you’re thinking! You think she’s pregnant!”
“I think it’s a possibility. She and Stephen are on this new health kick, and I overheard them talking about her ‘taking extra vitamins during this time.’ ”
“During this time! That does sound like she could be pregnant!” Kathleen looked as happy as Susan. “You’ll be a grandmother. We’ll have a baby around again. Won’t Emily and Alex be thrilled?” she asked, referring to her own children.
“Well, maybe Emily.” Susan doubted if many ten-year-old boys were enthralled by infants.
“Does Jed know?”
“No, I decided not to say anything to him. Chrissy and Stephen will be here until the end of the week. So there will be lots of opportunities for them to announce their big news. And I think we should let them do it in their own time and their own way.”
“Of course. Oh, Susan, a baby! You know, I think I’ll get out that afghan I was knitting for Alex and didn’t finish in time for Emily’s birth and work on it again. I’d just love it if Chrissy’s baby would use it.”
“But you won’t say anything to anyone.”
“Of course not! And you’ll let me know the second you’re sure.”
“Of course!”
They were still beaming at each other when Brett appeared at the back door. “I don’t suppose those happy expressions mean you’ve figured out who killed Ashley Marks.”
Susan and Kathleen exchanged glances. “No,” Susan answered. “We were just laughing at Chrissy and Stephen and . . . um . . . their dogs.” She got up from the table and headed to a counter covered with imported small appliances. “Coffee?”
“Sounds great.” He pulled out a seat from the table, spun it around, sat down, and draped his arms over its back.
“You look exhausted.”
“I am. Mentally and physically. It was hard work telling Doug that his wife had been poisoned.”
“And was it news to him?” Susan asked quickly.
“Yup. According to Doug, he and Ashley had an argument at the inn—probably about that stupid joke he made—and she told him to go home alone and took off down some sort of path by the river.”
Kathleen leaned forward. “Do you think he did it?”
“You know how some cops are always telling you that they can tell when a guy is lying? Well, I’m not one of those guys. Doug seemed sincerely surprised—shocked, really—and distraught at the news. But for all I know, he has a graduate degree in theater from Yale and it was all an act.” Brett shrugged. “I’ve been wrong so many times, I don’t even bother trying to guess.” He looked over his shoulder at Susan, busy at the counter grinding beans. “But you have excellent instincts, and they are your neighbors. What do you think, Susan? Could he have killed his wife?”
Susan poured the ground beans into a paper cone, dropped the filter in its holder, pressed a few buttons, and turned around slowly. “I suppose so. If he believed she was trying to kill him, he might have decided the only answer was to do her in first. Of course, that wouldn’t explain why he was such a staunch supporter of her during her trial.”
Kathleen laughed. “Maybe he knew she would be found not guilty and he was afraid of what she would do to him when she was released if he wasn’t publicly supportive.”
“That might not be as far-fetched as it sounds,” Brett said. “There were a lot of people who thought the DA didn’t have much of a case, and it’s entirely possible that Doug was well aware of that fact. Heaven knows, he was interviewed more times than anyone else during the investigation. If he thought she was going to be found innocent, he might have decided supporting her was safer than not supporting her.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Susan protested. “Why wouldn’t he just leave her? Get a divorce? Just get in the car and drive away, for heaven’s sake?”
“Maybe it wasn’t that easy for him to do,” Brett suggested quietly, picking up his coffee
“I think it’s a possibility. She and Stephen are on this new health kick, and I overheard them talking about her ‘taking extra vitamins during this time.’ ”
“During this time! That does sound like she could be pregnant!” Kathleen looked as happy as Susan. “You’ll be a grandmother. We’ll have a baby around again. Won’t Emily and Alex be thrilled?” she asked, referring to her own children.
“Well, maybe Emily.” Susan doubted if many ten-year-old boys were enthralled by infants.
“Does Jed know?”
“No, I decided not to say anything to him. Chrissy and Stephen will be here until the end of the week. So there will be lots of opportunities for them to announce their big news. And I think we should let them do it in their own time and their own way.”
“Of course. Oh, Susan, a baby! You know, I think I’ll get out that afghan I was knitting for Alex and didn’t finish in time for Emily’s birth and work on it again. I’d just love it if Chrissy’s baby would use it.”
“But you won’t say anything to anyone.”
“Of course not! And you’ll let me know the second you’re sure.”
“Of course!”
They were still beaming at each other when Brett appeared at the back door. “I don’t suppose those happy expressions mean you’ve figured out who killed Ashley Marks.”
Susan and Kathleen exchanged glances. “No,” Susan answered. “We were just laughing at Chrissy and Stephen and . . . um . . . their dogs.” She got up from the table and headed to a counter covered with imported small appliances. “Coffee?”
“Sounds great.” He pulled out a seat from the table, spun it around, sat down, and draped his arms over its back.
“You look exhausted.”
“I am. Mentally and physically. It was hard work telling Doug that his wife had been poisoned.”
“And was it news to him?” Susan asked quickly.
“Yup. According to Doug, he and Ashley had an argument at the inn—probably about that stupid joke he made—and she told him to go home alone and took off down some sort of path by the river.”
Kathleen leaned forward. “Do you think he did it?”
“You know how some cops are always telling you that they can tell when a guy is lying? Well, I’m not one of those guys. Doug seemed sincerely surprised—shocked, really—and distraught at the news. But for all I know, he has a graduate degree in theater from Yale and it was all an act.” Brett shrugged. “I’ve been wrong so many times, I don’t even bother trying to guess.” He looked over his shoulder at Susan, busy at the counter grinding beans. “But you have excellent instincts, and they are your neighbors. What do you think, Susan? Could he have killed his wife?”
Susan poured the ground beans into a paper cone, dropped the filter in its holder, pressed a few buttons, and turned around slowly. “I suppose so. If he believed she was trying to kill him, he might have decided the only answer was to do her in first. Of course, that wouldn’t explain why he was such a staunch supporter of her during her trial.”
Kathleen laughed. “Maybe he knew she would be found not guilty and he was afraid of what she would do to him when she was released if he wasn’t publicly supportive.”
“That might not be as far-fetched as it sounds,” Brett said. “There were a lot of people who thought the DA didn’t have much of a case, and it’s entirely possible that Doug was well aware of that fact. Heaven knows, he was interviewed more times than anyone else during the investigation. If he thought she was going to be found innocent, he might have decided supporting her was safer than not supporting her.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” Susan protested. “Why wouldn’t he just leave her? Get a divorce? Just get in the car and drive away, for heaven’s sake?”
“Maybe it wasn’t that easy for him to do,” Brett suggested quietly, picking up his coffee
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