twenty-two

“So do you really think Dan was having an affair?” Peggy asked me as she took a sip of her Bloody Mary sometime later. We were seated at an outdoor patio table at Martin’s. Skippy lay under the table. Sprawled on his back with his paws in the air, he was softly snoring.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I did find two empty wineglasses at his apartment, one of which had lipstick on it. It can’t have been from Harper. She’s never even been to his apartment.”

Peggy shook her head. “That bastard.”

“Poor Harper,” said Evan as he took a sip from his own drink. “None of us can pretend that we liked Dan, but this isn’t how I wanted to see him exit Harper’s life.”

“I disagree,” Peggy said firmly. “I actually think it’s better off this way.”

Evan paused mid-sip to stare at his wife in horror. “It’s better off what way? With Dan dead? Are you actually saying it’s better that he’s dead?”

“Well, not for Dan, of course,” Peggy said. “I imagine he’d prefer things ended differently. I was thinking more of Harper.”

Evan continued to gape at his wife. “How on earth is Dan dying better for Harper?” he asked.

“Well, for one thing,” said Peggy, “she doesn’t have to deal with a messy divorce now.”

Evan set his drink down with a thud. “Oh, that’s right. Instead, she gets to plan a funeral,” he said his voice dripping with sarcasm. “What was I thinking? That’s a much better option.”

Peggy rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t think I do,” Evan said. “Are you saying that if I was cheating on you, you’d rather I turn up dead?”

“Of course not,” Peggy said reassuringly. “If you were cheating on me, I wouldn’t hope for you to turn up dead.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” Evan said, somewhat mollified. He picked up his drink again.

“You didn’t let me finish,” said Peggy, holding up her hand. “A, you would never cheat on me but, B, if you did, I wouldn’t hope for you to turn up dead, because you would turn up dead. By me.”

Evan shook his head. “This is the kind of stuff that should have come out during all those premarital classes we had to take with your church. Instead of focusing on who would be in charge of finances, maybe we should have discussed your views on manslaughter.”

Peggy tilted her head and stared at Evan with a challenging smile. “Why? Are you saying you would have done things differently?”

Evan took a sip of his drink. “I might have opted for a less generous life-insurance plan for myself,” he muttered.

Peggy laughed and tapped him on his nose. “Oh, please. The mere fact that I’d kill you if you cheated on me is only proof of how much I love you.”

Evan laughed as she blew him a kiss and took another sip of her drink.

“Too bad you’re already married,” I said as our waitress reached our table with a fresh round of drinks. “That would have made a great addition to the traditional vows.”

Nigel dug out an olive from his drink and gave a low whistle before tossing the garnish into the air. Seconds later, Skippy’s sleek brown head emerged from under the table. With an agile snap, he caught the treat and then sank back down out of sight.

Peggy blinked at the display. “I feel like I just watched Nessy breach the surface of Loch Ness.”

Evan took a sip from his drink. “What happens now?” he asked. “I mean, with the police?”

I shrugged. “They’ll wait until they get the report from the coroner about how Dan died and go from there,” I said. “If it turns out that he was really murdered, then they’ll start looking at motives and begin to interview everyone.”

“Do you think he was murdered?” Evan asked me.

“My gut tells me he was,” I admitted. “Young, relatively healthy guys like Dan generally don’t just drop dead. I talked with the coroner, too. She’s an old friend and really good at her job. She suspects it was poison.”

“So maybe whoever Dan had that drink with might have poisoned him?” Peggy asked.

I took a sip of my drink before answering. “Possibly.”

Peggy let out a shaky breath. “Then the police will be looking for a woman.”

I shook my head. “The police are going to look at everyone with a motive to kill Dan.”

Peggy let out a grim laugh. “That’s going to be a long list. Dan wasn’t liked very much.”

“Yes” I said. “Maybe it’s because of my former experience with law enforcement, but I was able to sniff that one out myself.”

Peggy was quiet for a moment and then said, “Harper is going to be a suspect, isn’t she?”

I gave a reluctant nod. “Unfortunately, the spouse is usually a suspect in a murder case. And the fact that Harper was unhappy and wanted a divorce isn’t going to help her case. And then there’s the little problem of Devin.”

Peggy leaned forward on the table, her eyes wide with interest. “Yes, what is that all about? Do you really think they’re having an affair?”

I shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. It’s clear that Devin has a crush on her, but I don’t know how Harper feels. But in any case, Devin overheard me tell Harper that she was most likely going to be a suspect, and he immediately claimed that he spent last night helping her take care of Gracie and that Harper never left.”

Peggy considered my answer. “Well, I for one hope they are having an affair. Devin is an absolute sweetheart and is amazing with Gracie. Plus, he’s gorgeous. He looks like he’s just stepped out of an Abercrombie and Fitch catalog.”

Evan wagged a finger in her face. “Hold on a sec,” he said. “Leaving aside the ‘gorgeous’ comment—which, trust me, we will address later—how is it okay for Harper to have an affair but not Dan?”

Peggy rolled her eyes. “Because, if Harper was having an affair it was because Dan drove her to it.”

Evan closed his eyes in obvious frustration. “You know you’re being a complete and total hypocrite right now, don’t you?” he asked.

Next to him, Nigel gently shook his head. “Forget it, man,” he said in a low voice. “You are not going to win this argument. Ever.”

Peggy ignored them both. “Do you think the police will believe Devin’s story?” she asked me.

“I don’t know,” I said. “They could assume that he’s lying to cover for her. She may need more than just his word to prove she wasn’t at Dan’s apartment.”

Peggy fell silent and stared at her drink. With her brow furrowed, she idly traced patterns on the glass’s condensation with her finger. “I keep thinking about Nina,” she said after a minute. “It’s not like her to call in sick. Two years ago she was playing the lead in Kiss Me, Kate, and started having terrible stomach pains halfway through the opening night. She not only finished the play but also came back for three curtain calls. An hour later, she was in surgery for acute appendicitis.”

“Are you saying you think she wasn’t really sick?” I asked.

Peggy sat back in her chair with a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know. The thing is, I really like Nina. She can be unpredictable and a pain in the ass at times, but I like her. I hate the idea of telling the police about her reaction to Dan’s review and how she called out sick today. I’d feel like I was throwing Nina under the bus to save Harper.”

“I’m sure plenty of other people are going to mention Dan’s review and Nina’s absence today,” I said. “You’re not throwing anybody under the bus. And besides, the police aren’t going to only focus on one person. They are going to look at anyone and everyone who had a problem with Dan.”

Peggy blinked suddenly. “Oh! I just remembered something,” she said. “I don’t know if it means anything, but at one point last night I happened to overhear Dan arguing with his assistant Zack.” She paused. “Well, actually, Zack was arguing with Dan. I didn’t catch much of what he was saying, but it seemed like he was trying to convince Dan of something. I could tell that Dan didn’t agree with him, because he had that pinched look on his face. You know the one I mean,” she clarified, “where he looked like he just caught a whiff of bad cheese.”

I nodded. “I do indeed. It was featured prominently during our wedding reception.”

Peggy laughed. “Well, in any case, it might make sense to talk with Zack. He might know something.”