happy. So Eden grabbed the poker in a rage and killed her.”
“She couldn’t do that.”
“You know better. She lashed out because the woman she thought was her friend had made a fool out of her. The woman she’d thought was her friend threatened everything she held close. The husband she’d lived with, trusted, believed in had betrayed her, and would destroy their marriage for someone else’s wife.”
“She didn’t just say you can have a divorce,” Corbett put in. “You fought, she demanded, and you told her you were in love with someone else. Then you told her who.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“When? When did you tell her about Lindsay?”
“The night before the murder. It doesn’t matter. Eden protected me, and all she asked in return was for me to give our marriage another try, another few months. She did it for me.”
“She did it for herself.” Eli pushed to his feet. “Both of you, all for yourselves, and the hell with anyone else. You could’ve had her, Justin. All I wanted was my grandmother’s ring, but Eden wanted more than that, and she used you to get it. It’s hard to blame her.”
He walked out, and straight to Abra. She pushed off the bench where she’d waited, held tight when his arms came around her, when his forehead dropped to hers.
“It was hard,” she said quietly.
“More than I thought it would be.”
“Tell me.”
“I will. All of it. Let’s go home, okay? Let’s get the hell out of this and go home.”
“Eli.” Vinnie walked quickly out of the interview room. “Hold up just a second.” He paused, taking a scan of Eli’s face. “How are you doing?”
“All in all? Good. It’s good to have it out, to start thinking it can be over.”
“I’m glad to hear it. Corbett wanted me to tell you, when he’s finished with Suskind, he’ll contact Wolfe directly. They’ll pick up Eden Suskind and talk to her. Corbett, if you want my opinion, is going to go into Boston to be in on that.”
“That’s for them. I’m out of it. None of it’s part of my life anymore. Thanks for your help, Vinnie.”
“Part of the job, but you could buy me a beer sometime.”
“As many as you want.”
Abra stepped around, took Vinnie’s face in her hands, laid her lips softly on his. “He’ll buy the beer, but that’s from me.”
“Might be better than beer.”
“Let’s go home,” Eli repeated. “This is done.”
But it wasn’t, not for him. Not quite.
The next morning, with Abra by his side, Eli sat across from Eden Suskind.
Though pale, she kept her gaze steady, her voice absolutely calm.
“I appreciate both of you coming into Boston this way. I know it’s an inconvenience.”
“You had something you wanted to say to me, to us,” Eli corrected.
“Yes. I could see when you came to my home the two of you had something strong between you. I’ve always believed in that, that bond, that connection, and the promises that come out of it. I built my adult life on that, only to have it broken. So I wanted to talk to both of you. I’ve been speaking with the police for some time now since last night, in the presence of my lawyer, of course.”
“That’s wise.”
“Justin hasn’t been, but then he’s always been impulsive, a little rash. I balanced that out, as I tend to think things through, weigh options. We were a good team for a long time. You understand what I mean about balance,” she said to Abra.
“Yes, I do.”
“I thought you would. Now that Justin has confessed to, well, so much, now that I know what he’s done, I can, and I want to, move on. I can’t protect him, balance him, hope that he’ll come to his senses again and put our family first. It’s never going to happen. The police believe he killed a man in cold blood.”
“Yes.”
“And he caused your grandmother serious injury.”
“Yes.”
“It’s his obsession. That’s not an excuse, but it’s simple fact. About three years ago his great-uncle died, and Justin found letters, a journal, all these things that connected his family to yours, and to that dowry.”
“Information about Violeta Landon, Nathanial Broome?”
“Yes. I don’t know much as he started hoarding it all, keeping it from me. Everything began to change from that point. He kept pushing, digging, paying heavy fees. I won’t bore you with problems Justin had in the past, his ability and need to blame others for failures or mistakes or shortcomings. But I’ll tell you that the more he