The Veiled Cage (Lady Lawyer Series Romantic Suspense Novels Book 1) (27 page)

“
Yes, though h
e’
s a deadbeat. I
t’
s no secret. Not like Jer
.
”

“
How so
?
”

“
Jer was an angel. He went out of his way to do nice things for Psycho Susan. Tha
t’
s what I called her. Jer loved that nickname
,”
she said with a faraway look
.“
He bought her an expensive kitchen knife she did
n’
t even appreciate. Tha
t’
s the kind of guy he wa
s—
dependable, thoughtful. He took care of things around my house for me. H
e’
d fix this. Tinker with that
.
”

“
He was handy with electronics
?
”

“
He was the best. Nobody appreciated how talented he was, especially his boss and that bitch he was stuck with
.
”

“
Tell me about Susan
,”
Amy said in a gentle tone.

“
She wanted to chain him down. You know how a man needs space to roam
.”
She fiddled with a lacy throw pillow
.“
Jer-Bear was strong, powerful, but he had a softer side. Yeah, he liked things his way. He knew his mind. And he was loyal
.”
She tossed the pillow aside
.“
He stayed with her even though she was out of control. Sh
e’
d lose things, forget appointments. She asked me to drive her places, but Jer said it was important she take responsibility so I always said no. I would
n’
t have taken her anyways except as a favor to Jer
.
”

Amy raised a brow at Ruby
.“
Yo
u’
ve been very helpful. I want to get a sense of how well you knew him. How close were you two
?
”

“
As close as two people can get
.
”

Amy put her hand on Deann
a’
s
.“
Did you love him, Dede
?
”

“
Yes, so much
.”
Tears dropped onto their joined hands.

“I’
m so sorry for your loss. Did you have plans to be together
?
”

“
He said someday. His wife was so messed up. Fragile, he said. He was worried if he left tha
t’
d push her over the edge. That was the last thing we talked about. If he ever tried to leave her, sh
e’
d snap. I think tha
t’
s what happened that night. He tried to leave, and she made sure that h
e’
d never be with another woman
.”
Deann
a’
s eyes flashed.

“
Did Susan know you were fucking her husband
?”
Ruby asked.

Deanna whipped her head to glare at Ruby
.“
Tha
t’
s despicable
.
”

“
I agree
,”
Ruby said.

Amy patted her hand
.
“
I know, Dede. They were in a relationship, Ruby
.
”

“
Yeah, it was
n’
t like that. Jerry could open up to me about stuff he could
n’
t tell Susan
.
”

“
Likely story. You want the truth? He was stringing you along, Deanna. He was never going to leave his wife for you. He already had a Mrs. Combes, and he was never going to leave her. He was never going to let her leave him. She tried. She ran to you for help, Deanna, after he strangled her and fractured her wrist. You refused to help her get away from him
.
”

“
No, it was
n’
t like that. He was going to leave her. She killed him before he had a chance
.
”

“
You wanted to be Mrs. Combes? Look what he did to his wife, Deanna
.”
Ruby held out her PSC and pulled up a bone scan
.“
See here? This is called a distal radius fracture
.
” She scrolled
.“
See these bruises around her neck? The
y’
re consistent with strangulation. Do you see the damage he caused
?
”

“
No, she did that. All of it. Sh
e’
s clumsy
.
”

“
It was her ninth fracture, Deanna. Sh
e’
d only broken her pinky toe until she married Jerald. How would she strangle herself? I
t’
s physically impossible. She ran from this, Deanna. She fled from his abuse, and you would
n’
t help her
.
”

“
No, no, get out of my house
.”
She grabbed the pillow, and sobbed into it.

Amy laid a hand on her back
.“
W
e’
re leaving, Dede.
I’
m sorry that Ruby upset you. Her
e’
s my card. You do
n’
t have to talk to her. You can call me any time
.
”

Deanna held out her hand for the card without raising her head
.“
Thank you
.
”

“
W
e’
ll show ourselves out
.
”

“
I hope your client rots in Mardova
!”
Deanna yelled as they crossed to the front door.

“
Yo
u’
re not the only one
,”
Ruby said, and closed the door behind her.              

“
Well
?”
Amy asked.

“
I do
n’
t think sh
e’
s an accomplice
.
”

“
Neither do I. Sh
e’
s genuinely in mourning
.
”

“
Yeah, she fell for everything Jer-Bear told her
.
”

“
And it goes against the profile to rely on a woman as part of the plan
.
”

“
Women are their pawns
.
”

“
Yes. They certainly did
n’
t factor us in
,”
Amy said.

“
Damn right, and i
t’
s only a matter of time before they do. W
e’
ll be ready. You agree that there are two killers
?
”

“
Yes. It fits
.
”

“
Thanks for coming. You were a superb good cop
.
”

“
I enjoy getting out and stretching my legs. Perhaps next time I can be bad cop
.
”

“
No one would buy it. Your halo is blinding
.
”

✧

Ruby cruised into her office suite
.“
Wher
e’
s Mar
tí
n
?
”

“
Flic
k’
s old office
.”
Colin replied.

Ruby did a double take
.“
Seriously? He could have had the meeting room, the conference room. Hell, he could have worked in my office
.
”

“
Why have
n’
t you offered me that arrangement
?”
He motioned to his area.

“
We need you front and center
.
”

“
Yes, I suppose you do. Emilio said something about liking the ambience in Flic
k’
s
.
”

“
Ah, the e-ma
n—
an elusive breed. Try and figure them out
.
”

“
How did the interview go
?
”

“
As expected. Neighbor loved Batterer. Even when confronted with Wif
e’
s broken bones, Neighbo
r’
s blinded by denial
.
”

“
Why did
n’
t he beat his neighbor
?
”

“
In his mind, she was his plaything, not his property. And now sh
e’
s a wreck
.
”

“
Did Amy calm her down
?
”

“
Amy is a saint. She gave the woman her card
.
”

“
It does
n’
t sound like yo
u’
re inclined to cut this woman any slack
.
”

“
No. Cheating is bad enoug
h—
not neighborly, to say the least. But to refuse help to a woman afraid for her life is a new level of sordid
.
”

“
Jerry left a lot of damage in his wake
.
”

“
Yes, and w
e’
ve yet to discover it all. I hope Emilio has something for me
.
”

“
I heard victory whoops so tha
t’
s promising
.
”

“
He does
n’
t seem the type to whoop
.
”

“
Not every professional is as stalwart as you, Ruby
.
”

“I’
m not stalwart, jus
t
—”

“
Reserved? Dignified? However you spin it, you could lighten up. Take a vacation
.
”

“
Nicely done. I did
n’
t catch you on the lead up that time. I thought you were merely insulting me. Tell Charles not to pack his golf clubs quite yet
.
”

Arriving at Flic
k’
s closed door, she knocked and waited.

“
Yes, yes, come in already
.
”

“
Why would you shut the door if you did
n’
t want entrants to knock
?”
Ruby asked, and stopped in her tracks
.“
Where am I
?
”

“
You took longer than half an hour. I moved on to the next task. I figured I could use a tech center in close proximity to the team
.
”

“
Yo
u’
re enjoying yourself, are
n’
t you
?
”

“
Immensely. This reminds me of my first office. Bits and pieces of electronics that I repurposed
.
”

Ruby eyed the contraption holding hot tea.

“
You made your own tea maker
.
”

“
A FastFare, actually. Small yet mighty, much like our fearless leader
.”
He shot her a cheeky grin.

Her scowl melted into a smile under his radiant enthusiasm.

“
Colin was kind enough to stock it
.
”

“
Yo
u’
ve been here for two hours, and already yo
u’
r
e
—”