Page 51 of Little Dark Deeds
“We were excited about him,” Queenie said.
“Why?”
“He had kind eyes, and the way he looked at her ...it was so sweet.”
Tall, handsome, broad shoulders, and dark, wavy hair.
Orson Welles adjacent.
I knew one man who fit that description—Furniture Salesman Chad.
If I was right, and they’d started dating again, I knew why she hadn’t told me.I didn’t approve of him the first time they’d dated.He was nice enough, but he had no plans for his future, no ambition.He liked being a furniture salesman and had no desire to make anything more of himself.
Once, when the three of us were sitting around Tiffany’s table playing cards, he told me he worked to live, unlike most Americans who, according to him, lived to work.
At the time, I couldn’t relate to his way of thinking.
I, myself, was always looking to the future, to the next challenge in life, opportunities to push myself that I hadn’t tried yet.So, when she asked me what I thought of Chad, I told her.
Thinking back on it now, I realized I’d been seeing him from my perspective, holding him to my standards, not hers.She didn’t care about his lack of ambition.She had enough of it for them both.If I had to do it all over again, I would have been more supportive, focusing on what she wanted than what I wanted for her.
“If I may be candid,” Martha said.“I always thought there was something shady about Tyler, even though Tiffany gushed about him.”
“She wasn’t always the smartest cookie when it came to choosing suitors,” Queenie added.“Are the rumors true?Is Tyler a married man?”
“The rumors are true.”
“What a pity.”
“Did you ever see him arguing or behaving in a negative way toward her?”
In unison, they shook their heads.
“While he gave off an unsavory vibe, they did seem happy when they were together, always smiling and laughing,” Queenie said.“But if he was hiding a wife, I call everything about him into question.Do you think he murdered her?”
“I don’t know.”
“I expect you’ve spoken to him by now, hmmm?”
“I talked to him this morning.”
Queenie moved a hand to her hip.“Well, what did you think?”
“It’s too early to tell.”
“You look like someone who cares a great deal about first impressions.You must have some inclination about the man.”
Most of the time when I was questioned in the way I was now, I looked for ways to dodge them.But these women were watchers.They saw things, heard things, kept their ears to the ground, and I suspected, in everyone else’s business.Having them as allies made sense.
Perhaps I had more to learn from them than they had to learn from me.
With that in mind, I decided I’d share more than usual.
“This morning, I spoke to Jordan, a man Tyler works with, and then to Tyler himself.I also visited Tyler’s wife, Jana.As I’ve thought about those conversations, I get the feeling Tyler and Jana got together after Tiffany’s death to decide what they were going to say to the police.”
“Why would they do that if they were innocent?”Queenie asked.
“To create a narrative, a story they’d tell me and the police, a narrative I question.”
