Book Club Killer by Mary Maxwell Page A

“You’re
serious?”
    Dora nodded. “A friend in my yoga
class told me. She overheard Eve talking to someone at the drug store. Eve was
convinced that her husband was sleeping with another woman.”
    “Why would she think he’s
cheating?”
    “She found a pink thong in his gym
bag,” Dora said.
    “Did she ask him about it?”
    “I don’t know. My friend didn’t
hear the whole conversation that Eve was having. But she heard enough to know
that Eve said she’d do whatever it took to put an end to the affair.”
    I sat back and smiled. “I guess
it’s true what they say, right? You reap what you sow?”
    “Meaning?” Dora asked, sipping her
coffee.
    “Eve walks around with her nose
held so high it’s a wonder it doesn’t scrape the ceiling,” I said. “If you
don’t already know that she’s rich, she’s more than happy to boast and brag
about it.”
    “I can’t argue with that,” Dora
said. “But I—”
    My phone bleeped loudly in my
pocket. “Oh, sorry,” I said. “Do you mind if I check that?”
    Dora shook her head. “I’m going to
the little girl’s room. I’ll be right back.”
    While she made her way toward the
restrooms, I pulled out my phone. The call was from Detective Ford, so I
figured that I’d better take it.
    “Have I called at a good time?” he
asked after I clicked onto the line.
    “Yes, sure,” I said. “What’s up?”
    “Well, I was following a few leads,
and I wanted to ask you about a member of the book club.”
    “Which one?” I asked.
    “Eve Walker,” he said.
    My heart thudded in my chest. “She
was just here,” I said in a rush. “We were having coffee to talk about…” I
decided it wasn’t important to explain, so I switched gears. “Why are you
asking about Eve?” I continued. “What did you find out?”
    “Well, after you mentioned Brock Truscott
and his wife, I made a few calls. I happen to know Brock Truscott’s lawyer, and
he confirmed what you told me about the divorce being pretty tricky.”
    “That’s putting it mildly,” I said.
“What did the lawyer tell you?”
    “He couldn’t get into any
specifics, of course. But he did say enough to paint a pretty bleak picture.”
    “Okay, so how does that relate to
Eve?”
    “Truscott’s lawyer said he’d also
met recently with another woman who was referred by Mrs. Truscott. The second
woman, who also seemed convinced that her husband was having an affair, was—”
    “Eve?”
    “Yes, Eve Walker. But she was so…”
He paused briefly and I saw Dora coming back toward the table. “Let’s just say
that her behavior during the initial meeting was so unusual , my friend
declined to take her case.”
    “What do you mean ‘unusual’?”
    Ford cleared his throat. “I’m not
comfortable getting into the specifics, Mrs. Sullivan. It’s secondhand
information, and it was very unflattering. I also don’t think it’s necessary to
get into the nitty-gritty at the moment. If my hunch plays out, I’m sure you’ll
hear all about it in court one day.”
    My breath caught in my throat. The
detective was being cagey, but it seemed like he was trying to suggest that Eve
might be somehow involved in Rosemary’s murder. When I came right out and asked
him, he again deflected the question.
    “I’m not trying to be evasive,” he
assured me. “I’m just trying to be careful.”
    Dora sat down and waited while I
finished the call with Detective Ford. He asked me a few questions about Eve,
but I could only answer two or three. I explained that I’d only recently joined
the book club and she was a relatively new member as well. The most telling
question that he asked was the final one.
    “Do you think it’s possible that
Eve joined the book club to gain access to Rosemary?”
    I blinked in surprise. “Are you
saying what I think you’re saying?” I asked breathlessly. “That Eve joined the group
so she could meet Rosemary and do harm to her?”
    “Well, I’m working on a couple