Mama was patting Pauli’s cheek and smiling at Ben.  “Bella, come here.”  Papa motioned to Lane and Jess.  “We’ve seen the news.  The little one was so brave.”  Both Mama and Papa Bellini were hugging Jess.  Mama patted Lane’s abdomen as she looked at Ben.  “Un Nipote.  I am so happy.” She pulled Lane into an embrace and kissed both her cheeks.

Jess smiled, yeah seventeen years ago you became a grandmother.  She still needed to get DNA from Ben and Jamie.

Adam Hunter came into the waiting room and nodded to Ben.  “I need to talk to Jess.”

Ben stepped next to him.  “Questions or statement?”

“A little of both, I guess.  A statement about the stabbing.  Some questions about Lila.  About the stalker, in the confusion with Lila, it seems he got away.”

Ben couldn’t believe his ears.  “You let him get away?  He stabbed my brother, he’s been following Jess around.  He was caught and you let him get away?”

“He was the least of my worries at the time.  I was busy shooting my partner and saving Jess’s life.”

Ben nodded.  He’d seen that online too.  “We can meet you at the station later if you want.”

Adam nodded.  Both he and Ben knew that he’d be on desk duty or administrative leave as soon as IAD got their hands on things.

“Yeah.  Meet me at the station.  Call me when you know what time you’ll be there.”  He handed Ben a card with his cell number.  “I’ll need a statement from your brother too.”

Ben took the card and nodded.  “Adam?  Thanks for saving Jess.”

Chapter 20

dead is dead

It was close to 9:00 p.m. when Jess followed Ben into the Overland Park police headquarters.  She’d been there a month ago, but she’d only been as far as the lobby, while her mother was questioned by Detectives Crane and Hunter in the murder investigation of Carol Anne Woods.  Carol Anne was an ex-girlfriend of Ben’s; and Lane had found her, dead, in the bathroom at The Club.  Jess and her mother had gone to The Club, expecting to have a quiet lunch; but Lane went into the Ladies’ room and found Carol Anne lying on the floor.

The Parker kids had dug into everything they could find about Carol Anne.  They’d discovered that she had returned to Kansas City to ask Ben’s brother, Tony, to be a sperm donor for her.  That day in the parking garage at the mall, everything had fallen into place, and Jess had deduced that Lila killed Carol Anne thinking she wanted Ben to father the child. Lila had been the last woman Ben dated before he and Lane got together.  They’d only dated very briefly, but Lila had been having trouble letting go.

As fate would have it, Lila had been the detective assigned to the case; and the minute Lane had said Ben’s name, Lila had decided to pin the murder on Lane.  Lila had seen a set of golf clubs she had recognized as her own in Lane’s garage and had gotten a warrant to search for them.  The search had been unsuccessful for two reasons.  First, the Parker kids, who were planning to play golf that day, had moved them into Jake’s truck the night before the search warrant was executed.  Since Jake didn’t live at home, his vehicle was excluded from the search.  Secondly, during the search, Lane had produced a receipt for the golf clubs showing not only when she bought them, but from whom.  Lila caught a break when Rochelle Jones had broken into Ben’s home and professed her undying love for him.  The break-in allowed Lila to question Rochelle and to drop the murder investigation.

Jess sat in the interview room with Ben.  She’d had bit parts on several cop shows, and so far, she’d always played the body.  This was her first time in an interview room; unfortunately, it was for real, not for a role.

Ben looked at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right here.”

Detective Hunter walked in and placed a recorder on the table.  He stated the date, his name, Jess’s name, and Ben’s.

“Ms. Parker, tell me the circumstances this morning that led to the shooting of Lila Crane.”

Jess glanced at Ben. “Joey Bellini and I had just left the mall, and a man was standing by our SUV.  The man began verbally assaulting me.  Joey told him to stop and he stabbed Joey.  I kneed the guy in the groin, smashed his head into my knee, and called 9-1-1.” She glanced at Ben again.

“Pauli Bellini, that is Dr. Bellini, arrived and attended to Joey; then you and Detective Crane arrived. The stalker thought I’d gotten married.  I told him I hadn’t married anyone, but that my mother had married Ben.  That’s when Lila got upset.  She thought she’d broken them up.  I told her that would be hard to do because Ben loves my mother and besides, they’re having a baby.”  She looked at Adam Hunter.  “Detective you were there.  You know what I said, what she said, what she did.  Do I need to go on?”

“Yes, I need a formal statement from you.  Someone from the review board will probably want to talk to you too.”  He held up his hand when she started to protest. “I know it’s all on video, and the video has gone viral, but please, just continue.”

“Detective Crane was upset.  She said if anyone were going to have Ben’s baby it would be her.  And that’s when I knew she’d killed Carol Anne Woods.”

Detective Hunter looked at her. “How did you know?”

“How could you not?  Carol Anne had told her former producer, Beth Morgan, that she had come back to Kansas City, from Denver, to ask someone to be a sperm donor.  She hadn’t told Beth who it was, but Carol Anne’s friend, Liza Conrad, knew it was Tony Bellini.  My brothers and I found out about all of this.  You and Detective Crane are cops for crying out loud.  How did you not know all of this?”  Jess paused and looked at Detective Hunter.  Poor guy, it wasn’t totally his fault.  He was probably being misguided by Lila.

“So I told Lila she’d killed Carol Anne for nothing because she, Carol Anne, wasn’t going to ask Ben to be the father.  She was going to ask his brother. Okay, I know I taunted her, but I’ve been running and hiding from a crazed stalker for days now and I had just had it with the whole lunatic thing.  That’s when Lila threatened to kill me, and you shot her to save me.  Like you said, it’s an internet sensation.”

“How well do you know Clyde Benson?”

Jess shook her head. “Who is Clyde Benson?”

“Based on the fingerprints we found on the knife at the scene, we believe he is your stalker.”

Jess nodded.  “Well, as far as I know, I had never even seen him before today.  But, I’ve been running all over L.A. doing interviews and public appearances, so it’s possible, even probable, that he’s been at some of them.  Someone and I assume it’s him, has been leaving me notes, gifts, and flowers for the last couple of weeks.”

“And where have you been since I saw you at the hospital and say 7:00 p.m. this evening?”

Ben held his hand up before Jess could answer.  “What does that have to do with the events from this morning, Detective?”

“We found Clyde Benson this evening.  He was dead with a stiletto heel protruding from his carotid artery.”

Adam opened the folder he had placed on the table earlier.  He pushed two photos toward Jess.

“I believe you threatened to, let me see, how did you say it, ‘show him what a real stiletto could do’ earlier today.”

Jess looked at the photos and turned to Ben.  Both had realized the shoes looked like a pair he’d gotten for her two months ago.  Only Jess suspected they didn’t just look like the ones he’d gotten her, they were the ones that had disappeared from her living room.  God, was it just two days ago?  The fucker had stolen her shoes, and then had gotten killed with one of them.  Damn it!  Those were her favorite shoes, and she knew there wasn’t a shoe repair shop on earth that would be able to get that bloodstain out.

“I’ve been with my family the whole time.  And, you know the paparazzi have been following me, so I’m sure someone has me on video at whatever time he was killed.”