Page 38 of Little Dark Deeds

“Maybe I should start by telling you my name,” I said.“I’m Georgiana Germaine.”

Tyler blinked at me.“I’ve heard of you before ...I just don’t know from where.”

“If I had to guess, Tiffany told you about me,” I said.

“Tiffany?”

“Tiffany Wheeler, your former client.”

“Ah, yes,thatTiffany.”

It was a laidback remark, like she was someone he didn’t know well.

“I’m a private investigator,” I said.“And given Tiffany was one of my close friends, I’m involved in the investigation of her murder.I came here this morning hoping to talk to you, but you weren’t here, so I chatted with Jordan in the meantime.”

“A chat about me, by the sounds of it.As far as Tiffany’s murder, I don’t have any information that will help you or the police.”

It had taken me so long to get anywhere with Jordan, I didn’t have the mental capacity to go another round—this time with Tyler.

“Can we skip the part where you tell me you didn’t know her well or not on a personal level, and just get to the point?”I asked.“You were having an affair with her.She told me, her father told me.Her father also said the two of you have met, when you all had dinner together.”

Tyler leaned against the wall, crossing his arms in front of him.“You’re right, but I wouldn’t call it an affair.”

“What would you call it, then?”

“I’m not sure I can think of the right words to explain what we were doing, but it was real.To me, anyway.What else do you know?”

“Your wife went to see Tiffany to tell her she knew about the affair.Then she talked to you, and according to her, you asked for a divorce.You then tried to salvage what you had with Tiffany, but you failed, and she ended the relationship.”

He didn’t respond, just stood there gnawing on his lower lip.

I waited.

Some time passed, then he said, “Everything you just said is correct, with the exception of one thing.”

“And what’s that?”

“She may have ended the relationship, but I thought I could win her back over time.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because the last time we spoke, she told me she still loved me.”