“Of course not. You’re doing me a favor, anyway.”
“I just thought maybe we could just run by the police department and see if Detective Johnson or anyone else is available to speak with us. I think we should share the events from the party and this latest incident. Agreed?”
Ellen nodded. “Sounds like an excellent plan. Especially now that it looks like someone is specifically targeting you.”
“And I’m afraid you could be next,” I said.
Ellen waved that aside. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I can take care of myself.”
A swift glance at her face assured me that yes, she probably could.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
As we drove from Morehead City to Beaufort, I finally remembered a question I’d meant to ask Ellen but kept forgetting.
“By the way, since you’ve lived in Beaufort for quite some time and seem in touch with the local gossip, I wondered if you’d heard anything about Pete and Sandy’s daughter, Liza, being mixed up in some sort of bad romantic relationship. Before her marriage, of course.”
Ellen shot me a side-eyed glance. “I may have heard something from Isabella.”
“She found out something from the book club?”
“Yes. Apparently, Pete broke down during one of their meetings. Sandy wasn’t present, which Isabella said was a good thing. Anyway, they were readingAnna Kareninaand got into a discussion about adultery and doomed love affairs, and it set Pete off. He fled the library, obviously distressed, and Isabella followed to make sure he was okay.”
I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. “Did Pete tell her what was wrong?”
Ellen turned her head to stare out the side window as we crossed the bridge into Beaufort. “He said he was afraid Liza was involved with an older man. A much older,marriedman.”
“I thought that might have been the case, because I heard something from Julie that ties in with that,” I said, before telling Ellen about Julie’s anonymous caller.
“You think Liza could’ve been in a secret relationship with Lincoln Delamont? That would definitely give Pete a motive to kill him,” Ellen said, when I’d concluded my account. “He’s very protective of his girls.”
“Especially if Lincoln was abusive.” I lifted one hand off the wheel and flexed my cramped fingers. “It just seems to fit. The caller claimed that Lincoln could be abusive, like she was warning Julie to be careful. And Julie didn’t want to mention her name, which would make sense if it was Liza. Pete and Sandy are her friends. She wouldn’t want to draw their daughter into the murder investigation if she could help it.”
“And you said Julie claimed that the caller wasn’t in the area now, which would also fit.”
“Yes, Liza’s actually living overseas at the moment.” I glanced over at Ellen. “Her husband’s in the Navy.”
“That’s right, Liza is married. Which is probably another reason Julie wants to keep her identity a secret.”
“Probably.” I flexed my other hand. “Even though it might help her own situation. But that’s Julie for you—more concerned about others than herself.”
“I expect Lincoln Delamont realized that and exploited it,” Ellen said darkly. “He probably told her sob stories about his marriage and his past.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised,” I said, remembering that Lincoln’s parents had supposedly died when he was barely in his twenties. “Anyway, we don’t know any of this for certain, but if it is true, it does make Pete a more viable suspect in Lincoln’s death.
“Unfortunately,” Ellen said. “It also makes me think that whoever killed him did the world a favor.”
I flashed a wry smile. “Maybe, but perhaps we shouldn’t share that with the authorities.”
“Probably not our best move,” Ellen said.
Parking on the street near the police department, I debated aloud whether this was a good idea. Just dropping in on the police had seemed sensible while we were driving back to Beaufort, but now I wondered if it would simply waste their time.
“Don’t be silly,” Ellen told me, as she strode into the station. “This a murder investigation. They’ll want all the information they can get.”
The friendly young woman at the information window confirmed Ellen’s claim.
“Let me see who’s available,” she said. “If you like, you can wait in the conference room.” She pointed across the hall to the only other door outside the locked perimeter of the actual station.
