The Wicked Wife (Murder in Marin Book 2) (36 page)

Late on Wednesday, Eddie called Rob and asked if he and Holly were alone in the office.
 

“Yeah, Eddie. It’s just the two of us, slaving away, as usual.”

“Good! Stay there. I’ll be over in twenty minutes. I have some news I want you to hear.”

Holly, who was usually anxious to get out and take one of her early evening hikes—along the Sausalito waterfront, past Tam Junction, and then the Mill Valley Depot, where she would stop for a cold drink before turning around and heading back home to Sausalito—felt it was a good enough reason to hang around. “I’m missing my walk, or at least part of it, but I figure Eddie’s got something big.”

“Maybe he got a big break in Willow’s murder. If so, I’d like to know, since tomorrow is our deadline for the Peninsula edition.”

Eddie arrived moments later and began by thanking Rob. “Your suggestion, that I take a closer look at James Finch’s wife, Jade, was the breakthrough. I got the evidence I needed, and we’re making the arrest tomorrow morning.”

“Wow, that’s great,” Holly exclaimed.

“It is, and I don’t want to hear anything about you blabbing about this down at Smitty’s, or the No Name Bar, or anywhere else in town.”

Holly stood up, raised her hand, and crossed her heart. “Scout’s honor!”

“Holly, you never were a scout,” Rob pointed out.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t keep a secret pal.”

“Alright, alright!” Eddie sighed loudly. “I’m just happy to know that, come tomorrow, when we move in to make the arrest, I won’t find you inside the house.”

“Ha, Ha! Very funny. A girl makes one little mistake—”

“That was one hell of a mistake,” Eddie said. “Anyway, I wanted you to know so you could get the jump on your story for tomorrow. I’ve been hanging around you both long enough that I know all your deadlines.”

“How did you nail it down?” Rob asked.

“We got one great set of prints from the scene, from the bike tires close to the gravesite. The tread matched the tires on Jade’s bike. After that, it was downhill. The ironic part of it is that she killed Willow for having an affair with her husband, when it was her husband who was blackmailing her to have sex with him.” He shook his head, awed by the scenario he’d just spelled out. “That husband of hers should hope the jury and the judge send her away for a very long time. If they don’t, he might be the next one to get whacked—which, I can honestly say, would be okay with me.

Two hours later, Sylvia got a call from Rob. He asked her to call William Adams and request a meeting the following morning.
 

William, who had been living the life of a recluse for the past two weeks, was secretly anxious to talk with someone he knew and liked about his loss.

She was with William when Eddie called to say that they had just arrested Jade Finch for the murder of his wife.
 

William hung up the phone and wept. “This is beyond insane!” he murmured.

“Unbelievable,” Sylvia said several times. Her urge was to comfort someone whom she now thought of, not as one of the world’s richest individuals, but simply as a friend and neighbor who had suffered a grievous loss.
 

And now, he had to deal with the knowledge of a betrayal of someone he thought he knew well.

In the days and weeks that followed, the sordid stories of Willow, James, Viktor, and Jade unraveled. One horrible disclosure after another only drove William into a deeper sense of doubt and isolation. He closed himself off from the endless media coverage of the arrest, and his horror at what they began to tout as a “sordid love triangle.”
 

He took comfort in his growing friendship with Sylvia, and often questioned if a solid, intelligent, honest, and older woman would have made for him a far better companion.
 

By the time it was all revealed: the lies, deceptions, missing gems, and sexual escapades; William wondered what it was that he ever saw in his young, beautiful, but very wicked wife.

NEXT UP

RELEASE DATE: APRIL 2015!

In Book 3 of the MURDER IN MARIN Mysteries:

Mill Valley photographer Michael Marks is quick to make friends and offer his services for a wide variety of civic organizations and worthwhile causes.

Only his carefully selected victims know that his adept camera work comes with a dark side: blackmail. Marks' murder unravels his double life and reveals a list of suspects that sends Marin County Sheriff's Detective Eddie Austin, newspaper publisher Rob Timmons and his assistant Holly Cross, into a tangled web of murder and deceit.

NOVELS IN THE

MURDER IN MARIN SERIES

The Gossiping Gourmet

(Book 1)

Warren Bradley, renowned as the local gadfly In the picture-perfect community of Sausalito, California, is esteemed by his admirers and despised by his detractors. But for love of his caramel chicken and cherry fudge brownies, everyone has a story to share regarding their fellow citizens--

Stories that too often find their way into his weekly gossip-filled newspaper column, "Heard About Town."

When the great chef and his admirers, the Sausalito Ladies of Liberty, take offense to a newly arrived Manhattan power couple, their insular world of tasty sauces and stinging insults leads to deadly results.

Everyone has their own theory about who killed Warren. But it takes the combined efforts of Rob Timmons, the local newspaper publisher, and Eddie Austin, his childhood friend and Marin County’s top detective, to unravel this tale of delicious dishes and malicious deception.

The Wicked Wife

(Book 2)

Like everyone else, newspaper publisher Rob Timmons, his childhood friend Sheriff’s Detective Eddie Austin, and their sidekick Holly Cross are baffled by the disappearance of Marin County California’s newest celebrity resident: Willow Adams—best known to the world as the super-model with her own signature scent, Willow Wisp.

When Belvedere’s most eligible widower, billionaire William Adams, marries Willow, society’s grand dames are dismayed. Their cautious welcome becomes chillier when they become suspicious of her stated good intentions.

After all, actions speak louder than words.

Willow’s murder comes with a long list of suspects. Could it be one of her past—or for that matter, present—lovers? Could it involve her obsessive need for money and fine jewels?

Or was it her cuckolded husband, who learned only too late that his ultimate trophy wife came with a wicked past?

ABOUT MARTIN BROWN

Martin Brown
 is an author and journalist whose articles on health and relationships have appeared in 
Redbook, Playboy,
 and 
Complete Woman
 magazines.

Martin, a native of New York City, is a graduate of the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He began his career as a community affairs writer with WCBS Radio. He also worked as the public affairs officer for the New York City police association; and later in the same capacity for the Atlanta and Georgia police associations. 

He began his work as a community news reporter in Atlanta with 
Creative Loafing
. Later, in Marin County, he founded 
Signal 
Newspapers published in Sausalito, Tiburon, and Belvedere, California. 

Today, he and his wife, novelist Josie Brown, live in the city of San Francisco, where their grown children and granddog also reside.  

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

The Wicked Wife

A Murder in Marin Mystery – Book 2

A Novel by Martin Brown

© 2015 Martin Brown

All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and authors assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of information contained herein.

This is a work of fiction. All incidents and dialogue, and all characters with the exception of some well-known historical and public figures, are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Where real-life historical or public figures appear, the situations, incidents and dialogues concerning those persons are entirely fictional and are not intended to depict actual events or to change the entirely fictional nature of the work. In all other respects, any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Published by Signal Press / San Francisco, CA

For information, contact Signal Press via email: [email protected]

and Design are registered trademarks of Signal Press.

© 2015 Martin Brown

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ISBN#978-1-942052-06-7

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Title produced in the United States of America

Note: This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material on the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the authors and publisher are not engaged in rendering professional services in the book. If the reader requires personal assistance or advice, a qualified professional should be consulted.