It’s true, I did. No one else could’ve convinced me otherwise, especially around Thanksgiving. You see, I hadn’t accepted that Paul and I were walking on eggshells back then. Even though I’m sure we were. I hadn’t accepted that he seemed more distant, more distracted whenever I tried to talk to him. In other words, I hadn’t come to terms that he was such a lowlife. Tough matters like cheating need to be seen up close and personal. Am I right?”
Gemma nodded. “I suppose.”
“Good,” Lydia began, taking a deep breath. “I say we move on. Seriously. From this point on, we never have to speak about that man ever again. Now that it’s behind us, what are you doing to catch Ben Zurcher’s killer?”
Zeb grinned. “I’d like to know that myself.”
Lando shifted in his chair. “As long as it doesn’t leave this room, I’m willing to tell you everything I know about this case.”
“Which isn’t much,” Gemma chimed in. “But the list of dead people keeps getting longer.”
“As it stands now, Jocelyn Williams is the prime suspect for all of them,” Lando revealed. “Except for the night the Copelands were murdered. Jocelyn has an airtight alibi confirmed by her roommates.”
“But it doesn’t mean Jocelyn didn’t coax someone into killing for her,” Gemma explained. “Which is our best theory yet of what happened. There was a fortune to gain. So no better motive than that.”
“I remember when Marissa had a major disagreement with Jocelyn,” Lydia put in. “Jocelyn has a nasty temper when she doesn’t get her way.”
Gemma's’s eyes narrowed to slits. “What did they argue about?”
“Oyster Landing. That subdivision out by Moonlight Ridge. Jocelyn already owned the forty acres that her sister’s farmhouse sat on. But Jocelyn wanted more. She got it in her head that she wanted to buy out every homeowner who lived in Oyster Landing. Marissa knew most of those people who lived there had nowhere else to go. Your grandmother fought her tooth and nail over that. She challenged Jocelyn and took it all the way to the town council. And you know what? The council turned Jocelyn down. Marissa won. I don’t think the woman ever forgave Marissa for it.”
Gemma traded looks with Lando. “Jocelyn’s mean streak just keeps popping up, doesn’t it?”
Leia pushed her plate away. “Now, wait just a minute, isn’t that about the same time Jocelyn made an offer on the town newspaper?”
“I forgot about that. I think you’re right. She wanted to buy the newspaper.”
“What year was this?” Lando asked.
Leia looked at her mother for confirmation. “About five years back. The same timeframe where she fought with Ben over a claim she’d made. She lost that round, too. That was before Ben retired as postmaster.”
Lando shifted in his chair. “I wonder if Jocelyn’s interest in Oyster Landing and buying the newspaper could’ve been what triggered Ben’s interest in who killed the Copelands?”
Gemma’s eyes widened. “I bet it did. Jocelyn has this irritating habit of rubbing people the wrong way. Jocelyn’s snotty attitude must’ve pulled Ben into the mystery.”
Lando scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “Yeah, and he started looking into the Copeland murders around that same time.”
“But all you have is speculation,” Zeb countered. “I’ve already said my piece about how tough it is to prove solicitation of murder without getting a confession.”
Gemma sputtered out a laugh. “Not this woman. My guess is that no one could trick her into ever confessing to anything.”
“Hard as nails, is she?” Zeb remarked. “And with her hefty bank account, she can afford the best lawyers in the state. Don’t forget that. Sounds like what you need is irrefutable proof. DNA or a very credible witness.”
“I don’t have either of those things,” Lando admitted. “And I’m not likely to get those unless the lab comes up with something new from one of the girls’ clothing or from any one of the newer cases, like Ben’s or Daniel Albrecht’s. Gemma’s right, though. Jocelyn has a lot of bodies stacking up around her.” He ticked off the names. “It all starts with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Trask. Then it’s Sandra’s entire family. Her husband, the late Eric Williams.”
“Wait,” Zeb noted. “Eric Williams? That wouldn’t by any chance be the hunter found in the national forest, would it? That guy was married to Jocelyn?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Because I remember that case. I have a file on it. Well, sort of. The man was found a few feet outside tribal jurisdiction at the northeast corner of the Reservation. Keep in