Page 104 of State of Denial

“What?”

“Roll with me. And don’t say anything that’ll scar me forever.”

“Are you serious about this?”

“You read yours, and then I’ll read mine, and then we’ll compare them to the Blanchets’.” She rolled her hand, telling him to proceed.

“From Elin last night: ‘What time will you be home?’ From me: ‘Why? Do you miss me?’ Her: ‘You know it. I’m feeling much better.’ Me: ‘Is that right? How much better?’ Her: ‘Like, really, really good.’ Me: ‘I’m coming.’ Her: ‘Not yet, but soon.’”

“Spicy,” Sam said. “Here are ours. From Nick last night: ‘Are you still up? I’m coming home.’Me: ‘I waited up for you.’ Him: ‘I was hoping you were awake. I need my wife after this day from HELL.’ Me: ‘Your wife is here for you.’ Him: ‘On the stairs. Get naked.’”

“You said nothing scarring!”

“How is that scarring?”

Freddie cringed.

“Listen to this now.” She read through four days’ worth of text messages between the Blanchets. “Do you see the difference? There’s none of the suggestive, funny stuff that we do every day with our partners. They talk only about the kids, the house, food and practical matters.”

“She had to know about the lawsuit, right?” Freddie asked. “It had been filed and the court date was looming.”

“I’m sure she did. I’m going back through the messages, looking for the last time they were more cordial to each other.” She scanned pages of messages. “Five weeks ago, she said something flirty to him about a planned date night. His mother was coming to spend the night with the kids while they went to a birthday party for a friend. Marcel asked if they should get a hotel room, and she said she was for it.”

“So sometime after that, she found out about the lawsuit, and a deep chill set in.”

“That’s how I’m reading it.”

“I want to talk to her friends.” Sam shuffled through more papers, looking for text messages from other people. “Other than Kelly, there’s someone named Cara that she talks to every day. I don’t see specifics about the suit, but she and Cara check in every day. Her communication with her sister was almost all business about their mother with dementia. I’m not picking up on a vibe that they shared much else. Where are the call sheets for Liliana?”

Freddie handed them to her.

Sam scanned them, looking for the number attached to Cara’s texts. “She called Cara almost every night and talked for more than an hour. If anyone was up on what was happening between them, it would be her. Ask Archie to track this number and figure out a last name and where she lives.”

She’d no sooner finished reciting the number than she stopped herself. “I’m sorry. This is your case. I’m not the one giving the orders here.”

“It’sourcase, and you’ve given me a thread to pull.” He got up, went to the phone in the center of the table and called Archie. “He’s going to call me back.”

Detective Charles knocked on the door to the conference room. “Nice to see you back, Lieutenant.”

“It’s nice to be back. What’s up?”

“I’ve been going through the financials for the Blanchets, and I found something interesting.”

“What’ve you got?” Freddie asked.

“A ten-thousand-dollar payment several months ago to the husband of one of the four women who was suing him.”

Freddie glanced at Sam, looking perplexed. “That’s a wrinkle I didn’t see coming.”

“Same,” Sam said. “What would be the purpose of that?”

“Maybe he was trying to get the guy to talk his wife out of suing him?” Charles said.

“That wouldn’t stop the other three from continuing the suit,” Sam said.

Detective Charles handed a piece of paper to Freddie. “This is the name and address of the man who received the payment.”

“Good work, Neveah,” Sam said.

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