Chapter Twenty-Eight
Carol
Carol was proud of herself for her detective work at the FWFFC meeting, and she couldn’t wait to share the information with Olivia. In fact, she texted as soon as she got to the car in the coffee shop parking lot.
Olivia—I’ve got something. I don’t know how important it is but it’s very interesting. It’s about Steve, the guy from the list. Can you call me ASAP?
Olivia called immediately, saying she was on dinner break.
“What is it, Aunt C?”
Carol laid it out for Olivia, how Steve had shown her the photo with the autograph and the handwritten note and how they hadn’t matched the writing or signature from the autograph Carol got.
“Well, I saw Faith sign the photo for you, Aunt C, right in front of me, so I guarantee the one you have is her signature. The one this guy Steve has, do you think he faked it? He sounds like a weirdo.”
“Yeah, I thought about him faking it but it looked like a woman’s handwriting for sure, just different from Faith’s. Very different. I don’t know, it all felt fishy. Steve seems to really think they were in love, though. Did you get to sniff around with Matthew or that woman Laura?”
“Yeah, a little. Laura, I just don’t see it.
She has a newborn, photos of her baby all over her desk, she takes breaks to pump breast milk.
Not that a mother can’t be a killer but it also doesn’t work because she was at the station all night Friday.
But Matthew … I don’t like him. He made a snide comment to me when I asked him if he needed more time for the show.
I thought he meant minutes and he said it was seconds but he said it in a really mean way. I just didn’t know, I’m new.”
Carol’s dislike and distrust of Matthew grew exponentially. She narrowed her eyes.
“That’s horrible,” she said. “You’re an intern. Of course you’re learning. If Matthew has a mean streak in him maybe we should focus on him.”
“That’s kind of what I was thinking,” said Olivia. “Let me think of some other ways I can poke around or get more info on him. Can you imagine if we broke this case open? We’d be heroes.”
“But Liv, you have to be careful, so careful, for your safety and for your job.”
“Of course I will!” But Carol could tell that Olivia was excited for the process of snooping. It likely appealed to her mischievous side.
When they hung up, Carol thought about Jim.
She had told Olivia she wouldn’t be telling Jim about their mini detective agency yet.
She knew it would worry him, and she didn’t want anything stopping the forward momentum, but the time felt right to bring him into the fold.
Jim was smart, maybe he would have some ideas of what to do, and she liked the thought of her husband being in protective mode for the two women.
Not that anything bad was going to happen, but if it did, Jim would be there to help.
When she got home he had dinner ready and the table set and she felt a surge of love and warmth toward him.
“I knew you’d be hungry, so I got everything ready,” he said with a smile.
It was true. She was starving after going to the coffee shop right after work.
She sat gratefully across from him. He asked about the meeting and she told him about the Venmo donations and the ideas for how to honor the baby. Then she took a deep breath.
“Jim, honey, there’s something else you should know. Olivia told me something yesterday that we have to keep a secret, for her own safety if nothing else. She feels terrible but … she actually decided to look at that note that Faith gave her to give to Tom. She opened it in the restroom.”
Jim’s eyes grew wide and he stopped in midchew.
“I know, I know, honey,” Carol went on. “Don’t get mad at Olivia. She feels awful enough. Here’s the thing. The note listed names. No one knows what it means but what if poor Faith knew something bad was going to happen? But there’s more…”
“More?” Jim said through his mouthful of food, nearly choking on it.
“Yes, the names were Steve, the guy who said he was Faith’s boyfriend; some woman named Kelly with some guy Joel; Laura, who is one of the bosses at Channel 9 and who Olivia knows; and … get ready for this one … Matthew, the weekend weather guy, along with his fiancée.”
Jim put his fork down, swallowed hard, and stared at Carol.
“Only Olivia, me, and now you know this outside of Tom and maybe the police if Tom shared it with them. So Olivia and I decided to do a little snooping just in case these names actually meant something.”
“What are you talking about, Carol? You’re doing what? You’re snooping around for a killer? Are you crazy? This is a police matter is what it is.”
“Jim, I need your support. We’re not doing anything bad. I saw Steve at the coffee shop and Liv saw Laura and Matthew at work. They don’t know we’re snooping. We’re just asking a few extra questions.”
Jim leaned back in his chair and pushed his plate away.
“I don’t know what to say. What has come over you, Carol? Do you think you’re going to uncover something the cops don’t? Why not just call the cops?”
“Because they probably already have the same info we have. Sometimes citizens can uncover more than police. We see it on 20/20 or Dateline. Maybe we can help the police. We owe that to Faith. It’s the very least we can do.”
Jim stared at her. She knew it would take a bit to warm him up but she knew he eventually would come around.
He wouldn’t leave his wife and his niece out to dry, he loved them both too much.
And Jim liked to solve puzzles and close loops too.
Unfinished business never sat well with him.
It was part of the reason he enjoyed roofing.
It was a clear, delineated process that involved a team of people working together, and it yielded almost immediate and very satisfying results.
Jim was quiet that evening as they watched TV and got ready for bed.
But when he looped his arm over her hip in their sleep position he said, “Honey, I support you and Olivia, you know that. I’ve been thinking hard on it all night and I actually have an idea.
Something we learned on 48 Hours a few months ago… ”