Jamie Quinn Cozy Mysteries Collection

Chapter 19

It was a relief to know Dr. Simon was fighting for Adam, too, and I said so. Then, I told the doctor about my search for evidence to eliminate Adam as a suspect and how I believed that Adam, himself, held the answers. If only we could discover why he felt so guilty...

"Exposing the roots of the trauma is one of the goals of hypnotherapy," Dr. Simon said. "You and I have the same goal, but for different reasons." He smiled and it made me feel like all was not lost.

"Would I be able to watch your hypnotherapy session with Adam tomorrow?"

He shook his head. "I"m afraid not. Although his mother authorized me to speak freely with you, your presence would distract Adam. The observer would influence the observation in this case."

Then it came to me! I may not Tweet, but I wasn"t a total Luddite when it came to technology. "Could I watch it over Skype?"

Dr. Simon laughed. "Of course! I"m sorry I didn"t think of it, myself."

After we discussed the details, I asked him the question that had been gnawing at me. "Is there anything you can do to protect Adam if they press charges next week?"

He answered so quickly, he"d clearly thought about it already. "If intense hypnotherapy doesn"t work, I"m recommending residential treatment for Adam. The best facility for him is located in New York and he"ll need to stay for at least 30 days."

I grinned. I"d been right to trust Dr. Simon.

I was driving home when my cell rang. It was Duke.

"Miss me yet, Darlin"?"

"I don"t know how I lived without you all this time." I said, laughing. "Did you patch things up with your girlfriend?"

"Let"s just say, she was very happy with me before the night was over."

"WTMI, Duke! Hearing about your s*x life wasn"t part of the deal--" I almost blew through a red light, I was so busy yelling at Duke.

"Fine fine, don"t get your panties in a twist. I have news for you."

"That"s great! Whatcha got?"

"Well, I checked into your boy, Spike. Turns out his real name was Melvin Duane Shiprock. What kinda name is Melvin?" Duke was snickering.

"This, from the guy whose name is Marmaduke?"

Marmaduke"Marmaduke Broussard was my granddaddy"s name and he was the best damn sports fisherman in Shreveport, Louisiana, I"ll have you know."

"So, you"re Marmaduke Broussard, the Second?"

"Third, actually."

"Well, I"m sure your granddaddy would be proud of how you"re carrying on the family legacy," I said, trying not to laugh.

"You speak the truth, young lady. Now, back to Melvin, I talked to the guy who owns the diner next door and he told me our guy ate breakfast there the morning he died."

"And that"s interesting…why?"

"He didn"t eat alone. He was with another dude and they had a huge argument."

"Wow! But how do we find out who it was?"

"Way ahead of you, Darlin". I showed diner guy pictures of Steve Michaels--that"s the music teacher with the restraining order--and also the Zombie guys. And he ID"d one of "em."

"You"re killing me, Duke! Who was it?" I had just pulled into my driveway, but I stayed in the car.

"Darryl, the guitarist for The Zombies."

"Great job, Duke! You"re amazing!" This was turning out to be a good day.

"There"s more, Darlin". Spike"s credit card shows he charged a hotel room the night before he died, so I went there and talked to the front desk clerk. Turns out Spike had a lady friend with him. "

Terrific…

Terrific…"I showed the clerk the one picture I had, and guess what?"

"I"m afraid to ask…" I said.

"It was Rosa Michaels, Steve Michaels" better half."

"So, now we have two suspects? Daryl and Steve?"

"Yup. And, according to Spike"s cell phone records, he talked to both of them the night before he died."