Page 15 of Dead Man's List

“A reporter called a few hours ago,” she said. “Told me that my husband had been murdered, his body dumped in Anza-Borrego. That hikers and their dogs had discovered his body.” She swallowed. “That his throat had been slit.”

That reporter had a damn good source. At least Mrs.Munro didn’t know it had been Kit and Sam who’d done the discovering.

“Did you get the reporter’s name, ma’am?” Connor asked, no happier about the leak than Kit was.

Wilhelmina’s lips thinned. “Tamsin Kavanaugh.”

Kit tried to shove down the growl that rose in her throat. Tamsin Fucking Kavanaugh. That woman had been a thorn in Kit’s side for as long as she’d been a cop.

Wilhelmina’s laugh was mirthless. “I agree, Detective McKittrick. I was no happier to hear from her than you are when she hounds you for a story.”

Startled, Kit met the woman’s eyes. Apparently, she hadn’t hidden her reaction as well as she’d hoped. “Excuse me?”

“I read the paper, Detective. I know who you are. Who you both are,” she added, gesturing to Connor. “I’ve read Kavanaugh’s articles about you, and she’s a sorry excuse for a reporter.” She looked away. “She also had an affair with my husband.”

Oh wow.“Recently?” Kit asked, managing to keep her voice level.

Wilhelmina shook her head. “A few years ago. It was a mutually beneficial relationship for both of them, other than the obvious, of course. Kavanaugh got an in at city hall and Brooks got good press coverage. Again, I have no proof, and my husband denied it, but I figured it out.”

Kit blew out a breath. “Of all people, I’m sorry that you had to hear it from her.”

“So am I. What questions can I answer? I’m truly exhausted.”

“We’ll be as quick as we can,” Kit promised. “You were the one who reported your husband missing. What prompted you to do so? Did you speak often?”

“No, we did not,” Wilhelmina said with ill-concealed derision. “We separated a month ago, and we rarely spoke on the phone. I called him on Wednesday evening because my bank had informed me by email that he’d withdrawn a large sum of money from our joint account. It was the account we used for this house—to pay the taxes, upkeep, that kind of thing. We were overdrawn, and I always get notified when that happens.”

“How much did he withdraw?” Connor asked.

“Fifty thousand dollars. He transferred it from the joint account to one of his personal accounts.”

Kit wondered what Munro had done with the money. “So you called him and he didn’t answer?”

“Yes, but that didn’t surprise me. I figured he wouldn’t, given that he’d taken that money without informing me. He did thatsometimes, took money from that account when he’d spent his allowance.”

From all Kit had heard about Munro’s arrogance, being on an allowance must have steamed him. She made a mental note to subpoena Munro’s bank records.

“Do you have access to his personal accounts, ma’am?” Connor asked, on the same page.

“No, I do not. He didn’t answer my call on Wednesday, so I called his office admin on her cell phone, because it was after hours at city hall. She said that he’d left for a meeting and had gone straight home afterward, but she’d relay my message the next morning.” She hesitated, then shrugged. “She’ll tell you when you interview her, so I might as well tell you now. I told her to tell him that I would put no more money in that account.” She sighed. “I might have called him a philandering ass. I was angry.”

“I can see that,” Kit murmured, wondering just how angry Wilhelmina might have been. Angry enough to hire someone to kill her husband? It wouldn’t be the first time an angry wife arranged for a hit on her cheating husband. The woman certainly had the money for a hit man.

“What is the name of his assistant?” Connor asked.

Wilhelmina’s expression grew frosty. “Veronica Fitzgerald. She may have known him better than I did. They’d known each other longer.”

Okay,Kit thought. There was ill feeling here. “How long had they known each other?”

“She worked for him for fifteen years, long before he became a city councilman. Back when he was in real estate.”

“They were fucking,” Raffie said bluntly.

Wilhelmina’s sigh was less than patient. “Raffie.”

“It’s true,” Rafferty said, unrepentant.

Kit cleared her throat. “Did you know this or only suspect?”