Wicked Ways: Death at the DuMond (A Cozy Witch Mystery Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

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    After a few minutes, the officer returned with Elliott DuMond. He was pale and had a dazed look on his face. Elliott was clearly in shock and still processing all of the information. Charlotte Fox was with him. She and the officer helped steady Elliott. They walked him down the hallway into the lobby.
    Gibbs introduced himself and expressed his condolences. “You have keys to this maintenance closet?”
    “Uh, yeah,” Elliott stammered. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a key ring. He thumbed through several of them, then handed the keychain to Gibbs.
    “I’m going to need to get into the office as well,” Gibbs said.
    “Sure, no problem,” Elliott said. 
    Gibbs unlocked the door to the maintenance closet and pulled it open. Inside the closet there were mops, buckets, tools, cleaning supplies, mechanical parts. Pretty much everything you'd need to keep a building running.
    Charlotte stood next to Elliott, rubbing his back and consoling him. Her eyes were wet with tears, but she kept herself together very well.
    Gibbs scoured the maintenance closet. After a few moments, he emerged holding a pair of brown leather work boots. There were bloodstains on the toes and on the soles. The pattern seemed to match those of the bloodstained footprints in the parking garage. “Go find that maintenance man.”
    “You mean, Jake?” Charlotte asked, surprised.
    “Yes, ma’am,” Gibbs said.
    “Apartment 105,” Charlotte said, growing stern.
    Gibbs nodded at the officers, and they rushed off to retrieve Jake.
    I looked to Bancroft. He shrugged.
    The two officers returned a moment later, dragging Jake into the lobby.
    “What’s going on?” Jake asked.
    “These your boots?” asked Gibbs.
    “Yeah,” said Jake.
    “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” Gibbs said. The two officers sprang into action, handcuffing Jake.
    “I didn’t do anything,” Jake grunted. He struggled with the officers as they escorted him out of the building. “Would somebody please tell me what’s going on?”
    “You’re going to arrest him because you found a pair of bloody boots?” I asked, incredulously.
    Gibbs’s face tightened. “Young lady, in my experience the simplest explanation is often the correct one. I’ll bet my 401(k) that the blood on those boots matches the victim’s. And I guarantee his fingerprints will be all over that wrench.”
    “But that doesn’t mean he’s guilty,” I said.
    “I’m not in the business of determining guilt or innocence,” Gibbs said. “If  a grand jury thinks there’s enough evidence, they’ll bring an indictment. If they don’t, he’ll go free.”
    “It seems pretty cut and dry to me,” Charlotte said. “I always got a bad vibe from him.”
    “You’re still going to collect statements from the other residents, aren’t you?” I asked.
    Gibbs’s face grew red, and the veins in his forehead started to bulge. He had definitely had enough of me.
    “I think it’s open and shut. What more do you want?” Charlotte asked.
    “I want proper procedure to be followed,” I said.
    Charlotte huffed.
    “She’s right,” Elliott said. “What if he had an accomplice? We need to be thorough.”
    “Why on Earth would Jake kill Mrs. DuMond?” I asked.
    “I have every intention of doing a thorough investigation,” Gibbs said. “Rest assured, Mr. DuMond, I will bring your mother’s killer to justice.”
    “Please, call me Elliott. I think of my father when you say Mr. DuMond.”
    “I can take a statement from you now, or I can come back later after you’ve had a moment,” Gibbs said to Elliott.
    “I guess now is as good a time as any,” said Elliott. 
    “Would you like to do this somewhere a little more private?” Gibbs asked, clearly trying to get away from me.
    “We can do it right here, I don’t have anything to hide,” Elliott said.
    Gibbs frowned and shot me a sideways glance. Charlotte