Page 39 of Coveted Justice

“We are,” Tanner replied. “Thank you for seeing us on such short notice.”

He hadn’t wanted to simply show up out of nowhere and surprise them, so he’d called first. They had expressed doubt that they’d be able to help them but had reluctantly agreed to the meeting.

“Your sheriff was already here to speak to us,” Cindy said ushering them into the living room. “I’m not sure what more I can tell you that I didn’t tell him.”

It wasn’t a shock that Sam had already been here. He was a good cop and would be digging into the investigation as quickly as possible. The publicity wasn’t going to die down until an arrest was made.

They sat down in the sunny living room, decorated in shades of green and gold. The entire back wall was floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the back patio and pool.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Cindy offered as Mike Burke sat down to join them. He was dressed in white shorts and a red shirt as if he’d just returned from a tennis game.

“No, thank you,” Tanner said. “We don’t want to take up too much of your time. We only have a few questions.”

“I assume that you’re working for Abby,” Burke said, clearing his throat. “Trying to prove that she’s innocent.”

“We’re trying to find out who the killer is,” Logan replied. “Whoever that turns out to be.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me if it was her,” Cindy said, her eyes wide. “They would argue all the time. We could hear it when we sat out on the patio. They yelled at each other all the time.”

“Did you ever hear what they were arguing about?” Logan asked. “Bills, kids, car payments?”

“It was hard to make out the words,” Burke said. “Something about never listening and not caring. Not putting me first or something like that. It was hard to tell who was saying what. But you could hear the anger in their voices. Sometimes, I wondered whether they even liked one another. They sure found ways not to spend very much time alone.”

“Can you expand on that?” Tanner queried. “They didn’t spend time alone?”

From his experience, married people spent a whole hell of a lot of time with one another.

“They had parties all the time,” Cindy said with a groan. “Sometimes they’d have people over almost every day. Usually just a few other couples, but about once a week they’d have a huge party and I swear a hundred people would show up. They’d park on our lawn, mow down our bushes and flowers. They even damaged our driveway somehow and hit a tree another time.”

“And the noise,” Burke exclaimed. “Loud music and laughter at all times of the night. People running wild around the backyard. One night I heard noises outside our bedroom window and there were four people skinny dipping in our pool. I had to go out there and shoo them away. They were drunk as skunks and didn’t move at first but eventually I called the police. By the time the cops got here, they were gone but the officer went next door and told them to quiet down. They were a menace to the neighborhood. No one liked them. Everyone wanted them to move.”

It sounded like living next to Caligula. What in the ever loving hell had Abby and Marty been up to? This sounded like college fraternity crap, not mature married couple stuff. Tanner couldn’t remember the last time he’d been to a party and stayed past eleven.

“They sound like the neighbors from hell,” Logan said. “Did you talk to them about it?”

“Only every week,” Cindy replied. “They’d promise it wouldn’t happen again, but it always did. I don’t suppose you know if Abby is planning to sell the house now that Marty is gone?”

Tanner couldn’t blame the Burkes. It sounded like a nightmare scenario.

“I don’t know,” he said. “She hasn’t spoken about it.”

“We know you’re her ex-husband,” Burke said. “We saw it on the news. I think you should know that I’m not sure who I’m voting for.”

“That’s fine. I’m not here to campaign. I just want to figure out who killed Marty.”

“It wouldn’t surprise anyone on this street if it was Abby,” Cindy said. “I don’t like to think badly of others, but they haven’t done much to make the neighborhood like them. I know it sounds awful but I’m not sorry he’s gone. Hopefully, now it will be quiet.”

Tanner rubbed at his chin, knowing the next question wasn’t going to make the couple happy.

“Can I ask where you were the night Marty was killed? Specifically, between midnight and four.”

Burke shook his head. “I know what you’re asking. The sheriff asked it, too. I can tell you that we were here at home finally getting a decent night’s sleep. We heard about the murder on the news the next morning. I didn’t kill Marty, although like my wife I can’t say that I’m sorry he’s dead. He was a bastard to deal with, and proof-positive that money doesn’t give you class.”

“Can we assume that the other neighbors feel the same way?” Logan asked.

“They do,” Cindy confirmed. “You can talk to them yourself.”

“Is anyone else suing them?” Tanner queried. “That you know of?”

---