“Of course I do,” he said instantly.
Her shoulders slowly sagged, out of relief or despair she wasn’t sure which. “I never thought I’d be in this situation,” she muttered.
“Well, it’s to be expected, if you keep interfering in these kinds of cases.”
At that, her eyes opened wide, and she stared at him. “But I didn’t do anything, and nothing in my cases was involved.” Then her eyes opened wider yet again. “But your brother was.”
He nodded.
“And you’re right. The lawsuit obviously involved me.” She frowned, her hand automatically stroking Mugs, who had come over for comfort. “What is it you need to know?” she asked quietly.
He rattled off a series of questions, but she couldn’t give him any help with any of them.
“I went to bed around nine-thirty p.m.,” she said. “Yes, I went to bed alone. Except for the animals, of course. Yes, I armed the security, but, no, I have no recording to say it was set and to confirm that I didn’t leave. Nothing like that is available—as you well know, since you put in the system.”
“We need to upgrade that apparently.”
“Well, considering I was attacked inside the house several times, maybe that wouldn’t be a bad idea,” she muttered.
He nodded and made a note. That made her smile and regain a little bit of faith in her world. He wrote it on a small notepad off to the side, not on his official documents, as if it were a note for himself personally.
She sighed. “You know what the town will do when they hear.”
“Some will laugh. Some will cry. Some won’t believe it, and a whole lot won’t care.”
She studied the other two cops, who had seemed to relax now that she was easily talking to Mack, and she said, “As long as you know I had nothing to do with it.” She slid a sideways glance at him, checking his reaction. Seeing the truth in his gaze, she relaxed further.
“I know that,” he said. “We just have to make sure.”
She nodded. “She really is dead?” she asked. How impossible that seemed.
“She really is,” he said quietly.
She looked at him. “What about my ex? Did you check on his whereabouts?”
“Well, we’re looking for him too,” he muttered.
“Because he’d make a much better suspect, you know?” she said.
“The thought has crossed my mind,” he replied. “Don’t you worry.”
“Well, of course I will worry,” she said. “My ex’s girlfriend, who also happened to be my unscrupulous divorce lawyer, has been murdered. We always know that the scorned partner is the suspect.”
“Well, that’s certainly true,” he said. “We are looking at everyone with close ties to the victim. Especially if hard feelings or financial motives exist.”
“Well, that’s a pretty harsh thing to say,” she said quietly. He just looked at her, and she shrugged. “Whatever.”
“Do you think any of your neighbors saw you last night?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I didn’t even talk to Nan last night. I still haven’t been feeling all that well, so I just went to bed.”
He leaned forward. “You’re still not feeling well?”
Her hand instinctively went up to her shoulder. “No,” she said, “I’m not. I was doing well for several days, then suddenly I was worn out. Maybe I just need a few more days to rest.”
“Have you had that shoulder looked at recently?”
She shook her head. “No, I should probably go to the doctor, but I haven’t bothered.” She looked at him. “So how was she killed?”
“She was stabbed.”
At that, she stared at Mack, the color draining from her face. “Well, that’s up-front and personal.”
“Which is also why your name has to be considered.”
“Can they tell if it was a right-handed or a left-handed person?”
His gaze sharpened. “We haven’t gotten those results yet.”
“Well, let’s hope it’s a right-handed person as my injury would have prevented me from doing this deed.”
He looked at her injured shoulder and said, “That would be very helpful.”
“And, of course, you won’t let me work on the case at all.”
“Nope,” he said decisively. “Absolutely not.”
She glared.
He shrugged. “Come on. You know how this works.”
“Right, new cases are yours. Old cases are mine.”
“And this is not an old case,” he said. “And you remain on the suspect list until we have a better suspect. So don’t add further suspicions.” His glare added emphasis to his terse wording.
She shook her head, disagreeing with him. “But she’s a visitor here right now. It’s not like she even came from this area.”
“That doesn’t mean that we pay her death any less attention.”
“Of course not,” she said, with a wave of her hand. “Don’t mind me. You just shook me a bit. And here I’ve been sad and depressed about Isaac and his mom leaving and returning to the coast.”
“And yet,” he said, studying her carefully, “that’s a good thing. She and her son can have a beautiful life. And she has her biological family to help her raise Isaac.”
“It is a good thing,” she said, “but, I guess, I was hoping to see more of Isaac.”
“You really like the little guy, huh?”
She beamed. “He’s a character, and he’s very sweet.”
“Well, he will have a much better life now,” Mack said. “And just because he’s gone to Vancouver doesn’t mean he’s out of your life forever.”
“And that’s a good thing too,” she muttered. “At the same time, it’s odd, you know? I find these people or make friends—or it seems like maybe I’ll make friends—but then something goes completely wrong, and I end up destroying their lives.”
“Well, you didn’t destroy anybody’s life this time,” he said. “It’s very important to remember that you did a very good thing here.”
“True, they were in a terrible situation,” she said, “but I don’t know. I have just felt a little bit down.”
At that, Thaddeus, who’d been on her lap, walked up closer and curled up on her belly. She stretched out a hand and gently stroked his beautiful feathers. “He’s been better though.”
“Good,” Mack said. “Thaddeus, you doing okay now?”
Thaddeus immediately stretched up his wings and called out, “Thaddeus is here. Thaddeus is here.”
She chuckled. “I don’t know how people can live alone,” she said. “These animals provide so many hours of joy and comfort.”
“And it sounds like you need that right now,” he said, his gaze low and worried.
She caught the odd note in his tone, and she smiled. “I’m okay. Really, I am. I just, you know,” and she gave a wave of her hand at the policemen standing behind her. “This is a very odd day.”
“We’ll be gone soon,” he promised.