“I’d rather just take a bullet to the brain than end up like that,” Bea said, shaking her head.
No one disagreed with her.
Then she gave her report on Robert Ainsley, leaving out Deidre’s obsession with the man’s roses and her questionable driving abilities.
Then it was my turn to tell them about Jennifer Hollis.
“James called a closed board meeting after Henry died,” I said.“That’s when they were told about the financial inconsistencies.She said they were told that evidence pointed at Henry, and it was assumed that was the driving factor behind his suicide.James asked them to close ranks and protect Henry’s legacy.”
“And they just went along with it?”Deidre asked.
“Unanimously.”I picked up my tea.“They felt like any scandal would only hurt the organization.She also confirmed the relationship with Jameson’s daughter.She witnessed her sneaking into Henry’s hotel room one night.But she said she didn’t believe that Byron knew about the affair.”
“How can she be so sure of that?”Hank asked.
I shrugged.“She said Byron had a pretty steep temper, and that if he would have known, he’d have killed Henry.I mean, according to Jennifer, Henry and Byron were pretty good friends.They’d gone to school together.I can’t imagine Henry sleeping with his twenty-something-year-old daughter would have strengthened the bond.”
“Happens all the time,” Bea said, waving her hand in dismissal.“Men don’t look at that stuff like women do.It’s in their DNA to look for someone who can breed and continue their line.Men are primal.”
“I hate to admit it, but it’s true,” Deidre said.“Just look at Patrick, dear.He never would have looked for a woman closer to his own age.Once women get into their thirties things start to dry up.”
“Thank you, Deidre,” I said, dryly.“Good thing I’m only thirty-four.”
“Well, you’re not getting any younger, dear,” she said, and then gave a pointed look at Dash.
“Doesn’t anyone care what a man has to say about this?”Walt asked.And Dottie, Bea, and Deidre all said, “No,” simultaneously.
“But Byron’s temper does put a different light on things,” Bea said.“If he found out about the affair he could have killed Henry in the heat of the moment.”
“A staged suicide isn’t exactly the heat of the moment,” Hank said.“That’s premeditated.But I agree.People can go to unimaginable lengths when they’ve been betrayed.”
“I did a search for the daughter after our talk on the phone,” Bea said.“Serena Jameson is Serena Lovell now.She’s married with three children.Graduated from Charleston Southern University with a degree in elementary education.She’s been teaching at a school on Amelia Island in Florida for the last seventeen years.”
“When did Byron Jameson die?”I asked.
“According to my information,” Bea said.“Six years ago.He never remarried or had any other children.”
“Byron Jameson stays on the list,” Dash said.He looked at me.“And we need to talk to Serena as soon as possible.”
“Before you make that call,” I said, “there’s something from the Noreen Goble interview you need to hear.James and Jackie Henshaw were having an affair.Noreen caught them herself.”
Hank’s eyes narrowed.“James was here all day helping Walt go through boxes and never breathed a word of it when Jackie’s name came up.”
“No,” I said.“He didn’t.”
“Did Henry know?”Dottie asked.
“Noreen said no.But she also said Henry would have been furious if he had.He thought the world of Edie.”
Deidre was quiet a moment.“James and Edie did separate for a time.I assumed it was just one of those rough patches couples go through.They got back together and nobody ever said why.”She looked at me.“I suppose now we know.”
“And Jackie knew about Henry and Serena,” I said.“Noreen confirmed it.She’d figured out early on that Serena’s clinic visits weren’t medical.Kept it to herself.”
Bea turned her wine glass slowly.“Interesting.”
Dash’s phone buzzed.He glanced at the screen.“That’s the lab.”He pushed back from the table and stepped into the hallway.
The room went quiet while he took the call and then Dash came back and sat down and said, “They found a small amount of residue in the decanter.Not enough to test conclusively from the sample they have, so they’re sending it to the state toxicology lab for a full panel.Could be nothing.Could be something.We’ll know more in a day or two.I’ve got a couple of favors there owed to me.”He set his phone on the table.“No prints on the glasses or the decanter other than Josephine’s.”
