He dropped his hand from Luke’s shoulder and climbed the porch steps to the foreman’s house.
“Oh, and one more thing, Luke. It might be a good idea for Megan to go back home. Now that June’s house is gone and her business along with it, she might want to join her niece in Houston.” Heath opened the screen door. “I’m sure once both women leave town, they’ll be safe.”
The man disappeared inside. Luke marched to his vehicle and got in, glancing at the house through his windshield. A curtain in the kitchen window fluttered. A pale face appeared, the sunlight winking off a silver necklace.
Karen Dickerson, Franny’s mother.
Luke raised a hand, but before he got it halfway up, the curtain fluttered again, and she was gone.
Thirteen
Two days later, Megan tapped a marker against the palm of her hand and studied the whiteboard in Luke’s home office. She’d made notes about Franny’s murder, her aunt’s accident, and the fire. Photographs of the scenes were held in place by magnets. A list of questions she couldn’t answer were written on the far right side.
“I have a theory about how Franny’s killer arranged to frame Wade,” Megan said. “But not a lot of evidence to support it.”
Luke frowned and leaned back in his chair. “Let me hear it anyway.”
“At some point during the party, the killer stole Wade’s phone and hid it. We know from Kyle that someone was with Franny. Either the killer returned to the house—like Wade did—or he never left.”
She pointed to a photo of the lake house. “There’s a back road that runs along the lake. If the killer thought ahead, he would’ve parked on this dirt path hidden in the woods. That way, it looks like everyone has left, but actually hasn’t.”
“Investigators looked at that road, but there had been a heavy downpour, so any tires tracks would’ve been washed away.” He nodded. “Okay, I’m with you so far.”
“He’s someone Franny knows. Maybe even trusts. He offers to help her clean up since the party left a mess.”
Megan pointed to the crime-scene photos. Several trash bags were open and placed in strategic areas around the downstairs. Paper plates and plastic cups spilled out.
“While picking up, the killer finds”—she used air quotes around finds—“Wade’s cell phone in the couch and Franny calls Kyle. Arrangements are made for my brother to get his phone. At this point, the killer knows he’s on his way, and he shoots Franny.”
She paused, gripping the whiteboard marker tighter in her hand. Franny hadn’t deserved what happened to her. Lord, help me bring her killer to justice.
She took a deep breath. “Wade comes into the house and sees Franny on the living room floor. He grabs his cell phone from the table in the entryway and bolts. My suspicion is the killer hadn’t anticipated him doing that. I believe he thought Wade would call the police and therefore become the number-one suspect.”
“When that doesn’t happen, the blackmail starts.” Luke was quiet for a long moment, his gaze flickering over the whiteboard. “It’s a good theory, except it doesn’t fit with the one motive we have. Neither Heath nor Chad were at the party that night. If Franny was killed over her relationship with Skeeter by one of her family members, then how did they arrange for Wade’s cell phone to be taken?”
Megan bit her lip. “Maybe we’re dealing with two people? Or our motive is wrong. Franny’s death may have nothing to do with Skeeter at all. It would help if we could figure out what evidence June had uncovered.”
Her hand drifted to the key hanging on a chain around her neck. Luke had made copies of the unidentified key from June’s key ring, and they each had one. They still had no idea what it went to.
“Franny’s missing journal is important,” she continued. “Her friends confirmed she was tight-lipped about any problems she was going through, just as Wade told us. It makes sense she would use the journal as an outlet, but if that’s what my aunt uncovered, I have no idea how.”
“It’s possible the evidence isn’t something tangible, but it’s a person. Like the woman who called you.”
“Do you still think it could be Karen Dickerson?”
He shrugged. “The alibis Heath and Chad provided are weak. The foreman and a couple of ranch hands saw them on the days in question but were vague about the time.”
“Even if they had a solid alibi, it doesn’t rule them out since we could be looking at two people.” She eyed the whiteboard. “And what about the missing evidence? It can’t be a coincidence the box that disappeared contained several important interviews.”
He smacked the table. “It’s been days, and I feel like we are right where we started with this investigation.”
“You’re doing everything you can.” She slid into the chair next to him and placed a hand on his arm. “That’s all anyone can ask.”
“It doesn’t feel like enough. I want to catch this guy, Megs.”
Something twisted perilously close to her heart. Hadn’t she had a very similar conversation with Grace?
Luke’s gaze lifted to meet hers. The sunlight coming in through the window played with his chiseled features, and her breath caught. There was pain swimming in the deep blue of his eyes, one she’d helped put there with her words and her actions.
“You didn’t do anything wrong, Luke. I shouldn’t have blamed you for Wade’s conviction. None of this is your fault. Or mine. It’s not even my brother’s, although he made some big mistakes. It was easier to be angry with you than to accept it wasn’t any one person’s fault. It was a perfect storm of decisions and choices that led us here.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“One hundred percent. There’s only one person to blame for Franny’s murder and that’s her killer.”
His hand slid over hers and warmth replaced the worry
