windows open. If I had to do something this unpleasant, I could at least enjoy the scenery.
"Do you feel okay?" I asked. "Would you rather I called back later?"
"It's fine," she intoned.
"Okay then, when is the last time you saw Joe?"
"In the courtroom."
"Did you talk to him after that?"
"No."
" On a different topic, do you have a prescription for sleeping pills, Becca?"
"Yes, Ambien."
She still sounded dull, almost bored.
"Do you take them often?"
"When I need to."
"Did Joe ever take your sleeping pills?"
"Yes."
Okay, now, we were getting somewhere.
"How many times did he do that?"
"Not sure. A few times."
"Do you know how he would've gotten any of your pills after he moved out?"
"Not really."
"Could he have taken some with him when he moved out?"
"I guess."
"Is Charlie there? Would you mind putting him on the phone for a minute?"
I heard her hand him the phone.
"Hi Jamie," he said.
"Hi Charlie, is Becca okay? She doesn't sound right. I need to talk to her about some important things and I don't know if she is, well, paying attention."
"Yeah, when she gets too stressed, she sort of shuts down. She'll be back to normal soon."
I remembered that she acted the same way in the courthouse lobby, after her hearing. Maybe this would make my job easier.
"Please ask Becca if she gives me permission to talk to you about her situation."
I heard him ask and I heard her agree.
"Okay, Charlie, here's the deal, the state attorney's office wants to question Becca as part of their investigation into Joe's death. We need to make an appointment and I plan to go with her. They'll probably want to talk to you at some point, too, I'm guessing. I'm sorry, but I wouldn't be able to represent both you and Becca, due to a potential conflict of interest, but I would strongly suggest you go with an attorney. If you can't afford one, you can ask them to appoint one for you from the public defender's office."
"It's cool, I understand. I'll tell her everything you said," he said, in his usual placid tone.
"Have her call me?"
"Sure."
It occurred to me after I 'd hung up that Charlie hadn’t shown any more emotion than Becca, even after I told him the state attorney might question him about his girlfriend's dead husband. There was something strange about Charlie; I just couldn't put my finger on it.
Chapter 20
I hadn't told Charlie about Susan Doyle's suggestion to hire a PI. Like I said, there was a potential conflict of interest there, and my obligation was to Becca-- especially if the PI, a/k/a Duke, thought Charlie was worth investigating. I decided to take the easy way out this time and e-mail Becca, since I hadn't had much luck talking with her on the phone. Lord knows, I'd tried.
I'd been home for a while and had just finished feeding myself and the cat. My dinner was a frozen pizza, his was some smelly wet mix of who knows what that cats seem to enjoy. We were both happy with our selection.
After lounging around a bit, reading the news online , and playing "Words with Friends" with Grace, (since when is 'suqs' a word?), I dashed off an e-mail to Becca
Hi B ecca, I called a friend of mine for advice on your situation and she believes it would be in your best interest to hire a private investigator to look into Joe's death. I agree with her. I have a PI I use who is very good and reasonably priced. He charges $75/hour and requires a $500.00 retainer up front. You have money left in my trust account from your divorce case which you could use to retain him, but you'd need to sign his retainer agreement. Do you want to do that? Also, we need to make an appointment with the state attorney. Please tell me when you're available and I'll make the appointment.
Wit hin two minutes, I had a reply.
Hi Jamie, you can go ahead and hire the PI. Can you email me his agreement? I can go with you to the state attny any morning after 8:30, but I can't go in the afternoon because
"Do you feel okay?" I asked. "Would you rather I called back later?"
"It's fine," she intoned.
"Okay then, when is the last time you saw Joe?"
"In the courtroom."
"Did you talk to him after that?"
"No."
" On a different topic, do you have a prescription for sleeping pills, Becca?"
"Yes, Ambien."
She still sounded dull, almost bored.
"Do you take them often?"
"When I need to."
"Did Joe ever take your sleeping pills?"
"Yes."
Okay, now, we were getting somewhere.
"How many times did he do that?"
"Not sure. A few times."
"Do you know how he would've gotten any of your pills after he moved out?"
"Not really."
"Could he have taken some with him when he moved out?"
"I guess."
"Is Charlie there? Would you mind putting him on the phone for a minute?"
I heard her hand him the phone.
"Hi Jamie," he said.
"Hi Charlie, is Becca okay? She doesn't sound right. I need to talk to her about some important things and I don't know if she is, well, paying attention."
"Yeah, when she gets too stressed, she sort of shuts down. She'll be back to normal soon."
I remembered that she acted the same way in the courthouse lobby, after her hearing. Maybe this would make my job easier.
"Please ask Becca if she gives me permission to talk to you about her situation."
I heard him ask and I heard her agree.
"Okay, Charlie, here's the deal, the state attorney's office wants to question Becca as part of their investigation into Joe's death. We need to make an appointment and I plan to go with her. They'll probably want to talk to you at some point, too, I'm guessing. I'm sorry, but I wouldn't be able to represent both you and Becca, due to a potential conflict of interest, but I would strongly suggest you go with an attorney. If you can't afford one, you can ask them to appoint one for you from the public defender's office."
"It's cool, I understand. I'll tell her everything you said," he said, in his usual placid tone.
"Have her call me?"
"Sure."
It occurred to me after I 'd hung up that Charlie hadn’t shown any more emotion than Becca, even after I told him the state attorney might question him about his girlfriend's dead husband. There was something strange about Charlie; I just couldn't put my finger on it.
Chapter 20
I hadn't told Charlie about Susan Doyle's suggestion to hire a PI. Like I said, there was a potential conflict of interest there, and my obligation was to Becca-- especially if the PI, a/k/a Duke, thought Charlie was worth investigating. I decided to take the easy way out this time and e-mail Becca, since I hadn't had much luck talking with her on the phone. Lord knows, I'd tried.
I'd been home for a while and had just finished feeding myself and the cat. My dinner was a frozen pizza, his was some smelly wet mix of who knows what that cats seem to enjoy. We were both happy with our selection.
After lounging around a bit, reading the news online , and playing "Words with Friends" with Grace, (since when is 'suqs' a word?), I dashed off an e-mail to Becca
Hi B ecca, I called a friend of mine for advice on your situation and she believes it would be in your best interest to hire a private investigator to look into Joe's death. I agree with her. I have a PI I use who is very good and reasonably priced. He charges $75/hour and requires a $500.00 retainer up front. You have money left in my trust account from your divorce case which you could use to retain him, but you'd need to sign his retainer agreement. Do you want to do that? Also, we need to make an appointment with the state attorney. Please tell me when you're available and I'll make the appointment.
Wit hin two minutes, I had a reply.
Hi Jamie, you can go ahead and hire the PI. Can you email me his agreement? I can go with you to the state attny any morning after 8:30, but I can't go in the afternoon because
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