Page 19 of The Accidental Detectives

They were a nice-looking family who’d been dealt a shitty hand.

Bode sat near me, pressing his big body against my thighs. It was obvious he sensed the pain his mistress was experiencing.

“He… He’d stepped out on our marriage once before,” she whispered, obviously looking to see if the kids were nearby. “It was early on, right after Owen Jr. was born, but I forgave him, and I thought I could trust him again, but then…”

“Then?” Wanda prompted gently, as she placed the teacup in Astrid’s hand.

She took a ragged breath. “Then his profile came up as a friend suggestion on Facebook, and I almost couldn’t believe my eyes,” she cried, pressing a hand to her face. “First, the irony of myhusbandbeing a friend suggestion was too crazy to be believed. So I went digging, and I found the page with his picture that said he was single.Single! But I just couldn’t process that he’d cheat again. Not after all the counseling we’d been through. We worked hard to overcome his betrayal. But there it was, plain as day! He’d made another profile so he could hook up with random women!”

I wondered why she didn’t find it suspicious that Owen would create a profile with his actual name, but I’ve heard when a partner cheats, everything they do creates suspicion. That suspicion clouds your judgment and your critical thinking.

Marty slipped out of her coat, setting it aside to fold her hands in her lap. That usually meant she was going in deep. “Oh, Astrid, how awful. But…are you sure he was cheating? Did you find any proof?”

Astrid’s chest heaved as she cried. “I didn’t have to look very far. The woman he was cheating with sent me screenshots of their messages.”

Well, fuckity-fuck-fuck. That meant, either Brenda was a damn sadist or someone reallywassetting her up. She’d have to be a Meryl Streep level actress to pull off what she was handing us.

Wanda took Astrid’s hand, pulling it to her lap. “So did you confront him? Give him hell for treating you that way?”

Her heart-shaped face went angry with flashing eyes and thinned lips. “I did! I kicked him out about a month ago. I sent the kids to our neighbors, and he came home to all his clothes and stupid gaming magazines on the front lawn. He denied anddenied, but I had the proof! I showed it to him, and hestilldenied everything!” Astrid paused for a moment, bowing her dark head, chin to chest. “But now…now he’s dead!” she wailed.

Wanda gripped her hand tighter. “Oh, Astrid, how did that happen?”

She stopped suddenly and looked at us like she was seeing us for the first time. “I don’t know why I’m telling complete strangers this. I’m not usually an over-sharer. I’m an absolute wreck, is what I am.”

But Marty smiled warmly with beaming reassurance. “Maybe because wearestrangers, you can sense we won’t judge you. We’ll just listen. Everyone needs to be heard, and we’re happy to hear you, Astrid.”

See? I’m telling you, these two probably could have gotten confessions from all the infamous serial killers if the FBI had given them a crack at ’em. They have this way about them that can’t be defined or denied. Ask me, I know. That’s why I’m here instead of at home with my kids, baking Christmas cookies I can’t even feckin’ eat.

Now Astrid crumbled, falling back against the couch. “The way I feel, I almost wouldn’t care if you were crazy killers except for the kids. Right now, I just want to die…”

Wanda pulled her into a hug and began to rock her. I did mention she’s always the soothing bosom, didn’t I? “But you won’t,” she said fiercely, giving Astrid a hard squeeze. “You won’t because your babies need their mama. Now let it out, tell us what happened to your husband.”

“He’s dead…someone killed him! He was strang—Strangled. Oh God, I don’t know what happened! I don’t know who’d do this,” she groaned miserably. “One minute we were arguing on the phone about what a liar he is, the next, the police were here, telling me he’s dead!”

“What did the cops say?” I asked.

She dabbed at her red eyes, her cheeks raw from all the tears. “The police said he was communicating with some woman named Brenda. The same one who sent me all those screenshots. Worse? She’s…she’solderthan me! I don’t understand why Owen would do something like this.”

I clucked my tongue. I didn’t know if we should mention the catfishing bit if she didn’t. I’m new at this, and I’m trying real hard to keep shit together and not let any cats outta the bag.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait long.

“You saw screenshots from this woman? Gracious, what a terrible thing,” Marty sympathized, her round blue eyes wide.

“Yes, and they wereawful. Ugh, the things he said to her. And don’t think for one second I didn’t want to hunt her down and…” She shook her head as though to ward off her murderous thoughts. “But I learned in our first round of therapy that I can’t control what Owen does. Who knows if this woman Brenda even knew he was married when she started up with him. It’s not up to her to investigate him.”

That was a healthy way to view continuing a relationship with a cheater. Astrid def had more restraint than me. I mean, I’d toss my husband Greg in the nearest landfill if he cheated, but I’d be hard-pressed not to want to kill whoever he cheated with, as well.

Wanda said out loud exactly what I was thinking. “That’s very generous of you, Astrid. I can’t say I’d behave the same way,” she said with a scowl. “Your restraint is admirable.”

Astrid slapped her hands against her lap. “But look what I’ve done! Instead of taking him at his word, I kicked him out. Now the police say they think his profile reallywascloned and that maybe he wasn’t cheating on me after all! He swore to me he didn’t cheat. It’s enough that someone killed him, but he went to his grave knowing I thought he was a cheating liar!”

Grim.

I wasn’t getting killer from Astrid. I was getting distraught and scattered, followed by a deeply-rooted sadness. But I didn’t get killer from Brenda, either.

“So the police questioned you? I mean, of course they did. They always suspect the spouse in a murder,” Marty said, spouting some of her true crime facts.

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