“That’s great news,” I told the captain.
“We’ll be ready,” Adrian added.
“While the mayor’s out of town, I think you should visit with the current Mrs. Beaumont. See if maybe things aren’t as peachy as she’d like the town to believe. Maybe she knew that Rocky was fooling around. She might recognize the signs since he would’ve used them when he had his affair with her.”
“On it, sir.”
As we were leaving the captain’s office, Officer Dooley stopped us. “We just received a call of a possible break in at Georgia Beaumont’s house,” he said. “A neighbor spotted the back door gaping open and called the station. I figured you’d want to know.”
“Thanks, Dooley. Radio the officers and let them know we’re on our way,” Adrian said.
Adrian and I grabbed our jackets and headed over to meet up with the responding officers. Jones and Kasey were waiting for us on the back porch. We all entered with our guns out in case the perpetrator was still inside the house. We split into four and checked each and every room before we regrouped in the kitchen once we were sure the house was clear.
“Master bedroom and bathroom were completely trashed,” I told the group. “I don’t know if they were looking for something or just wanted to vandalize the rooms.”
“Guest rooms were trashed too,” Adrian said. “It looked like they were searching for something because all of the drawers in the dresser had been pulled open, the top mattresses had been pulled off the beds and the box springs were cut open.”
“That’s what I found in the master too. It looked like they ripped all the clothes off the hangers and pulled every box down off the closet shelves and dumped it on the floor. The contents of her jewelry box was strewn across the top of her dresser.” I let out a frustrated breath. “The only person who might know if there’s anything missing is Mrs. Honeycutt. Adrian, why don’t you give her a call and ask if she’s willing to assist us.”
He pointed a finger at his chest. “Me?”
“She knows you really well. Use your charm,” I teased him as he left the room to place the call.
“Downstairs doesn’t appear to be touched at all,” Officer Kasey said. “I’m leaning more toward someone looking for something specific rather than vandalism, or even theft, if her jewelry was still there.”
“I agree,” I told her. “If only we knew what they had been looking for.”
Adrian returned to the kitchen and said, “Mrs. Honeycutt is on her way.”
“Great,” I replied then addressed Officers Jones and Kasey. “Adrian and I have an interview to conduct so we’re going to leave Mrs. Honeycutt in your capable hands. Call us if she figures out if something has been taken or even suspects what the perp was looking for.”
“Will do,” Officer Jones replied.
Rocky Beaumont’s new residence wasn’t quite as grand and glamorous as his first. I wondered if that bothered Nadine Beaumont that her predecessor got to keep the mini mansion in the divorce settlement while she had to settle for a house that would fit on Georgia’s first floor.
The door wasn’t answered right away when we rang. I could hear the sound of kids romping inside the house so I knew that someone was at home. When Nadine Beaumont answered the door, she looked like she hadn’t showered or dressed in days. Her hair looked like a rat had made a nest in it, her nose was swollen, and she had dark circles beneath her eyes from her broken nose. She wore stained pajamas and an ancient looking robe.
“I’ve been expecting you.” She opened the door for us to come inside.
We followed her into a living room that was in just as bad a shape as Georgia’s ransacked bedrooms. There were toys tossed all over the room and dirty dishes on every available surface. It would seem that, not only did Nadine get the smaller house, it also didn’t come with a Mrs. Honeycutt. Adrian and I exchanged quick looks that said something wasn’t right about the situation.
Two small children ran into the room whooping and shouting as they chased one another until they saw that strangers were present. The boy and girl screeched to a halt and stared up at us with matching sets of big brown eyes. As unkempt as Nadine was, I had expected the kids to be in similar shape, but I was wrong. They were clean, dressed, and appeared to be very happy children. That couldn’t be said for their mother.
“Have a seat,” Nadine said dispassionately, gesturing to the sofa covered in toys. “I’m going to take the kids in the other room and put in a movie for them.”
I picked up a stuffed dinosaur off the couch and set it on the coffee table next to a plate with a half-eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich before I sat down. I had been involved in some strange interviews, but I had a feeling this one would take the cake. I looked over at Adrian and he wore a similar expression of disbelief on his face.
Before I could say anything to him, Nadine returned to the living room. “Sorry about that,” she said, smoothing down the front of her robe nervously with her hands. She sat on the love seat across from us and offered a weak smile. “What can I do for you, Detectives?”
I was wondering just how to approach the situation with her. Adrian and I didn’t really have time to discuss a game plan before we came over because of the situation with Georgia’s house. She had already given her alibi for the night that Georgia died, which happened to be her husband. As alibis went, it was a weak one; besides, we were going on a theory that a killer had been hired since the crime scene had been immaculate.
“I know what you want to ask,” Nadine said, as if she was reading my mind. “You want to know if I’m covering for Rocky by saying he was home with me all night when Georgia was killed.” Close, but I wasn’t about to correct her; I wanted to see what she said voluntarily. “Look, Rocky is many things, but a killer isn’t one of them. I wouldn’t be here if I thought him capable of hurting someone like that.”
“What about you?” Adrian asked, not hesitating to ask the tough question. “There was no love lost between you and Georgia Beaumont.”
The question didn’t faze Nadine one bit. She let out an unladylike snort before she said, “I once loved Georgia a lot and she loved me too. I let greed and my desire for a better life override my moral code and ruined our friendship.” Her voice cracked at the last part and, if possible, her posture crumpled even more. She stared down at her feet for a very long time before she looked back at Adrian. “The things I said to her in the salon were terrible and I have to live with that for the rest of my life.”
“Yet, you came to the station that night to press charges against her,” I reminded her. “That doesn’t sound very remorseful.” I was hoping to get a rise from her because anger often brought out truths people didn’t want to reveal.
