Page 41 of What the Wife Knew

“We’ll deal with that nightmare later.” Thinking about everything that could go wrong would paralyze me. I needed to stay nimble. “In the meantime, I can’t go out and investigate. Not without drawing even more attention to myself.”

Elias frowned because that’s what Elias did when we talked. It fit with thedisappointed dadway he had of dealing with me. “Investigate what?”

“Who killed Richmond, what happened to that missing doctor who’s alleged to have conducted Richmond’s surgeries, that August guy, and if the two events are related.” Elias stared at me, so I stared back. “You have to admit August being missing isn’tnormal. People who spend years of their lives and tons of money becoming a doctor don’t just walk away from it.”

This time Elias moved the coffee cup off to the side, as if he feared knocking it over. “A boy died. It’s not that surprising August might want time off to deal with the loss.”

I preferred my version of events. “Or Richmond was trying to hide the truth by either paying August off or threatening him or, worse, killing him. All those options would explain why August is missing now.”

“Killing him? You’re adding one plus one and getting fifty-seven.”

“That’s a good line.” Back to the reason I invited him over. “We need to find August.”

“We?”

“You need to know where he is and what he knows before Peter Cullen’s lawsuit heats up. There are limits on what I can do even in terms of computer searches with the detective lurking around.” Being the subject of a murder investigation made conducting an investigation of my own tough. “That means the footwork falls to you.”

“I don’t agree with your premise or your conclusion.”

“Talk like a normal person.”

He sighed again. Bigger this time. “It would be best if you stayed out of this and let the detective and his team do their jobs.”

“The bat had blood on it. It was hidden in my greenhouse. I touched it when I found it.”

“You’re sure it was blood?”

“It was my bat and there were new stains on it, so yeah, I’m pretty sure.” I saw the brownish streaks every time I closed myeyes. After years of blocking the memory of blood on my hands, I had a haunting new one.

“So, you want to find August to take your mind off the bat?” Elias asked.

“No. I want to make sure August is still alive and see what he knows because that answer could relate to Richmond’s murder.”

“I don’t see the connection.”

I finished off my coffee before diving in. “Unless the alarm malfunctioned, no one broke into this house that day, which means Richmond let his attacker walk right in. He was a safety guy. He kept the property locked up and the alarm on. We know from the security logs that he disabled both an hour before his death as if he was expecting someone.”

“The security video doesn’t show anyone entering the property.”

“So what? The same thing happened the other day when the alarm went off.” I sat forward in my chair, trying to telegraph the urgency of this topic. “Look, there are only a few people Richmond would have invited in without question. You, his ex and their kids, Thomas, and possibly this August guy.”

Elias’s eyebrow lifted. “And you.”

“I’m the only one I know is innocent.”

Elias snorted. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

I never invited friends over for tea. Neither did Richmond. That was one benefit of a fake marriage. There was no need to make fake small talk. We counted on the false belief that we, as newlyweds, wanted privacy. Then we retreated to our respective parts of the house and ignored each other... except when we didn’t.

“Richmond could have lured August to the house and then August was forced to protect himself,” I said.

“I think we’ve officially crossed the line from nonfiction to fiction.” Elias’s eye roll meant he didn’t understand Richmond was a killer.

I knew better. “You don’t think Richmond could do something intentional and so awful?”

“As homicide? No.”

To tell or not to tell. The options spun around in my head. The inclination was to keep my secrets close and under wraps, but I needed Elias as an ally. Even if he was the one who killed Richmond, which seemed like a stretch, he could at least make sure I didn’t get framed for the deed. That required we reach some sort of understanding.

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