Page 57 of Little Dark Deeds

CHAPTER 21

Iwas sitting on achair on my back balcony, sipping on a glass of prosecco as I talked with Foley and Whitlock about my day.Draped over my feet was Luka, who seemed happy and content to have me home.

“You’ve been busy today,” Foley said.

“So have the two of you,” I replied.“And from the sounds of it, we talked to a few of the same people.How are we feeling about Jordan, Tyler, and Jana?”

Whitlock glanced at Foley and then at me.“I think there’s something to your suspicion that the husband and wife got together after Tiffany was murdered to discuss what they were going to say to us.Seems a bit strange though,ifthey’re innocent.”

“Jana knew it wouldn’t take long for us to find out about Tyler’s indiscretion and consider him a suspect,” I said.“And Tyler strikes me as the kind of person who blurts things out when he’s cornered, says things he maybe shouldn’t say but does anyway.Jana must know this about him, so I can see her talking to him about what he’d say when he was questioned.”

“After what he did, I’m surprised she’s considering taking him back,” Whitlock said.

“I’m a little surprised too.She comes across as tough and confident—someone who doesn’t take any nonsense—but maybe it’s all a façade.”

Foley shrugged.“Maybe.”

“We can all agree they’re still suspects,” I said.“On another note, what did you think of Tiffany’s neighbors, the older ladies?”

“They’re a funny bunch,” Whitlock said.“I found them to be enjoyable.If we wouldn’t have had other places to be, I could have talked to those gals for hours.”

With a subtle lift of his brow, Foley made his disapproval known.“Not sure I found them as witty as you did.Meddlingseems like a more appropriate word.”

“They may meddle, but they sure know a lot,” I said.“Did they talk to you about the other guy Tiffany was seeing, the one before Tyler?”

“They did not.”

“As soon as they described him to me, I knew they were talking about Chad.He’s a salesman at Willow Roost, a furniture store in San Luis Obispo.Tiffany had dated him once before.I talked to him today, and he told me they started up a second time ...before Tiffany met Tyler.”

“What’s the skinny on the guy?”Whitlock asked.“Fun fact, which is unrelated but fun, the term ‘the skinny’ was American military slang originating in the ’40s, during World War II.It means ‘What’s the news,’ or ‘What’s the information,’ or in today’s slang, ‘Spill the beans.’”

And I had plenty of beans to spill.

“Tiffany never told me about dating Chad a second time.”

Foley leaned back, adjusting his tie.“Why wouldn’t she?”

“I didn’t approve of him the first time they dated, and I guess she decided to hold off on saying anything when they picked back up again.”

“Why didn’t you approve?”

I took another sip of my prosecco, setting the glass down as I prepared my confession.“I thought Chad wasn’t good enough for her.I may have been wrong about that, and I’ve been dwelling on it all evening.”