Page 109 of Lion & Lamb

Francine was slurring her words a little, possibly due to alcohol or a couple of Xanax or just plain exhaustion. Cooper watched her walk, preparing to catch her if he had to. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that. Cooper was sure he was wobbling a bit after that hurricane-force punch from the Eagles’ star tight end.

“Well, that’s not the case. We’re not. For one thing, Jimmy is gay.”

“Yes, we know,” Veena said.

“We know pretty much everything,” Cooper said.

If she had been slightly drunk, Francine Pearl Hughes sobered up instantly. “Come into the parlor.”

Chapter118

MAYA RAINwas sitting there, although the children weren’t around. Maybe they were busy elsewhere in the house or out with friends. But Veena was pretty sure that Francine and Maya had sent them to their rooms the moment she and Cooper knocked on the door.

“I have something for you,” Veena said. She reached into her pocket, pulled out Archie’s Super Bowl ring, and held it out to Francine, who stared at it unbelievingly. She hesitated to take it, as if Veena were trying to hand her a cursed talisman.

“How on earth did you find—”

“That’s what we’re here to discuss,” Veena said.

“Francine, we don’t have to do this now,” Maya said, rising from her chair. “In fact, I’m going to insist that we don’t do this now. Let me call your attorney and have her arrange a proper meeting.”

“Have a seat, Vanessa,” Cooper said.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” There was no anger in her voice. On the contrary, Maya seemed amused.

“I saw a bunch of your old escort ads, Vanessa. You were beautiful then, but I like your current look a lot more. What I’m wondering is, which name is real, Vanessa or Maya? Or is it something else entirely? Am I talking to a Wanda June?”

Maya smiled. “I still like you, Cooper. Even though you say the cruelest things sometimes.”

Francine’s confusion seemed genuine. “Will someone explain to me what’s going on?”

“Happily,” Veena said, giving Cooper a look that saidPlease stop taunting the potential murder suspect.

Chapter119

“WE HAVEproof that both of you were at the scene of the murder,” Veena explained. “I have a video clip on my phone that shows your car, Francine, and the figures of two women who look like you and Maya. It won’t take much digital forensic work to positively match both of you to those women.”

Maya smiled. “It was the guy in the hoodie, right? I thought he was snapping a photo of Archie’s car.”

Veena was puzzled. “So you admit you were there?”

Maya shrugged. “Go on.”

“Obviously, one of you drove Archie there in his own car with the other following in Francine’s burgundy Bentley, the only other car you had available on such short notice. Which means that Archie was shot and killed elsewhere, and his body was left in his car at Eakins Oval so that it would look like a carjacking gone wrong.”

“No,” Francine said quietly. “It was a message.”

Cooper’s jaw dropped. “I’m sorry—what did you say?”

“Archie and I met at the Museum of Art. I was performing on the Fourth of July, and he was one of the parade guests. We met backstage. He told me he’d been in love with me since he was a kid. I figured I ought to say goodbye to him in the same place I’d said hello.”

Cooper couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Francine, you do realize you’re admitting to killing your husband, right?”

“No, she’s not,” Maya said. “Also, at best, you have evidence of us leaving the scene of a crime. And I don’t think you even have that. You two like to bluff.”

“The murder weapon was buried right here! In the flower bed in back of your house!” Cooper said.

Francine shot Cooper and Maya cold, hard looks. “Keep your voices down. Please.”

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