Millie’s great-aunt radiated an adorable charm. Scott smiled widely as she handed him another chocolate chip cookie before bustling out of the living room. He couldn’t help but feel superior as he munched happily on the treat while Wolfe glared at him. Oh, Millie’s aunt Mae had been generous with everybody, but he had gotten the extra cookie. Obviously the woman would love to see Millie settled down and happy. Right now, he seemed to be the best possibility.
Millie had settled Brigid in Scott’s former room and the twins and Wolfe with JT in the bunkhouse. He had every intention of staying with her, and apparently she was of like mind because she helped him move his possessions into the light pink bedroom.
He wanted to be near her, not just to keep her safe, but because she was quickly becoming his everything. If he could just get his head on straight, maybe he could be somebody she deserved.
For now, Brigid quickly set up her command center in a makeshift desk area against the stairs, and the rest of them gorged on chocolate chip cookies and sinfully good cinnamon rolls.
Wolfe had brought in Kat, who was an eight-month-old white cat with one mangled ear and heterochromatic eyes—one blue and one green. As a kitten, the animal had burrowed into Wolfe’s pocket quite often, and now that he was bigger, he sometimes lounged on Wolfe’s neck like a fur stole. At the moment, he was sniffing around the room, detouring every once in a while to beg for a bite from someone’s cookie.
Millie’s Aunt Mae hovered near the stairs. “If you all are good for a while, I may go take a little rest.” The woman wore a pretty flowered skirt and pink sweater and had nicely curled her hair. She looked healthy, but her shoulders had begun to stoop.
“You do need to rest,” Millie said smoothly around a big bite of cinnamon roll. “We’ll be fine, Aunt Mae. Okay?”
She winked at her. “If you all get bored, go see what Lila’s up to, would you?” With that, she turned and strode into her room.
“Who’s Lila?” Wolfe asked, still eyeing the remainder of Scott’s cookie, so he shoved it hurriedly into his mouth.
“She’s someone who helps Aunt Mae around the place,” Millie said.
“All right,” Brigid said, turning around, at home in her element with two screens in front of her. “Here’s what we know.” She ran down the facts from both cases. “Let’s start with the Clay Baker murder. I might have hacked the local chief’s computer, and I’m printing out a list of the patrons that he knows frequented the bar that night. We need to speak to each of these people and find out who else was in the bar. I don’t believe the list is complete.”
She then typed rapidly on her keyboard, and the other monitor flared to life. “I’m hacking into any CCTV I can reach in town, but frankly there’s not a lot. It’s entirely possible to get to and from Snarky’s Bar and Clay Baker’s cabin by the river without going past one camera, I’m afraid.” She shook her head as if the idea seemed unbelievable. “So when talking to witnesses, we need to make sure to ask them about Clay’s truck and if anybody saw it that evening.”
She glanced at Millie and winced. “Your fingerprints were found on your knife. And so far, there’s been no other physical evidence found. Your blood and his blood are the only DNA at the scene, but I’ll keep digging.”
“Time of death?” Scott asked.
“Coroner estimates death occurred between midnight and 4:00 a.m.,” Brigid said. “The police files are fairly inconclusive. The chief of police interviewed Clay Baker’s brothers, and the two who live in town have alibis for that time frame.”
Millie straightened. “They do?”
“Yep. Silas hung out with a woman named Trix Jackson all night. I guess they met at the bar and he took her home.”
“Oh,” Millie said. I know Trix, and if she gave Silas an alibi, it’s solid. She teaches kindergarten and could do so much better than him.”
“What about Lonnie?” Scott asked.
Brigid turned and clicked a couple of keys. “Lonnie was actually out of town, and the chief has confirmed his flight to Atlantic City and his return the next day after he heard about the murder.” She read closer. “Said alibi has been confirmed via CCTV from a casino. Apparently the chief is pals with the owner and got the feed easily.” She cleared her throat. “I may have hacked an email or two.”
That was beyond illegal. “Brigid, let’s not get you into trouble,” Millie said.
“We don’t have anything on the fourth brother yet. What’s his name?” Scott asked.
“Glen,” Millie said quickly.
Brigid kept reading. “Glen was at home in Richmond. According to the chief’s notes, at least the ones that he typed in, he doesn’t consider Glen a very strong suspect. Thus far, there’s been no effort to corroborate Glen’s alibi by use of CCTV or anything else.”
“We need to go speak with him,” Ian said, looking at his brother. “Sounds like fun.”
Brigid shrugged. “Currently, the chief lacks any other suspects, and I’m sure the prosecuting attorney has access to those files. Also there is no mention of a star witness, as described by the slimy county prosecutor.”
Scott cracked his neck. “Let’s stick to Clay Baker for a moment. Have you discovered anything from his college days? I’d like to confirm his habit of drugging women. At least that would explain who drugged Millie, although it doesn’t help us find who murdered him.”
Brigid turned, tapping her fingers on her mouse. “Two women filed complaints against Clay and his buddy Frank Clubberoni, claiming they were drugged during their college days. I had to dig deep to find them because both victims retracted their statements.”
“Why?” Millie asked.
“I don’t know. I can only tell you what I found. But I’ll print out their names and addresses. One lives in Charleston still and the other moved to Charlottesville after graduating.”
