Rich Blood (Jason Rich #1)(39)

“That he’d been to see a lawyer and she’d drafted up a complaint for divorce.”

Jason felt his stomach tighten. “Who was the lawyer?”

“Candace Gordon. A local. Her office is on Blount Avenue.”

“Did he say he was going to file?”

Burns chewed on a toothpick. “Yep. He said that he’d already told Jana the night before and that she’d stormed out of the house. He also said Jana was in a lot of financial trouble, and he wasn’t sure how he was going to get her out of it. That he was going to be moving money out of their joint accounts after the Fourth so that she couldn’t bankrupt him.”

“Jana said that Braxton was cheating on her. Any truth to that?”

Burns looked behind their table and then around the restaurant. It wasn’t a stealth move, especially given his increasing drunkenness. “You didn’t hear this from me.”

“OK.”

“He had a thing for a nurse or something over at the hospital. Colleen Maples. I think he’d been tapping that for a while.”

Now it was Jason who looked around the restaurant, as Burns had gotten a bit loud. “How long is a while?” Jason said, keeping his voice low in the hopes that Burns would do the same.

“Years.” No such luck.

“Did he tell you about her?”

“Oh, yeah. There wasn’t much Braxton kept from me.”

“What did he see in this Colleen?”

Burns took his hands and placed them over his chest. “Big ol—”

“All right,” Jason interrupted before he could say anything more. People were beginning to stare. “I get the picture.”

“And Jana? Did she cheat on Braxton with anyone other than Waylon Pike?”

Burns waited as the waitress delivered their entrées. Both men had ordered the catfish special. Once she was gone, he leaned his hefty forearms on the table. When he spoke, Jason had to blink back the scent of alcohol on his breath. “I don’t think Jana cheated on Braxton until she found out about Colleen. And, outside of maybe a one-night stand with Waylon, I’m not aware of any other affairs.” Burns stared down at his plate of food and then cut into his catfish. “I’m no shrink, but I think Jana had a really hard time with your Dad’s death. She worshipped that man. Then when Braxton stepped out on her, she started drinking and doing more drugs, and things got out of control. Don’t get me wrong, now. Her and Braxton’s marriage was volatile. Jana was a drama queen, always stirring something up. But there was nothing dangerous until these last couple of years.”

Jason peered down at his plate, thinking his sister’s behavior wasn’t all that different from his own. What if he hadn’t been reported to the bar and been forced to go to rehab? Would he be in a jail cell by now? The thoughts depressed him, but they also made him see Jana in a different light. “Anything else you can tell me?”

Burns chewed his food. “Yeah, but you’re not going to like it.”

Jason waited.

“The night before Braxton was killed, I was out on my boat. I’d gone fishing over by where you’re from actually, near Mill Creek. Anyway, I saw Jana sitting out on her dock drinking something. Sounded like she was drunk and maybe on something too. Slurring her words pretty bad.”

Jason wondered what condition Burns had been in, given how much he’d had to drink today. “What happened?”

“I asked her how she was doing, and she said, ‘Just fine for someone who’s about to lose everything.’

“I asked her what she meant, and she got mad. She said I knew damn well what she meant. That Braxton was going to divorce her. That he was going to move all their money into an account that she couldn’t access. That he was cheating on her and was now going to leave her penniless too. I didn’t know what to say, so I just told her I was sorry. Then she said something you ain’t gonna like.”

“What?”

“That there was no way in hell she was going to let him cut her off and leave her with nothing. And that she’d taken $15,000 out of one of their accounts that afternoon.”

“Good lord,” Jason said. “Why would she tell you that? You’re Braxton’s best friend.”

“I don’t know. I kind of think she wanted him to know. Besides, I was friends with Jana too. Like I said, the Waterses were kind of my family.”

“Did you tell Braxton about the money she’d taken?”

“No,” he said. “I probably should’ve, but I felt sorry for her.” He took a bite of his food and pointed his fork at Jason. “I haven’t even told you the worst thing she said.”

Jason braced himself. “OK.”

“She said she’d kill the bastard before she’d let him ruin her life.”

Jason examined his plate. After all the corn bread and slaw, he wasn’t hungry anymore. Another damn confession, he thought. “Well, I suspect the sheriff’s investigators were pretty interested in that conversation.” Jason wasn’t a criminal lawyer, but he knew that what Burns had just told him was a party opponent admission. It was, by definition, not hearsay and could be used against Jana at the trial.

“They were. Of course, I never believed that she’d actually do it.”