Sitting at the table with Micha and Dev, Ava tipped up her glass of water and drained it. They’d just eaten a dinner of canned chicken noodle soup heated in a cast iron pot in the fireplace. Brought her back to her childhood as her foster parents often served inexpensive meals like canned soup, allowing them to pocket some of the assistance money each month.
Not all foster parents were like that. She’d lived with several good families but none who really connected with her. One did introduce her to God, and faith became a constant in her life. God, a father she needed. But otherwise, she’d kept to herself and focused on schooling and learning the bassoon. A really good and constant thing in her life, too, and now it was tainted.
Could she ever play her bassoon again and not think of the bocal in Jamal’s neck?
She didn’t know but suspected her director, Linda, would find a way to help her continue to play. She was just that kind of person. One who went the extra mile. She’d been a strong role model for Ava in junior high. Keeping her at it through the times she’d found the bassoon too hard to learn and wanted to quit. But Linda had stepped in, even assigning two bassoons to Ava so she didn’t have to haul one with her on her three-mile walk home after practice because her foster parents wouldn’t pick her up. She could credit Linda for helping to form the woman Ava had become.
As much as she didn’t like foster care, she honestly longed for the much simpler time of her youth. But she had to let it go now and think about finding Holly’s and Jamal’s killer.
She looked at Micha, who was watching her. “Do you think Nicks is really involved in this? Maybe Fran, too?”
“We don’t have any evidence for either one.” Micha scooped out the last bite of his soup and chewed on the sparse noodles.
“He’s a conductor and his music training could make him a suspect,” Ava said. “He would for sure know how to write a song and know all about the bocal.”
“And it could connect him to Holly,” Micha said. “Maybe she performed with him as the guest conductor, and he learned where she lived. He went to see her and asked to see Layne. Then she refused to tell him anything about Layne. Not even his name and especially not where he lived, and Nicks got angry.”
“Or he could’ve read about her in a newspaper story, too.” Dev shoved a stack of saltine crackers into his mouth.
“How horrible it would’ve been for Holly if he conducted an orchestra she played in.” Ava shuddered. “I can’t even imagine being able to get a note out in a situation like that.”
“Colin’s researching it.” Dev swallowed. “What about the will, though? Would Nicks have stolen it? And why?”
Micha shrugged. “Doesn’t make sense that he would even know about it, and what would his motive for murder be? Revenge? I mean if he got angry enough to kill when she wouldn’t tell him Layne’s name or where he lived, he would likely have killed her on the spot.”
Dev brushed cracker crumbs from his fingers over the paper bowl. “Or he could’ve planned to come back to the house. Break in and look for contact info for his son.”
“That sounds possible,” Ava said. “Very possible. Or maybe it has to do with that comment his daughter overheard about her not giving him the money.”
“Himas in Nicks?” Micha asked.
Ava shook her head. “I was thinkinghimas in Layne.”
“Okay, let’s go with that.” Micha took a drink of his water. “ThesheNicks referenced could be Holly. Thehimcould be Layne and themoney, her estate. She did give him half her estate, but maybe Nicks believed Layne deserved it all.”
Ava thought for a moment. “He would have to somehow know about the will for that to make sense. Maybe hedidbreak in to find information on Layne, and he found both wills. He could’ve looked into me and could’ve been mad about Holly cutting down his son’s inheritance for a nurse.”
“But mad enough to kill her?” Dev asked. “And what would that gain? The will wouldn’t be changed.”
Ava wiped her mouth with a paper napkin. “But if he stole all copies of the new will, everything would go to Layne.”
Dev grabbed a few more saltines and held them midair. “Same would be true if she just died and wasn’t murdered.”
Micha drummed his fingers on the table. “Maybe he thought she had to die before she could change the will again.”
That made sense in a sick way to Ava. “I guess if he was willing to kill, then taking Holly out would be the best option to ensure everything went to Layne, but I think he’s a long shot at best.”
“Agreed.” Dev balled up the empty cracker wrapper and fired it toward the trash can. “But we can pencil him in on the suspect list, just in case.”
“Yeah,” Micha said. “Is there any way we could see Fran involved in this?”
“Not me,” Ava said. “She looked legitimately shocked today on all fronts.”
“I agree,” Dev said.
“Me too, but we don’t rule her out just yet,” Micha said. “We’ll have Colin continue to dig into her, but unless he finds more, we’ll focus on the other three.”
The sound of a car pulling into the drive cut through the rain.
