Page 36 of Dead Man's Alibi

“But Jules picked Honor’s Edge because she was so impressed with your track record.I know it was your employee who handled her case, but… I guess the only reason I’m talking to you is because she thought you guys could do something for her about Michael.”The woman sneered when she said the man’s name.“So maybe you can do something aboutthis.”

“I want to,” Sam said earnestly, feeling only a little badly it was for her own personal reasons.“I really want to.Which is why I called you again.I hate to harass people who are grieving, but we recently learned that Mrs.Hyatt went to the police about a perceived threat.We’re trying to follow that story, see if it leads us somewhere.”

Olivia nodded.“The investigator who works for you suggested she do that.”Clearly the woman didn’t know Nate was a suspect.

Or Sam’s fiancé.Which Sam figured worked in her favor, even if it made things a little tenuous.She didn’t want the woman to feel like she couldn’t trust Sam.

“I also encouraged her to go to the police when she kept complaining about it, but I’ll admit…” Olivia inhaled shakily.When she spoke again, her voice broke.“I didn’t believe her.It sounded like she was… I don’t know.I didn’t believe her and now she’s dead.”

Sam wasn’t much of a touchy-feely sort, and she wasn’t here to assuage this woman’s guilt when she had people in her own life who felt the same guilt, but she felt so compelled by the woman’s grief that she felt like she had to reach out and touch the woman’s arm.Offer something.“I’m sorry.”

Olivia sniffled.Looked out the window again.“What did you want to know about it?”she asked, clearly trying to sound strong.

“Who she might have talked to about the threats.Even just which police department she went to.What they might have recommended to her.”

“She didn’t want to go to the Livingston police because she’d felt they weren’t very helpful before.But…” Olivia’s face twisted into an expression that was kind of like a wince.“She’d gone to them about Michael trespassing in their house months before, when he wasn’t really.But it didn’t matter because Michael has a friend who’s an officer there.So she felt like he’d skew things against her if she tried to file any kind of report about harassment.”

“So Michaelwasharassing her?She had some kind of proof of that?”She’d certainly never presented any to Nate.

Olivia blew out a breath.“She said it was happening.I didn’t… I never saw any evidence of it.Honestly, Michael seemed so uninterested in the drama Jules wanted to stir up.”Olivia’s expression darkened.“He had his little side piece, why would he bother Jules?”

Sam felt frustration bubble up.Because if even herfrienddidn’t believe her, wasn’t this just a ridiculous dead end?Wasn’t whatever Jules had gotten herself into irrelevant to what Nate’s investigation had been?

Still, Sam was too good a PI, too well-versed in following every little tangent not to press.“So, she went to the police here in Bozeman?”

“I’m not sure.I don’t think so.She, uh…” Olivia cleared her throat.“I don’t know why I couldn’t bring myself to tell the detective this, but it just felt wrong.And like I was blaming her.”Olivia looked at her earnestly then.“You have to understand.She was… dramatic.”Olivia’s smile was full of fondness, though.“She could be mean and self-absorbed sometimes, but she could also be really loyal and funny andfun.But when she started to suspect Michael of cheating, it took away so much of her light.The bitterness and betrayal just ate her up.”Olivia scowled, shook her head, clearly atMichael’scheating.“Maybe he didn’t kill her, but he’s to blame too.He hurt her, emotionally, because hecould.Because he’s a self-absorbed asshole who has never faced a consequence in his life.”

Sam didn’t know what to say to that.

She wanted to bring it back around to the harassment, but it felt wrong.“So, you think he did it?”

The woman cradled her head in her hands for a moment.“I don’t know.Maybe?Mostly, I think he’s too much of a… I don’t know.He’s lazy.Useless.Murder seems a far cry when he was getting everything he wanted.But I don’t know who would kill Julesorharass her.Michael was herwholelife.”

Well, at least this woman didn’t suspect Nate.

“So, she didn’t go to Livingston or Bozeman police.Where else would she have gone with her concerns?”

Again, the woman made a kind of wincing expression.“She… Well, again, this sounds like I’m bad-mouthing her, and I’m not.She was in a really rough spot and just trying to get through.”Olivia looked at Sam earnestly, like she was waiting for Sam to absolve her.

So Sam nodded, even if hearing a positive side of Jules Hyatt’s personality and life didn’t help her any.

“She… she thought if she went to the police where your investigations office is, it would prove to your investigator that she was telling the truth, and then she would… well, make him feel bad for brushing her off.Which felt more like she was trying to prove something than that she was actually being harassed.But I was wrong.Clearly, I was so wrong if she’sdead.”

Sam sighed.The woman was crying now, and Sam didn’t want to sit here and comfort a stranger when she neededinformationandprogressand herfiancémight be on the hook for all this.But…

Hell, she was only human.She grabbed the woman’s hand.Squeezed.“Olivia.You sound like a really good friend.I know you feel guilty, and I’m sorry that you do.Because the only one who should feel bad about this is the person who did this to her.”

The woman sniffled.Used a napkin Sam handed her to dry her eyes.“I know.I know.I just…” She crumpled the napkin, shook her head, and flexed her hand under Sam’s.

She took a deep breath.“Grief is a hard thing.Thank you for meeting me.I appreciate it.”

“But I didn’t help you any,” the woman said sadly.

“That’s not true.You narrowed down where she went.That helps.It’s a thread to tug.”One Sam couldn’t tug herself.

Neither could Nate or Cal.They’d just get stonewalled by JakefuckingHayes.But if someone there had talked to Jules about harassment, there had to be a report.Proof.Something.

Maybe Glenda could use her bizarre connection to help.It didn’t matter.Itwassomething, and if it led to nothing, well…