idea from suspicion to fact.
"Any luck?"
The door to my office opened. I looked up and pushed the hair out of my face as Mandy crossed the room and took a seat across from me.
She pushed a steaming cup of coffee across the desktop in front of me then sat back and took a sip of her own.
"Some." I stacked the papers and put them back in the file. "We found out that Lydia was well-liked among the few people she actually did talk to. Turns out she was a bit of a homebody."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Robert said she didn't really have friends and preferred being at home."
"Wow. I didn't expect that. In the pictures I've seen, she looked perfectly comfortable amongst all the people around her."
"Who knows? Maybe she was a good actor." I sighed and waved a palm in the air. "After we questioned Robert, I can't really bring myself to believe that he killed his wife."
"A nice guy?"
I nodded then rested my forehead in my palm. "The nicest, but not only that, he seemed… genuine . I have no doubt that he loved Lydia even though he suspected she might have been cheating on him. My gut is telling me that he didn't do it. Everything in me is telling me that he is completely innocent."
I picked up my mug and took a sip. "Thanks for the coffee, by the way."
She smiled and tilted her head as she took another sip.
I filled her in on the rest of what Robert Hatchett told us and how he'd acted.
Mandy leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. Her black ballet flat dangled from the tip of her big toe.
"Is it possible that he was lying? Acting like the grieving husband to throw you off track? Like the way we suspect Lydia of acting comfortable around the people in the newspaper pictures?"
"Of course it's possible." I nibbled my bottom lip and thumbed through the mysterious motel receipts. "But I don't think that's the case. You should've heard Hatchett. How he talked about Lydia. I can't put my finger on why exactly, but I know that he's innocent. It's a feeling that I can't shake."
"And your gut instinct has never been wrong," Mandy mused. "So I guess the question remains. Who killed Lydia Hatchett and why? Do you think that there's a possibility that the detective is right and Jason hired you to throw off the cops?"
"Honestly?" I stacked up the receipts and secured them with a paperclip. "The thought has crossed my mind, but I can't bring myself to believe it. Jason has never been a violent man. A cheater? A liar? Certainly. But never violent," I said. "I'm hoping to get some answers tonight when I go out to Trinity Grove and try to speak to the motel's night manager." I held up the bundle of receipts and waggled them back and forth. "All of these receipts are from the same motel and are all time-stamped after ten o'clock. I figured I'd have a talk with the motel's night manager and see if they remember anyone fitting Jason or Lydia's description."
"Do you think Jason is lying? That he and Lydia were having an affair?"
"I don't have any solid evidence, but yes, I think so. All I know for certain is that Lydia was up to something, and I'm going to find out what that something was, if it got her killed, and whether or not Jason was involved. My hopes are that Lydia was meeting another man at the motel. That would give us another suspect to track down, because at this point, I've got bupkis."
I'd originally intended to wait until morning to talk to Jason about his and Lydia's relationship, but I needed some answers. Like were he and Lydia meeting out in the Grove?
"Before I head out to Trinity Grove tonight, I'm going to give Jason a call. I need to know for certain if he and Lydia were having an affair and whether or not he was meeting her out in the Grove."
Mandy nodded. "That would be good to know before you make the trip. If they were meeting at the motel, then there's no reason to talk to the night manager."
"Exactly." I nodded.
"Well, I have a few calls to return before closing time. I'll let you get back to business." Mandy
"Any luck?"
The door to my office opened. I looked up and pushed the hair out of my face as Mandy crossed the room and took a seat across from me.
She pushed a steaming cup of coffee across the desktop in front of me then sat back and took a sip of her own.
"Some." I stacked the papers and put them back in the file. "We found out that Lydia was well-liked among the few people she actually did talk to. Turns out she was a bit of a homebody."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Robert said she didn't really have friends and preferred being at home."
"Wow. I didn't expect that. In the pictures I've seen, she looked perfectly comfortable amongst all the people around her."
"Who knows? Maybe she was a good actor." I sighed and waved a palm in the air. "After we questioned Robert, I can't really bring myself to believe that he killed his wife."
"A nice guy?"
I nodded then rested my forehead in my palm. "The nicest, but not only that, he seemed… genuine . I have no doubt that he loved Lydia even though he suspected she might have been cheating on him. My gut is telling me that he didn't do it. Everything in me is telling me that he is completely innocent."
I picked up my mug and took a sip. "Thanks for the coffee, by the way."
She smiled and tilted her head as she took another sip.
I filled her in on the rest of what Robert Hatchett told us and how he'd acted.
Mandy leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. Her black ballet flat dangled from the tip of her big toe.
"Is it possible that he was lying? Acting like the grieving husband to throw you off track? Like the way we suspect Lydia of acting comfortable around the people in the newspaper pictures?"
"Of course it's possible." I nibbled my bottom lip and thumbed through the mysterious motel receipts. "But I don't think that's the case. You should've heard Hatchett. How he talked about Lydia. I can't put my finger on why exactly, but I know that he's innocent. It's a feeling that I can't shake."
"And your gut instinct has never been wrong," Mandy mused. "So I guess the question remains. Who killed Lydia Hatchett and why? Do you think that there's a possibility that the detective is right and Jason hired you to throw off the cops?"
"Honestly?" I stacked up the receipts and secured them with a paperclip. "The thought has crossed my mind, but I can't bring myself to believe it. Jason has never been a violent man. A cheater? A liar? Certainly. But never violent," I said. "I'm hoping to get some answers tonight when I go out to Trinity Grove and try to speak to the motel's night manager." I held up the bundle of receipts and waggled them back and forth. "All of these receipts are from the same motel and are all time-stamped after ten o'clock. I figured I'd have a talk with the motel's night manager and see if they remember anyone fitting Jason or Lydia's description."
"Do you think Jason is lying? That he and Lydia were having an affair?"
"I don't have any solid evidence, but yes, I think so. All I know for certain is that Lydia was up to something, and I'm going to find out what that something was, if it got her killed, and whether or not Jason was involved. My hopes are that Lydia was meeting another man at the motel. That would give us another suspect to track down, because at this point, I've got bupkis."
I'd originally intended to wait until morning to talk to Jason about his and Lydia's relationship, but I needed some answers. Like were he and Lydia meeting out in the Grove?
"Before I head out to Trinity Grove tonight, I'm going to give Jason a call. I need to know for certain if he and Lydia were having an affair and whether or not he was meeting her out in the Grove."
Mandy nodded. "That would be good to know before you make the trip. If they were meeting at the motel, then there's no reason to talk to the night manager."
"Exactly." I nodded.
"Well, I have a few calls to return before closing time. I'll let you get back to business." Mandy
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