The Best Man to Trust - By Kerry Connor Page 0,41
then Meredith, her lips curving slightly, before returning to her work.
“Doesn’t mean he couldn’t have been working with the person who really did it,” Rick pointed out.
“That’s ridiculous,” Meredith said.
Tom couldn’t help but appreciate her faith in him, but he had to give her a reality check. It might force her to remain skeptical of everyone around her.
“Is it?” he asked. He saw both Meredith and Ellen look at him in surprise, but never took his eyes from Rick. “You’re right. I could be. But I’m not. I had nothing to do with Haley’s death.”
“You didn’t have to answer that,” Meredith said.
“The man answered my question. Only fair that I answered his.”
“Well, he shouldn’t have answered yours, either, and you shouldn’t have asked it,” she said stubbornly. “No one in this room is a killer.”
No one acknowledged the comment. Tom never took his eyes off of the handyman. Meredith seemed to believe Rick needed to be defended against the perceived insult, but the man didn’t seem insulted at all. If anything, Tom thought he saw a hint of respect in the man’s eyes. He was surprised to realize the feeling was mutual.
“Lunch is almost ready,” Ellen announced. “Why don’t you go round everyone up?”
“That’s a great idea.” Meredith sighed. “Tom, do you want to come with me?” The way she said it, it was clearly an order more than a request.
He didn’t argue. As much as he’d like to stay and talk to Ellen, it looked like she was much less inclined to talk. And he doubted Meredith would let him get another question out as it was. With a nod to the others, he followed her from the room.
Meredith waited until they were across the dining room—and most likely out of earshot of the kitchen—before demanding, “Are you satisfied now that he didn’t do it?”
“You know I had to ask.”
“Well, maybe now you’ll admit you need to ask about your friends. If anything we should probably be looking at Alex.”
Tom frowned. “What about him?”
“He goes on his own to interrogate two people he appears to suspect of murder? You don’t find that suspicious?”
“You said it yourself. You can’t blame him for wanting to ask questions.”
“Alone? If he really thinks one—or both—of them is the killer, would he really try talking to them alone and unarmed? It seems more likely he’s trying to divert suspicion from himself, maybe get the rest of your group to turn on Rick and Ellen.”
“Alex is pretty fearless. After the car accident in college, he always said if that couldn’t kill him, nothing would. I’m sure that’s what makes him so good at his job. He’s not afraid of anything or anybody anymore.”
“Well, he should be. It’s only logical given the circumstances.”
The comment reminded Tom of what had happened in the kitchen just a short time ago. They’d reached the entry hall. Tom stopped at the bottom of the stairs and turned to face her. “That’s something we should probably talk about.”
“What’s that?”
“We don’t know when exactly Haley was killed. Just because I was with you when the body was found doesn’t mean I couldn’t have done it.”
Meredith blew off the comment with a wave of her hand. “If you had done it, you would have gone back to your room, not wandered around the house. You had no way of knowing I was downstairs. It would have looked much more suspicious for you to be the only one not in your room and wandering around the house when the body was found, instead of just waiting for someone to find it and coming out and acting surprised. I just didn’t feel like explaining all of that to everyone.”
Her words blindsided him. She had a good point, one she’d clearly thought through—and he hadn’t.
Amusement crept into her eyes. “Did you think I was just trusting you blindly? I did think about it.”
Tom realized that was what he’d thought, in a way. He’d underestimated her—unfairly, as it was. He should have known she was smarter than that. She’d given him no reason to doubt her in the past twenty-four hours. He owed her an apology.
Before he could offer one, Meredith looked past him and frowned. “The living room—”
Tom glanced behind him at the doors to the room, one of which was slightly ajar. “What is it?”
“I closed the doors when we came by earlier. Is someone—”
The door suddenly burst open. Tom automatically moved in front of Meredith, just as Greg stepped into the foyer.
His head slightly