Maxwell sighed. “Because I didn’t really see them clearly. I just saw movement near the fountain. Then I found a red high heel.”
“A red heel?” Janelle frowned.
Maxwell grimaced. “Yes. I gave it to Sheriff Callum, hoping maybe he could figure out who it belonged to.”
I asked, “I don’t suppose you or your mother are missing a red shoe by any chance?”
Janelle shook her head. “I’m not. I’ve never seen my mother wear red heels.”
“I see.”
I still hadn’t gotten the report back for the high heel. If Janelle’s stalker was the same person from the ATM attempt, now it felt like maybe we were getting somewhere. Janelle had supposedly seen this person the day of the wedding. That meant, if it was the same person, they’d been present at the murder scene.
“This is good, Janelle. You’re giving me lots of good information today.” I smiled at her encouragingly. “You’re doing great.”
“Oh, good.” She gave a weak laugh.
“Again, I’m sorry to have to put you through this.”
Janelle sighed. “If it helps catch the person who killed Archie, then it will all be worth it.”
I nodded, relieved she understood. “Well, I think that’s plenty for today. I appreciate you coming in, Janelle. I know this has been tough.”
She stood. “Like I said, if we can just catch this person…”
Maxwell also got to his feet. “Is your mother outside waiting for you?”
Her face tensed. “Yes.”
“Has she been giving you a hard time?” he asked. “I saw you arguing.”
Anger simmered in her eyes. “She didn’t want me to come here today. She wants me to forget all about Archie. She wants me to pretend he never existed.”
“Heartless,” Maxwell grumbled.
Nodding, Janelle said, “Even after hearing all the things you told me today about Archie, I choose to remember Archie the way he was with me.”
“I think that’s the perfect way to remember him,” I said. “How he treated you is as real as anything I’ve told you about his past.”
“Yes,” she said softly.
“I won’t rest until I catch his killer, Janelle. I hope you know that.”
“I do. I trust you.” She gave a weak smile and then turned to Maxwell. “Thank you for giving up your valuable time to keep me company. I felt better having you here.”
“Not sure how much help I was, but I was happy to do it.”
Janelle left the interview room first, and Maxwell and I followed more slowly. We stood in the hallway and watched Janelle leave the building.
Maxwell turned to me. “That was rough on her.”
“Yes. She held up better than I thought she would.”
“Do you think the person from the ATM is the same person stalking her?”
I nodded. “It’s a very strong possibility. You saw someone too, and you found that high heel. There’s definitely someone lurking. I’m just waiting now to get the possible prints from the heel you found. It sure would be nice to put a face to this phantom who’s terrorizing Janelle.”
“Definitely.”
