“But why kill Frank White?”
I nibbled on my lower lip. “I’m not sure. But Margo said that it was Lissa who’d informed her that Frank had been shot. I wonder if the fact that he was shot and didn’t die as a result of the fire was even common knowledge at that point.”
Cass started rummaging through the documents on the table. “You know, I saw something in here that caught my eye earlier.” He moved the burnt remnants around until he found what he was looking for. “Here it is. The notes I found on this page are handwritten notes by Dale Conover. He talks about a patient who has become obsessed with him. Lissa told us about a woman who’d become obsessed with Dale. I was able to track down a woman who I believed most likely was the woman Lissa had referred to. The woman I spoke to most definitely had a thing for Dale, but she also has an alibi. After speaking to this particular therapy patient, I came away with the impression that rather than being obsessed with her counselor, she really had more of a crush on the guy. A serious crush since she did profess to be in love with him and of him being in love with her, but I wasn’t picking up the Fatal Attraction vibe. If you read the parts of this handwritten report that aren’t damaged, the image that comes through is quite different from the woman I spoke to who simply seemed to have a misguided but normal crush on her therapist. These notes seem to describe a woman who has gone over the edge and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.”
“You think the obsessed patient Dale wrote about is Lissa.”
“Based on what you’ve just told me, it fits.” Cass got up and began to pace around the office. I also tended to pace when I had something to think through. I waited patiently while he worked things over in his mind. Eventually, he began to speak. “Let’s say that Lissa begins therapy with Doctor Conover for one reason or another. Over time, as therapy patients have been known to do, she falls in love with him. Unlike most doctor-patient infatuations, however, she takes it to the next level and creates a reality that supports her obsession. In her mind, she may even have had a serious and committed relationship with the man.” Cass stopped pacing but kept talking. “Based on his history with the other woman who professed to love him, it does appear he has initiated intimate relationships with at least some of his female patients, only to end things after a few weeks. If his experience with Lissa was similar, it stands to reason that she might have felt the need to support her obsession by creating a fantasy that was never real.”
“So as long as the love affair taking place in her mind was working, things were fine, but as soon as Dale threatened to stop treating her as a patient, she realized she needed to do something to cement her place in his life.”
Cass nodded. He returned to the desk and sat down. “Once she knew that you were interested in writing about her relationship with the man of her fantasies, she realized that if you wrote about their love affair and he died, she’d forever be the love he left behind.”
“That really is sick.”
“But it does make sense in a convoluted sort of way.”
“So how do we prove any of this?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. Yet. But I do think I’m going to do some more digging around in Lissa’s personal affairs. I had started to look at her as a serious suspect, but then Frank White died, and my focus changed. If Lissa knew Frank had been shot, maybe she was the one who killed both men.”
“I guess she might have known you were taking a close look at her as a possible suspect in Dale’s death and wanted to divert suspicion, so she killed someone else and figured the first thing you’d do would be to look for a link between the men.”
“Which is exactly what happened.” Cass looked toward the door. “You said Margo is at the craft fair.”
I nodded. “She’s helping Hope with the library book sale.”
“I think I’d like to stop by and ask her a few additional questions on our way out to grab a bite. If I can establish a timeline showing that Lissa knew Frank had been shot before it was made public that he’d been shot, that just might give me the leverage I need to get a warrant to search her house.”
Chapter 13
Margo was able to confirm that she’d heard about Frank being shot and killed on the morning of his death. She’d been at work as she normally was on a Friday morning. She’d decided to grab a Pepsi from the market, and Lissa was there when she arrived. The store was otherwise empty, so she initiated a conversation with the clerk as she checked out. That was when Lissa shared the news that Frank White had been shot and killed in his home. At the time, Lissa didn’t mention the fire, only the shooting. Margo told Cass that she found out about the fire later in the day.
“Wait,” I said. I looked directly at Margo. “You said that Lissa told you that Frank White had been shot on Friday morning?”
She nodded. “I guess it was around ten. I came into work at eight like I always do. I’d already had a couple of cups of coffee and wanted something cold to drink, which is why I went to the market.”
I looked at Cass. “I was in your office when you got the call about the fire. It was around lunchtime. I’d already been to the newspaper to speak to Dex and to the post office to chat with Wilma by the time I came in to meet with you. I don’t remember the time exactly, but it was at least eleven.”
Cass frowned. “So, what are you saying? Lissa shot Frank and then came into work, but at some point after speaking to Margo, she realized she might want to do more to cover her tracks, so she went back to the scene of the crime and set fire to the house?”
“That seems to be what must have happened. Either that or Lissa shot Frank, and then someone else set the fire, which would be absurd.”
“Agreed. I think I have enough for my warrant.” He looked at Margo. “Thanks for sharing what you knew with us.”
“No problem. Happy to help.”
“Remember not a word to anyone,” he cautioned. “The last thing we want is to tip Lissa off before we can get the warrant to search her property.”
Cass was going to be held up for much of the afternoon, so I decided to go home and check in with Paisley and Gracie. When it looked like Cass might have time for lunch, I’d arranged for Gracie to pick up Paisley and bring her over to the house to work on the sewing room. Now that it appeared that Cass would have to cancel lunch, I supposed I’d just go home and write the articles I’d gathered notes on that morning. It was while I was putting the finishing touches on my craft fair article that it occurred to me to wonder if Lissa drove a blue sedan. I remembered that Cass had told me that one of Mayor White’s neighbors had told Cass that they’d seen a blue sedan on the street just before seeing the smoke from the fire. I figured Cass would be busy, but I also figured it wouldn’t hurt to text him. He texted back and confirmed that Lissa did indeed have a blue sedan and that he’d found large cans of gasoline that he believed she’d used to accelerate the fires in her garage. He’d picked her up and was about to head back to his office for the interrogation. I had to admit I’d like to be a fly on the wall in that room, but I guess I’d have to get the details from Cass after the fact.
“Gracie helped me to make a cute top.” Paisley held a simple sleeveless pullover with no snaps or buttons up in front of her. I could see it was a good pattern to use to start her off. There were a few seams to sew, but nothing complicated and nothing requiring pleats or elastic.