Innocent in Death (In Death #24)(66)

Eve was just toying with the idea of pounding a fist on the door when it opened. The doorman had it right. Allika Straffo didn’t look well.

She may have been dressed in silk lounging pajamas, but they were wasted on her as she stood pale and hollow-eyed.

“Please, can’t this wait? I’m sick.”

“You were well enough to walk your daughter to school this morning. Something happen there that made you sick? Or maybe you’ve been feeling a little off since your husband agreed to defend your lover.”

“He isn’t my lover. He was a mistake. Please, leave me alone.”

“Not going to happen.” Eve laid a hand on the door before Allika could close it. “You fix that mistake this morning?”

“I’m tired.” Tears began to gather and fall. “I’m just sick and I’m tired. I just want all of this to go away.”

“So you helped Williams go under for the third time?”

“What are you talking about? Oh, God, come in then. Just come in. I’m too tired to stand here arguing with you.” She turned away from the door, went to the living area to sit on one of the sofas, dropped her head in her hand.

“I was such a fool, such a stupid fool ever to let him touch me. Now, how much am I going to have to pay for that?”

“Did he put the squeeze on you for money?”

“Money?” She lifted her head. “No, no. That he would call Oliver, convince Oliver to defend him. What kind of a man is that? And he had those vials in his bedroom? Now, how can I be sure he didn’t use them on me? I feel sick.”

“So you confronted him this morning?”

“No. I intended to. I tried to talk Oliver out of representing him, but Oliver’s determined. I had to know what Reed said to him, had to convince Reed to find another lawyer.”

Eve sat. “Let’s get this on record, just so everyone’s protected. I’m going to read you your rights.”

“But—”

“You’re married to a lawyer. You know how this works. Record on.” Eve recited the Revised Miranda, watching Allika’s face as she did. “Do you understand your rights and obligations in this matter.”

“Of course, I do.”

“You took your daughter to school this morning, arrived about seven-thirty.”

“Yes, I thought if I took her in, and Reed was there…I saw that he was, on the sign-in screen. So I walked Rayleen to the theater and I went back. I thought, at that time of the morning, he’d be in the fitness center. But I didn’t see him there. I decided to check the pool. I heard them as I stepped through the doorway of the locker room.”

“Heard who?”

“Reed and Principal Mosebly. Arguing, shouting at each other. She told him he was done, that he would no longer be attached to the school. If he didn’t resign, she’d see he was terminated.”

“Why would that upset you?” Eve asked.

“It didn’t—I mean, it wasn’t pleasant, but that wasn’t what upset me. I started to leave. I didn’t want her to find me there. But then…he said, ‘Try it, Arnette.’ He said it like he was so amused. I think he even laughed.”

She shuddered. “I’d never heard him speak like that, so hard, so ugly. He was always so gentle and charming with me, even when I told him I’d made a mistake. He was very understanding. But this…”

“What else did you hear?”

Allika moistened her lips. “He told her he wouldn’t be the only one out on his ass. Push him, he’d push back. How did she think the board would feel if they found out she’d f**ked him—that’s exactly how he said it. She’d f**ked him, one of her faculty members in that very pool. On sacred school grounds. And in her office. It made me sick to hear it, to hear him start to describe what they’d done together.”

“And Mosebly?” Eve began. “How did she react to the threat of exposure?”

“I don’t know. I ran out, because I was sick. I went to one of the bathrooms and threw up.”

She pressed her fingers to her lips, squeezed her eyes shut. “I was so ashamed. Ashamed and disgusted with myself, with what I did. This was the kind of man I’ve betrayed my husband with. And now he was using that, using Oliver because he knows I’m too big a coward to tell Oliver what I’ve done. He knows I‘ll keep quiet, and I suppose Principal Mosebly will, too. So he’ll just go on to the next.”

“No, he won’t. He’s dead.”

Allika stared at Eve. Then her eyes rolled up and she slid bonelessly to the polished floor.

13

WHEN ALLIKA REVIVED, SHE CAREENED DIRECTLY into hysteria. The sobbing, the shaking, the wild eyes could have been guilt, a good act, or shock. Eve decided to reserve judgment when the au pair rushed in, carting market bags.

“What is it? What’s happened. Oh, God, is it Rayleen?”

“Kid’s fine.” Eve waited while Cora dumped the bags on the floor and hurried to Allika’s side. “Calm her down. Tranq her if you have to. We’ll finish the interview later.”

“Mr. Straffo?”

“He’s fine, too, as far as I know. Calm her down, then come back. I’ve got a couple of questions for you.”

“All right then, shh, shh, darling.” In the way of women who are natural caregivers, Cora tuned a voice to a soft song. “Come on with Cora now, won’t you? Everything’s going to be all right.”