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  “I would have to think she did. They were married a really long time. She knew him better than most.”

  “Did she know everything about him?” I was fishing. This was a delicate topic, but I’d already come this far.

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Like ... did she know that Roy basically hit on anyone with boobs?”

  Barry snorted, amusement evident on his round face. “Vera isn’t blind. She was well aware of Roy’s rather unsavory appetites.”

  “And yet she stayed married to him.”

  “Women of a certain generation aren’t as willing to risk losing everything, even if it means gaining peace of mind.”

  “Was Vera planning to divorce Roy before he died? Is that why you were spending time together?”

  “I can’t discuss private client details with you.”

  It was a well-rehearsed answer. It was also true. That didn’t mean I was going to simply abandon my search for information.

  “What about Roy’s will?” I asked. “Is Vera better off with him dead than she was with him alive?”

  “You’ll have to ask her.”

  “What about in a general sense?”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning you can’t talk about the specifics of the work you do for Vera. What if I ask you generic questions? Can you answer those?”

  “I ... suppose.” His eyes narrowed, as if he expected a trap. He was wise to be wary. I was too tired to play an extended game, though. This would have to be quick.

  “So, say I’m married to a man for more than thirty years and I find out that all the money he said would be waiting for our retirement was suddenly gone,” I started. “Would I be better off with that man continuing to bring in money, or dying and leaving me his Social Security and a potential life insurance policy?”

  “That’s a very specific question.”

  “I’m a curious soul.”

  “You’re definitely that.” He let out an exaggerated grunt and leaned back in his chair, extending his legs in front of him. He didn’t look annoyed by my persistence as much as intrigued. “Without having specifics, in general, I would say someone would be better off with a dead spouse in those circumstances. That doesn’t mean I condone murder.”

  “Of course not.” I waved off the statement. “Did Roy have a life insurance policy?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “Has Vera expressed sadness at his death?”

  “You’ll have to talk to her about that.”

  “What would happen to an estate if it was proven there were children sired outside of the marriage?”

  He sat up straight. “What are you suggesting?”

  Now it was my turn to play coy. “I’m not suggesting anything. I’m merely asking a hypothetical question.”

  Barry didn’t look convinced, but now he was fully engaged in the conversation. “It depends on multiple things.”

  “What are those multiple things?”

  “There are ... variables. For instance, if the child’s mother struck an agreement with the father then the child might be in line to inherit nothing.”

  I thought about Tina. She would be the type to sit back and do nothing even though she was owed money for her son’s future. “What other variables?”

  “An unborn child would be a completely different scenario. In that instance, the child would have to go through DNA testing after birth and any money that might go to the child’s mother, or in a trust, would be delayed.”

  “Is that it?”

  “In a nutshell.”

  I wasn’t sure what to make of the information. “What do you think happened to Roy?” I asked. “Who do you think hated him enough to kill him?”

  “If you’re asking me if I think Vera is capable of killing her husband, I don’t. She put up with a lot from the man, but she wouldn’t have killed him. Part of her loved him, despite everything that he did to her over the years.

  “I think Roy loved Vera, too,” he continued. “It was in a careless way, but he still loved her. The things he did weren’t designed to hurt her. He just craved the attention.”

  “Yeah, but how many people did Roy hurt in other ways over the years?” I persisted. “Nobody had anything nice to say about him. There’s a reason for that.”

  “There is, but if you’re focused on Vera — and I don’t understand why you’re even here asking these questions since you’re not a police officer — you’re barking up the wrong tree. Vera wouldn’t kill Roy. As for everybody else in town, I’m not an expert.

  “The thing about a place like Shadow Hills is that everybody knows everybody, but that doesn’t mean secrets are always out in the open,” he said. “People work overtime in an environment like this to hide their true motivations, especially if those motivations are anything other than altruistic. In my opinion, whoever killed Roy is good at hiding who they are. That could be anyone, because no matter how well you think you know someone, it’s never as well as you might think.”

  That was also true. “You’ve given me a lot to think about. Thank you for your time.”

  26

  Twenty-Six

  Hunter was finishing up his security overhaul when I returned. He looked proud of himself, his chest puffed out, as he displayed the new wall mount.

  “Well?”

  My mind was busy with a million possibilities, but I nodded. “It’s pretty cool.” I stepped closer to give it a solid once-over. “It looks expensive.”

  He let lose an exasperated sigh. “Don’t worry about that. I hardly went broke buying it. Check out these.” He tugged on the string to pull the blinds closed. “Now you can walk around naked and not worry about anyone watching you from outside.”

  That was enough to earn a smirk. “I’m usually only naked in the bathroom and my bedroom.”

  “That’s because you’re a prude.” He poked my side, his grin expanding. “Tell me how manly I look after finishing this. I’ve earned it.”

  “You’re a god among men,” I reassured him, my mind drifting back to my conversation with Barry.

  “Okay, you’re not praising me nearly enough.” Hunter turned serious. “What’s bothering you?”

  There were so many things I wasn’t sure where to start. “I found out some things about Roy, but I’m not sure I should tell you. Someone could get hurt in the process.”

  “Is that someone Tina?”

  “How did you know?”

  “I make it my business to keep my ear to the ground. When Tina turned up pregnant, she told a story about picking up a guy in a Gaylord bar. The thing is, anyone who has ever spent more than five minutes with her knows that Tina is the last person who would ever have sex with a random guy.”

  “People get drunk,” I pointed out.

  “Not Tina. She was never a partier. She was one of those kids who always worried about her future. She wouldn’t risk something like that.”

  He had a point, which only served to fill my head with more questions. “If she was always so careful, how did she allow herself to get knocked up by Roy?”

  He held out his hands. “I don’t know. I questioned that myself. She was always ... really careful. She wasn’t like us. You and I were probably lucky there wasn’t an accident back when we were young and dumb.”

  “I was on birth control.”

  “Yes, but accidents still happen ... especially when partying in a field is involved. Tina probably thought she was safe — right up until the point she wasn’t.”

  “How did you figure out who the father was?” I was genuinely curious.

  “It wasn’t difficult. I wondered if there would be trouble when she started working for Roy.” He sank down onto one of the dining room chairs. “We all know Roy’s reputation. It’s an open secret in this town. Everybody commented on it, but nobody did anything about it.”

  “What could you do?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought about having a talk with him about the t
ime Tina lost her job. I didn’t know she was pregnant at that point, but it was obvious she was upset. I tried to talk to her, but she refused to open up.

  “I had no doubt Roy sexually harassed her, but as long as she didn’t file a complaint, my hands were tied,” he continued. “I was dealing with my father then. He was making noise about suing me because he was convinced I was the reason he’d lost his job, so I was distracted. Tina’s situation sort of fell through the cracks.”

  “And you feel guilty about it.” I sat across from him and studied his rugged features. “My grandfather mentioned what happened with your father. I’m sorry that things turned out that way. I know you were always hoping you could somehow navigate a better relationship with him. I guess you’ve probably given up on that.”

  “I’ve definitely given up on it. The thing is, by the time he was finally removed from his position he was like a stranger to me. I moved out of that house the second I could. There weren’t many options because I was only making minimum wage, but Ted Lansky offered me the room above his automotive shop. The rent was cheap, practically free, and all he asked in return was that I keep an eye on the place. I jumped at the chance.”

  “I remember.” I nodded in understanding as my mind drifted back to those first few months of freedom. “I was still home that summer. We had a lot of fun in that apartment, but whenever my dad was in town he would always track me down there and threaten you with castration.”

  Hunter chuckled. “That was funny. I think that was the happiest summer of my life. High school was over, so that was behind me, and my father was pretty much out of my life. I had you ... and work ... and sunny days down by the river. Nothing ever quite seemed that happy again.”

  My heart pinged. “I’m sorry.”

  He shook himself out of his reverie. “What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Maybe if I’d tried harder ... .”

  He shook his head. “We were too young. It wasn’t going to work then. I needed to figure out my life and you had dreams to chase.”

  “Well, one of us managed to accomplish what was necessary.” I sent him a smile. “You’ve obviously figured out your life. You seem to be thriving.”

  “In some ways my life is better than I imagined. In other ways ... well, let’s just say there are things to work on.”

  “That makes sense.” I focused on the security system. “I don’t think Tina killed Roy.”

  “I sincerely doubt it. If things drag out too long, though, I’ll have to question her all the same.”

  “She doesn’t want news getting around because of Dakota. She thinks he’ll be treated badly if people figure it out.”

  “I think more people know than she realizes. If I could put it together so easily, I’m sure others have.”

  “Vera?”

  He shrugged. “I plan to have another talk with her this afternoon. She’s been difficult to pin down. She talked to me that first day, but she’s pulled a disappearing act since. If I’d known how much trouble she was going to be, I would’ve interrogated her in the restaurant that day.”

  “Yeah, speaking of that ... .” I licked my lips and debated how I wanted to broach the next subject. “So, I think I figured out why my grandfather is dodging you. It didn’t seem normal, so I was curious. I asked him about it this morning and he owned up to part of it, but he was still hiding something from me. I’m pretty sure that something was Dakota.”

  Realization dawned on his face. “He feels guilty because he suggested that Tina work for Roy, doesn’t he?”

  “I think he feels really guilty. I also think he knows who Dakota’s father is. He didn’t want to tell me because he was afraid I would tell you.”

  “I already knew, so you didn’t spill secrets out of turn.”

  “Yeah, but it was bothering me that he was hiding from you that way. I didn’t want to believe he was capable of killing Roy, but he was acting really weird.”

  “He doesn’t care about protecting himself. He cares about protecting Tina. I’ll tread lightly, but I still need to talk to him.”

  I shifted my eyes to the small employee parking section. “I was talking to Barry Buttons a bit ago. I had questions about what would happen to Roy’s estate if there was a claim from a child.”

  “Did you find anything interesting?”

  “He would only talk in hypothetical terms. He said that if the mother — in this case Tina, but we weren’t really talking about Tina because he refused to get into specifics — signed off on child support with the father, it’s likely that Dakota would have no claim on Roy’s estate.”

  “Do you think Tina signed off?”

  “She didn’t say as much, but I think she just wanted to forget about what happened with Roy. He paid her a lump sum not long after Dakota was born. He told her that it would be easier to explain away than having to come up with multiple lies to placate Vera over an extended period.”

  “That makes sense.” Hunter rubbed his chin. “Did she mention anything else?”

  “Just that she made Roy promise to revisit the money situation when it came time for Dakota to go to college. I think she wants him to have more options than she had. She said that she wanted peace of mind when it came to raising Dakota.”

  “She’s a good mother,” Hunter noted. “I’ve seen them together at the park. He’s a bright kid, easygoing. She’s doing a great job with him.”

  “And he might not be the same kid if Roy had a hand in raising him,” I surmised. “I get it.”

  “Did you find anything else of interest?”

  “Barry also mentioned that Roy was known to park in the employee lot most mornings because he wanted to hang out with Grandpa. He was apparently there an hour early almost every day.”

  “That’s true. I’ve seen him there myself a time or two.”

  I focused my full attention on him. “Was his vehicle found here that morning?”

  “No.”

  “Where was it?”

  “At the real estate office.”

  “So how did his body end up here?”

  “That’s one of the many questions I need answered.” He looked at the clock. “It’s later than I realized. Do you want to go downstairs and have a late lunch? I’m guessing you haven’t eaten other than a bit of nibbling during your shift.”

  “How did you know that?”

  “I remember what it was like when you worked here the first time. You said that grazing calories didn’t count.”

  “I never was very bright.”

  He laughed. “So lunch?”

  I hesitated. “I’m hungry, but ... there’s something else I should tell you.” I couldn’t put it off any longer.

  He narrowed his eyes. “You didn’t do anything to screw up my investigation, did you?”

  “No. At least I don’t think I did. This is about Monica.”

  His expression was neutral. “What did she do?”

  I told him about her appearance in the restaurant earlier, cringing at the way his expression darkened. “I should’ve told you then, but I was afraid of making things worse. That’s no excuse. I just ... I’m so sorry. People are gossiping about you because of me. You don’t deserve it.

  “We know that nothing happened, but everyone else thinks that something did,” I continued. “I am ... forever sorry to have hurt you again.”

  When I found the courage to meet his gaze, I found amusement rather than fury waiting for me. “This isn’t funny,” I said, straightening.

  “It’s not funny,” he agreed. “But that prudish streak of yours always did make me laugh. You’re not to blame for this. I am. I knew after the first date that things weren’t going to work out with Monica. I kept her dangling despite everything, and that wasn’t fair to anyone concerned.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. “If you didn’t like her, why did you stay with her?”

  He pinned me with an incredulous look. “Seriously? I should think that would be r
ather obvious.”

  “You did it because of me.” It was a statement, not a question. “You wanted to send a clear message so I would stay away from you.”

  “No, I wanted to send a clear message that I wasn’t pining for you,” he clarified. “I knew keeping distance between us probably wasn’t going to happen. I just felt like I couldn’t breathe when I heard you were coming back.”

  “You acted surprised when you first saw me.”

  “I was surprised that you were barely back and had already found trouble. I wasn’t surprised to see you, but I kind of wish it were under different circumstances. As for Monica ... I feel bad because I don’t feel anything for her. I don’t even like her, but I kept her around. That doesn’t exactly make me a good person.”

  “You’re the best person I know.” I meant it. “Everybody makes mistakes. You need to talk to Monica. However this goes, she deserves your honesty. She’s a terrible person as far as I can tell — and her eyebrows look absolutely hilarious — but it’s not okay to purposely hurt her.”

  “I agree. Your safety took priority for the morning. Now I’m going to carb up and handle her the way I should’ve weeks ago. I won’t leave her twisting in the wind.”

  I wanted to ask what would come after, if there was a chance for something to happen between us. Now was not the time. Once the dust settled and Roy’s killer was found we could think about other things ... if either of us even wanted that. My emotions were so tangled I could barely see straight.

  “So ... lunch.”

  “Lunch,” he agreed, getting to his feet. “By the way, I put that gross flower box on the balcony. The fact that you were letting the cat go in that is beyond disgusting. I scooped his litter, too, and made sure he had a bowls of food and water.”

  “You really have been industrious.”

  “I’m a man of many talents,” he agreed.

  He showed me the new lock on the stairway door as we headed down. He’d gone all out, spared no expense, and I was grateful. Grandpa was sitting in a booth when we entered the café. Hunter headed directly for him.

  “This is a fortuitous turn of events,” he said, sliding into the seat across from Grandpa, who was buried in his newspaper.