Page 67 of Transatlantic Terror Cruise

I nod because I happen to agree. But murder isn’t silly, and I certainly hope I’m wrong about where I’m going next.

“How are things with your husband?” I ask as I approach, keeping my voice gentle. The puzzle pieces are clicking into place so fast they’re snapping, crackling, and popping off in my head.

“Fine,” she says as she quickly wipes a tear from her cheek, one that I hadn’t even noticed. Darn lighting. “I was just thinking about Patrick, about what the future might hold for the two of us. We’re not perfect, but we’ve had some pretty great moments.”

My heart aches just hearing it.

“I could say the same about my ex and me,” I confess. “Although I did the right thing by dumping him before he gave me some exotic disease from all of his extra-marital trysts. He was a piece of work, and still is, but I can think of at least two decent things that came from our union. We share two kids. And you know what? As soon as I found out about his sexual lunacy, I didn’t even stay for them. I left for me. It was the safest and the sanest thing for my heart and my soul.” I nod her way, hoping she’ll connect the dots in her own situation. No woman should be mistreated by a man. That’s not what the Good Lord put us here for. Far from it. “My ex wasn’t winning any awards for husband of the year.”

“Patrick isn’t winning any awards either. And believe me, I’ve been thinking about that talk we had outside the ice cream parlor with Bess and Nettie.”

I nod. “You mentioned that you already had a solo bank account.” I watch her face carefully. “You’ve been planning to leave him for some time, haven’t you?”

Her eyes widen a notch. “Yes, I think I already told you that. But they were just thoughts, nothing more than fantasies. I mean, there are so many logistics to doing something like that. It’s such a scary step—mostly it’s an expensive one.”

“Reed mentioned that someone was stealing from the haunted house venture he shared with Brad.”

She squints my way once again, but it has nothing to do with the dim lighting this time.

I lean in. “Would you happen to know who was dipping into the funds?”

Her mouth falls open and she suddenly can’t seem to catch her breath.

Sassy claps her hands and hoots. “Judging by the dumbstruck look on her face, I say cuff her.”

I wrinkle my nose at the flirty phantasm because I don’t make it a practice to travel with handcuffs. Elodie, on the other hand, most likely has them on her person at all times. Come to think of it, she’s probably cuffed as many people as Ransom has, if not more. My money is on more.

“You know”—Becky Lee wags a finger at me—“I do remember Brad saying that it was pretty easy for him to take a loan from his real estate venture. I guess that’s one mystery solved. I mean, the guy is dead. There’s not a thing we can do about it now.”

“You heard him admit to that?” I ask, amused.

“I did. I mean, I didn’t physically see him make the withdrawals, but I heard the man say it with my own ears. Reed must know that Brad was the one helping himself. Who else could have done it?” She bites down on her lip, and judging by the way her lips are curving, I’d bet all the chips in the casino that she’s biting down on a smile.

“Becky Lee.” My voice is soft once again. “You did some organizational work for Brad, didn’t you? Some light accounting? Elvie mentioned it.” I take a step closer. “It was you who took the money from that account, wasn’t it?”

“There’s the zinger.” Sassy howls so loud it’s as if she’s cheering me on with a supernatural megaphone.

So nice yet so distracting.

Becky Lee gasps before glancing over her shoulder toward the exit. “Trixie, please stop.”

“Don’t you dare,” Sassy snips my way. “We’re getting to the good part.”

The good part indeed. More like thedeadlypart.

“Is that when the affair began?” I press on. “Why in the world were you sleeping with Brad Whipple?” A thought hits me and I suck in a quick breath. “Was it to avoid jail time?”

A sickly moan escapes from her. “Oh, Trixie.” Her eyes trace out my features. “I didn’t want to do it. Don’t you see? Patrick drove me to it! The man is a beast, Trixie. He’s cruel and mean, and I can’t do anything right around him. Do you know what it’s like to wake up each and every day and have everything be all your fault?” She tosses her hands in exasperation. “And don’t you dare answer that.” Her speech grows pressured and her eyes grow wild. “I’ve seen your husband, Trixie. He’s not hard to look at, and he treats you like gold. Heck, he treatedmelike gold when we crossed paths.” She growls in frustration. “Yes, I worked for Brad. The guy was a slime. He was always coming onto me. And after helping myself to his haunted piggy bank a few times, he caught me.” She shrugs. “I had no choice but to do whatever he wanted. I pretended that I wanted it, too.”

I nod. “But what you really wanted was his money.”

CHAPTER36

“Correction, it’s what Ineeded,” Becky Lee Darling growls at me as we stand in a darkened corner of the formal dining room.

Just beyond us is a cast of thousands as they chatter away and nibble on the midnight buffet.

“Trixie, you practically said that I needed the money yourself,” she goes on. “Besides, Brad and Elvie were loaded. They didn’t even notice that money was missing. At least not at first. And, well, after Brad and I started up, I wasn’t stealing anymore. He was giving it to me voluntarily. Once he knew how bad my situation was, he wanted to help.”

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