Page 78 of Swan Song

“You’re saying they were involved? Did you ask your husband about this?”

“Of course I asked him, and of course he denied there was anything going on.”

“So there’s no proof, no corroboration that they were together?” the Chief says. Again, Leslee waves a hand, which isn’t an answer. “It’s my understanding that Coco was involved with… someone else.”

“She and Lamont are sleeping together. They think I don’t know, but I know. Coco is the kind of person who isn’t satisfied with only one man.”

Hmmm, the Chief thinks. Sounds like someone is projecting. “How would you describe your relationship with Coco?” the Chief asks.

“We treat her like family,” Leslee says. “Coco has a two-bedroom apartment all to herself. She has the Land Rover at her disposal—Baby, she calls it. We pay her generously.”

“You said you think Coco is jealous of you,” Zara says.

“Very jealous.”

“Did this ever affect the way she did her job?”

“No,” Leslee says. She sniffs. “Coco was good at her job. She was incredibly competent; she followed detailed instructions and never made a mistake. She used common sense when she hit roadblocks, she didn’t complain, she was discreet.”

“She sounds like a dream,” Zara says. “What would make you think she was jealous of you?”

“I know when someone is jealous of me,” Leslee says. “Most women are.” Leslee eyes the Chief. “Like your friend Delilah.”

The Chief can feel Zara’s gaze on him.

“Let’s get back to Coco,” Zara says. “Can you describe specific behaviors that made you believe she was jealous?”

Leslee’s eyes suddenly fill with tears. “The thing is… the last week or so? Coco and I bonded. We reached a new level of intimacy, or so I thought. I took her into my confidence, I treated her like a friend. And then she goes and does this!”

“Where were you when news of the fire broke?” the Chief asks. “Bull was on deck, and more than one guest said he was calling for you. Where were you?”

Leslee wraps her long hair around her wrist. “I was sneaking a cigarette.”

“You smoke?” the Chief says.

“It’s not in my official bio,” Leslee says. “But I do occasionally sneak one, yes.”

“Were you smoking on the back of the boat?” Zara asks. “By the broken gate?”

“That gate isn’t broken,” Leslee says. “It latches, but it falls open if we hit any kind of wake. And no, I wasn’t in the stern, I was on the port side of the boat so that the wind would blow the smoke away from my guests.”

“Do you ever smoke inside your house?” the Chief asks.

“Eww, no,” Leslee says. “How disgusting.”

“Did you see Coco while you were sneaking this cigarette?” Zara asks.

“I did not.”

“When’s the last time you remember seeing her?”

Leslee seems to seriously consider this. “She was collecting empty champagne glasses after the toast to our vows,” she says. “I didn’t see her when I was smoking. Then Bull yelled for me, told me about the fire, and we motored back. By the time we got to our mooring, Coco had vanished.” Leslee snaps her fingers. “Into thin air.”

27. Day-Drinking in Denpasar

The next Richardson party is a spur-of-the-moment event. Instead of getting hand-delivered envelopes, those invited receive a text: Day-Drinking in Denpasar! Cocktails and Asian-inspired buffet. See you at 888 Pocomo Road tomorrow at two p.m.

Busy Ambrose is overjoyed. The forecast for the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours is driving rain, and Busy dreads nothing more than a summer Sunday at the Field and Oar Club without tennis or sailing. Busy was being pressured to organize a bridge tournament in the ballroom, but now she can delegate that onerous task to Talbot Sweeney because she is going to pull her silk kimono out of mothballs and go to the Richardsons’.

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