AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Penny looked at her hands. “Not really.”
“Did he tell you what suddenly changed in his relationship, then?” The cop clicked his pen on and off, on and off. “Why he was suddenly going to divorce his wife after all these years?”
Penny stared at him. Watched the click click click until finally he got the picture and stopped.
“He said he was getting older and realizing that life was too short to remain unhappy.”
“Eliza made him unhappy?”
“He said he stayed with Eliza because it was easy. They were comfortable together. But he wanted to find the one true love of his life.”
“And I suppose you thought he was talking about you?” The cop clicked the pen once, but at the look on Penny’s face, he halted abruptly. “You being the love of his life, I mean?”
“I’m not an idiot.” Penny glanced at the table, feeling the color crawl up her neck. “I know this sounds stupid to you, but it’s more complicated than you can ever know.”
“Did you love Roman?”
“Look, I thought I did, but I was wrong. Now, is there anything else?” Penny winced as a wayward baby heel poked her in the ribs. She carefully dug a finger into her belly, easing him into a gentler position.
“Can I get you anything else, Ms. Sands?” he asked. “If you’re in need of a break, we can always pause for a moment.”
“I’d rather finish up and go home.”
“Then I’ll make this brief.” The detective bowed his head and pulled his notes closer. “I’d like to go over your timeline once more. You met Mr. Tate last summer in June. Sometime in July or August, you began to see him romantically.”
Penny stared back as he looked up at her questioningly.
“When did you…” He cleared his throat. “When was your child conceived?”
“Sometime in July.”
“Around the time you began seeing Mr. Tate.”
“That’s what I said.”
“Does Mrs. Tate know you’re pregnant?”
“It’s pretty hard to miss, don’t you think?” Penny shifted her bulk. “I’ve been friends with Eliza since Marguerite Hill’s launch party at the Pelican Hotel.”
“Tell me more about the party.”
“How is that relevant to the investigation?”
“Were you there on the invitation of Eliza Tate?”
“No,” Penny said. “Roman invited me.”
“When did you more formally befriend Eliza?”
“A few months later, I guess. She asked me to be part of her book club.”
“Let me get this straight: you agreed to be in a book club with your lover’s wife?”
“I hadn’t realized it was an affair. I already told you that. Roman said he was on good terms with his wife…or soon-to-be ex-wife.”
“When did you find out that Mr. Tate had no intention of separating from his wife?”
“I still don’t know that. Maybe he did intend to separate from Eliza. How should I know what really went on in Roman’s head? I only know what he told me, and he sure as hell didn’t tell me the truth.”
