Page 93 of Trick of Light
Hooper gave a grudging nod.
“So why did you kill Amelia?”
“She was a fucking bitch,” he spat. “She bought our house and made us live in that goddamn shack.”
Barnaby started toward Gabby, wanting to protect her, but Tamara held him back with a touch on his arm. Gabby was on a roll with this interview, and he was handcuffed, after all, with Chen standing right over him.
“I needed a victim, and who cared about an old hag?” Hooper continued. “I just wanted people to think Tamara did it.”
“And was that so you could get revenge because of Fiona?”
Barnaby had to give Gabby credit for keeping her composure during this impromptu “interview” with such an unstable and unhinged man. She was really good at her work—he’d known that, but now he was seeing it in action.
“That witch had no right,” Hooper growled. “What about me? What about what I wanted? Nobody cared because I was a nobody.” He said the word “nobody” with a deep, bitter despair.
“A nobody? Did someone tell you that?”
“They didn’t have to. In this world you don’t count for anything unless you have money. We had money from the Carmichaels, then they cut us off.”
“Is that because they found out about you and Fiona?” Gabby’s sympathetic tone brought another torrent of words from Hooper.
“I loved her. She loved me. I refused to dump her like they wanted. She tried to break up with me but I knew they were controlling her. After we had to sell the house, after I graduated, I begged my family to stay longer. But then John Carmichael paid my father to move us to Alaska. That’s power. That’s money.”
In the silence, the sound of waves lapping against the rocks could be heard, and from the direction of the road, the drone of engines. The cavalry was arriving. Gabby’s time was almost out.
“No wonder you wanted to find that treasure, then,” she said softly. “If anything could make a person somebody, it would be finding that treasure.”
Hooper stared at the ground, his jaw flexing.
Chen hauled him to his feet. “Let’s get this show on the road. I’m sorry to tell you, but that pirate treasure isn’t going to save your ass.”
The life came back into Hooper’s eyes. “You really found it? Where? What’s in it?”
“Guess you’ll have to listen to some Dirty Rotten Bastards to get the scoop.”
40
Two weeks later
* * *
“On this podcast, you really get your money’s worth.” In the podcast’s new digs at the newly reopened Bloody Eyeball Café, Gabby adjusted the mic. Next to the kitchen, Sally had carved out a small studio space with soundproofing. The island life was getting more and more tempting.
Gabby continued. “We solved three mysteries, maybe even more. First, the murder of piano legend Amelia Burnhauser. As of this moment, Detective Ron Hooper, formerly known as Keith Garner, has confessed to poisoning her with ricin derived from castor beans. He was responsible for the other poisonings on this island as well. To help us through this web of revelations, we have a special guest with us. Barnaby Carmichael has graciously agreed to set aside his hatred of the media and talk to me today. Hi Barnaby.”
Barnaby shot her that wicked grin that always—and would always—hit her right in her soft spot. “Hi beautiful.”
She made a scolding face at him, though she didn’t really mind a random compliment from her new boyfriend.
“One thing we’ve been trying to understand is why Amelia left her house to Tamara. That one thing made everyone even more suspicious of her.”
“Tamara and I have gone over that—she’s my grandmother, by the way, I’m not sure if you’ve covered that.”
“No.” Gabby had been careful not to give away anything so personal. She smiled at Barnaby and took his hand. “Go on.”
“Amelia didn’t trust many people. Tamara was one of the few. She didn’t have any children and her siblings were already gone. We believe it was pretty straightforward. She only trusted Tamara.”
Gabby found herself nodding in agreement. Not everything had a suspicious nefarious motive, although in this line of work, it was easy to forget that.
