Chapter 18

18

"My name is Georgiana Germaine," I said. "Are you Seth?"

"I am," he said. "Why are you here?"

"I stopped by to talk to both of you about?—"

"Why. Are. You. Here?"

He was fidgeting, running his fingers up and down his pants like a nervous tic. Looking at him now, at how agitated he seemed, it didn't seem normal. It crossed my mind there might be some mental issues at play.

If I was right, I wanted to exercise caution. I didn't want to push him or put him in a position where he felt more heightened than he already was in this moment.

Kayla offered him a sympathetic smile and said, "Georgiana is here to talk to us about Cordelia Bennett, honey."

"Why? How does she know Cordelia? And why does she care about what happened to her? Was she a friend? Because I've never seen her at Cordelia's house before."

"My mother is one of your neighbors," I said.

"Who is your mother?"

"Darlene Kennison. She's married to Harvey."

"Good man, good man. But your mother …" He shook his head. "Your mother, she's … don't mind my bluntness, but I find your mother to be a ridiculous, dramatic woman. I try to avoid her."

"I don't mind. I think she's a lot sometimes too. She's a good person. If you got to know her, you'd see that."

"I'm not sure I agree. I still don't understand why you're here, asking about our neighbor. What's it to you?"

"She's a detective," Kayla said. "A private eye."

He turned toward me, blinked a few times, and then said, "Yes, I knew you looked familiar. I've seen you in the paper and on TV in the past. You used to work as a detective for the county. Why'd you quit?"

"I wanted to start my own detective agency."

"You still quit, which makes you a quitter."

Kayla looked my way, mouthing a silent, I'm sorry .

"After Harvey stepped down as chief of police, the man who took his position was someone I didn't trust. We didn't work well together, and you're right, I quit. Not too long after, I discovered he had a dark secret, and he'd been murdering people to cover it up."

"I remember," Seth said. "They got rid of that guy, and Rex Foley is the chief of police now, which makes him your brother-in-law. Seems like a decent man."

"He is a decent man," I said.

"If he's so decent, why don't you go back to work for the county?"

It was interesting being on the opposite side of an interrogation.

I wasn't sure I liked it.

"I like having my own detective agency," I said. "Speaking of which, I've been questioning some of Cordelia's neighbors. Her sister hired me to investigate what happened to her."

He was pacing the room now, his hands still running up and down his legs.

My attempt at explaining things in a calm manner had failed.

"Cordelia was keeping an eye on one of her neighbors before she died," Kayla said. "She kept notes, and Georgiana found them."

"I don't understand," Seth said. "Cordelia wouldn't do such a thing—spy."

"Well, she did," Kayla said. "She must have been able to see into one or both of our homes somehow, and she wrote down some of the things she saw. Georgiana was just telling me about it."

"What did she see?" Seth asked.

"The couple wrote about wasn't getting along, and there was mention of possible abuse."

While I appreciated Kayla's desire to help explain the situation, she wasn't making things better. She was making them worse—a lot worse.

Seth glared at me, a nasty look on his face. "Abuse? Is that why you're here? Do you think Cordelia was talking about us? Do you think I abuse my wife? Because I don't, and I never have."

"I haven't formed any conclusions," I said. "I'm just trying to gather information."

It wasn't the complete truth.

I was forming conclusions with each conversation I had.

But there was also some truth to what I'd said, and I hoped it was enough for him to believe I wasn't accusing him of anything—yet.

Based on the way he was staring me down, he hadn't believed a word I'd said. He didn't know me, didn't know my intentions. In a way, I didn't blame him for his behavior.

"I want you to leave," he said.

Not unexpected.

In truth, I was surprised I'd lasted as long as I had.

Kayla walked over to Seth, placing her hands on his shoulders. She offered him a gentle smile and said, "Honey, she's just doing her job. She's trying to help, to find out what happened to Cordelia and who would do such a thing to her. We owe it to Cordelia to help Georgiana in any way we can."

It was the best thing she'd said since he'd gotten home, and I paused, waiting for his reaction.

He shrugged her arms away. "We don't owe anyone anything. This is our life, and our relationship with Cordelia is no one else's business but our own. Nothing will change the facts, and the fact is … she's dead. Even if the murder is solved, she's still dead."

In a last attempt to simmer the fire brewing within him, I switched subjects. "I heard you and Cordelia shared a love for books."

"I don't see how our fondness for books has any relevance to your investigation. I want you to leave. I want you to leave now. And don't you ever come around here harassing me or my wife again."

Epic.

Fail.

I nodded and said the only thing I could say. "I wasn't trying to harass anyone, and I understand."

"Do you? Because I just asked you to leave, and you haven't moved one inch."

"Wait, Seth," Kayla said. "I know situations like this make you nervous. I promise you, Georgiana is trying to do right by Cordelia. She may be dead like you say, but don't you think her spirit is struggling because her murder hasn't been solved?"

He huffed a nervous laugh. "I don't believe in all of that phooey, and you know it, Kayla."

Silence passed for a moment, and the two of them stood there, staring at each other. I knew now that there was no pulling up from the situation I was in. He'd been angry since the moment he'd seen me in his kitchen. I was strange, foreign, someone he didn't know or trust, and he had no interest in building trust either.

The time had come for me to do what was best for him—to get out of there?—

and so I did just that.