Page 40 of Peach Cobbler Confessions
Jade laughs. “Oh, Lottie, it’s apparent they’re both very into you. If Dane was half as interested in me, I could have tolerated a lot more. Anyway, Dane always had a side girl. And this month’s flavor was Sammy something or other. She was there that night, too. I saw her slap him. She probably killed him, too, for all I know.” She glances to the floor and glowers at it. “I could have killed him.”
“Right,” I say. “But it’s not like you could get a gun into a venue like that. I mean, they had metal detectors at the entry.”
She shakes her head. “I heard the cops were allowed to keep their guns so long as they showed their ID. Maybe the killer faked his credentials?”
“Or hers,” I muse. After all, the butt of a gun was sticking out of her purse when she dropped it. I spot the same blue hobo style purse sitting on the counter against the wall, and just above it is a framed picture of her and what looks to be Dane. “Hey, is that a picture of Dane?”
She glances back. “Sure is.”
“Would you mind if I looked at it?” I ask as I glide across the room and right through Collette.
“Watch where you’re going, lady.” Collette glides up next to me and observes the picture as I pick up the heart-shaped frame. It’s a picture of Jade and Dane on some tropical beach. “That’s the rat.” She snorts. “But I really do think he loved me. Hey? I wouldn’t be here if he didn’t, right?”
I give a slight nod her way and her entire countenance lights up at the thought.
She nudges me with her elbow and I feel it. “Do you really think this girl could have pulled the trigger?”
I shrug, pointing down at Jade’s purse.
“You want me to look inside?”
I point to the floor and she nods.
“Got it. Go take a seat. I’ll make sure all heck breaks loose in less than five seconds.”
“Would you look at this?” I say as I give the picture to Everett. “Your old friend looked as if he was having the time of his life.”
Jade is about to say something when Collette dumps the entire contents of Jade’s purse on the floor and causes lipsticks and pens alike to scatter to the four corners of the office.
“What in the world?” Jade bends over to start scooping things up and I land on my knees in an effort to find the murder weapon. The metallic blue butt of a gun peers out from under the desk and I quickly pick it up.
“Ah-ha!” I say, holding it up victoriously before I grimace at the item in my hand. “What the heck is this?” Sure, it has the butt of a gun, but the barrel is much shorter than Ethel’s and something isn’t quite right about it.
“Oh, that.” She takes it from me and pulls the trigger, causing a flame to emit from the front. “It’s just a lighter. It was my father’s. My mother gave it to me a few weeks ago and I just haven’t taken it out of my purse yet. He just passed, and having this with me, as silly as it sounds, feels as if I have a little bit of my daddy.”
Tears come to my eyes, and I blink them away.
“It doesn’t sound silly at all,” I say, quickly retuning all of her things to her purse before finding my way to my seat once again. “I get it. I’m sorry about your loss. You’ve really had a hard time as of late.”
She closes her eyes a moment and nods. “I’ll power through it. Not that it’s easy, but I need to work. Life goes on, as cruel as that sounds.”
Noah leans in. “Jade, who do you think could have done this to Dane?”
She shudders before warming her arms with her hands.
“I was just talking to Detective Fairbanks a few days ago.” She nods his way. “And I told her that I think maybe Kent Noble had something to do with it. Did either of you know Kent as well? He and Dane went way back.”
Both Everett and Noah shake their heads.
Everett tips his head. “We just met that night. What does Kent do?”
She gives a weak laugh. “Same thing Dane did—stick his hands into too many fires. Dane owned Caper Productions, and Kent was his attorney and his investor. The three of them were always in cahoots about one project or another.”
“Three of them?” I ask.
“Ridge Porter as well. I’m telling you, and Dane would tell you, too, if he was here, signingUnsolved Mysteries Tonightwas the best thing that had ever happened to Dane. And, of course, I’m the number one fan of the show. I’ve seen every episode at least ten times.”
I offer a weak smile. “Which was your favorite? I’m sort of anUnsolved Mysteries Tonightjunkie myself.”