Last Dance in Little Leaf Creek (A Little Leaf Creek Cozy Mystery Book 22) by Cindy Bell

Author:Cindy Bell [Bell, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

“Iwasn’t at the dance studio. I didn’t do it. I didn’t kill him.” Hailey backed away from Cassie. “Is that what you’re accusing me of?”

“I’m not accusing you of anything.” Cassie held up her hands.

“Someone said they saw you at the dance studio the night Tyler was killed.” Tessa took a few steps forward.

“What?” Hailey gasped. “No one saw me. That’s a lie.”

“A lie because you were so careful not to get caught?” Tessa asked.

“No, it’s a lie because I wasn’t there.” Hailey looked between them. “You two aren’t here to shop at all, are you? I just lost the love of my life, and now you’re trying to make me lose my job, too.”

“Hailey, we’re not here to hurt you.” Tessa met her eyes as her voice lowered. “We’re here to help you make the best decision you can for yourself in this mess that you’ve gotten into.”

“The best decision I can make for myself is to tell the two of you to leave.” Hailey curled her upper lip into a sneer. “You thought you’d come in here and I’d just confess to murder?”

“We’re trying to get to the truth. If you cared about Tyler as much as you claim, you’d want to see his murderer behind bars. We’re on the same side.” Cassie studied the annoyance in the woman’s expression. “Isn’t that what you want, too?”

“What I want is for Tyler to be alive.” Hailey looked away from Cassie as her eyes filled with tears. “What I want is for none of this to have ever happened. If only…” Her voice trailed off as she shook her head.

“If only what?” Cassie softened her tone. “What could you have done?”

“I’d been trying to get him to talk to me, to just listen for a few seconds, to realize what he was throwing away. Maybe if I’d gotten through to him, maybe if I’d tried harder, he wouldn’t have been at the studio without me and vulnerable. Maybe none of this would have happened.” Tears ran down Hailey’s cheeks as she looked back at Cassie. “Maybe I could have saved him.”

Startled by the grief in Hailey’s eyes, Cassie took a step back and stumbled over her words. “Hailey, there’s nothing that you could have done.”

Tessa stepped in front of Cassie. “Did you know someone was after him?”

“I didn’t say that.” Hailey squeezed her eyes shut.

“I need you to be straight with me. Tell me what you know. Was it Jed? Did he tell you how angry he was at Tyler? Did he tell you that he planned to hurt him?” Tessa asked.

“No, he didn’t. This is too upsetting.” Hailey picked up a tissue to wipe her eyes. “Please leave.”

“We’ll leave.” Cassie spoke up before Tessa could question Hailey further. “We just have one more question.” She looked straight into her tear-filled eyes. “Where were you the night that Tyler was killed?”

Hailey winced. “I was with him.” Her voice strained under her words. “I was with Jed when I should have been with Tyler.

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