Chapter 4 The Bomb

Once we got back to their house, I told them I was going to go lie down for a bit. Sherry gave me a quick hug, as Chris's phone rang. I walked up the stairs as he answered and paused when I heard him say Det. Horton's name. I hesitated in the doorway of the guest bedroom, then walked back toward the stair landing as I heard Chris raise his voice.

"What exactly are you asking, detective?" He said in an icy tone. There was a long pause, and then "I see, and how did you gather that information?"

I made my way back downstairs, trembling suddenly.

Chris was standing with his back to me, Sherry at his side looking up at him in alarm. He dropped his head to his chest and sighed before saying, "Fine, I'll see if she's up to speaking with you tomorrow. We've just come back from making the funeral arrangements and she is exhausted, as you can imagine. I'll call you to set up a convenient time." He tapped the screen on his phone and tossed it onto the couch, before turning toward Sherry.

"You aren't going to believe what that -" he stopped short, catching sight of me at the bottom of the stairs.

"Lila!" he said, shooting a quick look at his wife. "That was Detective Horton. He has a few questions he needs to go over and wants to come by if you're up to it tomorrow."

"Did he say what he needs?"

"Uh...shit, Lila. Come here for a minute and sit down," he sighed heavily as he gestured to the couch.

"He wouldn't say what's going on, said it was just routine. I'm sure it's fine, but his attitude seemed a little off to me. I don't want you talking to him or anyone else without me there, OK?"

"What aren't you telling me, Chris?" I demanded, tendrils of alarm shooting through my body.

He sat down next to me and looked up at Sherry, as if trying to communicate something to her. He turned to look at me and picked up my hand which I had tucked into a tight fist on my lap.

"He's obviously done some surface digging, finances and things like that. Nothing detailed, which is what I would expect in an investigation into an accidental death where there are no witnesses. They typically do a quick look for any red flags, to see if there is anything that warrants a closer look. That's all pretty routine. David's insurance apparently raised one of those red flags. He stressed that it seemed to be an unusually large pay-out, as he put it." He paused and rubbed a hand along the back of his neck before blowing out a breath. "He was pretty insistent on meeting with you today. That bothers me, to be honest, so I put him off until tomorrow. I don't like his attitude, and it seems like he's decided to make an already horrible time for you even more difficult by throwing his weight around."

I sighed and rolled my neck to relieve some of the tension there. "I can talk to him as soon as he can get here. Let's just get it over with."

"Tomorrow is plenty soon enough. You don't need to deal with whatever shit he's trying to stir up today." He leaned over and kissed my temple, giving my hand a gentle squeeze as he stood up. He grabbed his phone and tapped the screen, raising it to his ear and waiting for the call to be answered.

"This is Christopher Decker. Mrs. Montgomery agreed that you can stop by tomorrow anytime in the afternoon. She is staying with my wife and me, so I'll need to send you our address." He paused, then said, "We'll see you at 1:00 pm then."

I sat there for a few minutes, my mind spinning at this new information. I tried to remain calm. Chris seemed more irritated than concerned, and I trusted his judgement. He was the expert on this kind of thing after all.

"I need to try to reach Vanessa before I forget about it. Hopefully Randall was able to let her know already, and I want to ask her about singing at the service. After that, I think I'll try to lie down for a bit."

I went back upstairs and closed the door to the guest room behind me. I sat on the bed to call Vanessa and was a little surprised when she answered. It was obvious from her tone that she knew. She sounded even more wrecked than I did.

"Lila...I'm so sorry," she said with a sob. I waited while she pulled herself together, then asked if she would be willing to sing 'Amazing Grace' at his funeral.

"Please don't feel obligated, but I know how much David loved your voice. He thought you were extremely talented."

She was clearly taken aback by my request and stammered out her agreement before breaking down again. I thanked her for agreeing to sing before telling her that I would text her with the details for the service once it was all finalized.

I tried to lie down but ended up pacing around the guest room. I was too on-edge to relax, even though I was beyond exhausted at this point. I finally decided to take a long soak in the tub to unwind. That did the trick, and by the time I was dried off I was ready to crawl into bed. I was asleep within minutes.

Early the next morning, Sherry again insisted that I eat. She lectured me about skipping dinner the night before, although she was pleased that I'd gotten some sleep finally. As the morning wore on, I tried to busy myself by reading the news and celebrity gossip sites on my phone, and even resorted to mindlessly scrolling through videos on TikTok. Sherry reminded me that the funeral director had asked if we were going to prepare a photo display, so I started going through the photo gallery on my phone, creating a separate album for any appropriate photos I found. That kept me occupied for a while, and then it was time for us to eat a bite of lunch before Detective Horton arrived.

Chris and I were seated at the rarely used table in the formal dining room when Sherry ushered him in. She joined us, sitting next to me for moral support, while Chris was at the head of the table to my left and the detective was opposite me.

"I'll keep my questions as brief as I can, Mrs. Montgomery, as I know this is an incredibly difficult time for you."

"Please, call me Lila," I said quietly.

He inclined his head in acknowledgement. "First off, the preliminary autopsy results are in, showing that your husband's cause of death was drowning. Blood and tissue samples were taken for a toxicology screening, but those results won't be back for weeks. He did have an injury to his left temple, next to his eyebrow. Based on the angle and shape of the wound, as well as a small smear of blood on the metal cleat the boat was tethered to, we suspect that Mr. Montgomery lost his balance somehow and fell forward while leaning over to untie the boat. It appears he hit his head on the metal cleat, and either that injury or the loss of balance itself caused him to fall into the water."

"OK," I said shakily, leaning back in the chair a little and breathing deeply.

"So why the urgency in questioning her when it's clearly an accident?" Chris asked sharply.

Detective Horton turned his steady gaze toward Chris, before turning back to me. "The coroner's report doesn't explain definitively why your husband couldn't get out of the water after falling in. Based on what you and Mr. Decker told me yesterday, he was a strong swimmer, correct?"

Chris held up his hand before I could say a word. "Yes, he was. However, the injury he sustained could easily explain why he wasn't able to save himself. He was at best, incapacitated and disoriented, and at worst, unconscious when he fell into the water. So, I'll ask again, why the urgency?"

The detective eyed Chris with a scowl and replied "We are simply trying to make sure of the facts, Mr. Decker, especially in light of some rather troubling information we discovered earlier today."

He turned to pin me with a look, and dread twisted the pit of my stomach.

"What facts are those, detective?"

"Mrs. Montgomery...Lila," he corrected himself. "I'll be perfectly honest. Whenever we see insurance policies as large as the one your husband had, it always makes us take a second look at any unexplained sudden death. One million dollars gets our attention, and warrants a closer look at the circumstances."

"Detective, the Montgomery's both have very successful, very lucrative careers. It is entirely reasonable and customary for people of their means to carry policies with large benefits. I would be happy to provide you with statistics proving that fact, if needed. Next question." Chris's demand was terse. He wasn't even pretending to be polite now, his mask of icy professionalism firmly in place.

"I apologize if these questions seem intrusive, ma'am, but I'm sure you can appreciate that we do need to make sure that a complete and thorough investigation is conducted, for your husband's sake. Could you tell me, what exactly is it that you do, Lila?" the detective asked with a disarming smile.

"I work for a literary agent at White River Publishing," I replied."However, the bulk of my income comes from my investment portfolio and real estate holdings."

He nodded, making a note on the pad in front of him. He noticed me glance at the notepad and gestured to it. "Forgive me, I'm old school and still use pen and paper for these things. I find that I listen more attentively than if I'm trying to take notes electronically."

I nodded, wondering why he thought I cared one way or the other how he did it.

He continued, smiling encouragingly."So, you and your husband have an extensive investment portfolio and real estate holdings?"

"No," Chris answered for me. "Mrs. Montgomery is speaking of her investment portfolio and real estate holdings. She comes from a wealthy family, and received her trust fund when she turned twenty-five, as well as a large inheritance after her mother's recent death." I could tell he took great pleasure in correcting the detective. "I can provide you with verification of those facts as well if needed."

Detective Horton eyed me speculatively for a moment before nodding. "Good to know. I'm sorry to hear of your mother's passing. Had she been ill?"

Chris huffed in disgust as he registered the meaning behind that question. "Yes, detective," he answered coldly. "She had multiple sclerosis which resulted in a fall in her home. She was hospitalized and in a skilled rehab facility for several weeks before falling again and suffering a fatal brain injury. Nothing to investigate, I assure you."

Detective Horton looked at me without acknowledging Chris's declaration. "I apologize, Mrs. Montgomery. I didn't mean any offense with my line of questioning, but I do need to ask when these sorts of things come up," he said smoothly.

"Unfortunately, the insurance policy wasn't the only troubling piece of information we uncovered yesterday. What was your relationship like with your husband?"

"Excuse me?" I asked, and before I could ask anything else, Chris butted in.

"Cut the crap, detective. We aren't playing this game. Either spell out exactly what you're getting at and what questions you have, or this discussion has come to an end. My client will not participate in your little fishing expedition," he declared firmly.

Damn, I could almost see the ice dripping from his words, and I would not want to be on the receiving end of that look. I'd never seen Chris like this, and a quick glance at Sherry showed she was shocked, too.

I decided I should probably try to smooth things over a little. "It's OK, Chris. I'll answer whatever he wants to know." I reached out to gently squeeze his arm and he made a visible effort to relax before nodding slightly at me.

I looked at Detective Horton. "My relationship with my husband was very good.He was a wonderful man, and I loved him very much. We've been married for three years, and together for five years before that. I'm not sure what else you want to know?"

He nodded again and made a few more notes on the pad in front of him. "Do you know a Vanessa Caldwell, Mrs. Montgomery?" he questioned, watching me carefully for a reaction.

"Of course, she's an associate architect at David's firm. She's worked for him for about six months or so now. Why?"

"Do you know her well?"

"Uh, I wouldn't say extremely well, but I've met her several times. Company functions, David's birthday party, a few times when I stopped by his office for lunch. She actually went shopping with Sherry and me on Saturday, but that's the most time I've spent with her. Why are you asking about her?"

That seemed to take him off-guard, and he flipped back through his notebook, reading over something and then looking back at me. "So, the friend you mentioned spending the day with on Saturday, aside from Mrs. Decker here, was Vanessa Caldwell. And you..." he paused, checking his notes, "went shopping at the mall, had lunch and spent the afternoon at the spa with her?"

"Yes, and she was supposed to join us for a cookout at our house, but she got a migraine, so we dropped her off early. I'm sorry, Detective, but why are you asking about Vanessa?" I looked to Chris, and he nodded in support.

"Either answer her, or this discussion is over, Horton. What are you getting at?"

Detective Horton looked me straight in the eye and dropped his bombshell, "Were you aware that your husband had been having an affair with Vanessa Caldwell?