Burning Justice by Leighann Dobbs

living room was a plush affair, with overstuffed white sofas and chairs. Expensive artwork in goldleaf-decorated frames lined the walls on the side. The long wall that overlooked the lake was all windows with breezy, white gauze curtains hung at either end so as not to get in the way of the view. Sunlight spilled into the room, lighting the jewel tones of the oriental carpet. The reflection of the sun bouncing off the lake danced on the ceiling.
    Nathan sat heavily in one of the chairs with his back to the lake as if he didn't want to look at the spot where his wife had died. Maybe because it made him feel guilty. He looked up at his brother who was holding the bakery box.
    “Where are my manners, I should get some coffee and a tray for the cookies.” He half pushed himself up from the chair but David shot out his hand to stop him.
    “I’ll do that. You sit.” David turned toward the kitchen.
    Lexy looked at Nathan. “You don’t have hired help to do this for you?”
    Nathan’s eyes clouded. “We do, but she hasn’t come in today. With everything that’s going on, I hadn’t even thought about Jenny—she’s our domestic. She must be terribly upset about what happened. I guess that’s why she didn’t come in.”
    “Oh? Was she very close to your wife?” I asked innocently. About time Lexy let me get a question in.
    Nathan nodded. “Yes, they were very close. She was more than hired help to my wife. Evangeline didn’t have many friends and, well, I guess she just took to Jenny. They did all that girl stuff together—facials, hairdressers, spas and what not. Vangie usually paid. Jenny didn't have any money.”
    That’s funny. Evangeline didn’t mention that to me. I studied Nathan for evidences of lying, but it was hard to tell. He sure was putting on a good act. Of course, claiming his wife and the domestic were good friends would be the perfect cover up to his affair, and if Evangeline didn’t have many friends, who would be around to call his bluff?
    “You guys always treated Jenny like family. She was very close to both of you.” Robert, who had come in balancing a cut glass tray loaded with Lexy’s cookies in one hand and a silver tray with a coffee pot and cups in the other, slid the trays onto the coffee table.
    Nathan’s eyes clouded as he looked up at David. “It was mostly Jenny and Evangeline. I was always so busy at work which is why I was glad Vangie had someone at home.”
    David shot a sharp glance at Nathan. I thought I saw a ‘look’ pass between them, but I couldn’t be sure. Maybe David was wondering why Nathan was lying. He wouldn’t have known Nathan would try to downplay his relationship with Jenny so as to not bring attention to their affair. Did David know about it? I made a mental note about questioning David at a later date.
    We got busy adding cream and sugar to our coffee. It smelled divine, much better than what Mr. Caffeine usually doled out in my office. I took a sip and let the slightly bitter liquid make its way into my bloodstream. Heaven. I couldn’t help but glance out the window at the charred boat.
    “Such a tragic accident,” I said. “I am truly sorry for your loss. What do you think she was doing out there in the middle of the night?”
    Nathan glanced over his shoulder at the lake. When he turned back, his eyes glistened with unshed tears.
    He took off his glasses and pinched his nose, adding a little sniff for dramatic flair. He was putting on a good show. His voice even cracked a little when he said, “That’s the thing—I have no idea why she was on the boat at night. It’s all so terrible. We’d had a big fight. I took off to our cabin in the mountains and I wasn’t even here. If I’d been here, I could have saved her.”
    David reached over and squeezed his brother's shoulder. “Now, Nathan, this is not your fault.”
    Nathan nodded and blew his nose.
    David got up and walked over to a credenza on the side wall. He picked up a crystal