Page 39 of Dangerous Obsession

His teammate had texted earlier that he would touch base with them later in the evening.

She visibly relaxed and kissed the top of Nicky’s head.

“Eddie, Marigold’s here with me”—he tapped the phone screen—“so I’ve got you on speaker.”

“Good evening, Marigold.” Eddie’s voice was rich and smooth with a slight Hispanic accent. The byproduct of growing up in a bilingual home being raised by a mother and father who’d immigrated to the States before he was born. “It’s nice to meet you, if only over the phone for now.”

“Thanks. Nice meeting you, too.”

“What have you found out?” Viking hoped he’d learned something after spending a few hours with Deborah.

“Ms. Whitcomb, Deborah, is very professional. She’s well-respected by her peers and extremely dedicated to her clients. Which is why she gets a lot of referrals and repeat business. After looking at four houses that were incredible, by the way, I suggested we take a break and stop for coffee. I managed to get her to open up a little about her personal life. She told me about her daughter, shared some of the trouble she’s having with her son.”

Eddie was a smooth talker and had an innate ability to put women at ease. He credited growing up with four older sisters who made sure he knew the appropriate way to treat women.

“Did she mention Cliff?” Marigold asked.

“She didn’t mention any names, but she said shesort ofhad a boyfriend but that it was complicated.” There was a knocking sound in the background. “Excuse me for a second. Room service is here with my food.”

“Can’t get much more complicated than having a boyfriend who’s in prison, I suppose.” Marigold sighed. “I almost feel obligated to warn her about what he’s really like.”

As tempted as Viking had been to look up Marigold and Cliff’s case in the public records, he’d chosen not to. He wanted her to trust him enough to share the details on her own.

“Okay, I’m back.” Eddie returned, and ice tinkled in a glass in the background. “After sharing a few personal details about myself—or, should I say, my undercover persona—she relaxed and opened up a bit. She said he was in prison, but she was quick to add that it was because his ex-girlfriend lied under oath and had a friend doctor the photos of abuse that were used against him in court.”

“He said that?” Marigold paced away, then back. “That lying snake.”

“I told her that sounded kind of sketchy, and she admitted she’d never checked out his story beyond what he told her.”Psssh. They heard the distinctive sound of a soda being popped open in the background.

“Maybe she’s afraid to find out the truth.” Viking began to feel bad for the woman.

“You could be right about that.” Utensils clinked and scraped on the plate. “Deborah also told me about her visit to Marigold’s boutique.”

“She did?” Viking looked down at Marigold.

“Yep. Deborah couldn’t believe the woman in the store was the same awful person Cliff had been telling her about,” Eddie said.

“Did she tell Barnum she’d been to see her?” Viking asked.

“I asked, and she said she hadn’t said anything to himyet,” Eddie said. “She felt pretty damn guilty about going behind his back, so I knew it was only a matter of time. Seems I might have been right.”

“What do you mean?” Viking wasn’t sure he like his friend’s ominous tone.

“After we got back to her office, I drove off, circled the block, and parked down the street.” There was a quickslurpbefore he spoke again. “She left a few minutes later and went straight to the prison.”

“You were right—she felt guilty.” Viking set his hand on Marigold’s shoulder.

“Yep. She made it there shortly before visiting hours ended and was only inside for twenty-seven minutes.”

Half of that time would’ve been spent going through security.

“Pretty long drive for such a short visit.” Viking had an idea but wanted Eddie’s take on the situation.

“Exactly,” his teammate said. “My guess is she went out there to confess to him about her visit to see Marigold.”

“Oh, God.” All the color drained from Marigold’s face.

“Hey, hey.” Viking led her to the table and dragged out a chair for her.

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