“On the contrary. I had every right. I had a warrant to search the premises, the vehicles, and the District Attorney’s office – which is happening right now. I thought it was Cliff at first. I think many thought it was him, but after what I’ve found I don’t think it was him, was it, Ms. Beamer?”
Her nostrils flared and fire blazed in her brown eyes as she stared daggers at him.
“Candace?” Russel questioned.
Street got up and walked over to the door and opened it. An officer stood outside the door holding a black hoodie on an expensive hanger. “Thank you.” He closed the door back and carried the garment over. “I believe this belongs to you, Ms. Beamer. The mysterious wearer of the black hoodie has been leaving threatening messages at Quinn Moynahan’s home, throwing bricks through her car windshield, and even killing her beloved cat Bathsheba.”
“You have no proof,” she snapped.
“On the contrary. CTV footage in Lewistown also showed someone wearing a black hoodie passing Quinn on the sidewalk the same time she was stabbed, and look here,” he said, showing the woman the dried blood on the garment. “I bet you didn’t know you had gotten any of her blood on you that day, or you’d have burned this. The lab here has already taken a sample to match it to Quinn’s blood type.”
“Candace?” Russel said again.
“Oh, shut up you fool. You sound like a parrot. Someone had to protect our son from that meddling reporter. She was trying to frame him for those missing women. All I wanted to do was scare her away, but when she goaded me. I saw red.”
“You’ve said enough, Ms. Beamer,” Delacorte said. “I advise you against saying more.”
“I’d listen to your attorney,” Street said. “Because we have your trophies from Sandy and Barbie that you had hidden in your bedroom.”
“Trophies?” Cliff said.
Street showed him photos of the jewelry. “You should recognize these, each wore them often.”
Cliff nodded. “Sandy loved that pendant. She never took it off.”
Quinn couldn’t believewhat she’d heard. It had been Candace Beamer who had attacked her. It had been Candace Beamer who had killed Sandy and Barbie. She was the one with the trophies that Everette had sent her the photos of, but he’d had all three. How’d he have those? Something didn’t add up.
“They’re going to have to hold her,” Detective Phillips said. “It looks like she did it.”
“What about Cliff?” Grimm asked.
“Will he be charged?”
“It’s unclear.”
“District Attorney Beamer?” Sheraton asked. “There’s no way he’s lived with her all these years and not known what she’s capable of doing.”
“Too soon to tell if he will be implicated in anything or not. Evidence is still coming in as they search his office,” Phillips said. “We still don’t know who killed Wills.”
Quinn began to tremble, and Grimm came over wrapping his arms around her, pulling her close.
“Hey, it’s okay. It’s almost over. It looks like they’ve found who’s responsible for threatening you, stabbing you, and breaking into your place.”
“I know. I can’t believe it. She came intoThe Observerthat day, and I barbed her about Cliff talking too much. She could have attacked me right there. I had no idea who I was dealing with. I used to think I was so smart and savvy, but now I don’t know anymore. This case has shown me that I couldn’t have kept myself safe without you being here. Don’t ever leave me, Grimm.”
“I might have to because of my job,” he said. “But if you’re saying you want me in your life, we can work something out.”
“I do. I know things have been strange since that little argument at the Sky Bear, but I do want to try and see where things may lead to with us,” she said. “Tell me you feel the same.”
“Maybe we could get a dog instead of a cat?” he suggested.
She laughed at that. “We’ll see. I’m not making any promises.”
“I’d be open to a small lap dog over a cat,” he said, leaning in to kiss her.
“Quinn, we have our work cut out for us,” Sheraton said. “You need to start working on a piece about Everette Wills's murder and then one about the arrest of Candace Foust Beamer. We’ll have the scoop before any other news media around.”
Their silence was his response.
