cafeteria floor. Both Grayson and Savich hoped he was being overly cautious. Sonja was desperate for Veronica to survive because she was afraid Marsia would go free without Veronica’s testimony at trial. “Would I even be able to make a case beyond a reasonable doubt without Veronica’s testimony?” she asked him. “Even with you and Sherlock testifying, I don’t think so, Dillon.”
Of course, she blamed herself for not getting Veronica out of the D.C. Jail in time. Once the bureaucracy got involved and everyone up the ladder wanted to chime in with opinions, it was enough to delay the transfer, and that was all Marsia needed. There was more than enough blame to spread around up the chain of command, but Sonja would take the fall.
Savich said a prayer for Veronica. She’d been the perfect patsy for Marsia, a single woman in her mid-thirties, hungry for love, easily manipulated, and willing to do whatever her goddess asked of her. He hoped she’d make it.
He pictured Marsia in his mind, but she was quickly replaced by Major Trumbo enveloped in flames—and the sight of his home on fire. His hands fisted, and rage bubbled up. It was Sherlock and Sean Marsia had been after. In that moment, he knew he would move heaven and earth to make her pay.
He heard loud voices and looked up to see Ruth and Sherlock barreling toward his office, excitement pouring off them.
Sherlock yelled out, “We found him!”
47
ST. LUMIS
MAJOR TRUMBO’S B&B
TUESDAY AFTERNOON
Mrs. Trumbo eyed her up and down. “So, it’s you again. I suppose I shouldn’t call you Ms. Cinelli any longer, Agent Cinelli, excuse me, Special Agent Cinelli. Yes, Maude Filly called me, told me who you were and all the questions you had for her. I’d like to know why I had to hear this from Maude.”
“Yes, Mrs. Trumbo, I’m Special Agent Pippa Cinelli.”
Mrs. Trumbo studied them, then turned to Wilde. “I suppose you were in on this deception as well, Chief Wilde? You knew she was coming here under false pretenses, spying on everyone?”
Wilde shook his head. “No, ma’am. Agent Cinelli was sent to St. Lumis undercover. I only found out when she came to me for help after she was attacked yesterday in that abandoned grocery store out on the edge of town.”
“We’d like to talk to you about everything that’s happened, Mrs. Trumbo.”
Mrs. Trumbo clearly wasn’t ready to make peace. She huffed, tried to smile, then jerked her head toward the living room. “All right, for all the good it will do you. I don’t know a blessed thing about who sent you that stupid puzzle of Major Trumbo you told Maude about, nor do I like my place or my guests being spied on, well, not that you’ve been spying on any of my guests, but still.”
Mrs. Trumbo sat herself in a large wing chair opposite them. “Now, Agent Cinelli, Chief Wilde, say what you have to say.” She looked down at her watch. “I have a pot roast in the oven for dinner, and it needs watching.”
Wilde said, “Mrs. Filly told us you disliked Major Trumbo as much as she did. She told us he was a cheater, and that’s how he met you.”
“That’s right. I met him when he came to Baltimore on business and stayed at the Wilson, the hotel I managed. He was very smooth. Until after we married.” She snorted.
Pippa pointed to the urn on the mantel. “Then why did you put his urn in a place of honor?”
Mrs. Trumbo shrugged. “It was the most expensive urn the funeral home had, perfect for the mantel, a lovely reminder the old coot’s dead. Do you know, I picture him in that urn sailing down the River Styx, on his way to hell. It’s enough to make me smile.
“Now, you said you wanted to talk, so talk. I have a pot roast in the oven, as I told you. By the way, will you be staying here tonight, Agent Cinelli, or will you be going back to Chief Wilde’s lovely little cottage?”
Pippa said, “Since you serve such wonderful breakfasts, Mrs. Trumbo, I’ll be staying in my honeymoon suite. You mentioned you spoke with Mrs. Filly about our visit to her this morning.”
“Of course, Maude called me right away. She thought nothing this exciting had happened in St. Lumis in years.” Mrs. Trumbo sat back in her chair, crossed her arms over her ample bosom, and waited.
“Mrs. Trumbo, no one here in St. Lumis knew I was an