Page 17 of Ghostly Bother
She didn't answer. Just folded her arms across her chest and stared at him.
"You're dead. It's not like you'll get in trouble for whatever you were doing," Lance pointed out.
"The person I was meeting will," Eden argued.
"The person you were meeting was probably the one who killed you." Lance tried to focus on cooking. "Who were you meeting and why?"
Eden groaned. "Fine. But it wasn't him. I know that."
"How do you know that? You told us this morning you didn't know who did it." Lance looked at Angus who was patiently letting the two of them argue.
"Because I was supposed to meet Lucas Jenkin of Jenkin Construction. Do you know who he is?"
Lance looked at Angus. "She was meeting a Lucas Jenkin."
Angus sat up straighter and made a note in his book. "I know him."
"Then you know he couldn't be my killer. At least not easily. He's got Dwarfism. He's maybe what, four feet tall at most? There's no way. I'm five-four without shoes and I was wearing heels when I was killed. That would put me at five-six at the least. Whoever was behind me was taller." Eden shook her head.
Lance repeated what she said for Angus, then asked, "Why were you meeting him there, in the dark, after hours?"
Again, Eden pursed her lips and said nothing.
"This is all going to come out no matter if you help us or not. If you want us to catch your killer, maybe work with us instead of trying to protect people and drag things out." Lance kept his back to Eden, focusing on dinner. "Why were you meeting?"
Eden didn't answer.
Lance sighed and turned. "She's not answering."
"Then let's move on to the pregnancy. We know her husband isn't the father, so whoever is could be our killer. Who were you having an affair with?" Angus asked.
"He's not my killer either. It doesn't matter who he is." Eden stood and started to float back and forth across the small room.
"He could easily want you dead. He might not want the baby or be upset that you're pregnant. If he's married, his wife couldwant you dead. Can you please just tell us who's the father of your child?" Angus asked after listening to Lance tell him what she'd said.
"No, because it couldn't be him. He doesn't even know I'm pregnant. He wasn't in the area last night." Eden shook her head.
"Give us his name so we can verify he wasn't in the area," Lance said.
"He wasn't around. He was in jail, okay?" She dropped her head as if ashamed to have to admit that.
Lance's eyes went wide as he told Angus, "The baby's father is in jail."
"Shit, no." Angus arched his head back and blew out a long breath. "Please don't tell me the baby's father is Mel Wickman."
"You can't tell him about the baby. He's got enough going on right now." Eden stared at Angus.
Lance turned off the stove as he told Angus what she'd said.
"I didn't even know I was pregnant when you arrested him." Eden slumped back down in a chair. "And you know he doesn't have a wife, so she didn't kill me either."
"Why don't you tell me who you think it could be?" Angus asked as Lance repeated her words while he set soup bowls on the table.
"I don't know. I'm the mayor. I have enemies. Not everyone likes the decisions I make." She held up her hands. "It could be Lester Gregory. He's going to be running against me in the next election. He has to know he doesn't stand a chance." Eden paused. "Shit, I guess he has a chance now, doesn't he?" She stood up again. "This being dead stuff is hard to get used to."
Wanting to keep her on track, Lance put the plates on the table and sat down. "Was there anyone who was so upset with you that it was obvious? Had someone threatened you or fought with you in public?"
Eden appeared to shrug. "Someone was always making threats. That's why I hired fulltime security. The mayor didn't get security when I was first elected. They said I would only need it for bigger events, but I was worried. I can't recall anyone who made threats, but there were some. You could ask my security about it. Will Atherton is in charge now that Mel's gone." She rubbed her stomach as she mentioned Mel. "You're not telling Mel about the baby, are you?"
