“I don’t know. Maybe it was just a chance thing that the parade was happening at that time. Jane, did Olivia ever mention that she was having trouble with anyone?”
Jane shook her head. “No. Olivia was a people-pleaser. She was really the sweetest person I’ve ever met.” She chuckled sadly. “I used to complain to my mother that she was being nice just to make me look bad.”
I sighed. “That’s what I remember about her. She was a really nice person.”
“Well, she was nice, but she wasn’t perfect. I’m not saying that to try to make you think differently about her, but she was a normal person, and she did get into trouble sometimes. When she was younger, I mean.” She blinked and her mouth made a straight line.
“Don’t we all? Was there anything in particular that stands out to you?” I wondered if something was on her mind and if she would tell me.
She shrugged. “She had a recent breakup with a guy that didn’t go so well. Aaron Cox.” She rolled her eyes. “He wasn’t what you’d call a winner. I told Olivia he wasn’t worth her time, but he was cute, and she hadn’t dated for a few months, so she went out with him.”
“Aaron Cox? We went to school with him?” Jane was a year older than I was and I remembered her better than I did Olivia, other than the time we were lab partners. Jane was on the homecoming court her senior year and was more popular than her sister had been. Aaron was the new owner of the haunted farmhouse.
She nodded. “Yes, that’s right. He wouldn’t give Olivia the time of day when they were in high school, but he suddenly became interested in her last year.”
“How long did they date?”
“Almost a year. They broke up in June. She suspected he was cheating on her, but he wouldn’t admit it.” She sat back on the sofa and picked up a throw pillow, holding it in her lap. Her eyes teared up again. “Honestly, if I had my suspicions, I’d have to think he might have had something to do with her death.” She got a faraway look in her eyes now and she sniffed.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because when she confronted him about cheating, he got angry and grabbed her by the upper arm. He left a bruise on her. I told her to run. Run just as far and as fast as she could from him.” Her eyes took on a look of steel now. “The police need to have a long talk with him. He did it. I know he did.”
“Have you mentioned this to the police?” I asked gently.
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to them yet, but I told my parents they needed to either tell the police about it or I need to talk to them. I just haven’t done it yet.” She clenched her hands into fists. “I guess I should go to the station and talk to someone today.”
“Why did Olivia think Aaron was cheating on her?” An orange tabby sauntered into the room and headed over to me, rubbing up against my leg. “Hi there, boy.”
She smiled. “That’s Punkin. He was Olivia’s. She loved that cat. I can’t imagine what he must think now that she hasn’t come home. But to answer your question, Olivia saw some texts on Aaron’s phone. She confronted him and he said she was misconstruing what was in the text. Please. No one misconstrues a text. It says what it says.”
I thought about this. Lots of people made mistakes, allowing jealousy to get ahold of them. “Olivia still lived at home?” I scratched Punkin’s head and was rewarded with loud purring.
“She moved back home in February after she and Aaron had a fight. She kept saying she was going to move out of my parents’ house, but she hadn’t done it yet.”
“So, she and Aaron had a fight bad enough that she moved out in February, but they didn’t break up until June? Why did she stay with him if the fight was that bad?”
She shrugged. “I told her to end it. At first, she said they had broken up, but then she was back with him. She just never moved back into his apartment with him. I wish she had left him alone and not gotten back together with him.” She looked off into the distance.
“What do you think would cause him to kill her now? If he did it, I mean?” Punkin jumped up on the couch and I scratched his nose.
She looked at me. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m jumping to conclusions. But I just have a feeling about it. When she broke up with him, she said she kept running into him all over town. I told her he was probably stalking her. That’s what it sounded like to me, anyway.”
“You might be right.” A relationship gone bad could lead to murder. It was a shame. If she had seen the signs ahead of time, her death might have been avoided.
She sighed and looked down at her hands. “I wish I had insisted that she leave him for good. Cut all ties. I don’t know why I didn’t do it.” She looked up at me and a tear ran down her cheek.
“Jane, you can’t force someone to do something they don’t want to do. Especially where relationships are concerned. I do think you need to speak to Ethan though. He’s on the case and he’ll interview Aaron, I’m sure. The important thing is for you not to blame yourself for something you had no control over.”
She nodded and grabbed for a tissue from the box on the coffee table. “I know.
