Page 79 of Little Empty Promises

I nodded, and as we said our goodbyes, my phone rang.

I answered with, “Hey, Whitlock, what’s up?”

“Foley would like you to come to the police department.You available?”

“I sure am.What’s going on?”

“We found Rosalyn Westwood, and she’s refusing to talk to anyone but you.”

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Given Rosalyn and I hadn’t hit it off during our previous conversations, I was unsure why she wanted to speak to me and only me.

When I arrived at the police department, I learned Rosalyn hadn’t gotten far before she was found at a dive hotel about forty miles away.Whitlock said when they arrested her, she acted relieved, like she’d been sitting at the hotel, waiting for it to happen.He’d done his best to get her to talk on the drive to the station, but she’d said nothing.She’d sat in the back seat, clutching her dog, sobbing the whole way.

After she was brought in, Foley took a turn at getting her to open up.She still said nothing, so he decided to take the dog out of the room, promising the dog would be in good hands while she was questioned.It wasn’t the nicest thing to do, but he seemed to believe it had led to her asking for me.

When I entered the interrogation room, the first thing I noticed was the pile of crumpled tissues on the table.Rosalyn’s face was stained with tears, and she looked like she hadn’t slept since the last time we talked.

The first thing she said to me was, “Have you seen Boomer?Is he all right?”

“I saw him when I came in, and he’s just fine.The receptionist is keeping an eye on him, and he’s snuggled up in her lap.”

“What a relief.Can I get him back?”

“It’s not up to me, but I will see if there’s anything I can do.”

She sniffled a soft, “Thank you.”

I took a seat across from her.“I heard you wanted to talk to me.”

“I just ...I didn’t want to talk tothem.I wanted to talk to a woman, someone who understands.The only one I could think of was you.”

“I’m glad you asked for me.You can tell me anything.I’m here to listen.”

“I guess you know about Eddy.”

“I do.His body was found in your rental home last night.”

“They think I killed him.”

“Did youkill him?”

She leaned forward, burying her face in her hands.“It’s all so complicated.Everything isn’t always black or white.”

In this instance, it was, though.

Either she murdered him, or she didn’t.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”I asked.

She went silent for a time.“Eddy wasn’t always the man he was at the end.”

“And what kind of man would that be?”

“Cold.Jealous.Aggressive.Demanding.When we first got together, I thought he was the funniest, kindest man I’d ever met.It didn’t last long, not once we were married.”

“What changed?”

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