Page 46 of Wild Frost

He was fit and had some muscle on him. By the looks of things, I figured he was on 100mg of testosterone a week. He fit the general description of the assailant.

I played it like I would any other death notification. "You might want to have a seat.”

Steve’s face was still wrinkled with confusion. "Is something wrong?"

"It's about your wife. I’m sorry to tell you she’s deceased.”

He lifted a surprised brow but didn't seem upset. "She's dead?”

I nodded and watched him carefully.

He processed the information, and it took a moment to sink in. His face twisted again as he thought, staring at the deck. Then he looked at me. "How did you find me?"

Not exactly the question I was expecting. Usually, the first one from the innocent is “How?”

"Your neighbors said you were living on a friend’s boat,” I said. “I take it things weren’t great at home.”

Steve finally took a seat on the settee. He shook his head. "They haven't been great for a long time." He stared at the deck for a moment in a daze. "I guess we’re not going to patch things upnow." Steve paused. "I'm sorry, I'm a little stunned. How did you say she died?"

"I didn't.”

He looked at me with a wrinkled brow. "Don't you know?”

I ignored the question. "Have you been here all afternoon?”

"Yeah. I'm just taking a few days off work to get my head straight." He took a deep breath. "I guess if you’ve been talking to the neighbors, you know we were in the process of getting a divorce. Miriam wanted me to leave the house. I landed here.” He paused, then connected the dots. “Are you saying Miriam was murdered?”

I nodded.

Steve gave me a suspicious look. "You don't think I had something to do with it, do you?"

"No, of course not,” I said, trying to put him at ease. “Just trying to rule you out. Spouses are always a suspect. A matter of procedure."

A frown tensed his face. "Makes sense. Just so you know, I didn’t have anything to do with it. I swear.”

"You got anybody that can verify your whereabouts?”

He shrugged. "Not really. I guess you could talk to the other folks in the marina. When did this happen again?”

“Within the last few hours.”

Isabella told me Steve’s phone had been off the grid since early this morning. It only popped up on the grid after the murder, when he was back aboard the boat. I couldn't usethat information in a court of law without getting it through legitimate means. It would take some time to subpoena phone records. That alone wasn't enough probable cause.

"Are you saying you haven't been out all day?"

"Well, I went out for breakfast. Then I played 18 with a buddy, then came back here in the afternoon. Fell asleep and took a nap. Next thing I know, you guys are banging on the hull.”

I shared a doubtful look with JD. I took everything Steve said with a grain of salt.

“Why was your phone off all day?” I asked.

His brow knitted. “How do you know that?”

“We know a lot of things,” I said.

“It died on the course. I forgot to charge it last night.”

"I'll need the name of your golfing buddy.”