“Okay,” I said. “I have a couple of other things I want to look into. Meanwhile, keep trying to think of anything, anything at all, unusual or different or strange about the night before Terry was killed.”
“Okay, I will,” she said.
I got up to leave, and she walked me to the door. When we got there, I stopped.
“I don’t know if this is something I should be saying or if it will help you or hurt you or whatever, but I’ve talked to the woman. There wasn’t any love there, Rachel. Whatever the relationship was built upon, it wasn’t love. And there was no talk of Terry leaving you.”
She nodded, and as I left, I could see the tears begin.
Some days the classroom doesn’t look so bad after all.
Chapter 28
At ten o’clock the next morning, I once again stepped into the beautifully decorated lobby of the law firm of Chaney and Cox. And, once again, the beautiful decorations included my good friend Melanie.
“Well, hi there,” she said, as I exited the elevator. “I like the look.”
For today’s visit, I had selected dark brown slacks, an off-white linen sports coat, brown loafers, and a white shirt with a tie that had a cream background with some sort of little tan figures on it. I’d never been able to figure out what the figures were supposed to be, but I liked them.
“Hi, Melanie. The bosses in yet?”
“Mr. Cox won’t be in today, but Mr. Chaney’s in his office. Did you have an appointment, Jeremy?”
“Nah,” I said. “I thought I’d just walk in unannounced and make his day.”
“Okay,” she said, “let me give him a buzz.” And I think she rolled her eyes just a bit as she said it. Melanie appeared to be getting to know my personality rather well and rather quickly. Perhaps I was an easy read, personality-wise. Perhaps there wasn’t that much to read.
While she talked to Elias, I took note of her outfit. Since she’d noticed mine, it only seemed right. She had on what appeared to be a dressy denim skirt with a pale blue silk blouse, open at the neck, showing the same gold necklace and earrings she’d had on during my previous visit. It was a good look for her. Of course, off the top of my head, I couldn’t come up with a look that I thought wouldn’t be good for her.
“Mr. Chaney has a few moments for you, Jeremy,” she said. “I’ll walk back with you. I have to get his signature on some papers.”
As she preceded me down the hall to Elias’ office, I saw that her ensemble was completed by high-heeled navy pumps. I enjoyed following her this time just as much as I had the first time we’d made the trip.
As we entered Chaney’s office, he was coming out from behind his desk, his hand stretching toward mine. We shook, and I waited for a minute while he signed his name a few times for Melanie. Then she left, and Elias motioned for me to sit down. I chose one of the wing chairs, and he sat on the sofa.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said. “Would you like something to drink?”
“No, I’m fine, thanks,” I said.
“Well, then, what can I do for you, Mr. Barnes?”
“Just a question or two,” I told him. “When I was here last week, you mentioned that you and Mr. Cox prided yourselves on the supportive work environment that you foster here.”
“Yes, I did,” he agreed.
“I wondered if you knew that Terry Pendleton was cheating on his wife?”
He didn’t respond right away, but he didn’t seem to be calculating a response. I got the idea that he really was surprised by the information that Terry had been unfaithful to Rachel.
“No,” he said, “I did not know that, and I’m certain that William didn’t, either. If that is true, I’m very sorry to learn of it. I, ah, assume that his indiscretion did not involve anyone here at the firm.”
“No, not as far as I know.”
“Well, then, what possible connection could it have with his death?”
“Jealous husband or boyfriend,” I said.
“Oh,” he said. “Yes, I see. Well, I suppose it’s possible. Have you shared this information with the police?”
“Not yet,” I said. “I want to be sure that it’s germane before I go any further with it.”
Germane? Must have been the legal surroundings.
“At any rate,” he said, “I would assume that your investigation is nearing an end.”
“Not necessarily,” I told him. “There are a couple of other angles I want to explore first.”
“Such as?” he asked.
“Nothing I want to get into at the moment,” I said. “Mostly, I wanted to see if you had any additional information about Terry, regarding the infidelity.”
“No, I’m sorry,” he said. “I can’t help you at all in that area. Now, if there’s nothing else, Mr. Barnes, I have a 10:30 appointment.”
He walked me to his door, where we once again shook hands, and I started walking back down the hall towards the lobby. My conversation with Elias hadn’t helped me much, other than to confirm what I already knew, which was that, for a reason that I couldn’t quite put my finger on, I didn’t trust him. He’d said that he assumed I was close to being finished with my investigation, but if I didn’t know where I was on the thing, how could he? He couldn’t, of course, so his comment would seem to have been more wishful thinking than anything else. But why would he want me to bring the investigation to a close? Nothing I’d uncovered so far had in any way linked Elias Chaney to Terry’s death, and I couldn’t think of any scenario that would do so.
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Sandra Richardson’s voice.
“Jeremy. What are you doing here?”
The door to her office was open, and she’d spotted me as I walked by. I stopped and turned back and walked into her office.
“Hi, Sandra. I just had to
