Ring of Lies (27 page)

Grace sat down, her gaze
fixed
on the older
man
’s face.

‘
I don’t know what he’s told you
Mr
.
Zupanik, but I assure you I
’ve
done nothing wrong.
Jack
seems to believe
that
my late husband
was involved in some
sort of
criminal activity.
All I know is that he left me a property on Gasparilla Island.
I refuse to accept he’s done anything
illegal
until
evidence proves to the contrary
.
’

Mike ran a hand over his
baldhead
.
‘
Now,
Mrs.
Elliott, no one is accusing you or your
late
husband of
any
thing
.
However, we do need to
clear up a few things
.
Let’s start with this one.
Where did your husband get the money to buy the beach house?
You have to admit that was a pretty big wad of cash.
’

Grace bit her lip, but said nothing.
Jack tossed the bank statements on the table.

‘
Mike,
take a look at th
ese
.
There’s over
two
million dollars in that account.
And what’s more, the account manager,
a
guy called Cody, implied he’d met Grace before.
’

M
ike raised an eyebrow.
‘
They say accountants stay close to the money, but that’s
a lot
of cash
for
a bean counter
. E
xcuse me, Grace.
That’s American slang
.
So here’s another question.
Can you explain
how that amount of money came to be in your husband’s account
?
’

‘
No.
’

‘
You were his wife, w
hy not?
’

Grace
colo
u
r
ed under Zupanik’s steady gaze.
‘
When Daniel died our
bank
account held less than two thousand pounds
and
there was roughly twice that sum in our
savings account.
Our home
is mortgaged
, and
my car is six years old.
Daniel’s
car
was leased through the business.
As far as I’m aware,
hi
s partnership in the accountancy firm was our only source of income.
’

‘
I understand
your husband
never
discussed his
work
with you
.
Is that
correct
?
’

‘
Daniel believed in client confidentiality.
He preferred to stay late at the office
rather
than bring work home.
’

‘
Was your husband’s business in trouble?
’

‘
I have no idea. You’d have to speak to Shaun
, his partner
.
’

‘
What about debts? Did he have a gambling habit?
’

‘
Not that I
’m aware
of.
’

Mike frowned.
‘
Could someone have been threatening him?
’

Grace lifted her chin, meeting his icy gaze.
‘
Why are you asking me all these questions
,
Mr
.
Zupanik
?
’

‘
I’m trying to
establish whether or not your husband had reason to kill himself.
’

‘
Daniel was as well balanced as you or I, and had no reason to take his own life.
’

Jack
leaned against the window ledge and
let out a long sigh.
‘
I told you, Mike.
Grace knows nothing.
’

‘
Everybody knows something,
’
Mike said, hi
s steely eyes bor
ed
into Jack.

‘
Not this time.
’

Mike gave an impatient shrug and
turned to
Grace once more.
‘
Tell me about the guy who approached you
in the graveyard.
’

‘
We only
spoke for a few minutes
.
’

‘
But surely you can recall what he looked like?
’

‘
He was short
.
I remember, because I didn’t have to look up to him.
And smartly dressed.
’

‘
You mean he
wore a
suit?
’

‘
Yes, I could see the collar of the jacket under his overcoat.
His clothes were well cut, as if they’d been made-to-measure rather than purchased from a chain store.
’

‘
Okay, but what about his build?
W
as
he average for his height
, thin
or
heavily built?
’

‘
I don’t remember.
’

‘
Try!
’

Grace’s hands twisted in her lap and she began to shake as the image focused in her memory.
‘
S
-
s
tocky
,
like a boxer.
’

‘
Now, t
his is important, Grace.
Can you recall what
colo
u
r
his eyes and hair were?
’

‘
He wore a
hat, so I couldn’t see his hair.
’

‘
Anything else?
Any distinguishing features?
A scar on his face perhaps?
’

‘
It was raining and
we
sheltered
under the
lych-gate.
I could
n’t
see his f
ace
that well
in the gloom
.
His eyes…
I’m not certain, but I think they were brown
.
’

‘
What about his voice, Grace?
Was he English or did he speak with an accent?
’

‘
I…
I’m not sure.
’

‘
Come on, you must remember.
The man threatened you.
’

‘
Stop b
ullyi
ng me.
I’ve told you all I know!
’
She cradled her head in her trembling hands.

Jack
reached out and patted her shoulder
.
‘
Take it easy,
Grace.
Mike’s only trying to help
.
’

‘
A limp, h
e walked with a limp.
H
e
was
strong
, very strong
.
’
Absentmindedly she rubbed her forearm.
‘
And he had this odd habit of licking his lips
at the end of every sentence
.
’

‘
It’s not much to go on,
’
said Mike.
‘
I’ll get one of the guys to run it through the computer.
Do you have a photograph of your husband
?
’

Grace took her wallet out of her purse
, and removed a snapshot
.
‘
It was taken a couple of years ago.
’