“Yes.” I nodded. The room had lots of windows, which I loved. But was I ready to make an offer? Would I be a fool not to? I wasn’t going to leave Rainy Dale because I wasn’t going to leave Royce. I had to find a spot for my clinic, but there would of course be cheaper options than this place.
As if reading my mind, Reginald said, “I’m willing to negotiate.” Reginald met my gaze, looking sincere. “Make me an offer, Dr. Thornton.”
“Oh, well, this is a huge decision,” I mumbled. “I’m not an impulsive person.”
Sounding exasperated, Mrs. Numi said, “Oh, stop playing hard to get, Dr. Thornton. This is exactly what you’re looking for, and you know it.”
I swallowed hard. “Even so, this place must be very pricy.”
“I seem to remember you saying money was no object.” Mrs. Numi smirked.
“Yes, but still…” I let out a shaky breath and glanced out the window toward the backyard. My eyes bugged when I noticed a sparkling pool. I literally gasped. “There’s apool?”
Behind me, Mrs. Numi started laughing. “Took you long enough to notice.”
I turned to face her and found both her and Reginald grinning. “I… how… what…”
“What do you say we go down and talk price?” Mrs. Numi said, looking very pleased with herself.
Chapter Ten
Royce
I’d wanted to chat with Angela after Janelle’s interview, but Janelle was so emotionally drained, Angela insisted on taking her home. I couldn’t exactly object, considering Janelle’s fragile mental state. Instead, I scheduled Angela for the next day. It wasn’t like there weren’t plenty of people to talk to. Thomas the chauffeur was scheduled later today, as was Janelle’s father, Michael.
I spent some time reading over Kobe’s and Janelle’s statements. Their stories seemed to support what the other had seen. I was confused about why Archie had left the reception when Janelle had been upset by Kobe, but he hadn’t actually gone to comfort her. I didn’t think she was lying about not seeing him again before his death. Had he not gone to her because he’d been sidetracked by Angela and then Michael? Would one of them have had the time to murder him?
Obviously, the killer had managed to catch Archie alone. Not necessarily an easy task considering how many guests there had been. Whoever this person was, they’d been very stealthy. Stabbing someone in the throat was a bloody task. There would most certainly have been blood spatter on the clothing of the killer. I hadn’t noticed blood on any of the guests’ or staff’s clothing.
The only person I knew for certain who’d changed their clothes during the reception was Angela. She’d switched out of her dress into a pantsuit at one point. She’d said she’d spilled wine on her dress. I’d asked her to bring her dress in when she dropped Janelle off, but she’d forgotten and promised to drop it off tomorrow. If she forgot again, I’d send one of my deputies to her home to get it.
While I found it difficult to imagine Angela stabbing Archie in the throat, it wasn’t impossible. Although, she was the sort of woman who thought breaking a fingernail was a major catastrophe. Then again, jealousy and rage could turn people into monsters. But, to be honest, Angela didn’t seem the stabbing type. I could see her poisoning someone if she felt it suited her needs, but a knife probably wasn’t her weapon of choice. Either way, I needed to have her dress tested for blood.
I didn’t have the time of death from the ME yet but hoped to soon. I could, however, estimate a time of death based on when Archie had left the reception and when his body had been found. Judging by my superficial examination of his body, the lack of rigor mortis and the temperature of the body made it obvious the murder had occurred fairly close to the discovery of the body.
According to Janelle’s and Kobe’s statements, the killer wouldn’t have had much time to kill Archie. They’d also have had to stuff the body in the limo, which would have been no easy task. Especially without being seen. But unless someone had seen the murder and just wasn’t coming forward, the killer had managed it.
I ate a quick lunch at my desk, wolfing down a turkey sandwich Deputy Sam was kind enough to bring me. I washed it down with a can of Coke, and by the time I sat down to interview Thomas, I’d had so much caffeine, my hands were shaking. However, Thomas was so nervous I highly doubted he noticed anything about me at all.
“Thanks for coming in, Thomas,” I began.
He met my gaze. “Of course. It’s the least I can do.”
“I wanted to pick your brain about what you saw the day of the wedding.” I opened the notepad in front of me on the table, also pulling a pen from my pocket.
Thomas nodded. “I’ll tell you what I know.”
“The limousine wasn’t parked in front of the restaurant the entire day, is that correct?”
“Correct. The restaurant didn’t want it there. After I dropped off the wedding party, I parked the limo in the parking lot of Vinney’s. They don’t open until 5:30 p.m., and I knew I’d be moving it before that.”
“What time did you bring the limousine back?”
He squinted. “I think it was around 4:30 p.m. when Archie texted me to bring the car back. He said things were getting hairy and that he wanted to leave with Janelle before they got worse.”
“He texted you? Do you still have that text?”
“Sure.” He nodded and tugged his phone from his pocket. After pulling up his messages, he said, “It’s right there.” He pushed his phone across the table toward me.
