“No, I love all of you. Every bit.”
She loved him the same way. She still couldn’t believe how lucky they were to be this happy all this time later. Thank goodness the town had wanted them together.
The smile she was wearing dropped away as a thought occurred to her. It was one she’d been trying not to think about since Marty’s body had been found.
“What if Abby is guilty? What if she shot Marty? You said yourself that her behavior hasn’t been in line with who you thought she was. She slapped a cop today. That’s out there. Maybe she did lose it and shot her husband. You always tell me that the spouse is the most likely suspect.”
“Overwhelmingly, it is the significant other of the victim,” he agreed, his mouth set in a grim line. He didn’t like the thought of a killer ex-wife any more than she did. “But I just have to believe that Abby wouldn’t do this. Shit, we had a pretty lousy marriage and not once did I think my life might be in danger.”
“I’m sure it never crossed Marty’s mind, either. Plus, I’m hearing how they fought all the time. That cannot be healthy. I know it’s good to get things off your chest, but they were nasty to each other. Marty talked about a divorce. Even if it was in the heat of the moment there might have been a grain of truth there.”
“Since his attorney won’t return my calls, we may never know.”
Tanner’s cell was on the kitchen counter and it lit up, buzzing with a call.
“Maybe that’s him now.” Tanner stood and retrieved the phone. “It’s Jared. He might have found something in his research.”
“Hey Jared. You’re on speaker. It’s Maddie and me here.”
“I’m glad I could catch you,” Jared said, his voice a bit muffled. “I’m actually in the car heading to pick up dinner but I wanted to let you know what I’ve dug up.”
“I’m listening.”
“Janice Gates lost out on a boatload of money when she pulled out of that real estate deal. Marty and his other partners profited hugely, but she didn’t since she panicked. She might have some sore feelings about that. Also, I’m not too sure about her alibi. She says she was home all night but a few of her neighbors saw her drive off late at night. One gave us the video from her doorbell camera. I think we need to keep her on the list, although you said you didn’t get a murder vibe from her.”
“I didn’t,” Tanner admitted. “But I’ve been wrong before.”
“Rarely. We can send someone else to talk to her next time, let them try and get a read on her.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Logan’s gut is legendary for knowing who is guilty and innocent.”
Maddie heard Jared chuckle on the other end of the phone.
“He hates it when we bring it up. He says it’s indigestion.”
That sounded like Logan. He was always joking, trying to make people smile and laugh.
“Also, Reed went to Marty’s house to look for the desk key. He looked in the nightstand just as you said but it wasn’t there. I talked to Sam and he’s working on a warrant for the desk, plus the whole house if he can get it. In the meantime, we’re at a pause there.”
The call ended a few minutes later and Tanner ate the last of his spaghetti while Maddie nibbled at the garlic bread.
“What was Jared talking about when he said they couldn’t find the key?”
“We want to look inside Marty’s desk. Abby said that the key should have been on Marty’s keyring but it wasn’t there. She told me today that there was an extra in the nightstand top drawer. It wasn’t there either.”
“Can’t you pick the lock?”
“We could but Sam is afraid that if we find something important that the prosecutor won’t be able to introduce it as evidence. He’s getting a lot of pressure from the district attorney to do this strictly by the book. It would have been one thing to open the desk with a key given to us by a resident of the home. It would be something different to break into it. It’s a fine line, I’ll admit.”
“Technically, couldn’t Abby break into it? The desk kind of belongs to her now.”
“Does it?” Tanner asked, pushing his now empty plate away. “The will hasn’t been read yet and Abby told me herself that she doesn’t expect to get much in it. That desk may belong to one of the kids. As for her, she’s getting the life insurance.”
“Is it enough?” Maddie heard herself asking. “I mean, can she live off of it?”
Tanner gave her a lopsided grin.
“Are you concerned she might want to move into our spare room?”