“I know. I absolutely agree, and I’m so sorry for your loss.”
He sniffled and nodded.
“Did they see each other outside of running?”
He nodded. “They often went shopping together. They attended seminars on health nutrition stuff,” he replied. “They were both real health nuts.”
“Interesting,” she noted.
“Not particularly, they were just that kind of people. That is what they did. They loved it and really adored the fact that they could share their interests with each other,” he added.
“I understand a third woman used to run with them as well. Why is she not still running with Jenna and Robin?”
Agnew frowned, then murmured, “Right. I forget her name at the moment. That was years ago. Maybe five or so years by now. I believe she started a family, so running took a backseat.”
She made a note of that in her notepad, then hesitated. “I know you’ll find this offensive, and I apologize, but I do need to ask. Was there anything more there than friendship with Jenna and Robin?”
He looked at her in shock and then shook his head. “Good God, no. They were just, you know, like two peas in a pod. They could have been twin sisters. In fact, that’s what I imagined being a twin was like,” he replied. “And I can’t begin to think about what life will be like without her, without them.” Agnew paused. “They were both over for coffee and whatnot at the other’s house all the time.”
Kate saw the tears starting to creep into his eyes, as he swiped at his face.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a business card. “Look. I’ll give you my card, and, if you have any other questions, maybe you could just call or text me. I really am trying to keep all this away from the kids.”
She nodded, accepted his card, and gave him one of hers in response. “Did Robin ever have anybody threatening her? Or following her? Anybody who liked her too much, or didn’t like her at all?”
He shook his head. “No, no, no. She was very well loved.”
“I know that Jenna was in real estate. What did your wife do?”
“She worked in a dental office,” he murmured. “She was working part-time now because of the kids and planned to go back to full-time when our youngest started school in September, but she was having a rough adjustment. So Robin wanted to wait until after the holidays this year,” he told her. “In the meantime, she was doing what she could to balance family and work and running.”
It’s what he didn’t say that Kate found interesting. “And please, just a couple other questions, and I’ll go. What was your marriage like?”
He stared down at her. “Oh, don’t you even go down that path right now.” The anger built in his tone. “We loved each other. We had a great marriage. Whoever this killer is—and I swear to God it was Jenna’s ex—whoever killed my wife should rot in hell for it. We had wonderful years together, and a beautiful future all mapped out, and that was stolen from me,” he snapped. “She was so young. She had so many years ahead of her, and now she’s gone.”
“I get it, but obviously we have to ask as we investigate. Where did Robin work exactly?” He gave her the name of thedental office; she nodded and thanked him. Turning, she noted Simon stood at the bottom of the porch steps, quietly listening. She nodded again to the husband. “If you think of anything else, just call me, please.”
He nodded but didn’t go back in right away.
As she got into the car, Agnew remained on the front porch, staring at her.
Simon saw it too. “It’s always nice to end on that note, isn’t it?”
“Hardly, but, if I do it any sooner into the interview, I won’t get the other information I need. He’s just making sure that we actually leave, and, honestly, being pissed at me is probably a welcome distraction from everything else he’s dealing with.”
As she pulled onto the road, he asked, “Where to?”
“I want to go to past the dental office where Robin worked. It’s Sunday and they aren’t open, but I want to just take a quick look. You can sit in the car.”
He snorted. “No way. This is too much fun. I want to come with you.”
“What did you think of Agnew?”
“I think some of his comments were telling. Like the fact that Robin was balancing her running, her job, and her kids. But there was no comment about family, as in him. My impression is that he felt disassociated from her life. Maybe because of her other strong interests, or maybe they were just starting to drift apart.”
“I had the same idea,” she confirmed. “It’s fascinating when you talk to people, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is,” Simon agreed. “It’s amazing what you can figure out in a conversation. I’m just not usually talking to people about criminal activity.”