PART III Chapter Fifteen
Kate and Megan went back to the work of solving homicides. Megan had to find a close friend of Shannon who would know about her married man. The list was coming together to include four close friends. There were plenty of names Shannon had occasional contact with but only four she talked with regularly.
Megan presented Kate with a list of female friends to start interviewing.
Megan said, “I hope this will make up for not being able to identify the married man.”
Kate was surprised there were only four names on the list but on additional thought it made sense that Shannon wouldn’t have time for more than four. She needed to begin interviews as soon as possible to find the identity they sought. Kate jotted the names and numbers in her notebook to be able to use later. Alana Miller, Dakota Moore, Bella Taylor and Kaylee Anderson were written inside the pages of Kate’s notebook along with their phone numbers and addresses.
Kate made calls to arrange interviews with the people on the list that Megan gave her. Kate made her first interview with Bella Taylor. Bella was not only a friend to Shannon but also a neighbor who lived across the street. Kate hoped that Bella may have seen things from her vantage point that would give some insights into Shannon’s private life.
Kate arrived at Bella’s house and recognized their crime scene across the street. Bella invited her in and offered her a seat in her den. Kate thanked her for her hospitality and took a seat where Bella had pointed.
Kate said, “Thank you for talking with me. I just want to try to solve the murder of your neighbor.”
Bella replied, “I want to help in any way I can, just ask.”
Kate asked, “Has Shannon ever mentioned a man she was seeing, one who is married?”
Bella answered, “You must be talking about Mr. BMW. She told me enough that I knew what was going on, but I didn't know his name. I have seen his car and I have seen him from a distance.”
Kate asked, “Was there anything unusual about the guy that would separate him from everyone else?”
Bella replied, “Like I said, I only saw him from a distance. He never stayed very long. He would show up, she would greet him at the door wearing a robe and it looked like nothing underneath. My guess is the robe wasn’t on very long. He came back out less than an hour later and was still zipping his pants up.”
Kate said, “How romantic. It sounds like Shannon was selling herself short.”
Bella replied, “Shannon told me they had an arrangement. She said it was a friend with benefits situation but it appeared to me she wasn’t getting much of a benefit out of it. Shannon said it was all she wanted and had time for.”
Kate said, “So Shannon never mentioned his name?”
Bella answered, “She said it was for his protection. She didn’t want him to get in trouble. All I know is he drove a silver BMW X1. He was very successful and I think that was an attraction for her, although she was successful too.”
Kate asked, “Did you consider yourself a good friend of Shannon?”
Bella replied, “We would gather at one of our houses for drinks and just drink and talk.”
Kate inquired, “In your talks, her boyfriend’s name never came up?”
Bella responded, “It never came up. She was very serious about keeping his name a secret. I am very certain her name was never mentioned by him either.”
Kate asked, “Did you ever talk about that relationship with her, maybe express your opinion about what was going on?”
Bella answered, “The first time I saw him over there, I asked about him after he left. She explained the situation to me about how she didn’t have time for actual dating or a relationship. I think she was trying to convince herself. I often saw a tear in the corner of her eye.”
Kate said, “Sounds like she would have liked having a relationship but opportunity never presented itself.”
Bella responded, “I think that was exactly it. She had built her career and seemed to have made it to where she wanted professionally, but her personal life was missing a few things for success, not the least of which was a single man.”
Kate thanked Bella for her help and gave her the card and speech to call if she thought of anything else. There would be more friends to interview but Kate didn’t have very high hopes of discovering any information she wasn’t already aware of.
Kate left Bella’s house and went directly to Dakota Moore’s house. She was a friend in Shannon’s contact list but it wasn’t clear how they knew each other. Kate would want to establish that to determine how valid Dakota’s information would be. Kate noticed when she parked on the street, it was a nice middle class home.
She followed the sidewalk past the well-manicured front yard and rang the doorbell. It was a few moments before the front door was opened, indicating the occupant had some distance to cover to arrive at the door. The mid-twenties girl who opened the door, introduced herself as Dakota Moore. Kate showed her badge before making her own introduction and Dakota invited her to have a seat on a couch just a few steps inside the house.
Kate started with general questions to form a background of how the friendship started. Dakota explained that Shannon had been a college friend. They had both been in the same sorority, but she confessed that Shannon was much more ambitious. Dakota settled for marrying a successful car dealer while Shannon worked on her own career goal.
Kate asked, “How often did you talk to Shannon?”
Dakota replied, “I talked to her several times a week, either in person or phone. I envied her career somewhat, but she seemed to envy my family as well. I guess it is the grass being greener on the other side.”
Kate inquired, “Did she ever talk to you about a man she was seeing?”
Dakota answered, “You mean the married man I suppose. She never mentioned him to me but it was common knowledge around the rumor mill. I think she felt bad about it, especially with me because I had a husband and she felt like she was settling for scraps. I kept telling her she was worth more than to let herself be used by some man.”
Kate questioned, “Did she have a response to your concerns? Did she seem embarrassed at all?”
Dakota replied, “No she didn’t seem embarrassed at all. She always insisted she was using her married man just as much as he was using her. She said it was all she wanted or needed but I always had my doubts. She just said we had different wants out of life.”
Dakota offered Kate a cup of tea but Kate wasn’t much of a tea person. If it was a shot of Jameson Kate would have to think about it for more than a second. Kate and Dakota talked throughout the afternoon but it became apparent that Dakota didn’t know much about Shannon’s dark secrets. Dakota told Kate that her husband had sold Shannon her Buick Encore. Kate related the story of Shannon’s body being found in the car.
Kate made a note of the car sale and also made a note that Dakota’s husband might be placed on her interview list. After additional questions it appeared that Dakota had insisted that her husband make Shannon a good deal on the car and Dakota was present during the negotiations. It was even more important that she noted Dakota’s husband did not own a BMW. He only bought General Motors cars and never any other make, except in the used car trade-in lot. Dakota told Kate that most of the used cars were shipped away and sold at auction.
Kate had spent more time with Dakota than she intended to but Dakota gave her the feeling she was lonely and wanted to talk. The hours spent talking with her hadn’t yielded any usable information. She learned that Shannon may have wanted more out of life but it wasn’t information that could be used in court, it was speculative and couldn’t be proven in court. Shannon wasn’t able to collaborate whether she wanted more out of life.
Kate knew that Dakota viewed her friend as someone who hoped to someday have a relationship and family. Kate also knew that may not necessarily be true. Dakota could be reflecting her own feelings of giving up her own career dreams and settling for a relationship instead.
Kate had been one who had gone after a career instead of a relationship. Kate loved being a detective even though having Megan was the happiest moment of her life. Megan becoming a work colleague was an even happier moment.
Kate thanked Dakota for sitting and talking with her and gave her the card and the speech about calling if she thought about anything else. Kate left thinking that Dakota had a nice home for someone in her twenties. She didn’t expect that from many of the people she talked with. She was off to her next interview.