A Good Marriage(59)
A: Not yet. But Park Slope is full of garbage cans.
Q: Did you ask Mr. Grayson about his whereabouts at the time of his wife’s murder?
A: He said he found his wife when he got home from taking a walk on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.
Q: Did you find that response credible?
A: No.
Q: Why not?
A: I didn’t believe he would go out walking all the way over there at that time of night. And Mr. Grayson claimed he’d walked home from Brooklyn Heights. That’s a couple miles from Park Slope.
Q: Were there other things that made you suspect Mr. Grayson had murdered his wife?
A: Sure, there were no signs of a break-in, it was his golf club near her body. He wasn’t emotional either. His wife was dead.
Q: Did you eventually get Mr. Grayson to move outside?
A: Only after he struck one of the uniformed officers in the face and was placed under arrest.
Amanda
THREE DAYS BEFORE THE PARTY
“Oh, here she is now. Hold on!” Sarah barked into the phone as Amanda stepped off the elevator. She was standing at the reception desk, gripping the handset with dramatic irritation. Sarah leaned over and punched a button on the console. “Thank God you’re here. This man apparently must speak with you.”
Amanda’s chest seized.
“Um, who is it?” She tried to sound casual, but sweat had sprung up at the back of her neck.
“The jerk wouldn’t even tell me his name. Sounds like he’s afraid I’m screening your calls.” Sarah’s face brightened mischievously. “I could hang up if you want me to. I would very much like to.”
“No, no, don’t hang up,” Amanda said. What if her dad was finally going to demand the money he was after? It could be her chance to be done with him. Amanda paid the household bills. She could write a check without Zach ever needing to know. “I’ll take it. In my office.”
“Ugh.” Sarah frowned at her. “I love you, Mandy, but sometimes you really are too accommodating.”
Mandy. Sarah had never called Amanda that before, and it meant far more to Amanda than it should have. She knew that. But it was yet more proof they were real friends. She couldn’t let this ugliness with her dad turn everything good in her life inside out.
It needed to stop now.
“Thank you, Sarah!” Amanda called, smiling back one last time before disappearing into her office and closing the door. She took a deep breath, bracing herself against her desk as she picked up the phone. “This is Amanda Grayson.”
“Hello, Mrs. Grayson. This is Teddy Buckley.”
The voice on the other end sounded young, far too young to be Daddy, even trying to disguise himself.
“Mrs. Grayson?” The man sounded concerned. “Are you there?”
“Yes, yes, I’m here,” Amanda said. And that was all she was going to say. She didn’t know any Teddy Buckley.
“I’ve been reviewing Hope First Initiative’s ledger in advance of the board meeting, and there are some important matters I need to discuss with you.”
“What matters? Who are you?”
“Your accountant?” Teddy Buckley’s voice lifted at the end, like it was a question. “With PricewaterhouseCoopers?”
“Oh,” Amanda said. “Sarah, the woman you were just speaking to, she’s the assistant director. She handles the budget.”
“Mrs. Grayson, I need to speak with you personally,” Teddy Buckley said, more insistent now. “And this really is rather urgent. I’ve tried speaking with your husband, but …”
“Sarah,” Amanda repeated. “She’s in charge of the finances.”
“As principal, I’ll need to speak with you,” he pressed. “How about your office, tomorrow morning at eight a.m.?”
If she didn’t want to meet with this accountant, she didn’t have to. No matter what they scheduled.
“Sure, yes, of course,” Amanda said, her voice regaining the refinement she’d spent years cultivating. “Tomorrow at eight a.m. would be lovely.” Lovely was a good word, though probably too much under the circumstances.
“Uh, okay, great,” Teddy said skeptically. “See you then. Okay, bye.”
As if on cue, Sarah appeared in Amanda’s office door as soon as she hung up.
“Everything okay?”
“I’m not sure. That was the accountant. He was very insistent,” Amanda said. “But he wouldn’t even tell me why. We have to meet in person, apparently.”
Sarah narrowed her eyes. “That’s weird, isn’t it?”
“I suppose,” Amanda said. “Maybe I should send you to the meeting in my place.”
“I do love being your bad cop,” Sarah said, her eyes shining with delight. “Provided you and Zach both come to Kerry’s birthday dinner tonight.”
Amanda smiled. “We wouldn’t miss it. It sounds lovely.”
Lovely was a better word now. Still a bit much, maybe, but Sarah looked pleased.
Sarah checked her watch. “And now I’ve got to scoot, if that’s okay with you, boss? I’ve got a cake to bake and a house to scrub. My place, eight p.m.?” She motioned toward her own eyes, then back at Amanda. “And I’ll be looking for the both of you.”