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“Isn’t it possible she really was working late? Maybe earning some extra money?”
“Why would she need extra money?” He sounded offended. “I provided for my family. I dare anyone to say different!”
“Maybe she was trying to save up for something?” I suggested, keeping my voice as innocent as possible. “A present for you?”
“That bitch only ever cared about herself.”
Now he sounded like a petulant child.
I couldn’t wait to get off this call.
“Does that mean you think she left? Maybe worked the extra time to get together enough money to lea–”
“Fuck you, bitch!” he snapped. “She never would’ve left me. I was the best thing that ever happened to her!”
“I just have to cover all the possible angles, Mr. Titan.”
“Biggs!” He practically shouted it. “My last name isBiggs.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Biggs, of course.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m just doing my job. I’m sorry I interrupted you. Keep going.”
“She didn’t take any of her shit with her. Purse. Clothes. Makeup. That’s how I know she didn’t leave.”
That was a good point. If a woman was leaving her husband in a rush, she might’ve left stuff behind, but Mark had been in jail when Heidi had gone missing. She would’ve been able to pack up whatever she wanted and go.
“See, I figure Jude was done with her, but his wife found out, and he decided it’d be easier if Heidi just disappeared.”
As much as I hated to admit it, that made sense.
“And he had the chance, didn’t he? I wasn’t there, and he figured by the time I got out, the trail’d be cold.”
Another point in Mark’s favor. He had been in jail when it’d happened.
“He probably buried her in some oil well or something. Not that he’d get his hands dirty. He has all sorts of resources.”
Again, that last bit was true.
“I don’t know what she saw in him…”
I let him ramble while the pieces all came together in my mind. My stomach churned at the picture it formed. All the shit Titan was saying didn’t help either. I wasn’t listening with any direct intent, but enough got through to confirm that this man was, indeed, the bastard I’d thought he was from moment one.
“Thank you,” I cut him off. “I think I have everything I need at the moment.”
“Wh…okay?” Apparently, women didn’t interrupt him often enough. “Are you sure?”
“Quite sure,” I said. “If I need to talk to you again, I’ll reach out.”
I hung up before he could say anything else. I’d heard enough to convince me that he hadn’t done anything to Heidi. While it wasn’t impossible for someone to hire another person to do the dirty work, Mark didn’t strike me as a man who thought ahead like that.
“Shit!” I tossed the phone onto the couch next to me.
I loathed the man, right down to my bones, but he couldn’t have done it. And he’d made a good argument about who’d had motive and opportunity. Granted, his theories only worked if Jude had actually been having an affair with Heidi. If that hadn’t been the case, then everything was up in the air.
But…the affair was still a possibility.
I closed my eyes.Dammit!
I never should’ve gotten involved with Davin in the first place. Okay, so I couldn’t have known ahead of time, but as soon as I found out about Jude being Davin’s grandfather, I should’ve dropped one or the other, and the smart thing to do would’ve been to refuse to see Davin.
Now, I was in too fucking deep, and I didn’t know how to get out of it without completely fucking up everything that was important to me.