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“No,” I said, taken aback.
Nancy’s eyes turned flinty. “I smell it on you. It’s coming out of your pores.”
I flushed, embarrassed. “Okay, I did drink last night but I’m okay now. Leave that aside for a moment, I want to talk to you about what’s going on. I need to know what John’s up to.”
“What do you mean?”
“I need to know what he told the police about me. He must have called you.”
“Um, he hasn’t said anything.” Nancy blinked. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re talking about? Why would he talk to the police about you? What did you do now?”
I let it go. “He gave the police a statement in connection with Lemaire’s death.”
“Who?” Nancy glanced at Connor, running along the water’s edge.
“Neil Lemaire, the accountant who died. Runstan’s accountant.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
Come on. “Level with me, will you? Did John tell you not to talk to me? I have a right to know what he said.”
“Wait a sec.” Nancy rose, brushing sand off her muslin shirt. “Let’s walk and talk.” She turned to Connor, waving. “Connor, let’s go for a beach walk!”
“Yay!” Connor ran ahead of us, swinging the pail.
I called out, “Connor, find some shells! I need shells!”
“Okay!”
“TJ, why are you here?” Nancy looked at me with a frown, and I fell into step beside her.
“I want to know why John’s framing me for murder.”
“What?”Nancy recoiled. “Are you serious?”
“You really don’t know what I’m talking about?”
“No, I don’t.” Nancy cocked her head in a way that told me she was genuinely puzzled.
“Neil Lemaire was an accountant at Runstan and he was found dead in his car last week. The police ruled it was suicide, but now they’re thinking it’s murder because John gave them a statement about me.”
“Are you serious?” Nancy’s blue eyes flared, and her mouth formed an astonished circle. “You mean heimplicatedyou?”
“Yes. Cops came to my house.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I don’t know, that’s what I came to find out.” I didn’t want to tell her more if she didn’t know it.
Nancy stopped walking. “TJ, you might as well know the truth. John and I broke up. Connor and I live here, at my parents’.”
What?“What?” This timeIwas shocked. Waves crashed behind me, but I didn’t hear them for a moment. “For real?”
“Yes.”
“Is this, like, a separation?”
“No, a divorce. We’re negotiating the settlement now. The marriage is over.”
