Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92668 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92668 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“And the fact he was trying to make the divorce as difficult as possible and she’s living with a friend rather than being able to pay her own way is just another way of controlling her,” Ash pointed out. “He was tying her to him as long as possible, and he won either way. She either took less money to get away from him or she kept fighting and they stayed married longer. Do you think she killed him?”
“I don’t know. I keep going between yes and no. She seems both gutted and totally unbothered at the same time, it’s weird.”
“You’re right. I popped into the café this morning to grab a coffee before I opened, and she was having breakfast in there with Shane. She didn’t seem all that devastated to me, but I suppose I only saw her for a few minutes.”
“Who’s Shane?” I frowned, although the name sounded vaguely familiar to me. “I thought she wasn’t supposed to be seeing anyone.”
“She’s not, apparently. Shane is the friend she’s staying with. Honestly, she’s always been a bit of an outsider. Ever since she moved here, she’s never really tried to connect with anyone. Don’t get me wrong, she’s nice to everyone, but she’s not really involved in the community.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Small towns like this are weird if you aren’t used to it. Everyone is up everyone else’s arse. Look at us right now. We’re up so many arses we might as well get our faces printed on butt plugs.”
“And you’ve not been here for years.” Ash grinned. “I don’t know, I always thought she was a bit stuck up, you know? Rich husband, big house, nice cars. She never really came into town often. I think Nicole did her hair once, actually. I’m getting mine cut tomorrow, so I can ask her and see what she knows.”
“Won’t she be suspicious about that?”
“Have you ever been in a hair salon? Those things are gossip central, Lottie. If you want information, that’s the place to go.”
That was true.
Hairdressers could talk for hours. And were unusually interested in whether I was going anywhere nice on my holidays this year.
I was not. Sadly.
“That’s true,” I mused. “Does she really not have any friends?”
“Other than Shane? I’ve never seen her with anyone, and even then, I didn’t even know they were friends until I found out Stephanie and Declan were divorcing.”
That was sad.
No wonder she’d offloaded on me.
The woman needed a friend.
“Who is he, anyway?” I asked, stirring the ice in my glass with my straw.
“His name is… Christ, Solomon? Shane Solomon,” Ash said, wiggling her finger at me in triumph. “He moved here about four years ago. I’m not actually sure what he does, to be honest. I think he’s a bit of a handyman. He does a lot of work on the holiday parks and servicing the caravans, but he’s also done a bit of electric work for me in the shop. Nicole mentioned him once and said he works weird hours. She lives on the same street as him and his van is always coming and going.”
“Huh. Does he not strike you as an unlikely friend for someone as rich as Stephanie?”
“I guess so.” She paused. “I figured she’d just met him through the construction company, and they clicked.”
“I thought she didn’t work.”
“She doesn’t, officially. She’s what Granny would call a ‘kept woman.’ Also known as a stay-at-home wife to those of us living in the twenty-first century,” Ash said dryly. “I always thought Fox Point was a bit of a weird place for the Tierneys to live, honestly. There’s not much rich, posh stuff here. I get that Declan was born and raised here, but still.”
“Seriously.” I frowned. “I just can’t believe she doesn’t have any friends. That seems like a pretty lonely existence. I can’t say I enjoyed living in Bristol, as such, but I have friends there at least.”
Ash nodded in agreement. “No kidding. That’s why I was so surprised when you said she’d approached you and told you everything.”
“It makes sense, though. I did find him, and maybe she needed some closure.” Even though she hadn’t asked me anything about it.
“True. Maybe she just feels like she’s got some freedom now that he’s gone.”
“Perhaps. I don’t know, Ash. It’s so weird. It feels like so many people had a reason to want him dead.”
“They did, and probably rightfully, too. He sounds like he was a right bastard.” She snorted. “So, we really do have just Alan, Guy, and Stephanie. What are you thinking right now?”
I exhaled with a huff. “Guy seems the most unlikely, doesn’t he? Every time I think about it, I just can’t see it. All he had to do is keep blocking his application and he’s got his revenge. His very existence was a thorn in Tierney’s side.”