struggling to hold back tears.
“So that’s it,” she finished lamely. “I got in the car, drove away, and eventually ended up here.”
“Tell me about the wedding,” Marianne said. “Whose wedding is it again?”
“Tammy Lukins,” Joanna answered. “She used to work for Butch. She was one of his waitresses at the Roundhouse Bar and Grill up in Peoria. She’s marrying a guy named Roy Ford who used to be a customer at the Roundhouse. Since Butch is the one who introduced them, they both wanted him to be in the wedding. Tammy wanted Butch to be her . . .” She started to say, “man of honor,” but the words stuck in her throat. “Her attendant,” she said finally.
A short silence followed. Marianne was the one who spoke first. “You told me a few minutes ago that the dead woman’s sister from Phoenix ...”
“Maggie MacFerson,” Joanna supplied.
“That Maggie MacFerson thought her brother-in-law ..”
“Ron Haskell.”
“That he was the one who had murdered his wife. That he had stolen her money and then murdered her.”
Joanna nodded. “That’s right,” she said.
“So what will happen next?” Marianne asked.
Joanna shrugged. “Ernie Carpenter and Jaime Carbajal were supposed to go out to Portal this morning to see if they could find him.”
“And what will happen when they do?”
“When they find him, they’ll probably question him,” Joanna replied. “They’ll try to find out where he was around the time his wife died and whether or not he has a verifiable alibi.”
“But they won’t just arrest him on the spot, toss him in jail, and throw away the key?”
“Of course not,” Joanna returned. “They’re detectives. They have to find evidence. The fact that the money is gone and the fact that Connie Haskell died near where her husband was staying is most likely all circumstantial. Before Ernie and Jaime can arrest Ron Haskell, they’ll have to have probable cause. To do that they’ll need to have some kind of physical evidence that links him to the crime.
“What if they arrested him without having probable cause?”
“It would be wrong,” Joanna answered. “Cops can’t arrest someone simply because they feel like it. They have to have good reason to believe the person is guilty, and they can’t simply jump to conclusions based on circumstantial evidence. It has to be some-thing that will stand up in court, something strong enough to convince a judge and jury”
“That’s true in your work life, Joanna,” Marianne said quietly. “What about in your personal life? Is it wise to allow yourself to jump to conclusions there?”
A knot of anger pulsed in Joanna’s temples. “You’re saying I’ve jumped to conclusions?”
“Criminals have a right to defend themselves in a court of law,” Marianne said. “You told me yourself that you didn’t listen to anything Butch had to say. That when he tried to talk to you, you didn’t listen—wouldn’t even answer the phone.”
“This is different,” Joanna said.
“Is it? I don’t think so. I believe you’ve tried and convicted the man of being unfaithful to you without giving him the benefit of a fair hearing. I’m not saying Butch didn’t do what you think he did, and I’m certainly not defending him if he did. But I do think you owe him the courtesy of letting him tell you what happened, of letting him explain the circumstances, before you hire yourself a divorce attorney and throw him out of the house.”
Joanna sat holding the phone in stunned silence.
“A few minutes ago you asked me what you should tell Jenny,” Marianne continued. “How you should go about breaking the news to her and how you’d face up to the rest of the people in town. Have you talked to anyone else about this?”
