AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Finley lowered the fist poised to pound again and turned to the middle-aged man standing in the next driveway. “What do you mean, gone?”
“She came home earlier than usual. A little before three, I think. I kept hearing her car door slam over and over, so I looked out the window to seewhat she was doing. I thought maybe she was cleaning out her car. It kind of sounded like that. But no, she was carrying stuff out of the house and shoving it into the car. She didn’t even have it in boxes or bags, just armloads.”
“Did you talk to her?” Finley tamped down the mounting frustration.
“I came out on the stoop and asked her if everything was okay, and she told me to mind my own business.” He shrugged. “We really didn’t get along. She always played her music too loud, and I always complained.”
“Do you have any idea where she was headed?”
He shrugged. “Out of here, that’s all I know. Good riddance. She was one wacky bitch.”
“Wacky how?” His definition and Finley’s might not be the same. Right now Finley knew for sure the woman was a liar.
“I don’t know.” He lifted his shoulders in a half-hearted shrug. “There was a lot of coming and going. She went out a lot late at night and then came back early in the morning and then headed back out again for work. It was weird. I guess it’s possible she was working two jobs.”
“Did she ever have friends over?” Finley asked, stepping off the porch to move toward the neighbor.
“You some kinda cop?”
“Yeah, kinda.” Finley pulled her cell from her pocket and pulled up the pic of Jarrod Grady. She showed it to the man. “Did you ever see this guy visit her?”
He nodded and made a sound that was part laugh, part grunt. “Heck yeah. I saw him plenty of times. Whenever he visited, they were either fighting or ...” He wagged his eyebrows. “Well, you know. The walls are thin in these old houses. You can’t miss the kind of rowdy sack time those two had.”
Marsh had admitted the two were still seeing each other. Now the neighbor had confirmed as much. At least that much of her story had been true.
“How long has Lena Marsh lived here?”
“Since last year. September maybe.”
“Had this man been visiting her the whole time, or was this a more recent activity?”
“I thought he was her husband.” The neighbor scratched his head. “He lived here for a couple months when she first moved in, then just visited, then stayed full-time for a while, then back to the random visits. It was a weird relationship.”
Finley’s frustration shifted toward fury. Marsh had lied about how long she’d known Grady. “Have you seen him here recently?”
He narrowed his eyes as if concentrating especially hard. “Like the middle of last week, Wednesday or Thursday.” He frowned. “No, wait, he came by on Saturday about five thirtyish, but he only stayed like two minutes. I don’t think she was even home.”
On Saturday? Grady had returned from Atlanta on Saturday. So, he’d come here even before going home. Maybe his flight hadn’t been delayed after all. He just had an extra stop to make. Why hadn’t Winthrop confirmed the delay? Maybe she had.
Their client had her own ideas about when and how much to share with her legal representatives. If Finley had had any doubts, their conversation just minutes ago had confirmed her suspicions.
“Are you certain about the timeline?” Finley asked as she barreled toward a pissed-off zone she rarely allowed herself to enter. What the hell were these people up to?
“Absolutely,” the neighbor confirmed. “I got laid off a year ago after I hurt my back. Now I’m on disability.”
Meaning he entertained himself watching the neighbors. Finley calmed herself. She needed to focus on the details. “Do you have any idea where she lived before coming here?”
“Hotlanta,” he said, referring to Atlanta. “I noticed the Georgia tag when she first moved in. The guy, Jay, he was out back grilling one day, and we talked a minute. He said they were from Atlanta.”
Whoa. Wait. “Did you say Jay?”
“Yeah. The guy in the picture you showed me. Jay Grady.”
So the J.Grady signatory could actually beJayGrady. Sounded like confirmation enough that J.Grady and Jarrod Grady were the same person. Seemed as if Winthrop’s security guru should have figured this out already.
Finley pulled up a photo of Ellen Winthrop. Showed it to the neighbor. “Have you ever seen this woman visit?”
He shook his head. “Nope. That her mother?”
