As Jenna bustled away, Zoe looked at him. “Did you talk to Barbara?”
“She confirmed Pop didn’t hit his head. He seemed unsteady and fell against the wall, slid down to the floor, and got wedged. Otherwise, the old coot would’ve picked himself up and probably never said a word.” Pete gazed at his father’s doorway. “Makes me wonder if he’s fallen before, and we never knew.”
The thought had occurred to Zoe too. But Harry was all right—this time—so her immediate concern lay elsewhere. “Just like I never knew you were acquainted with Jenna from somewhere besides here.”
Pete put off telling Zoe the story at Golden Oaks. The last thing he wanted was someone else to overhear.
No. The last thing he’d wanted was Zoe to overhear and think he was keeping something from her.
That ship had sailed.
He beat her to the driver’s door of his Ford Edge, knowing she’d refuse to leave the parking lot until he spilled all he knew.
From the passenger seat, she faced him. “Well?” Her breath raised a veil of fog between them.
“We still have all those boxes to load.”
He could see her clenched jaw in the glow of the dashboard lights.
Across town and back in Franklin Marshall’s office, Zoe waited until he scooped up a stack of books before closing the door, standing against it, arms crossed. She didn’t say a word this time.
She didn’t need to.
Resigned, Pete set the books on the desk. He faced her and debated how much to say.
“Jenna’s involved in the Landis case?” Zoe posed it as a question, but her tone said she already knew that much.
“Yes.”
“How long have you known her?”
“Since the first time I investigated Elizabeth’s murder.”
Eighteen
Nine years earlier
Jenna Haggerty phoned Pete, saying her landlord had given her his card, and agreed to allow Pete to come to her apartment to talk. A petite young woman, whose blonde ponytailed head barely came up to his chest, opened the door.
“Chief Adams?” Her voice quivered with nerves.
“Yes, ma’am.”
She stepped aside, allowing him to enter a pristine kitchen. Dressed in sweats the color of the clear morning sky, she reminded him of the girl in that cartoon with the blue garden gnome things. She led him to a small table that had seen better days and offered him a seat and a cup of coffee. He accepted the seat but not the coffee.
He opened his notebook and clicked his pen. “Do you know why I’m here?”
She perched uneasily on the edge of the second chair, her hands clenching the table in front of her. “Dustin?”
“That’s right.” When she didn’t say more, he said, “I understand you were friends.”
A shy smile crossed her lips. “You’re being kind, Chief. We were a little more than ‘friends.’ We were…intimate.” The smile faded. “And no, I didn’t know he was married.”
Pete eyed her. “You didn’t?”
“No. I didn’t,” she said firmly. Then sighed. “Okay, so I didn’t want to know. Dustin was so charming and funny. And kind. He wasn’t like all the other jerks I’d been dating. He was…” She searched for the word. “He was a gentleman. And he treated me like a lady. No one had ever done that before. I never suspected he had a wife. I should’ve, but I didn’t.” Jenna’s eyes gleamed. “I’m not a homewrecker, Chief. At least, I never wanted to be.”
Pete leaned back, intentionally striking a relaxed pose to set her at ease. “How did you meet?”
“At the coffee shop in Brunswick. The one near the college. I was reading. Or trying to. A jock was hitting on me and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Dustin came to my rescue. He can be an intimidating presence when he wants to be.”
The girl didn’t appear aware of what she’d said, but Pete drew a mental picture of Dustin, tall and athletic, intimidating his wife.
“Once he ran the guy off, Dustin made sure I was okay and then went back to his own table.”
“He didn’t hit on you too?” Pete asked, using Jenna’s choice of words.
“No. Not at first. But he was cute. I kept glancing over at him and caught him watching me. He smiled. I smiled. Flirting. You know? Then when I was packing up my stuff to leave, he came over and asked if I came there often.” She looked down at her hands, and Pete could tell she was back in that bittersweet moment. “It was such a corny opening line, we both laughed. But it worked. We met there for coffee the following day and went out to dinner the next.” She met Pete’s gaze. “I’m sure you can fill in what happened afterwards.”
“How long did you date before you found out about his marriage?”
She thought about it. “About six weeks, but it felt like we’d been together forever. I was totally in love with Dustin.” She lowered her eyes again. “I’m such an idiot.”
“How did you find out he was married?”
“He told me. He said his wife had found out about our affair. I was shocked. I mean, wife?” Jenna shook her head as if she still didn’t quite believe it. “He told me we had to stop seeing each other.”
“How’d that make you feel?”
“Feel?” she echoed. “Dirty. Used.”
“You must’ve been upset he chose his wife over you.”
“What?” Jenna’s gaze snapped up to meet his. “No. I was upset that he was married. But once I knew, I’d have broken it off if he hadn’t. I told you. I’m not a homewrecker.”
He gave her a sympathetic smile, knowing his next question might bring a demand to have her attorney present. “Can you tell me where you were the night of May second?”
Her eyes widened. “You think I killed Dustin’s wife?”
He didn’t. Jenna was neither tall nor athletic and, even in a dark hoodie, her curvy figure would never allow her to be mistaken for a man. “I have to ask. It’s my job.”
She stood, and Pete thought she
