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Ash frowned. “You said that last night, but why? Common enemy and all that?”
“They just never have,” Gwen said simply. “Two different people, and I don’t think he ever agreed with their age difference. Alan is adamant Stephanie is the reason Declan wouldn’t buy him out fairly because of the divorce, but I have it on good authority that Stephanie demanded a divorce before Alan wanted out.”
“Interesting,” I replied. “And you think Stephanie might give him more money now that Declan’s dead?”
“If the finances of the business are stable, and there’s no reason to believe they aren’t, then Stephanie would want him gone. Even without Alan, the business won’t fail.”
“But all the lawsuits?”
“Probably won’t go anywhere. They’re not criminal charges, and the company will just throw the surveyors under the bus. Ever since the laws changed, they can get in who they want for it, and the building standards in this country have fallen to absolute shite.”
Ash frowned again. “Granny. Language.”
“Oh, piss off,” Gwen shot back. “I’m going to order a drink. Shall I get food while I’m there?”
We quickly looked over the menu and told her what to order, and she shuffled off to feed and wine us after shoving Tofu’s leash into my hand.
I really hoped I wasn’t about to become a babysitter for the breathing chicken wing.
It wasn’t on my bucket list.
“What do you think?” Ash asked me as soon as we were alone. “Who’s your number one choice?”
“I don’t know. I thought Guy was, but Alan and Stephanie have pretty solid motives.”
“Do you know how Declan died?”
I shook my head. “Violently is all I know. There was a lot of blood. I really hope they clean that up before I’m allowed back in.”
“They will. They’ll have the room deep cleaned.”
“Excellent. They’ll save me a job,” I muttered. “I just don’t know who’s most likely to have done it, because it’s such a weird place to do it. Why were they at the bed and breakfast, of all places?”
Ash grimaced. “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about that, too. Why there? Was it someone who didn’t know you were back and thought to take advantage of an empty building? Nobody ever went down there after it closed. Nobody had a reason to. Maybe they thought it was an easy place to hide a body.”
“Or were they trying to frame me? Were any of those people at the wake? If they were, they could have seen us talking.”
“I don’t know. We could ask Tracy. She was behind the bar all night and would probably know everyone who came in and out all night.”
“Would she tell us?”
“Sure. This town is full of gossips, Lottie, and this place is the next best thing to the hair salon.”
“Ugh. I’m not going there. I’ll end up agreeing to a whole new hairstyle if I walk into that place.”
“I feel that. How do you think I got these highlights? Nicole talked me into it, and I’ve regretted it ever since.” Ash tugged on a thick part of her hair. “I think we have three solid leads and one slightly wonky one with the Swanns.”
She was right. Guy, Alan, and Stephanie had the best motives, but we couldn’t rule out Michael all together.
“I think Stephanie is the least likely of the three. There was a lot of blood, Ash,” I said quietly. “I don’t know if a woman would have been able to do that to him. He wasn’t a small guy. Unless she’s like an ex-shotput thrower or something. Could she have overpowered him?”
She wrinkled up her face. “I don’t know her at all, really, but she’s a bit more Miss Honey than Miss Trunchbull.”
“Could she have attacked him?”
“Sure, she could have. Any of us could with enough anger. I think the one thing we have to consider is that all these people had an emotional tie to Tierney,” she reasoned. “And emotions make us do funny things.”
I puckered my lips thoughtfully. She was right. Even down to something as simple as slamming a door—it was always slammed harder during anger.
