“Like you?” Ryley asked, going in for the kill.
Jim coughed as if caught off guard. “Excuse me?”
Ryley pulled her purse open and took out the manilla file. She pulled out one incriminating picture for him to see. The lip lock outside the hotel. “Listen, I’m just here trying to get some answers.”
Jim lifted the picture, and his shoulders tensed. “Wow. I didn’t realize we were being watched. Does her husband know?”
“That’s not why we’re here,” Ryley said. “What changed from this picture to her death?”
Jim ran his hand through his hair and cleared his throat. “She killed herself, right? I’m not sure what changed, besides talking her into finding a new therapist. Did you know that her husband was banging the one woman that was supposed to help Kitty cope with her issues? Well, they were getting it on hot and heavy, but Kitty didn’t care. I was keeping her more than satisfied for a while. One minute we were great and she was fine and then next she wasn’t. We were fighting all the time. She was having terrible mood swings, and I broke things off.”
“Is that why you killed her?” Logan asked.
“God, no, I didn’t kill her. She killed herself,” Jim said.
“What were her mood swings about? Did she tell you?”
“She quit drinking, for one thing. That made her plenty moody, but she was having trouble with Melinda Johns.”
“Who is that?”
“The co-owner of Creative Juices art gallery,” Logan answered for Jim.
“What kind of problems?” Ryley asked.
Jim shrugged. “She’d only tell me it was an artistic difference of opinion.”
“Thanks for your time,” Ryley said, picking up the picture and shoving it in the envelope. They headed for the door.
“You aren’t going to tell her husband, are you? He’ll stop the donation money, and we won’t be able to help those in need.”
“I thought that was all gone with her death. Your partner Peter seemed to be worried how he was going to keep feeding everyone.”
“It’s her husband’s account the donations come from.”
Ryley paused and turned around. “Mr. Cantina, you said that you and Kitty were always fighting, what about?”
Jim crossed his arms over his chest. “She wanted to leave her husband and for things between us to move more in a serious direction. I wasn’t ready to commit.”
“She was going to leave Mr. Lynch for you?”
“Yeah. She wanted us to be together.” Mr. Cantina frowned. “Only now that she’s gone, I wish I’d said yes.”
Chapter 29
“Maybe she’s mad that he didn’t want her,” Logan said, climbing into the car. “Maybe she’s pissed that her life was cut short.”
“The thing about maybes is they aren’t really answers,” Ryley said and drove him back to his office. And she needed definites in order to help Kitty into the light. And avoid further attacks from a ghost. She’d faced angry ghosts before, but she’d never been hurt by one. Kitty was different. Frightening.
She parked but didn’t turn off the car. “Mind if I keep your files for a few days?”
“Don’t mind at all. It will give me a reason to see you again.”
“Make sure it’s not through a camera lens, unless you want it broken.”
“I do what the client pay for,” he said, opening his door.
“I’ll talk to the client and make sure my brother knows he’s overstepped his bounds.”
“Bus tickets don’t lie, Ryley,” he said, leaning back while holding the door frame. “If your dad is here, and he’s as bad as Tucker believes, then you need someone to watch your back, and not just from some pissed off ghost.”
“Thanks,” she offered. “I will.”
He tapped the hood of the car and started to close the door.
“Oh, and Bane?” Ryley called out before he closed the door.
Logan paused and glanced back inside. “You’ve already changed your mind? I’m kind of irresistible like that.”
“Actually, do you have any contacts at the paper? I’d like to know the source behind the article about me. I’d like to be sure before I tear the man apart with my bare hands.”
His lips twitched. “Felix Wilson. Your brother already had me check.”
“Yeah, well, that bastard isn’t getting the property now. Not over my dead body.”
“Be safe, Ryley.”
She smiled and glanced at her watch as Logan shut the door. Lunch had long passed. Evening was just a few hours away. She’d have to wait until morning to go talk to Melinda Johns at Creative Juices.
She grabbed her phone and dialed the number she knew by heart.
“St. James, Thompson, and Davis.” The new receptionist’s voice was cheery.
“Hi, this is Tucker’s sister, Ryley. Is he available?”
“Oh, yes. One moment please,” she said, and there was a click on the line.
“Ryley.” Her brother’s voice always grounded her. The one person in the world who had her back just like he knew she had his. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. I left the hospital last night, and I’m okay. Hey, listen, are you busy? I was about to grab an early dinner at the diner if you’d like to join me.”
There was a pause on the phone.
“It’s okay if you're busy.” She said. “I’ll get it to go.”
“No, that’s fine. I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes. I just have to rearrange an appointment.”
“Thanks, Tuck.” She pulled out of the parking space and drove to the diner. It was practically empty inside. A few guys sitting at the counter. A mother and a kid eating an ice cream desert.
Maggie glanced up from pouring coffee for a customer seated at the counter. She smiled as Ryley slid into her usual booth.
Maggie appeared with a coffee and water and set them in front of Ryley. “This isn’t your usual eating time.” Maggie filled the coffee cup. “Do you need another favor?”
“No, but I appreciate your roommate and your help. Getting an inside look kept an innocent man out of jail.”
“That’s always a good thing.” She put the pot on the counter behind her and pulled out her order book. “So, what are you craving today?”
“Comfort food. Homemade, not too much.”
