some inherited emeralds, which apparently have historical significance.”
“Yeah, I did a bit of research on those jewels myself,” I said. “And it’s interesting, but I can’t work them into why Gil was killed. What about Paul Easton?”
“Nothing on Easton, who might be the most boring person on earth,” he said. “I’m kinda surprised he’s an actor.”
“Yeah, he really doesn’t come across that way,” I said. “But we’ve been told that he comes alive on stage. Last up is Gwyn Simmons. I don’t expect you found anything of interest on her either.”
There was a slight pause and then he began. “I saved her for last. She had a bit of a problem with an ex-husband. Sounds like an abusive situation where she finally managed to get loose. Nothing interesting since then about her life…except her death.”
“What?!”
We all yelled at once.
“Gwyn Simmons committed suicide,” he said.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I took a deep breath and let it slowly out, still reeling from what Mannie had just told us.
“When did it happen?” I asked.
“Sometime last night,” Mannie said. “I don’t have much information but apparently, she took a handful of painkillers, drank a lot of wine, went to sleep, and didn’t wake up. I’ll update you if I hear more, but it seems kinda open and shut. No sign of forced entry and she left a note. I don’t know what it included.”
“I bet I can guess,” I said.
“What?” Mannie asked.
“She was having an affair with Gil,” I said.
Mannie whistled. “This Gil really left a wake of destruction wherever he went, didn’t he?”
“Seems like it,” I said. “He also seems to be collecting as many victims in death as he did in life.”
I told Mannie about suspicion falling on Liam and putting his future in a precarious position and the attack on Tiffany the night before.
“There’s a lot going on with that man at the center,” Mannie said. “Too much going on.”
“I know,” I agreed. “I wish I could clear out the things that don’t matter so that I could focus on the things that do.”
“Maybe it all matters,” Mannie said. “Anyway, let me know if you need anything else. I’ll call back if I get more.”
He disconnected and I looked over at Ida Belle and Gertie.
“What the hell?” I said. “Please tell me we did not cause Gwyn to take her own life.”
Gertie shook her head, her expression sad. “All we did was tell her something she would have found out anyway when Casey got a hold of her.”
Ida Belle nodded. “And quite frankly, something she probably already knew but just didn’t want to admit to herself.”
I blew out a breath. “Yeah, I guess so, but man, I feel horrible. Gwyn obviously had some things she needed to work out but this wasn’t the solution. And God knows, Gil wasn’t worth it.”
“This wasn’t about Gil,” Gertie said. “Not really. He was just one piece in the bad decisions Gwyn was making. Maybe if she’d been honest with herself and gotten help, things could have been different. But please don’t blame yourself. She knew he was married when she got involved with him.”
“And if it hadn’t been Gil, it probably would have been another guy who sent her over the edge,” Ida Belle said. “Remember what Lil said about predators. I happen to agree with her. Men like Gil can spot women like Gwyn a mile away.”
“Yeah, but most of them don’t get murdered,” I said.
“It’s an unfortunate set of events,” Ida Belle said. “But we didn’t do anything to put them into motion.”
I shook my head. “How in the world does a person cause more trouble after dying than he did while he was alive? And I’m talking someone who caused a serious amount of trouble while he was alive.”
“He definitely outplayed himself on this one,” Gertie said.
“And wasn’t even here to see the dramatic fallout,” Ida Belle said. “Typical of Gil—create a mess, then skip away and pretend it had nothing to do with him.”
I stared out the windshield and frowned. “Do we think Gwyn could have been the one who killed Gil? I mean, she had opportunity. What if she knew the truth about Gil’s marriage? Or what if even though he was divorcing Tiffany, he told Gwyn he wasn’t going to settle down with her? We only have her word that they were an item. Maybe that was in the recent past. Maybe Gwyn was just as tired of men taking advantage of her as Lil was of seeing it.”
“And we see