Halloween in Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries Book 6) by Kathi Daley Page B

the run-down mansion Tj had visited as a teen. While the house had always seemed so dark and dreary when Zachary had lived there, Kyle had added additional windows and opened it up so that the lake and surrounding forest felt as if it were part of the structure itself. The house was located on an isolated bay that was surrounded with old growth pines providing a feeling of both beauty and isolation.
    “So what’s up?” Kyle asked when he returned to the living room, where Tj had taken a seat on one of the three sofas in the room.
    Tj filled him in on everything that had occurred since her meeting with Samantha Colton the previous afternoon. It certainly seemed like more than twenty-four hours had passed since the domineering woman had sat in her office and made her doubt everything she had previously believed to be true.
    “It sounds like her interview technique could have used some finessing,” Kyle commented.
    “She approached the task like she was orchestrating a military attack. I’m totally innocent, yet she made me want to run and hide. While the accident could have been just that, an accident, I’d be willing to bet Holly’s killer is still in the area and wanted to make sure he or she wasn’t found out,” Tj concluded.
    “Maybe,” Kyle responded. “While it seems likely Colton spooked someone who didn’t want their secrets leaked, it doesn’t necessarily mean the same person who killed Holly killed her. Based on what you’ve told me, she’d dug up dirt on pretty much everyone. If she intended to air all that information as a ratings booster, anyone involved might have wanted her dead.”
    Kyle was right. Jessie might not have wanted Brett to know, even now, that she was involved in a make-out session with Nathan, and Nathan might very well have a reason to want that fact kept secret as well. Samantha Colton had speculated that Jessie and Holly might have been involved in a romantic relationship, and even if it weren’t true, Tj doubted Jessie would want her speculating about their relationship on national television. Likewise, Dalton might not welcome the comparison of his infatuation with Holly to that of a stalker.
    “You’re right,” Tj realized after she’d thought about it. “While Holly’s killer had the largest stake in wanting Samantha Colton gone, there are a whole lot of people who’ll sleep more soundly tonight knowing she isn’t about to expose their deep, dark secrets on national television.”
    “Did Second Look send a cameraman along with Colton?” Kyle wondered.
    “She didn’t bring one with her when she came to talk to me, and no one else has mentioned a cameraman, but it would stand to reason that she had one somewhere in the wings. I mean, it’s a television show. A cameraman would be essential.”
    “Maybe someone should track down this person to see what they know. It stands to reason Colton had made some enemies, doing what she does. It’s even possible someone from another cold case she was working on followed her to Paradise Lake with the intention of killing her. That’s what I would do if I wanted someone like her dead.”
    “Come again?”
    Kyle adjusted his position on the sofa so he was looking directly at Tj. “Think of it this way: The woman dies under mysterious circumstances shortly after interviewing a bunch of people about a ten-year-old murder. The obvious conclusion is that someone involved in the current case killed her to prevent her from finding out the truth. But if you give it some more thought, you might come to the conclusion, as we did, that anyone connected to the case who held a secret of any type would have something to lose. If it’s determined that Colton was run off the road intentionally, the investigation, I imagine, will put even more of a focus on the people connected to the murder ten years ago.”
    “Yeah, that makes sense.”
    “It does,” Kyle agreed. “And that may be where you’ll find your killer.”
    “But . .