Treacherous Secrets novel Chapter 24

Harold shrugged. "Beats me."

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" Damon bellowed from the doorway.

Janice held up the warrant. "We have permission from the judge to find all your jewelry."

"I don't wear jewelry," Damon snapped.

Harold picked up a set of handcuffs with a gloved hand. "Oh really."

Damon snatched them from his hand. "Give me that." Damon shoved the cuffs back in the box. He looked at the warrant they had. "This warrant is for jewelry not anything else."

"No," Janice said calmly, "but we can look anywhere we think jewelry might be located"

Damon held up his hands. "Fine."

Janice noticed the white ring of a tan line around Damon's pinky where a ring had been before she saw the wedding ring. "So, no jewelry, not even a wedding ring?"

He took off the wedding ring and handed it to her. "All yours."

"And what about the ring that had been on your right pinky?"

Damon looked down at the digit as if it were an ugly tumor. "I lost that one a few weeks ago."

Harold looked at Janice and raised an eyebrow. They both knew he was lying. "Where do you think you lost it?" Harold asked.

"In Atlanta," Damon said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Janice pursed her lips and studied him for a moment. His dark brown eyes hid any emotion as he stared at them coldly. He was very muscular. His light blue button-down short-sleeved shirt stretched over his chest and arm muscles and was tucked into his tan slacks. "Was there somewhere in particular in Atlanta where you might have lost it?" she asked, knowing he was going to give her a vague answer.

He shrugged smugly. "I was in a lot of places."

"When, exactly, were you in Atlanta?" Harold asked.

"Exactly?" Damon said in a bored tone. "I was there for a week the week before last."

"Well," Harold said, "If you remember where you might have lost the ring, be sure to give us a call."

He handed Damon his business card. "I think we're done here for now," he said to Janice.

Janice looked at Damon. "We would appreciate it if you would keep yourself available for further questioning."

"Am I a suspect?" Damon asked coolly.

"You are a person of interest," Janice answered equally as coolly.

"Unless a judge orders me to stay in Nashville, I will continue with business as usual and you can call my secretary if you want to set up an appointment with me." He turned and walked out of the room.

Janice and Harold looked at each other. "Pretty cool for having just lost his best friend and lover," Harold commented.

"That's what I thought too."

They left Damon's room to see him talking to Carol in a low tone in the hallway. She was clearly not happy about what he was saying. She glanced in their direction and then said something curtly to him. He turned and looked at them and then walked off.

"Problems?" Janice asked.

"Kenton Jenkins was murdered. Where were you last Saturday morning around two in the morning?"

"What?" She gasped and put her hand to her throat. "Kenton was murdered?"

"Yes," Harold said, still holding his notepad. "Where were you at two in the morning Saturday?"

"I was in Louisville at a Derby Fest party, I have several witnesses who will testify that I was with them," Barbara answered, clearly shaken by the news.

"Barbara!" Carol cried. She ran to Barbara and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank God you're here."

"I just got your text from a few days ago, I had lost my phone," Barbara said, hugging Carol. "Why didn't you tell me Kenton had been killed?"

"I didn't want to tell you over the phone," Carol said.

"Where are you going now?" Barbara asked, looking at Janice who was standing behind Carol.

"I have to go get the jewelry I have in a lock box at the bank for the detectives."

"Do you want me to wait here for you?" Barbara asked.

Carol looked at Janice. "Would it be okay if she rode with us?"

"Sure," Harold said, thinking that it would give him time to question the woman about this investment deal that apparently had gone bad.

Janice gave him a questioning look, but he just nodded toward the car. Fortunately they were in Harold's large black SUV instead of Janice's small, fuel economy car. Harold held the front passenger side door open for Carol and Janice sat next to Barbara in the back seat. They left the house following Carol's directions to her bank.

Harold looked in the rearview mirror at Barbara. "Mrs. McKinsley, you mentioned an investment deal you had with Mr. Jenkins. What happened with that?"