Page 13 of When You're Safe

“Murdered?” Stewart DeGrey saidwith shock.

“Yes,” Finn said.

“But it’s only a possibility,”Winters added. “We haven’t confirmed that yet. But there is some evidence tosupport the idea.”

“You’ll forgive me for asking,”Finn said, “but I understand this is the second death in your family in as manyweeks, Mr. DeGrey?”

Stewart nodded mournfully. “Mydear Uncle Quentin passed away. We haven’t even been able to put him to restyet as they have refused to release the body.”

There was silence for a moment.Rob gave Finn a look as if to say don’t say anything until we’re sure,but Stewart DeGrey caught it, despite his disheveled state.

“You don’t think my uncle wasmurdered too, do you?” he said, shaking his head as if disbelieving his ownwords.

“We don’t know,” Winters said. “Weare waiting on some more test results. But given that Maggie and your uncledied so close together, we can’t rule it out.”

“My God,” Stewart said. “He wasold and had a weak heart. We just assumed…”

“Mr. DeGrey,” Finn asked. “Wherewere you this morning?”

“Oh, and now I’m a suspect!?”

“No,” Rob said, stepping forwardand giving Finn a side glance. “We are just trying to ascertain everyone’smovements so we can piece together what Maggie was doing before her death. Itcould help us.”

“I was here,” Stewart DeGrey said.“I took a walk around the grounds. The groundskeeper, Mr. Lincoln, can verifythat.”

“And when did you last see Maggie?”Finn pressed. He had seen too many cases where family members had murdered eachother. He couldn’t discount the possibility. Indeed, that was more often thannot the outcome of an investigation.

The man sighed and sat back in hischair. He held his chin as if trying to steady his words. “I saw her early thismorning. Maybe around 6 a.m. She was getting ready for her run.”

“Did she say anything to you?”Winters asked, jotting down some thoughts into a little notebook she kept withher during cases.

“No,” he replied abruptly.

“Was there any argument betweenyou both?” Winters continued.

“We hadn’t been seeing eye to eyelately.” He shook his head. “If I am honest, we had not seen eye to eye for acouple of years. Our marriage had its fair share of ups and downs, but… I lovedher, you have to believe me. I can’t bear the thought that someone took herlife.”

“What sort of disagreements hadyou been having?” Rob asked.

Then, as though a flicker ofstability surged through Stewart DeGrey’s body, he stopped himself from goingfurther. “Private matters. Nothing that could pertain to a murder.”

“Perhaps you should let us decidewhether something is important or not?” Winters said. Finn knew she was tryingto get a reaction.

But the man stayed firm. “No. Justone more failing marriage in a sea of divorces.”

Now Finn’s ears pricked up. “Soyou were thinking of divorcing?”

“We had both mentioned it,”Stewart explained. “But neither of us had the guts to go through with it. We’dargue and then make up, limping on to the next argument. We were just differentpeople in the end. We’d grown apart. She was a lot younger than me. I fooledmyself that it didn’t matter. But when two people run out of things to say toeach other, what else is left?”

He looked at Finn with tears inhis eyes, and for a moment Finn thought about Demi back home. Was that what hadhappened to them? Had they run out of things to say to each other, and Demieventually fell into another man’s arms?

He shook away the thought.

“Is there anyone you know who wouldhave wanted to harm Maggie?” Finn asked.

“Oh no,” Stewart replied quickly. “Wemay have been in a stagnant marriage, but she was a lovely person. Everyone whoknew her thought so, at least, as far as I know. No one would have reason toharm her.”

Harm her, Finn thought. Shemight not have been the target.

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