Death on the Diagonal - By Nero Blanc Page 0,84

of its sense of menace. It’s hard to feel threatened by someone whose hairstyle and clothing so flawlessly replicate your own—unless, of course, the mirror image produces anxiety rather than peace of mind.

“Alright,” Kelly said, “out to my car. It’s that Dodge out there. The green one.” She handed Belle the keys. “You’re driving. And don’t try anything stupid, either. I’m in this too deep. I have no problem with killing another person.”

“So you did kill Jack.” It was a statement and not a question.

“No, the Man in the Moon did.” She laughed. “Of course I killed him. He was a double-crossing weasel. Shacking up with Ryan, right under Todd’s nose . . . he had no morals whatsoever. He was a worm looking out for himself.”

Belle refrained from mentioning that murder could be considered immoral, as well. “Ryan was also having an affair with your husband . . . is that why you killed her?”

She laughed again. “Boy, I sure wish I had, I can tell you that much. It’s crazy, but I felt more betrayed by Ryan than by Orlando. But the truth is, I didn’t find out about that junk until after she was dead.”

“You’re going to have a hard time persuading the police to believe you. They’re convinced that Ryan’s and Jack’s killer are one in the same.” Belle decided to confirm Rosco’s theory by adding, “And since the three of you had been running a confidence game, and you’re the only one left, I’d say the police are on the right track.”

“Go on, get in the car. Enough chat out here in the open.”

Belle walked down the path, crossed the street, and slid in behind the wheel of an aging Dodge, while Kelly tossed the keys at her. She considered starting the engine and making a run for it, but Kelly was in the passenger’s seat as quickly as the thought had entered her mind.

“Where to?” Belle asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve got to think. We’ll just sit here for a bit.”

“Not a good idea . . . Rosco will be home in a minute. Plus the police patrol this block on a regular basis; it’s a tourist attraction.”

“Don’t try to bluff me, honey, you’re no good at it. You’re too honest. Sorry, but that’s the way it is. You’re too easy to read.”

Belle put the keys in the ignition, but didn’t immediately start the car. “If you didn’t kill Ryan, who did? Was it Jack?”

“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? That would make a nice little picture. Three grifters swing into Newcastle and try to take advantage of its fair citizens. But you do-gooders ferret them out and save the day. You’d like to blame this all on the trailer trash of the world, ain’t that right?”

Belle fastened her seat belt, and Kelly glared at her and shook her head. “You people are too much, I swear . . . puts her seat belt on like a real angel. What’s the matter, afraid you’re going to get a ticket? We certainly don’t want to break the law now, do we?”

Belle ignored the dig. “Well, if Jack didn’t kill Ryan, and Orlando was in the hospital, the only people left are the Collins family.”

“What the hell do you think I’ve been talking about, honey? You think because those people are a bunch of blue bloods they don’t get fired up enough to kill someone, is that it? I’ve seen horse people do awful things to their animals in the hopes of winning a blue. Real painful stuff to make them step higher and hold their tails up straight. And they break the legs of prize horses with baseball bats just to collect the insurance money. That’s the truth. Those folks have no control over their emotions or their tempers. They’re cutthroat, and they don’t consider the consequences of their actions. And then when things don’t go their way, they run like rabbits for fear that their names will appear in the newspaper. That’s what makes them such easy marks.”

“So you’re saying that Todd killed Ryan because she was unfaithful with Orlando?”

Kelly shook her head and chuckled. “It’s a dirty little cesspool out there at King Wenstarin Farms. But the old man is the only one with any backbone as far as I’m concerned. Don’t forget he’s already divorced two women. Why wouldn’t he divorce the third? He’d never kill Ryan; it’s not his style. He would have hung her out to dry without a nickel if