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“Of course not,” she retorted. “I couldn’t believe the lies that came pouring out of his mouth. He didn’t believe a word he was saying. He was just trying to give me a taste of what it would be like if I went through with a divorce. He wanted me to see that my name would end up being dragged through the mud.” She shuddered. “People were staring, starting to whisper. It was obvious that he was already off to a good start at ruining me to save his own political career.”
“So there were a lot of witnesses to this scene?” Tucker said. “Anyone you knew?”
“I don’t know. I was too humiliated to look around. It was a restaurant that’s popular with the movers and shakers in Richmond, so I imagine it’s a safe bet that there were people there we knew. Why?”
His mind was already whirling in a dozen different directions. That scene couldn’t have done a better job of setting Mary Elizabeth up to take a fall. “Because if one of them had a grudge against your husband and wanted him out of the picture, you had just handed him the perfect opportunity to arrange it and throw greater-than-usual suspicion on you.”
She looked shaken by his assessment. “Greater than usual?” she repeated in a whisper.
“You knew you’d be under suspicion,” he said. “You said that was why you’d come to me.”
“I know. Hearing you say it, though…” Her voice trailed off. “I’m scared, Tucker.”
Again, he fought the temptation to offer comfort. She needed real help more than she needed empty reassurances. “Let’s get all the facts on the table, okay? How did Chandler end up at Swan Ridge? Did he come back here with you after dinner that night?”
“No. I told him I was coming here and that he should stay in Richmond, that I didn’t want him anywhere near me.”
“He agreed?”
“He said he’d stay in Richmond and come down here later to pick up a few things. I made it a point to be out of the house all day yesterday to avoid another confrontation.”
“Where? Were you with anyone?”
She shook her head. “I took the boat out.”
“And stayed on the water till eleven?” he asked skeptically.
“No, till dusk.”
“Where do you keep the boat?”
“At the marina at Colonial Beach. I didn’t think we should keep it here because of…well, you know.”
“Because my brother owns the marina,” Tucker said, realizing anew in just how many small ways they had managed to keep their lives from intersecting. “What did you do next?”
“I stopped over there and had dinner.”
“Did you see anyone you knew?”
“No. The restaurant was almost empty.”
“Would the waitress remember you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. We talked about her daughter and the trouble she’s having in school and about standardized testing. I know a lot about it, because it’s one of Larry’s campaign issues.”
“Did you mention Larry? Did she realize he was your husband?”
“No. At least, I don’t think so. His name never came up.”
“What time did you leave there?”
“Around ten-thirty, maybe a little later.”
“Then what?”
“I drove home. When I got to Swan Ridge, his car was in the driveway, so I knew he was inside. I almost turned around and left, but I didn’t want to act like a coward, not in my own home.”
“So you went in, and that’s when you found him?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have help working at the house?”
“Just Mrs. Gilman, but she only works when I call her. I hadn’t let her know that I was back in town.”
“Is that unusual? Wouldn’t you normally call her to get the place ready for your return? Maybe to go in and dust, stock the refrigerator, whatever?”
Her face paled. “Yes, but I…I didn’t this time.”
Tucker could see exactly how suspicious that would look to a jury. “Why?”
“I was too upset after I saw Larry that night. I came straight down here without calling. I just wanted to get away from him, to be alone.” Her gaze clashed with his. “It looks bad, doesn’t it? Like I didn’t want anyone around so I could kill him?”
“That’s one interpretation,” he agreed. “But your explanation is just as logical. The man had just given you a taste of how vengeful he could be. It’s little wonder you wanted to get away from him as fast as possible.”
“Will people believe that?”
He met her gaze. “I do.”
“Thank you. It’s more than I deserve.”
“Look, let’s get one thing straight,” he said bluntly. “I might hate what you did to me, but I don’t think you’re capable of murder.”
Relief spread across her face, only to fade in an instant. “Tucker, what should I do?”
Because he knew exactly how fast things would spin out of control once word of Chandler’s death started to spread, he said, “You need to hire a criminal attorney, someone from Richmond, I think. Do you know any good lawyers down there?”
“The city is crawling with them, though most of the ones I know don’t like to get their hands dirty with anything as messy as murder.”
Tucker nodded. “Then we should call Powell Knight. If he won’t take the case, he’ll recommend someone who will.”
“Powell Knight who bloodied your nose over me in the fifth grade?” she asked incredulously. “He’s a lawyer?”
Tucker chuckled. “He stopped the assaults before law school. He’s been walking the straight and narrow for years now. And he owes me. My nose is still crooked.”
Liz smiled for the first time since she’d begun talking. “It is not. It just has a little character.” She lifted her hand as if to touch it, then drew back with a sigh.
“Why does life have to be so damn complicated?” she asked wistfully.
“Keeps it interesting,” Tucker said. He might have said more, but common sense and practicalities kicked in. “Do you have a cell phone with you? Why don’t you make that call to Powell? I’ll see if I can’t rustle up some clothes for you to wear, then I’ll call the station and have a deputy meet us at Swan Ridge.”
“Do you have a stash of women’s clothes around here?” she asked, regarding him with curiosity.
“No. I’ll call my sister.”
“No,” Liz said at once, looking panic-stricken. “Tucker, you can’t call Daisy. She already hates my guts for what I did to you. She’ll be furious that I dragged you into the middle of this mess.”
“I would have been dragged into it one way or another,” he said, shrugging off her fears. “It happened in my jurisdiction. If you don’t want me to call Daisy, do you have any better ideas?”
She hesitated, her shoulders slumping. It was tantamount to an admission that she’d maintained few real friendships in Trinity Harbor. He almost felt sorry for her, but he steeled himself against the reaction. She’d made her choices. Her grandfather had been an important man in Trinity Harbor. She would have basked in the same respect shown him if she hadn’t hurt a Spencer.
“I’ll call Daisy, then. You don’t even have to see her. And she doesn’t need to know what’s going on, or even who the clothes are for.”
“You shouldn’t have to lie to your own sister on my account.”
“It’s an omission, not a lie.”
“I doubt she’ll see the distinction once she hears the whole story.”
“Let me worry about Daisy. You call Powell.”
As soon as she’d gone looking for her cell phone, he called the station and asked for Walker. His brother-in-law had been a homicide detective in Washington before he’d hooked up with Daisy and moved to Trinity Harbor. He was the best deputy Tucker had, and the only one he wanted on the scene this morning.
“I need you to get over to Swan Ridge,” he told Walker. “We’ve got a problem.”
“What kind of problem? That’s Larry Chandler’s place, isn’t it?”
“There’s a report that he’s dead. I’ve got his wife here with me. Keep this under your hat until you see what’s going on over there. I’ll be there right behind you.”
“Didn’t I hear that you once had a relationship with Liz Chandler?” Walker asked. “Are you sure you ought to be anywhere near the scene?”
“Dammit, Walker, I know better than to take on the case myself. That’s why I called you, but I’m not keeping my nose out of it. I want to know everything you find the minute you come up with it. And I want you to do it all by the book, no matter how bad it looks for Mary Elizabeth.”
“Do you think she did it?”
“What I think doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is the truth.”
“Noble words,” Walker said. “But what’s your gut telling you?”
“It’s your gut that matters. Do your job.”
“I’m on my way.”
“And try to keep the media from finding out anything, at least until we have a fix on what went on over there.”
“Done,” Walker promised.
Tucker placed his next call to his sister. “I need some clothes over here—a pair of your jeans, a T-shirt, some underwear, some shoes. And I need it without a lot of questions.”
“But—”
“No questions, Daisy. Please, just this once, help me out without giving me the third degree.”
“Third degrees are your business,” she said with an indignant huff. “Okay, I’ll bring everything over there. Want me to leave it in a plain brown bag on the front porch and slink away?”
“Actually that’s not a bad idea.”
“Fat chance.”
“Daisy,” he warned.
“Okay, okay, I’ve got it. Bring the clothes, leave the questions back home.”
“Thank you.”
“But you’ll owe me,” she told him.
“I usually do.”
As soon as he got off the phone, he retrieved a clean garbage bag and went looking in his trash for Mary Elizabeth’s bloodied clothes. She hadn’t exactly tried to conceal them. They were right on top, in plain view. He took that as a good sign. Less positive was the fact that there was a lot of blood, more than a person would get checking a man’s pulse. Was there as much as if she’d shot her husband at close range, maybe even struggled with him as he bled? Tucker didn’t even want to speculate on that. He’d leave it to the experts.
He turned and saw Mary Elizabeth regarding him uneasily. Her gaze shifted to the trash bag, then back to his face.
“Tucker?”
He met her gaze. “What?”
“Are you going to arrest me?”
“I won’t even be involved in the decision,” he told her.
Something that looked like panic flickered in her eyes. “Why not?”
“Because by coming here, and because we have a past history, you’ve made sure I have to take myself off the case.”
“But—”
He cut her off. “That’s the way it has to be, Mary Elizabeth. You know that. I’ve got my best deputy heading over to Swan Ridge right now.”
“Oh, God,” she whispered. “What have I done?”
Tucker’s blood ran cold. “Why do you say that?”
“I wanted you to handle this.”
The icy fist kept a firm grip on his insides. “Because you thought I’d protect you?”
“No. Because I trust you.”
