[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.“You were telling me about a form you needed to fix.What was it for?”“I’m not answering any more questions until you tell me how my husband died.I have a right to know.” I was pretty sure a wife would have a right to know.She should.“He was stabbed,” he said in a monotone.“The hotel’s groundskeeper found your husband’s body this morning washed up on the beach.”Poor Michael.“But why?”“That’s what we’re trying to find out.Do you know anyone who would want to harm your husband Mrs.Garcia? People he owed money to or who might’ve had a grudge against him?”“No,” I answered honestly.He nodded again.“You’ll need to go to the hospital to identify the body.”Hospital? “Why is Michael at the hospital?”“Because that’s where the morgue is, Mrs.Garcia.”I shivered.I’d never seen a dead body.I’d never even been to a funeral.The only person I knew who’d ever died was my grandfather, when I was five, and my mother wouldn’t let me go to the service because she thought it would give me bad dreams.Sergeant Ramos closed his pad and stood up.“We can talk more later.I’ll pick you up at noon.”I nodded and walked him to the door.I was about to shut it behind him when he spun around.“Just one more thing, Mrs.Garcia.” He was amazingly agile for a man fifty pounds overweight.“May we see your husband’s things?”“His things?”“Yes, his clothes and his luggage.We need to search for something that might give us a clue as to who may have done this to him.”“He doesn’t have any things.”“Pardon?”How could I explain that we not only had separate rooms, but separate hotels? I couldn’t.“He took all his stuff with him yesterday.”“After the fight at the pool?”“No, before.It was gone when I got back here.”“Then he must’ve been planning on leaving, even before the fight?”“I guess so.” As soon as the words left my mouth I realized it was the wrong thing to say.Sergeant Ramos stared at me for a few seconds, then reminded me again that he’d return for me later and left.“Sweet Jesus, what have I done.”Chapter 19I looked at the clock.It was almost nine a.m.Belize time, which meant it was almost seven a.m.in Los Angeles.I grabbed my wallet, ran to the hotel’s lobby, punched my credit card number into the pay phone, and dialed.“Hello?” Jane answered sleepily.“Wake up, I need your help.”“Who is this?”“It’s Lizzie!” I’m gone five days and she’d already forgotten my voice?“Lizzie, what’s wrong?”“I think I’m in trouble,” I whimpered.I wasn’t sure if the tears were for Michael or for me.Probably both.“Michael’s dead.”“Who’s Michael?”“The guy from the bar.Didn’t you get my e-mail?”“Oh my God, Lizzie.What did you do?”“What do you mean, what did I do? I didn’t kill him.”“I know you’d never hurt someone intentionally, but I’ve seen you when you’re angry.”“Yeah, I scream and yell and throw things, but I don’t kill people!”“Okay, calm down, I’m only asking.”And this was from my best friend! God only knew what the police were thinking.Of course, they’ve never seen me throw a vase at someone’s head.But Steven really deserved it.“Start at the beginning,” she said.“And don’t leave anything out.”Fifteen minutes later, Jane knew the whole story, including a physical description of all the major players.Jane always liked me to describe people in terms of what actor they most resembled so she could picture them in her head.Michael she’d met, Jack was a cuter, unbroken nosed version of Owen Wilson, and Sergeant Ramos could’ve passed for a slightly older and overweight version of Miguel Sandoval, the D.A.on Medium.“What do I do?” I asked.“Are you a suspect?”“I don’t know.They didn’t arrest me.But Sergeant Ramos is coming back at noon to take me to I.D.Michael’s body.” Just thinking about it made me shiver.“That’s routine,” she said dismissively.“How do you know?” As far as I was aware, she’d never had to I.D.a dead body.“Law & Order.It’s on every night.”“You know I only watch SVU.”“They have dead bodies on SVU too.”“Occasionally.Most of the time the victims are still alive and they’ve only been raped.”“Oh please, they kill people off on SVU all the time, and they always get I.D.ed by the next of kin.”“Well excuse me for not being up on my police procedure.Would you like to pass along any other useful tips from your extensive television watching?”“Yes,” she said.“The spouse is always a suspect.”That much I knew.“But we’re not married.”“But the police don’t know that, so you need to come clean with them immediately
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]