Page 26 of Little Merry Murder

“It’s a ’37 Jaguar SS 100, yes.”

“It’s a beauty.”

“I agree.”

“I ran into Ann a while ago. She said you were here at lunchtime. Surprised you’re still around.”

“I’ve been waiting for school to get out.”

“Why?”

Thewhywas a simple reason.

Given I believed I knew who killed Claire, and not knowing how this person would react to my accusation, I didn’t want to confront them while school was still in session, and children were around. But now …

“I feel like you’ve both been holding back on me,” I said.

“How so?”

“You two are married,” I said.

“We weren’t holding back,” Holly said, jerking back. “It just never came up in our previous conversation.”

“We’re separated, I might add,” Colin said. “Have been for several months now.”

“Are you planning on getting back together?” I asked.

“Yes,” Holly said.

“No,” Colin said.

“Which is it?” I asked. “Yes or no?”

Colin looked at Holly and sighed. “We’ve talked about this, Holly. I thought we were on the same page now.”

Holly moved a hand to her hip. “If by the same page you mean I’ve agreed to a divorce, not only are wenoton the same page, but we’re also not reading from the same book.”

“We shouldn’t talk about this now,” Colin said.

“Oh, I think you should,” I said. “Today I saw your yearbook picture from last year, Holly. There’s a poster in the background with a Jane Austen quote on it.”

“Again, what about it?”

“I walked by your classroom this afternoon, peeked through the window, and noticed the poster is hanging in your classroom.”

“What about it?”

“It’s an interesting quote, don’t you think? It can be taken different ways.”

“I suppose it can.”

“The way I take it, given what I do, is that people justify their actions sometimes, even when it’s against the law.”

“What are you getting at?”

I shifted my attention to Colin. “The night Claire was murdered, the police found a bottle of men’s cologne. She’d wrapped it up as a gift for someone. It wasn’t for her husband, though. He doesn’t wear cologne.”

“It could have been for a friend or a relative.”

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