Evanly Bodies - By Rhys Bowen Page 0,13

fetch you?"

Missy Rogers shook her head emphatically. "No. I'd prefer to be alone at the moment, thank you. I don't think I could stand other people's pity. I-I don't like being fussed over, I'm afraid. You'll be taking Martin's body away soon, will you?"

"As soon as the forensic boys have done their job and gone over the crime scene. If I were you, I'd stay up here until they're done."

"Would you like me to bring your dog up to you, Mrs. Rogers?" Evan asked. "He can't be too happy, shut away by himself all this time, and animals can be very comforting."

Missy Rogers's face lit up. "Yes. Thank you. I would like that. Would you mind? Would it be all right, Inspector, if the dog was brought straight up here?"

"No problem at all, Mrs. Rogers. I'll have Evans bring it to you as soon as we've finished our little chat."

"What more can I possibly tell you?" she asked.

"Well, the obvious question is whether anybody would have a reason to kill your husband."

Missy Rogers stared up at Bragg. "My husband wasn't an easy man, Detective Inspector. You have to understand that. He liked things done his way. He had strong opinions, so naturally he clashed with people from time to time. This isn't to say that he annoyed anyone enough to want to kill him."

"So what's your take on this, Mrs. Rogers?" Bragg asked. "Who do you think might have killed your husband? Some sort of suspicion must have entered your mind when you saw him lying there."

"Absolutely not. I was flabbergasted. Completely in shock."

"And now you've had some time to think. Anyone we should be looking at? Anyone who had quarreled with your husband recently or bore him an ongoing grudge?"

For the first time Evan noticed a spark of reaction in her face. "I don't know about you, Inspector," she said, "but when I have a disagreement with somebody, I don't rush out and shoot them after ward. It needs much more than that to make you want to shoot somebody."

"Like what, Mrs. Rogers?"

"A deep-seated, primal emotion, I should think. Intense hatred or fear. There has to be no other way out."

"So if you had to make a guess, is there anyone who might possess such a deep-seated emotion in regard to your husband?"

"Nobody I can think of."

"Then who might have waited for you to leave and then shot him?"

"I wish I could tell you that, Inspector, but I can't. A burglar, maybe, who saw me go out and was sure the house would be empty? There have certainly been plenty of robberies in this neighborhood recently. Our neighbors have alarm systems. We never had one installed because of Lucky; he's a wonderful watchdog."

"Would you be kind enough to take a look around the house with me to see if anything has been taken or disturbed?"

"Certainly." She got to her feet, brushed down her tweed skirt, and nodded that she was ready to begin. At the doorway she hesitated. "I-uh-won't have to go into the kitchen again, will I? I don't think I could bear to see . . ."

"No, not unless you kept the family secrets hidden in a safe in the kitchen floor."

"No, there's no safe," she said. "I have some good jewelry at the bank; Martin has a rather valuable coin collection and some rare stamps, but they're at the bank too. What little silver we have is on display. It seems such a shame to have beautiful things and not enjoy them. Beautiful objects make life bearable, don't you think?"

They walked from room to room. The ground floor contained a dining room, drawing room, and a library, its walls lined floor to ceiling with books. There were two spare bedrooms on the same floor as the master, as well as a former bedroom now turned into a study, with walls of yet more books, filing cabinets, and a desk with papers stacked neatly on it. Then up a flight of stairs to what had once been servants' bedrooms. One of these was now a room used for sewing and ironing. The other was stacked with boxes. Nothing appeared to have been touched.

"Is it possible that your husband had any valuable papers in his study?" Bragg asked.

"Papers worth stealing?" She half smiled. "He was a well-respected man in his field, but I don't think his work was so unique or outstanding that anybody would want to steal his papers. It's not as if he was a scientist