Death in Daytime by Eileen Davidson

professional?
    Marcy had lied to me. She had an ex-husband and a daughter, and I didn't know what her relationship with either one of them was like. I also didn't know where they lived, although I had to assume the daughter lived with the father--unless she was over eighteen and on her own.
    I had to get answers to so many questions, and I knew who could help me, and how.

Chapter 12
    I decided that my amateur investigation was going to have to be a two parter: professional and personal. If Marcy was enough of a bitch in her professional life to make somebody want to kill her, why not her personal life as well?
    Marcy had lied to me about having family, and right in the middle of a heated argument. Why? Had she convinced even herself that there was no ex-husband, no daughter?
    Instead of going home I drove to an old friend's house. Our husbands had been tight--still were--but we barely saw each other anymore, so she was kind of shocked when I showed up at her front door.
    "Alex? What a surprise."
    "Hello, Jean. Look, I don't want to cause any trouble. Is Bill here?"
    "No, he's working," she said. "In fact, he's out of town, so there's no danger of running into him, if that's what you're worried about."
    "Good," I said. "I don't want to cause a scene. Can I come in?"
    "Of course."
    She let me in, closed the door behind us, then turned to me, and that's when things got kind of awkward.
    "I've seen the news, read the papers," she said. "It's awful what they're saying about you."
    "But no surprise," I said. "It does bug me a little. I thought I had a thicker skin by now, but this is a little different."
    "Look, I'm sorry about how things have gone," she said. "Bill and Randy were friends, and--"
    "Jean, it's okay," I said. "I understand."
    She was right; it was Bill and my ex-husband, Randy, who were friends. Jean and I had met through them, as "the wives." Ever since Randy had disappeared with most of my money, Bill would send gifts to Sarah on birthdays and holidays and sometimes just because. He told her they were from her daddy and told me he was just trying to help Sarah cope with not having a father around. I knew Bill was in touch with him. Because even though Randy was a scumbag husband, he had adored his little girl. And she him. I had mixed feelings about the whole thing. Strong ones. I hated what he had done to our daughter, but I knew she needed him. And was only going to need him more as she got older. The mother part of me wanted him to come back for her sake. The banker part of me had long since given up hope of recovering the money Randy stole from me. And now, people actually thought I was capable of murder because I had been pushed over the edge by Randy's actions. Boy, he was the gift that kept on giving. I hoped that he'd ended up someplace where my money was hard to spend. Or maybe he was in South America and had been the innocent victim of a coup.
    "I'm actually here to see Will," I said.
    "Will?" She was wondering why I wanted to see her fifteen-year-old son. He was probably sixteen by now. We all knew that Will had a terrible crush on me, but what I'd never told anyone was that I'd always found him kind of creepy. He was, however, a computer whiz, and I needed one, at the moment.
    "Y-yes, he's home. He's in his room. Why do you want to see Will?"
    "I need some information," I said.
    "From Will?"
    "From Will's computer."
    Suddenly she relaxed.
    "Oh, well, he is a genius on that thing. He can find out anything you want."
    "Can I go up to his room? We can leave the door open, if you like." I didn't want her to think I would try to take advantage of her son or do something strange.
    "Oh, don't be silly," she said, touching my arm, then pulling her hand away quickly, as if the touch might have been a betrayal of our husbands' friendship. "I'll take you up."
    When his mother knocked on the door and we entered, he leaped to his feet and gaped at me. Naturally, Will was surprised to see me. Since I'd always found