“But again, we need to keep our investigation quiet,” Ford said. “It’s not appropriate to talk about at a dinner party.”
“Why?” I asked. As if I didn’t know.
“We don’t want anything leaking to the real press,” Ford said. “God forbid another innocent man has his reputation ruined because of speculation. As much as the three of us want this solved, we’ve got as little to go on as we ever have.” He shot Carlie a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry to say.”
Lily turned to me. “What happened after your family left town?”
I summarized the turn of events for the Paisley clan, making sure to tell them Luke had become a doctor. “So all in all, we’re all fine.”
“That’s a relief,” Lily said.
The housekeeper came in then to announce that dinner was now ready, cutting off any further discussion that might lead us to evidence that we were correct about Richards. My questions remained unanswered. I didn’t know if Sharon Richards knew about the affairs, but my instinct was telling me she didn’t. She seemed like the devoted, content wife of a powerful man. Her invitation might have been purely innocent. As far as Richards went, I thought I’d detected an uneasiness when Carlie had spoken about Beth but I couldn’t be certain. Ford, on the other hand, was acting jumpy and definitely had tried to steer the conversation away from Beth’s murder. Had he been hiding the truth all these years? Hiding the truth to save his friend? If so, what had he gotten out of it?
“What are you two up to?” Ford asked through gritted teeth.
He and Carlie and I were all out on the back patio, having a brief moment alone. The other women had gone down to look at the roses and Richards had said he needed to make a quick call, leaving us alone with Ford.
“We accepted a dinner party invitation,” Carlie said. “How could we say no when we found out how far back you three go?”
“Jesus, Carlie.” Ford spat out the words. For the first time, I saw a hint of temper and darkness. “I already told you this is ridiculous. Thom is the finest man I’ve ever known. You’re stirring up trouble for no reason.”
“No reason? I’d say two dead bodies justify a reason,” Carlie said. “Why are you so protective of them? Were you in on it?”
“In on what?” Ford asked.
“The cover-up. Along with Richards’s uncles,” I said. “Did you cover it up to protect your golden boy?”
“Are you kidding me?” Ford drew closer to me. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. This psychic you’re talking to has your head filled with nonsense.”
Carlie was shaking her head. “To think I thought you were a good guy. On our side. You’re one of them.”
“Hold on now.” Ford turned to her, the back of his neck as red as a fire engine. “I’m not on their side or anyone’s side but the law.”
“Then why won’t you look into him?” I asked. “You have to admit that between the paper, the town’s doctor, and a sheriff, they could certainly pull off protecting their nephew from going to jail.”
The door to the kitchen swung open and Richards walked out. “What’s going on out here? Do we need another drink?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the ladies coming up the stairs. Inside, the staff scurried around the kitchen cleaning up the dishes from dinner. As the ladies reached the top, Carlie lunged toward Richards. “I know you did it. You were sleeping with my sister and Thea and you killed them both.”
Richards staggered backward as if Carlie had shoved him. “What are you talking about? That’s ludicrous.”
Carlie’s voice rose in decibel and pitch. “I know you were sleeping with Beth the spring and summer she died. She was pregnant with your child. You, you stabbed her to death, you son of a bitch. If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll prove it.”
“Thom,” Sharon said. “What’s she talking about?”
Sheriff Ford held up a hand, much like a traffic cop, and spoke in a dismissive tone. “These two amateur sleuths have been listening to a lunatic psychic and are imagining things that aren’t true. We should all call it a night.”
“A psychic told you Thom was sleeping with your sister?” Sharon asked Carlie.
“That’s right,” Carlie said. “Did you know, Sharon? It wasn’t just Beth, either. There were others. We’ve talked to them. We know.”
If I hadn’t known she was bluffing, I would have believed her.
“Thea was one of them, wasn’t she?” Carlie asked. “And you killed her for it. Just like you killed my sister.”
“You’re insane,” Richards said, exploding. “This is outrageous. I didn’t kill anyone.”
“My husband doesn’t have affairs,” Sharon said. “Especially not with underage girls. His life is about service to others.”
“These were high school girls he slept with when he was a teacher. God only knows how many more there are from later years. We only know about the ones from here. I’m not sure how many there were total.” Carlie pulled out her phone and spat out another bluff like a professional. “But two of them answered my email and another two emailed me. And there was Thea. We have proof of that too. My sister saw her at your house. It’s in the journal. When she came to you and said she was going public, you had her killed.”
“You’re lying,” Richards said. “I didn’t even remember Thea.”
“No, this can’t be true.” Sharon turned to her husband, her eyes pleading with him to tell her we were wrong. “Thom, please, say something.”
“Who are they?” Richards asked. “I want their names. They probably want money. That’s all this is. They’re taking advantage of my wealth and know I’m vulnerable because of the governor race.”
I stepped closer to Richards, hoping my bulk would intimidate him. “No, they’re telling
