“She doesn’t, no,” Finley confirmed. “Right now, she’s struggling with the accusations Holmes has made.”
“She liked playing with fire,” Bethany said. “We both did, really. But Cecelia wasn’t afraid of anything. She watched him, you know.”
Finley shrugged one shoulder. She needed Bethany to say his name, but she couldn’t lead the witness, and she certainly didn’t want to appear overeager and trigger her suspicions. “You’re curious at that age.”
“But watching your father do shit is bizarre. I swear Cecelia was so jealous of him. It was weird. I was happy to go along for the ride. Her father was hot.”
Father? Not the answer Finley had expected. She’d thought they were talking about Holmes. Still, the response was certainly an intriguing one.
“Was it her jealousy of her father that prompted her to start up a relationship with Holmes? It’s not so unusual for a young girl to be attracted to older men.”
Bethany glanced at her phone, then at Finley. “She didn’t have any sort of relationship with Holmes.” She looked away. “He’s lying. We didn’t know him. Did Cecelia say she knew him?”
Lie number one. Not only had she looked away, her voice had changed ever so slightly.
“No, she says not, but it was important to confirm her claim.”
“You should talk to her mother,” Bethany said. “She was the one Cecelia confided in most.”
Deflection. A common tactic for shifting attention or blame.
“Maybe it was Olivia who was infatuated with Holmes. She could have pretended to be Cecelia.”
Bethany scoffed. “Olivia never talked to anyone. She’s a strange one.”
Finley shifted her own tactic. “It’s possible Cecelia may not have told you she was talking to Holmes.”
Bethany shot her a look. “Trust me, whatever Cecelia was doing, I knew about it. We told each other everything. She would have bragged about it to me.”
Finley decided not to push any further. She didn’t want to make her suspicious. It was better to leave the door open for more questions. “I should be going.” She stood. “Keep what your father told you in mind. You shouldn’t talk to anyone about the Legard family. We have to control the situation. Just like last time.”
“God, you sound exactly like him. He kept me under his thumb so tight last time I couldn’t breathe.”
“This too shall pass,” Finley promised.
“I hope it passes fast. I want to be happy right now. We’re planning my wedding.”
“I understand.”
“I can deal with it if he’ll stay off my back. I get it. I can’t let anyone find out I was with Cecelia that night. Especially now.”
“He doesn’t want you dragged into this,” Finley offered, her pulse picking up speed with this new revelation. “Especially now.”
“Well, you can tell him,” she said with a knowing look, “that he doesn’t have to send any more spies snooping around. I’m not telling anyone anything.”
Except she had. “I’ll tell him.”
Before Finley could ask her to go over what happened that night, Bethany grabbed her cell.
“Speak of the devil,” she announced, “that’s him right now.”
Briggs. “I’ll get out of your way so you can speak to your father in private.”
Finley started for the door.
“I’m sorry, what was your name again?”
The door opened, and a lady rushed in with a veil. “It’s here!”
Finley escaped during the delighted squealing that came next. Briggs would figure out she’d had this little chat with his daughter soon enough. No use making it easy for him. If she were really lucky, the preoccupied bride would forget all about Finley’s visit.
As she exited the boutique, she removed her cell from the front pocket of her messenger bag and shut off the record option. Just in case Bethany tried to walk back her statement.
Finley started her Subaru and powered the windows down to allow some of the built-up heat to escape while the air-conditioning struggled to cool things off. She strapped on her seat belt and checked her phone No missed calls.
She called Jack’s cell again. Straight to voice mail. “Damn it.”
Frustrated, she called the office, then merged out onto the street. Nita answered after the first ring with her practiced greeting. “Finnegan Firm. How can I help you?”
“Hey, I need to talk to Jack. Does he have a client in his office?”