Page 68 of The Murder Club

Zac nodded. “A neighbor called the Grange police station this morning to say that the back door to Pauline Hartford’s house was left open and that she was afraid there might be a thief inside.”

Dom silently tucked away the suspicion that the door had been deliberately left open. If Kevin was killed, the murderer wanted the body to be discovered.

“Do you know what Kevin was doing there?” Dom asked.

“The current theory is that he went to steal the cash Pauline had in her safe.”

“Why would he have to steal it?” Bailey looked confused. “I thought Kevin was the only heir.”

“The will hasn’t gone through probate, so technically it isn’t his yet,” Zac explained.

“Are they sure he was trying to steal anything?” Bailey was obviously resisting the urge to leap to conclusions.

“He was found with a thousand dollars in cash stuffed in his pockets, along with Pauline’s pearl necklace and wedding ring.”

Dom shared a quick glance with Bailey. “Pearl necklace?”

“Yes. They suspect it’d been left in the safe with the money,” Zac answered.

Dom returned his attention to the sheriff, reminding himself that Bailey was right not to jump to conclusions. It seemed beyond belief that Kevin’s death could be a coincidence, but stranger things had happened.

“It’s not illogical to assume that Kevin would be looking for some easy cash if he was a drug addict,” he forced himself to point out.

“True, but he overdosed there. Which means he already had the drugs he needed. Why not get the cash before you meet with the dealer to get a larger supply? Or go steal the cash after you’d used up what you had?” Zac’s jaw tightened. He was a man who’d already endured the horrors of a serial killer. He understood the dangers of turning a blind eye to potential clues. “It seems odd that he would go there to steal the contents of the safe and then risk exposure by leaving the back door open and staying around long enough to shoot up.”

“You’re expecting reasonable behavior from a drug addict,” Dom said.

Zac refused to back down. “There’s also the fact that his car is missing.”

“The BMW?”

Both men glanced at Bailey in surprise. It was Zac who asked the question on both their minds.

“How did you know he drove a BMW?”

“The nosy neighbor.”

Zac paused, as if considering her explanation. “I wonder if she’s the same one who called in the open back door. It might be interesting to talk to her.”

“Could he have sold it?” Dom stubbornly demanded, still determined to keep an open mind.

“That’s the opinion of the Grange police chief,” Zac conceded. “He believes that Kevin sold his car to get his drugs, then walked to Pauline’s house to search for more cash. While he was there, he decided to get high and accidentally overdosed.”

“He didn’t think it was more than a little weird that Pauline died of an accident just a few days before her grandson overdosed in her house?” Bailey asked in disbelief.

“Two unfortunate incidents are easier to accept than a convoluted game of murder,” Zac retorted. “And honestly, I don’t blame them. Grange is bigger than Pike, but the police department still runs on a shoestring budget. It’s hard to sacrifice manpower and resources to follow vague suspicion when you have a backload of crimes that need your attention.”

Dom understood that Zac wasn’t making excuses for his fellow law officers; he was just stating the hard truth. Plus, the police chief of Grange didn’t have full access to all the facts.

Not like Zac . . .

Dom abruptly frowned. “How did you get involved? It’s out of your jurisdiction, isn’t it?”

Zac glanced toward Bailey. “I contacted the Grange Police and told them about the texts you received after Pauline died. I didn’t mention you by name, just said I was looking into a case that involved a potential stalker and possibly worse.” Zac reached into the pocket of his jacket to pull out a baggie with a familiar object inside. “He came to the office this morning to bring me this.”

Bailey stiffened. “A phone?”

“Kevin had two phones on him when his body was discovered. One that appeared to be his primary phone and this one.”