morning?”
He gave me a little smile. “Your lights are on, seems like a good-enough invite to me, and I got reason to be up at this hour.”
“So do I. Things need to get done around here.” I suspected Boone’s reason to be up and about was a lot more fun than mine and probably included a hot date, cool drinks, and…other pursuits. “Are you charging me for this little intrusion?”
Boone canvassed the room, touching this and that. “You got nice stuff. You need an alarm system.”
“I’ll add it to the list right behind food and water. I bet you don’t have an alarm system.”
This time Boone gave me a steely smile. “I got me.” He leaned against the newel post at the end of the stairs, looking a little unkempt and a lot mysterious. “Someone’s out to notonly murder Janelle but frame Hollis. The body wasn’t tossed in the river or under a bridge but specifically planted in the Lexus. Someone’s got it in for your ex big time, and you might be in danger too; ever think of that?”
“How do you know I didn’t whack Janelle and frame Hollis? I had motive. I had so much motive I could write a book on motive.”
“If you were going to whack someone, it would be me.”
“Now there’s a happy thought to hold on to in the middle of the night.”
“You’re over Hollis. You’ve moved on, but your getting involved in this murder could be bad for your health.”
“You already gave me this sermon at the party.”
“It was a really nice party.” He gave me a knowing look that said he didn’t mean the party at all but my visual contribution to it.
I ignored him and instead paid attention to my sleazy lawyer senses that were starting to tingle. “Why are you here in my house in the wee hours of the morning? Cherry House isn’t exactly on your way home.” I was thinking out loud, connecting the dots to what was going on. I arched my right brow. “You know something you didn’t know before, and it brought you here. You want something.”
Boone sat on the steps next to the pile of bills. “Like I said, you’re not stupid.” He did a little shrug. “Except when you married Hollis and signed the prenup, and now you won’t let me handle Hollis’s case. Those things are all pretty stupid.” Boone leaned forward, his forearms on his knees. If he wasn’t such a rat, he’d be marginally handsome. I took another look. Nope, forget handsome—all rat.
“I was at the police station,” Boone said, leading up tosomething. “Janelle was knocked over the head with one of those ‘For Sale’ signs Realtors use. The couple she showed the place to said she intended to put a second sign in the side yard that faced Lincoln, for more exposure. The police figure that when the couple left, Hollis showed up, continued the argument from the Telfair, and killed Janelle in a fit of anger. He wrapped her in the plastic, dragged her to his car, and stuck her in the trunk with the intent of ditching the body later on. Except you borrowed the Lexus and foiled his plan.”
“Why wouldn’t he just ditch the body right away? And why would he take the body when he knew someone surely saw his car at the house?”
“The police say stress makes people do dumb things, and since Hollis had that fight with his fiancée at the Telfair and then killed her in a fit of anger, he was under a lot of stress. We both know Hollis didn’t do the deed. Janelle’s murder may not have been premeditated, but framing Hollis was well thought out. The killer took the car, counting on the fact that it would be seen and that sooner or later someone would discover the body in the trunk. Or the police would go looking for Janelle and find her there. Everything pointed to Hollis.”
“Someone wants Hollis out of the way. How did the murderer get Hollis’s car?”
“Janelle’s purse is missing, and Hollis said she had a key to the Lexus. He said you gave it to her. The killer must have used that key to get the Lexus. He saw the
He gave me a little smile. “Your lights are on, seems like a good-enough invite to me, and I got reason to be up at this hour.”
“So do I. Things need to get done around here.” I suspected Boone’s reason to be up and about was a lot more fun than mine and probably included a hot date, cool drinks, and…other pursuits. “Are you charging me for this little intrusion?”
Boone canvassed the room, touching this and that. “You got nice stuff. You need an alarm system.”
“I’ll add it to the list right behind food and water. I bet you don’t have an alarm system.”
This time Boone gave me a steely smile. “I got me.” He leaned against the newel post at the end of the stairs, looking a little unkempt and a lot mysterious. “Someone’s out to notonly murder Janelle but frame Hollis. The body wasn’t tossed in the river or under a bridge but specifically planted in the Lexus. Someone’s got it in for your ex big time, and you might be in danger too; ever think of that?”
“How do you know I didn’t whack Janelle and frame Hollis? I had motive. I had so much motive I could write a book on motive.”
“If you were going to whack someone, it would be me.”
“Now there’s a happy thought to hold on to in the middle of the night.”
“You’re over Hollis. You’ve moved on, but your getting involved in this murder could be bad for your health.”
“You already gave me this sermon at the party.”
“It was a really nice party.” He gave me a knowing look that said he didn’t mean the party at all but my visual contribution to it.
I ignored him and instead paid attention to my sleazy lawyer senses that were starting to tingle. “Why are you here in my house in the wee hours of the morning? Cherry House isn’t exactly on your way home.” I was thinking out loud, connecting the dots to what was going on. I arched my right brow. “You know something you didn’t know before, and it brought you here. You want something.”
Boone sat on the steps next to the pile of bills. “Like I said, you’re not stupid.” He did a little shrug. “Except when you married Hollis and signed the prenup, and now you won’t let me handle Hollis’s case. Those things are all pretty stupid.” Boone leaned forward, his forearms on his knees. If he wasn’t such a rat, he’d be marginally handsome. I took another look. Nope, forget handsome—all rat.
“I was at the police station,” Boone said, leading up tosomething. “Janelle was knocked over the head with one of those ‘For Sale’ signs Realtors use. The couple she showed the place to said she intended to put a second sign in the side yard that faced Lincoln, for more exposure. The police figure that when the couple left, Hollis showed up, continued the argument from the Telfair, and killed Janelle in a fit of anger. He wrapped her in the plastic, dragged her to his car, and stuck her in the trunk with the intent of ditching the body later on. Except you borrowed the Lexus and foiled his plan.”
“Why wouldn’t he just ditch the body right away? And why would he take the body when he knew someone surely saw his car at the house?”
“The police say stress makes people do dumb things, and since Hollis had that fight with his fiancée at the Telfair and then killed her in a fit of anger, he was under a lot of stress. We both know Hollis didn’t do the deed. Janelle’s murder may not have been premeditated, but framing Hollis was well thought out. The killer took the car, counting on the fact that it would be seen and that sooner or later someone would discover the body in the trunk. Or the police would go looking for Janelle and find her there. Everything pointed to Hollis.”
“Someone wants Hollis out of the way. How did the murderer get Hollis’s car?”
“Janelle’s purse is missing, and Hollis said she had a key to the Lexus. He said you gave it to her. The killer must have used that key to get the Lexus. He saw the
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