He dusted off his shoulders. “Let’s hear it.”
“Cherry Prescott Inglewood’s new celebrity husband went out of town for the weekend, which is why she was able to meet with me.”
“She doesn’t want him to find out she’s involved in any way with this second rising of Holmes.” Jack shrugged. “I’m not surprised.” He gestured to his fridge. “You want a water?”
Finley shook her head. He grabbed one for himself and chugged half of it.
“If you can believe her claims, and I do,” Finley went on, sharing the details with her boss, “she insists Henderson was an innocent bystander.”
“Except he introduced her to Legard in the first place,” Jack pointed out.
“Except for that,” Finley agreed. “She’s claiming she and Legard had an affair and that he was really hung up on her. Obsessed, she called it. Which makes Inglewood a suspect, but she says he has an airtight alibi. He was out of town at the time of the murder. I still need to confirm the alibi, but even if he was away, he could have hired Holmes.”
Jack rubbed at his chin. “Strange that Sophia never mentioned her husband’s affair.” He hummed a note of surprise. “I can’t see her being that naive.”
“It appears they may have had a sort of open marriage,” Finley offered. “Cherry said Sophia had her own playthings.”
Jack’s face blanked for three beats; then he shrugged. “I’m not surprised. Not really.”
Except he was. Finley couldn’t help thinking that Sophia had really gotten to him. She forced the issue aside and brought him up to speed on retired detective Montrose’s visit.
Jack’s attention sharpened. “Who suppressed his complaints? His partner? I never liked that guy anyway. A total asshole.”
“Among others,” Finley said cryptically.
“Meaning?”
“The chief of police and DA Briggs shut him down.”
“Montrose had something to back up his claims, and they shut him down?”
Finley could see the wheels turning. Jack’s respiration changed; his eyes grew more alert. This was exactly the sort of lead they needed.
“Just his word, since Sophia refused to substantiate his claim that she’d mentioned being worried her husband might be involved in some untoward way with one or both of their daughters.”
Jack’s gaze narrowed. “What’s with all these delayed bombshells?”
Finley shrugged. “All the players involved last time—at least the ones still alive—are worried this time, I think. They’re all focused on covering their asses. Speaking of bombshells, I unearthed another tidbit from Cherry. Since she worked with Legard closely for several months, I asked her if she knew much about the daughters, and she had plenty to say. Cecelia had a particularly wild friend, and the two were as thick as thieves at the time of Legard’s murder.”
Jack motioned for her to go on, dust stirring with his movement.
Finley couldn’t help the grin that spread across her lips. “Bethany Briggs.”
“No shit.” Jack was smiling now.
“No shit. I actually interviewed Bethany a little while ago.”
His smile faded. “I’m not sure I want to know how you managed that.”
“I was careful, but if she mentions it to Briggs, there will be hell to pay.”
“Maybe so, but the cat is out of the bag now.” Jack was pleased.
“Since I know how he works, I recorded the conversation as a bit of insurance.”
This time Jack laughed out loud. “God, I love you.”
Finley laughed too. Couldn’t help herself. But there was more, and this part wasn’t at all humorous. “Cherry was pregnant when she disappeared from the limelight. She has a son.”
“Legard’s?”
“She says not. I don’t know that the child bears any relevance to the case, but it’s definitely a surprising side note.”
“Certainly ups the stakes for both the kid’s mother and Inglewood.”
“True.” Finley braced herself. “I have to ask you something, Jack, and I need the whole truth.”
“Shoot.”
“If there’s more to whatever was going on between you and Sophia,” Finley ventured, hoping the answer would not be yes, “I need to know.”
Jack glanced at the tumbler and bottle of bourbon again.
Finley held her breath.
Then he shook his head. “She came to me for advice on how she might proceed with a divorce.”