Free Mattress Mart Murder by Kayla Michelle Page A

dead, you inherit his company.”
    “His company?  I was there with him every step of the way, through the good, bad, and very ugly.  The company has always been just as much mine.”
    Chloe managed to rile Delia up even more than she expected.  Delia practically flew off the handle.  Things were getting explosive.  Maybe a little too much so.  Delia was full of rage.  Chloe would have to proceed with caution. 
    At the same time, it turned out Delia wasn’t quite done yet.  “How dare you come to my business and insult me.  I should…”
    She stopped herself before going completely off the deep end. 
    Chloe tried to egg her on.  “You should what?”
    Delia flipped the script.  “You should be going.  I have work to do.” 
    Delia turned around to go back into the building. 
    Chloe saw her chance slipping away.  She had to do something. 
    “Don’t you have something better to do than work on a day like this?  Like maybe planning your husband’s funeral arrangements?”
    That got Delia’s attention like never before.  She whirled around in a rage.  “Who do you think you are?”
    “I’m just a woman who is trying to find your husband’s killer.”
    Delia looked closer at Chloe.  “Wait a minute.  You were part of the lineup this morning.”
    Chloe nodded.  “I’m the only one with a verifiable alibi, unlike you.  Not only is your alibi flimsy, but have plenty of motive for wanting your husband dead.”
    “Not that it’s any of your business, but I didn’t kill him.”
    “That’s right.  You were at home.  What did you do all night?”
    “I answered the police’s questions.  I don’t have to answer yours,” Delia insisted. 
    “You should though,” Chloe reasoned. 
    Delia folded her arms.  “Why?”
    “Your answers weren’t enough for the police to take you off their list of suspects.  If you truly didn’t do it, you should help me bring the killer to justice.”
    “I’m going to leave this to the professionals.”
    “There’s no reason to be this evasive, unless you have something to hide.  And let me tell you, secrets have a way of coming out eventually,” Chloe said. 
    “If you want to find the killer, you should be talking to Jennifer Carter right now,” Delia suggested. 
    “What makes you so sure of that?”
    “Some people are just bad apples, and she’s rotten to the core.”
    That kind of statement begged for a follow up. 
    Just as Chloe opened her mouth to reply, Delia shut her down. 
    “I have to get back to work now,” Delia said. 
    Delia then closed the front door of the mattress mart and locked it before Chloe was able to get a sentence out. 
    Chloe sighed and vented to herself.  “That could have gone much better.”

 
    Chapter Seventeen
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chloe decided to go after Jennifer Carter next.  Not only had Delia Diamond thrown her under the bus, but after being recently fired, Jennifer was most likely an emotional mess.  That made it the perfect time to try and wring information out of her.
    Chloe was hoping she wouldn’t have to confront Jennifer at home.  That was the worst case scenario.  So many things could go wrong.  First, Jennifer could just refuse to answer her door.  Even if she did open up, at the first sign of trouble she could slam the door in Chloe’s face. 
    Luckily, Kristina Miller was able to track down on social media that Jennifer was at her favorite java joint in Dennis Port.  This was a perfect set up for Chloe.  A public place was ideal to question Jennifer.  Even more, it would allow Chloe to sneak up on Jennifer. 
    When Chloe arrived at Java Jake’s, she did a quick scan of the place.  It was hopping.  Almost every table was full. Most of the customers were busy sipping their lattes with their heads buried in their smartphones or laptops.  Everyone was busy talking, just to their electronic devices instead of each other.   
    Jennifer was no different.  She was so focused