocks below rather than face what she’d done to you. And she had abandoned you, Jude. You know how I know?”
Involuntarily, he shook his head “no.”
“Because she used one of your distinctive hair ribbons to choke him to death,” she said simply. “Maybe she was trying to frame you in case things went south. Or maybe she was pissed at you for leaving her in the lurch and this was payback. Whatever the reason, a piece of clothing particular to you was the murder weapon. And now she’s gone to who knows where, leaving you holding the bag, facing life in prison. Does that sound about right?”
She didn’t really expect him to answer and she didn’t need him to. His expression told her everything she needed to know. But after a hard gulp, he did.
“Yes,” he said.
Jessie walked out of the room, where Ryan was waiting for her.
“It looks like we still have a killer to catch,” she said.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
Jessie wished it was her idea but it was Kat who suggested they talk to the doormen.
“If she was desperate to get away from the resort,” she said as they all ran down the hall from the security office to the lobby, “she couldn’t have used a ride share without her phone. That means taking a cab and the cabs would pull up to the main entrance.”
By the time they got out the front doors, Ryan had pulled out his phone with a photo of Bridget Newhouse on the screen and was already showing to the doormen.
“Have you seen this woman in the last hour or so?” he asked. “She might have left in a taxi.”
All three doormen shook their heads no but one of them pointed to a valet just walking back from parking a car.
“Eddie was working the door too until he switched over to valet at the top of the hour,” he said.
“Eddie,” Ryan called out as he ran over to the startled teenager. “Do you recognize this woman?”
The kid glanced at the photo and nodded immediately.
“Sure, that’s Mrs. Newhouse,” he replied. “She comes here all the time.”
“Did you see her recently?” Ryan pressed, trying to keep his voice level.
“Yep, I hailed her a cab a little while ago,” Eddie answered happily, pleased that he could be of help.
“Did she say where she was going?” Jessie asked.
“No, but I know anyway,” he told her.
“Where?”
“I heard the cabbie mention the extra one dollar transportation fee. They only add that for airport trips.”
Jessie looked at Ryan with satisfaction, but he wasn’t smiling.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“There are multiple airports in the area,” he said. “Both LAX and Long Beach are close, but she might have gone to Burbank or even all the way to John Wayne Airport because she thinks we’d start closer.”
“But she’s going to LAX,” Eddie said confidently.
“How do you know?” Ryan asked.
“It’s the only one that charges that fee.”
Ryan’s concerned look was briefly replaced by a smile, before it hardened again.
“Eddie,” he said with renewed urgency, “can you get my car—fast?”
*
Jessie could barely contain her frustration.
She, Ryan, and Kat were approaching the airport and still had no idea where they would go once they arrived. On the drive there, as Ryan sped through traffic with his siren and lights on, Jessie called Captain Decker to ask him to have officers sent to both the Newhouse and Darcy homes.
“There’s always the chance that this airport thing is a ruse,” she had said, “and that once she got to LAX, she took another cab to her house to gather essentials or went to the Darcys to get her kids.”
“I thought her sister was arriving in town today,” Decker had replied. “Isn’t it more likely that she just leaves them in her care, rather than try to run for it with three small children?”
“Probably,” Jessie conceded, “but you never know what a mother will do when her back is against the wall. And one last thing, Captain: I’d definitely make sure that Chief Laird delays that press conference.”
Once she hung up, she tried to check in with Hugo, hoping he might have gleaned some information from the spa employees about how Bridget could have accessed the men’s side. But the call went straight to voicemail, which could have meant he was busy questioning someone or that the infamous Peninsula cell service was rearing its head.
She had just hung up when Jamil called. She put him on speaker.
“Beth tracked down the cab company,” he said. “They said one of their drivers left Peninsula with a woman matching Bridget’s description and dropped her off at Terminal 7 just over an hour ago.”
“What airline is that?” Kat asked from the backseat.