by Raven Snow
Eric stood. “We work together. This is my wife, Rowen Greensmith. I’m Eric.” He motioned to the seat in front of his desk. “Take a seat.”
The woman gave Rowen an appraising sort of look before continuing on to the chair. “You and your wife work on infidelity cases together. How sweet.”
“It pays the bills,” said Rowen, not missing the woman’s sarcasm. That was a bit of a bluff, too. This didn’t actually pay any bills. They were actively losing money on this place. Fortunately, Eric was wealthy enough that he had money to spare--though, not for long if they kept hemorrhaging it at this rate.
“I see,” said the woman, sounding disinterested in speaking further with Rowen. She turned her attention back to Eric. “My name is Seraphina Hawthorne.”
Rowen snorted. She couldn’t help it. What a ridiculous name. She got a glare from her husband and a raised eyebrow from Seraphina. “Sorry,” said Rowen. “Allergies.”
“I travel a great deal,” Seraphina continued. “You might not know me, but I’m sure you’re familiar with my husband.” She paused as if for effect. Eric just stared, waiting for her to continue. She did, but she sighed about it. “My husband is Darren Hawthorne.”
Eric looked at Rowen. He hadn’t lived in Lainswich as long as she had. That name still meant nothing to him. It took even Rowen a moment to place it. “Oh,” she said. “The head of Channel 2?” She looked at Eric. “He’s the news director,” she explained.
Seraphina nodded. “That’s him,” she said. “That’s my husband.”
“And you think he might be seeing another woman?” asked Eric.
“Oh, I know he is,” said Seraphina. “I just need evidence so I can prove it for the lawyers.
Eric looked at Rowen again. He was likely thinking what she was thinking. “You know there’s a bit of a scandal going on at his offices already,” he said, confirming it.
“Hmm?” Seraphina raised her eyebrows. “Oh, that murder. Yes. I heard about that. It’s an awful shame… Just the same, I need the divorce to go through as soon as possible. If you can connect him to a murder, by all means.”
It didn’t sound like these were marital differences that could be reconciled. Eric opened a drawer and pulled out some forms for Seraphina to look over. “How did you hear about us?” he asked as he retrieved a pen for her.
Seraphina ignored the pen, taking a fancy gold one from her purse instead. “I tried to find someone outside of Lainswich first,” she explained. “But no one has heard of this place, and no one seems to want to come do business here. Why is that?”
“Small, secluded town,” said Eric, waving a hand dismissively.
“Some say it’s a Greensmith family curse,” said Rowen. “Some kind of glamour to keep this place hidden and off the grid. I wouldn’t discredit that.”
Seraphina raised an eyebrow at Rowen but went right back to looking over the documents. “Well, you were the only licensed private investigator in town.”
“We’re not both… technically licensed,” said Eric, looking a little nervous about clarifying that.
“We’re certified, though,” Rowen assured her. “The laws on private investigations are sort of lax here.”
Seraphina’s pen hovered over the page. She looked warily at the two sitting in front of her again. Finally, she just shrugged and signed off on the documents. “You’re still my only option. If you screw this up in any impactful way, my lawyers will tear you to shreds. I know they’re licensed. And they’re on retainer, so they go where I tell them.”
“Good to know,” said Eric, his smile growing a bit strained. “So, why do you think… That is, how do you know your husband is cheating?”
“He has a bit of a reputation as a playboy,” said Rowen. “I mean, he’s up there in years now, but rumor is that he still gets around.”
Seraphina nodded at Rowen. “What she said. Before I married him, he was insatiable.”
“That sounds easy enough,” said Eric.
“It’s just the rumor,” said Rowen. “He’s just a flirt, as far as anyone knows. I’ve also heard he has a hot wife he’s faithful to, so… That must be you.”
Seraphina smirked. “That must be me,” she agreed. “And, yes, he was always a flirt. I didn’t mind the flirting. It’s the seeing other women behind my back that I have a problem with. I’m told he’s been sleeping with… Oh, what’s her name?” Seraphina picked up her phone and pressed some buttons. She frowned at the screen as she searched. “June Martini?”
“Julia Martinez?” Rowen hadn’t expected that.
“That’s it.” Seraphina sat her phone down. “I’m told she’s his best reporter over there. I’m told she slept her way to the top and is still sleeping with my husband to stay there.”
“That would be… surprising,” Rowen said, still trying to wrap her head around the idea and whether she was okay with it or not. She didn’t like Julia Martinez, but she wasn’t sure she liked the thought of her taking shortcuts to get where she was today.
“I don’t plan on dragging her through the mud,” Seraphina assured them, perhaps sensing some hesitation. “Though, if she’s a causality of scandal, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. I don’t blame this Martinez woman. I don’t know her. I’m just telling you what I know.”
Eric nodded. He was jotting down notes as she spoke. “We’ll look into it,” he assured her. “Are you staying in town?”
Seraphina cringed. “I’m afraid so. We have a house in town.”
“They have a mansion,” Rowen told Eric, rephrasing. The place Seraphina was talking about was an expansive three story place out in the country.
“I live comfortably,” Seraphina agreed. “I’ll be easy to reach if you have anything to share with me. I don’t expect my being here will slow him down any. He works late hours, and I have plenty of activities to fill my days. Besides, for someone who works in journalism, he isn’t terribly observant. He texted me just now from home. He doesn’t realize I’m not there.”
“Sounds like a divorce has been a long time coming,” Rowen said.
Seraphina nodded, her expression a bit sad. “It’s a shame,” she said. “There was a time when I believe we loved each other very much. I’m not quite sure what happened. We just fell out of love, I suppose.”
Seraphina paid a generous amount up front. She provided a few more details for Eric’s records, and then she was on her way. She didn’t seem too concerned with the storm still raging just outside. Rowen locked the door behind her when she headed out. It was getting late. It was well past the hours they had posted on the door and online. If Eric wasn’t willing to head home by now, she was going to force him. “Well, that was fortuitous,” she said as she headed back to Eric’s desk, dropping down into the chair Seraphina had just vacated.
“It sounds like good work,” Eric said with a nod.
“It sounds like it’s going to get us closer to the real mystery in town,” Rowen corrected, unable to hold back a smile.
Eric only rolled his eyes. “Yeah, sure,” he said, a smile of his own creeping onto his mouth. “There’s that too, I guess.” He tried to sound nonchalant, but he couldn’t hide it. He had been missing a real mystery, too.
Chapter Five
Having a newspaper in the family came in handy. It gave Rowen the perfect excuse to head to the Channel 2 building to get answers. She could do some real snooping once she was there. If Ben found out and accused her of trying to solve a mystery that wasn’t hers to try and solve, she could claim she was doing work for Eric. None of it was, technically, a lie. Her jobs just had some nice symbiosis going on right now was all.
Getting into Channel 2 was a bit more difficult than she would have liked it to be. It probably shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise. The Lainswich Inquirer wasn’t really a rival, but they still weren’t too receptive to them coming in and asking questions. Peony called and left messages, but they all went unanswered. They were being ignored. It was hard to tell if so
meone was snubbing them or held a grudge. Either way, it didn’t look like they were going to be able to get in any time soon.
It was Willow, of all people, who came up with a plan. “I can ask Benji to let us in,” she said one day at the office, while they were all wracking their brains over it. “He’s let me in once before. We had lunch together.”
That got everyone’s interest. “You think he would let all of us in?” asked Rowen.
“Would it get him into any trouble?” asked Rose, which was the kinder, more sensible question.
“He’ll do just about anything I ask him to,” Willow said with a rather unsettling smile. “And, I dunno, maybe. He’s always in trouble for something or another, though. And it’s not like they pay him. What are they going to do? Dock his nonexistent pay? He can just come work for us if that happens.”
“He can’t come work for us. We don’t need a camera guy,” said Rose, quickly. “But… I guess that could work.” She looked at Rowen. “What do you think?”
“I think only a couple of us should go. If we’re sneaking in there, it won’t do to have the whole posse.” Rowen knew that Eric wouldn’t be thrilled to hear about that. Chances were they were going to have to leave him at the office for this one. It would be difficult to explain away his presence there. He didn’t technically work for the paper. Him being there might even tip Darrin Hawthorne off about the investigation they were doing on him.
It ended up being Willow and Rowen that went. Rose wanted to go, but she wasn’t really one for breaking the rules. They all agreed that she would be lousy at snooping around after the initial interview. They needed Willow there. She was the one who had to get Benji on board, after all.
Benji was not thrilled when Willow showed up with Rowen trailing along. “Is she… is she joining us for lunch?” he asked after meeting them at the door in back. He was a cute kid, a little shorter than Willow with soft brown hair and a kind, round face.
“Yeah.” Willow leaned down and kissed him on the cheek. “She needs to ask some questions for work and stuff. News. You know how it is.” She made a face like it was annoying. “She’s making me come with.”
“Oh.” Benji looked torn. His gaze moved from Rowen to Willow, his mouth opening and closing a few times like he wasn’t sure how to turn them down but wanted to. “Are we… Are we not having lunch?”
“I’m gonna try to finish this up fast,” Willow assured her poor boyfriend once they were all inside. “Which way to Mr. Hawthorne’s office.”
Benji paled a bit. “He’s probably busy,” he said, glancing down the hallway. “He’s always super busy. I’ve never actually… interacted with him.”
Rowen headed in the direction he had looked. That was probably the way to the office. Willow followed her. Benji stayed behind, still looking awfully hesitant. Poor guy. It didn’t feel good taking advantage of him like that, but Rowen sincerely doubted he was going to get into any sort of trouble. “He’s sweet, isn’t he?” asked Willow, giving Rowen a smile as they walked. “I think he’s just a doll.”
“Be nice to him,” Rowen warned. She knew how Willow could be. That girl might act like a ditz. She could very well be a ditz, but she was about as manipulative as they came.
Willow gasped as if offended. “I’m always nice,” she said. “I think that’s Mr. Hawthorne’s office there.”
“What gave you that idea?” Rowen asked, stopping in front of the door with the big placard out front that read, “Darren Hawthorne: Channel 2 News Director.” She looked at Willow. “You ready?”
“Always.” Willow was the one to knock, not that the knocking meant much when she opened the door simultaneously. “Excuse me,” she began, like that excused anything.
The door opened, revealing Mr. Hawthorne and Julia Martinez. There wasn’t anything terribly scandalous going on. They weren’t quite that lucky. Still, Julia was sitting on his desk and laughing a little too hard at some sort of joke he was telling. It wasn’t anything to report back to Mrs. Hawthorne, but it did lend some credence to her theory that the two were having an affair.
The smile on Julia’s face fell as she looked back at the door. “What are you doing here?” she demanded, not bothering to keep her tone civil.
“We’ve been playing phone tag for weeks now,” said Willow, sweeping in with an explanation and a smile. “Back and forth, back and forth. We finally got a meeting for today, but… I mean, weren’t you expecting us?”
Rowen wasn’t surprised that Willow had jumped right into a blatant lie. To her credit, it was unlikely anyone could actually prove she was lying. This place did have a needlessly complicated system of receptionists and assistants. That something like this would be lost in communication was hardly unbelievable. Not that Julia seemed to believe any of this.
“Out,” said Julia, sliding off the desk. She pointed to the door as she approached, trying to crowd them out. “Leave now. We don’t have any comment, and you’re trespassing.”
Darren chuckled. “Oh, calm down, Jules.” He waved a hand at Rowen and Willow, beckoning them over. “They’re just doing their jobs. What’s this for… The Lainswich Inquirer, right? I like that paper. It’s wholesome. It’s the sort of thing a small town like this needs.”
Julia turned back to her boss. She implicitly disapproved on his decision to allow this sort of behavior. “They didn’t make an appointment. They just--Well, I’m not sure how they got in. I’ll find out, though.”
Darren waved a hand, dismissing her anger. “Go take a lunch break.”
Julia gave a little huff but marched toward the door. She shouldered past Rowen on her way out. Things had just gotten a little more openly hostile between them, apparently. At least Darren looked unconcerned with everything that had just transpired. He motioned Rowen and her cousin on over. “Sorry about that,” he said. “Tensions are a little high right now. You understand.”
“Of course.” Rowen nodded. She settled down into one of the big leather armchairs in front of Darren’s desk. “We’re very sorry for your loss,” she added. “Losing one of your own under those kind of circumstances… I can only imagine that’s had an impact on everyone.”
Darren’s expression grew solemn. He had a very distinguished look about him. His hair was white and the lines in his face were deep, but he had a chiseled jaw and a kind of charismatic coolness about him. Willow would call him a “silver fox.” He knew when to make the swap from debonair to professional. He bowed his head a bit now. “It’s been hard on everyone. Julia is especially upset. They worked together for years. I know we’re a great deal larger than your publication, but you have to understand that we’re still a small establishment, relatively speaking. We’re very close knit here, and he was one of the only camera men Julia ever worked with. He’s absolutely irreplaceable.”
Willow opened her mouth to say something. Rowen had a sneaking suspicion it was going to be in praise of Benji’s work filling in as camera man and gave her a speedy kick to the shin to shut her up. “We understand completely,” Rowen blurted instead.
The charming smile returned. “So, what do you two lovely ladies want?”
Rowen pulled her recorder from her purse. “Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule for us,” she said, hitting all the token niceties as she set up.
“I could have sworn I had a meeting scheduled for today.” Willow was sticking to her guns.
“Happy to help.” Darren leaned back in his seat. He steepled his fingers, settling in for an interview. “It’s important to support small publications like yourselves. I’ve always been a big advocate of print media.”
Rowen smiled at Darren. He sounded like he meant that. She sort of liked him. She hated that she sort of liked him. “Let’s get right to it then.” Rowen set her recorder to one side and looked over to make sure that Willow was also taking notes. She had her own list of questions to ask. She remembered most of them by heart but glanced down at it anyway. “How long had Mr. Borowski been workin
g for Channel 2?”
Darren looked off into the distance, like he was giving the question some careful consideration. “Oh, that was a long time ago. He was fresh out of college. Ten years? About ten years, I’d say. It was a few years before Jules came to work for us.”
“Did he enjoy the work?” Rowen asked. She wanted to paint a human picture of this guy in the article they wrote. Sure, she wanted to solve the murder, but they also had the paper to think of. Good articles were also important.
“Oh, goodness, yes.” Darren nodded. “He had a real passion for the work, I think. He was a bit of a nerd, always running around with new gadgets. He was always the one to come to us with upgrade suggestions. He was up to date on all the advancements in his field. He could be a bit of a nuisance when he didn’t get his way, but I liked that about him. I liked that he pushed for the best equipment. He wanted the best for this station, and I can respect that. He was a huge asset. Like I said, irreplaceable. Just irreplaceable.”
“I never saw any mention of family in any of the press releases,” said Rowen, moving on. “Did he have family in Lainswich?”
Darren’s gaze went distant again. Finally, he raised his shoulders. “I’m not sure. If he had any family, I suppose they weren’t close. I don’t know of any family that lives in Lainswich, though he did have a roommate.”
“A roommate?” Rowen repeated. That sounded promising. A roommate might be able to answer all sorts of questions. “Do you know who that was?”
Darren raised an eyebrow but answered her anyway, “He works here, I think… What was his name? Works in broadcasting? No, no, that’s not right. Sound. He works in sound… Craig! That’s it. His name’s, Craig.”
Rowen remembered the name. She had to think back on it herself before she placed it. “Right,” she said. “Craig. I think we went to school together. She still wasn’t sure of that last part. It was what he had told her, but she still couldn’t quite place him. “He and Jerry were close?”