Tiffany gasped. “A kidnapping?”
I nodded.
“Anyone I know?”
“I don’t think so.” I told her the story.
“That’s terrible. I hope you get her back unharmed.”
“Me too.”
“We could probably stop by for a minute,” Jack said. “I can fill you in on the latest on your case.”
Tiffany smiled. “I’d appreciate that.”
She gathered her things, then checked out at the register.
We followed her back to Palm Haven. I said to Jack along the way. “Don’t get sucked into her orbit.”
“I’m just investigating a case,” he said innocently.
Tiffany had a certain gravity about her. Like a black hole.
41
Jack helped replace the seats in the faucet in the master bathroom. It was a pretty straightforward job. He took the opportunity to tell Tiffany all about Hailey's confession.
"Why would she do something like that?" Tiffany asked.
I gave her my theory.
Tiffany shrugged. "I guess that kind of makes sense. But whoever hit me in the back of the head was strong. It had to be a man. Way too powerful. Then again, Hailey has a lot of pent-up rage. Maybe shecouldknock me out. Maybe that girl’s got a hell of an arm.” She teased, “Maybe you let the killer go. Who knows?” Then she added, "I do recall her getting into a fight with Brock at one point in time, and Hailey said,I wish you were dead. I know it's not quite the same thing as threatening to kill someone, but it proves the thought was on her mind.”
"Doesn't prove anything," Jack said. "That's just hearsay.”
Tiffany gave him a flat look. "Well, I know what I heard her say.”
"She was totally wrong about the murder weapon,” I interjected.
"No offense, but I don't think that girl would know the difference between scissors and shears. Don't get me wrong, she's not stupid by any means. She's just all over the map. Her mind is fractured. She likes to blame Brock for that, but I really don't know what the cause is. I mean, she’s on so much medication.” Tiffany peeled back her hair and showed Jack the gash on her scalp. It was healing nicely now, but it still looked painful. "Do you think she could have done that?”
"Doesn't take much force to spit the scalp," Jack said.
“What about Hunter?”
“We’ve got nothing to tie him to the crime scene,” I said.
“Well, I know this wasn’t random. This is someone with a deep personal connection to Brock,” Tiffany said.
“You know, that’s what I thought initially based on the number of stab wounds. But it could be a disgruntled fan or someone else who has created a type of para-social relationship with Brock. It’s a known phenomenon between fans and celebrities. Fans start to believe they have a personal, intimate connection with the celebrity. In some cases, they become fixated. In their minds, those relationships are as close and as real as any other relationship they may have. In some cases, it may be the only relationship these people have.”
“So what you’re saying is some crazed lunatic developed a fixation on my husband and got so pissed off he stabbed him 30 times?”
“27, actually. And yes, it’s possible.”
Jack got the faucets sorted. He threw away the packaging from the seat tool in the black wicker bin by the toilet in the masterbath. Something caught his eye. He reached into the basket and pulled out a receipt. After studying it a moment, he asked, “What’s this?”
Tiffany gave him a blank look. “What’s what?”
