“Her face was all but gone,” he said.
“Jessica took out the insurance policy, knowing she needed money. Darren could have snuck out of Chicago, killed Lana, burned the beauty shop down, and then returned. We have credit card receipts but no footage yet of him swiping any of his cards.”
“Jessica could have also hired someone to do the dirty work,” he said. “Burn down her business while she’s out of town, and then they return as the victims.”
“If we go that route, Jessica hadn’t counted on Lana’s death, and maybe she panicked. Maybe she got cold feet and said she was going to the cops.”
“You saw Darren when?” Gideon asked.
“Yesterday afternoon at about three. I brought up Lana but didn’t mention she was dead. My questions could have spooked him. Maybe he calls Jessica and they plan to meet up here. She’s no shrinking violet and calls him out for Lana. She suspects the affair with Lana, and their fight gets ugly. He strangles her and burns the place down.”
“Easy for him to get up here, kill Jessica, change, and return to the store to call for help.”
“Though why would Darren set the fire at the Bailey ranch?” she asked.
“Maybe he wants to shift the blame to Elijah, who is a very convenient scapegoat. Not a coincidence that the beauty shop burned after Elijah’s prison release. A fire at the ranch near you and Ann would circle back to the College Fire.”
“It’s plausible, but crime is rarely that complicated or that well planned,” Joan said. “Motivations, like most people, are generally simple.”
“That’s basically true,” Gideon said. “Wonder if John Pollock knew the Halperns?”
Joan shrugged. “Each agrees to torch the other’s property and provide an alibi.”
Gideon rubbed the back of his neck. “Now you’re straying back into complicated.”
When Gideon and Joan arrived in town, Becca greeted them in the hallway by the stairs. “Darren Halpern is waiting in the conference room. He keeps asking about his wife.”
“There was a body in the cabin,” Gideon said to Becca.
“Is it Mrs. Halpern?” Becca asked.
“We’ve not made an ID yet.”
Becca’s expression turned grim. “When a wife goes missing, my money is always on the husband,” Becca said.
“We’ll follow the facts, Becca,” Gideon said.
“You’re the boss,” Becca said.
“I’d like to be present when you talk to Darren,” Joan said.
“It’s one thing to walk a scene but another to participate in an official interview,” Gideon said.
“Darren has not been charged.” She hung up her jacket on a peg and rubbed her hands together. “We’re just having an informal chat, right?”
Gideon realized he liked working with Joan. She had a sharp mind, and it turned in directions his did not. He could follow A to B to C and could dig deep into the details. She saw the same facts but through a different prism. “Right.”
“Then why not have me along? He might be the type who underestimates a woman. Most men do.”
Becca’s eyes widened with amusement, but she did not comment.
Gideon shook his head. “Anyone who underestimates you does so at their own risk.”
Her grin contained a rare glimpse of humor. “I tend to agree.”
“I’ll let you in, but don’t talk.”
She held up her first two fingers. “I swear I will be quiet.”
“You’re not a Scout,” Becca said.
“The oath thing applies to everyone, right?” Joan asked.
“Don’t say a word, Joan,” Gideon warned.
“I promise.” She followed him down the hallway and paused while he made two cups of coffee.
“I don’t need coffee,” she said.
“It’s not for you. It’s for him.”
“And here I was assuming.” She shook her head.
“Can’t do that.”
“Won’t again.”
Inside the room, they found Darren sitting at the end of the table reading his phone as he tapped his foot. Gideon closed the door, and Darren rose immediately. “Did you find my wife?”
Gideon set the coffee cup in front of Darren and waited as Joan took a seat in the far corner. He sat and asked the man to do the same. “When was the last time you saw your wife?”
“Yesterday,” he said. “We were staying in town. She was very upset about the fire. She’d been on the phone most of the morning with the insurance company. I told her to be calm, but she lost it. She took off and said she needed time alone.”
“And you thought she went to the cabin?”
“It’s where she goes from time to time when she needs quiet.”
“Does she need quiet a lot?” Gideon asked.
“More lately.”
“No cell service ensures quiet,” Gideon said.
“The cabin is off the grid completely.”
“When did you decide to drive up to see if your wife was there?”
“After she visited me,” he said, nodding to Joan. “I knew it was a matter of time before the cops blamed us for the fire.”
“And now your cabin has burned,” Joan said quietly.
Gideon tamped down a rush of frustration as he shifted his chair, deliberately dragging the metal feet against the floor. “Go on, Mr. Halpern?”
“I saw the smoke above the trees as I was driving to the cabin,” Darren said quickly. “I floored it and raced toward it. I could see the fire had destroyed the building.”
“Did you go inside?” Gideon asked.
“It was still too hot. I drove back to the nearest landline and called the cops. Look, I’ve been calling my wife for hours, and no answer. I need to find her.”
Gideon sipped his coffee, taking an extra beat to gather his thoughts. “We’re looking for her. But if you don’t mind, I want to circle back to the Beau-T-Shop fire and Lana,” he said.
Darren’s brow furrowed. “What does Lana have to do with this?”
Gideon dropped his voice a fraction, as if he and Darren were allies and confidants. “Turns out she was pregnant.”
“Pregnant. Okay. A couple of the girls in the store have gotten pregnant.”
Darren was tense, but his lower limbs remained still and his hands relaxed. When folks lied, they might be able to control their face and
