The Unkindest Cut - By Honor Hartman Page 0,36

him.’’ I rolled my eyes, and Sophie laughed.

Before either Sophie or Marylou could respond to that, we were all startled by loud screams coming from the other room.

Chapter 13

‘‘What on earth?’’ Marylou said, rising from the bed. ‘‘That sounded like Paula.’’

I made it to the door first, and I flung it open as another scream erupted from somewhere. Sophie and Marylou crowded behind me into the doorway so that I was forced to take a step into the room. Then all three of us stopped, aghast, as we took in the scene before us.

Ainsworth had his hands full with a struggling Veronica Hinkelmeier, who was trying, without success, to free herself from the deputy. The other deputy, whose name I blanked on for the moment, was similarly occupied with Paula.

‘‘Be still!’’

Ainsworth’s deep voice rumbled through the room, and both Paula and Veronica ceased struggling for a moment.

‘‘She started it,’’ Veronica said. ‘‘Just look at my face. It’s probably bleeding.’’ Her chest heaved with exertion as she made another attempt to loosen herself from the deputy’s iron grip. ‘‘I’m going to sue you for assault.’’

‘‘You can’t sue me if you’re locked up for murdering my husband.’’ Paula was yelling, but she stood still.

Veronica’s face was turned away from us, but from what she had said, Paula must have struck her. Marylou, Sophie, and I continued to watch. I didn’t think the deputies had seen us yet; they were so focused on holding on to the two combatants.

‘‘Now, just calm down,’’ Ainsworth said. He experimented with easing up his grip on Veronica, but she immediately started to pull away from him. ‘‘If I have to, I’ll handcuff you. Do you understand me?’’

Veronica nodded. I could tell by the set of her shoulders she was still furious, but evidently she had begun to cool down a bit. Ainsworth let go of her, and she stood still. He stepped away from her, only a pace or two, and she remained where she was.

‘‘The same goes for you, Mrs. Trowbridge,’’ he said. ‘‘Will you sit back down on the couch?’’

Paula nodded. She was calm again, and her face had taken on that blank look we had seen earlier. The deputy let go of her, and she sank down on the couch.

‘‘Just look at my face,’’ Veronica said. She had been examining herself in the mirror over the minibar. ‘‘Look at this.’’

She had turned where we could see her, and I winced. I heard Sophie and Marylou both mutter something. There were four streaks of red on her cheek. Paula must have raked Veronica’s face with her fingernails.

Behind me, I felt Marylou move away. I knew her well enough to understand that she was getting ready to administer some first aid to Veronica. I was surprised the deputy hadn’t done something about that, but evidently he had other things on his mind.

‘‘Mrs. Trowbridge,’’ Ainsworth said in a calm, reasonable tone. ‘‘Would you like to explain to me why you attacked this woman?’’

‘‘Veronica Hinkelmeier.’’ Veronica introduced herself. ‘‘I’m the customer-service manager for the hotel.’’

Ainsworth nodded. When Paula didn’t speak, he said, ‘‘Why did you attack Ms. Hinkelmeier?’’

For a moment, I thought Paula was catatonic and incapable of responding. Then she turned her face to look up at the deputy. For a moment, she appeared to be a tragically bereaved widow. ‘‘Because she killed my husband.’’

Veronica hissed, and Ainsworth hastily put himself between the two women.

‘‘She’s out of her mind,’’ Veronica said. ‘‘Why would I kill the man?’’

I didn’t think she sounded at all convincing. It didn’t even sound like she believed what she was saying. Paula just looked at her with contempt.

‘‘You were sleeping with him, and he dumped you,’’ Paula said. She might have been talking about the weather; she was so calm now. ‘‘You thought he would marry you once he and I got a divorce, but I’ve heard about how he treated you last night. He humiliated you, and you killed him.’’

‘‘What happened last night?’’ Ainsworth said.

‘‘Just what I said,’’ Paula replied. ‘‘She made advances, in public, to my husband, and he rejected her right in front of everyone.’’ Her mouth twisted in a malicious grin.

‘‘Did you witness this?’’ Ainsworth asked her.

Paula shook her head. ‘‘No, but I sure heard about it.’’

‘‘Who told you?’’

Paula laughed. ‘‘Avery’s first wife, Lorraine. She saw the whole thing. We had a good laugh about it. Neither one of us could believe how ridiculously this woman was behaving.’’

Marylou pushed past me, and I saw she was carrying a box