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Authors: Leighann Dobbs
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What I’d discovered about Jenny Sparks was interesting. Was it possible that Jenny was in this as deep as Nathan? A lot of clues were piling up fast and I needed to get my thoughts organized, so I pulled out my tablet and opened up my mind-mapping application.
The mind-mapping app helped me organize my thoughts. I usually made a separate ‘bubble’ for each suspect and clue. Then I could connect them with lines and move them around electronically on the screen as well as put them on a timeline so as to get a picture of the actual crime.
The first bubble, I made for Nathan’s flimsy alibi. He claimed he had gone to their cabin which was conveniently secluded. There was no one around to indicate otherwise but also no one to corroborate it. I needed to figure out how to prove his whereabouts that night.
The second, I marked for the crime scene. I didn’t have the advantage of knowing about any of the evidence the police had found. Was there some way I could find out more about the crime scene on my own? I made a note to try to talk to one of the neighbors. The houses on Lake Street were set far apart, but maybe I could find someone who had seen something going on in the backyard, or maybe seen Nathan or his car there that night.
My third bubble was labeled Jenny Sparks. She was in on this somehow—her behavior was too suspicious for her not to be. Plus Evangeline had suspected she was having an affair with Nathan—who I put in the fourth bubble. Had she used one of the tickets that Nathan had purchased? But she couldn’t have, because the tickets were for next week and she had left with luggage this morning. I made a note to have Artemis check all the transportation databases to see if he could find out where Jenny had gone.
Was it possible that Jenny was behind this on her own? I had gotten the sense that Nathan was telling the truth, but he could be an accomplished liar. Why would Jenny kill Evangeline and then leave? If she wanted Nathan all to herself, it didn’t make sense that she would leave.
I doubted Jenny would have another motive other than to get Evangeline out of the way. She wouldn’t benefit from the money directly so she had to be in on it with Nathan—he was the only one who would benefit from the insurance policy … but Nathan was already rich. Why would he need more money?
Which reminded me of Evangeline's suspicions about Nathan having trouble at work—bubble number five. She'd said something about 'moving' money which sounded like embezzlement to me. Barrows Investments was a big company with lots of people's money.
So far, there was no hint of any wrongdoing at the company, so how could I find out more about it? I needed to talk to someone inside the company. His brother? No, I doubted the brother would say anything about it and he’d already ‘met’ me as Lexy’s granddaughter. I was sure he’d become suspicious and clam up right away if I started trying to get information out of him. I’d have to ask around and see if I knew of anyone who worked at Barrows Investments who I could talk to.
The other thing that was niggling at the back of my brain was how Nathan had claimed Evangeline and Jenny were friends. That didn’t match with what Evangeline had told me. Who would be friends with someone they thought their husband was cheating with? And pay for facials and 'girly' stuff? But why would Nathan lie about that? Clearly, he must have had an ulterior motive. Maybe it was just to throw us off track so we wouldn’t suspect the affair. And maybe that’s why Jenny left—they were trying to distance themselves from each other so as to deflect suspicion from their murderous partnership.
Gerta had mentioned one friend who came to visit Jenny. Was that friend Evangeline? And if they were friends, why wouldn't Evangeline have mentioned it to me?
Maybe I should take another trip over to Jenny’s apartment building and talk to Gerta—she seemed like the type that kept an eye
What I’d discovered about Jenny Sparks was interesting. Was it possible that Jenny was in this as deep as Nathan? A lot of clues were piling up fast and I needed to get my thoughts organized, so I pulled out my tablet and opened up my mind-mapping application.
The mind-mapping app helped me organize my thoughts. I usually made a separate ‘bubble’ for each suspect and clue. Then I could connect them with lines and move them around electronically on the screen as well as put them on a timeline so as to get a picture of the actual crime.
The first bubble, I made for Nathan’s flimsy alibi. He claimed he had gone to their cabin which was conveniently secluded. There was no one around to indicate otherwise but also no one to corroborate it. I needed to figure out how to prove his whereabouts that night.
The second, I marked for the crime scene. I didn’t have the advantage of knowing about any of the evidence the police had found. Was there some way I could find out more about the crime scene on my own? I made a note to try to talk to one of the neighbors. The houses on Lake Street were set far apart, but maybe I could find someone who had seen something going on in the backyard, or maybe seen Nathan or his car there that night.
My third bubble was labeled Jenny Sparks. She was in on this somehow—her behavior was too suspicious for her not to be. Plus Evangeline had suspected she was having an affair with Nathan—who I put in the fourth bubble. Had she used one of the tickets that Nathan had purchased? But she couldn’t have, because the tickets were for next week and she had left with luggage this morning. I made a note to have Artemis check all the transportation databases to see if he could find out where Jenny had gone.
Was it possible that Jenny was behind this on her own? I had gotten the sense that Nathan was telling the truth, but he could be an accomplished liar. Why would Jenny kill Evangeline and then leave? If she wanted Nathan all to herself, it didn’t make sense that she would leave.
I doubted Jenny would have another motive other than to get Evangeline out of the way. She wouldn’t benefit from the money directly so she had to be in on it with Nathan—he was the only one who would benefit from the insurance policy … but Nathan was already rich. Why would he need more money?
Which reminded me of Evangeline's suspicions about Nathan having trouble at work—bubble number five. She'd said something about 'moving' money which sounded like embezzlement to me. Barrows Investments was a big company with lots of people's money.
So far, there was no hint of any wrongdoing at the company, so how could I find out more about it? I needed to talk to someone inside the company. His brother? No, I doubted the brother would say anything about it and he’d already ‘met’ me as Lexy’s granddaughter. I was sure he’d become suspicious and clam up right away if I started trying to get information out of him. I’d have to ask around and see if I knew of anyone who worked at Barrows Investments who I could talk to.
The other thing that was niggling at the back of my brain was how Nathan had claimed Evangeline and Jenny were friends. That didn’t match with what Evangeline had told me. Who would be friends with someone they thought their husband was cheating with? And pay for facials and 'girly' stuff? But why would Nathan lie about that? Clearly, he must have had an ulterior motive. Maybe it was just to throw us off track so we wouldn’t suspect the affair. And maybe that’s why Jenny left—they were trying to distance themselves from each other so as to deflect suspicion from their murderous partnership.
Gerta had mentioned one friend who came to visit Jenny. Was that friend Evangeline? And if they were friends, why wouldn't Evangeline have mentioned it to me?
Maybe I should take another trip over to Jenny’s apartment building and talk to Gerta—she seemed like the type that kept an eye
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