Page 65 of The Cottage on Plum Island
“Yes, I believe he is innocent,” Andrew assured her. “We’d better go if I’m still going to drop you off on my way.”
“On your way?” Margaret frowned, looking from Jennifer to Andrew before her eyes widened. “Goodness.” She put her hand to her throat. “Are you little Jenny Gains?”
“Not so little anymore, and I go by Jennifer,” Jennifer gave Margaret a tight smile.
“Yes, I see it now,” Randal said with a nod, looking at Jennifer. “You look just like your mother.”
“Gains?” Wallis’s brow crinkled before it dawned on him. “You’re Andrew’s eldest daughter?”
“We really have to go,” Andrew broke up the conversation before once again giving his condolences to Clair’s family. “I’m terribly sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you,” Margaret and Randal said in unison.
“Andrew, please keep us apprised of the situation with Harley,” Margaret told him. “He was with us most of the day. There’s no way Harley was responsible for this.”
“I don’t know, Margaret,” Wallis said. “You know how he despised Clair.”
“Oh, be quiet, Wallis,” Margaret hissed at the man. “I’d suspect you of this long before thinking it was Harley.”
Jennifer caught a flash of something in Wallis’s eyes at Margaret’s words and suppressed a shudder. There was something dark about the man. On the outside, he appeared to be grieving, but there was no depth to his grief. Even when he was putting on that magnificent display while tragically clutching Clair in his arms, Jennifer had thought it looked a bit staged.
Jennifer made a mental note to look into Wallis Hanover. Something about the man felt off to her. For a grieving widower, Wallis had gone from wailing distraughtly to cool and haughty in zero seconds.
“Let’s go.” Andrew steered Jennifer out of the garage, and they headed for his town car, seemingly appearing from nowhere.
“Wasn’t that rude in your circles?” Jennifer asked as they slid into the back of the luxury car.
“I needed to get you out there before the police questioned you,” Andrew told her.
“I don’t have anything to hide,” Jennifer pointed out.
“Only Angela!” Andrew reminded her. “Until we’ve found the evidence Angela said Clair hid, I prefer you stay on the sidelines for as long as possible.”
“Isn’t that some sort of aiding and abetting?” Jennifer asked.
“No.” Andrew shook his head. “Right now, no one’s questioned you or asked about Angela, but they will right after they’ve interrogated Harley.”
“Why didn’t the police ask what I was doing there?” Jennifer asked Andrew.
“I told them you were with me, and I was there to help Harley,” Andrew answered.
“When did you call emergency services?” Jennifer hadn’t seen him make the call.
“I didn’t,” Andrew shook his head. “I thought you did.”
Andrew’s brow knitted into a deep frown. “That’s disturbing.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a gesture that Jennifer remembered well.
“What about your driver?” Jennifer suggested.
“No, James wouldn’t do that unless I asked him to,” Andrew assured her, pulling out his phone. “I’ll ask Sam to find out where the call came from.” He scrolled to Sam’s number. “I need to tell him that Harley’s been taken into custody.”
“You’ve been talking to Sam?” Jennifer looked at him in surprise. “Harley’s uncle?”
“Yes.” Andrew nodded, hitting the dial and speaker when Sam answered.
“Andrew!” Sam answered despite it being almost three in the morning. “What’s going on? I got a message from David, the US Marshal that was there with you. He tells me the police took Harley in because of a video?”
“Hello, Sam,” Jennifer greeted him, letting him know she was there.
