Page 66 of Family Jewels

Ignoring her statement, I took a breath and decided to approach this as honestly as possible without giving away what I’d seen in the vision. “We had a mutual friend, and I thought it might be nice if we talked about her.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Who?”

“Rayna,” I said softly. “Rayna Dyer.”

Her mouth dropped open, and then she closed it and swallowed. “How did you know Rayna? You don’t look like her kind of friend.”

“I hadn’t known her long.” It felt better to tell the truth, even if it was misleading. “I think that’s part of the reason I was so shocked.”

The woman didn’t look convinced. “How did you know her?”

“From Walmart.”

Her guard dropped slightly.

I glanced around before leaning forward and lowering my voice. “I know she was wanting to make Raddy pay for humiliating her like he did, and I know you two were coming up with a plan.”

The woman’s lips pressed together, and she reached into her purse and pulled out a cigarette.

“You can’t smoke that in here,” Luke said as he placed our drinks in front of us.

“I know,” she said in a snotty tone, putting the cigarette between her lips anyway. “I’m just holding it.” Then she added, “Is that a crime in this damn town?” The cigarette bobbed up and down in her mouth with each word.

The bartender scowled and stalked back to the bar.

The woman took the cigarette out of her mouth and held it between her fingers as she drained half of her cocktail.

I tried not to show my surprise when she finally set the glass on the table with a clunk. “You don’t know shit,” she said, repositioning her cigarette.

Well, crap. “I know you were supposed to go over to her house last night to help her plan her revenge on Raddy.”

Surprise flickered in her eyes. And something else. Fear. What was she afraid of? I decided to try to trick her into telling me something. With any luck, most of the information about Rayna’s death was still being kept from the public.

“Rayna told me Raddy was coming over to see her, but she kept it from you because you’d think she was weak for wanting to take him back.”

Disgust washed over her face, and I felt guilty for besmirching Rayna’s character—or at least her common sense. But I suspected this woman knew something, and I needed to find out what it was.

“That damn fool,” she muttered, then took another long swig. “I told her to stay strong.”

“I heard you were the one to find her and call the police.” It was a gamble, but I’d decided to go with my gut.

Her eyes filled with shock, and her hand trembled a little as she put the cigarette back into her mouth.

“I heard she was murdered,” I said quietly.

She nodded again. “I called it in anonymously. I told ’em I saw him strangling her, but last I heard they hadn’t arrested Raddy yet. What are they waiting for?”

I blinked. Deputy Miller hadn’t told me that. Had she really seen Raddy strangle his wife? “I think he’s on the run. But I heard he’s only one of the suspects.”

Her hand began to shake again, and she grabbed her glass. “There’s more than one? Who?”

“I heard they’re keeping it under wraps, but it has something to do with that necklace.”

“What necklace?” a man said from behind me.

I couldn’t help but startle a little as a man I didn’t recognize slid into the seat between me and the woman.

“Who’s your friend, Trixie?” he asked, eyeing me up and down like I was dessert.