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“Yeah, it was freezing out, and the wind was out of control. So I ran—sprinted—from the house. I was still keyed up and hurrying when I pushed through those swinging doors and burst into the kitchen. I feel awful about knocking that hot cider stuff all over her. I didn’t mean to do that.”
Leo studied Paul. His contrition seemed genuine. “Okay, so after you and Hatty had your collision, what did you do?”
“I mopped up the mess while John checked out her arm. They were going to put it under the water, but it was blistering already. So they called their doctor and hopped in the car. I told them not to bother stopping at our house—that I would tell the others what happened. But I guess they stopped to see you and circled back anyway. Because when I came in the back door, I heard them at the front of the house telling Bethany about the plan to have a nightcap.”
“Where was Rex then?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ll admit, by that point, I was peeved. First of all, if the Carlisles were going to stop by, they could have given me a lift. Instead, I hauled all Rex’s crap back down the hill through a snowstorm. And then, he’s nowhere to be found. I thought maybe he and Tessa were, you know, mending fences, so to speak.”
“After the stunt he pulled, you thought he stood a chance with her?” Sasha’s incredulity shone through her words.
Another shrug. “Chicks are unpredictable. And she was under Rex’s spell for a long time. But then I ran into Grady in the hallway by the stairs. He told me Tessa was in my room talking to Leeza.”
“Wait, was Grady going up the stairs or coming down?” Sasha asked.
Paul wrinkled his forehead. “He was going up.”
“So what did you do then?”
“I took the drink stuff out to the kitchen. Chance was in there hiding from Bethany, who was in a mood. So we cracked open a few beers and were shooting the breeze when Annette started screaming her head off.”
CHAPTER16
Sasha lingered in the hallway while Leo took Paul back to the parlor. She could hear him urging Paul not to play cards. You could lead a horse to water, she thought, but there was nothing you could do to stop him from self-destructing if he couldn’t put his wife first. She took a moment to give thanks for her own husband, who was devoid of any self-destructive impulses—except for the need to work for a top-secret dangerous agency that he couldn’t tell her about.
She spotted Hank and Chris walking toward the library.
“What’s going on?”
“We’re looking for something to do to kill time until you’re done with the interviews and we can have that cake.”
“Looks like quite a cake,” Chris told her.
“Really?”
“Oh yeah,gâteau au amande et sa ganache chocolat.”
“Ouh là là,” Sasha said. “Almond cake with chocolate glaze. French makes everything sound more delicious, doesn’t it?”
Hank laughed. “How’s it going in there?” He jutted his chin toward the office.
“Okay, I suppose. The second verse is the same as the first: Everybody had a problem with Rex. Nobody’s giving us anything solid.” She blew a loose tendril of hair out of her face in frustration.
“All you can do is keep digging.”
“I know.” She sighed.
Just then, a burst of crackling static followed by a shrill squawk sounded from inside Hank’s right pocket. He pulled out the police scanner.
“They’ve been quiet for a while, I wonder what’s going on.”
“This is Officer Duncan. Anybody there?”
“Go ahead, Duncan. This is dispatch.”
“I’m on my way to Doctor Graham’s office. Got a call about a patient of his who urgently needs to get home. Something about an emergency up at Silverwood Acres Estate. So I’m going to give them an escort.”
Sasha’s eyes widened. Hank’s jaw hinged open.
