Trinity Harbor 3 - Along Came Trouble (14 page)

Tucker shook his head. “How many more of these questions are you going to throw at me before you catch on that I’m not going to answer them?”

“I was hoping you’d get irritated and slip up,” Richard said, shooting him an unrepentant grin. “I should have known better.”

“Wel , at least you got the irritated part right,” Tucker consoled him. If the friendly publisher of the local paper was going to be this annoying, then with al those Richmond journalists crawling around outside the church, it was going to be a very long afternoon.

9

B
ecause Swan Ridge was stil considered a crime scene, the reception after the funeral was held in the church’s parish hal. A Richmond caterer Liz had worked with in the past had provided the food, which she realized at once was far too fancy for the occasion. There was no mistaking the surprised expressions and the whispered comments as Trinity Harbor’s residents came upon finger sandwiches and elegant tarts, rather than sliced ham and molded Jel -O salads provided by concerned neighbors.

As she had al afternoon, Frances was quick to offer consolation. “Pay them no mind. They’re just looking for something to talk about.”

“I should have known better. They think I’m putting on airs,” Liz lamented.

“Give them a few minutes til they’ve had a chance to taste those little pecan tarts. They’l be begging for the recipe,” Frances reassured her.

“I suppose,” Liz said, searching the mobbed hal for a glimpse of Tucker. He’d stayed within view al afternoon, grounding her. Now, though, there seemed to be no sign of him. Instead, she turned to stare squarely into the tear-blotched face of Cynthia Miles.

“Have you even shed one tear?” the woman asked loudly, weaving on her feet. “Don’t you owe him that much?”

The words were like a slap in the face. Liz reacted with anger and hurt and an overwhelming desire to strike back. Instead, before she could say or do anything, Tucker appeared at her side.

“Everything okay?” he asked mildly.

“Who’s this?” Cynthia demanded. “Larry’s replacement?”

Steadied by Tucker’s presence, Liz said, “No. This is Sheriff Tucker Spencer, Cynthia. He’s helping me find out who kil ed Larry. Perhaps you’d like to share some thoughts with him. Tucker, this is Cynthia Miles.”

“Ah,” he said. “Ms. Miles, perhaps we could talk outside.” Before Cynthia could make a scene, he tucked a hand under her arm and steered her toward an exit.

Only when they were out of sight did Liz breathe a sigh of relief.

“Don’t mind Cynthia,” Ainsley Hayden said as he joined her. “You know how protective she was of Larry.”

Liz turned to her husband’s former chief of staff, a bril iant man who had sincerely had Larry’s best interests at heart. “A bit of an understatement, don’t you think?”

He didn’t pretend not to understand. “The affair was over a long time ago, Liz. Once Larry fired her, they rarely had any contact.”

“For which she has always blamed me,” Liz reminded him. “I had the audacity not only to have her fired, but to insist that he end their relationship.

She’s obviously stil very bitter about that.”

“He would have ended it sooner or later on his own,” Ainsley insisted. “Cynthia’s not stable. Any number of people on his staff had warned Larry of that. They told me that they could al see the signs that she was making way too much out of the time they spent together.”

“How comforting,” she said wryly. “Should I have waited for him to figure out what the rest of Richmond already knew?”

“No. Your timing was impeccable,” he said with a faint grin. “That’s when he hired me.”

She managed a laugh. “So it was. How did I ever forget that?” She sobered at once. “Do you realize that you’re one of the few people who wil genuinely mourn his death? He came to think of you as a brother.”

“The love and respect were mutual,” Ainsley said. “I know he treated you badly, Liz, but in his own way, he did love you.”

“His way just wasn’t good enough anymore,” she said with genuine sorrow.

“Then it’s true? You were going to divorce him?”

“Did he tel you that?” Liz asked, curious to see if Larry had shared the information even with a man he considered his best friend.

“No. The rumor has been making the rounds in Richmond the last few days.”

“Any idea who started it?” she asked, thinking of Tucker’s opinion that someone in the restaurant that night could have used her fight with Larry to try quite literal y to get away with murder.

He regarded her curiously. “Does it matter?”

“It could,” she told him.

“Okay, let me think a minute. Pauline told me,” he said, referring to his executive assistant. “She said it was al over Richmond that the two of you had had a huge fight at Chez Dominique. She’d fielded several media cal s asking for confirmation by the time I got into the office that morning. She referred them to the PR office we kept on retainer. Before he left for Trinity Harbor that day, Larry notified them to respond to any query with no comment.”

“Did any of the reporters mention who’d tipped them off?”

“You’d have to ask Pauline to be certain, but my guess would be that none of them revealed a source.”

Liz sighed. “You’re probably right. Has the information been reported in any of the papers? I’ve been avoiding reading any of them.”

“Not so far. I think they’re showing restraint for the moment. Larry was wel -respected by the media in Richmond. Now that the funeral’s over, though, I imagine the kid gloves wil come off.” He peered at her intently. “Is there anything I can do for you? Do you want me to have the PR people contact you and field any media inquiries in your behalf?”

Liz shook her head. “I can refuse to comment as wel as a spokesperson can. And I imagine whoever’s appointed to fil Larry’s seat wil want you there for the transition. You’l have your hands ful with that.”

He nodded. “Cal if you change your mind. Official y, Pauline and I may have worked for Larry, but we considered you part of the team. We’re happy to do anything we can to make this time easier for you.”

Tears stung Liz’s eyes at the sincere offer. “Thank you. I haven’t seen Pauline. Is she here?”

“Probably in the rest room, crying her eyes out. She’s been inconsolable since the moment we heard the news.”

“I’l look for her there,” Liz promised.

Pauline Taylor’s first job had been on Ainsley’s staff as a clerk. Because of her sharp mind and loyalty, she had quickly risen to become his executive assistant. She was only in her mid-twenties, but she understood Virginia politics and the delicate balancing act of building power bases as wel as anyone in Richmond. What made her even more valuable was her own total lack of personal ambition. She was completely dedicated to the fortunes of the two people she worked for: Ainsley and Larry. She would have walked through fire for either one of them. It was little wonder that she was grief-stricken.

Liz turned back to Ainsley and saw that his expression had turned speculative. “What?” she asked.

“Any possibility you’l consider taking over the seat, at least until the next election? You’d be a natural. You helped to mold Larry’s agenda on the issues. You’re fantastic on the campaign trail. In fact, I think you’d be a shoo-in if you decided to run for the office down the road.”

“Not a chance,” Liz said fiercely. “I’ve had my fil of politics. I’m staying right here and becoming a private citizen again.”

“Don’t be so quick to say no,” Ainsley pleaded. “You’d be good at it. Everyone knew you were the one who had a genuine rapport with Larry’s constituents.”

“That’s very nice of you to say, but no thanks. I won’t be going back to Richmond in any capacity.”

“Not even to finish out your terms on the various charity boards you’re on?” he asked, clearly startled.

She hadn’t considered that. Al those charities might not want her around, at least until her name was completely cleared. But for those that did, she would continue to help in any way she could. “I can commute for that,” she told him.

“That’s that then,” he said with what sounded like real regret. “If you change your mind…”

“I’l cal you,” she promised.

“Any idea who might be good as a replacement? The governor’s going to want some ideas. I might as wel have a few suggestions handy.”

“I’l think about it,” she said. “If I come up with any suggestions, I’l get back to you.”

“The last person to express any interest in the job was Ken Wil is. What do you think of him?” Ainsley asked.

“If there’s another way to go, choose it,” she said at once, glancing across the parish hal at a cluster of people that included Wil is, his wife, Arlene, and a few local political party bigwigs. Ken and Arlene had been classmates of Liz’s, but she hadn’t liked them much better then than she did now.

Though Ken had preached a lot about cleaning up campaign rhetoric and financing, there had been a number of accusations of sleazy actions that surfaced during his one primary campaign against Larry. He’d sworn at the time that he’d had no part in them, but there was little question that the buck stopped with him.

“Wil is isn’t capable of running an effective campaign, much less doing the job that’s required,” she said bluntly. “And I don’t think he’s especial y trustworthy.”

Ainsley chuckled. “Nothing lukewarm about that response. I’l keep looking.”

Relieved that he’d gotten the message about a man who could never adequately fil Larry’s shoes, she nodded. “And, Ainsley, if you have any thoughts at al about who might have wanted Larry dead, let me know.”

“Absolutely,” he said, his expression grim. “I want the bastard who did this caught as badly as you do.”

Tucker sat silently while a drunken Cynthia Miles sobbed her eyes out. If he hadn’t known the whole story about her relationship with Chandler, he might have felt sorry for her. She seemed genuinely grief-stricken.

The woman looked to be in her mid-thirties. She had what was probably stylishly cut brown hair when it wasn’t in tangled disarray. She was a little too thin and angular to suit him, but she wore her clothes wel . He was no expert, but today’s severe black suit looked as if it came with a designer label.

Her handbag and shoes were made of fine leather. Managing campaigns must be a lucrative business, even on the state level, Tucker concluded as he waited for her to regain her composure.

Eventual y her sobs died away. He handed her a clean handkerchief from his back pocket.

“Sorry,” she said as she dabbed her eyes and blew her nose. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s an emotional occasion,” he said.

“I suppose you already know that I loved him,” she said.

“I know you had an affair with him,” he corrected.

She was smart enough to catch the distinction. Her gaze narrowed. “I
loved
him,” she repeated emphatical y. “No matter what
she
says.”

“Are you sure that declaring your love for a married man who’s just been murdered is wise?” he inquired.

“Are you suggesting that I kil ed him because I couldn’t have him?”

Tucker shrugged. “I’m not suggesting anything. I’m just pointing out that you could be taking a risk.”

“Why would you care about that?” she taunted him. “Wouldn’t you like to find someone to pin this on so you can get your girlfriend in there off the hook and close the case?”

“Mrs. Chandler is not my girlfriend,” he said firmly. “And I just want the truth to come out, Ms. Miles. I want justice to be served.”

“Then I suggest you look a bit more closely at Ms. High-and-Mighty in there. She’s the one with the ax to grind against Larry.”

Tucker restrained his desire to leap to Mary Elizabeth’s defense. “Oh?” he said blandly. “Why is that?”

“Because of al the other women in his life.”

“If you loved him, as you’ve just said you did, weren’t you equal y angry about that?”

“I understood that he had needs,” she insisted.

“Real y? Few women can turn a blind eye to their mate’s infidelity. Why were you able to? I would think it would be that much harder to take the fact that there were other women after he’d dumped you at his wife’s request.”

She pul ed a pack of cigarettes from her purse, stuck one in her mouth and lit it with a match that trembled in her unsteady grasp. “I was the one she felt threatened by, because he loved me,” she insisted.

“Unfortunately, we have only your word for that,” Tucker said. He decided to change tactics before he alienated her. “Since you did know him so wel , though, any ideas about who might have wanted to kil him?”

“Besides Liz?”

“Besides her,” he said, refusing to be drawn into that argument again. “Did he have any business competitors? Any political enemies?”

“Of course,” she said at once. “He was a powerful man. Power always draws enemies. Take a look at the chairman of the house education committee, Devlin Rowe. There was bad blood between them over a bil that Rowe sponsored and Larry got defeated last session. The governor was none too happy about that one, either. And I imagine you can find a number of people in the tech world who weren’t happy with the fact that Larry had succeeded where they had failed.”

Cynthia Miles studied him with a penetrating look. “Of course, there’s also someone right here in your own backyard,” she said slyly. “The man who lost Liz to Larry.” She feigned dismay. “Oh dear, that would be you, wouldn’t it? Sorry.”

He regarded her evenly. “It’s good to know you’re up-to-date on old news,” he commended her. “I’l make sure to pass along your suspicions to Deputy Ames.”

“Who’s he?”

“The officer in charge of the investigation.”

“I thought that was you,” she said, clearly startled.

“As you pointed out, that might be viewed by some as a conflict. I’m on a leave of absence from the department at my own request.”

“But Liz said you were investigating the murder.”

“I am,” he told her. “For Mary Elizabeth. Have a good day, Ms. Miles.”

Her indignant sputters fol owed him al the way back to the parish hal . Tucker smothered a grin as he went inside. He did love it when smart-mouthed individuals fel on their own sword.