and was so thin, her collarbones stood out under a loose-fitting T-shirt. Her hazel eyes were big and wounded, her cheeks sunken in, her complexion sallow. Once upon a time, she’d probably been stunning. Now she appeared unwell.
“What? No. I’m investigating Ginny McLeod’s murder and—”
She shocked the shit out of him once again when she slapped him across the face. “Don’t you dare speak that evil woman’s name in my house!”
Freddie rubbed at his face. “Ma’am, assaulting a police officer and holding him at gunpoint are both crimes punishable by years in prison.”
“Do you honestly think I care about that? My life is already ruined. What the hell difference will it make if I ruin your life too?”
Freddie knew he should’ve been afraid before then, but he’d figured he’d find a way out of this the way he always did. The possibility that she might kill him just because actually scared him. “It’ll make a difference to me, my wife, my parents and friends.”
“You shouldn’t have come here.” She stared at him with unseeing eyes that indicated a serious departure from reality.
“I realize that now.”
“Mark is fucking her.” She tightened her grip on the handgun and glared at a spot on the wall behind him. “That bitch Tina. He’s fucking her.” She turned her glare on Freddie. “Did you know that?”
Freddie wasn’t sure whether to admit he knew or pretend he didn’t. He made a snap decision. “Who’s Tina?”
“The woman my husband is fucking! Her husband killed himself, and now she’s stolen my husband. And Ginny… It’s all her fault! None of this would’ve happened if she hadn’t taken the money. She did this. She needs to pay.”
“Do you know who hurt Ginny?”
“Ginny is hurt?” Now her eyes glittered with what could only be called glee.
“Ginny is dead.”
“Good. She didn’t deserve to live among decent people.”
“Did you hurt Ginny?”
“What? No. I wanted to, but I haven’t left the house in months. I can’t… She… She took that from me too. She took everything.”
Freddie kept his gaze fixed on the gun, waiting for an opportunity. His cell phone had been ringing repeatedly, which meant Sam or hopefully someone else from work was trying to reach him. He hoped it was Sam. She would do something about the fact that she couldn’t get an answer. For a fleeting second, he thought of Elin, but when despair threatened to overtake him and cloud his judgment, he forced himself to focus on Mrs. Townsend.
“What’s your name?”
“My name? It’s Hattie.”
“I’m Freddie. Freddie Cruz. I’m a detective with the MPD, and I’m married to Elin. We just got married a little over a month ago.”
“Marriage is for fools.”
“Maybe so, but I like it so far. I love my wife very much. I waited my whole life to meet her, and when I did, I knew almost immediately she was meant for me. I love her, and she loves me, and if you kill me, you’ll ruin her life along with mine. I promised her I’d never let that happen, and I don’t want to break my promise to her.”
“You can’t trust her. The minute something goes wrong—and it will—she’ll forget all about why she ever loved you in the first place.”
Well, that was a rather depressing thought… “It doesn’t always work that way.”
“Yes, it does. We were fine until Ginny stole our money, and Mark decided if he was going to be poor, he was going to be poor with someone else. That never would’ve happened without her taking everything from us.”
“Why did you decide to invest?”
“Because! She made us an offer no one could refuse. One hundred percent return on investment? Who wouldn’t do that?” As she spoke, she waved the gun around in a way that added to Freddie’s anxiety. “I know what you’re thinking. We were stupid to be taken in by her, but you would’ve done it too. Double your money in two years? Anyone would’ve done it!” She came closer to Freddie, the gun aimed at his face.
He couldn’t believe this was happening. He’d come to ask her some questions and had gotten pulled into a nightmare.
“Tell me the truth. You would’ve done it too, wouldn’t you?”
Staring at the gun, he said, “Absolutely. Anyone would have. You’d be crazy not to.”
His answer seemed to please her. Thank goodness. She dropped the gun to her side as his phone rang again.
“If I don’t answer that, they’re going to come looking for me.”
She seemed to think about that for a second. “Get rid