Tied With a Bow and No Place to Go (Tizzy/Ridge Trilogy Book 3) by Ann Everett Page A

Jay Roy’s former wives. Kassie, Jay Roy’s first wife.”
Pattiecake pointed to the skinny one.
    Ridge sized her up. Not bad. High cheekbones and pouty lips,
she could pass for a cover model, for AARP.
    The redhead pushed to the front. “I’m Molly Hobbs Hix, Jay
Roy’s second and fourth wife, and this,” she said, gesturing to the plump one,
“is Deborah Hobbs Hester, his third wife.” Molly wagged her finger back and
forth between number one and three on the matrimony scale and said, “If it’s
murder, one of these two killed him. I’m sure of it.”
    Ridge decided Jay Roy had diverse taste in women. Molly’s
personality matched her hair color. Fiery. While wife number three, Deborah,
with no makeup, bun hair, and sensible shoes, was the mousy one of the bunch.
    “I DID NOT!” Deborah shouted. “You’re the one most likely to
have killed him. He dumped you twice, you cow!”
    Molly shoved her finger in Deborah’s face. “HE DID NOT DUMP
ME! I DUMPED HIM, YOU IDIOT. BOTH TIMES.”
    Ridge placed a hand on Deborah’s and Molly’s shoulders.
“Calm down. Don’t force me to arrest you for public disorder.”
    Their eyes went wide and their jaws dropped open.
    Kassie, quite until now, started to laugh. “Oh, please do.
That would make my day.”
    Deborah glared at Kassie. “Don’t laugh. Jay Roy dropped you
for me and you never got over it.”
    Kassie bristled. “Oh dear God. You are so full of yourself.
Do you think I was still carrying a torch for him? It’s been thirty-four years
since I was married to the man. The reason I’m here is to make sure you don’t
railroad me.”
    “I’m not trying to send anyone up the river, but whoever
killed him should get what’s coming to them,” Deborah said. “But let’s face it,
both of you had motive and opportunity.”
    Kassie and Molly moved closer to Deborah and shouted objections
at the same time.
    Ridge stepped between them. “Last warning. I swear, I’ll
arrest the three of you and let you spend the night together in adjoining
cells.” Once he gained their attention again, he said, “Not sure it’s a
homicide, but let’s pretend it is. Let’s start by each of you telling me your
whereabouts last night between nine and midnight.” He eased onto a stool,
removed his notebook and pen, and then pointed to wife number one, Kassie. “You
first.”
    “I was home. With my husband. He’ll vouch for me. So I have
an alibi.”
    Ridge made a notation and looked back at her. “Where do you
live?”
    “Tyler.”
    “A twenty-minute drive from here. Right?”
    “Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”
    “Maybe nothing. Maybe something.” He aimed his attention at
Molly, wife numbers two and four. “What about you?”
    “I live here, out on Edom Road. I was at my sister’s until
almost eleven. We’re getting ready for a garage sale next weekend. Then I went
home for the rest of the evening.”
    “How long would it take you to drive from your sister’s
house to Jay Roy’s?”
    Molly drew a deep breath. “Ten minutes. But I didn’t go
there. I went straight home to my husband.”
    “Oh please, her husband goes to bed with the chickens. I’ll
bet he doesn’t have a clue when she got home,” Deborah said.
    “You don’t know when Conley goes to bed, so shut your trap,”
Molly said.
    Ridge glanced up from taking notes to give them the evil
eye. He hated to spoil their weekend by arresting them, but they were getting
on his nerves.
    He faced Deborah. “Your turn. You got an alibi?”
    “I‘ve been in Shreveport for the last few days and didn’t
even get into town until around midnight. So I couldn’t have killed him even if
I wanted. Which I didn’t.”
    Ridge tore out three sheets from his spiral and passed one
to each woman. “I may need to meet with you again later, so list your current
contact information, along with anyone who can back up your alibis.” He waited
for them to finish writing, collected the sheets and