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“Nothing.” Gabby held up her hands, hoping the envelope was thin enough not to show a bulge in the side of her pants.
“I could physically search you.”
Gabby slowly lowered her arms. “You forget I actually went to law school. Graduated and took the bar and everything, so no, you can’t.”
“Trespassing.”
That was technically true, but Gabby didn’t give in. “Try again.”
“You’re not helping your case,” Detective Schone said, speaking in her now-familiar clipped way that created uncomfortable silences and awkward fumbling.
Gabby fought not to react. “Am I a suspect in something?”
“Who else would want your ex-husband dead?”
Ten years ago, Gabby would have laughed and said,No one. Now? That list might be pretty damn long. “That’s your job to figure out.”
“Give me your best guess.”
Gabby hated this game. Her frazzled nerves kicked to life. She had to concentrate to keep her words slow and clear. No babbling. “I don’t know. A business associate? Disgruntled employee? Someone he ticked off?”
“His brother.”
A warning signal blared in her head. Not Liam. She refused to entertain even a fleeting thought about Liam killing Baines. Liam wasn’t that guy. “Liam is grieving.”
“He voluntarily turned over business documents that potentially confirm criminal activity by his own brother. Had the boxes packed and ready for pickup by the time we arrived at the office with a search warrant.”
That sounded like typical Liam behavior to her. He wouldn’t want to risk the business by being accused of hiding information. “So?”
The detective made a strange humming sound. “Convenient, don’t you think?”
“Liam was as stunned as I was to find out about missing money.”
“Yeah, you seem devastated as you crawl around your dead husband’s mansion. Oh, sorry.Ex-husband.”
Gabby could only tolerate so much sarcasm before she exploded. Detective Melissa Schone inched close to that line. “Goodbye, Detective.”
Gabby tried to edge around the other woman. The detective was tall with a slight build but managed to take up a lot of space. Maybe it was the gun, but there was something challenging about her, as if she wanted to dare you totry it.
“You should probably also know we found accounts, including two your ex hid from you during the divorce,” the detective said.
Theasshole.“I’m not surprised.”
“Fights over lawyers, the house, your daughter. That kind of back-and-forth can generate a lot of hate. The killing kind,” the detective said in a singsongy voice.
Gabby hated every part of this conversation. She was not in the mood to be assessed or tested or whatever the hell this was. “If every person going through a divorce killed their spouse, you’d never have a minute off.”
“My focus is this case, so I’m telling you to stay out of thishouse and the investigation. Otherwise, I might decide you’re racing to find and hide damaging evidence before I see it.” The detective hesitated for a second before continuing. “You don’t want to be in my spotlight.”
“We agree on that last part.”
“One more thing.” The detective pointed at the air-conditioning vent on the ceiling. “You never know where a security camera might be hidden, so be smarter.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jessa
“Slow down.” Retta poured the tea then placed the delicate cup and saucer on the table in front of Jessa. “I know you’re upset, but you’ve been talking nonstop for five minutes and have yet to match a subject to a verb.”
