Page 11 of Skeletons in the Closet

“Never heard of it.”

I grunted. Neither had I until I looked it up.

Tallus scrolled to where I’d pulled a few pictures of Olivia Lansky off the internet. He tipped his head to the side, examining her photos. “Yeah, I can see where Faye might be intimidated by this woman randomly appearing to talk to her husband. She has beauty queen written all over her.”

I agreed in not so many words. Olivia Lansky had it all. Brains, beauty, a high-paying job, a doting, stay-at-home husband, and two gorgeous children. The complete package.

“So what’s the deal? What have you discovered?”

“A whole lot of nothing.”

Investigating a potential affair was not exactly easy when one of the parties was dead.

Tallus didn’t seem to like my answer. He pinched the bridge of his nose again and slumped in the chair. “Listen, Guns, it’s”—he checked the time on his phone—“almost three in the morning. I’ve lost my happy buzz, I’m tired, and my eyes hurt. I need to take my contacts out, brush my teeth, and find my bed. Please fill me in fast, or I’m out the door.”

4

Tallus

Imight have had more patience if it weren’t the middle of the night, but as it stood, I was depleted. A whole day of work before a night of dancing and drinking at Gasoline had done me in. It was bad enough I hadn’t found anyone worth taking home, but this, whatever it was, had not been part of my evening plan. I could have waited until morning—Diem had suggested as much—but my eagerness and curiosity had won, and now I was suffering the consequences of a social clutz who was more beast than man and a woman who had taken too long to get to the point.

And now Diem didn’t seem capable of explaining anything comprehensibly.

“All right, Guns. Three… two… one…” I waited for another beat, then pushed away from the desk. “Adios.”

“Wait.” Diem’s panicked gaze darted my way, and he shifted upright in his seat. “I’m… Sit. I’ll sum it up.”

I sat, but I didn’t get comfortable. It was too late for games.

We stared at one another.

He didn’t speak.

I cocked a brow. “Next time my ass leaves this chair, it leaves for good.”

Diem stammered, then blurted, “You look better with your glasses on. Not that you look bad right now… That’s not… I mean… Never mind.” A growl emanated from his chest, and he scrambled in a drawer, pulling out a neon-green fidget toy. He spun it around his fingers as he scowled at the iPad.

I chuckled, which intensified the storm brewing behind his gray eyes. The poor floundering beast. How did he function in society?

I’d forgotten Diem had a thing for my glasses. “I’ll assume that’s your attempt at a compliment. Thank you. A little random, but I appreciate it. I don’t wear them clubbing. People aren’t careful on the dance floor, and I can’t afford to keep fixing them when they get broken, which happens far more often than I like.”

Diem peeked up, studied my face in the intense way he had about everything, then returned his attention to the iPad. “You look good without them too… I just… They’re… nice.”

“Thank you.” And since he was drowning, I added, “Are we going to tackle the issue or not?”

Diem cleared his throat. His voice was low when he spoke, and his words were mumbled. “Faye wants confirmation her husband was having an affair. She’s convinced Olivia might not have been the only one. If there were more women, she wants to know who they were. Noah had secrets, and she’s determined to uncover them.”

“Discovering an affair won’t be an easy task when her husband is dead. Not like you can catch him in the act.”

“Exactly. She’s given me access to his phone and computer, but I haven’t found much. The man was a computer tech withsome company, so he diligently erased his virtual footprints. I suspect Faye was a snoop even before he died, and he knew it.”

Diem indicated the tablet. “This is what I found on Olivia Lansky. She’s a working woman. Her family life is picture-perfect. At least on the surface. If she was having an affair, she kept it far away from her house and husband. The thing is, I can’t get near her to find out if she has her own secrets. I’ve done plenty of surveillance. I’ve followed her several times to and from the office. I’ve sat outside her house endlessly. I’ve witnessed her perfect fucking marriage and her perfect fucking kids and her perfect fucking life. Butnothingis amiss.”

I chuckled. “You sound bitter. No. Wait. Never mind. You sound exactly like the Diem I’ve always known. My bad. Carry on.”

Diem glared, and I smirked, holding up my hands to placate the sensitive bear. “Down, boy. It was a joke. A poor one, I admit. If it helps, I didn’t have a perfect fucking life either. Believe me. We all have shit in our past we wish we could forget. So, if Olivia is as spick-and-span as you say, then tell Faye she’s wrong. Case closed. I’m not sure why a potential affair matters after the fact. The guy’s dead. What’s she going to do? Divorce his corpse?”

Diem worked his jaw and spun the fidget toy in circles on the desk. The scraping of plastic on wood joined chorus with the rattling space heater behind me. “I can’t. There’s more.”

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