plausible scenarios.
I was wrong, twice, though.
Leah explained, “He told me to get over it, that he had enough on his mind without worrying about how I felt about anything. I couldn’t believe how rude he was to me.”
Rudeness was the least of Peter Morgan’s character flaws. “Was she mad enough to kill him when she found out about you?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Leah said.
“Is there anyone else who might have wanted to see Peter dead?” Grace asked. I didn’t know how she was keeping it together, but her voice was calm and steady as she spoke.
“Peter had his share of enemies, trust me,” Leah admitted. She asked Grace, “You know about those yourself, right?”
“Indulge us all and tell us anyway,” Grace said.
“Let’s see. We have to start with his brother, Bryan. Those two were not fans of each other, no doubt about it. There’s his business partner, Henry Linx, or was it Lincoln? I don’t know, it was something like that. They were having a battle of their own, let me tell you. Henry accused Peter of stealing from him, and the last time I saw them together, Henry was ready to put Peter’s head through a wall. The thing is, after Henry left, Peter was laughing about taking advantage of him. He said if the man was too dense or weak to spot a bad deal, it wasn’t up to Peter to protect him.”
Grace looked puzzled, and I was sure I knew why without even asking. She hadn’t seen this side of Peter at all. He must have been on his best behavior with her, but clearly he didn’t care that much about protecting Leah from his true self. “Anyone else?”
“That’s all I know about, but the one you should really ask is Rose White. She’s constantly nosing around in Peter’s business. If anybody knew his enemies, it would be her.”
“His landlady?” Grace asked. “Really?”
If she hadn’t said something, I would have done it myself. I had never heard of the woman before.
“Trust me, she always wanted to be more than that with Peter. You had to have seen the way she looked at him,” Leah said to Grace.
“We only met once,” Grace admitted. “Peter said that he was a very private person, and that he didn’t want to rush things between us by bringing me to his apartment.”
“He never had that problem with me,” Leah admitted, and then realized how it must have sounded. “Listen, I’m sorry. That was out of line.”
“Leah, watch your step,” Ida said sharply.
“Hey, I apologized, didn’t I?” she asked.
“Is there anything else you can think of that might help? When was the last time you saw Peter, Leah?” I asked.
“It was yesterday at lunch, if you can believe that. Just think. Twenty-four hours ago, he was still alive,” she said. Was that a tear coming unbidden down her cheek? Could it be possible that the girl honestly missed him, even after all of the things she’d discovered about him lately? The heart is a strange thing, and no one knew that better than I did.
Leah continued, “I’m sorry to say that we had a huge fight, and now I’ll never be able to make things right with him.” She looked at Grace and asked, “Were you two on good terms the last time you saw him?”
“Not particularly. I broke up with him yesterday afternoon, and then I slapped him and threw him out of my house last night.”
Leah frowned. “It’s too bad.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Peter died without knowing that anyone loved him,” Leah said so softly that I almost didn’t hear her. “No one should have to die like that.”
Ida stood, and we all followed suit. She hugged her niece, and then said, “I’m proud of you, Leah. I know all of that couldn’t have been easy for you.”
“It was the right thing to do, telling the truth,” Leah said. She looked at Grace, took a step forward, and started to hug my friend. Grace caught onto what she had planned instantly and stepped away from her embrace. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to
I was wrong, twice, though.
Leah explained, “He told me to get over it, that he had enough on his mind without worrying about how I felt about anything. I couldn’t believe how rude he was to me.”
Rudeness was the least of Peter Morgan’s character flaws. “Was she mad enough to kill him when she found out about you?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t put it past her,” Leah said.
“Is there anyone else who might have wanted to see Peter dead?” Grace asked. I didn’t know how she was keeping it together, but her voice was calm and steady as she spoke.
“Peter had his share of enemies, trust me,” Leah admitted. She asked Grace, “You know about those yourself, right?”
“Indulge us all and tell us anyway,” Grace said.
“Let’s see. We have to start with his brother, Bryan. Those two were not fans of each other, no doubt about it. There’s his business partner, Henry Linx, or was it Lincoln? I don’t know, it was something like that. They were having a battle of their own, let me tell you. Henry accused Peter of stealing from him, and the last time I saw them together, Henry was ready to put Peter’s head through a wall. The thing is, after Henry left, Peter was laughing about taking advantage of him. He said if the man was too dense or weak to spot a bad deal, it wasn’t up to Peter to protect him.”
Grace looked puzzled, and I was sure I knew why without even asking. She hadn’t seen this side of Peter at all. He must have been on his best behavior with her, but clearly he didn’t care that much about protecting Leah from his true self. “Anyone else?”
“That’s all I know about, but the one you should really ask is Rose White. She’s constantly nosing around in Peter’s business. If anybody knew his enemies, it would be her.”
“His landlady?” Grace asked. “Really?”
If she hadn’t said something, I would have done it myself. I had never heard of the woman before.
“Trust me, she always wanted to be more than that with Peter. You had to have seen the way she looked at him,” Leah said to Grace.
“We only met once,” Grace admitted. “Peter said that he was a very private person, and that he didn’t want to rush things between us by bringing me to his apartment.”
“He never had that problem with me,” Leah admitted, and then realized how it must have sounded. “Listen, I’m sorry. That was out of line.”
“Leah, watch your step,” Ida said sharply.
“Hey, I apologized, didn’t I?” she asked.
“Is there anything else you can think of that might help? When was the last time you saw Peter, Leah?” I asked.
“It was yesterday at lunch, if you can believe that. Just think. Twenty-four hours ago, he was still alive,” she said. Was that a tear coming unbidden down her cheek? Could it be possible that the girl honestly missed him, even after all of the things she’d discovered about him lately? The heart is a strange thing, and no one knew that better than I did.
Leah continued, “I’m sorry to say that we had a huge fight, and now I’ll never be able to make things right with him.” She looked at Grace and asked, “Were you two on good terms the last time you saw him?”
“Not particularly. I broke up with him yesterday afternoon, and then I slapped him and threw him out of my house last night.”
Leah frowned. “It’s too bad.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Peter died without knowing that anyone loved him,” Leah said so softly that I almost didn’t hear her. “No one should have to die like that.”
Ida stood, and we all followed suit. She hugged her niece, and then said, “I’m proud of you, Leah. I know all of that couldn’t have been easy for you.”
“It was the right thing to do, telling the truth,” Leah said. She looked at Grace, took a step forward, and started to hug my friend. Grace caught onto what she had planned instantly and stepped away from her embrace. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to
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