cousin.”
Four?
“So Nico and who else?” She narrowed her eyes. “The fiancée?”
“Angela Calvo has the most motive by far. I can’t eliminate her, even though by all accounts she has an alibi for Fairfield’s death, and she’s set foot in Moonstone Cove a grand total of three times in her life.”
“She could have hired someone.”
“Very possible, which is why I can’t rule her out.”
Toni reached for a wire brush. Bubba was gonna need a new battery. Stat. “Nico, the fiancée, and who else?” She tossed ideas around in her head. “Ruben, yeah? Fairfield’s foreman? He and his boss didn’t get along.”
“True, but he also didn’t have much incentive to kill his boss. He’s poured a lot of time and personal attention into that winery. There’s no reason to think that the fiancée is going to keep him on. He was way more secure with Fairfield.”
“True.”
“Added to those three, there are two women at the country club who cheated on their husbands with the man.”
“Ew.” She curled her lip. “What was the attraction? I do not get it.”
“You may not get it, but he did.” Drew shrugged. “Money, I guess? Anyway, there’s more than one angry husband who might have wanted to kill him. Then there’s Pamela at the country club.”
“Pamela Martin?” Toni popped her head up. “What did she have against Fairfield? She was talking with him about a job, wasn’t she?”
Drew looked around, then back at Toni. “Strictly between us?”
“Who am I going to tell?”
“Katherine and Megan.”
“Fair point. I would totally tell them.”
“So keep this between us.” Drew walked closer and leaned on Bubba’s fender. “I interviewed Pamela a couple of times because something wasn’t adding up for me with her. It was just a feeling.”
“And?” Toni focused on brushing sediment away from the top of the carburetor.
“Fairfield offered her a job, but it came with conditions. And those conditions weren’t anything she was willing to consider.” Drew shrugged. “At least, not according to her. But it didn’t help that he was spreading rumors they were already having an affair.”
“Gross.” She fumbled the brush and nearly scraped her hand. “Whit Fairfield was such an asshole. She had every reason to hate him.”
“Plus she doesn’t have an alibi for the night he died.”
Toni looked up. “You know what I’m discovering about crimes and stuff since I got to know you, Drew?”
“What’s that?”
“Normal people don’t have alibis for much.”
He started to laugh.
“It’s true!” She pointed the wire brush at him. “Know what I do every night? Hang out at my house, watching TV or working on this truck or cooking. And you know who can verify that?”
“Absolutely no one?”
“Exactly.” She threw up her hands. “I mean, no wonder rich people get away with all the crimes, right? They have household staff who can give them alibis.”
Drew’s eyes were dancing. “I can’t lie, sometimes when someone has an ironclad alibi that doesn’t involve hanging out at a bar, I get suspicious.”
“Of course you would. Because normal people don’t have alibis for ninety percent of their life.”
Drew smiled. “You would have made a great detective, Toni.”
“I don’t think so.” She wrinkled her nose. “Interacting with the public is never going to be my strong suit.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Fair point.”
“Question.”
“I might answer.”
Toni set the wire brush to the side. “You keep asking about the night Fairfield died. Why are you assuming he died at night? He was out there for like a week and a half, right? Can autopsies be that precise?”
“In this case, we have his watch.” Drew tapped his wrist. “Old-fashioned fancy brand. Swiss-made something or other. I told you he was beat up, right? We think he must have fallen to the ground at some point and the crystal was smashed on a rock. The watch face completely shattered, and the watch was stuck at two in the morning.”
“Weird.” Two in the morning? “No one is wandering around at two in the morning for a good reason.”
“You sound like my mom.”
“Ha ha.” She picked up a wrench and put it down. What was she doing? “I’m telling you, you’re barking up the wrong tree looking at my cousin.”
“You saying Marissa wouldn’t cover for him?”
“I’m saying it’s more likely she’s covering for someone else.”
“Why?”
“She had some deal going with Fairfield, right? The blackmail thing with Henry? Maybe she knows more about that than she’s letting on. Maybe she’s trying to salvage that business since Fairfield is gone and her sugar daddy won’t be around. Maybe whoever else Fairfield was blackmailing is the