Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-seven

After the interview they made their way back to their rooms via the central courtyard. Katy Shipley was ensconced poolside on a lounger. She had a book in her hand. An ice-filled glass of some sparkling drink was on the table beside her. An umbrella shielded her from the sun. She glanced up and waved when she saw Amelia.

“You should join me,” she said. “Great day to read a book by the pool.”

“Maybe later,” Amelia said. “Working now.”

“Right,” Katy said. “How goes the photo project?”

“Still doing research,” Amelia said. “Enjoy the day.”

“Thanks, I will.”

Gideon waited until they were back inside their separate rooms and then he spoke from the connecting doorway. “Looks like you’ve got a new friend.”

“Who? Katy?” Amelia took off her sunglasses and set her tote down on the table. “She seems harmless. Pete Ellerbeck is a lot more interesting, if you ask me. By the way, I take back what I implied earlier about your lack of subtlety. You did a great job interviewing Ellerbeck today. Nice work.”

“I’m glad you feel you’re finally getting your money’s worth in a private investigator,” Gideon said.

“Definitely.” She decided to pretend she had not picked up on the sarcasm. Evidently he held a mean grudge. So much for trying to do the man a favor by diagnosing his phobia. No good deed goes unpunished. “Do you think he really does not know that Fulbrook was murdered in your room?”

“I think he told us what he believes to be the truth,” Gideon said. He used his cane to make his way to the one chair in her room. His jaw hardened a little when he sat down, but his stoic expression returned immediately. “His logic works. If Fulbrook was the arsonist it makes sense that he would have vanished after the fire. But the fact that some clothes were left behind indicates that’s not how it went down. No professional arsonist would be careless enough to leave anything behind in a motel room.”

“And we know that Fulbrook was murdered in your room. That leaves us with a lot of questions. Who killed Fulbrook and what happened to the body?”

“It’s likely two killers were involved,” Gideon said.

“Two?”

“It would have been easy for a lone killer to smuggle the body out the back door, load it into a vehicle, and then dump it. There’s a lot of desert around here. No problem digging a grave that was unlikely to ever be found. Alternatively, they could have hauled the body up into the mountains and tossed it into a canyon. But that leaves the problem of getting rid of Fulbrook’s car. It had to disappear.”

“I see what you’re saying. If there were two killers, one could have packed up the room and driven away in Fulbrook’s car while the other person used a second car to get rid of the body.” Amelia thought about that for a moment. “I wonder why they killed him.”

“Probably for the usual reason,” Gideon said.

“What is the usual reason?”

“Fulbrook knew too much. They were afraid he would talk.”

“Makes sense,” Amelia said.

She walked to the front window and looked out at the courtyard. Katy Shipley was no longer alone. A couple of other guests had joined her at poolside. They were all chatting amicably.

“See anything interesting?” Gideon asked.

“Looks like Katy Shipley won’t be spending the day moping around by herself.” Amelia turned away from the window. “She’s talking with some of the other guests at the pool. I’m so glad.”

Gideon’s brows rose. “You feel sorry for her, don’t you?”

“Grieving a divorce can be as traumatic as grieving a death. Some people say it’s worse because there’s no real closure the way there is with death.”

“Let me guess, you googled that?”

She sighed. “Yes.”

“Why? Did you go through a divorce?”

“No, my parents did.”

“It was not an amicable separation, I gather?”

“I doubt if there is any such thing.”

“Probably not,” Gideon agreed. “Well, that explains the book Shipley is reading.”

“You saw the title?”

“When Life Gives You Lemons: Ten Steps to Moving On.”