specified why you’re so sure Jacob did it.”
“He argued with Belinda in a restaurant before she died.”
“That’s a matter of record. Did he threaten her?”
“She didn’t say exactly, but I could see by her body language that she was upset. And afraid.”
“Of Jacob?”
“No, of Santa Claus.” He polished off her cocoa, hesitated, then moved a reluctant shoulder. “But come to think of it, Dylan’s name came up a few times.”
“She was frightened of her brother?”
“Step.”
It took Romana a moment to understand. “Step-” she stared in amazement “-brother?”
“You didn’t know?”
“Why would I know?”
“You were a cop. I thought you people knew everything.”
“It wasn’t my case to investigate.”
He eyeballed a glittering pine tree across from them. “No, Stubbs and Canter got that gig. Short, fat guy with salt and pepper hair and no chin-that was Stubbs. Canter was a foot taller, with arms like Popeye and a butt to match.”
“Odd detail to notice,” Romana commented.
“I’m a details kind of guy.”
If his lopsided grin was intended to charm, the attempt fell flat, as he likely would when he tried to stand. Romana didn’t envy Fitz the remainder of her date.
Abandoning pretense, Patrick ditched his cup and drank from the thermos.
Romana waited until he lowered it to remark, “You wanted her to come on to you, didn’t you?”
Patrick stared at the pond where two dozen kids ranging from five to fifteen years of age struggled to glide, twirl and hop in full costume. “What I wanted wasn’t something I shared with Belinda. I told myself I’d wait. I never believed she’d last with Critch. He was possessive and gruff and, from what I’d seen, potentially violent. He had a tendency to freak whenever he caught her talking to another man. I figured when the marriage ended, she’d need a friend, and there I’d be.”
“A friend who’d segue into a lover.”
“We all have our pipe dreams, Romana. Mine died with Belinda six Christmases ago. If Knight didn’t kill her, maybe Warren did. But like I said, I lean toward Knight.”
“Because they argued.”
He hitched an irritable shoulder. “Well, it’s really more because of what she said afterward.”
A light shiver chased itself across Romana’s skin. “Which was…”
He swung the now-empty thermos by its silver neck. “This wasn’t part of our personal conversation. I heard her on the phone in the staff lounge. She sounded halfway to hysterical. She said she’d just had lunch with Jacob Knight.”
“That’s not news, Patrick. Jacob admitted in court…”
He halted her with a raised finger. “Not done yet, former Officer Grey. Belinda stated very clearly that she was frightened for her life. She said she wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Jacob Knight really did want her dead.”
“YOU PRETEND TO RIDE THE ostrich, Broderick, you don’t drag it around like a bag of trash. Play the game, young man, or there’ll be no trip to Disney World this spring.”
While Jacob observed the exchange from the guardrail, James Barret straightened from his crouch, snicked his elegant coat cuffs back in place and gave the back of an eight-year-old boy’s head a light tap.
“Go. Cooperate. Act like a godson I can be proud of.” When the boy slumped off, he gave his head a rueful shake. “That one has delinquent written all over him.” Without turning, he raised his voice. “What do you think, Detective Knight? Will you be arresting him in ten years’ time?”
Interesting that Barret would recognize him. Unfazed, Jacob went with the question. “I doubt it.”
“You can’t deny he has an attitude.”
“But no venom. He’s dragging his feet, not using them to kick anyone.”
Barret flashed neon-white teeth and twitched his cuffs again. “I’ll have to trust you there. He’s the son of my wife’s best friend. My wife wanted to be a godparent, and what Shera wants, Shera usually manages to get.”
Had Shera wanted Belinda Critch dead? Jacob set the question aside as Barret extended a well-manicured hand.
“You were questioned during the investigation into Belinda Critch’s death,” he noted. “How did you know her?”
Fitz appeared at Barret’s side and slid her arm through his. “James makes a point of knowing everyone and everything that matters. I thought you two might need an introduction, so I came back. Guess I needn’t have bothered.”
“You needn’t have,” Barret agreed, “but I’m glad you did. Fitz can liven up even the most awkward conversation, Detective.”
Jacob regarded him without emotion. “Are we having an awkward conversation?”
“If you came here tonight to ask me about Belinda Critch, then, yes, we are.”
“You knew her personally?”
“I did.”
Fitz glanced from one to the other. “Uh, listen, guys, this probably isn’t the best place to…”
“How well?”
“That’s a very broad question, Detective.”
Barret’s practiced smile had a snap far more vicious than the wind that slapped at their cheeks. Because he relished a challenge, Jacob let his anticipation rise and his own eyes gleam.
“I’ll rephrase. Did you have an affair with her?”
“Whoa-hi-now that’s a loaded question, Jacob.” He felt his own arm being snagged and squeezed as Romana added through her teeth, “Mayor’s a good friend of his, Knight.” She offered a smile that would have bewitched a corpse. “Hello, Mr. Barret. I’m Fitz’s cousin, Romana Grey. We met a few years ago at a university alumni dinner.”
“Met and danced. I remember the event very well.” He took her free hand, didn’t raise it to his lips as Jacob had expected, but held on and transferred his full attention to her. “You’re even more beautiful than I remembered.”
Fitz craned her neck to peer across the pond. “Where’s Patrick, Ro? You promised to, uh-keep him company for a while.”
“He drank too much hot cocoa and fell asleep. I buttoned his coat and stuck a pair of earmuffs on his head. But you should probably check on him. The wind’s a bit nasty tonight.”
Among other things, Jacob reflected.
Fitz fluttered at Barret. “Guess I’ll go, then.” She gave Romana’s hip a swat in passing. “Call me,” she said in an undertone.
“If I survive.” Romana squared up, refocused. “You know, you two, this really isn’t the place…”
But Barret brushed aside her objection. “It’s as good a place as any. I have no idea why my godson’s riding a wooden ostrich in this pageant and no particular desire to watch him do it.”
She sighed. “Doesn’t anyone but me know about the Island of Misfit Toys?”
Because Barret still hadn’t answered his question and likely wouldn’t head-on, Jacob opted for a roundabout approach. “How did you meet Belinda?”
Barret’s eyes, already cool, iced over. “I could tell you it’s none of your business. Unfortunately, in my experience that response seldom works with the police. It’s a matter of record that we met at a New Year’s Eve party nine years ago.”
Before Jacob could counter, Romana reaffixed her dazzling smile. “I love New Year’s Eve. It’s such an uninhibited night. Was Belinda’s husband at the party?”
Surprisingly, some of the ice in Barret’s eyes melted. “No, he wasn’t. I can’t tell you why. What I can say is that she never mentioned a husband while she was coming on to me. Sorry to sound crass, but that’s what she did for
