it was Ritter.
Of course, it wasn’t.
My finger hovered over the IGNORE button, but with a sigh I shifted it to ANSWER . Suppressing a sigh, I said, “Harris.”
Astrid frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Josie’s gone,” my ex-husband choked out.
“I know.” What to say to him? I felt sick about Josie, but also disconcerted that hearing Harris’ voice brought back how it had felt when I’d learned the truth about theirrelationship, an unpleasant mixture of distaste and humiliation. “I’m sorry.”
“The cops said she died there, at your house.”
“In front of the shop,” I said. “I . . . I discovered her this morning.”
Harris sniffled. I tried to connect the sound with the man I knew. Had I ever seen him cry? Maybe he really had loved her. I felt my heart soften.
“She told me you two were dating,” I said. “Are you okay?”
“Of course not!”
I tried again, slowly. “I’m sorry for your loss, Harris. This is pretty shocking, I know.”
Boy, do I know.
Astrid’s frown deepened as she listened.
“Shocking? Ellie, that’s a bit of an understatement, don’t you think?”
I couldn’t help but feel bad for the guy. “Oh, Harris—”
“What am I going to do?” he wailed, shocking me into silence. “She was my love, my life. I don’t know how I can go on now. Why did this have to happen to me?”
Ah, there it was.
Trust him to make Josie’s death about him.
With an effort, I kept my voice even. “It’ll be all right.” Would it? How could it be? “You’ll get through this. Really, you will. Do you have any idea who”—my voice broke; I swallowed in an attempt to moisten my dry mouth—“who might have killed her?”
“The police came by. Talked to the staff and especially to me.”
“Detectives Lang and Garcia?” I asked.
“Is that her name? Mostly I talked with Max. She kept interrupting with a bunch of questions.”
I suppressed a sigh. “They’re doing their jobs. They questioned Astrid at work, too.”
He snorted, and Astrid rolled her eyes. They had always disliked each other.
“I talked with them this morning,” I said. “I’m sure they’ll find whoever did this to Josie.” I believed it. I had to. Thanks to his friendship with Harris, Detective Lang might not care for me personally, but I had to hope he knew how to detect. Lupe Garcia had certainly struck me as a capable, experienced professional.
“Oh, I bet they did talk to you, Ellie,” Harris said. “But don’t think that’s the end of it. I told them, you know.”
Brow wrinkling, I asked, “Told them what?”
“Erm.” His version of backpedaling.
My stomach tightened. “Harris.” My voice held warning.
“Well, they were asking a lot of questions about how you and Josie got along. You being my ex-wife and all. And her being my girlfriend.”
“You know I liked her, for heaven’s sake. What did you tell them?”
“There’s no call to be mean, Ellie. Especially at a time like this. After all—”
“What did you tell them?”
“Nothing much. But last night Josie said that she’d finally come clean with you about our feelings for each other. She said you stomped out of Scents and Nonsense right after that.”
“I had errands to run!” And I was pretty sure Josie hadn’t said any such thing.
“Sure. Whatever. But I know you must have been jealous. It’s the way women are—especially you.”
“That’s not true!”
“Look at how upset you got about Wanda.”
“That was different,” I grated out. “We were actually married when you and Wanda—”
“Yeah, okay,” he said. “But I mentioned your jealous streak to the cops when they were here. They seemed
very
interested.”
“Heaven help me, Harris—” I stopped myself and grabbed a bottle of rose essential oil off the shelf. I inhaled deeply. It helped a little. “It’s bad enough that she’s dead,” I said. “Thanks a lot for telling the cops I did it.”
“Well, I
Of course, it wasn’t.
My finger hovered over the IGNORE button, but with a sigh I shifted it to ANSWER . Suppressing a sigh, I said, “Harris.”
Astrid frowned and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Josie’s gone,” my ex-husband choked out.
“I know.” What to say to him? I felt sick about Josie, but also disconcerted that hearing Harris’ voice brought back how it had felt when I’d learned the truth about theirrelationship, an unpleasant mixture of distaste and humiliation. “I’m sorry.”
“The cops said she died there, at your house.”
“In front of the shop,” I said. “I . . . I discovered her this morning.”
Harris sniffled. I tried to connect the sound with the man I knew. Had I ever seen him cry? Maybe he really had loved her. I felt my heart soften.
“She told me you two were dating,” I said. “Are you okay?”
“Of course not!”
I tried again, slowly. “I’m sorry for your loss, Harris. This is pretty shocking, I know.”
Boy, do I know.
Astrid’s frown deepened as she listened.
“Shocking? Ellie, that’s a bit of an understatement, don’t you think?”
I couldn’t help but feel bad for the guy. “Oh, Harris—”
“What am I going to do?” he wailed, shocking me into silence. “She was my love, my life. I don’t know how I can go on now. Why did this have to happen to me?”
Ah, there it was.
Trust him to make Josie’s death about him.
With an effort, I kept my voice even. “It’ll be all right.” Would it? How could it be? “You’ll get through this. Really, you will. Do you have any idea who”—my voice broke; I swallowed in an attempt to moisten my dry mouth—“who might have killed her?”
“The police came by. Talked to the staff and especially to me.”
“Detectives Lang and Garcia?” I asked.
“Is that her name? Mostly I talked with Max. She kept interrupting with a bunch of questions.”
I suppressed a sigh. “They’re doing their jobs. They questioned Astrid at work, too.”
He snorted, and Astrid rolled her eyes. They had always disliked each other.
“I talked with them this morning,” I said. “I’m sure they’ll find whoever did this to Josie.” I believed it. I had to. Thanks to his friendship with Harris, Detective Lang might not care for me personally, but I had to hope he knew how to detect. Lupe Garcia had certainly struck me as a capable, experienced professional.
“Oh, I bet they did talk to you, Ellie,” Harris said. “But don’t think that’s the end of it. I told them, you know.”
Brow wrinkling, I asked, “Told them what?”
“Erm.” His version of backpedaling.
My stomach tightened. “Harris.” My voice held warning.
“Well, they were asking a lot of questions about how you and Josie got along. You being my ex-wife and all. And her being my girlfriend.”
“You know I liked her, for heaven’s sake. What did you tell them?”
“There’s no call to be mean, Ellie. Especially at a time like this. After all—”
“What did you tell them?”
“Nothing much. But last night Josie said that she’d finally come clean with you about our feelings for each other. She said you stomped out of Scents and Nonsense right after that.”
“I had errands to run!” And I was pretty sure Josie hadn’t said any such thing.
“Sure. Whatever. But I know you must have been jealous. It’s the way women are—especially you.”
“That’s not true!”
“Look at how upset you got about Wanda.”
“That was different,” I grated out. “We were actually married when you and Wanda—”
“Yeah, okay,” he said. “But I mentioned your jealous streak to the cops when they were here. They seemed
very
interested.”
“Heaven help me, Harris—” I stopped myself and grabbed a bottle of rose essential oil off the shelf. I inhaled deeply. It helped a little. “It’s bad enough that she’s dead,” I said. “Thanks a lot for telling the cops I did it.”
“Well, I
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