thought about the plain woman who ran the tiny shop on 4th Avenue. The place had been little bigger than a closet. Her clothes weren’t fashionable, either. But then you couldn’t pigeonhole what rich looked like.
“He told me his father owned a baseball team.”
“Can you remember which one?”
“Nope. I didn’t believe a word of it. Said he had a private jet, too.”
Laura thought that Sean Perrin could have taken advantage of that private jet when he was on the run with Aurora Johnson.
Even though apparently, Aurora wasn’t on the run at all.
Laura was getting frustrated. She tried to keep it out of her voice. “Was there anything he said that you believed?”
Barbara Sheehey folded her arms. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
Laura found Cody washing down the wooden deck. He seemed a little brighter today—a little more used to the idea that his friend Sean Perrin was gone.
“So did you track down the guy who killed him?” Cody asked.
“Not yet. I could still use your help.”
“Is the guy who killed him, like, an untouchable? One of those gangsters who of@uesscortthaabouthimewsilenlW savomatudsFinq9WowYeah, wowJesusWpickjawoffloor said,Wbbspeak intns?imakgt filmUh-huhAbautiotpsycho.n! knowIselktha? Sofia Vergarabperft!Hcreendy writn. said,Okay, soow dotilook? Skd Sean Per, r?Yeah. It fits. Hnteeoonlhiks elsralkofim. Nss,fss. Easy PeasyagMaybyeimwhiks,nd,tird,fthimcharm. Nbody arou...Sspopim.uabout ituabouhis eyesshutjusthi smile acornimouth. Notsoehiausint,bcauslooksbiv,but it bolstwhasuskewPictuticq9sayh surprishim. Wgetre, scomout restroomgunbhidback. As says‘Closeyes,baby. I got surpris Okay, sothasprobably wahappenWhasthe motive?”
Laura said, “She’s friends on Facebook with Ruby Ballantine.”
“It looks like a professional hit,” Anthony said. “Maybe Ruby hired her.”
“Dumb dumb dumb.”
“What?”
“‘Friending’ Alex Williams,” Laura said.
First thing they did was go back to see Joel Strickland.
“What do you want now?” he said. “I’m busy.”
“Just a couple more things,” Laura said. “Was there any reason you and your wife split up?”
“Plenty of reasons.”
“Could you elaborate?”
He sighed, pushed his laptop away. “I didn’t like being her cover.”
“Cover?”
“Ruby is gay.”
Tell me something I don’t know . “You married her knowing that?”
“No, I found out about it later.”
“She wasn’t honest with you.”
“Nope. But I wasn’t honest with her, either.” He rubbed his neck. “I’m going to be honest here. I liked her a lot, we got along well, good sex—at least I thought it was good sex, at least for me—and yes, my business could have used an infusion of cash at the time we got serious about each other. I thought that might be possible. But it turned out we were mismatched from the beginning. We had an argument the first month we were married, and she told me she had a lover—a woman. I hung on for a while after that, mostly because she kept leading me on as far as helping finance my company. She’s still doing it. We decided it was better if I moved out, but we both had reasons to stay married. She kept holding the bait over my head, and I was a good cover for her.”
“Why did she need cover?” Anthony asked. “Gay’s the new black.”
Laura gave him a look, but he ignored it.
“Because of her father. He was virulently anti-homosexual. She could have her store assistants or friends—whoever she was seeing at the time—and he never suspected a thing.” His face turned hard. “I don’t know what I was thinking. She used me, dangling that bait all the time, and I never got anything out of it. But that’s going to change.”
Anthony said, “What about Sean? Would he have inherited the estate?”
"Hard to tell. Ruby was the one who nursed the father and stuck with him. Sean didn’t seem to care about the money. He was too busy living in his own little world. But if her father
“He told me his father owned a baseball team.”
“Can you remember which one?”
“Nope. I didn’t believe a word of it. Said he had a private jet, too.”
Laura thought that Sean Perrin could have taken advantage of that private jet when he was on the run with Aurora Johnson.
Even though apparently, Aurora wasn’t on the run at all.
Laura was getting frustrated. She tried to keep it out of her voice. “Was there anything he said that you believed?”
Barbara Sheehey folded her arms. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.”
Laura found Cody washing down the wooden deck. He seemed a little brighter today—a little more used to the idea that his friend Sean Perrin was gone.
“So did you track down the guy who killed him?” Cody asked.
“Not yet. I could still use your help.”
“Is the guy who killed him, like, an untouchable? One of those gangsters who of@uesscortthaabouthimewsilenlW savomatudsFinq9WowYeah, wowJesusWpickjawoffloor said,Wbbspeak intns?imakgt filmUh-huhAbautiotpsycho.n! knowIselktha? Sofia Vergarabperft!Hcreendy writn. said,Okay, soow dotilook? Skd Sean Per, r?Yeah. It fits. Hnteeoonlhiks elsralkofim. Nss,fss. Easy PeasyagMaybyeimwhiks,nd,tird,fthimcharm. Nbody arou...Sspopim.uabout ituabouhis eyesshutjusthi smile acornimouth. Notsoehiausint,bcauslooksbiv,but it bolstwhasuskewPictuticq9sayh surprishim. Wgetre, scomout restroomgunbhidback. As says‘Closeyes,baby. I got surpris Okay, sothasprobably wahappenWhasthe motive?”
Laura said, “She’s friends on Facebook with Ruby Ballantine.”
“It looks like a professional hit,” Anthony said. “Maybe Ruby hired her.”
“Dumb dumb dumb.”
“What?”
“‘Friending’ Alex Williams,” Laura said.
First thing they did was go back to see Joel Strickland.
“What do you want now?” he said. “I’m busy.”
“Just a couple more things,” Laura said. “Was there any reason you and your wife split up?”
“Plenty of reasons.”
“Could you elaborate?”
He sighed, pushed his laptop away. “I didn’t like being her cover.”
“Cover?”
“Ruby is gay.”
Tell me something I don’t know . “You married her knowing that?”
“No, I found out about it later.”
“She wasn’t honest with you.”
“Nope. But I wasn’t honest with her, either.” He rubbed his neck. “I’m going to be honest here. I liked her a lot, we got along well, good sex—at least I thought it was good sex, at least for me—and yes, my business could have used an infusion of cash at the time we got serious about each other. I thought that might be possible. But it turned out we were mismatched from the beginning. We had an argument the first month we were married, and she told me she had a lover—a woman. I hung on for a while after that, mostly because she kept leading me on as far as helping finance my company. She’s still doing it. We decided it was better if I moved out, but we both had reasons to stay married. She kept holding the bait over my head, and I was a good cover for her.”
“Why did she need cover?” Anthony asked. “Gay’s the new black.”
Laura gave him a look, but he ignored it.
“Because of her father. He was virulently anti-homosexual. She could have her store assistants or friends—whoever she was seeing at the time—and he never suspected a thing.” His face turned hard. “I don’t know what I was thinking. She used me, dangling that bait all the time, and I never got anything out of it. But that’s going to change.”
Anthony said, “What about Sean? Would he have inherited the estate?”
"Hard to tell. Ruby was the one who nursed the father and stuck with him. Sean didn’t seem to care about the money. He was too busy living in his own little world. But if her father
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