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“That first separation lasted about six months. Elmore did a passable job of begging and pleading and promising and debasing himself, and I, like the fool I am, eventually believed it and took him back. Things were never the same after that, of course, but they were good enough, I guess. I never really got over what I walked in on that afternoon, though. I think that’s why I ended up cheating myself.”
This time it was Faith’s turn to feel uncomfortable.
“I met a charming man at the country club about six years ago. He was tall and handsome and had the most luxurious head of hair you’ve ever seen in your life. He was English, too, and I’ve always had a weakness for English accents.
“Well, one thing led to another, and next thing I knew, I was the one doing the bouncing, and it was Elmore who walked in on me. We fought, of course. I threw his earlier infidelity back in his face, he called me pretty much every name you can think of, and once more, we were living apart.
“I really don’t know why we reconciled that time. I think I just didn’t believe I had a choice. After all, I don’t work. Elmore was the breadwinner in the family. I ended up apologizing to him even though I wasn’t sorry, and once more, we tried to move on.
“This time it was too much. We tried to get along, but the next five years were hell. We spent most of our time fighting, and when we weren’t fighting, we were silent. The silence was worse, I think, just sitting there a few feet away from a man you once thought you would grow old with and realizing that you might as well be on another continent.
“Still, I stayed. One thing Elmore did was provide me with a very nice life. That’s hard to walk away from when you grew up living with four brothers in a trailer park. But he cheated again, and when my first thought was, ‘Good, now I can go find someone else, too,’ I realized it was really over.
“I kicked him out of the house. He gave me the same old spiel about how sorry he was and how much he wanted to reconcile, but this time, I told him no. So, here we are, months later, fighting over money and waiting until our marriage of thirty years is finally over. Except I guess the waiting is over, isn’t it?”
Faith didn’t answer. She cleared her throat and said, “Lucinda, can you think of anyone who might have wanted to hurt your husband?”
“The IRS, maybe,” the older woman answered. “I never looked too deeply into his finances, but like I said, he was a tad too concerned with the banking practices of different countries. I wouldn’t be surprised if they come to see me a few weeks later. Not that I’ll have anything to tell them. One benefit of not being an earner is that I have nothing they can use against me. I imagine they’ll take the house, though, and the cars. Probably the furniture too. I suppose I can stay with my sister and her husband. They aren’t wealthy by any means, but they have a nice, little house in Phoenix.”
“Did your husband have any business associates who might be impacted by his fraud?” Michael asked. “Anyone who might have a reason to want him dead besides …” his voice trailed off.
“Besides me?” Lucinda finished. “It’s all right, you can ask. I have a security camera over the front door that will show I’ve been home since four-thirty yesterday afternoon. Don’t look so guilty, I know you need to do your job.”
“We’ll take a look at the footage,” Faith said, “thank you.”
Lucinda nodded. “As far as anyone else who might want to hurt him, there’s no one I can think of. He worked alone as a day trader. He had an office, but he didn’t share it with anyone else. Unless he was sleeping with someone else and that person was crazy or married to a violent, jealous husband, I can’t think of anyone who might want to hurt him.”
Faith nodded and stood.
Michael handed Lucinda a business card. “If you think of anything else, give us a call.”
“You know, I still loved him,” Lucinda said. “I hated the bastard, but I still loved him. I guess I didn’t realize that until just now.”
Faith couldn’t think of anything to say. She tried, “I’m sorry for your loss,” but the words sounded hollow in her ears.
CHAPTER TEN
They drove to the hotel in silence. Even Turk was depressed, sitting in the back seat of the cruiser with his head on his paws. They reached the hotel at four-thirty, but neither were in a mood to sleep. Michael brought them more coffee from the hotel lobby, and they spent a solid hour sitting and staring at the TV. The early morning programming was as mind-numbing as one might expect from a discount hotel, but it didn’t matter. The background noise quelled the irritation all three felt as a result of lack of sleep and the frustrations of the case.
Maybe quelled was too strong of a word. Muted might be more accurate.
Finally, Michael stood. “I need to shower,” he said. “Call me if someone decides to turn themselves in.”
While Michael showered, Faith leaned back and closed her eyes in a futile attempt to catch at least a few moments of sleep. Her body was exhausted, but her mind raced. The killer was moving fast, too fast. Amanda Montgomery was murdered only four days ago, Katherine Navarro only five days before that. They had only a few days before the killer would strike again and no idea who the next target might be.
Faith showered after Michael, but the warm water did no more to soothe Faith than the few minutes of rest. Dawn was creeping in through the curtains of the room when she left the shower. Faith noticed with a touch of irritability that Turk, at least, had managed to get some rest. He snored contentedly in between the two beds, his head comfortably resting over folded paws.
Michael sat at the table, a fresh cup of coffee in his hands.
“If you overdo it on the caffeine, you’ll develop heart trouble,” Faith said.
“What are you, my mother?” Michael grouched.
“I’m just saying, if you want a long, happy life with your own affair, you might want to cut back.”
Michael glared at her. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
Faith shook her head. “Nothing. Sorry. Bad joke.”
