The Wife of a Lesser Man (LA Cops Series Book 1) by Sandy Appleyard

tell you about him?” 
    “Not much.”
    “What about a name or a description?” 
    “No.”  She shook her head. 
    Monica looked off to the side for a moment, as if in deep thought.  She quickly took in a breath and put her index finger to her cheek.  “She changed her hair color.  Yeah.  She was dirty blonde and she changed it to this burnt red color.”  She looked at Mark and chewed the top of her index finger nail.  He waited. 
    “Was there anything else unusual you noticed?” he asked with his hand outstretched.
    She furrowed her brows and looked off to the side again, pausing to think.  Her eyes turned back to him and she pointed at him, speaking louder.  “Yes; a bracelet. I mean, it wasn’t unusual for her to buy a piece of jewellery, but she was weird about wearing it.” 
    “How do you mean?”
    “She felt uncomfortable wearing it in public.  It was like she felt like she was wearing a ten carat diamond ring to go grocery shopping or something.” 
    “Did you get a look at the bracelet?”  He asked, retrieving the picture out of the file in his desk drawer. 
    “Yeah, it was gorgeous but simple.  Something you could wear anywhere.”  Mark showed her the picture and pointed to the bracelet.  “Is that it?”
    Monica looked closely and nodded her head in confirmation.  “Yes. Yes it is.”  she smiled at the picture as though Karen was looking at her.  She took a deep breath and blinked, trying to ward off further tears.
    “And then after that she just stopped calling?”  Mark asked, placing the file back in the drawer.  Monica took a moment to think and then nodded yes.   Monica suddenly sat upright and said, “I’m sorry.  I really have to go.  That was a client.”  She nodded in the direction of her handbag.  “They want to put an offer on the house I just walked them through.”  Her head was cocked to the side apologetically. 
    “Oh that’s fine.  I appreciate your coming in.”  Mark rose from his chair with her and offered his hand to shake again. She put her balled up tissues in her left hand so she could shake with her right.  As she picked up her handbag she said, “Please feel free to call me with anything further.”
    Mark smiled. “We’ll be in touch.”
    …
     
    “Your car or mine?”  Sarah asked as they approached the parking lot.
    Shelley shrugged her shoulders.  Uh oh she thought, this is bad.
    “I tell you what.  Why don’t we drive your car to your house and then take mine to get drinks?”  Sarah offered, sensing Shelley would likely need more than one drink.
    They arrived at the bar fifteen minutes later and Sarah immediately ordered two white wines.
    It was a tiny bar just inside a local mall, walking distance from Shelley and Mark’s house.  They often went there after seeing a movie since the biggest IMAX theatre was also located inside the mall.
    Shelley appeared distracted, peering at everyone except Sarah.  When the waitress brought the drinks over, Shelley took a long sip, nearly emptying the glass.  The tension was palpable.
    Sarah cocked her head to the side. “What’s going on with you?  You seem really on edge.” 
    Shelley ran her finger around the wine glass and licked her lips slowly.  She hesitated a moment before speaking.  “It’s not you.  I’m sorry for behaving as I did earlier.”  Her hand touched Sarah’s.
    Sarah half laughed.  “You are too passive aggressive my dear.  If I did something to piss you off then let’s have it.  You’re allowed to be mad at people sometimes.”  Sarah placed her hand over her heart.  “Especially me.  Hell, I’m surprised you don’t walk away from me some days with my abrasive personality.”
    Shelley smiled and shook her head, “God, we need more wine.”  Sarah laughed and raised her hand to get the waitress’s attention.  She held up her index and middle finger to indicate they wanted two more drinks.
    “We should have taken a cab,”