“Well, that morning. I popped by very early—she called me. She was upset about something with Pete, and I headed over to just be with her. She was out in the yard. There was a flat of impatiens—she always felt better when she could work in the garden. I helped her do some planting before the sun got up too high. She was affected by the heat.”
“The day we left?” Nick asked.
“Yes, darling. You didn’t notice I was gone?” she asked with a teasing tsk, tsk.
“Guess it was when I was out for my run?”
“Yes,” she said. Then, to Reid with an edge to her voice, “He runs every day. It’s how he keeps his boyish figure.”
“So, you helped her plant. What did she want to talk to you about?” Reid asked.
“She was upset about Nicola. Pete was on the phone with her.”
“That morning?”
“Yes. He always tried to hide it from Beth, but she could hear him talking in the study. Just so thoughtless—cruel, really. Beth pregnant and him about to leave, and he spends what should have been time together with his wife on the phone with his mistress instead.”
“Did they fight?”
“I don’t know about that day,” Scotty said, “but I assume so. Beth wasn’t happy, that’s for sure.”
“What happened after you gardened?”
“She got tired and wanted to go inside. And, I suppose, have it out with Pete. I hurried home to see Nick off. And I was there when Pete and Lee showed up an hour later—to pick Nick up.”
“But you went back to Beth’s? I heard about you finding the UPS note.”
“I did,” Scotty said. “Around eleven, I brought blueberry muffins to cheer her up. Beth had been so down, about Pete’s affair, and even the baby ...”
“Tyler?” Reid asked.
“No, Matthew. She felt so sad because of the situation with his father.”
“Because she was planning to leave Pete?” Reid asked.
Scotty nodded. “Her family was destroyed. He opened the door to real hell when he started seeing Nicola.”
Reid nodded. “I’d like to go back to a question I raised a few minutes ago. When I asked if Pete was ever violent toward Beth, I felt you wanting to say something. Can you tell me?”
Scotty thinned her lips tighter this time. She looked away, and for a moment Reid thought she was going to change the subject again, to avoid answering. Instead she sighed and stared him straight in the eye.
“One time she had bruises on her upper arms,” she said, “as if someone had shaken her. Another time she met me for coffee, and she was wearing makeup—and that just wasn’t Beth. She’d use lipstick, eyeliner if she was going out at night, but she was one of those old-school New England fresh-faced women who’d probably never even touched foundation before that day. I asked her what she was trying to cover up.” Scotty lowered her eyes and stayed silent for a few seconds.
“And what did she say?” Reid asked.
“Her exact words were, ‘Some things just have to stay a mystery,’” Scotty said, her voice husky. She wiped tears from her cheeks. “She couldn’t even bring herself to tell me. She protected him, kept it to herself. But I knew he’d hit her.”
“You never told me that,” Nick said.
“Girl talk, sweetheart,” Scotty said. “We keep each other’s secrets.” She took the red-and-white checkered napkin off the picnic basket and pulled out a bottle of white wine.
“Isn’t it a little early?” Nick asked.
“The sun’s over the yardarm somewhere,” Scotty said. “My best friend was murdered. I think I can be forgiven for having a libation. Detective Reid?” She held out a glass toward him.
“That’s okay,” he said.
“Hey, Detective,” Nick said. “Lee’s the one you should really talk to. He’s probably closer to Pete than anyone.”
