Murder is Developmental (Susan Wiles Schoolhouse Mystery Book 5) by Diane Weiner

Author:Diane Weiner [Weiner, Diane]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cozy Cat Press
Published: 2015-11-14T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

That evening, Susan settled down with her laptop, determined to find out more about Shelley’s relationship with Dakota Hall. She also hoped to determine why Dakota had been convicted. Did Shelley know her husband was involved in something illegal? Did she have any involvement in it?

She googled Shelley White, then Shelley Hall. Couldn’t she have had a more original last name? There are tons of Shelley Whites and equally as many Shelley Halls. This is really frustrating. And time consuming. Finally, she narrowed it down and found the information, or rather the lack of information, on Shelley.

There’s nothing at all about her involvement in a swindling case, or any other cases. Nothing indicates she ever broke the law. She sat back on the sofa and shut her eyes. Then it came to her. It’s Dakota Hall I should be searching for!

It didn’t take long to pull up newspaper articles about Dakota’s case. The first article she read summed it up. Dakota Hall had forced his wife to cultivate a relationship with a wealthy widower, who at the time was in his sixties. His wife, referred to as Jane Doe in the article, pretended to be single, and developed a relationship with the widower, Charles Kensington. Dakota posed as the woman’s brother. Jane concocted a story about needing money to pay off a lien on her property. Then she talked Charles into investing in a vacation villa. She and Dakota pocketed all that money. On top of that, Charles Kensington spent a fortune buying Jane jewels and taking her on expensive vacations. Eventually, the well went dry and Jane disappeared with Dakota.

Mike came into the living room. “Hey, watcha doing?”

“You startled me,” said Susan. “Look at this article I found about Shelley and her ex-husband.” She turned the screen toward Mike, then summarized what she’d just read.

“I think I remember that case. I’m surprised you don’t. It was all over the news. The widower wound up hospitalized from the stress. Never got back on his feet.”

Susan skimmed the rest of the page. “Yes, it says that Charles Kensington was financially ruined.”

“Who is Jane Doe? Is she in prison too?”

“It has to be Shelley! And Jane Doe was never convicted. Maybe she ratted Dakota out in exchange for a deal.”

“There’s motive for you. In there with all those prisoners? Dakota could have made connections and gotten Shelley killed.”

“Poisoning, though?” pondered Susan. “Don’t hit men usually shoot their victims?”

“Not if they’re hoping to make it look like an accident. Or that it’s related to a recent poisoning at Shelley’s workplace.”

“I’ll call Lynette. Even if I do have to confess to going to the prison with Audrey. Thanks, Mike. You may be on to something.” She gave him an appreciative kiss, then called Lynette and told her what she’d found out. She braced herself for Lynette’s reaction to her going to the prison with Audrey as she tapped in her number.

“Why did you let Audrey talk you into going there, Mom?” asked Lynette after Susan explained the situation.

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