Page 50 of Little Empty Promises

“Why not?”

“He works odd days and odd hours, I guess.”

“Doing what?”

“He’s an environmental scientist for a company called Eco Earth.”

Foley jotted down the name of the company.“Never heard of it.”

“If someone came to my house with notes suggesting they’d been staring at me through their window and had witnessed possible abuse, I’d involve Giovanni right away.Rosalyn could have picked up the phone, sent her husband a text message or given him a call, and she didn’t.”

“Good point,” Whitlock said.“Or maybe she was waiting for you to leave first.”

“Either they have a lack of communication in their relationship, or she didn’t want you to know when he’d be home,” Foley said.“If it’s the latter, the question is …why?”

“Maybe Rosalyn is being abused, and she’s afraid to speak up about it.I did notice a bruise on her wrist and a cut over her left eye.Anyway, at the end of our conversation, she pointed a finger at Kayla and Seth, and she mentioned they’re going through a divorce.”

“We’re aware,” Foley said.“We talked to every person who lives on that street the morning after the murder.”

“So you met Eddy, Rosalyn’s husband?”

Foley looked at Whitlock.

“Well, no,” Whitlock said.“I was the one to talk to Rosalyn.The husband wasn’t home, and I took down a note to circle back with them later so I could speak with him.I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”

Foley quirked a brow at Whitlock.“The point is, none of Cordelia’s neighbors had much of anything to say, nothing that gave us a good enough reason to follow up … until now.Talk to me about your visit with Kayla.”

“Kayla was easy to talk to, and she seemed open to answering any questions I had,” I said.“She seemed transparent, and I didn’t get the impression she was trying to hide something from me.”

“Did she say anything about the divorce?”

“She did.”

“What reason did she give for it?”

“She said they’re not compatible.”

“In what way?”

“He’s a homebody who doesn’t care much to be around people.She’s the opposite.She likes to get out, get involved, change things up instead of enduring the same monotonous routine day after day.”

“It’s the same thing she told me,” Whitlock said.“When she spoke of the divorce, she teared up a few times.It seems it wasn’t an easy decision.”

“It doesn’t fit the usual reasons people get a divorce,” Foley said.

“I agree,” I said.“She still loves him, I can tell.Even though they’re splitting up, she has compassion for him.I witnessed it when he came home.She speaks to him like he’s a wounded bird, and she’s his safe place.”

“Shewashis safe place,” Foley said.“I don’t imagine she will be once they’re divorced.You said he didn’t want anything to do with you.Any idea why?”

“He wasn’t thrilled to find me in their house, and from that moment on, he was agitated.He was running his hands along his pantlegs, pacing the room.He didn’t entertain any conversation about Cordelia.All he wanted was for me to leave.”

“What makes you think the husband has mental health issues?”

“The way he acted when I was there wasn’t normal.It was irrational, if anything.I’m the last person who should diagnose anyone, but I’ll just say it was a feeling I had when I witnessed his behavior.”

“How did the conversation end?”

“I didn’t want to upset him any more than I already had, and he’d asked me to leave more than once, so I did.”

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