Chapter 31
Thirty-One
Black Rock Falls
Rio parked his truck a few houses away from Jade Ellison’s house.
It was an old redbrick home, built from the same local materials as many of the original buildings in town.
The front yard showed no signs of a garden and only overgrown grass filled the front yard on each side of the walkway.
He’d always believed that arriving to interview a suspect without warning was the right course of action.
Prewarned usually meant that the suspect had an opportunity to make up a story and have it ready for when they arrived.
Some would often get themselves an alibi, and right now, Jade Ellison had no idea they were on their way to speak to her.
As her neighbor had informed him that Jade had suffered a breakdown recently, he’d need to tread carefully while interviewing her.
There would be a problem if she was mentally unstable and unable to give testimony in court.
He’d discussed the questioning with Rowley during the ride to the house.
He slid from behind the wheel and his boots sunk into the wet grass along the edge of the sidewalk.
The air had a strange damp smell of forests and leaf mold.
It seemed that this area of town had been lucky and none of the houses had been engulfed in floodwater.
There had been a few floods since he arrived in Black Rock Falls, and the interior of the houses needed to be completely relined and the stinking mud removed before they were habitable.
Nothing seemed to survive the floodwater—it destroyed everything.
They followed a pathway made of cobblestones to the front porch and took the five steps to the front door.
They stood with their backs to the wall on each side of the opening before Rio knocked and announced their arrival.
It didn’t surprise him when the door opened and a woman stood there brandishing a shotgun.
Rio poked his head around the door. “Morning, Jade. You recall me and Deputy Rowley here, don’t you?
Why don’t you put down that shotgun? We’d like to have a word with you. ”
“What do you want to speak to me about?” Jade waved the shotgun from side to side, but the barrel was pointing down. “I told you when you called, I don’t want to return to the group. Those women are nothing like me. They all look down their noses at me as if I stink or something.”
Nodding, Rio blew out a long sigh. “I’m not asking you to return to the group, but I do need to speak to you about some of the other women.” He eyed the end of the shotgun suspiciously. “Just put down the weapon. I don’t want to take it from you because when I do, you won’t be getting it back.”
“Okay. Fine.” Jade turned away from the front door and then her face came into view as she stepped into the open space.
“I put it away.” She leaned out of the door and peered at the neighbor’s house.
“You’d better come inside or the woman peeking at me behind her curtains will have spread our conversation all over town before you leave. ”
Rio and Rowley followed her along a hallway and into a kitchen.
The house held a strong smell of disinfectant.
As Rio walked along and peered into the rooms of the small home, he noticed most of the rooms had been scrubbed clean.
In the family room, a bucket and rubber gloves sat in the middle of the scrubbed wooden floor. “Are you spring-cleaning?”
“Mold.” Jade marched into the kitchen and indicated to them to sit at the kitchen table.
“Every time that darn river overflows, this house gets covered with mold. I spend most of my time making sure it doesn’t take over the entire place.
” She dropped reluctantly into a chair and glared at them.
“I’m busy, so what exactly do you need to ask me about the women in the self-defense classes? ”
“Do you recall a woman by the name of Jan Pierce?” Rowley took out his notebook and thumbed through the pages.
“Yes, I recall her.” Jade leaned back in her chair with a disgusted expression on her face. “She thought she was all that. In the changing rooms she’d boast about having Deputy Raven wrapped around her little finger. She took all his attention.”
Rio leaned back in his seat, surprised by the woman’s hostility. “Why was this a problem for you?”
“Because when I asked for assistance, he refused.” Jade eyed him critically.
“You ignored me too when I informed you that people were watching me, and yet the moment Sierra asked you to escort her home because she’d heard someone trying to get into her home, you were off like a shot.
” She sighed. “This is one of the reasons I left the group. I’m not pretty like the other women, so why would any of you want to help me? I know you only help the pretty ones.”
“That’s not true.” Rowley looked up from making notes.
“We have discussed this situation and try to be as impartial as possible when working out with women. Offering the classes was to protect you, but some of the women tried to take advantage of us, and as law enforcement officers we are obliged to check out any problems that come along.”
“And yet you didn’t check out my problems, did you?” Jade snorted. “The moment I stepped in the hall I could feel people watching me. I figure you have surveillance cameras so that you can watch back the classes after we’ve gone to laugh at us.”
Shaking his head, Rio looked at her. “That is not true. There was no one watching you.” He cleared his throat. “We’re checking on where people were at certain times. Can you tell me your whereabouts on Thursday morning between the hours of six and eight?”
“I was here.” Jade clasped her hands in front of her on the table. “I don’t go out much at all now. I have everything delivered to the house.”
“Do you mind me asking what is your source of income?” Rowley glanced up at her. “Just for the record.”
“I own the house and my family left me an inheritance. I don’t need to work.” Jade smiled. “Wouldn’t you figure that I’d be a great catch?” She pushed a hand through her hair. “And yet I can’t even get a law enforcement officer to come to the house to check if there is someone watching me.”
Rio adjusted his hat and stared at her in disbelief. “I figure maybe you need to get out a little more and meet other people. There are plenty of different organizations you could get involved with and meet people.”
“Do you like to go for a walk in the forest?” Rowley gave her a direct stare. “The hiking trails along Bear Peak are close by and very popular at this time of year. They say the wildflowers are very beautiful. I’ve noticed flyers on the notice boards looking for groups of hikers.”
Biting back a smile at Rowley’s ingenuity, Rio waited expectantly for Jade’s reply. Instead, she screwed up her face and shook her head. He stared at her. “Is there a problem?”
“Did you come here because you figured I’d pushed Jan over the edge of the trail?
” Jade moved her indignant gaze from one to the other.
“Do you honestly believe I’d be stupid enough to walk that trail alone at this time of the year when the bears are out and hungry?
” She stood and paced the room. “Have you considered that’s what probably happened to her if she was up there alone?
Maybe she came across a bear, it came for her, and she stepped back from the trail and fell? ”
Concerned she might pick up a utensil or knife and come at them, Rio stood.
“All we are aware of is that she fell from the trail. We have no idea if she was pushed or not. That’s not for us to decide.
The medical examiner makes that decision.
” He waited for her to calm down. “Did you become friends with Sierra while you were at the classes and what about Roxanne? What can you tell me about them?”
“I figure you’d know them better than I do.
” Jade barked out a laugh and gave them a contemptuous look.
“They spoke to you and Deputy Raven more than they did to me. I went to Aunt Betty’s Café with them one time and they didn’t include me in their conversation, which was all about how they could lure you to their homes.
” She laughed. “I can’t believe how na?ve you all are.
They weren’t going to the classes to learn about self-defense at all.
They were looking for a man, but you were all too blind to see.
” She threw her hands up in the air. “That’s one of the reasons I left.
No one there was taking the classes seriously, apart from one or two of us.
After a while you get sick of seeing them hitting on the instructors.
” She shook her head. “Women like that give a bad name to us all.”
“I see.” Rowley folded his notebook and stood slowly. “There are two other questions I have for you. Were you at home on Friday evening?”
“Yes, and you can ask my neighbor.” Jade rolled her eyes. “Around dinnertime, she knocked on my door asking for a candle. That’s when the power was out for a time. What else?”
“You seem to be very self-sufficient.” Rowley smiled at her. “I see you have an old truck in the garage. Do you maintain that yourself as well?”
“I know where the oil and water go, if that’s what you mean.” Jade glared at him. “Now if you’re done. I have work to do.”
Rio pushed his hat more firmly on his head, not wanting to turn his back on her. “Do you still believe someone is watching you? Do you figure it’s one of your neighbors?”
“I haven’t caught any of them walking alongside the house scratching at the windows and shaking the doors, if that’s what you mean.
” Jade hunched her shoulders. “It happens all the time at night, as if people are outside watching me through the cracks in the doors. I’m not going outside to face them. I don’t know what I might find.”
Leading the way outside, Rio hurried to the truck and slid behind the wheel with Rowley close on his heels. He fastened his seat belt and turned to look at his partner. “That woman is crazy.”
“You can say that again.” Rowley lifted a Thermos of coffee from a container at his feet and poured them each a cup. “But is she capable of murder?”