had been feeling a little down since her boyfriend, Justin, was out of town due to a family emergency, so Xavier had taken his daughter to the Red Robin on Weber Road, one of Frannie’s favorite hamburger restaurants, then to see
Simon seemed worried when Wally was questioning him, and as she and Wally left, Skye glanced back. Simon’s disappointed gaze skewered her to the spot. Her shoulders slumped. She’d had no choice but to tell Wally, and she shouldn’t have agreed to keep the secret in the first place. Still, she hated that she felt as if she had somehow let both men down.
They had gotten Xavier’s cell number from Simon, and when he didn’t pick up, Wally left a message for him to call immediately, as they had some questions about his connections to the bookstore.
While they waited for Xavier to phone them, Wally and Skye had dinner at the Feed Bag, then took a ride along the river. They spent the time talking about Wally’s feeling of betrayal and why Skye had kept quiet. Finally Wally truly forgave Skye.
Nevertheless, she knew she was on probation and silently vowed not to mess up this relationship as she had so many others. An ex-fiance and a string of ex-boyfriends proved she needed to make some changes in how she acted.
It was nearly ten by the time Xavier phoned. He didn’t want them to come to his house, so he agreed to meet them at the police station, and they hurried back into town. Skye and Wally met the older man as he entered the PD. The three of them proceeded down a short hall to the coffee/interrogation room, and Skye took a seat at one end of the long table in the center of the room.
Xavier sat opposite her. He wore dark trousers and a short-sleeved white shirt. It was the most casual attire in which Skye had ever seen him.
Wally closed the door, then settled in the chair next to Skye and said to Xavier, “Thank you for coming in.”
Xavier dipped his head slightly. “I thought it best we speak here instead of in front of my daughter.” His pale blue, lashless eyes were magnified behind old-fashioned horn-rimmed glasses, making them seem reptilian.
“Why is that?” Skye asked, then shot Wally a look. Should she go on?
He nodded. They had agreed she would lead the inquiry since she had the best relationship with the suspect. Xavier kept mostly to himself in Scumble River, preferring to socialize with his out-of-town veterans’ group, but he had formed a connection with Skye through her friendship with Frannie.
“I didn’t want to worry my daughter. It’s rarely a good omen when the police want to talk to you.” Xavier ran his fingers along the scarred tabletop. “She thinks I got called to transport a body.”
“That’s probably best.” Skye’s tone was sympathetic. Frannie was Xavier’s whole world, and he’d do anything to protect her. “I’m sorry we have to ask you some personal questions.”
Xavier bobbed his head, as if understanding her discomfort. “Go ahead.”
“Simon told me that you had invested in Tales and Treats, but that’s not the truth, is it?”
“Not exactly.” Xavier’s hands were clenched. “When I asked him for a loan, I wasn’t completely honest with him.”
“Why?” So that was how Simon found out about Xavier’s situation. Simon hadn’t mentioned he’d loaned Xavier money. “He would have given you the cash even if you told him you had lost yours in Rise’s firm’s scandal. Which is what happened, right?”
“Yes. That’s what happened.” Xavier’s expression was grim. “But I couldn’t take the chance that Simon might not help me. I had to replace the funds from my veterans’ group treasury. I promised them their capital would be safe. In the war, men trusted me with their lives; I couldn’t let these guys down any more than I could have left behind someone who was wounded on the battlefield.”
“What about Simon?” Skye was torn between understanding Xavier’s circumstances and feeling disgusted that he’d used his friend. “Simon trusted you, too.”
“I know.” Xavier’s rigid posture sagged. “One lie led to another.”
“They always do.” Skye spoke from experience. “But how do you plan to reimburse Simon?”
“If the store is successful, I’ll be able to repay the loan with interest.”
“I thought you said that you didn’t invest in Tales and Treats,” Wally interjected.
“Not directly.” Xavier met Wally’s stare. “But Rise and Orlando are giving me a third of the store’s profits until I get back all the money I invested with her.”
“The problem with that is that bookstores often don’t last very long.” Wally raised an eyebrow. “And the ones that do rarely earn enough to pay dividends.”
“Rise wouldn’t start a business she didn’t see a way of making money from.” Xavier took a deep breath and explained, “According to her plan, they’ll make most of their profit from the cafe and retail items. There’s a huge markup on the packaged gourmet foods and coffee they’re selling.”
“Really? Enough for them to live on and give you a cut?” Wally’s tone was doubtful.
“Yes.” Xavier nodded. “Because they went into the store with no debt, own the building, and live above the store, they’re in a good position. The reason so many small businesses fail is that the owners have to borrow so much capital to get started.”
“I see,” Wally acknowledged, then asked, “Is Rise reimbursing Troy Yates for his losses?”
“No.”
When Xavier didn’t elaborate, Skye said, “How did Troy know you had lost money?” While Yates hadn’t come right out and named Xavier, his comment about those who couldn’t afford to lose their investment had to have been about him.
“Rise didn’t like to do business with friends, so when she didn’t want me to invest in her firm, I asked Mr. Yates to intervene for me with her boss.”
Skye glanced at Wally. If that were true, then Xavier had no reason to want Rise dead. In fact, since she was giving him part of her profits, he had everything riding on her making a success of the shop.
Wally asked, “Is there anyone who can vouch for your whereabouts from eight fifteen until eleven last Saturday night?”
When Xavier didn’t respond, Skye said gently, “We’ll try to keep this as quiet as we can.”
Xavier groaned, losing his usual Zen-like calm. “This cannot get out. We knew it was wrong, and we ended it that night.” He implored Skye, “You have to make sure no one finds out. It would ruin her marriage and one of my oldest friendships.”
“Oh, my.” Skye turned to Wally. “Frannie told Simon that her father had been gone a lot lately, and either he wouldn’t say, or he lied about where he’d been.” She looked across at Xavier. “You were with Rise, weren’t you? You’ve been having an affair with her.”
CHAPTER 23
The Scarlet Letter
Once Xavier confirmed Skye’s guess, Wally asked him to remain at the PD while they contacted Rise. Before leaving him alone, Skye assured Xavier that they would talk to his ex-lover without her husband being present. As she and Wally walked out of the interrogation room, Skye looked back. Xavier was sitting ramrod straight, as if waiting for the firing squad.
Once they were out of his hearing, Skye said to Wally, “Do you think it’s possible that Orlando already knows about the affair? Maybe he found out recently. Maybe he intended to kill his wife and struck Kayla by mistake.”
Wally thought for a moment, then shook his head. “Surely he could distinguish his own wife’s backside from that of a nineteen-year-old.”
“True.” Skye nibbled her lip. “But we’re still going to check Orlando’s alibi, right?” At this point she didn’t trust anyone.
“Oh, yeah. No one gets a free pass.” Wally led Skye up the stairs to his office. “Orlando claims he got to his AA meeting at quarter to nine and it lasted until eleven. Since Laurel is a forty-five minute drive from Scumble River, that would jibe with him leaving the store at eight. Which would put him in the clear.”
“How can we check?” Skye tilted her head. “Those meetings are confidential.”
“I know the guy who’s in charge of that particular meeting. If I tell him I need the information to exonerate one of his participants, he’ll trust me enough to tell me if Erwin was there or not.” Wally flipped through a Rolodex,
