52
Heather Webber
Both of them looked at me. “Oh, come on,” I said. “One guy told me he was glad Russ was dead.”
Kevin’s eyebrow jumped. “I’ll need that name.”
“I don’t know it. Though I did see him speak to Kate Hathaway, the Fallow Falls Homeowners Association
Kevin’s other eyebrow dipped. “Amazing cheekbones?”
“Well, it’s hard not to notice them.”
“Do you think
Kevin had issues with Bobby, obviously. Issues he had no right to whatsoever. I gritted my teeth, spoke softly through them. “Probably the same thing Ginger would think if she knew you kissed me a month ago.”
Now his eyebrows waggled. “Still thinking about that, are you?”
Argh!
“Do you two know each other?” Meredith asked, confusion creasing the faint wrinkles on her forehead and pulling down the corners of her mouth.
“She’s my wife,” Kevin said.
“Almost ex,” I pointed out.
The divorce would be final in nine days.
Nine days.
My stomach hurt.
“Isn’t this a conflict of interest?” Meredith asked.
“No,” Kevin and I both said at once.
“Who’s Kate Hathaway?” he asked.
I filled him in.
“And the Nordic guy is her husband Dale.” Color rose up Meredith’s neck. “And he does have amazing cheekbones.”
I shot Kevin an I-told-you-so look.
53
He ignored it. “Did Dale and Russ Grabinsky get along?”
Meredith fidgeted. “I don’t like to talk.”
Right.
“This is an official investigation,” Kevin told her. “You have to talk.”
It seemed to me all Meredith wanted was a little prodding.
“Well, no. They didn’t get along. They hated each other.”
“Why?”
“It’s complicated. The Hathaways live there,” she said, pointing right next door to the house with the wrought- iron fence and fountain grasses. “There’s always been animosity between them. The Hathaways wanted to move about two years ago and quickly found out that not only had their house depreciated in value because of the Grabinskys’ yard, but also no one would buy it because of the eyesore. It was on the market for almost ten months. Finally they gave up and formed the homeowners’ association.”
Ah. To get the Grabinskys to comply.
“Russ was mad that Greta had joined the association, but I think she really wanted the yard done and thought that would spur him to do it.”
“Why didn’t Russ just fix the yard?” I asked.
Meredith shrugged. “He was a jerk. I don’t even know why Greta stayed with him. Anyway, Russ refused to fix the yard or pay the association dues.”
“What’d the association do?” Kevin asked.
“Started fining him. Two hundred dollars a day. Plus legal fees.”
Two hundred dollars a day? My mouth dropped open.
“The association gave them two months to fix the yard and pay the back dues.”
I couldn’t believe the power a homeowners’ association, essentially a group of neighbors, had. “Or?”
54
Heather Webber
