Page 122 of Kiss Marry Kill
She frowned. “Do you think someone from his past came to Rainy Dale and murdered him?”
“I’m not sure. It’s a possibility. I’m looking for any information that will help me understandwhyArchie was murdered. He didn’t seem to have any enemies here in Rainy Dale. Certainly not the kind that would kill him. It makes more sense to me that his past caught up to him.”
She winced.
“You said that Archie didn’t like to talk about his past,” Maxwell said.
She glanced at him, nodding. “That’s right. He didn’t. Mostly though, he didn’t like to talk about Kimora.”
“Did he ever receive phone calls that upset him, or maybe text messages?” I asked.
“No. I don’t think so.” She hesitated. “Well, actually, there was one time when he got a note he didn’t want me to see.”
“When was this?”
“Two days before our wedding.” Her shoulders bowed. “I didn’t think much of it at the time—it was just slipped between the door and the doorjamb. I thought it was a pizza flyer or something. But he grabbed it so quickly, and I could tell he was trying not to let me see it.”
“Did you happen to see what it said?” Maxwell asked.
Frowning, she said, “No. When we got inside, he went into the kitchen, and he tore it up. Then he threw the pieces into the trash.”
Maxwell frowned. “Didn’t that strike you as weird behavior?”
“Yes. I… I even made a joke about it. I… I kidded him that he was acting like a spy.”
“What did he say to that?” I asked.
“He just laughed and said it was a flyer about car insurance.” She met my gaze. “But I knew he was lying. Which made no sense to me. I dropped the subject because it was obvious he didn’t want to talk about it.”
“You didn’t bring it up again?”
“No.” She gave a sheepish smile. “But when he went to take a shower, I looked in the trash. I was just curious because he was being weird about it. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have thought twice about that note.”
“But he’d torn it up?” Maxwell sighed.
She nodded. “Yes, but there were a few words that were still visible.”
I perked up. “Yeah? Do you remember what they were?”
“There were only two I could read. One was ‘trusted,’ and the other was ‘foolish.’ I knew those words had nothing to do with insurance, but I didn’t bring it up to Archie.”
Maxwell asked, “Why not?”
“I didn’t want to get in a fight. He could be touchy if he thought I didn’t trust him.”
“Was the note handwritten?” I asked. “Or typed?”
“Handwritten. Cursive. The writing was feminine-looking. To be honest, it kind of upset me. That’s why I remember that note. It made me feel kind of paranoid. Like maybe Archie was cheating on me or something.” She sighed. “It was probably just pre-wedding jitters. Archie seemed devoted to me.”
Maxwell met my gaze. “Those are interesting words: ‘trusted’ and ‘foolish,’” he said.
“I agree.” I addressed Janelle, “I don’t suppose you kept those pieces of the note?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Okay.” It seemed the note was a dead end, although it showed he was possibly being harassed. “You gave Archie an ATM card to your account.” I studied her. “Why did you do that? Did he ask you for that?”
“No. We were going to be married. I’m not one of those people who thinks a husband and wife should have separate accounts. What was mine was his. I wanted him to have that card.”
