The Cedar Savages by Bill Friedrich

Author:Bill Friedrich [Friedrich, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-11-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter twenty-four

Deputy Stassin spent the morning revisiting his plan to catch Francine’s killer. He reviewed all the statements from the people at the crime scene and kept coming back to one key element. Everyone except Jeff Koehler and Robert Curtis could account for their whereabouts when the shots were fired. Robert was a suspect because police procedures always focused on the husband or fiancee. Jeff Koehler was a suspect, too, because he lacked an alibi, and Stassin just had a hunch about him.

As far as the mystery person leaving the crime scene, only Jeff Koehler supposedly saw them. Seemed like a pretty good way to divert attention away from a suspect. The dogs picked up some kind of scent, but it could have been the scent left by Koehler when he staged the crime scene. Stassin didn’t intend on getting sidetracked by the so-called “mystery witness.” He remained focused on his two main suspects, Robert and Jeff.

Stassin returned to the crime scene for his first stop that morning. He’d learned from previous cases that taking a second look at the scene often proved worthwhile. Sometimes, after reviewing the available evidence, an investigator gets a different perspective during a return visit. At 8:30 a.m., Stassin arrived in the parking lot and walked to the spot where they’d discovered the body. When he arrived, he was surprised to see another person in the area. As he got closer, he recognized Raney Wilson. When Stassin spotted her, he realized she appeared to be crying.

“Ms. Wilson, I’m surprised to see you back here.”

Raney turned abruptly and tried to hide her tears with a Kleenex. “Oh, Hi deputy. I felt really sad this morning and wanted to come over here and say goodbye to Francine. I know her body’s gone, but her spirit still feels present in these woods. I remembered last night, in all the confusion, we left a tripod and a ladder here, so I figured I’d grab them this morning. I hope I’m not in the way of your investigation.”

“Not at all, Ms. Wilson. I’m just trying to get another look at the scene to piece together what happened. Since I have you here, how quickly did you and the others find the body after the shots?”

“Only a few minutes, Deputy.”

“Where was Jeff Koehler when you discovered it?”

“Somewhere nearby because he arrived just a few minutes later.”

“So he could have been anywhere because nobody saw him. Right?”

“Now, wait a minute, Deputy. Jeff Koehler is a kind and wonderful man. He loved Francine and would never hurt her.”

“Interesting choice of words, Ms. Walker. He loved her. Could there have been any jealousy on the part of Jeff because Francine got engaged to Robert?”

“I don’t think so. Not the kind of love you’re thinking. Jeff is dating Dr. Cunningham from the clinic in town.”

“Maybe so, but stranger things have happened. Did Jeff and Francine ever travel together out of town overnight?”

“Well, yes, a few times. They went to some art fairs together to sell Jeff’s photographs.

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