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“It’s still a good point,” Jack said. “No one went in or out while we were watching until White arrived. We arrived thirty minutes before she did. Someone had to have set up the gas, poisoned the water, whatever happened, before then.”
“Still no word on forensics?” Mom asked.
Jack shook his head.
“We owe our client a report,” Mom said, “but without more information, any report would be vague. I don’t want to be party to damaging someone’s reputation without just cause. I’ll hold them off for twenty-four hours.”
“I want to know why Monroe didn’t tell his wife about passing out,” I said. I often talked to myself when working through problems. Maybe it would be nice to have a partner, but that wasn’t going to happen. This case was a fluke, a one-off.
“Yet, you don’t think he’s screwing around,” Tess said.
“I haven’t almost since I started. The wife had some compelling reasons to believe that he was, all standard clues—not where he said he’d be, shift in personality, secretive. But after I saw nothing within seventy-two hours, I started thinking that she made the whole thing up—I only have her word that he lied to her.”
“Why would she do that?”
“My first thought once I figured he was faithful was that she wants him to be cheating because of their prenup—she gets a lot more money if he strays. Maybe she figures all men cheat, therefore if she has him followed, she’ll catch him. Then I realized after last night that the woman likes attention,” I said. “Maybe he’s not giving her the attention she thinks she deserves and she’s trying to get a reaction from him. Or...” I stopped as a new idea popped into my head.
“Or she’s accusing her husband of doing what she herself is doing,” Mom said.
That was exactly what I’d been thinking. Sometimes, Mom and I were on the exact same wavelength. It made the last three years of tension that much more miserable.
“It’s something like that,” I said. “I don’t know what’s going on with her, but she wasn’t completely truthful with me. It’s like a game to her. Last night, she wanted to meet in public. At Beverly’s, of all places. The first time we met was also in public, but a coffee place far from her house, little chance of being recognized.”
“Beverly’s is definitely not incognito,” Tess said.
“Exactly.” I shrugged. “Whatever she’s thinking or planning, I’ll check out Monroe’s meeting tonight.”
“Want company?” Jack said.
I almost said no, then shrugged. Hanging with Jack was always fun. “Sure.”
Mom said, “We need to find Jennifer White. And I’m going to pay Miriam a visit.”
I laughed. “Mom, she’s not going to tell you anything. She’s more likely to talk to me than you.”
Mom obviously didn’t believe it.
“At a minimum,” I continued, “I’m the one who saw Frank Sanchez—I know Frank. I’ll zoom in on the photo I took and ask her what the hell.”
It was clear my mom didn’t want me to do it, but she slowly nodded. “Very well.”
As if she could have stopped me.
Mom left to take a call. It was clear to me that we had nothing else to discuss, so I headed out with a quick goodbye. The meeting hadn’t been as bad as I’d thought, but lingering would make me uncomfortable. And honestly, this whole situation was depressing.
I was supposed to be part of Angelhart Investigations. I was the experienced investigator, I had helped build the business—and then slam. The proverbial door shut in my face.
As I was walking out, my cell phone rang.
“Hey,” I answered as I stepped outside.
“Annie arrived safely in San Antonio,” Rafe said.
“She wasn’t supposed to make contact.”
Damn, damn, damn.
Any contact with her old life put Annie in jeopardy.
