Chapter 24
CHAPTER
Jordyn
Present
JORDYN DIDN’T TRUST her lock-picking skills any more than she knew how to override a complicated home alarm system.
Therefore, breaking and entering into the book club members’ homes to search for the missing hit-and-run vehicle was not an option.
Assuming Tara’s killer had even kept the car used the night of her death.
She needed to see those three vehicles that Natalie referenced as potential matches to the paint chip. Maybe she’d get lucky and see evidence of repaired damage.
So instead of lock-picking, she found herself knocking on Kaitlin Teal’s front door the day before Halloween, a hastily made miniloaf of pumpkin bread in her hand.
Cooking and baking were activities that Jordyn normally enjoyed, but it wasn’t the same baking for someone who might have killed her best friend.
She’d put in just enough effort to gain admittance inside private homes to search the necessary garages.
With Natalie’s help, Jordyn knew who owned vehicles with the same color paint as the hit and run SUV.
But now she needed to look for signs of front-end damage, or repainting, or …
well, anything. It seemed unlikely that the person who hit Tara would have kept the vehicle.
Or if they had, they surely would have repaired it by now.
But figuring out who killed her friend meant following every lead.
Jordyn wanted to see those vehicles for herself.
Inside Kaitlin’s house, Nala’s face appeared in the sidelight as the dog barked happily. Jordyn waved at the Akita, grateful someone in the home was glad to see her. A moment later, Kaitlin pulled the door open.
Dressed in blue workout separates, Kaitlin wore her hair in a high ponytail, her phone in one hand still running the audio for what sounded like yoga instruction.
“What a fun surprise!” Kaitlin exclaimed, extending her arms for a hug even though her expression remained a little unsure.
“Sorry to show up unannounced.” This method had worked for Brad that time he stopped by Jordyn’s house, so she hoped that the homemade goods would do the trick here too. “But I fell victim to a baking mania and thought I’d better share the spoils so I can still fit into my costume tomorrow night.”
She thrust the foil-wrapped package toward Kaitlin.
“Friends don’t let friends eat all the sugar alone,” Kaitlin swore solemnly, snatching the loaf from Jordyn’s hand before turning off her phone’s audio. “I will do my duty, but you have to come in and have a piece with me.”
“Are you sure it’s an okay time?” Jordyn asked, even as she stepped inside.
Nala jumped in frantic circles, butt wriggling with her tail wagging.
At least Jordyn wasn’t completely alone in the house with Kaitlin.
Because ever since Jordyn had found that note on her windshield, she’d been thinking more about the risk she took with her own life to find Tara’s killer.
Someone knew her real reason for being in town.
Could it be Kaitlin?
“Seriously? Nala would pack her doggy luggage and revolt if I turned away her new favorite person.” Kaitlin drew Jordyn into the kitchen with her, chastising Nala in the mildest of terms as the dog ran circles around them.
“Besides, we can dish about the horror show that is Sophie’s murder mystery game tomorrow night. ”
Jordyn told herself to maintain a neutral expression, but something about the way Kaitlin said it chilled her.
“Hmm. I was under the impression everyone wanted to be in this book club. Now you’re making my first time sound scary.” They stopped near the built-in banquette table where a café-style chair was already pulled up to one side.
The kitchen was white and gray with pops of pink in unexpected places—the heavy-duty mixer, a glass vase on the island, a few decorative dishes propped against a silvery quartz backsplash.
And, of course, there were horses. A framed poster from an old Travers race with a chestnut-colored thoroughbred on a bright magenta background filled the space above the banquette.
A quick scan didn’t reveal any security cameras, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any.
No matter if there was one, Jordyn still planned to snoop if an opportunity presented itself.
She couldn’t say for sure why it seemed time was running out to catch a killer, but the book club murder mystery game felt like a macabre way to mark the anniversary of Tara’s death.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that the killer might strike again.
Would she be the next victim?
“Oh God, I’m sorry,” Kaitlin said. “I’m talking to you as if you’ve been one of us forever, but in my defense, it seems like you’re already kind of one of us after the block party and the Witch Walk.
” She set the pumpkin bread on the island then reached for two dessert plates in an upper cabinet near the sink.
“Plus Brad told me the two of you hung out one night. You got his stamp of approval, by the way.”
“Nice. He blew me away with the story about his appearance on The Clean Break.” Jordyn kept an eye on Kaitlin to gauge her reaction.
Would she defend Sophie? Or Brad?
“Right?” Kaitlin shook her head as she reached for a knife to cut the bread. “Who would believe one of his closest friends would give his kids away to his ex?”
Jordyn’s breath caught at the sight of the knife in Kaitlin’s hand, the blade glinting in the pendant light for a moment while Kaitlin waited for an answer to her question.
“Doesn’t it ever come up during book club?” Jordyn dragged her gaze from the stainless steel. “As in, do they really even get along? I can’t imagine how I’d ever stay friends with someone who stole my parental rights.”
Kaitlin paused to consider, returning her attention to the bread. “Brad seems cool about it for the most part, I guess. But every now and then I notice he gets a dig in at Sophie, so I’m sure it still rankles.”
Jordyn had noticed the same thing at the Witch Walk. Brad had been quick to point out—loudly—that Luke had vanished from their group at the same time that Gina had gone missing.
“Maybe he blames Sophie’s former partner for the decision to award the larger share of custody to Carlo.”
She tried to say it very casually, but Kaitlin swung to face her abruptly.
“You mean Tara Hughes?”
The chill in Kaitlin’s whole demeanor caught her off guard.
“I think so.” Her heart hammered under Kaitlin’s scrutiny. “Wasn’t that the name of Sophie’s partner? The same woman from your book club who died last year?”
“Yeah. That was her all right.” Kaitlin slid a plate and fork toward Jordyn while keeping one for herself.
In the face of Kaitlin’s obvious dislike, Jordyn felt all her hackles raise, the same way they had a lifetime ago when they’d been kids and anyone had dared to give Tara a hard time.
Jordyn had never fully understood why she’d been so compelled to be her friend’s defender from the moment they’d come into one another’s orbit.
Even before she’d gotten to know Tara, Jordyn had gone to bat for her.
Maybe it had something to do with recognizing a singular goodness in her friend, the rare sort of kindness and empathy that was too often scrubbed out of kids who spent too long in the system.
Like Jordyn. But just because she didn’t possess those qualities herself didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate them in someone else.
“I take it you didn’t like her?”
Kaitlin forked up a bite of the bread like it was a piece of cake, then pointed the fork at Jordyn.
“Let’s just say I won’t speak ill of the dead. To protect my mortal soul and all that.” She took the bite and changed the subject. “This is so good.”
Jordyn smiled her thanks and debated how to wrangle more answers out of her host.
“So Tara was more like Sophie’s friend than anyone else’s?” She quit petting Nala and the dog settled at her feet, wrapping her furry body around the base of the counter stool.
“Tara was my friend too, once upon a time. Back when the three of us came up with the idea for The Clean Break.”
“You were involved in the podcast?” Jordyn was familiar with Tara’s side of that story, but she needed to hear Kaitlin’s take on the split.
She also wanted to get into Kaitlin’s garage at the first possible opportunity since there had been no sign of a dark SUV in her driveway either of the times that Jordyn had been to this home.
Has she sold it? Natalie had mentioned that Kaitlin hadn’t renewed the registration on it, but the PI hadn’t found a record of the vehicle being sold either.
“I was. And it just goes to show you need to be careful of your drinking partners.” Kaitlin’s joke fell flat since she was obviously angry as she said it.
“Anyway, over a bottle of wine by Sophie’s pool one day, I made the mistake of getting swept up in brainstorming about a celebrity break-up show, adding my own ideas and helping them come up with a killer format.
But then, Tara and Sophie cut me out of the project like I’d never been a part of all those early planning conversations. ”
Jordyn longed to tell her that Tara hadn’t thought it was fair to Kaitlin either. That Tara had always felt guilty about the way Sophie cut Kaitlin out of the show. But of course, that wasn’t her place.
Besides, if Kaitlin had been the one behind the wheel the night of Tara’s death, Jordyn had zero sympathy for her.
“You’re still friends with Sophie though,” Jordyn pointed out when Kaitlin had gone quiet for a moment. “You don’t blame her as much as Tara?”
Kaitlin’s brow wrinkled as she stared down at her plate.