I would say she was sizing me up, but she’d already done that. Quite effectively. That’s when I realized she was waiting for word from her brother to let loose on me. It was really a no-win situation. Even if I defended myself, all witnesses would see was a tall man fighting a much smaller woman. It didn’t matter that she’d already knocked me off my feet and proven to be twice as athletic as me.
Now she stopped and looked at me as she opened and closed her fists. Maybe it was just a warm-up. She didn’t want to risk pulling a muscle while she beat me senseless.
She looked at me and said, “How’s the head feel?”
“I’m Irish. I’m more worried about your foot.” I figured it was better to engage her verbally.
Beth let a smile slip out. She had a lovely smile. Just a flash of warmth. I wondered what she was like when she wasn’t trying to punch someone. Too bad that smile didn’t go with her personality.
Beth said, “Good one. I didn’t know if a New York cop would have any kind of a sense of humor.”
“I didn’t realize you had a sense of humor until just this moment.”
“I’m sorry I gave you that impression. I like finding humor in things that scare most people. Take clowns. Normally, they make me laugh. What about you, Detective? Do you like to find the bright side to scary situations?”
I cocked my head to the side. “I swear to God, I can’t tell if you’re trying to intimidate me or flirt with me.”
“Trust me, Detective, you wouldn’t have any doubt if I was trying to intimidate you.”
I couldn’t resist. “Why is that?”
“Because you’d be looking up at me from the ground. Similar to our last encounter.” She turned to her brother like Do you need me? He gave her a subtle shake of his head. To me, Beth said, “I’m off to refrigerators. Don’t worry, Detective, I’m not looking for something big enough to store your body. From what I hear, no one in DC would care much if someone killed you. I doubt I’d even have to hide the body.”
I took the little comment, then said, “You know, in some places that could be considered a threat of violence.”
“More of a hypothetical threat. Just something to make me smile tonight over dinner.”
Beth stuck out her hand for me to shake. When I did, she showed me what a powerful grip she had. I didn’t wince or make any noise. I didn’t try to squeeze back. I let her have her fun. There was no doubt she was mostly muscle. She was also her brother’s muscle. She was forcing me to notice it and acknowledge it.
That’s why I had her as my number one suspect in Emily Parker’s death.
Chapter 64
As soon as Beth Banks had turned the corner of the aisle, her brother looked at me. He lowered his voice and had a conciliatory tone. “I appreciate your loyalty to Emily. I knew her since she graduated from Quantico. She meant a lot to me.”
“Thank you, Justice Steinberg. But it still makes me wonder about a lot of things.”
“Like what?”
“Like what would a guy like you do to keep Emily from talking to your wife?”
He just stared at me. Then his mouth dropped open a little. Finally, I had struck a nerve with someone in this damn case.
It was almost a full ten seconds before he regained his senses. “Is that it? You think I’m worried Rhea would find out about me and Emily? Have you been operating on that assumption from the beginning?”
I said, “In your long legal career, you never saw a man take drastic steps to keep his wife from finding out about a girlfriend?”
“I know the theory. I agree that it happens. Much more frequently than is reported. But I think you should’ve spent a little more time digging into my relationship with Emily. Or maybe, more accurately, Emily’s relationship with my wife and me.”
Now it was my turn to stare silently. Eventually I said, “I’m not sure I’m following you. Your wife knew all about Emily?”
He gave me a little laugh. “Knew about her! They spent a lot of time together. I’m not sure I even saw Emily alone. My wife and Emily were close. They’d share a cigar once in a while. More important, we always considered our relationships private. As in it’s no one’s business but ours. I wish you would consider it the same way.”
I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I unleashed a verbal haymaker. “What about the relationship you had with Michelle Luna? Should that be considered private too? Or the fact that two different women who were friendly with a powerful man are now dead? What are the chances that both women who were close to you end up dead by strangulation?”