Page 10 of Little Dark Deeds (Georgiana Germaine #12)

R on Wheeler wiped his eyes, blowing his nose into a handkerchief as we made eye contact. The first thing I wondered was how long he’d been standing there, listening to Silas and I go over all the horrifying details of his daughter’s tragic end.

I stood and approached him, pulling him in for an embrace. Then I took a step back and said, “Hey, I ... I’m sorry it took me so long to get here. I just heard the news about Tiffany this morning, or I would have been here sooner.”

“How was the wedding?”

“It was ...”

Not right to talk about my best day when it was his worst.

“Listen, with all that’s happened, we don’t need to talk about it right now,” I said.

“Oh, I don’t know. It beats talking about the reason we’re all here. Wouldn’t you agree?”

His eyes were bloodshot, puffy and red, and I was certain he’d done a fair amount of mourning in the last twenty-four hours.

His hair was disheveled and sticking out all over, like he’d wrapped his hands around a live wire.

And his clothes were loose and wrinkled as if they’d been worn for hours on end.

I doubted he’d slept much at all.

He looked at me like he knew I was making a silent assessment of his person.

As if sensing the awkwardness of the situation, Silas gave me a nod and ducked out of the room.

With the two of us alone, I wasn’t sure what to say or what to do.

Maybe it was because there wasn’t anything to do.

No amount of consoling him would change the fact that his daughter was dead.

“Ron, I ...”

“You know what I keep thinking?” he said. “What if I had arrived earlier to pick her up for the airport? Thirty minutes, an hour, two hours. I could have saved my little girl, and none of this would have ...”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he bent over, his shaking hands pressing onto his knees as he began saying “what if, what if ...” over and over again. With each repetition, he became louder, the sounds of a broken father echoing throughout the house.

It wasn’t long before Foley rounded the corner, eyes wide when he saw Ron.

He approached us, placing a hand on Ron’s shoulder. “Ron, you shouldn’t be here right—”

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Ron said, “Oh, come off it, Foley. This is me we’re talking about, the former mayor of the city, may I remind you.”

“I understand, it’s just ... protocol.”

“Screw protocol. I’m her father. I have every right to be here.”

“It’s just, we’re still processing the scene.”

“No kidding. I won’t touch anything if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“It would just be better if you—”

Ron thumbed in my direction. “Oh, so what you’re saying is it’s okay for Georgiana to be here, but not me? Haven’t heard you ask her to leave yet.”

Foley gave me a nervous, look like he was struggling to come up with an adequate response. He landed on, “I’ve asked Georgiana to assist us on this case.”

It was a lie, of course.

He hadn’t asked me yet, though I expected he would.

It didn’t matter to me one way or the other.

He knew me well enough to know I would be conducting my own investigation, with his permission or without it.

Ron turned toward me. “That true? You working together on the investigation?”

“We are.”

The way I saw it, the invitation had just been extended, and I was all too happy to accept.

“You sure you can handle it?” he pressed.

“I’m not sure of anything right now, but for Tiffany’s sake, and yours, no matter how I’m feeling, I’ll work through it.”

He nodded, satisfied. “If there’s one thing I know for certain, if anyone can figure out what happened to my daughter, it’s you.

” He tipped his head toward Foley, adding, “No offense, but you know I’m speaking the truth.

I mean, you’re good. Georgiana’s ... well, it’s like she was born to do this work. ”

“No offense taken,” Foley said. “Working together will make it all go a lot faster, I hope. Like you, we want answers. The sooner, the better.”

Ron nodded. “That’s why I’m here, to offer my help.”

“The best thing you can do right now is to focus on taking care of yourself. Go home. Get some rest. We got this, Ron.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he insisted. “Even if I did, it wouldn’t matter. I can’t eat. Can’t sleep. Perhaps if I contribute to your investigation in some way, it’ll help. Doubt it, but it’s worth a try, isn’t it?”

Foley may have wanted him to leave, but Ron was resolute.

He wasn’t going anywhere, not until we gave him what he wanted.

Why not give the man just that?

“I have a question,” I said.

“Now we’re talking,” Ron said. “Go on.”

Foley shot me a warning look, which I ignored.

“I had lunch with Tiffany a few months ago, and she mentioned a new guy she was dating,” I said. “She was supposed to bring him to the wedding, but then she texted me last week saying something came up, and he wouldn’t make it to the wedding. Do you know why their plans changed at the last minute?”

“I ... yeah. It’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you. She didn’t want you to know what happened. She feared it might put a damper on your nuptials.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The real estate guy she was seeing, Tyler Seymour ... he’s married.”

Married?

I couldn’t believe it.

“The way Tiffany talked about him, she thought they had a future together,” I said.

“Yeah, she had high hopes for the relationship. When she found out he was married ... well, devastated isn’t even the right word to describe how she felt. For a few days, she didn’t even go to work. And you know Tiffany, she was somewhat of a workaholic. She lived and breathed her job.”

“How did Tiffany find out Tyler had a wife?”

“In the worst of ways. Tyler’s wife figured it out, and she went to Tiffany’s workplace and confronted her while she was in a work meeting with one of her colleagues, Everett.”

“Do you know anything about their conversation?”

Ron pressed a hand to his throat, clearing it once, then a second time. “Hey ... ahh, Foley. You mind getting me a soda? Should be some cans of lemon lime in the fridge.”

He nodded, saying nothing as he walked toward the kitchen.

“The wife’s name is Jana,” Ron said. “At first, Tiffany worried the woman came to her office to create a scene, but she didn’t. She just wanted to talk, woman to woman. After Tiffany learned Tyler had been unfaithful, she explained she had no idea Tyler had a wife.”

“Did Jana believe her?”

“Tiffany thought she did. They talked for a while longer, and when Jana left, they’d even hugged each other.”

“Did Tiffany ever see or speak to Jana again?”

“To my knowledge, no.”

“How did Jana find out about the affair?” I asked.

“I don’t know. She didn’t say, as far as I know.”

“Is Tyler aware this happened?”

“Jana confronted him right after she saw Tiffany.”

“How did he react?”

“He admitted to it, and then he asked for a divorce.”

Foley returned with a can of soda, which he handed to Ron.

“This Tyler fellow sounds like a stand-up guy,” Foley muttered with a smirk.

“Strange thing is, I thought he was,” Ron said.

“You’ve met Tyler?” I asked.

“Yeah, Tiffany invited me over for dinner one night, and he was here.”

“What was your first impression of him?”

“I thought he was great. He was polite, and he asked me a lot of questions about myself and my life. When he learned I like to play pool, he suggested we get together for a few games sometime. I have to say, in the short time we chatted with each other, he won me over ... well, until I learned he’s a dishonest bastard.

Makes me wonder what other secrets the man’s been keeping. ”

I wondered the same thing.

“Do you know what happened after Tyler asked Jana for a divorce?” I asked.

“He went straight to Tiffany’s house and apologized for not telling her sooner. He begged her not to end their relationship. He said he’d asked Jana for a divorce so they could be together.”

“How did Tiffany respond?”

“She had such strong feelings for him, his pleading almost worked, but I talked to her, helped her come to her senses. Once a liar, always a liar, in my opinion. Can’t trust a guy who lies right out of the gate—no siree.”

I now had two possible suspects, a great way to start my investigation.

I wondered, though ... had Jana’s understanding attitude the day she confronted Tiffany been genuine, or had it all been for show?

And Tyler, when the begging and pleading failed to win Tiffany back, had something darker taken hold, a different man rising up inside him, a man driven by rage?

Perhaps he loved Tiffany in a deceitful, unhealthy way.

Or ...

I envisioned a scenario where Tyler was a faithful husband, a man who never planned to step out on his wife. Then he met Tiffany. They hit it off, and in time, he succumbed to temptation, taking a bite from the forbidden apple.

It made me question what his marriage had been like prior to the affair and if he was planning on getting a divorce before he met Tiffany.

As the various scenarios ran through my mind, Ron wagged a finger at me. “Care to share what’s on your mind?”

“Tyler and Jana make great suspects.”

“Given I’ve never met the woman, I wouldn’t know about Jana. It’s true, Tyler makes a good suspect, though he’s a half-pint, no taller than five-eight, weighs a buck fifty, if that. I’m not trying to say he didn’t do it. I’m just giving you the facts.”

Even half-pints could wield a knife.

And right now, Tyler was at the top of my suspect list.