seventeen

No sooner had the paramedics rushed DeDee outside to the ambulance than two police officers stepped into the foyer. The first was a small, wiry woman I guessed to be about thirty-five. Her clear grey eyes regarded me as if I were a specimen under glass. The second officer was tall with broad-shoulders. His dark hair was shaved close to his skull. Neither seemed particularly happy to be here. I was not unsympathetic.

“You the ones that found the victim?” the first officer asked, her voice clipped.

“DeDee. Yes, we found her,” Nigel answered, still holding me tight against his chest.

“I see,” she said, flipping open a notebook. “And her full name?”

“Dorothy Deanne Evans,” Nigel said. “She’s our employee. She was house-sitting for us tonight.”

“I see,” she said. “And you are…?”

“I’m Nigel Martini and this is my wife, Nicole.”

“I’m Officer Hax and this is Officer Kelly,” she said jerking her chin toward her partner. Officer Kelly nodded. Nigel and I nodded back.

“I was just about to make some coffee,” I said, reluctantly stepping out of Nigel’s embrace. “Is it okay if we continue this conversation in the kitchen?”

“That’s fine,” Officer Hax said. Officer Kelly nodded. Apparently, he wasn’t much of a talker. Not that I cared. It was almost four-thirty in the morning. I wasn’t really in the mood for a lot of chitchat either.

I led them down the hallway. While I busied myself scooping beans into the coffee maker, Nigel and the officers seated themselves at our kitchen table. Skippy sprawled on his back at Nigel’s feet, demanding a belly rub. Nigel obliged.

“So, why don’t you tell me what happened?” Officer Hax began as she flipped to a new page of her notebook.

“We got home around three-thirty and saw that the front door was open. We found the place the way it is now—trashed. Nic and I called out for DeDee, but she didn’t answer. We found her in the study beat up and unconscious, and called 911,” Nigel said.

“Did Ms. Evans have any enemies you know of ?” Officer Hax asked.

Nigel shook his head. “Not that I know of,” he answered, as he shrugged out of his tuxedo jacket. “I mean, I don’t think she’s on very good terms with her ex-husband, but they’ve been divorced for several years now, and as far as I know, he’s never tried to contact her.”

Officer Hax scribbled in her notebook. “Do you know the ex’s name and address?” she asked.

“Reggie Evans,” said Nigel. “I don’t know his exact address. He lives in Tallahassee, Florida. He runs a plumbing business there. Or at least he used to.”

“I see,” replied Officer Hax as she jotted this down. “And do you know why they divorced? Was it friendly? Acrimonious?”

“I’d say it was pretty acrimonious,” I answered as I pulled out cups, cream, and sugar and loaded everything onto a coffee tray.

“Oh? Why was that?” Officer Hax asked turning to me.

“Apparently, Reggie wasn’t a big fan of the Seventh Commandment,” I said.

Officer Hax’s eyebrows pulled together. “Right. Wait. The Seventh. Is that Don’t Kill or Don’t Commit Adultery?”

“Adultery,” I said as I carried the coffee tray to the table.

“Reggie liked to stick his plunger where it didn’t belong,” Nigel explained. We all stared at him. Nigel blinked and then looked at me. “What?” he asked.

“Have some coffee, Nigel,” I said, handing him a cup. He took a large sip and closed his eyes. “You’ll have to excuse us,” I said to the officers. “It’s been a long day. How do you take your coffee, Officer Hax?”

“With cream. No sugar,” replied Officer Hax. “Thanks.”

After I handed her a cup, I turned to Officer Kelly. “Coffee?” I offered, holding up the pot.

He nodded. “Black. Thanks,” he said, before falling silent again. Once I’d poured out the coffee, I sat down next to Nigel.

“So, we were talking about the ex-husband,” Officer Hax prompted.

“Yes. Well, DeDee was understandably upset when she discovered Reggie’s extracurricular activities,” I explained. “Especially as he was mixing business with pleasure, so to speak. DeDee had worked hard to help Reggie grow that business, so she was understandably angry.”

Officer Hax nodded. “Okay,” she said, adding more to her notebook. “But I feel like there’s a ‘which is why’ part coming up pretty soon,” she said, glancing back up at me.

I took a sip of my coffee. “There is. When DeDee found out what Reggie was up to, she went to his office and…well, she smashed up his equipment. I could see how Reggie might still be upset about that.”

“What was the extent of the damage?” asked Officer Hax as she reached for her coffee cup.

“Oh, nothing permanent,” I assured her. “But Reggie was in the hospital for a week or so, and I believe he had to sit on a pillow for a month after that.”

Officer Hax froze, her coffee cup poised mid-air. “I thought you were referring to his plumbing business equipment,” she said, putting her cup down and picking up her notebook.

“Oh, DeDee smashed that up as well,” said Nigel.

Officer Hax stared at Nigel a beat and then jotted something into her notebook. “Okay, I’d say we definitely need to get in touch with Mr. Evans. Now, what time did Ms. Evans arrive at your house last night?”

“Probably around five o’clock or so,” I answered. “She met us at the Dolby Theater and brought Skippy back to our house.”

Officer Hax took a sip of her coffee. “I gather then that you two were at the Oscars last night?”

“Yes. And then the Vanity Fair party afterward,” I answered.

“Right. Okay. You said Ms. Evans is your employee. What is it that she does?” Officer Hax asked.

“She works on film restoration,” Nigel answered. “Our company restores old and damaged films. DeDee was working on transferring old videos that were taken on the set of A Winter’s Night tonight.”

Officer Hax’s head popped up, her professional façade gone. “Seriously?” she asked, her eyes bright. “You two are the ones who found those tapes?”

“That’s us,” I said.

“I was just reading about those,” she said. “Is it true that Melanie Summers is on them?”

I told her that it was.

“Wow. I loved her movies,” said Officer Hax. “Every Christmas, my mom and I would watch A Miraculous Moment. She was such a good actress.”

“She was,” Nigel agreed.

“I’ve got to tell you, I’m really looking forward to seeing them,” said Officer Hax.

“You and everyone else …” Nigel stopped and looked at me, but I was already out of my seat and running down the hall toward the office.