“I...I’m really sorry to hear about wh...what happened today, Ms. Roberts,” he stammered.
“Viola. And thank you.”
“Terrible thing. Terrible. How could anyone do such horrible things? First Natasha,” he seemed to choke a little on her name—whether from disgust or genuine sorrow, it was hard to tell. “Then this awful incident at the hotel. You could have died.”
“True. But I didn’t.” I gave him a brave smile. “That’s something to be thankful for.”
“Too true. Too true.” He swallowed an alarmingly large mouthful of wine.
“It was really scary,” Cheryl was fully into her role now, relishing every minute. I was not the only one with a flair for the dramatic. “I mean, I only heard Viola scream, but Piper, you were closer. Surely you must have seen something.” She widened her eyes in feigned innocence.
“No. Nothing,” Piper muttered, nose buried in her wine glass.
“That’s too bad,” Cheryl said mournfully.
I gave her a look. Girl was laying it on a little thick. Fortunately neither of our suspects seemed to notice, even though Piper was probably one of the cleverest people I’d ever met.
“What did the police say?” Jason asked. “Surely someone called them.”
“The police didn’t say much,” I admitted. “I doubt they think it’s related.” Liar, liar. “Just an accident.”
He seemed to breathe easier. He took another deep swallow of wine, nearly emptying his glass.
“Although,” I continued, watching him stiffen back up, “I do believe Detective Costa plans to question everyone again. Just in case.”
Piper nearly dropped her glass. A few drops of wine spattered on her pajama pants. “You mean us?”
“I imagine so,” I murmured taking a sip of wine. “After all, you’re part of the investigation. Costa has to be thorough, I’m sure.”
Jason was looking increasingly ill. “But we had nothing to do with this!” he wailed loud enough to wake the dead.
“Of course not,” I soothed, reaching over to pat him on the forearm like an elderly aunt. “I mean, the fact Costa even suspects you is just ridiculous. Isn’t that right?” I turned to Cheryl for confirmation. She gave it willingly, if perhaps a little overenthusiastically. “What we need to do,” I continued, “is to show Costa that you had no reason to kill Natasha. Then I’m sure he’ll cross you both right off the suspect list.”
Jason sank into one of the kitchen chairs. “You think so?”
“Oh, I’m sure of it.”
Piper stared moodily out the sliding glass door, beyond which the surf pounded against the sugar white sand. “That would be a relief,” she finally admitted. “Not saying that...witch didn’t get what she deserved, but we didn’t do it.”
“Piper,” Jason admonished, “it’s unkind to speak ill of the dead.”
“Oh, get real, Jase.” She whirled on him, her face an angry mask. “That woman made both our lives miserable, and you know it. It’s a relief she’s dead, but neither of us are killers.”
“Okay, all right.” I rushed in to soothe ruffled feathers. “Anyone who knows you knows that, but Costa is a stranger. He’s just doing his job, so we’ve got to help move things along in the proper direction. Right?”
Everyone agreed.
“How?” Jason asked.
“Well, let’s think.” I tapped my chin, pretending to be in deep thought. “Why would Costa suspect you in the first place? Other than that they always suspect the spouse, of course. And, I’m sorry to point it out, but you were in the midst of a nasty divorce.”
“I don’t know why he’d suspect me,” Jason wailed. “There’s no reason—.”
“Well, there was the fight,” Cheryl pointed out helpfully as she grabbed a second bottle of wine and topped off her glass.
Jason looked blank.
“At the party,” I nudged.
His face cleared. “Oh that.” He waved his hand dismissively. “That was nothing. She was behind on her monthly payments. As usual. All part of the pre-divorce agreement. But it’s nothing that wouldn’t have been taken care of eventually. Just a game she loved to play.”
Piper snorted, upper lip curled, but said nothing. I’d had no idea he was getting alimony, or whatever it was. I’d assumed he was flat broke. It wasn’t surprising Natasha had kept that hush-hush. She definitely wasn’t the sort who’d like people knowing her almost-ex was getting a cut of her money.
“Okay, so the almost-ex-husband angle. They always think the ex has something out for the victim, right? So, like, would she have done something you might have wanted revenge for? In the eyes of the police, I mean.”
“Of course not,” he said. “Even if I was out for revenge, it would have been stupid of me to take it.”
“Why’s that?” Cheryl asked.
“Because I needed her alive if I wanted to keep getting alimony after the divorce was final. And believe me, they were very nice checks.”
“All right, how about inheritance? The police would definitely look into that. Who inherited Natasha’s money and book rights?”
“Oh, that all goes to her sister,” Jason said with a wave of his hand. “She changed the will long before our marriage failed. I don’t get a damn thing. See, I told you. Natasha was worth far more to me alive. Without her, I’m broke.”
Chapter 12
Back in the Spotlight
“WELL, THERE GOES SUSPECT number one,” Cheryl said glumly.
“And number two,” I agreed with equal gloom.
“Piper?”
“Exactly. Killing Natasha would have meant killing the goose that laid the golden egg. So to speak. With Natasha alive, Piper got to live off the money Jason was getting from Natasha every month. With her dead...” I shrugged.
“I see your point,” Cheryl said morosely. “Now what?”
I sighed. “Let’s take a walk along the beach. Clear our minds.”
“Sounds good. As long as we don’t find any bodies.”
At the edge of the sand, we shucked our flip-flops and padded barefoot down the beach. The sound of the waves lulled me into something approaching a moment of Zen. Without thinking about it, I turned in the direction of the Don CeSar Hotel and the scene of my earlier near-meeting with the Grim Reaper.
Most people would probably be
