Page 87 of Midnight Secrets

Lord, have mercy.I cleared my throat and changed the subject. “Warren, your car. Why was it in the woods?”

He looked up. It took him a moment to process my question. “Um, I wasn’t sure if the person who killed her saw me. No one else was in the house, but I didn’t want to take any chances, so I decided to disappear.”

Ozzie’s brows knit together. “If the house was empty, what made you think someone might have thought you saw them?”

“Because there was a car. When I got there. It passed me right before I got out of mine.”

“Did it come from your house?” Ellis asked, breaking into the conversation for the first time.

Warren looked over. “I don’t know. It came from that direction. I was so focused on the house I didn’t pay attention to the street. It could have been parked out front. But it wasn’t in the driveway, that I know.”

“What kind of car?” Ozzie asked.

“A black SUV of some sort. I can’t tell you what make or model.”

“We found blood in your car that wasn’t a match to your wife,” Ozzie said. “It had soaked through the leather and penetrated the pad underneath. Where did that come from?”

“I slipped on the ice in my haste to get away from the house. I fell into a bush.” He leaned to the side and lifted the edge of his shirt, showing off the healing gash, complete with stitches, on the bottom of his ribcage below his left arm.

“After I went to the clinic in Juneau and got stitched up, I cleaned the car. I had Marie’s”—he paused and swallowed hard—“blood on me, so I figured it was on the seat and steering wheel. Plus all of my blood. I just—” he stopped and shook his head.

“Why didn’t you go to the police after you found your wife?” Ellis crossed his arms, a curious frown on his face.

Warren scoffed. “She was cheating on me. Her blood was on my clothes. I lied about leaving town. And I”—his eyes turned toward the floor—“might have had a drink or two.” He raised his gaze. “You do the math.” He turned to Ozzie. “I’m sorry I didn’t come forward. I just… I just needed time to figure out what to do.” With a look of sorrow, he swung to me. “And I’m sorry you had to find Marie like that. I—I wasn’t sure who would find her or how, but I never thought it would be you.”

I tipped my head, studying him. He seemed sincere. “Why did you come here? Are you the one who’s been stalking me? And the one who burned my office down?”

“No!” He slashed his bound hands through the air, making the handcuffs rattle. “No. I admit, I’ve been hanging around you for the last few days, but not to do you any harm. I—I was hoping you could help me.”

“You should have come to the police.” A fierce frown settled on Ozzie’s face. “I’m the one who can help you, not her.” With a quick gesture, he pointed to me.

“No offense, but I didn’t want to get locked up. I didn’t murder my wife, Detective. I knew if I turned myself in, you’d spend all your time trying to find evidence that I did.”

“First of all, I don’t make assumptions. You might look guilty as hell for it, but you’re still innocent untilprovenguilty. I would have looked at any and all evidence, whether it supported your guilt or exonerated you. I’m not in the business of pinning murders on innocent people. If you’d come forward, I could have been doing more to track down your wife’s lover. Instead, I’ve been spinning my wheels trying to findyou.”

Sensing that Warren was about to argue, I decided to sidetrack him again. The two of them arguing about what could have been wouldn’t help anything now. “Why did you think I could help?”

“Well, for one, I heard you found Marie, so I thought maybe you’d found other evidence or knew of other evidence the police found. Something that might tell me who she was seeing. You also know people and could ask questions without being out of place. You’re always everywhere. And you’re kind.” His expression softened as he looked at me. “I know you could tell things weren’t great between me and Marie, but you never said anything. You treated us with nothing but kindness and professionalism. I appreciated that.”

While I was happy to know my demeanor made him comfortable, it didn’t mean I was glad he felt like I was the only one he could trust. That was a lot to put on one person’s shoulders and it left him straying into stalker territory. Desperate people could do desperate things. “Thank you for saying that, Warren. But while I’m glad you felt comfortable enough with me to think I could help you find Marie’s killer,you really should have gone to the police. They’ve wasted a lot of time and resources attempting to locate you that would have been better spent looking for Marie’s lover.” Not to mention the physical pain I had endured by trying to help find him. But I wasn’t going to heap that on him now. He was already hurting and had been chastised enough.

Warren hung his head, nodding.

“Okay, so if that’s why you came here tonight, I think it’s time we talk more about Marie’s boyfriend.” Ozzie lightly smacked his thighs. “I know you don’t know who he is, but is there anything you can tell us about him? I mean, how do you know she was cheating? How did you know the first time?”

“Her friends told me the first time. They saw her out with some guy while I was away on business. This was back when we lived in St. Louis. Rather than confront her, I applied for a transfer. My boss had already been making noise about the position up here, that I should consider it. No one wanted to go, but he hinted that if someone took on the role it could lead to bigger and better things down the line.” He lifted a shoulder. “It seemed like perfect timing, so I said I’d do it.”

“So, you never said anything to her about her cheating?” Ellis raised an eyebrow, disbelief written all over his face.

“No. I figured she’d either own up to it and leave me so she could stay with him, or she wouldn’t. When she agreed to come with me, it gave me some hope that we weren’t over and that we could fix things. And for a while, things weren’t bad. But then she started to distance herself again.” Once more, he hung his head. “I can’t say I’m not to blame for it. She came home late from work one day. It was our anniversary. I’d had a couple of drinks and was upset, and I said some things I shouldn’t have. Stuff spiraled from there. She wouldn’t talk to me, and it irritated me to no end when she gave me the silent treatment. I’m not proud of how I handled those instances.”

“You belittled her,” Ozzie said.

Warren’s head bobbed. “And drank more.”

“But you still loved your wife?”

“Yes.”

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