“Any alibi for Warren’s death?”
“At home.Wife went to bed around nine, but nobody can vouch for the full night.”
“Did you speak with anyone else?”
“Derek Lyle.”
Selena took out her notebook.“Who’s he?”
“Ray pointed me toward him.Derek worked for Warren and Ray a few years ago.Got accused of stealing cash from the office safe.Warren fired him.Derek sued and lost.”
“Bad blood then?”Selena asked, hopeful.
“Plenty enough for the whole county.Derek says he never stole anything.Claims Warren framed him because Derek saw debt letters Warren didn’t want seen.”
Selena wrote that down.“Debt letters from whom?”
“He didn’t know specifics.Banks.Private lenders.Final demands.Enough for Derek to think Warren was in deeper trouble than people realized.”
“And does he have an alibi?”Selena asked.
“Home alone.He lives with his mother but she’s on vacation.”
“That’s going to be difficult to verify,” she said.“Can you get one of your deputies to check at Derek’s address and Ray’s address for any neighbors who might have a Ring cam or security footage for that night?We might get lucky and see one of them leaving their house.”
Connor nodded.“Ray and Derek both had reason to hate Warren.Both say money was a problem.Both worked with him, so either could’ve known where he went, who he trusted, what would get him to that lodge.”
“Any link between them now?”
“Not that I know.But I’ll have Arnold check calls, business filings, anything showing recent contact.So far, nothing on Warren’s phone seems out of the ordinary.”
“Okay.”
Connor looked at her notebook.“What about you.Find anything on Sandra?”
Selena could hear it in his voice.He wasn’t happy about treating her as a suspect.
Selena turned a page.“I reviewed her public social media.Two weeks ago, after she confronted Warren, her posts changed.Betrayal quotes.Articles about lying husbands.Then one post saying husbands are only good for children and leaving in a ditch.”
Connor’s mouth tightened.“That doesn’t make her a killer.”
“No.But it tells us they weren’t rosy.And she felt betrayed.”
“People post stupid things when they’re hurt.Half the people in this county have posted things they regret after an argument.”
“Some people do more than just write messages,” she replied.
“Selena.”
She looked up.
Connor’s face had closed slightly.Not enough for a stranger to notice.Enough for her.
“You’re keen to rule her out,” Selena said.“I get it.You know them.”
“I’m keen not to decide a grieving widow murdered her husband because she wrote something ugly online.”
“She’s a suspect until she’s not, Connor,” Selena said.“You know how this works.”
