Page 57 of Whispers of Sin

“…leads me to believe that Rachel will be arrested for murdering Bella. You have no idea how much of a relief it is to know that she’ll be behind bars for the rest of her life,” Lorelei said from her place next to the large window overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. Not that one would know that a vast body of water was mere yards away from the building, given how dark it was outside. “I always told Bella to stay away from her. Robert, I can’t thank you enough for staying by my side after what happened to Bella. We’re in a good place now, right?”

Robert hadn’t been standing next to Lorelei. He’d initially been pacing back and forth, but he’d caught sight of Brook entering the pool area. A flash of anger crossed his features upon her hearing of the couple’s marital woes. Robert still had no idea that his wife was the one who’d snuffed out two lives.

“Boss,” Bit called out over the earpiece. “Theo is headed your way now.”

“Ms. Sloane, did you come to tell us that you’ve made an arrest?” Robert asked forcefully, as if she hadn’t overheard anything at all. “Lorelei heard someone say that the person in question was Rachel Lee. I find it very difficult to believe that a woman could have held down Bella and Piper while they were suffocating to death.”

Lorelei turned around slowly, keeping to her part. Her arms were crossed with one hand resting on her neck as if she were emotionally distraught. She was still clutching Richard’s white handkerchief in her fist. She was so confident in her plan to frame Rachel Lee that it hadn’t even dawned on Lorelei that her own residence would be searched via a search warrant. Technically, she would have been right under normal circumstances.

“There will be an arrest made very soon, Mr. Jameson,” Brook reassured him softly as she walked toward the end of the pool. She wouldn’t get too close. There was no telling how Lorelei would react once she realized that all her well laid plans had disintegrated into thin air. “Would it be possible to speak with your wife in private?”

With the door to the indoor pool closed, there were no sounds to interfere with the sudden silence. Robert’s curious gaze swung to his wife, while Brook was able to witness for the first time a slip in Lorelei’s façade. She’d curled her fingers into a fist with the hand that had been resting against her neck.

“I don’t see why that is necessary,” Robert refuted cautiously as he took a step toward his wife. “I was the one who wanted to hire your firm. It took some convincing, but Lorelei finally understood that our local police simply did not have the proper resources.”

Brook had maintained eye contact with Lorelei the entire time that Robert had his say. If she’d had any doubts that Brook had figured out who had murdered Bella Kadel and Piper Zimmer, those had also evaporated into thin air.

“Let’s be honest with one another, Mr. Jameson. You didn’t want your wife to have any more dealings with Detective Hartley.” Brook didn’t believe that she would need to use her firearm, but she made sure that the magnetic snap on her small purse had disconnected to allow for easier access. “Odd, isn’t it? After all, you’ve always expected Lorelei to turn a blind eye to your indiscretions.”

Robert’s quick inhalation was enough to cause Lorelei to step forward, but not in anger. She’d already taken care of the women who were a threat to her marriage, but Brook was reconsidering the reason behind Bella’s murder.

Robert’s previous words replayed in Brook’s mind.

Why would Lorelei have thanked her husband for staying after Bella’s death? The only reason for doing so was if he’d planned to leave the marriage over a year ago.

“Bella was merely a sacrifice, wasn’t she?” Brook had decided to dispose of any pretenses. “A sacrifice that you were willing to make, Lorelei.”

The entrance opened to the indoor pool area, breaking the stifling silence. Robert’s confused gaze drifted over Brook’s shoulder while Lorelei never broke eye contact.

“Are you actually going to stand there and accuse my wife of murdering her own sister?” Robert stepped forward, as if he expected Brook to retreat. “How dare you? We hired you and your firm to do a job that our local police couldn’t, and you attempt to shift the blame to Lorelei? Jordan clearly doesn’t know what type of people he has been dealing with, but you can make damn sure he will by the time I’m done.”

“Uh, Boss?” For Bit to interrupt such a precarious moment was significant. Brook in no way reacted to his next statements. “I know that you are kind of busy at the moment, but I thought you should know that a 911 call was initiated within the past five minutes. Apparently, the Jamesons’ house is on fire.”

Brook continued to stare at Lorelei, who in no way showed any concern that she might be escorted from the premises in handcuffs. She’d proven herself a formidable adversary, and Brook had underestimated the woman’s intelligence. Unfortunately, any and all evidence that could have tied Lorelei to the murders of Bella Kadel and Piper Zimmer were currently being turned to ash.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Brooklyn Sloane

December 2023

Friday — 11:06pm

“Ms.Sloane,itpainsme to think that you would believe I could hurt anyone, let alone my sister,” Lorelei practically whispered as she stepped forward. She slowly lowered her hand and slipped her fingers inside her husband’s so that they were intertwined tightly. It was as if she’d done so just to prove a point. “Robert, would you please take me home? I’m not feeling well.”

Robert didn’t hesitate to pull his hand away so that he could protectively wrap his arm around his wife’s shoulders. The way that Lorelei had spoken all her words in such a hushed tone signified the evil within. The sins of her past were there for all to see, but her husband seemed blind to them. It was as if his need to take care of his wife exceeded all common sense. Considering that his own mother had taken ill early on in his childhood, it came as no surprise that he thrived in moments like these.

“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to remain here for the time being,” Brook instructed without giving too much away. Lorelei would believe that she’d succeeded in destroying any evidence, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t another way to prove her guilt. “It’s come to our attention that there was a fire in your neighborhood. All entrances are blocked off for the time being. In the meantime, I think we’ll be more comfortable in the spa’s sitting area.”

“Do you really think that we’ll answer any more of your questions, Ms. Sloane?”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Brook replied evenly before making a suggestion that caught the man off guard. “Feel free to seek out your lawyer. I do believe that I saw him here earlier on the dance floor.”

“You didn’t seem to hear me the first time, Ms. Sloane. Neither one of us is going to answer your questions, so you might as well—”

“Either you answer my questions this evening without anyone the wiser or I’ll arrest your wife, make sure everyone catches the spectacle of such an embarrassment, and escort her to the police station,” Brook stated without hesitation. “Your choice, Mr. Jameson.”

Lorelei’s façade slipped briefly when her eyes narrowed and the corner of her lips lifted in scorn. Had Brook not been monitoring the woman’s facial expressions, she would have missed it…and the one weakness that could potentially cause their ability to successfully close this case.