Shattered Dreams (32 page)

“Piece of cake.” Jason glanced at his watch and grunted. “I gotta go meet the girls. Elise is dropping them off. You coming?”

“Right behind you, old buddy. I’m still reviewing Crystal’s files, so I’m curious as to what Elise has to say about old Carl. Maybe she’ll have an idea of who our someone is.”

“Maybe. After we talk to her, I’ll tell Snyder about her involvement.”

“Should be interesting.” Jimbo rubbed his hands together. “He’ll probably shit a brick.”

“Let’s not get too confident. There are a multitude of unanswered questions.” Jason started for the door. “Oh yeah. I want you to check on the alibis of a few people in the office. Amy Denton was with a couple of friends at a restaurant, and Gwen Anderson had a date. Talk to those involved.” He held out a list of names and numbers. “Make sure none are lying.” If anyone could snoop or cajole people into getting caught up in lies, it was Jimbo.

“Why?”

“Gut feeling. It’s probably nothing. Snyder’s thorough, but we need to be more than thorough.”

Chapter 43

While Claire baked, her mind spun, weaving out of control with thoughts she couldn’t shake. How had she gone from being loved by all those around her to becoming a pariah?

Her heart hurt. Would the pain ever go away? She felt so alone. Was this how Crystal had felt after her accident? Was this how Crystal had felt about Jim O’Malley? If so, she understood her twin’s behavior a little more.

Claire desperately wanted Jason to believe in her despite the evidence. The fact that he didn’t hurt her deeply. If this was how love felt, she could do without, thank you very much.

Carl had never made her feel this bad, and now she knew why. He’d never really had the power to hurt her. She’d always kept him at an emotional distance in order to live with him. It was probably the reason she’d been able to put up with him for so long. Oh, she’d loved him at one time, but she’d walled up her heart on her wedding day, she suddenly realized in a burst of insight. Subconsciously, she’d always believed in Crystal’s innocence. Just couldn’t face it.

Regret the size of a grapefruit formed in her throat. Why hadn’t she protected her heart against Jason too? Men were such disappointments.

As the buzzer sounded, she sighed and picked up a hot pad. Once she placed the brownies out to cool, Claire headed for the living room and turned on the television to drown out her thoughts.

Oh God! There it was! Live on the news at five, in living color from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, was her departure with Jason. She cringed inwardly at how guilty she looked, running like a scared rabbit. The whole world now thought she killed Carl.

According to the press, both she and Crystal were as guilty as if they’d already been convicted. Was it true what they said about her twin? Had Crystal hated her enough to set her up? Or was she as much a victim as Claire?

Claire’s head pounded and nausea rose up. She hit the remote, killing the television picture, and went over to the window to peek out. Reporters still milled about outside her house, vultures waiting for their prey to weaken.

Surely she’d died and gone straight to hell. Only she couldn’t believe that because Claire had always tried to live a good life. She didn’t kick animals or hate children. The way the press tore her to pieces, she might have been the devil incarnate. She closed her blinds, shutting out the world and all of her troubles.

When the doorbell sounded a few minutes later, Claire hurried to answer it.

“Thank God you came. I’m going crazy, feeling trapped in my own house.”

“I told you to calm down,” Crystal said as she stormed into the room, a defending army of one who had a secret weapon. “I take it you haven’t started in on the brownies yet?”

“I was waiting for you.” Following her sister toward her kitchen, Claire smiled for the first time in several hours. “I think they’re cool enough now.”

She spent a few minutes cutting the dessert into squares. Once she’d placed half on a plate and the rest in a Ziploc bag, she turned to Crystal.

“Milk?” When she nodded, Claire poured two glasses.

With the brownies and her glass of milk in hand, Crystal walked toward the French doors. “It’s depressing as hell in here. Let’s go out on the patio.”

“Can’t. Reporters are stationed on the other side of the canal.”

“All the more reason. We need to blow ’em off.”

“I’ve been working on being gutsy, but I don’t know if I have it in me to brave a final exam yet.”

“You do.” Crystal laughed, swung open the doors, and stormed outside. “Just follow my lead. I’m well past the point of being gutsy. Got my PhD in bitchiness years ago.”

“I’d still like to take a few more lessons.” Claire hesitated and looked across the water.

“Jumping in is the best way to deal. Trust me on this.”

“Easy for you to say.” Claire watched her twin place the milk and the plate of brownies on the table, thinking that Crystal did have a warrior-going-into-battle look about her. “After all, you’ve got a PhD.”

“Come on,” Crystal urged, pulling out a chair. She plopped into it, put her feet up on another, and bit into a brownie. “You have me to hold your hand so you won’t sink. It’s a matter of what you’re comfortable with. Once you do it a few times and survive, you realize it’s not so hard.”

Claire stepped out onto the patio. The muggy heat hit her, but the breeze off the water helped. She ignored the movement across the canal and sat down.

“See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Crystal winked. “The best part is, no one knows who’s who,” her sister said, then shot her a glance. “So, what’s going on? Why are you so depressed?”

Claire sighed. “They call me the black widow. I have at least fifty reporters outside my house who think I’m guilty as sin for stabbing my lying, cheating husband to death. Isn’t that enough?”

“Good point.” Crystal picked up another brownie and started to nibble. “They don’t have all the facts.” Her head indicated the other side of the water. “What’s more, they don’t know you, so why do you care what they think?”

Claire contemplated her sister’s perspective while examining the brownie in her hand. Finally, she sighed. “Jason.”

“Ah!” When Claire didn’t add anything, Crystal prodded, “And?”

“He thinks I did it.”

“He does not.”

“He’s got doubts. And it hurts.”

Her eyes filled with unwanted tears and she quickly wiped them away, not wanting the crowd across the canal to see them. She felt Crystal’s hand over hers as she gave a reassuring squeeze.

“Sucks, doesn’t it?”

Claire smiled through her tears and nodded.

“Now maybe you can understand why I’d just as soon not get involved with Jimbo again. But you shouldn’t feel that way. Jason’s tough, but he’s different. He’ll come around.”

“It’s too late for that. I never should’ve seduced him.”

Crystal gave her a shocked look. “Jason? You seduced him? Are we talking about the same guy?”

“Maybe a little mutual seduction went on.” If Claire hadn’t felt so miserable, her smile would have been more genuine at the disbelief in Crystal’s voice. “But that’s not the point.”

“Mutual seduction or not, Jason’s picky, and he’s not one to make love lightly.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Claire’s smile vanished altogether. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust him again. The cost is too high. And it hurts too much.”

“I think we’re going to need that other bag of brownies.” Crystal heaved a heavy sigh and bit into the chocolate square.

Chapter 44

Jason and Jimbo pulled into his driveway. The two hadn’t made it to the front door before Elise’s car came to a complete stop behind Jason’s. Amelia and Chloe jumped out at the same time and ran up to Jason, each wrapping their arms around his waist.

“Hey, pumpkins. How was the week?” He hugged them back and gave each a kiss.

“We missed you,” Amelia said.

“Not as much as I missed you.”

Jason glanced up to see Elise make a graceful exit from her car. As always, she looked as if she’d stepped out of a fashion magazine with every detail attended to, down to the color of her nails matching her lipstick. She was a beautiful woman, but there was a severity about her he noted as she got closer.

He nodded. “Elise. You look good.”

Elise gave him a half nod, making eye contact first with him and then Jimbo.

Jason turned back to the girls and after tousling each head, he said, “Why don’t you two go on upstairs. I’ll be there in a little bit. Uncle Jim and I need to talk to your mom. Okay?”

“Okay,” the girls agreed in unison before scampering inside.

“What’s so important you had to speak to me in person?” Elise asked in a bored tone.

Normally that tone bothered Jason, but today it only amused him.

“Carl Carter,” he said, turning back to her after the front door closed behind the girls. When he smiled, the woman actually blushed. She definitely wasn’t expecting the question.

“Carl’s dead. I saw it on the news the other night,” Elise said, her voice slightly flustered. Then her smile hardened as she recovered. “Obviously your attorney’s been talking.”

“Think I’d never find out?” Jason snorted. “If not, then you haven’t learned much. Things always come back to haunt you.”

“Did you ask me here to give a lecture? If so, you forget. I no longer have to listen to them.”

“You’re right.” And he no longer had to give them. His smile grew into a wide grin. A sense of freedom he never thought to possess encompassed him. “I’m defending the wife, and I need to ask you about your relationship with the victim. Let’s go inside. I have a lot of questions, and it may take a while.”

Elise shrugged. “Sure. Only I don’t see what good it will do.”

Once inside his house, she glanced around and rolled her eyes. “Nice place,” she murmured. “Interesting décor.”

“I like it,” Jason answered, catching up with her while Jimbo, sporting an amused grin, stayed a few feet behind.

As they moved through the living room, Jason caught her horror-filled look after spotting his sofa. Her reaction annoyed him. Although the idea of forcing her to sit on something so ugly had a certain appeal, he couldn’t bring himself to be that cruel. Instead, he led her into the dining room.

Jason made a mental note. Get rid of the eyesore and buy something new, especially now that Claire’s in the picture. Maybe they could go shopping for sofas together.

“Why are you questioning me?” Elise asked, interrupting his thoughts while making herself comfortable on one of the dining room chairs.

After sitting, Jimbo pulled a pen and notebook from his pocket, making a quick note before he focused his attention on Elise.

“According to notes from an investigation Mr. O’Malley was conducting regarding Carl, you were seen going into his hotel room.” Jason had purposely sat across from Elise in order to gauge her expressions while they talked. “Care to tell me about that visit?”

“Since when do you call Jimbo Mr. O’Malley?” Elise practically purred, her smile as fake as a Gucci knockoff. “Also, you’ll have to be more specific on the visits. My memory, you know.”

“Okay. Tell me about your visit on Wednesday, June twenty-third, the day Carter died.” Ignoring her sarcasm, Jason flipped through the report Jimbo had prepared in advance, and then pierced her with an intense look. “That specific enough? You were seen entering Carl’s room at 2:45 p.m. and leaving two hours later.”

“You want a blow-by-blow description?”

“I’m not interested in all the seedy details. I only want to know if Carl was alive when you left.”

“Of course he was alive, though I sucked most of the life out of him.”

“Was that the last time you had any contact with him?”

“Physical contact?”

Jason nodded and paid no attention to her amused smile. If Elise thought she could be a chigger under his skin, as Jimbo would say, she could think again. He was well past caring about her sexual exploits.

“Yes,” she said, answering his question about physical contact. “But we talked on the telephone later that evening, had phone sex.” She was still goading him, he realized, when she caught his eye and said without shrinking, “He was an amazing lover. Something I’ve lacked over the years.”

Jason wanted to laugh but refrained, keeping his face expressionless. “Anything else unusual about the phone call once you finished?”

“It’s really none of your business.”

“Given it may have been the last time anyone heard from him before he was killed, I’m betting the police will want to know. So you’re better off formulating an answer now.”

“Always thinking like a lawyer, aren’t you?” she said, the words spoken with derision.

“Comes in handy.” He finally did show all his teeth. “You might even appreciate having an ex with that skill when the press learns of your involvement. They’re sure to latch onto the love-triangle angle. Has the potential to get a little ugly. You should seriously consider retaining your own lawyer.”

When she shifted in her seat, he smiled inside. His comments had rattled her. “Now that you fully understand the position you’re in, tell me more about your phone call.”

No mistaking her reaction, he thought, observing that overconfident grin fade to concern. His stayed in place, and got even wider.

“We made plans to meet again on Friday,” Elise said. “He was in very good spirits when I talked to him, and very much alive when I hung up.”

“Why not spend the night with him?”

“You forget I had to pick up the girls from the sitter.”

“Okay. What time did you talk to him?”

“About eight,” she offered. “I hung up a half hour later.”

“From your home line?”

“No. A cell phone, one he gave me. I still have it.”

“Can I take a look at it?” Jimbo asked, interrupting Jason’s next question.

“Sure.” Elise nodded, glancing at the PI. “But I don’t have it with me.”

“I’ll come by to pick it up.” Jimbo flashed a lazy smile. “I’ll call beforehand.”

“No problem.”

“Why a burner phone?”

Elise turned to Jason and shrugged. “He was always careful about using untraceable phones, for all the good it did him. He told me about his divorce. We consoled each other.” She broke off and stared at a distant point before saying, “But there is one thing that struck me as odd. We traded phones that afternoon.”