You Betrayed Me (The Cahills #3) - Lisa Jackson Page 0,17

going for a couple of months, maybe more. I’m not sure on that.”

Mendoza asked, “You know anything about her?”

“Nah. Not much.”

“Family? Friends?” Mendoza pushed.

“Sorry.” He seemed sincere. “Didn’t pay all that much attention. As I said, they came and went.”

Mendoza asked, “Who else?”

“Well, lemme see.” He screwed up his face in concentration. “There was a schoolteacher who lived in . . . Marysville or Everett, someplace north of Seattle, I think.”

“Her name?”

“Janice or Jenny? Somethin’ or other. But they’d broken it off. A while back. Probably over a year or more.”

“That’s two,” Mendoza said. “Anyone else?”

He looked thoughtful. “There is the blonde who works at the inn. First as a waitress, then in the office. She’s had her eye on James for a while, and I’ve seen ’em together a few times. Her name’s Sophie, er, Sophia . . . but, sorry, I don’t know any more about her.”

“But she was seeing James?” Rivers pressed.

“I think so . . . but don’t quote me on that. Just ’cuz I ran into them alone a couple of times don’t mean a whole helluva lot. Coulda been talkin’ business, y’know, as she works for him, but hell . . . well, there’s just something about how a woman looks at a man she’s interested in. It’s different. And she was always around, y’know? Always. Like she really wanted James to notice her.”

“This was recent?”

He nodded. “James didn’t say anything, but it seemed that they were together a lot. But as I said, women, they were always fawnin’ over him. Willow, she works at the hotel, she had her eye on him too, at least I think so.” He scowled. “Not that anything was goin’ on between the two of them, at least not that I know . . . but I caught her lookin’ at him a time or two, and she was watchin’, y’know. Like a cat starin’ at a hole in the ground, waitin’ for a mole to stick out his little head before she pounced. That’s what it was like with her . . .” Then, as if he realized he’d said too much, he added, “Well, what the hell do I know? Look, you’ll have to ask him when he wakes up. I didn’t really keep tabs on his love life.” Running a hand around the back of his neck, he said, “That’s about all I know. Just what I said before. Now I need to see to the stock.” Knowlton scrabbled in his pocket again, retrieved his pack of Marlboros, and this time didn’t bother shoving it back. He pulled out a cigarette and pointed the filter tip at Rivers. “Talk to James.”

“We will,” Mendoza said.

Knowlton jabbed the cigarette into the corner of his mouth. “Let’s go, boy,” he said to the dog. “Guess you may as well come home with me tonight.” To Rivers, he added, “Listen, I’ve got chores to finish, so if you all have any more questions, just follow along. I’ll answer what I can, but I got nothing more to say. It’s all in my statement.”

“Wait,” Mendoza said, but Knowlton was already walking. He led them through the kitchen, which smelled faintly of chili that had hardened in a takeout container left on the table. They followed him out the back door and through a narrow, covered back porch that served as a laundry/mudroom and connected to a dark woodshed filled with dusty chunks of oak, fir, and cedar, the dirt floor packed by a hundred years of footfalls.

At the far end of the shed, the door opened to the yard between the house and outbuildings. Knowlton paused to light up just as he stepped outside, the lighter clicking and the smell of smoke tinging the air. The dog took off, scaring up two crows who cawed their indignation as they fluttered to the high skeletal branches of an apple tree, knocking off clumps of snow and a few stubborn leaves.

Outside, Knowlton shot a glance at them. “You have somethin’ more to ask?”

“Yes.” Mendoza was a little irritated; it showed in the tight corners of her mouth. “Other than the women, did Cahill have anyone he didn’t get along with? Coworkers? Employees? Boyfriends of the women he dated?”

“It’s not like we’re all one big happy family,” Knowlton admitted, “but no, I don’t know anyone who was out to get him.” He squinted through the falling snow. “Anything else?”

Rivers shook his head. “Not now.”

“Good.” He held up both hands, almost in surrender, then