Page 58 of Skin and Bones

Something dark flickered behind Lucinda’s carefully maintained façade. “Well, isn’t that a blast from the past.” Her perfectly manicured fingers tapped the tablecloth. “Elizabeth Calvert. That poor girl.”

“You knew her?” I asked.

“No. But everyone knew of her,” Lucinda replied, twisting a diamond tennis bracelet. “When they pulled her from the harbor, you couldn’t buy milk without hearing three different theories about what happened.” Her eyes narrowed. “Roy was obsessed with the case—for about five minutes.”

“Meaning?” Dottie pounced on the opening.

“One week he’s Mr. Super Detective, interviewing witnesses at all hours, barely sleeping.” Lucinda snapped her fingers. “The next? Accidental drowning, case closed, let’s move on, nothing to see here.”

“That didn’t strike you as suspicious?” I asked.

“It wasn’t my place to interfere in police work. Besides, I was busy cataloging his mistresses and figuring out which assets he was hiding.” Her smile could’ve frozen Hell over. “Roy’s extracurriculars kept me quite occupied.”

“Like Vanessa,” Bea said, cutting straight through the polite veneer.

“Among others,” Lucinda confirmed with a dismissive wave. “Roy collected women like some men collect baseball cards. And there are certain types of women who are attracted to the power Roy wielded. Because we know they weren’t attracted to his looks. Vanessa just happened to be the one who got the ring.” She shrugged one elegant shoulder. “By then, I was focused on getting what was owed me. The Conroy name still opened doors, even if Daddy had gambled away the fortune behind them.”

“So what finally pushed you out the door?” I asked. I’d never been much for small talk, especially when murder was on the menu.

Her perfectly shaped eyebrows rose slightly. “Direct approach. I approve.” She gazed toward the harbor, where boats bobbed like toys in a bathtub. “It wasn’t the affairs—women of my generation wrote the manual on looking the other way. It was the money.”

“What money?” Dottie perked up like a bloodhound catching a scent.

“My daddy didn’t raise a fool,” she said. “I’d already decided to leave Roy once I found out he’d been hiding assets from me. I also knew he was involved in something with the Cromwells and the Harringtons, because we not only lived well, but Roy had secretly acquired a lot of assets. I’d been totally clueless. And that’s just unacceptable.

“But after Elizabeth died, Roy stumbled home drunk—unusual for him. He was rambling about all kinds of things, incoherent really. But he mentioned blackmail and problems he didn’t know how to solve. He said he didn’t know who to go to. There was no one he could trust.”

She took a delicate sip of tea. “When I asked Roy where all our money was coming from, he exploded like a cheap firecracker. Told me to shut up and to keep enjoying the lifestyle.” Her voice dropped even lower. “Then I found a woman’s watch hidden in his desk—expensive, with an inscription—To Elizabeth—Seek Truth. Stay True.”

The hairs on my arms stood at attention. I exchanged a look with Dottie, whose eyes had widened to cartoon proportions.

“From Elizabeth’s body?” I asked, though we all knew the answer.

Lucinda nodded. “When I confronted him, Roy showed his true colors.” She absently rubbed her wrist. “Grabbed me hard enough to leave fingerprints, demanding to know what else I’d found.”

“So you left,” Dottie said.

“Packed a bag, took his precious Cadillac, and drove straight through his award-winning azaleas on my way out.” Satisfaction gleamed in her eyes. “Filed for divorce before the tire tracks had time to settle.”

“The watch?” I pressed, not willing to let that thread drop.

“Kept it as insurance,” Lucinda said with a smile that would’ve made a shark nervous. “If Roy fought the divorce or tried hiding more assets, that watch would’ve raised questions no one wanted answered.”

“Do you still have it?” Dottie asked, practically vibrating with anticipation.

Lucinda shook her head. “After the divorce was final, I threw it into the harbor, right off this pier.” She gestured toward the window. “Childish? Maybe. Satisfying? Absolutely.”

“Also illegal,” Bea said.

“What did I care?” she asked. “Roy was the sheriff. If he arrested me he’d implicate himself. And surely there’s a statute of limitations on something like that.”

My heart sank faster than that watch must have. “Did you tell anyone else about the watch?”

“Just my attorney. And now you three.” She studied us with eyes that missed nothing. “Why dig all this up after so long?”

“Elizabeth’s father is dying,” I said simply. “His last wish is to know what happened to his daughter.”

Something genuine flickered across Lucinda’s carefully maintained façade and she nodded. “I remember Gerald Calvert. He came from generations of lighthouse keepers. Elizabeth was his only child if I remember right. He deserves to know the truth.”

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