Page 34 of Ghost of You
“Which one is it?” Jude asked.
“Yes, I was upset about what happened at the funeral today, but what was bothering me happened a few days ago. When we got to Oliver’s house to interview him with Reagan Pryce present, Angie was there, which I thought was odd.” He paused to take a cup of coffee from Cope.
Jude could see where Ronan was going with his train of thought. “Oliver was the obvious suspect when Frankie’s death was ruled a homicide. I don’t know about you, but as Frankie’s best friend, I sure as hell wouldn’t be at the house of the man who had the most to gain by killing her.”
“Where would you have gone?” Fitz asked.
“To Frankie’s parents’ house,” Ronan said. “I would have gone there when the remains were discovered and then again when the news broke that she’d been murdered.” Jude paused. “In addition to showing up to support Dante and Sofia, I would have also brought food. Casseroles, chicken pot pies, lasagna.”
“Tell him what you found out,” Fitzgibbon urged.
“I ran Angie’s criminal record which is spotless. No great surprise there,” Ronan said. “The big surprise came from Facebook. You all know I hate the platform. I would never share pictures of my kids or posts about being on vacation, but from a law enforcement perspective, the website is gold.” Ronan tapped his screen and handed his phone to Jude.
Nearly every picture Angie had posted was of her and Oliver. “These go back years.”
“Did you tell them what I saw at the funeral?” Cope asked, taking the phone from Jude and scrolling through the pictures.
“You mean the mini porno?” Ronan asked.
“Yeah,” Cope agreed. “I saw him having sex with several women, none of whom were Frankie. Which might not mean anything. His wife has been gone for four years. Those liaisons could have taken place after Frankie disappeared. I might get a lot more information out of him now that you all told him you were looking at Watson for the embezzlement and the murder.”
“Who do we see first tomorrow, Oliver or Angie?” Ronan asked.
“I have a feeling that where we find one, we’ll find the other, especially if we show up around eight. Oliver’s vet clinic doesn’t open until nine,” Fitz added.
“What about Angie, does she work?” Jude asked.
“Yeah, she’s a medical transcriptionist for a practice of pediatric oncologists. Angie works in the office on Monday and from home Tuesday through Thursday. I say we start with her first thing tomorrow morning,” Ronan said.
“Agreed,” Fitz said. “What else have we got here?”
“Frankie’s parents didn’t do this,” Jude said. There was no way they’d kidnapped their daughter, bound her, walked her into the woods and shot her execution style. Lizbet’s laugh from the other room reached Jude. The thought of harming one hair on her head made him sick to his stomach.
“I don’t think Doctor Holbrook did it either,” Ronan said. “Although I do want to talk to Oliver about accusing Frankie of sleeping with him.”
“Not to mention the way he tracked her phone,” Jude added. He couldn’t imagine wanting to pin Cope down like that. His husband had a life he loved, friends he spent time with, and things he liked to do without Jude. Who the hell was Jude to follow his every movement?
“It’s also not Ambrose Watson,” Cope added. “I could read him clear as crystal. He’s an embezzler and a serial cheater, but he didn’t kill Frankie.”
“So,” Fitz said, blowing out a frustrated breath, “all we’re left with is Oliver.”
“Who doesn’t want to talk to us without his lawyer being present,” Jude grumped.
“Not true!” Ronan rubbed his hands together like a cartoon villain. “When we spoke to him earlier about Ambrose Watson, he was more than happy to talk to us. I bet you a dime to a donut that we’ll find him with Angie, so we knock on the door and say we’re there to speak to her.”
Jude could see where this was leading. “We go in guns blazing accusing Angie of being the killer. She was jealous of Frankie being Oliver’s wife. Jealous of the baby.”
“Maybe Oliver agreed to stay with his wife because of the baby. We make Angie feel alone and abandoned,” Fitz said. “All we have to do is hope Oliver takes the bait.”
Cope snickered. “Oh, I can guarantee he will.”
Jude eyed his husband, knowing that his gift may have offered them the opportunity to solve Frankie’s murder. “Tell us, Cope!”
“Angie’s pregnant.” Cope paused. “We’ll just point out that Oliver killed his pregnant wife. I’m sure it won’t be too hard to convince Angie she and her unborn child could be next.”
“All we’ll have to do is sit back and wait for the fireworks to start.” Ronan was all smiles.
“Sounds like a plan.” Fitz got up from his seat. “Get some sleep. I want to knock on their door around eight.”
