Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

I leaned against my car, watching Holly and Colin walk together through the parking lot. Colin said something to Holly and then glanced up, noticing me standing there.

“I’ve seen your car around town,” he said. “Always wondered who owned it. Jaguar, right?”

“It’s a ’37 Jaguar SS 100, yes.”

“It’s a beauty.”

“I agree.”

“I ran into Ann a while ago. She said you were here at lunchtime. Surprised you’re still around.”

“I’ve been waiting for school to get out.”

“Why?”

The why was a simple reason.

Given I believed I knew who killed Claire, and not knowing how this person would react to my accusation, I didn’t want to confront them while school was still in session, and children were around. But now …

“I feel like you’ve both been holding back on me,” I said.

“How so?”

“You two are married,” I said.

“We weren’t holding back,” Holly said, jerking back. “It just never came up in our previous conversation.”

“We’re separated, I might add,” Colin said. “Have been for several months now.”

“Are you planning on getting back together?” I asked.

“Yes,” Holly said.

“No,” Colin said.

“Which is it?” I asked. “Yes or no?”

Colin looked at Holly and sighed. “We’ve talked about this, Holly. I thought we were on the same page now.”

Holly moved a hand to her hip. “If by the same page you mean I’ve agreed to a divorce, not only are we not on the same page, but we’re also not reading from the same book.”

“We shouldn’t talk about this now,” Colin said.

“Oh, I think you should,” I said. “Today I saw your yearbook picture from last year, Holly. There’s a poster in the background with a Jane Austen quote on it.”

“Again, what about it?”

“I walked by your classroom this afternoon, peeked through the window, and noticed the poster is hanging in your classroom.”

“What about it?”

“It’s an interesting quote, don’t you think? It can be taken different ways.”

“I suppose it can.”

“The way I take it, given what I do, is that people justify their actions sometimes, even when it’s against the law.”

“What are you getting at?”

I shifted my attention to Colin. “The night Claire was murdered, the police found a bottle of men’s cologne. She’d wrapped it up as a gift for someone. It wasn’t for her husband, though. He doesn’t wear cologne.”

“It could have been for a friend or a relative.”

“Or a lover.”

“A lover ?”

“I think Claire was sweet on someone other than her husband,” I said. “She could have been having an affair, or maybe she was hoping to be more than just friends with someone, though an affair hadn’t started up yet.”

“What are you getting at?”

“I heard you were friends with Claire. What I want to know is, was she just a friend, or was she something more?”

“This is ridiculous,” Holly said. “Are you accusing my husband of something, because it sure sounds like it. Seems to me you’re grasping at anything you can to shift the blame from Claire’s husband to someone else.”

“Oh, I’m not grasping, and I have plenty to say about my suspicions to the police. Speaking of the police, I suppose I should go. I’m expected at the department.”

I turned, opened my car door, and waited.

“Wait,” Colin said.

I grinned and then faced him. “What is it?”

“After Claire’s mother died, we talked more than usual—it’s true. I was worried about her, trying to be a good friend. For a while, that’s all it was, a friendship between two people who cared for each other.”

“When did things change?”

“About a month ago. You know what they say about emotional cheating? I never believed in it. Never thought it could happen to me … until it did.”

I turned toward Holly. “Did you know?”

“He told me, yes,” she said. “We talk about everything.”

I doubted that.

“How did you feel when he admitted it?” I asked.

“It hurt a fair bit, but we were already separated at the time, and Colin assured me the cheating had been emotional in nature, nothing more.”

“Did you believe him?”

“She just said she believed me, even though I was sure she she hadn’t,” Colin said. “I thought I could pull back from Claire, shift things to the way they were before. And then, I started developing deeper feelings for her.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I never wanted it to come out like this, but here we are. I was gutted when I heard about what happened to Claire. It made me realize I loved her.”

Holly’s eyes went wide. “You, what ?!”

“I should have told the police from the beginning,” he said. “I’ve been feeling awful about it, just awful.”

“Why didn’t you say anything to them?” I asked.

“I didn’t think it would make a difference, and I suppose even in death, I wanted to protect her integrity.”

“Her integrity ?” Holly scoffed. “There’s no integrity when a woman goes after another woman’s man.”

“She didn’t go after me,” he said. “She never did anything wrong. Let me be clear—nothing happened.”

The look in Holly’s eyes told me she’d started to unravel.

“ Nothing happened?” she asked.

“No,” he replied. “Not on Claire’s part.”

“If nothing happened, why did I see you with your tongue down her throat!” Holly spat.

Colin stepped back, pressing a hand to his chest.

“Her tongue wasn’t down my anything. I kissed her, one time. She was not expecting it. It was my fault, not hers.” He looked at Holly, then at me. “I’ll make a statement, an honest one this time. I’m sorry for not doing it before.”

“You’ll do nothing of the kind. And you …” Holly said, finger wagging in my direction. “I won’t stand here another second while you accuse an innocent man.”

“I haven’t accused an innocent man,” I said. “I’ve accused a guilty woman. Colin didn’t murder Claire. You did, Holly.”

I shoved my hand into my coat pocket, palming my gun in case I was given a reason to use it. Then I looked at Colin, who had started putting the pieces together, his expression one of shock and devastation.

“Tell me you didn’t, Holly,” he said. “Look me in the eye and tell me.”

“How could you believe I’d do such a thing?” Holly said. “Don’t listen to the detective. She’s just trying to rile you up, to rile us both up. Come on, Colin. Let’s go.”

“I suppose now would be a good time to mention the police searched the house a second time,” I said. “They found a partial print, and it’s not a match to Claire or Owen.”

“You’re bluffing,” Holly said. “Sad to see you’re so desperate to solve a murder you’ve resorted to making things up.”

“It’s true, and given what Colin just told me, I’m sure the police have a lot of questions for you, Holly. Wouldn’t it be easier if you just admitted it?”

Holly turned, looking like she was prepared to bolt out of there. Before she got the chance, Colin reached out, grabbing her arm.

“Let me go!” she screamed.

“No,” he said. “I will not.”

“None of this would have happened if you would have kept it in your pants!” she wailed. “I know you’re lying. The day after you’d kissed her, I saw the way she looked at you, the lust in her eyes. No tramp is getting their mitts on my man. Not now. Not ever.”

I cupped a hand to the side of my mouth, yelling, “Did you get all that?”

The three of us turned.

Foley and Whitlock stepped out of the back of a van, heading in our direction.

“I heard it all right,” Foley said. “Every single word.”