“Not very.” Angela tilted her chin down, letting her bangs fall across her face. “My only contribution to the business was helping Paul entertain clients. I don’t know anything about construction.”
“But you knew Holly?” Bree pressed.
Angela nodded without lifting her gaze. “I’d met her a couple of times when I’d stopped at the office to speak with Paul, but I didn’t know her well.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Bree said. “She worked for your husband for seven years.”
Angela stiffened at the challenge but said nothing. She sat still and averted her gaze. She knew more than she was saying. Holly’s name—and murder—had definitely triggered an emotional response Angela was trying to cover. Bree could feel it. She glanced at Matt. He too was patiently waiting, his shoulders deceptively relaxed. As if by mutual agreement, they let the quiet spin out.
“I guess you’re going to find out anyway. There’s no point in hiding it.” Angela tore off a small piece of the candy bag. “One night he said he was working late. I called him, and the line went to voice mail. I texted and he didn’t answer. Stupid me. I started to worry about him.” Her voice turned bitter. “I called his office, and his secretary said he’d left at five.” She stripped off another piece of label. “That’s when I started to get suspicious.”
Neither Bree nor Matt moved a muscle. When a suspect was on a roll, you let her go.
“A few nights later—” She paused, her face flushing. “I went to bed. Paul was in his home office. I woke up hours later, and he hadn’t come to bed. I went downstairs to look for him. He’d fallen asleep at his desk in the past and always woke up with a stiff neck.” She bit her lip, holding back tears. “I heard his voice from the hallway.” She took a deep, shaky breath. “He was trying to calm her, telling her he’d do whatever she wanted. I listened at the door. He said, ‘Don’t worry. We won’t have to do this much longer. My marriage will be over soon.’ Hearing him saying those words to another woman was devastating. Then, the next night he told me he had a meeting.” The tears she’d been holding back began to flow. Sobbing, she dropped her head into her hands. A minute later, she lifted her face.
Bree suspected her sadness was real, but it was grief over her lost lifestyle, not over her husband’s death. She got up, fetched a box of tissues from a table in the corner, and set them in front of Angela.
Angela sniffed and plucked a tissue from the box. “Thank you.”
Bree sat down and angled her body toward Angela, trying to create a connection. “Did he call her by name?”
Matt stayed still and quiet, clearly sensing Angela was not likely to connect with a man in her present state.
“Yes.” Angela blotted her eyes. “He said her name twice. Holly.”
Bree nudged the water bottle closer.
“Thank you.” Angela picked up the bottle and took a swallow. “I confronted him. He didn’t even try to deny it. He was glad I found out. Then he laughed and told me I was stupid.” Humiliation brightened her eyes. “I was so mad—” She stopped suddenly, as if realizing she shouldn’t have admitted that. “Am I a suspect? You didn’t answer the last time I asked you.”
“Did you shoot your husband?” Bree asked.
“No.” Angela didn’t break eye contact.
Truth or lie?
“Then you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.” Bree flattened her hands on the table.
Angela didn’t look like she was buying it. She plucked another tissue from the box and pressed it to her face.
Drying her tears, or covering her expression? Bree couldn’t tell, but something about her demeanor didn’t ring true. Angela’s reactions seemed calculated.
“If my spouse was cheating, I’d be furious. Maybe angry enough to kill them both.” Bree leaned in and asked the question Angela had avoided earlier: “Where were you on Friday evening?”
“I was home, alone. My friend’s home, I mean.” Angela’s lips flattened and her eyes narrowed in an assessing expression. She was making a decision. She lowered the hand with the tissue. “Look, I can see why I’d be a suspect, since Paul and I were in the middle of a divorce. But I wouldn’t have hurt Holly. It wasn’t her fault. In fact, it’s highly possible Paul harassed or pressured her into their . . . liaison.” She looked at Matt.