Page 49 of Wild Justice

“She wasn’t drinking that night at the sports bar,” Jay clarified. “In fact, she hadn’t been drinking for the last few weeks. I even mentioned it once, and she said she was on a new health kick. I thought it was great. I’d always told her that she drank a bit too much. She didn’t have a problem though. She wasn’t addicted or anything, but you know, she partied a lot.”

“You say that you didn’t know. Looking back, did she hint around? Drop any other clues?”

“No, not that I can think of. Dana…pregnant. I mean…are you sure? When we were married, she always said that she didn’t want any kids. She said it more than once.”

“I am sure,” Lulu replied. “Can I assume that if you didn’t know, then Allie didn’t?”

“I can’t imagine how she would,” Jay declared. “Dana wasn’t going to tell her. Who does know?”

“I don’t know. I just learned this detail myself. I’m not sure who knew, and who didn’t. If you could guess one person that she might confide in, who might it be? Her parents? Her sisters? A friend?”

“She wouldn’t tell her sisters, and I don’t think she’d tell her parents first. She might tell her friend where she worked. Her name is Stacy Simpson. Dana and Stacy spent a lot of time together. At least they did when we were married.”

“I’ll talk to her, thank you,” Lulu replied. “I’m also not planning to release this information for a few days. Can I rely on your discretion, Jay? Bill?”

“I won’t mention it,” Bill replied hastily. “This is confidential attorney-client information, as far as I’m concerned.”

“I won’t say anything either,” Jay replied. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.”

“That means you can’t tell Allie,” Lulu pointed out. “Are you okay with that?”

“When you release the information, can I deny that I ever knew?” Jay asked. “I can just pretend to be surprised.”

What kind of relationship did Jay and Allie have if he was this freaked out about her finding out that he knew about Dana a day or two before she did? Steve was right. Allie was scary.

“That’s fine with me,” Lulu assured him. “And I won’t hold onto the information for too long. I know how information travels in this town. It won’t stay a secret for long.”

Lulu was going to try and keep the autopsy report under wraps, but eventually, someone was going to push the issue. Autopsies were considered public records, although Lulu could try and keep it private by saying it was part of the investigation. That might work for a while, but probably not forever.

Honestly, she didn’t think that Jay and Bill were going to keep quiet about what they’d learned. Bill was probably going to tell his wife, and Jay was going to tell Allie. She’d be fooling herself to think anything different.

There’s no way he’s not telling her when he leaves here.

It might be just as useful to see who might come out of the woodwork when the news was public.

In the meantime, after she talked to Allie, she needed to talk to Glen Foster. Just how did he fit into this situation?

The barwhere Dana had worked didn’t open until three in the afternoon, and Kai wanted to speak with her boss and her best friend and co-worker.

Stacy Simpson was also a cocktail waitress at the bar, and her boyfriend Max Henderson was the main bartender and owner. They lived in a condo not far from the business district. The neighborhood was a little older than all the newer building that was going on outside the city limits but was close enough to the main street that most things were only a short walking distance.

They’d agreed to speak with Kai for the human-interest story he was doing about Dana. They’d only asked that he didn’t show up until ten in the morning because they usually slept in after a late night working.

The couple was friendly and inviting when they opened the door, ushering him into the living room and offering him coffee. The house was decorated in bright shades of blue and green, comfortable and cozy. There were even two lazy cats curled up on a braided rug in front of the fireplace that wasn’t currently lit.

He wasn’t as big a fan of gut feelings as Lulu was, but he instantly had a welcoming vibe inside their home. They appeared to be open to this interview, although sad about Dana’s death. The first thing Stacy showed Kai was a picture of all three of them taken two summers ago on the beach. They’d all gone to Florida together for a vacation.

The trio was tanned and happy, smiling for the camera as if they didn’t have a worry in the world.

“That’s a great picture of the three of you,” Kai said. “Did you often take trips together?”

“We couldn’t afford it every year, but every two or three,” Stacy explained. “We always had so much fun. In the old days, Jay would come too, of course.”

“Did you all grow up together?”

“Not at all,” Max chuckled. The man was a giant of a human being, at least six foot six and three hundred pounds. With a shaved head and tattoos, he fit the description of someone that a person wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of. “I’m seven years older than Dana, and Stacy grew up in Cleveland. She and I met in college, fell in love, and then I convinced her to move back here with me when I took over my old man’s roadhouse.”

“I have no regrets at all,” Stacy said, giving her boyfriend a brilliant smile. “I love this little town.”

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