lab.”
“Thank you, Mr. Bernstein. We certainly will. Please continue to keep us in the loop.”
“Of course. I want to find my daughter’s killer and if we combine resources, perhaps that can be accomplished.” He turned abruptly and left.
“That’s interesting,” said Susan, watching the departing man.
“Mom, before we go to lunch, let me show you something. Come into my office.”
Susan followed Lynette into her office and Lynette pulled a stack of photographs from her desk drawer. “We found this at the crime scene. The real thing is in the evidence room, but I always take photos if I think I may need to revisit something. Look.”
“What is it? It looks like it came off of a keychain.”
“It did. We found it on the floor of the bulldozer after Amber’s body was discovered. Look closely.”
“It looks like a blue star on a silver background.”
“Exactly. Do you know what that logo is?”
“No. Come on, Lynette. Just tell me.”
“It’s the logo for the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas Cowboys? Diabetes?”
They both said it simultaneously. “Zachary Chichester.”
“How on earth is he connected to Amber’s death?” asked Susan.
“Well, he is involved with the construction project isn’t he? I still doubt he would have been driving the bulldozer though. Not with those shiny Italian boots.”
“Lynette, remember how I told you he has no connection to that project at all. I went out to the site to invite Zachary over for dinner the other day when I was at the school volunteering. None of the workers had ever seen or heard of him.”
“I remember you saying that. We now have two pieces of evidence linking him to Amber’s death. We also know he’s been lying, and that he has a cruel side to him. Remember how he treated his wife? This may be good news for Tank.”
“I felt bad for Dalia at dinner the other night.”
“The thing we are lacking is motive. Tank has motive, so does Danny Trapani, for that matter. But what possible connection does Zach Chichester have to Amber, a 17-year-old high school student in a neighboring state? I’ll run it by Mr. Bernstein.”
“It’s very puzzling. We’ll have to keep investigating until we find the common link.”
“Mom….”
“I mean you’ll have to keep investigating.”
“That’s better,” said Lynette, although as she turned away to hide it, Susan saw Lynette smile.
“Now,” said Susan, “I’m thinking my grandbaby wants some eggrolls and sweet and sour chicken.”
“Yes, Mom. I think so too.”
Chapter 26
Dalia waited until Zach left the hotel room and then got busy. Julie obviously had had a gut reaction about domestic violence when she witnessed it at the spa. And she said her husband had been from Texas. Is it possible? thought Dalia. Could Julie have been married to Zach? Is that why Zach came here?
She pulled out her laptop and did some searching for Zach’s first wife, Kaitlyn Chichester. She turned on the TV to break the silence. After digging through many false leads, she finally found a picture of Kaitlyn and studied it closely. By the time Dalia had married Zach, there were no pictures of Kaitlyn or their son Joey anywhere in the house. That should have clued her in right away as to what type of heartless person Zach was. In the past decade, she hadn’t heard him mention their names––not even once. The picture she came across was old, but still the resemblance was there. If you colored the hair brown, cut off a few inches, and added fifteen or so pounds, this could be Julie, she thought. It was getting chilly in the room. Dalia turned up the heat and put on a sweatshirt.
Next, Dalia searched for a death certificate. Maybe Zach had lied and he hadn’t been a widower after all. With minimal effort, Dalia found an obituary for both Kaitlyn and Joey. I guess he was telling the truth about that , she thought. Hallelujah for the internet. According to the certificate, Kaitlyn/Julie supposedly died when Zach
“Thank you, Mr. Bernstein. We certainly will. Please continue to keep us in the loop.”
“Of course. I want to find my daughter’s killer and if we combine resources, perhaps that can be accomplished.” He turned abruptly and left.
“That’s interesting,” said Susan, watching the departing man.
“Mom, before we go to lunch, let me show you something. Come into my office.”
Susan followed Lynette into her office and Lynette pulled a stack of photographs from her desk drawer. “We found this at the crime scene. The real thing is in the evidence room, but I always take photos if I think I may need to revisit something. Look.”
“What is it? It looks like it came off of a keychain.”
“It did. We found it on the floor of the bulldozer after Amber’s body was discovered. Look closely.”
“It looks like a blue star on a silver background.”
“Exactly. Do you know what that logo is?”
“No. Come on, Lynette. Just tell me.”
“It’s the logo for the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas Cowboys? Diabetes?”
They both said it simultaneously. “Zachary Chichester.”
“How on earth is he connected to Amber’s death?” asked Susan.
“Well, he is involved with the construction project isn’t he? I still doubt he would have been driving the bulldozer though. Not with those shiny Italian boots.”
“Lynette, remember how I told you he has no connection to that project at all. I went out to the site to invite Zachary over for dinner the other day when I was at the school volunteering. None of the workers had ever seen or heard of him.”
“I remember you saying that. We now have two pieces of evidence linking him to Amber’s death. We also know he’s been lying, and that he has a cruel side to him. Remember how he treated his wife? This may be good news for Tank.”
“I felt bad for Dalia at dinner the other night.”
“The thing we are lacking is motive. Tank has motive, so does Danny Trapani, for that matter. But what possible connection does Zach Chichester have to Amber, a 17-year-old high school student in a neighboring state? I’ll run it by Mr. Bernstein.”
“It’s very puzzling. We’ll have to keep investigating until we find the common link.”
“Mom….”
“I mean you’ll have to keep investigating.”
“That’s better,” said Lynette, although as she turned away to hide it, Susan saw Lynette smile.
“Now,” said Susan, “I’m thinking my grandbaby wants some eggrolls and sweet and sour chicken.”
“Yes, Mom. I think so too.”
Chapter 26
Dalia waited until Zach left the hotel room and then got busy. Julie obviously had had a gut reaction about domestic violence when she witnessed it at the spa. And she said her husband had been from Texas. Is it possible? thought Dalia. Could Julie have been married to Zach? Is that why Zach came here?
She pulled out her laptop and did some searching for Zach’s first wife, Kaitlyn Chichester. She turned on the TV to break the silence. After digging through many false leads, she finally found a picture of Kaitlyn and studied it closely. By the time Dalia had married Zach, there were no pictures of Kaitlyn or their son Joey anywhere in the house. That should have clued her in right away as to what type of heartless person Zach was. In the past decade, she hadn’t heard him mention their names––not even once. The picture she came across was old, but still the resemblance was there. If you colored the hair brown, cut off a few inches, and added fifteen or so pounds, this could be Julie, she thought. It was getting chilly in the room. Dalia turned up the heat and put on a sweatshirt.
Next, Dalia searched for a death certificate. Maybe Zach had lied and he hadn’t been a widower after all. With minimal effort, Dalia found an obituary for both Kaitlyn and Joey. I guess he was telling the truth about that , she thought. Hallelujah for the internet. According to the certificate, Kaitlyn/Julie supposedly died when Zach
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