Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead(Finlay Donovan #2)(27)

“Give me that.” I took the phone, surprised to see Vero was right. With the exception of his thumbnail pic and a one-line bio, Julian’s account was locked. “That’s strange. Why would he change his settings now?”

Vero’s eyes crinkled with sympathy, as if the answer should have been obvious. Julian was on a road trip with his friends, drinking and cutting loose at the beach. And I was here, stalking my ex and buying batteries for power tools.

“Whatever. I have more important things to worry about.” Ignoring the ache in my throat, I tossed my phone on the carpet and picked up a marker, determined not to think about Julian or what he was doing. “Like this EasyClean person and what she plans to do to my ex-husband.”

I snapped off the cap and wrote Steven’s name in angry red letters across the top of the long sheet of paper between us. Beside it, I wrote a date: October 29. Below that, I drew two vertical lines, dividing the paper into three sections.

“What are you doing?” Vero asked around a mouthful of popcorn.

“What I should have done a month ago. I’m going to figure out who FedUp is and find a way to stop her.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“The same way I write a story.”

“Not showering for days while you hoover gummy bears in your pajamas and swear at your laptop?”

“No,” I said irritably, “I’m plotting Steven’s murder.”

“Thank you, baby Jesus, it’s about damn time.”

Vero ducked, giggling as I threw the marker at her head. “Not literally. I’m making a list of everyone Steven’s managed to piss off. Then I’ll figure out which one of them has the strongest motive to kill him.”

Vero’s laughter quieted as she surveyed the length of paper. “I hate to break it to you, Finn, but you’re going to need another roll.”

“We have to start somewhere.” I labeled the three sections. “People usually murder for one of three reasons: love, money, or revenge.” Under the revenge section, I wrote Theresa’s name. “FedUp first posted about Steven on October 29, two days after Theresa was arrested.” Steven and Theresa’s relationship had already been on shaky ground, but according to Georgia, they’d had a nasty fight in the police station and Steven had called off the engagement the night she was booked. The next morning, Steven had moved out of her house, taken back her two-carat engagement ring, and withdrawn his money from their joint checking accounts.

Vero shook her head, chewing thoughtfully on a popcorn kernel as she worked through a tangle in the lights. “There’s no way Theresa could have written that post. She was still in jail.”

Vero had a point. Aimee had posted bail, but that had taken days. Theresa wouldn’t have had unfettered access to a computer while in custody, or for that matter, enough privacy and time to pull it off.

Vero jutted her chin at my chart. “Who else do you have?”

“As far as spurned lovers? The only one I know of is Bree.”

Vero glanced up from her Christmas lights, wrinkling her nose as I wrote Bree’s name under the “love” column. “Why would Bree want to kill Steven? I thought she was crazy about him.”

“I’m sure she was. Right up until he laid her off. Steven said he lost some big clients after news of the murder investigation broke, and he had to cut back on payroll. He let her go a few weeks ago.”

Vero tipped her head as if she was working out the math. “The timing doesn’t add up. The news broke on Monday night. The ad was posted on the women’s forum two days later. Even if his clients started bailing right away, he wouldn’t have laid Bree off that fast; he’s too selfish for that. He would have needed her to field all the phone calls while he dealt with the police. And where’s someone like Bree going to get her hands on a hundred Gs? There’s no way a twenty-year-old office assistant could afford to pay someone like EasyClean. No,” Vero said, shaking her head as she tapped a long nail against the second column on the paper. “Follow the money. It always comes down to money. Who stands to benefit if Steven drops dead?”

“The kids are the beneficiaries on his life insurance accounts.”

Vero chuckled darkly. “That makes you suspect number one in column two. Think hard. Who else?”

“Steven didn’t have any other assets. Every penny he had went into the farm.”

My phone chimed. Vero dove to grab it before I could stop her. “Ooooh, I bet it’s Nick,” she said with a wicked grin. Her face fell as she thumbed on the screen.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Who is it?”

“FedUp … she posted a reply on the thread.”

I scooted close, reading over her shoulder.

FedUp: @EasyClean and @Anonymous2, Thank you for your replies. You’re both very kind to offer, and I am interested in chatting with either of you, but it’s a stressful time of year. There’s so much to do before Christmas, and so few days left to handle it all. I’m sure you understand. Perhaps we can connect after it’s over? When you’ve wrapped up your holiday plans, I hope one of you will send me another message.



Vero frowned at the screen. “I am interested in chatting with either of you…? What’s that supposed to mean?”