Andrew rubbed his chin. “A meeting.”
No doubt some sort of criminal underworld dealing. “At Bloom’s?”
“In the casino there.”
Jasper hadn’t known the club had a casino. It was likely a back room, closed off to anyone who didn’t intend to wager seriously.
“What kind of meeting was this?”
If Bloom found out an East Rip had been doing business in his club, he’d have a problem with it.
“The friendly kind,” Andrew answered, purposefully vague.
Jasper hadn’t expected him to be as eager to help as Lawrence Wilkes had been. More than likely, he knew the husband was always the police’s first suspect. And since most murdered women were killed by their husbands, Jasper would not set aside the possibility that Andrew Carter was any different.
“How long did your meeting last?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t keep tabs on the clock.”
Leo’s statement had been detailed, and knowing her as he did, it had also been accurate. “You returned to your table approximately three minutes after your wife’s first signs of distress. Did you hear the commotion from inside in the casino?”
“I must have.”
Impatience crawled along Jasper’s limbs, but outwardly, he remained unflappable. “Who arranged for this meeting?”
Andrew sat forward, his elbows on the arms of the chair. “The mysterious lady you seek to protect asked the same question. Even suggested I was drawn away from my wife on purpose.”
Jasper masked his surprise at Leo’s shrewd theory. “Were you?”
“I don’t take your meaning.”
“Did the meeting go as planned? Was there something suspicious about it?”
If he’d been lured away from the table, the person who arranged for it might’ve had something to do with the poisoning. Andrew was intelligent enough to realize that.
“No comment,” he answered.
Jasper knew how the East Rips operated. They meted out their own justice. If Andrew hadn’t killed his wife, he would be actively hunting down the person he believed responsible. Sharing information with a Scotland Yard inspector would not happen.
“Had anyone been bothering Mrs. Carter lately?” he asked next. “Is there anyone you can think of who might have wished her harm?”
Andrew huffed a laugh. “If anyone had been bothering my wife, I’d have taken care of it, Inspector.”
“Is there anyone who’d wish to harm you through her? Any enemies of your own?”
The next laugh was the only genuine thing Andrew Carter had expressed since the interview began. “What do you think? Of course, I’ve got enemies.”
“Anyone specific come to mind?”
“If someone does, I’ll be sure to let you know,” he replied, not even trying to mask his sarcasm.
“Were you and your wife having any difficulties lately?”
Andrew scoffed. “I didn’t kill her. Whether you think me capable of it or not, I loved Gabriela. I’d just married her, for Christ’s sake.”
“Maybe you regretted that. Wanted out.”
“Divorce is permitted these days, Inspector. A man doesn’t have to resort to murder to get out of his marriage.”
