“What’s the deal?” he asked her.
“They think this is evidence that I was having an affair with Scott,” she told him.
Malcolm laughed out loud at the suggestion.
“See, I told you,” Abby said, trying not to chuckle herself.
“Can you explain why you both find this so laughable?” Jessie asked.
Abby managed to get control first and answered.
“First of all,” she explained. “I love my husband and have no interest in anyone else, certainly not Scott. He was just being a goofball, playing up the lecherous older guy for effect. It was funny. He was acting a part.”
“How do you know he wasn’t serious?” Ryan asked, “That he wasn’t really into you and just hiding it by overdoing it?”
“Listen,” Malcolm said, leaning in, “Scott was a relentless flirt but it was all in good fun. He didn’t mean anything by it. I was never worried about him.”
“But you haven’t told us why not,” Jessie pointed out. “Just you saying so doesn’t prove it’s true. This is potentially incriminating video that could suggest a motive for murder, either by you Mr. Andrews, or by Bridget Newhouse. Jealousy is a powerful thing.”
Malcolm stopped smiling, sighed, and looked at his wife. When she saw that, her grin faded as well. She shook her head.
“It’s not our place to say anything,” she protested.
“But if we don’t,” Malcolm replied, “they’re going to keep up with this line. I know it’s a violation of sorts, but I don’t see that we have any other choice. Do you?”
Jessie fought the urge to butt in and say that they didn’t.
“But we don’t even know for sure if it’s true,” Abby objected. “It’d be spreading rumors.”
“Come on, sweetie,” Malcolm said softly, “It’s the perfect rumor because we both know it’s true.”
“Excuse me,” Ryan finally interrupted, “what’s true?”
Abby looked at the floor. Clearly she wasn’t going to be the one to come clean. Reluctantly, Malcolm did.
“Scott had erectile dysfunction. It was a side effect of his anti-depressants. He made a veiled reference to it once when we were on a fishing trip. I never pressed because he seemed pretty embarrassed by it. Later, I heard that Bridget had mentioned something about it to Ellie as well. It was kind of an open secret.”
“Okay,” Jessie said. “But that doesn’t preclude a spouse from being jealous when he’s grinding up on someone other than his wife.”
“Maybe technically not,” Abby said, finally looking up. “But he suspected that we all knew the truth. So when he did stuff like that dirty dancing, it was his way of puncturing the gravity of the situation. It’s kind of like someone who’s a bad singer doing karaoke and choosing a Whitney Houston song with lots of high notes so they can really butcher it. That way no one can accuse them of being bad and not knowing it. They’re leaning into it to undercut any legitimate criticism. He was letting us know he was in on the joke, if you can even call it a joke.”
“Anyway,” Malcolm added. “The point is that no one thought he was hitting on anyone when he did that stuff because we knew it couldn’t go anywhere physically. He was a little like Jake Barnes in The Sun Also Rises, minus the bullfighting and the expat, post-war disillusionment. He couldn’t cheat, at least not in that way.”
“And he wouldn’t cheat,” Abby said, “not even an emotional affair. He was deeply in love with Bridget. Yes, he was a workaholic, always doing something to help the city, and it took time away from them. They had problems like everyone else. But he doted on his wife. When he talked about her, he still sounded like a little kid with a crush.”
“Here’s the bottom line,” Malcolm said emphatically. “Scott Newhouse wasn’t having an affair. And the idea that any one of us could have killed him because we thought he was is absurd. Ask the others and they’ll tell you the same thing. I’m sorry but you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
Jessie didn’t speak.
As Hugo drove the golf cart back to the Grand Hall (more slowly this time), she was lost in thought. Malcolm and Abby Andrews’ word alone wasn’t enough to eliminate the jealous spouse theory. But unless all five people in their group were involved in an elaborate conspiracy to kill Scott and hide it, it was on life support.
She would never dismiss that possibility out of hand, but nothing they’d come across in interviews, financial records, or personal communications even hinted at the prospect. And if that hypothesis was a bust, that meant they were at a dead end, no better off than they had been when the day started.
To make matters worse, Ryan had gone quiet. She could tell that he was frustrated with the case too. But there was something more going on. He looked like he wanted to say something to her but couldn’t.
Even after Hugo dropped them off and they walked to the restaurant buffet to grab a bite, he kept silent. She decided not to press. Whatever he was working through, and she assumed it was related to their clash last night, it wouldn’t help for her to ask him about it if he wasn’t ready. All she could do was keep her fingers crossed that when he was ready to say his peace, it would be something worth hearing.
“I’m going back to the security office,” he finally said.
“What for?” she asked.
“It’s almost 11 a.m.,” he replied. “I’m going to go through everyone’s financials again to see if there’s any chance that these people have some financial incentive to take down Newhouse. I figured I’d also call Captain Decker to see if he can run interference with Laird. At this point, I doubt we’re going to have much to share at lunchtime and I don’t want the Chief scheduling a press conference and then having to cancel. That’ll only get him hotter than he already is.”
“Okay,” Jessie said. “Mind if I still go get that bite?”
“Nope,” he said. “I’ll catch up later to update you.”
They went their separate ways without as much as a kiss goodbye. Jessie headed for the restaurant when she ran into Kat, who was dressed in jeans and casual shirt. Her hair was back in its usual ponytail.
“Uh-oh,” Jessie said. “Back to your standard uniform, huh? I guess that means you’re leaving soon.”
“Checking out at noon,” Kat confirmed. “The complimentary casita ends then, Besides, my work is done here.”
“So what’s next?” Jessie asked.
“Mitch is driving down from Lake Arrowhead,” she said, referencing her long-distance boyfriend, “He gets in late this afternoon, so I’ll spend the rest of the weekend with him before he has to go back tomorrow night. Then I have another case lined up starting Monday. No fancy clothes or jewels unfortunately. Just another rich dude who thinks his trophy wife is cheating on him. I’ll probably be sitting in my car for hours. But before that, I was thinking of sitting at the bar for a drink. You in?”
“I’m on duty,” Jessie said. “Then again, at this point it doesn’t seem like my total and complete alertness is required. If Chief Laird is going to yell at us for failing, I might want to take the edge off a little.”