Page 12 of Wild Fever
She looked at me with disgust for even asking.
I shared another subtle glance with JD.
Her concerned eyes picked up on our body language.
“Is there something you're not telling?"
I hesitated, trying to figure out how to phrase it delicately. "We spoke with a witness who saw another young woman visit your husband on his boat on occasion."
Her skin went pale, and her face long. It took a few moments to respond. “Another woman? On his boat?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
"What does that even mean?”
"We don't know for sure.”
“It could have been anybody. I’m sure there was a legitimate reason. Preston was a good man.”
“Of course. Can you think of a reason he might have had a visitor to the boat on multiple occasions?”
It was a lot of information for Janice to process, and she didn’t want to process any of it. She finally stammered, "Do you know who she is?”
"We're working on that.”
Her brow wrinkled with confusion and denial. "I'm not sure what that has to do with my husband's death."
"She may have been the last person to see your husband alive," I said.
Her face tightened even more. "What do you mean?”
"It's possible she may have visited your husband earlier today. If so, she may have more information about what happened or his state of mind.”
Her lips quivered, and she looked devastated.
"Did your husband have any enemies?”
Still in a daze, it took her a moment to reply. "Not that I'm aware of.” She paused. “You said he shot himself.”
“I said it was an apparent suicide. But the medical examiner has not made an official determination.”
She squeaked out, "How long?”
“It may take a few days or more for a full evaluation.”
"No. How long was my husband having an affair with this woman?” The reality of the situation was beginning to sink in.
"I can't say for certain they were having an affair. We’ll look into your husband's phone records and other communications and see if we can make a determination.”
"I would like to know, one way or the other.”
I gave a subtle nod.
The room was silent for a moment.
I continued. "You said work was stressful. Can you elaborate? Was Preston having a problem with his boss or coworkers?"
Still flustered, she said, "I really don't know. Preston didn't talk about work in detail. Other than to complain about the pressure and some of the deadlines. A lot of what he did was classified, and he couldn’t discuss that with me.”
