should be out soon.”
Peggy and Lenore sat back down to wait. Peggy didn’t know what to say that could make it better. She apologized to her friend, then glanced at the little ficus she’d moved away from the door. It was doing quite well.
“You know I didn’t mean those things I said,” Lenore answered. “I know whose fault this is. What did I do wrong, Peggy? Keeley has always been so high-spirited. She and I are like aliens together. I don’t understand her at all.”
“You’ll be fine.” Peggy patted her hand. “A few years from now, Keeley will have her own family, and things will be different. All of this will be a bad memory.”
They waited for another two hours. Peggy called the school and canceled her afternoon lecture. Lenore fell asleep with her head back against the wall, a testimony to her sleepless night at the hospital. Peggy woke her as the door opened, and she heard Janice’s voice. Keeley came out before her lawyer, teary-eyed and eager to leave.
“What happened?” Lenore was on her feet at once, clinging to her daughter. “Are they letting you go? Are they going to arrest you?”
Janice silenced them and hurried out of the station. A barrage of reporters shouted questions and videotaped them leaving. They made it to Janice’s car and drove to a parking lot to talk.
“I’m okay, Mom,” Keeley assured Lenore. “They didn’t charge me. But they might want to talk to me again. I didn’t kill Mark. I guess they believed what I told them.”
“It’s more that they have a stronger case against Mr. Cheever,” Janice explained. “They’ll probably check back through their forensic evidence now that they have your fingerprints. If they find anything that could link you to the crime, it will be a whole different scenario. If you think they might find anything, you should tell me now.”
Keeley shook her head. “There’s nothing for them to find. I didn’t even touch him that night. Why would I? He made it clear where he stood about me and the baby. He might’ve fooled around a lot, but he wasn’t leaving his wife for anyone else.”
Peggy hugged her. “Everyone makes mistakes.”
“Especially with men,” Janice finished. “The stories I could tell you!”
Lenore and Peggy stared at her. Keeley sniffed and waited to hear more.
“Well, that doesn’t matter. It’s good you didn’t touch him. We’ll wait and see what happens,” Janice cautioned.
Peggy left the other three women in Janice’s car. She’d brought her bicycle in the trunk and decided to ride to the Potting Shed. She knew Selena and Sam would be anxious for information about Keeley. Steve had told her he was going back to work. She’d left him with everything up in the air between them. But right now, her whole life seemed to be that way.
Before she could get to the shop, she found herself face-to-face with Ronda McGee. The tall brunette ran to catch up with her as soon as she saw her go past the wrought-iron gate into Brevard Courtyard. “Peggy? Could I have a word with you?”
“Of course.” Peggy glanced at the Potting Shed. It didn’t look exceptionally busy. She felt guilty that Selena had to miss her break, but she’d been looking for a reason to speak with Ronda again.
They sat in the courtyard and ordered coffee from Sofia. The smell of frying food from the French and Caribbean restaurants spilled enticingly out to the afternoon shoppers who were enjoying the beautiful weather.
“I saw that girl on television this morning,” Ronda began. “I realized what it might look like to you. After all, I was seeing that bastard, too. I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea.”
Peggy sipped her coffee. “As I understand it, he was seeing a number of women.”
“That’s right.” Ronda fidgeted with her spoon. “I guess I knew at the time. But I didn’t have any expectations of marrying him. Certainly not having a child with him! I’m happily married. I have two children already. I was just looking for some fun, you know?”
Peggy realized there wouldn’t be a better opportunity to question her. Ronda was worried about being put in Keeley’s position, except with far greater consequences for her personal life. “What exactly did happen between you?”
“I knew Mark for years. He worked with my husband. I don’t know what made me think about going out with him. It was one of those things.” She played with a strand of her hair and bit her lip. “We had dinner a few times. We stayed at this cute little bed-and-breakfast that was part of a winery. He didn’t drink alcohol, you know. He was allergic to it. But we still had a good time. We both knew we weren’t serious.”
“What happened the night Mark was killed?”
Ronda hesitated. “This might sound bad, but it’s the truth. My husband was out of town. I was supposed to go to Blumenthal to see
“That was quite a plan,” Peggy said. “Wouldn’t your friends have missed you?”
“Of course! They wouldn’t say anything though. Half of them are having affairs, too. We cover for each other.” Ronda said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Anyway, I got this phone call. I couldn’t tell who it was or even if it was a man or a woman. The voice was disguised or something. It warned me to stay away from Mark. It threatened to hurt me if I didn’t. Whoever it was made it clear that it would be bad if I saw him again.”
Peggy took out a notebook. “When was this?”
“About an hour before I left to see
