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“A strange coincidence, though, don’t you think?” said Harriet as she eyed the girl with a touch of suspicion. “First she finds her dad’s body and now this Jared Zmuda guy? What are the odds?”

“Slim,” I agreed.

“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence,” said Brutus.

“And I’m sure it’s not,” Harriet snapped.

We followed Odelia and Rose out of the club and to the car. And soon we were on our way back to the house. Arriving there, Odelia proceeded to finish preparing the spaghetti and even though the girl said she wasn’t hungry, Odelia insisted she eat a little. And as soon as she took a first bite, she was wolfing down the entire plate.

“Looks like shock has stimulated her appetite,” said Harriet, still suspicious of the young woman.

“He sent me a message, you know,” said Rose as she pushed her plate away.

“Who sent you a message?” asked Odelia, who’d also managed to empty her plate in record time—a clear sign that shock can act as a stimulant with some people, and an appetite suppressant with others. Both these women clearly were in the first category.

“Jared. Or at least I think it was him. He said to meet him at the club. That he knew who killed my dad. That’s why I was there. And then when I arrived he was dead.”

“Can I see the message?” asked Odelia. Rose handed over her phone. “Unknown number…” she muttered.

“He was murdered, Odelia,” said Rose adamantly. “By the same person who murdered my dad. Jared knew who the murderer was and they killed him before he had the chance to talk.”

“Are you sure it was him that sent this message?”

“Who else could it be? He was the only one there—who else but the person sending that message knew I was meeting him?” When she saw that Odelia wasn’t immediately agreeing with her, her eyes blazed. “You don’t believe me, do you?Again.”

“The thing is that I’m not convinced it was murder, Rose. It could have been an accident. Jared trying to lift a weight that was too great for him, and being crushed to death.”

“It was murder!” Rose said, and shoved her chair back and got up. “I’m going home,” she announced, and grabbed her backpack from the floor. “Younever believe me!”

“No, I want to believe you, Rose,” Odelia said. “But the evidence just isn’t there.” Just then, Odelia’s phone belted out its tune again, and she quickly picked up with a curt, “Yes, Chase?” She listened for a moment, then her eyes slid up Rose’s face.

“What is it?” asked the girl, looking tense.

“All right,” she said. “I’ll tell her.”

“Tell me what?”

Odelia disconnected and said,“You were right, Rose. It was murder.”

“See? I told you!”

“The weightlifting machine was sabotaged. When Jared unhooked the safety, the cable stabilizing the weight snapped and the entire thing came crashing down on him.”

“Oh, my God,” said Rose, bringing a distraught hand to her face.

“They found a pair of wire cutters on the floor near the machine. They’re dusting them for prints right now.” She hesitated. “They want you to come down to the police station, Rose. They want to take your fingerprints.”

“My fingerprints! But why?”

“Just a routine thing,” Odelia assured the girl. “So they can eliminate you from their inquiries.”

“They don’t think… I did it?”

“No, of course not. They just want to make sure the prints on the wire cutters aren’t yours. You didn’t touch anything while you were there, right?”

“No, I didn’t,” said Rose. “I didn’t touch a thing. I saw Jared lying there, dead, and the first thing I did was call you.”

“Good. You did good, Rose.” She placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “Everything will be just fine. You’ll see.”

“Murder,” said Rose. “Which means the killer must have known Jared wanted to talk to me.” She shivered. “Which means he might have still been there—watching me.”

They were both silent for a moment, then the doorbell rang and Odelia crossed the living room to let the officer in.

“So it was murder,” I said quietly.

“Yeah,” said Harriet, “and I think we all know who did it, don’t we?”

And she directed a hard look at Rose Wimmer.

Chapter 25

“Do you think Mr. Knight did it, Max?” asked Dooley as we rode in Odelia’s car to the police station. Rose was quiet in the passenger seat, looking subdued and a little scared, and Dooley and I were in the back. Harriet and Brutus had decided to stay home. Gran had arrived and had lured them next door with the prospect of some delicious snacks to be had.

“I don’t know, Dooley,” I said. “Why would a banker kill one of his clients? Especially a client who’s in the process of borrowing a great deal of money so he can launch a chain of fitness clubs? It’s not exactly a sound business tactic. I’m sure business schools everywhere advise against that type of practice.”

“He probably killed Rose’s dad and somehow Jared Zmuda found out and threatened to tell Rose,” said my friend.