Page 36 of What the Wife Knew

“Of course. The boarding fees were due, so I couldn’t wait. The school needed to know about the new arrangements.”

Yeah, of course. Silly me.

“And it’s all of the school bills, not just tuition. Housing. Meals. Uniforms. Activity fees.” Kathryn had the nerve to smile. One of pure satisfaction.

This conversation kept rolling downhill. Time to end it. “I appreciate the gratitude but—”

“Look.” Kathryn let out a long sigh as she plopped her expensive bag on the counter next to her and wrapped her fingers around the edge of the counter. “I’m here about a retrospective.”

That sounded like rich people code for something. I had no idea what. “Excuse me?”

“A celebration of Richmond’s life.”

Hell no. “Wasn’t that what the funeral was for?”

Kathryn ignored the question. “We’re thinking about a party of his closest friends and colleagues.”

I waited for the punch line.

“As his widow that is something you should organize and pay for,” Kathryn added.

I finally sat down on the stool because I didn’t see a quick end to this conversation. Kathryn was fired up. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she handed me a stack of bills for her personal expenses. “Is there anything you don’t think I should pay for?”

“Oh, you’re going to pay.” Kathryn dropped that nugget as if it were some sort ofgotcha.

Portia rolled her eyes. “Mom.”

But that didn’t stop Kathryn. “I heard the police were here.”

And there it was. The real reason for the visit.

“They searched the house and grounds. It’s standard procedure in a case like this.” At least that’s what Elias told me. This was actually the second search. The police took a good look around, collected forensic evidence, and snapped photos on the day of Richmond’s death. This was their second shot. The one that telegraphed awe’re closing inmessage to me.

“You mean in a murder case. Richmond was murdered,” Kathryn said.

Portia winced. Kathryn didn’t notice. I did. “Maybe now isn’t the time to discuss this.”

“My children deserve answers. Closure.” Kathryn put a supportive hand on Portia’s back. Ran a hand over Portia’s hair.

The gesture looked affectionate. Genuine. Motherly. I was more familiar with maternal touching as part of a ruse. A setup for a scam. Kathryn’s sudden care and attention for her daughter surprised me. It didn’t logically follow the conversation and her seething up until now. It also stopped me from telling Kathryn to shut up.

I went with a more neutral comment. “I thought you were here about a party.”

“The police fumbled the investigation from the beginning. You should have been arrested that first night before you could destroy evidence. I made demands but Nick insisted he couldn’t storm in here without probable cause. I guess he has it now.” Kathryn’s voice stayed calm and steady. “You should have taken my deal.”

Portia shirked away from her mom’s hold. “Mom, we should go.”

This kid might be the only family member I liked. “Listen to your daughter.”

Kathryn had her agenda and was not ready to abandon it. “On second thought, it might make sense to postpone the party. You can’t exactly organize it from jail.”

The woman didn’t have anoffbutton. “I treasure our visits.”

“Mom, you promised,” Portia said.

“We’ll leave.” Kathryn didn’t try to hide her big smile. “Don’t make any major changes to the house. You won’t have it for long.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

---