by Liz Wolfe
“Yeah, but you aren’t like coming apart at the seams over the divorce.”
“I suppose not. Somehow, it feels like this has been coming for a while.” Guilt twinged through me as I remembered some thoughts I’d had in the past few years when Craig and I had been through some rough patches. Thoughts about what it would be like not to be married to him.
“Does this mean that Dad is coming out of the closet?”
My fork clattered to the table.
“What?” I immediately realized that I’d almost shouted and lowered my voice. “What are you talking about, Sheridan?”
Sheridan paled and looked like she might cry. “I thought you knew. I mean, how could you not know after living with him for so long?” How, indeed? I’d asked myself that very question a couple hundred times.
“I, uh, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
I felt like someone had ripped my heart out. How could my lovely, innocent daughter know about her father? What had she seen in him that I hadn’t?
“Look, Mom, I thought you knew. I never would have said anything. God, I feel like such an idiot.” She wiped at her eyes with her napkin.
“Honey, it’s all right. I’m just surprised that you had any idea. How did you find out?”
“It was last year. You guys were having a cocktail party for some people from Dad’s office and I was hiding out in the den, chatting with some of my friends online. They all got off-line and I was just looking at stuff on the computer.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“I wasn’t snooping. I was just bored and waiting for someone to log on that I could talk to. So, I did a search on picture files and started looking at them.”
“What did you find?”
“Some gay porn.” She shrugged. “You know, naked guys with hard-ons and then guys screwing each other and stuff like that. I didn’t think you’d be interested in that kind of stuff and that only left Dad.”
“Dear God.” I was going to kill Craig.
“But that wasn’t the only thing.”
“What else?”
“Remember when Tony came over a few months ago with his older brother, Steve?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Steve is gay, and he told Tony that he was sure Dad was gay, too. So, Tony told me, because he thought it was something I should know.”
“How could Steve tell?”
Sheridan grinned. “Tony said that Steve told him gay men have a kind of gaydar and they just know when another guy is gay.”
I wondered who else knew about Craig’s sexuality. Sheridan knew; her friends knew. Yet, I hadn’t figured it out in two decades of marriage.
Sheridan pushed her food around on the plate for a moment. “So, that’s why you guys are breaking up, isn’t it?”
“Well, yes, it is. I wasn’t going to tell you because I didn’t think it concerned you. Besides, it’s your father’s place to tell you when, or if, he decides to.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I should have told you last year.”
“No.” I reached across the table and squeezed her hand and then had to force myself to let go of it. I wanted to hold on to her forever. “It wasn’t your responsibility. In fact, you never should have known. I’m furious that your father had pictures like that on the computer where you could see them.”
“Well, he had them kind of hidden. I mean, if I hadn’t done a search, I’d never have just come across them. So are you going to tell Dad?”
“What? That you saw the pictures or that you know about his sexuality?”
“Either, I guess.”
I wondered how I could yell at Craig about Sheridan seeing the pictures if I didn’t tell him. And I really wanted to scream at him about it. I wanted to scream at him about a lot of things. And I wanted to never talk to him again.
“Mom, really, it wasn’t that big a deal. It’s not like I’ve never seen a penis before.”
Did I want to know where she’d seen a penis? No, definitely not. At least not right now.
“I don’t want Dad to feel uncomfortable about me knowing he’s gay or about the porn.”
I didn’t care if Craig felt uncomfortable. But I cared about how Sheridan felt. “I’m still angry he exposed you to that, but I don’t think it would help him to know. He wanted to tell you about his sexuality, but I thought he should wait.”
“Okay.”
“But maybe that’s wrong.”
“Why?”
“You shouldn’t have to feel like you have to keep a secret until he decides to tell you. You shouldn’t be put in the position of pretending not to know.”
“Mom, I’ve been in that position for a while already.”
“You shouldn’t have to be going through any of this.”
Sheridan smiled at me and lifted a shoulder. “Neither should you.”
I’d taken Detective Madison’s card from Bobbi Jo’s before I left. I didn’t want her to know that I was going to talk to him. Not that I was hiding anything. I just thought the less often she had to hear about it or think about it, the better. I punched his number into my cell phone when I was about an hour from Portland.
“Scott Madison.”
“Detective Madison, this is Skye Williams.”
“Yes?”
“I’d like to discuss something with you. Could you see me today?”
“Is this about the case?”
“Yes. I have something I want to ask you about.”
“I can come to your house. Just give me the address,” he said.
“I’m staying with Bobbi Jo and I’d rather not meet there.”
“Okay. How about Java Java on Fifth Street?”
“I’ll be there in an hour.”
He was sitting in the back of the coffee shop when I entered. He already had a cup of coffee and a plate on the table. I stopped to order a double Americano and a tuna sandwich, and took the coffee to his table.
“Mrs. Williams.” He stood while I placed my coffee on the table and sat down.
“Please call me Skye.” I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with being called Mrs. Williams. It felt like a lie now.
“Call me Scott. Nice to see you again.” I wondered if he used that disarming smile to get information from people.
“Thank you. I’m sorry I asked you to come out on a Sunday.”
“No problem. I live close by.”
I pulled the insurance papers from my bag and held them out. Scott took them, accidentally brushing his hand against mine. “This is an insurance policy on Jimmy McLaughlin. Edward Melrose was the beneficiary.” I waited while the waiter placed my sandwich on the table. Scott picked up the papers and looked at them.
“They were in a safe-deposit box that Bobbi Jo had forgotten about.”
“And?”
“Bobbi Jo said that the policy was to protect the business in case something happened to Jimmy. I thought that Jimmy probably had a similar policy on Edward.”
“He did. We already knew about the policies.”
“So Jimmy got ten million dollars when Edward died?”
“Yes. Actually, he’ll get it if he isn’t the one who murdered Mr. Melrose.”
“You suspect he did it?”
“It’s very common for business partners to have life insurance policies on each other.”
“But the policy is payable to Jimmy personally, right? This one states that the money would have been paid to Edward rather than to the business.”
“Yes, Mr. McLaughlin is the direct beneficiary, not the business.”
“Doesn’t that make him a suspect?” Getting information out of the man was impossible.
“Business partners are usually on our short list of suspects in a homicide. Especially with an insurance policy like this,” he said.
“I see. Well, I’m sorry I wasted your time. I just thought you might not know about it.”
“Skye, I’m not out to prove Mrs. Melrose murdered her husband.”
I didn
’t comment but I wanted to believe him.
“The hospital records show that in addition to Mrs. Melrose and Brian Melrose, Mr. Melrose also was visited by his assistant, Sean Castleton; his partner, Jimmy McLaughlin; and his ex-wife, Charlotte Melrose. Plus anyone on the hospital staff would have had access to him. There are a lot of people who had the opportunity to kill him.”
“And they all had access to the beta-blocker?” I wanted to find something that would convince him that that Bobbi Jo couldn’t have killed her husband.
“Anyone in the hospital could have gotten their hands on the drug. In fact, almost anyone who wanted it could have gotten it from somewhere. You can probably buy it on the Internet.”
“So, it comes down to who had access to Edward and who wanted him dead?”
“Motive and opportunity.”
“Did Matt Nichols visit Edward in the hospital?” I asked.
“His name wasn’t on the list. Why?”
“He was at the reception after the memorial service. He said something about Edward taking his company out from under him because he wouldn’t sell it. But I guess if he didn’t visit Edward, he’s not much of a suspect.”
“Just because he wasn’t on the list doesn’t mean he couldn’t have gotten into the room. I’ll check him out.”
“That’s very nice of you,” I said.
“It’s my job to find out who killed him. Frankly, I don’t think Mrs. Melrose did it.”
Relief poured through me. “You don’t?”
“She knew he was dying in a few months, and there’s no indication that she had a reason for wanting him dead sooner.”
I bristled a bit, but told myself that the man was a cop. It wasn’t his job to speak softly or to care about my feelings.
“Besides, my gut tells me she didn’t do it.” He held up a hand. “But she’s still a suspect until I find out who did it.”
“I see. What about Natalie Turner’s murder?”
“Again, she’s still a suspect, but I don’t see any motive there, either.”
“Detective Spiner seemed to think Bobbi Jo was fooling around with David. I can assure you that wasn’t the case.”
“Noted,” he said.
“You don’t believe me?”
“It’s not a matter of believing you or not. Detective Spiner is working an angle, that’s all.”
“An angle?”
“Look, Skye, I don’t want to insult your friend. It’s just that Spiner thought it was possible that Bobbi Jo was having an affair with Pearson and killed Natalie Turner to get her out of the way. When Edward Melrose was murdered, he thought she might have gotten rid of her husband in order to be with Pearson.”
I was so angry I felt like I might explode. “That’s a total lie. How can he even think that about Bobbi Jo? She loved Edward. He was the center of her world.” Scott held his hands up like he might need to fight me off. I wasn’t sure he wouldn’t.
“Calm down. It’s just a theory, and there’s no concrete evidence to support it.”
“Well, he needs to come up with a theory that doesn’t involve Bobbi Jo.”
“You’re really something, you know that?”
“I am?”
“Yeah. I mean, usually when someone is a suspect in a murder case, their friends just kind of fade away. But you didn’t. In fact, you’ve pushed me to think about the evidence. You’ve questioned everything.”
“Of course. Bobbi Jo is my best friend. I’d do anything for her.”
“Exactly. You’re loyal. Fiercely loyal.”
“I don’t know if I’d say fiercely, but yes, I’m loyal. That’s a big part of friendship.”
“I find that very attractive. It makes you a good friend. I hope your friends are as good to you.”
“They are. I don’t have a lot of friends, but the ones I have are loyal.”
“Are you married?”
“Excuse me?”
He pointed to my hand. “There’s a tan line where you’d wear a wedding band. So, I figure you’re either recently divorced or you forgot to put your wedding ring on.” He grinned. “I don’t know many women who forget to wear their wedding rings.”
“You don’t miss much, do you? I’m recently separated.”
“I think I’m supposed to say I’m sorry, but I’d be lying.” I felt a little rush. Maybe it was just having a man flirt with me. My face felt hot and I was sure I was blushing.
Scott reached over and put his hand over mine. “Don’t worry so much about your friend. As I said, I don’t think she did it.”
“I still want to throttle Craig,” I told Bobbi Jo as we dined on chicken Caesar salads by her pool.
“Oh, darlin’, I don’t blame you a bit. I would have wanted to kill him before this.” Bobbi Jo put her fork down and leaned back. “But the reality is, this hasn’t caused any damage to Sheridan.”
“She’s only eighteen.”
“And eighteen-year-olds today know way more than we did when we were that age.”
“I suspect they know more than I do now.”
“So, there’s really nothing to be gained by killing him. Unless there’s an insurance policy involved. Then we might want to reconsider.”
“Bobbie Jo!” Still, I laughed. She could always make me laugh. Even now. With my marriage in ruins and her husband gone forever.
“I know. It’s a crude thing to say, what with Edward’s murder and all. I guess I just have a crude side to me. I was raised in a trailer in the middle of Nowhere, Texas. I imagine that’s where it comes from.” It was really good to hear her laugh again.
“They’ll find who killed him, Bobbi Jo.”
“Well, enough about serious stuff. Let’s talk about something fun.”
“Shoot.”
“I’ve come to a decision.”
“Sounds serious.”
“Well, it’s not. It’s anything but serious.” She reached over and lifted a bottle of wine out of a terra-cotta wine cooler and pulled the cork out. I pushed our empty wineglasses toward her. Something told me I’d need the wine before too long.
“So, what’s the big decision?”
“I’m going to start dating.”
“Dating?”
“Sure. Edward told me that he wanted me to get back out there. He wanted me to enjoy life to the fullest. And that he’d be damned pissed if I didn’t find someone else.”
“But do you think you’re ready for a relationship?”
“Hell, no, darlin’. I’m not interested in a relationship. I had that with Edward. I’m interested in sex.”
“Sex.”
“Yeah. Hot, sweaty, steamy, scream-till-you-lose-your-voice sex.”
“Without a relationship.” I was beginning to sound stupid, even to myself.
“I had the relationship of my life with Edward. He was everything I could have wished for. Except for the sex. Not that the sex wasn’t great. It was. Really, really great. It’s just that once Edward had that first heart attack, the sex kind of died.”
“I know, Bobbi Jo. But—”
“You can’t talk me out of it, Skye. I’ve made up my mind.” She leaned forward. “Just think about it. It really makes sense. I got all the love I could need for several lifetimes from Edward. Now, all I need is sex.”
Before I could answer, Lily walked out to the patio. I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Lily could talk some sense into her.
“Hi,” Lily said. “Oh, good, you have wine.”
Bobbi Jo plucked another glass from the cart, filled it with wine, and passed it to Lily. “What’s up with you?”
“Later. What are you guys doing?”
“Well, we talked about killing Craig,” Bobbi Jo said. “But I talked Skye out of it.”
“That bad?” Lily asked.
“Sheridan already knew her father is gay. Evidently she found some gay porn pictures on his computer and a friend of hers told her that his older brother, who is gay, was sure that Craig was gay, too. Something
about gaydar.”
“Makes sense,” Lily agreed. “How are you doing with all this?”
“Oh, I’ll be just fine. As soon as I find a place to live and get a job and figure out why my daughter is so much more savvy than I am about just about everything.” I picked up my wineglass and waved it in Bobbi Jo’s direction. “You should ask her what she’s planning.”
“Oh, Bobbi Jo, that’s great. That you’re making plans, I mean. It’s not easy to get back into life after a partner has moved on. The sooner you put your life back together and move on, the better.”
“Oh, she’s planning to get back into it.” I laughed and realized that I was definitely feeling the wine. I didn’t care. In fact, it felt good to relax, even if it was chemically induced. “Go ahead, Bobbi Jo. Tell her.”
Bobbi Jo graced me with a glare, then giggled. “I’m going to start dating again.”
“Really?” Lily asked. “Do you think you’re really ready for that?”
“Oh, she’s ready, all right. But what she isn’t telling you is that it’s not really dating she’s after. She just wants to have sex.”
“Well, there’s nothing wrong with sex. But something tells me this is more than dating.” She held her glass out for a refill. “Or different.”
“Oh, yeah, it’s different,” I said.
“So, how different is it?” Lily asked.
“It’s not that big a deal. It’s just that I’ve had the love of a lifetime with Edward.”
“Several lifetimes,” I interjected.
“Yes. Several lifetimes.” Bobbi Jo glared at me again. “Anyway, I realize that I’ll never have that with another man. But I’m not ready to give up companionship.”
“Certainly not,” Lily agreed.
“All I really need is sex. And my memories of Edward.”
“Bobbi Jo, I don’t think that’s what you really want, is it?”
“Of course it is. It’s perfect. I’m calling it my Man-a-Week plan.”
“Man-a-Week?” Lily asked.
“I figure having a different man each week will keep it fresh and interesting,” Bobbi Jo said.
“And I thought I had problems.” Lily laughed and shook her head.
“What kind of problems?” I asked. They had to be easier than what Bobbi Jo and I were dealing with. Maybe Lily had something we could actually do something about.