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L ulu steeled herself before walking into the interview room where Jay Bradford and his attorney were waiting. Her deputies had somehow whisked Allie into a “storage” room that was currently being used as a break area. Since she was out of the way, Lulu could walk around the station without having to deal with Allie until later.

“Good morning,” Lulu greeted them. “Thank you so much for coming in today. I do appreciate it. Your cooperation may help in finding Dana’s killer.”

She was using Dare’s advice, trying to relax them before asking about Dana’s pregnancy.

“I’m not sure I have any more to say,” Jay said. “I told you everything I know.”

“Why are you talking to my client again?” the attorney asked. “He gave you a statement already.”

She recognized the lawyer, but she couldn’t quite place a name with the face. He was the father of someone she’d gone to school with years ago. She searched every corner of her brain for the name of his daughter.

Natalie? Right, Natalie Young. She’d played on the volleyball team. Nice girl. A year younger than Lulu, but well-liked by pretty much everyone. Her dad was Bill Young. At one point, he’d served on the town council. He’d come to a Christmas party her parents had thrown when she was in middle school.

“It’s nice to see you Mr. Young. How is Natalie doing?”

She prayed Natalie wasn’t strung out on drugs or married into the mob.

“She’s doing well, thank you for asking.” Bill smiled at the mention of his daughter’s name, visibly relaxing in his chair. “She went to nursing school in Denver. Lives there now. She’s engaged to be married.”

“That’s wonderful. Congratulations. And obviously, you’re doing well, too. Thank you for coming today.”

“I’m not getting any younger,” Bill sighed. “These Montana winters are getting tougher every year. Maybe I’ll retire down south someday.”

“A little sunshine and golf?”

“That sounds like heaven.”

“So, I just have a few questions, and then you can be on your way,” Lulu said, turning her attention back to Jay. “First, I want to confirm that the night Dana was killed, you went home after dropping Allie off at her apartment. Correct?”

“Yes, I was home before eleven.”

“That’s good. Thank you. I’m trying to put together Dana’s last day, and I was hoping you might be able to help. I need to confirm that the only time you saw Dana that day was at the sports bar. Is that correct?”

“It is,” Jay confirmed. “And I only talked to her for a few minutes. That’s it.”

“You didn’t see her before or after that encounter?”

“No. I didn’t see Dana every day. Hell, I didn’t even talk to her every day. Maybe I talked to her…once a week? Maybe less? Like I said, we were trying to be friends.”

“Did she happen to mention to you what she’d done that day? Anywhere she might have been or anyone she might have talked to? I can’t seem to get any details before the sports bar.”

“She probably spent half the day sleeping,” Jay replied with a shrug. “When she works, she’s up until three or four in the morning. Sometimes later. She often doesn’t go to bed until breakfast time. If I were guessing, she probably slept until mid-afternoon. Puttered around the house and got ready for work. She sometimes stops into the sports bar to grab a quick meal before her shift.”

“That would certainly explain why no one saw her during the day,” Lulu said. “That was her usual routine?”

“As far as I know. I mean, I haven’t lived with her for two years. She could have changed it. I can’t say for sure.”

Bill was checked out looking at his phone, and Jay was relaxed enough to take a bite from his donut.

It might as well be now.

“Jay, when did you find out about Dana being pregnant? Was it that night at the sports bar?”

The poor guy practically choked on his chocolate frosted filled with bavarian cream, and Bill’s phone clattered on the table. The blood had drained from Jay’s face, and his eyes had turned into almost perfect circles. Bill, on the other hand, had turned red in the cheeks as he placed his hand on Jay’s shoulder to make sure he didn’t answer the question.

“Wait, wait,” Bill said. “I think we need to take a time out here. I’d like to speak to my client privately.”

“Of course, I’ll give you a moment.”

The Harper sheriff’s station didn’t have a fancy interview room like on television. There was no two-way glass, or a speaker that listened in to the room from the outside. She didn’t know what Jay and Bill were talking about, but she could hear their muffled whispers through the door.

“How much longer?” Deputy Steve asked. “They’re getting antsy. And by the way, that woman is kind of scary.”

“I think you can take her,” Lulu joked. “I don’t believe we’ll be much longer. Offer to order anything they want from the coffee shop. My treat.”

“Everyone loves those croissant sandwiches your brother makes.”

Actually, Chase had a helper in the mornings that did those, but this wasn’t the moment to reveal that fact.

“Whatever she wants,” Lulu assured him. “And her lawyer, too. Hell, turn on The Price is Right for them. Make them feel at home.”

Steve disappeared back into the break room, and a moment later, the door to the interview room opened.

“I’ve spoken to my client,” Bill said. “He’s ready to make a statement.”

“Thank you.”

Lulu stepped back into the room, and it appeared that Jay hadn’t yet recovered from the shocking news. Some color had returned to his face, but he was still paler than usual.

But being surprised didn’t mean that he wasn’t a candidate to be the father. It only meant that Dana hadn’t told him yet.

At this point in the investigation, she didn’t know if there were other potential fathers. Perhaps Glen? Or some other mystery man that Dana had been keeping under wraps? Her gut was telling her that the latter was the more possible alternative, but she couldn’t ignore that Jay might have been cheating on Allie with his ex-wife. Sadly, she’d seen more tawdry relationships.

“You wanted to make a statement,” Lulu said, settling back into her chair across from Jay and Bill.

Jay looked at Bill for approval, and the older man nodded briefly.

“It’s okay. Just tell the truth,” Bill said.

“I didn’t know Dana was pregnant,” Jay said, his words all rushed out and pushed together. “I’m shocked. Really shocked. But then I think that I shouldn’t be. She’d made a few changes lately, and it all kind of makes sense now.”

“Changes?”

“She wasn’t drinking that night at the sports bar,” Jay clarified. “In fact, she hadn’t been drinking for the last few weeks. I even mentioned it once, and she said she was on a new health kick. I thought it was great. I’d always told her that she drank a bit too much. She didn’t have a problem though. She wasn’t addicted or anything, but you know, she partied a lot.”

“You say that you didn’t know. Looking back, did she hint around? Drop any other clues?”

“No, not that I can think of. Dana…pregnant. I mean…are you sure? When we were married, she always said that she didn’t want any kids. She said it more than once.”

“I am sure,” Lulu replied. “Can I assume that if you didn’t know, then Allie didn’t?”

“I can’t imagine how she would,” Jay declared. “Dana wasn’t going to tell her. Who does know?”

“I don’t know. I just learned this detail myself. I’m not sure who knew, and who didn’t. If you could guess one person that she might confide in, who might it be? Her parents? Her sisters? A friend?”

“She wouldn’t tell her sisters, and I don’t think she’d tell her parents first. She might tell her friend where she worked. Her name is Stacy Simpson. Dana and Stacy spent a lot of time together. At least they did when we were married.”

“I’ll talk to her, thank you,” Lulu replied. “I’m also not planning to release this information for a few days. Can I rely on your discretion, Jay? Bill?”

“I won’t mention it,” Bill replied hastily. “This is confidential attorney-client information, as far as I’m concerned.”

“I won’t say anything either,” Jay replied. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.”

“That means you can’t tell Allie,” Lulu pointed out. “Are you okay with that?”

“When you release the information, can I deny that I ever knew?” Jay asked. “I can just pretend to be surprised.”

What kind of relationship did Jay and Allie have if he was this freaked out about her finding out that he knew about Dana a day or two before she did? Steve was right. Allie was scary.

“That’s fine with me,” Lulu assured him. “And I won’t hold onto the information for too long. I know how information travels in this town. It won’t stay a secret for long.”

Lulu was going to try and keep the autopsy report under wraps, but eventually, someone was going to push the issue. Autopsies were considered public records, although Lulu could try and keep it private by saying it was part of the investigation. That might work for a while, but probably not forever.

Honestly, she didn’t think that Jay and Bill were going to keep quiet about what they’d learned. Bill was probably going to tell his wife, and Jay was going to tell Allie. She’d be fooling herself to think anything different.

There’s no way he’s not telling her when he leaves here.

It might be just as useful to see who might come out of the woodwork when the news was public.

In the meantime, after she talked to Allie, she needed to talk to Glen Foster. Just how did he fit into this situation?

The bar where Dana had worked didn’t open until three in the afternoon, and Kai wanted to speak with her boss and her best friend and co-worker.

Stacy Simpson was also a cocktail waitress at the bar, and her boyfriend Max Henderson was the main bartender and owner. They lived in a condo not far from the business district. The neighborhood was a little older than all the newer building that was going on outside the city limits but was close enough to the main street that most things were only a short walking distance.

They’d agreed to speak with Kai for the human-interest story he was doing about Dana. They’d only asked that he didn’t show up until ten in the morning because they usually slept in after a late night working.

The couple was friendly and inviting when they opened the door, ushering him into the living room and offering him coffee. The house was decorated in bright shades of blue and green, comfortable and cozy. There were even two lazy cats curled up on a braided rug in front of the fireplace that wasn’t currently lit.

He wasn’t as big a fan of gut feelings as Lulu was, but he instantly had a welcoming vibe inside their home. They appeared to be open to this interview, although sad about Dana’s death. The first thing Stacy showed Kai was a picture of all three of them taken two summers ago on the beach. They’d all gone to Florida together for a vacation.

The trio was tanned and happy, smiling for the camera as if they didn’t have a worry in the world.

“That’s a great picture of the three of you,” Kai said. “Did you often take trips together?”

“We couldn’t afford it every year, but every two or three,” Stacy explained. “We always had so much fun. In the old days, Jay would come too, of course.”

“Did you all grow up together?”

“Not at all,” Max chuckled. The man was a giant of a human being, at least six foot six and three hundred pounds. With a shaved head and tattoos, he fit the description of someone that a person wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of. “I’m seven years older than Dana, and Stacy grew up in Cleveland. She and I met in college, fell in love, and then I convinced her to move back here with me when I took over my old man’s roadhouse.”

“I have no regrets at all,” Stacy said, giving her boyfriend a brilliant smile. “I love this little town.”

While Max was huge, Stacy was tiny. Kai might describe her as almost as a pixie with her petite body and purple-tipped blonde hair. Even her features were elvish with big blue eyes and delicate pointed chin.

They made a striking couple, and they were gazing at each other with genuine love.

“Dana came to me when she turned twenty-one,” Max explained. “She wanted a job, and I needed a waitress. She’s worked for me on and off since then. Mostly on since she and Jay split up. She needed the money, and she did a good job. It was a win-win for both of us.”

“And you all became close friends?”

“We did,” Stacy replied. “Dana was always just the sweetest girl. She’d do anything for you and give you the shirt off her back and her last dollar if she thought you were in need.”

Stacy sniffled and her eyes filled with tears.

“I never had a sister, but Dana filled that role. I can’t tell you enough about what a beautiful person she was. She was the best friend I’ve ever had, and I’ll miss her every day for the rest of my life.”

“She was a good person,” Max agreed. “A hard worker and she cared about the customers. Everyone loved her.”

“What about Jay Bradford? Was he still in love with her?”

“Just between the three of us, I think he is still in love with Dana,” Stacy confided. “Was it two weeks ago, Max? Out of the blue, his girlfriend came into the bar and was giving Dana a hard time. Yelling at her to stay away from Jay, and that she wasn’t going to let Dana steal her man or something like that. I doubt the girlfriend would be all upset like that if Jay wasn’t acting like he still had feelings.”

“What did Dana do?”

“She just laughed at the girl and said that she wasn’t going to steal something she gave up willingly. She told the girl that Jay was only a friend. I got the feeling the girl didn’t believe it, but Dana refused to argue with her. She was openly amused by the whole thing. Max offered to escort the girl out, but Dana said that she wasn’t bothered.”

“Eventually, the girl left,” Max said. “Her name is Allie, right? Anyway, when she couldn’t get a rise out of Dana, she stomped out of the place vowing that she’d be back if Dana didn’t stay away from Jay.”

“Did she come back?”

“No, but I was planning to ban her if she did,” Max explained. “I don’t like any trouble in my place, and I didn’t want Dana to have to deal with that. That girl seemed unhinged, to be honest. From where I was standing, it looked like she was trying to goad Dana into taking a swing at her. I guess then she could call the cops and play the victim. Either way, that’s not happening in my bar.”

“Jay came in a few days later and apologized for her,” Stacy said with a roll of her eyes. “Dana told him to stay away from her as long as he was seeing Allie. She didn’t want the hassle. Jay was upset and swore up and down that Allie was just passionate. Frankly, it sounded lame as hell, and Dana told him so. She repeated that he needed to stay away if he was going to date that girl. Max asked him to leave, and he did without any trouble.”

“She and Jay weren’t getting back together? There was some talk of that,” Kai said.

“They sort of tried about a year ago, but it was clear that it wasn’t going to work,” Max replied. “I think Jay wanted it more than Dana did. She was half-hearted about it, and she didn’t seem all that sad when they called it quits a second time. They cared about each other, but they were too different to live together.”

“In what way?” Kai asked.

“Dana was an extrovert who liked to be around people,” Stacy said. “Jay didn’t want to be around people. Ever, if he could help it. Not in the evenings, not on the weekends. Dana once said that she tracked it on a calendar, and Jay didn’t talk to anyone but her for forty-two days. Not counting his job, of course. He’d come home and start playing video games. That was his social time, I guess.”

“And she wanted to go out?”

“Sometimes, but other times she just wanted to talk to him. Talk about their day, talk about the weather. Anything but sitting next to him on the couch while he played games.”

Kai was fascinated by this far different version of Dana Cartwright that he was hearing. These were the people closest to her, the ones she was with almost every day in a work setting plus a friendship.

“I met with Dana’s older sister Jillian this morning?—”

He was interrupted by both Stacy and Max groaning out loud and shaking their heads.

“Let me guess,” Stacy said. “She complained non-stop about what a terrible sister Dana was, and how she’s the only responsible person in her family. Did I get that right?”

“That woman is a menace,” Max said before Kai could answer. “She’d call Dana just to bitch her out about something and complain that life wasn’t fair. Well, here’s some news for her. Life isn’t fair. I’m not sure where she got the idea that it would be. I bet she’ll dance on Dana’s grave. Now she’ll have all the attention from her parents, especially as the younger sister Billie lives in another state.”

“Is that what she wanted?” Kai queried. “Attention? Did Dana somehow take that away?”

“Dana’s great crime was being born,” Stacy said. “Jillian was loving being an only child. She didn’t want any siblings. She wanted to be the center of attention. So, when Dana committed the sin of being born, Jillian was never going to forgive or forget. She wanted the sole spotlight on her, and she resented the hell out of anyone who took it away. Jillian was even mean to the family dog and cat. She wasn’t any nicer to the youngest sister Billie either.”

“Don’t believe half of what she told you,” Max warned. “Jillian loves to twist the truth and make herself look like a saint while everyone else is an asshole. She’s always the victim.”

Oookaaayyy… Kai was going to have to re-think his entire interview with Dana’s sister.

“Jillian said that Dana was living in her grandmother’s house,” Kai said. “Instead of the house being sold and the proceeds split between them.”

Stacy pressed her fingers to her temples and made a frustrated sound.

“Is she going on about that again? That was never the plan. That was something that Jillian made up in her head. Something that I guess she thought was fair to her. The grandmother willed the house to Dana. Only to her. Dana was the only one in the family that ever visited that sweet old woman. She’d help out by going shopping and cleaning. She was always doing something for her Gran. Once a week, all four of us would go out to dinner somewhere. Jillian didn’t do shit, and then she was pissed when Dana got the house, the contents, and Gran’s bank account. It wasn’t much but it was something.”

“Jillian was never going to get half the house?”

“Never,” Max replied flatly. “It wasn’t going to happen. Gran was sharp as a tack until her last breath, and she knew who cared about her and who didn’t. Jillian was the latter. I’m guessing she also told you that Dana made bad decisions, and that she was always bailing her out? Not true. The only thing that Dana asked of her sister was a ride to the airport once. Jillian said no, by the way. Dana’s parents, on the other hand, they’re nice people.”

“I didn’t want to bother them,” Kai admitted. “They just lost a daughter. It felt insensitive to ask to interview them.”

“They’ve taken it hard,” Stacy said. “I talked to Carole this morning about the arrangements for the funeral. She wanted me to say a few words, which I told her I would do. I think you’re right to let them have their space during this time.”

“I do have another question,” Kai said. “If Dana and Jay weren’t getting back together, was she seeing anyone that you knew of?”

“She was seeing someone,” Stacy said with a smug smile. “But she was keeping it a secret as to who. I think it was like a game to her.”

“She didn’t tell you who it was?” Kai pressed. “Not even a hint?”

“At first, she didn’t tell us anything,” Max said. “She’d see him on the nights she wasn’t working or hanging out with us. We didn’t have a clue for months. When we asked why she was keeping it all hush-hush, she said it was more fun this way.”

Maybe Kai was cynical and jaded, but in his life, there had only been a few reasons why someone would keep their partner a secret. Number one - they were ashamed, and two - they were married. Either the person or the secret partner.

Kai was leaning to the latter.

“Do you think she was dating a married man?”

He wasn’t much for beating around the bush about topics like this. Stacy and Max could be angry if they wanted to be, but they had to have considered it a possibility at least once.

“It did cross our minds,” Stacy said, her cheeks flushed as she fidgeted on her chair. “I asked Dana straight out, and she said that she wouldn’t date someone who was happily married.”

“But she would someone married unhappily?”

“I asked that, too,” Stacy sighed. “She said that she’d worded her answer badly. That they were keeping it a secret because they didn’t want a lot of attention. They just wanted to enjoy being together without people talking about them, and that eventually they’d go public. They just weren’t in a hurry.”

“She reminded us that people liked to gossip about her love life,” Max said. “About her, and Jay, and others. She said she was tired of a bunch of nosey types talking about her when the skeletons in their own closets were much worse. I couldn’t argue with that. She was right. The busybodies in this town need to mind their own business first.”

“When you say and others , do you mean like Glen Foster?” Kai asked. “There were rumors about them when she was married to Jay.”

“Not only did she not go out with Glen, she didn’t even like him,” Stacy said. “He was Jay’s friend, so she tried to be nice, but frankly he’s kind of a jerk. He also thinks he’s hot stuff, and when she and Jay were having trouble, Glen decided that he was going to be the sympathetic shoulder to cry on before getting her into his bed. There was no way she was going to let that happen. He made her nauseous.”

“Do you know why she and Jay were talking at the sports bar the night before her murder? Glen was there, too.”

Based on their quizzical expressions, Stacy and Max were trying to figure out what that question had to do with the human-interest story that Kai was working on. The last few questions, actually.

If Lulu were here, she’d be asking them instead. Might as well see if I can get it done for her.

Kai was man enough to admit that he cared a great deal about Lulu, and he wanted to help her solve this murder.

“I don’t know,” Stacy said. “I talked to her that night for a few minutes, but she didn’t mention it. She said she’d picked up some takeout and was headed back to her place for a quiet evening in.”

“She wasn’t seeing her secret man?”

“She didn’t mention him. Is it important? Are you planning to write about her relationship with him? Is that why you’re asking?”

“No,” Kai replied firmly. “I’m not going to write about him. Unless he comes forward, of course. If he did, I’d love to get a quote from him for the article.”

“Maybe he will,” Max said. “You never know.”

Kai asked Stacy and Max for a few fun stories that he could share with readers about Dana, showing the kind of person she was. They eagerly talked about hikes, picnics, movie nights, and Christmas cookie-decorating parties. The three of them appeared to have a genuinely loving friendship.

“Once again, I am sorry for your loss,” Kai said when it was time for him to go. “And I appreciate your time today.”

“You’re not going to write what Jillian told you?” Stacy asked, her tone apprehensive. “Because she’s lying about Dana. She’s always resented her.”

“I’m not going to say anything negative about Dana,” Kai responded. “That’s not the type of article that I’m looking to write. I just want people to get to know Dana Cartwright a bit more than they might have before. I’m not looking to tear down anyone’s reputation. That’s not what I do.”

After speaking with Jillian and now Stacy and Max, Kai was more certain of this than ever. He hadn’t quit his soul-sucking job as a lawyer to write sensationalized articles about people who weren’t alive to defend themselves.

He said goodbye to the couple and headed out to his vehicle. Before he could leave, Stacy jogged out of the house and waved.

“I told Max that I remembered a story I just had to tell you,” she said, shifting on her feet. “But I need to make sure that you’re not going to print that Dana was seeing someone. It’s important that you don’t.”

“Because he’s married?” Kai guessed.

“Yes,” Stacy admitted with a sigh. “He’s married, and no, I don’t know who he is. Dana said he was unhappy in his marriage and planning to leave his wife.”

“Do you think he was going to do that?”

“I don’t, and I said the same to her. Now, you’re not going to print any of that, right? I need your promise.”

“I promise. I’m not planning to write anything negative about Dana.”

Stacy thanked him and went back inside while he climbed into the car.

While his interviews had answered many questions, they’d also posed new ones. Did Jillian hate her sister enough to kill her? Was Allie convinced that Dana was after Jay, and would she kill to keep him? And possibly the most important of all, just who was the man that Dana Cartwright was dating?

That’s who Kai wanted to talk to.