Twenty-one

“WHAT a horrible man.” Antonia stomped down the path beside me. “He refuses to give us any help, yet he practically admitted we’re getting to the truth faster than he is.”

“And no doubt if we come up with anything, he’ll be ready to swoop in and take all the credit,” I said. “Not that it matters, as long as we prove Chantal isn’t the killer.” Although if I were being honest, I wouldn’t mind showing up Harding. Antonia clearly felt the same way.

“His biggest fear is that we’ll get better results than he does. That ego of his is nearly as big as that paunch he’s sporting.”

Uniformed police now walked the garden paths and several of the guests stopped to watch. Near the pool an officer led Vance in our direction, and his voice carried over the garden.

“What’s this about anyway? I paid for a full hour’s session with the serving machine and I’ll expect the hotel to replace my time.” Vance wore tennis clothes and appeared flushed. When the officer didn’t respond, he continued. “If my racket gets stolen, I’m holding you personally responsible.”

He looked up and spotted us. “You two. I might have known you’d be in the thick of it.”

I gave him my version of Chantal’s little finger wave. It was growing on me. Sarcastic, but immune to criticism. I’m waving. It could almost be mistaken for being civil.

“Penny?”

Barb stood a few steps to my right. She wore a shapeless dress in silver, although it might have been blue a hundred washings ago. It fell below her knees, ending just above little white ankle socks. The sneakers on her feet were also white, or had been at one point.

“I’ll see you later.” Antonia left the two of us.

“Hi, Barb. What are you doing here?”

She twisted her hands together. “I just wanted to find out if you knew anything more about Tara. I mean, I wondered if the police have any new leads that you know of.”

“Nope. Not that Chief Harding is going to tell me. He’s a real treat to deal with. Taken quite a dislike to me.”

Barb swiped her hair behind her ears. “He’s never been anyone’s favorite person. He keeps his job, though, so I guess he knows the right people. Men like him always do.”

“It’s hard to say when he’ll name a suspect, especially now that there’s been another murder.”

Barb’s hands froze and she squeezed them together. “Another murder? What time, I mean, when?”

“Just a little while ago.”

She started to sway a little.

I stepped toward her. “Are you okay?”

A tremble moved across her face. “I’m fine. Really.”

“Look, you need to sit down.” I gestured to a set of lawn chairs. “Have a seat in one of these.” She took the few necessary steps and collapsed.

“Lunch finished up quite a while ago. I would have thought you’d be gone by now.” I looked around. “Is Seth still here or are you alone?”

“Alone.” She gestured to the bike path. “I’ll walk home in a bit. Our house is on the edge of town. Just over a couple of miles on the path. Easy.”

“So what are you still doing here? You’ve been on your feet all day.” I took in the thin wrists and the collarbones so prominent above the edge of her dress. “Want to grab some lunch?”

She shook her head. “I couldn’t, really. We’re working at Berninni Winery tonight, and I, well, I just thought I’d get some fresh air.”

I’ve seen a lot of good liars, myself included, and Barb wasn’t one of them. The thin shoulders hunched beneath the worn fabric as if prepared for a blow. I hated to be the one to deliver it, but I remembered the red marks around Kim’s neck.

“Barb, when I said there was a second murder, you didn’t ask who. Why wouldn’t you want to know who was killed? Or maybe you knew already?”

Barb pressed a hand to her cheek. “Of course not! I don’t know why I didn’t ask who was killed. I was just confused. You can’t possibly think I know something. You can’t possibly!”

“No, but what was it you asked? Not who the victim was, but what time it happened. All you wanted to know was when the murder took place. Why would that be your only question?”

“Stop it, Penny. I mean it.” She stood and jerked down the steps back to the hotel.

I followed close behind. “Why are you up here alone, Barb? You say you wanted to get some fresh air, but you aren’t dressed for a walk. And why, when you hear someone is murdered, would your only question be what time it happened?”

“I won’t talk about it.” She crossed her arms. “Stop asking me these questions.”

“Where is he, Barb? Is that why your first concern is what time the murder happened? Because you don’t know where Seth is? Did he run off, and now you’re afraid he’s done something?”

“Stop it! You can’t prove anything. I’m telling you I only came up here for some fresh air.”

“Let’s see if you feel like sticking to that story after I describe the marks on Kim’s neck.”

Barb stopped and tilted her head. “What did you say?”

“That I’d still like to see you try and protect Seth if you saw the marks on Kim’s neck.”

“Kim’s dead? The one from Chicago?”

I nodded. “Killed in the spa. I found her.”

The tension in Barb’s shoulders eased and they dropped. “Seth wouldn’t have any reason to kill her. He doesn’t even know her.”

“Then why are you so worried? Where is he, Barb?”

“I have no idea, but I can tell you he didn’t have anything to do with this.” She had some color back in her face, and she looked me straight in the eyes as she said it.

“Okay. Let’s say you’re right. He didn’t kill Kim. Did he kill Tara?”

She bit the side of her mouth and some of the color left her cheeks. “Don’t say that. He wouldn’t have hurt Tara. Why would he?” She tossed her hair, but the attempt fell short. “She was just part of his past. Part of both our pasts.”

She started walking away. “I need to go now. I have to get ready for work soon.”

I caught up to her. The strength she’d shown defending Seth seemed to have deserted her, and she moved with heavy steps. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, the nails bitten and red. Her breath caught, and she stifled a cry.

I grabbed her arm, forcing her to stop. “What is it? You need to talk to someone and maybe my being a stranger will help. Look at it this way. In another few days, you’ll never see me again.”

She dug the heels of her palms into her reddened eyes. “It’s nothing, really. Nothing you can help with.”

“Well, you seem confident he didn’t kill Kim. If he killed Tara, it’s better if you know now. You need to protect yourself. You don’t need him.”

She shook her head slowly. “You don’t know anything about it. I do need him. I always have. I wish it wasn’t the case, but I’ve always known I can’t live without him.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Same thing.” She sagged. “He didn’t kill either one of them. I don’t have any proof. I just know he didn’t.”

“Then what is it? Why do you seem so . . . ?”

“Hopeless?” She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “I’m here looking for him.”

“Right, I get that.”

“No, Penny, you don’t. I’m looking for him. Here. At a hotel. A hotel that I’ve followed him to many times before. A hotel that’s a short walk from town, from our home. Whenever I can’t find him, I know he’s here. In this hotel. In one of these rooms. With someone else who, in another couple of days, he’ll never see again.”