“I think I offended her.” Sarkisian shook his head. “‘A policeman’s lot is not a happy one.’”
“‘We should have thought of that before we joined the fo-orce,’” I responded promptly, as in-tune as possible—which isn’t very—not to be outdone when it came to quoting Gilbert and Sullivan.
An appreciative gleam lit his brown eyes, and he almost smiled. For a long moment his considering gaze rested on me. “Everyone around here knows you as Sheriff McKinley’s widow, don’t they?”
“I do have an identity other than that,” I pointed out.
He waved that aside. “I mean— Damn it, I’ve got to break the news to the victim’s wife. What I really need is a police woman, but Jennifer’s the nearest thing I’ve got. She’s nice, I’m not saying she isn’t, but she’s a little too…cheerful, if you know what I mean.”
“I do.” I kept my voice steady. “But she’s done the job before.”
“You know Ms. Brody, don’t you?” At my nod, he added, “Then would you come with me?”
“I can’t think of anything I’d rather do—” I broke off before I could add “less.” As one widow to another, I might be able to offer comfort—if Cindy Brody needed any, of which I was by no means certain. But more importantly, I wasn’t about to pass up a chance to be on the inside track of this investigation. If anything turned up that implicated Aunt Gerda, I wanted to know, and to be in a position to present Gerda’s side of the matter to Sarkisian. Besides, it never hurt to place the sheriff firmly in my debt. “Give me five minutes,” I said and ran for the stairs.
Chapter Four
Cindy Brody’s house stood at the far end of a quiet cul-de-sac in a peaceful neighborhood of Meritville, Merit County’s principal—but still small—town. A peach-tinted streetlight illumined the rolling rain-drenched lawn with its majestic willow centerpiece, neatly trimmed escallonia shrubs lining a curved cement driveway, and an impressive pseudo-Tudor rising out of an orderly arrangement of raphiolepis and climbing roses. Definitely the upper rent district.
“Hate to see her lease on that,” muttered Sheriff Sarkisian. He slowed the official Jeep and swung onto the cement drive. “I take it accountancy pays.”
“Depends.” I, at least, had never managed to bring in exorbitant wealth in that profession. Maybe my problem was honesty. That was one trait I doubted Clifford Brody had shared.
Sarkisian set the brake and switched off the engine. “Did she want this divorce, or was it his idea?”
“Shouldn’t you be asking her?” I unbuckled my seat belt but found myself in no hurry to climb out into the late November storm.
“I mean,” he said, unlocking his door, “should I be calling a doctor to prescribe tranquilizers for her? Is she going to take this hard?”
It wasn’t my place to prejudice him. I said simply, “I think we can handle it alone.”
“Ahhh.” He gave the sound a wealth of meaning. “Let’s get it over with, then.”
We ran for the shelter provided by the roof’s overhang, and Sarkisian rang the doorbell. A minute passed, and he was just reaching for it again when the squeak of rubber soles on tile reached us. The next moment a light flooded the little porch area, and a brisk alto voice called, “Who is it?”
“Merit County sheriff, Ms. Brody. And Annike McKinley. We’d like to talk to you.”
A key turned in the deadbolt, and the door opened a few inches on a heavy chain. A perfectly made-up face appeared for a fraction of a second, then retreated. The chain rattled, and the door opened wide.
Cindy Brody stood in the full glare of the hall light, all sleek designer jeans from the best shop, sleek designer dark hair from the best salon, and sleek designer body from the best health spa—and possibly the best plastic surgeon. She must be almost as old as me. And looked a good ten years younger.
Cindy nodded briefly to me, her attention focused on Sarkisian. “So you’re the new sheriff.” Her gaze ran over him in an appraising—and openly approving—manner. A slow smile settled on her perfectly reddened mouth. “What can I do for you?”
“Could we sit down?” Sarkisian eased himself a step away from her. “I’m afraid we have some bad news for you.”
“What, did you clock my car going over the speed limit or something?” She smoothed down the clinging yellow knit top over the waistband of her blue jeans, then led the way across the Italian marbled entry hall into a living room decorated in shades of white and cream. Draping herself onto the natural-colored sofa, she indicated with an airy wave for Sarkisian to join her. Apparently, I could fend for myself.
I took the chair across a low glass-topped coffee table from our hostess and leaned forward. “It’s your husband, Cindy.”
The woman stiffened. “God, what’s he done this time? I love him, I really do, but I just can’t take any more. I’ve reached the point where that divorce can’t be settled a moment too soon for my peace of mind. What is it, now? Go on, tell me the worst.”
I did. “He’s dead.”
Cindy blinked. “Dead? Oh!” She groped ineffectually over the coffee table, then searched her pocket and dragged out a tissue. She buried her face in this, and when she spoke again, her voice sounded muffled. “Dead! I—I can’t believe it. Dead! Dear Cliff.” After about ten seconds, during which time no one spoke, she looked up. “Don’t tell me he crashed the Mercedes! Oh, please, not the car!”
Sarkisian, who’d been glaring at me, transferred his disapproving look to Cindy. “Not the car.”
“Thank God for that, at least.” She leaned back against the cushions, extended her long legs in front of her, and dabbed at dry eyes with the corner of the tissue. “How did it happen, then?”
Sarkisian cleared his throat. “I’m afraid he was murdered.”
“Mur— Oh, no. But who…? I can’t believe it!”
She wailed on, but I didn’t listen. In my opinion, Cindy Brody could use some acting lessons. I’d swear her predominating emotion was satisfaction, not shock, though to her credit, I sensed distress, as well. Or was that just uneasiness?
Definitely unease. And she hadn’t asked how, when, or where her husband had been murdered. The news had come as no surprise to her. She’d known. But how?
I allowed my gaze to travel down Cindy’s jean-clad legs—damn, I’d give anything to be able to squeeze into a size that small—until I hit the ankles. Something brown smeared around the rolled hem at the bottom. Mud? The small expanse of dark blue nylon stockings didn’t offer any clues. I shifted in my seat to get a glimpse of the soles of her running shoes. Mud, all right. Streaked and mostly wiped off, but definitely mud.
Cindy had her face buried in her tissue again, this time adding an artistic sniff. I gestured at Sarkisian, catching his eye. He glanced at me, and I pointed at Cindy’s feet. He signaled me to be still, but checked out the mud for himself. It was a pity there wouldn’t be any readable footprints around Aunt Gerda’s house. The heavy rains had done too thorough a job of saturating the soil and smearing any clues.
Cindy looked up and managed a trembling smile. “It’s very kind of you—of both of you—to bring me the news. I didn’t even know you were home, Annike.”
“I just got here. It’s a terrible night to be out driving, isn’t it?”
Cindy nodded. “That’s why I stayed in.”
“You did?” I kept the skepticism out of my voice, but it wasn’t easy. “What have you been doing?”
“Preparing for Thanksgiving. I’ve got out-of-town guests arriving tomorrow, so everything’s going to be chaos. I thought I’d get a jump on it by starting this evening.”
“Guests?” My compassion surged to the forefront. “Look, would you like me to call them for you? Break the news? I know how hard it can be telling people.”
Cindy shook her head. “I’ll let them know when they get here.”
“Get…” I blinked. “You mean you still want them to come?”
“After all this work? I’m not about to call it off, now.”
“No, of course not,” I murmured, taken aback. I glanced at Sarkisian, but he said nothing, merely sitting there with a sympathetic expression plastered on his face. I turned back to Cindy. “All that work,” I agreed in what I hoped was a commiserating tone. “Is that why you resigned as event-coordinator?”
Cindy’s mouth tightened. “Your aunt told you about that, did she? It was the only thing I could do! There was no way I could get ready for my friends when I was forever running around on the most ridiculous errands. Have you seen the lists they’ve all made up?”
“I’m about to. They elected me to take over.”
Cindy gave a short laugh. “You have my condolences. If you want some advice, don’t go anywhere near Peggy. Don’t even listen to that woman! She’s list-crazy.”
Sarkisian leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’ve had a shock, Ms. Brody.”
Cindy jerked her head around to look at him. “Oh, God, yes. Am I babbling?” She resorted to her tissue once more, then began shredding it. “I’m sorry, it’s just that anything is better than talking about…about Cliff. I mean, just because I couldn’t bear to live with him any more doesn’t mean I can face the fact he’s dead. It’s…” She broke off and shuddered.
“You need some brandy,” Sarkisian announced. “Got some? Ms. McKinley, you stay with her while I go and find some. In the kitchen?”
“That’s very kind of you. In the dining room. There’re some decanters on the sideboard. Bring snifters for you two, as well.”
He nodded. “You keep an eye on her, Ms. McKinley.”
He put enough edge in these last words so that even an idiot must know he meant something special by it. Luckily, Cindy Brody appeared too preoccupied to notice. I moved to the sofa so Cindy would have to turn away from the door to the dining room.
I pinned a false smile on my face. “This is a lovely house, Cindy. Much nicer than just getting an apartment.”
Cindy took the bait. “It’s what I’ve always wanted, but Cliff… Well, he never wanted to spend money for something like this. He said he preferred antique country charm.”
“Drafty houses always falling apart,” I interpreted. Over Cindy’s shoulder, I glimpsed Sarkisian passing through the dining room and peering through another doorway beyond. He disappeared through it. I rushed into speech as a faint creak of hinges reached me. “I never understood how he could have so much money and never let you spend any of it.”
Cindy’s eyes gleamed, she started to speak, then shut her mouth tight. After a moment, she mopped her dry eyes again. “Dear Cliff, he was certainly an original. It’s sad we developed different goals in life.”
True. He liked to amass money, she liked to spend it.
“We’ve gotten along much better since we separated,” Cindy went on. “Isn’t that odd? But I understand it happens a lot. We really cared about each other, you know. We just weren’t made to live together. You weren’t married long enough to reach that stage, I suppose.”
Thanks for the reminder, I reflected, and chalked up one more reason to dislike Cindy Brody. With an effort, I forced my smile to remain firmly in place. “What will you do now? Stay here?”
“Ummm.” Cindy’s gaze roamed around the living room. “Right here. I made sure I had an option to buy.”
“I thought you weren’t expecting much in the divorce settlement!” I blurted out, then could have bitten my tongue.
Cindy waved that aside. “Oh, you know how Cliff talked. All he really wanted was for me to forget about the divorce and go back to him. I always knew he’d come down handsomely in the end.”
She was the only one who did, then, according to Aunt Gerda. And that certainly wasn’t the opinion Cindy’d been voicing all over Upper River Gulch. What was keeping Sarkisian? I searched for another topic to keep Cindy busy. “How long are your friends staying?”
“Only a few days, but you know what company is like. You want everything to be perfect.”
With relief, I saw Sarkisian reappear. He vanished again, but this time I heard the chink of crystal. “I suppose you’ve been baking pies and bread. Aunt Gerda always raves about your pies.” That the crusts were from the freezer department of a grocery store, that Cindy relied on sugar to try to cover up for canned ingredients, and that she had no imagination with the spices, but I didn’t mention that.
Cindy looked over her shoulder. “Where… Ah, here he comes. Only two brandies, Sheriff?”
“I’m on duty. And I’m driving.” He handed over the glasses. “Are you going to be all right, Ms. Brody? Would you like us to call anyone to come and stay with you?”
Cindy took a sip of the rich amber liquid. “No. I’ll just keep myself busy. That’s always the best course, isn’t it, when you’ve suffered a tragedy? Do so many things you don’t have time to think until you’ve grown accustomed to the loss? That’s what I’ll do.” She rose gracefully to her feet and ran a hand over the impeccable smoothness of her hair. “I’ll be fine, really I will. Thank you so much for coming.”
“Thanks and get out,” I murmured as we found ourselves on the other side of the front door a minute later. “I didn’t even get to taste my brandy. She could hardly wait to get rid of us, could she? What were you doing for so long?”
Sarkisian swung himself into the Jeep. “Checking her car. The hood felt warm.”
I worked that out as I climbed in beside him. “Warm but not hot. So she’s been out, but has been home for a while. Any dents on any fenders?”