The door lurched open, its movements jerky as if the person didn’t have a good hold on the door. Charles stood there, his brown hair sticking up in all directions and his muddy green eyes rimmed with red. Liv could smell the alcohol, even from five feet away.
If the rumors were true, even if they weren’t officially dating, Charles must have cared for Cairo. “Whatcha doing?” Charles looked at them, his eyes squinting. Then his eyes widened and he nodded. “It’s the lesbians.”
Liv rolled her eyes, then she and Ryan exchanged a look. The town had been relatively accepting, but neither Ryan nor Liv were stupid and had overheard the whispers that went on for months. ‘The lesbians’ was one of the more flattering things they’d been called.
“We’re here to talk about Cairo.” Liv kept her voice gentle and apologetic. She didn’t want to scare him off, even if he was totally smashed.
Sorrow flashed across Charles’s face, and his eyes darkened. “I love her,” he said, looking through them as if they weren’t there. “I loved her.”
Was Charles a suspect? Liv considered the thought as he invited them both in. They followed, although Liv noticed that Ryan was careful to place herself close to the door. Charles wasn’t known for being a violent drunk, but alcohol did strange things to people and their inhibitions.
“When did you two break up?” Ryan asked, trying to keep her voice casual.
Charles swung his head in her direction, the over-corrected movement typical of the intoxicated. “Is this an interrogation?” He tried to scowl but couldn’t quite get the facial muscles all the way there, so it looked like a grimace.
“No,” Ryan said, and it rang true.
“She’s just here for me.” Taking a risk, Liv reached over and squeezed Ryan’s hand.
Ryan turned to her, her face frozen in that slight smile to protect their cover. But Liv could almost feel the alarm through their touch.
“Good, good.” Charles nodded, his head bobbing up and down. “Y’all should have someone t’love.”
The air became uncomfortably thick. Liv cleared her throat, but when she went to let go of Ryan’s hand, she didn’t let her go.
There was a question in Ryan’s eyes, and Liv let it go. It kept up the facade, at least. “When was the last time you saw Cairo?”
“Last Wednesday,” Charles said without additional prompting. “She came over for the night since Steven was ‘away on business’.”
“Was that often?” Liv kept her grasp on Ryan’s hand, hoping she wouldn’t break to take notes. She didn’t want to scare Charles off.
“Yeah.” He exhaled slowly. “We was gonna run off together.” His eyes were distant now.
That caught both Ryan and Liv off guard.
“What about Steven?” Liv said cautiously.
Charles made a derogatory noise. “Fancy bastard.”
“They were engaged,” Ryan said.
“He was a right bastard,” Charles repeated. “Couldn’t even fight like a man.”
“You two fought?” Liv tried to print all of this information into her mind, so she wouldn’t forget.
“Couple weeks ago.” Charles scowled. “Cairo came by crying with some bullshit story.”
“Are you saying that Steven was abusive to her?” Ryan’s voice was low and nonjudgmental. It could be a big break in her case, though, Liv was quite certain.
At the very least, it would create a possible motive for murder.
“I’m saying she was upset over something, and he was what upset her most often.” Charles sighed, almost resigned. “If she hadn’t spent all her time at that damn bar…” His voice trailed off.
“Sports?” Ryan asked.
Liv couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Was it relevant? Maybe it was. Everything was relevant to a murder case, until proven otherwise.
“Yeah.” Charles pointed in the rough direction. “Wherever it is.”
“There.” Ryan corrected him, pointing in the right direction.
“Thanks.” Charles smiled an overly big smile to her.
“How did you and Cairo meet?” Ryan asked.
“Originally,” Liv clarified. In a small town, there were tons of ‘origin stories’ floating around, and this was one that had never been clarified. Had they met at a poker club in Vegas like some had said, or was it love at first sight when they’d met in school?
“We met playing poker online.” Charles’s eyes were distant. “She was one of the best there was, you know.”
“Best?” Liv frowned.
“Made thousands and thousands. Coulda made more, if she was willing to go back and play in person.” Charles turned to look at the two of them. “I didn’t need her money. I just wanted her.”
The broken tone to his voice tugged at Liv. Ryan, however, seemed more impassive.
“Did you play poker?” Ryan asked, her hand shifting slightly to reconform itself to Liv’s.
“I’m a Texas Hold-Em man.” Charles puffed up slightly. “Played poker just for fun.”
“How’d you end up meeting her, then?” Liv looked at him. “If she was one of the best…”
“Didn’t say I wasn’t any good.” He looked at her, admonishing.
“Did she quit?” Ryan asked, interrupting him.
He nodded. “When she met Steven, she went straight. No more poker for her.”
Ryan nodded, Liv alongside her. Liv’s mind was spinning again. “Have you ever met her cousin?”
“Vermillia? Velunima? Veronica?” Charles tried to sort out the name.
“That last one,” Liv said with a hint of amusement.
“Gold-digger,” Charles muttered. “All she wanted was Cairo’s money.”
“She owns the bar in town,” Ryan said.
That was news to Liv, something she was still assimilating from their earlier conversation.
Charles shrugged. “Still a bitch.”
Ryan pursed her lips.
“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Liv asked.
There was a change in his demeanor. He straightened up, looking at her with almost a frightening intensity. He stepped in her direction and grabbed the collar of her shirt before she could flinch. “Catch the bastard,” he said, his alcohol-laden breath blasting her in the face. “Catch him before I kill him.”
“Thanks.” Ryan knocked his hand off of Liv’s collar, ducking out of the way. “We’ll be going now.”
Charles didn’t seem to notice, sinking back into his chair and
