the baby wasn't taking to the broccoli any better that day-and Bobby, Carlos, and the girls watching TV. Boo jumped up and ran to him.
'A. Scott, we've got cable!'
'Just for the summer-and only the Disney Channel.'
She looked at him with an expression that said, As if, but she said, 'Did you check your pulse?'
'No.'
'Do you feel faint or dizzy? Are you experiencing chest pain?'
'Boo, I feel fine. Stop worrying.'
She frowned and turned to Rebecca. 'Mother, you were gone when we woke up.'
'I took a walk on the beach.'
'I would've gone with you.'
'Get dressed, Bobby,' Scott said. 'We're going to see the D.A. And bring the camcorder. Karen, take Rebecca's statement.'
'Mr. Fenney,' Louis said, 'how about some pancakes and sausage?'
'Maybe one. Or two. Of each.'
'Coming right up.'
'Louis, go over to Gaido's today… Carlos, you go with him, you might need to translate. Talk to a waiter named Ricardo. Find out what he knows, if he saw any strangers there Thursday night, someone who seemed interested in Trey.' Scott went into the kitchen and stepped close to Louis; he faced away from the room and said in a low voice, 'Ask him if he heard Trey propose to Rebecca.'
Louis nodded. Scott turned back to the room.
'Let's go, boys and girls, it's a work day.'
Scott ate breakfast then showered and dressed in what would be his standard Island attire: jeans, topsiders, and a knit shirt. He only wore suits to court now, a benefit of not working in a large law firm, albeit one that did not quite offset the $750,000 salary. He went downstairs and out to the back deck where Karen was interviewing Rebecca. He paused and observed his ex-wife like a juror observing the defendant's demeanor. She was the accused and the only eyewitness. The jury would have to believe Rebecca Fenney.
'Rebecca,' Karen said, 'what'd you do after you came back inside and found Trey lying in bed with a knife in his chest?'
'I called nine-one-one.'
'From the bedroom?'
'Yes.'
'What'd you do after you made the call?'
'I stayed on the phone until the police arrived.'
'You didn't give him CPR?'
'No.'
'Why not?'
'There was so much blood… I knew…'
'Do you have a life insurance policy on Trey?'
'No.'
'Any joint bank accounts?'
'No. I don't even have a bank account.'
'How'd you pay your bills?'
'I didn't. Trey did. Or his accountant did.'
'What's his name, the accountant?'
'Tom Taylor. He has an office on the Strand.'
'How'd you buy things?'
'He gave me money. Trey.'
'How much did he give you, at any one time?'
'A thousand, sometimes more.'
'Cash?'
'Yes.'
'What'd you buy?'
'Stocks and bonds.' She shrugged. 'What else? Clothes and jewelry.'
'Did he give you money that day?'
She nodded. 'He was going to the club to practice all day, for the Open. He told me to go to Houston, buy something sexy. I guess because he was planning to propose that night.'
'What'd you buy that day?'
'The necessities-lingerie and shoes.'
'Where?'
'Victoria's Secret, Jimmy Choo… at the Galleria.'
'When did you return?'
'About six. Then we went to dinner.'
'Are you in his will?'
'I never asked.'
'Why not?'
'I wasn't his wife.' Rebecca held an envelope out to Scott. 'Here's that letter, from Terri's lawyer.'
Scott removed and read the letter. A Galveston lawyer named Melvyn Burke was representing the Estate of Trey Rawlins. Trey had died intestate-without a will-which made Terri Rawlins, his sister and only surviving relative, the sole beneficiary of his estate. Everything Trey owned would go to her. Rebecca would get nothing. Melvyn Burke instructed Rebecca not to enter the house or to remove any of the contents thereof. He also advised that she was not invited to Trey's funeral services and would not be allowed to enter the church.
'You ever meet this Melvyn Burke?'
Rebecca shook her head. 'I didn't know Trey had a lawyer on the Island.'
Karen continued her interview of Rebecca. 'So you didn't stand to gain financially from Trey's death?'
' Gain? I've got nothing now. No house, no car, no money, no clothes, no jewelry-nothing.'
'You have a child who still loves you.'
The two women regarded each other like fighters facing off before a boxing match. Rebecca finally broke away and glanced up at Scott, as if hoping he'd come to her defense. He couldn't. He could defend her against a murder charge, but not against deserting her child. She sighed and turned back to her pregnant interrogator.
'Karen, don't judge me as a mother until you've been one for a while.'
Karen's eyes dropped to her belly for a moment, then she looked back at Rebecca.
'That last night, did you and Trey have sex?'
' Karen. '
Rebecca again glanced up at Scott.
'Goes to motive.'
She sighed again. 'Yes.'
'Where?' Karen asked.
'On the beach. There's never anyone out here now, since Ike.'
'What were you wearing?'
'Lingerie I bought that day.'
'What exactly?'
She ducked her eyes. 'White silk babydoll and matching thong.'
'Did you change before you went to bed?'
'No. Why?'
'DNA. His. To prove up the sex.'
'They took my clothes, the police.'
Karen nodded. 'Evidence. Were any valuables missing from the house?'
'I don't know. They arrested me that morning, I haven't been back.'
