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did well."
"Mmm," was all she said to that.
I looked over at the front counter and saw Tanya eyeing me carefully. It felt good having a guardian angel like that, just in case anything got crazy. Not that I was expecting it to.
"Sheila, I told you on the phone about why we're here."
"You're investigating a murder."
"Yes."
"Am I a suspect?"
"No," I said, surprised. "No, not at all."
"I didn’t think I was." She raised her glass and sipped.
"No, we're here because I got a tip that your husb—, excuse me, you're ex -husband may have had some important information that could have led to the capture of the killer. I believe that's why he died."
Her eyes narrowed at me. "Ah, yes. So you're the one who discovered the poison in the mask."
I looked down. "Yes, that was me. And I think, I'm not sure, but if the two of you shared anything in the aftermath of your divorce, I was hoping, seeing as how you may have been the closest person to him when he died..."
She leaned in. "Is there something you’re trying to tell me?"
"I have it on good word that Daniel Ward kept a safe deposit box. At what bank, I don’t know. But I know the number. And I know where he hid the key. He hid it from you and from Maisie."
She leaned back and smiled. "For a private investigator, you have an awful lot to learn. That's my key. And yes, that was his idea to hide it there. Got the notion to do so from some ridiculous movie."
I was confused. "So wait, is his name on the account too?"
"Unfortunately, it is. I don’t keep anything in there, but he does. I doubt it's of any use to me, otherwise he wouldn’t have kept it anyplace where I could get to it."
"So, Sheila," I said, trying to choose words carefully, "you need to do me a favor and put aside whatever emotions of anger or whatever that you feel toward your ex. I need to find out what's in that box. Daniel came to me and—"
"He came to you?"
She was right. I had a lot to learn. A hotness flushed in my face as I tried to recover. "Yes, when he died, the day he died, he came to see me personally. He knew I was looking into the Eli Campbell murder and—"
"Eli Campbell!" Her eyes were lit with some sinister recognition of the name.
"Yes, that's what I'm looking into."
She sat back. Took a sip of her drink. Wiped the corners of her mouth carefully and deliberately, all while staring off into some faraway place.
"I'll help you," she said. "But after I do, we must never speak again. Understand?"
I had no choice but to agree to this, although I was more perplexed than ever. She saw it in my face.
"I have my reasons. And you need to heed to them, ok? Otherwise, no help. Agreed?"
"Agreed," I said.
I looked over at Tanya. I don’t know how long she'd been watching uninterrupted, but I could tell that she'd seen all she needed to see in the look on my face. I have a terrible poker face, and must have been telling a very detailed story.
#
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All you need is a little tenaciousness and you can get through to anyone. Tenaciousness on my part meant cajoling, demanding, asserting, and turning on the sweet talk to about a dozen folks in
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