Shaded Light: The Case of the Tactless Trophy Wife: A Paul Manziuk and Jacquie Ryan Mystery (The Manziuk and Ryan Mysteries Book 1) (36 page)

Peter sat straight up. “What are you talking about?”

“When Mrs. Martin struck her Saturday night and tore the new dress she was wearing, didn’t you consider that excessive?”

“Jillian had a temper. She didn’t mean anything.”

“Did she ever strike you?” Ryan shot back at him.

“No, of course not.”

Ryan wasn’t finished. “I see. She preferred someone who was weaker.”

“No, that’s not what I meant.”

Manziuk quelled Ryan with an annoyed glare. “What did you mean, Mr. Martin?”

“Well, she just—oh, when you put it like that, you’re right!” Peter’s hands clenched. “She had no business getting so upset with Shauna. But I didn’t know she’d struck her.” He looked at Ryan. “Did she really?”

“It looks that way,” Manziuk said gently.

“I don’t know what to say.” He stood and walked over to stare into the fireplace. “What do you want me to say?” His voice rose. “That I married a shrew who only wanted my money? Or that I was rapidly growing to hate her? That it was only a matter of time till I got rid of her?” He spun around. “But not like this! Never like this.” He placed both hands on the back of a chair and grasped it tightly. “How can I get this across to you? You never knew her. She was so beautiful. Golden. Delicate. So fragile. So—
perfect
is the only word I can find. She made me feel like the luckiest man in the world. It was only after we were married that I began to realize it was all an act. That underneath she was cold and vindictive. And scheming. Always scheming to get her own way. I don’t think she ever had a single thought for anyone but herself. She used people. So I decided I’d be the same. I’d use her. I wanted her for what was on the outside, so I kept her happy and she kept up her act with me.” He sighed. “But, of course, it couldn’t last. You can only live a lie so long. I’d already started thinking that I’d have to do something.”

“You said she was vindictive. How would she have taken it if you’d divorced her?”

He shuddered. “I don’t know. She might have fought me. But we did have a prenuptial agreement. I got burned last time: I took measures to make sure I wouldn’t get burned again. But even so, she could have made it very messy.”

“Are you having an affair with anyone?”

“No, I’m not.” He looked directly into Manziuk’s eyes. “But I won’t deny I’ve been thinking about it this last month. You need a woman who cares about you.”

“And Ms. Reimer’s being here wasn’t planned?”

“I swear I had no idea she was coming. I couldn’t believe it when I saw her standing there.”

“You’ve talked to her since yesterday?”

Peter hesitated. “A little.”

“She told me that she wanted to see how your marriage was going. I’m inclined to think she must have had a better reason than that. What do you think?”

Peter looked at the floor.

“Would you like to tell me her reason?”

“No, Inspector. I think you’d better ask her yourself. Then perhaps you’ll understand why I’m feeling very low today. And not nearly as upset as I was with Jillian’s murderer. In fact, I’m beginning to think he may have done me a big favor.”

“Two more questions, Mr. Martin. Have you anything to add about Nick Donovan? Did your wife say anything to you about him? Anything at all?”

“No. Nothing. Only that Kendall’s friend was good-looking and seemed to be interested in Lorry Preston. I think that annoyed her. She liked good-looking men to be interested in her.”

“So Bart’s interest in Shauna would have annoyed her?”

Peter’s voice was dry. “Any man’s interest in any other woman would have hit her the same way, Inspector. She thrived on male attention.”

“One last question. Where were you between midnight and five this morning?”

“I was in bed sleeping.”

“Were you alone?”

“I was.”

“Did you have any trouble sleeping?”

“No, I didn’t. I fortified myself with several drinks, but I think I would have slept even without them. Yesterday was exhausting.”

“What time did you go upstairs?”

“Shortly after eleven-thirty. I had some calls to make. It was a very strained evening. I could have gone straight to bed, but after I talked with Hildy I sat in the bar with Bart and we hoisted a few. Not much of a good time. We barely spoke.”

“Thank you, Mr. Martin. That will be all for now.”

“They’re doing an autopsy?”

“Yes, it’s necessary.”

“I know. Hard to think about, though. No matter what she was like inside,” he said simply, “outside, she was perfection.”

When Martin had gone, Manziuk paced the floor.

“Do you want me to get Ms. Reimer?” Ryan asked.

“Just a minute.” He kept pacing. “Man, I hate this.”

“Hate what?”

“All this…” His hand swept the room. “This poison. All the things that come out in a case like this. You can never take people at face value. There’s always something—deep, dark secrets that come to light—alcoholism, abuse, affairs, drugs, you name it. Most of it has nothing to do with the crime we’re investigating, but after a while, you get sick of it. Here’s a pretty young woman. On the surface she’s got everything she could want: a husband who’s a popular lawyer, enough money, looks, everything she needs, and what do we find out? She’s abusing her sister, she’s got money that can’t be accounted for, and her husband calls her cold and selfish and scheming. What a job we have, eh? Spending our lives trying to dig up the worst about people!”

Ryan took her time responding. “I know a lot of people hide things. But some don’t, surely. There are innocent people, too.”

“Sure.”

She waited.

“Go get Ms. Reimer,” he said at last.

She hurried out and after a few minutes found Hildy in the day room. Peter was with her.

“I guess it’s your turn to be grilled,” he said as Ryan entered the room. “Scream if you need help, and I’ll send Nick and Kendall in to rescue you. I’m too old for that.”

Ryan looked at him closely. His face was white and his lips had a blue tinge. Remembering the blood pressure medicine Ident had noted, she asked quickly, “Mr. Martin, are you all right? You aren’t having any chest pains, are you?”

“What’s this?” Hildy demanded of Peter. “Have you had chest pains?”

“Nothing serious. And, no, I don’t have any now. I just feel tired, that’s all.”

“Have you had heart trouble?” Hildy’s voice was brisk.

“My blood pressure was a bit high, that’s all. Now go talk to the police before you get me upset and I keel over right in front of you.”

“That isn’t funny, Peter.”

Ryan’s voice was impassive. “If you’ll come with me, Ms. Reimer, it won’t take long.”

Hildy followed Ryan to the study and sat facing Manziuk, who had returned to his chair. “What more do you need to know, Inspector?”

“The truth about why you came here. And why you were carrying a gun.”

“The gun was in my suitcase.”

“Why was it here at all?”

“It has nothing to do with the murder.”

“I prefer to decide that for myself.”

She sighed. “If I tell you, you’re going to think I killed her. And I didn’t!”

“I’m not a judge and jury. Just a cop trying to do his job. Do you know how many people have lied to me in the past?”

She looked down and pursed her lips. “Quite a few, I guess.”

“Hundreds. Maybe even thousands. And I didn’t throw any of them in jail unless I was completely convinced they were guilty.”

She clasped her hands around one knee. “Okay. I give up. I came here to see Jillian because I was tired of dealing with her by phone and by innuendo. I brought the gun so I could use it to threaten her.”

“Why?”

“She was trying to blackmail me.”

“What did she have on you?”

“Nothing.”

“Then how—”

“Maybe it isn’t blackmail. I don’t know the terminology. But she was threatening my son.”

“How?”

“She was Peter’s wife. Stephen is Peter’s son. She told me she was going to persuade Peter that I was an unfit mother and that Peter should have custody. Then she was going to send Stephen to the worst boarding school she could find!”

“And what did she want?”

Hildy stood up and walked to the fireplace, an exact repetition of what Peter had done earlier. She stared at the unlit logs for a moment. Then she turned. “She wanted fifty thousand dollars.”

“And you couldn’t get it?”

“I’d already given her twenty-five thousand.”

“I see.”

“It was never going to end. Stephen is young. What kind of things would she do in the future?” She sighed in exasperation. “Oh, I knew Peter would likely divorce her at some point, or at least try. But it could be years.”

“Why not tell Mr. Martin what his wife was doing?”

“I thought of that, but I wasn’t sure he’d believe me. From what little I knew, he seemed to be crazy about her. Either he wouldn’t believe me or he would be terribly hurt.”

“This is your ex-husband we’re talking about? Why would it bother you if he found out what his new wife was like? I’d think you’d be pleased to tell him the truth.”

She looked away. “I’m not vindictive.”

“No?”

“No,” she said.

“Did you talk to her?”

“On Sunday afternoon, I found her alone in her room and I told her that I would kill her if she didn’t stop her threats. I showed her the gun. She was very angry, but she wasn’t foolish. I think she knew I was serious.”

“And were you?”

She turned away. “I was very angry. But, no, I wouldn’t have killed her. I have a son to think about. I was planning to take Stephen and go away. Change our identities. If you don’t believe me, I can show you what I’ve done. Sold my condo as of the end of the month. Transferred money to a bank account in another name and sent out resumes to get a job out west. They’re all in the name Annette Williams.”

“So why bother with threatening Mrs. Martin?”

“I needed more time. She wanted the money this week. No way was I going to give it to her. I was hoping to buy some time so we could get away.”

“Okay. Is there anything else you haven’t told us?”

She shook her head.

“Where were you from midnight until five this morning?”

“In my room.”

“Alone?”

“Yes. No witnesses.”

“Were you asleep the whole time?”

“No. I was upset, worried, whatever you like. I knew your men had found the gun and that you’d suspect me. And I was worried about Peter. I wasn’t sure how much she meant to him. I was afraid he was going to be hurt if the truth came out.”

“The truth?”

“From something she said, I gathered I might not be the only one she was trying to blackmail.”

“What did she say that made you think that?”

“On the phone, the first time, when I said I wouldn’t pay her a dime, she said something like, ‘You’re all alike, but you all come through in the end.’”

“When was that first contact?”

“Two months ago.”

“And you paid twenty-five thousand?”

“In cash.”

“Okay, you can go for now. I may want to talk again later.”

As the door shut, Ryan said, “You weren’t kidding!”

“What?”

“Dirty secrets. Jillian Martin was scum.”

“Yeah.”

“Who’s next?”

“Are you enjoying this as much as it sounds?”

She looked at him. “I suppose I’m enjoying it. Being on homicide, I mean. Shouldn’t I?”

He leaned an elbow on the arm of his chair and rubbed his forehead. “Young blood, that’s all.”

“Would you like me to get someone else?”

“Get one of the Fischers. Him. Cold-blooded iceberg. Let’s see if we can make him sweat a little.”