Page 84 of Taking Denver

I cock my head. “Can you cheat on a dead man?” Dennis shifts in his seat. “No, I did not cheat on my husband with Ranger. I never cheated on my husband.”

“You don’t say his name,” the partner says.

“Excuse me?” I raise my eyebrows.

“You haven’t said your husband’s name. Not to Detective Hayes, myself, or in your statement to the press,” he says. “Not once.”

Is that true? It isn’t a conscious choice I’ve made.

I lean close to the tape. “Wyatt Ledger,” I say, then lean back again. “Satisfied?”

Dennis chuckles.

“What did you last argue about?” The partner asks, ignoring my performance. “You must have argued about something.”

“I imagine we did,” I say. “But I can’t think of anything specific. Is my entire marriage under question here or just the night he died?”

“So, you weren’t upset about him signing a new contract with Luxe Industries?”

“Why would I care about that?” I ask.

He tilts his head. “Because you were planning on leaving together, weren’t you?”

I don’t allow myself to pause for long. “We were going on vacation.”

“No,” the partner says. “You were leaving California. Leaving Luxe Industries. Going to England, I believe?” His uncertainty is fake, and he looks at Hayes. “Was it England?”

Hayes nods silently.

The partner sifts through paperwork. “I have Wyatt’s email confirmations here. Two tickets to Heathrow. No return flight. It sounds like you were going for good. Running off into the sunset together.”

I stay quiet.

“This is what I think happened.” The partner sits forward, placing his palms on the table. “I think you were tired of being under the watchful eye of Ranger Luxe. I think your husband told you that you’d both leave. He filled your head with dreams of a world away from this life you hate. Then you found out hewasn’t planning on leaving at all. He was planning on staying for a hell of a long time,” he says. “And youreallylost your temper.”

I blink slowly.

“I think you killed him,” the partner continues. “Then you hopped on a plane and got yourself a tan while Ranger cleaned up your mess. Am I close?”

I almost like this guy. He has a hell of a lot more pizzazz than Hayes.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name,” I say.

“Adler. Archer Adler.”

I nod. “Of course. Detective Adler, have you ever been to England?”

“Nope.”

“That’s a shame. It’s beautiful. I love London. You’ve been, haven’t you, Dennis?” I look at Dennis, and he nods. I face Adler again. “But my favorite place is a city called Bath. It’s really unlike anything you’ve ever seen. It’s about a three-hour drive from London, and gosh…” I place my hand on my heart. “So beautiful.”

Adler’s jaw tenses. “What’s your point?”

“Oh, our return flights were from Bristol International Airport,” I say. “The closest airport to Bath.”

He stares at me. Speechless. The bomb he thought he’d dropped is a dud, and I’ll bask in the moment for as long as I can.

“I booked them,” I say. “If you want to check. Wyatt was useless at remembering which airport was which—you know what husbands are like for forgetting things. Are you married, Detective Adler?” I glance at his naked wedding finger. “Well, maybe you’ll find that out someday.”

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