“You’re certain it was Cecelia.”
“As certain as I can be. She said she was Cecelia. Her friends called her Cecelia.”
“Was Bethany Briggs one of the friends who hung out at Paradise with her?”
“Yes. I’d seen her photo in the paper. She was like Miss Nashville once. I couldn’t understand how they were friends. They were so jealous of each other.”
“Did Holmes ever talk to you about Cecelia or Bethany? Make any comments at all about either of them or their families?”
“He said he was intrigued by Cecelia. She was like him somehow, and that turned him on.”
The more she said, the angrier Finley became. Cherry could have told Finley this days ago. “Maybe Sophia Legard would still be alive if you’d told me this the first time we talked.”
“You don’t understand,” she argued. “I would do anything to protect my son.”
“Did you consider Cecelia one of his followers?” Finley was beyond pissed off, but she couldn’t risk pushing the woman too hard or she’d shut down. Or maybe worse—her husband would appear and shut Finley down. Right now Finley had some leverage, as the husband didn’t know. She did not want to lose her upper hand.
“She was infatuated with him. Bethany too. They followed around after him like he was a god. A lot of women did. He had that kind of draw.” She hugged her arms around herself. “He could talk people into things.”
“Then why would he kill Lance Legard and confess?” The more Finley learned about his so-called charisma and his following, the less sense what he’d done made. “How did a kid like Cecelia get him to do her bidding?”
“I don’t know. The only thing I can tell you for a certainty is that he is very, very dangerous. If he finds some way out of that prison, there won’t be anyplace anyone who talked to the police will be able to hide.”
“Is there anyone in particular who knew him especially well? Someone who might be able to help me put all the pieces together?”
“Cecelia. She was closer to him than anyone else.”
“She claims she didn’t know him and had no contact with him.”
“She’s lying. Even Lance said he couldn’t believe anything his daughters told him.”
Finley looked her straight in the eye and asked the question that really counted. “Did you or your husband hire or otherwise encourage Holmes to kill Lance Legard?”
“No! Elton was prepared to drag Lance into court and damage his reputation. But murder?” She shook her head adamantly. “He would never even consider such a thing.”
“Would you?”
“No. Of course not.”
“What about Sophia? Did you have anything to do with her murder?”
Shock claimed Cherry’s face. “No! I haven’t been in that house since . . . before.”
“But you have the security code to the property.”
“What? I had it when I worked for Lance, but they’ve surely changed it by now.”
Finley didn’t correct her. She’d only wanted her reaction since her name had been on Montrose’s list.
“If you think of anything else,” Finley urged, “I need to hear from you. I don’t want to have to show up at your door unannounced again, asking questions you should have already answered.”
“I will call. You have my word.”
Finley wasn’t convinced her word was worth much, but it appeared to be all she was prepared to offer at the moment.
As she drove away from the McMansion, she put through a call to Jack. “Can we meet at Olivia’s hotel? I need to bring you up to speed on my meeting with Montrose and my discoveries about Paradise. And it’s time we pushed Olivia a little harder.”
His answer was immediate and resolute. “On my way.”
Margaritaville Hotel
John Lewis Way South
Nashville, 8:00 p.m.
Finley and Jack arrived at the hotel about the same time. She climbed into the passenger seat of his vehicle and gave him an update on what she’d learned about the club called Paradise and the photo of Cherry with Holmes.
“Can’t be a coincidence that Holmes confessed to killing Legard,” Jack suggested, “and Prescott had an affair with Legard—one in which he was reportedly obsessed with her.”
“I’m with you,” Finley agreed. “There’s a big chunk missing, and Cherry is somehow involved in it.” She told him about the Holmes follower who’d let her know she was hot now.