He laughed at that. “Of course he did.”
She shrugged. “I told him that it didn’t have anything of his on it, but he didn’t believe me.”
“He had to make sure,” he said comfortably.
She looked at the parking lot. “This is where she died, huh?”
“Apparently,” he said, but an odd note was in his voice.
She turned to face him. “Is that why you’re here?”
He looked at her and shook his head. “No, not at all.”
“That’s why I’m here,” she said. “She was my friend, before she became his mistress, you know?”
“Well, she was never your friend if she became his mistress. He was your husband.”
“Good point,” she said, “but I didn’t know what a louse my husband was at the time.”
“No, I think that’s one of his abilities. To be what you want him to be at the time.”
She thought about that. “You know what? That’s not a bad analysis. There was just something always very different about how he appeared to me versus everybody else.”
“And that was part of his talent,” he said.
“Well, you obviously respect him, since you’ve been working for him long enough.”
“I don’t know about respect at this point,” he said, “but it’s almost like I know him too well to quit.”
She gasped at that. “Exactly. Depending on what kind of man he really is, you could be right.” She looked back at the coffee shop, then at the spot where Robin had been stabbed, the bloodstains still evident. “You’d think that somebody would have seen this murder when it was happening.”
“You’d think so. But apparently not. And it is at the back of the corner, facing into the bush, so …”
“I guess I hadn’t really thought of it that way,” she said, “so maybe it was deliberate after all.”
“Usually a murder is deliberate,” he said, with a laugh.
And again, there was that odd note. She studied him quietly. “You never did have a family, did you?”
“Nope, my line of work wasn’t conducive to it.”
“No, you’d have to get out and to get away from my ex for that. He wouldn’t likely tolerate you having a partner. The competition probably wouldn’t go well.”
“Competition?” he asked.
“Well,” she said, “he wouldn’t like you being busy with somebody else. He’d want you at his beck and call, not somebody else’s.”
He looked at her for a long moment and then nodded slowly. “You know what? It really could be just that simple too.”
“What could be?” she asked, confused.
He shook his head. “Nothing,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.” He turned to head back into the coffee shop.
“It was nice seeing you,” she said.
He looked back at her, smiled, and said, “Ditto.”
Then he walked inside. She didn’t know what to do at that point, and it was yet another odd occurrence in her crazy life right now. She didn’t even know how to react. What she did know was that she felt even more unsettled now. And she knew of no reason for it.
Chapter 24
Doreen got back into her vehicle and greeted the critters again, only Mugs was growling out the window. She turned, and there was Rex again, just standing and watching her. She gave him a half smile and a three-finger wave and started up the engine.
“You don’t like him, huh, Mugs?” She couldn’t remember if he ever felt that way before or not. He certainly should have known Rex. “You do know him,” she muttered. “So I’m not sure why you’re acting like you are.” But the fact of the matter was, Mugs was definitely not a happy camper.
She rolled down her window, as she drove past Rex. “It doesn’t sound like Mugs remembers you.”
He smiled. “Hey, that’s not an issue,” he said. “Have a good day.” Lifting his hand, he walked over toward a vehicle on the far side.
As she drove past and headed toward the exit of the parking lot, she saw a green car, as in the green Jaguar. That would also make sense because Rex would likely return it himself, which would also suit her husband. Mathew never picked up rental cars or returned them. He wouldn’t do the paperwork required either, so it was always handled by somebody else in order to make his life easier. Plus, he always ordered deep green Jaguars if possible. Was that why Robin had the same vehicle type? To get back at him? Or had she somehow commandeered his connections and automatically received the same type of vehicle that was always delivered?
She pondered that as she slowly drove home. Could it have been Rex who had searched her house? That hadn’t even clicked when she was talking to him, but realistically it probably was him. Who else would be here with her ex? Who else would have come to search? At least she told Rex about the USB key and had given it to her ex, but maybe that was a nonissue. She didn’t know, but she frowned as she headed toward home.
Still feeling a little unsettled, she stopped at one of the parks and got out with the animals for a walk. They were more than happy to oblige, as she walked toward the beach and sat down on a bench, near a big sign warning that no animals were allowed unless on a leash, so she knew she must watch out, or she’d get in trouble because she had neither Goliath nor Mugs on a leash. She had leashes with her, but Goliath was not impressed with his. He’d handled it for the first few weeks, and, ever since, he was quite upset whenever she tried to put it back on.
She whistled for Mugs and brought him back from the beach where he’d been barking at the waves, caused by powerboats out in the lake. “Come here, Mugs.”
As he came back toward her, she quickly clipped on the leash and just sat here at the bench. She had Thaddeus on her shoulder, and her crew seemed to be content to enjoy the fresh breeze. “It’s been a very weird day today,” she muttered. She brought out her phone, checked her emails and messages, but found nothing. Even as she was checking, a text message arrived from Mack.
Well?
She smiled and sent a message back. Nothing.
That wasn’t quite the truth. So she sent back a message, telling him that she’d seen her husband’s long-term employee Rex, and that he was likely the one who had searched her house. Immediately her phone rang. Laughing, she answered it. “I didn’t mean for you to call me.”
“Well, after a comment like that,” he said, “how could I not?”
She shrugged, but, of course, he couldn’t see that. “I just wanted to let you know,” she said. “You always get upset when I only give you part of the information.”
“With good reason,” he said.
She said, “He was very civil, and actually I didn’t even recognize him at first. He used to have a beard and short hair, but now he has long hair and no beard.”
“Why the disguise?”
She stopped and frowned. “Did I say it was a disguise?”
“No, but you didn’t say it wasn’t either.”
“I don’t know then,” she said. “I suppose it’s possible it’s a disguise, but that seems a little odd, although it did take me quite a few minutes to recognize him.”